For Eileen, the most significant event on the horizon was her first appearance on local television, due in January. Long before we met, she had successfully auditioned with the producers of The Big Show, George and Alfred Black. The live show was to mark the opening of Tyne Tees Television and it included a number of famous names in the entertainment business at the time, including Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, Jimmy James and the impresario, Jack Parnell.
Eileen would be singing the "Habanera" from the opera Carmen accompanied by a full ensemble of chorus and dancers in authentic Spanish costume and a full stage set. She had always said that her ambition was to sing Carmen on TV and this was soon to be realised.
I remember going to the studios with her for one of the rehearsals before the building work was even completed. Rehearsals were only arranged for Eileen's number and one or two of the dance routines. Much of the programme involved stars who would be appearing live on the night.
To see the show on TV, I was invited to Eileen's home in Wallsend so I could watch with the whole family. There were no facilities to record television programmes at home. (It was 30 years later that Eileen was finally able to obtain a copy of the recording from the Tyne Tees archives and see her own performance from that night).
We were all thrilled with her performance and I felt like one of the family as we waited for her to come home after the programme was broadcast. There was so much excitement and shouts of congratulations as she came through the door.
After the excitement had died down, I found myself alone with Eileen outside the back door for a few minutes. She needed someone to help her climb down from the high she had been on for several hours in the TV studios. She turned to me for support and I realised for the first time my true feelings towards her. Our embrace that night became a milestone in our relationship.
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To appreciate this story from my mum, Eileen's perspective, here are her words to describe The Big Show.
"Tyne Tees Television, a regional commercial station for the North East of England, began broadcasting in January 1959, from a converted warehouse in Newcastle near to the River Tyne.
A live show for the opening night was planned months before when famous impresarios George and Alfred Black, who produced shows in London and Blackpool, held local auditions. I was chosen to perform the "Habanera" from Carmen: I think I was the only Geordie to appear. Other famous faces on the show were Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna and Bill Maynard plus countless performers and comedians who were famous names in the 1950s.
The atmosphere backstage was exciting yet rather stressful for the producers at times. I found the rehearsals fascinating, getting the chance to sing with a big orchestra when I was more familiar with a piano accompaniment. I remember there was a big fuss concerning hair and make-up: they had a great deal of trouble trying to get my hair to set, constantly washing and re-setting the curls until someone noticed they had been using hand cream instead of setting lotion.
I thoroughly enjoyed my song, supported by the wonderful Malcolm Goddard Dancers. I wasn’t at all nervous though I remember developing a massive headache after the performance.
We had rehearsed a grand finale with all the performers walking down to take their bows but as this was a live show, it over-ran and the curtain came down rather too promptly before the show had finished.
I saw this video for the first time in 1989, 30 years after the show was aired, when someone from Tyne Tees gave me a copy. I shed a few tears looking back at myself as a young woman of 24 but I was immensely proud and felt very fortunate that I had a memento of one very special night"
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