Chiswick Book Festival To Hold Event In Gunnersbury Park For First Time
Marking local rock heritage, with founder of Ealing Blues Festival
Robert Hokum
On Wednesday 18 September, Gunnersbury will host a session called ‘How West London Rocked the World’, highlighting The A-Z of Ealing Rock Music, which lists the many musicians who spent formative years at the Ealing Club, London’s first rhythm and blues venue.
“We were delighted when Gunnersbury invited us to hold an event there” said Torin Douglas, director of the Chiswick Book Festival. “The park and museum have been beautifully restored and it will be wonderful to open the Festival at Chiswick House and close it at Gunnersbury, another historic house in west London.”
In the Festival’s final event, Robert Hokum, founder of Ealing Blues Festival, will talk about the Ealing music scene’s global influence, chaired by Caroline Frost, author and former entertainment editor of Huffington Post. The many music pioneers who lived, worked and played here include members of The Rolling Stones, The Who, Queen, Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Dusty Springfield, Fleetwood Mac and many more. A film, Suburban Steps To Rockland - The Story of The Ealing Club, is to be shown on Sky this autumn.
David Bowler, the chief executive of Gunnersbury, said: “Gunnersbury CIC is delighted to launch its partnership with Chiswick Book Festival by hosting this event. Working with dedicated, enthusiastic local experts, to uncover and present stories about the rich cultural heritage of west London, is key to our mission as the local museum service for Ealing and Hounslow.
“Robert Hokum’s talk and publication perfectly complements our museum collection which contains artefacts, archives and displays representing the role of local people and places in the story of the development of blues, rock and pop in the UK.”
The Chiswick Book Festival evening will be sponsored by the University of West London (UWL), which is home to London College of Music and where Freddie Mercury, Ronnie Wood and Pete Townshend all studied.
“Given UWL’s history of musical excellence, it’s great to have them involved in this event and to help build another link with Ealing which, with Hounslow, is one of Chiswick’s two local authorities” said Douglas. “Gunnersbury has some terrific cultural displays - Freddie Mercury is celebrated there - and we hope to help it build further links with writers in Ealing.”
The opening event of the Chiswick Book Festival will be held at Chiswick House & Gardens on Thursday 12 September. The historian and broadcaster AN Wilson will talk about his new book, 'Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved The Monarchy'.
On Friday September 13th, there will be a session remembering the actor Richard Briers, a Chiswick and Ealing resident for many years, with his daughter Lucy Briers; Peter Egan, his co-star in Ever Deceasing Circles; and James Hogg, author of Richard Briers: More Than Just A Good Life.
Other speakers include Cressida Cowell, Max Hastings, Peter Frankopan, Polly Devlin, Janet Ellis, Sadie Jones, Peter Hennessy, Paddy O’Connell, Linwood Barclay, Mark Billingham, Ken Livingstone, Alan Judd, Lindsey Hilsum, David Nott, Michael Fuller, Fiona Davison, Mihir Bose, Kamal Ahmed, Henry Hemming, Cathy Rentzenbrink, Jane Garvey, Cahal Dallat, Anne-Marie Fyfe, David Whitehouse, Catherine Horwood and Tom Mangold.
There is also a full Cookbook Festival programme.
Tickets for the Chiswick Book Festival are now on sale via the Festival website: www.chiswickbookfestival.net
The Ealing Club was founded in 1962 by guitarist Alexis Korner and harmonica player Cyril Davies. It was to be London's (and Britain's) first Rhythm and Blues venue. Soon young music fans from all over the country start attending Alexis and Cyril's shows, sitting-in during their set and/or cutting their teeth by playing proper gigs.
The list of youngsters who learned the business at the Ealing Club includes: Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker (Cream), Pete Townshend & The Who, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones), Dick Taylor (The Pretty Things, early Rolling Stones), Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience) and Eric Burdon (The Animals) - just to name a few.
The Ealing Club was described as 'The Cradle of British Rock' by Mojo magazine. A film, Suburban Steps To Rockland - The Story of The Ealing Club is to be shown on Sky this autumn and a crowdfunding campaign has been launching to cover some of the music licensing costs.
Gunnersbury Park and Museum is jointly owned by Hounslow and Ealing Councils. The councils have set up, and jointly own, the Gunnersbury Estate (2026) Community Interest Company which is responsible for running the Park and Museum on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of the community. Thanks to multi-million pound grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Parks for People programme, both the Park and Museum have been extensively renovated in recent years.
August 1, 2019