Merlin who? you say. No, me neither. Listed on Prohibition Bar's website as playing ragtime and stride piano and making his debut, curiosity won out. One or two familiar faces were in the house having a night out - Hi Ray, Patrick...The establishment's upright is, shall we say, in need of some TLC. Hey! If a dud piano was good enough for Fats Waller (he must have played any number of them), the piano on Pink Lane would be good enough for the unknown, mysterious, Mr Merlin Roxby.
Starting promptly at eight o'clock, Merlin sat down and began to play. For the next sixty minutes he didn't say Boo! to a goose. Reams of sheet music, no announcements, nothing, simply ragtime and stride piano. How come a twenty-something was into this stuff? This debut performance wasn't simply a Prohibition Bar debut, this was Merlin's debut public appearance, period. Perhaps that explains his non-existent announcements. We can forgive him that. Joplin rags, the Top Cat theme (Officer Dibble & co.), Wayne Hill's Left Bank Two (the Vision On tv theme tune), James P Johnson and Fats Waller in his sights, we're going to be hearing a lot more from Merlin Roxby. Russell
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