Happy Birthday Mick - Free Bus Pass and a Pension
It's frightening that West Side Story is 50 years old. Lord Patel was a spotty teenager who had regular access to the Opera House in Manchester in September 1958 and saw the premiere. Note this first showing was in Manchester NOT London .. we also got to see the memorable first night of TWANG !! at the Palace Theatre. A disastrous Lionel Bart musical with Anthony Newley, said to have been based on the story of Robin Hood. It lasted a seemingly interminable 3 hours.
Brought up on wholesome diet of Oklahoma! and Gilbert & Sullivan light operas, the effect of this bastardized story of the Montagus and Capulets was stunning., especially the transformation scene when the female chorus sing America!
Gee Officer Krupke!, was a revelation.
Lord Patel at the time had a Saturday job re-arranging sheet music at White & Swales . This was a tiny music shop in Grafton Street, Altrincham. The partners were pianist Noel White ex chairman and director of Altrincham FC, Liverpool FC one of the architects of the the Premier League and now Chairman of the powerful FA International Committee. Peter Swales was very fond of the odd drink or two and was, at his peak Chairman of Manchester City he died in 1996 aged 64.
This was the THE place to be on Saturday afternoons to riffle through the boxes of 78's and listen in to the booths, ogle the girls and act cool. They expanded into white goods and TV's with multiple shops throughout the NW and sold out to Curry's for millions.
Lord Patel seized the opportunity to write down the words from the sheet music and learn them, principally to shock teachers ...
Gee, Officer Krupke,
We're down on our knees,
'Cause no one wants a fellow with a social disease.
Gee, Officer Krupke,
What are we to do?
Gee, Officer Krupke,
Krup you!
The last line of which became our secret oath which mystified our guardians. We were also singing Rock around the Clock , Hound Dog and Good Golly Miss Molly !! .. as no doubt Sir Mick Jagger did at Dartford Grammar School. He is 65 today.
