Issue One -
This was, obviously, my very first issue. I wrote the whole thing myself. It took me a week!
Live Review - Solid Silver Sixties Show
Film Review - Catch Us If You Can
Quantum Leap -- The Leap Home (25th November 1969)
starring Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett and Dean Stockwell as Admiral Al Calavicci
Quantum Leap may have been a product of the 1990s but due to the time travel nature of the show it took a number of trips back to the sixties. Sometimes the dates had meaning, sometimes it was as if the era in which the episode was set was irrelevant. Sam has been in the middle of race riots, burned his host body's bra at a Women's Liberation Rally, he has even been stood outside a hotel where the Beatles were staying! I'm not going to bore you with every episode that was set in the sixties (unless I have to, due to shortages of contributed articles!!) but I thought I'd pick out one of my favourites for now.
This episode is the second in a trio of the most harrowing stories in the history of this show, at least from the point of view of the characters Sam and Al. Before this, the previous season had ended with MIA which dealt with Al and his first wife Beth, who had him declared dead while he was held captive in Vietnam, so she could remarry (MIA is set in 1968 and is, in fact, my favourite episode, however I can't watch it without a jumbo box of Kleenex close at hand.) The Vietnam theme continues after this episode with The Leap Home Part II -- Vietnam.
Sam has been leaping around, travelling in time within his own lifetime, waking up to face mirror images that were not his own, hoping that eventually he will make that final leap home. This episode has him achieve that, in a way. The adult Sam Beckett leaps into the sixteen year old version, back home in Elk Ridge, Indiana, just in time for Thanksgiving 1969.
Each leap calls for Sam to put right what once went wrong. In this case, he has to win a Basketball game. In the original history the team lost and some of the players missed out on college scholarships that would have allowed them to go on to become doctors and the like. Sam plans at first to avoid the game so he won't leap again and therefore can stay with his family and put other things right in their lives. He attempts to put his father on a low cholesterol diet, to prevent him from dying of a heart attack in 1972. He talks to his sister about meeting a guy called Chuck, explaining that Chuck has a drink problem and isn't such a great person. (In the original history Katie marries Chuck and he beats on her.) Then his brother Tom comes home for Thanksgiving and Sam sees it as the perfect opportunity to prevent his death in Vietnam by persuading him not to go.
Sam doesn't achieve very much, and manages to cause family arguments and upset his sister. The most moving scene in the episode is when he is sat out on the porch with Katie after the family doctor has declared that he may be suffering under all the pressure of leaving for college next year and his brother shipping out. They sit on the swing seat together and discuss the future. Katie asks whether Paul McCartney is really dead and he assures her that he is alive and well and after the Beatles split up he's going to start another band called Wings. His sister then asks about John, he's her favourite. Sam falters, Al appears and says he shouldn't tell her. Instead he explains that John goes on to write his favourite song, and sings Imagine to her. Behind him Al stands, cigar in hand, a glazed look passing across his eyes, knowing that when the song is first released he is a prisoner of war in Vietnam, listed as Missing In Action, and not realising that he has lost the only woman he will ever love! However Katie becomes upset because if her brother really can see into the future then Tom was going to die.
Finally, with some help from Al, Sam realises that he isn't changing anything, just making the present worse, so he tells them all that he was making it up because he didn't want Tom to go away. He then flees through a corn field full of frustration. He says to Al "Why can I save strangers and not the people I love?" Al tells him he would give anything to be in Sam's situation right now, to be able to spend a couple of days with his father and his sister and let them know how much he loves them. This makes Sam realise how precious this visit really is and he returns home to a traditional family Thanksgiving. (Over the scenes of the meal is probably the most evocative piece of music that Ray Velton Bunch has ever composed for the show.)
After the meal Tom shows Sam a Basketball move to help him win the game the next day. Sam agrees to try to win if Tom will promise to crawl into the deepest, darkest hole he can find on April 8th next year (the day he is to die). Tom agrees, and in true Quantum Leap style Sam wins the game in the final seconds of play using the move his brother taught him. Al confirms that Sam's friends get their scholarships and all live happily ever after, however, Tom still dies. Sam reaches out to his brother as he leaps out, only to come face to face with him in April 1970 as a member of his squad in Vietnam!
