Tubby Hayes: A Man in a Hurry charts the life and times of professional jazz musician Edward Brian ‘Tubby’ Hayes, who recorded some of the most iconic pieces of the 1950s and 1960s. Our Artistic Director of Film, Jason Wood, talks to the film’s producer, Mark Baxter.
Jason Wood: How did the music of Tubby Hayes first come to your attention, and what was its appeal? It certainly captures the 1950s and 1960s Soho vibe that I know you are simpatico with.
Mark Baxter: I first heard him on a compilation called The Return of Jazz Club by legendary DJ Paul Murphy. The song was Pint of Bitter, which was written by Clark Terry and recorded in New York in 1961. For some reason, and I struggle today to say why, it just struck a chord with me and the memory of discovering it stayed with me for 30 years. As for the Soho connection, I simply love the area and used to walk up and down Gerard Street to find the location of the original Ronnie Scotts club, which opened in October 1959 with Tubby top of the bill. Jazz and Soho go hand in hand for me.
JW: Tubby had two decades of intense and quite incredible success before his career went into a tailspin. What were some of the factors behind his decline? It’s something of a cliché I know, but hard drugs and jazz make all too comfortable bedfellows.
MB: I think the catalyst was as much the beat boom coming in and taking root. Suddenly bands like The Beatles and The Stones are waking up the youth of the nation. Jazz clubs became beat clubs and venues that once put on jazz changed their policy overnight. So work was dropping off, and Tubby, who was a restless soul and no stranger to drugs (he was busted aged 18 for possession of ‘Indian Hemp’ in 1953), had discovered harder drugs and developed a serious addiction. This affected his health very badly, with numerous infections, perhaps due to shared needles, causing him to have long stays in hospital. Thus he slowly faded from the general public’s view.
JW: It’s strange how British jazz exists so firmly in the shadow of jazz from America. Do you think this is because we have a stronger tradition of pop here?
MB: I think the Americans consider (and rightly so) jazz to be there invention. I also think there is also the idea that no one can can come close to their playing, which we know is cobblers in some cases, but that seems to be a hard wall to break down. Tubby had a good go in the early 1960s and he should have stayed out there for a few years to build a reputation, but think he liked being a big fish in a small pond too much, especially early on. Once pop took over in the UK, our boys had little chance of being taken seriously.
JW: Many people who have followed Tubby’s life and recordings – what are you hoping that they will take from the film? Conversely, how would you encourage those who are unfamiliar with his work to see the film?
MB: My aim has always been to put Tubby’s name back on the wider cultural map, and by that I want to convert those who have no idea who he is. For those enlightened souls who know Tubby’s work, I hope they appreciate the research we have done in unearthing archive footage and photos that have either never, or only rarely been seen, and I also hope they like the fact that their boy is getting some props after 40 years.
Tubby Hayes: A Man in a Hurry screens on Wednesday 25 November. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Lee Cogswell and producer Mark Baxter. Find out the film and book tickets here.