Taken from the album "Keyboard Kaleidoscope" on Midland Sound Recording (MSRS1390). Graham Walsh for many years owned the "Lowrey Organ Showroom" in my hometown of Coalville, in Leicestershire, tucked away between the town courtrooms and the old temporary police station. Many an album was made to promote the virtues of one organ or another back in their heyday as a form of home entertainment, but one might suppose that very few of these demonstration records would have been made by the geezer who actually owned the shop. A light-hearted selection of standards and cover versions comprise the album and a playful take on the Stevie Wonder smash is included here, featuring Tommy O'Dwyer on guitar, Steve Smith on drums and Dave Seymore on bass. This album was recorded at MSR Studios in Coventry and looks to date from around the middle of the 1970s. The original sleeve notes tell us that Walsh too had his moment on Opportunity Knocks, featured in many radio broadcasts down the years and was also skilled at the art of tap dancing: the consummate all-round entertainer. Walsh still lives in Coalville, but although his daughter went to school with my sister, efforts to track him down faltered at the last hurdle. Graham does have the grand honour of having a prize named after him at the local high-brow music festival and, so indeed, his legend lives on in the region. |
 |
