21. REELIN'
IN SOHO
www.hillmanweb.com/cd/1021ReelinInSoho.mp3
Reelin'
in Soho is an account of our first recording session in London, England.
As suggested in the first verse, this was the culmination of a tour in
which we - The Hillmans From Canada - had played 30 one-nighters
in night clubs and discos across Northern England. Many nights found us
in the ubiquitous Workingman Clubs where a house band opened at 7:00 pm,
followed by opening acts which usually offered variety entertainment. We
would then come on for a show set, after which there would be a long break
for housie (bingo) - a national addiction. After this exciting gambling
break we would return for a dance set - but by 11:00 pm the dancers would
call it a night since they had to work the next day. Being so used to the
long drives, long gigs and late nights back in Canada, it was hard for
us to wind down so suddenly and every night found us driving around looking
for some place which might still be open - we met some very colourful characters
on these midnight rambles.
The
audiences attended these clubs every night of the week and had seen it
all, so it was especially rewarding to 'go down a bomb'...to 'bomb' has
a different connotation there than it does in North America. It was tremendously
exciting to study the dressing room walls which were festooned with pictures,
cards and stickers left by previous entertainers - even the Beatles, early
in their careers, had toured this circuit. These backstage walls were seldom
refurbished since it seemed that the more 'name' acts displayed, the more
prestigious the club. Perhaps the most fascinating venues though, were
the Country and Western Clubs where nearly everyone showed up in full Western
regalia - including boots, hats, gunbelts...and western drawls - Geordie
cowboys.
Our
strangest and perhaps most memorable night occurred at Thirsk - a village
in Yorkshire. Throughout the tour, we spent most mornings and afternoons
being tourists - traipsing through castles, cathedrals, and pubs and across
highlands and moors. Scarth, however, offered a special reward because
it is home to Alf Wight, aka James Herriot of All Creatures Great
and Small fame. We visited his veterinary office and toured his small
museum just down the street. Fittingly, the club we were to play was on
the outskirts of town surrounded by a meadow or cow pasture. It was a 1920s
pavilion-style hall.
Our
opening act for the night arrived late - surrounded by an entourage of
people in formal wear. He was a singer who had been married just a few
hours before in Newcastle. This set the mood for the whole evening - the
place seemed to explode and although the club should have been emptied
by 11:00, the management barred the doors to keep out the local constabulary
and the party continued into the wee hours. When Sue-On wearied of the
drums, a succession of people - our agent, the bartender and even the groom
- took control of the sticks. Something right out of the fictional Darrowby.
REELIN'
IN SOHO
Warm
summer night in a green Bromley garden
Done
thirty nights of singin' - runnin' 'round ole England
Picking
out the songs to lay down tomorrow
Songs
about lovin' - leavin' - and sorrow
Monday
morning moving into Bromley station
Munchin'
fish and chips wrapped in the news of the nation
A
Charing Cross stop and then we're out to Trafalgar
Humpin'
piano and draggin' a guitar
CHORUS:
Rockin'
and rolling and reeling to Soho
Boogie
woogie woogie into London town
Rockin'
and rolling and reeling in Soho
Boogie
woogie woogie till we get back home
Huff
and puff and shove to where the lions and pigeons stand
Wave
and jump and whistle - callin' for a cabbie man
Cabbie
man don't understand or talk Canadian
Drive
around in circles takin' every street he can
Later
in the morning we're reeling in Soho
Rocking
a studio - ten feet down below
People
on the street are dancing, pushing and shoving
Listening
to the band just a reelin' and rocking
Our
music buddy Alan Jones and I played in a band in the mid-1960s but we lost
touch for a while. Then about 10 years later Al contacted me. He played
some of the songs he had written and asked if Sue-On and I would like to
join him in a recording project. He also enlisted the aid of Ken Blair
and two other fine musicians with whom he had played with back in England
-- Terry Fleetwood and Ian Hunter. At the time, Sue-On and I were spending
much of our free time, while off the road and away from our teaching duties,
working at a multitude of recording sessions in Winnipeg's Century 21 Studios.
This looked like another challenging venture so, within weeks we were again
back in the studio. The two studio engineers were John Hildebrand, co-owner
of the studio, and Colin Bennett, who had previously been musical arranger,
etc. for the RCMP Musical Ride band. The songs were all originals by Alan,
Ken, and myself. Sue-On and I sang three lead vocals - we chose our Listen
to Me Cry to feature on this all-original CD.