The episodes manages to portray a typical country family dealing with the events of the late sixties in that they are sending their eldest boy off to a war that they're not sure he will return from. Sam's hindsight only helps to fuel their fears, until he realises that they'll be hurting enough when they do eventually lose Tom so there was no point in making them suffer now. It's a very touching and heart-warming episode, (so much so that you expect "Goodnight John-Boy" at the end of it!) Sam would leap into other situations in the sixties that would give him a chance to make a difference, but here, where he wanted to make the most difference his hands were tied. Perhaps the whole thing was an analogy of the futility of war or of loving someone so much you hurt and upset to try to protect them. Or perhaps it was just whatever was leaping Sam around giving him a second chance to tell his family how much he loved and appreciated them.
Solid Silver Sixties Show -- Liverpool Empire Sunday 23rd April 1995
I had been waiting for this concert for months, so can you imagine my frustration when the taxi was late in picking us up? The show had begun when we finally reached the Empire, indeed Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders were belting out "I'll Never Get Over You" as we took our front row seats. I have to confess that I didn't expect Fontana to be all that good but I was proved wrong. He ran through his hits, including "Game Of Love," "Pamela Pamela," ending with "Groovy Kind Of Love" (the original and still the best!) Between songs there was plenty of chat amongst the band, mainly referring to how old they were. Indeed, a glance at the concert programme gives a chance to compare then and now, and basically Fontana's hair fell out at some stage!
Next up was the Troggs. It turns out that these are the odd band out for two reasons. Firstly, they were the only band that didn't hail from "up North" and secondly, they were the only ones who still took it all so seriously! The things Reg Presley did to that microphone stand, in the belief he was some kind of sex symbol, do not bear consideration! They began with "Can't Control Myself," which was originally banned due to the line "You're slacks are low and you're hips are showing." Later in the set Reg proudly announced that the next song had been banned worldwide and proceeded to grasp his groin throughout "Strange Movies." The sound on the set was not wonderful with Reg's vocals often being drowned out by the guitar, but despite this the band could still get up there and do it. The rest of the set included a version of "Peggy Sue," "A Girl Like You," "Love Is All Around" (another original and best!) and the obligatory "Wild Thing," which still features the grooviest ocarina solo in rock history!
After a brief interval, during which Wayne Fontana was signing merchandise in the foyer, Freddie and the Dreamers took to the stage. The house lights were up for the whole of their set, which involved much audience communication. (Wherever you are now Shirley, you will forever be immortalised in my memory of that night!) Freddie apologised for not being able to leap around the stage as much as usual due to damaging a leg muscle in Glasgow, then proceeded to bound around anyway, (I was exhausted just watching.) The band, apart from Freddie and one other original band member, all looked as if they were just a little bit older than me, and played with great enthusiasm. When I went home and told my parents of the stage antics they told me that it hadn't changed from the sixties! Particular memorable are the antics during "Short Shorts," where Freddie came on wearing bright pink shorts and proceeded to reveal the shorts that the band was cunningly concealing under their trousers. (Unfortunately (?) the guitarist also managed to lose the shorts!) As well as various cover versions by the band (including a pretty cool rendition of "Daydream Believer") there was, of course, a collection of Freddie's hits, including "If You've Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody," "You Were Made For Me" and "I'm Telling You Now." It would have been cool do hear "Do The Freddie," but we can't have everything!
Then came the highlight of the evening, the moment I'd been waiting for months! Peter Noone was on the stage right in front of me! I was not the only one who was screaming with delight, I wasn't even the loudest! He began with "I'm Into Something Good" (a.k.a. Handclapping Heaven!) He looked divine in his bright blue jacket, looking for his mum in the audience. His cheesy grin may have been dentally altered all those years ago but it could still cause hearts to flutter at a hundred paces!
