A very Vintage Life indeed - An interview with the creator of Vintage Life Magazine Rachel Egglestone-Evans

This week we have something a bit different for you... Ever fancied yourself as a bit of  media mogul? Ever watched Citizen Kane and thought "Hey, I could do that"? Well this week Retro LadyLand visits the office of a woman who did, the woman behind the magazine that has become a phenomenon among the British vintage community and is, with its worldwide release, about to take over the vintage world! 

When did you first have the idea for the magazine?

"When I was in the 4th year at school, I had an English project to create. Instead of writing an essay, I wrote a magazine! I called it Sweet 16 (I know, right). I designed it too and handed it in. My teacher was so shocked, she gave me a fabulous grade… but believe it or not, I forgot all about magazines! It wasn't until I was doing an MA in Military History, that I had an opportunity to work for another magazine and I later took it on. Although I loved it, it was heavy military history, and while at a re-enactment show, I turned to my cousin Lisa (my Deputy Editor) and said, "That's  it - I need a magazine to fulfil my vintage obsession."  I did my homework, and ta–da!"

And who helped you get started?

"My fabulous team! I work with my family; we are a family run business. It keeps our feet on the ground and ensures we work hard. They are my backbone and we have been through thick and thin… just don't mention deadlines to anyone! The team also extends to my team of writers… many of which still write for us today. They believed in me and I in them! Of course the readers – they jumped on board from issue one!"

So, we know that these things don't happen over night, how long did it take you to start Vintage Life?

"Already being set up as a publisher, and with a good few years of experience under my belt, I was in a good position. Starting a magazine from scratch is not easy. I would say it took 6 months to get things rolling."

And how did you finance the project?

"Hard work! I was publishing other magazines at the time too, so they provided some income, but we had to make the project stand on its own two feet. Long hours, lots of hard work and persistence… We're talking 7 day weeks, starting at 7 finishing… well when you finish! It's not a 9 to 5 ;)"

Where you ever scared that it would fail?

"No, never. That's not meant to sound over confident or cocky, but what's the point in starting a project, if you don't mean to make it work?"

Did you realise that there was going to be such a boom in the vintage market when you started the magazine?

"I hoped there would be, and my instincts said there would be, but no amount of market research could have prepared us for such a boom. It makes me very happy!"

Why do you think there has been?

"Easy – simple classics rock. In times of social and economic depressions – people become nostalgic!"

Now you've had so many great people in your mag, but who’s your favourite person that you’ve ever featured?

"Ooooh, that's a hard one. I loved meeting Caro Emerald, she is a beautiful and friendly lady. As a fitness freak, I loved having Diana Moran (the Green Godess), but I think interviewing Henry Winkler was a highlight… I mean, who wouldn't want to talk with The Fonz?!"

OK, but who would you most like to interview, dead or alive?

"Napoleon – but I guess that's not the answer you're looking for right? All of the Veterans from Easy Company (Band of Brothers) – I met a few of them, luckily. Those guys, have stories to tell. I think I would have most liked to interview Karen Carpenter and Judy Garland. "

What are your aspirations for the magazine?

"I keep coming up with new ones, which is great, as it means I met the previous ones. I think to include even more pages and to reach every one who feels they are cut off from the scene – and make them feel part of a great movement!"

You have recently brought out Vintage Life for boys, how is that going?

"It was going great. But to be completely honest, we couldn't manage both, as Her Vintage Life had a huge spike in popularity and we had to concentrate on one and make it stronger. I didn't want to water them down, by spreading the team too thinly. It was fabulous while it lasted, but I'm a business woman – I have to make sensible decisions."

You’ve obviously had loads of letters and tweets, have you had any that stand out? 

"Gosh, there have been a lot! I think a few stand out…Dita Von Teese, Paloma Faith, The British Bake Off, Downton Abbey  – but I think my favourite was from a lady who said she was previously a man, and we had given her the style confidence to go out and be herself. That's life changing! "

So, what about you, How long have you been into vintage?

"I've been a re-enactor all my life. That set me up to appreciate history. I can honestly and proudly say, I have always been into it – my parents and grandparents are to thank for that. "

And who is your style inspiration?

