| Description | An interview with John Denny, a single man with no children, who is a Unemployed, born in Birmingham and now living in Birmingham. John Denny’s father was a labourer, born in England and his mother a Housewife born in England. In the interview, he talks about …
'MS2255/2/115 DENNY, John, logged by Azma Shain
01
My name’s John Denny, I was born in Small Heath on the 1st of June 1951.
23” As he grew up the bombsites were nearby and there were large areas to play. Near Small Heath Park
1.18 Talks about friends who he played with.
1.32 Atmosphere changed a little with more Asian people moving to Small Heath.
2.00 Moved from Small Heath to Erdington. Went to better school - Marshall Boys' Grammar, which is now, Josiah Mason College. Have always lived in Birmingham and now live in the city centre.
2.35 Grandfather on father’s side was a greengrocer and lived on Warwick Road. Father was a member of the Church of England. Mother was Catholic, as was her father.
3.25 Mother’s father was left outside the priest’s door to be taken care of and later joined the army at a young age. He became sergeant.
4.43 Mother’s father met his wife while he was in the Indian army; she was used to having servants.
02
She was not too happy about coming back to England.
06” Mother’s father came out of the army and sold his pension.
21” The grandparents moved into a one bedroom flat, the water tap was in the factory yard which their room over looked and they had a small coal fire. All meals had to be taken out.
Talks about mother’s parents and their living.
2.30 BackbBefore the Second World War. Talks about his own parents getting married and facing hostile attitudes.
3.04 Nevertheless they had a happy marriage.
3.35 Father joined army when he was 16, about 1938. Talks about father in the army and mother living in Birmingham. Fear of bombs in Birmingham at the time. Mother would leave work early to go home and have a bath
03
38” Mother left early and the BSA (bike factory)
where she worked was bombed and most of the workers were killed.
Talks more about mother escaping two bomb attacks and father given leave from work.
3.20 Mother disappeared and was later found at Red Cross home.
4.22 Father found mother and both went to council to ask for somewhere to live. The council handed them keys and let them have any place they found standing.
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Short – Disc skips
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Childhood
01” Describes the avenue in which he lived, house at the end of the road had been bombed.
1.12 Goods yard behind the house was very noisy.. Later became hard to sleep without the noise.
1.28 Not a good house for four children. Talks more about the house and describes rooms.
3.56 Christmas was pleasant.
4.15 Parents came to an agreement about religion.
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10” 5 years old and was beaten up regularly so had to change infant school.
1.20 Talks more about schooling.
2.25 Stockland Green, Erdington was a very different place to Small Heath, different atmosphere, a cold place to live.
3.52 Unable to sleep as a child
4.50 Started paper round at the age of 13.
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23” Stopped paper round and stopped sleeping for a while.
1.02 Eldest sister joined airforce; brother got married at 21 and now has his own business. Brother spent a lot of time in hospital
3.04 Younger sister got married and also joined RAF.
4.00 Wanted to leave home, unusual for the time without conventional reason.
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Left school at 18, talks abut various short-term jobs.
1.14 Talks about father’s jobs
1.56 Worked for MEM and moved from sales clerk to designs department for 15 years.
2.35 Talks more about work - moved to Lucas in his early 30s, voluntary redundancies on the rise. Company department moved to South Wales. But John took redundancy.
4.24 Birmingham music club, trained as graphic artist
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Dates of jobs
MEM- The first 6 years before Lucas
Lucas 1990-1996
1.47 Got a telephone. Unemployed, investigated designing greeting cards.. Learned he was selling and designing requested cards. Made about 200 cards by hand, then took computer course.
10
Left the parents at the age of 22. Had planned this with his friends, talks about looking for accommodation.
50” At this time it cost £20 to share a single room. Talks about living with friends, parties and landlord.
4.22 Took action against landlord because he would not give receipt for payments and he had a criminal record.
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3.08 Pleased to meet the landlord because they learned everything that could be done on us and got away without losing the skin off our backs.
4.00 More about accommodation, a house with bad wiring
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Moving out on his own.
1.02 Talks about new landlady and her house and the tenants.
3.58 Flat broken into - Shooting at night-club in Small Heath. Police came to house asking questions.
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1.35 Moved into council flat where he still lives.
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Music
08” As a child no singing in the family, shock to see people singing in North Wales.
1.00 Started going to folk clubs –1970/1971 (aged 17/18) in Digbeth near the city centre, popular place at the time.
2.05 Had house and wage of his own and stared going to pub clubs – talks about pubs and live bands.
4.00 The new Rep Theatre was being built and a folk club on the side. Two entertainment events in one night with a good atmosphere.
4.56 Jim Sullivan who set up Big Bear Records ran the Crown.
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55” Blues was being taken on in Birmingham but was white musicians with music based on black artists' records. Jim brought American artists over to play in Birmingham
1.24 Jazz clubs
1.53 The Birmingham Trad, a pub where the audience sang. Started to sing.
2.57 I sang my first song in public at the age of 28, one I wrote myself and then learnt traditional songs. Joined the club committee and have been on it for 20 years.
4.01 Got grant from council to have folk festival. Had traditional music as well as music from Asia.
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38” Joined poetry club and created poetry magazine.
1.41 Opened poetry club with friends.
2.59 Urban poetry, but enjoyed the singing
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1.42 Talks about investigating folk music, Birmingham traditional music club.
3.54 The history of folk music
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Continues history of folk music in Birmingham
4.44 Setting up an institute for traditional songs and singers to be recorded in Birmingham.
4.57 Birmingham affected by closure of pubs
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04” Method of people running council - number of pubs halved.
50” Setting up of pub clubs
4.50 Going to clubs was building up peoples’ confidence and organisation skills.
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Mentions various festivals influenced by the Birmingham clubs.
1.16 The activities of people are on record, most people think nothing happened in Birmingham but that’s not true.
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12” At school member of theatre club at the Old Rep. Talks about involvement in theatre and theatre in Birmingham today.
Talks about members of the folk club performing plays.
4.35 In the 60’s and 70’s plays were performed beside the canals.
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21” people used to dealing with an audience. Learnt a great stagecraft.
Disc skips
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Technology – Advertising for festivals
4.50 Computers are better because you can edit, unlike a typewriter where the work has to be retyped.
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20” Produced own publications of scores and poems.
1.59 Had his music written in musical scores. This would make his folk songs more popular.
3.40 Wrote a second book of songs and made a CD.
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More about technology and computers.
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48” People involved in folk music are usually fed up of stereotypes.
1.27 Morris Dancing
3.33 When you’re in trouble
3.37 Do tend to get a lot of good will. Atmosphere around folk clubs is very friendly. Folk festivals are good family events.
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Disc skips
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Health issues
Brother in hospital, bad ear infection which affected his hearing and he learned to lip read.
2.50 Talks about father’s health, lung cancer
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The family health and their later years.
4.20 The effects of angina on the family
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Family health
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Disc skips
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Poem dedicated to Father
ENDS |