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| Early Singles | Kids | Mummy | Beatles | Painted |
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| Bomb | Privilege | Closer | Mod | Baby |
| they could have been bigger than the beatles |
The Boy In The Paisley Shirt
Cathy McGowan TV personality. Presented the popular 60s pop show 'Ready Steady Go'.
Mary Quant As worn by Pauline Lewis.
The Groovy Cellar A club in London run by Fire Records boss Clive Solomon, which became the centre of the psychedelic
revival in the early Eighties. Dan and Ed Ball were the house DJs.
Games For Boys
Action Man A doll for boys, whose outfits and accessories were all of a military nature.
Tonka Toy Robust childrens toy vehicles, made of sturdy metal and sold on their ability to
withstand rough treatment.
Sindy Doll The British rival to the American Barbie Doll.
Painter Man
Cover of The Creation single from 1966. Boney M had a UK hit in March 1979 with a disco cover of this song, probably reflecting their German producer's affection for the band.
Sooty's Disco Party
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A glove puppet who has been on British TV screens for almost forty years. In 1948, Harry Corbett found the first puppet in a shop in the English seaside resort of Blackpool. He paid 7 shillings for the bear, and with the application of some blacking to the ears, Sooty was born. He made his TV debut in 1952, securing his own childrens show three years later. Corbett acted as the operator and straight man (only he could hear what Sooty said). Sooty displayed a talent for magic, and often made mischief with his water pistol. Over the years he was joined by a friend, a squeaking dog called Sweep, and a girlfriend, a panda called Soo. In 1975, Harry Corbett retired due to ill-health, but his son Matthew took his place. In the Eighties, a cartoon series based on the characters was also produced. In 1998, Matthew Corbett sold the rights to Sooty for £1 million. A new series was then produced, in which Sooty and his friends run a hotel. |
Mysterious Ways
The BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation. State TV and radio broadcaster, funded by the public
through the sale of mandatory TV licences.
Favourite Films
Malcolm McDowell British actor, born 1943. See entry in the people section.
Albert Finney British actor, born in 1936. See entry in the people section.
Tom Courtenay British actor, born in 1937. See entry in the people section.
Wendy Craig British actress, best known in the UK for her roles in TV sitcoms, most notably the popular late
Seventies / early Eighties series 'Butterflies', in which she played a bored housewife tempted to have an affair. However, she had the
leading female role in the 1963 Joseph Losey film The Servant, which is a more likely reason
for her inclusion.
Carol White British actress, 1942 - 1991. See entry in the people section.
Oliver Reed British actor, 1938 - 99. See entry in the people section.
Rita Tushingham British actress, born 1942. See entry in the people section.
The Dream Inspires
The poet Matthew Arnold (1822-88) first referred to Oxford as, 'That sweet City with her dreaming spires'. The phrase has now become synonymous
with the ancient university city. Dan's song also contains the phrase, and a lyrical nod to the song, 'Three Wishes'.
| the painted word |
A Life Of Her Own
A Life Of Her Own is the title of a rather Soapy 1950 film from Hollywood director George Cukor, starring Lana Turner as a young model from
a small town who finds success in New York. This is probably just a coincidence.
Mentioned In Dispatches
Falkland Islands Although lying 300 miles off the east coast of Argentina, the Falkland Islands have been occupied and administered by
the British since 1833, despite Argentine claims of sovereignty. In April 1982, the Argentine military junta invaded and occupied the islands and its associated
dependencies. In response, the British government of Margaret Thatcher declared a 200 mile exclusion zone around the islands and assembled a naval task force,
which sailed to the South Atlantic and successfully recaptured the islands in June 1982, but at the cost of 256 British dead. Nearly 750 Argentine troops were
killed, including 368 in the controversial sinking of the battleship 'General Belgrano'. Public support for the war undoubtedly had an effect on the popularity
of the Thatcher administration, which won a landslide victory at the General Election the following year.
