By Ralph Barnett

The recent news that the Arbroath-based Angus Black and White Minstrels had bowed to modern pressure and dropped the black make-up—reinventing themselves simply as the Angus Minstrels—has prompted recollections from Perth man Sandy McFarlane.

Mr McFarlane was closely involved with the ‘original’ Black and White Minstrel Show, which was shown on the BBC from 1958 to 1978, and was a personal friend of the duo behind one of British entertainment’s biggest success stories.

Mr McFarlane said, “I was the last production manager of the ‘real’ Black and White Minstrels on stage and I must admit I was saddened to hear that the Arbroath-based group has now been forced to abandon its make-up.

“I am sure many of those performing with the Angus group will not be aware of this, but they were the only ones who were given official permission from George Mitchell and Robert Luff to use the name and the act.

“When they started out, their committee wrote to George, outlined what they were planning to do and asked for his blessing.

“Perhaps because they had the decency to ask and perhaps because, like George, they were Scottish, he not only gave permission but he also sent them quite a few musical scores and so on from his shows so that they could be as authentic as possible.

“I also recall that, again so they would look just right, George arranged to send them a consignment of black stage make-up— which was produced by the famous cosmetics company Max Factor and was in a shade called ‘Negro 2’, which I’m sure wouldn’t be allowed in today’s politically- correct times.”

Mr McFarlane said he had a great deal of sympathy with those who maintained that the Black and White Minstrels—whether the original TV concept or the Angus ‘tribute’—were a harmless form of entertainment which had been “hounded out of existence” by political correctness.

He said, “When our show was taken off the television in 1978, after playing to huge audiences for 20 years, the suspicion was always that Billy Cotton Junior, then the BBC’s head of light entertainment, wanted the prime Friday night spot for his father’s show.

“The suggestion that it was deeply offensive to black people was simply a useful tool to help him achieve his ends.

“We managed to carry on with the show on theatre tours until 1986 when, although the venues themselves and the audiences still wanted us, one local authority after another told us we couldn’t do the shows.

“I have always thought the suggestion that we, or the Arbroath group, offended black people to be a load of rubbish—it always seemed to be white people who were most vocal in complaining about us—and one incident which I recall taking place in Stevenage sums the whole thing up for me.

“We had been asked to speak to members of the local council about the show and, after lengthy debate, a black councillor stood up to speak.

“We thought he was going to move against us so were a bit taken aback when he started his address by saying it was his favourite show, that he and his family had six tickets for the Tuesday night and that he was really looking forward to it.

“We were almost speechless, but the show did go ahead and afterwards he was good enough to tell me how much he and his family had enjoyed it.”

After the TV and theatre work dried up, Mr McFarlane took a reduced version of the Black and White Minstrel Show to sea on board the Greek cruise liner Navarino where, again in the face of mounting opposition, he eventually cut back on the make-up and the concept began to die away.

He said, “I think it’s a great shame myself as it is a part of a cultural tradition that goes back many, many years.

“It was not even always a case of white men putting on black make-up as I can recall seeing a photograph from the very early career of Sammy Davis Junior in which he and his father, who were involved in a minstrel show themselves, are wearing make-up which is almost identical to that which we used.”

Mr McFarlane spent more than 20 years in the theatre business with companies the length and breadth of the country and, although now officially retired, is still happy to give talks to clubs and help out local companies when he can.