"I get asked this a lot. There isn't really one answer. As a designer, I like to take ideas from here, there and everywhere. But if I had to pick one – my mum. " 

And can I  finally, I love Vintage life, it is my personal magazine of choice, but what is yours? 

"I guess I can't say Vintage Life? Ha! I love Coast Magazine."

So, do you still fancy starting a magazine... I'm thinking about it too...

For more info on the fabulous magazine go to http://www.vintagelifemagazine.com/ or pick one up at WHSmiths or any vintage shop worth their salt... You may like some of the features writers... espcially one who goes by the name Charlotte Cooper... 

A Delightful Encounter with the Correspondents - an interview

The night was cool, and there was a chill in the air, but not of cold as one would expect, no this chill came from the excitement I felt as I sat in the station waiting for the next train pull in. 

I heard the whistle from the station master and started reapplying my rouge in anticipation. I straightened my blouse, sipped my tea and checked my hair in the mirror from my handbag. But as I was reapplying  my lipstick I caught sight of something in the reflection and it wasn't just my face... As the steam from the train cleared, they came perfectly into view, I wasn't sure at first but then I was certain... it was them... They entered the cafe, took the corner table and started perusing the menus.

Goodness, my heart fluttered in a way it hadn't for many a month... It was Mr Bruce and his MC DJ Chucks, also know as the The Correspondents. I took a big bite out of my jam rolly polly, a large sip of tea, took a deep breath and walked over to the pair and smiled.

I  was so terribly, terribly nervous, but I introduced myself and sat down, they seemed very friendly if a little surprised at my welcome, and so terribly, terribly handsome. I enquired as to if I might ask them a few questions... They shrugged and said it was fine... Gosh I thought, this was to be my lucky day.

I started with an easy one to lighten the mood... So, how did you fellows get together? 

Mr Bruce: It started by complete accident really, both of us were at separate universities, we came back to London, We’d both done bits and bobs of music but then um… we started making beats in his [Chucks] bedroom.

Chucks:  At Uni I used to make kinda Jazzy hip hop and then started with something with a bit of swing and then made it faster, a bit more double time with a swing beat. Then we both came back from Uni and Mr Bruce was doing some MC-ing – general dance music and then we started doing sets at friends parties, things like that, recording a few tracks and then it all just kinda went from there… we didn’t really do much we just …

Mr B: We didn’t really have an aspiration to be in a band, that’s for sure…

C: Yeah, it was just a happy accident!

Mr B: Then we suddenly found that we were in a full time job doing it.

So who discovered you? Who picked you up as it were…?

Mr B: Well we were very lucky, one of our very first gigs as the Correspondents was with a theatre company called Punch drunk… We just sent in a CD of our stuff and a few other things that we would play in a set and they said “oh this is great, we’ve got these after parties going on” and we became a residesident act and I think the second gig we played with them was with Basement Jaxx! So we sort of peeked to soon really! Then they invited us to do one of their nights and then off the back of doing these gigs, as a lot of promoters came along, we ended up with a lot of festival gigs…

And how do you describe your music?...  Can you describe your music?

Mr B: Uh… This has actually been a bit of a problem, we don’t actually have a tight little PR-able title… Because the album is [turns to Chucks] Well you describe it as ‘genre blending’…

C: Yes, it’s multi genre, alternative dance music. It’s got everything from Blues rock to 60s organ soul, from drum and bass to hip hop…

Mr B: Via electro…

C: So yes… It’s whatever tickles our fancy…

And how do you develop a song?

C: Production is a bit trial and error, just what happens to be working… You just keep on going down that train of thought, so that can take you were ever and then when I’ve got something I’m vaguely happy with I’ll send it to Mr Bruce who’ll write …

Mr B: The lyrics on top…

So do you work in a studio then? 

C: Yes, a very small studio… A domestic studio…

Mr B: We’ve spent a bit of time in a bigger studio, a proper one with the big recording desks and everything but actually we often found that we didn’t get the sound we wanted… We understood our little space with the two mattresses at the back…

So do you think technology has changed that as well?

Both: Yeah Yeah Yeah…

Mr. B: because it’s so simple, because we’re just recording vocals, we don’t need all those drums, that’s also I think part of the reason why are so multi genre… I mean, if we were a four piece band we’d have to have four people playing those instruments…

C: yeah

Mr B: Where as it is Chucks will just make a little funk track, or something that is slightly disco or house and it doesn’t need to involve 4 people.

