Start The Revolution Without Me

Stephen Pickard: Chapter Five

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 07:42:00 +0000

Well it's been a long break, but I'm delighted to be posting a further instalment of one of this blogs most popular features - tales from behind the camera with our ex-Southend friend in the know, Stephen Pickard. FROM SOUTHEND TO DISNEY pt.5 Eager to be an assistant editor in the cutting rooms, I hit yet another brick wall. Although the editing, sound and photographic departments etc are all covered by the ACTT union they are not easily interchangeable. I discovered while I was working in Theater Five, unless I did something drastic, my career wouldn't be going anywhere. So, in early 1974, I accepted a position as a trainee with De Lane Lea in central London. De Lane Lea was a fully comprehensive post production facility. They dealt with voice recording, sound effects, music and final mixing. The department I worked in was run by Roy Taylor, the brother of Peter, the editor of "Bridge On the River Kwai". This department dealt with the cutting and fitting of English dialogue of foreign language films. This brings to mind the many badly dubbed sword and sandal and martial arts films over the years that had given this type of work a bad reputation. However, the crew that I worked under took a great pride in their work and tried their hardest to give the illusion that the foreign-speaking actors were speaking good well-spoken English! I stayed with De Lane Lea for the remainder of 1974 and in September, 1975 I finally got my break as a free-lance second assistant editor. The film was called "Trial by Combat" (aka "Choice of Weapons"/"Dirty Knight's Work") It starred John Mills, Donald Pleasence and Peter Cushing in a guest starring role. Our cutting rooms were in a house in Cricklewood not far from Samuelson's Film Services. This was an unusual situation, where the crew is located miles apart instead of being based together as in a studio. The editor was Willy Kemplen (son of editor Ralph) and when we had completed dailies I traveled on the back of Willy's motorcycle to the filming location. This was a castle estate and they had a projection room set up there. On one of the days I recall, it was Donald Pleasence's birthday and I went up and wished him a happy birthday. He just quietly smiled in return. At the end of production Willy left the production. I remained and we moved into some cutting rooms in Dean Street. Kevin Connor, the director and an ex-editor himself, stayed to edit the picture and hired editor Barry Peters to work with him. During this time I heard that John Mills was in London recording dialogue. During a lunch break I walked over to the recording room which was in the basement of De Lane Lea's main building. As I arrived, there was John Mills with his wife Mary Hayley-Bell. He greeted me with a warm smile and we spoke a few words then they left. At the end of November, 1975 I managed to find employment at Twickenham Film Studios on a 16mm documentary about the musical group Deep Purple. Unfortunately, it was not a good experience as I found that I hadn't enough experience to handle the duties plus I was working on my own. The person who hired me, Tony Klinger, son of producer Michael, found a suitable replacement for me. It was at this time that I discovered one of my film music heroes, composer Bernard Herrmann, was promoting a new recording of his score to "Psycho" at a record store on Dean Street in London, Henry Stave and Co. Wishing to meet him, I ventured in to the store. The store was a long narrow shaped building. Immediately on my left was Herrmann's wife Norma. Further on, sitting behind the counter was Mr. Herrmann himself accompanied by the store manager. There was nobody talking to him, so I took a deep breath and introduced myself. I stated a complaint that a lot of the soundtrack releases available were uninteresting and most of Mr. Herrmann's music was ignored and unreleased, mentioning "Jason and the Argonauts" as an example. Herrmann seemed speechless. The manager responded with the suggestion that I should write a letter. Shortly after I moved aside to allow other customers through and I spent the rest of the afternoon talking to Norma. At the end of the meeting Herrmann walked up to Norma and myself. He gave me a complement that I should become a director someday and I was speechless in return. The last I saw of them was Herrmann walking solwly down Dean Street holding on to Norma's arm. Norma gave me their phone number and I called a few weeks later and asked if I could visit them. Herrmann answered the phone and told me that he would be in the US over Xmas (recording the score to "Taxi Driver") and would return around the second week of January and we could then arrange to meet then. Unfortunately, this was not to be as I read in the trade magazine Screen International that he had passed away. Around the same time I met a gentleman who was working as a projectionist at Twickenham Studios, Steven Archer. We discovered that we had a lot in common and became firm friends. Among our common interests was Ray Harryhausen. I had known Ray on and off since the release of "Valley of Gwangi" in 1969. I attended every lecture that he gave and eventually was invited to his home. Ray is one of the rare people who is famous but is totally unaffected by the business. A rather reserved and very accommodating person, he and his wife Diana always made me feel welcome. At the beginning of 1976 I received a call from assistant editor Roy Helmrich to assist him on "Space 1999" series two. This meant returning to Pinewood Studios, but as a 'free-lance'. The cutting rooms were located in the old film library situated at the back of the studio close to L and M Stages. My room was at one end, with an iron staircase to the street below. My job was synchronizing the 'Dailies' or 'Rushes'. I would pick up the sound from the Pinewood Sound department in the morning and mark and identify all the takes. I then awaited the picture from the laboratory. Once the picture and sound were sychronized, a regular time was booked each day for their viewing. This procedure went on for the entire year. One morning while walking to the Pinewood coach from Uxbridge tube station I fell and scraped my hands. I had them bandaged for several days. On one occasion when I was walking through the studio to work, I heard a voice behind me say "How's your hands?". I turned around and there was actress Jodie Foster! She was there making a Disney film "Candleshoe". I had seen several of her films and was in awe of her talent. We became acquainted throughout the year, I used to see and wave to her every morning when her chauffeur would drop her off at the dressing rooms. On one occasion I was lucky enough to have lunch with her in the Pinewood executive restaurant. Jodie was a really unspoilt sweet person and she never complained about all the times I asked her to sign photos. On another occasion I took Jodie and the child cast over to J and K stages where they were shooting "The New Avengers". On occasions when I wasn't busy, I would be able to invite my parents to the studio. We had lunch in the Pinewood restaurant and Jodie came to our table and I introduced her. She was unable to join us but it was great of her to come over and say hello. My parents had quite a few interesting experiences while visiting the studio. We were walking toward the administration building and we bumped into stuntman Bob Simmons, who I had previously met, and introduced him. With him was 'Jaws' actor Richard Kiel. My father, who was rather a small man shook hands with him and his hand literally disappeared into his, which were huge. "The Spy Who Loved Me" was in production at the time. This is not the first time my parents were visiting at the time of a Bond in production. A few years earlier, I was able to get them a visit to the set of "Diamonds are Forever". That particular day Sean Connery was filming part of the pre-credit sequence when one of the guards got his hand caught in a trap while trying to disarm Bond. At the back of the set were venetian blind doors or windows. My parents were standing behind them observing the action. Then, the camera operator made a remark that he could see them in shot in the background through the blinds, so I had to quickly re-locate them. Fortunately no-one was upset and it turned out amusing to everyone! Following my year-long stint on "Space 1999"at the end of 1976, I was reunited with Kevin Connor on "People that Time Forgot" This was again filmed at Pinewood. My cutting room was closer to the front of the studio. I was in one of the rooms in the original two-floored editing block which was part of the studio that opened in 1936. If only the walls could speak, they could tell stories of all the great Rank productions that were brought to life there. On "The People that Time Forgot" my duties were the same as before. For several weeks at the beginning, before we received dailies, I would go through soundtrack reels used by the production on previous projects and reclaim the leader which filled the gaps between pieces of soundtrack and then join them in to 1000' rolls. Unfortunately, I didn't pay careful enough attention to my supervisor and I had to go through hundreds of rolls of leader, which I had made incorrectly, re-doing the splices. Fortunately, mistakes of this scale didn't happen too often to me. However, it was a long time, if ever, for my supervisor to forgive me. Before my next project at the beginning of May, 1977, I received a call from assistant editor Jack Gardner. He had been promoted to editor after having assisted editor Alfred Roome on countless 'Carry On' films at Pinewood. The project was to be a compilation film using clips from past Carry On films and then creatively cut them together. My memories of working with Jack, and also frequent visitor director Gerald Thomas, were warm ones. It made it all the more difficult for me as I had to leave them prematurely to join the next project. To this day, when I think about it I still feel guilty about it. In the free-lance field regretful decisions are often made. Taking on a small project for several weeks and then suddenly weeks later get an offer for a six-month or more project for more money. I try to avoid this as it can backfire on one's career. In June I received a call from Roy Helmrich to join his crew on "Return of the Saint". This series starred Ian Ogilvy in the Roger Moore part. The series was to be shot at the EMI Elstree Studios in Borehamwood and would last through to Xmas. I didn't own a car and Roy was kind enough to pick me up and drop me off at Rayner's Lane every day. At the start of production, the 'Saint' crew spent several weeks abroad shooting exteriors for several episodes. This meant several thousand feet of film would hit the cutting crew all at once. Right at this crucial time, I came down with the flu. This was a real inconvenience to the production, I had signed a contract but had not worked a day and this is when I was needed most. After I recovered, I resumed my job but the really busy period was over. By then the unit had returned to the studio and we started getting dailies every day which kept me busy throughout the schedule. I did meet Ian Ogilvy briefly, but had a more clear memory of meeting Ian Hendry, who was in one of the episodes, at the end of picture party*. I recall questioning him about a film I admired called "The Hill" that he made with Sean Connery in 1965. I asked if he had to do any preliminary training in his role as a staff sergeant and replied no. My Xmas 1977 break was a fairly long one. At the end February, 1978 I received a call from editor Alan Paley to join him at EMI Elstree Studios on a project called "Hanover Street" starring Harrison Ford and Christopher Plummer. The Director was an American, Peter Hyams. Due to ACTT rules, if an American director wants to bring in his own editor, plus