Rock and Roll Nanny? That’s just the start of it…..

In 2017 I started working at Shinners Bridge Garage.

It wasn’t my dream job I must admit, but having just been made redundant from running the Totnes Tourist Information Centre after three years running the Acorn Arts Centre in Penzance, a job was a job.

So, I would while away the days serving customers with petrol as well as groceries, wood and Indian snacks. Now and again I would speak of my past, working in music, theatre and the arts. Working with the likes of David Jason, Louise Jameson, Art Malik, Herbie Flowers, The Four Tops, Dire Straits, Michael Jackson and the beautifully humble and all round treasure Tina Turner. And television shows such as Casualty, Inspector Wycliffe, Keeping Mum and that famous “Cif” advert.

a fascinating insight in to how to survive a life in rock music

One day…

And then one day I started talking to local resident Sally Arnold. And suddenly my experiences seemed rather tame in comparison. Sally Arnold grew up on a Wiltshire farm in the 1950s and trained as a Norland Nurse. One of her first clients happened to be Mick & Bianca Jagger who hired her to look after their daughter Jade. She then switched to minding grown-ups. As rock’s first female tour manager she worked for The Who, the Rolling Stones, Mike Oldfield, Peter Gabriel and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Sally also went on to organise charity events such as the first Comic Relief shows, (which she helped to establish), where she managed personalities such as Billy Connolly and Rowan Atkinson as well as Prince Charles, Princess Diana, the Duke of Edinburgh, Mikhail Gorbachev and Poet Laureate Ted Hughes.

Sally is generally regarded as the first female tour manager in the world of rock and, on a slightly different note, the first woman to have a tattoo over her mastectomy scar.

Not only, but also..

Sally Arnold has lived a fascinating life and you can hear her reminiscences live at Dartington Village Hall on Sunday 4th February at 2.00pm where she will be sharing the stage with Richard “Digby” Smith who, as a young man, decided to follow his dream and become a sound engineer with Island records. “Digby” as he is known, now lives in Torquay and has worked with the likes of Bob Marley, Paul and Linda McCartney, Stevie Winwood, Bad Company and of course with Led Zeppelin on their iconic “Stairway to Heaven”.

Both Sally and Digby have recently written books about their experiences, both will be available on the day.
This will be a fascinating insight in to how to survive a life in rock music.

Tickets are £12 and available from Ticketsource: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/dartington-village-hall.