array_files=new Array(); array_files[0]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/DickFarrelly.htm","2010-02-10","6K","Spotlight on Irish composer Dick Farrelly ","Vernon Midgley,Maryetta Midgley,Maryetta,Midgley,Josef Locke Irish tenor Ireland Clane Kildare Mexborough Peter Lee Ireland music male singer vocalist Blackpool, Dick Farrelly, Quiet man, Gerard Farrelly ","Josef Locke appreciation page by Peter Lee "," Spotlight on Irish composer Dick Farrelly Spotlight on Dick Farrelly the composer of one of Josefs most popular songs, The Isle of Innisfree The following information was supplied by Dicks son Gerard, who with singer Sinéad Stone released a CD of the composers songs in 2004 entitled Legacy of a Quiet Man. Richard Farrelly (1916 -1990), known to his family and friends as Dick, was born in Kells, County Meath. His parents were publicans who owned a bar in the town. He learned to play the piano as a young boy and was writing songs and poetry by the time he reached his teens. At the age of twenty-three Dick joined the Irish Police Force, the Garda Síochána, and served for thirty-eight years in the force. Dick Farrelly was a gentle and quiet man, who rarely sought notoriety or publicity for his musical creations. Hence, the CDs title Legacy Of A Quiet Man refers to his association with the film, The Quiet Man, but more so to the unassuming personality and creativity of Dick, who penned more than two hundred songs and poems in his lifetime. Songs like Seolta Bána & Siobhán, were just two little gems, which we found amongst a bundle of manuscripts in an old suitcase belonging to him. In 1948, Dick had his first big success with If You Ever Fall in Love Again. The song was a hit for Anne Shelton in the UK, and for Guy Lombardo & His Orchestra in the US. He had several successful songs during the fifties, amongst them, his lovely ballad, Cottage by the Lee, popularised by Joe Lynch, and The Rose of Slievenamon, recorded by Josef Locke. However, the song for which Dick is best remembered is of course, The Isle of Innisfree. The inspiration for the song came to Dick whilst on a bus journey from his native Kells to Dublin, and by the time he reached his destination, the words and music of The Isle of Innisfree were complete. Before going to bed that night he put the song down safely on manuscript. In Dick’s own words, I used Isle of Innisfree as another name for Ireland, and it was Ireland I had in mind when I wrote the song. With poignant words the song expresses the longing of an Irish emigrant for their native land. The Isle of Innisfree was a huge international hit for Bing Crosby in 1952, giving Crosby his biggest chart success in the UK. Dublin band leaders voted it their number one tune of the year and it is interesting to note that it sold over 150,000 thousand copies in sheet music format in Ireland and the UK alone. Film director John Ford was so taken by The Isle of Innisfree that he decided to use it as the principle musical theme of The Quiet Man. The melody almost totally dominates the soundtrack, being reprised at least eleven times. It is first heard as the credits roll, with a beautiful scene of Lough Corrib and Ashford Castle in the background at sunset. The melody becomes the love theme for Sean Thornton (John Wayne) and Mary Kate (Maureen O’Hara), and is wonderfully orchestrated by Victor Young. To quote author, Prof. Des MacHale, in his book, The Complete Guide to the Quiet Man, Its lush tone is fairy music, released from another world by the genius of Richard Farrelly. Sadly, he received no mention in the screen credits for the vital contribution he made to the movie, but The Quiet Man wouldn’t have been half the movie it was without The Isle of Innisfree. In 1982, Stephen Spielberg included it in his film ET, when a scene from The Quiet Man is shown, and Innisfree is also used in the soundtrack of the film, Distant Voices Still Lives (1988). The Isle of Innisfree has been recorded hundreds of times worldwide and continues to enrich the repertoires of innumerable artistes, but above all, it endures in the hearts of many to this day as one of the great songs of Ireland. Dick wrote We Dreamed our Dreams just a few years before he died, and it was one of his personal favourites. The Fureys & Davey Arthur, made the first recording of it on an album entitled, The Scattering, released in1988. We spent many enjoyable hours sifting through Dick’s manuscripts and songs, some of which were jotted down on the backs of envelopes and bits of notepaper. We had difficulty in choosing eleven of our favourites for this album, some of which are recorded here for the first time. CD detailsPublished by Seolta Records (SEOLTA CD 001), and it can be obtained here: www.dararecords.com and www.amazon.co.uk Gerard has written more on his father and The Quiet Man here . "); array_files[1]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/index.html","2010-02-10","29K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Welcome to the Josef Locke tribute site, celebrating the enduring legacy of one of the worlds greatest tenors. For over five decades he brought joy to millions, and on the way had a grand and eventful life. The world is the poorer for his passing, but so much the richer for his having shared his great talent, and zest for life. Well hear his song forever. Biography Josefs funeral Discography Video vault Joe on CD Song samples Frank Randle Mr X Brendan Locke Hear My Song Memories Lyrics Norma Waterson Links Joe at the movies Vernon Midgley Archive Derry sculpture email me News Radio 2 interview Joe McPartland VIDEO CLIPS VIDEOS: See and hear Josef in a series of Flash video clips. SCULPTURE: On Tuesday, March 22, 2005 a commemorative sculpture was unveiled in memory of Josef Locke. IMAGE GALLERY MEET VERNON MIDGLEY: Vernon provided the voice for Ned Beatty, playing Josef Locke, in Hear My Song. MEET FRED HOLLOWAY: The man who unwittingly helped Josef Locke flee the tax man all those years ago! ERIK ELLISON: A wonderful entertainer who appeared on TVs Opportunity Knocks as a Josef sound-alike. Fond memories of Josef Locke, shared by fans. Share yours too - email them to me. A rare self-penned article from Josef, at the height of his career, published in TV Mirror. The latest news and biography of Josefs nephew, Brendan Locke, a singing star Down Under. A few stills from Thames TVs This is Your Life, featuring Josef Locke SPECIAL: A managers comment card from Moss Empires, 1957 more... Spotlight on composer of Isle of Innisfree, Dick Farrelly more... Marking the 10th anniversary of Josefs passing more... A Radio 2 interview with Josef by Gloria Hunniford from 1992 courtesy of Chris Webster more... "); array_files[2]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/","2010-02-10","29K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Welcome to the Josef Locke tribute site, celebrating the enduring legacy of one of the worlds greatest tenors. For over five decades he brought joy to millions, and on the way had a grand and eventful life. The world is the poorer for his passing, but so much the richer for his having shared his great talent, and zest for life. Well hear his song forever. Biography Josefs funeral Discography Video vault Joe on CD Song samples Frank Randle Mr X Brendan Locke Hear My Song Memories Lyrics Norma Waterson Links Joe at the movies Vernon Midgley Archive Derry sculpture email me News Radio 2 interview Joe McPartland VIDEO CLIPS VIDEOS: See and hear Josef in a series of Flash video clips. SCULPTURE: On Tuesday, March 22, 2005 a commemorative sculpture was unveiled in memory of Josef Locke. IMAGE GALLERY MEET VERNON MIDGLEY: Vernon provided the voice for Ned Beatty, playing Josef Locke, in Hear My Song. MEET FRED HOLLOWAY: The man who unwittingly helped Josef Locke flee the tax man all those years ago! ERIK ELLISON: A wonderful entertainer who appeared on TVs Opportunity Knocks as a Josef sound-alike. Fond memories of Josef Locke, shared by fans. Share yours too - email them to me. A rare self-penned article from Josef, at the height of his career, published in TV Mirror. The latest news and biography of Josefs nephew, Brendan Locke, a singing star Down Under. A few stills from Thames TVs This is Your Life, featuring Josef Locke SPECIAL: A managers comment card from Moss Empires, 1957 more... Spotlight on composer of Isle of Innisfree, Dick Farrelly more... Marking the 10th anniversary of Josefs passing more... A Radio 2 interview with Josef by Gloria Hunniford from 1992 courtesy of Chris Webster more... "); array_files[3]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/disco2.htm","2010-01-21","24K","disco ","",""," disco Discography The most complete listing of songs recorded by Josef Locke. Still some gaps Im afraid, but more information as and when it surfaces. All information gratefully received. 1947 Come back to Sorrento (Torna a Surriento) Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by George Scott Wood (Ernesto De Curtis/Claude Aveling) Public domain Released August 1947 - CA20331 [Recorded March 14 1947] Goodbye (from the White Horse Inn) Josef Locke (Robert Stolx/Harry Graham) Frank Chacksfield Music Released October 1947 - CA20329 [Recorded March 14 1947] My Heart and I (From Old Chelsea) Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by George Scott Wood (Ellis/Tauber/Tysh) EMI Music Publishing Ltd Released October 1947 - CA20329-3 [Recorded March 14 1947] Ill Take you home again Kathleen Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Eric Robinson (J.P. Westendorf/Arthur Parry) B.Feldman Co. Ltd/EMI Released November 1947 - CA20503 [Recorded September 26 1947] Holy City Josef Locke with Orchestra conducted by Eric Robinson (Frederick Weatherly/Stephen Adams) Public domain Released December 1947 - CAX10048 [Recorded September 25 1947] Star of Bethlehem Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Eric Robinson (Frederick Weatherly/Stephen Adams) Boosey & Co. Released December 1947 1948 When you were sweet sixteen Josef Locke with Melachrino Orchestra conducted by Eric Robinson (James Thornton) Public domain Released June 1948 - CA20734 [Recorded April 16 1948] The rose of Tralee Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (SPencer/Glover) Public Domain Released June 1948 - CA20786 [Recorded June 10 1948] Count Your Blessings Josef Locke with the Melachrino orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (R.Morgan/E.Temple) Ascherberg Hopwood & Crewe - MCPS Released June 1948 Dear old Donegal (From Old Chelsea) Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (Steve Graham) MCA Music Ltd Released August 1948 - CA20785 [Recorded June 10 1948] Galway Bay Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Debroy Somers (Colahan) Colahan, Arthur/McCullough Pigott Ltd Released October 1948 - CA20881 [Recorded September 9 1948] Macushla Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Eric Robinson (MacMurrough/Rowe) Boosey and Hawkes Music Publ;. Ltd 0 MCPS Released October 1948 - CA20735-1 [Recorded April 16 1948] The Rosary Josef Locke with orchestra. Arranged by Josef Locke, conducted by Herbert Carruthers. (Ethelbert Nevin/Robert Cameron Rogers) Public domain Released December 1948 Ave Maria Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (Charles Gounod/J S Bach) Public domain Released December 1948 - CA20787 [Recorded June 10 1948] 1949 Hush a bye Rose of Killarney Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (Ted Koehler/M Jerome) B.Feldman Co. Ltd/EMI Released February 1949 The Old Bog Road Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (Madeleine K OFarrelly, Teresa Brayton) OFarrelly, Madeleine King/ Brayton, Teresa Released February 1949 Strange Music (From Song of Norway) Josef Locke with the Melachrino orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (Edvard Grieg/Wright/Forrest) Chappell Music Ltd Released March 1949 - CA21011 [Recorded January 1949] When youre in Love Josef Locke with the Melachrino orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (L.Fields/John /Desmond OConnor) Warner Chappell Music Ltd Released March 1949 - CA21010 [Recorded January 1949] Song of Songs Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Debroy Somers (Lucas/Moya) Chappell Music Ltd Released May 1949 - CA20882 [Recorded September 9 1948] Bless this house Josef Locke with the Melachrino orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (Helen Taylor/May Brahe) Boosey and Hawkey Music Publ Ltd. - MCPS Released May 1949 - CA20942 The Soldiers Dream (La Reve Passe) Josef Locke (Georges Krier/Charles Helmer/ G.Humphrey) LaFleur Sons Ltd - MCPS Released June 1949 - CA21090 [Recorded May 11 1949] While the angelus was ringing (Les trois cloches) Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Woolf Phillips (Jean Villard/Manning) Peermusic (UK) Ltd/Villard, Jean/SDRM Released June 1949 - CA21089-2 [Recorded May 11 1949] Beneath thy window (O sole mio) Josef Locke with the Melachrino orchestra conducted by Herbert Carruthers (Edouardo Di Capua/Edward Teschemacher) Public domain Released August 1949 - CA20943 [Recorded November 1948] Tosellis serenade (Serenata) Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Eric Robinson (Enrico Toselli/Elkin) H Freeman & Co/EMI - MCPS Released August 1949 - CA20736 [Recorded April 16 1948] Will the angels play their harps for me ? Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Woolf Phillips (D.White/Hirsch) Keith Prowse & Co Released September 1949 - CA21111 [Recorded May 21 1949] Lay my head beneath a rose Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Wolf Phillips (Madison/Falkenstein) Francis Day Released September 1949 How can you buy Killarney? Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Geraldo (Hamilton Kennedy/grant/Morrison/Steele/Grundland) Peter Maurice Music Co Ltd/EMI Released November 1949 A shawl of Galway Grey Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Geraldo (Hamilton/Kennedy) Campbell & Connelly Co Ltd Released November 1949 Silent night, holy night Josef Locke with chorus and orchestra and organ conducted by Herbert Carruthers (Gruber/Anthony Praga) EMI records UK Released December 1949 Adeste Fideles Josef Locke with chorus and orchestra and organ conducted by Herbert Carruthers (Traditional) Public domain Released December 1949 1950 We all have a song in our hearts Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Lew Stone (Roger Yale/Carl Yale) Kassner Associated Publ. Ltd Released January 1950 - CA21298 [Recorded December 3 1949] In the Chapel of San Remo Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Lew Stone (Peterson/ Barberis) Peter Maurice Music Co Ltd Released January 1950 - CA21297 [Recorded December 3 1949] Down in the Glen Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Danny Walters (Gordon/Connor) EMI Music Publishing Ltd Released March 1950 Within this heart of mine Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Danny Walters (Noel Gay) Noel Gay Music Music Co Ltd Released March 1950 Ireland must be heaven Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Woolf Phillips (Johnson/Fisher/McCarthy) EMI United Partnership Ltd Released May 1950 It happened at the Festival of Roses Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Woolf Phillips (Manning/ Al Goodhart) B.Feldmn & Co. Ltd Released May 1950 Christopher Robin is saying his prayers Josef Locke (Harold Fraser Simpson/ A.A. Milne) Ascherberg Hopwood & crewe - MCPS Released June 1950 - CA21412 The story of the sparrows Josef Locke: piano Gerald Moore (Newell/ Green) Boosey & Co Released June 1950 CA21413 The garden where the praties grow Josef Locke with piano accompaniment (Johnny Paterson/ Liddle) Waltons Ltd Released July 1950 Eileen OGrady Josef Locke with piano accompaniment (W.Cormack) Kerrs Music Corp Ltd - MCPS Released July 1950 Teddy Bears picnic Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Jimmy Campbell (recorded in the Opera House, Blackpool) (Kennedy/ Bratton) B. Feldman Co Ltd/ EMI Released November 1950 - CA21562 If I were a blackbird Josef Locke with Jimmy Campbell and his orchestra (Delia Murphy/ Arthur Darley) Box & Cox Publications Ltd Released November 1950 - CA21563 1951 When you talk about old Ireland Josef Locke with Jimmy Campbell and his orchestra (L. Carr/ Connor) Chappell Music Ltd Released January 1951 - CA21598 If I can help somebody Josef Locke with Jimmy Campbell and his orchestra (Androzzo/Zabra) Boosey and Hawkes Music Publ. Ltd - MCPS Released January 1951 March of the grenadiers (from The Love Parade) Josef Locke with male chorus and orchestra conducted by Ray Martin (Victor Scertzinger/ Clifford Grey) Public domain Released March 1951 You are my hearts delight Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Ray Martin (graham/ Lehar) Chappell Music Ltd Released March 1951 Take a pair of sparkling eyes Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Arthur Sullivan/ WIlliam Gilbert) Public domain Released June 1951 Nirvana Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Frederick Weatherly/ Stephen Adams) Public domain Released June 1951 It is no secret Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Geraldo (Stuart Hamblen) MCA Music Ltd Released October 1951 A dream Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Geraldo (Cory/Bartlett) Copyright control Released October 1951 The keys to heaven Josef Locke and Maureen Rose with orchestra conducted by Geraldo (Trad: A.Sharpley) Copyright control Released December 1951 Ill walk beside you Josef Locke (Murray/ Lockton) Chappell Music Ltd Released December 1951 1952 At the end of the day Josef Locke with Frank Chacksfield and his orchestra (Donald OKeege) Chappell Music Ltd Released June 1952 - CA22202 Love me little, love me long (from And so to bed) Josef Locke with Frank Chacksfield and his orchestra (Vivian Ellis) Chappell Music Released June 1952 Tonight beloved (Ritorna amore) Josef Locke with Frank Chacksfield and his orchestra (Manlio Di Veroli/ Jack Popplewell) Peter Maurice Music Co Ltd/ EMI Released July 1952 Charmaine Josef Locke with Frank Chacksfield and his orchestra (Rapee/ Pollack) Keith Prowse Music Publ. Co./EMI - MCPS Released July 1952 Isle of Innesfree Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Ray Martin (D.Farrelly) Peter Maurice Music Co Ltd/ EMI Released November 1952 Mother Machree Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Woolf Phillips (Ernest R Ball/ Chauncey Olcott/ Rida Johnson-Young) Public domain Released November 1952 1953 Loves last word is spoken Josef Locke with Ray Martin and his orchestra (C.A. Bixio/ Siever/Neri) Edward Kassner Music Co Ltd Released February 1953 Love me and the world is mine Josef Locke with Ray Martin and his orchestra (Ball/David reed) B. Feldman Co Ltd /EMI Released March 1953 Its a grand life in the army Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Prentic/ Murrells) Francis Day & Hunter Ltd/ EMI Released March 1953 Wonderful Copenhagen Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Frank Loesser) MPl Communications Ltd Released April 1953 - CA22454 One little candle Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Roach/ Mysels) J & W Chester Ltd Released April 1953 - CA22453 Youll never forget about Ireland Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Hamilton Kennedy/ John Turner) Peter Maurice Music Co Ltd /EMI Released May 1953 Well pray for you Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Morrow/ Freer) Chappell & Co Ltd Released May 1953 A tear, a kiss, a smile Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Gilbert/Insetta) Peter Maurice Music Co Ltd /EMI Released June 1953 Youre just a flower from an old bouquet Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Lucien Denni/ D.Parsons/ Gwynne Denni) Warner Chappell Music Ltd Released June 1953 When you hear Big Ben Josef Locke accompanied by Reginald Dixon on the Tower organ, Blackpool (Scott/ Leon/ Malloy) Box & Co Publications Ltd Released July 1953 The queen of evryones heart Josef Locke accompanied by Reginald Dixon on the Tower organ, Blackpool (Turner/ L.Carr) World Music Co/ Leeds Music Ltd/ NCB/ BIEM Released July 1953 Shades of old blarney Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Ray Martin (Sam Stept) EMI Music Publishing Ltd Released October 1953 Tobermory Bay Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor (Harper/ Reine/ North) Peermusic (UK) Ltd Released October 1953 The daughter of Rose of Tralee Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor (OHara/ Murtagh) EMI Music Publishing Ltd Released November 1953 The Melba Waltz (Dream time) Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor (Norman Newell/ Mischa Spoliansky) Warner Chappell Music Ltd Released November 1953 The bard of Armagh Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Traditional) Copyright control Released December 1953 The rose of Slievenamon Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor (Farrelly) Northern Songs NCB Released December 1953 1954 When its moonlight in Mayo Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Kavanagh/ Ryan) Box & Cox Publications Ltd/ Walton Ltd Released July 1954 Cara Mia Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (T.Trapari/ L.Lange) Robbins Music Corp. Ltd/ EMI - MCPS Released July 1954 The drinking song Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor; Ernest Broadbent piano (Sigmund Romberg/ Dorothy Donnelly) Chappel Music Ltd/ Redwood Music Ltd Released September 1954 - CA22966 In the chapel in the moonlight Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor; Ernest Broadbent piano (Billy Hill) Public domain Released September 1954 - CA22965 Santo Natale Josef Locke with Norrie Paramor and his orchestra (Al Hoffman/ Manning/ Nardone) memory Lane Music Ltd/ H & B Webman & Co Ltd Released December 1954 Mairie my girl Josef Locke with Norrie Paramor and his orchestra (Casey/ Aitken) Chappell Music Ltd Released December 1954 T-235A - Thistle, New York Mary of Argyle (Traditional) Josef Locke with orchestra T-235B - Thistle, New York My Bonnie Lassie (McClurg-Tepper-Bennett) Josef Locke with orchestra 1955 A brown bird singing Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor (Wood/ Barrie) Chappell Recorded Music Library Released April 1955 Bonny Mary of Argyle Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Ray Martin (Sydney Nelson/ Charles Jeffreys) Public domain Released May 1955 People like us Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramor (Bob Music/ Heft) B. Feldman Co Ltd/ EMI Released May 1955 O maiden, my maiden Josef Locke with orchestra composed, arranged and conducted by Ray Martin (Franz Lehar) Glocken Verlag (England) Released May 1955 Blaze away Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green (Kennedy/ Abe Holzmann)B. Feldman Co Ltd/ EMI Released December 1955 My mission Josef Locke with orchestra conducted by Philip Green/ arranged by Josef Locke (Harrison/ Tibsen/ Michael Reine) Peermusic (UK) Ltd Released December 1955 1969 Stereo Decca How small we are, how little we know Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Wilson Jnr) Peers Music Released May 1969 St Christopher Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Rudd) Francis Day & Hunter Ltd (EMI Music Ltd) Released May 1969 Blaze Away Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Holzmann / Kennedy) B. Feldman & Co Ltd (EMI Music Ltd) Released June 1969 Danny Boy Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Traditional/ Arr Weatherley) Williamson Music Released June 1969 Edelweiss Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Rodgers / Hammerstein II) Boosey & Hawkes Ltd Released June 1969 Try a little tenderness Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Woods/ Campbell/ Connelly) Campbell Connelly & Co Ltd Released June 1969 Just Loving You Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Springfield) Springfield Music Released June 1969 A tear, a kiss, a smile (from Dixiana) Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Tierney/ Caldwell) Chappell Music Released June 1969 Galway Bay Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Colahan) MCPS/ Box & Cox Released June 1969 Marta Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Simons/ Gilbert) Lawrence Wright Music Co Ltd (EMI Music Ltd) Released June 1969 How can you buy Killarney Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Kennedy/ Grundland/ Morrison/ Steels) Peter Maurice Music Ltd (EMI Music Ltd) Released June 1969 The Last Waltz Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Reed/ Mason) Donna Music Ltd (EMI Music Ltd) Released June 1969 Little altar boy Musical director Ivor Raymonde (Smith) MCPS/ Pat Music Released June 1969 Unknown - educated guess, early 70s Josef Lockes Singalong Medleys of timeless songs in quick-fire succession, backed by an easy-listening ensemble. 