John Dankworths 70th Birthday Party, film 3
Film footage of John Dankworth’s 70th Birthday Concert on the lawn at The Stables, Wavendon, Milton Keynes held in the summer of 1997. Tape Number Three.
The band Field of Blue are standing on a raised platform on the lawn. Behind the stage is a blue backdrop with a banner which reads “COMING SOON. SITE OF NEW THEATRE. THE NEW STABLES APPEAL. BANNER & SUPPORT SUPPLIED BY THE INCREDIBLE SIGN AND T-SHIRT FACTORY”. The audience sits in front of the stage on plastic seats and deck chairs and there are cars parked to the right.
The film starts with the band Field Of Blue performing “Madly In Love With You Today”. At the end of the piece the lead singer (Harvey Brough) tells the audience that he has CDs for sale and that the money will go directly to the band. After an (inaudible) comment from John Dankworth he agrees that an unspecified amount from each sale will be donated to the Stables appeal.
The band plays three more pieces. The first starts with the line “Good Morning cabbie when we dropped off was the window open wide?” and the lead vocals are by Jacqui Dankworth. The second starts with the line “They call me super salesman selling is all I do” and the lead vocals are by Harvey Brough. Then Jacqui Dankworth thanks the audience and introduces the bands final number, “Situation”, which she sings lead vocals for. The camera alternates between the band and panning shots and close ups of various members of the audience, the audience applauds each solo performance. At the end John Dankworth thanks Field of Blue for performing and introduces each member of the band to the audience as they begin to leave the stage. The film cuts.
00:23:13 The film resumes with John Dankworth on the stage with his own band. He reminisces that it was difficult to secure gigs in the early days of the band but introduces two celebrities who supported them from the beginning, Bob Holness and Sir George Martin. Both stand up to acknowledge the applause of the audience.
The band then plays “I Hear Music”. The camera once again alternates between the band and panning shots and close ups of various members of the audience. The audience applauds each solo performance.
John Dankworth then introduces “Perhaps” but the film ends before the performance is concluded.
A full transcript is available on request
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