Organist, 90, still pulling out all the stops
HE IS being hailed as Britain’s oldest church organist and, after eight decades of performing, Denis Nichols just wants to play on.
When he was 11, a vicar asked him to step in after his regular organist dropped out.
Denis, now 90, had passed his piano exams only two years earlier and his legs could barely reach the pedals but he persevered. He said: “My legs weren’t long enough at the time but they grew on me.”
He has played at his daughter Mary’s wedding and a service attended by Princess Margaret. But though he has performed in more than 60 churches, he has never been far from his native Saxmundham, Suffolk.
The former undertaker was much in demand at funerals because he could double up as pall bearer and organist.
Even during National Service, he managed to sneak in a few music lessons. And a motorbike crash in which he was badly injured did not stop him pursuing his lifelong passion.
He said: “I broke my legs and arms and so was laid up for quite a while but I soon recovered and got back on the organ.”
Mr Nichols, whose wife died last October after 73 years together, has been playing at St Peter’s Church, Yoxton, for the past 30 years. He added: “I’d like to try and keep going. I’m having some back troubles but I’m carrying on and I’ll be playing on Sunday”.