Pioneers over Fifty- Part Eight - Brian Eno

Brian Eno

When my grandfather, my mother’s father, was born, in 1897, they named him Albert Thomas Diamond Jubilee Doughty (The Diamond Jubilee bit was to signify Queen Victoria’s sixtieth year on the throne). The son of Amos doughty and Virginia (Ginny) Duffy.
You may wonder what any of this has to do with Brian Eno and you would be right to concur, not a lot.
Not a lot apart from that both my dear old granddad was born in Surrey and Brian Eno were born in Suffolk and both have odd middle names.

Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (to give him his full name) was born on 15th May 1948 in Woodbridge, Suffolk.

Woodbridge is an area neighboring the Mildenhall U.S. Air Force base and as a child he grew enamored of the American music of doo wop and early rock & roll (Eno this is and NOT my grandad). A time at art school introduced him to the work of contemporary composers. People such as John Tilbury and Cornelius Cardew as well as minimalists John Cage and LaMonte Young. Instructed in the principles of conceptual painting and sound sculpture, Eno began experimenting with tape recorders, which he dubbed his first musical instrument.
He dabbled with an assortment of avant-garde performers which gave him a grounding for what was to become his first breakthrough with the legendary art-rock band Roxy Music where he played synthesizer and electronically treated the bands sound. A flamboyant enigma decked out in garish makeup, pastel feather boas, and velvet corsets, his presence threatened the focal dominance of frontman Bryan Ferry, and relations between the two men became allegedly strained although there is another school of thought that suggests it was in fact the groups recording company, Island Records, that drove a wedge between the two parties; anyway, after just two LPs -- 1972's self-titled debut and 1973's For Your Pleasure Eno left Roxy Music and pursued a series of ambitious side projects.


The word genius gets bandied about and awarded to every slightly talented man and, to be fair, I am not sure the term applies to Brian Eno anymore than it does to say Paul McCartney but, like the aforementioned gent, Brian Eno has added something that wasn’t there before him and has helped to shape the music world, and change it for ever, with his input.
His music is both architectural and free form. And he is largely responsible and credited for having invented the term ‘ambient’.
Of course he is famous for having worked on David Bowie’s brilliant ‘Berlin Trilogy’, Low, Heroes, Lodger. Also, for working with King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. Other acts he has produced and worked with included U2, James, Paul Simon, Talking Heads. He will be largely remembered as a producer BUT it is his input into electronic music that I feel is his most remarkable achievement.
In many ways it is the very essence of European culture. Sculptured, refined, sophisticated, ambivalent, controlled and yet, at the same time, it has those very obviously American influences in terms of its free form capacity and its expansive heart and, conversely, an almost Japanese feel about its shape and minimalist tones. Truly original and it doesn’t lose its heart. It isn’t just a case of making a sound for the hell of it. It has soul. It has elegance and it has enough space for the listener to fall in and to react with emotionally. In a word, it is a sublime creation. One as worthy as that wholly American created art form, Jazz. More importantly though, it is still easy to listen to and is still pop music.

If you have any nagging doubts about ambient music, be it that it is largely music for shopping malls and lifts then listen to ‘Another Green World’ or 'Another Day On Earth’. I guarantee you will be impressed.
Trust me, you WILL enjoy.

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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

UK Comics part seven (Frank Bellamy)

Frank Bellamy (1917 - 1976)

Frank Bellamy was born in Kettering, Northampton in 1917. As a youngster his early artistic influences came from all the juvenile comics that he read in his childhood, Rainbow and Chips, but it was the old American Sunday comic sections that really provoked an interest in adventure strips. He loved the Tarzan strips of Hal Foster and much preffered these rather than the static picture stories that were found in British comics in the 1920s and ‘30s. He was also a big fan of of the American ‘jungle strips’ where the depiction of African fauna was a large influence. Bellamy loved the big cats and other animals that were to be found in Africa.

After leaving school Frank went to work in an art studio but, with the secnd World War looming, it was not long before he got his call up papers and the war put paid to his artistic dreams. But only for the duration of the war.

When the war ended, Bellamy moved to London, where he began work his way round every studio until he found himself a job. Eventually Norfolk Studios recognised his talent and he was offered a job with them.

He started work doing spot illustrations for magazines like Everybody’s Weekly and Outspan Magazine but it wasn't until he moved full time into comic illustration that his legend he would eventually become began to be realised.

By 1952 his illustrations were appearing fairly regularly in the Lutterworth publication. The issue for March, 1952, contains a superb scraperboard illustration of two otters that make one wish that he had used more of this medium in his work. More atmospheric, and closer in both style and subject matter to his later classic work, are full-page two-tone illustrations that appeared in the Boys Own Paper in August and September of 1952.

