Month: May 2022

On the Ken Dodd Show

It’s easy to forget how big a star Ken Dodd was in the 1950s and for several decades after that. He has been described as ‘the last great musical hall entertainer’ and he continued to perform right up until the year before his death in 2018 – a long career as well as a successful one.

So, to be the headline act on the bill of the Ken Dodd show was a big deal and, in May 1961, Mona flew in from Germany to do just that (and this was not the only time she appeared on his show).

You can find a number of dates given for the year of Mona’s birth on the internet, the correct answer is definitely not 1930 as stated in the programme! In ‘What about the Princess – The life and times of Mona Baptiste’ we clear up the confusion once and for all – Mona was born on 21st June 1926.

What about the Princess?

We knew we wanted to write about the life and times of Mona Baptiste but as we found out more about her life the anecdotes and material piled up. One little story particular caught our attention.

Mona was touring as vocalist with Cab Kaye’s band. As was often the case in those days it could be difficult for black musicians to find accommodation when they were on tour (the difficulty of finding accommodation was not unique to musicians of course). Checking into a hotel in Nottingham, Mona became aware that her needs were being overlooked, black women may sympathise with the feeling of invisibility that Mona must have experienced. She felt the need to give Cab a nudge ‘what about the Princess?’ she asked.

And there we had it, the perfect title for our book!