PEPPER DAYS

The Beatles groundbreaking album, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was release fifty years ago in the States on June 1st. To celebrate the anniversary, the group has released a new deluxe edition with a stereo re-mix by Giles Martin (son of George Martin), as well as bonus CDs of studio outtakes and promo and documentary films. With renewed attention this weekend on radio and the internet, it feels like people are invited to take a momentary break from the chaos and enter the fabulous and imaginative world of Pepperland. The contrast might be more apt than you realize. In the great 20th anniversary doc below we saw reflections on the summer of 1967, when SGT Pepper's blasted from open windows, poets and protesters challenged society, and the war raged on. Check out some chapters below (most are blocked due to content). The highlight that has stuck with me these past thirty years is seeing poet Adrian Mitchell read To Whom it May Concern (Tell Me Lies About Vietnam) during his Albert Hall appearance in 1965. If the world ever needed the inspiration and respite of a Sgt. Pepper, it was then... and now. Spy Vibers, have you heard my new radio show with Cocktail Nation? Episode #4 is coming up. Here are info links for Episode #1 (Danger Man) and Episode #2 (The 10th Victim), Epsiode #3 (On Her Majesty's Secret Service). Don't forget: James Bond screenings this Sunday. Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Roger Moore R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio 3, Sgt Pepper 50th, Satanik Kriminal OST, 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Fahrenheit 451 50th, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review, David McCallum novel, Andre Courreges R.I.P., Who's Talking on Spy Vibe, UFO Blu-ray, Avengers Pop Art.

SATANIK KRIMINAL OST

New releases: Spy Vibers, fire up the Hi-Fi! Two titles turned up recently for Record Store Day that are definitely worth checking out. If you enjoy groovy Italian spy-fi lounge, this is for you! First up on the record player: the soundtrack to the 1967 film, Santanik. "RSD 2017 release. Stunning jazz soundtrack from the legendary duo of Roberto Pregadio and Romano Mussolini for the 1967 movie based off the Italian cult comic series Satanik. Deluxe complete edition for the first time, in a limited numbered edition of 500 copies in transparent red vinyl." And if that wasn't enough, you can also dive into the macabre, groovy world of Kriminal: "RSD 2017 release. A great blend of '60s mod and Italian jazz composed by the dynamic duo Roberto Pregadio and Romano Mussolini for the 1965 movie based on the mega-cult Italian comic, Kriminal. Complete edition for the first time in a deluxe limited numbered edition of 500 copies in transparent yellow vinyl." Check your local record stores and on-line retailers to see if you can find copies of these cool limited-editions. Learn more about the original 1960s comics and photo novels featuring Satanik, Kriminal, Sadistik (and others!) and purchase special editions here. And check out Spy Vibe's Diabolikal image archive at Pinterest here. Spy Vibers, have you heard my new radio show with Cocktail Nation? Episode #3 is coming up and I'll be talking about On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Here are info links for Episode #1 (Danger Man) and Episode #2 (The 10th Victim). Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Fahrenheit 451 50th, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review, David McCallum novel, Andre Courreges R.I.P., Who's Talking on Spy Vibe, UFO Blu-ray, Avengers Pop Art.

