Drumming sensation Roy Holliday, 96, on getting his once-in-a-lifetime honorary degree

• ITV Anglia's Sophie Wiggins went to meet Roy Holliday.

A 96-year-old drummer who has spent decades making music has been given an honorary masters degree.

Dance band drummer Roy Holliday started playing the drums for money in his uncle’s band when he was just 13 years old, back in 1939.

By age 14 he was playing in two professional bands and had an agent.

Now Mr Holliday, who lives in Milton Keynes, has been honoured by the Open University with a master’s degree for his service to music and the community.

“I think it's a great honour. In fact, probably apart from my quite successful marriage, it's been the best thing that's ever happened to me," he said.

"I left school at 13 and so now the Open University is sort of finishing it off just a little bit later."

When Mr Holliday was 17 years old he worked at an aeroplane engine factory, and because he was in a job that was useful to the war effort, he wasn’t called up to fight.

This meant he could work in the factory by day, and play at dance halls and clubs by night. By 1948, he was a full time musician.

His career led him into the Royal Air Force Band, and he played all over the world, including in India and Egypt. 

“In the early days dance halls had tea dances and evening dances every day," he told ITV News.

"So you did 13 sessions a week. You did a Sunday club on a Sunday evening, so you were fully occupied.”

At the age of 50, Mr Holliday says he grew tired of the late nights and took a different career path.

He went to business school and joined drum manufacturer ‘Pearl Drums’.

He later became the managing director of the company and moved their offices to Milton Keynes in 1982.

He joined the Open University’s big band and became immersed in the city’s music scene. He was soon teaching, repairing drums and playing at various functions for the next 40 years.

Still now he drums occasionally but had his last professional gig at the age of 86. He says his arthritis stops him from being as good as he was. 

Despite his decades of dedication to his craft, he was in total shock when he received the invitation to collect his degree and didn’t believe it was real.

He said: “ I got this message on my iPad and I thought, this is a scam. All my life, I've worked and been paid, of course, for playing music.

"And nobody had ever said “you're doing better than anybody else” or “you're worse than anybody else”. Or “you've got some kind of social value.” 

Upon receiving the award he said: “I'm frightfully grateful. Terribly grateful. When you're in a profession, you work for money and you get applause at the end of the evening or the end of the concert or whatever. But this kind of accolade is a once in a lifetime thing. And I'm so grateful to the OU for conferring that upon me.”

His wife of 45 years, Vivienne, attended the ceremony at the Milton Keynes Theatre alongside his sister-in-law and some friends from the music industry. 

Giving his speech to all of the graduation attendees, he said: “Thank you everyone, I’ve enjoyed every moment, and I hope there’s a few more moments to come.”

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