03-08-2025
Legacies and laughs: Tom Lehrer and Dame Cleo Laine
Two legendary singers and favourite guests of The Music Show passed away this week at 97 years old: Tom Lehrer and Dame Cleo Laine.
Dame Cleo Laine was one of England's most acclaimed jazz singers, with a distinctive smoky contralto voice and four octave vocal range. She was also an actor, initially confined to Caribbean characters and expanding to major roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream , Into the Woods , and even as the voice of God in Noye's Fludde . In this candid 2004 interview, Andrew Ford sat down with Cleo in Rochester Castle to speak about Damehood, her love of Shakespeare and jazz, and passing on music education to the next generations.
Armed with a piano and microphone, Tom Lehrer took on many social and political issues of the Cold War era. His pastiche satirical songs remain startlingly relevant today. In 2000, decades after he retired from touring and became an academic, he spoke to Andrew Ford on The Music Show. He reminisced fondly about his 1960 tour of Australia which saw him threatened with jail time in South Australia if he was to perform five of his songs.
Music in this program:
Title: Ridin' High
Artist: Cleo Laine
Composer: Cole Porter
Album: The Collection
Label: Spectrum Music
Title: Take All My Loves (Sonnet 40)
Artist: Cleo Laine
Composer: William Thomas Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, words by William Shakespeare
Album: Shakespeare and All That Jazz
Label: Fontana
Title: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
Artist: Cleo Laine
Composer: Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner
Album: The Collection
Label: Spectrum Music
Titles: Be Prepared, I Wanna Go Back to Dixie, Werner Von Braun, The Vatican Rag, Poisoning Pigeons in the Park
Artist: Tom Lehrer
Composer: Tom Lehrer
Album: The Remains of Tom Lehrer
Label: Rhino Records
Title: Abandoned Cricket Games
Artist: Jerrah Patston
Composer: Jerrah Patston, Samuel Worrad
Album: Abandoned Cricket Games (released 09 August 2025)
Label: Flippin Yeah Records, ABC Music
The Music Show was made on Gadigal, Bindal and Wulgurukaba Land.
