Presented as part of the Reigning Women season that runs until the end of May, this was an evening of songs and stories based on P.P. Arnold’s memoir Soul Survivor presented by Brighton’s Too Darn Soulful crew.
Produced by P.P. and directed by her friend Carol Harrison, actress and creator of the Mod musical All Or Nothing, based on the life of The Small Faces’ Steve Marriott, who Arnold famously collaborated with, the setting was a bare stage, aside from Chris Jerome’s piano and a back screen that would support the reminisces with photos and film clips.
As the lights dimmed, that unmistakable voice appeared offstage singing ‘As Long As I Live’ and as Jerome played a soulful, bluesy riff P.P. took to the stage singing a gospel-tinged ‘Wade In The Water’, encouraging the seated audience to clap along with her. It was immediately clear that her voice was in great shape, as was she, looking decades younger than her 78 years.
We begin at the beginning with the 4-year-old Patricia Ann Cole’s first exposure to music, joining her family singing in church. By the time she reaches 17 she is married with two children and working two jobs. One day, her friend Maxine (Smith) called to ask Pat to accompany her to an audition as another friend had dropped out. Knowing her abusive husband David would never allow this, they snuck out into a car that took them to Ike and Tina Turner’s house. The audition is recreated with Arnold giving a deeply soulful performance of ‘Dancing In The Street’, accompanied by Jerome’s funky piano.
Needless to say they got the job and soon Pat was experiencing her first nightclub, first drink and first gig as an Ikette. This followed her return home to a beating from her husband that cemented her decision to leave him and join Ike and Tina on tour. With photos and film clips playing behind her, we get to see the dynamic Tina in action as Arnold recreates dance moves such as The Mashed Potato and The Shag.
There are fond remembrances of touring the Chitlin Circuit alongside names such as BB King and Ray Charles but with this came the racism and indignities of the segregated South. ‘If This Were My World’, co-written by Arnold for her third ‘lost’ The Turning Tide album, was an apt choice for the next song, with its themes of tolerance and unity.
Missing her kids, she returned to her husband but he was jealous of her success and after another beating where he threatened to kill her she made her final escape, and with her fellow Ikettes now departed, she became lead backing singer for the Ike and Tina Revue, recording Ike’s ‘What’cha Gonna Do’ with Brenda and Patrice Holloway, which we are treated to an abridged version of.
Enter Phil Spector, wanting to record ‘River Deep Mountain High’, but without Ike’s infuriating input. This classic barely dented the US singles chart but was a hit in the UK. At this point Pat met the Rolling Stones in Hollywood and the revue was invited to open for The Stones on their next UK tour, which is where the story of Pat becoming P.P. begins.
After the interval ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ introduced the second act in Arnold’s career. She dances out of the wings and tells of her time in London at the height of the swinging sixties: shopping at Biba and Granny Takes A Trip, tearing the roof off the Albert Hall with The Stones and The Yardbirds and entering into a relationship with Mick Jagger, who would send a limousine to pick her up for nights out.
With the Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham keen to sign her to his Immediate label, she made arrangements for her kids back home and decided to go for it. Her last show with Ike and Tina was at The Ram Jam club in Brixton and instead of rejoining the band on the tour bus, the Stones’ crew sent her belongings to Jagger’s house in Epsom. A perfect time to perform an unaccompanied ‘Hold On To Your Dreams’.
Finding out that Jagger had moved on to Marianne Faithfull, P.P. moved to central London and hit the nightlife, spending nights at The Flamingo and Bag Of Nails. Legendary photographer Gered Mankowitz was hired to capture the first female artist on the Immediate label but Arnold thought he made her look like a 12 year old, instead of 19. She met and befriended Steve Marriott and Cat Stevens who gifted her the classic ‘The First Cut Is The Deepest’ which is delivered beautifully tonight.
The incredible life she led included Mick Jagger re-entering the picture, encouraging her to write her own songs, which he would produce. The backing band for the session was The Nice with Madeline Bell and Dusty Springfield on backing vocals and when she performed at The Bag Of Nails, Jimi Hendrix asked to jam with the band. Hendrix helped relieve the homesickness she was feeling, gave her encouragement and they soon became lovers.
P.P.’s last release on Immediate was ‘Angel Of The Morning’ which is delivered in a voice that is both rounded and refined, superbly supported by Jerome’s piano accompaniment. Immediate folded soon after due to Loog-Oldham’s naivete, rather than any wrongdoing Arnold assured us.
The story takes us up to the early 70s, which brought a new son and a lot of bad decisions, such as moving to Hollywood from their Cotswolds home. Tragedy struck in 1977 when daughter Debbie was killed in a traffic accident and P.P. poignantly sings ‘I’ll Always Remember You’ to Debbie’s on-screen photo. Returning to the UK in 1982, Arnold busied herself with a role in Starlight Express and recording with Beatmasters and The KLF.
This life well lived needed longer than the engrossing two and a half hours running time, so let’s hope there is a follow up show to bring the story up to date. That said, the balance between anecdotes and songs was laid out perfectly. The show closed with P.P. singing ‘Soul Survivor’, a perfectly apt title for this amazing woman who graciously greeted and chatted to a long line of fans after the show.
The Old Market, Wednesday 16th April 2025
Photos courtesy of Dot O’Sullivan and P.P. Arnold.
For other Too Darn Soulful events visit their website here.
To read our interview with P.P. conducted before her performance at Love Supreme Festival 2018 click here.
