THE IRREPLACEABLE STAN NEWSOME

Mantovani made use of a number of fine trumpeters in his large string orchestra ... the names of "Monty" Montgomery, Stan Roderick, Cliff Haines, Ron Hunt, Greg Bowen and George Swift all spring to mind. Right up there with them was Charles Stanley Newsome, known to one and all as "Stan". Stan was an integral part of the Mantovani Orchestra from 1947 until 1959. He first joined Monty's 18 piece outfit for a summer season at the Barbecue restaurant and dance hall in Westover Road, Bournemouth, and stayed on through the heady years of the 1950s until he left to join the BBC. The son of a mill engineer who died at the early age of 47, Stan was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, on 16 May 1919. He showed an interest in music at the age of 4, and although his parents were not musical they encouraged him further by purchasing a cornet for 15/-. Music lessons followed at 1/- a time, and the Newsome career in showbiz was born! In his own words Stan recalled whimsically that the cornet's mouthpiece "had an unusual but not unpleasant odour". He learned when a little older that it was vintage Tetley's beer! (To the right-- Stan Newsome on tour in the USA with Mantovani 1958).

Stan made progress and joined the army as a musician with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. At 16 he was the solo cornet in a versatile band which toured the south coast of England and other venues. So talented were the 28 musicians - each could play at least three instruments well - that the band could metamorphise into a dance orchestra, an accordion band or a salon orchestra. At times it even became a male voice choir singing arrangements of Strauss waltzes! Whether Stan's own singing voice was up to this is not clear, but what is certain is that he was involved in all types of music in his teens including comedy routines and spectacular concert finales. Stan remembered that the fireworks used in the "1812 Overture" were usually set off by a "well-oiled" band sergeant!
During the War Stan was a stretcher bearer. While helping out at Dunkirk his mother died in tragic circumstances on the operating table so Stan was given leave of absence to return home to help sort out the family's affairs. When he was demobbed in 1946, he found himself with the George Crow Orchestra, but soon he was moving in grander circles. A chance meeting got him a season in the exotic location of Monte Carlo, at the lavish Sporting Club with the famous Ambrose Orchestra. Stan was called upon to make the announcements to the audience in French, spoken with a Yorkshire accent! As he dryly observed much later, "What an invitation into the big time!"
One night the boys in the band felt a change of rhythm and on looking round found the Duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIIII) sitting in on drums. Back in England the Ambrose band finally wound down in the winter of 1946-47. It was one of the worst on record for bad weather and even Noel Coward's glamorous musical "Pacific 1860" with Mantovani as its musical director was badly hit and had to close early. Soon afterwards Stan joined Mantovani for concerts, radio and TV appearances and recordings. He was also a freelance musician and played with Carroll Gibbons at London's Savoy Hotel for a while. (To the right-- Stan Newsome, trumpet, and Bill Brown, Trombone with Mantovani c 1953)
Stan observed that being with Mantovani "was a good shop window, and I had lots of features, so I picked up plenty of sessions and life was interesting and profitable." Among his early appearances with Monty were those at Butlin's holiday camps in the late 1940s. Orchestra members were encouraged to join in with camp activities and mingle with the holidaymakers and there are photos of Stan dressed up in "camp" attire enjoying the fun. He was clearly someone who enjoyed a laugh, and was certainly not a shrinking violet.
On 6 March 1951 Stan was at the Decca studios at West Hampstead in North London to participate in a session which produced the hit recording of "Charmaine". Stan's beautifully muted trumpet contribution can be discerned just after the string introduction and before Bill Brown's trombone excerpt and Max Jaffa's violin solo, and then briefly again at the conclusion of this famous recording. During the early 1950s Stan toured the UK frequently with Mantovani and travelled to Germany in December 1953 and January 1954. The aforementioned Bill Brown was a good friend at this period. In March 1956 Stan returned to Germany with the Orchestra. In the recording studios he was featured as solo trumpeter on three particular tunes which stood out from many others. On the September 1956 recording of "American Gypsy" he enjoyed a marvellous solo which has been unheard by the listening public until now. The tune was never released by Decca, probably because it was nearly 5 minutes long. Stan's powerful solos followed on the Mantovani hits "Around The World", recorded in April 1957, and "Let Me Be Loved", recorded in August 1957. (above--with Mantovani on BBC TV Show, 1953, Clinton French trumpet, Stan Newsome, trumpet, Bill Brown, trombone) In November 1958 Stan Newsome was lead trumpeter when Mantovani appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in London. He also made numerous appearances on the film set of the variety series being shot at Elstree in the winter of 1958-59 for major world wide distribution. Stan used to tell a legion of stories about his career in the music business and one of his friends described them affectionately as "Stanecdotes". A particular favourite came from the Elstree era and is well worth repeating here. It concerned the Trombone section of Jock Bain and Maurice Gee who were with Mantovani for many years.

