The years do fly by. And it doesn’t seem that long ago when we first heard of ‘Yesterday When I Was Young’ – the oldies show on Radio Gibraltar presented by none other than Richard Cartwright. Can you believe it’s been 25 years? No. Well neither does he! The programme is as popular as ever and now to celebrate the occasion a live show in association with Stage One is being staged at the Ince’s Hall this week. Tonight is the opening night and Richard Cartwright says, “It really doesn’t feel that long. Time goes by so quickly when you’re enjoying yourself and also when you’re getting older!”

He admits it may even have been a little longer than 25 years, starting the programme before 1985. He recalls he originally called it `That Was Then And This Is Now’ before it became YWIWY as he looked through song titles and took the programme name from there!

Yesterday When I Was Young – Live on Stage will make the 60s come alive for four nights. Directed by James Neish he describes it as a “fun night for the audience who will be taken on a journey of the music of the 60’s with anecdotes and real local stories that will bring smiles to people’s faces.”

On stage will be a live band and a pretty large cast of some very familiar faces, and some new as well. Names like Richard Cartwright himself, Andrea Simpson, Nolan Frendo, Tim Garcia, Ethan Rocca, Corianne Brooks, Francis Chipolina, Giles Ramirez, Eric Almeida, Jesse Maclaren and the Gibraltar Academy of Dance, with a special guest appearance by the Bishop Fitzgerald School Choir.

The cast has been rehearsing for months and James Neish talks of a few nightmare moments along the way, especially with such a large cast. But everyone has worked well together with the aim of making the show a success with the cast backed by a talented team of lighting designers, scenery and technicians.

“Their knowledge and creativity,” he says has been vital to be able to achieve what the team set out to create.

“For Stage One this show is also about breaking into new ground since the musical has been written and designed from scratch,” he adds.

25 YEARS ON AIR

Speaking to Richard about ‘Yesterday When I Was Young’, I ask him what he feels has been the success behind the radio show? And he confidently points out that probably most people would agree that there are many 60s songs that have stood the test of time. “I hear youngsters humming Beatles songs and others, all the time. Also, it’s not just people of my age group that enjoy this music. There are plenty of listeners in their 40s and 50s that love sixties music,” he says.

But what about the presenter, what has he brought to the show?

“I think, if I may say so myself, that I perhaps bring to the programme a degree of credibility for having lived through that fabulous decade as a musician, to the point of having been around and performing with some of those fabulous 60s bands. I also remember listening to Radio Gibraltar in the late 50s and early 60s prior to leaving Gibraltar and really enjoying listening to programmes like the BBC World Services’ `Listener’s Choice’, re-broadcast on our radio station, also, staying up late to tune into a crackly Radio Luxemburg. So when I’m playing records from those years, I love the memories that they bring so maybe the genuineness that accompanies my presentation of YWIWY comes through, I don’t know!”

The show he agrees is most certainly nostalgic and the fact that “you’re imbued with pangs of nostalgia as you get older which seem to become stronger and stronger as you move on in life.”

Many people, he says, stop him to say how much they enjoy the songs on the radio, and he finds them on that same wavelength - “that nostalgic trip the programme takes them and me on.”

But ultimately it is that music mix and the often familiar phrase ‘they don’t write them like they used to’. Does he feel this is so?

“I remember when the Beatles and the Stones started, you would get the previous generation telling you that they don’t make music like they used to: referring to the likes of Sinatra, Mathis, Perry Come etc. Each generation has its good and not so good music. How can you make a blank statement and say, `all of today’s music is rubbish!’ I suppose it’s a question of tastes and preferences that go with each generation.”

Richard can’t remember which was the first track he ever played on the show but is convinced it must have been a “fabulous 60s track” by the Hollies or the Searchers.

Although the format of the show has not really changed today he includes songs up to around 1975.

“We have to realise that listeners move on to, shall we say, `pastures new’ and younger, 70s fans are getting older and coming on stream,” he says.

One of his favourite early 60s songs is Forget Him by Bobby Rydell, as is The Mindbenders’ Groovy Kind of Love. But its difficult to choose one he admits.

“I tend to go for the more melodic songs. I think that’s the Latin in us. You will find that, despite their massive success, I don’t play The Who or Jimmy Hendrix very often and I have to keep on reminding myself that they were really big and listeners would want to hear them sometimes.”

There isn’t one most requested song, he tells me, but the singers that most come to mind are Neil Sedaka, Dusty, Sandie Shaw, and Cliff Richard and the Shadows. These singers are always well received and are often mentioned in his conversations in town, with the likes of the Beatles and Stones always expected to be included in any 60s programme too.

Richard says he has always admired Cliff Richard because, for most of the time, he’s always ridden on the crest of the wave and is very professional. But he also likes many of the 50s singers too, such as Johnny Mathis, Johnny Ray, Pat Boone. Later, from the 60s and because of the musician in him, he points to Matt Monroe and Vince Hill because of their quality – “quality in each note that they sing – wherever those notes are, high or low!”

And he adds: “Many of the 60s groups I like very much too. The Searchers, Hollies, Manfred Mann, The Fourmost, Beach Boys, Mamas and the Papas. Cilla Black I play often also…I could go on. For those reasons, I perhaps tend to play those more than others but I try to make sure I don’t make it too obvious. Luckily they happen to be very popular with most listeners and that choice is pretty much shared with those that tune in, so it doesn’t sound too self indulgent, if at all.”

So what of ‘Yesterday When I Was Young – Live on Stage’? How has he found it?

“You know me. I’m quite laid back. When Terry came up with the idea I wasn’t over excited which is normal for me! Apart from that I’m aware of the work involved when getting into something like this and putting something on stage, be it a play, musical or whatever. I suggested she contact James if she was really serious about wanting to do this. Now, I’ve got to admit I’ve slowly warmed up to the idea and am now really, really looking forward to all four performances,” he says.

Rehearsals got better and better, and he points out – “ I think we have a fabulous product for all to enjoy, bearing in mind it’s an amateur, no, I would certainly say a semi- professional show on our hands. There are some great performers, actors, musicians, dancers and many other production staff. I can honestly say that it’s a show that anybody would enjoy – regardless of age group.”

Richard describes the stage show as being “alive, exhilarating, funny and on the move!” With the choice of songs being familiar to most he insists “this musical should not be missed by anyone”.

And he adds: “ I’m not one for saying these things because it’s the obvious thing to say and everybody says them, no, this is, honestly worth seeing.”

As far as the radio show is concerned it will continue… “I’m quite happy to continue going up, or wherever GBC will be located in the future, to record YWIWY. After all these years I still look forward, every Thursday, to record the show…It’s nostalgia at its best! Will it be for the next 25 years? Richard Cartwright, presenting `Yesterday When I Was Young’ aged 90? Who knows!”

Yesterday When I Was Young – Live on Stage opens tonight at 8pm at the Ince’s Hall Theatre for four nights. Tickets for the show, at £12, are on sale at the Nature Shop, Casemates between 12pm and 4pm every weekday, or at the door before each performance.