Radio review - The Light Programme

Published Thursday 6 March 2008 at 12:10 by Nick Smurthwaite

An enterprising radio dramatist, listening to the R2 documentary Ken Colyer - He Knew, about the early days of British rock’n’roll, might easily have constructed a play out of the passion and the fury of those fifties pioneers.

It focused on the clash between the shadowy but influential figure of Colyer and his more charismatic fellow band member, Lonnie Donegan. Put simply, Colyer was an American roots purist, Donegan a new wave populist.

While Colyer treated every number they played as a minor work of art, Donegan simply wanted to put each song across to its maximum effect. It was the age-old battle of art versus commerce.

If the purpose of the programme was to rehabilitate the largely forgotten Colyer, it was only partially successful. Those of us who grew up with Donegan were unimpressed by the suggestion that his talent and ambition were somehow played out at Colyer’s expense. Donegan remains an iconic figure in the British hall of musical fame - Colyer may have started the ball rolling, but it was Donegan who kicked it into touch.

Across the pond, at more or less the same time, four lads of Italian descent from New Jersey were dreaming of becoming pop stars. One worked as a printer, another was training to be a hairdresser.

Their early recordings showed none of the polish or production values of the later hits such as December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) and Rag Doll. In R2’s four-parter Jerseybeat - The Four Seasons Story, Paul Sexton tells the story behind the award-winning new musical Jersey Boys, currently previewing in the West End.

Though it wasn’t touched on in the first instalment, I shall be interested to see if Sexton has unearthed anything juicy on the boys’ alleged connections to the Mob, which had wide-ranging interests in the US entertainment world in the post-war era, owning many of the live venues where the Four Seasons learnt their craft.

Their lead singer Frankie Valli famously alluded to these tough beginnings in his guest role in The Sopranos as the pint-sized mobster Rusty Millio.

The equally iconic Bob Hope, subject of six-part R2 series The Bob Hope Trail, written and presented by Michael Freedland, must be ripe for reassessment five years after his death. A man who thrived on unconditional adoration and, as one of Freedland’s interviewees put it, “A guy who could strut while he was sitting down”, was bound to have left some murky ripples in his wake.

Arthur Marx, son of Groucho, gave the lie to Hope’s “brotherly” relationship with Bing Crosby, alleging that they were barely on speaking terms by the end of the Road movies. It will be fascinating to hear the testimony of others who were close to Hope.

While not as much fun as the Catherine Tate/David Tennant encounter, Chain Reaction continued on a high with Tennant interviewing fellow Scot Richard Wilson, whom he introduced as “an inspiration to me both personally and professionally”.

Happily, Tennant’s respect for the actor and director did not prevent him from pulling his chain at every available opportunity, including an attempt to revive Wilson’s adolescent fumblings with the banjo.

Later, living up to his grumpy old man image, Wilson chastised Tennant for asking “rather a silly question” about what part he would play in a film about his life.

Famous for valuing his privacy, Wilson came up with the Victor Meldrew-esque line, “I can’t understand actors who want to talk about their orgasms in public”.

David Dimbleby, 70 this year, proved a curiously subdued castaway on Desert Island Discs. His choice of music, too, was mostly funereal. Recalling his childhood, it was clear being sent away to boarding school aged seven still rankled.

There were two surprises. The first was his description of himself as “quite solitary”. The second, more intriguing, was his mischievous choice of interviewer Kirsty Young as his desert island luxury, disallowed amid girlish giggles.

DETAILS

Ken Colyer - He Knew - R2, Tuesday, February 19

Jerseybeat - The Four Seasons Story - R2, Wednesday, February 27

The Bob Hope Trail - R2, Friday, February 29

Chain Reaction - R4, Thursday, February 28

Desert Island Discs - R4, Sunday, February 24