paper was light gold in medieval times
[Music]
oh no tobacco sugar
[Music]
that everything we thought we knew about
the world
might turn out to be completely wrong
[Music]
trees
[Music]
let's keep the music sweet
[Music]
dear mrs hollywood
my name is lee stanley
you may be wondering who i am and why
i've written here but it's taken 28
years to find you yep you guessed it
i'm your son lee
i was going to call your mum but it
sounded a bit strange
i don't want anything from you after all
i mean i could ask you for 28 years
pocket money
i was thinking of popping up to see you
sometime that's cause if you don't mind
yours
p.s
what was the name of my old man
everybody wants to know me more than
anyone
pps
i hope you don't mind me dropping you a
line cheers
lee
oh yeah and another thing have i got any
brothers or sisters
see you later sometime
lee
butcher at the liverpool please mate
cheers
i think it's well out of order i can own
the ellipsis oh what are you gonna do
hit mr simpson don't be stupid he's not
worth it he's a pratt that's a play but
he gave you a deal listen i don't know
what you're getting all out of shape
about he didn't like your paper anyway
it's not in your business it's
everybody's business you can't let them
get away with it what's someone want me
to do tell dad dad don't be stupid it
got completely out of shape
would you two mind telling the rest of
peckham why your father's out of shape
and why you only got a d
i'll tell you
it's mr simpson mum
hmm your sociology teacher yeah well you
see he gave us this essay about being
black and british well you're black and
you're british so how did you fail
was there a practical
well he must have had a reason oh you
want to hear his reason
listen dad
he says
although your essay technique is
improving i felt that you'd strayed from
the point you failed to address black
anger a legacy of 400 years of slavery
you seem to have taken a very light dare
i say quasi middle class view of the
subject i felt your answers needed
toughening up this was an opportunity to
present your views of what it's really
like to be black and british
so in other words you ain't black enough
precisely i mean the men wanted an essay
with attitude not platitude what is this
world covent or when a teacher can turn
wrong and tell my son he's not black
enough
that's not what he said okay what did he
say well um
he implied that the essay wasn't
personalized enough no angry you mean
mum why are we always perceived to be
angry
there are a lot of us who are perfectly
happy
you are not angry are you paw paying
well only when the kids use the lift as
a toilet
now the point is there's those that go
around thinking unless you've got a chip
on your shoulder the size of the new
forest you're not black enough then when
you go around saying i'm angry you've
got an itchy problems you can't win
right that's it i'm gonna ring that
teacher and give him a bullet he can't
treat my son like that if he really
wants to know what we like i'll tell you
but
there's more you can't go screaming down
the phone at the man why not that's how
black people behave
no i'll deal with it oh
well i'll just walk up to him
and say
walk teach
grease me
[Applause]
hey man it's not coming in my lawnmower
no seriously though it's just i'm
just getting fed up with teaching the
so-called educated you know what i'm
saying i am a respect sean
don't worry i'll sort it out it's very
simple
i'll just ask him to explain himself
i mean it's important that we know who
we are
do you know who you are pop by of course
i do i'm johnny mathis
yeah i wonder if lee will know who he is
by the end of the day well he should be
there by now
[Music]
come on pull yourself together you
out 45 quid so far i might forget
your money's worth
[Music]
laughs
yeah okay then
yeah i'll see you next time then
oh yeah say hello to the kids
[Music]
yeah
uh
it's mrs hollywood thing no
you know when she went back so
no no idea
[Music]
hey
we should stay called
nobody it don't matter
[Music]
have you read this object before fight
no not yet alia needs my step modern
