0:00:02 > 0:00:06MUSIC: "Arnold Layne" by Pink Floyd
0:00:06 > 0:00:081967.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10The Summer Of Love.
0:00:10 > 0:00:11The Vietnam War.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14The Beatles released Sgt Pepper.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17In London, Jimi Hendrix
0:00:17 > 0:00:19sets fire to his guitar,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22and The Rolling Stones are jailed for drugs possession.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24NEWSREEL: Police said when they entered the house,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27there was a sweet smell of incense about.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29And in the charts at number 17,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31with her biggest-selling album to date...
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..the one and only Mrs Mills.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38MUSIC: "Mrs Mills Medley"
0:01:05 > 0:01:08She reminds me of a school dinner lady.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10She looks like she could, when she's not playing the piano,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13be dishing out really lumpy mash to kids...
0:01:13 > 0:01:16but with a big smile on her face.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24Suddenly, this very ordinary-looking woman, with a lovely smile,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27who was normally... you know, looked like someone's aunt...
0:01:27 > 0:01:30had a record deal with EMI,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33playing in the same studio as The Beatles and Rolling Stones,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35it was just absolutely bizarre.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37APPLAUSE
0:01:38 > 0:01:40She was exceptional.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43And it was that talent
0:01:43 > 0:01:47that took her to selling millions of records worldwide.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50"Famous"! Go on with you.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53A lot of people say, "Who?" which I find annoying,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56but I just say she was a variety artist and a brilliant pianist,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59and if they ever get time to listen, they ought to, basically...
0:01:59 > 0:02:01because they don't know what they're missing.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05"SHAVE AND A HAIRCUT" ENDING
0:02:05 > 0:02:06APPLAUSE
0:02:06 > 0:02:08This rather plump, cuddly, loveable,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12auntie sort of figure,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15that your mum and dad liked, but maybe you thought
0:02:15 > 0:02:17was a little bit kitsch and a little bit...
0:02:17 > 0:02:19not exactly hip.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Good Lord, here she is now!
0:02:21 > 0:02:22Well...!
0:02:22 > 0:02:24APPLAUSE
0:02:24 > 0:02:29Today, Mrs Mills has been all but written out of popular music history.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31But, with over 40 albums to her name,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33in the 1960s, her sing-along piano playing
0:02:33 > 0:02:35and bubbly personality
0:02:35 > 0:02:37made her a firm family favourite.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Hello, Mr Preview!
0:02:40 > 0:02:42That's not the Queen - that's Mrs Mills!
0:02:42 > 0:02:43LAUGHTER
0:02:43 > 0:02:45BOTH: She's the queen of the ivories!
0:02:45 > 0:02:48It's interesting to look at music history,
0:02:48 > 0:02:51because the books say one thing and yet, let's look at the charts,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54and let's see how eclectic the charts are.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56You look at a Top 40 in 1964,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58and you can have anyone from...
0:02:58 > 0:03:02The Beatles...
0:03:02 > 0:03:05to Frankie Vaughan to, let's say...
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Ken Dodd.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10The narrative is very straightforward, and it goes,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12"The Beatles came along,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14"biggest band ever, everybody loved them..."
0:03:14 > 0:03:17MUSIC: "Twist And Shout" by The Beatles
0:03:17 > 0:03:20"Then everybody went psychedelic..."
0:03:20 > 0:03:23MUSIC: "I Know What I Like" by Genesis
0:03:23 > 0:03:26"And then there was glam rock..."
0:03:26 > 0:03:29MUSIC: "Hell Raiser" by Sweet
0:03:29 > 0:03:30"And prog rock..."
0:03:30 > 0:03:32MUSIC: "Yours Is No Disgrace" by Yes
0:03:32 > 0:03:34"And then there was punk..."
0:03:34 > 0:03:35MUSIC: "New Rose" by The Damned
0:03:35 > 0:03:40And anything that doesn't fit with that is left out.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Self-evidently, Mrs Mills doesn't fit with that.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48So, the people that are writing history...
0:03:49 > 0:03:51I guess are not Mrs Mills fans.
0:03:51 > 0:03:52APPLAUSE
0:03:52 > 0:03:55MUSIC: "Ain't That A Grand And Glorious Feeling" by Mrs Mills
0:04:03 > 0:04:07One thing you have to consider is, just when Mrs Mills was becoming popular,
0:04:07 > 0:04:12there was a fear about a lot of community...
0:04:12 > 0:04:16in fact, a moral panic over mods and rockers,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18gangs of youths fighting each other.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21No-one could understand why this was happening,
0:04:21 > 0:04:26why such animosity was felt because someone rode a scooter rather than a motorbike,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28all these kind of things.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31So, Mrs Mills represented...
0:04:32 > 0:04:35a value that had been lost
0:04:35 > 0:04:37in the eyes of some,
0:04:37 > 0:04:42and that perhaps, if only we could just get around the piano again,
0:04:42 > 0:04:43sing songs together,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47the young, the old, whatever your ethnicity is,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49whatever your class is,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51sing these songs.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55and you will feel that you have bonded with your friends and neighbours.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57And then you won't go and cause...
0:04:57 > 0:04:59riots in Margate.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01MUSIC: "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Mrs Mills
0:05:01 > 0:05:03MUSIC: "My Generation" by The Who
0:05:05 > 0:05:09# People try to put us down
0:05:09 > 0:05:11# Talkin' 'bout my generation
0:05:11 > 0:05:14# Just because we get around
0:05:14 > 0:05:16# Talkin' 'bout my generation
0:05:16 > 0:05:19# Things they do look awful cold
0:05:19 > 0:05:21# Talkin' 'bout my generation
0:05:21 > 0:05:24# I hope I die before I get old... #
0:05:24 > 0:05:26You then have a dichotomy.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Popular music goes off rather in The Beatles and The Rolling Stones,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and all the Liverpool singers that come after that.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36But the more middle-of-the-road popular music still carries on,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40and people like Mrs Mills - she was still going in the 1970s, of course.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42For most teenagers,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Mrs Mills had an appeal
0:05:44 > 0:05:49second only to, say, the appeal of ABBA to punk rockers.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51It was regarded as the kind of music...
0:05:51 > 0:05:53HE LAUGHS
0:05:53 > 0:05:56..That their music had rebelled against.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59You certainly wouldn't be seen dead walking down the street
0:05:59 > 0:06:00with a Mrs Mills album cover.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Of course, in those days, that was the whole thing.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07On the Saturday, you went to a record store or record shop,
0:06:07 > 0:06:08and you bought an album,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and you walked home with it, down the High Street with it tucked under your arm.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14And those were your sounds, man, for the weekend.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17People would say, "Oh, look, he's got the new Stones album,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19"he's got the new so-and-so album."
0:06:19 > 0:06:21That made you appear very cool,
0:06:21 > 0:06:22cos you had this album under your arm.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Certainly not Mrs Mills.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27MUSIC: "Powder Your Face With Sunshine" by Mrs Mills
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Mrs Mills is unique in having this
0:06:35 > 0:06:40raucous pub style, this, "Let's have a good laugh, a good singsong."
