In 1988, I handled my teenage angst with largely two albums, on cassette, played over and over. They were both new at the time and quite different; All About Eve will receive a piece on their own. I recall seeing Tanita on television, who’s about 4 years older than me, and was intrigued by her distinct deep voice, her unusual name and exotic looks. (Tanita’s heritage is part Indo-Fijian, part Malaysian).

there is one song for me that stands out of not only that debut album but her work to date: Twist In my Sobriety. I remember it being performed on the British charts programme, Top of The Pops. Amidst the obligatory artificial smoke rose a different group than the bangles and denim, ostentatious pastel makeup and gyration of the era; instead, a very sober band all in black evening dress with white ties without any obvious makeup; a haunting, trilling oboe, over the most fantastic words I ever have heard.

I long pondered over those lyrics, wondering if there were religious imagery in God’s children taking their toll, the Good Book, and love drawing red from hands like the Crucifixion. Her overall portfolio of words seemed to hint at a very eloquent sense of misfit, yearning and rebellion of young people especially. I read a contemporary article where Tanita was quoted as calling her words, ‘part feet off the ground logic and part elaborate code’. To me, that meant that her lyrics were intended to be opaque to her listeners; but I understood what I took was her wish to cloak her feelings and views in such a way that they were expressed but not revealed. It was a ploy I also used.

Listening now, I am struck again by how Tanita’s music did not sound of its time. The 1980s as I recall them were the era of the keyboard, and there was a particular palette of sounds. There were ballads written by others to perform (yes there is a hint of derision) and that glassy electronic piano and drum machine to accompany; and the bouncy synth bass and accompaniment of the synthesizer. There were even guitar shaped keyboards. Guitars themselves were generally electric, often brightly coloured, (pre the bowl shaped semi acoustic) and make me think of the busy Level 42 and ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ plucky style.

Mandolin, cello, accordion, jazz and classical guitars, and rock organs accompany Tanita. The one time she uses the electric piano on the perky slicing up of Poor Cow, it is played jazzily, rather than like a ballad, as it was usually heard. Tanita’s keyboard is used sparingly, and the swirling slow chords (such as on Twist in my Sobriety) avoid the tinny cheesy voices of the decade – more like those which came after it. Her strings are always real, never synthesised. And she generally used a bass guitar, often with an acoustic or fretless sound. I don’t feel she fits a category or would want to, but it is understandable why some have thought of her as closer to folk or jazz than pop.

Like I say of Norwich, Tanita is in her own lane. Like the UEA motto, she ‘do different’. I continue to take encouragement that Tanita has found an audience although she was so different, and that obviously someone in the music industry allowed her to be.

Although her chord structure is simple, with only a few basic chords in a loop, Tanita creates variety with all her instruments. She and her fellow musicians seem to brilliantly know how to balance her voice and the intricate, unusual words she sings with a background that is full but unfussy.

Many will remember Tanita for the catchy, folky song about family, Good Tradition, and her other toe taping single on that album, World Outside Your Window. Revisiting World outside your window’s video on Tanita’s website, I am pleased to recognise Norwich in the flashes away from the band playing. I had yet to discover that as a special city in 1989. But only those who’ve heard the album will have enjoyed the bending guitar strings of He Likes the Sun; the melancholy flugel horn on For All These Years.; the string quartet of and piano of the pensive Valentine Heart. But my current favourite is one of the best End of Album songs I can think of – Preyed Upon…those strings!

I have recently joined Tanita’s online group and got my key to her attic, where sounds old and new are performed acoustically for those who’ve signed up, with a little explanation from Tanita. She is working on her 8th studio album, and I look forward to catching up with her work in the intervening period, until that becomes available.

I am proud to cite her as an influence and to still be called an admirer.

Known today mainly for his Tramp character in silent films prior to World War I, Charlie Chaplin was a true pioneer in the film industry and comedy. Without Chaplin, we very well might not have many of the comics we have today. During his lifetime, Chaplin was honored with three Academy Awards, the first in 1929 at the very first Academy Awards ceremony for his work in the film The Circus, the second an Honorary Award in 1972 and the third an award for Best Original Score in 1973 for his film Limelight.

