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By what more familiar name do we know American 'Blues' singer Eleanora Fagan? | The Blues . The Songs & the Artists . Biographies . Alphabetic | PBS
Born: June 26, 1893, Scott, Mississippi
Died: August 15, 1958, Chicago, Illinois
Also known as: William Lee Conley Broonzy
As a young boy Big Bill Broonzy would return home from a day's fieldwork with cornstalks, which he'd rub together as a homemade fiddle while his many brothers and sisters 16 danced to the music he made. By the age of 14 he was performing as a professional fiddler, and after moving to Chicago as an adult he switched to guitar. He became a prolific songwriter as well as a performer and recording artist and was a foundational contributor to the pre-war Chicago blues scene. He was a clever lyricist with a flair for narrative, and is known for having one of the largest and most versatile repertoires on record, from a slick urban blues sound to his acoustic country blues roots as well as folk and traditional spirituals. Broonzy also acted as a mentor to younger musicians, helping many of them secure performing dates and recording sessions. When the Chicago blues sound was transformed by the emergence of the electric guitar, Broonzy kept performing as a more itinerant folk-blues act, paving the way for the future of blues in Europe and the U.K. As he aged he continued to perform, even as he suffered from throat cancer, to which he succumbed in 1958.
Essential listening: " When Will I Get to be Called a Man ," "Key to the Highway," "Big Bill Blues," "All by Myself"
Ruth Brown
Born: January 1, 1928, Portsmouth, Virginia
Ruth Brown's smooth vocals made the rhythm and blues charts regularly between 1949 and 1955, and helped a then-fledgling Atlantic Records establish itself as a formidable presence in the R&B world. Later in her long and versatile career she became known as a rock and roll and pop singer as well as a stage and film actress, winning a Tony award on Broadway. She has influenced many R&B and soul artists, and her enduring talent is evidenced by her recent solo recordings and guest appearances with artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland and B.B. King, as well as a Grammy win in the late 1980s. Brown continues to perform.
Essential listening: "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean," "Teardrops From My Eyes," "Don't Deceive Me," "Mambo Baby"
Willie Brown
Born: August 6, 1900, Clarksdale, Mississippi
Died: December 30, 1952, Tunica, Mississippi
Willie Brown was an outstanding guitarist as well as vocalist who had an enormous influence on the origination and development of Delta blues. Brown performed regularly with blues legends Charley Patton, Son House and Robert Johnson, and also backed Patton and House on recordings. He is known as an accompanist rather than a soloist, although he did record three extraordinary solo performances. Later in his career he primarily performed with Son House. Both Brown and House disappeared from the music scene during the 1940s, and, sadly, Brown died before the blues revival of the 1960s, when many of his contemporaries were rediscovered by blues scholars.
Essential listening: "M & O Blues," "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor," "Future Blues"
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Born: December 17, 1942, Chicago, Illinois
Died: May 3, 1987, Los Angeles, California
At the age of 16, harmonica player Paul Butterfield regularly sat in with blues legends Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Howlin' Wolf, among others, at Chicago clubs. Butterfield formed his own soon-to-be-legendary band in 1963 with guitarist Elvin Bishop and eventually drummer Sam Lay and bassist Jerome Arnold. This lineup was one of the first racially integrated blues bands in the city. Their 1965 self-titled release, featuring the additions of guitarist Mike Bloomfield and keyboardist Mark Naftalin, had a huge impact on the 1960s blues revival, and they also broke ground backing Bob Dylan's legendary performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival (the electric sound outraged many purist folk fans). Later the band changed personnel again, eventually including jazz great David Sanborn (in his early years) on saxophone. Their success began to wind down in the late sixties, although they did appear at Woodstock and released two final albums in 1968 and 1969. Paul Butterfield continued to perform throughout the seventies.
Essential listening: "I Got My Mojo Working," "Blues With a Feeling," "Born in Chicago," "Shake Your Money Maker," "Mellow Down Easy," "Two Trains Running"
Ray Charles
Born: September 23, 1930, Albany, Georgia
Died: June 10, 2004, Beverly Hills, California
Ray Charles is known for his innovative blend of genres his enormously popular body of work reflects inspiration from gospel, blues, jazz, pop, R&B, soul and country. As a vocalist he was originally inspired by Nat King Cole, and his early recordings reflect this smooth influence. Charles later came into his own with 1954's "I've Got a Woman," which marked a dramatic change in his style it reflected a heavy gospel influence integrated with pop and his vocals were suddenly uninhibited and raw. This trend in Charles's music would continue, culminating in his 1959 signature hit and timeless classic "What'd I Say." His ability to bring together many influences, infusing them all with a gospel core, has had a huge impact on both soul and rock and roll music, influencing Steve Winwood, Joe Cocker, Stevie Wonder, and others. Charles is often referred to as the Father of Soul. He is a legendary musical figure and continues to tour.
Essential listening: "Losing Hand," "I've Got a Woman," "Unchain My Heart', "What'd I Say," "Drown in My Own Tears," "Hit the Road Jack"
Sam Chatmon
Born: January 10, 1897, Boltmon, Mississippi
Died: February 2, 1983, Hollandale, Mississippi
Sam Chatmon was born into a highly musical family reportedly there were 11 sons, all of them musicians. As a boy Sam often played with the Chatmon Family String Band, and when three of his brothers formed the Mississippi Sheiks, who became very popular, he sometimes played with them as well. But Sam Chatmon was a multi-instrumentalist in his own right playing mandolin, bass, guitar and banjo and worked as a traveling musician with a wide repertoire that included blues until the early 1940s. He became a plantation worker until the 1960s blues revival, at which point, like many of his contemporaries, he embarked upon a second career as a musician, performing and recording until his death in 1983.
Essential listening: "My Little Woman," "Shake 'Em All Down," "God Don't Like Ugly," "Hollandale Blues," "Sitting on Top of the World"
Marshall Chess
Born: March 13, 1942, Chicago, Illinois
Marshall Chess is the son of Leonard Chess who, along with his brother Phil, co-founded the legendary Chicago blues label Chess Records. Chess released some of the greatest blues ever recorded by legends such as Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, and many others, and Chess box sets are among the finest collections of blues available today. Marshall Chess grew up, literally, with the blues, hanging out at the Chess offices to be near his father, surrounded by blues greats and learning the finer points of recording. He later dropped out of college to work for Chess. After many years as a producer he started his own label, Cadet Concept, for which he produced the departure release Electric Mud, which featured Muddy Waters in a more electric, psychedelic blues arena. Despite initially strong sales, the album was widely panned by critics. After his father's death in 1969, Chess co-founded Rolling Stones Records and served as executive producer on the group's releases from 1971 through 1976 (or Sticky Fingers through Black and Blue, to be more specific). He has also worked as a film producer. One of his most admirable qualities is his confidence and resilience as a producer in spite of its lukewarm reception, Chess still considers Electric Mud to be a great piece of work, and as he says in the film Godfathers and Sons, "I'm still not afraid to make the worst blues album ever made."
Essential listening: Electric Mud
Born: March 30, 1945, Ripley, England
Also known as: Eric Patrick Clapp
Eric Clapton's talent has graced some of the best bands in rock and blues history: the Yardbirds, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Cream and Blind Faith. He is a rock and blues star in his own right, maintaining a reputation for decades as one of Great Britain's finest guitarists. Clapton reportedly left the Yardbirds in order to immerse himself in blues with the Bluesbreakers ; his subsequent forays into blues-rock with Cream and Blind Faith did a lot to merge the two genres in popular music. He has moved between rock, blues and pop throughout his career, but his major influences include Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Robert Johnson, and his renditions of blues classics especially his cover of Johnson's "Crossroads" are among his best-known recordings. He is a master of painfully expressive guitar work, matched by his emotional vocal delivery. Although much of his work is outstanding, he is probably best known for the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, which is commonly considered to be a masterpiece. Among other brilliant work, that album includes the rock classic "Layla."
Essential listening: "Have You Ever Loved A Woman," "Bell-Bottom Blues," "Crossroads" "Key to the Highway," "Layla"
Shemekia Copeland
Born: 1979, New York, New York
Shemekia Copeland began appearing on stage with her father, Texas bluesman Johnny Copeland, as a child, and as a teenager she toured with him as his opening act, stunning audiences with a confident stage presence which seemed to belie her youth. Her vocal prowess matches her charisma as a performer. At the age of 19, Copeland released her debut album, inspiring comparisons to blues legends Etta James and Koko Taylor. By 2002 Copeland had released two more albums to critical acclaim, and won three of the blues' prestigious W.C. Handy awards. She has worked with Ruth Brown, one of her original influences, as well as Dr. John and others.
Read an archived version of Shemekia Copeland's USAToday online chat .
Essential listening: " The Other Woman ," "I Always Get My Man," "Have Mercy," "Your Mama's Talking," "Not Tonight," "The Push I Need"
Ida Cox
Born: February 25, 1896, Toccoa, Georgia
Died: November 10, 1967, Knoxville, Tennessee
Also known as: Ida Prather
Ida Cox was one of the great 1920s blues singers. She began her career as a teenager, traveling throughout the south as a singer with tent and vaudeville shows. Cox was also a versatile businesswoman for a time she ran her own touring company, working as a producer and manager as well as performer. She was a prolific and popular recording artist throughout the 1920s who wrote many of her own songs, one of which is the well-known "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues." Cox tended to direct her shows toward black female audiences, with songs that examined various issues from a female perspective. Cox's career was active throughout the 1930s, when health problems reportedly forced her into retirement, although she did manage an additional recording session in the early 1960s.
Essential listening: "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues," "Last Mile Blues," "Pink Slip Blues," "Cemetery Blues"
Cream
Eric Clapton, born March 30, 1945, Ripley, England; Ginger Baker, born August 19, 1939, Lewisham, England; Jack Bruce, born May 14, 1943, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Cream combined the superb musicianship of bassist Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker, and guitarist Eric Clapton, and became a powerhouse of blues-rock that had an enormous influence on the future of rock and heavy metal. They were all groundbreaking musicians known for their innovative, aggressive styles, and when they played together as a band they inspired one another to new heights of brilliance. They brought to the blues a jazz-inspired flair for improvisation, and although they were sometimes criticized for their seemingly endless jam sessions, at their best their competitive instrumental assaults showcased their unique gifts. Eric Clapton raised the blues guitar solo to a high art form; Jack Bruce's fervent and often melodic bass playing could pass for a second lead guitar; and rock had never seen the likes of Ginger Baker's percussive mastery (and it's possible that no one has matched him to this day). The trio covered blues classics from legends such as Albert King, Skip James, and Willie Dixon in addition to original material, and in the process introduced the blues to a new audience and broke ground for subsequent heavy blues-rock bands such as Led Zeppelin. Cream formed in 1966 and broke up in 1968. All of their releases are classics.
Essential listening: "Sunshine of Your Love," "Crossroads," "Strange Brew," "Tales of Brave Ulysses"
Bo Diddley
Born: December 30, 1928, McComb, Mississippi
Also known as: Otha Ellas Bates McDaniels
Like many bluesmen, Bo Diddley has his deepest musical roots in gospel. He also studied classical music in his youth, but turned to blues after he was introduced to the music of John Lee Hooker. Reportedly it was Hooker's classic "Boogie Chillen" that had such a dramatic impact. Diddley's music is definitely blues-based, however he has had a more profound impact on rock and roll, especially through the beat he's known for, which became foundational in the genre. He influenced the Yardbirds, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, among many others, with his particularly lighthearted, rhythm-based brand of blues. Diddley grew up in Chicago and began his blues career playing on the street, eventually forming his own band which included harmonica master Billy Boy Arnold and signing with record label Chess. Many of his songs are blues and rock and roll classics. Diddley further influenced rock and roll with his design of a square guitar, one of his trademarks. He continues to tour and record.
Essential listening: "Who Do You Love," "You Can't Judge a Book by its Cover," "Mona," "I'm a Man"
Willie Dixon
Born: July 1, 1915, Vicksburg, Mississippi
Died: January 29, 1992, Burbank, California
Willie Dixon is best known for his songwriting prowess, although his influence on the blues includes his superb work as a producer, arranger, session musician and performer. Dixon began performing in Chicago in the late 1930s; his career was interrupted briefly in the early 1940s when he was jailed for refusing the draft as a conscientious objector. He later worked for the blues label Chess, where his songwriting gave a significant boost to the careers of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and others. Howlin' Wolf had such success with his rendition of Dixon's tunes that for years they were his primary recording and performance efforts. As a mentor to vocalist Koko Taylor, Dixon had her record "Wang Dang Doodle," which became a huge hit and is still her signature classic. Later in his life Dixon had to fight to reap the financial rewards of his art and subsequently worked on behalf of other artists to assist them in securing publishing royalties. He influenced not only his contemporaries, but countless blues and rock and roll artists, including Led Zeppelin, the Doors and Cream. His body of work as a songwriter boasts many blues standards and rock and roll classics.
Essential listening: "Back Door Man," "I Can't Quit You Baby," "The Seventh Son," "You Shook Me," "The Little Red Rooster"
Fats Domino
Born: February 26, 1928, New Orleans, Louisiana
Also known as: Antoine Domino
Fats Domino began performing at the age of 14. His music combines classic "boogie woogie" piano with a New Orleans beat and flavor and R&B and jazz roots, expressed through his signature warm, easygoing vocals. Domino was enormously popular throughout the fifties and into the early sixties, hitting the R&B charts time after time with his original songs (often co-written with manager Dave Bartholomew) and eventually crossing over onto the pop charts. He made rhythm and blues music palatable to a wider audience, as his style represented the calmer edge of the spectrum, in contrast to incendiary rock artists such as Little Richard. As a performer his shy charm and warm grin reflected the mood of his music. Domino's wide popularity helped black music reach a white audience. Most of his numerous hits have become classics.
Essential listening: "Walkin' to New Orleans," ""Blueberry Hill," "Ain't It a Shame," "I'm Walkin'," "Blue Monday", "The Fat Man"
Dr. John
Born: November 21, 1940, New Orleans
Also known as: Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr.
Dr. John combines the roots of New Orleans blues with jazz, funk, rhythm and blues, pop and rock, infused with his sense of humor and particularly original and inventive artistic sensibility. He grew up in New Orleans and was exposed to the city's music early on his father owned a record store and repaired equipment in local nightclubs. Dr. John became a session musician, where he worked with such local legends as Allen Toussaint and Professor Longhair. He eventually moved to Los Angeles and continued doing session work. Legend has it he recorded his first album with excess studio time donated by Sonny & Cher. That first release, Gris Gris, along with a later release, Gumbo, are two examples of his finest work, although an even later album contained his 1973 chart hit "Right Place, Wrong Time." Dr. John is a charismatic performer who in his heyday outfitted himself in Mardi Gras regalia as a witch doctor of sorts to perform a show that was part theatric ritual. He has collaborated with many notable artists and is an accomplished producer and arranger. He continues to record, perform and work as a highly respected producer.
Essential listening: "Such A Night," "Right Place, Wrong Time," "Makin' Whoopee"
Rosco Gordon
Born: 1934, Memphis, Tennessee
Died: July 11, 2002, New York, New York
Rosco Gordon was an integral part of the Memphis Beale Street blues scene during the forties and fifties. He created a shuffle rhythm on piano known as "Rosco's rhythm" that influenced blues, and, in the opinion of some historians, also inspired the creation of the distinctive rhythm of Jamaican ska, itself a precursor of reggae. On Beale Street Gordon worked with Johnny Ace, Bobby Blue Bland and others, and in the early fifties his song "Booted" hit number one on the R&B charts. That same year he had another hit with "No More Doggin'." Throughout his career he never matched that early success, but he did continue to record and perform. Like many bluesmen he took an extended hiatus from music to earn an alternative living, but later in his life he began performing again, and continued to do so until his death in 2002.
Essential listening: "Booted," "I'm Gonna Shake It," "No More Doggin'," "She's My Baby"
Buddy Guy
Born: July 30, 1936, Lettsworth, Louisiana
Also known as: George Guy
Buddy Guy's name has become synonymous with Chicago blues. A dramatic, buoyantly joyful performer with a voice that can be at once smooth and gritty, Guy is also an esteemed guitarist. He has been idolized by the idols themselves for his superb musicianship Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter and even, reportedly, Jimi Hendrix have all acknowledged him as an inspiration. Guy's style of playing was heavily influenced by B.B. King, to whom he is often compared. Early in his career he worked with many of Chicago's blues legends as a session player for Chess records and teamed up with harmonica player Junior Wells; the two were a popular duo in the city for many years. Guy was more popular as a live act than as a recording artist until he teamed up with Eric Clapton in the early 1990s, which precipitated a successful and enduring comeback. In Chicago he is known as the King of the Blues. His talent and influence, his long history with the city's blues greats and his successful local blues club "Legends," contribute to his own legend.
Essential listening: "Broken Hearted Blues," "Stone Crazy," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Try to Quit You, Baby"
W.C. Handy
Born: November 16, 1873, Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Died: March 28, 1958, New York, New York
Also known as: William Christopher Handy
W.C. Handy is widely recognized by his self-proclaimed moniker, "Father of the Blues" due to his steadfast and pioneering efforts to document, write and publish blues music and his life-long support of the genre. Although much of his musical taste leaned toward a more sophisticated and polished sound, Handy was among the first to recognize the value of the blues, and Southern black music in general, as an important American legacy. Handy was an accomplished bandleader and songwriter who performed throughout the South before continuing his career in New York. He came across the Delta blues in the late 1890s, and his composition "Memphis Blues," published in 1912, was the first to include "blues" in the title. Some historians don't consider "Memphis Blues" to be an actual blues song, however it did influence the creation of other blues tunes, including the historic "Crazy Blues," which is commonly known as the first blues song to ever be recorded (by Mamie Smith in 1920). A Memphis park was named after Handy in recognition of his contribution to blues and the Blues Foundation recognizes the genre's achievements annually with the prestigious W.C. Handy award.
Essential listening: "St. Louis Blues," "Yellow Dog Blues," "Beale Street Blues"
Corey Harris
Born: February 21, 1969, Denver, Colorado
Corey Harris can play and sing like a classic bluesman his first album was a thorough exploration and interpretation of Delta blues. Since then he has incorporated the influence of rich musical traditions from New Orleans to Africa to the Caribbean, all while maintaining his reputation as a first-class performer and recording artist. Harris learned how to play the guitar when he was 12, and was originally inspired by Texas blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins. As a student he traveled to Africa and later moved to New Orleans where he performed on the streets before signing a recording contract. Each of Harris's albums has received critical acclaim, and he continues to draw from a wide range of influences, including hip hop, reggae, funk, jazz, blues, R&B and Latin music.
Essential listening: "Black Maria," "Feel Like Going Home," "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning," "Bound to Miss Me," "Capitaine"
Alvin Youngblood Hart
Born: March 2, 1963, Oakland, California
Alvin Youngblood Hart is a contemporary bluesman whose original music and cover interpretations are infused with a pure Delta blues influence. A native of California, Hart's family roots are in Mississippi, and he grew up visiting the area annually, falling in love with the rural lifestyle and hearing stories of blues patriarch Charley Patton. The influences of legendary bluesmen such as Bukka White, Son House, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters can be heard in Hart's many classic interpretations of blues standards as well as his original material. His additional influences include the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and B.B. King as well as formidable vocalists Jimmy Witherspoon and Jimmy Reed. While living in California as a teenager, Hart taught himself to play guitar and spent a lot of time immersed in the Delta blues and its history. Ironically, his performance career began when he just happened to be stationed in Natchez, Mississippi as a member of the Coast Guard. He eventually began playing gigs in California, and ended up with a record deal after a stint opening for Taj Mahal brought him wider visibility. In 1997 Youngblood won the W.C. Handy award for Best New Artist.
Essential listening: "Devil Got My Woman," "Things "Bout Coming My Way," "That Kate Adams Jive," "Jinx Blues," "Motherless Child"
Jimi Hendrix
Born: November 27, 1942, Seattle, Washington
Died: September 18, 1970, London, England
Seattle-born lead guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist Jimi Hendrix created an amazing body of work during his short career, changing the face of music forever through his revolutionary guitar playing and recordings. Although he is often perceived as a rock and roll icon, his roots lie in the blues. As he once recalled: "The first guitarist I was aware of was Muddy Waters. I heard one of his old records when I was a little boy and it scared me to death, because I heard all of these sounds. Wow, what is that all about?" Picking up the guitar in his teens, Hendrix eventually spent four grueling years on the national R&B circuit as a sideman. Upon setting out on his own, he settled first in New York, then relocated to London. By late 1966 he was a sensation in Europe, and in the U.S. shortly thereafter, mesmerizing audiences with searing electric guitar work coupled with the flash of an R&B road band playing the guitar with his teeth, behind his neck, and between his legs. Hendrix became the Aquarian Age avatar of the no-holds-barred African-American showbiz tradition, and the blues were rarely far from the surface of his work. His career and creative trajectory took him to ever greater heights until his passing in 1970. Today, his legend continues to grow, and his example continues to inspire new generations of musicians.
