Any of you older London musicians out there remember Ernie the barber? I don't, but I heard about him from a guy who heard about him from the guy next door to him...
Apparently Ernie had his barber shop in or near Soho, probably around about the time or just after the demise of Archer St. as the centre of gig activity.
His shop was where all the gigsters went for their haircuts and of course much gossip was passed to and fro of the "I'm leaving Oscar's band next week; joining Teddy on second alto" type conversations.
This would be noted by Ernie who, when an out of work alto player came in, would pass on the info that Oscar was going to need an alto player. The barber would, of course, be suitably rewarded and probably made more this way than he did on short back and sides.
Another guy with an eye for the main chance was Peewee Marquette the legendary emcee at Birdland back in the 1950s.
Peewee, a shrill voiced midget, would charge the sidemen a dollar to introduce them by name. For 2 dollars he would pronounce their names correctly!
Lance.
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