I have never regarded myself as a musician. Rather I am someone who has lived and loved a life full of the total joys that music has brought to me along life’s journey .
As a little child, I recall that almost everyone in the Tucker family, played a piano or an American organ to a tolerable degree, usually for the purpose of satisfying my Grandmother’s insatiable desire to sing hymns.
At the age of six, I was told, that I had an ear for music, and “Grandma Tucker” encouraged me to learn to play as many of the 968 hymns in the Methodist Hymn book as I could .
Without formal lessons, I somehow managed to learn a lot of them, simply by listening to them being played and sung in Sunday school and at the many Sunday services that Grandma made us attend at the local Methodist and Baptist Chapels.
We had a collection of HMV vinyl records, (about ten of them), and an old fashioned Gramophone. Even though we never bought , or were given, any more, I used to play them over and over again. Amongst them were Gracie Fields singing “The Biggest Aspidistra in the world,” Strauss’s ” Blue Danube” and “The Skater’s Waltz,” Vera Lynn’s “We’ll meet again,” a number of Italian Opera male singer recordings, and Puccini’s ”Madame Butterfly.”
My brother Ian, married first wife Shirley, in about 1948.They lived with us for a few years and she had been given a really nice new Walnut, iron framed piano as a wedding present. In the year prior to me going to Queen’s College Taunton(1949) I was able to use the piano to my heart’s content, so that ,by the time I went to College, I was able to minimally read music and resort to learning some Chopin, Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart.
Mr Lawton, our music master, found me very difficult to take on as a pupil. because I was in too much hurry to learn the things that I wanted to learn and play , in preference to the things that he wanted to teach me. He was a kind, helpful and friendly man ,but gave up teaching me in any formal way.
I still managed to contribute, firstly as a school choir member, for a few years, and then eventually, to the Annual School Concerts with my own songs, words and tunes recalling many amusing and outrageous things that had happened at Queens’ College during the previous year.This went down very well with the sniggerers and the frank applauders.
In 1955 , I arrived in London, to study Medicine at Charing Cross Hospital . A quasi pianist was now available to learn the Hospital song, and repeat it, on request, at any time and in any place, so that the raucous mob could stand up and belt the living day lights out of it, as a means of expressing their total loyalty to their Medical School and Hospital.
Charing Cross, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Piccadilly, The Strand and Covent Garden were full of West End Theatres, and were within 5-10 minutes walking distance, during my last 3 years at Medical School and 18 months Residency (1958-1963). Among so many magic musical moments I was able to attend Lionel Bart’s ”Oliver,” “My Fair Lady” starring Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews and Stanley Holloway,Salad Days and three live productions of Gilbert and Sullivan by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, (Pirates of Penzance,The Gondoliers and The Mikado).
The musical zenith, for me, was to go the Penultimate night of the Promenade Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall where the major item was Beethoven’s Ninth’s Symphony. I am eternally grateful to Lord Inman, Chairman of the Charing Cross Hospital Board of Governors, who was unable to attend the concert , and who generously gave Anita and I his Box seat, for free, to attend instead.
As Secretary Organiser of The Charing Cross Hospital Annual Ball at The Savoy Hotel in the Strand, and the following year at The Hurlingham Club, in Putney, the musical magic moments kept re-presenting themselves.
I made a final musical contribution, whilst at Medical School, as a song and script writer/ performer in a couple of Annual Charing Cross Hospital Revues at the Westminster Theatre and the University Theatre.
Some ten years later, Mary Hopkins, a Welsh teenage folk singer , sang a poignant song which become Number One at The Top of the UK Pops. Its’ message? “THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIEND,WE THOUGHT THEY’D NEVER END.” Simple, sad but so true!
My four daughters Zoe,Tara, Tabitha and Alicia, many years later, provided the family and I, with inspirational magic moments when all four became Members of the Australian Rosny Children’s Choir.The Choir amassed 20+ vinyl recordings,and many choristers travelled all over Australia and to a number of European and Asian countries,promoting the choir and performing.
My medical career somewhat executed any aspirations, I personally may have subconsciously had, with regard to making any progress in the sub -group of Music ! We still had , as a family ,the upright Bechstein piano that I had purchased in England and had taken to Tasmania with the rest of our possessions. It tuned up to almost Concert pitch and gave my version of “The Sting” some extra oomph.
In 1979, during a period of extreme personal gratitude for having immigrated to, and settled into,Tasmania, I composed an anthemoid song called ”TO YOU TASMANIA.”The words were basically extolling everything that is beautiful and fine about Tassie. It was recorded , having been well received at the Lord Mayor’s Annual Concert in Hobart by an audience of 1600 persons. 1000 copies of the recording, by The 6th Military District Band and The Hobart Orpheus Choir, were sold with the proceeds donated to Legacy.
In 2015 the song, “To you Tasmania,” was musically reinterpreted by the famous American a Capella group “The Exchange,” and , with scenic video enhancement, using clever drones and brilliant photography, was released through Discover Tasmania as a Tasmanian Tourism promotion product following a World premiere at the Festival of Voices in 2015.
The a Capella group were already well known in many countries, and their updated version was directed toward China, Vietnam.Singapore,South Korea and Germany.
The News reports of the event, and copies of the original words, are attached as part of this Music, Medicine and Magical Moments Blog section.
I LATER WROTE SONGS AND MUSIC ABOUT ”JOHN FLYNN’S MOB,”( THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE), AS WELL AS “GOING BACK TO WALUNGURRU.” DID I EVER PERFORM THESE SONGS, WHERE AND WHEN. AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM EVENTUALLY?
