Lonnie Donegan
World First: World Cup Willie
Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot. World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the very first World Cup mascot. ...and for England, World Cup Winners in 1966, probably the best ever!
Do you know the link between St Ambrose and World Cup Willie?
The 1966 World Cup Willie song
Dressed in red, white and blue, he's World Cup Willie
We all love him too, World Cup Willie
He's tough as a lion and never will give up
That's why Willie is fav'rite for the Cup
Willie, Willie, he's evry'body's fav'rite for the Cup
- written and performed by Lonnie Donegan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn1ocjcD-ZE&feature=related
World Cup Willie for South Africa 2010
As there is no official England song, World Cup Willie has been re-recorded by Lonnie Donegan Jnr. for 2010
http://www.myspace.com/lonniedoneganjr
Correspondence from Sale and Altrincham Messenger
LONNIE Donegan moved to this area with his mother from London to escape the blitz in the Second World War and lived with his uncle Tom and Auntie Grace at 29 Hillcroft Road, Oldfield Brow. He briefly attended St Ambrose College in Hale during his short stay in Altrincham.
Tom and Grace Baxter became Mayor and Mayoress of Altrincham in the Fifties and Lonnie kept in touch, visiting them often.
Sadly the Baxter family have all passed away, so severing all ties with Altrincham.
Ken Glarvey, Timperley.
Lonnie Donegan, King of Skiffle
He was the first British Artist to have had his first 5 records in the top 5 of the top 20
"Woodeaves" St Ambrose College
Anthony Donegan was evacuated to Cheshire in 1939, aged 8. He attended St Ambrose College for several years at the original Dunham Rd site and later at Woodeaves ( now the Brothers' House) in Hale Barns until he finished Form IV (at the time the final year in the school) aged 15 in summer 1946.
The Easter 1945 issue of "The Ambrosian" (the St Ambrose College school magazine at the time) records that Anthony Donegan won the First Prize in Form III in 1945. He also wrote an article reproduced below.
(copied from "THE AMBROSIAN", Easter 1945):
FORM 111.
"Looking back over the last term, it appears to have gone by very quickly, I suppose the concert was mainly responsible for this. Be that as it may, few, if any, regret it.
Shortly after the concert, Brother Director brought in for our admiration two brand new footballs and a set of football jerseys for the first XI. There are four boys of our class in that team, so this affected us directly.
Something new in the way of books has been acquired by our form this year: Verse to Remember, one of the two set books required for the summer exams. We are still short of the other, Dickens' Christmas Carol, but this shortage has not been keenly felt as a bright lad had an idea of bringing a copy from home and Brother Hilary reads out the story to us. Christmas is a thing of the past just now, or perhaps should we say of the future, but this book has made it very present for most of us, and there were yearnings and waterings of the mouth when we read of the Ghost of Christmas Present conducting Scrooge through the streets where the fruit shops were situated.
In January a number of lessons were missed owing to the bad weather, but I don't think any voices were raised in protest. We are constantly told that when we grow up we shall regret the time lost in class. Perhaps some day we shall understand this truth fully, and before it is too late.
To conclude, I think this term has been most successful and I hope we shall have many more like it"
A. DONEGAN.
After leaving St Ambrose in 1946, Anthony Donegan took his first job in a Stockbroker's office. After National Service he originally toured as the Tony Donegan Jazz Band, but adopted the name "Lonnie" in tribute to the great American blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson, who was playing on the same bill at the London Festival Hall in 1952. The compere confused their names, and introduced him as "Lonnie Donegan". He kept the name, and invented a new form of DIY music called Skiffle. It was massively successful. In 1956 he sold 3 million copies of the "Rock Island Line" single. John Lennon's first group, the Quarrymen, was a Skiffle group. Donegan's single "Gamblin' Man"/"Puttin' on the Style"was number one in July 1957 when John Lennon met Paul McCartney. They have both declared that Donegan was a major influence. McCartney saw him Donegan play in Liverpool. He was impressed to see that although Donegan arrived late for the lunchtime show, he took time afterwards to personally write notes for the factory girls in the crowd to give to their bosses, to explain why they were so late returning to work!
See Lonnie Donegan play...Gran Coulee Dam
Lonnie Donegan has been described as Britain's first musical superstar and his skiffle music swept through the country in the 1950s.
He quickly became a star, although he had only ever wanted to be a jazz banjo player. Lonnie Donegan had over twenty UK top 30 hits, including three number one records and was known as " King of Skiffle".