assistant, from the US to work with him in the UK, the union insist on a British crew being hired. American editor Jim Mitchell and his assistant Nancy Sales were brought over to the UK for the duration and that's why Alan and I were brought in. Soon after production started we were all invited one Sunday morning to a screening at the Odeon, Marble Arch to view a 70mm print of his previous film, "Capricorn One". We were all very impressed with the film and expected the same qualities from "Hanover Street". On the back-lot at Elstree a large exterior set of a WWII London Street with tube station and London bus. It was to be mostly destroyed for a big air raid scene to be shot at night involving the actors Harrison Ford and Lesley Anne-Down. Often I would be left in the cutting room on my own while Alan had lunch. He left strict instruction that no film was to be touched. In those days there were no beepers or cellphones. I wish there had been. One day without warning Peter Hyams came into the room towing Harrison Ford and Christopher Plummer in German uniform behind him, requesting to see some footage that he had to show his actors. With all nine eyes trained on me I had to refuse his request. He left and I shared my experience on Alan's arrival back from lunch. I thought from that day I'd been blacklisted by the director! To my surprise Peter Hyams was really nice to me. While working on "Hanover Street", the American editors had two female visitors. One of them was Avis Girdler, the recently widowed wife of director William Girdler, who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash. When they finally returned to the US they told me if I ever visited I could stay with them for a short time. Around the same time, I heard that the aircraft supplier John (Jeff) Hawke was planning to fly some of the B25's, used in the film, back to the US. I managed to get in touch with him and boldly asked him if I could be a passenger! He agreed and said he would let me know. Weeks went by and I heard nothing. On 26th May, 1978 I received my termination notice. During this break I received a call from Ray Lovejoy with regard to working on "The Shining". I told him that I was on stand by to fly to the US at any time and had to turn him down. He told me to call him when I returned. I was indeed nervous at the prospect of working for Stanley Kubrick.I also had a visit in the cutting room of editor Terry Rawlings. He offered me the opportunity to be a second assistant on a production called "Alien"! Reluctantly I had to turn him down for the same reasons. I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to hold off work in the hope of a flight coming up so I looked for some temporary work. I accepted an offer on 3rd July to join the "Superman" production, which had been in production already for quite some time. The cutting crew were the largest I had ever encountered on a film. It had two editors, Stuart Baird and Ernie Walter plus their assistants. Plus there were visual effects editors for the various 2nd unit crews. I was an 'assistant plate editor' for the 'flying unit'. I had to take rolls of 35mm film of background scenes (specially shot by a unit for the sole purpose of superimposition behind Christopher Reeve in flight) down to the shooting stage and load them on to a viewing machine called a steenbeck. Famous American director Andre De Toth ("House of Wax") would sit with me and select which takes he liked best. From my notes, specially graded prints were made at the laboratory. They would be projected via front projection behind Christopher Reeve in costume supported by a special pole-arm that protruded from the screen which was hidden by his body from the view of the camera. During my time on "Superman" I managed to see some shooting. It was a massive miniature of the city of the planet Krypton. They were photographing it with, what was then, a revolutionary camera boom arm. It was like a microphone boom except it had a camera which could swivel and tilt. It was called the Louma Crane. This was an extension in technology of the giant camera cranes supported by trucks, such as 'Sam the Mighty' used in major motion pictures. Today, similar rigs adopting the Louma Crane design now shoot high definition video and in use at concerts etc. Stuart Baird, the editor, gave me the opportunity to go over to Theater Seven to view roughly cut scenes. At one screening that I was present at, Christopher Reeve was there and after showing him film they ran the main theme by John Williams. Afterwards, Reeves commented it sounded like Star Wars! I owned a book which had just been released about the previous actors that had played Superman. By chance I was able to show it to both Reeve and Margot Kidder. They were both immediately interested and they asked me if I would purchase copies for them, which I was able to do on one of my regular visits to London shops. On 22nd September, I received my termination notice from Dovemead, the Superman production name. Weeks went by and there was no call from Jeff Hawke. Eventually, he told me that the aircraft were having customs issues which could drag on for months. I finally gave up the idea and booked a flight to the US which departed in November. I spent four months in the US. I visited the various Hollywood Studios. I also had the opportunity to visit visual effects expert Douglas Trumbull, who worked on "2001", and I remember expressing to him my nervousness at the prospect of working with Kubrick and was still undecided what to do. I was re-united with Harrison Ford and Margot Kidder. Ford was making a film called "THE FRISCO KID". They filming on the old Columbia ranch in Burbank on the western street where "HIGH NOON" was shot. He recognized me immediately after completing a scene and asked me if I thought he was funny, as it was supposed to be a comedy. On a visit to MGM Studios in Culver City I visited the set of "THE AMITYVILLE HORROR". Kidder was working that day and she immediately recognized me and said hello. At the end of February, 1979 I returned to the UK. By this time I had made a decision and called Ray Lovejoy. Unfortunately, they already had hired an assistant to do dailies. In the mean time I found employment with editor Peter Pitt, who I had worked with on "Return of the Saint". All I can remember about the project was that the director was John Elston Taylor. He was married to Barbara Mullen who was well known for her role in 'Dr. Finlay's Casebook'. While working with him, she sadly passed away. We were based at the old giant Denham Studios. There was no filming on its huge stages. Just mainly post production. Anvil Films were based there. Anvil had a big music stage and I would occasionally watch Eric Tomlinson, the music mixer, at work. I recall one day, which went in to the evening, waiting for Eric and John Williams to return from dinner. By the time I arrived I had to leave as I had to catch a train home. They were working on some mixing on "Dracula" which had already been recorded. Earlier, I had mentioned my friendship with Steve Archer and our common admiration for visual effects expert Ray Harryhausen. I had the opportunity to take Steve to meet Ray Harryhausen at his house. In 1979 Harryhausen was preparing his next project "Clash of the Titans". With the amount of stop-motion animation needed in the time allowed it was obvious to him that for the first time he would require help from outside. Jim Danforth was hired and to our surprise he contacted Steve and set up an interview. Steve took along some of his animated films and Ray was impressed enough to hire him. Several months would pass before he would actually start on the film as late as 1980. During this time Harryhausen set up shop at Pinewood and I had the unique opportunity to watch him do an animation test. This is something that every fan would have liked to experience! The camera which would turn over one exposed frame at a time was operated via a foot pedal. His procedure was to move the model slightly that was on a table several yards away. He would then walk back toward me where I was standing behind the camera. He would then lean over and look down the eyeline of the camera looking at the model. Once he was satisfied he stepped on the pedal and exposed a frame. This same procedure went on for some time. Then finally I had to leave. Finally the day arrived. In early June I received a call to go down to Elstree Studios to meet with Ray and Stanley. Some seventeen years ago I wrote an account of working on "The Shining": "My very first meeting with Stanley actually goes back to 1971 at Pinewood Studios. At the time I was working on Staff in the Sound department working in Theater#5 which specialised in dialogue and effects recording. We would be dealing with one of the many aspects of Post Production on most of the films shooting there at the time, and there was a steady flow of work to keep us busy. At that time Pinewood was a pleasure to work for. I was surrounded by a lot of staff members that had worked on a lot of the famous Rank Productions that I had long admired. Sometime in early '71 news came through that Stanley Kubrick would be bringing his production of "A CLOCKWORK ORANGE" into the studio for a few days to utilise the studios' Process Projection department, headed by Charles Staffell. The scene was Alex and his droogs drivingrecklessly through the London streets. The sequence was shot on 'Stage D'. I was a big admirer of Stanley's and really wanted to talk to him, but based on what I had read about him and his personality particularly during the crucial stages of shooting, made no attempt to try. Oddlyenough there was little or no effort to getting onto the set to watch. I knew the Process Projection Staff well and made me feel at ease. Watching and hearing Stanley work was really something. The impact of this experience was exaggerated by the fact that he has never granted a video or filmed interview. That same day or the following, that miracle opportunity came my way. I was walking down the hall and there was Stanley sitting on his own making notes. As I walked passed him I just said 'Good afternoon, Sir'. He greeted me with a very warm and confident 'Hi!' I respected his privacy and just walked on. On my return from my holiday in California in February, 1979, I called Ray but there was nothing available. He told me to keep in touch with him. and in the meantime I found employment elsewhere. Finally in June Ray told me to come in and see him. Main Unit shooting had wrapped and they had already started cutting, starting at Reel 1 continuing in continuity. The editing team were housed in the old cutting room block at EMI Studios. As I had no transport, I wanted to be assured that we wouldn't eventually be moving to Stanley's house, as had been the case on some of his previous films. St. Albans was tough to get to without a car. I was assured this wouldn't happen. So I was finally notified by Douglas Twiddy, Production Manager on 29th June that my hiring date was 2nd July. The day I went down to the studio to see Ray was when he took me down to the stage to meet Stanley. At the time of visiting he was shooting the hedge maze insert with a VistaVision plate. The first day I started I found they were already well into editing Reel 3. My main chore was to go through each reel, after it had been assembled. I had to create a log, a record of every cut in the picture and track, including updates to reels. This would become the 'protection bible'. This idea came about as a result of a devastating fire which destroyed parts of Stanley's sets. If a fire destroyed the cutting copy (editor's work print), the film could be reconstructed identically as before. The original camera negative (shot full-frame, but composed for 1.85:1) is stored at the laboratory. Right behind me where I was working was the equivalent in positive stock. Not one foot of film was left unprinted, which was a very unusual situation. Most