Essential listening: "Devil Got My Woman," "Things "Bout Coming My Way," "That Kate Adams Jive," "Jinx Blues," "Motherless Child"
Text derived from the Jimi Hendrix Gallery at Experience Music Project, Seattle.
Billie Holiday
Born: April 7, 1915, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died: July 17, 1959, New York, New York
Also known as: Eleanora Fagan Gough
Billie Holiday was a legendary vocalist whose uncompromising artistry and highly original, personalized style which included an innovative sense of phrasing, rhythm and harmony has had a tremendous impact on generations of vocalists from all genres. Holiday's life was fraught with difficulty, which may be why she was able to sing the blues so convincingly. A huge part of her appeal was her ability to convey the meaning of the lyrics, giving the impression that she had lived her material. Holiday has acknowledged Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong as two of her primary influences, and during her career she worked with legends Artie Shaw, Cab Calloway and Benny Goodman. Among her many classic recordings are the disturbingly evocative "Strange Fruit," which controversially addressed the violence of racism, and her own composition "God Bless the Child."
Essential listening: "Lover Man," "God Bless the Child," "Strange Fruit," "Good Morning Heartache"
John Lee Hooker
Born: August 22, 1917, Clarksdale, Mississippi
Died: August 21, 2001, Los Altos, California
John Lee Hooker was a master of "boogie" with haunting, sensuously compelling signature vocals and the ability to create a whole world of sound from a single, repetitive chord. His unique, original style hugely influenced other blues artists and especially rock and roll. The Rolling Stones, the Animals, early Fleetwood Mac and Johnny Winter are just a few of Hooker's admirers. Early on he was influenced by gospel and Delta blues. He learned to play guitar from his stepfather, who reportedly knew blues legend Charley Patton. In 1943 he moved to Detroit, where his sound was a welcome and complete change from the slicker post-war blues. For the next four decades Hooker continued to work with his signature style, performing and recording, and his devotion to his craft never faded, even when his popularity did. The respect he'd long garnered from the blues and rock community was evident in his comeback 1989 release The Healer, which featured a roll call of prestigious names from both genres. As he aged he was known as a living blues legend, and he continued to perform, even when he had to be slowly escorted to the stage.
Essential listening: "Boogie Chillen," "I'm in the Mood," "Hoogie Boogie," "Boom Boom," "Baby Lee," "The Healer"
Lightnin' Hopkins
Born: March 15, 1912, Centerville, Texas
Died: January 30, 1982, Houston, Texas
Also known as: Sam Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins's influence on Texas blues is surpassed only by that of Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker. Like Walker, Hopkins met Jefferson when he was just a boy and was forever influenced by his exposure to the musician. Hopkins's original brand of blues was characterized by an unusual sense of rhythm and loose sense of structure. His many moods and personality nuances came through in his ever-changing performance and diverse repertoire. He was a talented songwriter, known for his ability to create lyrics on the spot, and he hardly ever played a song with the exact same lyrics twice. Hopkins played and recorded primarily in Texas throughout most of his career until, as one of the many blues greats who benefited from the blues revival of the 1960s, he was kept busy touring and performing at festivals. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, two years before his death.
Essential listening: "Tim Moore's Farm," "Coffee Blues," "Lightnin's Boogie," "Hopkins's Sky Hop"
Son House
Born: March 21, 1902, Riverton, Mississippi
Died: October 19, 1988, Detroit, Michigan
Also known as: Eddie James House, Jr.
Son House was originally a preacher, and he brought the fiery intensity of Baptist gospel to his interpretation of Delta blues. A powerfully emotional performer, his presence onstage was riveting and almost frightening in its ability to move the listener. He was influenced by and often played with blues greats Charley Patton and Willie Brown, yet his style remained distinctly his own. He is credited as the primary influence on blues legends Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters as well as Bonnie Raitt and many others. House disappeared from the blues scene from the early 1940s through the mid-1960s, until researchers tracked him down, whereupon he began a second career as a respected performer. His past association with Patton and Johnson, as well as his own legendary skill, made him particularly valuable and respected as a living record of blues history. As music critic Cub Koda put it, "Hailed as the greatest living Delta singer still actively performing, nobody dared call themselves the king of the blues as long as Son House was around." *
Essential listening: "Preachin' the Blues," "Death Letter," "John the Revelator," "Dry Spell Blues," "My Black Mama"
* www.allmusic.com
Born: June 10, 1910, West Point, Mississippi
Died: January 10, 1976, Hines, Illinois
Also known as: Chester Arthur Burnett
Howlin' Wolf was inspired by the passionate showmanship of legends Charley Patton and Tommy Johnson, but he took it to the next level. More than just a great showman, "the howler" was an almost transcendent performer, losing himself in the power of the music and letting it flow uninhibitedly through his voice. Wolf could whip the crowd into a frenzy like no other performer, and his stature at more than 6 feet tall and 300 or so pounds matched his formidable musical presence. His voice was truly original, a nasty sounding, expressively gritty growl that conveyed the meaning of the lyrics many of them penned by legendary songwriter Willie Dixon and his interpretation helped many songs become classics. The allure of Wolf's music was further enhanced by the superb guitarists who played with him Willie Johnson in the early years and Hubert Sumlin in later years as well as his own skill with guitar and harmonica, the latter of which he learned to play from master Sonny Boy Williamson. Wolf was a hero of many equally gritty rock and rollers, including the Rolling Stones. Like many Mississippi bluesmen, Wolf saw his career take off in Chicago, where to this day he is an enduring and beloved part of the city's history.
Essential listening: "Smokestack Lightnin'," "Moanin' at Midnight," "Evil," "Killing Floor," "Shake for Me"
Mississippi John Hurt
Born: July 3, 1893, Teoc, Mississippi
Died: November 2, 1966, Grenada, Mississippi
Also known as: John Smith Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt brought unprecedented warmth to the blues, characterized by his gentle, gracious presence as a performer and the tenderness and depth of his songwriting. Hurt mastered a form of finger picking on the guitar that significantly influenced generations of blues, folk and rock musicians. From the time he was 14, Hurt performed locally in and near his tiny hometown while making his living as a farm laborer. Like other Mississippi masters, he was tracked down later in life by a blues fan and scholar and introduced to the burgeoning blues revival of the mid-1960s. During the last three years of his life, to his surprise and delight, he was accepted with open arms by thousands of fans and subsequently made his living as a performer. He has influenced the musicianship and songwriting of blues, folk and rock and his musical descendants include Taj Mahal, Ben Harper, Bob Dylan and many others.
Essential listening: "Frankie," "Louis Collins," "Avalon Blues," " Stack O' Lee ," "Big Leg Blues"
Elmore James
Born: June 27, 1910, Richland, Mississippi
Died: May 24, 1963, Chicago, Illinois
Elmore James was a master of slide guitar, and has influenced just about everyone who has ever picked up a slide. His powerful vocals would naturally and dramatically crack and catch, giving authenticity to his sound. His on-and-off day job as a radio repairman complemented his art he experimented with sound distortion decades before it became a staple of modern rock. James began performing at the age of 14, and played with Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson and others. His style as a vocalist and guitarist were heavily influenced by Robert Johnson, and his reworking of Johnson's original "(I Believe I'll) Dust My Broom" became a signature hit for him (under the shortened title "Dust My Broom"). Like his contemporary Muddy Waters, James brought his version of Delta blues to Chicago, where his amazing band, the Broomdusters, added to the city's superb music scene. James has influenced blues and rock and roll musicians, from B.B. King and Eric Clapton to Johnny Winter and Duane Allman, as well as many others.
Essential listening: "Dust My Broom," "The Sky is Crying," "Hand in Hand," "Shake Your Money Maker"
Skip James
Born: June 21, 1902, Bentonia, Mississippi
Died: October 3, 1969, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Also known as: Nehemiah Curtis James
Skip James is known for his unique, haunting style of blues. He combined falsetto vocals with minor chords, complex finger picking, an idiosyncratic tuning, and a highly personal style of songwriting to create some of the genre's most original music. James was one of Robert Johnson's biggest influences; his original song "Devil Got My Woman" was reworked by Johnson and became the latter's signature hit "Hellhound on my Trail". Like many of his contemporaries of the early Delta blues scene, he turned to another means of livelihood, becoming a preacher at the age of 30 and turning his musical attention to gospel. By chance James was rediscovered during the early 1960s, and subsequently thrilled blues fans at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, thereby re-launching his career. It was obvious that his musical skills were still as sharp as ever and his unique style was intact. In 1966 the band Cream released a popular version of James's original "I'm So Glad."
Essential listening: "Devil Got My Woman," "I'm So Glad," "Sickbed Blues, " Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues "
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Born: July 1897, Couchman, Texas
Died: December, 1929, Chicago, Illinois
Also known as: Deacon L.J. Bates
Blind Lemon Jefferson was a groundbreaking artist on many levels, and is the undisputed father of Texas blues. His innovative guitar style probably partly influenced by Mexican flamenco guitarists featured a flair for arpeggios (playing each note of a chord separately rather than in unison), unconventional use of bass notes and unusual phrasing as well as jazz-inspired improvisation, all of which paved the way for the many brilliant Texas guitarists who would follow in his lineage, from T-Bone Walker to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Walker, in fact, knew Jefferson and was directly influenced by him. Even early in his career Jefferson's remarkable talent was evident. He built a fan base playing on the streets of Dallas, and was able to provide for his family on those earnings. He recorded close to 100 songs within only four years, and his commercial success broke ground for male blues singers in an era where the genre was dominated by women, such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. As a talented songwriter he shifted the common practice of blues vocalists primarily performing songs written by others. His original material includes many blues classics.
Essential listening: "See That My Grave is Kept Clean," "Jack of Diamonds," "Matchbox Blues"
Blind Willie Johnson
Born: 1902, Marlin, Texas
Died: 1947, Beaumont, Texas
Blind Willie Johnson was a deeply religious man who played gospel music, much of it blues-based, as a way to preach. His passionate performance style featured powerful, rough vocals designed to reach the masses from Texas street corners. Johnson was a talented songwriter as well as a superb slide guitarist. He would pick the melody while accompanying himself with a bass line he'd play with his thumb, and he reportedly played slide with a pocketknife rather than the customary bottleneck. During the 1930s Johnson did some recording for Columbia. A number of his songs became classics, and have been covered by many artists, including Eric Clapton, Peter, Paul and Mary and Ry Cooder.
Essential listening: "Motherless Children Have a Hard Time," "Let Your Light Shine on Me," "Dark Was the Night Cold Was the Ground," "If I Had My Way"
Robert Johnson
Born: May 8, 1911, Hazelhurst, Mississippi
Died: August 28, 1938, Greenwood, Mississippi
A young Robert Johnson hung around the Saturday night dances in the Delta watching Son House, Willie Brown and Charley Patton play and, to their amusement, trying to play guitar during the breaks. Years later Johnson ran into House and Brown, and Johnson's skill on the instrument stunned them. He had acquired his skill in such a short time that it inspired a rumor that became legend Johnson must have sold his soul to the devil. His tortured voice and emotional intensity seemed to give credence to the legend, although it is more likely that his own determination and inherent talent, as well as his exposure to the great Delta bluesmen, deserve the credit for his genius. In addition to being a gifted lyricist and composer and innovative guitarist, Johnson transferred "boogie woogie" from the piano to the guitar, playing the bottom guitar strings to accompany himself with a bass line, a technique that has become standard in blues composition. His influence on blues, from Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton to the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, is legendary.
Essential listening: "Walkin' Blues," "Love in Vain Blues," "Come on in My Kitchen" "Terraplane Blues," " Cross Road Blues "
Tommy Johnson
Born: 1896, Terry, Mississippi
Died: November 1, 1956, Crystal Springs, Mississippi
Tommy Johnson was a hell-raiser who could belt out the blues with a wide vocal range, from a low throaty snarl to a high falsetto. He had a dramatic flair in performance similar to his contemporary, Delta blues king Charley Patton, and in the early, pre-Robert Johnson days his influence on the genre was second only to that of Patton and Son House. He was not a virtuoso on the guitar, but had an original, evocative style, well-matched to his theatrical delivery. Johnson significantly influenced blues greats Muddy Waters, Robert Nighthawk and especially Howlin' Wolf, who would carry on and even outdo the Patton/Johnson tradition of incendiary, down-and-dirty showmanship. Johnson was also the quintessential blues bad boy, with a penchant for rampant womanizing and for alcohol, the latter of which led him to drastic extremes. He was known to down denatured alcohol, used for artificial heat, when the real thing wasn't available, a habit he documented in his original song "Canned Heat," from which the 1960s blues-rock group took its name. Johnson left behind a small but outstanding collection of recordings, almost all of which became classics.
Essential listening: "Maggie Campbell," "Big Road Blues," "Cool Drink of Water," "Canned Heat"
Tom Jones
Born: June 6, 1940, Pontypridd, South Wales
Tom Jones is a stunning vocalist with a powerful, emotionally expressive baritone-tenor range matched by a legendarily charismatic stage presence that has often been compared to that of Elvis Presley Presley, in fact, regarded him as one of the world's finest vocalists. Jones's first hit, "It's Not Unusual," reached number one in the U.K. and placed in the U.S. top 10 in 1965. He followed that up with a steady string of hits throughout the sixties, and eventually landed his own TV series. Jones's prolific recording career has encompassed everything from gospel to rockabilly to funk to electronic and dance music in the late eighties he collaborated with techno group Art of Noise, and had a big hit with a tongue-in-cheek cover of Prince's, "Kiss," a recording that showcased Jones's enduring talent and appeal as well as his sense of humor. Other milestones include a superb recording collaboration with the Chieftains and an acclaimed performance at the legendary Glastonbury Festival, both in the early nineties. Jones remains an esteemed performer worldwide, and continues to tour and record; his latest release, Mr. Jones, is a collaboration with acclaimed hip hop artist Wyclef Jean.
Essential listening: "Tennessee Waltz," "Kiss," "Green, Green Grass of Home," "She's a Lady," "I Who Have Nothing"
Albert King
Born: April 25, 1923, Indianola, Mississippi
Died: December 21, 1992
Also known as: Albert Nelson
As a child an enterprising Albert King reportedly built his own guitar out of a cigar box. A brilliant guitarist in his own right, King was originally inspired by Texas blues great Blind Lemon Jefferson. Like B.B. King, he was a master of single string solos and used the technique of "string bending" to great emotional effect. He was also left-handed, and instead of restringing the guitar, he just learned to play it upside down, which added an original tone to his style. His blues are infused with a Memphis soul sound; he became a rock and blues star after signing to the Memphis-based Stax label, which was responsible for some of the finest soul music ever recorded. King always managed to keep his sound fresh and original, and had a significant impact on blues and rock; he has influenced Eric Clapton, Robert Clay, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Otis Rush, among others. He had the honor of playing San Francisco's Fillmore West on opening night with John Mayall and Jimi Hendrix and often shared the bill with rock artists throughout his career. King continued to tour until his death in 1992.
Essential listening: "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong," "Crosscut Saw," "Born Under a Bad Sign," "I'll Play the Blues for You"
B.B. King
Born: September 16, 1925, Indianola, Mississippi
Also known as: Riley B. King
B.B. King's career has spanned five decades and taken him from the clubs of Memphis to the finest concert halls in the world. He's known as the King of the Blues, and for his enduring and successful efforts as a gracious, respected blues diplomat he deserves much of the credit for the genre's mainstream popularity and recognition. Early in his career King worked as a Memphis disc jockey, where he was known as the Beale Street Blues Boy, which was later shortened to B.B. Although King's roots are in Delta blues, his sound has always been more polished, probably due to his wide variety of influences, which include jazz, gospel and pop. King's highly influential style probably originally inspired by Texas blues greats Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker features "single string" guitar solos that are so well-integrated with his commanding vocals that it's sometimes hard to tell the two apart. He also "bends" the strings, which continues the sound in a way that enhances the music's emotion. He has influenced countless blues and rock artists, including Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter and Jeff Beck. King continues to record and perform as powerfully as ever.
Essential listening: " Three O'Clock Blues ," "How Blue Can You Get," "The Thrill is Gone," "Sweet Little Angel," "Paying the Cost to be the Boss"
Chris Thomas King
Born: October 14, 1963, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Also known as: Chris Thomas
The essence of Chris Thomas King's versatile, heavily blues-influenced music can perhaps best be hinted at with a quick sample of his album titles: his 1986 debut, The Beginning; 1995's 21st Century Blues�From da Hood; 2000's Me, My Guitar and the Blues; and 2002's Dirty South Hip-Hop Blues. King's early influences leaned toward soul, rock and reggae, specifically Prince, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley, but it was inevitable that his blues birthright (as the son of Louisiana bluesman Tabby Thomas) would eventually wend its way into his work. King toured Europe with his father in 1983, and since then the blues have been an integral part of his work. Throughout his career he has fused the blues with hip hop, rap, funk and soul, and also has repeatedly returned to a more pure form of blues, exploring the soul and history of the music in a critically acclaimed, always-evolving body of work. King is most recently known for his appearance on the award-winning soundtrack from the film O Brother Where Art Thou , in which he also played a supporting role.
Read an archived version of King's Washington Post online chat .
Essential listening: "Soon This Morning Blues," "Mary Jane," "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues," " Da Thrill is Gone From Here ," "Revelations"
Sam Lay
Born: March 20, 1935, Birmingham, Alabama
Sam Lay is the quintessential blues drummer, and was a major figure on the Chicago blues scene in the 1960's. He played for years with legend Howlin' Wolf, and throughout his career has backed many other blues greats, including Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Willie Dixon. He eventually was hired away from Howlin' Wolf by the legendary Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Lay was part of Butterfield's band when they backed Bob Dylan at his infamous premier electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. He has played on many classic albums, including the 1965 release Paul Butterfield Blues Band, that significantly impacted the 1960s blues revival; Muddy Waters's Fathers and Sons; and Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. Lay is famous for the "double shuffle" beat, which, like Bo Diddley's famous rock beat, was originally inspired by the clapping rhythms of gospel congregations. Lay has been nominated for several W.C. Handy awards.
Essential listening: "I'm Ready," "Standing Around Crying" (from Fathers and Sons, Chess); "Blues With a Feeling," "I Got My Mojo Working," "Shake Your Money Maker" (from Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Elektra)
Lead Belly
Born: January 20, 1888, Mooringsport, Louisiana
Died: December 6, 1949, New York, New York
Also known as: Huddie William Ledbetter
By all accounts Lead Belly was a captivating performer, and the story of his colorful life certainly gives credence to the reputation. His performance was enchanting enough to disarm even the heavy arm of Southern, white, law enforcement he twice was pardoned from long prison sentences as a result of his talent. Lead Belly was an itinerant musician, and a living catalogue of many musical traditions and influences, from folk to country blues to prison songs to ballads. His wide repertoire carried a rich sense of black history. He traveled and played for a time with Blind Lemon Jefferson, who was probably his primary blues influence and reportedly taught him how to play slide guitar. It was folklorist John Lomax who recognized Lead Belly as a national treasure and orchestrated his second prison release on those grounds, later recording him and organizing performances. Lead Belly later moved to New York and became an integral part of the city's folk scene. During his lifetime he never experienced the success and recognition he deserved, but his influence on American music is incalculable. He has inspired many songwriters, including Bob Dylan, and his recordings document a rich musical legacy that without him might have been forgotten.