A Sense of Belonging
The playwright John Osborne, author of 'Look Back In Anger', also penned a 1972 play entitled 'A Sense of Detachment', which is a possible influence.
CND marches The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament held its first public meeting in the UK in February 1958. Easter 1958 saw the first mass
march to Aldermaston, Berkshire, the site of a government Atomic Weapons Establishment where components for the UK's atomic arms were produced. This became an annual
event, and peace marches were adopted as a staple tactic in CND's drive to raise public awareness.
World in Action and Panorama British TV current affairs programmes.
Four minute warning Sounded to warn of an impending nuclear attack.
The Painted Word Part 2
Picasso Spanish artist. See entry in the people section.
Braque Georges Braque (1882 - 1963). French painter, who developed Cubism with his friend Picasso. Thanks to Dave Musker for the correction.
Van Gogh Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890). Post-Impressionist Dutch artist whose artistic career only spanned the last decade of his life.
He is well-known for cutting off part of his ear in a fit of despair. His death was self-inflicted; he shot himself, and later died of his injuries.
Vasarely Victor Vasarely (1908 - 97). Hungarian-born French painter who became one of the leading figures in the
Op Art movement of the Sixties, alongside Bridget Riley.
Fifteen minutes, Mr Warhol Andy Warhol is attributed with the often-misquoted saying, 'In the future, everybody will be famous for fifteen
minutes'. These days, with the proliferation of tabloid chat shows, 'docu-soaps' and reality TV, his prophecy seems to have been horribly realised.
Someone To Share My Life With
A close cousin to Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers' 'Someone I Care About'.
Happy All The Time
Ha ha ha said the clown A nod toward Manfred Mann's 1967 hit 'Ha Ha Said the Clown'?
This little piggy A child's rhyme which is recited while counting the
fingers or toes.
The Girl Who Had Everything
The Girl Who Had Everything is the title of a 1953 melodrama starring Elizabeth Taylor, who plays the daughter a wealthy lawyer
who becomes infatuated with one of her father's crooked clients.
She's got her own black Mini Iconic small British car, designed by Sir Alec Issigonis and launched in August 1959.
Black Glamour The title of an Andy Warhol painting of Judy Garland, copied from a Blackgama advert (see below).
What becomes a legend most? Blackgama's famous adverts for their mink coats featured Hollywood actresses with
this phrase, as copied by Warhol.
Tea at the Ritz The Ritz Hotel, opened in 1906 in London's Piccadilly, is one of the most prestigious hotels in the UK.
Birthday party at the Blitz Steve Strange's nightclub in Covent Garden, said to be the birthplace of the New Romantic movement. [Thanks to Andy Nix for the info.]
blitParadise Estate
The slum clearances in British cities (particularly in the post-war era) saw the building of new estates by the local council authorities. These
included grim concrete tower blocks (see '14th Floor'). These housing estates were often given pastoral names, in an attempt to reflect the
brighter future that the new housing would give the residents. Sadly, many of these buildings are now run down and have been all but abandoned to
crime, vandalism and junkies. Ironically, many tower blocks have since been demolished and replaced with the kind of smaller-scale housing that
they originally replaced, in an effort to restore the sense of community that the new estates failed to replicate.
the Rose and Crown A popular UK pub name.
National Front Racist Far-Right British nationalist group.
Dave Musker writes, "Paradise Estate is pretty generic, but the model for it was probably Graham Park Estate in Colindale (or, generally, Hendon)
where Joe [Foster] (and me too, for a while) lived."
Back To Vietnam
The war in Vietnam was a protracted affair lasting from 1955 (when the country was partitioned into North and South following the departure of the
French colonial administration) until unification under North Vietnamese Communist rule in 1975. Concerned at the spread of communism through SE
Asia, the US government supplied South Vietnam with economic and military assistance, gradually leading to full-scale US intervention in 1964.
