MAGICAL MUSICAL MYSTERY TOUR
Fighting off a lifethreatening illness, local historian and regular BT contributor Dave Stephenson has been thinking about how his life has been shaped by music – and the parties he used to go to.
One of our regular contributors tells us how his life has been shaped by music... and by the parties he went to
THE year 2018 has probably been the worst year of my life because of one of those illnesses that make you look at your life, past, present and future.
I found myself looking back into the past and for me that was music. It shaped my life, a sort of magical mystery tour.
I have been looking at my collection of LPs, singles and a few cassettes recently. They feel so good to touch but, alas, I don’t have a record player anymore.
Luckily, I have most of my music on CDs, so much easier. This year, I have played every one of them more than once. They really took me back in time.
I start in the 1950s. There was a radio programme called Two-Way Family Favourites on a Sunday dinnertime. They played records for our soldiers serving abroad, along with a message to their loved ones. These were the first modern music that I can remember.
One of my favourites was Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (1959) by The Platters. Then, a bit later, I was visiting a friend’s house when he got out what looked like a small suitcase, but which turned out to be a record player. This was the first one I had seen, then he put on a single. It was Cliff Richard’s Please Don’t Tease (1960).
Somehow I missed Elvis and the Rock and Roll era, at least for now. But it was The Beatles that really changed my life.
I first heard them while out singing Christmas carols, upstairs in someone’s house. I could hear this music; I stopped and listened and it was an instant love affair. Their music in those days was mostly boy-meets-girl type of thing – From Me To You, She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand … Just what a young teenage boy wanted to think about.
I bought my first single, I Feel Fine by the Beatles (1964) but it would be some time before I could afford a record player. Somehow it didn’t matter. Later, TV brought the 60s to life – Top of the Pops, Ready Steady Go and Disc-A-Go-Go are the ones that I recall.
In 1969 I became a bus conductor in Bristol. I gave up a good job with an excellent future to look for excitement and adventure. By this time I had a Lambretta scooter. Later, then I passed my driving test, I had a green Morris 1000 car.
A few years before this, this bus company had refused to employ people from an ethnic background. It became a national scandal but by 1969 this was the united nations of jobs. I never saw or heard one racial incident between staff while I worked there – though the public were a different matter.
I suppose I saw myself as a parttime hippie, my hair was slightly long, coloured shirt not quite Rebel Without A Cause, more Rebel Without A Clue.
I dreamed of Woodstock but without the dirt and the mud. One of my favourite records at about this time was San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) by Scott McKenzie, written by John Phillips.
Lots of singers and groups sang about peace and free love. Being a bit of a romantic, I often bought a girl half a lager, a packet of crisps and a bag of chips on the way home. But where was the free love?
Because of a rota system of drivers, I had a different one each week, so it gave me a very interesting view of other people and they came from all over the world. Some were highly educated or very intelligent but couldn’t get other jobs because of their colour or place of birth.
The seat of our existence in work seemed to be the canteen and a pinball machine. It seemed to break down a lot of barriers. We also had students on holiday or half term, or just for the hell of it.
I seemed to go to a lot of parties. Years later, I broke them down to three different types of party. The first was a Beach Boy party; the front room was always in darkness. Lots of couples went there and made funny noises. The music was early Beach Boys, Tamla Motown, Stax and some reggae, which seemed to be quite popular in Bristol.
The second type of party were the Frank Zappa parties. This included heavy metal and anything psychedelic or weird. People passed around things known as “Woodbines”. Everyone seemed happy, even more so when the “Woodbines” were mixed with beer or wine.
The third type were folk music and these were very different. People often brought along their own musical instruments, and some had written their own songs. Some were quite good.
Lots of people played Bob Dylan, though I personally liked other people’s recordings of his songs - Peter, Paul and Mary, The Byrds and Joan Baez (the voice of protest).
My collection of records was mostly by people who wrote their own music and had something to say. Lennon and McCartney being the most memorable, but there were others, like Pete Townsend of The Who – My Generation, The Kids Are Alright, I’m A Boy and, later, Tommy.