In 1952 Chaplin visited his homeland of Great Britain, but upon trying to return to the United States he was denied re-entry despite the fact he had lived in America for nearly 40 years. Chaplin did not fight his exile and took up residence in Switzerland. In 1972 Chaplin was given an Honorary Oscar and returned for the first time in years to the United States to receive the award. The standing ovation he was given is the longest in Academy Awards history, approximately five minutes.

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier is a film industry legend, and deservedly so. Not only is he a solid actor, but he is the first black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor (in 1963 for the movie Lillies in the Field) and he is the first black actor to become the top box office star of a year (in 1967). Also, Poitier had directed a number of notable movies, and in 2002 he earned the Honorary Award at the Oscars for his professional and personal accomplishments.

Mr. Poitier’s acceptance of his Honorary Award can be viewed below.

Blake Edwards

If you don’t know who Blake Edwards is, your probably should. Edwards is known more for his works behind the camera than in front of it as a director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his involvement with the Pink Panther series of comedy movies, but he also also been involved in such movies as 10, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, S.O.B. and many more. Edwards is also known as the husband of singer and actress Julie Andrews, of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music fame.

Edwards was awarded the Honorary Oscar in 2004 for his many achievements. Oddly enough, his acceptance speech never mentioned Peter Sellers, an actor with whom he had worked on plenty of movies, most notably the Pink Panther films.

Cary Grant

Has there ever been anyone more charming on the big screen than Cary Grant? With a long, active career in film, including starring in such vehicles as His Girl Friday, An Affair to Remember and North by Northwest, Grant was the epitome of the debonair, though sometimes slightly goofy, gentlemen. He is best remembered for his romantic comedy and thriller roles, often playing the straight man caught in bizarre circumstances.

Despite his lengthy movie career, Grant never won an academy award. Possibly this was because he was the first actor to buck the old “studio” system and to go independent. Finally, in 1970, at the 42nd Oscars, Grant was given an Honorary Award for all he done for the film industry over the years. It was a well deserved award. Watch below.

Jimmy Stewart

As the soft-spoken everyman in such famous films as It’s A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Harvey, has there ever been a more loved screen presence than that of Jimmy Stewart? Stewart’s career featured him in comedies, thrillers, Westerns and many other film genres. Much of his work with directors Albert Hitchcock and Anthony Mann are of note, as is his exemplary military service, which earned him numerous military metals.

The nominee and winner of numerous awards over his nearly 60 years of film work, Stewart was handed the Honorary Award for lifetime achievement at the Oscars in 1985.

Mary Pickford

Though rarely remembered today, Mary Pickford was easily the biggest celebrity actress during the days of silent film and one of the founders, along with Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, of United Artists. Nearly all her early works were with famed director D.W. Griffith.

Pickford’s first Oscar came for her 1929 film, Coquette. In 1976 she was given the Honorary Award for lifetime achievement. A television crew went to Pickford’s home to record here acceptance of the Honorary Award.

Barbara Stanwyck

From the late 1920s through the late 1950s, Barbara Stanwyck was one of Hollywood’s biggest screen stars, and her acting career continued on television from the 1960s all the way up through the mid 1980s. During this time she was won numerous Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Emmy Awards and other awards.

Though the winner four Best Actress awards, it wasn’t until 1982 that Stanwyck was handed the Honorary Award by the Academy Awards for all her work over the years.

Groucho Marx

When it comes to acting and comedy, Groucho Marx did a little bit of everything. He starred in short films, features and on television, solo and with his brothers, the famous Marx Brothers. He had his own game show on radio and television, You Bet Your Life, and in his early days gained experience in vaudeville routines. Marx even sang in many of his movies. For approximately six months Groucho was the guest host of The Tonight Showin 1962, and it was he, not Jack Parr, who handed over the show to the famous Johnny Carson. Groucho is probably best known today for his film persona of a shifty-eyed character with glasses and a painted-on mustache and eyebrows.