0:06:40 > 0:06:44And just the energy and the enthusiasm...
0:06:44 > 0:06:48is worth more than musical polish and sophistication.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50But, at the same time,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53the technique is immaculate!
0:06:53 > 0:06:55She's got quite a broad appeal...
0:06:55 > 0:06:59by virtue of the fact she can play any music,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02but obviously in exactly the same style.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06While her records may seem as quintessentially British as a pub sing along,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Mrs Mills' playing style actually had its roots in ragtime
0:07:09 > 0:07:13and the jazz clubs of East Coast America.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15The style of piano playing that she used
0:07:15 > 0:07:19was in its day known as "vamping style" or "stride piano",
0:07:19 > 0:07:23which was basically this kind of bass pattern.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25HE PLAYS PIANO
0:07:27 > 0:07:29This was a kind of technique
0:07:29 > 0:07:31that developed in the 1920s -
0:07:31 > 0:07:34American players in Chicago,
0:07:34 > 0:07:35James Johnson,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37later, Earl Hines.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Jazz players who worked upon this particular style
0:07:39 > 0:07:41to give a lot of rhythmic punch
0:07:41 > 0:07:43to the jazz music they were playing.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46MUSIC: "Carolina Shout" by Willie "The Lion" Smith
0:07:55 > 0:07:58It rapidly became an outdated style,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01so that by the time Mrs Mills was playing...
0:08:01 > 0:08:04it did sound very old-fashioned.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06The stride piano style is difficult.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09It's a dead thing now,
0:08:09 > 0:08:10and it's a great shame.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12It died because it has no end user.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15The end user for the stride piano player was always the pub.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17PUB SING ALONG
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Thousands and thousands of pubs in the UK,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30in the '40s, '50s and '60s -
0:08:30 > 0:08:33every single one of them had a piano in it.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36People would come and sit down at the piano and play,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and people would sing,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41and it was just great, great fun.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44That's really where the stride piano player
0:08:44 > 0:08:46used to play.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Basically, what the stride piano player is...
0:08:49 > 0:08:53your right hand plays the melody of an old classic, whatever it is...
0:08:53 > 0:08:56If you take Sweet Georgia Brown...
0:08:56 > 0:08:58HE PLAYS SWEET GEORGIA BROWN
0:09:00 > 0:09:05If you have a band, you'd normally have an acoustic guitar player
0:09:05 > 0:09:07who would play the chord for you.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08So you'd have...
0:09:08 > 0:09:10HE PLAYS SWEET GEORGIA BROWN
0:09:12 > 0:09:14But then you'd also have a bass player -
0:09:14 > 0:09:16probably a stand-up string bass player,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20- who'd play the bass notes... - HE PLAYS SWEET GEORGIA BROWN
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Good stride piano players would put the two together...
0:09:23 > 0:09:26HE PLAYS SWEET GEORGIA BROWN
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Etcetera, etcetera,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43for the length of the piece.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45But when the pubs died out,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47there was no call for those piano players,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51because people were playing pianos or keyboards within a band
0:09:51 > 0:09:54that had a guitar or rhythm section and a bass player,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56so they didn't have to do that any more.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59I think what might surprise some people,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01if they think of Mrs Mills as a party pianist,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03or pub pianist-style,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06is that it's actually very tricky
0:10:06 > 0:10:08to do this vamping style.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10- You're playing a bass note down there... - HE PLAYS BASS NOTE
0:10:10 > 0:10:12- ..Playing a chord up there... - HE PLAYS CHORD
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Because you're playing the melody with your right hand...
0:10:15 > 0:10:19so, in fact, you have to have the accuracy
0:10:19 > 0:10:22to jump from one chord to another.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23I'll show you, if I speed up,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26and very soon, I won't be able to play it without wrong notes...
0:10:26 > 0:10:28HE PLAYS PIANO
0:10:28 > 0:10:30I can't even play the beginning!
0:10:30 > 0:10:32If I play slowly...
0:10:38 > 0:10:39You just can't do it.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Mrs Mills was amazingly accurate,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44and it's quite a tricky technique.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47MUSIC: "I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts" by Mrs Mills
0:10:57 > 0:10:58I play the piano myself,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01and I picked up loads of tips from listening to Mrs Mills.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03And I still play cockney piano and things now.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07One of the main tips is just to keep it going, keep it really live,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10but also filling in all the gaps between the tunes.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12It's hard to demonstrate that without a piano.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15But if she plays a really standard song,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18it's all the little fill-ins and gaps she puts between the tune
0:11:18 > 0:11:20that just kind of brings it to life,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22and she has a standard set few
0:11:22 > 0:11:25that appear throughout a lot of the songs.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28When people rushed out and bought the sheet music, to try to play like Mrs Mills,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31they found that whilst they might be able to get the basics of the tune,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35they weren't able to put in all the little bits that made her music special.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39For example, when she was playing a well-known song from the '30s,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41the actual sheet music is quite simple,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44but if I show you the bars that she changed,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46the actual tune goes...
0:11:46 > 0:11:48HE PLAYS PIANO
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Whereas Mrs Mills used to put a little bit in to change that, and she goes...
0:11:54 > 0:11:58HE PLAYS PIANO
0:12:08 > 0:12:10So she used to put a little bit in-between,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and it was those "twiddly bits", as she used to call them,
0:12:13 > 0:12:14that really made them unique,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17and it gave it that sparkle.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21It was this sparkle that turned an unknown 40-year-old housewife
0:12:21 > 0:12:24into the most unlikely of stars.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Born Gladys Jordan in 1918,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28she grew up in Essex,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31and at the age of 29, married Bert Mills,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33settling down to a life of suburban bliss.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Never dreaming that one day, she would become a household name.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41When did you start to play the piano?
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- When I was 3½.- Yes?
0:12:43 > 0:12:45They took me away when I was seven,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48because the teacher said I was wasting her time and their money.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Yes?
0:12:50 > 0:12:51When did you become famous?
0:12:51 > 0:12:54"Famous"! Go on with you.
0:12:54 > 0:12:55THEY LAUGH
0:12:55 > 0:12:59I came in to show business in 1962.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Mrs Mills had just about the best...
0:13:01 > 0:13:04discovery story in the world, I think.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08She was working as a superintendent at a typing pool,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10at the Paymaster General Office in London.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14She used to work in a dance band
0:13:14 > 0:13:16in the evenings, just to get some extra money and things.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19I was playing at a local golf club dinner and dance
0:13:19 > 0:13:21with my little band,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and an agent happened to be there.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Literally, they did their set and afterwards,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29a man came up to her and said, "More people should hear you play,"
0:13:29 > 0:13:31and gave her a telephone number.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33She just thought it was going to be
0:13:33 > 0:13:36for another job for the band, you know.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39But then it wasn't. It was for the Billy Cotton Show on the BBC.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41And she went along for an interview
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and Billy Cotton was there,
0:13:43 > 0:13:45and they said, "Yes, we'll have her."