C: You don’t have to have Jimmy on the xylophone on every single tune…

So who are your influences? Because the scope must be wiiiide….

Mr B: It’s really difficult… I think we could both say who we listen to at the moment and who we have listened to, but I don’t think there are any direct influences… I think it’s more that we both listen to a lot of music and it filters in in a lot of weird ways… I mean there are certain tracks that sound a bit like 'Justice', but there are others that sound…

C: More straight hip hop… It’s really whatever isn’t boring us… ‘Cos we’re on the road so much we listen to new music and different stuff and old music… So we enjoy it all really… I would say one of our large influences are our clubbing experiences when we were teenagers, because we would always go drum and base clubbing and I would go to those all male hip hop clubs where all those white students would stand there in hoodies pretending to be alpha males…

We all laughed at this one, myself not so loud as I wasn't quite sure what a 'hoodie' was, maybe something to do with monks I thought, but didn't think it polite to ask and I didn't want to seem stupid. 

And from having a jazz background…

So has your music evolved since you met?

C: When we started it was fully swing remixed with hippy hoppy drum and bass stuff and now there are still elements of swing, but very little… Just on a couple of tracks.

Mr B: And the album has none…

C: I would say there’s always a element of jazz which is run through the whole thing…

Mr B: We were at customs once in NewZealand and someone asked what we did and we said… “Ahh it’s really complicated… It’s kinda multi genre, jazzy sort of thing…” and she went “Oh so it’s dance music, but with jazz chords” And we thought “That’s perfect!” because it’s not jazz necessarily, but it’s jazz chords…

C: But I would say it’s continually evolving.

So where will it go from here?

Mr B: Well I’m somewhat reliant on what Chucks makes and passes on to me…

Over to you then Chucks, I said with a coquettish grin, So how do you make it?

C: Well it starts with a blank canvas, then I lay down some drum beats and add some chords and see where it goes from there… Or maybe start with a sample, but I don’t think we really use samples anymore…

And does the music always come first… and then the lyrics?

Mr B: Pretty much, there’s been once or twice when it’s been the other way round, but on the whole it’s what Chucks comes up with and then me… But once we had a body of work together and we thought ‘right we’re going to be making an album now that’s when we started shifting things around and maybe changing a track either lyrically or in terms of the instrumentation.

My favourite track of theirs had to be Fear and Delight, I always find myself humming it while

cleaning the silver... What do you consider your best track?

Mr B: Probably the tracks that we haven’t performed yet and that are on the album are the ones that  we prefer because they are fresh in our mind… so… and lyrically some of the stuff that’s on the album is a little more introspective and a little more personal..

C: The mid, final third self-indulgent album tracks are our favourite ones which the bands always like but they’re never the kind of radio ones…

And how long do they take to make?

C: Fear and Delight has been through so many revisions, I mean that track has been on the go for two years, trying to mix it in different ways and get it, we originally wanted it to sound a bit like ‘Love cats’ [The Cure] That’s the sound we wer going for.

Mr B: The bass line

C: But then it kind of failed so it turned into a rolling 60s thing, but um… my favourite tracks tend to be the ones that happened quite quickly…

Mr B: There’s a fine line, we’ll start making something and then think this is sort of over taken the track and so we’ll have that as something to either react with or align ourselves with…

Now I had to talk to Mr Bruce about his look, it was so dapper and stylish... So what came first, I

asked... the music or the look? 

Mr B: I ‘m a very aesthetic person, I studied fine art at art college, so ive always been very aesthetically inclined but the decision to wear round glasses wasn’t conscious one, it was kinds going into a shop and going “Oooh, they look nice!” … I think very carefully about what I’m going to wear on stage  and then a great costume designer called Carly Hague makes all the outfits.

The black and white one, very David Bowie…

Mr B: You’ve said exactly the right thing to me there! But I used to be far more peacocky in day to day life…

Do you have a style icon?

