Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Desert Island Discs
Presented by Roy Plomley
Pianist and Royal Navy veteran awarded the DSM, who taught himself to play by ear.
Eight records
mentioned as follow-up to Side Saddle, no reason given
The keepsakes
No book or luxury recorded for this episode.
In conversation
Presenter asks
Is there music in the family?
My mother was a was a very talented pianist. Professional? No, only an amateur. And uh a lovely contralto voice she had.
Presenter asks
What was your first job when you left?
I worked in an office of my father's solicitor for a very short while, left at their request after messing up nearly everything from the ledges to the lift. After that I went to a clothing supply company, which I also left at the request of the management after about another two months.
Presenter asks
While you were serving in the Royal Navy, you were awarded the DSM. Where was that?
In the Aegean, around Greece, mm-hmm, all that area.
Presenter asks
The recording
Timestamps play the recording from that turn
Russ Conway
This download is the only extract the BBC has of this edition of Desert Island Discs. The presenter was Roy Plumley.
Speaker 1
What part of the country do you come from? Bristol, in Somerset.
Russ Conway
Uh
Speaker 1
Where do you get your musical talent from?
Russ Conway
Is there music in the family? My mother was a was a very talented pianist. Professional? No, only an amateur.
Speaker 1
Professional?
Russ Conway
And uh a lovely contralto voice she had. Mm. Her father also used to sing. When did you start taking music lessons? I took one lesson and, um, when I remember when I was about four or five and after that
Russ Conway
Uh played truant with the half crown mother used to give me weekly for the lesson, and I used to run after the pictures.
Speaker 1
So you only had one piano lesson in your life.
Russ Conway
To the best of my memory, yes.
Russ Conway
Was it your ambition to be a musician very early on? No, it never was. I used to hate the idea of practicing, you know, s coming home after having had this supposed music lesson in practicing. And I never had any ambitions to be a musician at all.
Speaker 1
But you found you could play the piano by
Russ Conway
Well I found I could always play the piano quite naturally, yes.
Speaker 1
Uh
Russ Conway
What was your first job when you left?
Speaker 1
That's cool.
Russ Conway
I worked in an office of my father's solicitor for a very short while, left at their request after messing up nearly everything from the ledges to the lift. After that I went to a clothing supply company, which I also left at the request of the management after about another two months.
Russ Conway
All all the books were in the wrong rooms and uh
Russ Conway
You know, I made a general mess of everything. I see they're different. After that, I went into a naval training school. My mother died.
Speaker 1
Yeah.
Russ Conway
And
Russ Conway
I finally went into the Merchant Navy at the age of about sixteen, and then the Royal Navy when I was seventeen. Forged my birth certificate and went in when I was seventeen.
Speaker 1
This was during the war.
Russ Conway
Yes.
Russ Conway
And while
Speaker 1
He was serving in the Royal Navy, you were awarded the DSM, I believe.
Russ Conway
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 1
Where was that?
Russ Conway
In the Aegean, around Greece, mm-hmm, all that area. And after the war you stayed in the Royal Navy? I stayed in the Royal Navy until uh around about 1947 when I was invalided out. What did you do?
Speaker 1
No.
Russ Conway
I stayed ashore for a little while doing various jobs, plumber's mate, um civil servant, salesman, blowing bubbles in people's faces, trying to sell soap or something or the other, and then finally went back into the Merchant Navy.
Speaker 1
In those days, uh while you were at sea, did you have any chance to play the piano?
Russ Conway
Oh, many times. And especially in the merchant navy, on the large liners, there were nearly always a piano in the crew mess. Mm-hmm. Used to entertain the boys and myself.
Russ Conway
How long were you to remain at sea? Until August fifty five. Yes. When did you come out?
Speaker 1
Why do you come?
Russ Conway
Well, I had stomach trouble again, you know, and I came out of the sea, finally, went into hospital.
Russ Conway
and uh came out with nothing to do and broke into this business quite by accident.
Speaker 1
Quite by
Speaker 1
Project is having
Russ Conway
Well, on the day I came out of hospital I sort of stuck my bags in a in a a baggage department.
Russ Conway
And, uh, walking along one of the main streets in town, I bumped into a friend of mine who knew I could play the piano, and he asked me if I'd deputise for a pianist in a club that weekend.
Russ Conway
Which I did.
Russ Conway
Uh for the high sum of thirty shillings, I think it was. And
Russ Conway
quite by accident and I don't think Norman had ever been into the club before and I know he's never been in since.
Russ Conway
Uh in came Norman Newell, my present recording manager, you know, and he listened to me playing it. He said he thought I had an individual style of playing.
