Julie Andrews Show - The Sound of Mysen Concert, including rare rehearsal footage (Momarkedet, 1978)

As this was the first time that I was to meet Julie Andrews, I’m just going to say a few words about myself. I was born in Sweden at the end of the 1950’s, I didn’t know who Julie was until 1974 when I watched a rerun of The Sound of Music in our local cinema, so I missed her rise to cinematic stardom in the 1960s. From the moment I set eyes on her on the big screen, hearing that incredible singing voice, my heart belonged to her. So when the opportunity came to see her live in concert in my neighbouring country of Norway, I made the journey of a lifetime. The event was also going to be broadcast live in both Sweden and Norway. Bing Crosby, who had been the star attraction the year before (1977), had asked Julie if she could do the concert in aid of The Red Cross.
I arrived by train to Mysen, checked in to my hotel, then I went out to buy a bouquet of pink carnations, hoping to give them to Julie after the performance. I also wanted to orientate myself so I could find the open air stage – Momarkedet – later on. However, when I got there I could hear Julie rehearsing, so I went up to the guards and pleaded with them to let me into the area and they did! There were quite a few other fans already there, many from Holland and Sweden. After the rehearsal had finished Julie started writing autographs and I panicked as I had come unprepared. Luckily, I approached a Dutch fan who gave me part of a brown envelope for Julie to sign – very classy indeed! So when it was my turn I gave her the bouquet and said “I’ve brought you these (they were still wrapped in paper)...”. She thanked me and signed my piece of envelope...my head was spinning, could this really have happened?

I went back to the hotel with three Swedish girls who also were staying there, they were all big fans. When you are younger you think you will remember names and dates, but now in my 60s I’ve found out that this is not the case. If you see the photo in the video, the middle and right girls should be Ida and Katalin (or reversed). The girls took the beautiful photos that you see a montage of in the video. Unfortunately, we lost touch after a while as the only way of keeping in touch was by phone or letter.

In the evening we went back early to Momarkedet, to claim our seats, as it was first come first seated. We got the front row seats – hurrah! At least we did have them until we were asked to move as those seats were reserved for “dignitaries”. There was no signage saying reserved but what can you do...we still managed to get good seats just a few rows back. There were a few acts before Julie, one of them being an accordion player BUT we were all waiting for Julie to come on stage. Finally, there she was, the most beautiful woman in the world. At one point in the concert the wind got hold of the music director's music sheets and blew them high in the air, to which Julie said "ready when you are" with a laugh in her voice. Many years later I found out that he, Jack Elliott, had been the musical director when Julie had toured in Japan.
She ended the concert with The Hills are Alive from The Sound of Music. I was on cloud nine for several days afterwards! My very first Julie adventure had come to an end and it would take 9 agonising years before I could look into those blue eyes again...

Make sure you also watch the rehearsal footage by Marie-Jeanne van Hövell. It also shows Julie arriving in Norway, holding a press conference and being guided at a recreation centre by Knut Lie (Norwegian Red Cross). Some sound has been added on from the actual concert.

-Anders



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