Ronnie Archer-Morgan
Ronnie Archer-Morgan from The Antiques Roadshow tells Michael Berkeley about his tumultuous life and the music that has accompanied it.
Ronnie Archer-Morgan, from The Antiques Roadshow, tells Michael Berkeley about his tumultuous life and the music that has accompanied it.
Ronnie had a terrible start in life. His English father died in a car crash before he was born and his Sierra Leonean mother had severe mental health problems that made her violent and abusive. His childhood was spent in and out of the care system.
He tells Michael Berkeley how a school trip to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London ignited his life-long fascination with antiques, and how he learned the tricks of the trade exploring junk shops and markets while doing a rich variety of other jobs â model-maker, DJ at Ronnie Scottâs, boutique manager and celebrity hairdresser.
Eventually antiques took over from everything else: he became a consultant to Sothebyâs, opened a Knightsbridge gallery, and he delights in presiding over the âmiscellaneousâ table on The Antiques Roadshow.
For Ronnie, the importance of objects is in the stories they tell and their emotional significance â and music is the same. He chooses pieces to remind him of different times in his life: a Handel aria that takes him back to rare moments of peace in his childhood; jazz from Donald Byrd which he played at Ronnie Scottâs; pieces by Mozart and by Dvorak that sparked his passion for classical music; and a song by Marvin Gaye, who wandered one day into Ronnieâs hair salon and shared a beer with him.
Producer: Jane Greenwood
A Loftus Media production for ±«Óătv Radio 3
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Music Played
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Concerto in C major for flute and harp (2nd mvt: Andantino)
Performer: James Galway. Performer: Marisa Robles. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas. -
Donald Byrd
Places and Spaces
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George Frideric Handel
Ombra mai fu (Xerxes)
Singer: Andreas Scholl. Ensemble: Berlin Academy for Early Music. -
Sam Cooke
Goin' ±«Óătv
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AntonĂn DvoĆĂĄk
Symphony no.9 in E minor (From the New World) (2nd mvt: Largo)
Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Herbert von Karajan. -
Marvin Gaye
Abraham, Martin & John
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AntonĂn DvoĆĂĄk
Song to the Moon (Rusalka)
Singer: Karita Mattila. Orchestra: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: JukkaâPekka Saraste. -
Esther Phillips
I'm in the Mood for Love
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