Daryl Runswick's Cleo Laine
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So much of Sir John and Dame Cleo's music is available to buy that there's not a lot of audio I can put up here. In fact there are just three tracks I can give you, two JD offerings below and one Cleo track on the Crabbe/Runswick One More Day page, where she sings a song that was cut from that album. This page must devote itself mostly to anecdote and history. I stayed with Cleo and John for 13 years (1970-83) first as their bassplayer, then as their pianist, always as their occasional composer and arranger – something John was always remarkably generous about, seeing this was his province really.
At the bottom of this page you'll find a complete list of the 120
recordings I made with either or both of them, on 14 original albums
. Many of the albums can still be bought (and various tracks
re-appear on compilations). But first, some pictures and stories,
which I'll add to as and when I think of any.
A still from a video of our 1982 |
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Here's me (extreme left) doing an art photo of John in a dressing room mirror. We're all dressed in black, which means we're in concert dress and waiting to go on. The presence in the right hand mirror of the drummer Graham Morgan dates this as 1973, somewhere in the US, on the legendary Live at Carnegie Hall tour. |
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This is taken in about 1979, and I seem to remember it was in San Fransisco. Hers is a Nikon. Mine was only a Pentax. But Cleo did once remark that I had a nice bum. That ranks with being kissed by Cathy Berberian, shaking hands with David Attenborough, talking with John Cage and exchanging stares with Miles Davis, in the list of peak moments in my life. | |
Taken the same day in 1979, I think, as the picture of Cleo above. Although as a player John's real love was probably the clarinet, I adored his concept on alto sax. Later in my own career (particularly with the One Man Show) I discovered how mind-bendingly hard it is to hold together the organisation of a complex live performance, switching instruments and doing announcements, and then suddenly be required to snap into improviser mode and play with all the carefree creativity of a jazz musician. My admiration for John grew even further with that knowledge. |
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I suppose I have to show you this truly awful picture of John and Cleo with me and my father. It was taken backstage at the DeMontfort Halls, Leicester, England – my home town – where we were doing a show. The Leicester Mercury turned up and treated me like a returning hero – 'Let's have a photo of the Golden Boy and his dad (who still lives locally) with the stars. And oh yes, why don't you, John, be teaching Mr Runswick senior to play the clarinet?' Gamely we all go along with it, trying not to look too embarrassed that even in 1977 (I'm guessing the date) a local paper can do something so naff. You can see from my dad's hands that he's well used to holding a wind instrument (he was an accomplished recorder player). But what interests me about the picture is, what's that in his pocket? He wasn't a smoker. My guess is it's his diary, which he carried at all times. Dozens of them survive him, each packed with minute writing. They are now in the possession of my daughter Alex – just possibly a twinkle in Golden Boy's eye in this very picture. | |
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This is my last meeting with John, in 2008. I was doing a lunchtime performance of Daryl Runswick in Droves, my One Man Show, at The Stables, Cleo and John's arts centre at their home in Wavendon, and despite having done a gig themselves the night before, in Ilkley, Yorkshire, and having to travel back home that morning (and despite John feeling as poorly as he often did by that time) they both attended the gig. John sat in and we played an impromptu My Blue Heaven together.
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These pictures, texts and recordings are covered by copyright.
Daryl Runswick's recordings with Cleo Laine
and John
Dankworth
Entries blow in pink are Cleo Laine recordings (almost always
with John's participation).
