Book excerpts

Excerpts from "Nat Gonella: A Life In Jazz" written by Digby Fairweather and published by Northway.
Page 71 (describing the Georgians): ....Singer/guitarist Jimmy Messini was quite another matter. One of his features, 'Black Eyes', was rendered in Russian and when a critical listener claimed that his Russian pronunciation was poor, Messini retorted sharply that he was, in fact, singing the song in Greek. Before a show he would loosen his throat with 'mi-mi-mi' exercises and a throat-clearing cough and on one occasion his mischievous fellow sidemen told him that Caruso, the legendary tenor, always drank a raw egg in sherry before a performance. Messini immediately went in search of supplies, returning triumphantly with a dozen eggs and a full bottle of sherry, of which the Georgians drank half before topping the bottle up with water and blowing the eggs. Messini was quite justifiably furious, particularly as he regularly drank before performing... He was something of an anachronism among the jazz-based Georgians. He attracted criticism from fans, and Nat Gonella himself had difficulty in persuading Parlophone to record his vocals. Today, it must be admitted that he sounds strained and archaic, but Nat told Ron Brown that Messini came into his own on-stage and was always well received by live audiences, despite a tendency to forget words and throw in an alcoholically-prompted operatic adaptation of scat-singing instead.		Page108 (about the break-up of the Georgians in Scandinavia)... "…the tour began smoothly, but war was now imminent. …. The Georgians …. arrived in Kristinehamn, Sweden, on 3 September (1939), the day that Britain declared war on Germany. … feelings in the Georgians ran high as Nat, they claimed, had told them that - in the event of war - a plane was standing by to take them home. … Angriest of all were Dryden, Messini, and alto saxophonist Jimmy Williams…. In a hotel bedroom Dryden continued stirring up Messini and Williams against their leader, suggesting that Gonella would look after (wife) Stella and brother Bruts, leaving them stranded abroad. … Nat and Stella (over)heard every word of the outburst. …Nat announced that he, Stella, Bruts and …Harold Hood would stay in Stockholm … The rest of the band could make their own plans. …. Bob Dryden, Jimmy Messini and Jimmy Williams chased around Scandinavia trying to use or reclaim the value of their air tickets and travel documents, but all air and shipping routes were closed. … the trio returned to the British consulate in Stockholm to be informed that a ship was due to leave Gothenburg for England on 22 September. …finally (they) arrived back in England on 26 September … minus jobs and instruments." Page115 The chapter goes on to discuss what became of the dissolved Georgians. ... Jimmy Messini teamed with Al Bowlly in early 1940 to form a singing duo billed as "The Radio Stars With Two Guitars" or "Two Voices And Guitars In Harmony" to tour the variety circuits. But the partnership was abruptly terminated when Bowlly was killed in his London flat on 17 April 1941 ....according to researcher Chris Hayes, Messini was held by immigration authorities while trying to enter the USA.

The legendary Jimmy Messene (left) photographed with Al Bowlly around 1940 Excerpts from “Georgia on my Mind - The Nat Gonella Story” written by Ron Brown (with Cyril Brown) Pg 82: On guitar and vocals, Nat had a fantastic character named Jimmy Messini. Akin to Al Bowlly, Jimmy was something of a mystery man, described by some sources as the son of a Maltese millionaire, and by others as the son of a wealthy Greek shipping magnate, he was also reputed to have gained a B.Sc. at Taunton University, and to have been fluent in no fewer than seven languages. However, there were times when he could not even speak, or rather sing, English very fluently. Jimmy liked a drink, in fact, he liked several drinks. It was not unknown for him to knock back a whole bottle of whisky before going on to the bandstand. Very often, while in the middle of a solo vocal, he would suddenly break out into a spot of unscheduled ‘scat’ singing, which always went down well with audiences. What they did not know was that Jimmy was so drunk he had forgotten the words. Pg114: In Amsterdam they gave a Royal performance for Prince Bernhardt, a show that Nat would not forget in a hurry. He was anxious that the concert should go well, wishing to make a good impression. The thing that worried him most was Jimmy Messini’s drinking so he had a heart-to-heart chat with Jimmy that ended with him promising Nat faithfully that he would lay off the alcohol. The first half of the show went through without any hitches. At one stage in their programme Nat had the opportunity to whisper to Jimmy: “Everything okay Jimmy?” Jimmy nodded:”Sure Nat, but I am terribly dry. I could sure use a drink!” Nat relented. “Okay Jimmy, I’ll arrange with a waiter to have one ready for you in the wings.” He was as good as his word, a glass of schnapps was waiting for Jimmy. Unfortunately, the tumbler was full to the brim with Dutch gin. This was bad enough but what Nat did not know was that the crafty Jimmy already had knocked back his customary bottle of whisky before the show. He had enough Dutch courage to drive a windmill. In the second half, Jimmy was due to sing one of his big numbers, “Donkey Serenade”. The moment for his vocal solo arrived and Nat announced: “Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen, my vocalist Jimmy Messini will now sing that popular number, ‘Donkey Serenade’.” The band struck up, Jimmy got up from his seat, took two steps forward, and fell flat on his face, out to the world. Nat grabbed the microphone: “Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen, I am awfully sorry about this, I am afraid that my singer has been overcome by nerves though having to appear before such a distinguished audience.” Cries of sympathy went around the hall and as Jimmy Messini was carried off stage, they applauded him.