Essential listening: "Goodnight Irene," "Bourgeois Blues," "Scottsboro Blues," "Rock Island Line"
J.B. Lenoir
Born: May 5, 1929, Monticello, Mississippi
Died: April 29, 1967, Urbana, Illinois
J.B. Lenoir probably picked up his solid "boogie woogie" influence in New Orleans, where he spent some time performing before he settled into Chicago's blues scene during the fifties and sixties. While in New Orleans he played with blues greats Sonny Boy Williamson II and Elmore James. Once Lenoir made it to Chicago, Big Bill Broonzy helped introduce him to the local blues community, and he became an important part of the city's blues scene. He was a talented songwriter and bluesman with an obvious political awareness. Examples of his outspoken views can be found in "Korea Blues," and "Eisenhower Blues" the latter reportedly caused enough controversy that his record label forced him to remake the tune under the title "Tax Paying Blues." His penchant for social commentary and his high-pitched vocals distinguish him from other bluesmen of that time. Lenoir's recordings are also distinctive for their excellent saxophone arrangements and unconventional drumming (Alex Atkins and Ernest Cotton were often on sax with Al Gavin on drums). Lenoir had successfully toured Europe and was likely about to achieve greater fame when he died in 1966 due to complications from a car accident.
Essential listening: " Shot on James Meredith ," "Mama, Talk to Your Daughter," "Everybody Wants to Know," "Natural Man," "Eisenhower Blues," "Korea Blues," "Vietnam Blues"
Little Richard
Born: December 5, 1932, Macon, Georgia
Also known as: Richard Wayne Penniman
Little Richard was a crucial link between R&B and rock and roll, merging the two with passionate, gospel-inspired vocals and a truly incendiary presence that translated incredibly well onto recording tape. The true peak of his career only lasted three years (and included appearances in rock and roll films), but his many hits are absolute classics and he had an enormous influence on blues, rock, and pop music. Little Richard's recordings feature an overwhelming compilation of superb musicianship his ferocious vocals and relentlessly wild piano playing, strong baritone and tenor sax (often Alvin Tyler and Lee Alvin, respectively), and fabulous rhythm section (namely drummer Earl Palmer). Like other performers such as Son House and Blind Willie Johnson, the religious fervor Little Richard brought to his music was key to its riveting appeal. In 1957 he actually turned his back on his music career in favor of religious studies. He came back to music in the early 1960s, and later repeated the journey from music to religion and back again. Little Richard continues to perform on occasion.
Essential listening: "Lucille," "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Long Tall Sally," "Tutti Frutti"
Alan Lomax
Born: January 15, 1915, Austin, Texas
Died: July 19, 2002, Sarasota, Florida
Alan Lomax began his long career as a folklorist when he was still a teenager, traveling with his father, John, throughout the South to preserve the area's music legacy of folk, work songs and spirituals, among other music. During their travels to Southern prisons, the father and son team came upon William Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, recorded him for the first time and actually negotiated his release on the basis of the singer/songwriter's talent. Alan Lomax subsequently returned to the South on his own, where he recorded many Mississippi bluesmen, including Muddy Waters, Son House, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. He also recorded jazz legend Jelly Roll Morton. Lomax's life was dedicated to preserving the musical legacy of not only the United States, but other parts of the world as well, including Europe and the Caribbean. His blues recordings are classics, and in his award-winning memoir, The Land Where the Blues Began, he not only chronicled the history of the blues as seen through his field experiences, but also captured the bitter racism that was faced by the now-legendary artists he recorded. Lomax left behind an invaluable musical and historical legacy.
Essential listening: "Walking Blues," "Country Blues," "Life is Like That" (from The Land Where the Blues Began, 2002, Rounder)
Brownie McGhee
Born: November 30, 1915, Knoxville, Tennessee
Died: February 23, 1996, Oakland, California
Also known as: Walter McGhee
Brownie McGhee played blues guitar in a style that was heavily influenced by Blind Boy Fuller, a North Carolina native whose repertoire included a complicated finger picking style characteristic of a regional genre known as Piedmont blues. Early in his career, McGhee worked as a traveling performer. When he made it to North Carolina he met Blind Boy Fuller and his manager, J.B. Long, and it was Long who helped McGhee make his first recordings. McGhee later moved to New York where he teamed up with harmonica player Sonny Terry. With the help of legendary singer/songwriter Lead Belly, McGhee and Terry became an important part of the city's folk scene, working with such artists as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. As a duo they were enormously popular performers and prolific recording artists for almost four decades. McGhee also opened a music school in Harlem where he offered guitar lessons. Both individually and in his partnership with Sonny Terry, McGhee had a lasting influence on both blues and folk. He was an accomplished and versatile guitarist and vocalist whose mastery as a musician included R&B, electric blues and vintage country blues, in addition to the Piedmont style he helped preserve.
Essential listening: "Workingman's Blues," "Death of Blind Boy Fuller," "Living With the Blues"
Magic Slim
Born: August 7, 1937, Grenada, Mississippi
Also known as: Morris Holt
A Magic Slim performance brings the history of Chicago blues to life he studied and played with the masters and he brings their styles together, infusing them with his own fiery skill. He might not be the King of the Blues in Chicago, but he's certainly one of the royal family. Slim grew up in Mississippi and knew blues great Magic Sam when the two were children it was Sam who gave him the nickname. Slim came to Chicago in the mid-fifties with the hopes of becoming a great bluesman, but didn't have the skill level to hold his own with the city's stars. He came back ten years later having honed his licks and formed a band with his brothers; the group soon became a powerful force on the city's South Side. Slim was particularly influenced by the guitar work of Muddy Waters, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and his old buddy Magic Sam, and he was a devoted student. Decades (and personnel changes) later Slim and his band still maintain a reputation for blowing the room away with their powerful lead and rhythm guitar stylings and a truly amazing repertoire, including fine original material.
Essential listening: "Scuffling," "Love My Baby," "Help Yourself"
Taj Mahal
Born: May 17, 1942, New York, New York
Also known as: Henry St. Claire Fredericks
Taj Mahal is an extremely versatile songwriter, musician and performer who incorporates his lifelong study of blues and other genres, as well as the music of other cultures including Hawaiian, West African, reggae, zydeco, R&B, Latin, gospel, jazz and folk in his songwriting and performance. Mahal has mastered many instruments, including piano, bass, guitar, banjo and harmonica, and is an expressive vocalist. His deep respect for the true roots of all musical styles is evident in his performance. Stories of legendary and obscure artists from blues and other genres as well as various musical styles and influences are often interspersed between songs. Mahal began performing as a folk singer while he was still a teenager, and during college he became part of Boston's folk scene. He eventually moved to Los Angeles where for a short time he worked with guitar master Ry Cooder. Mahal's loyalty to blues can be found on most of the albums he has released in his prolific career, and is particularly evident in his early, critically-acclaimed releases. Taj Mahal continues to record and perform.
Essential listening: " Fishin' Blues ," "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," "Do I Love Her," "Satisfied and Tickled Too," "Strut," "Hard Way"
John Mayall
Born: November 29, 1933, Manchester, England
John Mayall's considerable talent as a composer and performer is often overshadowed by the influence of his ever-changing band, the Bluesbreakers, which has been in existence since the early 1960's, and early on gained a prestigious reputation that has endured to the present day. Mayall brought together a stunning array of talent in the groundbreaking group, which mined the annals of American blues history in addition to performing original music. The group was partly experimental, and as a result its sound was inconsistent, but much of it was outstanding. Many members of the Bluesbreakers subsequently became superstars. Even a short list of the band's veterans reads like a who's who in enduring sixties and seventies blues-rock: Eric Clapton and bassist Jack Bruce, who left to form the supergroup Cream; guitarist Mick Taylor, who left to join the Rolling Stones; and guitarist Peter Green, bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood, who with others co-founded Fleetwood Mac (originally conceived as a pure blues band). Mayall continues to perform, often with longtime Bluesbreakers veterans and other blues legends.
Essential listening: "All Your Love," "Room to Move," "Ramblin' On My Mind," "Parchman Farm," "It Ain't Right"
Memphis Minnie
Born: June 3, 1897, Algiers, Louisiana
Died: August 6, 1973, Memphis, Tennessee
Also known as: Lizzie Douglas
Memphis Minnie was an accomplished guitarist, banjo player, vocalist and songwriter whose career was long and prolific, and she won the enduring respect of her contemporaries, male and female. Her talent had an impact on Memphis's famed Beale Street blues community as well as both the pre-war and post-war Chicago blues scene. She established herself on Beale Street during the 1920s, then moved to Chicago in 1930, where she reportedly regularly won guitar playing competitions, beating out the best of them, including Big Bill Broonzy, Tampa Red, and Muddy Waters. In addition to her superb musicianship, her performance featured rich vocals with a deep, full tone. Her songwriting, often conveying a purely female perspective, was as gutsy and suggestive as any of her male counterparts, and many of her originals have become classics. Among her many contributions to the blues, she was also known for her kindness and generosity toward up and coming blues musicians. In 1971 Led Zeppelin recorded its take on her original "When the Levee Breaks" a testament to the timeless appeal of her music.
Essential listening: "Bumble Bee," "I'd Rather See Him Dead," "Moaning the Blues," "When the Levee Breaks," "Hoodoo Lady"
Muddy Waters
Born: April 4, 1915, Rolling Forks, Mississippi
Died: April 30, 1983, Westmont, Illinois
Also known as: McKinley Morganfield
Muddy Waters grew up in the Mississippi Delta, singing as he worked in the cotton fields as a boy and playing near his favorite muddy creek thus the nickname. He picked up a guitar when he was 17. Influenced by the deeply emotional performer Son House as well as Robert Johnson, Waters became an accomplished bluesman himself. In the early 1940s he took the raw depth of the Delta blues to Chicago, and in a few years he had revolutionized the city's blues scene. His many contributions to Chicago blues include his skill with an electric guitar, his tough, powerful vocals, and his evocative, compelling songwriting. As a bandleader he established the ensemble sound and style of Chicago electric blues just about every great Chicago blues player of that time was in Waters's band at one point or another. British rockers the Rolling Stones took their name from a Waters's song a testament to Waters's extensive influence on both American and British rock and roll.
Essential listening: "Rolling Stone," "Honey Bee," "I Can't Be Satisfied," " Mannish Boy ," "Got My Mojo Working"
Willie Nix
Born: August 6, 1922, Memphis, Tennessee
Died: July 8, 1991, Leland, Mississippi
Willie Nix was an innovative drummer and gifted lyricist as well as vocalist, and was an integral part of Memphis's Beale Street blues community during the late forties and early fifties. Nix originally began performing as a tap-dancer when he was very young his creative sense of rhythm as a drummer likely had its roots in his instincts as a dancer. Nix recorded and played in both Memphis and Chicago, and worked with legendary bluesmen in both cities, among them Junior Parker, B.B. King, Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Bobby Blue Bland. Nix eventually moved back to Memphis and continued to be a local fixture in the blues community. He performed on and off until his death in 1991.
Essential listening: "Truckin' Little Woman," "Nervous Wreck," "No More Love"
Junior Parker
Born: March 27, 1932, West Memphis, Arkansas
Died: November 18, 1971, Chicago, Illinois
Also known as: Herman Parker, Jr.
Junior Parker was known for his prowess as a vocalist, bandleader, songwriter and harmonica player, but it was his voice which music historians describe as "honeyed," "velvet-smooth" and "magic carpet" that brought him real fame. Parker was mentored in the subtleties of blues harp (harmonica) by the blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson II, and joined Howlin' Wolf's band when he was still a teenager. He was part of Memphis's famous Beale Street blues community. Reportedly one of talent scout Ike Turner's many discoveries, Parker recorded for Sun records in the early fifties; his rendition of the self-penned "Mystery Train" made it to number 5 on the R&B charts and was later covered by Elvis Presley. Parker's recordings would make the charts many more times throughout the decade and into the early sixties. During the late fifties Parker led a highly successful R&B revue, Blues Consolidated, which also featured fellow Beale Street vocalist Bobby Blue Bland. Though he never was able to sustain the fame he'd achieved during the fifties, Parker continued working as a recording artist and performer throughout the sixties.
Essential listening: "Mystery Train," "Next Time You See Me," "Barefoot Rock," "Feelin' Good," "Love My Baby"
Charley Patton
Born: 1891, Edwards, Mississippi
Died: April 28, 1934, Indianola, Mississippi
Charley Patton is the uncontested father of the Delta blues. His ferocious, high energy performance brought the house down on a regular basis with a gritty, raw vocal style and an ability to act as a one-man percussion section with his guitar, creating an innovative flow of rhythm and counter-rhythm. His uninhibited performances onstage were reflected in his lifestyle he was a match for any one of his musical descendants as a hard drinker and womanizer. Patton's legacy has inspired, directly and indirectly, generations of both blues and rock and roll musicians. The guitar gymnastics of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan are echoes of Patton's performance style, and his use of rhythm and "popping" bass notes presaged funk by decades. Patton influenced and played with blues greats Son House and Willie Brown, and also influenced Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Shines, John Lee Hooker, and Pop Staples, among many others.
Essential listening: "Pony Blues," "High Water Everywhere," "Oh Death," "High Sheriff Blues"
Sam Phillips
Born: January 1, 1923, Florence, Alabama
Died: July 31, 2003, Memphis, Tennessee
Sam Phillips has had an enormous impact on music, particularly blues, rock and roll and rockabilly. As an innovative producer and owner of Memphis's legendary Sun Studios, Phillips made his mark on music history by discovering and recording such legends as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and others. Slightly earlier in his career, however, Phillips recorded many blues legends, including Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Little Milton and Junior Parker. Sun Studios is often called "The Birthplace of Rock and Roll" in 1951 Phillips recorded the legendary single "Rocket 88," which is often referred to as the first rock and roll record. The song reached number one on R&B charts and helped put Memphis on the musical map. Phillip's obvious gift for bringing out the best in his recording artists is evident on early Sun recordings, which are also known for their live, vital sound. Sun Studios still exists in its original Memphis location.
Essential listening: "B.B. Blues," "My Baby Walked Off," "I Found a New Love," "Lookin' for My Baby" (from Blue Flames: A Sun Blues Collection, Rhino-Sun)
Professor Longhair
Born: December 19, 1918, Bogalusa, Louisiana
Died: January 30, 1980, New Orleans, Louisiana
Also known as: Henry Roeland "Roy" Byrd
Professor Longhair is known as the Father of New Orleans rhythm and blues. He was a vocalist and songwriter, and as a pianist his wildly innovative style combined zydeco, jazz, blues, calypso and ragtime influences with an amazing sense of rhythm. Longhair's infectious talent influenced New Orleans-based greats such as Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, and Fats Domino, among others. He began performing when he was quite young, and later formed several bands, including Professor Longhair and his Blues Jumpers, with whom he recorded the single, "Baldhead," which eventually reached number 5 on the R&B charts. During most of his career he remained a local legend because of his lack of interest in touring, but many of his recordings became New Orleans classics, including "Tipitina," for which the legendary nightclub was named. Longhair's popularity subsided during the 1960's and he worked as a janitor until his performance career was revived in the early seventies. Thereafter he was a regular at New Orleans's Jazz & Heritage Festival, toured the U.S. and Europe and continued to record to critical acclaim.
Essential recordings: "Tipitina," "Baldhead," " Big Chief ," "Go to the Mardi Gras," "In the Night"
Gertrude "Ma" Rainey
Born: April 26, 1886, Columbus, Georgia
Died: December 22, 1939, Columbus, Georgia
Also known as: Gertrude Pridgett
Ma Rainey is commonly known as the Mother of the Blues because of her significant influence on the many female blues singers who succeeded her. She began performing in minstrel and vaudeville shows around the age of 14, and is widely considered to be one of the first female singers to perform blues in that setting. She was an important link between the rough vocals of country blues, then a male-dominated genre which her vocal delivery resembled, and the more polished sound of classic urban blues, a female-dominated genre which she ultimately influenced. In 1904 Rainey married William (known as Pa) Rainey, and the two of them performed together calling themselves "Assasinators of the Blues." Legend has it that during their travels Ma Rainey met Bessie Smith, and became somewhat of a mentor to the young singer. In addition to Rainey's vocal prowess, she was also a talented songwriter. After more than two decades of performing, Rainey began to record in 1923, and she left behind a prolific legacy that includes many classics.
Essential listening: "C.C. Rider," "Bo Weavil Blues," "Jelly Bean Blues," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"
Bonnie Raitt
Born: November 8, 1949
An accomplished slide guitarist and blues singer/songwriter, Bonnie Raitt incongruously dropped out of an Ivy League college to work as an itinerant blues musician. Her considerable skill made an impression on Boston's blues scene, and she quickly won the respect of her peers, later playing with blues legends Howlin' Wolf, Son House, Muddy Waters, and others. Raitt began recording to critical acclaim in the early seventies, mixing blues with R&B, pop, jazz and New Orleans influences and garnering a loyal cult following. Like her female predecessors, her music often features a gender-specific spin on the blues; her original interpretation of Chris Smither's "Love Me Like a Man" contains a clever response to Muddy Waters's "Rock Me," and her rendition of Sippie Wallace's "Women Be Wise" likewise offers a refreshing female perspective. In the eighties Raitt's career slowed somewhat until the release of the aptly-titled Nick of Time in 1989, at which point, in the words of blues historian Robert Santelli, she "pulled off one of the greatest career turnarounds in modern pop history."* Raitt received six Grammy awards for the album, and followed it up with another Grammy-winner in 1992. She continues to record and tour.
Essential listening: "Love Me Like a Man," "Give It Up or Let Me Go," "Women Be Wise," "Walking Blues," "Feeling of Falling"
* Santelli, Robert. The Big Book of Blues. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.
Jimmy Reed
Born: September 9, 1925, Dunleith, Mississippi
Died: August 29, 1976, Oakland, California
Also known as: Mathias James Reed
Jimmy Reed's brand of blues was smooth, warm and even sweet quite a contrast to the rough, gritty sound which usually characterizes the genre. Reed and his guitarist Eddie Taylor were childhood friends in Mississippi, and they later settled in Chicago, where they would became a unique recording presence. Reed's easygoing style, built on a solid foundation of Delta blues, featured walking "boogie woogie" bass notes, catchy rhythmic hooks crafted by Taylor and fluid harmonica riffs. All this was delivered through Reed's expressive, irresistible vocals the combination was a contagiously compelling sound. Some of Reed's success was also due to his wife Mary Lee's considerable talent as a songwriter. Reed's recordings were hugely popular with both blues and pop audiences; he enjoyed a long series of hits from 1955 through 1961. Many of his songs have been covered by blues, rock and roll and pop artists, including the Rolling Stones, who along with Bob Dylan acknowledge him as a huge influence. Even the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, couldn't resist recording a Jimmy Reed song.
Essential listening: "Ain't That Loving You Baby," "Baby What Do You Want Me to Do," "Hush, Hush," "Shame, Shame, Shame," "You Don't Have to Go"
The Rolling Stones
Original and later band members: Mick Jagger, born July 26, 1943, Dartford, England; Keith Richards, born December 18, 1943, Dartford, England; Brian Jones, born February 28, 1942, Cheltenham, England, died July 3, 1969, London, England; Charlie Watts, born June 2, 1941, Islington, London, England; Bill Wyman, born October 24, 1936, London, England; Ron Wood, born June 1, 1947, Hillingdon, London, England
The Rolling Stones melded blues and R&B with classic rock and roll, and eventually lived up to their self-proclaimed moniker "the World's Greatest Rock and Roll band." As rock and roll's quintessential bad boys, in the beginning the Stones were the antithesis of the clean-cut Beatles, and their sound was a gritty, edgy departure from the sounds of the time. The band took their name from a Muddy Waters song, a testament to the fact that they were avid fans of classic blues. As a young man, outrageously charismatic front man and songwriter Mick Jagger was a regular mail-order customer of the Chicago blues label Chess Records (the band would later record there and work for years with the co-founder's son Marshall). Guitarists Brian Jones and Keith Richards (who formed a notoriously brilliant songwriting partnership with Jagger) were both heavily influenced by Delta blues; Jones idolized legendary blues slide guitarist Elmore James and Richards's highly influential playing made considerable use of the genre's open chord tunings. Drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Bill Wyman were a formidable rhythm section; Watts had previously played with one of Great Britain's esteemed blues band, Blues, Inc. Jones left the band just before his death 1969 and was replaced by Mick Taylor, a veteran of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Taylor left in 1975, and in 1976 was replaced by Ron Wood, who had played with the Jeff Beck Group as well as Small Faces. Wyman left the group in 1991, and was replaced in 1994 by Daryl Jones. The Rolling Stones, who continue to tour, are commonly regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of music.