MAKE LOVE IN LONDON

To celebrate the HD restoration of the 1967 cult-classic movie Tonight Let's All Make Love in London, the film is scheduled to appear on the big screen at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday, May 1st. The screening and Q&A will be hosted by distributor Tim Beddows, DeMonfort professor Steve Chibnail, music writer Jon Savage, and Peter Whitehead Archive curator Dr. Alissa Clarke. Don't miss it if you are in London! The film, named after a poem recited at the Hall by Allen Ginsberg, is driven by the pulsing psychedelia of early Pink Floyd and punctuated by interviews with the likes of Michael Caine, David Hockney, Mick Jagger and other Sixties ‘faces’. It also captures a moment when the Rolling Stones’ concert at the Hall in 1966 was interrupted by a rioting audience. More info about the screening event here. I've had a CD of the soundtrack for years and have enjoyed the piece as an interesting time capsule. Parts of the film and soundtrack are a window into one of the most important happenings of the decade- The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream (April 29, 1967). This event was organized by Barry Miles, John Hopkins, Mike McInnerney, and Jack Henry Moore as a fundraiser for the counterculture paper, International Times. The multi-artist line-up included Pink Floyd, Arthur Brown, Soft Machine, The Move, The Pretty Things, Pete Townshend, The Creation, Yoko Ono, and film screenings by Peter Whitehead. Experimental and innovative days indeed! Whitehead also filmed parts of the event and then used the Pink Floyd footage to create structure for his experimental film, Tonight Let's Make Love in London. News of the May 1, 2017 Albert Hall screening comes via UK distributor Network, who will release a Blu-ray edition of the movie. From the press release: "Featured here as a brand new restoration, Peter Whitehead's celebrated film probes the myth and the reality of "Swinging London" presenting an intimate, impressionistic collage of rare concert and studio performances, interviews with key figures from the worlds of music, art and cinema, and images of Sixties counterculture. John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Mick Jagger, Vanessa Redgrave, Lee Marvin, Julie Christie (Billy Liar, The Saint, Fahrenheit 451, Petulia), Allen Ginsberg, Edna O'Brien, David Hockney and Michael Caine (Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin, Alfie) are among those captured on film and in sound; bookended by a performance of Pink Floyd's Interstellar Overdrive, the soundtrack features songs by the Rolling Stones and Eric Burdon. Made when many young people saw politicised hedonism as the logical response to global uncertainty, Whitehead's "Pop Concerto for Film" taps into both the confidence and the confusion of an iconic moment in time." To help Spy Vibers place these events in context: The Beatles innovative masterpiece, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band came out on June 1st, 1967. Pink Floyd's first album for EMI, Piper At the Gates of Dawn, was released on August 5th, 1967. Whiteheads Tonight Let's All Make Love in London was originally shown at the New York Film Festival on September 26th 1967. The culture was truly about to change forever. Enjoy! Spy Vibers, Episode 2 of my new radio spot on Cocktail Nation is live! This time I talk about the 1965 film, The 10th Victim. More info here. 

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Fahrenheit 451 50th, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review, David McCallum novel, Andre Courreges R.I.P., Who's Talking on Spy Vibe, UFO Blu-ray, Avengers Pop Art.

POP PEELLAERT

Today Spy Vibe celebrates Belgian artist Guy Peelaert. Peelaert (1934-2008) first pursued a career in the arts as a decorator and comic artist in Belgium. Eventually working out of Paris, he rode a wave of sixties psychedelia and Pop Art to create his celebrated comics, Les Aventures de Jodelle (1966) and Pravda (1967). He later became known for his iconic album cover deigns such as included Diamond Dogs (David Bowie) and It's Only Rock 'n Roll (Rolling Stones). Find out about Fantagraphics Books' new editions of Jodelle and Pravda here. Barbara fans will enjoy! May not be suitable for younger Spy Vibers. From the press release: "The Adventures of Jodelle, whose voluptuous title heroine was modeled after French teen idol Sylvie Vartan, is a satirical spy story set in a Space Age Roman-Empire fantasy world. Its then-revolutionary clashing of high and low culture references, borrowing as much from Renaissance painting as from a fetishized American consumer culture, marked the advent of the Pop movement within the nascent "9th art" of comic books, not yet dignified as "graphic novels" but already a source of great influence in avant-garde artistic circles. Visually, Jodelle was a major aesthetic shock. According to New Yorkmagazine, its "lusciously designed, flat color patterns and dizzy forced perspective reminiscent of Matisse and Japanese prints set a new record in comic-strip sophistication. Released a year later and first serialized in the French counter-culture bible Hara-Kiri, Pravda follows the surreal travels of an all-female motorcycle gang across a mythical American landscape, led by a mesmerizing cold-blooded heroine whose hyper-sexualized elastic anatomy was this time inspired by quintessential Gallic chanteuse Françoise Hardy. Pravda's eye-popping graphics pushed the psychedelic edge of Jodelle to dazzling new heights, further liberating the story from narrative conventions to focus the reader's attention on the stunning composition and glaring acid colors of the strips, with each frame functioning as a stand-alone cinematic picture." Below: Images from the books and Pravda cover of German magazine Form 50 (1970). Thanks to Jhalal Drut for putting this cover on my radar. Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review, David McCallum novel, Andre Courreges R.I.P., Who's Talking on Spy Vibe, UFO Blu-ray, Avengers Pop Art Interview, Fergus Fleming Interview, Avengers: Alan Hayes Interview, Jaz Wiseman Interview, Diana Rigg BFI Interview, Casino Royale Interview: Mike Richardson, Lost Diana Rigg Interview, Honor Blackman at 90, UNCLE School, Ian Fleming Memorial, Portmeirion Photos, Doctor Who Exhibit, Farewell Steed, Pussy Galore Returns, Diana Rigg birthday, Sherlock at 221B, Invisible Agent, Saint Interview: Ian Dickerson, Saint Doppelgänger, Fleming's Typewriter, Rare Fleming, Fleming's Music, Ian Fleming's Japan, Jim Wilson Corgi Interview, Fantomas Design, John Buss interview, Saint Volvo, Mod Tales Interview, Agente Secreto Comics, Danger Man Comics 2, Danger Man Comics, John Drake Comics, Der Mann Von UNCLE, Golden Margaret Nolan, Man From UNCLE Rocksteady, Pussy Galore Calypso, Cynthia Lennon R.I.P., Edward Mann Fashion, Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, Thai Bond Design, Bond vs Modernism, Tokyo Beat 1964, Feraud Mod Fashion, Green Hornet Manga, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.