*Note on the asterisked recordings: I was John Dankworth's first call bassplayer from late 1973-81, but John was an old-style bandleader who didn't care to work around his sidemen's availabilities: he planned a session and booked players – first call players if available, if not, someone else. I was a very busy musician in those years (classical ensembles, jazz groups, Ronnie Scott's Club, tours, sessions) and so on some albums recorded between 1973-81 I'm not the only bassplayer. These albums are: Cleo Laine, Close-up, Born On a Friday, Wordsongs; John Dankworth, Full Circle, Octavius. In some cases I can no longer remember which tracks I play on. Complicatedly, some of the tunes recorded by other bassplayers were performed in concert by me many times, clouding my memory. I've listened carefully to the albums in question to try to establish whether or not I'm on the tracks. Often it's obviously me, often obviously not me, but there are doubtful tracks, which I've marked with an asterisk below. I believe I'm the bassplayer on these but I can't be sure. If the instrument played is a double bass there's never any doubt – my sound and style are unmistakable. The bass guitar, though, being electric, has a rather less personal sound. Personal, yes, but occasionaly mistakable. Naturally John would have tried to book a deputy for me who sounded as much as possible like me. So I've had to employ criteria: is the sound mine, or similar to mine? – then it might be me. Are the licks played unmistakably mine? – then it's me. Are the licks played unmistakably not mine? – then it's not me. The identity of the player on the nine asterisked tracks remains uncertain even after these criteria are applied. |
Year | Album | Title | Composer | I play |
1970 | Cleo Laine | |||
Portrait | I Cold Write a Book | Rogers/Hart | bass guitar | |
Aquarius | Rado/Ragni/MacDermot | bass guitar | ||
1972 | John Dankworth | |||
Full Circle | Grow Your Own | Keith Jarrett | bass guitar | |
Schmaltz Waltz | Ken Gibson | double bass | ||
Triple Portrait | Michael Gibbs | bass guitar | ||
1973 | John Dankworth | |||
Lifeline | Fighting the Flab | Ken Gibson | double bass | |
Darlington | Daryl Runswick | bass guitar | ||
Tomorrow's World | John Dankworth | double bass | ||
WRVR | John Dankworth | double bass | ||
Orinoco | John Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Studio Five | John Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Kite Flight | John Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Defranticity | John Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Brass Roots | John Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
1973 | Johnny Dankworth (sic) | |||
Let's Slip Away | Bitter Melons | Dankworth/Ken Gibson/Runswick | bass guitar | |
1973 | Cleo Laine | |||
I Am A Song |
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter | Ahlert/Young |
double bass |
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Early Autumn | Burns/Herman/Mercer | double bass | ||
Friendly Persuasion | Tiomkin/webster | double bass | ||
There Is a Time | Charles Aznavour | double bass | ||
Day When the World Comes Alive | Gordon Beck |
bass guitar |
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I Am A Song | John Dankworth | double bass | ||
It Might As Well Be Spring | Rogers/Hammerstein | double bass | ||
Music | Carole King | bass guitar | ||
But Not For Me | G & I Gershwin | double bass | ||
Talk To Me Baby | Mercer/Dolan | double bass | ||
High Heel Sneakers | Tommy Tucker | bass guitar | ||
1973 | Cleo Laine | |||
Live!!! at Carnegie Hall | Music | Carole King | bass guitar | |
Wish You Were Here | Crabbe/Runswick | bass guitar | ||
Gimme a Pigfoot | Wilson | double bass | ||
You Must Believe in Spring | Legrand/Demy/Bergman/Bergman | double bass | ||
Perdido | Tizol/Langsfelder/Drake | double bass | ||
Control Yourself | Previn/Langdon | double bass | ||
Send In The Clowns | Sondheim | double bass | ||
Ridin' High | Porter | double bass | ||
Bill | Kern/Hammerstein/Wodehouse | double bass | ||
Big Best Shoes | Sandy Wilson | double bass | ||
Stop and Smell the Roses | Martin/Severinsen | bass guitar | ||
Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone | Stept/Clare/Palmer |
double bass |
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1974 | Cleo Laine | |||
Cleo Close-up | We Could Be Flying | Michel Colombier | bass guitar | |
Loving Isn't Easy | Laine/Dankworth | bass guitar * | ||
The Sun, The Moon And I | Gilbert/Sullivan | bass guitar | ||
Wish You Were Here | Crabbe/Runswick | bass guitar | ||
Wondering What To Write | Laurie Holloway | bass guitar | ||
1974 | Cleo Laine | |||
A Beautiful Thing | The Least You Can Do | Crabbe/Runswick | (absent) | |
1975 | Cleo Laine | |||
