Alfie Bass

Presenter0:00

This download is the only extract the BBC has of this edition of Desert Island Discs. The presenter was Roy Plumley.

Alfie Bass0:08

Were you born in London, Gavy? Yes, I was, uh, in Bethnal Green, uh, the East End.

Alfie Bass0:14

of London.

Presenter0:15

Was your childhood tough and w was the hardship

Alfie Bass0:18

Uh yes, yes, there was. My father had to uh feed and clothe ten children. Did he? And after a bit my mother had an accident, and she spent a good the last few years of her life in a wheelchair. She was crippled.

Alfie Bass0:33

And my father used to say that he cared for nothing so long as his children didn't go naked and bourvas, which meant uh so long as they didn't go naked and without shoes. And this was his attitude to life and could hardly be anything else anyway. He had a rough time trying to cope, you know. And for us kids we weren't all that sort of carefully looked after because it wasn't possible.

Presenter0:43

Does that

Presenter0:47

Yeah.

Alfie Bass1:01

uh with the result that we had to fend for ourselves. And I often uh was under the care of my elder sister or you know, I had hundreds of sisters and brothers. And uh I was the youngest of the family.

Alfie Bass1:14

Uh

Presenter1:14

And uh

Alfie Bass1:15

Yeah.

Alfie Bass1:16

Oh, television, yes, was um was the Army game. Yes. Excuse Boots Business. That's right, yes. Um yes, that was a great uh

Alfie Bass1:25

Period of very hard work, but uh it w it was very much worth it. I mean great popularity. People used to uh stop me in the stri uh in the street and buy me a drink and all sorts of things. You know, it was really uh marvellous to be well known, you know, it's it's a lovely uh period. What have you been up to since Bootsy and Snudge?

Alfie Bass1:45

Oh, since that finished, um, I then did what I'd always wanted to do all my life, was to grow things. And the greatest thing that ever happened to me, you know, uh even in the theatre it's never happened uh was to have a small field.

Presenter1:52

Hmm.

Alfie Bass2:01

which I had, which I possessed, which was mine and I used to be very angry about the rabbits if they came on to it. I didn't like that at all. And I decided to grow barley.

Alfie Bass2:11

And I did. And I saw the whole thing through right from start to finish. I went to the Ministry of Agriculture, who were very helpful, got the subsidy, got the um fertilizer put on, got the whole thing turned over, and planted barley.

Alfie Bass2:27

And this barley was beautiful. There there are several kinds of barley. Some are called industrial. I hope you're interested, Roy. Because I don't want to go talking about barley if you like. Barley from seed to soup. I mean, it's a fascinating subject. Well, there you are. You see, do you like barley soup?

Presenter2:35

Because I don't want

Presenter2:36

Barley from seed to salt

Alfie Bass2:42

No.

Alfie Bass2:43

Oh. Well, uh I'm sorry about that. I'm raising I'll grow something else. Right. But uh I managed to get this barley s sown and uh grown and it was good seed barley. It was the best. And this was one of the proudest moments of my life. Good. Which leads us to the next song.

Alfie Bass3:03

Well now you followed Topol in Fiddler on the Roof in the theatre.

Presenter3:06

rather a daunting chore, wasn't it?

Alfie Bass3:09

Well, I had this barley behind me, you see. I mean, this gave me confidence. No, I um oh yes, yes, daunting is uh quite the word.

Presenter3:16

How did you set about it? Did you watch the show?

Presenter3:18

A lot of times before you start once.

Alfie Bass3:19

No, no, I saw it once. Uh

Presenter3:21

Uh

Alfie Bass3:21

Only once. I saw the I saw the show once. And I had uh the great thing behind me, which if I hadn't had, God knows what would have happened, you know, I'd have run away, I think.

Presenter3:21

Ready?

Alfie Bass3:30

Uh I had my father behind me, whose uh character was three hundred per cent the man in the show. He was Shahnama Leichem's uh Tevia the Milkman.

Alfie Bass3:43

to oh, he was completely the character. With that behind me and the knowledge of the works of this man called Scholmaleichem as well, which I had, I played b you know, some years ago at the Embassy Swiss Cottage for three pounds ten a week, you know, I'd suffered for it.

Presenter3:56

Okay.

Alfie Bass3:59

and this served me in good stead.

Alfie Bass4:02

with the result that I had a fair idea of how I was going to do it.

Alfie Bass4:06

and this gave me the confidence.