Hi Bernie,
Glad all is going well with the documentary and that you have been able to check the script for any errors etc. Please let us know when you have seen the preview. Good luck!
Martin
Ruby and the Duke,
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MARTIN FOSTER
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Bernie Burgess
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Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Hello Friends,
I was contacted by the director of the documentary -'Ruby and the Duke'- to say that he is looking at the possibiliy of being able to fly to Spain at the weekend and is asking if I am free to view a preview on Sunday afternoon. I hope that he can confirm this arrangement and that I will be able to see the ALMOST finished project.
Fingers crossed.
Adios Amigos. Bernie.
I was contacted by the director of the documentary -'Ruby and the Duke'- to say that he is looking at the possibiliy of being able to fly to Spain at the weekend and is asking if I am free to view a preview on Sunday afternoon. I hope that he can confirm this arrangement and that I will be able to see the ALMOST finished project.
Fingers crossed.
Adios Amigos. Bernie.
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Gerald Lawrence
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Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Hello Bernie, this is getting very exciting now. I hope all goes well and that you are well satisfied with the showing - if not, you tell 'em!
Gerald
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MARTIN FOSTER
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Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Hi Bernie,
Good luck with the preview. Hope it is not too emotional for you. Please let us know if any interesting new material has surfaced.
Take care.
Martin
Good luck with the preview. Hope it is not too emotional for you. Please let us know if any interesting new material has surfaced.
Take care.
Martin
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Bernie Burgess
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Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Helo Friends,
I am pleased to report that the arrangement with Michael Beattie, the director of the documentary, has been confirmed, he is coming to see me on Sunday at 12-00 noon and I will be viewing a preview with him. Considering that the documentary will be 52 mins in duration, which I assume would be 1 hour with commercial breaks, I expect to see that drastic cuts will have been made. I am hoping that all will be well. I will post a report when I have seen what he brings with him.
Adios Amigos. Bernie,
I am pleased to report that the arrangement with Michael Beattie, the director of the documentary, has been confirmed, he is coming to see me on Sunday at 12-00 noon and I will be viewing a preview with him. Considering that the documentary will be 52 mins in duration, which I assume would be 1 hour with commercial breaks, I expect to see that drastic cuts will have been made. I am hoping that all will be well. I will post a report when I have seen what he brings with him.
Adios Amigos. Bernie,
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Gerald Lawrence
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Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Looking forward to reading about it.
Anybody watching the Last Night of the Proms will have seen Duke Special performing in the Northern Ireland "Proms in the Park".
Anybody watching the Last Night of the Proms will have seen Duke Special performing in the Northern Ireland "Proms in the Park".
Gerald
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Bernie Burgess
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Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Well, I have viewed the 'preview' and let me start off by saying I AM VERY PLEASED WITH IT. I will now expand and go into detail.-
Michael Beattie, the director, was very apprehensive when he arrived with his 'miniature' laptop and explained many things before connecting up for the viewing. I had anticipated that there would be drastic cuts to reduce what in total was over 30 hours of film into an hours programme, less commercial breaks. He explained that as a 'freelance' director he had to please many different people, among them were two other directors, one from the head office of Hardy Pictures (London office) and another from R.T.E. -Irish Television. Each one had their own ideas and priorities. He also had to consider me so he was doing a balancing act. Under these circumstances he has done a remarkable job. He knew that there would be disappointment in some directions and contentment in others. Remember, R.T.E. were putting up the finance which entitled them to have the last say on everything,. They have their own audiences to please and their own methods to keep within their style of programming.
Apart from Duke Special, who is Belfast born and bred, there were several Irish celebrities who were interviewed on film, and each one is well known to Irish audiences and
had their own comments to make about Ruby. Tim and Julie were interviewed and they made valuable contributions.They spoke freely about their mother and looked quite comfortable in front of camera. My 4 days of filming interviews in Blackpool ended up being 4-or-5mins in total but sadly Gerald's interview was not included. That is a pity because Gerald represented the fans and through the years they were a vitally important part of making Ruby what she became, a big star, a factor that all too often gets overlooked.