0:13:45 > 0:13:47The balloon went up and I couldn't believe it.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Kept pinching myself to see if I hadn't dreamt it all.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53MUSIC: "My Old Man" by Mrs Mills
0:13:53 > 0:13:55# My old man said follow the van
0:13:55 > 0:13:58# And don't dilly dally on the way... #
0:13:59 > 0:14:02That appearance on the Billy Cotton Band Show
0:14:02 > 0:14:04was to change Mrs Mills's life forever,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08and soon led to a contract with Rolling Stones manager, Eric Easton,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12and top EMI record producer, Norman Newell.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14# I dallied and dillied
0:14:14 > 0:14:18# Lost my way and don't know where to roam... #
0:14:18 > 0:14:20It was Norman
0:14:20 > 0:14:23who, if you were a pianist,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26was the producer to aim for,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29because it was Norman that recorded Side Saddle and Roulette
0:14:29 > 0:14:31and Snow Coach,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35the huge Russ Conway hits.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38MUSIC: "Snow Coach" by Russ Conway
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Russ had been very successful throughout the 1950s,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45with these piano records,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49and so I suspect that when Norman saw Mrs Mills...
0:14:49 > 0:14:54having a success on the Billy Cotton Band Show,
0:14:54 > 0:15:00his antenna probably went up and he said, "OK, let's try this woman."
0:15:00 > 0:15:03'She burst through the door and almost fell over the huge bag of
0:15:03 > 0:15:05'shopping she was carrying.'
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Yes, the same man who discovered some of the biggest names in music -
0:15:08 > 0:15:12internationally famous record producer Norman Newell.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14APPLAUSE
0:15:14 > 0:15:20Norman! I'll never forgive you! Lovely!
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Mrs Mills was really lucky to be with Norman Newell,
0:15:24 > 0:15:29because, I think he kind of, looked after her in a way, as well.
0:15:29 > 0:15:35He kind of programmed her albums quite well.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37He picked really good musical directors to work with her,
0:15:37 > 0:15:43in particular Geoff Love who kind of understood the fun that she needed
0:15:43 > 0:15:44in a recording studio.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47- EAMONN ANDREWS:- Norman's not alone.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51With him is top musical director Geoff Love.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53APPLAUSE
0:15:53 > 0:15:57THEY EXCHANGE GREETINGS
0:15:59 > 0:16:02I was lunching with them today
0:16:02 > 0:16:09and they never said a word, the pair of them. Lies! Lies!
0:16:09 > 0:16:12- Tea break, love!- Tea break, yes, oh dear!
0:16:12 > 0:16:16It's interesting you see on some of Mrs Mill's recordings,
0:16:16 > 0:16:21she has a chorus of people joining in but they're not a church choir,
0:16:21 > 0:16:26they're not even in tune most of the time, like the honky-tonk piano.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28It's raucous singing
0:16:28 > 0:16:31and this helps to generate that sort of party effect.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35# Then his mama went out
0:16:35 > 0:16:40AUDIENCE: # Da-da-da-dee-dee-de
0:16:40 > 0:16:43GEOFF LOVE: # Then her papa went out
0:16:43 > 0:16:48AUDIENCE: # Da-da-da-dee-dee-de
0:16:48 > 0:16:51# Geoff and I stayed home... #
0:16:51 > 0:16:53She sings duets with Geoff Love
0:16:53 > 0:16:56and there's a number called Da-da-da-da which is like
0:16:56 > 0:17:02a song from the early part of the last century and it was like
0:17:02 > 0:17:07a couple who were sort of getting together in the front parlour.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10# Glad and I stayed home
0:17:10 > 0:17:14# Three of us on our own... #
0:17:14 > 0:17:17The mama went out and the papa went out,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19then the lights went out and his cigar went out.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23It was all about went out and they did this duet, Geoff and Glad,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27and when it got to the line about the cigar, instead of the cigar
0:17:27 > 0:17:30went out she sang, "His cigar came out!"
0:17:30 > 0:17:34# Then his cigar came out... #
0:17:34 > 0:17:36TRIES TO CORRECT
0:17:36 > 0:17:40RAUCOUS LAUGHTER
0:17:40 > 0:17:43GEOFF: # Fire went out
0:17:43 > 0:17:46MRS MILLS: # But when the light went out
0:17:46 > 0:17:52AUDIENCE: # Da-da-da-dee-dee-de. #
0:17:52 > 0:17:57Although there's a sauciness at times obviously
0:17:57 > 0:18:00with some of the repertoire,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04there's also a kind of moral wholesomeness as well.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09It's endorsing community and family values in the end.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12# But when the light went out
0:18:12 > 0:18:20AUDIENCE: # Da-da-da-dee-dee-de. #
0:18:20 > 0:18:24APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:18:27 > 0:18:29I think the big success of her records
0:18:29 > 0:18:34was appealing to parties and probably parties in the home.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39At the time she's playing, the piano has declined as an instrument
0:18:39 > 0:18:42that a lot of people could play.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46You've only to go back to the 1920s, early '30s -
0:18:46 > 0:18:49a lot of women could play the piano.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52# Reminds me of me pappy
0:18:52 > 0:18:57# Who was handsome, young and happy
0:18:57 > 0:19:03# When he planted this old apple tree. #
0:19:03 > 0:19:06So in a way it was, I suppose for the young,
0:19:06 > 0:19:11like seeing your granny play and the whole
0:19:11 > 0:19:14sort of atmosphere of the family coming together,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18singing these songs, inviting friends around,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22it had all the appeal of the pub sing-song.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24# I dream
0:19:24 > 0:19:30# Of the old apple tree. #
0:19:30 > 0:19:35# My old man said follow the van
0:19:35 > 0:19:40# Don't dilly dally on the way... #
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Mrs Mills was the sort of music that I was brought up with because
0:19:46 > 0:19:48all my family played and all our family parties
0:19:48 > 0:19:51were just old-fashioned sing-along, getting around the piano,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54just like Mrs Mills.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57So I suppose I was always endeared towards Mrs Mills
0:19:57 > 0:20:00because she was playing this sort of music I was brought up with
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and it was like another old auntie, you know,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05and that's why I love all her stuff.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09I started playing that old-fashioned stride style myself.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12MUSIC: "My Old Man" by Leigh and Collins
0:20:15 > 0:20:20# And you can't find your way home. #
0:20:20 > 0:20:25They were almost disposable. They weren't masterpieces.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28It was a very functional type of music.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31It was music that was just there when you were having a knees up.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34When you weren't having a knees up, you don't play that music.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39# I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts
0:20:39 > 0:20:43# Here they are standing in a row
0:20:43 > 0:20:47# Big ones small ones Some as big as your 'ead
0:20:47 > 0:20:51# Give' em a twist a flick of your wrist... #
0:20:51 > 0:20:55Having a party on your album title pretty much gave you
0:20:55 > 0:20:58instant sales because the people who bought these albums
0:20:58 > 0:21:01they would put them on when they had a party.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02It was as simple as that.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06You didn't say I think I'll put Mrs Mills' party album and sit on
0:21:06 > 0:21:10your own and listen to it and smoke a pipe or whatever it was you did.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12You put it on because you wanted to have a sing-along.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16# Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner
