Patricia Bredin now and in 'The Waltz for the Merry Widow'
When 主播大秀 Radio Humberside's David Reeves learned that the first UK Eurovision entry came from Hull he decided to find out more, and it led to a new documentary for the station called Hull's Song for Europe. He spoke to editor Jon Jacob about how the documentary came about.
Let’s get the obvious question out of the way first. Are you a fan of the ?
Me and my wife have hosted parties and get friends round for the night to mark the occasion. I would call myself a fan, yes. I’ve never been to Eurovision before, but I am going for the first time this year to share the story of Patricia Bredin – the UK’s first Eurovision entrant - to the fans in Stockholm.
When did you first start hosting your parties?
Probably around 2003. My wife was a huge fan and she would watch it every year. I guess it was her got me into it. She said: “this is a great thing to watch on TV, it’s a great moment in the calendar,” so I kind of took part. It was probably through her that I realised what Eurovision was about – how it’s a fantastic evening’s entertainment.
At the point of being introduced to it, what were thoughts about Eurovision?
I still watched it as a student. Probably because of Terry Wogan’s commentary it was still something I watched because it was something to laugh at. But, I hadn’t quite grasped how seriously it was taken in the rest of Europe. I probably wasn’t really aware of how huge it was. I saw it as this huge big colourful event – televisual event – which was sort of mocked by UK media.
Do you think that’s still the case now?
Less so. I think Graham Norton gives it a gentle ribbing, but I think there’s more respect paid to it. I think there’s definitely more of showcasing what it means to the rest of Europe. I think in that sense, I probably look at it with less mockery than before.
What are your expectations of going to the Eurovision this year?
My wife went to the Eurovision in Malmo a few years ago, so she’s given me a sense of what to expect. I’m fully expecting there to be a real wash of different nationalities and different fans from all over the world. I’m really expecting the city to be completely taken over by it. I think it’s going to be amazing.
How did you come to make the documentary about Patricia Bredin? Where did that idea start come from? Was the starting point Eurovision, or about highlighting the story of a local celebrity?
A bit of both. I’m interested in some of the stories around Eurovision, but I’m also interested in the history of it as well. I think the initial interest came from my colleague James Hogarth was on the radio during Eurovision weekend and someone had written in and said, “Did you know that Patricia Bredin was the first entrant and she lived in Hull?” He put it out on his show and he had a huge response to the question.
James didn’t have time in his live show to devote to a documentary. There were lots of questions to ask: Was Patricia still alive? Did she live locally? No-one had heard from her. There was a common theme. The people who had rung in and the retired colleagues I asked whether they knew her from the past, the answer was yes. But, did they know where she was now? The answer was that they’d lost touch and that they didn’t know where she was today. That’s when I thought that this was even more of a mystery. I needed to know where she was and whether she was even alive.
When I started looking online there wasn’t anything online written about her first appearance? The Hull Mail had some lovely pictures of her but they didn’t have much written about her. That’s when I began to think that we might have an exclusive.
Did that surprise you when you stumbled on this?
Yes, it did. That’s when I thought that there is this person on the other end of this who hasn’t had her story told and it’s a story that deserves to be told. That’s when I started the search. And when we tracked her down in Nova Scotia I realised there was a great story to explore: what her early experiences of fame were; whether any of those experiences had influenced the second chapter of her life in Canada.
Was there something about needing to establish rapport for making this doc? Was that one of the reasons for wanting to meet up face-to-face?
It was. Previous projects of mine involved working with two elderly women, . And on the basis of that experience I did think there was something to be gained from meeting up in person and seeing how the chemistry we established would filter through into the programme.
I just played it straight with her when I got there. She was exactly how I hoped and dreamed she would be. She was a bit of a showbiz luvvy, of course. But at the same time she was this wonderful woman, so open, so willing to tell her story. She was lovely.
Do you think she enjoyed the process of doing the Eurovision?
I think so. I think she was unaware of its impact – at the time it was still very new. I don’t think it had very much impact on her career in the same way that some artists might see it as a step up. I think she just saw it as another gig. But I do believe she saw it as her first, exciting experience of television, her first experience of show business, and of her introduction to the 主播大秀.
That was still the early days of television too, wasn’t it?
It was. If you look at the , it was a one-camera shot. It looks simple enough, but I think she would have been absolutely petrified by the experience. I still think she enjoyed it though. She absolutely just brushed it away as ‘just another gig’. What she talked about was how it was amazing singing in front of the orchestra, she described it as ‘floating on air’. She was 22 years old at the time, don’t forget. It would have been a big deal for her at the time.
I’m thinking about you and her, and you working with . What is it about you, do you think, that makes it possible for you to get the best from them?
I think its about being respectful. It’s showing an interest. When you’re there its all about body language. It’s about sitting close so they can hear and see you – that’s important with older people.
It’s also about showing you’ve done your research. At the same time I was aware that was a little bit scary for her. I think on the whole that it’s about being respectful and making them feel at ease. Its about treating them like you’d treat your own grandma or your own family. It’s about gaining their trust.
That’s something you really love doing, isn’t it? I think I can tell just from hearing you talk about the process.
It is. I knew when I made this that I wanted to capture all of those off-the-cuff moments. I knew that all of the unplanned, unscripted details would bring the documentary to life. Those things would make the programme. You can only really do that in radio where you can leave things recording and capture their conversation. I was able to just hang out with her and sit in the back of the car with her and be more real with her, and capture the unexpected from her. She was great in that respect. I really feel I came away with the real Patricia.
David Reeves is a prodcuer and journalist for 主播大秀 Radio Humberside