Ronnie Ronalde's Blue Plaque Unveiled by Jim Carter

Ronnie Ronalde is honoured in this film, made by the British Music Hall Society – who organised the unveiling of a Blue Plaque on the house in London, where Ronnie was born. At school, Ronnie joined the school choir which performed every year at the Royal Albert Hall. When a talent scout heard Ronnie performing, he was immediately given contracts to appear on the BBC’s Children’s Hour, Radio Luxembourg & Radio Normandy. After school, Ronnie joined and toured with ‘Steffani’s Silver Songsters’ boys’ choir act and cut his first record in 1938. After demob, Ronnie returned to the stage as a solo artist and Steffani – who, in the meantime had retired his Silver Songsters Act - became Ronnie’s Manager, In 1948 Ronnie hit the Great White Way, playing four and five shows daily to capacity audiences for ten weeks at Broadway’s 6,500 seater Radio City Music Hall in New York. Back in England he smashed all records on the Moss and Stoll Theatre circuits, played Summer Seasons in Blackpool and Great Yarmouth Summer Seasons and hit the top listening figures with his Sunday Lunchtime BBC Radio broadcasts whilst filling theatres with his Sunday Concerts. Ronnie’s rendition and first million-seller of ‘If I Were A Blackbird’ and B-side ‘Song of the Mountains’ stayed in the New Musical Express hit parade for 26 weeks. More than 200 other recordings followed. Ronnie whistled ‘Ave Maria’ in the film ‘Love on the Dole’, the theme music in Rumer Godden’s film ‘Innocent Sinners’, ‘Birdsong at Eventide’ in the TV series ‘The Singing Detective’, ‘Springtime’ in the film ‘Natures Half Acre’ and was asked to perform ‘Mockingbird Hill’ in the film ‘Clubland’ with Brenda Blethyn. The pinnacle to any performer’s career is to appear in a Royal Command Performance. During his act, Ronnie had the Queen rising from her seat to watch him whistling his bird calls, from below the Royal Box - whilst the Duke of Edinburgh tried, unsuccessfully, to copy him. Ronnie’s travels took him all over Great Britain, Ireland, Holland, Denmark, America, Canada & Africa when not entertaining the troops in the Far East and ex-pats in Australia and New Zealand - where he made many people homesick, whilst they listened to is bird calls. After playing a Sunday Concert in Guernsey, Ronnie bought a hotel on the island - which he sold, 30 years later, when he moved to New Zealand During this period he also found time to write his autobiography “Around The World On A Whistle”. Ronnie sadly passed away on 13th January 2015.