1973 Let there be peace album. Orchestra conducted by Noel Kelehan featuring: Blaze Away, Sweet Sixteen, O Sole Mio, Oft in the stilly night, My Way, Without a dsong, Let there be peace, She moved thro the fair Where is my heart tonight?, Ill take you home again Kathleen, When you and I were young, ||||||Where the Blarney roses grow. Estimated 1980s Hymns we all love featuring: All people that on earth do dwell, When the roll is called up yonder, The old rugged cross, lead kindly light, One love everlasting, Theres a great new prospect in the sky, Onward Christian soldiers, It is no secret what God can do, Nearer my God to thee, Shall we gather at the river, Abide with me, God be with you till we meet again. 1985 Hear My Song album. Recorded live at the Braemor Rooms, Churchtown, Dublin featuring: Blaze Away, The Old Bog Road, Slievenamon, Ill take you home again Kathleen, Danny Boy, Little grey home in the West, Sweet sixteen, The bold gendarmes (duet with Rose Tynan), The town I loved so well, She moved through the fair, The old house, Lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle, On the street where you live, My Way, The mountains of Mourne, Goodbye. Back to index page "); array_files[4]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/flv/stilly.htm","2009-11-30","8K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee "); array_files[5]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/flv/josef-clips.html","2009-11-30","8K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee: December 2006 ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee: December 2006 SPECIAL The beautiful song Oft in the Stlly Night sung by Josef Locke. I created this in November 2009 to mark the 10th anniversary of Josefs death Back to home page "); array_files[6]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/10thanniversary.htm","2009-10-17","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Mark Patterson commemmorates Josefs anniversary with tributes on his BBC Radio Foyle show over two days. Use the Menu button on the player, then select a track and press the play button. BACK TO HOME PAGE Thursday, October 15 saw the tenth anniversary of the death of Josef. Its hard to believe a decade has passed since the great man passed away in Clane hospital. Progress has been rapid in Ireland generally these past several years, and the once-compact village has now expanded enormously; it still retains its core though, and centre of the community is still the beautiful church of St Brigid. And it was there Father Paul led Mass at 10am to the memory of Josef on this important anniversary of his death. Recently renovated after a fire, the church looked wonderful, and a special touch were the floral displays in preparation for a wedding later that day. After Mass we visited Josefs grave in Glasnevin cemetery near the centre of Dublin. For the past few years it has looked like a building site, with a 10-year programme of improvements under way; but we negotiated the works, and placed flowers on Josefs final resting place. BBC Radio Foyle in Derry set aside a portion of their afternoon show, presented by Mark Patterson to commemorating Josefs life and work, and among contributors were Peter Chelsom and Adrian Dunbar from the movie Hear My Song, and Michael Mixy Sheerin, whose work to have a commemorative sculpture is detailed elsewhere on the site. You can hear the relevant portions of the broadcast by selecting a track from the player top left : tributes were paid on two shows, Wednesday and Thursday October 14 and 15. St Brigids Church, Clane, scene of Josefs funeral 10 years ago, and his anniversary Mass this week (October 15 2009). Josefs marker at Glasnevin cemetery, where his cremated remains are interred, as per his wishes. Paying my respects. S "); array_files[7]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/misterx.htm","2009-03-27","7K","Here ","",""," Here Meet Erik Ellison, the singer who shot to fame on the UK TV talent show, Opportunity Knocks. Erik, a grand character with a terrific sense of humour, sadly passed away November 10 2008 aged 90. He had a really wonderful voice which could easily be mistaken for Josefs, and thoroughly enjoyed life. He leaves behind a widow, Carol, a son and grandchildren. Erik and Carol were married for 55 years, and were once a famous double act. She was 12 years his junior, and after the birth of their son, she stepped out of the spotlight to concentrate on the family. Erik continued on the stage, and this London-born entertainer from Norwegian stock hit the headlines in the late 50s. He was performing in Manchester when he received a visit from the Police, who believed he was actually Josef Locke. Safely across the water in Ireland, Josef would have been a big catch to answer charges of tax avoidance. But by showing the boys in blue his driving licence and personal items, Erik was able to clear himself. The incident made the nationals, and knowing a good thing when he saw it, his agent re-branded him Mr X, and as such he was invited to guest on Hughie Greens Opportunity Knocks TV show. Before his repertoire changed to make the most of this Josef mystery, Erik had a fine career in musical performance, and his love of Grieg was reflected in the music played at his funeral. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by those he loved, after a wonderful life. Click below to read various articles about Erik Sing a song of taxes TENOR Erik Ellison hummed a few bars of Goodbye and donned his midnight - blue tuxedo for his act. So like Josef Locke THE Official Receiver. Mr. James Tye. laughed yesterday when he was told that the runaway Irish tenor. Josef Locke, had appeared on the TV show Opportunity Knocks, on Saturday. Goold old days HOW GOOD it was to see Duggie Chapman back on the Chairmans rostrum, in all his finery, having made a good recovery from a horrific car crash some time back. Mr X unmasked WE wont be hearing Josef Locke in person again in Blackpool for a while but The Sandcastle has scooped the next best thing. In September 2001 I went to see Eric when he was performing in a terrific variety show at the Floral Hall, Southport. At 82 he put on a wonderful performance with his rich and powerful voice, and delighted the audience. He also told me an anecdote from a few years ago, when he was on the bill in a venue in Bolton, Lancashire, with Bernard Manning. He only had half an electric organ for accompaniment (the pedals wouldnt work), and an audience of young people. After some concern about how to handle the boisterous crowd, this former soldier finally won them over with Land of Hope and Glory, and had them waving and cheering like last night of the Proms! Information gleaned from a newspaper article Hear My Song, as well as introducing a whole new generation to Josef Locke, brings to life the bizarre Mr X - a character who carved a lucrative career out of impersonating Locke in his absence. Now, 30 years on, Mr X - former Christmas tree salesman Erik Ellison - still makes a living recreating Lockes hits. Now no one will let me be, he complained when interviewed in his home at the time of the films release. I do bit parts in acting, but all they ever want me to do is Jo Locke. Even Mr X gets to be a hero at the end of the movie, which is gratifying for Erik. His occasional agent Paul Brydson said: It was Hughie Greenes idea when he introduced him on Opportunity Knocks as Mr X, an is-he-or-isnt-he? Jo Locke gimmick. Its amazing how hes kept it up for so long, He played the South Pier at Blackpool and women mobbed him at the stage door. They always refuse to believe he isnt Jo Locke, He denies it but they wont have it. God knows what he signs in their autograph books. Jo absolutely hates it. When interviewed, Mr X he was in a rush to get to a cabaret date in Spain and had not seen the film. Im afraid I have to live with Jo Locke, he said sadly. I even had visits from the Inland Revenue and the police at the theatre accusing me of being him. I met him once. He came to see me at the Queens Theatre in Blackpool. He said: Carry on son. Youll make it one day. And that was it. I went to Leeds for the first time to perform, and they said: Weve had you here before, Would you believe another Mr X was impersonating me "); array_files[8]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/erik.htm","2009-03-27","7K","Here ","",""," Here Carol & Erik Sing a song of taxes But the good-bye man was NOT Josef Locke By SEAN BRYSON TENOR Erik Ellison hummed a few bars of Goodbye and donned his midnight - blue tuxedo for his act. But as he left the dressing-room two detectives and an Inland Revenue officer stopped him. And It wasnt until 20 minutes later that the red-faced official trio were convinced that theyd struck a wrong note. For they were certain that 6ft, lin., 16ist. Erik was Josef Locke, the Irish tenor alleged to owe £10,500 to the taxman and for whom a warrant was Issued more than two years ago. The Irishmans double retreated Into the dressing-room at the Theatre Club, Accrington, as the man from the Revenue office said, politely: — Good evening, Mr. McLaughlin (Lockes real name). You remember me (from Blackpool. Its been a long time But my names Lieson. stammered the 37-year-old London-born Erik. An, well, now you are better known as.. Josef Locke, said one of the plain-clothes] men. The resemblance was striking. Even down to the little clipped moustache. But Mr, Liesons hair is fair, and the voice so English. , Youre mistaken gentlemen, he said lamely as the three men stared at him; Impassively. Out came his driving licence, his visiting cards, and other credentials. Twenty minutes later they mumbled their apologies, and staved on to hear Erik sing. * A C.I.D. spokesman at Accrington said last night: We acted on a tip and went to the club with a Revenue Officer. We believed Josef Locke was appearing there. But it was a misunderstanding. Mr. Lieson, who is married with a five-year-old son, and lives In Wallasey, Cheshire, said:— . I was absolutely astonished when the police came in and said I was Mr. Locke. I know Im a double of him, but this is the first time I have been mistaken for him. And at his riverside hotel in County Kerry, last night the real-Josef Locke chuckled over the police error, and said : I know this man well—he is my absolute double. Then he added : I hope he pays my tax. SO LIKE JOSEF LOCKE THE Official Receiver. Mr. James Tye. laughed yesterday when he was told that the runaway Irish tenor. Joaef Locke, had appeared on the TV show Opportunity Knocks, on Saturday. There is a bench warrant out for the arrest of Mr. Locke, who is alleged to owe the income tax man over £10,000. Said Mr. Tye: I am not going to be caught again. Mr. Locke has a double. His double tours the halls and sings and looks like Mr. Lockes twin. Viewers watching the i programme rang the studio, asking whether Mr Locke had made a comeback. The singer who styled himself Mr. X sang two numbers which Josef Locke made famous. Mr. X was made more mysterious when the man who introduced him refused to say who he was. A spokesman for ABC Television said last night: We have had a lot of inquiries regarding Mr. X. It was not Mr. Josef Locke. And Mr. Locke. :n Dublin, said: It sounds like a cousin of mine. Mr X unmasked WE wont be hearing Josef Locke in person again in Blackpool for a while but The Sandcastle has scooped the next best thing. Special guest on the bill of its Promenade Showbars pre- and post-peak season Tributes To A Century Of Stars production will be Mr X. For many years Mr X - real name Eric Ellison - traded on the mystery surrounding Lockes whereabouts. Posters with the question Is he or isnt he? were enough to suggest to many people that rather than being a Locke lookalike and soundalike, Mr X might actually be the real thing. But Blackpool born actor and director Peter Chelsoms film Hear My Song did more than put Josef Locke back in the headlines - it finally put paid to the Mr X myth. Now the real Mr X is back on the boards with business better than ever-despite having his cover blown. Mr X is the special guest star in Mike Donohoes production every Wednesday evening in May (plus May 18 matinee), every Tuesday and Wednesday in June (plus matinees June 8 and 15) and every Tuesday from September 6 to October 12 (plus matinees every Wednesday). ...and the piece which actually started the whole thing off... William Hickey THRILLED Tories thought they were witnessing the comeback of Irish tenor and fifties superstar Josef Locke (remember?) Even entrepreneur Eric Morley who was in the audience, must have been impressed by the tenor treating DuIwich Conservatives to classics such as Goodbye. and the Gondolier Song. But this was not Locke. Nor was it a comeback - it was the latest performance of locke-alike Eric Ellison, who has often been mistaken for this forgotten figure. Thought youd like to know. "); array_files[9]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/jmp.htm","2009-03-06","4K","Josef Locke: meet Joe McPartland ","=Josef Locke, Joseph Locke, Irish tenor, Irish, tenor, Joe McPartland, Kevin Moulton, Ronnine Renalde, George Formby, Peter Lee, Mexborough, Joe Locke ","Appreciating Josef Locke, the great Irish tenor "," Josef Locke: meet Joe McPartland Meet Joe McPartland Joe is 82 years old and has been retired for manyyears, after a 40-year career as an electrical engineer, book author, teacher and lecturer on electrical engineering technology. He spent 40-years with the McGraw-Hill Publishing Company as director of their electrical publications, having authored 31 books on electrical technology and has travelled all over the US and Europe conducting engineering seminars and conferences. The Josef connection I first met Joe in the early 50s when he came to New York to do a concert at Carnegie Hall. I enjoyed him so much, that I ordered all of his records (78rpm) from Christopher Dean Records Ltd. in London. Then on a vacationtrip to Ireland in 1976, I met Joe again and sang with him at the Teac Furbo Ballad Hall in Spideal, a suburb of Galway City. By that time, I had been singing his songs for about 25 years and we hit it off great. I sang with him again on that trip, at the Gleneagle Country Club in Killarney and he wanted me to team up with him and do a concert tour. But for me, that was not at all a possibility because of my dedication to myown business career in the US. I last looked in on Joe in about 1994, when he was living in Edenderry, Co. Offaly, and recovering from back surgery. His singing I have been singing in public since I was a 10-year old boy growing up in the Bronx, New York City, where I was born. But I have never done it as a main activity or as a source of income. Although I continued to sing in many different public venues over the courseof my business career, I did not make any recordings until about 10 years ago. In my retirement, at the urging of my nine sons, I began recording and have made eight CD albums, some of them also on cassette tapes. All of my singing activity has been done purely and simply for my love of the songs, their music and their sentiments. Recordings - a sample of available CDs Web site Joe would be pleased to see you at his website RETURN "); array_files[10]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/Gloria/gloria_interview.htm","2008-12-27","9K","gloria_intervw ","",""," gloria_intervw Back to index page.. "); array_files[11]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/steve.htm","2007-11-18","16K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Memories of Josef Such a grand character as Josef Locke is bound to leave a lasting memory on those who have met him. If you have any recollections or photograph which youd like to share, please email me. QUICK FINDER:- Eamonn ODoherty - Colin J Rennie - Katie Butcher Alec Owen - Steve Barclay - Harry Lambert From Maureen Hegarty, of Derry, who sang with Josef I sang often with Joe around the Derry and Donegal area. I loved singing the duet The Keys of Heaven better known as Madam will you Walk He flirted the whole time singing Maureen will you Walk He was a great character and generous as a performer bringing his voice down in volume to match mine.....I am a lyric soprano. The photograph(below) was taken at a concert in the Du Pont Club about 15 - 20 years ago. I am still singing - mostly weddings and funerals in Derry. Otherwise I sing a lot in Lourdes with a group who take the sick there every year. I sing at Mass every Sunday in my parish, St. Patricks. There isnt so much live concert work any more. Mores the pity. I am doing some coaching and I love it. So many young singers who do not know how to use their precious gift properly. I find it very fulfilling. I well remember the time Joe and I were recording a show for RTE in Cork Opera House! I remember the date of that because it was the time my daughter made her First Communion....so that would have been May 1975. Joe scolded me for eating sandwiches before recording! He was right - just imagine if something had stuck in my throat. I knew then why he always had a slap up meal after a show. I have never eaten immediately before a show since that. I am just remembering as I write that Joe and I did a series of concerts in the 70s for the Bloody Sunday fund to help the families at that time. I remember a show we did in Derry in the Stardust Ballroom and when we arrived at the stage door one of his early recordings was playing. Joe stopped in his tracks and said God, the voice wasnt bad was it! He was right, his early recordings were brilliant. From Eamonn ODoherty, a Derryman now of Peterborough In the early 1960s I was a member of the folksinging Journeymen with Phil Coulter and Terry Cradden, Derrymen one and all. One night we were enjoying ourselves singing folksongs in The Drift Inn pub in Buncrana Co. Donegal when in stepped a bibulous Josef. he joined in and then sang a few of his well-known pieces like Hear My Song. In the company was a poacher-fisherman, one Eddie Doherty, better known as Eddie the Miller. Josef suddenly rounded on Eddie saying Wheres the salmon you promised me? To cut a long story short we all went down to the Crana river nearby and after a couple of tries with dry-fly Eddie landed a fine 5 lb salmon for Josef. Delighted, Josef and all of us went to Eddies bachelor shack and had the best salmon supper ever. The folk music group existed for about 6 months: June - Dec. 1963. It was led by Phil Coulter, internationally renowned songwriter ( wrote Puppet on a String winner of 1967 Eurovision Song Contest , sung by Sandy Shaw), now has his own weekly TV show in RTE, Dublin. Terry Cradden and I eventually went into teaching. We were all academically birthed in St Columbs College, Derry, same as Seamus Heaney the poet and John Hume the politician. We sang weekly on the BBC N.Ireland Half Door Club in the autumn/winter of 1963. You may contact Eamonn here. From Colin J Rennie, of North Lanarkshire This lovely signed photo was loaned by Colin J Rennie, who writes: The man with the glasses was my fathers uncle, Mr Billy Cracknell, a salesman for washing machines. We think the photograph was taken just before the war at a Blackpool exhibition. Katie Butcher, Queensland My name is Kathleen (Katie) & I live in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia.. Many years ago in the UK when I was 10-11years old, I fell in love with Josef Locke & his voice. I sent my first & last ever fan letter to him. I waited for the postman day in & day out & was terribly upset at no reply. Not realising that at that time he was escaping the Tax man. Back in !992 I saw him on the `Aspel Show` & wrote again to them, who passed it on to Josef. He replied with photos & a few words of which I was over the moon with. I had goosebumps after 42 years! I am so glad that I had made contact before he passed away. I managed to order & buy a tape of him, but it was played so much that it stretched & wore out. What a man...what a voice. Alec Owen (A J Coleman) I had the pleasure of meeting him, and shaking his hand in the bar at the Queens Theatre Blackpool. I was just 14 or 15 years old so it is over 50 years ago, and during the Finale when he came off of the stage to shake hands with members of the audience, Iwas in the orchestra stalls,he shook my hand againand said I met you in the bar earlier and believe meI couldnt get my cap back on,the man was Charisma with a capital K, a voice that wafted over you like cool air on a warm Summers night, he was magical, and I have idolised him frombefore the time when I met him. I was a professional entertainer myself and at the early age of 14, I would busk the local pubs with my Father, he dressing as a vicar and reading a comedy sermon, and I singing The Great Mans songs, and having thenerve to be announced as The Junior Josef Locke, something to this day that I get red faced, and amashamedabout. I later became a professional act, and I appeared in placesall over the world, I worked many clubs in your area, and the British Isles, throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s and finishing in the 90s when the club scene fell apart. I like yourself am still trying to educate todays people to The Great Man and I have had success as far reaching as Florida, Michigan, Los Angeles, here inScotland,and Australia, and all that I have introduced to him agree with me, and I am only sorry that they could not have seen him live. Steve Barclay Steve Barclay, who has his own net sites at: www.stevebarclay.co.uk . If youd like to contact him,click here to send your email. This is the cover of an entertaining cassette which Steve did. Based around the old-time Music Halls, he pays tribute to several great British artists, including Max Miller, Ken Dodd, and George Formby. Steves excellent website is here: http:www.stevebarclay.co.uk I was about eight years old when I met Joe. He was appearing at the Oldham Empire with Bobby Bennett in Aladdin; seems todays pantomime formula hasnt changed - i.e. established star and young TV name. Bobby Bennett was then fresh TV material, soon to be on Junior Showtime - a show I was to appear on later .Anyway, the pantomime started, and no Joe as yet. I didnt know who Joe was then, but my mum kept munching her chocs and saying no he wont be coming on; hes dodged the tax man again. My Dad said`` keep quite Beatrice theres time yet! Well, Wishy washy told his gags with the kids, and Abanazar took Aladdin into his cave; the dame said dont take any toffees. It was the end of the first half and still no Joe! The interval came and a friend of my Father who was connected with the Theatre, met us in the stalls. My Mum said Wheres Joe then? The friend laughed and said Oh, dont worry. Hes on soon, and asked if the kids would like to meet Bobby Bennett. Yes please, Dad came the reply. To cut a long story short we wound our way via the velvet lined Exit doors and finaly back-stage, where we met Bobby Bennnett. On the way back from Bobbys room my mum said Oh look, its him!. We all peered and there was Joe, standing outside his dressing room in a black evening suit, which looked strange in contrast to the bright costumes the others had on. Mum said now thats the autograph you want .our Stephen. A proper star he is. I think she was a bit in love with him, on a truly Womans Own basis. He signed our autograph books, and even gave us his black and white picture (which I still have today). My sister is called Elaine, and in the second half of the show right after the tabs opened, there was a stool on stage, and on walked Joe himself. He sang a few songs, told some gags, then said and now a little song dedicated to Beatrice, Stephen and Elaine- oh and their Dad of course... My mum nearly wet herself! After hed done his act, the panto went on - I dont recall him being in the finale though. Years later I told this story to an impresario I worked for in pantomime called Aubrey Philips, a man I like and admire to this day. He said Wow! that was my show! Small world. Since then Ive done lots of pantomimes myself, and feel sure that first sniff of the grease-paint at the Oldham Empire was all I needed. Ive learned since then that my great-great uncle was musical director at the Oldham Empire years and years ago, and its rumoured he taught George Formby how to clog dance - would that be old or young George? His name was John Mealier! Harry Lambert Just browsing the Net and got a great kick out of your site on Josef Locke and Feldmans theatre. Talk about a flood of memories. My stepfather Cyril Smith was the circle doorman at Feldmans theatre prior to his WWII service and for many years after. The fact that he was also responsible for the supplies to the theatre bars meant he saw quite a lot of Joe. Joe, along with his friend Albert Smith, in 1949 attended the Bispham Parish church on the occasion of the christening of my sister Sheilas first daughter Pauline and stayed for the reception at Bisphams Ivy Cottage cafe. Joe gave the baby two shillings, his friend Albert gave a gold sovereign. In my teens during the war years I also worked at Feldmans as a page boy in my Philip Morris uniform, one of my chores was to take a bag of bagels to Bert Feldmans room at the Clifton Hotel when he stayed there. I also worked as a usher, backstage help / flyman etc, alongside stage manager Ted Forshaw, Dennis and Peter Johnson, sons of Bob Johnson, Feldmans booking agent. Of course this also meant working with the likes of Frank Randle (who we used to quite often see drinking Over Wyre in Wardleys hotel) Hilda Baker, Reg Bolton, Harry Secombe, etc. etc. Emigrating to Canada in 1948 , I returned to Blackpool.and again worked at Feldmans for the winter of 1949/1950 before finally settling down in Canada. for good. The picture of Feldmans theatre included in the collage is the only one I have found to date so is greatly appreciated. Many thanks for bringing back some happy memories Harold (Harry) Lambert Return to main page "); array_files[12]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/jobio.htm","2007-11-18","15K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Born Joseph McLaughlin, on March 23 in 1917 in Creggan Terrace, Derry, Northern Ireland. He was the son of a butcher and cattle dealer, and one of nine children. He sang in local churches in the Bogside at the age of seven, and as a teenager, added two years to his age in order to enlist in the Irish Guards (see picture, right). Later he served abroad with the Palestine Police before returning to Ireland in the late 30s to join the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Nicknamed The Singing Bobby he became a local celebrity in the 40s and then toured the UK variety circuit. In the following year he played the first of 19 seasons at the popular northern seaside resort of Blackpool. It was renowned irish tenor John McCormack (1894-1945) who advised Josef that his voice was more suited to a lighter repertoire than the operatic one Josef had in mind, and urged him to find a theatrical agent.So it was Josef found his way to the offices of band-leader/impresario Jack Hylton (1892-1965). Hylton had booked Josef into the Victoria Palace, but found it difficult to fit his real name onto the bill, so shortened it to Josef Locke. Two years later, Josef was signed by Lew and Leslie Grade, who steered the singer to real stardom. He made his first radio broadcast in 1949 on the popular Happydrome, which stared the trio of Ramsbottom, Enoch and Me, and subsequently appeared on TV programmes such as Rooftop Rendezvous, Top of the Town, All-star Bill and The Frankie Howlerd Show. EMI Records signed him to Columbia label in 1947, and his first releases were the two Italian songs Santa Lucia and Come back to Sorrento. In 1947, too,Josef released Hear my song, Violetta, which became forever associated with him. His other songs were mostly a mixture of Irish ballads. Josef also excelled at excerpts from operettas, including The Drinking song, My Heart and I, and Goodbye, along with familiar Italian favourites such as Come back to Sorrento and Cara Mia. He also made a number of films,including Holidays with Pay for Mancunian films playing robust characters who would add a few melodies to liven up proceedings. In 1958 after appearing in five Royal Command shows, and while still at the peak of his career, the Inland Revenue began to make substantial demands that he declined to meet. Eventually he quit the country. When his differences with the tax people were settled, Josef retired to Co.Kildare, emerging for the occasional charity concert. In 1985 he was the subject of a 2-hour birthday tribute on Gay Byrnes show, The Late,Late show on Irish TV. In 1992 the Peter Chelsom film Hear My Song was released, and introduced him to a new generation of fans. Josef was flown to London for the première, attended by Princess Diana, and became the celebrity on This is Your Life .During the spring of 1992. his music got into the top 10 album charts with Hear My Song. His music is constantly re-issued in compilation form, and despite his sad death on Friday, October 15 1999, in the hospital in his village, after a lifetime spreading joy with his God-given talents, I feel he will live on through the legacy of his wonderful recordings. c. Peter Lee 1999 "); array_files[13]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/kingswood.html","2007-11-14","7K","Verbatin report of the official ","",""," Verbatin report of the official Josefs former home in County Kildare, Kingswood Country House, has been transformed. Earlier this year it opened, after a wonderful restoration and refurbishment, and now features a dining room named after the singer, Josefs. Attending the opening was Josefs wife Carmel. Here is a press release about the project: One of Ireland’s best loved restaurants has finally re-opened its doors to the splendour and elegance of the old venue yet set in modern surroundings. Kingswood Country House Bar and Restaurant has re-opened nestled behind boundary walls, situated just off the Naas Road and the M50 and only 20mins from the City Centre, this is truly considered one of Dublin’s hidden gems. A pleasant surprise awaits you at the new Kingswood Country House. This is more than just a Bar and Restaurant. This large 300 year old Georgian house is beautifully located in a unique setting, surrounded by stunning landscaped gardens. Its many historical features have been maintained over the years, lending to its serene ambience and providing an ideal destination for both business and pleasure. Formerly the home of the world famous tenor, Mr Josef Locke, this house has been lovingly restored and is now complemented by extensive dining and bar facilities including outdoor terraces and a fine-dining restaurant. Kingswood Country House offers superb food throughout the day whilst upstairs, the beautifully decorated Josef’s Restaurant has maintained the nostalgic ambiance of the famous building and specialises in simple, high quality Irish cooking with an extensive wine list. For a more relaxing atmosphere the contemporary bar downstairs offers guests a wonderful lunch each day and early evening bites. Guests can chose from a medley of modern Irish country delights selected from the finest of Irish home grown ingredients. From Traditional Kingswood bangers & Mash to Fresh Atlantic Cod. For a more intimate lunch or afternoon tea the lounge area is the perfect place to relax and unwind. Enjoy a pint or a cocktail before you retire for the evening beside a warm open fire. Kingswood Country House is operated by the Thomas Read Group under the guidance of General Manager Sean Kelly and Executive Head Chef Shay Kendrick. www.kingswoodcountryhouse.ie Escape from it all at Kingswood Country House Bar & Restaurant A culinary experience awaits you at Kingswood Country House Bar & Restaurant. One of Dublin’s favourite restaurant venues has been lovingly restored to create something truly unique. The original building was restored to its former glory and housed in this building is Josef’s, a new experience in fine dining for the more discerning diner. The restaurant is named after one of Ireland’s most famous tenors Josef Locke who once lived at Kingswood. Head Chef Shay Kendrick is committed to using local produce and artisan products in the menu where possible. Kendrick wishes to bring this to the fore at Josef’s. With the help of an organic herb garden in a sister property in Wicklow and daily supplies of organic salads and meats from local suppliers Shay is putting ‘Country’ back into this historical house. “By focusing on fresh, quality and well sourced ingredients, creating innovative menus and the continuous training of my team, I look forward to producing a consistently high standard of dining” say’s Head Chef Shay Kendrick. With a vast menu from seasonal seafood and game to signature dishes such as Pot Roasted Kildare Lamb all accompanied with an extensive fine wine list. Guests can dine in the luxurious surroundings of the main restaurant or avail of private dinning facilities at Kingswood Country House. Downstairs guests can choose from a menu of bar snacks to light evening meals. The downstairs lounge is a real treat with its warm ambience original open fire where guests can relax over lunch or early evening bites. Kingswood Country House is the perfect place to relax and unwind. With a menu that boats an array of delicious options from a Kingswood Open Chicken Sandwich to a warm bowl of soup you can ensure you don’t go hungry. Shay’s style of cooking is hearty yet stylish. He places emphasis on the natural flavours of the dish and prefers a simple style of presentation. The interior of Josefs Mrs Carmel Locke was a VIP guest. "); array_files[14]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/songs.htm","2007-11-04","1K","Josef Locke sound samples in real audio format ","",""," Josef Locke sound samples in real audio format Click on a song in the playlist to hear it. Use the slider to adjust the volume. Note: As these recordings are more than 50 years old, they are considered to be in the public domain. Back to home page "); array_files[15]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/lyrics/return_to_the_home_page.htm","2007-05-27","1K","Return to the home page ","",""," Return to the home page Return to the home page Request a Josef Locke lyric "); array_files[16]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/lyrics/lyrics2001.htm","2007-05-27","0K","New Page 3 ","",""," New Page 3 frameset framespacing=0 border=false frameborder=0 rows=64,*,34 frame name=header scrolling=no noresize target=contents src=headerlyrics.htm marginwidth=2 marginheight=2 frameset cols=202,* frame name=contents target=main src=click_on_a_song_title_to_view_th.htm scrolling=auto noresize frame name=main src=lyricshere.htm scrolling=auto style=float: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle frame name=bottom scrolling=no noresize target=contents src=return_to_the_home_page.htm marginwidth=1 marginheight=1 noframes This page uses frames, but your browser doesnt support them. "); array_files[17]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/tvmirror.htm","2007-01-01","16K","tv mirror ","",""," tv mirror PEOPLE think I come from Italy. In truth I am from Londonderry. I’m not the sort of chap who likes talking about myself — singing, not talking, is my mission in life — but in fact I must give you a pen-picture of my life in song if you are to appreciate my special “angle” on television. Song to me has always been a vital, human expression, embracing the emotions: not just a way of filling in time, or of making a pleasing noise. Although I have eight brothers and sisters I was the only one crazy enough to take up a stage career. As a boy I sang in the local church choir, and when, barefooted, I ran through the streets of Londonderry I never dreamt that one day I should have a success story to tell. My real name is not Josef Locke. Friends who have watched me along the road of song may have said to themselves: “Isn’t that one of the McLaughlin boys—isn’t it young Joseph McLaughlin?” And bedad it is one and the same indeed! I was born Joseph McLaughlin, but it was a long time after—1944, in fact—that my name was changed for me. Here is the story of those years: —As a youth I joined the Irish Guards, becoming sergeant about eighteen months later. I was keen, and had a good physique. The Guards brought me to England for a time, but when the tour of duty was over I went home, and joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary. That was a grand adventure, too, and all the time, just as in the Guards, I loved to sing. When I’m happy I sing. When I’m unhappy I sing to cheer myself up. I hate to be caged, and it is almost impossible to silence me! My friends nicknamed me “The Singing Bobby,” and to earn a few shillings I was always glad of the chance of singing at smoking concerts and clubs. I was never on what you could call a stage—at best only a platform, or perhaps a table! We were all good pals at those smoking concerts, though none of us had much money. One day, tramping a beat in Belfast, I saw a poster advertising auditions at the Empire Theatre. I went along to try my luck—and came out with a contract for £7 a week. Yet this was to be only the first of my disillusionments—f or I soon found that they wanted muscle as well as melody. I had to sing—and shift scenery too. But I so loved the life of the theatre that I didn’t care what I did so long as it was the right side of the footlights. Just then came one of those lucky breaks. I was introduced to the former singing teacher of the great John McCormack, and a little later McCormack heard me singing in opera and complimented me on my work. I learned the golden secret of success. You must get right to the heart of a song. In the profession we hear a lot about “putting a song over.” I think something more than personality is needed; you must have sincerity. Although John McCormack’s t u t o r helped me to develop this gift, I was still a long way from financial success, and early in 1944 I took the plunge and came to London. The little money I had been able to save from my concert work in Ireland began to dribble away as I went the rounds of auditions and disappointments. To “make ends meet” I went on a diet - often just a cup of tea. There were sleepless, nights of worry, and these must have reflected themselves in my singing. But my lucky break came when I least expected it. Jack Hylton offered me an engagement at the Victoria Palace. Everything was fixed. The contract was signed. Two days later when I arrived at the theatre my name was not on the bill. In place of McLaughlin a “Josef Locke” was billed to sing. My heart turned over. Had Hylton changed his mind? To this day I can’t forget that moment, when the heart-pang changed to laughter and they explained to me why the billing was done this way. “There are ten million Londoners who don’t know McLaughlin is pronounced ‘Mac-Lock-lin’,” they said. “And, anyway, there wasn’t space on the bill. So we kept in the ‘Locke’ part.” “B-but why Josef?” I asked. “We don’t print show-bills with rubber type,” they said. “ ‘Joseph’ is just one letter too long, so we turned the ‘ph into an ‘f’. Like it?” I liked it. The name Jack Hylton gave me has since proved so lucky I see no reason to change it. But when the engagement came to an end I found it just as heartbreaking as ever trying to get work. I was still going the weary way around the agents’ offices when luck came once more. I was signed to appear in a big Tom Arnold production in Blackpool, ‘with George and Beryl Formby topping the bill. Not only was that show a wonderful success, but George and Beryl were so impressed by my singing that they introduced me to Columbia records. I became a microphone “discovery,” and in the short space of a couple of years over a million of my records were sold in this country alone. This was flattering to me as a singer, but I felt, and still believe, that TV is my real forte. I feel that action and gestures help to make a more sympathetic link with the audience. The concert singer should be seen as well as heard. I would like to do more TV, but already my plate is rather full. Joseph McLaughlin of Londonderry was glad to take a £7-a-week contract, but Josef Locke has all the business worries of netting over £1,500 a week! The one thing you can be sure of is that none of this has changed the Jo McLaughlin who knew that tiny attic in the house overlooking the crest of the road in Londonderry. I’ll not forget old Ireland, be it fifty times as fair. George and Beryl Formby were so impressed by my singing that they introduced me to Columbia records "); array_files[18]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/brendan.htm","2007-01-01","11K","brendan new page ","",""," brendan new page The TWIN TOWNS SERVICES CLUB is the largest club auditorium in NSW seating 1120 . They seem to have adopted Brendan and his tenors as hteir own Irish show With his rich, resonant voice, tenor Brendan Locke won the hearts of music lovers half a world away; he left his native land and became a star in Australia. Like his uncle Joe, he is gifted with an easy celtic charm, and quickly won the hearts of his adopted country. Among the highlights of his career, he became the first Irish tenor to appear on stage at the Sydney Opera House concert Hall (in 1974). He was awarded a Gold Disk for his very first recording The Shamrock Spectacular, based on the highly successful show of the same name. He achieved another Gold Disk with the recording of a spectacular show, which was released as a fund-raiser for the Sydney charity Boystown; he was presented with this accolade at his own Bunratty Castle Theatre restaurant in 1977 - the same date as his third Australian-produced album My Many Requests was released by EMI. Brief biography Born in Derry City, Brendan comes from a large family. He moved to England and got a job with car-makers Vauxhall. It was at this time that he began professional singing lessons just to see how much my voice could improve. He married Frances, and the couple expect their first grandchild this October. To earn more money, Brendan took a job long-distance truck driving all over the UK. It was then that fate took a hand - and changed his life completely... My mothers sister, Bridie, had married a Welsh Sgt. Major, Bill Lewis, who was living in Newport, South Wales. The truck I was driving suffered a mechanical fault on a Friday while I was at the docks in Cardiff. Unable to get back home to Leighton Buzzard, I contacted Bridie and Bill who were happy to see me as always. I went with them to a local ex-servicemens club where a Welsh tenor was singing, badly. I boasted I could do better, and I was immediately challenged by the singers family, who had overheard my crass remark, to get up and prove it. This I did, and I was immediately offered five pounds to come back the following week. After that there was no stopping me... Having purchased a bow tie, and wearing his wedding suit, Brendan set upon a singing career, under the name of Carl Stevens. His repertoire was mainly Mairo Lanza and Richard Tauber standards, and he played the workingmens clubs, which thrived in the North of England at that time. Anyone familiar with the Locke story will know of the mystery singer Mr X, who played on the fact that no-one knew his identity. Was it Joe himself ? In fact the story is a key part of the movie Hear My Songs. And Brendan was for a time fingered as the unknown singer who made such a hit with UK TV audiences on Opportunity Knocks. Mr X turned out to be Eric Leibstrom, but confusion reigned in the entertainment world; then for a time Brendan was billed as Carl Stevens, Jo Locke nephew. It was Jimmy Hartley of The Stage newspaper who persuaded him to change to his new - and long-standing stage name - Brendan Locke. Although retired, Brendan has been busy, organising major entertainments in Sydney, despite having suffered a stroke, a heart attack and undergone a quad-bypass operation in April of 98 LATEST FROM BRENDAN: JUNE 2005: We are about to re-issue on CD my biggest seller (1978) A GLORIOUS IRISH PARTY singalong of 33 of the best of Irish favourites. My original LP/vinyl was EMIs biggest Irish seller here in OZ, getting me a platinum and a Jensen Interceptor motor car ! Those were the days. Some of the fine albums from Brendan and his talented tenors Tracks It is no secret * If I can help somebody* What a wonderful World Just a closer walk with thee The Old Rugged Cross Count Your Blessings* At the End of the Day* What is a Boy The story of the sparrows* Youll never walk alone How great thou art One day at a time I Believe Beautiful isle of somewhere I will never pass this way again Bless this house The Lords prayer Whispering Hope When I leave the world behind Ill walk with God Hes got the whole world in his hands Battle hymn of the republic *NOTE: Brendan sings with his uncle Josef on tracks 1,2,6,7 and 9, using the original Josef Locke EMI recordings. Tracks Ireland calls The land I love so well The Moonshiner A little bit of heaven When you were sweet sixteen The wearing of the green How are things in Glocca Morra Moonlight in Mayo My wild Irish rose, After the Ball and Endearing young charm Cockles and mussells Lord of the dance Mountains of Mourne Rose of Tralee Slieve-Na-Mon McNamaras band Jug of punch Irish lullaby Show me the way to go home Ireland calls (reprise). Tracks Dear old Donegal The Moonshiner Medley: My wild Irish rose, After the ball, Endearing young charms Maggie Cockles and mussells Ill take you home again Kathleen The wild colonial Boy Danny boy An Irish lullaby McNamaras band Tracks Climb evry mountain Perhaps love Its now or never So deep in the night The last waltz One day at a time More than love I believe Love is a beautiful song You are my hearts delight The loveliest night of the year If I only had time She wears my ring The drinking song A Scottish soldier Mull of Kintyre Galway Bay Now is the hour "); array_files[19]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/frankmem.htm","2007-01-01","4K","Memories of Josef ","",""," Memories of Josef Memories of Frank Randle & Jimmy Clitheroe While not strictly related to Josef, this striking story from AllanFulcher is worth sharing, particularly given that both Frank Randle and Jimmy Clitheroe were contempories of Josef, and were also major attractions on the Blackpool scene.. If you have any recollections or photograph which youd like to share, please email me. From Allan Fulcher, of Sunderland Tyne & Wear In 1954 when I was aged 10 my mother took me to Blackpool for a holiday. One afternoon about 6pm we were making our way along the Golden Mile on our way to see a Variety show. