| Description | Michael Ford interviews Norah Mash, Charles Parker's secretary at the BBC.
Track 1: Norah Mash describes how she got a job at the BBC, 1.56 mins
Track 2: describes meeting Charles Parker and the questions he asked in her interview, 1.52 mins
Track 3: talks about her first meeting with Charles Parker, when he showed her how to use a ferrograph, how to deal with his moods, and how they became friends, 2.12 mins
Track 4: talks about the programmes Charles Parker produced while she worked with him, which included ‘Sing Christmas’, ‘Man on the Brink’, and ‘Darkie Hunt’, 2.07 mins
Track 5: describes the making of ‘Man on the Brink’, which was recorded on the day of broadcast; Philip Donnellan was called in at the last minute to produce; Charles Parker’s migraine attacks, 2.53 mins
Track 6: Charles Parker’s views on the working class; Norah Mash talks about coming from the working class, Charles Parker’s childhood, a story about a man who died in the submarine, Charles Parker’s mental illness, 2.29 mins
Track 7: meeting Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl, working on the ‘The Ballad of John Axon’, 1.44 mins
Track 8: describes making ‘The Ballad of John Axon’, 2.40 mins
Track 9: editing the Ballad of John Axon, working till 1 am at the BBC studios at Maida Vale in London, 3.00 mins
Track 10: choosing announcers for his programmes, including John Snegg, Charles Parker’s battles with the BBC Midlands hierarchy, 2.18 mins
Track 11: Charles Parker did all his own editing, describes the press review for John Axon, the critics’ reaction, couldn’t believe that working men could say those words, 2.32 mins
Track 12: talks about the public reaction to ‘The Ballad of John Axon’ and her work on some of the other Radio Ballads, bringing the TR90s into the studio, why she believes Charles Parker was a genius, 3.34 mins
Track 13: describes losing her temper with him, getting all the family to help him, 1.47 mins
Track 14: talks about ‘the polio programme’, going on holiday with Phil Parker and Norma Smith, one of the people interviewed in the polio programme, 2.27 mins
Track 15: Charles Parker’s views on religion; the Christmas thing with Geoff Meredith in Harborne church, making ‘The Potter’s Gift’, meeting tramps and taking them home, 3.16 mins
Track 16: discusses why Charles Parker took tramps home, taking people to the BBC canteen for cups of tea, 1.38 mins
Track 17: describes Charles Parker giving a poor woman a five pound note, borrowing money from her, Charles Parker was always hard up, prickly exterior, but very feeling and kind, 2.25 mins
Track 18: talks about Charles Parker’s sense of humour, his moods, his love of music, and interest in natural speech rhythms when editing, 2.56 mins
Track 19: they talk about making ‘Sing Christmas’, Alan Lomax losing his voice the night before recording, she describes losing Seamus Ennis and looking for him in the pubs in Broad Street, 3.37 mins
Track 20: talks about making ‘Sing Christmas’, 3.16 mins
Track 21: talks about people complaining to her about Charles Parker, people being frightened of him, and says that ‘the world is poorer without Charles in it’, 2.47 mins
Total: 53.38 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF549C0076180 |