In 1998 I wrote the words and music to a song called ”Going back to Walungurru,” I sang it at a Kintore gig with the Brian Young Band who were touring The Central and Western Desert region at the time. Some three hundred locals were there and I have a number of photos taken of that gig.
In 1999 I wrote the words and music, to a song called ”John Flynn’s Mob,” and sang it at my Remote Health leaving party and RFDS Alice Springs Christmas party.
MOVING FORWARD, TWENTY YEARS, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SONGS?
In 2019, Country music superstar Warren H Williams and I , released, in Alice Springs, those two special songs.This coincided with the 90th Anniversary of the Royal Australian Flying Doctor Service, and my own medical contribution, over 23 years, to Remote Northern Territory Communities. Both of us had held Central Australia’s sacred ground close to our hearts.
Golden Guitar Winner and CAAMA music artist mentor, Warren H Williams’s peaceful country music style,perfectly complemented my words and music. The song ‘John Flynn’s Mob was a touching tribute to Rev John Flynn OBE.DD.(1880-1951). and celebrates the 24 hour aeromedical and support services by the RFDS from their 16 bases across Australia. The song, “GOING BACK TO WALUNGURRU,”is the true story of the Western Desert Pintubi people , who were removed from their Homelands in the 1950’s and 1960’s when missiles from the South Australian Atomic bases, Maralinga and Woomera, endangered their country. It was not until 1981 that the Pintubi returned to their Homelands to rebuild their lives.
My own strong connections with the Pintubi people, approximately 600 km West of Alice Springs, developed during my medical work there, intermittently from 1996 to 2012.
Kintore had a massive problem with the management of Kidney failure patients, and an ever increasing need for Haemodialysis, regularly on site, as opposed to forever travelling in and out of Alice Springs , away from family and Country. A remote Dialysis Centre,called the Purple House ,was established , next to the PHHS Centre, in 2004 .The Centre, and an associated, mobile service, is Indigenous run and owned , has a related base in Alice Springs and, by 2019, has morphed into 18 other Central Australian Communities, thanks to CEO Sarah Brown RN.AM. and her Board.
More about Warren H Williams:-
Warren is an Aranda man, has a talented musical family , and was born in Hermannsberg. His father Gus,was a famous Country folk singer and both have won multiple country music scene awards. Warren often tells the story of his life- saving aeromedical evacuation from Tennant Creek, some years ago, and was thrilled to Collaborate in the production of these two songs.
Warren’s many awards include:-
2004 Male Indigenous NT Artist.
2005 Most Popular Song by an Indigenous Artist.
2006 NAIDOC Artist of the year.
2007 Produced the Musical ”The Magic Coolamon.
2008 Red Ochre Award and Inducted into ”The Hands of Fame “Tamworth.
Warren’s music, recordings and achievements are legendary.
CAAMA MUSIC:-Information for readers.
YOU MAY DOWNLOAD, FREE OF ANY CHARGE, BOTH SONGS AND THEIR WORDS , INCLUDING THE VIDEO OF WARREN H WILLIAMS PERFORMING “JOHN FLYNN”S MOB”on:
https://caamamusic. com. au /doctor-alan-tucker-and-warren-h-williams-collaboration/
Donations, gratefully received by e-mail contact:-
RFDS:- https://www. flyingdoctor. org. au
The Purple House:- www.purplehouse.org.au
My family are from generations of Devonian farmers in England.
In the early 1920’s, at the age of eighteen, my adventurous father went to Australia and worked as a “Jackaroo” in Mukinbudin, Western Australia, and then in Narracorte ,South Australia, with his brother and a friend from Devon, for 18 months. They then worked as road- building labourers at Narrabri and Albury, New South Wales, for a further year, before Dad ”hopped on a ship” and returned home to run the little family farm at Landkey in North Devon.
His brother Leonard worked in Australia for a further six years and his mate Jimmy Norman got married and settled in North West Tasmania.
POSTSCRIPT:-
I was fortunate to have been awarded a Foundation Fellowship of the Australian Faculty of Public Health Medicine in 1991 and nominated as a Life Fellow in 2006.
I was awarded Fellowship of The Royal Colleges of Physicians UK (Public Health) 2006. I am a Life Member of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners , having attained Fellowship in 1976, and was awarded “Friend of the Tasmanian Faculty of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners” Medal in 2016. Northern Territory Health Workforce also kindly awarded me, in 2012 , a 15 years Service engraved brass plaque in recognition of my contribution to Medical Services for the people of the NT. I continued to work in the Territory regularly until 2017, in my 81 st year, and,since then have returned home permanently to delightful Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania.
How many of us have followed Dorothy’s Yellow Brick road in the film “The Wizard of Oz?”
Dorothy, in the film “The Wizard of Oz, ” was presented, as a teenage girl, who had been living with her family on a farm in the middle of nowhere, in Kansas US. Her song “Somewhere over the Rainbow” expressed her desire to escape to a better life elsewhere. In her final, most famous, and memorable line, Dorothy admits that there’s ”No place like Home”.
Apparently the expression ,”No place like Home ” is a phrase going back to before the 14th Century , when, instead of everybody doing their own thing and not having a base to operate from, the concept of Families became established and the need for a more permanent home ,for the ‘family’ developed . Did I say that I came from generations of Devonian farmers and also developed a taste of the wanderlust,like Dorothy ?
Eric Idle surely deserves the last word in all of these musical matters. Even though Samuel Taylor Coleridge jumped the Poetic gun on Eric ,with”LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE ALWAYS,” you have to admit that Eric Idle’s song put it far more succinctly with ”ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE.”It even amused Queen Elizabeth the Second at an Annual Royal Variety Performance. She actually laughed out loud, and applauded vigorously.