As luck would have it the first strip work he did was far less impressive: a short series of single bank advertisements for Gibbs toothpaste but then again we all have mortgages and bills to pay don't we?

Frank's big break as a comic strip artist came when he went to work on Mickey Mouse Weekly, the prestigious photogravure comic published by Odhams. He parted company with Norfolk Studios and went freelance. His main contribution to the comic was Monty Carstairs. Kind of an upper-crust adventurer whose was a curious meld of Lord Peter Whimsy and Paul Temple. An immaculately dressed, cool- headed and debonair individual wth bags full of cash. Bellamy’s first work on the strip appeared in the issue dated 25 July, 1953.

From this piint on Bellamy blossomed as an artist and demand for him grew. Throughout the fifties and well into the sixties he beacme involved in a selection of comic book creations that included Monty Carstairs, The Swiss Family Robinson, King Arthur and his Knights, Robin Hood and his Merry Men. His eye for detail and perfection was even then something to marvel at. The way that he breated life and realism into his strips was incredible and an utter joy to read. He managed to capture the mythic spirit of life in the greenwood: glistening leaves, the sunlight falling through the branches and the gnarled boughs of giant oak trees. As with the King Arthur strip there were battles-a-plenty for action-minded youngsters and the strip possessed the cinematic qualities of movement, depth and excitingly-varied viewpoints.

However, no matter how good his work was it was apparent to anyone with halfpence of common sense that his talent wasn't really meant for any of this and then Marcus Morris came onto his radar.

Marcus Morris, editor of Eagle, offered him the opportunity to work on the comic’s prestigious back page, Bellamy was very keen to start. Initially he worked on a strip entitled The Happy Warrior which was a story about Winston Churchill.

Bellamy was less than happy himself with this task but, being the true pro that he was still managed to produce some incredible work. The Happy Warrior ended in September 1958, Bellamy had developed his style to such an extent that he had firmly established himself as one of the foremost strip artists in the country.

Bellamy’s next subject for Eagle was another biography, this time an historical Biblical epic based on the life of David and entitled The Shepherd King. Which he then followed with another back page biography The Travels of Marco Polo, which began in Eagle in April, 1959. He never got to complete this series as he was moved onto bigger and better stuff.

Early in 1959, with Dan Dare going into decline, Frank Bellamy was asked to take over the job of illustrating the UK's premier strip. At first, due to his huge regard for its previous writer and artist, Frank Hampson, Bellamy was unsure but was assured that his tenure would only be for one year. He agreed and took over the legend that was and still is Dan Dare.

Dan Dare occupied the first two pages of Eagle and, to help him with the work, he had the assistance of Don Harley and Keith Watson who had both been members of Frank Hampson’s team of Dan Dare artists. Bellamy was very much a lone wolf when it came to his work and the idea of working with a team of artists was anathema to him. To resolve the problem of sharing the two Dan Dare pages, it was arranged that Harley and Watson would work on one page in London while he completed the other page in his studio at home.

Even with all the inherent problems Bellamy manfully continued and managed to give a new credibility and authenticity to the already well established character.

After his time on Dan Dare was up, Bellamy moved onto what some people think was his greatest achievement Fraser Of Africa.

His his use of colours on this strip was inspired. He managed, by using soft brown tones and sepia, to capture perfectly the African landscape and with his wonderous eye for detail to give depth and life to the African animals that he drew.

The Fraser trilogy was reprinted by Hawk Books Ltd. in 1990 with an extensive appraisal of the artist’s work by one of the present writers. Copies of this large format, card-wrapped volume are still relatively plentiful and can usually be found for around nine pounds or so.

Heros The Spartan, followed and Bellamy drew four series of Heros adventures, the last coming to an end in July, 1965. Many collectors consider the series to be his finest work and, more than any other of his strips, it is perhaps the one most closely associated with the artist. It is certainly a high-water mark in the history of fantasy adventure strips.

After this, now 1966, Bellamy drew a succession of well illustrated stories including Rider Haggard’s African romance, King Solomon’s Mines (something he never concluded, Thunderbirds, Doctor Who, and then, in 1971, Bellamy took over the artistic reins of Garth for The Daily Mirror. Perhaps the most famous of his illustrative works and a job which he worked on until his untimely death in 1976.

"Frank Bellamy was a perfectionist who created some of the best colour work ever to appear in British comics. His meticulously-drawn strips were always vibrant and full of life and action. His artwork rarely showed any signs of changes or alterations: he would discard a piece of work and start again rather than resort to process white and paste on patches. His legacy is a wealth of superbly-drawn and painted strips that are amongst the very best of their kind. He would captivate his audience from the moment their eyes encountered the first frame of one of his strips and hold them spellbound until the last panel had been savoured. His work is highly regarded amongst an ever-growing group of enthusiasts both here and abroad."