washes are done with ginger beer
oh yes that's one
a little bit father oh well done son
i don't know why i bother you never look
at them that's right
hey michael
has anyone ever accused you of not
having an attitude attitude yeah you
know
i forget it
may i ask what this is about yes the
issue is this to be carter to the
popular subconscious image or in some
cases conscious image to the point of
obsession that the african or to use a
popular political term black what he's
trying to say is are you black enough
oh that old chestnut or what i usually
say is that i'm black and i'm proud
right on brother
hello
hello shirley
desmond hello pearl
you look
marvelous
hello pearl
remember me how can i forget
is there somewhere we can go that's
private
yes sure we can go upstairs
who's that that is pearl an old friend
oh we can see that yeah but who is she
um we'll talk about that later that's
lee's mother lily's mother these mother
for pain oops sorry desmond look you
children go upstairs to your rooms we
adults have things to talk about we're
not kids dad look don't dab you'll go
upstairs
and you michael go to your room
father i don't even live here anymore
don't agree with me boy go upstairs or
go to your bank well it's still
lunchtime
look i've got something to talk to mum
about anyway all right you heard the man
it's lunchtime come back in all
[Music]
oh dear
can you believe it pogba
the first daily goes up to see his
mother she comes down to see him talk
about bad timing after 28 years of
trying to find each other she comes down
to london he goes up to liverpool why
didn't you ring her to tell her he was
coming because he didn't know if he
wanted to see her or not you mean he get
up at the crack of dawn put on his
clothes get on a train travel 300 miles
to liverpool and he's still not sure
well i would have stayed in bed
she's still good look at that pokemon
yeah man
you go back a long way with pearl oh
yeah it's very far away way back to the
dressing room at desmond ambrose
and you know something matthew
no one knows who lee's real father is
is that right eh desmond what
no way it could be me she had her eyes
on you well all the boys in the club had
their eyes on her you see my true she
used to sing with our band poor pie
vince burt sweet sticks and myself sweet
sticks yes he was our pan player the
five of us were her support yes but how
much support did you give edusman
she was a good catholic girl from a
strict family
when she found out she was pregnant
instead of facing the shame of it she
went away to have the baby and after a
while she came back and put literally in
a dr barnardo's home but you were a long
time in that dressing room all right
all right all right
one night after the gig some of the guys
wanted to go on to a party but i was
drinking most of the evening and paris
said she wasn't feeling too hot but she
was looking hot though
she was yeah mom all right all right
so um
we went back to the dressing room and
thing and thing on the thing
you may have you gave her everything
[Applause]
all right all right
well that was july 63. if it was me
lee would have been born in april 64
instead he was born in august 64. i mean
the thing with parlors of a stick we're
not all that big of a mistake
[Laughter]
ah that's better
i know i shouldn't say this
but in a way i'm
relieved he isn't here huh
but you are gonna come back and see him
aren't you yes i am
i can't run anymore
uh mother can i have your signature on
not now michael go to your room i
haven't got a room i love you then
i suppose you want an explanation
only if you want to give me one
thank you for looking after him
he's a big boy he looks after himself i
know
where do i start
after i became pregnant and went april
great timing desmond
shall ago no yes it's all right you can
stay i think i owe you an explanation as
well you don't have to explain
yes i do all right guandy
when i found out i was pregnant
i was shocked
but the real surprise was
i was already four months gone
you mean
lee wasn't born in august he was born in
april
16th april 1964.
