AGENT BOND, BROOKE BOND

Agent Craig Arthur has alerted me to a fabulous series of advertisements that need to be on the radar screens of every Spy Viber. Brooke Bond PG Tips tea made many commercials with chimpanzees over the years. The themes have covered cool Jazz cats, movie spoofs, slice-of-life comedy, and in the 1980s- James Bond parodies! In these shorts, agent Bond, Brooke Bond, received his assignments from Tee (head of intelligence/British Secret Tea Service) and went on James Bond-like missions. Arthur thinks that Michael Jayston might have been the voice of agent Brooke Bond in the ads. Jayston has had a long illustrious career that has included James Bond (You Only Live Twice/BBC radio), Doctor Who (as Valeyard- an evil incarnation of The Doctor), Quiller (TV), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (BBC), UFO, and Margery Booth: The Spy in the Eagle's Nest (2014). Jayston was also up for the role of James Bond when the producers were looking to replace Sean Connery for Live and Let Die. 

I'm such a fan of creative filmmaking like this. I love looking at models and puppets from Gerry Anderson's shows, for example. And despite the possible discomfort that the chimpanzees might have felt working in costume, I can't help but love things like Lancelot Link and these tea ads. My guilty pleasure! The filmmakers did a great job distilling some fun conventions from the 007 films and from classic mystery/adventure entertainment. Spy Vibers might want to track down an old compilation video of all of the Brooke Bond tea commercials, called Monkey Business. The Brooke Bond site above also features video links and a history of the company's ads and collectible cards. Enjoy! 

By the way, the chimp who played Lance Link on TV retired to Wildlife WayStation in California. The organization has been fund-raising to make needed renovations and they could use your help. You can find out more at the Lancelot Link website. 

I have a spy novella coming out soon! Stay tuned for more info. Did you know that Spy Vibe has a Pinterest page? You can see collections of images of Ian Fleming's life, dynamic vintage action, cliffhanger serials, Japanese designs from the 20s, vintage mystery novels, and more! Ian Fleming board here.

Check Spy Vibe for the Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, and recent posts about 1960s espionage writers, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, new Beatles bio from Mark Lewisohn, tributes to Donald Richie and Tony Sheridan, the Les Vampires serial on Blu-ray, Lucy Fleming, The Beatles first record session, Ian Fleming's desert island interview, new Ian Fleming book designs, Fantomas, Spy Smasher, Barbarella tv show, British spy comics, Piper Gates retro designs, Cinema Retro, and more. 

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