A Feast of Posters

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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

The House of Hammer Films

I suppose, if I am to be honest, it was a combination of things that caught my attention with these films. The 'horror' was all very gothic, which I liked, often very tongue in cheek, sometimes bloody silly if not absurd with some afwul effects and often a little camp. However, I would always watch then with eyes glued to the screen. I think another part of me, the young adolescent with lust in his loins, enjoyed watching the ladies with their boobs hanging out of tightly clinging dresses. This appealed to me as a teenager as much as the story!

Barbara Shelley (1) was gorgeous and Veronica Carlson (2) stunning.

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The film stuidio was first founded in 1934 but it wasn't until the 1950's and then through the 60's and 70's that Hammer really came into its own.

Of course it was the superb roster of actors that really helped to make these films. Christopher Lee became the epitome of what we now think of as Dracula even if Bram Stoker's oringinal character was very different. With Lee inhabiting the role, Dracula became not just a sinister member of the dark aristocracy but also a sensual, sexual predator who loved nothing more than plunging his fangs in to buxum beauties.

While the ever elegant, daper Peter Cushing played a diverse range of roles: from Van Helsing to Victor Frankenstein and all with such grace and aplomb.


The studio seemed to fade from view after an excellent run of TV programmes in the 1980's but I hear that they have now been bought out my another company who have pledged to bring back the horror into Hammer. I certainly hope so.

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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

Victorian Posters

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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

The Wildfowl Reels or Folk Songs by any other name - Bog Down in the Valley

O-ro the rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-o
O-ro the rattlin' bog, the bog down in the valley-o

And in that bog there was a tree, a rare tree, a rattlin' tree
With the tree in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

Now on that tree there was a limb, a rare limb, a rattlin' limb
With the limb on the tree and the tree in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

Now on that limb there was a branch, a rare branch, a rattlin' branch
With the branch on the limb and the limb on the tree and the tree in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

(Repeat, adding a line each time)
Now on that branch there was a twig, a rare twig, a rattlin' twig.....

Now on that twig there was a nest, a rare nest, a rattlin' nest.....

Now in that nest there was an egg , a rare egg, a rattlin' egg.....

Now in that egg there was a bird, a rare bird, a rattlin' bird.....

Now on that bird there was a feather, a rare feather, a rattlin' feather .....

Now on that feather there was a flea, a rare flea, a rattlin' flea .....



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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

A Feast of Posters

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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

Victorian Posters

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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

Tabou Combo

A record found at a flea market some years ago. Tabou Combo come from Haiti and this record was recorded in 1974. The two tracks featured here are the title track "8th Sacrement" and " Pace Domine".

"Formed in the Port-Au-Prince suburb of Petion-Ville by the Chancy brothers, Albert on bass and Adolphe on guitar, this young band won the Radio Haiti mini-jazz competition in 1968. They relocated to Brooklyn in 1971, and their song "New York City," which spoke of the difficulty of life in exile, reached #1 on the Paris pop charts in August 1975. They competed with Ska-Shah for top band honors in the 70s and 80s and fought "musical duels" similar to the Weber Sicot/Jean-Baptiste Nemours battles of the 50s and 60s.

An irresistible live band, Tabou Combo takes Haitian compas to the widest of audiences. From their regular appearances in the '80s at the famous Zenith Theatre in Paris, to an audience of 20,000 in New York's Central Park, to the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, in football stadiums throughout the Caribbean, and on the turntables of the top DJs, this band makes people dance. Influenced by funk and soul in their adopted home, Tabou took on the likeness of the Commodores on the covers of their late-'70s releases. They even made a demo tape with hopes of a Motown contract. Their desire to reach the Black US market remains unsatisfied, but they should be proud that popular musicians such as Kassav' from the Antilles/Paris and Wilfrido Vargas from the Dominican Republic have absorbed their music."

Visit the band's official website HERE.

I.K. Dairo & His Blue Spots

Another great West African band from the 70's I would guess - found at Brick Lane flea market in the 80's. I love the jangly guitar sound and the strange loping rhythyms going on here - one track seemlessly seeping into the next.

Wikipedia says-

"I.K. Dairo was born in the town of Offa, located in present day Kwara State; his family was originally from Ijebu-Ijesa before migrating to Offa. He attended a Christian Missionary primary school in Offa, however, he later quit his studies due to a lean year in his family's finances. He left Offa and traveled to Ijebu-Ijesa where he chose to work as a barber. On his journey, he took along with him a drum built by his father when he was seven years old. By the time he was residing in Ijebu Ijesa, he was already an avid fan of drumming. When he was unoccupied with work, he spent time listening to the early pioneers of Juju music in the area and experimented with drumming. His interest in Juju music increased over time, and in 1942, he joined a band led by Taiwo Igese but within a few short years, the band broke up. In 1948, he went to Ede, a town in present day Osun State where he started work there as a pedestrian cloth trader and played music with a local group on the side. One day, while his boss was away traveling, I.K. Dairo decided to join his fellow friends to play at a local ceremony, unknowing to him, his boss was coming back that same day, the boss was furious with the act and he was relieved of his job as a result.

IK Dairo later pursued various manual tasks after his firing and was able to save enough money to move to Ibadan, where Daniel Ojoge, a pioneer Juju musician usually played. He got a break to join a band with Daniel Ojoge and played for a brief period of time before returning to Ijebu-Ijesa."

Game Show Hosts - Michael Miles

Michael John Miles was born in 1919 in Wellington, New Zealand and died, prematurely on – 17 February 1971. I have to say that I never liked the man as he always seemed so rude to contestants of his Take Your Pick show, especially the females. It was this show, along with Hughie Green's Double Your money that sat at the top of the heap as far as game shows went in the sixties and, as much as I disliked his condescending attitude, he was probably a far nicer man than good old Hughie. Michael was an epileptic and was deeply ashamed of his condition and would even hide himself away in his dressing room. He died at the early age of fifty two.
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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

John Hegley

I never really was much of a poetry lover until I saw John Hegley perfom some of his poetry and songs at Lauderdale House in North London back in the early 90's. John was with a group of other comedians and musicians at the monthly lunchtime "Nuclear Family" gigs. Our neighbour in Lambeth , Keith Moore was a musician and he occasionally played tuba or bass with the Popticians, John's backing band. The two songs " Grandad's Glasses" and "Amoeba" were on one side of an 12" single on the Glass Fish label we bought from John on one of those events. It was produced by Robyn Hitchcock who also did the sleeve art and played bass and piano on it. Also on this record is Sue Norton who plays saxaphone and flute.

I suppose what I love about John Hegley's poems is that they make me laugh. Poetry tends to be very serious and sometimes very pretentious. John's poems are serious too ofcourse and it would be hard to find a more dedicated and passionate performer. Humour is serious stuff! Serious stuff can be very funny! John's poems are about everyday mundane things like glasses, dogs and family. He has also written stories and plays for the radio. His "Hearing With Hegley" series on Radio 4 was a wonderful mixture of poems, songs and music.

I was fortunate to be asked to design a book cover for his slim volume "Beyond Our Kennel" in 1998. Published by Methuen.

John coincidentally is doing a lecture today at the Interactive Arts course at MMU in Manchester which I am missing as I write this! I've been to two previous "lectures" that Hazel(my other half ) organised and they are great fun so I'm rather annoyed that I'm missing this one due to circumstances beyond my control.