Essential listening: "Loving Cup," "Moonlight Mile," "Love in Vain," "I Just Want to Make Love to You"
Bobby Rush
Born: November 10, 1940, Homer, Louisiana
Bobby Rush began performing in Chicago as a teenager, and performed with blues greats Freddie King and Luther Allison. He saw some recording success during the 1970s, making the R&B charts with his hit "Chicken Heads," which is still one of his standards, and became a very popular performer and prolific recording artist after he moved to Mississippi in the early eighties. Rush is known for his high-energy performances, featuring lighthearted, funky, and often very suggestive blues, R&B, and soul. He has received several nominations for the prestigious W.C. Handy awards as well as other blues, R&B and soul awards.
Read an archived version of Bobby Rush's Washington Post online chat .
Essential listening: "A Man Can Give It (But He Can't Take It)," "Chicken Heads," "Mama Talk To Your Daughter," "Sue," "What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander"
Otis Rush
Born: April 29, 1934, Philadelphia, Mississippi
Otis Rush is a stunning vocalist, innovative guitarist and songwriter who has hugely influenced blues and rock artists, including Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan (whose band, Double Trouble, was named after Rush's song of the same name), Jeff Beck, and Carlos Santana. Rush was inspired to become a bluesman after he moved to Chicago in the late forties and saw Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf perform. Along with Buddy Guy and Magic Slim, Rush developed a playing style that would become known as the "West Side sound," an emotionally intense combination of guitar licks and expressive vocals, with an urban sound that signified a departure from classic Mississippi Delta blues. Willie Dixon recognized Rush's genius early on, and Rush's recording of Dixon's original, "I Can't Quit You, Baby," reached number 9 on the R&B charts in the mid-fifties. A songwriter in his own right, Rush's frequent use of minor keys provides his music with a subtle but unmistakably anguished tone and interesting moodiness. He is a left-handed guitarist, and like Albert King, one of his primary influences, he plays the guitar upside down rather than having it restrung. Rush continues to tour.
Essential listening: "I Can't Quit You, Baby," "Double Trouble," "So Many Roads, So Many Trains," "All Your Love"
Bessie Smith
Born: April 15, 1894, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Died: September 26, 1937, Clarksdale, Mississippi
Bessie Smith's talent as a vocalist is legendary and she has influenced generations of blues singers, from Billie Holiday to Janis Joplin. She was enormously successful throughout the twenties as a blues and sometimes jazz singer, and beyond that she was an inspiration to the black community, as she lived her life with confidence and uncompromising self-respect, on no one's terms but her own. This self-assurance was part of the appeal of her rich, expressive vocals. Smith sometimes wrote her own material, such as "Back Water Blues." Her career was impacted by the Depression, as were the careers of many artists, but she continued to perform. She was probably on the verge of a comeback, reportedly having been scheduled to play Carnegie Hall at John Hammond's legendary concert "From Spirituals to Swing," when she was killed in a car accident in 1937.
Essential recordings: " Lost Your Head Blues ," "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," "'Tain't Nobody's Business if I Do," "Back Water Blues," "Broken Hearted Blues"
Mamie Smith
Born: May 26, 1883, Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: October 30, 1946, New York, New York
Mamie Smith was primarily a cabaret and vaudeville singer, but she made blues history by being the first singer to record a blues song. "Crazy Blues," recorded in 1920, was a huge hit, selling more than one million copies within a year of its release. This success inspired the release of further blues recordings by female artists. So, although Mamie Smith technically wasn't a blues singer, she was a groundbreaking and influential artist for the genre. Her majestic stage presence and ornate costumes and jewelry also influenced other female blues singers of the twenties.
Essential listening: "Crazy Blues," "It's Right Here for You," "You Can't Keep a Good Man Down," "That Thing Called Love"
Victoria Spivey
Born: October 15, 1906, Houston, Texas
Died: October 3, 1976, New York, New York
Victoria Spivey's career lasted much longer than that of most other female blues singers of the 1920s. She was a clever songwriter who unflinchingly addressed diverse topics, and as a vocalist her delivery of the blues was sincere and convincing. Spivey started out as a performer in Houston, and is rumored to have played with Blind Lemon Jefferson. For a time she worked as a songwriter for the St. Louis Music Company, and later was based in New York, where she performed constantly. Spivey was artistically influenced by blues great Ida Cox, and she may have also been influenced by her on a more practical level both women are reputed to have had formidable business acumen. Spivey took a hiatus from music during the fifties, but managed a comeback in the early sixties, starting her own record company just in time for the mid-sixties blues revival to breathe new life into her career as a performer. She released predominantly classic blues on her record label, and continued to tour until her death in 1976.
Essential listening: "Dope Head Blues," "Black Snake Blues," TB Blues," "Organ Grinder Blues"
Koko Taylor
Born: September 28, 1935, Memphis, Tennessee
Also known as: Cora Walton
Koko Taylor is a living testament to blues history and can still belt out a song as powerfully and joyfully as ever. A warm, charismatic performer, she has been the undisputed Queen of Chicago Blues for decades, and her reign is still going strong. Taylor's career began after she and her husband moved from Memphis to Chicago, where they frequented the local blues clubs. Once she began sitting in with bands it quickly became obvious she could hold her own not only among female vocalists, but with any of the male heavy hitters, such as contemporaries Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. Among her fans was blues great Willie Dixon, who was instrumental in the advancement of her career. Her recording of his original song "Wang Dang Doodle" climbed the rhythm and blues charts, was a million-plus seller, and remains one of her classics. For almost 20 years running she garnered the pretigious W.C. Handy Award. A legend in her own right, she has been compared to blues greats Bessie Smith and Big Mama Thornton. In the late 1980s Taylor overcame health challenges and adversity to maintain her reputation as a performer and recording artist of passionate, soulful blues.
Essential listening: "I'm A Woman," "Wang Dang Doodle," "What Kind of Man is This," "I Got What it Takes"
Sonny Terry
Born: October 24, 1911, Greensboro, North Carolina
Died: March 12, 1986, New York, New York
Sonny Terry was a legendary harmonica player who hugely influenced both blues and folk music. Terry began his career playing on the streets of Raleigh Durham, North Carolina, where he met local blues guitarist and vocalist Blind Boy Fuller. The two began performing and recording as a duo. After Fuller's death Terry teamed up with guitarist Brownie McGhee, who had been heavily influenced by Fuller. The musical partnership of Terry and McGhee would last three decades. The two became an important part of New York's folk scene, playing with legends Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly. They were a versatile and enormously popular duo who always maintained their signature style, Piedmont blues, which was specific to the southeast United States. As a team they recorded prolifically and kept a busy touring schedule. The partnership ended in the mid-seventies and Terry continued to record and perform on his own. He published a book, The Harp Styles of Sonny Terry, in 1975.
Essential listening: "Mountain Blues," "One Monkey Don't Stop the Show," "Sonny's Whoopin' the Doop," "I Think I Got the Blues"
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Born: March 20, 1921, Cotton Plant, Arkansas
Died: October 9, 1973, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sister Rosetta Tharpe mastered the guitar by the age of 6, and grew up singing gospel with her mother. Tharpe was a riveting performer with a flair for showmanship and a definite blues influence in her phrasing and musicianship. She signed a recording contract with Decca while still a teenager and her recordings were huge hits. Tharpe's talent and appeal were so outrageous and contagious that it was inevitable her talents would one day extend beyond the gospel community. Her later career embodied the early, ongoing battle between sacred music and a more secular sound a struggle that many black artists from the gospel tradition have had to face. Eventually Tharpe caused great controversy in the gospel community and lost much of her loyal audience when she recorded pure blues in the early 1950s (along with gospel artist Madame Marie Knight). It took about a decade before Tharpe made her way back to acceptance from the gospel community. She continued to tour until her death in 1973.
Essential listening: "Rock Me," "This Train," "Down by the Riverside," "Didn't it Rain," "Up Above My Head"
Big Mama Thornton
Born: December 11, 1926, Montgomery, Alabama
Died: July 25, 1984, Los Angeles, California
Also known as: Willie Mae Thornton
Big Mama Thornton was a great blues vocalist in the tradition of Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie and Ma Rainey, and was also a drummer and harmonica player. She had considerable success with her 1953 recording of "Hound Dog," which reached number 1 on the R&B charts and stayed there for seven weeks. (Three years later the song was immortalized by Elvis Presley.) Thornton began her professional singing career at the age of 14, touring the South with the Hot Harlem Revue. She later moved to Houston, Texas where she did some recording and worked with Johnny Otis and Junior Parker, among others. In the early sixties she settled in San Francisco, playing in local blues clubs as well as touring with blues festivals. Thornton continued to perform until her death in 1984. Among her recordings is "Ball 'n Chain," recorded in 1965, which Janis Joplin covered three years later.
Essential listening: "Hound Dog," "Ball and Chain," "Just Like a Dog," "I Smell a Rat," "Stop Hoppin' on Me"
Ali Farka Toure
Born: 1939, Gourmararusse, Mali
Ali Farka Toure is a multi-lingual West African vocalist, guitarist, drummer, and songwriter who, as music historian Richie Unterberger observed, has been "described as 'the African John Lee Hooker' so many times that it probably began to grate on both Toure's and Hooker's nerves."* The comparison is due to Toure's mesmerizing, stripped-down sound that features innovative rhythm and haunting, low vocals. His exceptional music is often described as uniting the sounds of the Mississippi Delta with those of West Africa, and he clearly adds more global influences, musically and instrumentally, to the mix. Toure has had an enormous influence on world music, and has worked with Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal and the Chieftains, among others.
Essential listening: "Ali's Here," "Saukare," "Bonde," "Amandrai," "Soukora"
* www.allmusic.com
Born: May 18, 1911, Kansas City, Missouri
Died: November 24, 1985, Inglewood, California
Big Joe Turner was an accomplished and uncommonly versatile vocalist. His career spanned half a century, during which he transitioned effortlessly from blues to R&B to rock and roll. Turner earned the nickname "Boss of the Blues" because of his powerhouse vocals and formidable stage presence. A Kansas City native, Turner started out playing in local nightclubs, mostly with pianist Pete Johnson, and sometimes with big bands, including that of Count Basie. Turner and Johnson became one of many acts noticed by legendary talent scout John Hammond. At Hammond's suggestion they moved to New York and were part of his "Spirituals to Swing" concert in 1938. The duo snared a regular gig at New York's Caf� Society, a prestigious jazz club, and their enormous popularity was partially responsible for the rise of "boogie woogie" music during the late thirties and early forties. Turner began to record and tour in the early forties, working with Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and others. A decade later Turner transitioned to R&B, releasing years of solid hits between 1951 and 1956, and in the process becoming known as one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. Turner continued to perform and record until his death in 1985.
Essential listening: "Roll 'Em Pete," "Honey Hush," "Shake, Rattle, and Roll," "Corinna Corrina," "Chains of Love"
Ike Turner
Born: November 5, 1931, Clarksdale, Mississippi
Also known as: Izear Luster Turner, Jr.
Ike Turner has been an integral part of the history of blues, rock and R&B. As a pianist and guitarist he backed visiting bluesmen and performed with his own band, the Kings of Rhythm, while still in high school. He worked as a talent scout in Memphis and throughout the south, and as such he accelerated the careers of Howlin' Wolf, Little Milton and others; as a session musician he often backed up the talent he discovered. Turner's band recorded the song "Rocket 88" in 1951 (recorded under the name Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats), which hit number 1 on the R&B charts and is often called the "first rock and roll song." The band became very popular in St. Louis, and in the late fifties Turner added vocalist Annie Mae Bullock to the mix (who later changed her name to Tina Turner and married Ike). The band became the Ike & Tina Turner Review, and made R&B and rock history, charting singles, packing black nightclubs and touring with the Rolling Stones. Tina left the band and the marriage in 1974; subsequently Ike experienced some hard times, and his career faded. He later made a comeback, and continues to record and perform.
Essential listening: "Rocket 88," "Shake a Tail Feather," "Proud Mary," "Steel Guitar Rag," "I'm Lonesome Baby," "Tore Up," "Ike's Theme," "Catfish Blues"
Otha Turner
Born: June 2, 1907, Jackson, Mississippi
Died: February 26, 2003
Blues fife and drum musician Otha Turner grew up near the Mississippi Delta. Fife and drum music is a traditional genre that has its roots in the northern Mississippi hill country and is based on African-American work songs and spirituals. The fife is an instrument similar to the flute, often made out of bamboo. Turner worked as a farmer in Como, Mississippi, where he also led the Rising Star Fife and Drum band for sixty years. The band eventually made it to Chicago, where for years they opened the city's legendary Blues Festival. While in his nineties, Turner preserved his historically significant music with the recordings Everybody's Hollerin' Goat and Senegal to Senatobia.
Essential listening: "Shimmy She Wobble," "Granny Do Your Dog Bite," "Shake 'Em," "Boogie," "My Babe," "Senegal to Senatobia," "Sunu"
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Born: October 3, 1954, Dallas, Texas
Died: August 27, 1990, East Troy, Wisconsin
Stevie Ray Vaughan almost single-handedly created a blues revival during the 1980s for blues fans it was a refreshing, electrifying change from the predominant sound of that decade. He was assisted in this feat by contemporaries Albert Collins and Robert Cray. Vaughan was a stunning guitarist who mesmerized crowds and listeners with a signature sound and breathtaking skill, combining the influences of both Texas and Chicago blues. His guitar gymnastics echoed those of Jimi Hendrix, and that combined with his soulful, original style made his music irresistible to rock fans as well as blues aficionados. The Texas native dropped out of high school and made his way to Austin to play music; he formed a band that soon became well-known in the city. Eventually he and his band were signed to Epic and their first release, Texas Flood, made blues history. He had taken his rightful place alongside other blues legends when his life and career were cut short by tragedy. Vaughan died in a helicopter crash after a performance with Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton.
Essential listening: "Pride and Joy," "The Sky is Crying," "Texas Flood," "Couldn't Stand the Weather," "Little Wing"
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Born: December 18, 1917, Houston, Texas
Died: July 2, 1988, Los Angeles, California
Eddie Vinson was an R&B saxophone player, bandleader, songwriter, and vocalist with a signature voice whose long and prolific career also encompassed jazz and blues. Vinson got his nickname, "Cleanhead," after an episode with a lye-based hair straightener left him bald. He was raised in a musical family and played saxophone in high school. Vinson's career from the mid-thirties through the mid-forties included stints in legendary bands, including Chester Boone's band in Houston, which at the time included genius blues guitarist T-Bone Walker; Milt Larkin's band, which boasted a superb saxophone section; and, after Vinson relocated to New York in 1941, the Cootie Williams Orchestra. Williams's recordings of "Somebody's Got to Go," and "Cherry Red", on which Vinson also appeared as a vocalist, were huge hits. In 1945 Vinson formed his own band, which reportedly for a time included John Coltrane. Vinson played at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1970. For the next two decades he toured and recorded in the U.S. and Europe, where he was particularly popular.
Essential listening: "Kidney Stew," "Cherry Red," "Somebody's Got to Go," "Cleanhead Blues," "Old Maid Boogie"
T-Bone Walker
Born: May 28, 1910, Linden, Texas
Died: March 16, 1975, Los Angeles, California
Also known as: Aaron Thibeaux Walker
Some music critics maintain that no one has ever matched T-Bone Walker's genius as an electric blues guitarist. His extraordinary talent influenced blues and rock greats, including Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Otis Rush and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others. Walker was born into a musical family, and Texas blues legend Blind Lemon Jefferson was a family friend. As a boy Walker reportedly acted as escort to Jefferson when the blind musician played on the streets of Dallas, and was definitely influenced by Jefferson musically. Walker began his career in Texas and later moved to Los Angeles. Walker's absolute authority with the instrument translated into precise, incendiary musicianship complemented by a confident, masterful stage presence. His ability as a vocalist was every bit as impressive, and he is the author of many blues classics, including "Stormy Monday," which has been covered endlessly and would probably appear in any top 10 list of the best blues ever written.
Essential listening: "Stormy Monday," "Strollin' With Bones," "T-Bone Shuffle," "T-Bone Blues," "I Walked Away," "Cold Cold Feeling"
Bukka White
Born: November 12, 1909, Houston, Mississippi*
Died: February 26, 1977, Memphis Tennessee
Also known as: Booker T. Washington White
Bukka White moved to the Mississippi Delta as an adolescent and was influenced by Charley Patton as a result he played a particularly pure form of Delta blues. White's devotion to the music was considerable; after a run-in with the law in Mississippi in 1937, he jumped bail in order to record in Chicago. He was apprehended and incarcerated at Mississippi's Parchman Farm, where he was popular as an entertainer, and where his gift for songwriting wasn't hampered like many of his originals, the song "Parchman Farm Blues" became a classic. White's real taste of fame came after Bob Dylan recorded White's original song "Fixin' to Die Blues" in the early 1960s. Curious about the song's original author, two young blues players found White by sending a general delivery letter to Aberdeen, Mississippi (tipped off by his blues song of the same title). These leaps in visibility led to White's fame in later life, as both a performer and a storyteller, as he embodied both the Delta blues and its rich history.
Essential Listening: "Shake 'Em on Down," " The Panama Limited ," "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues," "Fixin' to Die Blues," "Parchman Farm Blues"
Cassandra Wilson
Born: December 4, 1955, Jackson, Mississippi
Cassandra Wilson is primarily known as an accomplished jazz singer, although her stunning full, low voice and skill as a songwriter have encompassed other genres, and she has been heavily influenced by the musical traditions of the south, including the Delta blues. She cites the complexity of Robert Johnson's songwriting, guitar work and vocal delivery as one of her primary influences. Wilson is a prolific recording artist, and has followed up her 1985 debut with almost one album each year, and sometimes two. Her body of work includes acoustic blues, folk, jazz, and funk. Wilson's 1999 release, Traveling Miles, was a tribute to Miles Davis. She has toured with Wynton Marsalis. Her critically-acclaimed recent release, Belly of the Sun, was recorded in Mississippi with both her own band and local musicians and combines funk, pop and rock with a tribute to pure Delta blues.
Essential listening: "You Move Me," "Round Midnight," "Darkness on the Delta," "You Gotta Move," "Hot Tamales"
Sonny Boy Williamson
Born: March 30, 1914, Jackson, Tennessee
Died: June 1, 1948, Chicago, Illinois
Also known as: John Lee Williamson
Sonny Boy Williamson's innovative skill with the harmonica brought it to center stage as a lead instrument in Chicago blues. He also popularized the "call and response" performance technique with the instrument, delivering a vocal line, answering with his characteristically sharp harp riffs followed by another vocal delivery. Williamson acquired his nickname because of the young age at which he began performing; during those early years he traveled the South, sometimes in the company of his biggest influence, Sleepy John Estes, as well as Robert Nighthawk and others. In the late 1930s he moved to Chicago where he worked as a session player and became an influential and successful mainstay of the city's blues scene as a performer and recording artist. He is credited with composing many original songs that became blues standards, especially for the harmonica, and he influenced a long line of superb harmonica players, including Junior Wells, Little Walter and Rice Miller, who was also known as Sonny Boy Williamson II.
Essential listening: "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," "Early in the Morning," "Whiskey Headed Woman Blues," "Shake that Boogie"
Jimmy Witherspoon
Born: August 8, 1923, Gurdon, Arkansas
Died: September 18, 1997, Los Angeles, California
Jimmy Witherspoon was both a blues and jazz singer during the mid-forties, and hugely influential in his ability to merge the two genres with his deep, full vocals. He was originally influenced by Big Joe Turner, to whom he is often compared. Witherspoon realized he had talent after sitting in with brilliant jazz pianist Teddy Weatherford's big band while stationed overseas. Pianist and bandleader Jay McShann hired Witherspoon to take the place of lead vocalist Walter Brown in his band; during this stint Witherspoon developed his own vocal style. He began recording on his own in 1949, and had a big hit with his version of Bessie Smith's hit "Ain't Nobody's Business." The song not only reached number 1 on the R&B charts, but its stay on the charts was record-breaking. Witherspoon followed that up with a number 5 hit the same year, "In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down." As rock and roll's popularity increased, Witherspoon's career took a downturn, and he focused more on jazz, always infusing it with a blues sensibility. He continued to perform until the end of his life, although he never repeated his early success.
