The Metropolitan Hotel
Opened in 1979
Introduced "The Red Lion" as first English style "Pub" in Dubai
Metropolitan Hotel closed in 2013 for rebuilding and reopened in 2017
The Red Lion Pub - Metropolitan Hotel, Dubai
Brenda G became something of a Musical Legend in 1980s & 1990s' Dubai.
Brenda's local fame came about by accident.
Her skills as a pianist and entertainer meant she became a memorable part of Dubai as it used to be.
A local newspaper ran a series of articles on local Entertainers written by Journalist Joan Van Der Merwe
Joan also became a significant figure of that time.
In the series, The Entertainers, Joan Van Der Werwe focused on "men and women who live in the UAE...amateurs and professionals who help to keep us entertained".
A Transcript of Joan's article on Brenda G follows:
"It's a long, long way to Ebbw Vale"... sounds like a musical hall song and it could well be just that for Brenda G.
Brenda G was born in Ebbw Vale and now spends some of her time thumping out old favourite songs on the piano at a well known Jumeirah hostelry.
Brenda has played piano ever since she can remember.
At 12, she played with the Avalon Orchestra in South Wales before gaining a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London.
She formed her own dance trio, in London, but pub piano is her favourite.
From the time she left college she played in clubs and pubs.
For seven years before coming to Dubai she played every Saturday night at the Lord Nelson, a famous Windsor pub set almost at the main gate of Windsor Castle.
It was in the Lord Nelson that Brenda had her worst ever experience while playing the piano.
I had treated myself to a lovely blonde wig with some of my first pay.
I had been practising tossing this lovely blonde hair off my face.
One Saturday night at just the right dramatic minute, I tossed back my lovely blonde curls and the wig flew off!
Of course, everyone roared with laughter.
To hide my embarrassment, I laughed with them.
But you know how you have to pin your hair really flat to get a wig on. I must have looked as if I was bald".
I have never worn that wig or any other since"
My husband, Harvey, is in Oman on a strictly unaccompanied posting.
I was able to get a Visitor's Visa to visit him
I had such a marvellous time there I didn't fancy going back to UK.
It was impossible to get a visa for Oman
A friend suggested I take a secretary's job in Dubai
"So that's what I did!"
.
Brenda has her own method of getting a job playing the piano.
She found it worked in Dubai as well as it had worked for her in Britain.
A friend took her to the Red Lion. Brenda saw the piano and asked the Landlord if she could try it out.
Andy Simes was the Bar Manager then.
After some hesitation, Andy took the cover off the piano and Brenda sat down to play.
Customers were soon listening and singing along.
Brenda played all the old favourites - good songs with choruses that made everyone want to join in.
Andy came and thanked Brenda when she finally stopped playing. He said Brenda was always welcome to play the piano at The Red Lion.
Not short of nerve, Brenda said the next time she played, she would like to be paid.
Andy took her to see the General Manager Gordon Golby. He agreed to Brenda playing three times a week.
From then on, Brenda became part of the Dubai entertainment scene.
Brenda developed a following. Groups would drive from Abu Dhabi every Friday lunchtime to enjoy her sing-songs.
It was at one of these Friday lunchtimes when Brenda received her first standing ovation.
It was a good crowd, she recalls. Everyone who was in good humour and I responded by playing extra well. I didn't stop playing until the last possible minute. As I closed the lid, the customers started to clap, then they cheered and finally sang
"For she's a jolly good fellow".It was the most touching thing that has ever happened to me.
Brenda has four children who are all talented.
Her elder son is with a show band which won a top Welsh Award last year.
Her second son Boyd is the most talented musician in the family,
but so far he wishes to remain an amateur.
Brenda's daughter, Ellen, is still at drama school.
They are a close family and everyone is proud of the other's achievements.
"If you were the only girl in the world, a lovely old song".
"The Entertainer. I use it as my signature tune. It is the theme music from the film The Sting".
Her answer reflected her personality.
"What more could I want? I have never been so well off in my life".