films only print up a few selected circled takes which in itself is quite an amount.There was as much as a million feet of film sitting there. Stanley wanted the option of being able to access any take immediately without having to go through the lengthy procedure of ordering it from the lab. The British system of identifying scenes on the film was not by its scene number. On the first day's shooting the slate will read #1 take #1 and they might be shooting scene #34. The number will increase on each set-up. For example a feature shot partly in England and then concludes its post production in the U.S. the production would understandably request the American system to avoid confusion. As far as I can recall "THE SHINING" and "Hanover Street" was done retaining the british system. Traditionally, the picture and sound of each take are separated from their respective daily rolls, after viewing, and are wound into one another and held together by a rubber band. Instead, they were retained on 1000' rolls. The slate system starting at #1 and makes it easy to find also the script has a record of the slate number, and what part of the scene belongs to it, which is marked in the script by the editor or assistant. The reason for keeping the film in 1000' rolls is because of Stanley's cutting procedure. Usually a film is cut on a machine called a moviola but in this situation editing was achieved my using two steenbecks or flat-beds as they are also known. Briefly, they are a tool for viewing picture with or without sound, as a alternative to having to take it to a theater. At the seating position the left, or first steenbeck would be threaded with the required daily roll, then when the take has been selected, Stanley would mark the 'in' point with a chinagraph pencil. Then Ray or an assistant would step in and cut the film, remove the roll from the first steenbeck, move it to the second steenbeck and splice it to the picture and sound, which is an accumalation of cuts already made. Stanley will then go over to that steenbeck and carefully select the 'out' point. When that has been decided, the daily roll is then removed and taken back to the first steenbeck where the two halves of the daily roll are spliced back together with a 'slug' in the picture and sound roll. A 'slug' is a short piece of clear film to indicate that either film has been removed or is to be added. This same procedure is repeated over and over, keeping in mind this is just the first assembly, there will be many visits back to these reels for refinement etc. The script as far as I could recollect had no ending and was still was not decided when I left the picture in december and the first assembly still had yet to be completed. One scene that was in the film that got cut is the 'SCRAPBOOK' scene. It lasts maybe two minutes. Jack and Shelley are seated on a couch in front of a table in the lobby area. On the table is a huge thick scrapbook detailing the Hotel's history. Jack is reading some of eerie contents to Shelley in a playful attempt to frighten her. For a time the huge kitchen set in the film became the main editing area. I was one side with the film. The editing area itself was in the center, opposite was a huge old-fashioned industrial elevator, and in the far corner was Stanley's office. Stanley normally came in around 11am, sometimes with his dogs. My startime was around 8:30am. My additional chores was to keep Stanley happy. I would supply him with refreshments, he enjoyed tea and was conversent with the english teamaking traditions. He made an effort to ensure that I would get it to the point of perfection! I would also get his lunch. Brisket of Beef sandwich was one of favorites I remember. I would run the occasional roll of silent dailies for him. We had our own 35mm projector installation. Stanley was very particular about outsiders seeing dailies and cut scenes etc. This is how I came to know Stanley well and in a short time and he revealed to me his sense of humour, something I thought I would never get to see. Aerial footage of the lodge and the roads leading up to it would ocassionally show up. Then one day the decision was made to move us from the studio to his new estate in St. Albans. I mentioned that we moved into what was the kitchen set in the film as our editing base. The kitchen set was not built on a regular shooting stage but in a brick building which stood toward the rear of the Studio lot. I cannot recall what it was regularly used for, but soon after the completion of shooting we moved from the main cutting building, for the purpose of extra security that Stanley required if we were to remain on the lot. The main reason behind the move to Stanley's new property in St. Albans was because the main part of Stanley's house was going through major rennovation, which Stanley was actively involved. It was clashing with the editing schedule, so Stanley decided it would be more convenient to have Ray and his assistants right on his property where he could have 100% control. We were moved into the stables, minus horses(!), and had plenty of room. There was a long walkway or hall, one end which was Stanley's office, next to that was the main editing room. Other rooms were utilised for Ray and assistants. Due to the large volume of film it was decided to retain it at the studio. Every few days a truck would take a couple of us to the studio to pick up the film that was needed for the next two or three scenes. In the mornings, we wouldn't see Stanley until around noon. He would be busy supervising the renovating of his house which was a huge undertaking. It was a beautiful old house and almost everything had been torn out from top to bottom. Stanley had been living in Elstree at a house called Abbot's Mead. I know that the editing crews on "A CLOCKWORK ORANGE" and possibly "BARRY LYNDON" were based there. If the name of the house sounds familiar it is because Stanley's youngest daughter Vivien, took the name, changed it to Abigail and used it for her career as a composer on "FULL METAL JACKET". Vivien frequently came in to watch her father work. I didn't get to knowher very well. That, originally was soon to change. Vivien had shot a lot of 16mm footage of her father at work during shooting, for an intended documentary. The plan eventually was for me to assist her, but that was short-lived as they were aware that I was going to the US at some point. As time went on I was able to watch more of the editing. It is very hard to recall the kind of conversations that took place between Ray and Stanley, always a very pleasant and professional atmosphere. It was all very much a team effort. Stanley ofcourse had the final say. On one occasion, they asked my opinion of a scene. I recall it was a scene involving a series of close-ups with Jack Nicholson. The only comment I made was the lack of continuity of his hands from shot to shot. I was told I was being too particular as his hands were below the boundary line of the 1.85 mask, Stanley pointed to the screen on the steenbeck showing me the lower marks drawn on the screen for 1.85. In editing in general, continuity is in the foreground of their minds but often it has to be sacrificed because the rhythmn of the scene dictates otherwise, if the continuity isn't perfect but the cut is dramatically or emotionally correct, no one will notice. One has to remember, in theory, a film is made for an audience to see once only. On frequent visits back to the studio, we had a few editing rooms in the old cutting buildings, new motion pictures were moving in and ot of the studio. One production in particular was Warren Beatty's production "REDS". Our editing rooms were up on the 2nd or 3rd floor and right below us were two huge trailers, one for Warren and the other for Jack Nicholson. I took the courage to knock on the door of Jack's trailer. He came to the door, I introduced myself and he invited me in. He was excited to know how the film was progressing as Stanley had not allowed him to view anything. The meeting lasted about two to three minutes. I do not remember exactly the amount of takes of any given scene but I recall close-ups of Jack at the bar got up to the mid 30's, keep in mind that Stanley would often adopt the multiple take within take method. This means normally the camera rolls on take one, the camera cuts and proceeds to roll on take two. In this case the camera rolls on take one, the actor goes through the dialogue, but instead of the camera stopping, it continues through the scene several times. This system is rather hard on editors as there is no identification in the film itself to say what take it is, except maybe on the audio. It's ultimately up to the continuity girl to make a careful note of what is approved by the director and accurate records have to be kept by the editing staff to ensure it can be found quickly many monthslater. The highest take count that I can recall was with Scatman Crothers. One scene soared to the mid-seventies! That at least was proper separate takes. A matter of weeks before I left for the US, discussions were going on about who to hire as a composer, one or two names were brought up, Jean Michel Jarre was one. Stanley would have samples of his albums to listen to, but didn't seem to be satisfied. One saturday when I was walking around the West-End of London looking around the record and book shops as I often did, I walked into a record shop and there was some interesting music playing. Images of "THE SHINING" came to mind and I immediately asked what was playing. It turned out to be an album called "CHINA" by composer Vangelis. I went into work on the monday and told Stanley. When he heard the track that I had described to him he was sold on it immediately. He had the music transferred to magnetic film and syncronized it to the opening scene in the picture. Stanley was extremely happy. As a result he ordered up the rest of Vangelis' albums. Between the time that I left and the film's release, something didn't work out and his music wasn't used. Regardless of this, Vangelis achieved a successful film career with "CHARIOTS OF FIRE" and "BLADE RUNNER" By good fortune a teaser trailer, which had been designed by famous 007 title designer Maurice Binder, had to be shipped to MGM Labs in California. Stanley arranged for his company Hawk Films to provide me with a free ticket to Los Angeles to hand carry the film elements to MGM Labs. On my last day I bid farewell to Stanley and Ray. Stanley thanked me for a great job and an offer of any help should I need it. He signed the novel with a thank you for introducing him to Vangelis' music. It was the end of a very stimulating six months". Also in production in 1979 at EMI Elstree was the second of the 'Star Wars' films "Empire Strikes Back". By chance I struck up a friendship with Mark Hamill. Every chance I had, I would go on the shooting stage to watch filming. He would always have the time to say hello to me using my name. My parents, sister and my nephews paid another visit to the studio and I managed to anchor Mark in the executive restaurant for lunch. He would be jumping from table to table talking to other people. To make their day complete, I had previously telephoned ATV Studios(which was formerly the old National Film Studios)and managed to speak to one of the Muppets crew, who were in production at the time. To my surprise, they were happy to allow us to visit the studio plus go to the basement where all the rows of 'Muppets' were stored. In December, 1979, I finally made my move to the US. A new life, new challenges. *(The 'end-of-picture party' is a tradition in the film industry. A party where actors and crew have a final gathering before they part ways and can be quite emotional. Often people work together continually from film to film, others may not work together for years). Huge thanks to Stephen for sharing his fascinating story with us. What an incredible life!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:11:00 +0000