Russ Conway
And he helped me along in the business, helped me to get a job in the publishing house to learn the ins and outs of show business. And then when he
Russ Conway
Took up recording again.
Russ Conway
I was his audition pianist, and one day he came in with a
Russ Conway
one particular tune which he thought would sound nice on what we hilariously call the honky-tonk piano. We recorded it and it was issued and um it clicked, for better or for worse, it clicked.
Speaker 1
One of the things that Norman Newell did for you was change your name.
Russ Conway
Yes, he did, from Trevor Stanford to Russ Conway.
Speaker 1
And this record was was a big success.
Russ Conway
It was a it wasn't a big success, but it was a good enough success to warrant trying again and again and again.
Speaker 1
And it it did lead to radio and television.
Russ Conway
Yes, it did. And of course with television came Billy Cotton, or at least I sh I should say mister Cotton, not Billy Cotton. You know, and I think one of the luckiest breaks I've ever had in or out of the business was getting on Bill's television show. You know, he's a great guy.
Speaker 1
Ross, had you done much composing? Before you
Russ Conway
You came into the business full time?
Speaker 1
Uh
Russ Conway
Before I came into the business full time, no, not a lot of composing. Before I started recording I had written quite a few songs which are probably lying on publisher's shelves all over the country. One of them which came off the shelf was Side Tettle, but when it was originally written it was called Come and Dance for a television show a few years ago.
Russ Conway
Uh a gavot, and a right old gavot it was. Yeah. Uh
Speaker 1
Well Side Saddle became the most popular disc in the country. It did, yes. And that was followed by another one. By roulette, yes. And then you had three discs among the 20 best sellers at the same time.
Russ Conway
I did. It was a great thrill. It really was.
Speaker 1
Do you find composing Comes easily, too.
Russ Conway
Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. You know, if I get something running through my mind, I can go to the piano and sort of get this theme and put it down just the first few bars on paper and then work on it. Sometimes I find I can complete the whole thing in about ten minutes, which I'm ashamed to say I did with size at a little bit. And other times it might take a couple of months. Royal Event took a couple of months to finish.
Speaker 1
You wrote the complete score for a Western musical show, didn't you?
Russ Conway
Yes, one of the biggest flops in Western musical history, I think it was called Mr. Venus.
Speaker 1
Yes, but that well there was no reflection on the score. I don't think so. We didn't get slated for the music anyway. You do all your composing under your real name. Is it a bit confusing having two identities?
Russ Conway
I don't think so, Roy. At first it was confusing when I started let getting letters um from people who had read that Russ Conway wrote Side Saddle and I was rebuked and told um quite clearly that on the music it says Trevor Stanford wrote the music. But I do I do think Trevor Stanford's a name more suited to the composer whereas Russ Conway is a name more suited to this honky-tonk character, honky-tonk face Conway.
Speaker 1
At the moment you're you're very busy with your television show. What's for the future? Any particular ambition not fulfilled yet?
Russ Conway
two, I think, or three. One to write a a musical, a successful British musical.
Russ Conway
Two, to uh enlarge a theme which I've written and at the moment called My Concerto For You, I would like to enlarge it into a full scale.
Russ Conway
Concerto with technical help.
Russ Conway
And
Russ Conway
Perform it.
Russ Conway
In Bristol and call it the Bristol Concerto.
In those days, while you were at sea, did you have any chance to play the piano?
Oh, many times. And especially in the merchant navy, on the large liners, there were nearly always a piano in the crew mess. Mm-hmm. Used to entertain the boys and myself.
Presenter asks
How long were you to remain at sea?
Until August fifty five.
Presenter asks
What's for the future? Any particular ambition not fulfilled yet?
two, I think, or three. One to write a a musical, a successful British musical. Two, to uh enlarge a theme which I've written and at the moment called My Concerto For You, I would like to enlarge it into a full scale concerto with technical help and perform it in Bristol and call it the Bristol Concerto.
“I never had any ambitions to be a musician at all.”
“I found I could always play the piano quite naturally, yes.”
“Quite by accident … I bumped into a friend of mine who knew I could play the piano, and he asked me if I'd deputise for a pianist in a club that weekend … came in Norman Newell, my present recording manager … he listened to me playing it. He said he thought I had an individual style of playing.”
“One of the luckiest breaks I've ever had in or out of the business was getting on Bill's television show. You know, he's a great guy.”
“Sometimes I find I can complete the whole thing in about ten minutes, which I'm ashamed to say I did with Size [Saddle] a little bit. And other times it might take a couple of months. Royal Event took a couple of months to finish.”