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for me I was not looking where I was going and was knocked to the ground as I walked into a man. He bent over to assist me getting up and at the same time he was dusting me down with a hankerchief. My mother recognised him right away it was Frank Randle. He was dressed in a suit and he had a wonderful head of wavy silver grey hair. My mother got him to sign a cigarette packet as neither of them had a peice of paper. He apologised for walking in to me and said he was hurrying as not to be late for the show he was starring in. Unfortunately I was knocked down. Fortunately I got to speak with Frank Randle. Great! The following day my mother and I were looking around the shops and when I turned this particular corner I bumped into a little boy and knocked him to the ground, my mother helped him to his feet and was apologising on my behalf. The little boy turned out to be Jimmy Clitheroe. He smiled at me and said, I wish I was as tall as you, cheerio and then walked off. I bet there are not many people who can say they have been knocked down by Frank Randle and have knocked down Jimmy Clitheroe! Allan is pictured back row, third from the right in the picture above. You may contact Allan here. A little about Allan I am aged 59 and took early retirement in 2001 after working in local government. I live in Sunderland Tyne & Wear and I am married to Elizabeth who is a school teacher. I was born at Wheatley Hill in County Durham that used to be a coal mining village. My mother took me to Blackpool every year for a holiday, it was either in the summer, or for the illuminations in the Autumn. The pay for coal miner then was so very little that most of the miners and their families could not afford a holiday. My Mam would get some of the people of the village to go to Blackpool only a few could afford it, I think it was the families that had a large family and they all worked down the coal mine were the ones who had a little money and could afford to go on holiday My mam would organise the bus and the guest house and in return would receive free transport to Blackpool and free lodgings Pictured below left is Allan and his mum on the pier at Blackpool, and on the right with a smashing bike; hes wearing a Jimmy Clitheroe type hat as well... Return to index "); array_files[20]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/flv/life.htm","2006-12-23","7K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee "); array_files[21]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/flv/born.htm","2006-12-23","8K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee "); array_files[22]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/flv/reve.htm","2006-12-23","7K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee "); array_files[23]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/flv/sculpt.htm","2006-12-23","7K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee "); array_files[24]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/flv/town.htm","2006-12-23","7K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee "); array_files[25]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/fred/fred02.htm","2006-12-23","6K","Josef Locke: Meet Fred Holloway ","=Josef Locke, Joseph Locke, Irish tenor, Fred Holloway, Irish, tenor, George Formby, Peter Lee, Mexborough, Joe Locke, Josef, Josef Locke discography, Josef discography, Irish tenor, Locke ","Appreciating Josef Locke, the great Irish tenor "," Josef Locke: Meet Fred Holloway Focus on Fred Holloway - the man who unknowingly helped Josef say Goodbye to the tax man! Fred seen with the autobiography of pal Ronnie Ronalde. Fred (left) and his wife at their home drive-in cinema. Signed picture to Fred from the Kaye Sisters With Sheila Kaye, backstage Skegness 1996. I was born Walthamstow London, and when the war started sent away as a evacuee to High Ongar Essex. My father worked for the Government in Customs & Excise. When the bombs started the firm was removed from London and sent off to Blackpool,as this seemed to be a safer area. Once my family had got settled I was sent for, from my foster home, to rejoin my family. I left school at 14 and became a pointboy for the Blackpool Transport; I found this to be a very cold job in the winter, stuck in a sort of sentry box waiting for a tram to come along so that I could change the Points and overhead wire to allow the tram to go on a different route. I left there and went to be a trainee projectionist (much warmer) It was in the Hippodrome where my training started and this is where during the season of summer shows persons such as Jewell & Wariss performed the Coconut Grove show. As my memory serves me I saw Julie Andrews for the first time.Her parents would ask for any young person out of the audience to help them in a singing act,and this young girl, Julie would jump up and join them. When conscription beckoned I joined the Airforce and became a driver for the R.A.F. bomb disposal unit. After my two years I went back to my projectionist job at the Hippodrome. Then I was offered the Chief Projectionist position at a NEWLY made News Cinema ,this was in Church St Blackpool.(Sadly no longer) now a furniture store Im told. With the coming of TV moss cinemas were closing in Blackpool,so took a job at the Hawker Hunter factory but after about a year that too was closed,and it’s here that I got a job at the Ocean Garage in charge of the forecourt plus as I had mentioned cars for Stars appearing in season shows in Blackpool. The person at the Wurlitzer is my wife. This organ is still in very good working order and is at the Southward Car Museum in the North Island at Paraparaumu. My wife has been to play this organ now 4 times. We live quite a distance from this location but it’s well worth the trip to hear my wife play it. The photo with a person sat at the base of the organ is Robert Drage an ex dancer who had his own act, Drage Vivian & Irene. He has also been on the same bill as Josef Locke at different times during his days of performing.Fred has the only drive-in cinema in N.Z. and says we enjoy having people to come, some for the first time and children get some pleasure sitting outside in the open on a nice evening. A former bailiff for the NZ Justice Department for many years, Fred took up video production when his health deteriorated. I became a Stringer for the T.V. news,Channels ONE & TWO, now that I’m 72 Ive given that up but still keep busy transferring old movies onto video for people. In fact a few years ago I did many old films for Ronnie Ronalde and with them being silent added some of his Whistling tracks from his CDs Learn more about Bobby Drage RETURN HOME "); array_files[26]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/fred/drage.htm","2006-12-23","8K","Josef Locke: Meet Bobby Drage ","=Josef Locke, Joseph Locke, Irish tenor, Fred Holloway, Bobby Drage, Irish, tenor, George Formby, Peter Lee, Mexborough, Joe Locke, Josef, Josef Locke discography, Josef discography, Irish tenor, Locke ","Appreciating Josef Locke, the great Irish tenor "," Josef Locke: Meet Bobby Drage Biography of Bobby Drage - who has appeared on the same bill as Josef on occasion Born Harold Archibald Charles Stewart Drage, but known as Bobby, on 8th May 1926 in Montreal ,Canada. 1928/29.Moved to Early Haig Homes Moroon Surrey,First World War Veterans Home with Family. 1935.Dance training at the Dorothy Perfect School of Dancing Wimbledon, London. First show Wimbledon Theatre, aged 9years. 1938.Did shows for other children at local cinemas, Odeon & Gaumont theatres aged 12 years. 1941.Started in actJune & Bobby for Delesia Whealer then put in act with 4 girls and Bobby called Delesia Five which went into the Syd Seymours Mad Hatters Show.Touring all the cities in the U.K. Then went into the Canadian Legendaries Entertainment Service putting on shows for the Canadian Forces in the war with an act called Delesia Three, also in variety shows in the theatres with such stars as Max Miller, Hetty King, George Formby, Will Hay and other stars of the day. 1942.The group was then made into Delesia 3 doing variety theatre show, then was put into a touring show called Glamorous Desiresand also Radio Music Hall in small towns in U.K. 1943.At the age of 16 went with ENSA entertaining factory workers in Workers Playtime 1944 At 17 did my first West End Show called Something for the Boys, a wartime musical by Bernard Delfont at the Coliseum Theatre ,starring Evelyn Doll, Jack & Daphne Barker & Bobby Write. 1945.Went off to India with an 18 concert party (ENSA Show) to entertain troops in the war against Japan touring all India and parts now known as Pakistan. 1946/47.Back to the U.K. and formed an act called Drage Vivienne & Irene a tap dancing act.Vivienne went to the same Dancing School as Bobby. Irene came from Newcastle on Tyne. We had Bernard Delfont as our Agent so got on all the number one cicuit Moss & Stoll theatres, working with stars like Winifred Atwell, Frankie Howard, Tommy Cooper, Bud Abbot & Lou Costello, Joy Nichols & Dorothy Squires. We as a trio were also in a Pantomime Dick Whittington once at Margate and the following year at Rotherham Yorkshire; I appeared as King Rat. We went into a show called Mr Tower of London a well known show that made Gracie Fields her name in 1916 with Archie Pitts, reproduced again in 1935 with Betty Driver, our show was with Tommy Fields and Ethel Manners playing the Gracie Fields part. Then we went on a tour of the American Zone of Germany entertaining U.S. forces stationed in their zone, then up to Denmark to play the National Scala Copenhagen. Back to the U.K. where Vivienne left the act and Irene and I did a summer season with Wee Alick Findlay in Gourick Scotland. 1950.I was in my second West End show in London starring Ciceley Courtlidge in Gays the Word at the Saville Theatre. It was the last Ivor Novello show before he died, which was produced by Jack Hulbert and presented by Tom Arnold. Whilst there the then King George and the Queen came and saw the show, the same year we were asked to perform one of our numbers in a Palladium Show for the Variety Artists Benelovent Fund, included on the bill were stars i/e Danny Kaye, Judy Garland, Laurence Olivier, Vivienne Leigh, Margeret Lockwood, Orson Wells, & Dicky Attenborough Joined Koragola Showboat but this show went bankrupt, then met June Wheeler, daughter of Jimmy Wheeler, well known comedian, did some T.V. shows with Jimmy Wheeler. 1952.Got into the Blackpool Opera House in a George and Alfred Black show starring Terry-Thomas, Sam Preeney the concert pianist and Lester Ferguson, Opera star. The show was called The Top of the Town I had a featured dancing role. Jack Hilton came up to see the show and brought all the production back to the Victoria Palace London. 1953.Opened up with the Crazy Gang at the Victoria Palace in Jack Hiltons Coronation show Ring out the Bells which lasted two years.Then joined the famous Chuchills Night Club starring Renny Houston in the show called Time on your Hands Went into a pantomime in Manchester called Old King Cole with Vic Oliver.Then joined Jimmy Smiddle act miming to records then did dancing act with Wendy (Bobby Drage & Wendy) and after playing a few Moss & Stoll with Dorothy Squires went to the American Zone Germany and there into a show called Mambo Jambo then into a good show called Lady be Good with Sonny Hale playing Jeff the bellhop; back to a West End show at the Adelphie Theatre in the Strand called United Notions with Tommy Trinder & Pinky Lee. Then into a short show Las Vegas after Dark 1957.Left for my birth country and the city Montreal Canada and joined an all Canadian tour of Canada Production in a show called My Fur Lady all about Canadian way of life and a laugh at Canadian politics and getting a new flag for Canada. Toured 9 out of the 10 provinces. Stayed in Canada for about 4 years. 1961.Left Vancouver Canada for New Zealand and stayed until 1964. 1964.Went to Australia for 4 years doing T.V. shows and also Arts Council Autralian Theatre for young people. 1968.Went back to Auckland N.Z. and did small amount of T.V. and part in a show called Peat & Po Terry Show. 1997Moved to Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast which is north of Wellington. 1998.Compered for the Ronnie Ronalde show Now retired at 75 Years -2001. RETURN HOME "); array_files[27]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/fred/fred01.htm","2006-12-23","5K","Josef Locke: Meet Fred Holloway ","Josef Locke, Joseph Locke, Irish tenor, Fred Holloway, Irish, tenor, George Formby, Peter Lee, Mexborough, Joe Locke, Josef, Josef Locke discography, Josef discography, Irish tenor, Locke ","Appreciating Josef Locke, the great Irish tenor "," Josef Locke: Meet Fred Holloway Focus on Fred Holloway - the man who unknowingly helped Josef say Goodbye to the tax man! Fred Holloway, now living in New Zealand, used to be Chief Projectionist at the News Cinema in Church St. Blackpool. With the coming of TV, Moss cinemas were closing in Blackpool, so he took a job at the Hawker Hunter factory but after about a year that too was closed, and it’s at this point Fred got a job at the Ocean Garage in charge of the forecourt, plus looking after cars for stars appearing in season shows in Blackpool. Fred takes up the story: I live in N.Z. and was, way back in the 50s, living in Blackpool Lancashire. I was employed at one of garages in Blackpool andwe were noted for caringfor most of the cars that belonged to the Stars that were in Blackpool for the summer season shows. My employer was a very good friend of Josef Locke and one day my employer asked me if I wanted to earn some extra overtime money. I agreed and was then told to bring our garages Morris van to my employers home in St Annes that evening. When I arrived at the home I recognised Josef and with him he had a young woman and a small child (Pictured right - Fred is in the centre). We all got into the van, plus a large wicker basketand suitcases and left to go, as I was told, to the Liverpool docks. Nearing the outskirts of the docks Josef told me to stop asthey would continue by taxi the rest of the way. On saying his farewell and thanks he gave me one of the old five pound notes (White tissue paper ones) andI then returned to Blackpool. Next morning my boss asked me how everything had gone on and then said he could now tell me why I had made this journey. It seemed that the Inland Revenue were after Josef for Tax evasion andhe had to leave to go to Ireland as soon as possible. When the film Hear my Song came here to N.Z. I went to see it and there was a scene where the police were trying to get Josef off a boat leaving Liverpool, and when the policeman was thrown overboard I felt as though I had had something to do with that episode.Just to complete this little nostalgia, through a mutual friend, Robert Dragewho used to be on many of the stages in Britain with his dancing act, namedDrage Vivian & Irene, heintroduced me to Ronnie Ronalde and his wife Rosemary now living here also in N.Z.. My story about Josef was related and Ronnie Ronalde said how small the world is because he was appearing at one of the shows in Blackpool at the time Josef left andRonnie was invited to take over the top billing which Josef had vacated, so not only did I help Josef but also Ronnie Ronalde . MORE ABOUT FRED: Click to learn about his life, and passion for cinema RETURN "); array_files[28]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/lyrics/without.htm","2006-12-23","1K","Without a song ","",""," Without a song Without a song: Youmans/Rose/Eliscu Without a song the day would never end Without a song the road would never end When things go wrong a man aint got a friend, without a song That field of corn would never see a plough that field of corn would be a desert now a man is born but hes no good no how, without a song I got my trouble and woe but sure as I know the Jordan will roll Ill get along as long as a song is strong in my soul Ill never know what makes the rain to fall Ill never know what makes the grass so tall I only know there aint no love at all without a song Ive got my trouble and woe but sure as I know the Jordan will flow Ill get a long as long as a song is still in my soul Ill never know what makes the rain to fall Ill never know what makes the grass so tall I only know there aint no love at all, without a song. "); array_files[29]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/lyrics/rose.htm","2006-12-23","1K","Rose of Tralee ","",""," Rose of Tralee Rose of Tralee: Spencer/Glover The pale moon was rising above the green mountain the sun was declining beneath a blue sea when I strayed with my love to the pure crystal fountain that stands in the beautiful vale of Tralee she was lovely and fair like the roses of the summer yet was not her beauty alone that won me oh no, twas the truth in her eyes ever beaming that made me love Mary, the rose of Tralee The cool shades of evening their mantle were spreading and Mary all smiling sat listening to me the moon through the valley her pale rays were shedding when I won the heart of the rose of Tralee though lovely and fair, as the rose of the summer yet twas not her beauty alone that won me oh no, twas the truth in her eyes ever beaming that made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee. "); array_files[30]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/lyrics/lyricshere.htm","2006-12-23","0K","lyrics_here ","",""," lyrics_here "); array_files[31]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/lyrics/headerlyrics.htm","2006-12-23","0K","header_lyrics ","",""," header_lyrics Josef Locke: the lyrics collection "); array_files[32]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/lyrics/daughter.htm","2006-12-23","1K","The daughter of Rose of Tralee ","",""," The daughter of Rose of Tralee The daughter of Rose of Tralee: OHara/Muirtagh My heart is still far away in auld Erin Why that should be you will very soon learn So while I long for the green of my homeland Ill sing this song till the day I return... If her eyes are as blue as the lakes of Killarney and as kindly as mother machree then Im telling you now and its not any blarney shes The daughter of Rose of Tralee For shes lovely and fair, like the rose they first sang of though the reason is plain as can be she inherits the charm of that sweet Irish lady shes The daughter of Rose of Tralee If her eyes are as blue as the lakes of Killarney and as kindly as mother machree then Im telling you now and its not any blarney shes The daughter of Rose of Tralee For shes lovely and fair, like the rose they first sang of and the reason is plain as can be she inherits the charm of that sweet Irish lady shes The daughter of Rose of Tralee "); array_files[33]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/lyrics/click_on_a_song_title_to_view_th.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Click on a song title to view the lyrics ","",""," Click on a song title to view the lyrics Click on a song title to view the lyrics Blaze Away Bonny Mairie of Argyle Come back to Sorrento Count your blessings Eileen OGrady Hear My Song Goodbye Grenadiers march How can you buy Killarney If I was a blackbird Ill take you home again Kathleen Isle of Innisfree La Reve Passe (The soldiers dream) Macushla Marta Mother Machree My Heart and I Rose of Tralee Shades of Old Blarney Slievenamon The daughter of Rose of Tralee The Holy City The Old Bog Road When you were sweet sixteen While the angelus was ringing Will the angels play their harps for me? Without a song "); array_files[34]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/margaret05.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Phil, Carmel, John, Yvette and Michael IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[35]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/margaret04.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Yvette, Carmel and Phil IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[36]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/margaret03.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee The sculpture in its setting IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[37]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/margaret02.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Close-up of the sculpture IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[38]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/margaret01.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Close-up of the sculpture IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[39]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/9.htm","2006-12-23","3K"," My Album ","",""," My Album Derry museum chief Johnny Murray and Phil Coulterl IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[40]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/8.htm","2006-12-23","3K"," My Album ","",""," My Album The sculpture is unveiled by Phil and John IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[41]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/7.