Mr B: I don’t think I have one… erm… I went to the recent Bowie exhibition, which I thought was amazing and to see the construction of some of those pieces was incredible... But there were some pieces that were really awful… So I don’t think you can pinpoint someone and say ooh yeah, everything they wear is amazing. There are certain artists that I love, I mean I love the way the school of London used to dress, David Hockney, people like that.

OK, I've asked influences, but who do you guys like, musically? Who would be in your dream band?

C: Urrm…. I’d probably have Cut Chemist, a guy from Jurassic 5 on the decks… This rapper called Edan, He’s my favourite rapper… and singer? Who do you pick singer wise?

Mr B: David Burn would have to be up there I think.

Interesting mix I thought, a pharmacist, paper and what appears to be some kind of dinosaur on a boat? I do hope these clean cut boys weren't on drugs....

C: We are talking about separate bands here…

Mr B: Yes, David Burn and Edan…?

I dunno… I said laughing... But I really didn't...

Mr B: Lyrically I think the Arctic monkeys are great and Jarvis Cocker is incredible…

C: I love the bassist from Jamiriqui

Mr B: But only the bassisit…

C: Yeah… [laughter] Erm… Bernard Perdy on drums [James Browns drummer]

Mr B: Theres a guy who’s not really up chucks’ alley… Is it ok to say that? Is a guy called Gerod Bishoff who I really like. He’s a Seattle based composer…

C: We both loved Janelle Monaes first album as well, that was actually slightly influential on our album. Certainly in its eclectic-ness and it’s movement through the album.

C:… And Steps….

Now I did get this one and we laughed like drains!

So where have you been, or going to?

Mr B: We’re going to Australia… actually we’re going to random places… Copenhagen, Slovenia then on to Australia…

Do you have a good fan set out there?

MR B: Well we went to Australia and New Zealand in march, playing with Womad, they organise it very well and they obviously did a fair bit of promotion on our behalf and we were expecting to play to 20 people in a field but I think our smallest crowd was about 3000, so it was really amazing and quite over whelming!

C: We play everywhere in the UK, we were just talking on the way here, the only place we haven’t been is Glasgow… they don’t like us in Glasgow for some reason…

MR B: We’ve played a lot in Eastern Europe weirdly enough. It’s not just like going travelling or going on holiday, you do get funny little insites into the places you’re going to because you’re with promoters…

Any good stories?

Mr B: I think our most rock and roll was in Guernsey…

C: Oh god yeah Guernsey…

Guernsey? This better be good…

Mr B: Yeah, that’s why it’s so funny… It was in this hotel and we had a really, really drunken evening with The Buzzcocks..

Mr B: They drunk us under the table, quite literally…

C: Yeah and into the flowerbed!They were really nice… Hammered the minute they got of the flight… how they’re still alive is very impressive!

Mr B: It’s amazing those people can still attain that punk life style. I don’t touch a drop before I go on.

So why after all this time is this your first album?

Mr B: Because we’ve never quite been happy enough with a large enough body of work to release an album, because the way the set works is that things get rotated all the time, so we’ll be into these three or four tracks and then think, no we’re getting a bit tired of them and those will disappear and we’ll bring in some more stuff… and think it’s only in the last two years that we’ve really been happy with a body of music that we could call an album.

Ok, good idea... and now, tell me about the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABS-mlep5rY

 Mr B: now that’s down to a very talented fellow called Naren Wilks. The actual filming took about 5 nights, we had to do it at night time to get even light as it was in this studio with sky lights. It’s in this perfectly cylindrical green screen space and had eight cameras set along the top, all symmetrically pointing inwards and all the footage is overlade onto one piece…

So it’s not just repeated?

MR B: No, it’s not CGI… It’s completely manual, the whole thing. If you look at the second scene of the video, I’m being viewed from eight different perspectives, so you can’t do that in CGI. So every single scene is made up of eight pieces of footage. It’s just mind blowing what he did…

And was it all the film makers idea? Or did you have a say in it?

Mr B: I mean we talked about story boards, but our main interaction with him was saying remember this is a music video, not an arts piece.

It does have a wonderful George Méliès feeling…

MR B: We’re about to release a Making of video which will explain the whole thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzVWUYjGoDg

You have a natural presence on screen, do you think this is part of your artistic background? Or do you have a theatrically background?

Mr B: Well as I always say, I like being centre of attention, especially on stage that is… and if there is a camera in front of you, you might as well play up to it.

