THEN AND NOW - BUDDY HOLLY IN BRUM!

By Graham Young on Jan 30, 09 09:46 PM

Almost 50 years to the day after Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash, Graham Young talks to four people who saw him play Birmingham Town Hall - and details next week's movie biopic. If you saw him play in Birmingham - or anywhere else for that matter - feel free to contribute your memories on the link below.

DES O'CONNOR will never forget Buddy Holly - because he was the compere of his tour across Britain.
That was 31 gigs in 33 days, including Birmingham Town Hall.
For Des, that amount of work was a chance to buy his own car... and to see at first hand just how the boy from Texas was reinventing popular music.
"When the tour reached London, the boys were clowning around in the dressing room beforehand and bass player Joe Mauldin knocked out a couple of caps off Buddy's front teeth," says Des.
"It was like 'we're on in 20 minutes' so I suggested to Buddy that he might get some chewing gum to fix them back in!
"Another favourite memory, from Harrogate, was that I had to go into his bedroom one morning to try to get him up.
"I pulled him by the feet and he said to me: 'Don't do that, I'm tall enough as it is!'."
Des, billed on the tour as 'the comedian with the modern style' says the tour was special because of the way he could see the whole business changing at that point.
"I'd never seen amps before so it was sensational, so exciting to see the beginning of something new.
"A few of the songs that later became world-famous were born on those bus trips.
"At the shows, I would be the comedian doing bits and pieces before they went on.
"I'd also give Buddy a few gags and his southern drawl would make them funny.
"In return, he'd teach me a few things about the guitar.
"He was a very nice man and I feel privileged to have worked with him.
"I think he enjoyed playing in England and we took him to the Austin Healey factory where he saw the two-tone, drop-head sports car and said: 'I'll have two of them'. I don't know if he ever did get them home."
It's become a cliche that people know where they were when Kennedy was assassinated, but how did Des learn about the then 22-year-old Buddy's demise in a plane crash at Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 3, 1959?
"I was working in Manchester when I heard it on the news," says Des, now 77.
"It was barely a year after the tour, and it was a real shock.
"Buddy was such a young kid and so advanced in the way that he was recording, writing and singing songs which had such strong melodies.
"The lyrics didn't mean that much, but they had a different twist."

THEATRE

THE Buddy Holly Story is back at the Birmingham Hippodrome from Monday 16 to Saturday, February 21.
To date, the show has been seen by more than 20 million people in more than 16,000 performances worldwide and features hits like Peggy Sue, That'll Be The Day, Not Fade Away, Oh Boy, Maybe Baby, Rave On and Raining In My Heart.
Tickets are on sale at the Birmingham Hippodrome on 0844 338 5000 or online at www.birminghamhippodrome.com. Group Sales 0844 338 7000. (Calls cost from 5p per min; 6% transaction charge, 3% online). Tickets are priced: £12.50-£30. Performance times: Eves 7.30pm; Wed mat 2pm; Sat mat 2.30pm.

Click on the link below to read all about our readers' memories of seeing Buddy Holly play the Town Hall, how much your old records might be worth. Plus, details of the radio and TV programmes coming up in the days ahead about the life and death of the star.

THE COLLECTOR

RECORD collector extraordinaire Dan Reddington says Buddy Holly was up there with Sammy Davis Jr, Bill Haley and Elvis as one of his great early influences.
"Me and two mates - Johnny Whateley and Pete Bryan - were all keen record buyers and used to go to Pete's bungalow in Reddings Lane, Greet, to discuss each other's discs," he says.
"Of course, Buddy Holly came in to scenario and we all became great fans so when he was booked to play at Birmingham Town hall we just had to go.
"We didn't get our tickets till late and the only ones left were actually on the stage behind the performers so of course we had to have those tickets.
"I remember master of ceremonies/compere being Des O'Connor and also on the bill was Gary Miller - green suit and ginger/red hair who had many ballad hits, The Tanner Sisters and the Ronnie Keene Orchestra.
"Buddy's set was a blur, but I can always remember the fantastic sound of his guitar. It just filled the whole area with an incredible sound as a pioneer in the development of the Fender Stratocaster.
"What an experience it was to actually be on the same stage as Buddy Holly and witnessing this great man perform - no mountains of speakers just the sheer excitement of that voice and guitar sound.
"The list of concerts I've been to goes on forever but the one that stands out right at front was that Buddy Holly show at the Town Hall in 1958.
"People couldn't understand how they got such a full and wide sound in the theatre. But they were just so good at what they did in those early days.
"On record, Jerry Allison got his drum sound by slapping his thigh and playing on a cardboard box, but on stage, of course, he had a full set of drums."