Amen to that!
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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

Still from "Westworld"

"He's doin' his best, Debbie!" 

'Twas the night before Christmas . .

. . and Santa had just knocked off from charging around the Midnight Sky and getting stuck in chimneys.  (Raymond Briggs wrote a lovely story about him, remember?)  Anyway, there he was with his feet in a bowl of Something For The Weekend which would bring 'em up smelling of roses. He sighed, settled back in his old arm chair, reached for his glass of mulled wine and plate of mince pies, and was looking forward to the usual 364 day holiday when a knock came at the door.  "Who the f*****g h**l can that be at this time of night?" quoth the kindly old gentleman.  He heaved himself to his feet and lumbered to the door and opened it, whereupon the snow and the icy blasts of winter further diminished his bonhommie.  On the threshold stood one of his Little Helpers, a fairy, no less, dragging behind her a huge Christmas Tree.  "Oh, sorry to bother you, Santa.  You know you asked me to deliver the trees to the poor folk?  Well, I've done that.  Except when I ran out of poor folk, there was this tree left over.  Where do you want me to put it?"

Well, folks . . . now you know why there's a fairy on top of your Christmas Tree.

Moshi

From the LP "Moshi" by Barney Willen and friends on the French "Saravah" label. 80's I think but not sure.

Tracks are-

1. Balandji In Bobo
2. Sannu ne Gheniyo
3. El Hadji

Seems that Barney and friends went to live and travel in Africa in the late sixties after hearing some music by a pygmy tribe. He stayed in Algeria and travelled accross the Sahara to Senegal and Mali long befor the notion of "World Music" was ever thought of and recorded this double Lp on his return.

"Wilen's contract for IDA helped create a comeback for a fine musician. In the 1980s he tinkered with jazz-rock and African rhythms (he went to live in Africa in the late 1960s) and his return to a bop-inflected style has something of the full-circle maturity which Stan Getz came to in his later work; Wilen's tenor sound does, indeed, have something of the magisterial sweep which Getz delivered, but the main character of his playing continues to lie in his even trajectory. His solos have a serene assurance which eschews dynamic shifts in favor of a single flowing line. With his tone still exceptionally bright and refined, it grants his playing a rare, persuasive power."

Ellie Greenwich

Among the many great song writers that burst into out lives via the radio and our black and white TV sets were the songs of this remarkable woman: Ellie Greenwich.
Her CV is one to be proud of and contains the songs of legend.

Songs such as: "Be My Baby", "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Leader of the Pack", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many, many others.

Her songs were incandescent little bombs that exploded into life and burnt their tunes forever into your heart.

Acts like The Ronettes, The Crystals, Neil Diamond, Manfred Mann, The Shangri-Las, The Raindrops, Tommy James & the Shondells, Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans all owe a huge debt of thanks to Ellie Greenwich who sadly died aged 68 in 2009.

Pop music is nothing more than 21st century folk music and these nuggets of the ladies are classics of the 20th century. They are songs that will last forever.
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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.

Grocer Jack (Excerpt from a Teenage Opera) by Keith West

Released in 1967's summer of love this single received huge airplay, certainly on Johnnie Walker's Radio Caroline and to such a degree that its popularity took it to the number two spot in the singles chart.
It was part of a larger pop opera but one that never got to see the light of day for several decades as it wasn't released until 1997 nearly thirty years after the singles success.
I have always liked a song with a narrative andthis one had a rather melancholic tale that was accompanied by the voices of many childern singing. It was all very typical of its time and very British too.

Count the days into years
Yes, eighty-two brings many fears
Yesterday's laughter turns to tears
His arms and legs don't feel so strong
His heart is weak, there's something wrong
Opens windows in despair
Tries to breathe in some fresh air
His conscience cries, "Get on your feet
Without you, Jack, the town can't eat".

REFRAIN:

Grocer Jack, Grocer Jack, get off your back,
go into town, don't let them down, oh no, no.
Grocer Jack, Grocer Jack, get off your back,
go into town, don't let them down, oh no, no.

The people that live in the town,
don't understand - he's never been known to miss his round.
It's ten o'clock, the housewives yell
"When Jack turns up, we'll give him hell".
Husbands moan at breakfast tables, no milk, no eggs, no marmalade labels.
Mothers send their children out, to Jack's house to scream and shout.

REFRAIN:

It's Sunday morning, bright and clear,
lovely flowers decorate a marble square.
People cry and mourn away, think about the fateful day,
Now they wish they'd given Jack more affection and respect,
The little children, dressed in black, don't know what's happened to old Jack.

SECOND REFRAIN

Grocer Jack, Grocer Jack, is it true what Mummy said,
you won't come back. oh no, no.

(rep. and fade)

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aNOtHEr dIp INtO ThE mAGpIE mEMOrY pOOoL.