Suzanne West – WEBSTER BOOTH-ANNE ZIEGLER

Early on the morning of 22 June 1984, the 74th birthday of Anne Ziegler, I received a phone call from Janet Swart, whom I had first encountered as Janet Goldsborough, singing in Mrs Dorothy McDonald-Rouse’s concert party in Johannesburg in 1957 when I was 13. Janet was a regular listener to BBC World Service and knew of my close association with Anne and Webster. She was thoughtful enough to let me know that it had been announced on News About Britain that Webster had died the day before. Janet herself died about six weeks ago but I will always be grateful to her for making that call, as I would have been completely devastated to have heard such news via the media.

A selection of obituaries printed at the time

The Star and Rand Daily Mail (Johannesburg).

The Star (Johannesburg) Obituary. (Gordon Irving)

Die Beeld (Johannesburg) obituary in Afrikaans.

Thanks to John Marwood for the English translation as follows:

Booth dies after illness 22.6.84

From JACK G. VIVIERS • LONDON. — Webster Booth, who together with his wife, Anne Ziegler, won the hearts of millions of people with their singing and had a large following among South Africans, died in a hospital in Llandudno in Wales after a long illness. He was 82 and his wife is 74 today.

The couple married in 1938 and sang one winning song after another during World War II and soon after. One of their most popular songs in South Africa was Wunderbar.

The music and singing of Ziegler and Booth captured the hearts of people throughout the English-speaking world. They sang many songs from Maytime.

The partnership lost some of its popularity in Britain in 1952 and they moved to South Africa, where they lived for 22 years. They first lived in Johannesburg, but later moved to the Wilderness (Knysna).

They returned to Britain in 1978 and settled in Penrhyn Bay in Wales. Their last public performance was in Bridlington about a year ago.

I suggested to the Webster Booth-Anne Ziegler Appreciation group that members might like to select one of their favourite recordings which I would play leading up to the 21 June. I am listing them here. I have also suggested that those who would like to do so post a tribute to Webster to be published on 21 June.

2 June, David Small chose the duet Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life:

3 June John Rogers chose Serenade in the Night featured below.

4 June: Shiv K Purohit chose Anne and Webster singing: O Lovely Night by Landon Ronald:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sduBTwpOCBAZrroZsyGsh4fBJDuGfukF/view?usp=drive_link

5 June: Peter Wallace chose: One Alone:

6 June: John Marwood chose: The Lost Chord by Arthur Sullivan.

7 June. Robert Knight chose: The Holy City.

8 June: Anne Cook chose: Your Tiny Hand is Frozen.

9 June: Rick Wilmot chose Indian Love Call.

10 June: Marie Lamb chose Waft Her, Angels, Through the Skies from the oratorio, Jephtha by Handel.

Glynis Kester-Page

Song of Songs holds a special place in my heart and memory; it was one of a clutch of pieces of sheet music that lived in the piano stool, ready to be played (again) by my father for Mummy to sing. I therefore knew it well as a tot and, when it came on the wireless when I was about 3 (before I started school at 4, anyway), I recall joining in, much to the amusement of a visiting neighbour. My parents were very fond of Anne and Webster, and passed on their fond appreciation.

11 June: Glynis chose: Song of Songs by Moya.

12 June: The birthday of Webster’s late son, Keith Leslie Booth (1925 – 1997).

Jeff Woods chose: We’ll Gather Lilacs by Ivor Novello, one of their favourite duets.

13 June: Grietje de Vries chose A Perfect Day by Carrie Jacobs-Bond:

14 June: Bob Sanders chose I Leave My Heart in an English Garden by Welsh composer, Harry Parr-Davis. Harry Parr-Davis was Bob’s father’s cousin.

15 June: Grietje also chose the beautiful Irish ballad, Danny Boy.

https://youtu.be/AMaAOc3aO5s?si=WVuIbv17-ULdZxWm

16 June: Suzanne West chose Nirvana.

17 June: Dudley Holmes choice is Morning Glory from Sweet Yesterday by Kenneth Leslie-Smith.

18 June: Charles Jenkins has chosen The Bells of St Mary’s by Emmett Adams:

19 June: Charles Jenkins’ second choice is Bless This House by May H. Brae:

20 June: My choice is Sylvia by Oley Speaks, the first song I accompanied when I played for Webster in the studio all those years ago.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S5MFI4qX3xWVAcppGuEo9eMyvLhg3afY/view?usp=drive_link

Webster as Francois Villon in ‘The Vagabond King’ (Friml) in 1943.

This medley is a tribute to Webster on the fortieth anniversary of his death: Wayside Rose from Frederica and the Serenade from Frasquita by Lehar, The Way You Look Tonight from Swing Time by Kern, and Sweet Melody of Night from Give us this Night by Korngold.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lR883lHcTF6GsTQ_Eyz7x-LBZw50GN_S/view?usp=drive_link

Many thanks to those in the Webster Booth-Anne Ziegler Appreciation Group on Facebook who participated and chose their favourite songs for this tribute to Webster Booth.

Jean Collen, June 2024

My name is Jean Collen and I have published a number of non-fiction books about the famous British duettists, Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler.

Fiona Compton is the pen name I use for my fiction writing. I have published 6 fiction books on Lulu.com. All these books – paperbacks and e-books – may be seen at: FIONA’S STORE – FICTION WITH A MUSICAL THEME FIONA’S STORE – FICTION WITH A MUSICAL THEME

My first novel was I Can’t Forget You, written in 1977 and revised and published in 2010.

