Who is Trev?
Trev ready for a gig at the entrance of the Poltimore Arms, Yarde Down, Nr South Molton.
Trev Woodison was born in Stratford, East London in 1964. He commenced lessons on the piano, violin and recorder whilst still at primary school and started composing pieces from the age of 11.
When at secondary school he was approached by Dick Brodie, a legendary pub pianist who happened to be one of his neighbours. In exchange for teaching his daughter Trev received some vital input from the man and eventually went on the circuit with him playing in his intervals. One evening when still just 15 Trev ended up playing a complete evening by himself as Dick who was so much in demand as a player was double booked.
Since that day in 1979 Trev has never looked back continuing to play in and around Newham, Tower Hamlets, Barking and Dagenham and Waltham Forest before going to music college in Colchester to sit a degree in music specialising in piano and composition. In 1987 Trev after graduating moved to Devon and in between his teaching and composition commissions kept the pub piano playing going along.
Today with a memory of musical pieces approaching the four and a half thousand mark Trev frequently plays in throughout the South West as well as much further beyond be it in a pub, a nursing home, a wedding, a wake or any private party or gathering or function. Being one of very few traditionally trained East End pub pianists left Trev along with his business associate Harry Crompton are doing what they can to keep this most valuable, wonderful and very long standing traditional art form alive.
Winifred Atwell at her other piano.
Trev first heard the sounds of Winifred Atwell at the age of 6 on his grandfathers old wind up gramophone and instantly fell in love with the sound. Winnie quickly became his idol and remains so today – she is the main reason that Trev plays the piano and along with Dick Brodie is one of his two major influences.
Winnie was born in Tunapuna, Trinidad on the 27th February 1914 and died a day after her 69th birthday in Sydney Australia. Her career was largely based in the 50s selling a total of over 20 million records.
A dozen facts about Winnie.
1. She was the first black artist to have a number one hit in the UK.
2. Elton John also proclaims her as his idol.
3. Is the only ever female instrumentalist to top the charts in the UK
4. She trained as a Chemist in order to work in the family’s chemist shop.
5. First female pianist to be awarded the Royal Academy of Music’s top prize.
6. She topped the bill at the London Palladium.
7. Her other piano cost £2.50 in a Junk Shop & flew everywhere with her.
8. Her hands were insured for £40,000.
9. This insurance banned her from washing dishes.
10. She was the first black artist to sell over a million records in the UK.
11. Elton John paid for her piano shaped headstone
12. The Queens Hall auditorium in Trinidad and Tobago has been renamed the Winifred Atwell Auditorium.
Legendary Pub Pianist Dick Brodie
Dick Brodie (29th January 1923 – 29th May 2014) was, apart from being a legendary pub pianist being one of the very best of his day, was also a neighbour of Trev living opposite where he lived in Salmen Road Plaistow.
Trev got to know Dick as a parent of one of his childhood friends Nicola but it wasn’t until Trev started to teach Nicola that he got to know Dick in an entirely new light. In exchange for teaching his friend Nicola, Dick taught and guided Trev through his pub piano techniques and through this he became his friend and Mentor and the entire reason that Trev plays the pubs today.
At one stage Dick had well over 11.000 tunes committed to memory. To top it all this phenomenal memory was amazingly built without the ability to read or understand written music in any way. Having learnt to play simply by copying other players with his photographic memory and amazing ear, everything was achieved without a single lesson, no doubt quite a feat by anybody’s standards.
A picture of the master and pupil – the formidable Dick Brodie with Trev outside the Plaistow Community Centre.