Hoping for a return to the blogging airwaves in 2013!!!

Post by Michelle Bamber.

Podrophenia - Show 26.... Teenage Kicks

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:07:00 +0000

Show 26 went out on 2nd August with the theme of 'Teenage Kicks', where we have a trip down memory land looking and various music cults and styles.

In amongst 12 tunes from various musical movements, we chat fashion faux par from years gone by (mostly the 1980s!), and

In related news, find out the loudest animal in the world, listeners send in their animal related horror stories (most of which seemed to revolved around the same zoo funny enough!), and there are 3 bacon related taste tests on offer, courtesy of Dan the bacon man.

Pileys newsround provides all the latest gossip on the hot dog eating championships a few days earlier, and the Morrissey conga is showing no signs of letting up!

Catch up or listen again only on iTunes: Podrophenia on iTunes

OTHER LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on the all new Chance Radio website here: Chance Radio.

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Piley

poddy links

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:21:00 +0000

mug shots

http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/oct2011/0/6/lester-mullet-levi-miller-and-brother-johnny-pic-ap-100808783.jpg

sam mullet

http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/oct2011/6/1/sam-mullet-pic-ap-48247862.jpg

pickle man

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/17/article-1318870435950-0E6A0EBE00000578-163741_636x495.jpg

toilet bike

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/17/article-1318843665498-0E69058300000578-606631_466x310.jpg

Podrophenia - Show 25.... Seaside

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:56:00 +0000

Show 25 was broadcast live on 26th July. We donned a couple of knotted hankies on our heads and celebrated a couple of days of sun with a 'Seaside' themed show.

The merging fever shows no signs of stopping, as TV, food and seaside references all get flipped into bands and songs. Keeping in with the seaside theme there's talk of mad ice cream flavours, and novelty rock, plus giant size snacks get a look in too (A Cream Egg the size of a kettle anyone?!).

You'll be relieved to hear that casting for the Live Action Charlie Brown film is drawing to a close, there's a tie that doubles as a pillow, and just what are the 35th greatest Canadian records of all time???!

Catch up or listen again only on iTunes: Podrophenia on iTunes

LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on the all new Chance Radio website here: Chance Radio.

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 24.... The Letter B

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:02:00 +0000

Show 24 was broadcast live on 19th July, and was out second dip into the Podrophonic alphabet.

Chatwise, amongst other ol nonsense there's another run on merging TV shows with bands and songs. Casting continues for the Live Action Charlie Brown film, and whilst we are at it, Rock n Roll versions of 'Last of the Summer Wine' and 'Dads Army' are cast too! Plenty of bacon updates, and news on our official photoshoot which wasn't what we quite expected!

Catch up or listen again only on iTunes: Podrophenia on iTunes

LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on the all new Chance Radio website here: Chance Radio.

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 23.... Time

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:14:00 +0000

Still in catch up mode!

Show 23 was broadcast live on 12th July with the theme of Time. So download to hear 12 tunes about days, hours, minutes, seconds, moments and clocks...

Chatwise, there's a run on merging TV shows with bands and songs, the Morrissey conga refuses to die, and if that's not bad enough, there's the start of another feature that will also no doubt outstay its welcome!!! - Yes, casting begins for the Live Action Charlie Brown film! And as if that's not enough already, there's a rare spotting of Wayne King!

Pileys newsround brings details of an exciting opportunity to buy a piece of some celebrities lives, as the 'Museum of Celebrity Leftovers' put all their exhibits on sale!

Catch up or listen again only on iTunes: Podrophenia on iTunes

LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on the all new Chance Radio website here: Chance Radio.

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 22.... Animals

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 23:36:00 +0000

Getting well behind with these! There has been a real effort to catch up with the podcasts of the shows. Only a week or two behind now, and before long we hope that the podcast will be available a few days after the show goes out.

Show 22 went out on 5th July with the theme of Animals, and was an 'all listener' chosen set list - so if it sucks, you can't blame us for once!

In related news, find out the loudest animal in the world, listeners send in their animal related horror stories (most of which seemed to revolved around the same zoo funny enough!), and there are 3 bacon related taste tests on offer, courtesy of Dan the bacon man.

Pileys newsround provides all the latest gossip on the hot dog eating championships a few days earlier, and the Morrissey conga is showing no signs of letting up!

Catch up or listen again only on iTunes: Podrophenia on iTunes

OTHER LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on the all new Chance Radio website here: Chance Radio.

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 21.... Transport

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:36:00 +0000

I think we are slowly catching up! Although tomorrow we'll be yet another behind again....Show 21 went out on 28th June with the theme of Transport. The extended opening hours are now confirmed, so we now squeeze in no less than 12 related toons. Chatwise we talk quirky TV transport, bus journeys from hell, driving tests disasters, and a casting session for the live action version of Wacky Races! There's more celebs in mundane places, bands that sound like special agents, and the Morrissey conga continues to grow!

Piley's Newsround keeps in with the transport theme too.

Catch up or listen again only on iTunes: Podrophenia on iTunes

OTHER LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on the all new Chance Radio website here: Chance Radio. For a limited period, you can also still listen in on S6 Radio here: S6 Radio

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 20.... The Letter A

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:10:00 +0000

Show 20 went out on 21st June and was the first of the Podrophonic Alphabet.... starting, rather predictably, with the Letter A.

In a jam packed show we chat about Paul Weller's new barnet, an ex-Ant pops in to give us the lowdown on Live Aid and the Ant tune played in the show, celebs in mundane places, more conjoined bands, winter ice creams, plus some of the most unfortunate names in the country.

Oh, and the last shows news item comes back to haunt us, as a listener kindly (?!) sends in a taste test treat! Piley's newsround gets the last minute 'switcheroo' treatment, as a listener supplies a better story than the one I had lined up! But you'll have to download it to find out what it was...

A chance to catch up... or if you did tune in, a chance to listen again!

Grab this and all previous shows here: Podrophenia on iTunes

OTHER LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on S6 Radio here: S6 Radio

Soon to be re-branded as Chance Radio, new website here: Chance Radio

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 19.... Colours

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:03:00 +0000

As we continue our attempt to try and catch up with ourselves on podcasting the 'Radio Podrophenia' shows, Mondo and I bring you another to add to the collection! Our 3rd radio show, recorded, uploaded and renamed 19! (i'm sure all this made sense at one point).

Show 19 was recorded on 14th June, with a theme of Colours. Inbetween our Ten Technicolour Tunes there is plenty of the obligatory random chat, where amongst other things you'll find out what the top bizzare health remedies are... you never know when you may need to eat a spiders web! The Morrissey Conga picks up a pace, Dan Dan the bacon man has his jingle unveiled, and the show gets taken over with vegetable relate tunes and bands. The story in Piley's newsround has an unfortunate end in the next show. And stick around right to the end to hear what could possibly be the most popular lonely hearts advert ever!

Grab this and all previous shows here: Podrophenia on iTunes

OTHER LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on S6 Radio here: S6 Radio

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 18... Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:31:00 +0000

In a desperate attempt to catch up, our second live 'Radio Podrophenia' show is now available for download... Conveniently titled Show 18! Recorded on 7th June, Mondo and I bring you a collection of songs based around the theme of 'numbers'.

Unscripted chat, Piley's newsround, and some inspired contributions from the listeners! So if you missed it at the time, a chance to catch up... or if you did tune in, a chance to listen again!

Grab this and all previous shows here: Podrophenia on iTunes

OTHER LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on S6 Radio here: S6 Radio

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Piley

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:41:00 +0000

Back in May I saw the excellent Seasiders perform at the old bandstand in Priory park, Southend. I saw them again a couple of weeks back at the Leigh Folk Festival for another slice of their 'gor blimey', honest to goodness, end of the pier malarkey! These guys really know how to put on a show...

Things to love about the Seasiders:

- They are incredibly talented musicians, who can bang out a memorable tune like Tubby Issacs dishes out jellied eels...

- A hardworking band who take every opportunity to play... From their monthly residency at the Camden Eye in London, to local venue and events, to church fetes... if there's a chance to play they take it. Keyboard player Dave woodcock even manages to shoehorn in solo gigs around these too, including a residency at the Sun Rooms in Southend every Wednesday!

- A rare ability to appeal to all generations, from indie kids to pensioners, and everything in between! They have built up an impressive following around town.

The gig at the Leigh Folk Fest was a fabulously quirky affair. Any and everything becomes a venue or stage in the old fishing village.... The Seasiders literally commandeered a house! (a large house I'll grant you - the old Custom House - but one that the sister of a friend used to live in a few years back). The double doors were flung open, and the band played from the doorway! It was a riotous show, and I guess one that brought a whole new meaning to the phrase 'it was just like they were playing in your front room'!

Musically they can sound like anything from The Kinks, The Small Faces and Blur... via a detour through Jerry Lee Lewis and a Cockney knees-up courtesy of Chas n Dave! Both Live and on CD, this band are guaranteed to get your foot tapping and your mouth smiling....

Podrophenia - Show 17... Cover Versions, Volume III

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:09:00 +0000

Back on the 31st of May, Podrophenia made a huge, and rather unexpected leap from monthly(ish) podcast, to weekly live radio broadcast, courtesy of the good people at S6 Radio! 5 weeks on, we haven't been given the boot... yet!

