When Fred Astaire and his older sister Adele hit the London stage in the 1920s, one critic declared, ‘There’s been nothing like them since Noah’s Flood.’
But it wasn’t the sublime footwork of young Fred that wowed the West End. It was Adele, the girl who ‘put all the flap in flapperdom,’ as she ‘danced like a lilac flame’.
Her wicked ad libs were notorious and so was her courage — on Boat Race night, when a raucous toff in the front row lobbed a chocolate at her, she marched to the footlights and threw it straight back, splatting him on the shirt front.
Invited to St James’s Palace to meet the royals, she danced with the Prince of Wales but it was Bertie, the future George VI, who really caught her eye.
‘He is an innocent, unsuspecting youth,’ she wrote home, ‘and I could easily take advantage of him — ahem!’
Paul Mathewson, Derek Mathewson and Dave Mathewson from the show
A screen grab from season nine episode one of Bangers & Cash
Such sensational success has its rewards. In 1926, Fred treated himself to his first Rolls-Royce, boasting 20 horsepower and a top speed of nearly 60mph.
He loved the car so much, he took it back to Hollywood. There, he had new ‘Playboy Roadster’ coachwork built, to give it the American millionaire look, before it was sold to a rum runner who smuggled booze in the Prohibition years.
A century later, the Roller turned up for auction in the Yorkshire village of Thornton-le-Dale, as Bangers & Cash returned.
And, shockingly, it failed to make its £50,000 reserve price, despite the best efforts of auctioneer and star of the show Derek Mathewson.
More shocking still, half the staff at the showroom had no idea who Fred Astaire was.
One woman ventured, ‘I’ve heard of Freddie Starr …’ The stories behind the cars are the special ingredient that keeps this series, now in its fifth year, on the road.
Brian, an 85-year-old former racehorse trainer, had two for sale: a Subaru Impreza and a 1973 E-Type V12 Jaguar.
Though the Jag was the obvious classic, Brian’s heart was with the Impreza. ‘It’s a villain,’ he smiled.
‘The type of buzz you can’t buy — you have to drive it. But it’s time to move on. . . well, the thing is, I’m not getting any younger.’
Derek Mathewson with gavel at a Mathewsons auction in one episode
Derek Mathewson – an auctioneer and star of the show Bangers & Cash
The octogenarian boy racer has no plans to stop driving, though. With the 15 grand he got for the Subaru, and the £36,600 (minus auctioneers’ commission) for the E-Type, Brian plans to get an electric vehicle.
Derek’s son Dave was on his way to Northern Ireland with a green Ford Escort and a red face.
Two of the 1970s Mexico model, with its rally car styling, came in to Mathewson’s just days apart, and were duly sold, one to a buyer in Wales and the other across the Irish Sea.
Unfortunately, they were sent out the wrong way round… When a mix-up like that happens, it’s never local.
That’s Murphy’s law, though we weren’t told whether the disgruntled motor enthusiast was actually a Mr Murphy.
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