Lonnie Donegan

"“When I was a lad, Lonnie Donegan was all there was really, and he was everything, and he was quite fantastic.' (John Peel, 20 July 1999)"

"'For me, he was the man who pushed the button that started it all.' (JP, 05 November 2002)"

thumb|300px|right|JP interviews and introduces Donegan at Glastonbury, 1999

Skiffle pioneer Lonnie Donegan (29 Apr. 1931 - 3 Nov. 2002) was a musical hero of John Peel's school days – as he was for a whole generation of British rock musicians – and would remain one for the rest of the DJ's life.

Born in Glasgow, Donegan was first recorded in the early 1950s as banjo player and guitarist in the trad jazz bands of Ken Colyer and Chris Barber. Live, he would also perform a short “skiffle” set featuring folk and blues songs by American artists, with accompaniment from two other band members on washboard and tea-chest bass. Recorded in 1954, Donegan's high-tempo version of Leadbelly's 'Rock Island Line' entered the charts In January 1956, becoming the first of more than thirty UK hits for the performer and setting off a nationwide skiffle boom. As Peel later commented:

"John Lennon and Paul McCartney ... were later to cite Donegan, and rightly so, as being the man who made them realize that virtually anyone – although not unhappily me – could take up a cheap guitar and strum something."

Although the chart career of Donegan, which included novelty numbers such as 'My Old Man's A Dustman', was ended by the arrival of the Beatles and other beat groups, he would later work with artists he had inspired – including Ringo Starr, Elton John and Van Morrison – and also became acquainted with Peel.

Links To Peel
Peel had a number of stories about his youthful enthusiasm for Donegan, including how his father would deliberately refer to “Lolly Dollygan” to annoy him, as well as how JP would repeatedly get bemused schoolmates to listen out for a shout by the king of skiffle near the start of “Oh, Didn't He Ramble” by Chris Barber's Jazz Band on the Traditional Jazz At The Royal Festival Hall LP:


 * "They must have thought, 'What a twerp this bloke is.'”

From later years, there was also the the tale about how he had once regaled an unfortunate female hitchhiker on an overnight drive from Edinburgh to London with many hours of his own unaccompanied versions of Donegan favourites.

As he explained to John Walters, one attraction was Donegan's unorthodox vocal style - the "high nasal whine" and the "keening almost eastern drone that whipped the young Peel into a frenzy”. JP would also subsequently state that the British singer's versions of old American songs contained “a kind of manic quality which to me was irresistible.”

Despite such qualities, Donegan would find no more than an occasional place on Peel's playlists until the late 20th century. The DJ, however, was always happy to recall the performer as an essential part of the music of his youth, including how the skiffle star had inspired JP's first album purchase (the aforementioned 'Royal Festival Hall' LP) and was on the bill at the first gig he ever went to in London (a benefit for Big Bill Broonzy in 1958).

Donegan's performance at Glastonbury in 1999 seemed to reignite Peel's fervor. After he interviewed and introduced his old hero for a performance of 'Rock Island Line' as part of BBC TV coverage (see above clip), he continued to sing Donegan's praises to viewers for the rest of the weekend, including unlikely comparisons with dance acts Orbital and Underworld.

Back on Radio One, Peel was soon announcing plans to try and get Donegan in for a first session. This eventually led to a live double bill with Half Man Half Biscuit at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. In the run-up to the event, the DJ regularly featured vintage Donegan tracks, urging listeners to attend the gig, and gave nervous updates on the state of ticket sales. A debut session was again mooted in 2001.

In November 2002, Peel would see Donegan at his hotel in Nottingham just days before the performer's death:

"”He looked terribly ill I have to admit and was in his dressing gown, but he was very perky, as he was on the few occasions when I did meet him ... we sat and had a cup of tea and talked with him for a while ... then as we were leaving he was telling me about a television programme to be made. … It was going to be called the Lonnie Donegan Story and he said that in the course of it he would teach me to play guitar. And alas, never going to have the opportunity to do that, but I was very pleased at least I'd seen him ... a sad, sad weekend when we heard of his death.'"

After Peel's own demise, a Ken Colyer EP featuring Donegan was discovered in John Peel's Record Box. In 2005, Donegan's 'Lost John' was selected as lead track for the John Peel – A Tribute compilation.