Elvis Presley recorded one of his songs, I'm Never Gonna Fall in Love Again. In 1978 Sir Paul McCartney was the driving force behind a tribute album. In 1997 he received a lifetime achievement award at the Ivor Novello Awards. In 1999, a collaboration with long-time fan Van Morrison resulted in Lonnie's first album release in 20 years, Muleskinner Blues.
In November 2000 Lonnie collected an MBE from Buckingham Palace in recognition of his musical contribution to his country. He had a special edition Martin guitar (the make Lonnie has popularised the world over) created in his honour.
He played Glastonbury in 2000, at the age of 69
Lonnie Donegan with Richard O'Connor and Peter Mulhern, Stockton-on-Tees, 2000
1931-2002
Tributes
"He really was at the very cornerstone of English blues and rock." — Brian May of Queen
Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler, who played with Donegan in London, called him one of his greatest musical influences.
"Lonnie was a stunning entertainer and musician" - Rolf Harris
"A terrific force" - Sir Cliff Richard
"So for those of us there, in those early days, he was the man.
In later years I grew to know him as a friend and was not in any way let down.
He is a great guy with a true love of good music and many of us owe him a huge debt of gratitude.
Long live Lonnie!" - Sir Paul McCartney
life story
more about Lonnie Donegan
Also see 2002 news
See Lonnie Play...
Gran Coulee Dam
Putting on the Style
My Old Man's a Dustman
With The Beatles
Lonnie Donegan attended St Ambrose until 1946
"He was the first person we had heard of from Britain to get to the coveted No. 1 in the charts, and we studied his records avidly. We all bought guitars to be in a skiffle group. He was the man." - Paul McCartney
McCartney, Harrison, Donegan and Starr
Paul McCartney, Lonnie Donegan, George Harrison & Ringo Starr
The Beatles' faces show how delighted they were to have their picture taken with Lonnie Donegan
Photographed at the wedding of Eric Clapton to Patti Boyd (former wife of George Harrison) May 19th, 1979.
Lonnie Donegan
RIP
Monday, 4 November, 2002
Lonnie Donegan's death was announced today. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and with his family.
Lonnie Donegan MBE
29.4.1931 - 3.11.2002
The BBC News website reports:
Musician Lonnie Donegan MBE, known as the "king of skiffle", has died aged 71. The Glasgow-born singer was midway through a UK tour after recovering from a heart operation earlier this year and was due to play a concert in Stoke, Staffordshire, on Monday.
One of the most successful recording artists of the pre-Beatles era, he had three UK number one hits and numerous top 10 entries in the 1950s and 60s. The star was with his wife and son when he died in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, on Sunday at about 0230 GMT. He had been complaining of back trouble shortly before he fell ill.
Donegan was staying with friends during his tour. His last performance was in Nottingham - the first city he played when he became a star in 1957. Queen guitarist Brian May led tributes to Donegan saying: "He really was at the very cornerstone of English blues and rock." May worked with Donegan on his comeback album. He said the skiffle movement, of which Donegan was at the forefront, helped a generation realise they could make music themselves. "I think he's probably the principal reason I picked up a guitar," May told BBC Radio Five Live.
The skiffle king's hits included Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour, My Old Man's A Dustman, Cumberland Gap and Puttin' on the Style.
Sir Cliff Richard described him as a "terrific force". "I think what was so good about [skiffle] was it was home-made music... so for those of us who had ambition bubbling, it was a way to start," he told Five Live."And of course, Lonnie Donegan was the man at the time and therefore was very helpful to me."
Rolf Harris added that Donegan was a great showman and his death saddened him greatly. "Lonnie was a stunning entertainer and musician. My condolences go to his family," he said.
His more recent work with Van Morrison led to a resurgence in his career. His skiffle music was a mixture of folk, jazz, gospel and the blues.
Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler, who recently played with Donegan in London, called him one of his greatest musical influences.
Elvis Presley recorded one of his songs, I'm Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, and in 1978 Sir Paul McCartney was the driving force behind a tribute album.
Donegan has been described as Britain's first musical superstar and his skiffle music swept through the country in the 1950s.
He quickly became a star, although he had only ever wanted to be a jazz banjo player.
In May this year, he had heart surgery in London and seemed to have been on the mend, although he had suffered from cardiac trouble since the 1970s.
Christened Anthony James, the star was married three times and leaves seven children.
A private funeral service is expected although will there will be a public memorial service later.
