Acker Bilk Likes His Beer Cold

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30541, 9 September 1964, Page 1

Acker Bilk Likes His Beer Cold

Mister Acker Bilk arrived in Christchurch yesterday looking for a party, or a game of snooker and the coldest beer in the country, and wondering why supplies of bowler halts appeared nonexistent in New Zealand.

There were not enough people for a party or snooker, so Mr Bilk settled for a large glass of cold beer and vetoed suggestions by an eager photographer that he have his photograph taken while seated bowler-hatted in a steam bath or cleaning the top-floor windows in the new Government Life building. “I don’t feel energetic and I don’t want to get fitter,” be said.

Mr Bilk has bowler hat problems. His never last long before being souvenired. He arrived in New Zealand minus his trademark which these days does not play such a prominent part in his act. “1 use it as a mute for my clarinet.” A theatrical costumer came to the rescue after Auckland shops had been unable to produce any. Recently Acker Bilk and his band went into film work. He expects to start work on a musical set in the West Country on his return. “We found it strange at first. Actually it was diabolical, getting up when we usually go to bed. It was winter when we made our first film —the heat, the flies were hell.”

“Once we got used to it—we altered our drinking hours and our eating times, too, of course—we found it a lot of fun,” he said. Acker Bilk is not an animal lover; at least not of dogs. He is minus the top of One finger. Several years ago he was

I tobogganning and crashed. A ' stone under the snow sliced i the top of his finger off. “I stood and looked while [ a whippet galloped up and : gulped down my finger tip. ■ Didn’t even spill one drop of blood,” added Mr Bilk with [ a straight face.