0:21:16 > 0:21:20# And I love London town... #
0:21:20 > 0:21:24It all goes back to the sort of 1930s, 1940s, '50s,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27when people did gather round the family piano.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31By the '60s most of them had got rid of the piano.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33They had no room for it
0:21:33 > 0:21:36because the television came in so there was no room in the parlour
0:21:36 > 0:21:39for the piano so the alternative was you bought Mrs Mills' album.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42You put that on. You could still have your sing-along.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46# I love London town. #
0:21:46 > 0:21:51I mean to some extent her records were the very first karaoke.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53You could sing along to her stuff.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58So you put the albums on and after everyone had a few drinks and
0:21:58 > 0:22:04Aunt Maude had her dry sherry, they would start singing the songs.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06It would end up as a singsong.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09It was very much a family thing I think that people did.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13She was born in 1918, so we're talking just before the war.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18She'd start playing and people'd think, "That's what
0:22:18 > 0:22:23"I remember", you know, the tunes, songs from the war years when things
0:22:23 > 0:22:24weren't very good for people
0:22:24 > 0:22:26and it was quite dark and depressing.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29# Made me happy sometimes
0:22:29 > 0:22:32# You made me sad
0:22:32 > 0:22:37# But there were times dear
0:22:37 > 0:22:42# You made me feel so bad... #
0:22:42 > 0:22:45It was out of the war years you know the idea that everyone had
0:22:45 > 0:22:47a piano, not a TV or record player,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51so you just play a piano and sing and you feel better.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54That's exactly what she was and she was born out of that sort of style.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58# Yes I do, you know I do
0:22:58 > 0:23:02# Gimme gimme gimme
0:23:02 > 0:23:06# You know you got the kind of kisses I'd die for... #
0:23:06 > 0:23:10I think mostly women buy the type of music that she was playing.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13They could identify with her, those sort of people that
0:23:13 > 0:23:17like that type of song could identify with Mrs Mills -
0:23:17 > 0:23:22a chubby, tubby, ebullient lady, very nice person,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25and they could identify with her.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28She gives that sense of, you know, just come and join me
0:23:28 > 0:23:32and be jolly and let's have a laugh, that sort of thing.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34Let's be merry and jolly.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37When you hear her play it brings so much life and joy into a room
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and for me,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42if I'm feeling just a bit fed up or a bit down or anything, I just bung
0:23:42 > 0:23:45a Mrs Mills record on and I start feeling jolly straightaway.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49But no, she's great to kind of, dance along to.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54MUSIC: "My Old Man" by Leigh and Collins
0:23:56 > 0:24:00What she did didn't depend on fashion or style.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04It was what you see is what you get
0:24:04 > 0:24:08and her fan base, her audience,
0:24:08 > 0:24:12knew what they wanted and Glad knew what they wanted.
0:24:12 > 0:24:18And so it's going to go down well on radio and TV and for a mixed
0:24:18 > 0:24:23audience at a time when popular music was beginning to separate
0:24:23 > 0:24:29off its audiences into the older audience and the younger audience.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32With the exception of Top Of The Pops, I don't think you ever really
0:24:32 > 0:24:35saw rock music at all. You saw it on Top Of The Pops
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and Old Grey Whistle Test and kids TV
0:24:37 > 0:24:41and the rest of the time it was Mrs Mills world
0:24:41 > 0:24:43and everybody else was just living in it.
0:24:43 > 0:24:49Back then a lot of show needed a musical interlude.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53In fact, even quite recently, shows...you think, hang on a minute
0:24:53 > 0:24:57I'm watching a comedy review show and now there's a musical interlude.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01It still happens. Back then if you couldn't get some really good singer
0:25:01 > 0:25:04you'd just get someone to knock out some tunes on a piano
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and if you can knock out four tunes in three minutes that's great
0:25:07 > 0:25:10and suddenly there you go, you've got people that can do
0:25:10 > 0:25:13medleys of numbers. I'll come on three quarters of the way
0:25:13 > 0:25:16through the show, bit of music, you have a rest, everyone can go
0:25:16 > 0:25:19on the back foot for a bit and then we're back into the show.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23APPLAUSE
0:25:23 > 0:25:28Of course that was Colin Rose having fun with a few old flames.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31I wonder what he does with the old ones.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35It's back to our Glad who always plays with a certain amount of fire.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40CLASSICAL MUSIC SCORE
0:25:40 > 0:25:44She lends herself very well to television in that she's
0:25:44 > 0:25:49bringing the music hall to our TV screens and that she's
0:25:49 > 0:25:54bringing that variety and I just love the fact that she was
0:25:54 > 0:25:58just there looking at the audience, smiling, that's cabaret in itself.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06You always thought or sensed that Mrs Mills was probably the standby
0:26:06 > 0:26:09guest on something like the Des O'Connor Show,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Morecambe and Wise, Harry Secombe Show, anything like that,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15if they had some big guest that was going to come in and suddenly
0:26:15 > 0:26:17dropped out at the last minute. "Get Mrs Mills."
0:26:17 > 0:26:20She'll come in, knock off four numbers, it'd be great.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23That'll be the three-minute music number done, phoom, done. Sorted.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Let's give a warm welcome for Mrs Mills.
0:26:25 > 0:26:30APPLAUSE
0:26:31 > 0:26:33ERIC CHEERS
0:26:33 > 0:26:37- Hell, fire, it's all happening now. - It's lovely to see you.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38I'm glad to see you, Glad.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42- Lovely to be with you and I brought this for you.- Great. What is it?
0:26:42 > 0:26:45What do you mean what is it? It's one of my fabulous fruitcakes.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- Is it really?- All the fruit stoned.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50LAUGHTER
0:26:50 > 0:26:55Glad Mills was Eric and Ernie's favourite support act.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00They loved her, they would always insist that she was on their bills.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03It actually made sound sense because if you think about it
0:27:03 > 0:27:07there would be no clash, they did comedy, she did music.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Although they would have appealed to the same
0:27:10 > 0:27:12kind of audience, middle of the road audience.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Yes, she was Eric and Ernie's favourite act.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18I'm going to put it down there, stand on it, and I'm the same height as you.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20LAUGHTER
0:27:20 > 0:27:23I'd not stand for that Glad, if I were you.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Tell you what, if you want a laugh, roll on him.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28LAUGHTER
0:27:28 > 0:27:31What I did think was brilliant, they totally ridiculed
0:27:31 > 0:27:34her like they did with every act but it was all about her weight
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and nowadays on television they wouldn't...that's not PC, is it?