Essential listening: "Ain't Nobody's Business," "In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down," "Big Fine Girl," "No Rollin' Blues"
Peetie Wheatstraw
Born: December 21, 1902, Ripley, Tennessee
Died: December 21, 1941, East St. Louis, Illinois
Also known as: William Bunch
Peetie Wheatstraw began performing in 1929, the year of the Great Depression, and enjoyed enormous popularity in spite of the devastating economic conditions and lulls in the careers of other artists. He was a talented songwriter and commonly addressed rather dark themes the supernatural, death, sex and addiction yet his music was uplifting due to his witty lyrics and the wide range and expressive, buoyant quality of his vocal delivery. His juxtaposition of dark themes with a message to appreciate life is perhaps partly why his music was so surprisingly successful during such trying times. Wheatstraw was primarily a piano player and worked with excellent guitarists, including Kokomo Arnold and Lonnie Johnson; he and Johnson were a recording and performing team for 10 years. He reportedly took his name from an "evil twin" character from black folk tales, and during his career he was also nicknamed "The Devil's Son-in Law" and the "High Sheriff of Hell." Wheatstraw died while celebrating his 39th birthday when, reportedly, he and his buddies tried, and failed, to beat a speeding train.
Essential listening: "Suicide Blues," "You Can't Stop Me From Drinking," "The Devil's Son-in-Law" "Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp"
| Billie Holiday |
What is the name of the Irish frame drum played with adouble ended drum stick? | Billie Holiday » The Official Website of Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday with William Dufty, (1956) Lady Sings the Blues; Doubleday.
The notorious autobiography on which the film of the same name is loosely based.
John Szwed, (2016) Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth Paperback; Penguin Books.
Offers a portrait of Lady Day as artist and mythmaker rather than tragic victim.
John Chilton, (1975) Billie’s Blues; Quartet.
Well researched hard facts about Billie’s recording career.
Chris Ingham, (2000) Billie Holiday; Unanimous.
An entry in the “Diva’s” series.
David Margolick, (2000) Strange Fruit; Running Press.
The impact of “Café Society and an early cry for human rights.
Bud Kliment, (1990) Billie Holiday-Singer; Chelsea House.
Black Americans of achievment series.
Leslie Gourse, (1997) Billie Holiday Companion; Schirmer.
Compilation of various, mostly hard to find writings on Billie.
John White, (1987) Billie Holiday; Spellmount.
Larger format book in “Jazz Lifetimes” series.
Leslie Gourse, (1995) Billie Holiday; Franklin Watts.
The tragedy and triumph of Lady Day.
Stuart Nicholson, (1995) Billie Holiday; Victor Gollancz.
A model of biographical writing, much previously unknown material.
Michel Fontanes, (1999) Billie et Paris; Editions Rive Droite.
Thoroughly researched chronicle of Billies time in Paris 1954 and 1958. English translation available.
Marc-Edouard Nabe, (1986) L‘âme de Billie Holiday; L’infini Denoël.
Novel, not published in English.
Farah Jasmin Griffin, (2001) If You Can’t Be Free, Be A Mystery; The Free Press.
A groundbreaking study that confronts the myths.
Robert O’Meally, (1991) Lady Day, The Many Faces of Billie Holiday; Arcade.
Superbly illustrated; scholarly and enlightened.
Donald Clarke, (1994) Wishing On the Moon; Viking Penguin.
A near definite account.
Burnett James, (1984) Billie Holiday; Spellmount/Hippocrene.
Small Format, An introduction in the Jazz Masters series.
Melvin Maddocks, (1979) Billie Holiday (Giants of Jazz); Time Life.
Biography to accompany a Time Life record set.
Ken Vail, (1996) Lady Day’s Diary; Castle.
A month by month Chronology of Lady’s career.
Paola Boncompagni, (1992) Lady Day Life and Songs; Nuovi Equilibri.
Small format book to accompany mini CD from Italy.
Julia Blackburn, (2005) With Billie; Jonathan Cape.
A well constructed book, uses interviews undertaken by Linda Kuehl in the 1970’s.
Magdalena Alagna, (2003) Billie Holiday; Rosen.
An entry in the “rock and roll hall of famers” series, introduction for teenagers.
Alain Gerber, (2005) Lady Day, Histoires d’Amour; Fayard.
A novel about Billie in French.
Danièle Robert, (1995) Les Chants de l’Aube de Lady Day; Le Temps Qu’Il Faut.
A novel about Billie’s life in French.
Sylvia Fol, (2006) Billie Holiday; Folio.
A complete book in French of Billie’s life with several insights on Billie’s ambiguous sexuality.
ESSAYS OR CHAPTERS ON BILLIE
Gary Giddins, (1992) Faces In the Crowd; Oxford University Press.
A fine collection of essays and criticism.
Eric Hobsbawm, (1998) Uncommon People, Rebellion and Jazz; Wiedenfield and Nicholson.
Includes an obituary of Billie.
Françoise Sagan, (1984) Avec Mon Meilleur Souvenir; Folio.
In english “With Fondest Regards” (1998) Alison and Busby, affectionate and candid tribute.
Angela Y. Davies, (1999) Blues Legacies, Black Feminism; Vintage.
Scholarly research into the sociology of blues and jazz from female standpoint.
Robyn Archer & Diane Symonds, (1986) A Star is Torn; Virago.
An anthology of various women singers, part of a stageshow.
Burnett James, (1964) Essays on Jazz; Jazz Book Club.
An essay called “Billie Holiday and the Art of Communication.”
Bennu Green, (1964) The Reluctant Art; Jazz Book Club.
A forty page essay called “Billie Holiday.”
Martin T. Williams, (1962) The Art of Jazz; Jazz Book Club.
Essay entitled “Billie Holiday” by Glen Coulter.
Martin T. Williams, (1965) Jazz Panorama; Jazz Book Club.
Another essay by Glen Coulter, reviewing Billie records.
Leonard Feather, (1974) From Satchmo to Miles; Stein and Day.
Personal stories from the great jazz writer.
Martin Williams, (1983) The Jazz Tradition; Oxford Univ. Press.
An essay entitled: “Actress without an act.”
Max Jones, (1987) Talking Jazz; McMillan Press.
Adventures involving the writer and Billie on tour in England 1954.
Roy Carr, (1999) Jazz Singers; Hamlyn.
Glossy, large format introduction to jazz vocalists.
Francis Davis, (1990) Outcats; Oxford Univ. Press.
Essays on jazz people including “The Man Who Danced with Billie Holiday.”
Will Friedwald, (1991) Jazz Singing; Quartet.
Superb book, essay called “Lady Day and Lady Time.”
Hettie Jones, (1974) Big Star Fallin’ Mama; Viking.
Warm portraits of five singers including Billie.
Henry Pleasants, (1974) The Great American Popular Singers; Victor Gollancz.
A wonderful survey of vocal art.
Kitty Grime, (1983) Jazz Voices; Quartet.
A patchwork of interviews with jazz people, a chapter about Billie.
Studs Terkel, (1957) Giants of Jazz; The New Press.
A series of beautifully observed portraits, chapter on Billie “God Bless The Child.”
Carol Boston, (2009) Becoming Billie Holiday; Weatherford.
Award-winning poet and professor excellent book—a fictional verse memoir.
SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES TO BILLIE
John Hammond with Irving Townsend, (1981) John Hammond on Record; Penguin.
Autobiography of the jazz buff and record company man.
Maya Angelou, (1986) The Heart of a Woman; Virago.
Fourth volume of the great black writer’s autobiography.
Jeremy Reed, (1999) Angels Divas and Black Listed Heroes; Peter Owen.
A challenging series of essays by poet and novelist.
Leslie Gourse, (1995) Madame Jazz; Oxford Univ. Press.
The history of women in Jazz.
Sally Placksin, (1985) Jazz Women, 1900 to the Present; Pluto.
Words, lives and music of nearly a century of jazz women.
Leslie Gourse, (1984) Louis’ Children American Jazz Singers; Quill.
A comprehensive overview of the Louis Armstrong legacy.
Harry Shapiro, (1988) Waiting for the Man; Quartet.
Drugs and their links to popular music.
Arnold Shaw, (1977) 52nd Street, The Street of Jazz; Da Capo.
Originally published as “The Street That Never Slept,” a slice of jazz nightlife.
Buck Clayton, (1986) Buck Clayton’s Jazz World; McMillan.
Story of the great trumpeter and Billie accompanist.
Ted Fox, (1985) Show Time at the Apollo; Quartet.
A survey of 50 years of the great Harlem theatre.
William P. Gottleib, (1995) The Golden Age of Jazz; Pomegranate.
A nostalgic look back to the 1930’s and 40’s.
Charles Fox & Valerie Wilmer, (1971) The Jazz Scene; Hamlyn.
A nicely illustrated overview.
Joachim Berendt, (1984) The Jazz Book (Revised Edition); Paladin.
One of the truly great jazz histories.
Geoffrey C. Ward & Ken Burns, (2000) Jazz, A History of America’s Music; Pimlico.
Excellent research, beautifully illustrated tie in to TV series.
Teddy Wilson, A. Lightart, H. Van Loo, (1996) Teddy Wilson Talks Jazz; Cassell.
A candid account account of Wilson’s life and career.
Arnold Shaw, (1986) Black Popular Music in America; Schirmer.
Comprehensive and well researched.
John Chilton, (1979) Jazz; Hodder and Stoughton.
Intro to history and practice of jazz music, best of this type.
Whitney Balliet, (1964) Dinosaurs in the Morning; J. Dent.
Essays by the New York Times Jazz critic.
Stanley Dance, (1974) The World of Swing; Scribners.
A chronicle of the big band era.
Philip Larkin, (1970) All What Jazz; Faber.
Criticism and record reviews by famous English poet.
Cynthia Palmer & Michael Horowitz, (2000) Sisters of the Extreme; Park St. Press.
Women writing about their drug experience.
NOVELS, POETRY, CHILDRENS STORIES
Alice Adams, (1984) Listening to Billie; Penguin.
A beautiful novel that starts in a 1950’s Manhattan night- club.
John Wieners, (1996) 707 Scott St.; Sun and Moon.
Poetry and prose dedicated to Billie.
Anne Grifalconi, (1999) Tinny’s Hat; Harper Collins.
For children, a young girl wears her musician father’s hat.
Robert Somma, (1973) No One Waved Goodbye; Charisma.
Includes the poem “The Day Lady Day Died (Lunch Poems 1963).
Alexis De Veaux, (1988) Don’t Explain; Writers and Readers.
A prose poem in tribute to Billie.
Carlos Sampayo & Jose Munoz, (1993) Billie Holiday; Fantagraphics Books.
Imaginative stuff, a graphic novel.
Elisabeth Hardwick, (1979) Sleepless Nights; Random House.
A stunning novel, taking in memory, affection and Billie Holiday in Harlem.
Jeremy Reed, (2001) Saint Billie; Enitharmon Press.
An anthology that captures the drama of Billie’s life and the jazz age.
ENCYCLOPAEDIAS AND REFERENCES BOOKS
Billie is of course mentioned in every reference work on jazz. Following are strongly recommended.
Leonard Feather, (1960) The Encyclopeadia of Jazz; Arthur Baker.
One of the first in the field and still very reliable.
John Chilton, (1970) Who’s Who of Jazz; Bloomsbury.
Obsessively comprehensive.
David Meeker, (1981) Jazz in the Movies; Talisman.
Indispensable guide to jazz on film, includes all of Billie appearances plus TV.
John Fordham, (1993) Jazz; Dorling Kindersley.
History, instruments, musicians, recordings, a connoisseur’s book.
Ian Carr, D. Fairweather, B. Priestlet, (1987) Jazz Essential Companion; Grafton.
Homage to jazz musicians everywhere.
Richard Cook, Brian Morton, (1992) Pengin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette; Penguin.
Definitive reference work with criticism of all available recordings.
Roy Carr, (1998) A Century of Jazz; Hamlyn.
Beautifully illustrated celebration of jazz history.
Brian Case, S. Britt, C. Murray, (1986) Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz; Salamender.
For the buff or the new fan.
Barry MaCraae, (1987) The Jazz Handbook; Longman.
Practical, easy to use and insightful.
DISCOGRAPHY
Jorgen Grunnet Jepsen, (1969) Discography of Billie Holiday; Knudsen (Denmark).
Small, home published discography.
| i don't know |
Where did the biggest naval battle of the Second World War take place between the USA and Japan, from 24th to 26th October 1944? | What Happened in 1944 including Pop Culture, Significant Events, Key Technology and Inventions
Average Cost of new house $3,450.00
Average wages per year $2,400.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 15 cents
Average Cost for house rent $50.00 per month
Loaf of Bread 10 cents
Old Spice Shaving Soap $1.00
Examples of a couple of Houses for sale
Valparaiso -- Indiana -- Farm 16 acres with 5 room home barn and 3 poultry houses $5,000
Lima -- Ohio --- Darling bungalow 2 bedrooms wood burning stove built in cupboards and attached garage $4,000
World War II 1944
France
Operation Overlord, code named D-Day, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France.
France
More Information and Timeline for the Liberation of France
1. France falls under German control in 1940 at the beginning of the war.
2. The efforts to free France from Nazi occupation begin in June of 1944 with the D-Day invasion of Normandy when Allied troops land on the beaches and start to make their way towards Paris.
3. More Allied troops land in southern France on August 15th, 1944 and make their way towards the Rhine river.
4. As the Allies make their push towards Paris, French resistance fighters begin an uprising in Paris.
5. By August 25th, 1944, the Allies and Free French forces enter Paris and by the end of the month the French government is handed over to the Free French troops.
6. Before the end of the year France is liberated from Nazi control and occupation.
Allied troops attempt the largest airborne military operation with Operation Market Garden.
More Information and Timeline for Operation Market Garden
Allied troops attempt the largest airborne military operation in history (at the time) when the Battle of Arnhem (Operation Market Garden) begins on September 17th, 1944. The purpose of this operation was for Allied paratroopers to land in the Netherlands and take control of key bridges near the Rhine river from German forces. This was so that Allied troops could push through Germany and end the war much more quickly if successful.
Unfortunately, for the Allies, German troops were aware of their arrival ahead of time and had the time to organize against them and destroy many of the bridges prior to the paratroopers' landing. Some Allied forces made it to the Arnhem bridge but they were short on supplies and forced to abandon their plans, leaving Germany in control of the Rhine river at that time.
This mission was a fairly large failure for the Allies and many troops were killed and taken prisoner by the German troops.
The US Bombs Tokyo for the first time with B-29 Super fortress bombers
The GI Bill of Rights is passed and signed into law by Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22nd
The Battle of Leyte Gulf takes place during October in the Philippines
More Information for the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf takes place during the month of October in 1944. The main battle took place between October 23rd and 26th and was considered one of the largest naval battles in world history. United States, Australian, and Filipino forces began the invasion of Japanese occupied Philippines by landing in the Leyte Gulf. The Japanese suffered heavy losses to their navy and it marked their first kamikaze aerial attacks. The Allies won the battle and their victory lead to the liberation of the Philippines. This was a turning point in the war against Japan as it effectively cut off their supply route in Southeast Asia and was a devastating loss to their naval forces with many of their ships destroyed and thousands killed.
Mahatma Gandhi is released from jail.
More Information for Gandhi.
Indian Independence activist and leader Mahatma Gandhi was released from jail in May of 1944. Gandhi had been arrested in August of 1942 after encouraging civil unrest and uprisings against the British at the height of World War II. Not long after his release, a failed assassination attempt was made on his life. Gandhi would live to see India achieve independence in August of 1947 but was soon killed after a successful assassination less than a year later in January of 1948 at the age of 78.
Germany Launches the V1 rockets / Doodlebugs against London
UK
London is hit by a V2 rocket for the first time.
32 British Lancaster bombers sink the mighty German battleship Tirpitz.
h is one of the deadliest battles in World War II with 19,000 US soldiers killed.
More Information and Timeline for the Battle of the Bulge
In December of 1944, the Germans attempted to surprise the Allied armies as they traveled through the Ardennes. The German objective was to split the Allies up in a surprise attack. The battle began on December 16th of 1944 and continued until late January of 1945 . As the Allies regrouped to fight back against the German attack, the line of defense took on the shape of a bulge, hence the name "Battle of the Bulge." The Allies were caught off guard in the attack and tens of thousands of soldiers were lost in fierce fighting (estimated up to 100,000 casualties) during what was considered the bloodiest battle of World War II for the United States. Despite the losses the Allies were successful in neutralizing the German offensive and preventing Germany from recapturing Antwerp. As well as massively depleting German fuel and supply reserves.
Russia and the Polish Home Army liberate Poland from Nazi occupation
US Forces liberate Rome and Italy
Germany
The Allies assemble the largest force of Air Power used who bombed railways and other targets in Germany
Assassination Attempt on Hitler Fails
76 Prisoners of War escape the Stalag Luft III prison camp during World War II.
More Information for the "Great Escape"
During March of 1944, 76 Allied prisoners of war escaped from the Stalag Luft III prison camp in Nazi Germany. The plot was masterminded by British Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot Roger Bushell and beginning in April, 1943 hundreds of prisoners secretly built a 300 foot tunnel under the camp and code-named it "Harry." They also dug two other tunnels that were later abandoned. Using scavenged items for tools, the tunnel turned out to be quite sophisticated and well concealed. They also created fake papers and handmade civilian clothing to aid them in leaving the country undetected. Of the 76 escapees, 73 were eventually recaptured. The three successful prisoners were Norwegian pilots Per Bergsland and Jens Muller, and Dutch pilot Bram van der Stok.
The second Battle of Guam starts on July 21st
More Information for the World War II Second Battle of Guam
The second Battle of Guam begins on July 21st, 1944 when American troops fought Japanese troops to retake the island. Guam had been held by the United States since 1898 but it was captured by Japan on December 10th, 1941. During the battle the Japanese took heavy losses and the island was eventually secured by American forces on August 10th. After control of Guam was taken over by the United States, thousands of Japanese soldier remained, some in hiding. One soldier was found to be alive and hiding in a cave in 1972 , nearly 30 years after the battle ended.
Poland
Polish Freedom Fighters fight to liberate Warsaw from German occupation ends with 18,000 soldiers killed and 150,000 civilians murdered.
Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the only U.S. president to be elected to a fourth term.
More Information and Timeline for FDR's Fourth Term Election
1. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected to a fourth term as the president of The United States.
2. The election took place on the 7th of November, 1944. The incumbent president ran against his Republican rival Thomas E. Dewey.
3. Roosevelt won the election in a landslide after securing 432 electoral votes to his opponent's 99 electoral votes.
4. Despite his decisive victory, this election was the closest out of his four total presidential elections.
5. This was FDR's last term as the president of the United States as he died in office in April of 1945.
6. Soon after FDR's death, the 22nd Amendment was passed by Congress to limit presidential terms to two.
7. The amendment was finally added to the U.S. Constitution in February of 1951 .
Australia -- Prime Minister -- John Curtin --
Brazil -- President -- Get�lio Vargas --
Canada -- Prime Minister -- William Lyon Mackenzie King --
Germany -- Chancellor -- Adolf Hitler --
Italy -- Prime Minister -- Marshal Pietro Badoglio -- Till 18 June
Italy -- Prime Minister -- Ivanoe Bonomi -- From 18 June
Japan -- Prime Minister -- Hideki Tojo -- Till 22 July
Japan -- Prime Minister -- Kuniaki Koiso -- From 22 July
Mexico -- President -- Manuel �vila Camacho --
Russia / Soviet Union -- General Secretary of the Central Committee -- Joseph Stalin --
South Africa -- Prime Minister -- Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts --
United States -- President -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
United Kingdom -- Prime Minister -- Winston Churchill --
Political Elections
United States Presidential Election -- 1944 Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) Defeats Thomas E. Dewey (Republican)
| Leyte Gulf |
Who wrote the play 'The Norman Conquests'? | A Brief History of the U.S. Army in World War II
Introduction
World War II was the largest and most violent armed conflict in the history of mankind. However, the half century that now separates us from that conflict has exacted its toll on our collective knowledge. While World War II continues to absorb the interest of military scholars and historians, as well as its veterans, a generation of Americans has grown to maturity largely unaware of the political, social, and military implications of a war that, more than any other, united us as a people with a common purpose.
Highly relevant today, World War II has much to teach us, not only about the profession of arms, but also about military preparedness, global strategy, and combined operations in the coalition war against fascism. During the next several years, the U.S. Army will participate in the nation's 50th anniversary commemoration of World War II. The commemoration will include the publication of various materials to help educate Americans about that war. The works produced will provide great opportunities to learn about and renew pride in an Army that fought so magnificently in what has been called "the mighty endeavor."
A Brief History of the U.S. Army in World War II highlights the major ground force campaigns during the six years of the war, offers suggestions for further reading, and provides Americans an opportunity to learn about the Army's role in World War II. This brochure was prepared at the U.S. Army Center of Military History by Wayne M. Dzwonchyk (Europe) and John Ray Skates (Pacific). I hope this absorbing account of that period will enhance your appreciation of American achievements during World War II.
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"OMAHA Beach" by Gary Sheahan. This was the one sector of the Normandy coast where the German defenses had begun to reach the expectations of Field Marshal Rommel, and here the Allied invasion of France faced its greatest crisis. (Army Art Collection)
The War in Europe
World War I left unresolved the question of who would dominate Europe. The tremendous dislocations caused by the war laid the groundwork for the collapse of democratic institutions there and set the stage for a second German attempt at conquest. A worldwide depression that began in 1929 destroyed the fragile democratic regime in Germany. In 1933 Adolf Hitler led to power the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) Party, a mass movement that was virulently nationalistic, antidemocratic, and anti-Semitic. He ended parliamentary government, assumed dictatorial powers, and proclaimed the Third Reich. The Nazi government increased the strength of the German armed forces and sought to overturn the Versailles Treaty, to recover German territory lost at the peace settlement, and to return to the so-called Fatherland German-speaking minorities within the borders of surrounding countries.
The ultimate goal of Hitler's policy was to secure "living space" for the German "master race" in eastern Europe. A gambler by instinct, Hitler relied on diplomatic bluff and military innovation to overcome Germany's weaknesses. He played skillfully on the divisions among the European powers to gain many of his aims without war. With the Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini he announced a Rome-Berlin alliance (the Axis) in 1935. Meanwhile, in the Far East, the Japanese-the only Asian industrial power-coveted the natural resources of China and Southeast Asia, but found their expansion blocked by European colonial powers or by the United States. Having seized Manchuria in 1931, they began a war against China in 1937. The League of Nations failed to counter effectively Japanese aggression in Manchuria and an Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Soon Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies, facing Western democratic governments that wanted to avoid another war and the Soviet Union whose Communist government was widely distrusted.
The people of the United States, having rejected the Versailles Treaty and the Covenant of the League of Nations after World War I, remained largely indifferent to most international concerns. They firmly discounted the likelihood of American involvement in an
3
other major war, except perhaps with Japan. Isolationist strength in Congress led to the passage of the Neutrality Act of 1937, making it unlawful for the United States to trade with belligerents. American policy aimed at continental defense and designated the Navy as the first line of such defense. The Army's role was to serve as the nucleus of a mass mobilization that would defeat any invaders who managed to fight their way past the Navy and the nation's powerful coastal defense installations. The National Defense Act of 1920 allowed an Army of 280,000, the largest in peacetime history, but until 1939 Congress never appropriated funds to pay for much more than half of that strength. Most of the funds available for new equipment went to the fledgling air corps. Throughout most of the interwar period, the Army was tiny and insular, filled with hard-bitten, long-serving volunteers scattered in small garrisons throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Panama.
Yet some innovative thinking and preparation for the future took place in the interwar Army. Experiments with armored vehicles and motorization, air-ground cooperation, and the aerial transport of troops came to nothing for lack of resources and of consistent high-level support. The Army did, however, develop an interest in amphibious warfare and in related techniques that were then being pioneered by the U.S. Marine Corps. By the outbreak of war the Signal Corps was a leader in improving radio communications, and American artillery practiced the most sophisticated fire-direction and -control techniques in the world. In addition, war plans for various contingencies had been drawn up, as had industrial and manpower mobilization plans. During the early 1930s Col. George C. Marshall, assistant commandant of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, had earmarked a number of younger officers for leadership positions. Despite such preparations, the Army as a whole was unready for the war that broke out in Europe on 1 September 1939.
The Outbreak of War
During March 1938 German troops had occupied Austria, incorporating it into the Reich. In September Hitler announced that the "oppression" of ethnic Germans living in Czechoslovakia was intolerable and that war was near. England and France met with Hitler (the Munich Pact) and compelled Czechoslovakia to cede its frontier districts to Germany in order to secure "peace in our time." Peace, however, was only an illusion. During March 1939 Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia by force of arms and then turned
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his attention to Poland. Although Britain and France had guaranteed the integrity of Poland, Hitler and Josef Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union, signed a secret, mutual nonaggression pact in August 1939. With the pact Stalin bought time to build up his strength at the expense of Britain and France, and Hitler gained a free hand to deal with Poland. When Hitler's army invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, World War II began.
While German forces overran western Poland, Soviet troops entered from the east to claim their portion of that country. France and Britain declared war on Germany and mobilized their forces. The subsequent period of deceptive inactivity, lasting until spring, became known as the Phony War. Nothing happened to indicate that World War II would differ significantly in style or tempo from World War I.
But the years since 1918 had brought important developments in the use of tanks. A number of students of war-the British Sir Basil Liddell Hart and J. F. C. Fuller, the Frenchman Charles de Gaulle, the American George S. Patton, and the Germans Oswald Lutz and Heinz Guderian-believed that armored vehicles held the key to restoring decision to the battlefield. But only the Germans conceived the idea of massing tanks in division-size units, with infantry, artillery, engineers, and other supporting arms mechanized and all moving at the same pace. Moreover, only Lutz and Guderian received the enthusiastic support of their government.
In the spring of 1940 their theories were put to the test as German forces struck against Norway and Denmark in April; invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in May; and late in the same month broke through a hilly, wooded district in France. Their columns sliced through to the English Channel, cutting off British and French troops in northern France and Belgium. The French Army, plagued by low morale, divided command, and primitive communications, fell apart. The British evacuated their forces from Dunkerque with the loss of most of their equipment. The Germans entered Paris on 14 June, and the French government, defeatist and deeply divided politically, sued for an armistice. The success of the German Blitzkrieg forced the remaining combatants to rethink their doctrine and restructure their armies.
With his forces occupying northern France and with a puppet French government established in the south, Hitler launched the Luftwaffe against the airfields and cities of England to pave the way for an invasion. Britain's survival hung by a thread. From July to October 1940, while German landing barges and invasion forces waited on the Channel coasts, the Royal Air Force, greatly outnumbered,
5
drove the Luftwaffe from the daytime skies in the legendary Battle of Britain. At sea the British Navy, with increasing American cooperation, fought a desperate battle against German submarine packs to keep the North Atlantic open. British pugnacity finally forced Hitler to abandon all plans to invade England.
In February Hitler sent troops under Lt. Gen. Erwin Rommel to aid the Italians who were fighting against the British in North Africa. German forces coming to the aid of the Italians in the Balkans routed a British expedition in Greece, and German paratroopers seized the important island of Crete. Then, in June 1941, Hitler turned against his supposed ally, the Soviet Union, with the full might of the German armed forces.
Armored spearheads thrust deep into Soviet territory, driving toward Leningrad, Moscow, and the Ukraine and cutting off entire Soviet armies. Despite tremendous losses, Russian military forces withdrew farther into the country and continued to resist. Nazi expectations of a quick victory evaporated, and the onset of winter caught the Germans unprepared. Thirty miles short of Moscow their advance ground to a halt, and the Soviets launched massive counterattacks.
The Germans withstood the counterattacks and resumed their offensive the following spring. The Soviets, now locked in a titanic death struggle, faced the bulk of the German land forces-over two hundred divisions. The front stretched for 2,000 miles, from the Arctic Circle to the Black Sea. Soon casualties ran into the millions. Waging war with the implacable ruthlessness of totalitarian regimes, both sides committed wholesale atrocities-mistreatment of prisoners of war, enslavement of civilian populations, and, in the case of the Jews, outright genocide.
In the United States preparations for war moved slowly. General George C. Marshall took over as Chief of Staff in 1939, but the Army remained hard pressed simply to carry out its mission of defending the continental United States. Defending overseas possessions like the Philippines seemed a hopeless task. In early 1939, prompted by fears that a hostile power might be able to establish air bases in the Western Hemisphere, thus exposing the Panama Canal or continental United States to aerial attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched a limited preparedness campaign. The power of the Army Air Corps increased; Army and Navy leaders drafted a new series of war plans to deal with the threatening international situation. The focus of military policy changed from continental to hemisphere defense.
After the outbreak of war in Europe the President proclaimed a limited emergency and authorized increases in the size of the Regu-
"Barrage Balloon" by Alexander Brook. The reported ability of balloons to interfere with low-level bombardment in Great Britain and Germany spurred the Army to develop a barrage balloon force for continental defense. (Army Art Collection)
lar Army and the National Guard. Congress amended the Neutrality Act to permit munitions sales to the French and British, and large orders from them stimulated retooling and laid the basis for the expansion of war production in the future. The Army concentrated on equipping its regular forces as quickly as possible and in 1940 held the first large-scale corps and army maneuvers in American history. The rapid defeat of France and the possible collapse of Britain dramatically accelerated defense preparations. Roosevelt directed the transfer of large stocks of World War I munitions to France and Britain in the spring of 1940 and went further in September when he agreed to the transfer of fifty over-age destroyers to Britain in exchange for bases in the Atlantic and Caribbean. In March 1941 Congress repealed some provisions of the Neutrality Act. Passage of the Lend-Lease Act, which gave the President authority to sell, transfer, or lease war goods to the government of any country whose
7
defenses he deemed vital to the defense of the United States, spelled the virtual end of neutrality. The President proclaimed that the United States would become the "arsenal of democracy." In the spring of 1941 American and British military representatives held their first combined staff conferences to discuss strategy in the event of active U.S. participation in the war, which seemed increasingly likely to include Japan as well as Germany. The staffs agreed that if the United States entered the war the Allies should concentrate on the defeat of Germany first. The President authorized active naval patrols in the western half of the Atlantic, and in July, American troops took the place of British forces guarding Iceland.
Meanwhile, General Marshall and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson made plans to expand the Army to 1.5 million men. On 27 August 1940, Congress approved inducting the National Guard into federal service and calling up the reserves. A few weeks later the lawmakers passed the Selective Service and Training Act, the first peacetime draft in American history. By mid-1941 the Army had achieved its planned strength, with 27 infantry, 5 armored, and 2 cavalry divisions; 35 air groups; and a host of support units. But it remained far from ready to deploy overseas against well-equipped, experienced, and determined foes.
The United States Enters the War
On 7 December 1941, while German armies were freezing before Moscow, Japan suddenly pushed the United States into the struggle by attacking the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Four days later Hitler declared war on the United States. President Roosevelt called on Congress for immediate and massive expansion of the armed forces. Twenty years of neglect and indifference, however, could not be overcome in a few days.
Helpless as American garrisons in the Pacific fell to the Japanese in the spring of 1942, military leaders in Washington worked feverishly to create a headquarters that could direct a distant war effort and to turn the fledgling ground and air units into viable, balanced fighting forces. In early 1942 the Joint Chiefs of Staff emerged as a committee of the nation's military leaders to advise the President and to coordinate strategy with the British. In March the War Department General Staff was reorganized and the Army divided into three major commands: the Air Forces, Ground Forces, and Service Forces. Thirty-seven Army divisions were in some state of training, but only one was fully trained, equipped, and deployable by January
"Ex-Luxury Liner" by Barse Miller. The largest liners used by the
Army, the British ships Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, could
each carry up to 15,000 troops. (Army Art Collection)
1942. Army planners of the time estimated that victory would require an Army of nearly 9 million men, organized into 215 combat divisions, estimates that proved accurate regarding overall manpower but too ambitious for the 90 divisions that eventually were established and supported on far-flung battlefields.
Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair, head of Army Ground Forces and an ardent advocate of mobile war, oversaw the development of armored and airborne divisions. He directed the restructuring of existing organizations as well, turning the old World War I "square" division based on four infantry regiments into a lighter, more maneuverable triangular division with three infantry regiments. A serious and continuing shortage of Allied shipping space placed absolute limits on the size and capabilities of Army units. New tables of organization stressed leanness and mobility, sometimes at the expense of fighting power and endurance. Billeting, training areas, and equipment were all in short supply. American industry had to support the nation's Allies as well as its own military expansion. Britain needed large amounts of munitions and equipment; and lend-lease aid, including tens of thousands of trucks and other vehicles and equipment, played
9
an important part in mechanizing the Soviet Army. Amphibious warfare required large numbers of landing craft and support vessels, yet to be built. The first U.S. troops arrived in the British Isles in January 1942, but nearly a year passed before they went into action against the Axis. Meanwhile, air power provided virtually the only means for the Allies to strike at Germany. The Royal Air Force began its air offensive against Germany in May 1942, and on 4 July the first American crews participated in air raids against the Continent.
In early 1942 British and American leaders reaffirmed the priority of the European theater. General Marshall argued for an immediate buildup of American forces in Great Britain, a possible diversionary attack on the Continent in the fall, and a definite full-scale invasion in 1943. The British greeted this program with caution. Remembering the enormous casualties of World War I, they preferred to strike at German power in the Mediterranean, rather than risk a direct confrontation in haste. Although acknowledging the eventual necessity for an invasion of France, they hoped to defer it until much later. Instead, Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill suggested Anglo-American landings in North Africa, bringing the French armies in France's colonies there back into the war on the side of the Allies and aiding the British in their fight against the Italians and the forces of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Months of lively debate followed, but ultimately President Roosevelt directed General Marshall to plan and carry out amphibious landings on the coast of North Africa before the end of 1942.
The North African Campaign
Marshall ordered Lt. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, then in England, to take command of the invasion. Meeting the November deadline required improvisation of every kind Army troops were hurriedly trained in amphibious warfare. Technicians modified commercial vessels to serve as landing ships. While General Eisenhower monitored operations from Gibraltar, American forces, convoyed directly from the United States, landed along the Atlantic coast of French Morocco, near Casablanca. Meanwhile, American and British troops sailing from England landed in Algeria. Despite efforts to win support among French military officers in North Africa, some fighting occurred. Nevertheless negotiations soon led to a cease-fire, and French units joined the Allied forces.
While the Allies tightened their grip on Morocco and Algeria, their troops raced to reach strategic positions in neighboring Tunisia. A
10
month earlier the British in Egypt under Lt. Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery had mounted a powerful attack on the Germans at El Alamein, sending Rommel and his German-Italian Panzer Army reeling back into Libya. If strong Allied forces could reach the coast of Tunisia, Rommel would be trapped between them and Montgomery's troops.
Awake to the threat, the Germans poured troops into Tunisia by air and sea, brushing aside weak French forces there. Axis air power, based in Sicily, Sardinia, and Italy, pounded the advancing Allied columns. As torrential December rains turned the countryside into a quagmire, the Allies lost the race. Instead of catching Rommel, they faced a protracted struggle. While his forces dug in along the southern border of Tunisia opposite Montgomery, a second powerful Axis force, the Fifth Panzer Army, barred the way to the Tunisian coast.
A chain of mountains separates coastal Tunisia from the arid interior. In a plain between two arms of the mountains and behind the passes in the west lay important Allied airfields and supply dumps. On 14 February 1943, the Axis commanders sent German and Italian forces through the passes, hoping to penetrate the American positions and either envelop the British in the north or seize Allied supply de-
"Hill 609" by Fletcher Martin. Much of the Army's fighting in the final offensive in northern Tunisia involved dismounted infantry attacks on prepared defensive positions in rugged hill country. (Army Art Collection)
pots. German forces quickly cut off and overwhelmed two battalions of American infantry positioned too far apart for mutual support, and the experienced panzers beat back counterattacks by American reserves, including elements of the U.S. 1st Armored Division. U.S. troops began evacuating airfields and supply depots on the plain and falling back to the western arm of the mountains. Dug in around the oasis town of Sbeitla, American infantry and armor managed to hold off the Germans through 16 February, but defenses there began to disintegrate during the night, and the town lay empty by midday on the 17th. From the oasis, roads led back to two passes, the Sbiba and the Kasserine. By 21 February the Germans had pushed through both and were poised to seize road junctions leading to the British rear.
Rommel and other German commanders, however, could not agree on how to exploit their success. Meanwhile Allied reinforcements rushed to the critical area. The 1st Armored Division turned back German probes toward Tebessa, and British armor met a more powerful thrust toward Thala, where four battalions of field artillery from the U.S. 9th Infantry Division arrived just in time to bolster sagging defenses. On the night of 22 February the Germans began to pull back. A few days later Allied forces returned to the passes. The first American battle with German forces had cost more than 6,000 U.S. casualties, including 300 dead and two-thirds of the tank strength of the 1st Armored Division.
In March, after the British repulsed another German attack, the Allies resumed the offensive. The U.S. II Corps, now under the command of Maj. Gen. George S. Patton, attacked in coordination with an assault on the German line by Montgomery's troops. American and British forces in the south met on 7 April as they squeezed Axis forces into the northeastern tip of the country. The final drive to clear Tunisia began on 19 April. On 7 May British armor entered Tunis, and American infantry entered Bizerte. Six days later the last Axis resistance in Africa ended with the surrender of over 275,000 prisoners of war.
The U.S. Army learned bitter lessons about the inadequacy of its training, equipment, and leadership in the North African campaign. Army Ground Forces acted quickly to ensure that American soldiers would receive more realistic combat training. Higher commanders realized that they could not interfere with their subordinates by dictating in detail the positions of their units. Troops had to be committed in division-size, combined arms teams, not in driblets. The problem posed by American tanks, outgunned by the more heavily armed and armored German panzers, took far longer to correct. But the artillery established itself as the Army's most proficient arm.
Sicily and Italy
Meeting in Casablanca in January 1943, President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and the Combined Chiefs of Staff decided that the large Italian island of Sicily would be their next target. Montgomery's British forces landed on the southeast coast, while Patton's newly activated Seventh Army landed on the southwest, with the mission of seizing airfields and protecting the flank of the British drive. Airborne troops spearheading the attacks scattered wide of their targets but managed to disrupt enemy communications. Hours after the initial landings on 9 July, German armor struck the American beaches. Naval gunfire, infantry counterattacks, and the direct fire of field artillery landing at the critical juncture broke up the German formations. But two attempts to reinforce the beaches with parachute and glider-borne troops ended in disaster when Allied antiaircraft batteries mistook the transport planes for enemy aircraft and opened fire, causing severe losses.
Meanwhile, the Germans solidly blocked the British drive on the Sicilian capital, Messina. General Sir Harold R. L. G. Alexander, Allied ground commander, ordered Patton to push toward Palermo, at the western tip of the island. Once in Palermo, since the British drive was still stalled, his forces attacked Messina from the north. Patton used a series of small amphibious end runs to outflank German positions on the northern coastal road. American and British troops arrived in Messina on 17 August, just as the last Axis troops evacuated Sicily.
In late July the Allies decided to follow up their success in Sicily with an invasion of Italy. Having lost hope of victory, the Italian High Command, backed by the king, opened secret negotiations with the Allies. The Germans, suspecting that Italy was about to desert the Axis, rushed in additional troops.
The Germans swiftly disarmed the Italian Army and took over its defensive positions. A British fleet sailed into the harbor of Taranto and disembarked troops onto the docks, while the U.S. Fifth Army under Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark landed on the beaches near Salerno on 9 September. The Germans reacted in strength. For four days vigorous attacks by German armor threatened the beaches. But on 16 September American and British forces made contact, and two weeks later American troops entered Naples, the largest city south of Rome. Allied plans called for a continued advance to tie down German troops and prevent their transfer to France or Russia, while Hitler decided to hold as much of Italy as possible.
"Bailey Bridge" by Tom Craig. Mechanized warfare demanded a substantial increase in tactical bridging; in Italy the Bailey Bridge proved versatile and adaptable to a variety of weights and situations. (Army Art Collection)
As the Allies advanced up the mountainous spine of Italy, they confronted a series of heavily fortified German defensive positions, anchored on rivers or commanding terrain features. The brilliant de-
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laying tactics of the German commander in Italy, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, exacted a high price for every Allied gain. The campaign in Italy became an endless siege, fought in rugged terrain, in often appalling conditions, and with limited resources.
Moving north from Naples, the Allies forced a crossing of the Volturno River in October 1943 and advanced to the Winter Line, a main German defensive position anchored on mountains around Cassino. Repeated attempts over the next six months to break or outflank it failed. An amphibious end run, landing the U.S. VI Corps under Maj. Gen. John P. Lucas at Anzio in January 1944, failed to turn the German flank, for Lucas waited too long to build up his reserves before moving aggressively against the German defenses. Kesselring had time to call in reinforcements, including artillery, which soon brought every inch of Allied-held ground under fire. As the defenders dug in, the end run turned into another siege, as American and British troops repulsed repeated counterattacks.
