Mildred Pilf - Demented Power Ballads (1989)




When is a comeback too far not a comeback too far? When it's not a comeback too far, obviously! 

For some artists, the 1980s was a nonstop farewell tour. And by 'some artists', one can only mean Mildred Pilf. 

Released for the lucrative Christmas market in 1989, Demented Power Ballads saw one of the most controversial performers of the century returning to the stage for the latest final time at the age of 80. 

Born in the Lancashire sootmining town of Blackworth in 1909, Mildred Pilf became one of Britain's best-loved entertainers during the War, but her career fizzled out in the 1960s when news of an affair with Rudolph Hess became public knowledge. 

Former fans destroyed their elderly 78-inch records, and Pilf was officially 'finished'. But after years of lying low, the elderly diva eventually resurfaced and became a surprising counter-cultural heroine, though her drug of choice was typically nothing stronger than expired Lemsip. 

Recorded over two nights at the Bootstrap Theatre, Pilf is backed by the fullest of full orchestras, ably conducted by Sir Digby Pigbeth - himself no spring chicken by this point - and featuring a very young Myrtle Gurning on a slightly broken viola. 

Wartime Pilfian classics like 'Saddle me up' and 'My friend Clive' are blended with more modern material and there's even a cheeky cover of 'Period Pain', originally by Table of Drops. 

Mildred Pilf continued to tour into the 1990s but never recaptured the form she shows here, and her death at the age of 98 was described by many as 'the end'. 

But it's all about Christmas really, and for many the festive season doesn't really begin until they've heard Pilf belting out the chorus of 'Oswald the Christmas Widgeon' at least 30 times. 

Damehood? Alas, it never happened, possibly due to a 1973 interview in which she described the honours system as 'a load of wee', but there's surely a little Mildred in all our hearts, especially at this time of year. 

Personal Recollectionz by @lolbertz

I was lucky enough to attend the first night of the Bootstrap concerts, having been a big fan of Mildred Pilf since the late 1930s, even briefly running an unsuccessful stall at Farmer's Markets that sold only very small teatrays with a monochrome picture of her face printed on them. 

To say that I enjoyed myself would be a statement. Not an understatement or an overstatement, but simply a statement. 

I would also recommend the rare VHS tape 'Mildred Pilf drinking Milk', if it actually existed. Like I said, just a statement.


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