The end product is virtually The Ruby Murray Story narrated by a modern day music and singing star - Duke Special. His narration on the 'preview' was spoken by Michael Beattie himself but next week Duke will be in the studio to 'dub' on his voice and then the Irish director may make last minute changes to the narration. Duke sings a few of Ruby's songs, accompanying himself on piano and another Irish singing star sings Softly (he wasn't too sure of the melody) to Duke's accompaniment on piano. Incidentally, Michael tells me that Duke is going into a recording studio in Dublin soon to record 5 of Ruby's songs - I must hear that when it comes out.
I was very surprised to see a snippet of Ruby singing in a previously recorded Irish Television programme that I have never seen before, it may also be new to most fans. Ruby is seen very briefly singing- 'One Day at a Time' which I confess touched a nerve with me. So many of Ruby's songs were included in the programme but obviouly only in snippets. Understandably the editing resulted in small snatches from many parts of the story and it was quite obvious that as many pieces as possible needed to be covered in a short space of time. There is one small part where I was being interviewed and it started to get very emotional and regrettably I break down. The snippet was too short to be able to see what led up to and caused me to breakdown but I can explain that for several minutes during that interview we dwelt on the subject Ruby's problem and how it escalated and finally overwhelmed her, it got to me in a big way and that is the part that is shown.
The release date will be early next year and I am convinced that it will bring Ruby to a whole new audience which is thanks to Duke Special who I am told is now a Ruby Murray fan, so too is Michael. I'd like to add that Duke was an absolute gentleman who was a delight to work with. May I also add that Michael , Andrea and the crew were very professional and took great care of me throughout Thanks folks.
My overall 'verdict' is - WELL DONE MICHAEL I didn't envy you your task of trying to please everyone but the end product is a credit to you and it will be a lasting tribute to RUBY.....My Precious Gem.
P.S. I hope that someone from the BBC sees the programme, it just might make them feel that they should have been the ones who made the programme
More annon but for now.... Adios Amigos. Bernie
Michael Beattie, the director, was very apprehensive when he arrived with his 'miniature' laptop and explained many things before connecting up for the viewing. I had anticipated that there would be drastic cuts to reduce what in total was over 30 hours of film into an hours programme, less commercial breaks. He explained that as a 'freelance' director he had to please many different people, among them were two other directors, one from the head office of Hardy Pictures (London office) and another from R.T.E. -Irish Television. Each one had their own ideas and priorities. He also had to consider me so he was doing a balancing act. Under these circumstances he has done a remarkable job. He knew that there would be disappointment in some directions and contentment in others. Remember, R.T.E. were putting up the finance which entitled them to have the last say on everything,. They have their own audiences to please and their own methods to keep within their style of programming.
Apart from Duke Special, who is Belfast born and bred, there were several Irish celebrities who were interviewed on film, and each one is well known to Irish audiences and
had their own comments to make about Ruby. Tim and Julie were interviewed and they made valuable contributions.They spoke freely about their mother and looked quite comfortable in front of camera. My 4 days of filming interviews in Blackpool ended up being 4-or-5mins in total but sadly Gerald's interview was not included. That is a pity because Gerald represented the fans and through the years they were a vitally important part of making Ruby what she became, a big star, a factor that all too often gets overlooked.
The end product is virtually The Ruby Murray Story narrated by a modern day music and singing star - Duke Special. His narration on the 'preview' was spoken by Michael Beattie himself but next week Duke will be in the studio to 'dub' on his voice and then the Irish director may make last minute changes to the narration. Duke sings a few of Ruby's songs, accompanying himself on piano and another Irish singing star sings Softly (he wasn't too sure of the melody) to Duke's accompaniment on piano. Incidentally, Michael tells me that Duke is going into a recording studio in Dublin soon to record 5 of Ruby's songs - I must hear that when it comes out.