BUDDY HOLLY'S RARE RECORDS

How much are those old records in your attic now worth?
1. £1,000: Blue Days-Black Nights / Love Me - 7" 45 vinyl
2. £500: Listen to Me 4-track EP - Brown cover showing Buddy without glasses. 7" extended play vinyl, 1958.
3. £50: Listen to Me, with various reprinted colour sleeves and Buddy wearing glasses.
4. £400: Heartbeat / Everyday - 78. £400.
5. £200: Peggy Sue Got Married / Crying, Waiting, Hoping - 78. £200.
6. £200: Blue Days-Black Nights / Love Me - 78.
Source: www.reddingtonsrarerecords.co.uk

READERS' VIEWS

SHELDON-based Mail reader Eric Cook has fond memories of Buddy Holly playing at Birmingham Town Hall - because he was on the front row!
"My mum got tickets for me, and my sisters Brenda (13) and Margaret (22)," he says.
"I was only 11 at the time and remember mum telling my I had to keep my school uniform on and not get changed like I would if I was playing out.
"Buddy's death cost me a place at grammar school as I was due to take my 11+ just after I'd heard he had been killed. I just couldn't concentrate.
"We got good seats for the second show because Jerry Lee Lewis was supposed to have been top of the bill but had been sent back for marrying his underage cousin. But I was so excited about seeing Buddy - I used to have black horned rims myself then - and it was still a fantastic show."
Fellow Mail reader John Edwards also saw Buddy at the Town Hall.
"I went with my fiance (now my wife Joan) and did not realise then that we were seeing an icon.
"The concert was great and compared to the Nat King Cole concert we had seen live at the Odeon Cinema in New Street."
John, who lives in Castle Bromwich, adds: "Unfortunately I do not have any memorabilia of that night, though I do have 78s, 45s and some LPs of his.
"Some years ago a workmate was a Buddy Holly fanatic and when I told him I had seen him live I think he turned green in front of my eyes.
"When I read they got that unique sound by drumming on a cardboard box, I managed to recreate it by putting a duster across a snare drum."

TRIBUTE

ONE Buddy Holly fan has found a novel way to mark the 50th anniversary of the singer's death.
Ian Payne, from Walsall, has recently finished a book which covers Buddy Holly's packed-out performances in Birmingham and Wolverhampton in 1958.
The Day Buddy Came to Town records the singer's fleeting trip to the West Midlands, and features fan photographs and memories of the performances.
Some 70 people have shared their stories with Ian after the 45-year-old appeared in the Birmingham Mail asking for audience members to come forward.
"Buddy Holly was the founding father of rock 'n' roll music and his music lives on," says Ian.
"By doing this book, at last we have memories of people going to see him in the Midlands preserved for future generations."
Ian is now planning to hand over a copy to Birmingham City Archives, along with a copy of the original Birmingham Town Hall concert programme.

EXHIBITION

A FREE exhibition of Buddy Holly photographs is on display at Proud Central, 32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP.
Taken by photographers including Lewis Allen, Harry Hammond and Bill Francis this will be the only chance to see 'The Ultimate
Buddy Holly Collection', which will not tour after its time at Proud Central.
Running till April 26, the opening hours are 11am-7pm Monday to Saturday and from 11.30am-5.30pm on Sundays.
More details from www.proud.co.uk
+ Buddy - The Definitive Biography of Buddy Holly by author Philip Norman is being published on February 3 (PAN, £7.99).

Buddy Holly related programmes on TV and radio in the week ahead are set to include:

Crying, Waiting, Hoping: The Story of Buddy Holly's Last Tour (BBC Radio 2, 7pm, Saturday January 31).

The Music of Buddy Holly and The Crickets (Sky Arts 1, 8pm, Tuesday, February 3)

The Buddy Holly Story (Sky Arts 1, 9pm, Tuesday, February 3) - the Oscar-winning 1978 film starring Garey Busey.

The Hour The Music Died (BBC Radio 2, 10.30pm, Tuesday, February 3).

Arena (BBC4, 9pm, Wednesday, February 4) - documentary.

The Buddy Holly Story (BBC4, 10.05pm, Wednesday, February 4) - the Oscar-winning 1978 film starring Garey Busey.

Buddy Holly's Rock Shrine (BBC4, 11.55pm, Wednesday, February 4).

Maria Elena Holly: My Life With Buddy (BBC Radio 2, 7pm, Saturday, February 7).

* Please check times and channels on the day of broadcast.