Festive Fifty Entries
None

Sessions
None

Live
(Recorded 1999-10-01, live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Broadcast 07 October 1999. Set details from the BBC Peel minisite, which also includes Peel's introduction and chat from Donegan, as well as 30-second samples of the songs.)
 * New Burying Ground
 * Grand Coulee Dam
 * When I Get This Feelin'
 * Rock Island Line
 * Tom Dooley
 * Frankie And Johnnie
 * Oh Boys Can't You Line 'Em
 * It Takes A Worried Man (Worried Man Blues)

Peelenium
1956: Lost John

Other Shows Played
(The list below is compiled only form the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive and is certainly incomplete. Please add further details if known.)


 * 1969


 * 11 December 1968: Wabash Cannonball (b-side of single Cumberland Gap) Pye 7N 15087 (John Lennon and Yoko Ono in studio as guests)


 * 1970
 * 25 July 1970: New Burying Ground (LP - Chris Barber ' Lonnie Donegan) Boulevard 4110
 * Radio Luxembourg Tracklistings 3: New Burying Ground (LP - Sing Hallelujah)


 * 1979


 * 30 August 1979: 'Lost John (7 inch)' (Pye) (Peel’s 40th birthday)


 * 1981


 * 30 May 1981 (John Walters): Rock Island Line
 * 30 May 1981 (John Walters): New Burying Ground
 * 30 May 1981 (John Walters): Bring A Little Water, Sylvie
 * 30 May 1981 (John Walters): Frankie And Johnny


 * 1993


 * 18 December 1993: ‘Muleskinner Blues (CD – EP Collection Volume Two)’ (See For Miles)


 * 1998


 * 09 July 1998: Wabash Cannonball (LP: Showcase) Pye Nixa


 * 1999


 * 22 June 1999: Jack O'Diamonds (single: Jack O'Diamonds) Bear Family
 * 23 June 1999: Ham 'n' Eggs (single: Jack O'Diamonds) Bear Family
 * 20 July 1999: Ella Speed (LP – Live 1957: The Complete Conway Hall Concert) Zircon
 * 05 August 1999: 'I'm Almost Done (LP - Live at The Conway Hall 1957)' (Zircon Records)
 * 16 September 1999: On A Monday (LP – Live 1957: The Complete Conway Hall Concert) Zircon
 * 28 September 1999: Ella Speed (LP – Live 1957: The Complete Conway Hall Concert) Zircon
 * 30 September 1999: John Hardy (played by mistake for Peelenium 1956)
 * 30 September 1999: Lost John (Peelenium 1956)
 * 30 September 1999: Bring A Little Water, Sylvie
 * 06 October 1999: Grand Coulee Dam (LP: More Than Pye In The Sky) Bear Family


 * 2000


 * 20 June 2000: New Buryin' Ground (LP: More Than 'Pye In The Sky' Vol. 1) Bear Family


 * 2001


 * 26 June 2001: Lost John (Pye Nixa) (Pig's Big 78)


 * 2002


 * 30 April 2002: Tom Dooley (single)
 * 17 September 2002: Rock My Soul (Pye-Nixa) (Pig's Big 78)
 * 24 October 2002: Lost John (7" EP - Lonnie Donegan Hit Parade) Pye Nixa
 * 05 November 2002: Ham & Eggs (LP - Lonnie Donegan: More Than Pie In The Sky Vol 2) (Bear Family)
 * 06 November 2002: 'Cumberland Gap ((Pye) (Pig's Big 78)
 * 07 November 2002: Frankie And Johnny (CD - Lonnie Donegan: More Than Pye In The Sky) (Bear Family)
 * 13 November 2002: Ain't No More Cane On The Brazos (Boxed Set: More Pye In The Sky) (Bear Family)
 * 03 December 2002: Fort Worth Jail (8xCD box set: More Than Pye In The Sky, Vol 4) (Bear Family)
 * 25 December 2002 (Radio Mafia): On A Christmas Day (Columbia)


 * 2003


 * 03 July 2003: 'Mule Skinner Blues (LP- More Than 'Pye in the Sky')' (Transformed Dreams)


 * 2004


 * 01 June 2004: Rock My Soul (Nixa) (Pig's Big 78)
 * 08 June 2004: Stewball (Pye Nixa) (Pig's Big 78)
 * 09 June 2004: Don’t You Rock Me Daddy 'O' (Pye Nixa) (Pig's Big 78)
 * 22 June 2004: On A Monday (LP- The EP Collection Vol.2) - (See For Miles)
 * 17 August 2004: Darling Corey (Pye) (Pig's Big 78)


 * Other


 * Peeling Back The Years: Rock Island Line
 * Peeling Back The Years: New Burying Ground