BBC's Desert Island Discs program began 75 years ago and has become a treasure-trove of deep insights into the lives and careers of people who have shaped our culture. Many of the shows have been lost; a dilemma familiar to fans of Doctor Who and The Avengers. But thanks to fans around the world who taped the program, lost episodes are still being unearthed! Presenter Kirsty Young (my personal crush) has announced that a long-lost interview with Diana Rigg was preserved on quarter-inch tape by a collector and has, at last, been added to the BBC's on-line archive. Rigg was interviewed in 1970 by Roy Plomley and the show offers an interesting glimpse into her perspective on her career. In our last Spy Vibe post we announced Diana Rigg is scheduled to attend a rare screening of The Avengers at the BFI to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her portrayal of Mrs. Emma Peel. The actress has famously shied away from Avengers events, which has caused disappointment and perhaps some resentment among fans. I've never given it much thought, as I simply love what she contributed to the series in the 1960s (and I mean LOVE), and I've appreciated her warmth and generous reflections on working with co-star Patrick Macnee. What her Desert Island Discs interview reveals is an actress who is forever passionate about Shakespeare and about her love of performing in Stratford. Where she speaks affectionately about Shakespearian roles and their deep insights into humanity, Rigg dismisses Emma Peel as almost a cartoony, "karate-kicking" confection. Perhaps what she never realized is that she infused Mrs Peel with so much spirit and humanity as an actress that we're still in love with Emma 50 years later. She must have done it right! Where she adored playing characters written by others, she was perhaps too close to her own creation to see how marvelous it really was. Maybe the series didn't offer the same range of emotion, but her creation was genius none the less. I hope Dame Diana can recognize this when she sees her magnificent work on the big screen next month at the BFI. The eerie House That Jack Built episode definitely maximized her skills within the conventions of the series and is a great choice for the event. Now go back in time to 1970 and get to know her better. Diana's favorite recording? Trois Gymnopedies by Satie. BBC link here. Below: a distressed Mrs. Peel in House That Jack Built, plus a newly unearthed photo of Diana Rigg in Twelfth Night 1966. Related posts: Shakespeare Spies Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Ian Fleming's Music, Rigg Birthday Tribute, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Richard Sala Interview I, Set Countdown #7. Enjoy!
Selected Spy Vibe posts: Diana Rigg Event, Ian Fleming Letters, New Gillette 007 Covers, Pirate Radio, Spectre Advanced Poster, Honor Blackman at 90, UNCLE School, Ian Fleming Memorial, Radiophonic Exhibit, 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, Jeremy Duns on Bond, John Buss interview, Avengers Season 5 Titles, 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, Art of Modesty, Tokyo Beat 1964, Feraud Mod Fashion, Green Hornet Manga, No 6 Festival, 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, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.
Author Len Deighton (The Ipcress File) chats with Roy Plomley on Desert Island Discs in a broadcast from June 21st, 1976. In this 30-minute program, the writer discusses his life, his books, and shares his favorite music, including Beethoven, Jack Teagarden, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, Ravel, Mozart, Neil Diamond, and others. His book choice was a cookbook, which won't be a surprise to fans of Deighton's gourmet spy, Harry Palmer. And asked to pick one luxury item to have on his island, he chose to have... a darkroom! Wonderful insights into Deighton's own character and the many themes found in his novels! Hear the whole interview at BBC here. Below: Len Deighton teaches actor Michael Caine how to properly break an egg.
Selected Spy Vibe posts: Road to Hong Kong, Inside Gerry Anderson, Ringo Does Goldfinger, Sixties Beat Wear, SPECTRE Announced, Popular Skullture, New Gerry Anderson Sets, New SECRET AGENT set, Art of Modesty, Avengers Blu-ray update, Tokyo Beat 1964, Polaroid Spy, Modesty Monday, Feraud Mod Fashion, Flint Scores!, Bond Danish, Home Movies, New Richard Sala Book, New 007 Comics, Designing Bond Books, Green Hornet Manga, Margaret Nolan Art, No 6 Festival, Barbarella Returns, 007 Audio Books Return, Designer: Gene Winfield, 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, Rare Avengers Scripts, Man From Uncle UK Comics, Mattel X-15, Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.