There was Ray Davies of The Kinks – Dead End Street, Sunny Afternoon and Days; John Phillips of the Mamas & Papas – Monday, Monday, California Dreamin’ and a slightly unknown Twelve Thirty (Young Girls are Coming to the Canyon); Paul Simon of Simon and Garfunkel – Homeward Bound, Mrs Robinson, The Boxer and Bridge Over Troubled Water.
All these musicians composed songs about a certain time in their lives or were great storytellers. Everyone could relate to a lot of their words but they all had something else in common if you wrote out their words on paper. These lyrics
were and are poetry.
I think Paul McCartney is the greatest poet of them all. At least the best known – When I’m 64, Yesterday, Penny Lane, The Long and Winding Road, Back In the USSR, She’s Leaving Home, Lady Madonna and the haunting Eleanor Rigby. Most people know some of the words to some of these songs. After the Beatles, Paul wrote My Love, Pipes of Peace and Ebony and Ivory to name just a few. The same could be said of John Lennon. Roger McGough today is a very popular bet. But he was also in a pop group called The Scaffold. They had hits with Lily The Pink, ‘Thank You Very Much and Liverpool Lou. The song Turn, Turn, Turn recorded by The Byrds was lifted from the Bible. There is probably a lot of poetry in that book. In charity shops today, you see lots of music albums for sale but rarely these heroes of mine.
I have always preferred to listen to music. I have seen some live acts like Supertramp, the Four Tops and Gene Pitney. I also served Gene when he stayed at a hotel when I was a night porter. He had cheese on toast every night for a late supper. No rock and roll lifestyle for him!
I also served Labi Siffre, Hot Chocolate, half of the Moody Blues, Sparks and Andre Previn.
If I’m known for anything, it’s local history. I have written five books, contributed to many others and written over 70 articles for the
Bristol Times and the Saturday page before that. One of my books was about Bristol Cinemas with Jill Willmott.
The first talking picture in Bristol was The Singing Fool with Al Jolson. Its famous song is Sonny Boy, so I listened to all his songs. They are all still timeless.
I have also done a lot of amateur
theatre, mostly out at the Fry’s Club - everything from panto to rock and roll. All of these shows had songs from very different eras. I also took part in the Bristol Old Vic production of Up The Feeder and Down The ‘Mouth.
I played a character called The Hairdresser and I had just one line but I had the pleasure of working with many professionals including Fred Wedlock, who had a big hit with a record called The Oldest
Swinger In Town during the run. Between a matinee and the evening show, he got out his guitar and a couple of us sang along with him. A very talented man.
I have also given talks about Bristol and a few about The Great War. I have used a few different songs to add to the talk. My favourite is The
Green Fields of France. I believe it’s the best anti-war song ever written. It’s so moving. I love the version by the Fureys, the Irish folk group.
In the 1960s when the Beatles played at the Colston Hall, my wife was one of the girls outside. Suddenly, a car with Paul McCartney inside stopped in front of her. They looked at each other, then Paul blew her a kiss. She has mentioned it to me a few times.
So when Paul had an exhibition of his paintings at the Arnolfini Gallery down by the docks, lots of fans were there as was the media. Suddenly, his big flash car arrived. I was aware that everyone was in front of the car.
So I walked around the side of the vehicle. He was out of the car and inside fairly quickly. Just a wave to the fans. Ten minutes later, a tall security man came towards me.
He said I had caused a bit of a problem, was I another fanatical fan or just an idiot? He quickly established that I was just an idiot. I think his name was Mark. We shook hands, I apologised. I didn’t mean to make his job any harder. My wife said smugly, “Did he blow you a kiss?”
Over the years I have had many interesting jobs. I never liked the suit, tie and shirt jobs. I always looked for interesting ones.
The music I have mentioned is the soundtrack to my life, a sort of magical mystery tour.
John Lennon probably sums me up with his words from Imagine - “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”
My son sums this up by saying he was force-fed the Beatles as a child. But when he got married, the record he played was Woman by John Lennon.
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Dave Stephenson is currently undergoing treatment for cancer but is taking it all with his characteristic grit and humour. “I’ve still got my good looks,” he says.