Mondo and I are delighted that so many of you have made it across to listen in live, but appreciate that a rigid radio time slot (with no 'listen again' facility as yet) is not as convenient to everyone as podcasting. So we are attempting to make our own recordings of the live shows, to continue with the podcasting option for those who can't tune in live.

Our first radio show is now available to download, and for continuity we are carrying on with the original show numbering. So Show 17 is yet another run out for Cover Versions! As this was the theme of our very first podcast, we though it appropriate to return to that for the inaugural radio show.

Tune in for 10 songs you know, but perhaps not quite as you've heard 'em before. Piley's newsround returns, and there's still all the inane banter! So if you missed it at the time, a chance to catch up... or if you did tune in, a chance for masochists to listen again!

These radio show downloads will be iTunes only. All previous podcasts are still available too (all free). Grab what you fancy here: Podrophenia on iTunes

OTHER LINKS:

Listen in live to Podrophenia on Tuesdays 9pm until 10.30 (GMT) on S6 Radio here: S6 Radio

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Radio Podrophenia - 31st May 2011

Piley

Radio Podrophenia - Show 1!

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:39:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who listened to our very first radio Podrophenia last night... and special thanks for all of you who took the time to send messages into the studio - over 50 received in an hour!

We had the odd blip and mishap here & there, but it wouldn't be Podrophenia without a bit of that!On the whole, I think we came out very pleased (and not a little relieved) with how it went.

I was full of good intentions, and the plan was to take loads of pictures throughout the show to capture our first radio show... As it was, we were so full on, I didn't take one! Here are 3 I took just after we went off air. Apologies for the rather shiny look... it is incredibly hot in that studio!

Hope you'll join us again next Tuesday for Show 2 'Numbers'.

Piley

Podrophenia goes weekly and LIVE as of tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Mon, 30 May 2011 23:02:00 +0000

Well if you haven't already picked up the news, a final shout out that the lovely people over at S6 Radio have asked Mondo and I to do a weekly live radio version of our Podrophenia show... It'll be much like podcasting, but without a safety net!

We start our run tonight, 31st May, from 9 till 10pm. We'd be delighted if you'd pop by for a listen. Just go to http://www.s6radio.co.uk/ and click on the player. We also have a page on their 'presenters' section, if you fancy a peep.

There is a comments box on the website where you can leave a message - these come up on a screen in the studio, so please do drop us a line during the show.

Hope you can make it for the inaugural flight of Radio Podrophenia!!

LINKS:

Listen to S6 Radio here: S6 Radio

The Official Podrophenia Facebook page: Podrophenia on Facebook

Every Podrophenia podcast is still available (for free) on iTunes: Podrophenia on iTunes

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 16... Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Fri, 27 May 2011 05:56:00 +0000

Here we are again campers, climb aboard for the Podrophenia 'works beano', and have a listen to our Holiday Special. I hope you've packed your Speedos, sun-cream and sun-glasses....

There's plenty of holiday stories (mostly disasters), Piley's Newsround and even a bit of Wood-Watch! Plus all 10 tunes come courtesy of ccompletely new artists to Podrophenia. What's not to like?!

There's also an exciting development about future shows...

If you've got your boarding pass, you can download straight away Here: Podrophenia 16 - Holidays

Or Play Here

Or pick it up from iTunes Here (along with all previous shows): Podrophenia on iTunes

Piley

The Wrestling Part 2 - Southend Posters!

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Sun, 15 May 2011 23:49:00 +0000

As mentioned in my previous post on British wrestling, there was a period when I started collecting the advertising posters for the evenings events. In those days, all the posters were put up on corkboards with drawing pins, so if you were a bit sharpish on your exit, you could whip down the poster as you breezed by it in one smooth action! I've found a number of them in the loft, although not managed to unearth my wrestling programmes as yet.

None of the posters have a year on them, but having looked at old calendars I think I've worked them all out...

Wednesday 6th August 1980 - I'd imagine the 12 year old Piley would
have been particularly keen on the Catweazle match!

Wednesday 12th November 1980 - Piley's favourite Sammy Lee in the main event,
against my favourite baddie too. I bet that day at school dragged! Note the FIFTY
PERCENT price increase on the cheap seats! Last poster £1, this time, £1.50. Outrageous!

Wednesday 10th December 1980 - No idea who the 'American Dream' was, I have no recollection
of him at all! So no idea why he was the main event, and why two pictures of him on the poster??!

Tuesday 27th January 1981 - Another main event I'd imagine I was desperate to leave
school for! The almost obligatory regular meeting of Daddy v Haystacks. Note the Big
Daddy picture has him surrounded by youngsters, to reinforce his 'friend of the kids'
image - see previous post, he was a git when the camera's weren't around!
(for some reason this event was not on the traditional Southend Wednesday)

Wednesday 11th March 1981 - Ha ha ha! Tally-Ho Kaye! This was Yorkshire man Peter Kaye.
I have no idea why, but show jumper Harvey Smith became a wrestler for a short time, and
they put him up against Kaye. So he invented this 'toff' image complete with hunting
outfit and bugle for the bout. It was a hit, and the image stuck.

Wednesday 15th April 1981 - A 23 year old Sammy Lee up against a 53 year old Mick
McManus! Jim Breaks and Iron Fist on the bill too! What a cracker! Alan Kilby was a
great wrestler, and in those rather unenlightened times, was always billed with the derogatory
tag-line the "deaf and dumb" wrestler. Today he would be more tactfully titled as deaf-mute.

Wednesday 6th May 1981 - Awww, big caring sharing Daddy is back, look at the
likkle wikkle baby... Another Big Daddy v Giant Haystacks main event.

Wednesday 10th June 1981 - Technical wrestlers ruled this one! Wayne Bridges,
Mike Marino, Mal Sanders, Gold Belt Maxine... I bet I was bored!!

Wednesday 8th July 1981 - Sammy Lee main eventing again! Sid Cooper
in the house too! No doubt made for a very happy Piley that night!

Wednesday 24th February 1982 - Big Daddy v King Kong Kirk. Just 5 years later in
August 1987, this same match up would lead to the tragic death of King Kong Kirk
in the ring (in Great Yarmouth), due to a Big Daddy Splash.

Wednesday 31st March 1982 - Horah! a Haystack match that DOESN'T involve Big Daddy!
I would have been very excited about this match up. Despite him being public enemy number 1,
I was a secret Haystack fan back then (probably due to him being such a decent chap
when I met him). And Catweazle v McManus too??!

Wednesday 15th October 1980 - I didn't go to this, but somehow have a poster for it. Can't
remember how I got it, although as it's the same promoter, I'd imagine they were on display
on a Southend evening to drum up a few tickets sales.

Wednesday 18th March 1981 - Ditto, I didn't go to this either!

It was a real nostalgia trip going through these old posters once again. They brought back some happy memories from a time when things were much simpler.

Finally, every year there is a British Wrestlers reunion, where grapple fans can meet up with their heroes (and villains!) from yester-year. All the details of past and future events can be found on their website. There are literally hundreds of photos from the events on their site too, but to finish, here are a few recent shots of some of those Saturday afternoon favourites who have been mentioned on the posters above...

Brian Maxine

Jim Breaks and Neil Evans (Tiny Tom Thumb)

John Cortez, Brian Maxine and Mal Sanders

Johnny Saint

A very sprightly looking 80+ year old Mick McManus!

Mark Rollerball Rocco

Tom Tyrone, Mal Sanders and Lee Bronson

Tony 'Banger' Walsh

Wayne Bridges and Johnny Kidd.

Piley

"Greetings Grapple Fans" - 70's British Wrestling

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Sun, 08 May 2011 23:03:00 +0000

It's funny how things can trigger off a buzz in your brain.... A couple of weeks back I was (finally) cobbling together my order for Olympic tickets, in amongst which was a session of Wrestling. When relaying my selections to a colleague at work, I said that I hoped Catweazle, Big Daddy and Rollerball Rocco would all make it to the semi-finals. The joke fell flat, and I was solemnly told that the type of wrestling those guys did back in the day was 'fake', and not the same thing as Olympic wrestling at all. Pheww, tough crowd my office at times. I took it on the chin....

But as a kid I was obsessed with British wrestling, and would watch World of Sport religiously every Saturday afternoon to catch all the latest bouts.... all enthusiastically commentated on by Kent Walton (and his weekly welcome of "greetings grapple fans"). One of my fondest memories of childhood, is the large chunk of the 70's when my dad would take me on a monthly trip to see the wrestling live. What a magical world it seemed to me back then... so glamorous, so exciting, such passion, and of course, such sport!

Despite my dad always telling me it was 'fixed', I just couldn't comprehend it at the time. The thought that the two warring gents in their underpants in front of me, may have hours earlier shared a pie, a pint and the petrol money to get there was just too absurd to take in... The atmosphere was electric, and the crowd would really live each bout. The front row was always hogged by dangerous old grannies, armed with handbags and umbrellas with which to thump any unlucky 'baddies'. Of course you could smoke where you liked in those days, and the image of the heavy cigarette smoke rising towards the huge hot lights above the ring is still crystal clear in my mind.

Wrestling has a long and distinguished history in Britain, however it wasn't until the 50's - when ITV started to broadcast it - that the nation really started to take it to it's heart. By the 60's it was just about the biggest sporting attraction on TV, and many of the stars of the day became household names... Jackie Pallo (Mr TV!), Mick McManus, Billy Two Rivers (real life father of designer Wayne Hemmingway) and many more.

