Andrew Ramroop, tailor

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2022

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

Andrew Ramroop is a Savile Row tailor, whose international client list has included film stars and royalty. Andrew grew up in a remote village in Trinidad and sewed his first garment at the age of nine, creating a simple pair of trousers from a pillowcase. He left school at 13 and was apprenticed to a local tailor who told him tales about the pinnacle of sartorial excellence, Savile Row – the place where James Bond’s suits were cut. Inspired by this vision, Andrew saved up for a ticket to sail to the UK: he emigrated at the age of 17, only the second person to leave his village. He found work on Savile Row, went on to complete a degree at the London College of Fashion, and then gained a job at Maurice Sedwell, eventually taking over the business when Maurice retired. In recent years, Andrew has been closely involved in training the next generation of tailors. He was awarded an OBE in 2009, for his work in tailoring and training, and was the UK’s Black Business Person of the Year in 2017. DISC ONE: Portrait of Trinidad by The Mighty Sniper DISC TWO: Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2 by Pink Floyd DISC THREE: Time Will Tell by Jimmy Cliff DISC FOUR: The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel DISC FIVE: It's a Man's Man's Man's World by James Brown & The Famous Flames DISC SIX: Desiderata by Les Crane DISC SEVEN: Maria La O by Neil Latchman DISC EIGHT: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel BOOK CHOICE: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace LUXURY ITEM: A tenor steel pan drum CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.9	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Desert Island Disks Podcast.
0:08.6	Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them
0:13.9	if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:16.5	And for right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:21.2	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:44.3	My cast away this week is the Master Taylor Andrew Ramrope.
0:48.3	His career has been defined by elegance and excellence.
0:52.5	He was the first black Taylor on Savile Row and the first Taylor in its history to be awarded an OBE.
0:58.8	As a student at the London College of Fashion, he completed his course so quickly and with such
1:04.0	flair that his alma mater created the category diploma of distinction especially for him.
1:10.0	His principal recommended him for a job with the Taylor Morris said, well, initially in the back room,
1:15.3	he went on to buy the business.
1:17.3	In 2008, he founded the Savile Row Academy to ensure the skills of his trade were passed on to the
1:23.3	next generation. He was named Black Business Person of the Year in 2017 and although his client
1:29.2	list remains confidential, we do know that it spans around 60 countries and has included
1:34.8	Samuel L. Jackson, Tony Curtis and Diana Princess of Wales. He describes his upbringing in Trinidad
1:41.9	and Tobago as humble, although he adored clothes, making his first pair of trousers from a pillowcase
1:48.0	when he was just nine. As a teenager, he was apprenticed to a Taylor in Port of Spain.
1:53.3	His 14-hour work days offered plenty of opportunity to absorb his boss's colourful stories about
1:58.7	London's golden mile of Tayloring. He had found his destination. He says, I didn't sail to England
2:05.5	or to Europe. I sailed to Savile Row. I wanted to be in the Olympics of Tayloring.
	...

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