I was very surprised to see a snippet of Ruby singing in a previously recorded Irish Television programme that I have never seen before, it may also be new to most fans. Ruby is seen very briefly singing- 'One Day at a Time' which I confess touched a nerve with me. So many of Ruby's songs were included in the programme but obviouly only in snippets. Understandably the editing resulted in small snatches from many parts of the story and it was quite obvious that as many pieces as possible needed to be covered in a short space of time. There is one small part where I was being interviewed and it started to get very emotional and regrettably I break down. The snippet was too short to be able to see what led up to and caused me to breakdown but I can explain that for several minutes during that interview we dwelt on the subject Ruby's problem and how it escalated and finally overwhelmed her, it got to me in a big way and that is the part that is shown.
The release date will be early next year and I am convinced that it will bring Ruby to a whole new audience which is thanks to Duke Special who I am told is now a Ruby Murray fan, so too is Michael. I'd like to add that Duke was an absolute gentleman who was a delight to work with. May I also add that Michael , Andrea and the crew were very professional and took great care of me throughout Thanks folks.
My overall 'verdict' is - WELL DONE MICHAEL I didn't envy you your task of trying to please everyone but the end product is a credit to you and it will be a lasting tribute to RUBY.....My Precious Gem.
P.S. I hope that someone from the BBC sees the programme, it just might make them feel that they should have been the ones who made the programme
More annon but for now.... Adios Amigos. Bernie
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Gerald Lawrence
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Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Thank you for that very comprehensive report, Bernie. You must have been very apprehensive when the day approached, but the fact that you can write in glowing terms speaks well for the final programme. I am not at all bothered by not appearing in it, but I do hope the fans get a mention - they have been an unbelievably wonderful set of people, in my experience. I look forward to seeing it one day, and if there are any Irish fans looking in who are capable of receiving RTE then do look out for the broadcast and let us know what you think of it and what the reaction to the programme is. I see that there is a website RTE player, so if this works the same way as the BBC, we may be able to watch it for ourselves shortly after the broadcast.
Gerald
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MARTIN FOSTER
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Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Hi Bernie,
I am so glad that the preview went well and you are happy with what you saw. I am looking forward to seeing the final documentary very much.
The segment of Ruby singing 'One day at a time' is a particularly interesting find. I think Lena Martell sang the British version of this very nice song. The Irish version, by Irish country singer Gloria, recorded in 1977, was one of the biggest selling Irish singles of all time. I wonder if this clip of Ruby dates from that time?
Gerald, I am sorry that you have not been included in the programme, as you did represent the fans from the website. I am glad that you are not too upset though, as I would have been gutted!
Best wishes.
Martin
I am so glad that the preview went well and you are happy with what you saw. I am looking forward to seeing the final documentary very much.
The segment of Ruby singing 'One day at a time' is a particularly interesting find. I think Lena Martell sang the British version of this very nice song. The Irish version, by Irish country singer Gloria, recorded in 1977, was one of the biggest selling Irish singles of all time. I wonder if this clip of Ruby dates from that time?
Gerald, I am sorry that you have not been included in the programme, as you did represent the fans from the website. I am glad that you are not too upset though, as I would have been gutted!
Best wishes.
Martin
Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Hello Everyone, hear is a link to the Duke singing "Happy Days and Lonely Nights" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z8K2zcmz-8
This is just a one off post from me, I still have problems with typing and putting words together. So enjoy the short video
This is just a one off post from me, I still have problems with typing and putting words together. So enjoy the short video
Regards
John.
John.
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Gerald Lawrence
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- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 2:48 am
- Location: Kenilworth, UK
Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Hello John and thank you so much for making what must have been a tremendous effort to post again here - we have really missed you! It goes without saying that we are all hoping and praying that you will make a good recovery and get back more of your mobility.
You have just beaten me to it with the Duke Special video. An mp3 was sent to me and I was just about to see if it had come from you-tube. Well done.