I couldn't agree more, I so terribly terribly agreed... Then I noticed their expressions change and a awkward silence hung in the air like thick cigar smoke... What could it have been I thought to myself? I had been charming and polite, what could be wrong... 

I wiped my hands on my apron, picked up my ordering pad from the table, stood up and smiled at them... Maybe their train was due? Maybe they had missed it because we were talking? Maybe they had the wrong tickets?... Maybe.... Oooh....

Then it came to me, gosh what a ninny I had been, what a terribly, terribly inconsiderate ninny... I smiled at them, I knew what was wrong and why they were looking at me in that peculiar way...

"Hello" I started "My names Mabel, may I take your order?"

                                                                                                                                                                     

For more info go to http://thecorrespondents.co.uk/     
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheCorrespondents?ref=ts&fref=ts
And watch the Video at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABS-mlep5rY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

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Delayed interview

Sadly due to Christmas, (bloody Christmas) My interview with the wonderful Eileen Dietz has been held up.... But hold on, it will be here. But happy birthday to the Exorcist anyway, released today 40 years ago in 1973.

Please sir can I have more Shani Wallis - An interview

I stood with the others outside the stage door... Oh to meet my idol, what a exciting moment. At any moment Shani Wallis, star of 'Oliver!', the one true Nancy, was going to be leaving through that door and if I was lucky, I would be able to talk to her, maybe even get an autograph...

I held on tight to my programme, getting crumpled and damp, curled up in my sweaty hands and waited. People pushed and shoved to get to the front, but I just stood patiently, knowing if it was meant to be it would be...

Then suddenly, like a tap was turned on, the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down, everybody ran to take cover, but I stood there, a little rain wasn't going to put me off meeting my idol.

Shani Wallis was born in 1933 in the Tottenham borough of London, she is perhaps best known for her roles on the West end and of course her role as Nancy in the 1968 Oscar-winning musical Oliver! A friend of the stars, she now lives in California with her husband, Actor Bernie Rich.

The rain got heavier and there was still no sign of Shani, most people had left, soaked through, but I stood fast. Then finally the door opened and out she came, looking radiant. A few fans rushed to her and she signed their programmes, but then she noticed me, hair clinging to my face, my dress sodden, gosh, I must have looked like a sorry excuse for a person. She smiled at me sympathetically and excused her self from the crowd and rushing forward towards me. Grabbing my hand she pulled me under her brolly and said in her soft, still very British voice "How about a cuppa and a chat eh?"

We dived into the first little cafe we could found and sat down, ordering a couple of cups of tea she asked me, what I wanted to know...

I started off with an obvious one. I asked, how did you get the part of Nancy? Is it true that having a really cockney accent helped? 

"Oh definitely, definitely. But what truly happened was that I was doing a Broadway show and the Broadway show, believe it or not, was called A Time for Singing and it was, you must know the book How Green Was My Valley?"

I nodded,

"Well you know that and I played Anne Harred and Ivor Emmanuel, a beautiful Welsh singer, played the male lead and um that’s what was happening at the time. If you ever get a chance to hear the music from A Time For Singing it is glorious! Glorious! But unfortunately it was a very sad ending and at that time, you know there are a lot of musicals now that have sad endings, but at the time it didn’t work so it didn’t last very long. 

But Ed Sullivan came in to see the show and he saw me sing the ballad and it’s a very beautiful ballad. I was in period costume and he said “Would you come on my show and sing the song?” and I said yes I would. So I went on, the song is called Let Me Love You and I was seen by, well, obviously seen by millions of people, I mean his show was very popular. Mike someone, head of Columbia Pictures in Hollywood, was looking on the television and saw me. He knew me from England, he was also head of Columbia in England and he saw me in Irma La Douce and a lot of other shows but he happened to see me on television and sent me a telegram. It said I have a role that will suit you totally and completely, fly out to Hollywood! And that’s how I, and I went out there and of course he wanted me. 