Just about the most recognisable name ever to come out of British wrestling started grapplin' in the late 1950's, but it would be almost another two decades before he had become Grandma's favourite.... The Blond Adonis, Mr Universe, Yukon Eric, and The Battling Guardsman were all names that Shirley Crabtree wrestled under (who had at one point been a member of the Coldstream Guards). But it's as 'Big Daddy' that everyone will remember him. Until 1976, he mostly wrestled as a villain (known as a 'heel' in the trade), and most notably was 'tag-team' partner with Giant Haystacks, who would eventually become his biggest foe. But with the introduction of a sparkly top hat, union jack clobber and glittery cape (and not forgetting the 'We Shall Not Be Moved' intro music!), Daddy was quickly transformed into the ultimate good-guy ('face'). The most recognisable British wrestler ever? Probably... One of the worst British wrestlers ever? Most definitely. Bouncing opponents with his huge belly, then flattening them with it whilst they lay sprawled on the canvas ('The Big Daddy Splash') were hardly the most technically gifted of moves. But the crowd loved it (and apparently the poor guy who got flattened by his ever expanding bulk used to get an extra fiver in his pay packet, so not all bad).

I can still remember the extra excitement that a visit from 'Daddy' would bring to the live shows. Yet in reality, he was a distinctly unpleasant man. His carefully portrayed image as the 'friend of the children' was far from the truth, and he would always ignore and push past the adoring kids who gathered around him, as though they weren't there... until the occasional months when ITV were in attendance, recording for World of Sport, when of course he magically became their best pal... well until the cameras stopped rolling anyway. He was even worse after the shows... I was always hungry to obtain autographs at the end of the evening, but after several attempts, gave up on the ignorant Daddy as he ritually brushed past me month after month as though I didn't exist.

Ironically, a much nicer man was the ultimate British heel, and Big Daddy's nemesis; the 40+ stone Giant Haystacks. A man I was truly scared of as a child, but never were the words 'gentle giant' more apt. A deeply religious man (apparently he would never wrestle on a Sunday), Martin Ruane was quite the gent, and would always chat and sign autographs.

I saw them all at 'the wrestling' during the 70's and early 80's.... Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Catweazle, King Kong Kirk (who tragically died in the ring, after receiving a Big Daddy Splash in 1987), Mark 'Rollerball' Rocco, Pat Roach, 'Cyanide' Sid Cooper, 'Cry Baby' Jim Breaks, Mike Marino, Kendo Nagasaki, Honey Boy Zimba, Mick McManus, Tally Ho Kaye, 'Iron Fist' Clive Myers, 'The Bear' John Elijah, 'Superstar' Mal Saunders, Wayne Bridges, Steve Grey, Sharky Ward, Johnny Kwango, Alan Kilby, The Royal Brothers (Vic and Bert Faulkner), Roy and Tony StClair, Les Kellett, Skull Murphy, The Amazing Kung Fu, 'Mighty' John Quinn and many more!

My favourite wrestler was a guy called Sammy Lee. On the posters they used to make out he was related to Bruce Lee, all lies or course, but it put a few extra bums on seats. Many years later I would learn that Sammy Lee (real name Satoru Sayama) became a true legend of Japanese wrestling, when he took on the alter-ego of the legendary NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) wrestler 'Tiger Mask'. Tiger Mask was such a huge hit in Japan, that after Sayama left, a whole series of replacements took on the role, and to my knowledge, there is still a Tiger Mask in action today! Sayama was also a hit in the American WWF in the 1980s. He was years ahead of his time in the 1970's and his speed, agility and high risk all action moves were very much at odds with the lumbering beer bellies, and old boys. Unfortunately Lee was often paired up as a tag team partner with Big Daddy, but his solo matches were dynamite.

Yes it was naff, but it was great fun too, and so 'of its time'. But whatever happened to that 'camp' style of British wrestling? When ITV stopped broadcasting it in the mid 80's, it signalled the decline and fall. It limped along for a few more years, but big budget American wrestling put the final nail in the coffin. However British wrestling has returned, but your granny wouldn't like it anymore. To think I was going along from the age of about 7, today's British wrestling is very unsuitable for kids with 'hardcore' matches, chairs & much more graphic violence (real or otherwise). All we can do now is think back to the days when wrestling was in rounds (like boxing) and decided by 2 falls, 2 submissions or a knockout! And don't forget those "public warnings"!

All of this reminiscing (which don't forget, was all instigated by ordering Olympic wrestling tickets!), reminded me that up in the loft I still have the memorabilia I collected in the 1970's. A quick pop up there and I immediately found all the posters I'd saved from the shows. They were huge! and I always tried to nab one off the wall as I exited the venue. Not found my programmes from the shows yet, but it's only a matter of time!

I'll follow this post up in a few days with photo's of some of the posters I found in the loft....

Easy, Easy, Easy!

VIDEOS
This clip of a Big Daddy entrance is fantastic! Wonderful shots of the front row grannies throughout, and Daddy on his best 'kid loving' behaviour. Funny enough, Sammy Lee is his tag-team partner in this one, although you won't see much of him. Nice 'Kill Bill' jumpsuit though!

Big Daddy unmasks Kendo Nagasaki!

Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks camp it up on Tiswas (part 1)

(part 2)

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 15... Royalty!

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:50:00 +0000

Never shy to get in on a bandwagon, Mondo and I are back with a special 'royal' Podrophenia podcast. But don't worry, we won't be gushing on about how lovely the bride looks, and "didn't the Queen mum have a lovely smile?".... It's just an excuse for us to churn out 10 'noble' tunes about (or by) Kings, Queens, Dukes n Princes.

In amongst the usual non-scripted waffle, there's some vagely royal news in Piley's newsround, you'll hear about street parties, naff commemorative items and we pin point the exact moment when Mondo went off the royals!

And something that's the nation has been wondering for some time now, just how flat is Mondo's head these days?! A live experiment take place....

well it has to be said, it's still a remarkably flat surface...

but the whole bloody thing's on the tilt!

Oh and this album cover gets a mention... who he? He's not Johnny Rotten that's for sure.... but which band from the mid to late 80's (who both Piley & Mondo were obsessed with) was he in?

This cover is also mentioned in dispatches...

You can listen to it here:

download it here:

Podrophenia 15

or pick it up at iTunes here (along with all previous shows): Podrophenia on iTunes

Baron Piley

Royale With Cheese?

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 23:12:00 +0000

I know it sounds like a joke (I certainly thought it was one initially), but incredibly, long-time 'Start The Revolution Without Me' favourite, Richard Cheese has got the big wedding reception gig this Friday! Really! Who'd have imagined that Kate n' Wills were 'down with the Dickster'?

Apparently it all started with a tip off from a friend of Wills, and now Richard Cheese and Lounge Against The Machine will perform a set of their swankified versions of Rap, Metal and other inappropriate tunes at Buckingham Palace! They go on at around 12.30pm, just after the happy (?) couple arrive from the ceremony. The band have even been invited to stay at Buck House overnight... in a suite used for visiting dignitaries!

Assume the BBC coverage won't extend to a hour of Dick 'effin and jeffin, but it may have actually made me tune in! Love to know what set list he has in store... I wonder if he'll throw in Candle in the Wind, as an inappropriate gesture?!

From the 10 albums he's released to date, this would be my hand-picked set-list for the newlyweds:

Welcome To The Jungle
Like A Virgin
Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Me So Horny
Creep
Smack My Bitch Up
She Hates Me
Insane In The Brain
Smells Like Teen Spirit
-------------------
People=Sh!t
Die MF Die

Which all leads rather nicely to Podrophenia 15... which will be here in just a few hours time....

RC: Welcome to the Jungle

RC: People=Sh!t

Actually, you've got to give credit to someone who can make the below track vaguely listenable! Simply awful.... Slipknot: People=Sh!t

Piley

The Piley Diary: April 1977

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Bit of a cheek really, promoting this as my April 1977 diary, when in fact I lasted just 4 days into the month before I finally lost the Samuel Pepys buzz. The rest of this 5 year diary remains empty (can you e-Bay a blank 4 year and 8 month diary I wonder?)... although rather ambitiously I note I had at some point gone through in advance, adding the following years, to save time in the future!

We'll never know now my thoughts on the Jubilee celebrations and street party in June, the new smaller pound note being introduced in August, the release of 'Never Mind The Bollocks' in October, or the release of the first Star Wars film in December. Although having said that I clearly remember being allowed to see it with a friend, Barry Smith (whatever happened to him??!), and getting a Star Wars lolly before the main event that came with a free cardboard Chewbacca mask!

So for what it's worth, here's the last few days of my 1977 diary... good to see I betted on the Grand National anyway....

Piley

The Millipede Engine - Exclusive Interview and Competition!

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 23:33:00 +0000

Last week I was all of a buzz about the discovery of a gem of an album, Bye Bye... We're Melting by The Millipede Engine. This week my excitement has been cranked up yet another notch, as one half of the band, singer Brill Nudie, has kindly granted me an exclusive interview. And that's not all... there's also a double competition with 3 copies of the album up for grabs, as well as an ultra-rare 12" Millipede Engine test pressing. But more on that later... Now it's over to Brill....

How did you and Honey meet?

