Roy Orbison And His Mystery Girl
Without Prejudice
I have always loved and admired Roy Orbison, his songs, his angelic voice, (such a gift ) and the Man himself. A true gentleman and gentle man. Gone too soon but his music lives on, thank you, God !
I was lucky enough to see him live at The Batley Variety Club near Leeds, Yorkshire. I was too young to be in a licensed premises, just 14 but I was dressed to look older. My Dad took me. He took me to quite a few live shows at The Batley, Louis Armstrong and Roy Orbison two of the best.
My Dad was a Sinatra aficionado, a Perry Como, Nat King Cole type of man. A musician who could write and read music, of course, his instrument of choice a 24 string Hawaiian guitar. My Sister,
Jackie was there and her boyfriend, Winn. Jackie was also a Singer. Brought up in the era of Patsy
Kline, Brenda Lee, ( Little Miss Dynamite) , Helen Shapiro, Connie Francis.
However, she was still herself only a Teenager and loved all the new stuff as well. Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Cilla Black. I was a mad Beatles, Monkees, Moody Blues, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, The Doors fan. It was the late sixties and we were wearing flowers in our hair, cow bells in our ears and emulating, Twiggy. Wearing fashion by Mary Quant, Biba, black fine cord dresses with hipster belts and red Robin stay up stockings that never really stayed up but were so much better than suspenders and stockings.
Not only was there new music but the old music had a resurgence, hence, Louis Armstrong, Roy Orbison, Bill Hayley was once again Rocking Around The Clock, Wilson Pickett was dancing the 1,000 dances and Otis Redding was still sitting on the Dock Of The Bay and touring the U.K.
Years later I am watching a documentary on Roy and it is all about Mystery Girl. His album made with his sons, and The Traveling Wilburys. Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, et al. The talk is of the music, the songs, the song writing and Bonos song.
Mystery Girl is the last album recorded by Roy Orbison, posthumously released on the Virgin label in 1989. The album became a hit worldwide, reaching #5 on the US Billboard 200, and #2 on the UK Albums Chart.[9]
The way Bono tells it, he played the track to the rest of U2 and without a word of a lie the Doorman came in and said. There was a Mr Orbison and his wife Barbara downstairs. The rest of U 2 thought it was a windup made up by Bono. But no, it was true. And they all were able to meet the Big O. And, yes, he had been to see U2 play the previous evening and wanted Bono to write a song for him.
The band at the time was not the world wide success they are today. So Bono wrote the song, She's A Mystery To Me. And Roy put it on his Album, Mystery Girl. And another written by his own Son,
Wesley.
Needless to say, the Album was a hit, the single "She's A Mystery To Me " became a hit and U2 became the Worldwide hit they are today.
Roy Orbison had lost his first wife, Claudette, to a motorcycle accident and two of his sons in a house fire while he was on tour. He married Barbara and she remained one of his biggest fans along with his remaining sons. Everyone that met him admired his surreal voice, a four octave range voice that "Just Came" , according to Bono whenever he needed it to, he died at only 52 from a heart attack.
I have always loved and admired Roy Orbison, his songs, his angelic voice, (such a gift ) and the Man himself. A true gentleman and gentle man. Gone too soon but his music lives on, thank you, God !
I was lucky enough to see him live at The Batley Variety Club near Leeds, Yorkshire. I was too young to be in a licensed premises, just 14 but I was dressed to look older. My Dad took me. He took me to quite a few live shows at The Batley, Louis Armstrong and Roy Orbison two of the best.
Batley Variety Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | The Batley Variety Club was a variety club in Batley, West Yorkshire, England. It was financed and co-founded by the lateYorkshire showman and businessman Peter Fleming in partnership with James Corrigan. It had a capacity of around 1600 people, and when it opened offered cabaret with an inclusive dinner for 6s6d (six shillings and six pence). That's 33 pence in new money! At the peak of its success, the club was said to have had 300,000 members. It closed circa 1978 and reopened as the Crumpet night club. It closed again shortly afterwards and its contents were auctioned off. It has since reopened as the "Batley Frontier Club". |
The Variety Club of the 1960s was a step up from the traditional Working Mens Clubs, usually carpeted and with a meal included in the price of admission. The Batley club was fitted with plush velvet benches installed in a circular "pod" that could seat five couples, with an open end facing the stage. Hundreds of these pods were arranged in tiered rows. Food was served, typical fare being "chicken-in-a-basket".
