The king of swing at 90
QUESTION An early Sixties episode of The Avengers featured the Dave Lee Trio. What became of them?
Happily the Trio are still going! Jazz legend Dave lee and his trio continue to perform — pretty impressive for a guy of 90. This april he played at a pizza jazz club on the King’s Road, Chelsea.
The line-up had Winston Clifford on drums and alec Dankworth — son of the late, great jazz giant John Dankworth — on double bass.
Born in london in 1926, Dave learned piano at an early age. For war work, his family moved to Whitley Bay, near Newcastle, and he started to play in local clubs. His reputation grew, and he was named best new jazz pianist of 1942 by Melody Maker.
in 1947, he moved to South africa where, as well as playing clubs, he studied music and gained a diploma.
in 1954, he invited rising jazz star Johnny Dankworth to come over and join his band. at some point, Johnny persuaded Dave to return to England, play piano and be the arranger for his new band, the Johnny Dankworth Orchestra.
Dave played on most of Johnny’s records from 1955 to 1959. He also started to make a big name for himself in the Fifties, writing more than 700 TV ad jingles.
in 1959, he formed his trio and had a surprising hit album in the U.S. called a Big New Band From Britain, a comedic nod to the fact they were a trio.
in 1960, he branched out into composing for TV and films, eventually working with the likes of peter Sellers, Roger Corman and Vincent price. He also did the arrangements on records for Benny Hill, Norman Wisdom and Johnny Dankworth’s wife, Cleo laine.
For TV he wrote scores for the early episodes of The avengers and adam adamant and was resident pianist on That Was The Week That Was.
in the Sixties, he teamed up with lyricist Herbert Kretzmer and wrote three of my favourite novelty songs, Bangers and Mash, Goodness Gracious Me (sung by peter Sellers and Sophia loren in the 1960 film The Millionairess) and Kinky Boots, sung by The avengers Honor Blackman and patrick Macnee.
Dave lee is also a founder of the jazz radio station 102 Jazz FM, and we hope his novel, promised lands, about a jazz pianist, will be published soon.
He was Judy Garland’s musical director for five years and played a pianist in her 1963 UK film, i Could Go On Singing.
let’s hope Dave can go on entertaining us for a long time to come.
Danny D’Arcy, Reading, Berks.
QUESTION Timothy Treadwell, who claimed he loved bears more than humans, was killed by one. What other ironic deaths have there been?
ONE of the saddest examples of this is that of songwriter Felix powell. Felix and his brother George were music hall stars who penned pack Up your Troubles in your Old Kit Bag.
The tune was pulled from a drawer marked ‘duds’ for a contest at the Grand Theatre, Birmingham, to find a marching tune for the troops — and won. The brothers, born in St asaph, Denbighshire, said it was ‘the best laugh of our lives’, but the laughing did not last long.
The song split the brothers. George, a pacifist, had doubts about his tune’s use as a rallying cry. Felix immediately signed up and spent World War i as a staff sergeant touring the trenches with the morale-boosting song.
But he became haunted by the fact that his tune was accompanying thousands and thousands of men to their deaths. His depression was compounded by money worries after the war.
With the advent of World War ii, it became too much. This author of joyful songs committed suicide in 1942, aged 63. in the uniform of the peacehaven Home Guard, he shot himself in the heart while on guard duty.
Anne Browning, Monmouth.
DRACO was the first legislator of athens in ancient Greece in 7th-century BC. His harsh interpretation of the law gave rise to the term draconian, but despite this he was popular. in a traditional show of approval, his supporters ‘threw so many hats, shirts and cloaks on his head that he suffocated’.
pietro aretino (1492-1556), an italian author, playwright, poet and satirist and pornographer, had a rapier wit and vicious sense of humour. He is said to have died of suffocation from ‘laughing too much’ after hearing a ribald joke.
Basil Brown was a British scientist and health fanatic who died in 1974. a coroner’s inquest found the death of the 48–year–old was caused by ‘carrot juice addiction’. The inquest found he’d ingested 70 million units of Vitamin a in ten days. He was also drinking a gallon of carrot juice a day during that time. His skin was bright yellow when he died.
Dr David Haler, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, said the effect of the enormous intake of Vitamin a produced the same result as alcoholic poisoning — cirrhosis of the liver.
american Jim Fixx, who wrote the 1977 best-selling book The Complete Book Of Running, died aged 52 of a heart attack — while out jogging.
Jimi Heselden (1948-2010), owner of Segway inc, died from injuries sustained after falling from a cliff while testing his all-terrain scooter.
Kevin Turnley, Wolverhampton.
QUESTION Rock group Rainbow has had around 30 members over the years. Has any other group had more?
FURTHER to the earlier answer, the English progressive folk-rock band Fairport Convention has had 40 members, if not more, since its inception in 1967. and this figure excludes invited guests for a one-off appearance.
Members have left to perform with Steeleye Span, Fotheringay, Matthews Southern Comfort and pentangle.
Steve Taylor, Bradford, W. Yorks.
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