Ep 14: The Great British songbook with Tom Carradine

To celebrate St. George’s Day today, I have Tom Carradine in the assembly hall. He is the mastermind behind the Cockney singalong and has a deep and immersive knowledge of British song from the Victorian music hall to war-time tunes and even obscure classics from the school assembly songbooks. He also is the best dressed and moustachioed musician in the UK. Feel free to check it out on YouTube too.During this epic chat, I hand over the piano keys to Tom so he can dip in and out of musical examples throughout our hour-long conversation. We discover his epic renditions of Shine Jesus Shine from his school days, how the Cockney singalong began and enjoying the heritage of British songs. Also, he reveals the one song that everyone around the world knows!If you have enjoyed the episode please feel free to leave a comment or review. Timestamps below if you want to skip to any bit in particular. All questions and/or requests can be sent to [email protected]:0:00: Introducing Tom Carradine02:00: Tom’s route from biochemistry to Cockney singalong via Musical Theatre10:00: Does Tom include Musical Theatre tunes in his singalong? Mary Poppins link to Cockney songs12:35: Playing piano in assembly and Any Dream Will Do16:15: Mr Fogg’s and international audience members18:15: The one song that everyone knows around the world!19:55: The Great American songbook vs Cockney tunes23:40: Pearly Kings and Queens and domestic piano playing27:00: Cockney humour and My Old Man Said Follow the Van30:17: Tom’s singalongs and newer singalong classics36:20: Why did Tom decide on the Cockney tradition as he’s NOT a Cockney!38:07: Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay school songbook39:50: I lift up my finger. Forgotten school assembly tune41:38: Why Cockneys “have a banana”, rhyming slang and Wilton’s Music Hall50:47: Celebrating St George’s Day and bringing a positive spin to the English song tradition55:18: Is singing national songs appropriate? Jerusalem and sea shanties01:00:00: Changing the show for children and the benefits of a singalong01:07:30: Tom’s favourite school assembly tuneStreets of London singalong01:10:20: Streets of London singalong01:12:20: Final thoughts and wrap upFind Tom Carradine online: https://www.tomcarradine.com/Send a text~~~ I am on tour all year, across the UK and you can book your tickets at: https://jamesbpartridge.com/ ~~~ Follow me on socials at: Instagram: http://instagram.com/jamesbpartridge Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesBPartridgeOfficial/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@jamesbpartridge YouTube: http://youtube.com/jamesbpartridge Send me a message: [email protected] ~~~ Find the podcast on all streaming services and leave a review if you've enjoyed it! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ta8ch0BjnuV6GDgGv7BN2?si=5270e69bbb9a431e Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-school/id1790674992 Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/054bf11f-a134-42c7-9114-f1398cc3fbe8/notes-from-school