During his last major public appearance, Marx accepted an Honorary Award at the Academy Awards in 1974.

Alec Guinness

Sir Alec Guinness is best known to modern audiences as Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi from the series of Star Wars films, but earlier generations were honored by his solid acting in such notable films as The Bridge on the River Kwai (which won him an Oscar for acting in 1957), Lawrence of Arabia and his personal favorite, Hitler: The Last Ten Days.

In 1980, during the early years of the Star Warscraze (which Guinness seemed to personally dislike), he earned the Honorar Award for lifetime achievement at the Oscars.

Ennio Morricone

If you’ve watched a western movie in the last fifty years, you’ve almost assuredly have heard at least one song written by composer and conductor Ennio Morricone. His most memorable theme song is that of 1966’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, but Morricone has written and conducted literally hundreds upon hundreds of songs that have made their way into film. He is best known for his work in westerns, but he has touched upon every genre, from horror in John Carpenter’s The Thingto crime drama in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America and much, much more.

Morricone was nominated for five Oscars over the years, but he did not gain one until 2007 when Clint Eastwood, a star in many movies with music by Morricone, handed the composer the Honorary Award for all his great works.

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This song was written by Burt Bacharach and has been performed by many artists over the years. Most notably it was the Shirelles that recorded the song, hitting number 8 in the US but it was never released in the UK. Dave Berry did release it in the UK and took his version to number 24 in August 1964. The Beatles covered it at the time but only released it as a single to tie in with the Anthology in the 1990’s.

Because one of the other songs was not available on YouTube, and not wanting to dissapoint, please find the Beatles cover version of Baby It’s You, which hit number 7 in the UK charts in 1995.

Baby It’s You – Beatles

Baby It’s You – Silk

US group Silk had quite a bit of success in the US (number one with ‘Freak Me’) but they never really took off in the UK. This song here only just charted, peaking at number 44 on release in October 1993. The video was not available on YouTube.

Baby It’s You – MN8

During 1995, MN8 hit the top 10 in the UK with three of their four releases; none of their releases the following year reached so high. This song here was the last one released in 1995 and peaked at number 22 in the UK charts before dropping out the charts the following week.

Baby It’s You – Jo Jo

US singer Jo Jo has had a few top 10 hits in the UK and this song here was one of them. Released in November 2004 (and featuring Bow Wow) it raced to a peak of number 8 and stayed on the charts for a total of 7 weeks.

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The Dave Clark Five were somewhat of Beatles underdogs – they had a decent run of hits though in the UK. This song was released in January 1965 and reached a peak of number 37.

Everybody Knows – Dave Clark Five

You have already heard a song called Everybody Knows by the Dave Clark Five but believe it or not this was a different song, with the same title by the same band! This one reached a peak of number 2 in 1967.

Everybody Knows – Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy have had a decent amount of chart success in the UK, but only once reached the top 10. This song was released in March 1997 and reached a peak of number 14.

Everybody Knows – Free Association

The Free Association released a total of two songs in the UK, both charted lowly in 2003. The second one was called ‘Sugarman’ which reached number 53. This song here did worse than that, only reaching number 74.

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Quite an early release here for Roxy Music. On release in 1974 it managed to climb its way to a peak of number 12 and spent a decent 6 weeks in the UK charts.

All I Want Is You – U2

U2 released this song in the summer of 1989 and it reached a peak of number 4 in the UK charts. It was covered in 2002 by Bellefire who took their version to number 18 in the UK charts.

All I Want Is You – Bryan Adams

This song reached number 22 in the UK charts in the summer of 1992. Because the video wasn’t available on YouTube, instead, you can listen to some guy pretending to play guitar along with the song.

All I Want Is You – 911

Between late 1996 and May 1999, 911 hit the top 10 with each and every one of their single releases. This song was released in April 1998 and peaked at number 4 in the UK charts.