0:27:37 > 0:27:40So they wouldn't necessarily do that.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43But she just goes along with it and laughs all the way through and they
0:27:43 > 0:27:47keep laughing with her so she has an infectious laugh, so you can see why
0:27:47 > 0:27:52people at the time would have really enjoyed watching her on television.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- Don't be rude.- I won't be rude.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- Where's the piano?- You hungry?
0:27:59 > 0:28:02She didn't care whether she was cool or uncool.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07She was quite happy with her image and very happy with her appearance,
0:28:07 > 0:28:11her size, shape, she didn't care two hoots whether other people
0:28:11 > 0:28:13poked fun at her. She was enjoying herself.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15You have to admire her for that.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17- What are you going to play? - I'm very glad, Glad.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20- Something bright and jolly. - Something bright and jolly.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23There's a thought. Before you go, love, give us a laugh.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27- One of the specials, before you go. - You can't laugh to order.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Think of him stripped!
0:28:33 > 0:28:39Her laughter was almost legendary and you can't hear Mrs Mills laugh
0:28:39 > 0:28:44without...even me thinking of it now...you can't think of her
0:28:44 > 0:28:48kind of laugh without immediately wanting to join in.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51She used to say laugh and grow fat and it works.
0:28:51 > 0:28:52She used to say, she did!
0:28:55 > 0:28:58No, she didn't bother. When she was doing her first pantomime
0:28:58 > 0:29:02and she played Fair Enough and she had a wand, obviously,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06and she'd be waving the wand and they'd put weights in the end,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09so every time she lifted it up it fell down and things like that.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12People have always played tricks, but they knew she'd just
0:29:12 > 0:29:15laugh about it you see, she'd just roar with laughter.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Did you find it difficult being rather plump? What about clothes?
0:29:19 > 0:29:20I don't have any problem at all
0:29:20 > 0:29:25because I've got a dear little lady that makes everything for me.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27- By the way, do you like this? - Very much.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30I got that from Rent-a-Tent.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33She didn't come in small, bless her, but that was part of her charm
0:29:33 > 0:29:39and she had this wonderful smile and even though she wasn't that
0:29:39 > 0:29:45old then, I can remember thinking of her as the sort of granny or
0:29:45 > 0:29:50auntie or the lady next door, you'd like to have.
0:29:50 > 0:29:56She had that great art of turning and smiling,
0:29:56 > 0:29:58so she'd be playing away and then she'd...
0:29:58 > 0:30:02JAZZ STYLE MUSIC
0:30:15 > 0:30:18When she first started releasing records with EMI, she was
0:30:18 > 0:30:24so worried that she wasn't a star, somebody who wasn't deserving
0:30:24 > 0:30:27of this fame, that she actually refused to give up work and she
0:30:27 > 0:30:30used to come into Abbey Road during her lunch hour to record the records.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33I said I couldn't come into show business and give up my job
0:30:33 > 0:30:34and my pension.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38- What job?- I was a civil servant in the Treasury.
0:30:38 > 0:30:39- Were you?- Yes.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43- You're happy you did it now? - What? I should think I am.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46I've never looked back and I've had a ball, I really have.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49The notion that she could make a living being an entertainer,
0:30:49 > 0:30:53I think was a little foreign to her. It took a few years to convince her.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56It was only after she reached the top 20 that EMI turned round
0:30:56 > 0:30:59and said you absolutely need to leave your job
0:30:59 > 0:31:02and be a full-time entertainer and that's when she did.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06She was probably about the least showbizzy person I've ever met.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Her appeal really was her ordinariness
0:31:08 > 0:31:12and whilst everyone's quaffing champagne and canapes,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15all she really wanted was a cup of tea and a biscuit.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19She was very grounded and very down to earth
0:31:19 > 0:31:22and I think that's what people liked about her.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26When I first came into show business, yes, I was quite alarmed.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30In fact, I went to a very exclusive restaurant with Geoff Love
0:31:30 > 0:31:32and my recording manager Norman Newell,
0:31:32 > 0:31:37and we were sitting by a little table where the head waiter was
0:31:37 > 0:31:42making a crepe...I learned afterwards it was Crepe Suzette.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45And suddenly it burst into flames.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49I felt ever so sorry for him and I said, "Never mind, love."
0:31:49 > 0:31:52LAUGHTER
0:31:52 > 0:31:56I said this has happened to me at home with the chips!
0:32:03 > 0:32:05I mean for many years she remained living in a modest
0:32:05 > 0:32:09maisonette in Loughton - she was a household name by then.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13But she was always very, very ordinary, she'd speak to anyone,
0:32:13 > 0:32:16there were no airs or graces with her.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19She was just a lovely ordinary woman who just enjoyed making people
0:32:19 > 0:32:21happy with her music.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24She was just pure entertainment, that's what it was,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27and it was always a smile, I mean some of the songs
0:32:27 > 0:32:30she used to do was very much a reflection of who this woman was.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32I've some written here.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34She'd go Ain't It A Grand And Glorious Feeling
0:32:34 > 0:32:36into Yes That's My Baby,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39straight into... here's a great one...
0:32:39 > 0:32:40Powder Your Face With Sunshine.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43You see. Only Mrs Mills could do that.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45And there she was, a contemporary of The Beatles.
0:32:45 > 0:32:50She's absolutely in the tradition of British music hall performers.
0:32:50 > 0:32:55These were performers like Marie Lloyd, Lily Morris
0:32:55 > 0:32:56and Florrie Ford -
0:32:56 > 0:33:00their songs in the music hall had choruses in which
0:33:00 > 0:33:03everybody joined in and sang along
0:33:03 > 0:33:06so many of the songs that Mrs Mills played were, in fact,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08those music hall songs - Oh, Oh Antonio,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Don't Dilly Dally On The Way
0:33:11 > 0:33:14and songs like that, they go back to those music hall ladies.
0:33:14 > 0:33:20MUSIC: "My Old Man" by Leigh and Collins
0:33:33 > 0:33:37What she did cleverly or her manager Norman Newell cleverly did was
0:33:37 > 0:33:41pepper her records with old fashioned songs like Cockney numbers
0:33:41 > 0:33:46and then he'd pop in a hit of the day, like one record at home
0:33:46 > 0:33:48where the first track is Save All Your Kisses For Me
0:33:48 > 0:33:52which is one of the Eurovision Song Contest hits and Congratulations
0:33:52 > 0:33:56and I think there's the odd Beatles song on one here and there as well.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59I think they tried to market it for everybody.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03MUSIC: "Yellow Submarine" by Lennon & McCartney
0:34:07 > 0:34:12The track listings seem to be put together it's like demented.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16This is clearly 1976, '77.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20And you go from Save Your Kisses For Me
0:34:20 > 0:34:24a recent hit, to How Much Is That Doggy In The Window,
0:34:24 > 0:34:25Blueberry Hill,
0:34:25 > 0:34:29Consider Yourself... I mean it's all over the shop.
0:34:29 > 0:34:36Sheik Of Araby, Trail Of The Lonesome Pine, Cabaret...erm...
