Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Cambridge graduate, ex-RAF pilot, Sussex farmer, and radio star of 'Take It From Here'.
On the island
Eight records
not verbatim quote given but described as "a cracking good band, playing a bit of the Three Bears Suite by Eric Coates" (paraphrased description by guest, not a verbatim quote)
describes it as "a chap called George Swift, playing a tune called El Freed. Terrific virtuoso stuff, this."
describes it as "one of those ridiculous bebop nursery rhymes that dear old Ray Ellington does. They amuse me enormously."
described as "a song by the Keynotes. I'm rather partial to Policeman's Holiday."
Sid Phillips and his Pink Hussars
described as "Sid Phillips and his pink hussars playing soothing music. What tune do you want? Stumbling or thereabouts."
Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 11 (extract)
described as "the most brilliant horn player we have in England of course is Dennis Brain and I've chosen a record of his part of Richard Strauss's horn concerto. It's a beautiful if somewhat melancholy sound."
described as "this record of his golfing sketch with Jerry Desmond"
Storm from Peter GrimesFavourite
described as "a good noisy one this time, the storm music from Peter Grimes. I think it's wonderful stuff."
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:16How and when did you first get this enthusiasm for brass [music]?
It started when I was at school. On Monday evenings, we used to have [O]TC parades, you know, what we used to call officers' training corps. It came to my notice that while all the other cadets were marching about in the hot sun, there was a class of person known as a bandsman who sat in the cricket pavilion and blew melancholy notes on a bugle.
Presenter asks
4:49Was that your one tune with the OTC band as far as your musical education went?
Oh, googish, you know. I also played the trumpet in the school orchestra. And talking about the trumpet leads neatly into my next record, which is a chap called George Swift, playing a tune called El Freed.
Presenter asks
6:12What sort of castaway do you think you'd be? How would you face up to life on a desert island? First of all, can you cook?
I can boil an egg. ... No need for the sun. All I've got to do is to play a record, and of course, one ten-inch record plays near enough three minutes. ... I'm not a bad shot if I had a gun. ... I'm fairly good at trapping and stalking.
The keepsakes
The book
Not recorded.
Presenter asks
16:04What's your objection to all [the] others [i.e., other operas]?
Well, no objection, but just I've never been quite able to accept all the operatic conventions, you know. I want to giggle when they sing these silly words like, a pretty weight, a pretty weight, you know, that's all. But with Peter Grimes, there's nothing stylized about it. You can believe it all. You forget it's an opera. You forget it's anything but an exciting story with exciting music.
“It started when I was at school. On Monday evenings, we used to have [O]TC parades, you know, what we used to call officers' training corps. It came to my notice that while all the other cadets were marching about in the hot sun, there was a class of person known as a bandsman who sat in the cricket pavilion and blew melancholy notes on a bugle.”
“I owed a tremendous lot to him, you know. ... He gave me some excellent advice. He introduced me to his agent. He couldn't have been kinder. And as a comedian he couldn't have been funnier.”
“But with Peter Grimes, there's nothing stylized about it. You can believe it all. You forget it's an opera. You forget it's anything but an exciting story with exciting music. Music that's sufficiently modern to be enjoyed for its freshness and not modern enough to give you indigestion. I think it's wonderful stuff.”