ORCHESTRAL ORGANS
There is something else banned from television, but for a different reason.
Allegedly it comes from pressure from a trades union, namely the Musicians’ Union (MU).
We refer to orchestral electronic organs, one of the first was developed in Holland in the 1980s and was called the RHia Orchestra.
The Musicians’ Union understandably saw the possibility of one player replacing an entire orchestra as was the case in the days of silent films when pipe organs were introduced in cinemas.
Although organ players themselves are members of the MU, the Union’s concern is for the majority of their membership.
The MU therefore allegedly stated that electronic organs on TV and radio should only produce the sound of a conventional organ, like the Hammond Organ, which was developed in the USA in 1935, or like a conventional piano, as played by Jean Martyn when she appeared on Britain’s Got Talent in 2011:
You will note that Simon Cowell was NOT on the panel when Jean had her audition. It was just as well because Cowell openly admits that he hates organs.
Look what happened when he was on the panel when two players, Tony Stace and Andrew Nix, played their instruments with a big band sound:
Just nine seconds of fame!
Apart from two appearances on Pebble Mill at One in the 1990s, including one with German organist Klaus Wunderlich who had thirteen Gold Awards for sales of over 20 million recordings worldwide, and the nine seconds of fame by Stace and Nix, no electronic orchestral organs have appeared on our TV screens.
In contrast to the UK, youngsters in Japan are taught to play electronic orchestral organs at an early age, which have resulted in some brilliant players that often appear on Japan’s TV network. Some examples of their brilliance is shown below:
It is on record that the BBC do NOT accept suggestions from viewers and listeners so many have given up hope of seeing orchestral organs on TV, despite the fact many have them in their homes.