0:34:36 > 0:34:41# Yellow submarine, yellow submarine. #
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Piano was always notoriously hard to record.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52If you listen to a lot of early recordings of pianos they either
0:34:52 > 0:34:56sound incredibly woolly or they got a little bit of reverberation,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59a little bit of wooooo...the way they play the notes are not clear.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06By the time Gladys had come along, they'd sorted all that out
0:35:06 > 0:35:11so you could actually have a sort of a piano sound that you hadn't heard before.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18Just how did Mrs Mills achieve that distinctive piano sound?
0:35:18 > 0:35:20The answer lies in the studio where Mrs Mills,
0:35:20 > 0:35:24along with one or two other bands, recorded all her hits.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29I've been here for about 10 years
0:35:29 > 0:35:31and the first time I saw that piano,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34I was like, "What's that piano?" "That's the Mrs Mills piano"
0:35:34 > 0:35:36so it's carried on the tradition
0:35:36 > 0:35:39and I guess it will always be known as the Mrs Mills piano.
0:35:39 > 0:35:45Whether people who talk of the Mrs Mills piano know exactly who Mrs Mills is, I don't know.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47You have to go and do your research, I suppose,
0:35:47 > 0:35:51because I don't think everyone is fully aware of the history
0:35:51 > 0:35:57and the background and as to why, but it's just known as Mrs Mills'.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02To create the distinctive honky-tonk sound, the piano was subtly adjusted
0:36:02 > 0:36:07by an Abbey Road pop engineer, and has remained that way ever since.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11To get a more metallic sound, they decided to try
0:36:11 > 0:36:17and put a lacquer on the hammers here, which seeps into the material
0:36:17 > 0:36:22and toughens up the hammer and you get a more metallic percussive sound.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29Which sounds very different to how a grand piano would sound for example,
0:36:29 > 0:36:33which is very lush and beautiful. This is more edgy.
0:36:33 > 0:36:40And another thing they tried was to get more of a chorusy effect.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44You see these - each hammer strikes three strings
0:36:44 > 0:36:47and they would tune the piano traditionally as you'd tune a piano,
0:36:47 > 0:36:52and then once they'd done that, they would just take the centre string
0:36:52 > 0:36:54and just knock it slightly out.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Not too far, so it's still harmonically in tune
0:36:57 > 0:37:01but it still has that unusual sound.
0:37:01 > 0:37:06The best way to describe it in modern day would be like a chorusing effect.
0:37:06 > 0:37:11I'll give you a little demonstration of how it sounds now
0:37:11 > 0:37:14in the style of Mrs Mills - bashing!
0:37:29 > 0:37:34I don't think any of the honky-tonk pianos I've encountered have ever been quite the same as this one.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39This one has a certain magic and also I'm very aware of its history.
0:37:39 > 0:37:45It's great to play it and know that so many hit records have been made on this instrument.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47Despite giving it her name,
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Mrs Mills was by no means the only musician to play the piano.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54# Every head he's had the pleasure to know
0:37:54 > 0:38:00# And all the people that come and go stop and say hello
0:38:03 > 0:38:05# On the corner... #
0:38:05 > 0:38:09The Beatles were looking for new sounds, something slightly unusual
0:38:09 > 0:38:12so they'd look around and see what was available at the studios
0:38:12 > 0:38:16and they had things like mellotrons and various other upright pianos
0:38:16 > 0:38:19and organs and celestes and things like that
0:38:19 > 0:38:23so again this was just an instrument that was around and it was like, "Ooh, let's try that out
0:38:23 > 0:38:27"and see what it sounds like and if it works, it works."
0:38:31 > 0:38:35You can hear it quite clearly on Penny Lane,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38and also With A Little Help From My Friends.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42# What would you think if I sang out of tune?
0:38:42 > 0:38:45# Would you stand up and walk out on me? #
0:38:46 > 0:38:51I know they all liked her, funnily enough. They all liked Mrs Mills.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54They didn't mind she played a different kind of music to them.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58They liked her, they quite liked her music.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01She was a very popular lady.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05She was actually on the very same label as The Beatles -
0:39:05 > 0:39:08she was on Parlophone, you know,
0:39:08 > 0:39:14and so to have the two of them sort of on the same... under the same banner
0:39:14 > 0:39:17is just extraordinary really, when you come to think about it.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26That was part, of course, of the breadth of EMI's catalogue.
0:39:26 > 0:39:31For example, George Martin, who was the man that signed the Beatles, was recording comedy records.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35- # You've got to go out - He's going to go home! - You've got to go out
0:39:35 > 0:39:40- # He's going to go home! - You've got to go ah-ha-ha-ha-hoy if you want to go out... #
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Those records were hugely successful
0:39:42 > 0:39:46and George then took a punt on The Beatles as a pop act.
0:39:46 > 0:39:51A new era had started where record companies were just signing up so many different things,
0:39:51 > 0:39:55throwing it all out there and seeing what worked,
0:39:55 > 0:40:00and most, if not all of the labels, had a real diversity of people on board.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03Everything from crooners to rock bands
0:40:03 > 0:40:08and some had started to get sort of much heavier bands and things involved as well.
0:40:08 > 0:40:16So nobody would have found it strange to have had strange bedfellows like John Lennon and Mrs Mills.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20In fact you never know, it might have happened one day.
0:40:20 > 0:40:26The other thing to bear in mind is that she would have been cheap!
0:40:26 > 0:40:33Because she's her own entertainment - the piano and sometimes she puts in the voices herself,
0:40:33 > 0:40:37and even when other people are brought in to join in choruses,
0:40:37 > 0:40:39they're clearly not specialised singers.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44It's just rounding people up and having a good old party time
0:40:44 > 0:40:50so enormous costs were not entailed in recording her albums.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54The tradition of popular pianists
0:40:54 > 0:40:58goes back to, and just talking about the post-war period,
0:40:58 > 0:41:02Charlie Kunz, who played the sort of music that Mrs Mills played.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13And on EMI of course there was a very successful pianist called Russ Conway.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21He was opposite to Gladys, he never smiled.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24He just always looked thoroughly miserable.
0:41:29 > 0:41:34And EMI's principal opposition was a woman called Winifred Atwell, a magnificent pianist.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Winifred Atwell was known for pieces such as The Black And White Rag
0:41:53 > 0:41:58which was used for the theme tune on Pot Black, which is a snooker programme.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01If I play a short extract from that, it's much more...
