Today is the fiftieth anniversary, both of the
first Bond film, and of the first Beatles single. Should I dine in black tie, or in my funeral suit
and tie (and yes, I do need a haircut)? My Sergeant Pepper uniform has been lent out for
an honorary nephew's Confirmation.
I am very glad that the BBC is going to show The Magical Mystery Tour tomorrow evening. It should also show Performance in the near future. The sheer weirdness of the whole thing needs to be exposed simply by allowing it to speak for itself.
I seriously considered writing a book entitled Eminent Blairians, until I realised that there had never been any. Nor is anyone ever going to pen Eminent Cameronians. But Eminent Jenkinsians and Eminent Thatcherians, respectively skewering the 1960s and the 1980s, have been crying out to be written for a very long time.
Who will take up the challenge?
I must admit I was never a fan of James Bond. The only one I ever paid to see was You Only Live Twice and I think I brought the future Mrs FJH to see one in 1981/82.
ReplyDeleteI never took to the cars, gadgets, locations, explosions and the girls were just too pretty. It was the 1960s and basically Bond was too much like Frank Sinatra.........not Carnaby Street.
Ah the 1960s.
When I passed the 11plus (1963) the Beatles and Beatlemania was beginning.
1967. Sgt Pepper was really a dividing line.After that the Beatles were never really the Fab Four.
I think they were on the wane in 1968 and magical Mystery tour was eagerly look forward to.......it was shown at Christmas and I think Britain and Ireland sat down to watch something amazing but as the titles rolled at the end...and I was watching with some guys from the junior Legion of Mary (funny how things turn out)none of us really wanted to be the first to say..."that was awful".
It was simply very bad.
Self indulgent rather than inspired by anything pharmaceutical.
Perhaps the World (literally) had indulged them a year earlier with "All You Need Is Love" being sung live to millions around the globe.
The Beatles Years. The Grammar School Years. Symmetry.
Actually that was really the last act.........subsequent Beatles performances were laboured.
And by the time I went to Uni (Sept 1970) it was already over.
FJH