Well, you can read the full version of this tale over at millipedeengine.com, but, in a nutshell, Honey and I were early teenage friends and did make music together on and off over the years, including as an early incarnation of The Millipede Engine. In fact, we got as far as test pressings of Angry Aeroplanes/Skyscraper (both re-recorded for Bye Bye... We're Melting) and we had artwork for the cover depicting all manner of aircraft buzzing around a couple of skyscrapers in the style of Gilbert and George's Flying Underpants painting...can't remember if that's the correct title.

original draft design for the cover
of Angry Aeroplanes/Skyscraper

However, this was before 9/11 and in the light of that event it seemed inappropriate. We didn't want it to look like we were cashing in on the misery of it, or, perhaps worse, that we were just trying to be controversial...which would have been a bit boring...so we scrapped it. Then things just kind of fizzled out before we even started. I guess that's the opposite of serendipity, whatever that might be.

Anyway, it was definitely serendipity that reunited us three or four years ago when Honey and I were involved in a gentle head-on collision with each other.. There's more detail about that on the website too, but aside from the high improbability of the crash itself happening, the strangest thing was that we were both listening to Wire's 154 at the moment of impact. It would have been even spookier had we been listening to the same track, but I happened to be listening to 'A Mutual Friend' and Honey was listening to 'Two People In A Room', both songs somehow appropriate. Obviously it was a sign to reconnect, particularly as it happened on the A303 right by Stonehenge.

The Millipede Engine? What's all that about??!

Briefly, The Millipede Engine is a kind of heavy industrial tunnelling machine, like a gigantic metal worm, with a dual head part that controls the whole thing. The body is comprised of many different replaceable motor segments, which means the thing never breaks down and it can just keep on trundling along while faulty sections are replaced on the fly. It seemed somehow fitting for us with our nucleus of Honey and I and various other contributors that come and go along the journey... plus I like the underground connotations.

Sorry to keep referring you to the website, but again it's more fully explained by an entry reproduced there from the Industrial Machinery Digest.

What other possible names did you come up with?

Oh, there were a few... Diesel Fish, Cuckoo Spit, Majestic Giant and even The Radium Dazzlers spring to mind. Ha Ha Bonk was another, which you may remember is the sound of a man laughing his head off. Aside from the humour of Ha Ha Bonk, I liked the fact that the name could be reduced to a logo of 2HB, which you probably know is a great Roxy Music song. Anyway, in the event we didn't use any of those.

How would you describe your sound?
That's possibly a task best left to others, as our version of what we think the sound is might not tally with the reality of it. We do seem to confound expectations in that people have a hard time trying to pin us down... we've had the full gamut of comparisons, from rock to art rock and prog through to alternative, indie and noise pop.

Who knows, perhaps all of those labels are appropriate, but I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. What I can say is that, despite not having an easily identifiable sound, we don't intend to dumb down to a more uniform style throughout the next album just to make it easier to categorise The Millipede Engine. We have more faith in the listener as it's clear that people can handle a range of different flavours on one album quite easily.

Which artist(s) have inspired you along the way?
It's probably apparent listening to the album and all the comparisons we've had so far are certainly things we've enjoyed over the years. I pride myself on my good taste, which may come across as arrogant, but it's true. Much of the music I've liked from the off does seem to be made by bands with a certain longevity. In the song Killing Time, there's a line that goes: "We like our music with some razzmatazz, art-punk, noise-pop and all that jazz"... which I suppose is a bit of a clue.

Can you list your top ten albums and singles to give us a bit more of a clue?

Honey Lane: Albums
1. The Beatles – The White Album
2. The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street
3. David Bowie – Hunky Dory
4. Blur – Thirteen
5. Iggy Pop – The Idiot
6. Wire – 154
7. Elvis Presley – The Sun Sessions
8. Bob Dylan – Desire
9. The Clash - London Calling
10. Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets

Honey Lane: Singles
1. The Beatles – Hey Jude
2. The Rolling Stones – Paint It Black
3. Flying Lizards - Hands 2 Take
4. David Bowie - Life On Mars
5. Rod Stewart - Maggie May
6. David Bowie - Heroes
7. The Clash - London Calling
8. T-Rex - Get It On
9. Jimi Hendrix - Cross Town Traffic
10. David Bowie - Fame

Brill Nudie: Albums
1. David Bowie - Low
2. Iggy Pop - The Idiot
3. Blur - Think Tank
4. Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
5. Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets
6. The Divine Comedy - Promenade
7. The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
8. The Smiths - Strangeways Here We Come
9. Pixies - Doolittle
10. Wire - 154

Brill Nudie: Singles
1. Roxy Music - Pyjamarama
2. The Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK
3. The Flying Lizards - Hands 2 Take
4. The Sexual Objects - Here Come The Rubber Cops
5. John Lennon - #9 Dream
6. The Fire Engines - Candy Skin
7. Swell Maps - Let's Build A Car
8. Sparks - When Do I Get To Sing "My Way"
9. Suede - Trash
10. Ten Benson - The Claw

Your album 'Bye Bye... We're Melting' came out for 'download only' in December 2010, with the CD released in March 2011. Why did you chose not to release them at the same time and what reaction have you had to date on the album?

To be honest, it was only ever going to be a digital release, which saddened me because I'm a fan of decent packaging and I still can't get a thrill from an iTunes download. Also we started getting a few enquiries about a physical version, so thankfully HotSkull gave us the go-ahead to include the free EP and splash out a bit on the packaging...which we're really pleased with. It's very limited though, I think there are less than 500 copies and if we repress it won't be the same package.

It's early days regarding press feedback as we've only just sent the thing out, but so far we've been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm. Though we're obviously proud of the album, it's almost impossible to gauge how good it is until we start getting honest opinions from people who don't actually know us.

What's the weirdest\oddest instrument in your armoury that you have used on a recording?
Hmmm... In terms of traditional instruments we have things like a zither, a euphonium and a harmonium in there and I think a nose flute made it to the finished mix too. But I'm no Harry Partch or even Thomas Truax come to that. Life's hard enough. Having said that, I wouldn't mind having a bash on Truax's Mother Superior!

Do you stick to your own roles in the band or do you mix it up and experiment?
Simplified, I'm the singer and Honey is the guitarist. I pretty much stick to vocals but I like to contribute the occasional easy-to-play part on an easy-to-play instrument... I'm no musician. Honey contributes more to the overall soundscape and always manages to create some very interesting sounds with guitars and general wizardry... not to mention some wonderful chord changes for me to write my vocal melodies over.

Do you ever write songs with other artists in mind?
Not as of yet, but whenever we hit that first creative block, that may be a good device to move things along... thanks for the tip!

Who would do a great ME cover version?
Erm...I could spend a few hours answering this one. Robert Smith would most likely make a good fist of Angry Aeroplanes, if not only because The Cure are one of the more frequent comparisons we receive... alongside Bowie, Brian Eno's early albums. Blur and even Pink Floyd. All highly flattering comparisons, which we're obviously not worthy of.

The Man Who Gave Everything would benefit greatly from the Arcade Fire's magical touch. I bet MGMT could do something special to Planet Tasters and I would love to hear Bowie tackle Fifteen Forty Three. Killing Time by Johnny Cash would have been cool, if only to hear him say Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes!

Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song and why?
Lady Gaga, simply because we would generate enough sales with the association to pay for the next album! Artistically, too many to list here, but because of the weirdness of the crash Honey and I had, probably Wire. Still a great band, but for me they were The Velvet Underground of the 70s in that they were so influential but didn't sell so many records.

Is it possible to recreate the ME experience live?
Right now it's not a priority as it would be good to get the second album finished and have a stronger repertoire before people start noticing us. We have a notion to do one-off events as opposed to trawling the usual venues, etc... partly down to my mild agoraphobia. If that becomes an issue though, particularly as Honey is keen to play live, I might have to do a Brian Wilson and send somebody in my place.

What does a Millipede Engine run on?!
RP-1, Rocket Grade Kerosene... actually it's simply a desire to create something special and hope we can persuade a few people along the way that that's what we've done. One of the factors that has stopped me personally doing anything much over the years is my feeling that I can't possibly compete with the music I love and that we can't add any new colours to the palette. But when you look at the bigger picture you realise that everything is insignificant anyway, so we may as well throw a couple of little pebbles into the ocean along with everything else and if it's a nice calm day we may even create a momentary ripple or two.

You talk about Honey being a lady in your promotional blurb. But the photographic evidence doesn't really bear that out does it?!
She's not a woman in terms of her physicality... but to me she is female. I'm not even suggesting she's a woman trapped in a man's body, but you know how it is when a person's general outlook belies there actual gender. Honey is like that. I guess I see most people as either male or female and it often has no bearing on their birth sex.

You and Honey live some distance from each other, but you grew up in the same area. Has that distance changed the way you work?
You would think so, but not really. We do still get together now and again and we've had the kind of simpatico that often comes with long-term relationships since we were kids. The geography and my agoraphobic tendencies don't help matters, but obviously the internet has made things much easier generally.

On the occasions that we do see each other, Honey will usually travel to me, we'll plug in a couple of guitars and without even speaking we'll 'jam', for want of a better word, for hours at a time. Even though much of that stuff never makes it to tape, it can be magical. As I say, I'm no musician, but Honey is about the only person I can feel comfortable enough with to pretend I am one. She is very generous in that respect and seems to enjoy those moments as much as I do.

You are curating the ME Festival. Pick 10 artists (past or present) that you'd want to perform.
I've gone for the old cop out of bands doing whole albums... Again, this list could be endless so I've not included bands who I've seen since they reformed but missed when they were originally together, such as The Sex Pistols and The Velvet Underground... And obviously the reformed Pixies are keeping their flame alive with plenty of live work... Morrissey almost fills the gap left by The Smiths... so this list is made up of sets you're not likely to see anytime soon... in no particular line-up order as that would be an impossible task...