0:42:01 > 0:42:04much more sort of in your face, if you like.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25So it was much more fast and kind of erm, you know, complicated,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28and people would look at it and be wowed by the technicalities of it.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33Mrs Mills tended to put a slightly simpler approach to her music.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35Whilst it was very technically demanding,
0:42:35 > 0:42:39it had a more simplistic feel to it
0:42:39 > 0:42:45and I think that's kind of summed up with things like her record of Good Morning, for example.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47The tune really stands out.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50It's still obviously technically quite challenging,
0:42:50 > 0:42:54but the tune stands out as quite simple and I think that's what was the success
0:42:54 > 0:42:57so something like Mrs Mills' arrangement of Good Morning would go:
0:43:23 > 0:43:26Glad was always "the honky-tonk pianist"
0:43:26 > 0:43:30but you very rarely heard her play ballads or anything floaty
0:43:30 > 0:43:36whereas Russ Conway had his concerto albums and his pop albums as well
0:43:36 > 0:43:40because he covered quite a lot of the pop hits of the day,
0:43:40 > 0:43:44whereas Glad was much more hemmed in to the sing-along style.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49There was a feeling when she first started recording that this had been done before by other pianists,
0:43:49 > 0:43:54but Mrs Mills actually stands out quite differently from the other people
0:43:54 > 0:44:00in the sense that she actually kept her style very true to what she did.
0:44:00 > 0:44:01She didn't try to be anything else
0:44:01 > 0:44:05whereas some of the other pianists were experimenting with different styles
0:44:05 > 0:44:08and trying to change their careers to fit in with trends.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10Mrs Mills always remained the same, you know,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13she came in and she did what she did best from the start to the end,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16and her career remained like that.
0:44:28 > 0:44:35She was very welcoming to me because I came on the scene in the early '70s
0:44:35 > 0:44:39and I would have been a rival, if you like,
0:44:39 > 0:44:42and somebody that might have taken work away from her
0:44:42 > 0:44:45because I was the new piano player on the block and everything,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49but she was really nice and said, "Oh, there's room for us all in the business.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52"You have your audience and I have mine."
0:44:52 > 0:44:57She said, "You'll do really, really well for yourself." She was very, very nice and very encouraging.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12It seems as though every decade sort of throws up a couple of popular pianists.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16In the '50s of course it was Winifred Atwell and Joe Henderson.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18'60s, Glad and Russ,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21and I came along of course in the next decade.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24I came in the '70s along with Richard Clayderman.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31And then it kind of stopped after that
0:45:31 > 0:45:35because people kind of stopped listening to honky-tonk piano playing.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39Her style of playing may be out of fashion now
0:45:39 > 0:45:41and her recordings hard to come by,
0:45:41 > 0:45:46but there's one thing about Mrs Mills's records that never fails to strike a chord.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48If you don't know what she looks like,
0:45:48 > 0:45:50you just hear the recordings,
0:45:50 > 0:45:56then all I can say is that you're hearing this wonderful piano playing that has got so much life
0:45:56 > 0:45:59and fun about it, you just want to know who this person is playing it
0:45:59 > 0:46:03because the personality comes across so well just from listening to it
0:46:03 > 0:46:05and then suddenly you see a record cover
0:46:05 > 0:46:07and you go, "Oh, my goodness, of course,
0:46:07 > 0:46:12"it's got to be somebody who's a big fat bubbly person like that with candy floss hair."
0:46:12 > 0:46:16I believe a lot of people collect the albums specifically for the sleeves.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19Yeah, I can understand people going for the covers,
0:46:19 > 0:46:22but they don't go for the records!
0:46:23 > 0:46:25I just love Mrs Mills's album covers.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29They remind me of a sort of Carry On album cover
0:46:29 > 0:46:33from the Carry On films, just having a great time.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37I love the one where she looks like she's at the beach
0:46:37 > 0:46:41and all kind of posing as if you're having those photos taken on the beach.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43It's just great fun, I love them.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47This album might appeal to someone who had quite a high threshold for kitsch.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49They're kitsch and they're lovely.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52At the time we hated them, but now we love them.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56Her album covers are fantastic.
0:46:56 > 0:47:03I think one of the things about Glad is that she had a terrific sense of humour,
0:47:03 > 0:47:09and she was put in all kinds of situations for her album sleeves and went along with every one.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11This is probably a little bit cruel
0:47:11 > 0:47:15because is the elephant a plump animal like Mrs Mills is?
0:47:16 > 0:47:23She wasn't the kind of artist who had an image to maintain for youth
0:47:23 > 0:47:28and the coolness, you know, it was just her and her great zest for life
0:47:28 > 0:47:31and her music, and it really matched her image.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33You know, somebody who was fun to work with.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35She played uplifting fun music
0:47:35 > 0:47:38and the LP covers were sort of there to match that.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41It was blatant in your face.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43This is what you're going to get, this is what it sounds like,
0:47:43 > 0:47:48and this picture of the people on the front was a picture of you when you play this record.
0:47:48 > 0:47:54You'll be all sitting and having a good time, enjoying yourselves and singing along with Gladys.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57Party. Party is used all the way.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00How many different words and phrases of the party can they use?
0:48:00 > 0:48:05Party Mixture, Party Singalong, Party Pieces, Welcome To My Party,
0:48:05 > 0:48:11Come To My Party, Mrs Mills' Party, All-time Party Dances.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Gosh, I know rather a lot, don't I? It's a bit scary.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19I mean I can't say the album titles had an awful lot of thought given to them.
0:48:19 > 0:48:25Mrs Mills Plays The Roaring Twenties. That took a bit of brainstorming.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27That's just called Mrs Mills.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Mrs Mills' Knees Up Party. Yep.
0:48:31 > 0:48:36She didn't have an equivalent of like Frank Sinatra's suicide albums or anything like that, you know.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41There was no kind of "Mrs Mills Plays Songs For The Lonesome" or anything like that.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45It was just...parties.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49She wasn't averse to making a complete fool of herself, was she?
0:48:49 > 0:48:51And that's why people loved her.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55Any Time Is Party Time, well that's a truism.
0:48:55 > 0:49:00It's just half a dozen shots of Mrs Mills with different hats on.
0:49:00 > 0:49:01Nothing more, nothing less.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06It's party time, so party means wearing hats, plain and simple.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11I don't know what to say about that. Erm...
0:49:13 > 0:49:151967, my goodness.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19By then you would have thought they would have put an album cover designer on it
0:49:19 > 0:49:22but obviously they were far too ashamed.
0:49:22 > 0:49:27Filed under pop instrumental and popular. There you go, popular.
0:49:27 > 0:49:32This is 1967, the same year that Sergeant Pepper came out. Amazing.
0:49:32 > 0:49:38Also, it's a weird thing for a pianist to call her album.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42She's blatantly not...blatantly not playing it with her nose,
0:49:42 > 0:49:44so why would you say that?
0:49:44 > 0:49:48By the '70s, the corniness really was becoming corny.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50It's not even kitsch any more, this cover.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53It's just a slightly boring picture of her with penguins.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59Also, what kind of party is it?
0:50:02 > 0:50:05Is it art? Yes, of course it is. Yes.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08Is it good art? That's for you to decide.
0:50:08 > 0:50:14Another Flippin' Party. It's like... Unless...