By 1967, the US had deployed 389,000 personnel, fighting a guerilla war against a much smaller force of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong (the South Vietnamese
communist forces). Public opinion began to turn against US involvement, manifested in peace marches and acts of civil disobedience. Preliminary peace
talks began in Paris in 1968. Under President Nixon, the numbers of US troops in the country (which at the time numbered half a million) were gradually
reduced, whilst the amount of military and economic aid given to the South Vietnamese were boosted. In 1970, combined forces of South Vietnam and the US
invaded neighbouring Cambodia in order to destroy North Vietnamese camps, and targets in Laos were also bombed. This escalation led to a wave of popular
anti-war protest in the States. The early Seventies saw the number of US troops stationed in the area fall further, although air support continued. Peace
talks in Paris reached an agreement in January 1973. However, despite the signing of a cease-fire, fighting continued as both sides jockeyed for position.
In August, the US Congress banned any further US military action in the area. By the end of the year, there were few US military personnel left in South Vietnam,
and military aid was slashed. Gradually, the military effectiveness and morale of the forces fell apart. In March 1975, a full-scale invasion of the South was
launched by the North Vietnamese. The remaining Americans escaped from the country and the capital, Saigon, fell in April. In 1976 the country was officially
united under communist rule. The casualties were large. More than 47,000 Americans were killed in action and over 300,000 wounded. More than a million North and
South Vietnamese civilians were killed during the war. Large parts of the countryside were devastated by bombing and defoliation, while many towns and cities were
left in ruins. The war was a blow to American pride and is imprinted on the US psyche as one that was fought and lost.
National Guard US military reserve forces.
War is the last creative act A quote from the film If...
Richard Nixon 37th president of the United States (1969-74), who, faced with almost certain impeachment for his role in
the Watergate Scandal, became the first American president to resign from office. He was also vice president (1953-61) under President Dwight
D. Eisenhower. During his presidential reign, Nixon gradually withdrew the number of US servicemen stationed in Vietnam, transferring their duties
to the South Vietnam Army while increasing the amount of military aid supplied. However, he also resumed the air attacks on North Vietnam (which President
Johnson had suspended in 1968), and also pushed the offensive into neighbouring Cambodia and Laos. Peace negotiations led by Henry Kissinger eventually led to
agreement in 1973.
Just Call Me Jack (live)
From the live 'Camping in France' LP. A TVP studio version has yet to appear, but a version was released by Dreamworld artists Hangman's Beautiful Daughters,
entitled 'Don't Ask My Name'.
| how i learned to love the bomb |
God Snaps His Fingers
They found Joe lying on his bed The opening verse refers to Sixties gay playwright Joe Orton, author of 'Loot', 'Entertaining
Mr Sloane' and some entertaining diaries. He was murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell on 9th August 1967. Halliwell then took his own life.
'God laughs and snaps his fingers' is a line from 'The Boy Hairdresser' (1960), a novel co-written by Orton and Halliwell and published posthumously.
Now You're Just Being Ridiculous
Greenwich Park A park in SE London, site of the old Royal Observatory.
The Grocer's Daughter
A 'tribute' to Margaret (now Baroness) Thatcher, former British Prime Minister of Great Britain (1979 - 92). Her father owned a greengrocer's shop
in Grantham, Leicestershire, England. See also the title of the Blow Monkeys' third album, 'She Was Only A Grocer's Daughter' (1987).
Relax your mind and float downstream A lyric borrowed from The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows', which closed the 1966
album 'Revolver'.
All dressed in blue She was famous for wearing blue suits; blue is the traditional colour of the Conservative Party.
Set of Mills and Boon Publishers of slushy romantic fiction.
Me And My Desire
The decline of London as a port led to vast areas of former dockland in the East End becoming derelict.
This area was redeveloped in the late Eighties and early Nineties. It is the site of Canary Wharf tower, completed in 1991, Britain's tallest building at 800 ft.
Tower Bridge Opened in 1894, Tower Bridge spans the Thames alongside the Tower of London.
council estate Public housing, see 'Paradise Estate'.