On Thu, 19 Oct 1995, Don Pribble wrote:
 
> This story is told about Dudley Buck, an organist of a couple of generations
> ago:
>
> Buck was playing in a church where he and the minister didn't get along too
> well.  At one point in the service the minister said, "The organ will now
> play."  Whereupon Buck kicked in the crescendo pedal, threw a hymn book on
> the great manual and said, "There.  Let the damned thing play" and promptly
> walked off.
 
There are various versions of such a story.  I've heard it told more than
once about W. T. Best, at least one of those being around the dedication
of the Willis at St Georges' Hall, Liverpool.  That version is related in
one of Aubrey Thompson-Allen's "Information Given" articles in the AGO
magazine (_Music_) back in the 1970s.
 
Briefly, the mayor delivered an opening announcement, the called forth
"let the organ play!"  This was met by dead silence.  The call went forth
again, met with the same response.  Someone went and found Best and the
foot of the stairs to the organ loft, and told him "you heard the Lord
Mayor!  He said 'let the organ play!'" - to which Best replied "let it!"
The messenger went back to explain the situation, whereupon the Mayor was
eventually persuaded to announce "...and now, Mr. William Best will play
the organ!"
 
- Tim Tikker