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Phil Coulter on BBC NI IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[42]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/6.htm","2006-12-23","3K"," My Album ","",""," My Album Pauline Bowles, who has kindly supplied many pictures for this section IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[43]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/5.htm","2006-12-23","3K"," My Album ","",""," My Album Michael, son Shay and Collette IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[44]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/4.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Josefs daughter Yvette, and Michael Sheerin IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[45]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/3.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee The official party IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[46]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/2.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Singer Magella Brady (left), who sang with Josef in the Guildhall 34 years ago, and Mrs Collette Sheerin. IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[47]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/15.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Vase presented to Coun. Pat Ramsay IndexPreviousBack to start nobr "); array_files[48]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/14.htm","2006-12-23","3K"," My Album ","",""," My Album Terry Quigley, designer, Michael Sheerin and Phil Coulter IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[49]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/13.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Michael Sheerin, designer Terry Quigley and sculptor Maurice Harron IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[50]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/12.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Designer Terry Quigley, Michael Sheerin and Phil Coulter IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[51]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/11.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee My Album---sculpture IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[52]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/10.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Phil, Carmel and John IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[53]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/1.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Phil Coulter, Carmel McLaughlin and John Hume IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[54]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/main/0.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee ","",""," Josef Locke tribute site by Peter Lee Josefs wife, Carmel, on BBC NI IndexPreviousNext nobr "); array_files[55]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/tiyl/index.html","2006-12-23","3K","Josef Locke: links page ","=Josef Locke, Joseph Locke, Irish tenor, Irish, tenor, Joe McPartland, Kevin Moulton, Ronnine Renalde, George Formby, Peter Lee, Mexborough, Joe Locke ","Appreciating Josef Locke, the great Irish tenor "," Josef Locke: links page THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Gallery page In 1992, Thames Television paid tribute to Josef by having him as the subject of This is Your Life, hosted by Michael Aspel. Among guests were his brother Brendan (sadly now deceased), David McCallum from the movie Hear My Song,.The Beverley Sisters, Ernie Wise, Russ Conway and movie director Peter Chelsom. Here are a few stills from that wonderful evening. I will add more later, together with additional information. It is also a long-term goal to have images from other TV shows in which Josef made an impact. Raising a glass to pals on a live link to RTE studios in Dublin. A warm welcome for brother Brendan. Josefs lovely wife, Carmel. Rising to the applause: At the back left you can just see Vernon Midgley, who did the singing on Hear My Song, and just behind Josef is his daughter. RETURN "); array_files[56]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/tiyl/index.htm","2006-12-23","3K","Josef Locke: links page ","=Josef Locke, Joseph Locke, Irish tenor, Irish, tenor, Joe McPartland, Kevin Moulton, Ronnine Renalde, George Formby, Peter Lee, Mexborough, Joe Locke ","Appreciating Josef Locke, the great Irish tenor "," Josef Locke: links page THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Gallery page In 1992, Thames Television paid tribute to Josef by having him as the subject of This is Your Life, hosted by Michael Aspel. Among guests were his brother Brendan (sadly now deceased), David McCallum from the movie Hear My Song,.The Beverley Sisters, Ernie Wise, Russ Conway and movie director Peter Chelsom. Here are a few stills from that wonderful evening. I will add more later, together with additional information. It is also a long-term goal to have images from other TV shows in which Josef made an impact. Raising a glass to pals on a live link to RTE studios in Dublin. A warm welcome for brother Brendan. Josefs lovely wife, Carmel. Rising to the applause: At the back left you can just see Vernon Midgley, who did the singing on Hear My Song, and just behind Josef is his daughter. RETURN "); array_files[57]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/carmel.htm","2006-12-23","0K","New Page 1 ","",""," New Page 1 A smile from Josefs wife Carmel Mrs Carmel McLaughlin "); array_files[58]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/concert.htm","2006-12-23","9K","A GLITTERING OCCASION ","",""," A GLITTERING OCCASION A GLITTERING OCCASIONAugust 27 2004 Months of hard work and dedication came to a magnificent climax on Friday, August 27 when a concert was held in Derrys wonderful Millennium Forum, who sponsored the event. Held in order to raise funds for a sculpture commemorating Josef, the event was headlined by Derrys own Phil Coulter, and also featured a wide range of performers who gave of their services gladly for the cause. Around £18,000 was raised. Chief guests were members of Josefs family, including wife Carmel, son Peter, daughter Yvette and his sister Anna; they were welcomed by civic leaders in the Guildhall. The concert also marked the public showing of a new portrait of Josef, which hangs in the Forum. Here are a selection of photographs of the occasion, taken by freelance Press photographer Margaret McLaughlin. Click to enlarge a photo Setting of the new portrait (close-up, right) Presentation to Mrs Carmel McLaughlin Honoured guests and dignitaries Mrs McLaughlin BACKGROUND TO THE SCULPTURE September 6 2004 The campaign to have some form of public recognition for Josef has been spearheaded by Michael Sheerin. Over the last two and a half years he has driven the idea that Derry should honour the great men and women who have put his home town on the international map, and his choice of Josef reflects the worldwide love and deep affection in which Joe is held. And although the concert was a sparkling success, with the whole city putting its weight behind it, the campaign for a sculpture has not been an easy road for Michael. There were times when I would come home and wonder if it would ever happen. There were setbacks, but then Id meet people who would say what a good idea it was, how we should celebrate the life of Joe, and it would give me the strength to go on, he said. Michael secured the services of designer Terry Quigley, who has devised a wonderful, flowing piece in bronze and stainless steel, which rises like the swirling melody of a song, and encompasses Josefs life. Terry Quigley is an up and coming designer from Derry. He went to school at St Columbs College before obtaining a Ba (Hons) in Visual Communications, and MSc in Computing and Design from the University of Ulster. He has gained experience over the last 2 years working as a 3D CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) Designer, as well as lecturing at Magee, University of Ulster, for a period. Terry has always been keen to apply his skills to all aspects of design and in this, his first endeavour into monument design, has produced a piece in keeping with the high standards set in previous work. Executing the work of art will be Maurice Harron, who has a beautiful 5-piece work called Let The Dance Begin in Strabane. Maurice (58) was born and grew up in Derry. He studied sculpture at the Ulster College of Art and Design in Belfast. Two of his well-respected commissions are ‘Reconcilition’ / ‘Hands Across the Divide’ in Carlisle Square, Derry and the ‘Gaelic Chieftain,’ an experimental work located in the Curlew Mountains, Roscommon. The work will be sited in a fine garden setting, outside the City Hotel in Derry, facing the Guildhall and the Foyle, where passing streams of traffic will be reminded of the contribution Josef made to Derry itself, and his country. The sculpture was officially unveiled on Tuesday, March 22 2005 by musician/songwriter Phil Coulter, and politician John Hume, with members of Josefs family attending. Michael (pictured right) explains: People ask me why Josef ? And its true, Derry is rich in wonderful entertainers - it must be something in the water! But Josef was a great ambassador for the city, and we should mark in some way their contribution to our lives. If you would like to make a contribution to the monument appeal, send your cheques to: The Josef Locke Memorial Fund Bank of Ireland 15 Strand Road Derry BT48 7BT Ireland make cheques payable to The Josef Locke Memorial Fund: quote sort code 90-49-74 and account 77015315 NOTE: Every penny goes towards this grand cause. All involved in fund-raising are giving their services freely. Contact photographer Margaret McLaughlin by email here: HOME "); array_files[59]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/derry.htm","2006-12-23","10K","Josef Locke sculpture unveiled, Derry, March 22 2005 ","",""," Josef Locke sculpture unveiled, Derry, March 22 2005 March 22, 2005: It was a labour of love which captured the imagination of an entire city, and today, years of hard work were rewarded with the unveiling of a sculpture to the memory of Josef Locke in Derry, his home town. Hundreds of people, including Josefs wife Carmel and daughter Yvette, saw Derry songwriter and musician Phil Coulter and politician John Hume unveil the 63 work of art in the grounds of the City Hotel, a short step from the River Foyle. Carmel said Im just overwhelmed with everyones kindness, and the generosity from the people of Derry who have done so much to make this possible. It is a huge tribute to be honoured in the city where you were born. And Phil Coulter said: Of all of the talent we have produced in the city, nobody ever got the profile of Josef Locke, nobody succeeded in such a spectacular way as Josef. It is a huge tribute to be honoured in the city where you were born Mrs Carmel McLaughlin Nobody succeeded in such a spectacular way as Josef Phil Coulter Its an historic day for the city. Its an important day for the city Mayor Gearoid Ó hÉara "); array_files[60]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/disk01.htm","2006-12-23","23K","Josef Locke: Josef Locke CD discography ","=Josef Locke, Joseph Locke, Irish tenor, Irish, tenor, George Formby, Peter Lee, Mexborough, Joe Locke, Josef, Josef Locke discography, Josef discography, Irish tenor, Locke ","Appreciating Josef Locke, the great Irish tenor "," Josef Locke: Josef Locke CD discography A selection of CDs featuring Josef. Many now deleted Hymns we all love Dolphin records: DOCD 2027 All People that on Earth do dwell; When the roll is called up yonder; The old rugged cross; Lead kindly light; One love everlasting; Theres a great new prospect in the sky; Onward Christian Soldiers; It is no secret what God can do; Nearer my God to thee; Shall we gather at the river; Abide with me; God be with you till we meet again. Blaze Away: Josef Locke sings in stereo Decca records: Eclipse 844 167-2 How small we are, how little we know; Blaze Away; Danny Boy; Edelweiss; Try a little tenderness; Just loving you; A tear, a kiss; Galway Bay; Marta; How can you buy Killarney; The last waltz; Little altar boy; St. Christopher. Take a pair of sparkling eyes EMI - 0777 7 99640 2 4 Its a grand life in the army; Take a pair of sparkling eyes; Macushla; Dear old Donegal; Santa Lucia; Galway Bay; While the Angelus was ringing; The old bog road; Wonderful Copenhagen; The soldiers dream; Mother machree; Maire my girl; Shades of old blarney; The rose of tralee; When its moonlight in Mayo; Tosellis serenade; Bless this house; The bard of Armagh; March of the grenadiers; A shawl of Galway grey; Tobermory bay; Isle of Innisfree; Ireland must be heaven; Ave Maria. The songs I love so well Outlet : HMCD 5 Blaze Away; The old bog road; Slievenamon; Ill take you home again Kathleen; Danny Boy; Little Grey Home in the West; Sweet Sixteen; The bold Gendarmes; The town I loved so well; She moved through the fair; The old house; Lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle; On the street where you live; My way; The mountains of Mourne; Goodbye. The very best of Josef Locke EMI Records: 7243 8 53438 2 7 Ill Take you home again Kathleen; Hear My Song, Violetta; Galway Bay; Macushla; The Rose of Tralee; The Bard of Armagh; When its Moonlight in Mayo; How can you buy Killarney; Marie my Girl; A shawl of Galway Grey; Come Back To Sorrento; March of the Grenadiers; The Soldiers Dream; The Holy City; The drinking Song; Santa Lucia; When you were sweet Sixteen; Count your blesings; My Heart and I; Goodbye. Hear My Song: Josef Locke in concert (re-issue of The Songs I love so well) Harmac: HMCD 5 Blaze Away; The old bog road; Slievenamon; Ill take you home again Kathleen; Danny Boy; Little Grey Home in the West; Sweet Sixteen; The bold Gendarmes; The town I loved so well; She moved through the fair; The old house; Lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle; On the street where you live; My way; The mountains of Mourne; Goodbye. Josef Locke Singalong: 34 great songs (re-issued as Saturday Night Singalong) Dolphin: DOCD 2026 In the shade of the old apple tree; My Bonnie lies over the ocean; Daisy,Daisy; Eastside, Westside; Sweet Rosie OGrady; Shes only a bird in a gilded cage; In the good old summertime; If those lips could only speak; Clementine; Michael row the boat ashore; Hes got the whole world in his hands; John Browns body; The red river valley; On top of old smokey;Beautiful brown eyes; Old faithful; Roll along covered wagon; South of the border; Let him go, let him tarry; Ma goes to Dixie; The rose of Tralee; Slaney Valley; Where the blarney roses grow; Heaven Street; The saints; Down by the Severnside; Loch Lomond; Annie Laurie; Will ye no come back again; Oh Susanna; Beautiful dreamer; Campton Races; the Quartermasters stores; Old soldiers never die. NOTE - this album is really a rolling singalong with only a few verses of each song. A tear, a kiss, a smile EMI: 0777 7 99938 2 6 The Melba waltz; Tonight beloved; Hold City; In the chapel in the moonlight; People like us; A brown bird singing; Bonnie Mary of Argyle; My Mission; The daughter of Rose of Tralee; beneath thy window; When youre in love; Love me and the world is mine; Strange music; Song of songs; When you hear Big Ben; Festival of roses; We all have a song in our hearts; A tear, a kiss, a smile; The keys to heaven; Hush a bye Rose of Killarney; Youre just a flower from an old bouquet; Love me little, love me long; Teddy bears picnic; Silent night, holy night; Adeste Fideles (O come all ye faithful). Hear my Song EMI: CDP 7988442 Hear my song, Violetta; Ill take you home again, Kathleen; Blaze away; Count your blessings; O maiden, my maiden; The drinking song (from The Student Prince); Loves last word is spoken; Charmaine; You are my hearts delight; If I can help somebody; Cara Mia; Come back to Sorrento (Torna a Surriento); It is no secret; When you were sweet sixteen; The rose of Slievenamon; Youll never forget about Ireland; Eileen OGrady; Ill walk beside you; At the end of the day; My heart and I (from Old Chelsea); How can you buy Killarney?; When you talk about old Ireland; If I were a blackbird; the garden where the praties grow; Goodbye (from The White Horse Inn) Hear my Song: Josef Locke LIVING ERA: CD AJA 5359 Hear My Song, Violetta; My Heart And I ;Santa Lucia ; Come Back To Sorrento; Ill Take You Home Again, Kathleen; Macushla; Serenade; When You Were Sweet 16; The Holy City; Dear Old Donegal; The Rose of Tralee; Ave Maria; Galway Bay; Bless This House; Song Of Songs ; Beneath Thy Window (O Sole Mio); When Youre In Love; Strange Music; While The Angelus Was Ringing (Les Trois Cloches); The Soldier’s Dream; Will The Angels Play Their Harps For Me; In The Chapel Of San Remo; We All Have A song In Our Hearts; Goodbye Webmasters note: This is, in my opinion, the finest and most sensitive re-mastering from Josefs 78 originals I have heard. Josef Locke: Hear my Song double CD EMI: 0777 7 80085 2 1 Double CD: CD1 - Hear my song, Violetta; Come back to Sorrento; Ill take you home again Kathleen; March of the Grenadiers; The soldiers dream; The holy city; The drinking song; Santa Lucia; When you were sweet sixteen; Count your blessings; My heart and I; Goodbye; The rose of Slievenamon; Tobermoy Bay; Bless this house; Santo Natale; One little candle; Nirvana; Take a pair of sparkling eyes; Charmaine - CD 2 - Galway Bay; Macushla; The rose of Tralee; The Bard of Armagh; When its moonlight in Mayo; How can you buy Killarney; Dear old Donnegal; Mother machree; Isle of Innisfree; Maire my girl; Shades of old blarney; A shawl of Galway grey; Oh maiden, my maiden; In the chapel by the moonlight; Song of songs; Bonnie Mary of Argyle; The rosary; My mission; You are my hearts delight; Ave Maria (in Latin). Josef Locke: Goodbye JASMCD 2565 Come back to Sorrento, Santa Lucia, Goodbye, Hear My Song, Ill take you home again Kathleen, The Holy City, When you were sweet sixteen, Count your blessings, The rose of Tralee, Galway Bay, Macushla, Ave Maria, The Old Bog Road, When youre in love, The song of songs, Bless this house, The soldiers dream, While the angelus was ringing, Beneath thy window, Tosellis serenade, How can you buy Killarney, A shawl of Galway Grey, Silent night, holy night. Josef Locke Collection HMV 7243 5 22247 2 2 Hear my song, Ill take you home again Kathleen, The drinking song, Galway Bay, Rose of Tralee, Bless this house, Charmaine, March of the grenadiers, Dear old Donegal, Count your blessings, Bard of Armagh, Marie my girl, In the chapel in the moonlight, Shades of old blarney, The Holy City, Come back to Sorrento, The soldiers dream, Santo Natale, Take a pair of sparkling eyes, Goodbye, One little candle, A shawl of Galway Grey. Let there be Peace ARANCD 601 Blaze Away, Sweet Sixteen, O Sole Mio, Oft in the stilly night, My Way, Without a song, Let there be peace, She moved thro the fair, Where is my heart tonight?, Ill take you home again Kathleen, When you and I were young, Maggie, Where the blarney roses grow. Josef Locke: Ill take you home again Kathleen GO 3845 (Sweden) Hear My Song, Violetta, My heart and I, Macushla, Come back to Sorrento, Song of Songs, Ave Maria, Santa Lucia, When you were sweet sixteen, Serenade, Dear old Donegal, Galway Bay, Soldiers dream, Beneath thy window, When you are in love, Ill take you home again Kathleen, The rose of Tralee, While the angelus was ringing, In the chapel of San Remo, We all have a song in our hearts, Goodbye. RETURN "); array_files[61]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/EMI.htm","2006-12-23","3K","Josef Locke: meet Joe McPartland ","Josef Locke, Joseph Locke, Irish tenor, Irish, tenor, Joe McPartland, Kevin Moulton, Ronnine Renalde, George Formby, Peter Lee, Mexborough, Joe Locke ","Appreciating Josef Locke, the great Irish tenor "," Josef Locke: meet Joe McPartland EMI to release new 2-CD compilation June 4 2006 A new two-disk CD compilation is slated for release by EMI on July 3rd. Here are details of the tracks included: Josef Locke - The Collection CD:1 1. Hear My Song Violetta 2. Blaze Away 3. March Of The Grenadiers (From “The Love Parade”) 4. Macushla 5. Beneath My Window (O Sole Mio) 6. Santa Lucia (Neapolitan Barcarolle) 7. The Bard Of Armagh 8. Ireland Must Be Heaven (From “Oh! You Beautiful Doll”) 9. The Rose Of Tralee 10. Love’s Last Word Is Spoken 11. Count Your Blessings 12. Maiden, My Maiden 13. Tonight Beloved (Ritorna Amore) 14. Then Queen Of Evryone’s Heart 15. A Shawl Of Galway Grey 16. When It’s Moonlight In Mayo 17. Shades Of Old Blarney 18. How Can You Buy Killarney 19. When You Were Sweet Sixteen 20. The Holy City CD:2 1. I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen 2. You’ll Never Forget About Ireland 3. You Are My Hearts Delight 4. Galway Bay 5. A Tear, A Kiss, A Smile 6. The Soldiers Dream (La Reve Passe) 7. Ave Maria 8. Come Back To Sorrento (Turna A Surriento) 9. Marie My Girl 10. You’re Just A Flower From An Old Bouquet 11. Toselli’s Serenade (Serenata) 12. When You Talk About Old Ireland 13. My Heart And I (From “Old Chelsea”) 14. The Drinking Song (From “The Student Prince”) 15. Take A Pair Of Sparkling Eyes 16. Wonderful Copenhagen 17. Adeste Fideles (Of Come All Ye Faithful) 18. If I Were A Blackbird 19. Will The Angels Play Their Harps For Me 20. Goodbye (From “The White Horse Inn”) RETURN "); array_files[62]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/gallery.htm","2006-12-23","7K","My Album ","photo album,gallery,photo gallery,digital,photo,gallery ",""," My Album Derry honours Josef - picture gallery Click on an image to enlarge Pictures above by Derry freelance photographer Margaret McLaughlin. email her here Josefs daughter Yvette and Michael Sheerin Phil Coulter, Mrs Carmel McLaughlin, Mr John Hume Singer Magella Brady (left), who sang with Josef in the Guildhall 34 years ago, and Mrs Collette Sheerin. The official party Designer Terry Quigley, Michael and Phil Michael Sheerin, son Shay, and wife Collette. Pauline Bowles, of Essex, kindly took many pictures used on this page Phil Coulter on BBC The wraps are off! Derrys Johnny Murray, of the city museum, and Phil Coulter Mrs Carmel McLaughlin Close-up of the work of art An engraved Waterford crystal vase presented by Mrs McLaughlin to Coun. Pat Ramsay Michael Sheerin, designer Terry Quigley, and sculptor Maurice Harron Designer Terry Quigley meets Phil HOME "); array_files[63]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/funeral.htm","2006-12-23","9K","Funeral of Josef Locke, October 18 1999 ","",""," Funeral of Josef Locke, October 18 1999 Josefs funeral - Monday, October 18th 1999 Clane, Co.Kildare & Glasnevin, Co.Dublin I was honoured to attend Josefs funeral in Clane, Ireland. It was a day which combined feelings of sadness at the loss of so great a man, and joy and celebration of his wonderful life.. The song has ended The village of Clane is a bustling, busy place, but it paused to pay its respects to its most famous adopted son, Josef Locke, on Monday. Derry-born Josef had died the previous Friday, in Clane