In November 2018, I was privileged to be present at the live premiere of Robb Johnson’s Ordinary Giants at Wandsworth’s Tara Theatre. Reprised, in 2019, with two performances at Hackney’s Chat’s Place, the chance to catch the latest mini-run of two performances at this latter venue, the Grade II listed former Homerton Library, which has served as a hub for community arts since having being donated to the community by Andrew Carnegie back in 1913, was too good an opportunity to miss. Although a physical presence would not be possible due to family circumstances, the wonders of technology meant that a live-stream “attendance” was an eagerly accepted alternative.
Ordinary Giants is a truly epic song-suite which, whilst drawing on the life and times of his father, Ron Johnson, who, having grown up in West London, and, having been profoundly affected by the “dark, haunted eyes” of Spanish refugees who had escaped from the Hitlerism of Guernica and other cites. Ron joined the RAF, fought in the Second World War, initially being sent to the Caribbean to patrol for U Boats, meeting his future wife, Robb’s mum, Betty, surviving being shot down over Dortmund and then becoming a teacher and eventually Headteacher. Ordinary Giants is also a broader family history which, through song and spoken word, also chronicles much broader societal and world events from 1918 through to 2018, most notably the Second World War and the Welfare State. Throughout this narrative, we encounter the celebration of aspirations, successes and sheer bloody-minded determination of the unimposing, but nevertheless remarkable, lives led by ordinary people through what were extraordinary times.
This performance, most appropriately on January 28th, the anniversary of Ron’s birthday, as with the previous shows at the venue, featured the slimmed-down but stellar cast of Robb himself providing spoken word, guitar, vocals and humour, the accomplished vocalist Sian Allen, storyteller, writer, singer and all-round top drawer entertainer Matthew Crampton, the talent that is quite simply Phil Odgers, together with the sublime Faye Simon. Once again, the accompanying musicians, John Forrester (upright and electric bass), David Harrod (piano), Arvin Johnson (drums) and Lou Martin (tuba), gave exemplary performances, illustrating to perfection just how vital and effective sympathetic and synergistic backing is to the success of a show such as this.
With the recorded version of Ordinary Giants running to three CDs, live performances inevitably require some editing of the original in terms of timing. Robb has managed to achieve this with great acuity. The highly judicious selection of spoken word passages and songs ensures that a logical and chronological storyline is maintained throughout. The show stands as a coherent entity, requiring no prior knowledge of the full album release.
As the evening and Ron’s fascinating story unfolded, the range of emotions, from the highest of highs to the depths of melancholia, expressed in both the delivery of the spoken word sections and lyrics, was matched by an equally diverse range of musical styles, with the frequent changes of mood and atmosphere enhancing the experience.
Thus, after the opening Giants overture, the serious tone set by Robb’s rendition of Land Fit For Heroes, Faye and Phil’s Where You Can Go and then Matthew’s disturbing exposition of 1935 Britain, with Moseley Blackshirts et al., in Holding Hands With Hitler, is then offset with the jaunty The Gentlemen of The Chorus, in which Matthew and Phil deliver, Gilbert & Sullivan parody-style, the tale of Ron and his brother Ernie’s exploits in light opera, albeit with the telling final line “Never the leading men”, which I have always interpreted as being, in terms of Ron’s life as an “Ordinary Giant”, a key lyric.
Robb’s inherent writing skill then ensures another change of tone with a succession of thoughtful and emotive songs relating to Ron and the war, including One More War, with its plaintive “nobody…..nobody…..nobody wants ….one more war”, Faye’s September’s Song, brother Ernie’s plea to Ron Just Don’t Volunteer and Sian’s November Song, which leads to another more upbeat piece, A Very Nice Man In Uniform relating to Ron’s time in the Bahamas.
A spoken piece from Robb describes Ron’s return to England and his subsequent meeting with Betty, which is also related in The Girls With The Golden Hair, a song delivered with jazzy perfection tonight. Three of the most moving songs in the suite follow, Home By The Stars, J Johnnie, and My Boy Won’t Be Coming Back mark the end of the war in 1945. The first of these relates how Ron navigated his B24 Liberator, J Johnnie, safely back from a raid on Berlin, using only the stars and charts, the second details the horror of the same aircraft being shot down, Ron being in the lucky 50% of the crew who survived, whilst the third has Betty grieving her perceived loss, the sombre tones of Lou’s tuba adding perfectly to the poignancy of the lyrics of these latter two songs. With the entire cast contributing to Attlee For PM For Me, the first half was brought to a rousing close as the impending General Election of 1945 suggested political changes might be afoot.
With Ron and Betty married in 1946, part two of the show begins with the year being 1948, the year of the creation of the National Health Service. Phil’s sensitive interpretation of The Parachute is followed by spoken word pieces from both Faye and Robb, who explains Ron’s training as a teacher, setting up a duo of education-focused song, the cheery In Nobby’s Class and Beatles-esque All You Need Is Love & Comprehensive Schools, interspersed with the superb jazz-infused guitar of Robb on Phil and Sian’s We’ll Be Lucky, containing the wonderful lyric “one & one, you and me, one & one making three”, heralding the birth, in 1955 of Robb himself, and the thoughtful Craven Vale Hall, a health centre which would prove to be of great significance to Betty.
The narrative shifts to the years 1970-2018, and after a fine version of Semi-Detached from Sian, A Cold Wind Coming, referencing picket lines, the SPG, the NF and Thatcher of 1979, was powerfully delivered by Faye, my contemporaneous notes merely stating “Wow”. Ron’s retirement as Headmaster of Grove Park Primary School in 1982 sees Matthew, as the voice of Hounslow Council, deliver a witty and well-received retirement speech, Desk Job, after which there was a short reprise of Where You Can Go (Depends Where You Come From). Then it was straight into the reggae grooves of Brown & Black In The Union Jack, before the closing notes of the vaudeville-like Who Buggered Bognor gave way to Robb’s a cappella A Land Fit For Privilege, bringing the show to 2018.
The penultimate song of the half, The Valediction, breath-taking in its power to reduce the audience to utter silence, saw the entire cast contributing, as they did for the final up-lifting song, the title track itself. With the cast seemingly obliged to deliver the two encores demanded by the enthusiastic and appreciative audience, this was a fitting end to another remarkable live show.
Tonight’s performance of this highly acclaimed song-suite was exceptional entertainment, captivating, mesmerising, heartening and distressing, constantly assailing the range of human emotions. The musicianship and vocal contributions were top-class, reinforcing the quality of the song writing and fully reflecting the cultural and social importance of its subject matter. Many thanks to all who made this possible.
Robb’s website: https://www.robbjohnson.co.uk/