March 2023
Every year a new year descends upon us and I like millions of others think events will be better than the last, because they have to but 2023 is not shaping up too well. February is always tough as it is both mum and dad’s anniversary, I lost a friend and work on the cruise ships is not what is was before the pandemic.
My brother and his wife Chandrika haven’t had it easy through the lock downs and not having had a break in almost three years booked a fortnight away to Mauritius for a golfing break. They were due to leave on the 20th so they would spend Matt’s birthday on the island chilling out but it didn’t go to plan. They flew from Scotland to Charles de Gaulle and were then to transfer to Air Mauritius but a cyclone hit the Indian Ocean causing a 12-hour delay in France because with 237 mph winds planes couldn’t attempt a landing. Having missed the first day of their holiday they finally arrived slightly worse for wear, unpacked, ate and fell into bed. The weather had improved and they were out on the golf course when Chandrika’s golf cart hit a raised concrete strip causing the axle to break and she was thrown from the buggy like a rag doll. Her arm landed on a rock causing it to break and her fist hit her eye socket hard enough for the hospital to worry about a bleed to the brain.
Matt had to rush back to the hotel, an hour away from the hospital to collect some clothes and the insurance papers before heading back before his wife’s surgery. At this time all I know is the scans seem to confirm no injury to her brain and her surgery was successful. As there is no internet in that area, I’m waiting for Matt to get back to the hotel and give me an update but God willing everything will be okay.
Money is tight for everyone at the minute but if you are going away do NOT skimp on travel insurance. A friend of mine who is a singer boarded a cruise ship this week without taking out insurance and he has had angina in the last year. It is so stupid especially as a repatriation by helicopter could cost as much as £50,000. One passenger had a heart attack a couple of years ago on Celebrity’s Silhouette and because of insufficient insurance cover the helicopter refused to come out to the ship. We took a 12-hour detour towards Spain and the pilot boat came to meet the ship and take the patient off. Those hours could have cost hm his life. It just isn’t worth the risk.
As painful as the last month was it was lovely to see dad featured on several program. Although it was a repeat ….Sings Bond was as popular as ever when it aired on 18 February on BBC2and dad was featured alongside Shirley Bassey, Adele, A-ha and Sheena Easton. It is always a thrill to know that dad was the very first singer to feature in a Bond theme, a tradition that still continues today.
In August last year I was contacted by Jaynie Miller, the production manager of a Sky/Pot Boiler production called Funny Woman to gain permission to use a poster of dad and a magazine within the first episode as a way to put viewers in that era. Funny Woman is an adaptation of the 2014 Nick Hornby novel of Funny Girl, set in 1960’s London – the story follows their protagonist as she moves to the big city in search of a life in Comedy on the small screen. The first episode sees Barbara Parker, played by Gemma Arterton, enter a beauty contest and named ‘Belle of Blackpool’. Feeling there is more to life than the pageant circuit she moves to London in the hope of becoming a star and starts work in the Lewis Peters department store where she is chatted up by a customer. The date is a night out to London’s Talk of the Town to see Matt Monro. Dad’s hit song ‘Walk Away’ is featured and it was a lovely surprise to see it last month as I had no idea when the series was to be aired.
Lastly on the 18th of last moth BBC4 aired ‘Movie Themes at the BBC’, which featured some of the best BBC moments and archive footage of artists that featured in the pop charts. About 30 minutes in dad sings ‘Born Free’. Lovely
I say lastly because these were all new one-offs but if you haven’t seen dad’s Australian concert yet, it is still featured on Netflix.
A little under 2 years ago Richard approached Cherry Red with the idea for a new project based on tracks that belong to Warner. They loved the idea and set about licensing the material. Despite the fact that Richard and I submitted a list of the tracks we were to use and proof that Warner owned the majority, it has taken more than two years to wade through the legal department’s red tape. We thought we had clearance last year, but then another hurdle was put in place.
At long last, it looks as if we are about to go forward with a 4-CD set called ‘The Complete EMI Recordings 1971-1984’. As usual, Richard has done a stellar job with the remastering and the notes tell the whole story of how these tracks came to fruition. We have just received the finished cover which was designed by John Sellards and are now waiting on an official date of release. Watch this space.