Apr 16, 2015 This review was included by PEARL HARRIS when the book was first published on Aug 21, 2010

Once I started reading Fiona Compton’s romantic novel, I could not put it down. I soon became involved in the emotions and events of the main characters’ lives. Derek Bailey attracts females and trouble wherever he goes, due to his charisma and talent. How the women in his life deal with subsequent events must touch a chord in the heart of every female reader who has ever fallen prey to the charms of a philanderer. The writing style is flowing and the dialogue authentic. Place descriptions set the scene firmly in 20th-century Britain. I particularly enjoyed the Scottish dialect (the author having been born in Scotland, this too is genuine!)and the descriptions of daily life in London. This is no run-of-the-mill romantic novel. Due to the author’s musical knowledge, “I can’t forget you” has a depth and authenticity lacking in most novels of this genre. You will not want to put this book down before discovering what the final outcome of the hero’s romantic entanglements is to be.

At the same time, I published a collection of short stories – The Song is Ended and Other Stories.

I am most grateful to mjpotenza and Pearl Harris for taking the trouble to write reviews for various books.

Here are two reviews:

By mjpotenza
Any fan of short stories will enjoy this selection of entertaining tales by Fiona Compton. The author presents women’s viewpoints, emotions, and experiences accurately and uniquely. The women characters are interesting, complex, and sympathetic (the men are mostly cads). One wonders how much is autobiographical. The writing is descriptive and precise. The style flows nicely, making for easy and pleasant reading. The Wedding Singer,Miss Stratton Disappears, and The Sunset Gleams, to name a few, all have the right combination of humour and sadness. In short, these well written stories are very enjoyable.

By Pearl Harris
10-Sep-2011
Each short story in this collection is refreshingly different and will touch a chord in the heart of most female readers. All the characters are masterfully and realistically portrayed. Many of the incidents depicted are those which affect all women at various times in their lives and with which the reader can readily empathise. Some bring a chuckle and a feeling of optimism, others a feeling of sadness. All left a lasting impression on me. Fiona Compton’s voice is a charming mix, evidence of her Scottish, South African and musical roots. These stories particularly appeal to me as an expatriate South African, as many of them richly evoke the South African lifestyle. However, all are timeless in their own right and certainly worth reading by both women and men, whatever their nationality.

I have published four novels in the Malcolm Craig series.The first novel in the series is called Just the Echo of a Sigh
It was published at the end of 2013.

Oct 12, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed “Just the Echo of a Sigh” – the first in a series about famous English tenor, Malcolm Craig, and his complicated love life. Obviously written by an author with extensive musical knowledge, the novel transports the reader back to the era in Britain before World War II, with rare glimpses into the lifestyle of those times. Ms. Compton has a rare gift – she brings her characters to life through their dialogue and her fine description. I look forward to reading many more of her novels.

The second novel in this series about Malcolm Craig is called Faint Harmony

Oct 14, 2015 Having thoroughly enjoyed “Just the Echo of a Sigh” – the first in this series by Fiona Compton – I could not put “Faint Harmony” down until the last line. Ms. Compton’s characters are living and breathing – and her knowledge of the musical scene in Britain after the beginning of World War 2 lends authenticity to the description of her characters and of those times. I can highly recommend all 3 novels in this series to readers, with interests especially in music, Britain, South Africa and the not always idyllic lives of the rich and famous.by Pearl Harris

I published my third book in the Malcolm Craig series towards the end of August of 2015. It is called Love Set to Music

Jan 13, 2016
Fiona Compton has pointed out that the novels in the Malcolm Craig series are partly novels with a key and partly biographical/autobiographical novels. She has written these books under a pen name, presumably because she did not want to write the story as rather sensational fact, but preferred to write it as a mixture of fact interspersed with fiction. Possibly she wrote the Malcolm Craig series in this way so that she would not hurt or embarrass family and friends of the protagonists. I found “Love Set to Music” most interesting. I imagine that the character of Kate Kyle is Fiona Compton herself, thinly disguised. Neither Kate Kyle nor Malcolm Craig are covered in glory and some might consider their spring/winter relationship unseemly even over fifty years later. They obviously felt deeply for one another and Malcolm Craig’s wife, Marina Dunbar, was not without blame. I look forward to reading the final book in the series and sincerely hope that it will reach a satisfactory conclusion otherwise the emotion generated by the affair which changed the life of Kate Kyle/Fiona Compton radically without bringing her lasting happiness would have been a meaningless waste of time.
by Jean Collen.

I highly recommend all 3 novels in this series by Fiona Compton. In her easy flowing style, the author draws the reader into the lives of the various characters and the environment in which their destinies cross. I could empathise with the emotions experienced by the vulnerable young Kate and did not stop reading until the last line. I await the 4th novel in this series….. Review by Pearl Harris.

**A lovely comment about the Malcolm Craig series from Suzanne West.**

This is the fourth and final novel in the Malcolm Craig series. The stormy marriage of Malcolm Craig and his wife, Marina Dunbar eventually reaches the point of no return. They have to decide whether to remain married for the sake of their “sweethearts of song” image in the eyes of the public, or go their separate ways at last. In 1965 Kate Kyle, the young woman who is the object of Malcolm’s attentions, is so distressed and hurt at the course of events that she decides that the only course open to her is to leave the country and try to make a new life for herself in the United Kingdom.

Jan 13, 2016 I read the 4th in this series without being able to stop until the very last line. Fiona Compton traces the thoughts and emotions of her various characters realistically and with special insight. Seeing the story unfold from the different viewpoints makes fascinating reading. I highly recommend this competent novelist and hope to see more of her writing in future. Review by Pearl Harris.

All my books are available in paperback and as ebooks. lulu.com/spotlight/fiona_compton

Fiona Compton

Tag: Suzanne West

FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF WEBSTER BOOTH.

FIONA COMPTON: FICTION