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Between 1976 and 1979 Boney M hit the top 10 with nine consecutive single releases – they were hot property. This song here was one of them, released in October 1977, it climbed to a peak of number 8 and spent a total of 12 weeks in the UK charts.

Belfast – Barnbrack

Barnbrack’s only chart hit in the UK was Belfast which peaked at number 45 in the UK charts in March 1985. The video for that was not available on YouTube so, instead, here is their song ‘Lovely Rose of Clare’.

Belfast – Energy Orchard

Irish band Energy Orchard only bothered the UK charts twice. This song here was the first release and it only managed to reach number 52 in January 1990. Second single ‘Sailortown’ did even worse, it only managed to make number 73 in the UK charts later that year.

Belfast – Orbital

How best to describe Orbital; experimental dance pretty much sums it up I suppose. This song was not one of their big hits though, on release in May 1995 it only climbed to number 53 in the UK charts.

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The Beach Boys surprisingly only ever had two number one hits in the UK. The first was ‘Good Vibrations’ in 1966, the second was this song here which hit the top spot in the UK in the summer of 1968.

Do It Again – Steely Dan

US group Steely Dan had rather limited chart sucess in the UK, where only four of their songs charted and only two hit the top 40. This song here was their first release in the UK and it peaked at number 39.

Do It Again – Cookie

This was the only chart hit that Cookie have ever had in the UK. On release in July 2005 it hit number 52; it fell off the charts the following week and they haven’t been heard of since!

Do It Again – Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers have a sound about them that carries over to all of their songs, but why change a winning formula. This song was released in June 2007 and reached a peak of number 12 in the UK charts.

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Julie Grant had moderate chart success in the UK from 1963 to 1964. This song was the last one of hers that charted, it reached a peak of number 31 and spent a total of 4 weeks in the UK chart in 1964.

Come To Me – Ruby Winters

US singer Ruby Winters had hit the number 4 spot in the UK charts with her first release ‘I Will’. This song here was the follow up single in the UK and reached a peak of number 11. It was the last time she reached the top 40 in the UK.

Come To Me – Ateed

This was the only song by German singer Ateed that ever charted in the UK. On release in October 2003 it stalled at number 56, considering the standard of other songs from the same time, it is maybe a surprise this one didn’t do better.

Come To Me – P Diddy

Puff Daddy started being called P Diddy some time in the early 2000’s, the reason for the change name? – no idea. Anyway, this song here, featuring Nicole Scherzinger,  came out in October 2006 and reached a peak of number 4 in the UK charts.

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To many in the UK, Lindisfarne are best known for their 1990 number 2 hit ‘Fog On The Tyne’, simply because it featured Gazza. It does do them a disservice though as they were popular long before that. This song was released in 1972 and climbed to a peak of number 34 in the UK charts.

All Fall Down – Five Star

Five Star were quite popular in the UK from 1985 to the turn of the next century. This song here was their debut single, released in May 1985, it spent a total of 10 weeks in the UK charts, hitting a peak of number 15.

All Fall Down – Ultravox

Not including the re-release of ‘Vienna’ in 1993, this song was the last chart hit for Ultravox. Released in November 1986 it climbed to a peak of number 30 in the UK charts.

All Fall Down – Midget

Midget charted on only two ocassions, both in 1998. This was the first of their single releases and it only managed to reach a peak of number 57 in early 1998. Their follow up single later on that year did even worse, it reached only number 66.

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On Friday, August the 25th, 1967 the Beatles set off from Euston station, bound for Bangor, Wales. They were on the way to their first encounter with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Transcendental Meditation was something the Beatles were interested in – their trip away came as no surprise, they were always ready to jump on any bandwagon. What did come as a surprise though was, on the Sunday, the breaking news that their manager Brian Epstein had been found dead – accidental overdose was the verdict. The Beatles had lost their manager, their mentor and, to some, the one person that could hold it all together. Within days, the Beatles had decided to continue without a new manager – plans were already in effect for the ‘Magical Mystery Tour’. Back in the studio by September 5th, it is interesting to consider that the first song they worked on was ‘I Am The Walrus’; a song that, to many, seems rather irreverent but to others has a meaning that transcends the normal.