0:50:15 > 0:50:20Once again I don't really understand the scenario that's being depicted here.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25The one to me that doesn't work - that's not Mrs Mills.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28That's a woman about to go in the church and play the organ. No.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32In those days when there were 12 inch LPs,
0:50:32 > 0:50:35it had to catch your eye as soon as you walked into a record shop.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37You had to see it right across the record shop
0:50:37 > 0:50:43so, unlike today where you buy your music online or download it or what have you,
0:50:43 > 0:50:48but in those days it had to be eye-grabbing, attention-grabbing.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50That's what makes a good cover.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54You look at all her album covers and every one is a little gem,
0:50:54 > 0:50:57but they're all so bad they're good.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00There's not one Mrs Mills album you go, "That's not a very good one."
0:51:00 > 0:51:03This one's as good as that one, as good as that one.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07They're all great...in a bad way.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12MRS MILLS: Famous, go on with you!
0:51:12 > 0:51:15I now look back and I've had a ball.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21Now we're all ready for a little singalong. You'll all join in, won't you?
0:51:21 > 0:51:26- You just can't laugh to order. - ERIC MORECAMBE: Think of him, stripped.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32Despite changing tastes in music
0:51:32 > 0:51:34and an appeal rooted firmly in yesteryear,
0:51:34 > 0:51:40Mrs Mills had a recording contract with EMI until the day she died in 1978.
0:51:44 > 0:51:4730 years after her death, when old has become vintage
0:51:47 > 0:51:52and vintage is the latest thing, is there still a place for Mrs Mills on our iPods?
0:51:52 > 0:51:57A new generation of musicians certainly think so.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59For me, I like her because she's fun,
0:51:59 > 0:52:03and in an age where everything is retro and careful and calculated,
0:52:03 > 0:52:06what I like about her, it's proper working class entertainment.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08There's no airs and graces, it's just fun.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11It's not about the actual music itself,
0:52:11 > 0:52:14it's about this is the music that brings families together,
0:52:14 > 0:52:17puts people in the street for street parties, you know?
0:52:17 > 0:52:20So I think because there's been a lot of that with the Jubilee and everything,
0:52:20 > 0:52:24I think people have started to think "Yeah, this is all right. We'll get back to doing this."
0:52:24 > 0:52:28It's not about trying to be clever or ironic or pleasing to hipsters
0:52:28 > 0:52:31and looking cool, it's about good old-fashioned entertainment.
0:52:31 > 0:52:37# Roll out the barrel
0:52:37 > 0:52:40# We'll have a barrel of fun
0:52:41 > 0:52:46# Roll out the barrel... #
0:52:46 > 0:52:49Gladys Mills might be old,
0:52:49 > 0:52:53the music might be old she plays, on paper,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56and the sound might be old on paper,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59but if you got one of her records
0:52:59 > 0:53:07and you played it to a 15-year-old kid, that's brand-new to him or her.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11They've never heard it before. It's brand spanking new.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14Er, and we forget that sometimes.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19# Roll out the barrel
0:53:19 > 0:53:21# We'll have a barrel of fun... #
0:53:23 > 0:53:29I think there's always a place for somebody that can supply, effortlessly, the atmosphere
0:53:29 > 0:53:34of good times, good fun, and you know, as we've said, a knees up.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38If you go to a pub and someone's playing the piano
0:53:38 > 0:53:41and it's all jolly and all that, in a groovy madness sort of way,
0:53:41 > 0:53:45it just gives a good feeling to the place.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48It gives the whole thing a lift, and that's what Mrs Mills did. She gave everyone a lift.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01I was chatting to a 22-year-old guy after the gig,
0:54:01 > 0:54:04and he said, "You started and you were playing Roll Out The Barrel
0:54:04 > 0:54:06"and all of a sudden I started singing along
0:54:06 > 0:54:11"and I have no idea how or why I know the words to that song!" But he absolutely loved it.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22You've only got to look at the kind of music that was played
0:54:22 > 0:54:25at all the street parties for the Jubilee celebrations
0:54:25 > 0:54:30to realise that they are the kind of songs that people want to hear
0:54:30 > 0:54:32in that kind of situation
0:54:32 > 0:54:41and I can bet that up and down the country there were a lot of ghetto blasters who were playing Mrs Mills.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47I think her style of playing is absolutely timeless.
0:54:47 > 0:54:52As a pianist myself, if I've played in venues and people say, "Oh, play this song, play that,"
0:54:52 > 0:54:56and I always play it in the Mrs Mills style, you know, the strong rhythmic left hand,
0:54:56 > 0:55:00and people absolutely love it. They love it because they recognise the tunes.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03It's got a good beat and they can sing to it
0:55:03 > 0:55:06and I think that type of entertainment will never die.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10- APPLAUSE - Yoo-hoo!
0:55:10 > 0:55:14Now we're all ready for a little sing along and you'll all join in, won't you?
0:55:14 > 0:55:16- ALL: Yes!- 27 of us?
0:55:16 > 0:55:20I know you will because you know them all. So here we go then!
0:55:27 > 0:55:31It's hard to know whether Mrs Mills would have survived today.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35Erm, she might now, funnily enough,
0:55:35 > 0:55:40because there is such openness to all the different kinds of music and people are interested.
0:55:40 > 0:55:4310 years ago, not a hope in hell.
0:55:46 > 0:55:53There was a woman on Britain's Got Talent on last year, maybe last year?
0:55:53 > 0:55:59It was this jolly woman who played like a medley from Grease on the erm...
0:55:59 > 0:56:05Grease the musical, rather than the land of my forefathers - on an electric organ.
0:56:05 > 0:56:10I suppose there was an element of that but these people never actually win.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18Mrs Mills would not be picked up by EMI today,
0:56:18 > 0:56:22I'm absolutely sure because I believe there's almost no market at all
0:56:22 > 0:56:25for that kind of party sing along music.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28That's not to say that a miracle might not happen
0:56:28 > 0:56:31and suddenly the public might get an appetite for it. Who knows?
0:56:31 > 0:56:34There might be a programme on television, like this very programme.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41Could you imagine somebody playing like a Lady Gaga hit
0:56:41 > 0:56:44or a Madonna hit or a Take That song in the style of Mrs Mills?
0:56:44 > 0:56:47Wouldn't that be fun? Yeah, why not? Do it!
0:56:55 > 0:57:00I think that there's something about it that those of us of a certain age
0:57:00 > 0:57:05probably have a soft spot for, a fond memory,
0:57:05 > 0:57:11and nostalgia has a funny way of showing up again in another form.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14But I don't...there'll never be another Glad.
0:57:23 > 0:57:28# My old man said follow the van
0:57:28 > 0:57:32# And don't dilly dally on the way
0:57:32 > 0:57:37# Off went the van with me home packed in it
0:57:37 > 0:57:42# I followed on with me old cock linnet
0:57:42 > 0:57:44# But I dillied and dallied
0:57:44 > 0:57:47# Dallied and I dillied
0:57:47 > 0:57:52# Lost me way and don't know where to roam
0:57:52 > 0:57:56# Well you can't trust a special like the old time coppers
0:57:56 > 0:58:00# When you can't find your way home. #
0:58:11 > 0:58:16APPLAUSE
0:58:18 > 0:58:22MUSIC: "You Are My Sunshine"
0:58:27 > 0:58:31Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd