One of the roles I share with Charlie is that of patron saint of lost causes. Show me a forlorn hope, and I’m your man: that’s why Pan Macmillan and I have decided that we’re going to Cyprus with him in ’56 or ’57, to stand alongside the British servicemen trying to keep the lid on that particular can of worms. It’s going to be fun, so why don’t you come along?
David Fiddimore
Edinburgh
May 2009
The Silent War:
Charlie Bassett’s Play List
From time to time I have had letters from readers about the music that catches Charlie’s attention in the course of his memoir. They teach me just how important popular music is for memory. For those of you who are interested, here is a selection of the music mentioned or alluded to in The Silent War and Charlie’s preferred versions . . . in roughly the order they appear in the book. It was the music in the room as I wrote this story.
Sadly, as far as I know, no one has written ‘The Blue Kettle rag’: I live in hope that clarinet-meister Bernard Stanley (Acker) Bilk MBE, RE (Rtd) – a Suez veteran himself – may one day be persuaded to do so: he’s the right man for the job!
‘Beer barrel polka’ – Josef Vejvoda & his brass band
‘Blues for Jimmy Noone’ – Kid Ory’s Creole Jazz Band
‘String of pearls’ – The Glenn Miller Orchestra
‘What is this thing called love?’ – Tommy Dorsey (vocalist Connie Haines)
‘Doctor Jazz’ – Dutch Swing College Band (vocalist Neva Raphaello)
‘One o’clock jump’ – Duke Ellington
‘Minnie the Moocher’ – Cab Calloway
‘Goodbye’ – David Whitfield
‘The Beguine’ – Tommy Dorsey (vocalist Frank Sinatra)
‘Big noise from Winnetka’ – Bob Crosby and the Bob Cats
‘Am I blue?’ – Billie Holiday or Hoagy Carmichael ‘Blue skies’ – Josephine Baker or Tommy Dorsey/Frank Sinatra
‘Blues my naughty sweetie gives to me’ – Bob Scobey’s Frisco Jazz Band
‘Wild man blues’ – Woody Allen
‘So what?’ (from Kinda Blue) – Miles Davis
‘Singin’ the blues’ – Tommy Steele
‘Ah yaa zain’ – Mohammed El-Bakkar and his Oriental Ensemble
‘Mnishebak’ – Mohammed El-Bakkar and his Oriental Ensemble
‘Jealousy’ – Ivy Benson and Her Girls Band
‘Just a closer walk with thee’ – Ken Colyer’s Omega Brass Band or George Lewis
‘Stardust’ – Hoagy Carmichael or Her Ivy Benson Girls Band
Of the songs listed here, ‘Blue skies’, with its irrepressible optimism, has long been one of my lifetime soundtracks, but I would also commend to your attention the definitive recording of ‘Doctor Jazz’ – made by Neva Raphaello with the Dutch Swing College Band in the 1950s, and the remarkable Mohammed El-Bakkar, whose 1950s recordings are now sought after by modern belly dancers. Last, but far from least, I’ll swing till I drop with the wonderful Ivy Benson, and her All Girls Band or Orchestra. I have some of their recordings, but I would love to hear from a reader who heard them at their dangerous best: what were they like in concert? The music never dies, does it?
Acknowledgement
This is the right place to acknowledge the responsibility that The Waverley Bar, St Mary’s Street, Edinburgh, bears for Charlie Bassett’s story. The Waverley and its jazz, Ean its owner, the captivating and mysterious bar staff, and my gang, The Waverley Writers, all contribute unconsciously to Charlie’s voice. He is honoured to know them.
DAVID FIDDIMORE was born in 1944 in Yorkshire and is married with two children. He worked for five years at the Royal Veterinary College before joining HM Customs and Excise, where his work included postings to the investigation and intelligence divisions. The Silent War is the fifth novel in the Charlie Bassett series following Tuesday’s War, Charlie’s War, The Forgotten War and The Hidden War.
Also by David Fiddimore
TUESDAY’S WAR
CHARLIE’S WAR
THE FORGOTTEN WAR
THE HIDDEN WAR
First published 2010 by Pan Books
This electronic edition published 2010 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
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Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-0-330-53656-1 PDF
ISBN 978-0-330-53655-4 EPUB
Copyright © David Fiddimore 2010
The right of David Fiddimore to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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