With Vince Eager - Pioneer Of Pop, Nottinghamshire
Hi, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Vince Eager and I'm often referred to as one of Britain's Pioneers of Rock 'n' Pop.
In 1957 I made my first TV appearance on BBC TV's 'Come Dancing', which was the forerunner to Strictly Come Dancing, as a contestant in the World Skiffle Finals. The competition was held as part of the broadcast and as a member of the Vagabonds Skiffle Group my three pals and I managed 2nd place and a cheque for £150.
The following day we made a big dent in our new found fortune with the purchase of a new Selmer 50 watt guitar amplifier, a new Reslo microphone a four track recording session at the HMV shop studio in Oxford Street and many Coca Colas and Blue Riband Biscuits at the famous 2I's Coffee Bar in Old Compton Street where Terry Dene, Adam Faith, Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard, Hank and Bruce of the Shadows and many other pop luminaries were discovered.
All that was 54 years ago and I promise you, the intervening years have been just as eventful. As I take over the column vacated by Craig I find myself in the not too unusual role of having another great act to follow.
Having worked and befriended the likes of Marty Wilde, Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard, Billy Fury, Joe Brown, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Charlie Gracie to name but a few, following great acts has been my life and I trust I can justify Maggie inviting me onboard.
Upon my return to the UK in 1998, having been domiciled in Florida for 14 years as a Cruise Director, I met Maggie at a rock 'n' roll gig where she gave me a copy of MBSN. It was on a standard white paper and, although being somewhat amateurish it did the job and was very interesting to read.
As I had experienced producing programmes and special documents by computer on cruise ships I managed to get Maggie a copy of a publishing programme which I thought would enhance the MBSN magazine. Since then I've received a copy of every issue from that month to this and have possibly the largest collection of MBSN.
I think Maggie has done an outstanding job in producing a very professional and informative magazine that I always enjoy receiving and reading. I hope my monthly contribution doesn't detract from the very high standards Maggie has set!
As part of my contribution Maggie and I have decided that you might enjoy reading anecdotes from my book, 'Vince Eager's Rock 'n' Roll Files' which was published 3 years ago, and I'm thrilled to say received reviews way above my expectations.