His partner was John Wolf in England and John Wolf was not too sure about me but he said “Well, we’ll see, does she have a Cockney accent?”. I had to go to England and I had to record a lot of the dialogue in my true Cockney accent because I am a Cockney. It took me a long time to get that role. I mean I went through the mill, they put wigs on me and they didn’t look right, and eventually I said oh come on, let me use my own hair, which at that time was very nice and very strawberry red but they said but she’s always had black hair. I said well, it doesn’t suit me! I’ve got a tiny little face and it just won’t do! So eventually I landed up with my own hair. I know I took a long time to get to that, but that’s how it happened."

Wow, so you’re a real, true Cockney Londoner? Where were you born?

"In Tottenham. In North London. I’m very proud of it, I’m very proud of coming from Tottenham. I went to Tottenham High School and I used to go to the Royal Tottenham which was a, I had a, my biggest desire was to be on Dancing with the Stars, which I will probably never make but the Royal Tottenham was the ballroom place and I used to stand outside hoping that somebody would take me in, you know, you needed somebody to take you in those days. So I’m very proud of coming from there. "

I know you now live in California, Do you get home much? 

"Um, well my husband is sitting here with me, we don’t get back to England that much do we? I mean I’ll do a show there, I used to do TV, my own television show I did there and then I did a play there, a musical, but...oh yes, then I’d go back for the Tom Jones show, the Humperdink show, you know, and oh yes of course 42nd Street! Oh my God, I did that for almost 2 years. They wanted me to stay and I said my husband’s going to divorce me if I don’t go back! You know, that was wonderful, I really enjoyed doing that. Actually I started off doing it with Frankie Vaughn."

Oh wow! I exclaimed

"Yeah, and then um, he had problems and he wasn’t able to finish his contract. I mean, apropos of nothing, it’s a little incidental thing, but there was a lovely young lady in the show who used to be very interested and used to come and see me in the dressing room and everybody was off and she was the understudy to the understudy and she went on one night and she was absolutely fabulous! It turned out to be Catherine Zeta Jones..."

I read that you practiced for six months before you even had a camera on? 

"Oh yes, yes, totally. I mean we did a lot of dance movements, you had to limber every day and you know, everybody was learning the songs and oh yes, it took a long time, that musical. But, the wonderful part of it is, that everybody, when you see it, it doesn’t have a digital work like it does today, you know, instead of their being six people on screen they go de dum de dum de dum and they multiply it, everybody that you saw on that screen was there."

It was all filmed indoors, wasn’t it?

"Noooo, I mean there were huge huge huge studios yes, there was Fagin’s Den and there was where the whole of Fagin’s Den sort of disintigrated and where I did the song If He Needs Me, and that was a huge cold, very cold studio. But, um, all of the, that, that was a facade all built, that whole Bloomsbury was all you know, the homes and the houses that was all a facade. Then of course it was a natural, all the lawns and everything was all natural, it was outdoors."

I blushed cursing my error... Oh, it was outdoors? 

"Of course, yes, and then they had the street, you know, but I’m thinking of Harry Secombe’s song, ohhh, what was it?"

Boy for Sale? 

"Yes, Boy for Sale, yes, the filmed that whole thing on a wonderful exquisite set with all the snow and everything outdoors.

Oh wow! Well, how did it feel just to walk around? Did it feel like it was real when you walked around it?"

"Definitely, because you know it was a whole different era and I mean, I look back on those pictures and on my photographs and everything and you see us just looking, well, pretty gross standing there in the freezing cold and talking to our friends on the set. But then you look around at the set and it’s all in a totally different era. It was quite amazing and especially Consider Yourself with Jack Wilde and Mark Lester, that set. And the train, the train going across. That was built. That was all built outdoors! Then, you remember the boat that goes by in Be Back Soon, that was in a studio, in the big studio.

I’ve just been with Ron Moody. I was with him in Chicago, when...a couple of months ago? And with Mark Lester, we were all reunited and we had a great time and it was wonderful. And of course Ron, there is no other Fagin. There is no other. There is no other. You can’t go any further than that."

... And you are the only Nancy, I said...

"Yes, well this was the thing, they always want to do the same thing. You know, oh well we’ve got this and they put you into a little box but if it doesn’t suit you you have to stick to what you believe and nothing about the look when I first was chosen, you know, I had to do a lot of, I had to do a film test just the same as everybody else. I was with great company and I felt....Lewis Gilbert did the test and it was strange because Sir Carole Reed, who directed the movie, did not do the test, did not actually meet me then. When he did meet me, one evening with all the big wigs you know, he said “but you’re so tiny and you looked so enormous on the screen!”. So, you know, I was a tiny person in person but very big on the screen. "

And I had to ask about Olly Reed... He had a fearsome reputation, I wondered if it was justified...

