Music Ramblings
Vince Tracy
Originally from Birkenhead, Vince began working at a local
hospital radio station before joining BBC Radio Merseyside.
Significantly influenced by Radio Caroline as well as by great
entertainers such as Morecambe & Wise, Tommy Cooper, The
Two Ronnies and DJs such as Jimmy Young and Steve Wright,
Vince has chatted with hundreds of celebrities - musicians/
actors/sports stars/politicians. His website lists many of them.
Listen to his daily blog/podcasts at http://www.vincetracy.
com/blog9
or to view his website go to http://www.vincetracy.com
Featuring my radio guest Don Woods.
You might know that I make podcasts each week, with various people, on various themes. One
such correspondent is with my friend, Don Woods. Don sends me songs that he has written
over the years and we discuss how they came about and what happened to them. Recently, we
discussed a song Don was asked to write for Cannon and Ball in the late 1970s. Don heard
nothing for a few months so he went down to Stoke where they were on tour. He weaselled his
way into the theatre and got to meet them. He asked what the situation with the song was. They
were obviously stalling. Eventually they decided to record “Wind beneath My Wings” which didn’t
progress for them. So did Don give up on his song?
He eventually took his song to a local theatre where The Krankies were performing and asked the
manager to give them the cassette. I hope you remember The Krankies, with little Jimmy being
the lady of course! The Krankies got in touch with Don and said they liked the song, and they
eventually performed it on the Royal Command Show. Just to show you how life can be, Don was
on a show with them in the 1990s and told them about that song. They all became friends and Don
has been writing songs for them ever since.
You probably won’t know Don. We first met around 1974 when he was a guest on my BBC Radio
Merseyside show. We lost contact over the years but as luck would have it he became one of my
correspondents when I worked for Onda Cero International (OCI) here in Spain.
Don was telling me of a time when he had been approached by the BBC. The BBC knew of his
radio jingles and an executive asked him to write a novelty song for the Knowsley North byelection which was to feature nationally on Newsnight. The seat is on Merseyside. There were
three politicians involved…Rosie Cooper for the Liberals, George Howarth for Labour, and Roger
something for the Conservatives. Don devised a song “Rosie, George or Rog…who’s it gonna
be?” The BBC were chuffed with the song and invited him to appear on the programme and sing
the song which he did. They then did a follow-up programme “searching” for a lost species called
Derek Hatton! I hope you remember these UK personalities!
Don is charismatic, inventive and also very shrewd. He had a career in Trading Standards running
alongside his musical career and has also established his own music publishing company. He
epitomises the things a young musician should be taught. Rather than be carried away on a
wing and a prayer of aspiration and hope Don laid down the foundations of a solid career and
enjoyed his music and creative talents. He decided how and when he would work rather than be
at the whim of the music industry. By all means it is wonderful when a young person can have the
courage of his/her convictions and be a full-time performer but it is good advice to have a back-up
plan and to give yourself a solid financial platform from which to base your activities.
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