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Robin says that he has been constantly surprised by life. Some of his talks are spin-offs from his university lecturing and teaching, where he was both psychologist and economist. Then he found himself running a poetry magazine, and suddently he was judging competitions and giving recitals with his talented wife, Ann, (a fellow teacher) with whom he presents a package of two for the price of one. Together they explore the lives of various celebrities, such as Noel Coward, and the rich world of English song through poetry and music.

 

Their life changed dramatically when they were engaged to educate children of a middle eastern millionaire. Suddenly it was all private Boeings and luxury yachts, and their new job found them in the company of Dodi Fayed and the Aga Khan.

 

Since moving to Sussex, Robin has become known as the voice who put serious singing on Radio 2 where he wrote and presented some fifty programmes under the titles: 'A Tenor Sang','A Diva Sang', 'Singers of the Century',' The Webster Booth Story', 'Pavarotti at Sixty' and 'Paul Robson'. These form the basis of hid choice of talks for clubs. Recently he put together some fascinating examples of 'cross-overs' under the title 'Singers who change their hats...'

 

Robin is a speaker of humour and interest, and if you want, together with his wife form an attractive duo.

Lectures

  • LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

    Robin Gregory has recently published an important  book “Tim’s Wars”, which examines the reality of life in the trenches of the 1914-18 War.  “Tim” (Robin’s late father-in-law) uniquely kept diaries every single day, and they reveal not only the horror of the war but the way the ordinary soldier spent his spare time.  Robin brings these diaries to life, with or without his Powerpoint pictures.
     

  • THE GREAT SONGWRITERS

    We have all heard the great tunes that came from the pens of American and British songwriters in the twentieth century,  but how much do we know of their lives and times?  In this illustrated talk, Robin Gregory and his wife Ann reveal the realities that lay behind some of the finest songs, and send you home not only humming but understanding far more deeply the skills of the composers and lyricists.
     

  • THE GREAT MUSICALS

    Robin and Ann Gregory present a talk dealing with some of the finest musicals using historic recordings of original artists. They discuss  the composers, lyricists and librettists.  What  were the secrets of the success of Oklahoma, West Side Story, Cabaret, and so many more?  Which of them rose beyond momentary popularity, and why?
     

  • CROSS-OVER: ITS EXCITEMENT, SUCCESS AND FAILURE

    Robin wrote and presented some fifty programmes for Radio Two examining the lives of the greatest singers.  He is specially interested in those who spanned both “serious” and “popular” music.  Why did some succeed and others fail in trying to cross-over?  After this illustrated talk you will find yourself  listening to any singer with a completely new ear.
     

  • THE VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS

    Robin and Ann Gregory look at the social changes of the Victorian era, and present a programme of favourite Victorian verse and song that grew out of these changes.
     

  • HAS THE LADY TURNED  -  OR BURNED?

    When  Mrs Thatcher said “The Lady’s not for turning”, Christopher Fry’s plays were so well-known that everyone understood the pun.  Now his brilliant stage pieces are seldom put on.  Why is this?  Robin and Ann Gregory were great friends with Fry, and have acted in and produced some of his plays.  They present a programme about his life and work that reveals a fascinating individual who took success  and failure equally, never losing his engaging personality.   

Robin Gregory
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