Menu
Hastings & St. Leonards on-line community newspaper

Eddy Lugsdin

Edward Lugsdin – dancer & musician

Eddy Lugsdin is a well known local musician, singer, dancer, artist, photographer and all round entertainer. HOT’s Sean O’Shea talks with him about his various passions and tries to find out what makes him tick.

I first saw Eddy, aka ‘Eddy the Moves’, at the Stag Inn in All Saints Street some years ago. He was all decked out in his tie-dye shirt and bow vest and highly polished dancing brogues. He entertained the gathered company with his agile contortions, humorous expressions and deft steps and twists. It was like watching a mixture of Fred Astaire, Norman Wisdom and Max Wall, all rolled into one.

You are a Brummie by birth, Eddie, what brought you to Hastings – and what do you think are some of its main attractions for musicians and artists?

I found myself initially running a swimming pool in Camber Sands and then moved to Hastings. I stayed for ten years, went back to Birmingham to care for my mother and afterwards, returned to St Leonards. As for the musicians and artists – the attractions for me weren’t obvious at first. But there is a strong eclectic feel here and I have quite diverse tastes in music and art.

Eddy Lugsdin Photos courtesy Johnfoxphotos.com/sussex

Eddy Lugsdin Photos courtesy Johnfoxphotos.com/sussex

How did you become a dancer and in what directions have you developed this interest?

Wow! Dancing was my life after watching the Hollywood musicals as a small boy. Jimmy Cagney and the Nicholas Brothers and all the other famous names would force me upstairs to try running up the walls and jumping off my bed to do the splits. I remember jumping down our flight of stairs like the Nicholas Brothers did on stage. How I didn’t kill myself. Later, as an adult – and being a fair sportsman – it seemed a natural challenge to try every style possible and in doing so, I noticed people smiling and laughing at the eccentricity of my performances. It became a part of my cabaret act and I wanted to be different in everything I did. I also included dancing with a partner; there’s no greater feeling than dancing with a lady who is confident enough to trust me to lead her and also to allow improvisation in the routines. I find choreography limiting and boring. I encourage people to always be themselves and develop their own skills and moves.

You are also a keen guitar player and singer – and perform a variety of styles of music from blues to rag-time. Could you tell us about your musical influences?

There were hundreds of old seventy eights available at home, which included old time musical hall, jazz, comedy, country and much more  I still have a few left. There were also some really old fashioned yodelling records. Sitting in the kitchen for hours on end, I was determined to teach myself. I must have driven the neighbours and my parents mad. Frank Crumit (American singer, composer, and vaudeville star) and his comedy songs along with Tom Lehrer and of course, Jake Thackeray were influential in understanding humour of all kinds. At university, I met the likes of Stefan Grossman and many Ragtime guitarists, who, in my formative guitar years, were influential in developing my style on guitar for country and blues. Also important was Jimmie Rodgers, the country singer and original white bluesman. He was also known as ‘The Singing Brakeman’ or ‘Blue Yodeler’. His songs – Hobo Bill’s Last Ride, Waiting for a Train, and Miss the Mississippi and You –  give a wonderful account of the conditions and the hopes of people from that era.

Photo provided by Eddy

Photo provided by Eddy

You perform alone and have also played in bands. What has your musical journey been like?

A lonely one essentially, as my friends always seemed to be thirty years ahead of me in musical taste. I could never escape the attraction of the well-constructed melodies of Chopin and Porter, the yodelling of Hank Williams and Slim Whitman and the instrumentals of Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. I remember hearing the Third Man Theme (film directed by Carol Reed) and thinking that would be fun to play on the guitar, especially after I had heard Eddy Cochran’s version of The Fourth Man. Meantime, my friends just wanted to play rock and roll

You perform at local venues, day centres and at private events. What are some of the challenges for an artist in performing in these very different venues?

You have to play for the people. If you don’t understand that, you quickly lose focus and the attention of the audience. There has to be a connection. The challenge is dealing with those who do not want you there for whatever reasons. There is nothing worse than singing with someone saying, ‘Why can’t we have the juke box on?’ I’m not a folkie as such, but this environment has always been good to me, because you go there knowing that people will be respectful of your performance and they have come to listen.

What have been some of your most memorable experiences as an entertainer?

One lady, who sat straight faced all the way through one of my performances, came up to me afterwards and said such beautiful things to me that I knew from then on never to underestimate my audience. Also, dancing with Max Wall and talking with Princess Dianna have been highlights.

Pictures provided by Eddie

Pictures provided by Eddie

You enjoy producing film and photographic images. Could you say how you got into this, and what are some of the sources of inspiration for your photographic work?

I was a professional artist prior to going to university. As I had a camera, I didn’t have to rely on the respected sketch book, although this practice was frowned upon. I did have a sketchbook to keep the peace. There was nothing in it, but I had one. In fact, I used to take my sketches out of the book and keep them separate out of devilment. To become an artist or a photographer, you need to go out and try and see what isn’t there, especially in this day and age where there tends to be little truth in photography – though it still serves as a valuable tool.

The filming I do is a record of an important slice of local social history. It’s my way of giving something back for the pleasure that entertainment has given to me. As for the stills – I love nature and the natural pictures you can find within pictures. I enjoy textures, colour, reflections, shadow and all that goes into searching for that very special shot. You can wait for hours sometimes in anticipation of that moment that arrives only once and for a fraction of a second.

You usually have a smile on your face, but you have described yourself sometimes as a sad clown. Would you like to comment? And what makes you tick?

I have a theory that most performers are desperate either to recapture the lost love from childhood or capture something that they have never had. Either way, performance makes me tick in a way that reassures me that I am still alive and giving – and sometimes kicking. Also it’s a way of saying I was here even though at some time in the future, there will be nothing to show that any of us ever existed.

What are some of your hopes for the future – career wise and personally?

I hope there is peace in this world and the children of the world are fed. I hope also that this world will become a cooperative society with no prejudice or borders, where all people are equal and where the tyrants find that money has lost its power and value.

As to career, I have spent the last twelve months or so working purely on my ‘Tea Dust’ pictures and sketches. It is a simple never ending sketch book and after each piece of work, I photograph the images. My intention is to produce some large canvasses based on these preludes and then take them to the big smoke and put them up for grabs at 50 grand a piece. What fun that would be!

  • To contact Eddy, email: eddythemoveslugsdin22@gmail.com
  • To watch Eddy dancing at the Cuban Bar see link here.
  • For art work, video slides and other performances go to link here.

SOS March 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re enjoying HOT and would like us to continue providing fair and balanced reporting on local matters please consider making a donation. Click here to open our PayPal donation link. Thank you for your continued support!

Posted 10:47 Wednesday, Mar 25, 2015 In: SOS

Also in: SOS

«
»
More HOT Stuff
  • SUPPORT HOT

    HOT is run by volunteers but has overheads for hosting and web development. Support HOT!

    ADVERTISING

    Advertise your business or your event on HOT for as little as £20 per month
    Find out more…

    DONATING

    If you like HOT and want to keep it sustainable, please Donate via PayPal, it’s easy!

    VOLUNTEERING

    Do you want to write, proofread, edit listings or help sell advertising? then contact us

    SUBSCRIBE

    Get our regular digest emails

  • Subscribe to HOT