[Music]
[Applause]
this one
[Applause]
[Music]
what are we going to tell charlie
frankly i don't know what all the fuss
is about just tell her the truth to
shirley well it was only a suggestion
you can imagine how my whole
relationship has changed not just but
surely but with the children as well
what am i going to say to them what am i
going to certainly
all these years the poor kid been
looking for his father and all the time
i've been right on this goal
sit down before you collapse i have an
idea you do
yes and don't look at me that way okay
because of an indiscretion on the part
of desmond i would hardly call it an
indiscretion i'll ask you i call it an
indiscretion you can call it whatever
you want all right
because desmond was indiscreet one night
as was pearl and the thing and thing we
have lee
but
what we also have here
is a happy marriage of 30 years between
desmond and shirley
up to now
pearl has never revealed who the father
was
or in this case is
why
because she was the soul of discretion
why
because she and shirley were good
friends and shirley would have killed
her if she had found out
and a desmond two i must add did you
find pope all right what i suggest is
to save the marriage which i'm sure
pearl will want to do
i will volunteer my services as lee's
father
you two yes sir why not
she would never have fallen for somebody
like you about it i'm chica i have to
save your marriage and you say i'm not
good looking enough
makes you so different an illegitimate
child oh shut up the man is virtually on
his deathbed as far as his marriage is
concerned and he's still boasting
all right
let's see how much you will boast when
you tell shirley
well see dad collapsed right because
there was something under his nose right
what yeah and then they started talking
about something indies indie something
in the sea no in the street something
happened in the street and then poor
passed it up right and did what sounded
like a rumpel at a bailey speech talking
about voluntary work or something tell
me to do mary's guidance because he's
not good looking enough sean that was as
clear as mud
gloria
get out there and get the facts
[Laughter]
what's he like
that's for you to find out
i mean is he a good boy
you mean does he go to toilet by himself
yes
so
how did you meet joseph mr hollingworth
and do you have any more um we didn't
have any kids
it wasn't for one to trying
he was a sax player i met him in a band
needless to say
yes needless you get very close to
people when you're working together in a
band
yeah
all that jazz
free-form expression
unbridled horn plane
there's one blue the horn
what you getting at shirley what i'm
getting at is why you kept the father's
name a secret all this time
because
lee's father was already married shirley
was he
was here
yes
he was
he was a member of the band
[Music]
[Laughter]
so
i couldn't hear what they were talking
about properly but they were definitely
going on about sex
[Applause]
yeah they were going back when they were
younger you know in the 60s and mum was
going on about free full money and
bridled what you mean she burnt her bra
mom burning her bra only in an iron i
can't imagine my parents being young
what so what did pearl say oh yeah she
kept going about how close you get when
you're a musician yes one can get close
to anyone one sees of a prolonged period
of time well how come it never happened
between us and you yeah
i wonder if pearl
no
what what
well it's nothing it's just that
well it struck me that
well could you have been in the same
band as dad
if she wasn't she certainly knew them
well yeah but how well
well enough too are you thinking the
same thing i'm thinking i know what a
deal would come if we were thinking the
same thing
yeah what was you thinking
it's a stupid notion so is ours
it's a long shot yeah
it's a cheap shot spit it out michael
well it occurred to me that
that could be lee's dad why that was
long yes i'm cheap
but it's what i thought yeah me too well
if it's what we're all thinking do you
think it's likely to be true
[Laughter]
[Music]
you look as bad as we feel uh pogba has
a confession to make haven't you vote
fine yeah cheryl what is it poor pie
well i'd like to own up for the first
time in 28 years what about
about being lee's dad
you
yes
well you see
pearl did the honorable thing she didn't
want to let it out of the bag because i
was married that was a very gallant
effort and i admire you for it but i'm
afraid it was
sweet sticks
sweet sticks sweet sticks
sweet sticks the little rascal no he
wasn't
it's just that we were a bit foolish
yes but what about you and desmond
[Applause]
as i said to shell it was just harmless
flirtation we all need that once in a
while it feeds the soul and what about
the dressing room incident
one night um desmond and i got a bit
merry and went back to the dressing room
and
nothing happened it didn't
if it was ever going to we're far too
drunk to do anything about it we both
fell asleep
oh yeah
i remember it well
[Applause]
so
oh go away we are closed
for your students
it's you lee
come here how are you oh i see the shops
busiest per usual me
all right how goes it huh well it went
well i went and now i'm back please know
what to send me mother's day carter oh
hi lee
[Music]
i should go away more often
here's another one then lee
do you know what these are
all they're pan sticks are they for
still pan playing yeah they belong to
sweet sticks the pan player and dad's
band see they were given to me when he
died but i think they should be yours
now
[Music]
[Applause]
how was your trip oh there's my old son
you ever been to liverpool it's the
laura liverpudlian
the whole trip was one wild goose chase
a willow shell
couldn't do us a cup of tea could you i
could do better than that
there's someone i want you to meet
[Applause]
[Music]
you