PS - I think Ruby sings it better, but then I would say that, woudn't I?
You have just beaten me to it with the Duke Special video. An mp3 was sent to me and I was just about to see if it had come from you-tube. Well done.
PS - I think Ruby sings it better, but then I would say that, woudn't I?
Gerald
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Bernie Burgess
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Re: Ruby and the Duke,
It's fantastic to see a posting from you John and well done for finding 'Happy Days and Lonely Nights' performed by Duke Special on the Internet. It must have taken a supreme effort from you, bearing in mind that you are not well at this moment in time.From what I gather Duke is at a music festival of some kind in Southern Ireland
Keep up the progress John. I send you my very best wishes.
Adios Amigo. Bernie.
Keep up the progress John. I send you my very best wishes.
Adios Amigo. Bernie.
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Bernie Burgess
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- Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 12:45 am
- Location: Sutton Coldfield
Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Hello Friends.
I followed John's 'link' to the Duke Special video and to my surprise there are many songs sung by Duke, including a couple of television performances on the Jools Holland television show. I was surprised to see that the sax/Clarinet player was Ben Castle - Roy Castle's son, a great player, like his Dad.
Adios amigos. Bernie.
I followed John's 'link' to the Duke Special video and to my surprise there are many songs sung by Duke, including a couple of television performances on the Jools Holland television show. I was surprised to see that the sax/Clarinet player was Ben Castle - Roy Castle's son, a great player, like his Dad.
Adios amigos. Bernie.
Re: Ruby and the Duke,
Hello one and all,
I remember Ruby Murray very well from my mother who was a great admirer. My wife and I are huge fans of Duke Special so we are very excited about this project (Duke Special user names "Fizzy" and "MrFizzy"!). It's a terrible shame that Ruby is remembered more in Cockney rhyming slang (affectionate though that might be) than for her beautiful voice and music. We can't think of anyone more appropriate than Duke with his Belfast roots, clarity, purity of voice and narrative style to raise awareness to a new generation and do justice to Ruby's music. We saw Duke this weekend at the Spirit Store in Dundalk, Ireland and he paid tribute to Ruby with this lovely performance of "Happy Days and Lonely Nights" that you can see here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LTE3NDIj18
You can also listen to Duke's albums and musical style on his website here http://www.dukespecial.com/music/
As Duke mentions in the clip he has recorded one or two of Ruby's songs in time for Christmas to support a charity that he has been involved with for a while now for homeless people "DePaul Ireland" http://www.depaulireland.org/
We've bought a few vinyl albums of Ruby's, Bernie's excellent biography and the gold standard anthology CDs selected by rubymurray.org . I was also very pleased with this photo of Ruby taken in 1955 by legendary NME photographerHarry Hammond although I don't know which book it comes from.
I remember Ruby Murray very well from my mother who was a great admirer. My wife and I are huge fans of Duke Special so we are very excited about this project (Duke Special user names "Fizzy" and "MrFizzy"!). It's a terrible shame that Ruby is remembered more in Cockney rhyming slang (affectionate though that might be) than for her beautiful voice and music. We can't think of anyone more appropriate than Duke with his Belfast roots, clarity, purity of voice and narrative style to raise awareness to a new generation and do justice to Ruby's music. We saw Duke this weekend at the Spirit Store in Dundalk, Ireland and he paid tribute to Ruby with this lovely performance of "Happy Days and Lonely Nights" that you can see here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LTE3NDIj18
You can also listen to Duke's albums and musical style on his website here http://www.dukespecial.com/music/
As Duke mentions in the clip he has recorded one or two of Ruby's songs in time for Christmas to support a charity that he has been involved with for a while now for homeless people "DePaul Ireland" http://www.depaulireland.org/
We've bought a few vinyl albums of Ruby's, Bernie's excellent biography and the gold standard anthology CDs selected by rubymurray.org . I was also very pleased with this photo of Ruby taken in 1955 by legendary NME photographerHarry Hammond although I don't know which book it comes from.