Episode 11

Soho Bites 11: Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? (1964)

March 16th 2020 was just one of many extremely weird days in recent times. For us at Soho Bites, it was supposed to be the date of a long arranged interview with jazz singer, David Tughan before a gig he was playing at Ronnie Scotts. Earlier that afternoon, Boris Johnson advised clubs, bars and other public places to close. Although the interview and the gig did take place (sort of ), it wasn’t quite the evening we expected…

David Tughan performing at Ronnie Scotts…. on a different occasion.

The virus has affected all of us – some more than others – and it has caused havoc with our recording / release schedule. The second half of the show was originally planned for a later episode but, in the end, it worked out just fine. Dr Adrian Smith, lecturer in film at Sussex University, made a socially distanced return visit to the pod, down the line from his home, to talk about the almost forgotten, Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? from 1964. In a first for Soho Bites, we were also joined by one of the stars of the film.

*UPDATE* Since recording the episode, John Challis has passed away.  He was fantastic in Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? and was a lovely guest to have on the show.  RIP Boycie.

Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? starts with Ottilie Patterson singing the theme tune. To my shame, I’d never heard of her before but now I’m her biggest fan. Discover her yourself on Spotify.

David Tughan’s website is here and his YouTube Channel is here. You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.

The other musicians performing with David were Renato D’Aiello, Nigel Price, Mirko Scarcia and Alfonso Al Vitale.

Ronnie Scott’s has published an interesting document about the history of the club which you can find here.

You can follow Dr Adrian Smith on Twitter here, read his blog here and check out his film reviews on Letterboxd here.

Watch Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? on the BFI Player here or buy the DVD from UK Rarities here.

You can follow John Challis’s Twitter account, which is now managed by his widow, here.

The founder of Soho Bites, Dr Jingan Young, has launched a new research project. Find out all about it on the Cities in Cinema website and follow the project on Twitter.

Thank you for listening.

Follow us on Twitter (or X - whatever)

If Musk starts charging, find us either on our new Threads feed or on Blue Sky.

Email us at sohobitespodcast@gmail.com

We'd love it if you left us a lovely REVIEW.

And if you'd like to help support the show we'd be very grateful.

Check out our spin-off series Mural Morsels

Support Soho Bites Podcast

A huge thank you to our supporters, it means a lot that you support our podcast.

If you like the podcast and want to support it, too, you can leave us a tip using the button below. We really appreciate it and it only takes a moment!
Support Soho Bites Podcast
J
Joe Alessi £10
S
Sean Herring $10
Time to give something back!
E
Eamonn McGuinness £3
Always informative and entertaining. Keep up the good work.
D
Dave £10
Loved the last episode about Bobby Henry and the Fallen Idol. Have a tenner.
S
Sam £10
I listened to every episode driving from the UK to Portugal! I really enjoy this podcast, highly recommended.
M
Marc Mcgown Mobile £7.5
Just gets u a pint in London. Thanks for the pod, gives me a lot of pleasure and insight. Marc E17
B
Barb £10
A friend I worked with in Soho years ago recommended this podcast to me. I live abroad now and this is like a taste of home. Keep up the good work
S
Simon H. £5
Worked in Soho many moons ago and was always fascinated by its past. Really enjoy this show and didn't realize so many films were set there!
J
Jazz Man Stan £10
I was going to tip £3 but drinks aren't cheap in Soho! Really love this show - keep up the good work.
A
Anonymous £1
Love this podcast, it’s become part of my daily routine!