The era of the 'mix tape' may have evolved into that of the 'playlist', but people have been sharing their cultural tastes for generations, passing along small glimpses into their personality and times. Similarly, the top-ten lists come flooding in every new year, as do those desert island picks. Spy Vibe continues to look at the musical world of Ian Fleming. Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr.
On August 6th, 1963, Ian Fleming made an appearance on the BBC's Desert Island Dics, where Roy Plomley interviewed him about the creation of James Bond and about his writing routine. As part of the show's format, Fleming also shared his favorite records that he would choose as his desert island picks. After listing a few choices, he said that if he were allowed only one record, it would be the barroom jazz hit, The Darktown Strutter's Ball, by Joe "Fingers" Carr. Fleming biographer Andrew Lycett and I corresponded yesterday about the topic of Ian Fleming's musical tastes and he mentioned that Fleming collected jazz records during some of his trips to the United States during the early 1950s. Who was Joe "Fingers" Carr and what can we learn about Ian Fleming from this music?
Joe "Fingers" Carr released The Darktown Strutters Ball on his 1953 Capital album, Rough-House Piano. The album was issued in 10-inch vinyl (catalog H-345), as well as in sets of 45s and 78s. Songs on the record included Somebody Stole My Gal, The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady, Dardanella, Twelfth Street rag, Lou's Blues, Minute Walz Boogie, Narcissus, and The Darktown Strutter's Ball. The album was re-released later with additional tracks. It is possible that Fleming had the 45 or 78 set, as he singled out that particular tune and those editions enabled the listener to focus on a single track. By the 1950s, however, it is more likely that he was collecting 10-inch vinyl jazz records. With four songs per side, Fleming probably did what any obsessed music fan would do and he dropped the needle down on The Darktown Strutters Ball over and over (for you digital-age readers, you couldn't play an individual LP or EP track on 'repeat'). Hear song samples from Rough-House Piano on Amazon here.
Joe "Fingers" Carr was born in 1910 as Lou Bush (later Busch). He was a talented pianist who favored the ragtime and early hot-jazz styles. By the age of twelve, he was performing as Lou Bush and His Tickletoe Four. He worked for Hal Kemp in the 1930s and was picked up by Johnny Mercer at Capital in the late 1940s. He worked in A&R and played as a studio musician for Peggy Lee, Tennessee Ernie Ford and others. He then donned the moniker Joe "Fingers" Carr and began releasing Honkey Tonk and Ragtime albums in the 1950s, which is when Ian Fleming apparently caught up with him.
It's likely that Ian Fleming found Carr's Rough-House Piano during his 1954 trip across America. The album would have been in the stores for less than a year at that point. Although there were business meetings to attend regarding his books, possible screen options, and the recent TV production of Casino Royale, Ian Fleming made a point during the trip to schedule activities that excited him as a writer: He visited the site of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, meet up with policemen to talk about crime in the United States, and conducted some observational research about gambling behavior in Las Vegas. Fleming would have had many opportunities to find Carr's album at record shops in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The Honkey Tonk and Ragtime styles of Joe "Fingers" Carr must have captured some of the sexual and violent nature of America, a kind of rebelliousness that probably appealed to the side of Fleming that made great efforts to avoid the dinner parties hosted by his wife. This is the side of Ian that we explored in our last segment- the Ian who played Hawaiian guitar, the boy who rejected traditional social conventions in favor of some rowdy tunes steeped in international culture.
For a man who was plagued by morose and melancholy waves, I imagine that this upbeat music also served as a quick elixir to clear the cobwebs of his mood. About The Darktown Strutter's Ball, Fleming said, "This tremendous racket would keep the ghosts away." [Lycett pg. 419]. well, there is nothing like bawdy jazz to rekindle the twinkle in one's eye (see photo above). Fleming bought the record and evidently loved it. Ten years after the album's initial release, Ian Fleming was in the last twelve months of his life. Despite the success of his novels, he was plagued by health issues, an unhappy marriage, and a chronic lawsuit over Thunderball. He was a man who had ghosts to keep away, and Joe "Fingers" Carr was just what the doctor ordered.
You can hear The Darktown Strutter's Ball at the Amazon link above. To give you a taste of the record here on Spy Vibe, below is another jaunty ditty from side one of Carr's Rough-House Piano album, Somebody Stole My Gal. Ian Fleming photo at the top of this page from the National Portrait Gallery.
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 recent posts about Ian Fleming- Hawaiian Guitar player!, 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.
Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!