"Nothing much worries me when I'm playing, unless someone spills drink on the piano. That really riles me".
"I play the music I like in a place I like. I have good friends.
For the first time in my life, I've got money in my pocket".
"In UK, sometimes, I had to look twice to see I had enough money for petrol to go for a drive.
The other night, here, I went to see Gloria Gaynor, my favourite star. I spoke to her and even touched her. I couldn't believe my luck.
Sometimes I feel like pinching myself to see if it's really me doing all the things I am doing".
My married name is Goulbourn
I found people had difficulty pronouncing and spelling Goulbourn.
I found it easier when I started playing to just use the "G"!
Hence - Brenda G!!
Brenda G. first arrived in Oman on September 15, 1979 to be with her husband who was working for the MOD in Oman. She was not allowed to live there as her husband was on a single status. They decided to take a trip to Dubai to see if Brenda could live and work there.
Within six hours of arriving in Dubai, Brenda was offered a job at the Red Lion at the Metropolitan Hotel where they went for lunch. There was a piano there so my father persuaded my Mum to play it and within seconds the Manager (at the time known as Bill the Bar) leaped over the bar and offered her a job playing the piano on the spot! This led to her playing there every Friday for years. Live entertainment was scarce in the Gulf in those early days so people came over from Qatar and Bahrain just to spend the day listening and singing to her tunes. She also found an apartment on the same day and one of the first to move into The Al Ghurair Centre.
Brenda G also played on her own at Dirty Nellies on a regular basis at the Ramada Hotel and sometimes accompanied Dave Blackely, the singer, who ran the bar.
On that same day of her first arrival in Dubai, Brenda was also hired (and sponsored visa wise... unheard of at the time) by an employment agency as a PA and hired out to various MDs of big companies. Brenda was often headhunted as her skills as a PA were top class. She also ran the MEED office (Middle East Economic Digest) for many years as well as constantly being asked to play the piano at various venues throughout Dubai and Oman. Brenda also was hired by local Dubai families to play at weddings and parties.
During the first Gulf War, Brenda G. was PA to the GM at TNT Skypak. At the time many Brits were leaving Dubai as they and their respective companies deemed it unsafe for them to remain. But Brenda G staged a sit in and said “There is no way I am abandoning Dubai at this time as Dubai is my home and I still have two jobs to do. Besides I am not leaving my dog and my children Ellen and Russell who live here.” She was allowed to stay.
Frank Carson (famous Irish 70’s comedian) performed at Dirty Nellies and needed a lady pianist for part of his act... Brenda G was hired for this.
When Tommy Cooper came over to Dubai to perform he heard Mum play and became a huge fan of hers and made her play his favourite song Smoke get in your eyes six times!!
She has also been on the BBC’s Kenny Everett Show winning the fastest pianist against four other pianists playing Rachmaninov. Brenda G could play classical and contemporary music as background at VIP events as well as sing songs at local hangouts. She also directed various musicals when they performed in Dubai and Oman.
Brenda G will also be remembered for driving her white open top jeep called Delilah, (even in the summer months) whilst holding the lead out the window so her dog could run along beside her on the sand plot outside her building. At the traffic lights once Shaikh Mohammed wound down his window and complemented her on her Jeep (as it was one of a kind).
Brenda reluctantly retired and left Dubai in 1995 having worked for TNT for many years.
She returned to the town of Ebbw Vale in Wales where she was born.
In 2005 Brenda lost her eldest son Scott to two brain tumours. Scott was also a talented musician in the famous cabaret band Tomfoolery starring Owen Money and Brian Conely. Brenda has never got over this although she continued to play up until her two heart attacks in 2011 which nearly killed her. The doctors claimed it was a miracle she survived.
Brenda G is now in a care home and although mentally as alert as ever she keeps saying she wants to go home... meaning Dubai... as it was a huge part of her life and she was at her happiest there.
She has three remaining children and six grandchildren.
We celebrated her 80th birthday on March 23, 2014.
Ellen Palmer.......Brenda G's Daughter.