Now I come to write about it, this whole segment of the show is a little hazy. It's as if I watched the rest of the show with an eye to writing a review but I simply enjoyed Noone's set.
Songs he performed including "Something's Happening," "Wonderful World," "If A Was A Carpenter," "Silhouettes," "Sentimental Friend" (as requested by a member of the audience, and performed in the place of "Oh You Pretty Things"). "The Angels Are Crying In Heaven Tonight" (a new song that he has recorded with his eight year old daughter) and my personal favourite of the evening, "Just A Little Bit Better."
Once again there were songs that I would have loved him to do, including, "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter," "Where Were You When I Needed You" and "Wild Love." However as I've already said, you can't have everything!
The concert ended with a rousing version of "I Saw Her Standing There" during which everybody took to the stage, including Freddie, Wayne Fontana, The Mindbenders, the announcer, the stage and sound technicians, the promoter, the various management of the bands, et al. Oddly though, The Troggs never re-emerged, not that anyone particularly missed them!
All in all it was a splendid evening, one that was worth the wait and most definitely one to remember for a long time to come. As he left the stage Peter Noone told us he'd see us next year, I certainly hope so!
CD REVIEW Herman's Hermits -- The EP Collection (See For Miles -- SEECD 284)
For Herman fans like me this is 22 tracks of sheer bliss!! The CD contains tracks off 6 EPs, (Hermania, Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter, Herman's Hermits Hits, A Must To Avoid, Hold On, and Dandy)
There's a fair amount of cover versions, all taken and made into Herman songs, including, Mother In Law, Wonderful World and Dandy (the latter written by Ray Davies). My favourite cover is the track I Understand, I have a version of this song by Freddie And The Dreamers too, but this is the version I favour!
Basically all the tracks are gloriously "poppy" in a naive, jangly tambourine kind of a way. Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter, boasts a wonderfully juvenile vocal from Noone, I'm Into Something Good begs you to clap along (incidentally it was the promo footage for this track that started my Herman kick -- it's something in the way he claps his hands!) Other perfect pop ditties included here are, Show Me Girl, Can't You Hear My Heartbeat and A Must To Avoid.
My favourite cuts are probably Just A Little Bit Better, Where Were You When I Needed You, Wild Love and No Milk Today (penned by 10cc's Graeme Gouldman)
In a nutshell, this is a CD full of "foot stompin' toons" where, even if singing about heartbreak, Noone sounds happy and chirpy. I recommend you check out the last track though, as it is rather different in style, much more bluesy, (it's also the only track written by members of the band!)
Verdict - Well worth the dosh (whatever it costs -- I wouldn't know my copy was a Valentine's day present -- all together now "aaaahhhhh" -- ugh!!)
On the 23rd November 1963 a legend was born. Broadcast ten minutes later than scheduled, the opening titles began on a new television programme that was to thrill children whilst sending them scurrying behind the sofa! (The reason for the tardy start is even more of a legend, the news had been extended due to the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas the day before)
The opening sequence looks quite simple compared to today's effects, but for the time is pretty impressive (especially considering it was created using a penlight!)
The first episode centred around a mysterious school girl, Susan, who lived with her grandfather in a junkyard. When two of her teachers decide to solve the mystery by following her home they are swept up into an adventure they could never have imagined. Feeling that the two teachers (Barbara and Ian) cannot be trusted to keep the existence of the TARDIS (the time machine) a secret, the Doctor activates the ship and takes them back in time to "100,000 BC" Here they help a tribe of cavemen re-discover fire, get captured a few times in the process and finally escape back to the TARDIS, only to head off on an adventure which would unleash what was to become not only the deadliest force in the universe, but also the most marketable - THE DALEKS!
The formidable pepperpots were created by ex-stand up comic Terry Nation who went on to bring us Survivors and Blakes Seven. He stills owns the copyright today and will probably manage to live off the Daleks for many years to come!
For some bizarre reason the Daleks really grabbed the imagination of the nation, and Dalekmania began. There were toys, playsuits, board games, even records about the things! Not bad for little green blobs in polycarbide armour is it?
