"I started playing for the music directions in Town, Cranes, they used to have their own Variety school then, and then there was the Variety Artists club, working men's clubs as well. I started with all those, you see ... And then the late Percy Edgar of the BBC ... he got to hear about me on the Halls, you see, and he started scouting round to see where I came from ... I had a first audition ... one morning, I just started to play and he said to me, 'No need to play any more Mr. Evans,' he said, 'I can see you've got the situation well in hand ... a few bars will do what I want ... you'll have an engagement in a month's time...'
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"They used to test this instrument for volume, same as you've done. and every now and again they'd come out from the control room, push me back and I'd say 'How far back am I going?' - 'You're all right. you're going to be all right...' and do you know, I was far away, I should think I was six or seven yards a away from that microphone before they were suited, it was that powerful, you see, it was a bit too much ....
"I went to Winson Green Prison, to entertain the prisoners one Easter Sunday; I went with the Salvation Army Band from Dudley. and I was the guest artist ...
"I took it down to South Wales once on my holidays and you had to wait an hour at Cardiff before you go on to Swansea, and it was during the peak Summer holiday, August, the station was crowded with Welshmen, all going back home.to the valleys ... in the end anyway, one Welshman says, 'What have you got there, Dai - is that a miracle instrument now?' ... he says in his Welsh accent ....'I would sure like to hear that now!' I said, 'O.K.' I said, 'You see that porter's barrow over there, if you can get through the crowds with it and plonk it down in front of me, I haven't got a table', I said, 'but I'll do me best, I'll get down on me one knee,' I said, 'and I'll play for you'. I thought. 'Here goes now' and I started up with Land of my Fathers, and do you know, that set the station on fire; after we'd finished, the cafeteria, the manageress, the young lady comes rushing out throws her arms around me, gives me a great big hug. 'Oh,' she says. 'what a lovely boy you are now, you've made my day ... ' And while I was there, I went and played in the working men's club in Port Talbot ... and I must have bumped the custom up ... they wanted me to stay there for the week, they were going to pay me a fee of a hundred quid to stay there, but I couldn't do it on account of my job, you see ... it was a temptation., that was in those days ... 1950s or something like that ... say the 1940s ...
"No, there were no Welsh dulcimers ...
"I'm thinking of writing to the BBC for an audition, and telling them all about it, see if I can 'get in', you see, I don't see why not, I think there's thousands would like to hear that; well, everybody's told me, 'why don't you write up?', everywhere I go, they love it, they've heard nothing like it ... in picture houses, theatres ... I play songs of the day that was going, I've been all over the place, variety shows, four times at Birmingham Town Hall, I've had a very interesting career with this. [Playing in the street:] no, I wouldn't do that ... they done it for a few coppers ... Mr. Biddle, he was a professional, that's different, on a boat, on a vessel ... "
"... I used to rehearse a lot with this pianist, we used to rehearse for everything ... Madame Elizabeth Rowcott. you wouldn't know her, she's been dead some time now ... she was a brilliant pianist, and singer, you see; of course. she used to play from the music, and I used to pick it up with her; then I used to put in chords on certain things that I couldn't get, that she'd got on the piano, then I'd come back to the theme again; and perhaps it was in a minor chord. you see, or a half-sharp, half-tone, she'd get it, but I'd have to put another chord in to correspond with her, you see, so that you couldn't hear any discord whichever way it was done ...
