In this episode, Lili Redman and Tom Carradine explore the significance of wartime songs, focusing on 'Good Night Children, Everywhere' and the legacy of Vera Lynn. They discuss her early career, her contribution to entertaining the troops in WW2 and her rise to become the “forces sweetheart”. Along the way their conversion delves into the experiences of child evacuees, an analysis of the song and the many recordings which are available and even the first polyphonic synthesiser, which featured on two of Lynn’s iconic recordings. To listen to all the songs mentioned in the episode please visit their Spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FQDrBphYqYLAuN6Jm01PN REFERENCES London Easter Parade 2025 Pics https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10160599002620855&type=3 London Easter Parade 2026 Facebook Event https://www.facebook.com/events/996153819354742/ Sousaphone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousaphone Howard Baker - “the gig king” http://www.mgthomas.co.uk/dancebands/Musicians/MusicianPages/Howard%20Baker.htm Lady Sarah Spencer Churchill’s Coming Out Party https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145374512 New Hippodrome Coventry https://www.chestercinemas.co.uk/hippodrome-theatre-coventry/ Hammond Novachord http://www.novachord.co.uk/ “We’ll Meet Again” played on a Novachord https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMEuibX4c04&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD Brick Lane Music Hall https://www.bricklanemusichall.co.uk/ Princess Elizabeth Recording https://youtu.be/VJI9LPFQth4 Chick Henderson's Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56531651/henderson-rowntree Gracie Field’s “Goonight Children, Everywhere” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnGkZJKpzk4 Gert and Daisy (Elsie and Doris Walters) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izt-8xg-f08 CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction to Wartime Songs 01:11 Intro 02:07 Catch Up 03:52 G = Goodnight Children, Everywhere 06:13 The Life and Career of Vera Lynn 08:01 Howard Baker: The Gig King 13:44 Vera Lynn's Rise to Fame 14:05 Bert Ambrose and his Orchestra 18:17 The RAF Squadronaires 20:20 Vera Lynn's Contributions During WW2 22:06 Vera's Recording Career 23:01 The Hammond Novachord 24:26 The Legacy of "We'll Meet Again" and "White Cliffs of Dover" 27:02 Vera on the Wireless 29:07 Evacuation of Children During WWII32:29 The Reality of Cleanliness During War 34:42 Mixed Experiences of Evacuation 36:35 Discussing the Sheet Music 39:21 Musical and Lyric Analysis 42:52 Discussing Recordings - Joe Loss 44:08 Chick Henderson 47:15 Gracie Fields 47:41 Elsie and Doris Waters 49:36 Ambrose 49:58 Vera Lynn 52:01 Which Is Our Favourite Version? 53:02 Other Listening Recommendations 56:35 Mentioned in Dispatches SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS You can follow the podcast on social media: http://instagram.com/warsongspod https://www.facebook.com/warsongspod Find more information about Lili Redman here: https://liliredman.com/https://www.instagram.com/lili__redman/ https://www.facebook.com/ScalaLil Or Tom Carradine here: https://www.tomcarradine.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tomcarradine https://www.facebook.com/mrtomcarradine CONTACT THE PODCAST If there's a wartime song that you think they should discuss, or if you have a personal or family story connected to one, drop them a line at
[email protected] to be "Mentioned in Dispatches". LISTENING LINKS Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ktQ4nyudmPRLcCNyNxEfv?si=ac9e1babe6834f2b Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-a-to-z-of-wartime-song/id1806037318 If you’ve enjoyed this episode Lili and Tom would be grateful if you’d leave a review and make sure you’ve subscribed and turned on notifications so you’ll never miss an episode.
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