Howdy Pardners!
The Heroes and Villains concert was a rip-roaring success, with two fantastic performances by the de Havilland Philharmonic under Robin Browning’s baton. Or should I say batons as his energetic conducting resulted in breaking a baton in two! I offered a paint brush as a substitute but, supreme professional that he is, he had a spare!
The orchestra dazzled with Copland’s Billy the Kid, and I came dressed prepared for a showdown, firing (cap gun) shots into the audience as I made my entrance. It was real boy’s own fun. I don’t think I’ve had so much fun since I was around 7 years old. I painted the vast plains, with cacti, Billy on horse back, gun battles and trains with bells and cowcatchers on, in gouache on different coloured card.
After Billy came Peer Gynt – four pieces by Grieg and the story of Gynt’s meeting with the trolls, with scenes of Norway and the lovely Solveig along the way…
And last of all, the baton-breaking William Tell Overture from Rossini, drawing roars of approval from the marvellous audiences who couldn’t resist being swept along by Rossini’s final gallop which concludes his most popular piece. It was a race to the end for me too, having painted scenes and storms of Switzerland, it was a mad rush to paint William and his son, ending with the famous arrow through the apple in the very last bars! PHEW! Beforehand I had threatened Robin with my crossbow (He obliged with an apple on his head)!
There was an encore too – the March from John Williams’ Superman. A great end to a show that I loved being part of. The orchestra and Robin were brilliant and it felt like a huge honour, as always, to share the stage with them.
For me, the real heroes of the day were Copland, Rossini, Grieg and Williams – to see children bouncing up and down to the music truly gladdened the heart and reinforced everything I believe in. My heartfelt thanks to all who supported the day and came – we could not do it without you. It also looks like over £800 has been raised from raffling these pictures (sums are still being done), which will go to Book Aid International – a fantastic result, so thank you everyone who bought a ticket!
Lastly, I’ve been asked to include the text I wrote for Billy the Kid. It’s in verse and was written especially for the concert. It’s called The Ballade of Billy the Kid, and here it is:
The Ballade of Billy the Kid This is the tale of Billy the Kid,An outlaw, he lived on the run,
With his hat and his horse for company,
And his hand upon his gun. The prairie sand was hot and dry,
The sun was beating down,
The tumbleweed was a-rolling by,
When Billy rode into town. His faithful hat upon his head,
He came galloping over the plain,
Like a bullet he flew on his wild-eyed horse,
As fast as a rail-road train. All across New Mexico,
And beyond the Rio Grande,
Billy the Kid was known to be,
The most wanted kid in the land. Billy the Kid! Watch him ride!
The ladies all thought he was dashing,
The sun on his face, the glint of his gun,
His silvery spurs were flashing. He lived a life of gambling and shooting,
Trouble wherever he went,
He stole and hustled and pinched and thieved,
And he never once paid a cent. They called him the boy with the left hand gun,
It seemed his soul was forsaken,
21 years of life he’d lived,
And 21 lives he’d taken. Alone by night, under the stars,
His hand resting on his gun,
He slept with one eye open, he did,
That’s the life of a kid on the run. There in the shadows, with flashing eyes,
Was the sheriff of Lincoln County,
He was dead set on catching the Kid,
And claiming the generous bounty. Out he came, with a posse of men,
Up they jumped in the night,
They knew that Billy would be all alone,
But he leapt up, and started to fight! He shot the sheriff, down on the sand,
He fought and he punched and he tried,
But they took him off to the county jail,
And with rope Billy’s hands were tied. Everyone shouted and cheered through the night,
Billy the Kid is in jail!
String him up in the morning, they roared,
And don’t even offer him bail! But Billy the Kid was clever and quick,
Billy the Kid was cunning,
He knew how to open a lock with a knife,
And soon he was out and running. Up he jumped on his wild-eyed horse,
Galloping for the prairie,
Over the hills and far away ,
But always a little bit wary… Time was turning, fate was shifting,
The stage coach rolled into town,
And with a silver star pinned on his chest,
Pat Garrett stepped blithely down. A dangerous kind of sheriff was he,
For his aim was sure and steady,
He saddled his horse and gathered his men,
And soon he was set and ready. They rode out of Silver City at dawn,
They searched the Golden West,
Like a pack of wolves out hunting they were,
And they never once stopped to rest. They hunted him down like a dog, they did,
They shot Billy down, on the run,
With his hat and his horse for company,
He died with his hand on his gun. (c) james Mayhew 2014
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