Meanwhile, an American attempt to cross the Rapido River, timed to coincide with the Anzio landing, miscarried with heavy casualties. Allied efforts to blast a way through the enemy's mountain defenses proved futile, despite the use of medium and heavy bombers to support ground attacks around Cassino. Finally, in May 1944, a series of coordinated attacks by the Fifth Army and Eighth Army pried the Germans loose, and they began to fall back. On 4 June 1944, two days before the Normandy invasion, Allied troops entered Rome.
The Normandy invasion made Italy a secondary theater, and Allied strength there gradually decreased. Nevertheless, the fighting continued. The Allies attacked a new German defensive line in the Northern Appenines in August but were unable to make appreciable headway through the mountains. Not until spring of 1945 did they penetrate the final German defenses and enter the Po valley. German forces in Italy surrendered on 2 May 1945.
The Cross-Channel Attack
Preparations for an attack on German-occupied France continued as did the campaigns in the Mediterranean. The defeat of the German U-boat threat, critical to the successful transport of men and materiel across the Atlantic, had been largely accomplished by the second half of 1943. The success of the war against the U-boats was immeasurably aided by secret intelligence, code-named ULTRA, garnered by Anglo-American breaking of German radio communi-
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cations codes. Such information also proved valuable to the commanders of the ground campaign in Italy and France.
By early 1944 an Allied strategic bombing campaign so reduced German strength in fighters and trained pilots that the Allies effectively established complete air superiority over western Europe. Allied bombers now turned to systematic disruption of the transportation system in France in order to impede the enemy's ability to respond to the invasion. At the same time, American and British leaders orchestrated a tremendous buildup in the British Isles, transporting 1.6 million men and their equipment to England and providing them with shelter and training facilities.
Detailed planning for the cross-Channel assault had begun in 1943 when the American and British Combined Chiefs of Staff appointed a British officer, Lt. Gen. Frederick E. Morgan, as Chief of Staff to the as yet unnamed Supreme Allied Commander. When General Eisenhower arrived in January 1944 to set up Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), Morgan's work served as the basis for the final plan of assault. The Allies would land in Normandy and seize the port of Cherbourg. They would establish an expanded lodgment area extending as far east as the Seine River. Having built up reserves there, they would then advance into Germany on a broad front. Ground commander for the invasion would be General Montgomery. The British Second Army would land on the left, while the American First Army, under Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, landed on the right. Intensive exercises and rehearsals occupied the last months before the invasion. An elaborate deception plan convinced the Germans that the Normandy landings were a feint, and that larger, more important landings would take place farther east, around the Pas de Calais. Here the Germans held most of their reserves, keeping their armored formations near Paris.
Developments on the Eastern Front also aided the success of the invasion. In early 1943 the Russians destroyed a German army at Stalingrad. The Germans tried to regain the initiative in the summer of 1943, attacking a Soviet-held salient near the Russian city of Kursk. In the largest tank battle known to history, they suffered a resounding defeat. Henceforth, they remained on the defensive, in constant retreat, while the Soviets advanced westward, retaking major portions of the Ukraine and White Russia during the fall and winter and launching an offensive around Leningrad in January 1944. By March 1944 Soviet forces had reentered Polish territory, and a Soviet summer offensive had prevented the Germans from transferring troops to France.
"Sherman Tanks Passing Stream of German Prisoners" by Ogden Pleissner. After seven weeks of slow, costly advances against determined German defenders in the hedgerows, Army armored formations seized the initiative at St. Lo and made rapid advances against a demoralized enemy. (Army Art Collection)
On S June 1944, General Eisenhower took advantage of a break in stormy weather to order the invasion of "fortress Europe." In the hours before dawn, 6 June 1944, one British and two U.S. airborne divisions dropped behind the beaches. After sunrise, British, Canadian, and U.S. troops began to move ashore. The British and Canadians met modest opposition. Units of the U.S. VII Corps quickly broke through defenses at a beach code-named UTAH and began moving inland, making contact with the airborne troops within twenty-four hours. But heavy German fire swept OMAHA, the other American landing area. Elements of the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions and the 2d and 5th Ranger Battalions clung precariously to a narrow stretch of stony beach until late in the day, when they were finally able to advance, outflanking the German positions.
American and British beachheads linked up within days. While the Allies raced to build up supplies and reserves, American and British fighter aircraft and guerrillas of the French resistance blocked movement of German reinforcements. On the ground, Allied troops besieged Cherbourg and struggled to expand southward
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through the entangling Norman hedgerows. Earthen embankments hundreds of years old, matted with the roots of trees and shrubs, the hedgerows divided the countryside into thousands of tiny fields. The narrow roads, sunk beneath the level of the surrounding countryside, became deathtraps for tanks and vehicles. Crossroads villages were clusters of solidly built medieval stone buildings, ideal for defense. Small numbers of German infantry, dug into the embankments with machine guns and mortars and a tank or two or a few antitank guns for support, made advancing across each field costly.
With time short and no room to maneuver, the struggle to break out became a battle of attrition. Allied troops advanced with agonizing slowness from hedgerow to hedgerow, in a seemingly endless series of small battles. Advances were measured in hundreds of yards. Requirements for fire support far exceeded preinvasion planning, resulting in a severe shortage of artillery shells. The British made several powerful attempts to break through to the open country beyond the town of Caen, but were stopped by the Germans, who concentrated most of their armor in this threatened area. By 18 July the U.S. First Army had clawed its way into St. Lo and, on 25 July, launched Operation COBRA. As heavy and medium bombers from England pummeled German frontline positions, infantry and armor finally punched through the defenses. Pouring through the gap, American troops advanced forty miles within a week.
Rejecting his generals' advice, Hitler ordered a counterattack against the widening breakout by Germany's last available mobile forces in France. U.S. First Army forces stopped the Germans and joined Canadian, British, and Polish troops in catching the enemy in a giant pocket around the town of Falaise. Allied fighter-bombers and artillery now aided a massive destruction of twenty enemy divisions. Suddenly, it seemed the Allies might end the war before winter. Calling off a planned halt and logistical buildup, Eisenhower ordered the Allied forces to drive all-out for the German frontier.
With enemy forces in full retreat, French and American troops rolled into Paris on 25 August 1944. Meanwhile, veteran U.S. and French divisions, pulled out of Italy, landed on the beaches of the French Riviera. While French forces liberated the ports, the U.S. Seventh Army drove northward in an effort to cut off withdrawing German troops. Moving rapidly through the cities of Lyon and Besançon, they joined up with Allied forces advancing from Normandy on 11 September.
Victory seemed to be at hand. But by mid-September Allied communications were strained. Combat troops had outrun their supplies. British and Canadian forces advanced into the Nether
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lands, and American troops crossed Belgium and Luxembourg and entered German territory. Then both met strong resistance. Bad weather curtailed unloading of supplies directly across the Normandy invasion beaches, while the ports on the North Sea and the Mediterranean were in ruins. As logistical problems piled up, Eisenhower rejected as too dangerous British pleas to channel all available resources into one deep thrust into Germany. He did, however, sanction one last bold gamble: Operation MARKET-GARDEN. Two U.S. and one British airborne division were to open the way for a British armored thrust to seize a bridge across the lower Rhine at Arnhem in the Netherlands. The airborne troops took most of their objectives, but German resistance was much stronger than expected, and the operation failed to gain a bridgehead across the Rhine.
Battles of Attrition
There was to be no early end to the war. Despite its recent defeats, the German Army remained a dangerous foe, fighting for its life in prepared defenses. Furthermore, as the Allies approached the frontiers of the Reich, they encountered a series of formidable terrain obstacles-major rivers, mountains, and forests-and the worst weather in over thirty years. Yet Eisenhower, believing that unremitting pressure against the enemy would shorten the war, called for the offensive to continue. Battles of attrition followed throughout October and November, all along the front.
Canadian and British soldiers trudged through the frozen mud and water of the flooded tidal lowlands in the Netherlands to free the great Belgian port of Antwerp. The U.S. First Army took the German city of Aachen on 21 October. The drive of General Patton's Third Army toward the German border halted on 25 September due to shortages of gasoline and other critical supplies. Resuming the offensive in November, Patton's men fought for two bloody weeks around the fortress town of Metz, ultimately winning bridgeheads over the Saar River and probing the Siegfried Line. In the south the U.S. Seventh Army and the First French Army fought their way through the freezing rain and snow of the Vosges Mountains to break out onto the Alsatian plain around Strasbourg, becoming the only Allied armies to reach the Rhine in 1944. But there were no strategic objectives directly east of Strasbourg, and a pocket of tough German troops remained on the west bank, dug in around the old city of Colmar.
The attacks by the U.S. First and Ninth Armies toward the Roer River were extremely difficult. The Huertgen Forest through which
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they moved was thickly wooded, cut by steep defiles, fire breaks, and trails. The Germans built deep, artillery-proof log bunkers, surrounded by fighting positions. They placed thousands of mines in the forest. In addition, they felled trees across the roads and wired, mined, and booby-trapped them; and registered their artillery, mortars, and machine guns on the roadblocks. Tree-high artillery bursts, spewing thousands of lethal splinters, made movement on the forest floor difficult. Armor had no room to maneuver. Two months of bloody, close-quarters fighting in mud, snow, and cold was devastating to morale. Parts of at least three U.S. divisions, pushed beyond all human limits, experienced breakdowns of cohesion and discipline.
The Battle of the Bulge
While the Allies bludgeoned their way into the border marches of the Reich, Hitler carefully husbanded Germany's last reserves of tanks and infantry for a desperate attempt to reverse the situation in the west. On 16 December powerful German forces struck the lightly held sector of the First Army front south of Monschau in the Ardennes. German armored spearheads drove toward the Mouse River, aiming at Antwerp. Aided by bad weather, a variety of deceptive measures, and the failure of Allied intelligence correctly to interpret the signs of an impending attack, they achieved complete surprise. Elements of five U.S. divisions plus support troops fell back in confusion. Two regiments of the 106th Infantry Division, cut off and surrounded atop the mountainous Schnee Eiffel, surrendered after only brief fighting-the largest battlefield surrender of U.S. troops in World War II.
Partly as a result of the decision to continue attacking throughout the autumn, U.S. forces were spread thin in areas such as the Ardennes, and the Americans had few reserves to meet the attack. SHAEF immediately ordered available units into the threatened area, sending an airborne division into the important communications center of Bastogne. By 18 December the magnitude of the German effort was clear, and Eisenhower ordered Patton's Third Army to disengage from its offensive toward the Saar and to attack the enemy's southern flank. Scattered American units, fighting desperate rearguard actions, disrupted the German timetable, obstructing or holding key choke points-road junctions, narrow defiles, and single-lane bridges across unfordable streams-to buy time. Defenders at the town of St. Vith held out for six days; V Corps troops at Elsenborn Ridge repelled furious attacks, jamming the northern shoulder of the enemy advance. To the south armored and airborne troops, although completely sur
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rounded and under heavy German attack, held Bastogne for the duration of the battle. German efforts to widen the southern shoulder of the bulge along the Sauer River came to nothing.
Short of fuel, denied critical roadnets, hammered by air attacks, and confronted by American armor, the German spearheads recoiled short of the Mouse. Meanwhile, Patton had altered the Third Army's axis of advance and attacked northward, relieving Bastogne on 26 December. On 3 January First and Ninth Army troops and British forces launched attacks against the northern shoulder of the bulge. Meanwhile, a secondary German offensive, Operation NORDWIND, failed in the south. Eisenhower had ordered the Sixth Army Group to fall back, pulling out of Strasbourg. General de Gaulle, the French leader, was enraged. After heated negotiations, Allied troops remained in Strasbourg, and the German attack lost its momentum. By the end of January the Allies had retaken all the ground lost in both German offensives. The Battle of the Bulge was over.
Just as the Allies' August breakout had failed to achieve a war-winning decision, so, too, the German attempt to reenact its victory of June 1940 failed. The Allies, however, could make good their losses, while Hitler had squandered almost all his remaining armor and fighter aircraft. To make matters worse for the Reich, the Soviets on 12 January opened a large-scale offensive in Poland and East Prussia that carried their troops to within forty miles of Berlin. German forces that survived the Ardennes fighting had to be hurriedly shifted eastward to meet the growing Russian threat.
The Final Offensive
With the elimination of the "bulge" and the repulse of NORDWIND, the campaign in the west moved into its final phases. The Allies paused only briefly before resuming the offensive. Eisenhower had earlier decided that his armies should advance to the Rhine all along its length before crossing; he wanted to shorten Allied lines, provide a defensible position in the event of further German counterattacks, and free troops to build up strong reserves. If Hitler persisted in defending every inch of German territory, most of the enemy's remaining forces would be destroyed west of the Rhine. Once across the river, American and British forces would be able to advance into Germany almost at will.
Harmonizing conflicting British and American views remained one of Eisenhower's major problems. Rejecting British proposals to concentrate on one thrust north of the Ruhr under Montgomery's
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leadership, Eisenhower planned concentric attacks from the north by the British 21 Army Group and the U.S. Ninth Army and from the south by the U.S. First Army. Meanwhile, the Third Army would drive straight across Germany, and the Seventh Army would turn southward into Bavaria. Because the United States now dominated the alliance, most of the significant tasks of the final campaign went to American commanders.
First, a pocket of German resistance at Colmar had to be eliminated. Eisenhower assigned five additional U.S. divisions and 10,000 service troops to the effort. The Franco-American attack against the pocket began on 20 January and was over by early February. Meantime, the Canadian First Army cleared the area between the Maas and Rhine Rivers. At the same time, the First Army advanced and finally seized the Roer River dams but found that the Germans had destroyed the controls. The resultant flooding delayed the Ninth Army's advance by two weeks. That attack finally began in late February and linked up with the Canadians, cutting off German forces facing the British. Meanwhile, the First Army's drive to the Rhine culminated in the capture of Cologne and on 7 March the seizure of an intact bridge at the town of Remagen.
As American divisions poured into the bridgehead, the Third and Seventh Armies launched coordinated attacks to the south. On the 22d and the 25th, Third Army troops made assault crossings of the Rhine. On 23 March the British Second Army and the U.S. Ninth Army staged massive crossings in the Rees-Wesel-Dinslaken area, supported by the largest airborne landings of the war, while the Seventh Army crossed on the 26th near Worms. Now Allied columns fanned out across Germany, overrunning isolated pockets of resistance. While Montgomery's forces drove northward toward the great German ports of Bremen, Hamburg, and Luebeck, the Ninth Army advanced along the axis Muenster-Magdeburg. Ninth and First Army troops met on 1 April, encircling the industrial region of the Ruhr and capturing 325,000 prisoners. The First Army continued eastward toward Kassel and Leipzig while the Third Army rolled through Frankfurt, Eisenach, and Erfurt toward Dresden, then southward toward Czechoslovakia and Austria. The Sixth Army Group advanced into Bavaria toward Munich and Salzburg, denying the Germans a last-ditch defense in the Bavarian or Austrian Alps. Germany was shattered.
Nevertheless, Eisenhower resisted British pressure to drive on to Berlin. He saw no point in taking casualties to capture ground that, in line with earlier agreements between Allied leaders, would have
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to be relinquished to the Soviets once hostilities ceased. His objective remained to capture or destroy the remnants of the German armed forces. The Soviets massed 1.2 million men and 22,000 pieces of artillery and on 16 April began their assault upon the city. As that battle raged, British, American, and Soviet forces neared previously negotiated stop lines along the Elbe and Mulde Rivers. The First Army made contact with Soviet troops on 25 April around Torgau. Meanwhile, as the Third Army entered Czechoslovakia and British troops reached the Baltic, the Russians moved through the streets of Berlin. On 30 April 1945, Hitler committed suicide in a bunker beneath the ruins of his capitol.
German forces in Italy surrendered effective 2 May and those in the Netherlands, northwestern Germany, and Denmark on 4 May. Patrols of the U.S. Seventh Army driving eastward through Austria and the Fifth Army driving north from Italy met near the Brenner Pass. On 7 May the German High Command surrendered all its forces unconditionally, and 8 May was officially proclaimed V-E Day. Though peace had come to Europe, one of the most culturally and economically advanced areas of the globe lay in ruins. Germany, the industrial engine of the Continent, lay prostrate, occupied by British, French, American, and Soviet troops. Britain, exhausted by its contribution to the victory, tottered near economic collapse, while France was totally dependent on the United States. The Soviet Union had suffered in excess of 20 million casualties and untold devastation, but its armed forces remained powerful and its intentions obscure. To the victory in western Europe and Italy, the United States had contributed 68 divisions, 15,000 combat aircraft, well over 1 million tanks and motor vehicles, and 135,000 dead. The country now turned its focus to a war a half a world away and to the defeat of Japan in the Pacific.
The Pacific War
Even before Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the American military chiefs had agreed on a common strategy with Great Britain: Germany, the most powerful and dangerous of the Axis powers, must be defeated first. Only enough military resources would be devoted to the Pacific to hold the Japanese west of an Alaska-Hawaii-Panama defensive line.
Competition for limited resources between the Allied commanders of the European and Pacific theaters was actually less intense than might have been expected. The Pacific was a naval war, and little U.S. offensive naval power was required in the Atlantic besides landing craft. Aside from the U-boats, the Germans posed no threat in Atlantic waters. U-boat defense primarily required many small, fast escort vessels. Then too, almost the entire British Navy was deployed in the Atlantic. Thus, American offensive naval power-especially the fast carrier task forces-could be committed to the Pacific war.
More than distance separated the two wars; they differed fundamentally in strategy and command and in the character of the fighting. In Europe the war was planned and conducted in combination with powerful Allies. Strategic decisions had to be argued and agreed to by the American and British chiefs of staff, and, on occasion, even by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Operational planning was conducted, at least at the higher levels, by combined Anglo-American staffs. In the Pacific the United States also had Allies-Australia and New Zealand. Yet the ratio of U.S. to Allied forces was much higher there than in Europe, and in consequence strategy and planning were almost wholly in American hands.
Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander in Europe, had no counterpart in the Pacific. From the beginning of the war, rivalry between the Army and the Navy marked the conflict. The two services competed for command, territory, and resources. In the vast Pacific, an ocean dotted with thousands of coral islands, there should have been ample room for both. But interservice rivalries and great distances prevented a single unified commander from being named, until General Douglas MacArthur became Supreme Commander,
" West Coast Dock" by Barse Miller. Roughly 40 percent of the cargo
moved overseas by the Army during the war went to the Pacific theater.
(Army Art Collection)
Allied Powers (SCAP), in the last days of the war. Instead, the Pacific was divided into area commands. The two most important were MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) and Admiral Chester Nimitz's Pacific Ocean Areas (POA). POA, in turn, was subdivided into North Pacific, Central Pacific, and South Pacific commands. Nimitz personally retained command of the Central Pacific.
Fighting in the Pacific was unlike fighting in Europe. The campaigns in Europe were characterized by huge ground forces driving overland into the heart of the enemy's country. Both in MacArthur's SWPA and Nimitz's POA, the Pacific war was a seemingly endless series of amphibious landings and island-hopping campaigns where naval power, air power, and shipping, rather than large and heavy ground forces, were of paramount importance.
Yet for the soldiers and marines who assaulted the countless beaches, the Pacific war was even more brutal and deadly than the war in Europe. Japanese defenders always dug in, reinforced their bunkers with coconut logs, and fought until they were killed. They almost never surrendered. On Betio in the Tarawa Atoll in November 1943 the marines suffered
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3,301 casualties, including 900 killed in action, for a bit of coral 3 miles long and 800 yards wide. At Iwo Jima in February and March 1945 the marines lost almost 6,000 dead and over 17,000 wounded and fought for five weeks to take an island less than five miles long. At Iwo no battalion suffered fewer than 50 percent casualties, and many sustained even higher losses. In the southwest Pacific, MacArthur's casualties were proportionately fewer. Fighting on the larger land masses of New Guinea and the Philippines, he had more room to maneuver, and he could almost always "hit 'em where they ain't."
The history of the war in the Pacific falls neatly into three periods. The first six months of the war, from December 1941 to May 1942, were a time of unbroken Japanese military victory. At the-height of Japanese expansion in mid-1942, the tide turned. The period from mid-1942 to mid-1943 saw Japanese strategic thrusts into the south and central Pacific blunted by the carrier battles of the Coral Sea (May 1942) and Midway (June 1942). Limited U.S. offensives in the Solomons and in the Papuan area of eastern New Guinea were launched in the last months of 1942. Both offensives were begun on a shoestring, and both came close to failure. Yet they represented the end of defeat in the Pacific and the first tentative steps toward victory. Those steps became great leaps in 1944 and 1945. Two amphibious offensives developed, as MacArthur advanced across the northern coast of New Guinea into the Philippines and Nimitz island-hopped 2,000 miles across the central Pacific from the Gilbert Islands to Okinawa.
