Walking to New Orleans - again
Forty years after The Tube’s special film first aired, Jools Holland revisits the New Orleans journey that captured the city’s soul – and a little bit of Newcastle’s too
This Sunday night, BBC Four is opening its vaults as part of a two-hour celebration of the music and magic of New Orleans - and a film made by a group of Geordies which captured it in award-winning fashion.
First broadcast in 1985 on Channel 4 as one of The Tube’s spin off specials Walking to New Orleans offered a unique portrait of the iconic and culturally-rich city.
Part travelogue, part musical pilgrimage, the film followed a 26-year-old Jools Holland as he drove a self-customised Oldsmobile across Louisiana in search of the spirit of New Orleans rhythm and blues.
Along the way he encountered his heroes – Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint, Dr John, Lee Dorsey (who helped him take the roof off the car before a memorable rendition of Working in a Coal Mine) and The Neville Brothers – as well as a cameo from Sting as a busker and appearances by Robbie Coltrane and Paula Yates.
The film, made by a Tyne Tees crew for The Tube – the groundbreaking music show created and produced in Newcastle – was directed by my late dad, Geoff Wonfor. Its executive producer was Andrea Wonfor, my mum, who was director of programmes and, as Jools recalls, simply asked him one day: “What’s the music you really love?” When he said “New Orleans,” she replied: “Then you should go there.”
And so they did.
A recce trip ended with an impressive crowd of music legends who had agreed to appear… but that was pretty much it. No script. No overarching plan. Just a big, talented film crew ready to discover the film as they made it.
“We never wrote anything down,” says Jools." “These days it would be impossible – every frame has to be signed off before a camera rolls. But back then, Andrea just said, ‘Sounds good. Go and do it.’”1
That freewheeling spirit gives Walking to New Orleans its lasting charm. It’s loose, funny and full of heart – like the city it celebrates. “I was a young, stupid bloke,” says Jools, “but it didn’t matter. What came across was love – for the people and for the music. They could see that.”
He’s not wrong. You can see it in every frame - not least as he sits beside Fats Domino at the piano. (If you want to treat yourself, take five minutes out of your day to watch this joyful clip.)
The Geordie crew’s easy humour helped too. “They couldn’t always understand what we were saying,” he laughs, “but they could see we were like them – good-humoured, liked a laugh, liked the music.”
The new programme, Jools Holland’s New Orleans Jukebox, which will be shown on BBC Four from 9.30pm, pairs a repeat of the original film with a companion programme in which Jools looks back at the making of it and digs into the BBC archives for more New Orleans treasures – performances from Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Irma Thomas and Trombone Shorty among them.
It’s a rich double bill, part anniversary celebration, part tribute. As executive producer Malcolm Gerrie – who produced The Tube – puts it, “Everything just came together. Johnny Rothery at the BBC has been really supportive.
“The film has got a very special spot in Jools’s heart, and in mine. Watching it now is like watching a master at work – Geoff had this rare ability to get the best out of everyone. It’s a feast of fabulous music and filmmaking.”
Re-watching the film now, there’s poignancy too. Many of those who appear in the film are gone: Dr John, Allen Toussaint, Lee Dorsey, Robbie Coltrane, Paula Yates – and, most recently, Jools’s lifelong friend and drummer, Gilson Lavis, whose shadowy silhouette haunts the film until the final reveal.
At the end of the journey, it’s Gilson who steps from the darkness, just before an Oldsmobile goes up in flames (a pyrotechnic mishap which could have seen Jools’ own mum held responsible for his explosive demise - you can hear the details on Sunday night!)
“It nearly blew us up,” he grins. “But that was The Tube for you – everything a bit wild, and somehow it worked.”
If The Tube defined a generation of music television, Walking to New Orleans captured something more timeless: a meeting of kindred spirits across cultures. Jools calls it “a lesson in how music is the international language”.
When he and Geoff first visited Fats Domino’s house, the singer couldn’t make out a word of their Geordie and south London chatter. “But when I played his music, he said, ‘You love my music. I’ll be in your film.’ That was it.”
Forty years on, that shared language still sings through the screen.
For me, there’s pride too – in a film made by a Geordie crew with soul, flair and no small amount of mischief. A reminder of what can happen when the right people are given the freedom to make something extraordinary.
So on Sunday night, pour a drink, maybe something with a Cajun kick, and enjoy a little piece of music telly magic.
I never get bored of hearing how excellent my Mum was.