During its heyday the club staged concerts by performers including the Bee Gees, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, Tom Jones,Roy Orbison, Eartha Kitt, Louis Armstrong, Olivia Newton-John, Morecambe and Wise, Alvin Stardust, Jim Bowen, Dusty Springfield, Guys and Dolls, The Brotherhood of Man, Ken Dodd.
My Dad was a Sinatra aficionado, a Perry Como, Nat King Cole type of man. A musician who could write and read music, of course, his instrument of choice a 24 string Hawaiian guitar. My Sister,
Jackie was there and her boyfriend, Winn. Jackie was also a Singer. Brought up in the era of Patsy
Kline, Brenda Lee, ( Little Miss Dynamite) , Helen Shapiro, Connie Francis.
However, she was still herself only a Teenager and loved all the new stuff as well. Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Cilla Black. I was a mad Beatles, Monkees, Moody Blues, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, The Doors fan. It was the late sixties and we were wearing flowers in our hair, cow bells in our ears and emulating, Twiggy. Wearing fashion by Mary Quant, Biba, black fine cord dresses with hipster belts and red Robin stay up stockings that never really stayed up but were so much better than suspenders and stockings.
Not only was there new music but the old music had a resurgence, hence, Louis Armstrong, Roy Orbison, Bill Hayley was once again Rocking Around The Clock, Wilson Pickett was dancing the 1,000 dances and Otis Redding was still sitting on the Dock Of The Bay and touring the U.K.
Years later I am watching a documentary on Roy and it is all about Mystery Girl. His album made with his sons, and The Traveling Wilburys. Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, et al. The talk is of the music, the songs, the song writing and Bonos song.
Mystery Girl is the last album recorded by Roy Orbison, posthumously released on the Virgin label in 1989. The album became a hit worldwide, reaching #5 on the US Billboard 200, and #2 on the UK Albums Chart.[9]
All the tracks were recorded in late 1988, and it was finalized for release in the weeks following Orbison's death, through the collaborative efforts of several artists who were all friends and admirers. The album was named after the chorus from the track "She's a Mystery to Me", written for Orbison by U2's Bono and The Edge.
In the documentary In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story, Bono tells how he woke up for a concert's sound check, following a late night listening to the soundtrack to David Lynch's Blue Velvet, and had the tune in his head, figuring it was another Orbison song ("In Dreams" was the only Orbison song on that album).
During the sound check he performed it for the other members of U2, who agreed that the track sounded like an Orbison song. A short while later, Orbison met the band backstage at one of their concerts and subsequently asked Bono if he would like to write a song with/for him.
During the sound check he performed it for the other members of U2, who agreed that the track sounded like an Orbison song. A short while later, Orbison met the band backstage at one of their concerts and subsequently asked Bono if he would like to write a song with/for him.
The album was released posthumously in 1989 and would join another Orbison album on the Billboard chart. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was recorded in mid 1988, with Orbison as part of the supergroup, Traveling Wilburys. The dual success means that Roy Orbison joins Jim Croce, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson as the only singers to simultaneously have two Top 5 albums on the Billboard chart posthumously.
The way Bono tells it, he played the track to the rest of U2 and without a word of a lie the Doorman came in and said. There was a Mr Orbison and his wife Barbara downstairs. The rest of U 2 thought it was a windup made up by Bono. But no, it was true. And they all were able to meet the Big O. And, yes, he had been to see U2 play the previous evening and wanted Bono to write a song for him.
The band at the time was not the world wide success they are today. So Bono wrote the song, She's A Mystery To Me. And Roy put it on his Album, Mystery Girl. And another written by his own Son,
Wesley.
Needless to say, the Album was a hit, the single "She's A Mystery To Me " became a hit and U2 became the Worldwide hit they are today.
Roy Orbison had lost his first wife, Claudette, to a motorcycle accident and two of his sons in a house fire while he was on tour. He married Barbara and she remained one of his biggest fans along with his remaining sons. Everyone that met him admired his surreal voice, a four octave range voice that "Just Came" , according to Bono whenever he needed it to, he died at only 52 from a heart attack.
