Obit!! Will Hastie, Comedy Musician; Guardian
Hyfler/Rosner
The man who put the bubbly into the Temperance Seven
CJB Holme
Saturday March 22, 2003
The Guardian
The naturally dry humour of the comedy musician Will Hastie, who has died
aged 76 of a heart attack, came to the fore in 1963, when he joined the
Temperance Seven. That eccentric, nine-strong 1920s-style dance band -
billed as "always one over the eight" - were playing in Spike Milligan's
Royal Commission Review at the Mermaid theatre, London.
In the pre-Beatles charts, the band had just enjoyed a couple of successes
with the George Martin-produced records You're Driving Me Crazy and
Pasadena. The review saw the origins of a comedy jazz cabaret act that
continued until what was left of the original Seven disbanded in 1968.
In the 1960s, Hastie's musical career also took in the Three Britons, with
banjoist John Gieves Watson and vocalist Allan "Moody" Mitchell, QC
(standing for Quaint Chap). Offered a residency at the Crazy Horse in Paris,
they opted instead for the northern nightclub circuit - and more of the
Temperance Seven.
From 1968, Hastie wrote the arrangements and played the clarinet, alto
saxophone, penny whistle and bagpipes for the eight-piece New Temperance
Seven, which lasted until mid-1974, when the original name was restored. In
all, he worked with the band for 26 years, barring four years as a civil
servant.
Born in Auchengray, Lanarkshire, Hastie was educated at local schools, and,
by the age of eight, was playing cornet, accordion, bagpipes and penny
whistle with a youth band.
After wartime service as a Bevin Boy in the Shotts coalmine in Lanarkshire,
he played cornet in the Forth Brass Band. His first excursion into jazz was
with a New Orleans revivalist band, the Rhythm Rascals, in 1947.
Transferring to clarinet, around 1948, he worked for GEC, in Dundee, while
playing in the evenings with Duncan Whyte's band. After time in Carlisle and
Birmingham - where he played with several small groups and dance bands - he
returned to Scotland, but then moved to London to play with trumpeter Freddy
Randall's band.
Between 1957 and 1962, he featured with the likes of the drummer Lennie
Hastings and the bands of Micky Ashman, Pete Ridge, Pete Deuchar and Alex
Welsh. Then came the Temperance Seven.
Will Hastie's magic was unrepeatable. His compositions include Loch Ness
Clarionet, Rainy Day Blues, Lady Evelyn and Tongue Twister. He leaves his
wife Patricia, whom he married in 1957, and his son Douglas.
· William 'Will' Hastie, musician, born December 25 1926; died February 6
2003