When I started playing the cornet, my two heroes were Louis Armstrong and Eddie Calvert. Louis Armstrong toured Britain in 1956, and I saw an advert in the Derbyshire Times telling about the tour.
I scrounged the money (not easy at that time) and eventually amassed enough to buy the ticket.
When I started playing the cornet, my two heroes were Louis Armstrong and Eddie Calvert. Louis Armstrong toured Britain in 1956, and I saw an advert in the Derbyshire Times telling about the tour.
I scrounged the money (not easy at that time) and eventually amassed enough to buy the ticket.
On the day of the concert, I left home as if I was going to school and set off on my bike to ride the 37 miles (59 Km) to Leicester where Louis was performing at the Granby Halls. When I arrived, the hall was totally open and the crews were setting up for the show. This was 1956 and there was no security there at all. I propped up my bike and wandered into the hall. I soon saw a group of guys chatting and recognised Trummy Young among them so I sidled up. They seemed unperturbed by my appearance and we started to chat. It was the band, his band. I just stood there, until a voice next to me said, ‘Yeh man’ and I turned to see da man, Louis standing next to me. After a while someone said they needed to warm up and I stood there as they drifted off, until one of the band said hey, boy, don’t stand there, you’re the audience and I went into their dressing room where they warmed up. That was my performance that night, the rest was for hundreds of other people.
After a while, they were interrupted when Thelma Middleton came in and that was when I remembered and got out my autograph book. They all signed. First Louis and Thelma, and then the rest of the band.
They sat and chatted but then had to go for the gig. I wandered into the arena, I didn’t need the ticket as I was already inside. The performance was great, Satchmo sang a lot in those days but when he blew, it was heaven. Afterwards, I cycled back home and got home dead hungry. I’d raised the six bob for the ticket but no more. The next day, at school, our form teacher who was the music master asked me where I was yesterday. When I told him, he asked why I hadn’t let him know as he would have come along with me. Probably wouldn’t have got to meet the man then, though, would I?