"You know, I think, Sir Carole Reed was the most amazing director, I shouldn’t say this....one of the biggest reasons why Oliver was so incredibly successful and so incredibly good was because Sir Carole Reed insisted, even though the music was great, even though the dancing was great, and everybody there used their creativity and everything was so great....the main thing about Sir Carole Reed was that he was stubborn. He said I will not give up this story, this story means everything. This drama means everything. You know, when you think about musicals, oh it’s music and it’s all happy, but no, he insisted that everything was drama first then music. He had more rows, he didn’t get along with I think Oom Pah Pah, which everybody loves, everybody loves Oom Pah Pah. But the whole drama of that scene was that Nancy was taking Oliver away, how was she going to do it? He was being guarded by the dog! And the whole reason for Oom Pah Pah being the success that it was was not just the song but the drama that went with it. Am I going on? 

But you’re asking about Oliver Reed. Oliver Reed was a very strange person. Yes, I think you said in one of your questions have I ever seen him besotted? Yes, I have, and he was very rude, which didn’t help with the Screen Actors Guild when they were showing the new vision of Oliver when it was redone. And um, he obviously he had gotten worse since Oliver, but he was very intense, very intense, everything had to be so darned real. I mean if you take that last scene where he kills her, and Nancy goes to the bridge and takes the little boy, well he said to me “You do what you want. I will do the rest”. And that’s how that became so dramatic, that last scene, because when I went out I did not expect it, I said ok go to Oliver for him to go up the bridge and um, he just grabbed me, I mean the way the camera caught it was real! "

So did he actually hurt you?

"He grabbed me and I fought him, I scratched him and I punched him, but he’s a strong son of a gun and he made it, and that’s what made him such a good actor. But I think he went too far, I do. He was very intense, a very uncommunicative type of person. I did not find him....I mean if you talk to Ron Moody perhaps he’d tell you a totally different thing about how charming he was and how sweet he was. I never found him that way. And Mark Lester, and various other people. But then, you know, it’s your own version of what you see about a person. Everybody has their own vision of people. Or their own version of people.

As an actor, of course, he was great! He was wonderful! And he was wonderful in the role."

But he was perfect for the role wasn’t he? Very unnerving...

"Perfect....and the very first day he went into it, that very first line “Three Days!!” and I reckon he must have done that line about fifty million times...Carole Reed had him doing it over and over and over again."

Was it Carole Reed who didn’t like it or Oli Reed who didn’t like it?

"Ummmm, I don’t know whether he liked it...I had very little contact with him, I don’t know whether he liked doing Oliver, but he must, I mean, I think he must have wanted to do it, don’t you?" 

I just had to ask this next question...  as a mum, I have birthday parties and there are lots of children about and sometimes it's hell... But some of these kids were so young were there any tantrums or major strops? Did you have any problems working with so many little kids or were they professional theatre children?

"No they weren’t! They weren’t all professional theatre children. Not at all! But when it came to it you had Sir Carole Reed, you had Honor White who did the choreography, I mean, you better mind your manners, Cockney or no Cockney! I mean they’d walk out with these wonderful characters, the children, and I mean the shots of those children....and when I went back to do the reunion, to see all these guys who are like 50 years old or something, they were very funny! Very funny, wonderful, warm individuals. Warm people, we had a great time."

From Judy Garland to Sinatra, I knew Shani had worked with them all... But I had to ask about her friend, the very glamourous, the very fabulous, Liberace...

"Ohhhhhh! I travelled with Liberace, I travelled with Jack Benny, I travelled with many people. But Liberace was a dear friend, a dear dear person. It was so funny, I get a lot of fan mail and I just got a letter from a little girl who is 9 years old, her name is Christiana, and she asked “Who are your favourite people?”. Mine are Al Jolson, Liberace and somebody else, I don’t know. But Liberace I travelled all over the world with. I went to Australia with him, I went all over the United States, I was in England, I mean it was just amazing! And what a wonderful guy! A wonderful, wonderful person....

