Eddie Webber Author of Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee from the streets of Bermondsey to lights, camera, action!

This week Awayday Radio caught up with Eddie Webber the author of the Excellent book about his life ‘Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee from the streets of Bermondsey to lights, camera, action!

Eddie will be appearing on the Saturday live show with Gary Harris from 2 pm 20th February.

Eddie is an Established British actor having stared in Nick Loves The Business, The Firm and also in The Rise of the foot soldier to name a few, His book covers his early life growing up on the streets of the working-class area Bermondsey in South London in the 60s & 70s and involves many twists and turns most notably being wrongly accused of murder which is where the book starts off.

So how did a young fella born and bred on council estates in Bermondsey a working-class area who let’s just say was getting up to no good, realise he had a talent for acting and writing?

I never really realised it, I just did it. I wrote little stories in school and it just went on from there. I always had a love of music and when I got a guitar I started writing songs and it has just developed over the years.

Your passion for music comes across in the book, and it appears you got the flavour for performing after doing a gig whilst in prison, where did the inspiration come from and what type of music were/are you in to?

The prison gig was a big moment for me. It was the first time I let my own songs out of the bag and it was a tough audience, I’ve gotta tell ya! Getting through that meant I could get through anything. My inspiration was firstly Elvis and Buddy Holly and then progressed to John Lennon and the Beatles and from there I made my way to the blues, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and Howling Wolf etc… I was lucky to be born in the sixties so I went through great eras of music but those were the ones that stood out.

The first chapter of your book starts with armed police crashing through your door and arresting you for Murder, two attempted murders and armed robbery at the beginning of 1986, which I’m guessing was a surprise, to say the least! especially when you knew you had nothing to do with it, so when the three security guards from the robbery positively identified you this must have been the lowest part of your life and a very dark time?

In one way, yes, but in another way, it led to a progression. Although the crime the police committed against me was unforgivable, in a strange roundabout way without that happening I wouldn’t be in the universe that I am in today. I mean, after the charges were dropped, I made my way to Israel and there I began the real journey towards creativity.

After the twist of fate when you stumbled upon a concrete alibi that vindicated you from the armed robbery you mention how a book your brother gave you called ‘The Brotherhood’ which was about Freemasonry completely opened your eyes up to the possibility of corruption within the system that clearly tried to fit you up, do you think it still plays a part today or was it more of that time?

I believe it must still play a part today but it was particularly rife in the 70s and 80s era where policemen and criminals were wheeling and dealing with each other in the same Freemasonry lodge. The book ‘The Brotherhood’ was written by Steven Knight who wrote a book about Jack the Ripper and through investigating this saga, he stumbled upon Freemasonry so this was the very first exposé of the naughty craft. Anyone who is interested in this subject, this is the definitive book, in my eyes and it rings true to what happened in my particular circumstances. When two top metropolitan detectives fabricate evidence against someone, to me, anything is believable.

How did you end up on a kibbutz in Israel?

When the charges were dropped against me, I started a case against the top echelons of the metropolitan police force for miscarriage of justice. Then strange things started to happen i.e evidence started to disappear, medical records from the shot security guard mysteriously vanished so I wanted to go as far away as I could from this country’s system and Israel seemed far enough away. Plus a friend of mine went out there in the 70s and I always remember a photograph he had of him smoking a joint on Mt Sinai where Moses picked up the ten commandments and I always thought that would be a good thing to do. Eight months later the scene manifested itself!

Is it fair to say your role as Ronnie, in Nick Love’s film ‘The Business’ was your breakthrough film, and how did it come about that you got the part?

All this is in the book but a short summary is: I was living in Spain at the time and met Tamar Hussain who was over there on a reccy for Nick Love and everything just fell into place.

You also featured in Nick Love’s 2009 version of ‘The Firm’, a film many of us at Awayday radio can resonate with, did you ever get into the casual scene back in the 80s yourself and wear all the clobber? And am I right in saying you support Millwall?

Yes, you are right in saying that I support Millwall. I wasn’t involved in the casual movement but I did like my Adidas and a little bit of Fila here and there.
In respect of the casual movement, I think Nick Love’s film was far more representative of this than the original Alan Clarke movie. The Firm is my favourite out of the two that I did with Nick as it was more of a social comment.

Some quick-fire questions:

Favourite film of all time?

Street Car Named Desire. I just love the acting and Elia Kazan’s directing.

The role you enjoyed playing the most and proudest moment in your career?

It was a short film called ‘Madrugada’ which is on YouTube. It is the only performance of mine which I haven’t winced at.
Doing a two-hander commercial with Harvey Keitel who was always a great inspiration growing up comes a close second.

What’s your biggest passion?

Writing and trawling around India.

We’re eagerly awaiting the delayed release of ‘To Be Someone’ directed by Ray Burdis, which you’re also in which is based around the Mod subculture, can you tell us anything else you have lined up or have been working on in these strange times?

Obviously, due to covid, projects have been put on hold but there are a couple of really nice projects being bandied about in the new year. I have also got a couple of scripts being looked at by film companies. There is ‘To Be Someone’ coming up next year and I have just finished the latest Foot Soldier movie. I hope my book, Hi Diddle Dee Dee, will be an ongoing project with maybe even a sequel coming. But who knows with the way this crazy world is at the moment.

It’s probably an understatement to say your life has had many ups and downs, but it comes across that you are in a good place, witnessing your children entering exciting careers in the music industry and acting business like yourself, what’s the best advice you would give to them or any other budding artists going by your own experiences?

In my own experience, don’t let anyone turn you away from your passion and dreams. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from you can achieve whatever you want to achieve. It is a brave thing to follow your passion and it’s a short life so don’t waste it, stay focused and manifest your dreams.

You dedicate the book to your wife and children, were they the driving force for you to write it or was it more of a self-professed exercise?

I was talking to my children about my life and realised there was too much to say so my wife suggested that I wrote it down. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. It will be a nice thing for my kids and grandchildren and their children to know about the old codger that spawned them.