- The Fall - their yet-to-be-released double album compilation of singles.

- Grandaddy - the first three albums...with an encore of the best from the rest.

- The Clash - the whole of the first album and highlights from the rest...up to and including Sandinista.

- The Associates - The Fourth Drawer Down and Sulk.

- Adam & the Antz - Dirk Wears White Socks and pre-Dirk stuff... original band but with Marco supplying all the feedback.

- Wire - Chairs Missing and 154... (already saw them do Pink Flag at The Barbican).

- David Bowie doing whatever he wants as it's been so long since he did anything live...but with Ronno guesting on Moonage Daydream and Hendrix opening the show with a ten minute intro to Station To Station before Bowie even strolls on.

- Iggy Pop - The Idiot and Lust For Life with the line-up combined from both those original tours. Iggy would have to get his hair cut though!

- Brian Eno - All the songs... no instrumentals. Don't get me wrong, I love the ambient stuff, but after the teaser of a couple of songs from Before And After Science at Brighton last year it would be great to see him back up front... perhaps Roxy could join him for an encore of the entire For Your Pleasure album.

- The Beatles and The Stones share a set with The Beatles doing Beggars Banquet and The Stones doing Abbey Road.

Ten is nowhere near enough!

What next for The Millipede Engine?

We are about half way through the second album which we're very pleased with the progress of and really hope we can get it out there later in the year. The working title is 'You're Coming To London', which I thought was the phrase lucky contestants on the likes of X-Factor would hear if they had enjoyed a successful audition. So I thought it was nice and cheeky for a second album title. However, when I've mentioned it to people they've looked at me blankly so I may have that wrong.

Anyway, I'm a bigger fan of Britain's Got Talent and why James Boyd isn't a household name after consuming four Ferrero Rocher in a minute, I'll never understand.

ANGRY AEROPLANES:

So there you have it! Sincere thanks to Brill for taking the time out to answer my questions. And thanks also for kindly donating some cracking prizes for an exclusive Millipede Engine competition....

Yes, THREE copies of their storming debut album 'Bye Bye... We're Melting' are up for grabs. This is the full, glorious pack (as described in my review), complete with bonus 4 track EP, postcards, fridge magnets and more. But that's not all... In recognition of Record Store Day today, Brill has also kindly donated one of the last remaining 12" test pressings of Angry Aeroplanes/Skyscraper from his own collection (as mentioned in the first answer of the interview) as an extra special prize.

There were only around fifty of theses pressed, the majority of which were distributed to friends and family at the time. These are both completely different versions to ones that appear on the album, and unavailable anywhere else! Surely an instant collectors item that will exchange hands for a fair few quid in the not too distant future.

So what do you have to do??!!

1. To be in with a chance of winning a copy of the CD, send an e-mail with 'Millipede Engine CD Competition' in the subject line to: pileys@googlemail.com (or just click here and it'll do it all for you!). 3 e-mails will be drawn at random after the closing date to each receive a CD pack.

2. If you want to be in with a chance of winning the 12" test pressing of Angry Aeroplanes/Skyscraper, all you have to do is identify the three band names from the list below that weren't considered before The Millipede Engine was settled upon:

Diesel Fish
The Solar Flares
Cuckoo Spit
Majestic Giant
Sugar Glider
The Radium Dazzlers
Ha Ha Bonk
Blonde d'Aquitaine

Send the bogus names in an e-mail with 'Millipede Engine 12inch Competition' in the subject line to: pileys@googlemail.com (or click here and it'll do it for you). One lucky winner will be drawn at random to win the 12".

The closing date for both competitions is Saturday 30th April 2011. Good luck!!

Piley

COMPETITION UPDATE! SUNDAY 1st MAY 2011

Thanks to everyone who entered these 2 competitions, there was a very healthy number of entries for both. The closing date has now passed, so I have just added all the entrants for each competition into a 'random name selector' tool (which can be found here: http://classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine). I can now reveal the winners as follows:

CD's go to:
John Medd,
Just Jacqui and
Gary Fowles.

The 12" test pressing goes to:
Rob Banks.

Congratulations to you all!

Piley

The Millipede Engine

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:21:00 +0000

Art Rock with Pop Sensibilities

There's a general rule of thumb that the older you get, the more jaded you become. No more so than in the world of music; where new bands try harder and harder to win your approval, but so many fall into the 'seen it all before' category. But every now and then, something drops on the mat to knock your cynical socks off, and make you realise once again just how great music is. The current ray of sunshine here at Piley Towers comes courtesy of The Millipede Engine, and their album 'Bye Bye... We're Melting', which I've been playing non stop for the last couple of weeks.

Initially released as a 'download only' album at the back-end of last year, it finally got its 'hard copy' release last month. Creating an album as accomplished as this would be a remarkable achievement for any artist, but as this is their debut album, it's even more so.

The diversity of each track is simply stunning, so much so, that you could be forgiven for initially thinking it's a compilation album. But rather cleverly, after you've heard it a few more times, themes and links start to build, and you soon realise that this is the work of two very versatile and contrasting musicians. Yes, it's clear that Brill Nudie and Honey Lane are serious music lovers, and their wide and varied influences can be spotted throughout. A journey through this album conjours up images of literally dozens of artists, but The Milepede Engine are no lazy 'cut n paste' machine, they are much too smart for that. Despite numerous bands dancing across your brain whilst you listen, you couldn't say that The Millipede Engine sound like any of them, and there is the real trick....

A snippet of bass brings Joy Division to mind, the wail of a guitar reminds you of Carlos Alomar period Bowie, a moment of dark ambient swish sees Eno, there's the faintest whiff of a 1980's Edge guitar solo, a burst of vocal has the smudged lipstick of Robert Smith all over it, and so it goes on.... Arcade Fire, Adam and the Ants, Blur, Ultravox, The Virgin Prunes, My Life Story, Syd Barrett, Killing Joke and many more are all fleetingly brought to mind. But apart from a very few exceptions (notably Bowie, The Cure and Eno) these influences are only ever really noticeable in one of the 12 tracks. Sparing use of piano, strings and brass all add to their ever-changing sound, and give this album a huge sweeping feel at times.

And as if this album isn't good enough on it's own, the limited edition physical release comes with a bonus 4 track EP ('The EP of Unconditional Love') that is every bit as good, containing 2 remixes and 2 non-album tracks. It's almost a crime to not include the 2 'new' songs on a proper full-blown album, but it certainly makes for an impressive collection of music.

Even the packaging of this release deserves a mention. Without doubt the best I've seen in decades, and reminiscent of those good old days when you'd buy a vinyl album with all sorts of nifty inserts, gifts and clever ideas inside. I can still vividly remember the excitement of repeatedly thumbing through the A4 size booklet that unexpectedly came with my early copy of Kings of the Wild Frontier! (anyone remember Elastica lifting the exact same design for their own debut album booklet some 15 years later?!).

The 2 CD's (which each come in their own separate packaging) are contained within a slightly over sized wraparound sleeve and PVC wallet. But that's not all you get.... There's an envelope containing a pre-printed 'thank you' note from the band, 5 glossy postcards (most of which are loaded with band info on the reverse), 2 postcard sized fridge magnets and a fold out containing all the lyrics. Even the cardboard mailer that it comes in has been thought out, and the nicest touch is an actual Royal Mail Millipede Engine Stamp! How cool is that?! All for just £9.99!

Art rock it certainly is, but it comes without any of the trappings that can often dog that label. It's not pretentious, over-blown or over-long (not a single track breaks the five minute barrier). Just 12 well written, multi-layered and extremely accessible songs. Pop songs for real music lovers if you will.

Like all the best albums, you get a little bit more out of 'Bye Bye... We're Melting' every time you play it. But I'm still no nearer putting this album into any category, genre or pigeon hole, and in these days of so much dumbed down, manufactured dross, I think that's a great compliment. If this isn't the 'Start the Revolution Without Me' album of the year come 31 December, I'll be shocked. Get one while you can.

EXTRAS

The band have kindly allowed me to stream a track here for your listening pleasure: SKYSCRAPER:

Keep tuned for a Millipede Engine interview coming very shortly, and don't miss your chance to win a copy of the album right here in an exclusive competition!

You can visit the official Millipede Engine website HERE, where you can read more about the band, hear all 12 tracks streamed, and purchase a copy of the limited edition CD pack.

Piley

Podrophenia - Show 14... April Fools!

noreply@blogger.com (Piley) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 08:18:00 +0000

Can it really be that time again? Yes... with something alarmingly close to regularity, Mondo and I are taking the Podrophenia jalopy out for another spin. This time the theme is April Fools, so expect to find it jam packed with songs of comedy, novelty and, erm, potential abduction. Hmm, one of those doesn't sound quite right...

In these days of austerity we know that we're expected to give more for less, so we've crammed in 12 tracks this time around, and it's an extra 15 minutes or so longer than usual. All at no extra cost to you, dear listener. Chatwise, there's an update on the flatulence problems in Malawi, an Art Rock related April Fools gag, the pitfalls of record vouchers, plus all the very latest from Piley's Newsround desk....

You can listen to it here:

download it here: Podrophenia 14

or pick it up at iTunes here (along with all previous shows): Podrophenia on iTunes

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Claypole vs Victoriano Arenas - How many red cards?

Piley