....Do you want to hear a good story? A true true story. We were in Vegas, we did Vegas together quite a few times and I used to go to the dressing room and he’d be sitting there in his underwear doing his make up and I’d say “Hi Lee”, I used to call him Lee, and I’d sit down and we’d talk. And he’d say, Shani, I’ve got a robe, you know the robes he used to wear? He said, “I’ve got a long robe, I really don’t want it, the only piece I want his the neck area because it’s a really beautiful piece of fur, I can’t give you that but do you want the rest of it?”. And I said “Lee, I’ll make my husband Bernie a pair of shorts and a shirt, I’ll make myself a dress, yes please, I’ll take it”. I made two dresses out of his robe, one was from the inside which was gold and the other, which was the outside, was silver and all diamonds. I still have that dress. I still have that dress, and when it was finished I went on stage, I surprised him and he looked at me and he said “Oh Shani! Oh! Where are my sunglasses!” Just like that! It was like he knew it was his dress, you know, I mean not his dress but his robe! But he was a wonderful man, I still have that dress. I’m trying to say to myself what shall I do with it, you know, should I give it to a Liberace museum or something?"

But unfortunately I’ve had it cleaned so many times that the cleaning fluid smell won’t come out of it, but I still have it! And as far as Jack Benny is concerned, Jack Benny, I don’t know whether you know of him or have heard of him, but he was like a father to me. My husband adored him, we travelled all over the world. You know, I have been a very very lucky person, I’ve been so lucky and so blessed and I can’t tell you. It has been a wonderful life and it’s not over yet!"

So, names were flying everywhere, so I wondered, which one was her favourite? 

"I haven’t worked with Judy Garland, I’ve only met Judy."

I think my heart stopped beating for a second ther.... Have you met Judy Garland?! I cried, What was she like?

"Oh, she was lovely! I mean, just lovely! Obviously incredibly talented. One woman, there’s one woman I haven’t met that I just loved as a young person and her name is Doris Day. She still is living, I’ve never met her but I’ve always wanted to meet her. So there you are, you see. But as far as, Katherine Hepburn I loved."

Katherine Hepburn?!

"I met Jimmy Stewart, oh I’ve met a lot of people...."

I begged for another story...

"Edward G. Robinson, have you ever heard of him?"

I nodded with anticipation

"Well, we met him with Jack, in Vegas, and he was deaf and my father was deaf, my father never heard me sing! And when I met, I was with Jack Benny, I was appearing in Vegas with Jack and Edward G. Robinson came backstage and sat with us. We all went in to Jack’s dressing room and I could communicate completely with Edward. G. Robinson because he lip read and that’s how I used to communicate with my father...."

And my husband, not forgetting my husband, he’s met everybody! From Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, well you know, we both met Frank Sinatra but that was Vegas...I spent a lot of years in Vegas. It’s been a wonderful adventure.

My priviledge and my gain and my blessing to to work with these people. So, you know, I feel the same way as you do in a way because I looked up to them too."

But, I only read about them in books, watch their films or stare at their photo's, I said... You got to meet them!

"Yes, yes that’s true and I know I did the Hollywood Palace with Buddy Epsom but of course I come from a different era, you’re young, you’re the same age as my daughter, you know, so it’s a whole different thing. So going back a lot of years, I’m getting very old!"

A bit older maybe, but still as charming and as beautiful as she was in Oliver!

I could see the bottom of my cup now and my hair had dried into a lovely frizz, Shani checked her watch, it was getting late and the tubes stopped soon. I thanked her for not only her time, but for the tea.

She got up to leave, but I had one more question... A very good question to end this perfect evening with... 

"What do I think she would have done? I think that this little boy, Oliver, brought out all the goodness in her and I think, I really believe the only way was the fact that he would kill her. I do think that was the only thing that could have happened to this poor woman. And even though her love was beyond belief for Bill Sykes I think the love for the child was even more. And I think she probably said to herself, I know this is what’s going to happen to me but be that as it may I am doing what I have to do. That’s the way I am, that’s the only way I can answer that question."

No that was perfect.... Just perfect

Find more infor on Shani at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shani_Wallis

or http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908861/