Zeb Soanes receives prestigious Betjeman Society Award

Zeb Soanes with The Betjeman Society Award at St James Garlickhythe Church

Zeb Soanes was presented with The Betjeman Society Award after giving a performance of Betjeman’s Banana Blush at St James Garlickhythe Church on Saturday 14th June.

The award is given annually to the person, group or organisation which in the opinion of the Society’s council has made the most significant recent contribution to the understanding or enjoyment of the life and work of Sir John Betjeman.

Zeb was presented with the award by The Betjeman Society’s chairman, Steve Jackson. The beautiful statuette is a model of Martin Jennings’ life size bronze statue of Betjeman, which can be found at St Pancras Station.

Zeb said,

‘It is such a great honour to be presented with The Betjeman Society Award. It must also belong to my friend and genius musical director Chris Warner and our wonderful band who so love performing Banana Blush, celebrating our cuddliest poet laureate in this most toe-tapping marriage of words and music.’

Zeb has been touring live performances of Betjeman’s album Banana Blush with the Chris Warner Ensemble, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, telling the story of this unique collaboration between John Betjeman and the composer Jim Parker.

Parker, who won the BAFTA for Best Original Television Music four times, composed the memorable scores for countless TV series including House of Cards, Foyles War, The House of Elliot, Mapp and Lucia and Midsomer Murders.

Before he died in 2023, Jim Parker recreated his original Banana Blush score (much of which had been lost over the years) especially for Zeb’s live concerts.

His daughter Claire Parker, who attended Saturday’s concert, said:

‘Jim enjoyed hearing how his collaborations with Betjeman inspired other artists such as Suggs and Jarvis Cocker, and he was delighted that Zeb continues to bring the words and the music alive again for a new generation to discover.’

Steve Jackson, Chairman of The Betjeman Society, said:

‘Zeb is a worthy winner of The Betjeman Society Award. He has brought John Betjeman’s words to new audiences and champions Betjeman through his radio programmes and public appearances that are met with rapturous applause. Such imaginative entertainments keep Betjeman in the public eye and remind us of how versatile and relevant his poems are, even in the digital age. Zeb is a true Betjemanian.’