Born On a Friday | The Colours Ran | Crabbe/Runswick | bass guitar | |
Sunday | Williams/Ascher | bass guitar * | ||
Do You Really Want Him? | Laine/Dankworth | bass guitar * | ||
Birdsong | Dankworth | bass guitar * | ||
Living Is Easy | Preskett | bass guitar * | ||
I Think It's Gonna Rain Today | Randy Newman | bass guitar * | ||
Unlucky Woman | Feather/Feather | bass guitar | ||
1976 | Cleo Laine | |||
Return to Carnegie | Blues in the Night | Arlen/Mercer | bass guitar | |
How Long | Ledbetter | bass guitar | ||
Streets of London | Ralph McTell | bass guitar | ||
London Pride | Noël Coward | bass guitar | ||
Direction | Gibbs | bass guitar | ||
Sondheim Medley | bass guitar | |||
Being Alive | Sondheim | bass guitar | ||
Born on a Friday | Leonard Feather | bass guitar | ||
Music Medley | bass guitar | |||
Be a Child | McGlohon/Wilder | bass guitar | ||
1976 | Cleo Laine | |||
Wordsongs |
All The World's A Stage/ If Music Be Tha Food Of Love |
Shakespeare/Dankworth |
double bass |
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You Spotted Snakes | Shakespeare/Dankworth | bass guitar * | ||
Winter | Shakespeare/Dankworth | double bass | ||
Fear No More The Heat Of The Sun |
Shakespeare/Dankworth |
double bass |
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It Was A Lover And His Lass | Shakespeare/Young | double bass | ||
Sigh No More, Ladies | Shakespeare/Young | double bass | ||
Dunsinane Blues | Shakespeare/Dankworth | double bass | ||
When That I Was And A Little Tiny Boy |
Shakespeare/Dankworth |
bass guitar |
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Shall I Compare Thee | Shakespeare/Dankworth | double bass | ||
Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind | Shakespeare/Young | double bass | ||
O Mistress Mine | Shakespeare/Young | double bass | ||
Take All My Loves | Shakespeare/Ellington/Strayhorn | double bass | ||
My Love Is As A Fever | Shakespeare/Ellington/Strayhorn | double bass | ||
Who Is Sylvia | Shakespeare/Dankworth | double bass | ||
The Compleate Works | Shakespeare/Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Our Revels Now Are Ended | Shakespeare/Dankworth | double bass | ||
Lines for Ralph J Hodgson esq | Eliot/Dankworth | double bass | ||
Goe And Catch A Falling Star | Donne/Dankworth | double bass | ||
Dr David Mantle | Milligan/Dankworth | double bass | ||
Advice To A Girl | Campion/Hymas | double bass | ||
O Tell Me The Truth About Love | Auden/Dankworth | double bass | ||
Sun And Fun | Betjeman/Dankworth | double bass | ||
Song | Brooke/Dankworth | double bass | ||
English Teeth | Milligan/Dankworth | bass guitar * | ||
Viva Sweet Love | cummings/Dankworth | bass guitar * | ||
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer | Eliot/Dankworth | double bass | ||
Sing Me No Song | French/Dankworth | double bass | ||
1979 |
John Dankworth/ Paul Hart Octet |
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Octavius | Bottom Of The Barrel | Hart | bass guitar | |
Guess The Rest | Hart | bass guitar | ||
Starters | Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Octavius | Hart | double bass | ||
Long John | Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Dregs Of The Kegs | Hart | bass guitar | ||
1812 | Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Reedwarblers Lament | Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
1979 | John Dankworth | |||
Kite Flight | We've Only Just Begun | Williams/Nichols | bass guitar | |
Tomorrow's | Daryl Runswick | double bass | ||
Misty | Errol Garner | double bass | ||
Here's That Rainy Day | Burke/Van Heusen | double bass | ||
What Else | John Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Kite Flight | John Dankworth | bass guitar | ||
Off the Cuff | John Dankworth | double bass | ||
Seven of Hearts | Paul Hart | bass guitar | ||
Wise Tries | John Dankworth | double bass | ||
1980 | Cleo Laine | |||
One More Day | Driving Home | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | |
All the Skinny Schoolgirls | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | ||
Tomboy | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | ||
First Love, Half Light | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | ||
Goodbye Friend | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | ||
Over The Moon | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | ||
Shall We Get Married? | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | ||
Settling Down | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | ||
One More Day | Crabbe/Runswick | bass guitar | ||
Move | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | ||
Lovers and Friends | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar | ||
The Year is Gone | Crabbe/Runswick | keyboards, bass guitar |