James Blades: Pandemonium of the One-Man Band - James Anthony-Rose on his new music theatre piece on the great percussionist

James Blades

The percussionist James Blades (1901-1999) had a career that not only spanned much of the century but also moved from circus drummer and accompanist to silent movies at the Wisbech Hippodrome, to the international classical concert hall, including a close association with Benjamin Britten, helping the composer with many of his percussion effects. But many remember him as an endearing communicator, touring the country with his lecture-recital-demonstrations.

James Anthony-Rose in James Blades: Pandemonium of the One-Man Band at Snape Maltings

Written by Robin Brooks and James Anthony-Rose, James Blades: Pandemonium of the One-Man Band was a music theatre show performed at Snape Maltings on 11 October 2025. Directed and produced by Fiona McAlpine with music direction by Tomi Rose, the event featured actor James Anthony-Rose with percussionist Sam Wilson in a show which reimagined one of Blades' lectures. Using demonstrations of instruments and techniques, and anecdotes and revelations, James Anthony-Rose told the story of Blades's remarkable life, together with a celebration of the power and mystery of his extraordinary talent and career. The BBC recorded the show, which will be broadcast on Radio 3 on 23 November 2025.

James Anthony-Rose, who co-wrote and starred in the show, is an actor, perhaps best known for his role in All Creatures Great and Small. When I asked what exactly James Blades: Pandemonium of the One-Man Band is, he laughed, said it was a good question that was really up to the listener. He described the show as a drama-documentary, though that term really came from BBC Radio 3, as that was the slot they were going to broadcast the show in. But James found the idea liberating; the show could be anything they wanted it to be.

He co-wrote the piece with Robin Brooks, who has written a lot for Radio 3. They used James Blades' autobiography, Drum Roll, as source material along with archive footage, and the show developed into a one-man show with James playing James Blades with a format not unlike Blades' percussion lectures. 

But Blades was long-lived, so they were able to cover a lot of history in the piece, how he started in music, how he evolved as a musician. James describes it as almost a music-theatre piece, as the show also involved percussionist Sam Wilson, whilst the music director was Tomi Rose, who happens to be James Anthony-Rose's elder brother. In fact, Sam Wilson and Tomi Rose were young musicians together at Snape. The whole thing ended up becoming something of an event. James loved the responsiveness of the audience (they did two performances), and there was even some audience participation. However, James emphasised that his performance was not an impersonation of James Blades but a response to his life and career.

Whilst working on another radio piece in Aldeburgh a year ago, James pitched his idea for the James Blades piece. They were working in the Red House, where there were lots of books, ones about Britten, including James Blades' autobiography. But whilst the show might have germinated from that point last year, James had had the idea for a long time. As a child growing up in Suffolk, James took part in performances of Britten's children's operas with Jubilee Opera, performing works such as The Little Sweep and Noyes Fludde in the places where Britten premiered them. And James Blades was involved with inventing new sounds for Britten in Noyes Fludde. In fact, young James came across archive footage of James Blades teaching children to play the percussion, including strung up mugs, for Noyes Fludde.

James Anthony-Rose & Sam Wilson in
James Blades: Pandemonium of the One-Man Band at Snape Maltings

James Blades' distinctive character appealed to James: the man's look, his puckish character, three-piece suite, crazy white hair and spectacles. Also, his voice got to James, and he would impersonate Blades for his family, and indeed, James' father had seen James Blades in the flesh at one of the man's percussion lectures. James Blades stayed with James as an idea for a character, and this is what evolved into the one-man show. They decided that it worked in the drama documentary slot on Radio 3 and were able to record it in the Britten Studio at Snape. James describes this as the perfect venue, and there were lots of people in the audience who had seen James Blades and remembered him fondly.

This was very much a passion project for James, something of a labour of love. Having grown up with Britten's music, James feels rooted in that musical world. The resonance of Britten's music has an emotional pull for the audience, and James Blades' admiration for Britten comes over. There is a very human element to the story, too. At the centre, it is about a man dedicated to his craft and the impact that this has on his personal life, something that resonates with audiences. The show touches on the hardship Blades experienced, as he came from a working-class background, and his subsequent drive to keep working, touring all over the place. And they ask the question 'at what cost?' This also resonates with audiences: the sacrifices you have to make to commit to something you care about.

James finds James Blades an intriguing character, one who casts a spell. Whilst he is from a different period, there is a timeless quality to him. Though he is older, with white hair, there is a boyish, youthful energy too, that puckish character.

Whilst James Blades is a character who runs through classical music in the 20th century, yet he also pops up in other places. He played the Morse Code for the V for Victory recording, and provided the sound (on a tam-tam) for the huge gong that featured on Rank Films. He worked with Olivier, Hitchcock, Chaplin, and Stravinsky. There are so many stories that they could have used, but there was no room for. A modern-day listener might be unfamiliar with the context, but they engage with the history.

James Blades: Pandemonium of the One-Man Band is broadcast as the Sunday Feature on BBC Radio 3 on 23 November 2025 at 7:15pm

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