Folklore: Beaux of London City Morris Men

Subject: Folklore: Beaux of London City Morris Men
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 02 Jul 09 - 06:16 AM

As espied dancing in Paddington Station in the 1974 BBC documentary Vivian Stanshall's Week - currently on YouTube in 3 parts, the Beaux appears in part three, in the sequence beginning around 1.02:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0U1AeS5Cow

Anyone information would be most welcome!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Beaux of London City Morris Men
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 02 Jul 09 - 11:38 AM

The dance looks lioke the Brackley version of Beaux of London City.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Beaux of London City Morris Men
From: pavane
Date: 02 Jul 09 - 12:50 PM

I wonder if they know that I found the song on which the dance (Beaux of London city) was based?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Beaux of London City Morris Men
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 02 Jul 09 - 03:07 PM

Have heard that myself. Don't know which came first though....do your reaearches shed any light?

Subject: RE: Folklore: Beaux of London City Morris Men
From: Mitch the Bass
Date: 03 Jul 09 - 04:52 AM

I'm in the film! I'd forgotten all about it until I saw the clip.

As far as I remember we were asked, and paid, to go to Paddington Station one evening. The whole sequence filmed involved us wearing bowler hats and carrying umbrellas and brief cases, getting off a train, changing the hats and umbrellas for sticks and morris hats (you can see that at the beginning of the sequence), dancing, then changing back and marching off down the tube. You can see in the last shot that we're wearing different hats.

The dance in the shot is Beaux of London City from Brackley. I can identify a few of the people, John Richie (d) on fiddle, Rod Stradling on accordion, Dancers - Bruce Webley, Graham Cole, Mervyn Clayton, John How (I think) and yours truly, Howard Mitchell, in the horse.

Mitch
www.hgmitchell.co.uk

Subject: RE: Folklore: Beaux of London City Morris Men
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 03 Jul 09 - 05:38 AM

Thanks for that, Mitch.