Hospital - not far from his retirement bungalow in the village just 20 miles or so outside Dublin. His fine light-oak coloured coffin, topped by a burnished crucifix and a large spray of lilies, had rested in St Patricks and St Brigids Church, Clane, overnight. As golden autumn sunlight fanned from stained glass windows, and offertory candles twinkled, the church began to fill with people. Friends at first, then the family, led by Carmel, a small dignified woman who had won the heart of the big fella 30 years ago. Around 200 to 300 people came to say goodbye to Josef - a family man, and a man of faith, said Father Denis Harrington, who celebrated the Mass. Father Harrington said: The funeral liturgy speaks very clearly to us that death does not mean the end. Life is changed, not ended. And the Easter candle standing at Joe’s coffin speaks to us of Jesus Christ risen from the dead. I am the resurrection and the life, he said. One who believes in me never dies. So the Christian position is that we are marking the end of the earthly life, and the beginning of new life, which is eternal. For me, there were three Josephs; I was a young man when Josef Locke rose to prominence as a singer. I became a fan, as did so many others, and years later I went to many of his concerts. And apart from being a great tenor, he was also a great communicator and entertainer, and he brought pleasure, and joy into so many people’s lives that we remain fans to this day. And this morning, it is logical for me to say ‘Thank God for all that enjoyment’. For me, Josef was the Lord’s instrument who conveyed enjoyment. And that aspect of his life, of course, is well known. But what may not be well known is that he was a man of faith. Now, there is another Josef – Joseph McLaughlin, the family man, known only to a much smaller group of people, some of whom are here with us. And there were others who were known to him at various stages in life who cannot be here; and we remember them too, and we pray that the Lord will be with them, to support them. That was the Joseph McLaughlin I didn’t know. And finally there is the Joseph, whom God alone knows. And Joseph has gone to God, and we pray that he is being welcomed into God’s eternal embrace. Joseph the man of God, the man of faith, has met his God. And our God is just, our God is loving, and our God is merciful. As I get older, and contemplate death for myself more often, I think only of the God of love, and the god of mercy; I do ask for mercy and forgiveness, and that is the hope I live with. Today we celebrate Joe, and we pray that he’s with God, and we also thank God very much for him. His family brought in poignant reminders of the Joseph they loved: a favourite tie, a puzzle book, ornament, a tankard, and the gold disk from EMI for his Hear My Song CD. These were laid out on the altar, and served as a poignant touchstone for Josef the man. And although the great tenors voice was not heard during the service, performances of Ave Maria and I Hear You Calling by another grand tenor, Anthony Kearns, were enough to swell the tears and recall that glorious voice. Very moving and sincere words from his wife, Carmel were read out: here, briefly, is what she expressed. I always though you would make a full recovery, but no, it wasn’t to be. You’re having a well and truly deserved rest, and the angels play their harps for you. I am happy for you, Joseph. I have countless happy memories of you, one of the most treasured being you playing the piano, and singing to me `I hear you calling me’. I’m so happy I was there for you. I’m also very happy that your children were with me when I needed them most. Without their expressions of love and support, and their kindness, I could not and would not have coped at all. I know you were proud of them, and I certainly am. Josef, you don’t need me to tell you how much I miss you and look forward to the day when I will join you again. But until that happens, every step that I take in our home will bring reminders of our life together. When the service ended Josefs body was borne from the church by, among others, his sons Karl and Peter, and among mourners were his other children, Yvette, Leta and Nikky. The Taoiseachs aide-de-camp, Capt Michael Kiernan, was also in attendance in his gold-braided uniform of green. After the Mass, while Garda controlled traffic through the villages choked streets, the hearse and cortege left slowly for the Glasnevin crematorium. It made its way to Maynooth first, passing lush irish farmland, and trees weeping their multi-coloured leaves at the onset of Autumn. Then onto the N4 highway, picking up speed, until turning onto the ring road and into the heart of the city, seen in the distance against the skys powder-blue background Then to Glasnevin, final resting place for the Republics heroes - from freedom fighters to poets. Around three dozen people attended the short Mass there. The coffin, somehow small now, rolled out of view, and silently, and tearfully we whispered our final farewells. Words and pictures c.1999 Peter Lee UPDATE To mark Josefs birthday in March this year (2000), we paid a visit to his resting place at Glasnevin to pay our respects. His name has been added to the memorial marker now, along with others whose cremated remains are interred in the cemetery plot. Return to home page "); array_files[64]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/group.htm","2006-12-23","1K","New Page 1 ","",""," New Page 1 Guests in the Guildhall Included in this picture are: Peter McLaughlin, Carmel McLaughlin, Helen Quigley and Phil Coulter. Standing from left - Michael Sheerin, sculpture co-ordinator, Susan Gill, Anna Hayman, George Anderson, Yvette Anderson, Amanda McGowan, Martin Bradley, Millennium Forum chairperson, Pat Hume, Vinny Hayman and David McLaughlin, Forum chief executive. "); array_files[65]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/HMSPL.htm","2006-12-23","33K","Hear My Song ","=Josef Locke, Irish, tenor, Blackpool, Mancunian, Hear my song, County Kildare, Dublin, Mexborough, Hear My Song, Peter Chelsom, Ned Beatty ","Irish tenor Josef Locke appreciation site by Peter Lee "," Hear My Song From the Press Pack for Hear My Song You close your eyes. You cast your mind back thirty years and you see and hear what you want to see and hear. Romancing the past and facing up to present-day responsibilities is a central theme in the British Screen, Film Four International, Windmill Lane presentation of a Limelight film, Hear My Song, directed by Peter Chelsom from an original screenplay by Chelsom and Adrian Dunbar. Hear My Song is a fictional comedy/love story about fundamental values based on an incident in the life of world-famous Irish tenor Josef Locke. When the celebrated music-hall performer sang, women wept. But the real Josef Locke had to leave England in the 1950s to avoid arrest for alleged tax evasion. He settled the matter within nine years. Meanwhile, a Josef Locke sound- and look-alike, who billed himself as Mr X, played to sell-out audiences across England. With these real-life details in mind, the screenwriters created the character of shady concert promoter Micky ONeill (Adrian Dunbar) and his world. He books dubious acts into his club, Heartlys, the lively focus of much of the mms action. After his latest booking Mr X (William Hootkins) is discovered to be a fake, Micky goes to Ireland in search of the real Josef Locke Ned Beatty). The two return to Heartlys: Micky to redeem his reputation and prove himself to his fiancée Nancy Tara Fitzgerald); Jo to face the love he abandoned 30 years earlier, Cathleen (Shirley Ann Field). First-tine feature film director Peter Chelsom wrote the screenplay with Adrian Dunbar from his own original story. Chelsom hails from Blackpool where the real Jo Locke sang for 19 seasons. Three years ago, while in pre-production on his award winning short film Treacle, he was handed a tape of Lockes. I had this journey on the motorway to Blackpool and I put the tape on. I know it sounds corny, but I just knew I had to do something about it. I researched him and I just got infected. Jo was the everymans idea of an opera singer. His style represented old values and it was not elite. Which is just the type of film Chelsom hopes to continue making -quality productions which are universal and accessible. Producer Alison Owen-Allen was also interested in productions which were about making fundamental choices in a complex world. She immediately clicked with Chelsom and his witty script. Im always calling Peter the British Woody Allen. His eccentric casting and humour is similar. Although humour is important, the fabric of the film is also very important to him Like Woody Allen, Peter has got an eye for the landscape - a lot goes on in the background. Ineeded, a considerable amount of pre-production time went into casting the film. Chelsom and casting director Jane Frisby looked to both London and Dublin, where most of the production was filmed, for talent. The key role of Micky ONeill was written by Chelsom and Adrian Dunbar for Dunbar himself Mickys a very capricious character. Hell try every option before he tries telling the truth. In this way hes not at all consistent, which is the type of character I like to play. For the important role of tenor Josef Locke, Peter Chelsom only had one person in mind - leading American actor Ned Beatty. Beatty, often cast as a heavy in films like Deliverance and two Superman epics, gets a chance to play a stem, yet more vulnerable role here. I do like casting that redefines people, which having Ned Beatty play the unwilling hero of Locke does, Chelsom says. For Beatty, the chance to portray an entertainer brought back the joy he felt singing with his local church as a young boy growing up in Kentucky. Its a wonderful thing using the singer, the troubadour, as the subject area. Shirley Anne Field, known so well for her provocative roles in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and The Entertainer, at the chance to play Jos lost love and Nancys mother, Cathleen. She feels, like a lot of women do, that shes had her chance and missed it. She let her life stop happening because of a man, Jo, and now we see Cathleen becoming a woman in her own right. What I like about Peter Chelsom and Adrian Dunbars screenplay is they allow people to be attractive at any age. Playing Cathleens daughter, Nancy, who is also Mickys fiancée, is newcomer Tara Fitzgerald To play the sensible and jolly Nancy, Fitzgerald looked to her own experiences. Someone like Nancy appreciates what you can do within boundaries. The best times Ive had is when Ive had a fiver. You just go with it and have the best time. David McCallum, best known for The Man from U.N. C.L.E. and The Invisible Man, plays Chief Constable Jim Abbott. He reckons Abbott is a man tormented for 30 years by the burning desire to catch Jo Locke. His reasoning process has been distorted by this obsession, as well as his memory of Jos girl, Cathleen Playing Jo Lockes look-alike, Mr X - Is it or isnt it?, is William Hootkins. The actor revelled in his characters eccentricity. Hes so weird, Hootkins says as an understatement. Its a very literary film in the way that it examines appearance versus reality. Fintan, Mickys reluctant accomplice in a mad journey across Ireland in search of Jo Locke, is played by James Nesbitt. Hes one of the little nice guys and seems to have a constant minor hassle, usually caused by Micky. This is Nesbitts first feature mm, a fact which contributed to his early trepidation. I had an inert sense of panic - I didnt know what to do! Hear My Song is structured into three segments. Early scenes centre around Heartlys night-club and in Mickys office. The glorious landscape of Irelands scenic west country comprises the middle section, while the end returns to the city, where Heartlys begins to be demolished. For production designer Caroline Hanania, the main problem was giving each of the three segments a unique feel. For the first part, a harsh, big-city feel was required from the small, picturesque quality of Dublin, where actually the film was shot. A quainter and brighter look was needed for the Irish countryside scenes. Finally, the return to Heartlys (where the crane has broken through the roof) had to carry a fantastical element. At the same time, Hanania avoided a distinctly contemporary feel. We tried to get a period look, 50s and 6Os, instead of a severe, present day atmosphere. As the mm is so much about memory, the design is how you imagine things to feel. Costume designer Lindy Hemming sought this same timeless quality. Heartlys club, the centre-piece for the film, was actually an abandoned Methodist building called Merrion Hall, located off Dublins historic Victorian-style Merrion Square. To transform the run-down late 1800s hall into the splendour of Heartlys the production team worked day and night to add a stage with a grand proscenium arch and a working Art Deco style brass and marble bar, as well as beautiful decorative details and tromp loeil effects. For the early scenes in Heartlys, a false ceiling was added to enclose the space and make Mickys world seem smaller. The ceiling was removed by the time Micky returns with Jo for his triumphant come-back concert. They have started to demolish Heartlys and the roof has a gaping hole knocked in Two regions of the Republic of Irelands verdant countryside were used for scenes where Micky and Fintan roam the backroads in a worn Morris Traveller, in a frantically funny search for Jo Locke. The rugged Irish Sea coastline of County Wicklow, South of Dublin, provides a suitably rough backdrop to the key scenes where Jo confronts Micky and forces the truth from him. Hundreds of miles to the west, County Clare and the breath-taking Connemara area of County Galway provided endless opportunities for Director of Photography Sue Gibsons lens. Casting around... For the important role of tenor Josef Locke, Peter Chelsom only had one person in mind - leading American actor Ned Beatty. Beatty, often cast as a heavy in films like Deliverance and two Superman epics, gets a chance to play a stem, yet more vulnerable role here. I do like casting that redefines people, which having Ned Beatty play the unwilling hero of Locke does, Chelsom says. For Beatty, the chance to portray an entertainer brought back the joy he felt singing with his local church as a young boy growing up in Kentucky. Its a wonderful thing using the singer, the troubadour, as the subject area. Shirley Anne Field, known so well for her provocative roles in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and The Entertainer, leapt at the chance to play Jos lost love and Nancys mother, Cathleen. She feels, like a lot of women do, that shes had her chance and missed it. She let her life stop happening because of a man, Jo, and now we see Cathleen becoming a woman in her own right. What I like about Peter Chelsom and Adrian Dunbars screenplay is they allow people to be attractive at any age. Playing Cathleens daughter, Nancy, who is also Mickys fiancée, is newcomer Tara Fitzgerald To play the sensible and jolly Nancy, Fitzgerald looked to her own experiences. Someone like Nancy appreciates what you can do within boundaries. The best times Ive had is when Ive had a fiver. You just go with it and have the best time. David McCallum, best known for The Man from U.N. C.L.E. and The Invisible Man, plays Chief Constable Jim Abbott. He reckons Abbott is a man tormented for 30 years by the burning desire to catch Jo Locke. His reasoning process has been distorted by this obsession, as well as his memory of Jos girl, Cathleen Playing Jo Lockes look-alike, Mr X - Is it or isnt it?, is William Hootkins. The actor revelled in his characters eccentricity. Hes so weird, Hootkins says as an understatement. Its a very literary film in the way that it examines appearance versus reality. Fintan, Mickys reluctant accomplice in a mad journey across Ireland in search of Jo Locke, is played by James Nesbitt. Hes one of the little nice guys in the mm and seems to have a constant minor hassle, usually caused by Micky. This is Nesbitts first feature mm, a fact which contributed to his early trepidation. I had an inert sense of panic - I didnt know what to do! Hear My Song is structured into three segments. About the Cast Ned Beatty is Josef Locke, the celebrated Irish tenor who filled music halls around the world. When he sang, women wept. The fictional Hear My Song picks up on a real episode in Lockes life: his exile in Ireland to avoid questioning about alleged tax evasion. Beatty jumped at the opportunity of playing a great singer, as well as the chance to film in Ireland I loved the whole business of using a singer, other than some sort of terribly macho guy. Although I must admit, playing a larger than life character like Jo is a challenge. We see Locke in his native Ireland, joking with his four mates in the local public house, attending a cattle auction. When Micky arrives, Jo suspects he is a tax collector and forces the concert promoter to come clean. Micky admits that he wants Jo to sing at Heartlys so he can redeem himself to his love, Nancy. Jo himself faces his responsibilities: he risks arrest by returning to England for the sake of Cathleen, the woman he abandoned 30 years ago. Beatty has appeared in over 45 feature films, beginning with the role of Bobby Trippe in Deliverance in 1971. Since then he has been seen in Network (Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor), Nashville, Superman land Superman H, All The Presidents Men and Wiseblood. He has appeared in numerous American television miniseries and films, notably Friendly Fire (Emmy Award nomination) with Carol Burnett. Born in Kentucky in 1937, Beatty now lives in Los Angeles. Co-screenwriter Adrian Dunbar plays the lead role of Mick ONeill. Mickys an opportunist concert promoter of Heartlys night-club, who has an eye for a quick scam and for his beautiful fiancée, Nancy. Hes distrusted by most of the community. Then again, would you trust someone who books a man in a sailors outfit singing songs from South Pacific or Frank Cinatra, complete with shiny suit? Hes an emotional self-starter. If there wasnt Micky around, nothing would happen. If he learns a lesson, its that he must care for someone before he cares for himself Dunbar tint met Chelsom when they acted together in Ourselves Alone at the Royal Court in 1985. Dunbar came on to the film when director Peter Chelsom was writing the screenplay and developing the character of Josef Locke and Mr X Together, Dunbar and Chelsom invented the fictional character of Micky as the films centre of action and the movie took off . 32 year-old Dunbar was born in Enniskilin, Northern Ireland, and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He has appeared in numerous stage, television and feature productions. Roles include Macintyre in BBCs Reasonable Force Conn in Euston Finns The Fear, Le Roux in Working Titles acclaimed A World Apart, Lennox in Euston, Finns Dealers and Peter in the Academy Award-winning My left Foot. Recently completed filming on Neil Jordans upcoming feature film A Soldiers War, Dunbar is currently co-writing his second script with Hear My Song director, Peter Chelsom, called Sam & the Captain. Shirley Anne Field is Cathleen Doyle, the grown up beauty queen that Jo Locke chose as Miss Dairy Goodness in 1958. She is also Nancys mamma and thinks her future son-in-law is no good. Having been hurt herself by self-serving men, she doesnt want her daughter to make the same mistakes. Little does Cathleen realise that she too, has a whole life ahead of her. Cathleen is a woman whose husband, who adored her, has died. Shes been seven years on her own, shes re-set up her life, shes become a croupier because she doesnt really have any qualifications except her looks and a quick mind. She wants the best for her daughter, forgetting that the best can still be there for her. For Cathleen, the best returns in the shape of tenor Josef Locke, the man who abruptly abandoned her after a brief carefree affair. What Peter Chelsom and Adrian Dunbar have done is write a new type of woman - a heroine whos past 25! Field has performed with great leading men, including Sir Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer, Albert Finney in Saturday Night, Sunday Morning and Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner in War Lover. She has appeared in numerous television programmes and theatre productions. Most recently, Field appeared in the films Shag, Getting It Right, The Ridlel Papers and as the rnistress in Stephen Frears award winning My Beautiful launderette. Last year, Shirley Ann Field published A time for Love, her frank autobiography about her childhood, rise to stardom and the truth behind her mothers unexplained disappearance 30 years before. Newcomer Tara Fitzgerald plays Nancy Doyle, dental hygienist by profession, good-time girl by choice. She is engaged to opportunistic concert promoter Micky ONeill and injects some good-humored sense into his ambitious ways. As Nancys mother Cathleen explains, she is attracted to Micky because: he makes life happen. Thats exciting for a girl. Nancy loves life, Fitzgerald says, Shes proud of that. Shes got great strengths like her job. She knows if she wants to relax and have security, shes got to have a reasonable job. Mickys the spice in her life. The audience mustnt feel shes so good, though Shes not the worthy type. Fitzgerald is fresh out of Londons Drama Centre after three years of rigorous training. She plans to balance film and television work with her passion for theatre. Director Peter Chelsom chose her for Hear My Song over neatly 600 other young actresses. With barely a break between projects, Tara Fitzgerald also appears in Euston Finns Anglo Saxon Attitudes, a Catherine Cookson BBC TV special and Channel 4s Camomile Lawn TV series based on Mary Wesleys acclaimed novel (UK transmission March 92) The eccentric Mr X - Is it or isnt it? is played by William Hootkins. Though grossly exaggerated with great comic skill by Hootkins in Hear My Song, there is a MrX in real life. Like Josef Locke, he is a tenor with a great stage presence who sings all the old favorites adored by Lockes fans. Always billed as Mr X, never once has he broken the law by saying he is Jo Locke. For American actor Hootkins, the films Mr X was an opportunity to go all out in playing this genuinely crazy guy. Mr X talks Micky into giving him more money by speaking poetic mumbo-jumbo and later he takes advantage of a nostalgic and drunk Cathleen. In the end, however, by switching places with Jo on the wreckers ball going through Heartlys roof, he saves the Irish tenor from arrest. Mr X is essentially a naturally exotic person. Im such a natural over-actor. I over-act when I under-act and Peter Chelsoms trying to get me to play it even fruitier! Ironically, Hootkins says hes lost a number of parts to Ned Beatty (the films Jo Locke) because of their physical resemblance. Admitting that he plays a lot of revolting roles in movies, Hootkins appeared as Lieutenant Eckhardt in Batman and was seen in Star Wan, Raiders of The Lest Ark, and