The Elstree sessions coincided with another horrible winter. To get to the film studios for an 8.30 morning start meant an early rise for the musicians involved, especially as there was a rule in those days that any latecomer was liable for the whole band's overtime should any occur. Consequently, there were hardly any latecomers. Filming had been continuing for some days when the American director Duke Goldstone got hold of bassist Wally Ashworth who was the orchestra "fixer", responsible for hiring the musicians. "Now look here Wal", said Duke, "You really must use the same guys on every session." Wally looked at him in amazement: "There hasn't been any dep [deputy] at all, I especially laid that down when I booked everybody." The director then told Wally that he had examined the film shots the previous night, and on cutting from the fiddles to the trombone had noticed what he thought was a different musician sitting there. Wally cottoned on immediately. The first trombone, Jock Bain, wore a toupee and must have removed it because of the heat in the studios. (to the right--Stan Newsome in the later years, probably in the 1980s)

The sessions continued undisturbed for the rest of the week until a bad blizzard developed on the Friday morning. The orchestra players took their places at 8.30 ... all except the two trombonists, Jock and Maurice. As fixers were wont to do in such circumstances, Wally began to fret and he stalked over to his first trumpeter (Stan) to demand: "Where are they?" Relishing the opportunity for a smoke, Stan replied "Well, they don't actually lodge with me, but I'll go outside and have a look for them."
Out in the freezing cold Stan noticed a Land Rover coming through the Elstree entrance. It was in a sorry state with the front bumper and mudguard hanging off, the windscreen shattered and water dribbling from underneath. Out staggered the dishevelled Jock and Maurice. On enquiring what had happened, Stan learnt that they had had a collision with a bus which had gone out of control at a road junction. "We could have been killed", gasped the intrepid Jock. At this point the irate Wally appeared. "Where the hell have you been?" he demanded. Jock wiped the blood from his forehead and began again. "A bus skidded into us at Apex Corner... we could have been killed." Wally took one cursory look and replied curtly; "Never mind that, have you got the wig?" Characters such as Wally Ashworth stalked the music business in those days, and, indeed, Stan himself was just one of those. Someone once described him as "a great character, funny, energetic, difficult, brusque, compassionate." Another contemporary wrote that "he hid his own good works behind a brusque no nonsense exterior." This reference relates to his invaluable work as honorary secretary of the Musicians' Social and Benevolent Council, a position he filled with distinction for over 32 years. His unstinting work for the sick and needy brought him into contact with an untold number of London based musicians, some of whom had never even played with him, but had cause to be grateful for his assistance.
Another "Stanecdote" revolves around the time Stan was appearing on a popular live BBC radio show "Music While You Work". It was discovered towards the end of the broadcast that there was just not enough written music on the stands to last out the programme. Indeed, they were ten minutes short! As lead trumpeter, fixer and general dogsbody, Stan had to crawl round the largish orchestra on his hands and knees giving whispered instructions about tunes and keys before guiding the orchestra players through a busking session until to everyone's relief the clock signalled time for the "Calling All Workers" signature tune!
Stan left Mantovani in 1959 to find more regular employment. By now he had met his wife of almost 30 years, Barbara, and perhaps he felt that he needed to swap the peripatetic life of a touring musician for more security. He also wanted to devote his time to family matters. Furthermore, Mantovani's radio activities had been scaled down because the BBC found it too costly to hire so many musicians and thus there was less money to be earned. Stan then worked for the BBC Variety Orchestra under its conductor Paul Fenhoulet, for whom he had the greatest respect. On leaving the BBC in 1968 Stan resumed freelancing again and worked at film studios, theatres and TV venues with a variety of world class stars until illness brought his career to an untimely end.
Stan helped found the amateur Merton Concert Band in 1981 and took great pride in this orchestra with its varied repertoire of Bach, Bacharach, Beethoven and The Beatles. Many of his old professional friends and talented amateurs and students made up the membership of the band which played a special tribute to him in July 1989. He also conducted the Harrow Concert Band and the British Rail (Western Region) Band until shortly before his death. Seemingly indestructable to his friends and colleagues, Stan was finally struck down with cancer, but he faced his final illness defiantly by continuing to deal with MSBC business while in pain and discomfort in hospital. He passed away in London on 31 May 1989 at the age of 70. His funeral at Streatham Crematorium was attended by hundreds of mourners who wanted to pay their respects to this much loved musicians' friend. A colleague described him as irreplaceable, unique, a "one-off", which sums up his personality perfectly.
We are pleased to pay this tribute to Stan Newsome just as one of his finest recordings "American Gypsy" is released for the first time on the Vocalion CD "Collector's Mantovani Vol 1" (Vocalion CDLK 4152). Our thanks are due to Mrs Barbara Newsome for her kind assistance and to Alan Dixon for his help and encouragement.
Colin MacKenzie..

I thought this little tidbit from Don Southwell would cap off our tribute to Stan Newsome very nicely:
"Shortly after the release of "Around The World", the then Mayor of Los Angeles played it for the first time on his radio show, and raved about the golden trumpet of Stan Newsome. He stated that the color and golden sound of his playing on that number was like no other he had ever heard by any other trumpet player."

Editor's note-- What an honour to have a history and photos of Stan Newsome who's trumpet solo on Around the World is the standard by which all other trumpet solos has been measured in my life. The little Stan Newsome segment you hear at the opening of this page is from the Mantovani composition "American Gypsy" found on the newly released "Collector's Mantovani" (Vol 1) from Vocalion. You may read a complete track listing and reviews on this monumental release in our Catalog.
Recent news on Stan Newsome: in 1958 Stan played with Edmundo Ross and His Orchestra