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Grace Bumbry, Don Short, Dame Rosemary Cramp, Wee Willie Harris

Matthew Bannister on opera singer Grace Bumbry, journalist Don Short, archaeologist Dame Rosemary Cramp and rock’n’roller Wee Willie Harris.

Matthew Bannister on

The opera singer Grace Bumbry who broke down barriers by becoming the first black performer at the Bayreuth Festival.

Don Short, the showbusiness journalist who coined the term “Beatlemania” and became good friends with the Fab Four.

Dame Rosemary Cramp, the archaeologist who deepened our understanding of the Anglo Saxon period.

And Wee Willie Harris, the flamboyant rock’n’roller name checked in Ian Dury’s song “Reasons To Be Cheerful”

Interviewee: David Brewer
Interviewee: Daisy Dunn
Interviewee: Professor Joanna Story
Interviewee: Jonathan Wingate
Interviewee: Tony Thorpe

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies

Archive used:

Royal Visit to Kenya - First Stage of the Commonwealth Tour, British Pathe, 1952; A taste of Beatlemania in the 1960s, CBS News, CBS YouTube channel, uploaded 21/01/2014; Don Short interview about the writing of his memoir 'The Beatles and Beyond', The Surrey Edit, YouTube uploaded 24/03/2020; Rosemary Cramp interview, On Site, ±«Óătv Radio, 03/09/1967; Professor Rosemary Cramp interview, PM, ±«Óătv Radio 4, 29/05/1979; Rosemary Cramp, Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, talks to Sue Macgregor about her life and work, ±«Óătv Radio 4, 08/12/1988; Meet The Archaeologist: Rosemary Cramp, YouTube uploaded 04/07/2014; Wee Willie Harris – Still Rocking, Celluloid Tapestry, YouTube uploaded 29/06/2023.

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Sun 14 May 2023 20:30
±«Óătv Radio 4

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Grace Bumbry

The opera singer who broke down barriers by becoming the first black performer at the Bayreuth Festival.

Last Word spoke to her publicist David Lee Brewer.

Born 4 January 1937, died 7 May 2023, aged 86. 

Don Short

The journalist who coined the term “Beatlemania” and became good friends with the Fab Four. 

Last Word spoke to Don’s grand-daughter Daisy Dunn.  

Born 23 October 1932, died 3 May 2023, aged 90.   

Dame Rosemary Cramp

The archaeologist who deepened our understanding of the Anglo Saxon period.

Last Word spoke to Joanna Story, Professor of Early Medieval History at Leicester University.

Born 6 May 1929, died 27 April 2023, age 93. 

Wee Willie Harris

The musician and performer during the early rock’n’roll era in Britain, who inspired musicians such as the Beatles, David Bowie and Ian Dury. 

Last Word spoke to music journalist Jonathan Wingate and the guitarist Tony Thorpe.

Born 25 March 1933, died April 27 2023, aged 90.

Broadcasts

  • Fri 12 May 2023 16:00
    ±«Óătv Radio 4
  • Sun 14 May 2023 20:30
    ±«Óătv Radio 4

Podcast

  • Last Word

    Radio 4's weekly obituary programme