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Have You Ever Met A Famous Artist?

Sean Regan

Sean Regan

Well-known member
The death of Jack Vettriano the self-taught Scottish artist, prompted this post.
His painting. The "Singing Butler," became the one of which there were more prints displayed in homes, than any other painting.

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It overtook this of another self-taught artist, the Russian, Vladimir Tretchikoff, who spent most of his life in South Africa

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He was the artist my wife and I met back in the seventies.

We were shopping in a Manchester departmental store and we stumbled across an exhibition being held there of his paintings on a top floor.
The object of course was to sell the prints. We spent quite some time looking at the originals on display. We much preferred those of his animals. There weren't many people there. This guy approached us and introduced himself as the artist. We told him how much we liked his work and he spent some with us explaining how he came to paint several. Of course, we couldn't afford at the time to buy any of his prints.

There's been a documentary on Jack Vettriano, I think on BBC TV. So it will now, probably be repeated.
 
Anniekay said:
No, I've never met a famous artist but I did see the Rolling Stones in Concert in '69 !!😂😂😂
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I saw Louis Armstrong at the Empress Hall London in 1956 when I was fifteen and still at school. I went with a friend, the tickets cost us 7/6d each.
I saw Miles Davis at the Apollo in Manchester in 1989.
 
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Oh yes, I knew Mr Constable - Johnny, we used to call him, and then there was that mad guy - always up to some ruse or another Vincent, um ? van something. :unsure: But seriously, when running the jazz club I met loads of extremely well known ''artists''of the musical ilk. All of the Chris Barber band, and as for Acker Bilk (Bernard) I had to prop him up one evening as he was about to fall off his bar stool. I strongly advised him NOT to get back on stage to ''finish the evening off'' but he took no notice, and messed up ''Stranger on the Shore'' completely.
I also met Peter Cushing as we both lived in Whitstable, and Peter was a regular in my dad's stamp shop. He was a serious philatelist! There was another pop star I was talking to along the seafront when out with my dogs one day. Another old girl stopped and said - did you know who you were just talking to - she said. It was David Essex! Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather.
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I've met George Chisholm, and sat next to Humphrey Littleton at a jazz concert.
 
Tetters said:
Oh yes, I knew Mr Constable - Johnny, we used to call him, and then there was that mad guy - always up to some ruse or another Vincent, um ? van something. :unsure: But seriously, when running the jazz club I met loads of extremely well known ''artists''of the musical ilk. All of the Chris Barber band, and as for Acker Bilk (Bernard) I had to prop him up one evening as he was about to fall off his bar stool. I strongly advised him NOT to get back on stage to ''finish the evening off'' but he took no notice, and messed up ''Stranger on the Shore'' completely.
I also met Peter Cushing as we both lived in Whitstable, and Peter was a regular in my dad's stamp shop. He was a serious philatelist! There was another pop star I was talking to along the seafront when out with my dogs one day. Another old girl stopped and said - did you know who you were just talking to - she said. It was David Essex! Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather.
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I've met George Chisholm, and sat next to Humphrey Littleton at a jazz concert.
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As for seeing well known people at concerts.

I saw Chris Barber's band in the mid fifties whilst I was still at school at what was called then, the Recital Room at the Royal Festival Hall, this was just before Lonnie Donnegan left to pursue a solo career.
Acker Bilk was one of a number of bands we saw at the Eel Pie Island Hotel in the late fifties. All the well known jazz bands played there in turn and other London venues regularly, on a weekly basis.


Also, when I was on holiday, George Melly when he was the singer in Mick Mulligan's band in 1957 or 58 at the White Rock Pavilion in Hastings.

In 1959, my wife future wife and I moved into a flat in Soho. We had single figure membership numbers for Ronnie Scott's first club. We were often in there on mid-week days as it was free to members then and warmer than our flat. We knew the regular members of the band well enough to speak to between sets, particularly the pianist, Stan Tracey.
 
I didn't like that George Melly. He gave me the creeps. The last time I saw Acker Bilk was at the 100 club. He was playing piano! I stopped to talk to him, and he told me he was off to China the following day. My failing memory doesn't help to say which year that was.
 
The last time we saw Acker Bilk, was at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester, earl y2000s I think. It was a Barber, Ball & Bilk concert.
Bearing in mind we'd last seen him in the late fifties at Eel Pie Island, as my wife and I took our seats we turned to each other and both said at the same time, "This place is full of old people!"

We saw Humphrey Lyttleton, at the same venue, about the same time. He accompanied Stacey Kent, whose recordings I knew.
She appeared with her tenor sax playing husband, Jim Tomlinson.


We also saw "Glenn Miller" at the Bridgwater Hall... Well.. actually, "Ray McVey." Who is licensed to front a Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Another artist we saw around that time was Eric Delaney. A really entertaining showman, who must have been in his eighties. Still playing this which he recorded in 1956

 
He is an unusual songwriter renowned in the industry who mainly sings about drunks, losers, lost souls, and lonely romance. His voice is ultra rough and VERY unusual. He is without a doubt my favorite songwriter, especially his poetic lyrics.

"Take me home you silly girl, the worlds not round without you"
 
Anniekay said:
No, I've never met a famous artist but I did see the Rolling Stones in Concert in '69 !!😂😂😂
Click to expand...
Wild one! Who is Arlo Guthrie? I was talking about him the other and I was asked who he was?

We talked with Ted Nugent and my wife told him what she thought of his music.

He was good about it well my music isn't for everyone.

She use to get mad at me. She would be back in the sleeper. It would be snowing I would have the window down cranking some rock actually it was very loud. To keep me awake.

big rockpile
 
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