RALPH, ALBERT & SYDNEY
    Interview with Martyn Day
Producer of Tickle on the Tum

I recently had contact with Martyn Day, who produced Tickle on the Tum back in the 1980s. Martyn kindly agreed to answer some questions about his work with Ralph on the show. My thanks to John Thomson, Mike Cohen and John Beresford for their help with the questions. 

Tickle on the Tum was inspired by a visit that Steve Leahy, head of children's television at Granada, made to Woodstock in Oxfordshire in order to visit Blenheim Palace. He was taken by this little 'olde worlde' town, divided into two by the River Glyme and decided that with its mixed community it would make a good vehicle for a story telling programme for pre-school children. Ralph had already appeared in Alphabet Zoo also made by Granada and proved himself very popular, not just with the kids but with their mums as well, so it was natural to keep him on. Although I was working in the department at the time as a producer my only connection with Alphabet Zoo was I had written some stories for the series.

I knew about Ralph and his music and had in fact seen him perform at the Folk Cottage near Newquay in 1963 when I was a spotty 18 year old. He was with Wizz Jones I believe. My own tastes were- and still are - wide ranging and included soul music, early rock 'n' roll, beat music, cajun and folk. I play bass guitar with a 50's style rock 'n' roll band and accordion with The Crane River Cajuns. We wanted a singer/songwriter for the series who would appeal to a young audience…and their Mums (very important!) and was able to produce the songs in time. Ralph was the natural choice…and yes, the Mums did love him!

I knew that Ralph had taken his stage name from Blind Willie McTell. Knowing that there were photographs of Willie and other blues originals in a book I had - 'Country Blues' by Sam Charters, I asked him if he fancied having them copied and stuck up in the set. He did! The idea was, this was Ralph's room in the Post Office and these were his own photographs. Interestingly many of the photographs had been autographed - but all in the same hand!

I can't help you with this. I suspect that tapes of the shows do exist but they may well be in a format that is not compatible with modern technology. Granada are very protective with any programme material. Although I actually wrote scripts for most of the programmes that I worked on I cannot access any of them!

A difficult question. Children's programmes are being driven off mainstream network television (Children's programmes on Channel 3 ITV no longer exist) and onto dedicated channels. It may well be that increased air time might result in some of Ralph's early work being retransmitted. I hope so…they certainly deserve a repeat showing because their appeal is timeless.

To be honest I cannot remember anything that particularly sticks out although I do remember how astonished we all were by Tim Healy's prowess on the guitar. Outstanding. Tim also had an elephant sweater, that made everybody laugh, one arm being the trunk and the other the elephant's ear. Apart from that the series was probably the most enjoyable production that I had ever worked on, very relaxed and very good-humoured. I do not have to tell you that Ralph is a lovely man and a delight to work with.

I don't remember ever being worried about songs not being ready in time. We had to have them a few days in advance so that the director could work out his camera shots and there was never a problem. Ralph seemed to pop them out like a peas…and then for days after you would find yourself humming them. The tunes still stick in my mind.

We used to make 2 x 10 minute programmes a day, one in the morning and the other after lunch. By the time I took over the production most of the guests had been chosen, although I am sure that Ralph must have recommended people like Billy Connelly. I do know that he was particularly pleased to meet some of the guests… Bert Kwouk being one, and Graham Stark being another.

As far as I remember most of the stories had been written or at least outlined by the time that Ralph came aboard so he was writing to a supplied brief.

I'm not an expert but I didn't hear anything that reminded me of Blind Blake or Woody. The pictures of Blind Blake and Willie McTell on the wall were a reminder that Ralph lived in the Post Office and these were his own personal belongings.

11. Is it sadly the case that no recordings of the series were retained?

I am sure that the original masters do exist but they will be on 2" video tape, or in the case of the more recent ones, 1" tape. The problem accessing them is finding a machine to play them on, although I am sure that Granada will have one in their library.

12. I've always believed that Ralph's life and philosophy should be shared further than they are. Given not only Ralph's recording/performing longevity but as he is now a published author of 3 books, is there no likelihood of us ever seeing him on a Parkinson or South Bank Show in the future? Working on the age old adage that you'll never get if you don't ask...

Well, Parkinson has now folded up his tent and disappeared, but I think there is a very good case indeed for a documentary programme about Ralph, and not just about his music, either. He is one of a very small group of musicians/writers whose roots can be traced back directly to the wandering minstrels of the past. Whereas Dylan used to claim that he bummed around America - which he actually didn't - Ralph did bum around Europe, and at a time when youth was beginning to make its mark. National Service had been cancelled, more and more artists and music were coming in from America to inspire us, and the open road beckoned. Without the strumming guitars of Skiffle, folk and pop music would not be as it is today. The image of the wandering singer/busker still holds its power today, even if it is illusory. If you want to take this further I know someone at the BBC you should speak to.

I still stayed working in Children's Television, going on to produce Children's drama like "Miami 7" starring S Club 7, game shows like "Jungle Run" and factual series like "Xperi-MENTAL". More recently I spent 2 years in Macedonia in the Balkans producing a teen drama series designed to promote inter ethnic understanding and cooperation - and so stop the kids going on to kill each other as they were doing in Kosovo at the time.

At present I am writing a kid's history series for American TV called Wishbone, about a dog that travels through time. In one episode the dog meets 10 years old Elvis Presley. In another he bumps into a young blues singer called Bob Johnson who everyone says has sold his soul to the devil Spooky!

Can I just add a word about Ralph's co-star, Jacqui Reddin? She was a great friend and support to Ralph, helping him with his acting and providing a sympathetic voice to many of his songs. We were very lucky to find her.

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