5 Minutes with…
community `
Tony Romero
Tony Romero (real name Tony Lyons), is a Jazz singer who hit the big time in the 1960s before being pushed out of the industry by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Here we catch up with Tony to see how he’s helping small businesses and what he does to keep his Jazz passion alive… What was the highlight of the swinging 60s for you? You could say it was bittersweet. For years I’d been trying to get a record contract and eventually landed one with Decca Records and managed to get some classy gigs. The biggest was a summer season in Blackpool with Max Wall and Ray Martine and it was wonderful. Then came the terrible disappointment; when you sign with a record company you’re effectively owned by them. They decide everything for you - from the promotional budget to what songs you record – and unfortunately the record I produced was a flop and I was overtaken in the charts by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Things could have turned out very different for me, but that’s life!
Who’s your favourite musician of all time? Music is very much to do with mood and if you’re a real music lover which I am, nothing is more exciting than music. You go in and out of liking different music and genres, but mostly it has been jazz. The most staggering performance I witnessed live was Frank Sinatra, who to me is like some sort of god. He surrounded himself with the best in the business – he had a wonderful 50-year career and to see him live was terribly exciting.
Have you ever been star struck? I suppose I haven’t really. I was at a casino in Monte Carlo once and found myself sitting next to Cary Grant – he was the Sinatra of the acting world. He even gave me one of his cigarettes and we spoke for a little while – he was terribly friendly.
What’s your business background and where did the idea of your latest networking venture, FWD, come from? I’ve been everything from a hairdresser following in my father’s footsteps to owning a book shop, being in the gambling industry, dry cleaning and importing and exporting. I eventually went into the business that Friday Wind Down is now – communication. At the time it was called the Business Referral Exchange and we’d meet early for breakfast and help one another with referrals. It was pretty successful, starting out with one group and we ended up with 12. A friend of mine, Chandra Sharma, was also a member and when I retired last year, Chandra approached me to ask if I’d like to start up Friday Wind Down – and the rest they say, is history!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received? John Ward, a musician and a great friend of mine, helped me in the last leg of my early show business career. He told me: “Don’t ever let the Decca thing happen to you again. If you don’t like the music you’re singing or recording, just don’t do it.”
What do you like about Life In Orpington magazine – and what does community mean to you? It’s a wonderful magazine – so vibrant and I love that it celebrates all things community. To me, community is about warmth – that feeling you get when you go out locally and communicate with others. It’s also knowing that if anything happens, people will pool together quickly and easily.
To book Tony or for more information see tonyromero.co.uk lifeinmagazines.co.uk
August 2021 Life in... Orpington 19