Superman IV He appears regularly on British and American stages. Television credits include Black Adder and capital City in the UK and Cagney And Lacy and Remington Steele in the States. Dallas-native Hootkins is based in both London and Los Angeles. David McCallum is Chief Constable Jim Abbott, who after thirty years still remembers the day Josef Locke escaped his grip and fled to Ireland. Abbott is due to retire and arresting Locke on tax evasion charges would be the crowning glory to his illustrious career. What we have is a film about life and living, in all its aspects of fulfillment and disappointment. Abbotts obsession is caused by his inability to overcome what happened in 1958 when he nearly drowned trying to arrest Jo Locke. He has to deal with the physical ignominy of drowning and the terror of almost dying. The reasoning for catching Jo loses all perspective. People lose their rationale when their emotions take over. And remember - he also has a thing about Jos girl, Cathleen. McCallum was born in Kelvinside, Glasgow, Scotland in 1933. He graduated from RADA in 1951 and soon after worked extensively in the UK and abroad. After going to America in 1961 to play Judas in George Stevens The Greatest Story Ever Told, he has continued his career on both sides of the Atlantic. His films include: A Night To Remember, Billy Budd, and Mosquito Squadron. McCallum is best known for televisions The Man from U.N. C.L.E. and The Invisible Man. Other television work includes Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Murder She Wrote, and BBC TVs top-rating series Trainer, co-starring Susannah York.. Theatre work includes Camelot, California Suite, The Mousetrap, Sleuth, Run For Your Wife and the recent production of Hunting if the Snarl. Stephen Marcus plays tough-guy Gordon, Mickys mate with a soft centre. Hes been around and knows what things are about, Marcus says of his character. We came up with the scenario that hes from London, moved to Manchester and now is in Liverpool. He was a bouncer beforehand. Hes got a bit of naivete about him - hes shy with women. He fancies Nancy like crazy, but doesnt think anyone knows. Marcus worked with director Peter Chelsom on a popular Spray N Vac commercial where he played a singing Hells Angel. The Portsmouth native gets regular work in commercials and appeared in Stephen Frears My Beautiful Launderette as Moose. Also at Mickys side in his moment of panic is Derek, played by John Dair. Born in Dundee, Scotland, the London resident says Derek is a bit of a mentor for Micky. if Mickys frustrated, then he takes it out on us, were typical dogsbodies. Derek and Gordon are his sounding board. Im like his uncle and Gordons like his brother. Dair is usually cast as the heavy, and recently appeared in Batman and Chicago Joe and the Showgirl Gladys Sheehan is gutsy Grandma Ryan, the forceful matriarch of the Ryan family whose co-op holds the lease to Micky ONeills night-club, Heartlys. The Ryans badger Micky into providing top-class entertainment. It seems the best Micky can come up with is the act that starts all the trouble, the Jo Locke fake: Mr X - Is it or isnt it? Sheehan is a familiar face in many films where she has played strong cameo parts, including a brothel Madame in The Great Train Robbery, with Sean Connery and the Reverend Mother in Darling Lily in the early 6Os. Recently she appeared in the Irish television drama, The Irish RM. She relished the chance to play the feisty and funny Grandma Ryan. She swears and says bollocks and bleedin. I dont believe in growing old gracefully. I enjoy living life well to the end and enjoying every second of it Grandma Ryans daughter, Kitty Ryan, is played with equal verve and strength of character by Britta smith. Kitty Ryan is also a good friend to Cathleen Doyle, Jo Lockes old flame, and became a firm support for her. Indeed, Kitty socks Micky in the ace when Cathleen is humiliated and reveals that Mr X is a fake. Shes a very colorful character and a real matriarch, but theres a humanity about her as well, a softness, Smith says. Smith trained at the Abbey School of Acting and at the Gate Theatre, Dublin. She has appeared in numerous television and film productions, including The Country Girls (London films), Children In The Crossfire (CBS), The Irish RM (Channel 4) and Glenroe RTE). Her many theatrical appearances have earned Smith great praise, notably in the role of Christine in miss Julie (Dublin Critics Award 1976) and as Sister Agnes Paul in Semi Private. Gina Moxley is Brenda Ryan, the grand-daughter of the notorious Ryan family and friend to Nancy Doyle, Mickys girl. Moxley grew up in Cork, Ireland, where she studied painting at the Crawford School of Art After working in Dublin designing magazines and as a darkroom technician, she stumbled into the film business by chance. While on a working-holiday in Turkey eight years ago, Moxley was offered the lead role in Evlerden Biri, a feature film in which she quickly phonetically learnt Turkish. I got into acting by mistake. Obviously no thought went into it or I would have run in the opposite direction! Moxley appeared in Boss Gradys Boys at Dublins world-famous Abbey Theatre, and in productions for the Dublin Theatre Festival. Her numerous film and television credits include Lapsed Catholics for Channel 4 and RIE, the six-part RTE drama series Molloy and the Irish-Australian mini-series Act of Betrayal starring Elliot Gould. Brenda Ryan is somebody whos growing slowly in confidence. Shes part of this clan of strong Irish women - her grandmother and mother are fairly formidable characters, Moxley explains. James Nesbitt plays Fintan, Mickys friend and reluctant accomplice on a frantic journey through Ireland in search of Josef Locke. Trained at Londons Central School of Speech and Drama, Nesbitt was born in Ballymena and grew up in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Hear My Song is Nesbitts first film. Since graduating from drama school in 1988, he has appeared in Russian director Yuri Lybimovs celebrated year4ong world-tour of Hamlet, and in a few television productions. Nesbitt describes Fintan as a truly sympathetic character whos somewhat put upon by Micky. The type of guy the viewing public should like. Hes married with a couple of kids and is a small-time theatrical agent. Hes a long-time friend of Mickys. About the Filmmakers Peter Chelsom (Director/Writer) is interested in making quality films which are accessible to everyone. like Hear My Song, a comedy/romance about old-fashioned values which developed from an original story of Chelsoms. The story of Josef Locke and Micky ONeill suits the stuff of films because its dangerously near an edge of being melodramatic. I cant imagine making a film where there wasnt a huge amount of passion for the central character or those around him or her. Where characters are also pushed to their absolute limits. Where characters make very optimistic transitions, like Micky and Jo. In other words, the characters do the things that in real life you only hope they will do, or suspect they probably wont. Born in 1956, Chelsom remembers the real Josef Locke from his days growing up in Blackpool. The celebrated Irish tenor sang for 19 seasons at the seaside resort and was known as Mr Blackpool. He used to go into Chelsoms parents antique shop, The Golden Age, and his autograph is in their guest book. One of the films themes of how dreams can be distorted intrigues Chelsom. Theres a phrase in the film spoken by Grandma Ryan which is the key: You close your eyes. You cast your mind back thirty years and you see and hear what you want to see and hear. Dreams and longings and cravings for something more fundamental in a very transient world is what Hear My Song is all about. It is also about responsibilities. Chelsom trained as a photographer before spending three years at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He was the only actor to play leads at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the Royal Court before the age of 30. On television he played Edwin in A Woman of Substance and was the son in Sorrel And Son. Abruptly, after ten years, he stopped acting so as to concentrate on writing and directing films. His first film, a short called Tread4 won him international acclaim and a BAFTA nomination in 1988 for best cinema short. In the past two years he has also made 36 commercials, notably campaigns for Molson Canadian Lager, Tetley Beer and The Express newspaper. Not surprisingly, his speciality is dialogue and humour Hear My Song is Chelsoms first feature film. He is currently co-writing his second script with Adrian Dunbar entitled Sam and the Captain which he will direct. "); array_files[66]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/links.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Josef Locke: links page ","=Josef Locke, Joseph Locke, Irish tenor, Irish, tenor, Joe McPartland, Kevin Moulton, Ronnine Renalde, George Formby, Peter Lee, Mexborough, Joe Locke ","Appreciating Josef Locke, the great Irish tenor "," Josef Locke: links page GEORGE FORMBY George Formby - the complete, award-winning site dedicated to the Lancashire laughter-maker. Everything you could want in a site, designed with skill and love by a true admirer, Peter Pollard. JOE McPARTLAND Having retired from a prestigious job with McGraw-Hill, electrical expert Joe McPartland now finds time to enjoy another great love of his life - singing. A fine tenor, with a voice which can shame many up-coming hopefuls, Joe hails from New Jersey, and has had the thrill of singing with Josef. You can see my information page about Joe here, or visit his own site and listen to samples of his CDs available at Amazon. KEVIN MOULTON Visit the home page of New Jersey-based tenor Kevin Moulton, currently making a name for himself. He has also initiated a smashing Tenors Ring. Learn about Kevins career here DALE ANDERSON Dale Anderson is best known to the American public for his television travel and music specials. The critically acclaimed programs were billed as the worlds most beautiful music from the worlds most exciting places. The shows originated from Switzerland, Germany, Mexico City, Rome, Paris and other scenic destinations. He is a well-respected and popular tenor who includes many Irish favourites in his repertoire, and his website can be reached here. RONNIE RONALDE The great entertainer, Ronnie Ronalde; Ronnie lives in New Zealand, and has written his autobiography, and is still making wonderful music. Find out about it here RETURN "); array_files[67]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/moss.htm","2006-12-23","3K","Moss Empires - Josef Locke ","",""," Moss Empires - Josef Locke Moss Empires - managers comments card for Josef Locke which he had on his last visit. He is nevertheless in excellent voice and appearance, singing songs from comic opera together with the old Irish and sentimental numbers. He was exceptionallyt well received and undoubtedly a personal success. Sunderland 9/12/57 Well received. He is singing very well and all of his numbers, though mainly old, are being well liked in all parts of the house. His pianist accompanies him well. He is no longer a strong favourite here. Notts 23/12/57 Very well received. The artiste again gives a bright and entertaining programme. His voice remains good and his repertoire is well chosen. This unique card was part of the management records at Moss Empires. It charts the dates, and observations of theatre managers, of Josefs performances at various Moss establishments around the country. This card, from the latter end of 1957, also indicates how much of the house takings Josef was paid - in the case of Leeds he received 57 per cent of a takings bordering on £350. By todays standard, that would be equivalent to an appearance fee of some £1,000. Here are what the managers thought: Morecambe 23/9/57 Very good reception, this artist is still in good voice and is doing a much more straightforward act than on his previous visits, which is a great asset. Hils milking of the audience at the end of the act is still very much overdone and pointless, nevertheless he is working very well. Leeds 25/11/57 Exceptionally well received although this artise seems to have lost his hold on the public Home page "); array_files[68]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/movies.htm","2006-12-23","1K","movies ","",""," movies Josef Lockes movie page The above scenes are from one of the films Josef made for the small independent Mancunian Films, based in Manchester. His popularity as an entertainer ensured he was always given a song or two to sing. In Holidays with Pay (appearing with Frank Randle and Tessie OShea) he had simply a stroll-on part as an entertainer. But in What a Carry On, he had a starring role, opposite big-name comics Jewell and Walliss.He plays a Sgt. Major whose life is made a misery by inept Army recruits. Theres a sub-plot involving corruption, and Jo gets to sing at a reception. Its a typical low-budget slapstick romp, but his presence adds a lot of interest. "); array_files[69]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/news.htm","2006-12-23","10K","Josef Locke ","=Josef Locke, Irish, tenor, Blackpool, This is your life, Hear my song, County Kildare, Dublin, George Formby, Shirley Anne Field, Mexborough, Hear My Song, Peter Chelsom, Ned Beatty, Brendan Locke, Steve Barclay ","Josef Locke appreciation site by Peter Lee "," Josef Locke Portions extracted from the London Daily Mail from an article by June Southworth March 1992 Josef Locke is briefly back in London, back from the dead and firmly in the limelight for the premier of Hear My Song, a modest £2m film which features Ned Beatty In a role firmly based on Josef himself. Did this 63 ladies man enjoy his encounter with Princess Di at the Premiere? What did he think of her legs ? After all, they had reputedly lured him from what is now a self-imposed exile in County Kildare to the bright lights of London he never thought to see again. Sure now, isnt every man one for the ladies? I had Princess Diana come to see me, and Ill tell you she has a beautiful figure, a beautiful face and a beautiful nature. Yes, her legs are very fine too She couldnt have been nicer, such a lovely sweet personality and not big-headed at all. Shed read I had a bit of a throat, and so I had. She said shed read about it in the tabloids. I sang Danny Boy to her and it seemed to go down well. In fact I had a standing ovation. At least I thought it was for me. I went over so big I thought shed not mind if I sang another song. I was just going to start If I can Help Somebody as a tribute to her work. The pianist played a chord, I opened my mouth, and there was Michael Aspel * with the red book, and every beggar seemed to know about it but me. This Is Your Life would be a perilous enterprise for someone with such a chequered past. Jo, after all, was a very naughty boy. With such a colourful background, perhaps the biggest surprise is that it took so long for his story to make it to the big screen. In fact, ex-actor Peter Chelsom, who devised and directed Hear My Song, heard a tape of Jo singing as he drove to Blackpool and thought there would be quite a life behind that voice. It was beautiful, sentimental, outrageous, even a little ridiculous he says. I thought someone ought to research that man - madman that I am. Jo had become a myth. Apart from some dreadful films he made and some crackling records, only the legend existed and the memory of his stage performance. He originally wanted Jo to appear and sing in Hear My Song, but to get the financial backing he needed a name actor, and Jos voice today, great though it still is, did not quite fit Ned Beattys face. Tthe recording quality of Jos original tracks would have been impossible to mime to, and so it went on. persuading Jo to lend his name to the enterprise was no pushover. I only saw Jo genuinely thrown twice says Chelsom. Once was This is Your Life, and the other time was when I tracked him down to a bar in Spain after he disappeared without signing the contract for Clearance Rights that would have allowed us to make the film. I had to have him. He was the dream-maker. In the film he is watching some young girls dancing and says Would you like to be responsible for their dreams? It carries responsibility being the leading man. I used to tell Ned Beatty all the time that he was playing a universal commercial showman and there was no such thing as going over the top. Then he saw Jo perform in Ireland and said he could have done more. What does Jo get out of it? Well. its a genuine celebration of his career. He gets some money, but very little. Everyone gets pathetic fees. I deferred nearly half my fee and it all went. *Michael Aspel, host of the TV biography show This Is Your Life From the Blackpool Evening Gazette, March 1992 by David Pearce Showman and singing star Josef Locke returned in triumph to Blackpool where he made his name And he quickly turned back the clock to put audiences where they always ere - in the palm of his hand. But the Irish tenor slipped away from his seat at the Cannon Cinema in Church Street as soon as the lights went down. After all, he had seen the show before. Written and directed by Blackpool man Peter Chelsom, Hear My Song is a delightful movie loosely based on aspects of Josefs colourful lifestyle. After a soothing pint of Liffey water to ease a bad chest caused by flu, the 75-year-p;d entertainer returned to the auditorium just in time for the credits. Nearly 700 people packed the cinema, which stands on the site of the Hippodrome where Josef played seven of his 19 seasons in the resort. Blackpool was my second home Joe told the audience, which included locally-based stars of today like Les Dawson and Roy Walker. They had come to help raise around £7,000 for the cancer research charity Friends of Rosie. Peter Chelsom confessed Im nervous. Whether a local boy has made good lies in the opinion of his home town The applause told him the film had received another rave review. Audiences all over the world are voting it a big hit. Stars Shirley Anne Field and Tara Fitzgerald got a warm welcome.Shirley Anne, who had flown from Los Angeles especially for the northern premiere of the film, remembered when she turned on the illuminations. You switched them on for me tonight she said. Then there was a standing ovation when Josef Locke walked the catwalk decorated with his initials. Complete silence awaited a faultless unaccompanied performance of the folk song She walked through the Fair. Afterwards, at the Imperial Hotel, Joe confessed I had the words in my pocket because I was worried I wouldnt get it right. Blackpool has been good to me. Its a great town but Im looking forward to heading home to Ireland. Willy Kavanagh, Managing Director of EMI (Ireland) presents Josef with an award for his 1992 best-selling CD Hear My Song. This is the house Josef lived in while performing in Blackpool. He sold it to George Formby, another great British performer, who lived there until his death. (Picture by kind permission of Peter Pollard, George Formby Society). In one of the clippings making up the montage on the left of this page, you can see part of an advert for the Queens Theatre, Blackpool, where Josef enthralled summer season audiences. Before it was renamed, this is the theatre in its hey-day, when it was known as Feldmans. Return to the main page layer src=http://www.spidersoft.com/ads/bwz468_60.htm visibility=hidden id=a1 width=600 onload=moveToAbsolute(ad1.pageX,ad1.pageY); a1.clip.height=60;visibility=show; "); array_files[70]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/norma.htm","2006-12-23","5K","Josef Locke :a song by Richard Thompson performed by Norma Waterson on her album The Very Thought of Youreleased June 1999 ","ocke, Norma Waterson, Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention, Covent Garden, The very thought of youcontent ",""," Josef Locke :a song by Richard Thompson performed by Norma Waterson on her album The Very Thought of Youreleased June 1999 Josef Locke a song by Richard Thompson performed by Norma Waterson on her album The Very Thought of You released June 1999 Norma Waterson is one of Englands foremost folk singers. In her album `The Very Thought of You, she links old-time tunes with contemporary ones.After singing Blaze Away - a staple of Josefs repertoire - she sings a rather melancholy one called Josef Locke, based on an incident in Covent Garden, between the UK folk group Fairport Convention and a singer claiming to be Joe Locke. Intrigued, I wrote to Norma asking her what she knew of the story, and heres her reply: Dear Peter, I know only a little of the story behind the song. It happened to Fairport Convention after a gig in Covent Garden. Richard Thompson says the man came in and said he was Josef Locke, and that his music was better than theirs.He proceeded to sing, and Richard says he wasnt bad, but he has no idea if it was him or one of the many imitators of Josef in those days. He finally got very drunk and was thrown out of the pub. I am a big fan of the man, as is my mum Yours, Norma Waterson UPDATE: December 2005Richard Thompson recorded his song Josef Locke in 2005 especially for his upcoming box set RT The Life and Music of Richard Thompson. Its an acoustic version with just the composer singing & accompanying himself on guitar. 