Cover of Magical Mystery Tour (1990)

When John Lennon first put a piece of paper in his typewriter, he had decided that he was going to take his time writing the lyrics – let the imagery, let the words flow into him and then out of him. It was to build into a collage of vivid imagery, a collage of Lennon’s thoughts, beliefs and pre-occupations. Even producer George Martin got into the spirit of things by adding arrangements that harked back to the days of Beethoven and Vaughan Williams; even the montage of the ending adds to the thoughts of randomness of the whole.

There was two things that prompted John Lennon to write ‘I Am The Walrus’. The first was Procul Harum’s summer of love hit ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ – the rich imagery of the lyrics appealed to Lennon. The second was Bob Dylan – Lennon admired the wordplay but also felt that Dylan could write a lot of nonsense and get away with it. Lennon roped in the help of old school friend (and ex-Quarrymen member) Pete Shotton to re-visit schoolboy rhymes like ‘oompah, oompah, stick it up your jumper.’ and ‘Yellow matter custard dripping from a deas dog’s eye’. It may have been nonsense but it added a certain humour to the piece.

Drugs also played their part in the song, and also the rather antithesis aspect of illegal drug taking – law and order. The song contains a police siren in the arrangement and Lennon is quick to savage law enforcement, especially at demos and picket lines (”pretty little policemen in a row”). The persecution and prosecution of drug takers is also touched upon – (”Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe”). What Lennon was hinting at with that line was that some creative work is dismissed erroneously simply because the writer is seen as a ‘junkie’. Even the words ’semolina pilchard’ was in reference to a drug incident – it was in reference to Sgt Pilcher who arrested Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on charges of drug possession. Lennon may not have realised the irony when he referred to the users not heeding the warnings of drug use because they were too stoned to notice – (”Don’t you know the joker laughs at you”).

Image via Wikipedia

Sex and religion were also noted in the lyrics. (”I am he as you are he”) was probably a mantra he read in some book somewhere but he uses it here to pour scorn on eastern religions. He also considered Hare Krishna as a total waste of time – (”Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna”). Lennon later told Playboy that the penguin reference was about Allen Ginsberg. If taken literally (”Boy, you been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down”) could have been about a transvestite – the Beatles would no doubt had come across the seedier parts of life. Most people presume that the ‘eggman’ is just a made up piece of nonsense to fill part of the song. The truth is though that the eggman was actually Eric Burdon, of the Animals, who had a passion for breaking eggs over his girlfriend’s bodies. This was, at the time, a private reference that the general public would not have known about; there is no surprise then that the reference would be lost on them.

As for the walrus itself – it is in reference to the children’s poetry of Lewis Carroll and especially ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’. The imagery of the song though owes as much to James Joyce as it does to Lewis Carroll. It was only after releasing the song, and subsequently going back to the poem, that Lennon realised that the ‘walrus’ was the bad guy – this was probably the reason that in the song ‘Glass Onion’, Lennon sneers that “the walrus was Paul”.

All in all, there are probably many personal references that Lennon included in the song that would ensure that no one could quite make out the full implications of the lyrics but there is one consideration that has to be taken into account – the recording of the song only a week after Brian Epstein had died. Perhaps Lennon was trying to hide his true feelings, or at least dress them up in references that only he had the key to but one thing lyrically still comes through that may show the truth. While in Bangor, and after they had been told of Epstein’s death, the Maharishi had told them to have happy thoughts as Epstein had gone to a better place – comforting thought perhaps, but Lennon littered ‘I am the Walrus’ with the words “I’m crying” – does that indicate the true feelings at the loss of his friend and manager? Perhaps he couldn’t hide his love away.

The song was released as a double A-side, along with ‘Hello-Goodbye’, later on that year – it was destined for the top spot. Boxing day saw the nation-wide broadcast of the film ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ – it was critically panned. The last four months of 1967 had seen the Beatles world change dramatically, it was the beginning of the end for the band.