Alfred was a member of the MU for 47 years.
Alfred ‘Honky’ Hall kept a 'steady rhythm' going for more than seven decades as one of the British Isles’ oldest drummers. During this time, Alfred was a fixture in Jersey's music scene, performing right up to his 100th birthday and beyond.
He gained the nickname ‘Honky’ one night after playing a long drum solo in the band called Honky Tonk Train Blues—‘Honky’ remained his nickname for the rest of his musical career.
Born in Gorton in 1921, Alfred was the youngest of ten children, first growing up in rural Macclesfield, Cheshire, before moving with his family to Manchester in 1929.
'On a roll' for more than 70 years
Alfred's interest in music started at an early age, first as a boy chorister at his local church and later at Manchester Cathedral. There, he met a friend who encouraged him to join the local brass band, where he ended up learning everything about the drums and the entire percussion section.
He also attended a small drumming school in Manchester, and whilst saving up for his own drums, Alfred rigged up his own drum kit out of potato barrels, fruit tins, and a foot pedal made of Meccano.
By the time Alfred left school at age 21 he was both a skilled engineer, working by day on Lancaster bombers at Avro, and a professional jazz drummer by night.
He played with many well-known bands, groups, orchestras, and in dance halls all over the North of England, as well as touring throughout the UK. On several occasions, Alfred had the opportunity to perform in front of Winston Churchill when the factory army band was asked to play for all the co-workers in the programme known as ‘Workers Playtime’.
Jazz was all the rage at this time, and Alfred's career took off, touring the UK and performing with the top big bands and jazz ensembles of his day: Ted Heath, Ronnie Verrall, Jack Parnell, Joe Daniels, the BBC Concert Orchestra, and finishing at Ronnie Scott's club in London.
Music in every moment
In 1949, after the war, Alfred took a break from the cold and damp of the North and decided to go on holiday to the Channel Islands, first working in Guernsey and eventually settling in Jersey. There he met his wife Mary, from Limerick in Ireland, and had three children, all of whom share Alfred's love of enjoying and playing music.
In between enjoying sea swimming and the beach, Alfred continued to play in all the major hotels and dance halls, particularly the former West Park Pavilion, where he was very well known, and played percussion for all the Opera House shows and musicals performed on the Island.
Alfred's love of music always shone through wherever he went—be it visiting cathedrals to admire the organ and choir, playing the hand drum with a group of musicians in the fish market in Turkey, or listening to an evening of traditional Scottish/Irish pipes and drums. He would always be there, listening, enjoying, and keeping ‘MUSIC LIVE’.
Alfred joined the MU on 1 January 1955. This tribute has been provided by his family.