Arrivederci Roma

In early 1956, I discovered that there was, after all, more in life than train spotting. My first discovery was Girls. Enough said. The second discovery was Pop Music. Rock and Roll had yet to arrive, and it was the ballad singers that thrived. The Girl singers of the time did not cavort, scream, or throw themselves around a stage. They sang!. Popular were Alma Cogan, Ruby Murray, Lita Rosa, and a host of American singers.

At Easter 1956, I was taken by my father for a railway weekend on the Southern, based on Tonbridge. We chose a hotel close to the railway station, the Angel Hotel, I seem to remember. From our bedroom, we could just see trains passing through Tonbridge station. The main purpose of the visit was to travel behind the "Schools" class locomotives on the Charing Cross to Ashford and Hastings route.

On our first night, we took our evening meal in the hotel, and retired to our bedroom. Shortly afterwards came the noise of a jukebox from the room below, presumably the Public Bar. And time and time again "Arrivederci Roma" was being sung by a girl with a rather endearing voice. I was impressed and so the next morning I checked the jukebox and found that the singers name was Edna Savage, and the name of the song was Arrivederci Darling.

So for the next few years, I bought all her records (Bella Notte was superb) and then she faded into oblivion. The original records got broken and that was that. Until a few years ago, I found a cassette featuring Edna Savage and Michael Holliday, and so I can now listen once again to Arrivederci Darling.

A June 2005 postscript: A most rewarding feedback was received from Samantha Wilkes. Who is she?.. Well she is one of Edna Savage's two daughters. I should say the late Edna Savage, since she passed away in the year 2000. Sam thanked me for my web page, and advised me where I could purchase a CD of all of her late mother's recordings. Thank you Sam.


	Arrivederci Darling