CRAZY WORLD OF THE YOUNG

The Spy Boom in the 1960s spawned a world of copycat movies made on shoestring budgets hoping to cash in on the Bond-wagon. Toward the end of the wave came this interesting curiosity: The Crazy World of the Young (El mundo loco de los jóvenes/1967). Written and directed by Jose Maria Fernandez Unsain, the film was produced in Mexico and centered around a spy who used a rock band as a cover. I love this premise, of course. What better way to celebrate the impact of cultural elements such as the Cold War and the pop music scene! Music fans will spot the obligatory Hofner and Rickenbacker guitars popularized by The Beatles. And as we've seen in spy films that took place in the world of fashion and photography, the traveling life of the musician made for a great plot device. The movie starred Mexican band Los Dug Dug's, who had come to Mexico City in 1966 to seek their fortune. After stints playing clubs like 2+2 and Hullaballoo, their career began to take off with some recording contracts and songs for television. The coolest aspect of the movie trailer, though, is the playful depiction of TV studios, clubs and dancers- not to mention these great cat costumes! Popular dance TV shows like Shindig and Hullabaloo may have ended in 1966, but The Crazy World of the Young showed that the world was not yet ready to leave those Mod hoofers behind. Below: movie trailer and cat-costume image from the film. I've also included images and a comic promoting 5 de Fresca y 1 de Chocolate (1967), starring Los Dug Dug's and Angelica Maria. Note Angelica Maria's hooded outfit is quite similar to a fashion design I created a few years ago for the star of my upcoming spy novel, Miki Zero. Thanks to Agent K and Jhalal Drut for putting these movies on my radar. Enjoy! 

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review, David McCallum novel, Andre Courreges R.I.P., Who's Talking on Spy Vibe, UFO Blu-ray, Avengers Pop Art Interview, Fergus Fleming Interview, Avengers: Alan Hayes Interview, Jaz Wiseman Interview, Diana Rigg BFI Interview, Casino Royale Interview: Mike Richardson, Lost Diana Rigg Interview, Honor Blackman at 90, UNCLE School, Ian Fleming Memorial, Portmeirion Photos, Doctor Who Exhibit, Farewell Steed, Pussy Galore Returns, Diana Rigg birthday, Sherlock at 221B, Invisible Agent, Saint Interview: Ian Dickerson, Saint Doppelgänger, Fleming's Typewriter, Rare Fleming, Fleming's Music, Ian Fleming's Japan, Jim Wilson Corgi Interview, Fantomas Design, John Buss interview, Saint Volvo, Mod Tales Interview, Agente Secreto Comics, Danger Man Comics 2, Danger Man Comics, John Drake Comics, Der Mann Von UNCLE, Golden Margaret Nolan, Man From UNCLE Rocksteady, Pussy Galore Calypso, Cynthia Lennon R.I.P., Edward Mann Fashion, Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, Thai Bond Design, Bond vs Modernism, Tokyo Beat 1964, Feraud Mod Fashion, Green Hornet Manga, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.