Excerpts from “Al Bowlly” written by Sid Colin and Tony Staveacre Pg102: In January 1940, in a desperate attempt to make another fresh start, he [Bowlly] formed a partnership with a singer called Jimmy Mesene. They called themselves “The Radio Stars with Two Guitars”, and they made their debut at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle. Mesene was a Maltese hunchback, son of a millionaire ship-owner. A BSc of Taunton University, and fluent in seven languages, he had entered the music business for fun. He was a real character, according to Nat Gonella: “Like Al, he was a very excitable fellow. He used to sing with my band, and I remember him drinking a bottle of whisky in the dressing room before going on stage. Then he’d forget the words of his song, and he’d have to finish it in scat – ba de de dee da ba da da! But you had to get on with Jimmy Mesene, he was a very funny guy – he’d kiss you every moment if he could. Al and Jimmy made a good pair. I could imagine them in a wrestling ring together – that would have been good!” 1940 was not a good year to launch a new act….neither Al nor Jimmy Mesene was a smart enough operator to get their act booked into the number one theatres. But the managed to put together a short provincial tour of lesser variety theatres, NAAFI canteens and palais. Pg106: On 2 April he recorded, with Jimmy Mesene, an Irving Berlin song about Hitler called “When that man is dead and gone”….It’s an awful record and should never have been released. Both singers are out of tune, their phrasing and timing rarely coincide, and the guitar playing is erratic. (Barry McCanna comments: "When I first read this paragraph I accepted it at face value, given that it had been written by a professional musician and that I hadn't then heard the record. In 1997 Soundwaves released a CD which carried most of Jimmy and Al's duets (but not the one in question). I was struck then by the rapport between them, how well their voices blended and their guitar playing. That led me to suspect that Sid Colin's criticism was not well-founded, bearing in mind also that HMV was not in the business of releasing flawed products. In 2003 Avid issued a boxed set entitled "The Al Bowlly Story" which concludes with this, the last recording Jimmy and Al made together. Al sings the refrain, with Jimmy supplying a backing chorus and occasional comic effects, both sing in tune, and whilst not sensational the guitar playing is far from erratic. In short, what Sid Colin had written was highly misleading"). For the other side they recorded “Nicky the Greek has gone”. The duo then played a number of engagements in the West Country, and broadcast from the BBC’s wartime variety base at Bristol. On Monday, 14 April, the started a week’s engagement as the Rex Theatre, High Wycombe. John Watsham was the proprietor at the time: “I was running cine-variety that week, and my top-of-the-bill was ‘Al Bowlly and Jimmy Mesene – the Anglo-Greek Ambassadors of Song – Two Voices and Guitars in Harmony’”. Please have a look around the site and see whether you have any information that we might like to add: Front page... Biographical notes and recollections... Memory Lane excerpts... Known pen names... Songs written by... Discography - alphabetically... Discography - chronologically... What Jimmy means to me... Gallery... Contact us...