Lonnie Donegan and St Ambrose
3 Old Boys:
Richard O'Connor, Lonnie Donegan and Peter Mulhearn, Nov 2000 (see below)
Lonnie Donegan (then named Anthony Donegan) first attended St Ambrose at its original site in Dunham Road, Altrincham. At that time, the school was run by the De La Salle Brothers (who, with their pupils, had evacuated Les Vauxbelets school in Guernsey in 1940 to escape the approaching German invasion - see below). The brothers continued to teach their own "Guernsey boys", and from 1941 also accepted local pupils from Altrincham and its surrounding districts at the new school of St Ambrose. Originally born in Glasgow, Donegan was himself evacuated to Cheshire at the age of 8 (from East Ham, London) in 1939 to escape the "Blitz".
Little remains from the school in those earliest years. We don't know exactly when Donegan started at St Ambrose or when he left, but there are first hand accounts from old boys who remember him at the time.
The Easter 1945 issue of "The Ambrosian" (the school magazine at the time - an original copy is at Woodeaves) mentions Anthony Donegan by name. Perhaps suggesting some future potential, it states that Anthony Donegan won the First Prize in Form III in 1945! He was 14 years old in April 1945. His biography mentions that he began his working life in a stockbrokers office in 1946, so we think he left St Ambrose College in Summer 1946, aged 15years 2 months.
Old Boy Peter Mulhern met Lonnie Donegan in 2000 while he was touring the UK ; he writes....
You had asked some time ago about my contact with Lonnie Donegan in Nov 2000.
He played to a full house and did all his usual numbers. One's chief impression was of his liveliness and his consumnate skill in working the audience. I had sent a note to his dressing room a day before he arrived suggesting that I'd love to meet a fellow "old boy". Before the show of course he was too busy. After the show I tried to get the local paper's photographer to take a photo of LD, old boys & the tie but he had used all his film - he said - on LD & a group of women who had been usherettes at LD's first preformance in Stockton many many years ago. However I had by chance met Richard O'Connor who was studying at Univ Durham Stockton Campus so I was able to get one of Richard's friends to take the snap that appears on SAOBA web site (SEE ABOVE). I tried to get an interview with Lonnie after that but was told that he was not available. However I sneaked round past the bouncers and hung around the Green Room door for some time. I was then able to have a brief word with him passing on, of course, the good wishes of his old school. No groupies, no orgy, just a regular guy!
Peter Mulhern.
Do any Old Boys have personal memories of Anthony/Lonnie Donegan? If you do, contact saobaweb@hotmail.com or via the Banterboard and we will be glad to publish your account!
Lonnie Donegan biography
Taken from Chas McDevitt's book 'Skiffle The Definitive Inside Story'
(Reproduced by kind permission of Robson Books Ltd)
Anthony James Donegan was born in Glasgow on 29 April 1931. His family moved south in 1933 and settled in East Ham but, in 1939, during the war he was evacuated to Cheshire. By 1946, the young Tony Donegan was working in a stockbroker's office and was able to buy his first guitar. His father, Peter, was a violinist and there was no doubt that music was in Tony's blood; even his uncle played guitar. By the age of 16 he had already been introduced to the blossoming London jazz scene and in 1948 was playing in an amateur jazz hand along with Chris Barber. For a while he also played drums with the Wolverines Jazz Band but this was to be interrupted by two years' National Service, when he was called up. Part of his time in the Forces was spent in Vienna where he was able to indulge his interest in jazz and blues by listening to the local American Forces Network radio station and the easy access to jazz records afforded by his proximity to US servicemen.
On his demobilization Tony played banjo with Bill Brunskill's Jazz Band but, as he was the prime mover and virtually the band's manager, it was decided that henceforth the band should be called the Tony Donegan Jazz Band.
The Tony Donegan Jazz Band was approached by the National Jazz Federation to appear in a concert at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday 28 June 1952. Also booked were George Webb's Dixie Landers, Ron Simpson's Commodores and guest singers George Melly and Neva Raphaello. The bands were non-union, this was a necessary prerequisite for inclusion in the show, and headlining the concert were two American stars: blues guitarist and singer Lonnie Johnson and the jazz pianist Ralph Sutton. The Musicians' Union was still in dispute with its counterpart in the USA and wanted to ban American musicians from working in this country, just as the American Federation of Musicians had banned the British. (Years later both Donegan and the McDevitt Group
would be affected by this very dispute when appearing in America.) To get round the union ban on professional support, which would have condoned the employment of American artists, the promoters enlisted the use of non-union bands. It was at this concert that the comperè confused Tony Donegan with Lonnie Johnson and Tony became forever Lonnie Donegan, a happy reduplication that Donegan realized was pleasant on the ear and easily remembered. Henceforth he would for ever be Lonnie Donegan.
1931-2002