As for the Doctor, during the sixties he went through 13 companions (Susan, Ian, Barbara, Vicki, Steven, Katrina, Sara, Dodo, Ben, Polly, Jamie, Victoria and Zoe), foiled the Daleks' plans four times, and changed his appearance once.
The regeneration in 1966 was possibly the biggest gamble ever made. Programme executives couldn't be certain that the audience would accept the Doctor not only altering his appearance but altering his character as well (in order to "smooth" the change over the new Doctor's first adventure was against the old the mutant dustbins!) Nobody needed to worry, the process was carried off relatively painlessly and set the president for continuation of the show for years to come (and probably also influenced the makers of Neighbours, Lucy Robinson being a case in point!)
Way on back in the mists of time Doctor Who was nurtured gently into life by the BBC, which makes it all the more confusing that it was the mighty corporation that brought about the time-lords demise rather than the Daleks!
In some people's opinion Donovan is nothing more than a cheap British version of Bob Dylan, but you can bet that those who say this only know a handful of his songs. I don't profess to be a Donovan expert, but I do realise that he is more than a Dylan clone. If a comparison has to be drawn, especially with reference to his early work, I prefer the one offered in the booklet accompanying the Troubadour Box Set; "more a Scottish Woody Guthrie."
As well as coming up with folk style hits such as "Catch The Wind", "Colours" and the Buffy St.Marie penned "Universal Soldier", Donovan is credited with practically inventing the British flower power movement single-handed with tracks like "Mellow Yellow", "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and "The Trip." Then of course there were his songs that were perfect 'pop' ditties; "Sunshine Superman,""Epistle to Dippy,""There Is A Mountain" and "Jennifer Juniper" And just when you think you've got him pinned down as a folk-cum-hippie-cum-pop-performer he throws you a curve with stuff like "Season of the Witch" and "Atlantis" (both personal faves)!
A couple of years ago I managed to see Donovan performing a surprise gig at The Cavern Club in Liverpool (I even managed to get onto the guest list!) It was a thoroughly enjoyable concert and we even got a few oddball songs in there. For instance we managed to get him back on stage for a second encore (something I don't think he expected) and rather than repeat a song he had already done, he sang "Little Tin Soldier" which he had recorded early in his career and only a couple of people in the audience recognised it.
The Troubadour Box Set is a wonderful double CD compilation of Don at his best, as well as a couple of alternate versions and a smattering of unreleased songs, the most notable of which is an early demo of "Codeine" written by Buffy St.Marie. I can think of a couple of tracks that I would have included but I guess you can only fit so much on. Unfortunately the Box Set hasn't been released in the UK as yet, but you can get it on import. I've seen copies for around £27 in HMV which is pretty reasonable for what you get.
FILM REVIEW Catch Us If You Can - The Dave Clark Five
This film is different from other beat group movies made around the same time, in that itís not very high-paced or wacky. Itís still a little quirky, the concept of these five guys living in an old chapel for instance (a great place for a party though)!
The plot revolves around a group of stunt men and a model famous for the ìMeat For Goî campaign. Part way through a shoot one of the guys (played by Dave Clark) and the model decide to runaway, heading for an island she purchased yesterday. They meet up with plenty of bizarre folk along the way as well as being pursued by the police, the ad men and the press. In the end it turns out that nothing is quite what it seemed, especially the island.
I like this film because the band arenít really playing themselves and never actually ìperformî any of the songs within the context of the movie. Dave Clark is mean and moody thoughout, which is a shame because he has a lovely smile. The plot is having a real dig at the ad men and image makers of the time, with them altering the facts to get the best publicity possible out of the incident. Even the model canít shake off the image. She says sheís tired of it all, but still asks if she looks all right before facing the press at the end. Also in the scene under the orange tree, she is dreaming about parties on the island and painting a romantic ideal while he is being practical and thinking about getting in supplies and taking warm sweaters.
All in all itís not too bad a movie, if a little slow in places. Definitely worth it for Yootha Joyceís appearance and the fancy dress sequence in the bath house at Bath!