Happy Saturday, Spy Vibers! Another week flew by, as I helped my art students launch a new semester. We're about a week and half in and already the filmmakers have completed their first movies and the photographers have mastered some of the foundation elements of composition. With a three-day weekend ahead, I cleaned up the Spy Vibe lair last night, put my feet up on the ottoman, and checked in with some of my fave artists from the 1960s to see what they are up to these days. You know I like to cover a wide scope of sixties-related material, but the tone yesterday was really set by my postman, who delivered some signed books from Michael Palin of Monty Python! I can tell you the little kid in me was Super Excited. The Pythons stood right up there along with The Beatles and The Avengers as my greatest childhood heroes. It appears Michael Palin is now working with Terry Gilliam to (finally) make Terry's Don Quixote film. If you've seen Lost in La Mancha, you know this particular classic story has been cursed for filmmakers like Gilliam and Orson Welles. But I bet the project will be guided by a lucky star with Michael aboard. Have fun, chaps! If your vibe is British satire and surreal comedy, you might be pleased to hear that a number of autumn tour dates have been announced in the UK for Neil Innes (with The Rutles!) and the Bonzo Dog Band. You will even find some Pythons on tour! Let's add some laughter to our day. More info below.
The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (the Bonzos) formed in the early 1960s, combining a love of vintage novelty songs with elements of Dada/avant-garde art, satire, and surrealist humor. Spy Vibers might recognize the group from their appearance in The Beatles film, Magical Mystery Tour (debut Dec 26, 1967). Check out the short they made with British Pathe earlier that same year for their track, The Equestrian Statue. It's a wonderful time capsule of Sgt Pepper-Magical Mystery Tour-era Britain (see below). The Bonzos came to wider attention as regulars on the comedy children's program, Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967-1969), where they appeared alongside future Pythons, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, and Terry Jones. They released a number of albums- and Paul McCartney produced their first hit! Neil Innes of the Bonzos continued to collaborate with the Pythons, most notably on Monty Python's Flying Circus, Monty Python and the Holy Grail ("Bravely Bold Sir Robin" is one of his famous tunes), Live at the Hollywood Bowl, Jabberwocky, and The Rutles. More below.
Avenger and Bond Girl, Honor Blackman, is currently on a short tour of speaking engagements. Taking the stage in Honor Blackman As Herself, she discusses stories from her career, including the Swinging London years portraying Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, as well as playing the original leather Avenger Cathy Gale in The Avengers. From her website: "Whilst Honor's career stretches over sixty glorious years, she has rarely appeared simply as herself. Here, in conversation with her
colleague and friend Richard Digby Day she will look back over this astonishing
life, her beginnings, her family, her rise to stardom with her usual sense of
humour and perspective. She will also be singing a few of her favourite songs." Hopefully she will include the Avengers tune Kinky Boots! Upcoming UK dates are May 8th, 12th, and 25th. Story continues below.
Speaking to the Coventry Telegraph, the actress spoke about how The Avengers launched her as "a pin-up as the smart, sexy,
gun-wielding, judo throwing anthropologist Cathy Gale. 'I really did go to judo
classes,' she says. At the age of 37 she was cast as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger." And if you ever wondered if she really was a natural action star: “When I was in the Civil Service I became a dispatch rider.
Because all the men were at war they asked girls to volunteer to learn how to
ride a motorbike and go from hospital to hospital in an emergency carrying
blood. Sadly I never got to because no-one ran out. But we used to ride across London- it frightened my mother
to death. I was known as Top Gear Tessie. I remember riding on the A4
from London to Oxford with my feet on the petrol tank singing at the top of my
voice.” Spy Vibe wishes Honor Blackman all the best for her upcoming shows and hope she will make it to some dates in the States. Below with Sean Connery in Goldfinger.
Gerry Marsden (Gerry and the Pacemakers) has scheduled a new memoir tour filled with music, images, and stories from his career performing alongside The Beatles and other bands in the 1960s. Gerry and the Pacemakers, like The Beatles, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin at EMI. They released three number one singles in a row, a streak that wasn't broken until the 1980s, and Marsden's chipper vocals and bouncy rhythm guitar epitomized the sound of The British Invasion. Marsden's band became an international sensation with original hits like Ferry Cross the Mersey and Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying, and with inventive interpretations of standards like My Babe, Summertime, You'll Never Walk Alone, and Jumbalaya. The original group disbanded in 1966, the same year The Beatles stopped touring. Gerry Marsden went on to do cabaret and stage work, before reforming the Pacemakers in the 1970s. He re-recorded Ferry Cross the Mersey with Paul McCartney in 1989 for a charity event. Marsden's memoir tour has 37 dates scheduled in the UK between now and the end of 2014. In addition, The Pacemakers kick off a "60s Gold Tour" tomorrow. They will join The Searchers, PJ Proby, and others on stage almost nightly between Sept 25th and Nov 29th. All tour info is available on the official Gerry and the Pacemakers website here. Gerry Marsden was born today in 1942. Happy Birthday, Gerry! Many Happy Returns from Jason at Spy Vibe. Original mono LP below (not in my collection, sadly), followed by his official 2013 video tribute to Liverpool for You'll Never Walk Alone. If the video doesn't play here, you can click to watch it on YouTube. Enjoy!
