Ronnie French - Jazz Piano Player

An article on piano player Ronnie French, written by Sue Parish,
and reproduced by kind permission of the Lancaster Guardian

Writing a short article about Ronnie French is like trying to get a big band into the same floor space as a jazz trio. For this Morecambe born piano player's career spans decades of musical history, and thousands of gigs. Ronnie got head-hunted by Beatles manager Brian Epstein, did a national tour with Cilla Black - and then came back to work at the Winter Gardens. 

As a child in the 1930s and 40s, Ronnie grew up surrounded by music. "My dad played honky tonk piano and I liked Fats Waller's brilliant stride style. And the musicians who played in the showbands at the Winter Gardens used to bring up records that people hadn't heard of round here, like Art Tatum."

Inspired by these influences, Ronnie spent his spare time picking out boogie-woogie piano tunes. During the 1950s, he and his friends grabbed every chance they could to learn the new jazz styles. They bought second hand instruments, clubbed together to buy arrangements from London, and picked up advice from visiting professionals. 

"The aim was to work your way up to what they called the Class A establishments - which in Morecambe was The Winter Gardens, The Gaumont, (formerly The Tower) and the Central Pier. You had to be in the Musician's Union to play in those places, and you got Union rates - £2 for a three hour engagement, which was good, considering that a typical weekly wage then was about £7 a week."

Ronnie did his National service when he was 18 and then settled back into Morecambe to work at I.C.I. Then he was cabled by the Winter Gardens to take over the coveted job of piano player. It was no cushy number. He worked 8 hours a day, six days a week, alongside singer-comperes of the day including Bert Burrows, Walter McIntyre and Billy Driscoll. Together they supported the masses of holiday-makers who wanted their turn at the karaoke of the day - the talent contest. 

By the sixties things were starting to change: "The big bands were going out then, and the rock and roll groups were taking over." Ronnie took the new styles in his stride, learnt to play the organ, and got involved with a local band called the Leaders, playing Buddy Holly covers to packed dancefloors. 

And then came the call that most musicians dreamed of - from impressario and Beatles Manager Brian Epstein, who wanted Ronnie to join an ensemble show featuring a Who's Who of sixties pop . "They wanted an organist to play with this group from Liverpool called the Remo Four. So I went on a sell-out tour with Gene Pitney, Cilla Black, the Swinging Blue Jeans , The Hollies, and the Bachelors. There were two shows a night, and we toured all winter."

Ronnie is detached about this remarkable aspect of his career: "It was a bit boring. I was playing the same programme twice a night. It was a lot of travelling too - we did every major city in the United Kingdom. 

"It was a good experience, but it wasn't my scene. We weren't doing enough playing really. But it was easy enough - everything was set up for you and all you had to do was walk on stage." 

Instead, he particularly treasures memories of a tour of American army bases in France which gave him a chance to flex his jazz muscles properly. "We did a month at each place. It was a proper jazz gig, because the Americans liked that type of music."

Jazz was Ronnie's first love, and he still feels the same way: "When you're playing jazz you're not limited. There's nothing written down - an arrangement builds up over time when you're playing regularly with other people and they sense what you're going to do. Then new ideas keep coming in - like a different approach to the harmony. You put a different chord in, and the bass player isn't to know that - but next time he will twig it. It's a gradual build up."

"I listened to players like Errol Garner, Mose Allison, Albert Hammond, Lionel Hampton, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Oscar Peterson. But I never really imitated people. I just got impressions and then started on my own style of improvisation" 

After a lifetime in the business, Ronnie is now taking things a little easier. But if you want to see a local legend in action, you might catch him on a Monday night at Lancaster's John O Gaunt. He often does a guest spot with fellow musical veterans drummer Henry Jones and bass player Ray Briggs. And if you shut your eyes and listen you'll hear half a century of musical history come alive.

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