248 The liner notes say on page 135: Joseph Locke (Thompson - exclusive recording for this set 2005) Previously unreleased Also recorded by Norma Waterson Never before released by Richard (though he plays lead guitar on Norma Watersons version), this song was inspired by a real event. RT:It was an incident which made a real impression - one of those late night/early mornings in Covent Garden that we talked about... that curious mix of people; there was this character who claimed to be Josef Locke. I dont know if it was...or if we believed he was. Thats not whats important. The scene is the all-night pub, open at unearthy hours for the Market Workers and Middle Earthly hours for the underground freaks. Add opera-goers into the mix, and an Irishman, somewhat worse for drink, making this amazing claim and proving his point by singing (RT: As I recall, he wasnt bad). Eventually, he became too drunk and was evicted. And there he was, gone. Richard wanted to turn his recollections into an appropriate musical form and so wrote an aria, in which his character tells his life story, just as a character in an opera might introduce himself or reveal his innermost thoughts to the audience. He briefly quotes from a piece by Scarlatti. For more Richard Thompson-related information, you can visit this excellent site http://people.zeelandnet.nl/flipfeij/ Covent Garden - pictures I took in June 1999 RETURN to the Josef Locke home page "); array_files[71]=new Array(0,4,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/pamphlet.pdf","2006-12-23","206K"," pamphlet01.jpg ","",""," "); array_files[72]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/portrait.htm","2006-12-23","0K","New Page 1 ","",""," New Page 1 The new portrait of Josef in Derrys Millennium Forum "); array_files[73]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/presentation.htm","2006-12-23","1K","New Page 1 ","",""," New Page 1 Presentation to Mrs Carmel McLaughlin Helen Quigley, on behalf of the Mayor of Derry, presents a vase to Mrs Carmel McLaughlin in the Guildhall. Also pictured are John Hume, Peter McLaughlin, Pat Hume and Yvette Anderson. "); array_files[74]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/randle.htm","2006-12-23","11K","Frank Randle & Josef Locke ","=Josef Locke, King Twist, Frank Randle, Blackpool, Lancashire, Jeff Nuttall ","Review of King Twist by Jeff Nuttall "," Frank Randle & Josef Locke King Twist - a review INTRODUCTION The Lancashire comedian Frank Randle and Josef Locke would seem like an unlikely pair to form a friendship, but in their own right each was a superstar of the age; they would have felt the same pressures and held the same attitudes to their talent.In 1977 Leeds Poly lecturer Jeff Nuttall set of an odyssey to track down the real Frank Randle. His book, King Twist, is now long out of print. Heres a brief review, which sheds light on both Frank and Josef. Composite image showing Josef and Frank From the dust-jacket: Born in Wigan in 1901 and a childhood friend of George Formby, who was later to become his chief rival, Frank Randle was one of the greatest music-hall comedians of all time. His theatre career started in 1916, when he appeared as an acrobatic artist under the name of Arthur Twist. It was not until the thirties, however, that he achieved his greatest popularity and notoriety as a comedian whose wild, manic temperament introduced a fresh note of invention into popular entertainment. For ten years he ran his own touring company, Randles Scandals, playing to enthusiastic audiences all over the country. He also made a number of shoe-string movies and was the star of Blackpools most distinguished summer-season show. During the early fifties his health declined and he died in Blackpool in 1957. Jeff Nuttalls account of Frank Randle is both a portrait of a `very, very funny man and the story of his own search as he pieced that portrait together by talking to Randles acquaintances, friends, colleagues and relations. What emerges from his narrative is a beautifully recorded analysis of the ways in which working-class values are expressed in popular entertainment and are thus ritualised by it. The image Nuttall builds of Randle also allows him to explore the perennial theme of the clown as outsider and, with the passing of Randle, he acknowledges the passing of a certain naive optimism which Randle so expressively embodied. The author Jeff Nuttall, artist in sculpture, performance and words, teaches in the Fine Art Department at Leeds Polytechnic. His previous publications include Bomb Culture (MacGibbon and Kee, 1968), a best- selling study of pop culture, and Common Factors! Vulgar Factions (with Rodick Carmichael, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977). ISBN 0 7100 8977 5 REVIEW Nuttall has a way of conveying more than the words of his interviewees, he captures their attitudes and emotions too. He fully reports their testimony in a journalistic way. Take this for example: Blakely is sure that Randle was born in Wigan. He was always a gentleman offstage, quiet, reserved. We never saw any evidence of wild behaviour. Never too drunk to work. Always a glass in his hand but certainly not alcoholic. Do you remember, dear? Mind you, he would disappear for days. No warning. Just turn up at the studios at 8 oclock and no Randle. Where did he go? Who knows? Possible mental blackouts, fits of depression. Possible benders with Joe Locke. Did I know that Randle and Joe Locke were friendly? I would do well to contact Joe Locke. Those strained fragments from light opera I remember wafting from the wartime wireless sort uneasily with the idea of two- and three-day benders. And there was maybe a girlfriend somewhere. Tom and his wife exchange smiles. But he had a lovely house, you know, in Whitegate Drive, Blackpool, and a lovely wife, Queenie. We loved Queenie, didnt we dear? Writing in the first person, Nuttall manages to snare the reader into his quest: I put ads in the Stage and write a letter to the Guardian. A lot of ringing around after Locke, Nat Jackley, Sandy Powell, Tessie OShea, Diana Dors has got me next to nowhere. BBC, agencies, theatre managements, by some long-established freemasonry of the profession, protect the privacy of entertainers, even long-retired entertainers, as savagely as they would protect their own progeny. And what Nuttall cant discern from evidence, he concludes using his intuition; for instance, how could he have know what Randle felt like, without so much empathy?: He lived the life of a Munchausen, joined the Bispham hunt and fell off the horse at the first canter, appeared, none the less. in hunting pink for dinner with Joseph Locke and his wife at Craig Royston. On such occasions he was the grand actor. An invisible astrakhan collar was about his neck, an imaginary sombrero on his head, a silver-knobbed cane near visible in his hand. His use of adjective also makes the story spring to life; note the use of the word diabolic - a strange choice, but conjouring up all manner of riotous goings-on... With Locke, the stentorian Irish tenor to whom love descended like a nangellah twice nightly, and Percy Taylor who ran the local taxi-fleet, he formed a diabolic liaison. Locke, a capable man with the bottle and an eager man with his fists, was a familiar figure among the race-track professors and the bill-shuffling brotherhood of the Fylde half-world. Nuttall really got under the skin of Randle, tried to discern what motivated him, make sense of his attitude. We can make our own conclusions, but I think Nuttalls is very perceptive: Together he and Randle resolved that their way of life had nothing to do with income tax. It was part Wigan guttersnipe and part regent that went down to the office after second house on Saturday night and collected anything between a hundred pounds and a thousand pounds in readies. With Locke he was the libertine drunk, the tap-room roarer, whilst for the Blakelys he could be quietly spoken, even timid, and for friends and family he could be the nicest bloke in the world. It was with Locke that he conducted his most direct foray against the managerial class, the promoters and entrepreneurs, and the South. Because even though Queenie and her ma might want it, as they wanted him to become Roman Catholic, and even though he himself might want it as he glimpsed those levels of gentility which Rhoda had always symbolised, he knew that he could never join whole-heartedly the sophisticates of the South. It would cost him a crown he already had and the endless tolerance that went with it. Out of the mill he may be, and not just forgiven but loved for it. But he must keep it quite clear to those who struggled behind in the soot and the grime that he hadnt joined the other side, the gaffers and the toffee noses. Sometimes, Nuttalls words conjour up a picture so vivid, its like being there; note the crisps anecdote: And there were the times when Randle, the amateur, the Wigan alley lad, would re-affirm his grasp on his fundamental identity by skiving off for days at a time, leaving film sets idle and touring companies wildly improvising, while he and Jo Locke roistered round the cool tap-oiles of some undetectable Pennine hostelry, or else, alone, he zapped his currently unbuckled sports model up to Cumberland where he would spend days with a comfortable level of ale in him, throwing crisps to chickens over some lichen-covered five-bar gate And being a warts-and-all biography, Nuttall has to tell it like it is: It may have been a resentment of Formby lingering from the King Fun days. Nevertheless, whether Formby as guest of honour was the cause or not, large quantities of booze turned Randle and Locke. the old firm of iconoclasts, into a couple of whirling dynamos who, in turn, transformed Jimmy Brennans Lytham hotel, the site of the celebration, into a Mack Sennett set. Despite the caviar dribbling down the regency-stripe wallpaper, icy smiles were accomplished and hush-hush gestures to press and police, were immediately effective. Conclusion: A wonderful work on many planes; as a portrait of the man, it is quite startling. It also captures a feel for the attitudes and mores of the time, and also of the northern situation generally. It is beautifully crafted, actually, and combines elements of mystery and comedy. If you can borrow a copy, you wont regret it. Peter Lee Extracts and illustrations for review purposes only. All copyrights acknowledged. Review c. P.Lee 1998 Images from the book: a treasure trove of information about Frank. Franks headstone at Carelton Cemetery, near Blackpool Blackpool memories from Allan Fulcher... "); array_files[75]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/rt_lyric.htm","2006-12-23","3K","Josef Locke ","",""," Josef Locke Josef Locke a song by Richard Thompson performed by Norma Waterson on her album The Very Thought of You released June 1999 God bless all here and state your pleasure If youll refill my glass Ill sing Ave Maria Ill sing The Old Bog Road or A Shawl of Galway Grey and Ive been gone from you for some while those English taxmen theyve cramped my style and if you think Im some fraud upstart just let my voice be my calling card it melted hearts, and royal teardrops fell they loved me well, they loved me well My name is Josef Locke ladies and gents, now on your honour this is a damn poor show youll not call me a drunkard Ive sung for kings and princes how the memories still glow - O cessate di piagirmi * O lasciate mi morir O lasciate mi morir... all the applause, all the cheers and cries how many times did that curtain rise and now you dare mock the Singing Bobby Ill find the door, take your bullies off me a sweeter age it was that loved me well they loved me well *A friend of mine, Gwynne Newton, has kindly supplied the following information regarding the Italian verse: O cessate di piagarmi Text by Nicola Minato Set by Alessandro Scarlatti (1659-1725) O cessate di piagarmi, O lasciatemi morir Lucingrate, dispietate, Più del gelo E più del marmi Fredde e sorde a miei martir. And the translation would be: O stop hurting me O let me die ... RETURN to the Josef Locke home page "); array_files[76]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/setting.htm","2006-12-23","0K","New Page 1 ","",""," New Page 1 Setting for the new portrait of Josef in Derrys Millennium Forum "); array_files[77]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/speeches.html","2006-12-23","12K","Verbatin report of the official ","",""," Verbatin report of the official Verbatim report of the official speeches at the City Hotel, Derry, prior to the unveiling of the Josef Locke sculpture. Mayor Gearoid Ó hÉara Its my job to open these proceedings, and Id like to welcome you all here, a very distinguished group of people. And I think its very fitting that when we come to commemorate the memory of Joe Locke, a son of the city who was an ambassador on the world stage for almost 50 years, its very important we come together, and its very heartening. And Im sure for Carmel and Yvette its very heartening to see a such turnout of distinguished Derry folk. There are people here, I understand, who played with Joe Locke and performed with him over many years, and its very nice that youve come here. So Id like to thank the people of the city who have turned out, as well as guests who have travelled from further afield, and I understand there are people from as far afield as Scotland and beyond who have come just for the event. In just paying tribute to the person who was behind this whole initiative we have Michael Sheerin here, who has campaigned for two and a half years to bring this day about, and I think that we owe him a debt of gratitude in the city because it is very fitting that as we approach what would have been the 88th birthday of Joe that we unveil a monument in such a public place, and such a prominent place in the city to acknowledge his achievements to the music and the cultural life of this city. So thank you Michael for all your efforts. Michael has tortured everybody for the last two and a half years, and not only that, but he managed to talk Phil Coulter into hosting a benefit in the Millennium Forum last August, and Id like to thank Phil because that was the major part of the fund raising to fund this sculpture. And Id also like to thank Maurice Harron and Terry Quigley who were involved in designing the sculpture, and the Codetta choir, musical director Donald Doherty - and this is one of the finest choral groups I believe on the island - and look forward to hearing them perform three of Josef Lockes songs. Its an historic day for the city. Its an important day for the city, and there are other people here who are going to speak more knowledgably about Josef Locke, but thank you all for coming along. I know Carmel and Yvette are anxious to get out and see the sculpture, and so are the rest of us, so thank you for coming. Phil Coulter Its very heartening to hear Codetta carrying on the tradition which produced Josef Locke and so many other great musicians. Yesterday there was the launch of the Jazz Festival in the city, and today is this wonderful event. And its very heart warming for someone like myself who doesnt live in the city any more to come back and see the music is as alive as it ever was and it is of the calibre of Codetta, and Id just like to pay tribute to that. Well done. Now, as the Mayor said, this is all Michael Sheerins fault! He used the word he tortured everybody, and thats a pretty good description, because for months, if not years, I felt like Dr Richard Kimble in The Fugitive. Because every time the phone rang, it seemed to me it was Michael Sheerin, or every time a fax came through it was Michael Sheerin, then it was emails from Michael Sheerin, and when I couldnt get away with ignoring those, he enlisted John Hume to put the bite on me, so by a pincer movement they prevailed upon me to do a concert in the Forum last year. I was actually delighted to be able to do it, because I think its important for us. We think of ourselves as a city of song; we think of ourselves as having that great tradition of music and rightly so, and we should all be very proud of it. Add I think its right that we should celebrate it, and its right that we should celebrate the work of someone like Josef Locke. At one time, the three most popular Irish tenors in the world, Michael ODuffy, Patrick OHagan and Josef Locke all came from Derry. There was one famous occasion called A Night of a Thousand Stars, some of you may be old enough to remember it in the Guildhall, and again, it was Father Joseph Carlin who put the bite on me at that stage to be part of that. He had assembled a cast of the three tenors which Ive just mentioned, and Dana, and Majella Brady whos here, Wee Willy Doherty, James McCafferty, many people of fond memory, sadly no longer with us. And when I arrived, Joseph Carlin said to me Right, youre job is just introduce them, and work out the running order. I thought God Almighty, Ive got three Irish tenors... But you know what, there was no contest because with big Joe, he was the kind of guy who just dominated the stage. And its something in this day and age... just to put Josef Locke in context: in this day and age stars are manufactured overnight. Its just a product of the way television and video and MTV etc is, that stars expect to be born in a matter of days, or weeks, or months. In Joes time, it was an entirely different process. Joe spent a long, long time learning his craft, learning his trade, learning about stagecraft and learning that the voice, the talent is only the first stage, the first move. After that theres so many other things necessary. John Hume Im very delighted to be here today at the unveiling of the sculpture to our great Derry man, Josef Locke. And I always remember the first time I met him. I was a child, and I was astonished to learn what his first job was. He was a great friend of my uncle, whose name was also John Hume who had a fowl store in Abbey Street. And Josef Locke the famous singer came back to Derry, and the first place he went to was the fowl store in Abbey Street, and I was a wee fellow in those days doing messages for my uncle. And what did Josef say when he came in - I have to do my first job again. I have to pluck a fowl. And he went in and plucked a chicken, and thats the first time I met him. Im delighted to be here; congratulations to Terry Quigley who designed the sculpture, and Maurice Harron who was so impressed by the design that he used his enormous talents to produce the sculpture. And we thank you both for your work. Many performers fill this city with their arts and go out from this city and bring their talents to the world. And so it is very good that we in this city, so rich with such talent and creativity are here today to at last unveil this sculpture as a celebration of the life and work of one of our great musicians, Josef Locke. We also thank Michael Sheerin for his enthusiasm, for his vision and for his hard work in bringing this about. In raising the money to produce this sculpture Michael was pushing at an open door. Michael asked me to phone Phil Coulter to ask him to play at a fund-raising concert. Phil immediately agreed and took time from his busy schedule to help, and help very well. There are a large number of sponsors who donated money for this sculpture and they are listed in your brochures and we must thank all of them for their generosity. Derry people wanted to help, because we delight obviously in the music of Josef Locke and were so proud of the fact that he grew up here in this city. He was one of us. As a very young man he went out into the world. He joined the Irish guards at the age of 16, telling lies about his age, and in the late 30s he returned to Ireland and it was at that time he decided to bring his singing career further, and became a famous singer. He took his singing onto an international stage; he sang beautifully, and the world loved him as a singer. He brought the music we grew up with, the ballads of the people of Ireland, onto an international stage. His music is his legacy and a permanent monument to his life. It is his gift to everyone who heard, and who still hears his song. And so it is right that we in this city should do something for him, and to honour his memory with this sculpture. So today Josef, we celebrate your music, we love your voice, and we are very proud of you. Michael Sheerin I wish to thank the people who arrived here today for the celebration, to the Codetta Choir, to Donald Doherty, youre a pleasure to listen to. Always were and always will be. I have to say to Phil Coulter and John Hume, two great friends they are, thank you very much. I couldnt thank both of you enough. And I couldnt thank my sponsors, and our Mayor, enough. Thank you. I received a fax: I am very sorry I cant be with you all to celebrate the man with the song in his heart. With admiration and congratulations on this project. Seamus Heaney. I had a call late last night from Dana she apologised for not being here because of a film going on in Galway. She said she wishes all the best and she was delighted to see a man of such talent being given such a great honour in the city we love so well. Sorry to say someone cant be with us today because his leg is playing him up. Pat Ramsey. But Carmel Locke would like to present him with a token of gratitude for all the hard work he did behind the telephone. And I must thank him because Phil, it wasnt I who phoned you. It was Pat Ramsey. I used everybody! But I got there. (An engraved Waterford Crystal vase is presented to Pats daughter Nicola Ramsey, by Carmel Locke. And Carmel presents a Waterford piece to Michael praising Michael for his tireless work). "); array_files[78]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/josef/vernon.htm","2006-12-23","4K","Vernon Midgley - the voice of Hear My Song ","Vernon Midgley,Maryetta Midgley,Maryetta,Midgley,Josef Locke Irish tenor Ireland Clane Kildare Mexborough Peter Lee Ireland music male singer vocalist Blackpool ","Josef Locke appreciation page by Peter Lee "," Vernon Midgley - the voice of Hear My Song Spotlight on Vernon Midgley the man behind the voice of Ned Beatty in Hear My Song He was a distinguished student at the Royal Academy of Music, having won a three year scholarship and been honoured with an Associateship. On leaving the Royal Academy he spent two seasons with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. His career has subsequently embraced opera, operetta, oratorio, recitals and concerts, appearing at most of the country’s major concert halls including all those at London’s South bank and the Royal Albert hall. His trips abroad have taken him to America, Canada, Holland, Germany, Israel, Greece, Iran, Italy, Australia and France. His first television appearance was on Brannigan for Tyne Tees Television. Since then he has been seen in a number of operas and as a guest on spectacular shows and in such_serials_as Colditz, The French Connection, Love for Lydia and Father Matthew’s Daughter. He was also a guest on Pebble Mill at One. After one of his many appearances on the famous Good Old Days he received a postal response unequalled by any other artists in the twenty five year history of the programme. His voice was constantly heard advertising numerous and diverse commodities in a large number of television commercials. He has sung and appeared in a number of films including Willow, Bad Timing, Dangerous Liaisons, Tree of Hands. Hitler’s S.S. and of course Hear my Song, in which Vernon dubs the voice of Josef Locke. On radio he has appeared on countless light music programmes including, for a number of years, the International Festival of Light Music. However, the programme which has helped most to make him a household name is Friday Night is Music Night. He_has, on a number of occasions, presented with his sister Maryetta, their own highly successful series. He has been heard in numerous operas and operettas the last of which was The Gondoliers conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. SOme years ago he sang in version of Handel’s Messiah with the Huddersfield Choral Society and brass band accompaniment conducted by Harry Mortimer. Vernon has recorded various miscellaneous items for most of the major recording companies with leading orchestras conducted by Sinopoli, Abbado, Pretre, Muti, Levine, Scimone, Fenby and Maazel. He also produces records on his own label, again with his sister, the latest of which is The Romance of Ivor Novello, available on LP, Cassette and CD. A full catalogue may be obtained from MVM Records, P0 Box 131, Banstead, Surrey. SM7 1PH Vernon has sung on a number of occasions for members of the Royal Family, including the Princess of Wales. He and his sister were greatly honoured by being chosen by the Queen Mother to take part in her Royal Command Performance to celebrate her 85th birthday. INDEX "); file_count=79;