Japan on the Offensive
Japan, largely devoid of natural resources to-feed its industries, looked overseas for supplies of strategic materials such as ores and petroleum. Before 1939 the United States was Japan's major supplier. But President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull shut off American supplies in an effort to force the Japanese to end hostilities against China. The Japanese had long coveted the resource-rich British and Dutch colonies of Southeast Asia, and as the U.S. trade embargo tightened, the Japanese increasingly looked southward for raw materials and strategic resources.
Only the United States stood in Japan's path. The U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor was the only force capable of challenging Japan's navy, and American bases in the Philippines could threaten lines of communications between the Japanese home islands and the East Indies. Every oil tanker heading for Japan would have to pass by American-held Luzon. From these needs and constraints, Japan's
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war plans emerged. First, its navy would neutralize the American fleet with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan would also seize America's central Pacific bases at Guam and Wake islands and invade the Philippines. With American naval power crippled, Japan's military would be free to seize Burma, Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies in a series of rapid amphibious operations. Japan would then establish a defensive ring around its newly conquered empire by fortifying islands in the south and the central Pacific. Japan's leaders were convinced that Americans, once involved in the European war, would be willing to negotiate peace in the Pacific.
To block Japanese ambitions, the United States Army had scant resources. Two small forces constituted the heart of the American land defenses in the Pacific-the garrison in the Territory of Hawaii and General Douglas MacArthur's command in the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Both were peacetime organizations, whose days were given to rounds of ceremonies, inspections, and languid training. Officers and their wives occupied evenings and weekends with rounds of social activities and golf, while the soldiers enjoyed more earthy pleasures in the bars and brothels of Honolulu or Manila.
Yet these forces would face overwhelming odds in the event of war. The thousands of islands that comprised the Philippines lay 8,000 miles from the American west coast, but only 200 miles from Japanese-held Formosa. To defend them, General MacArthur had the equivalent of two divisions of regular troops-16,000 U.S. regulars and 12,000 Philippine Scouts. He could call on additional thousands of Philippine militia, but they were untrained and ill equipped. Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short's Hawaiian command held 43,000 Army troops, including two infantry divisions, coast artillery, air corps, and support troops. Thus, in ground forces, the United States had the equivalent of three divisions in the Pacific to stand in the path of the Imperial Japanese Army.
American strategists had developed two plans to counter possible Japanese aggression-one for the Navy and another for the Army. The Navy planned to fight across the central Pacific for a climactic and decisive battle with the Japanese fleet. The Army saw no way to save the Philippines and favored a strategic defense along an Alaska-Hawaii-Panama line. Writing off the Philippines, however, was politically impossible, and as war drew closer frantic efforts were made to strengthen the commonwealth's defenses. Both MacArthur and Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall overestimated the chances of their own forces and underestimated the strength and ability of the Japanese. In particular, they grossly exaggerated the
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power of a new weapon, the B-17 "Flying Fortress" bomber, a few of which were rushed to the Philippines in the last days of peace.
All of the efforts proved to be too little, too late. The Japanese war plan worked to perfection. On 7 December 1941, Japan paralyzed the Pacific Fleet in its attack on Pearl Harbor. In the Philippines, Japanese fliers destroyed most of MacArthur's air force on the ground. Freed of effective opposition, Japanese forces took Burma, Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies in rapid succession. By March 1942 the Japanese had conquered an empire. Only MacArthur's beleaguered American-Filipino army still held out on the main Philippine island of Luzon.
A Japanese army had landed in northern Luzon on 22 December 1941 and began to push southward toward Manila. At first, MacArthur was inclined to meet the Japanese on the beaches. But he had no air force, and the U.S. Navy's tiny Asiatic fleet was in no position to challenge Japan at sea. The U.S. regulars and Philippine Scouts were excellent troops but were outnumbered and without air support. Giving up his initial strategy of defeating the enemy on the beaches, MacArthur decided to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula. There he could pursue a strategy of defense and delay, shortening his lines and using the mountainous, jungle-covered terrain to his advantage. Perhaps he could even hold out long enough for a relief force to be mounted in the United States.
But too many people crowded into Bataan, with too little food and ammunition. By March it was clear that help from the United States was not coming. Nevertheless, the American-Filipino force, wracked by dysentery and malaria, continued to fight. In March President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to escape to Australia. He left his command to Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright and to Maj. Gen. Edward King, who on 9 April was forced to surrender the exhausted and starving Bataan force. Wainwright continued to resist on the small fortified island of Corregidor in Manila Bay until 6 May under constant Japanese artillery and air bombardment. After Japanese troops stormed ashore on the island, Wainwright agreed to surrender Corregidor and all other troops in the islands. By 9 May 1942, the battle for the Philippines had ended, though many Americans and Filipinos took to the hills and continued a guerrilla war against the Japanese.
The courageous defense of Bataan had a sad and ignominious end. Marching their prisoners toward camps in northern Luzon, the Japanese denied food and water to the sick and starving men. When the weakest prisoners began to straggle, guards shot or bayoneted them and threw the bodies to the side of the road. Japanese guards may
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have killed 600 Americans and 10,000 Filipino prisoners. News of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had outraged the American people; news of the "Bataan Death March" filled them with bitter hatred.
By May 1942 the Japanese had succeeded beyond their wildest expectations. A vast new empire had fallen into their hands so quickly, and at so little cost, that they were tempted to go further. If their forces could move into the Solomon Islands and the southern coast of New Guinea, they could threaten Australia and cut the American line of communications to MacArthur's base there. If they could occupy Midway Island, only 1,000 miles from Honolulu, they could force the American fleet to pull back to the west coast. In Japanese overconfidence lay the seeds of Japan's first major defeats.
The Tide Turns
Japanese fortunes turned sour in mid-1942. Their uninterrupted string of victories ended with history's first great carrier battles. In May 1942 the Battle of the Coral Sea halted a new Japanese offensive in the south Pacific. A month later the Japanese suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Midway in the central Pacific. Now American and Australian forces were able to begin two small counteroffensives-one in the Solomons and the other on New Guinea's Papuan peninsula. The first featured the Marine Corps and the Army; the second, the Army and the Australian Allies.
American resources were indeed slim. When MacArthur arrived in Australia in March 1942, he found, to his dismay, that he had little to command. Australian militia and a few thousand U.S. airmen and service troops were his only resources. The Australian 7th Division soon returned from North Africa, where it had been fighting the Germans, and two U.S. National Guard divisions, the 32d and the 41st, arrived in April and May. MacArthur had enough planes for two bomber squadrons and six fighter squadrons. With only these forces, he set out to take Papua, while Admiral Nimitz, with forces almost equally slim, attacked Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
Of all the places where GIs fought in the Second World War, Guadalcanal and the Papuan peninsula may have been the worst. Though separated by 800 miles of ocean, the two were similarly unhealthful in terrain and climate. The weather on both is perpetually hot and wet; rainfall may exceed 200 inches a year, and during the rainy season deluges, sometimes 8 to 10 inches of rain, occur daily. Temperatures in December reach the high eighties, and humidity seldom falls below 80 percent. Terrain and vegetation are equally foreboding-dark, humid,
"Bringing in the Ammo" by Joseph Hirsch. At Rendova in the Solomons, landing craft went aground in shallow water fifty feet offshore, forcing troops to wade ashore with equipment and ammunition. (Army Art Collection)
jungle-covered mountains inland, and evil-smelling swamps along the coasts. Insects abound. The soldiers and marines were never dry; most fought battles while wracked by chills and fever. For every two soldiers lost in battle, five were lost to disease-especially malaria, dengue, dysentery, or scrub typhus, a dangerous illness carried by jungle mites. Almost all suffered "jungle rot," ulcers caused by skin disease.
Guadalcanal lay at the southeast end of the Solomons, an island chain 600 miles long. Navy carriers and other warships supported the landings, but they could not provide clear air or naval superiority. The marines landed on 7 August 1942, without opposition, and quickly overran an important airfield. That was the last easy action on Guadalcanal. The carriers sailed away almost as soon as the marines went ashore. Then Japanese warships surprised the supporting U.S. naval vessels at the Battle of Savo Island and quickly sank four heavy cruisers and one destroyer. Ashore, the Japanese
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Army fought furiously to regain the airfield. Through months of fighting the marines barely held on; some American admirals even thought that the beachhead would be lost. But gradually land-based aircraft were ferried in to provide air cover, and the Navy was able to return. As the Japanese continued to pour men into the fight, Guadalcanal became a battle of attrition.
Slowly American resources grew, while the Japanese were increasingly unable to make up their losses. In October soldiers of the Americal Division joined the battle; in November the Navy won a smashing victory in the waters offshore; and in early 1943 the Army's 25th Infantry Division was committed as well. Soldiers now outnumbered marines, and the ground forces were reorganized as the XIV Corps, commanded by Army Mail Gen. Alexander M. Patch. As the Japanese lost the ability to supply their forces, enemy soldiers began to starve in the jungles. But not until February-six months after the initial landing-was Guadalcanal finally secured.
Meanwhile, 800 miles to the west on the eastern peninsula of New Guinea, another shoestring offensive began. Even after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Japanese persisted in their efforts to take Port Moresby, a strategic town on New Guinea's southern coast. In late July 1942 they landed on the north coast of the huge, mountainous island and began to make their way south toward Port Moresby, across the towering Owen Stanley Mountains. Almost impassable in normal circumstances, the trail they followed was a quagmire under constant rain. Supply became impossible; food ran short; fever and dysentery set in. Defeated just short of their goal by Australian defenses, the Japanese retreated. Meanwhile, MacArthur had decided to launch a counteroffensive against the fortified town of Buna and other Japanese-held positions on the northern coast. He sent portions of the Australian 7th and U.S. 32d Divisions over the same mountainous jungle tracks earlier used by the Japanese. The result was the same. By the time his troops reached the northern coast, they were almost too debilitated to fight. Around Buna and the nearby village of Gona the Japanese holed up in coconut-log bunkers that were impervious to small-arms and mortar fire. The Americans lacked artillery, flamethrowers, and tanks. While they struggled to dig the defenders out, malnutrition, fever, and jungle rot ravaged the troops. Like the troops on Guadalcanal, the Aussies and the men of the 32d barely held on.
The Japanese also faced serious problems. Their commanders had to choose between strengthening Guadalcanal or Buna. Choosing Guadalcanal, they withdrew some support from the Buna garrison. Growing American air power made it impossible for the Japa-
38
nese Navy to resupply their forces ashore, and their troops began to run short of food and ammunition. By December they were on the edge of starvation. Here the battle of attrition lasted longer, and not until January 1943 was the last Japanese resistance eliminated.
Buna was costlier in casualties than Guadalcanal, and in some respects it was an even nastier campaign. The terrain was rougher; men who crossed the Owen Stanleys called that march their toughest experience of the war. The Americans lacked almost everything necessary for success-weapons, proper clothing, insect repellents, and adequate food. "No more Bunas," MacArthur pledged. For the rest of the war his policy was to bypass Japanese strongpoints. When the battles for Guadalcanal and Buna began, the Americans had insufficient strength to win. American strength increased as the battle went on. Over the next three years it would grow to overwhelming proportions.
Twin Drives to American Victory
As late as 1943 the American Joint Chiefs of Staff had not adopted a clear strategy for winning the war in the Pacific. Early in the war they assumed that the burden of the land fighting against Japan would fall on Chinese forces. The bulk of Japan's army was deployed in China, and Chinese leaders had an immense manpower pool to draw on. But supplying and training the Chinese Army proved to be an impossible task. Moreover, fighting in China did not lead to any strategic objective.
Instead, the hard-won successes in the Solomons and Papua and the growing strength of MacArthur's and Nimitz's forces gave the Joint Chiefs the means to strike at the Japanese in the Pacific. They decided to launch two converging offensives toward the Japanese islands. Using Army ground forces, land-based air power, and a fleet of old battleships and cruisers, MacArthur would leapfrog across the northern coast of New Guinea toward the Philippines. Nimitz, using carrier-based planes and Marine and Army ground forces, would island-hop across the central Pacific. The strategy was frankly opportunistic, and it left unanswered the questions of priorities and final objectives.
At the heart of the strategy were the developing techniques of amphibious warfare and tactical air power. Putting troops ashore in the face of a determined enemy had always been one of war's most dangerous and complicated maneuvers. World War II proved that the assault force needed air and sea supremacy and overwhelming combat power to be successful. Even then, dug-in defenders could take a heavy toll of infantry coming over the beaches. Special landing craft had to be built to bring tanks and artillery ashore with the
"Pim's Jetty" by Frede Vida. The logistics of MacArthur's leaps up the
New Guinea coast sometimes posed greater difficulties than did the
Japanese defenders. (Army Art Collection)
infantry, and both direct air support and effective naval gunfire were essential. MacArthur's leaps up the northern coast of New Guinea were measured precisely by the range of his fighter-bombers. The primary task of Nimitz's carriers was to support and defend the landing forces. As soon as possible after the landings, land-based planes were brought in to free the carriers for other operations.
The islands of the central Pacific had little resemblance to the fetid jungles of Guadalcanal and New Guinea. Atolls like Tarawa or Kwajalein were necklaces of hard coral surrounding lagoons of sheltered water. Where the coral rose above water, small narrow islands took form. These bits of sand furnished little room for maneuver and frequently had to be assaulted frontally. Larger islands like Guam and Saipan were volcanic in origin, with rocky ridges to aid the defense; the shrapnel effect of shell bursts was multiplied by bits of shattered rock.
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In November 1943 Nimitz's island-hopping campaign began with his assaults on Betio in the Tarawa Atoll and at Makin a hundred miles north. It was a costly beginning. Elements of the Army's 27th Infantry Division secured Makin with relative ease, but at Betio the 2d Marine Division encountered stubborn and deadly resistance. Naval gunfire and air attacks had failed to eliminate the deeply dug-in defenders, and landing craft grounded on reefs offshore, where they were destroyed by Japanese artillery. As costly as it was, the lessons learned there proved useful in future amphibious operations. Like MacArthur, Nimitz determined to bypass strongly held islands and strike at the enemy's weak points.
During January 1944 landings were made in the Marshalls at Kwajalein and Eniwetok followed by Guam and Saipan in the Marianas during June and July. Because the Marianas were only 1,500 miles from Tokyo, the remaining Japanese carriers came out to fight. The resulting Battle of the Philippine Sea was a disaster for the Japanese. In what U.S. Navy pilots called "the great Marianas turkey shoot," Japanese carrier power was effectively eliminated.
Almost as soon as the Marianas were cleared, the air forces began to prepare airfields to receive new heavy bombers, the B-29s. With a range exceeding 3,000 miles, B-29s could reach most Japanese cities, including Tokyo. In November 1944 the Twentieth Air Force began a strategic bombing campaign against Japan, which indirectly led to one of the bitterest island fights of the war. Tiny Iwo Jima, lying 750 miles southeast of Tokyo, was needed both as an auxiliary base for crippled B-29s returning from their bombing raids over Japan and as a base for long-range escort fighters. The fight for the five-mile-long island lasted five weeks, during February and March 1945, and cost more than 25,000 dead-almost 6,000 Americans of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and 20,000 Japanese.
While Nimitz crossed the central Pacific, MacArthur pushed along the New Guinea coast, preparing for his return to the Philippines. Without carriers, his progress was slower but less costly than Nimitz's. After clearing the Buna area in January 1943, MacArthur spent the next year conquering northeastern New Guinea and the eight months that followed moving across the northern coast of Netherlands New Guinea to the island of Morotai. Because he had to cover his landings with land-based planes, he was limited to bounds of 200 miles or less on a line of advance almost 2,000 miles long. Furthermore, he had to build airfields as he went. By October 1944 MacArthur was ready for a leap to the Philippines, but this objective was beyond the range of his planes. Nimitz loaned him Admiral William F. Halsey's heavy car-
"All Aboard for Home" by Joseph Hirsch. Despite wartime increases,
Allied sealift capability remained inadequate to return Army forces
home as fast as they would have liked. (Army Art Collection)
riers, and, on 20 October 1944, MacArthur's Sixth Army landed on Leyte Island in the central Philippines.
The Japanese reacted vigorously. For the first time in the war they employed Kamikaze attacks, suicide missions flown by young, half-trained pilots. And they used their last carriers as decoys to draw Halsey's carriers away from the beachheads. With Halsey out of the battle and the landing forces without air cover, the Japanese planned to use conventional warships to brush aside the remaining American warships and destroy the support vessels anchored off the beaches. They almost succeeded. In the naval Battle of Leyte Gulf, the big guns of the big ships, not carrier planes, decided the battle. The Japanese naval forces were decimated. Japan no longer had an effective navy.
As violent as they were, most island fights involved small units and were mercifully short. However, the last two major campaigns of the Pacific war-Luzon and Okinawa-took on some of the character of the war in Europe. They were long fights on larger land masses, with entire armies in sustained combat over the course of
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several months. Japanese defenders on Luzon numbered 262,000 under Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, perhaps the best field commander in the Japanese Army. Yamashita refused an open battle, knowing that superior firepower and command of the air would favor the Americans. Instead, he prepared defensive positions where his forces could deny the Americans strategic points like roads and airfields. He wanted to force the Americans to attack Japanese positions in a new battle of attrition.
His plan worked. MacArthur's Sixth Army under Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger landed on Luzon on 9 January 1945 and began the Army's longest land campaign in the Pacific. MacArthur's forces fought for almost seven months and took nearly 40,000 casualties before finally subduing the Japanese.
The largest landings of Nimitz's central Pacific drive were carried out on Okinawa, only 300 miles from Japan, on 1 April 1945. Before the fight was over three months later, the entire Tenth Field Army- four Army infantry divisions and two Marine divisions-had been deployed there. Like his counterpart on Luzon, the Japanese commander on Okinawa, Lt. Gen. Mitsuru Ushijima, refused to fight on the beaches and instead withdrew into the rocky hills to force a battle of attrition. Again the strategy worked. U.S. casualties were staggering, the largest of the Pacific war. Over 12,000 American soldiers, sailors, and marines died during the struggle. At Okinawa the Japanese launched the greatest Kamikaze raids of the war, and the results were frightening-26 ships sunk and 168 damaged. Almost 40 percent of the American dead were sailors lost to Kamikaze attacks.
When the Luzon and Okinawa battles ended in July, the invasion of the southernmost Japanese island of Kyushu had already been ordered by the Joint Chiefs. The date was set for 1 November 1945. Kyushu would furnish air and naval bases to intensify the air bombardment and strengthen the naval blockade around Honshu, the main island of Japan. A massive invasion in the Tokyo area was scheduled for 1 March 1946 if Japanese resistance continued. With the Okinawa experience fresh in their minds, many planners feared that the invasion of Japan would produce a bloodbath.
In fact, Japan was already beaten. It was defenseless on the seas; its air force was gone; and its cities were being burned out by incendiary bombs. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August and the Soviet declaration of war on 8 August forced the leaders of Japan to recognize the inevitable. On 15 August 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender to the Japanese people and ordered Japanese forces to lay down their arms. Despite their earlier
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suicidal resistance, they immediately did so. With V-J Day-2 September 1945-the greatest war in human history came to an end.
Aftermath
The United States emerged from the war with global military commitments that included the occupation of Germany and Japan and the oversight of Allied interests in liberated areas. Almost 13 million Americans were in uniform at the end of the war; over 8 million of them were soldiers. But the impulse was strong to follow the patterns of the past and dismantle this force. Families pressed the government to "bring the boys home," and soldiers overseas demanded the acceleration of the separation process. American monopoly of the atomic bomb seemed to furnish all the power that American security interests needed. Some air power advocates even argued that the bomb made armies and navies obsolete.
President Roosevelt had died in April 1945, on the eve of victory. The new President, Harry S. Truman, and his advisers tried to resist the political pressures for hasty demobilization. Truman wanted to retain a postwar Army of 1.5 million, a Navy of 600,000, and an Air Force of 400,000. But neither Congress nor the American public was willing to sustain such a force. Within five months of V-J Day, 8.5 million servicemen and women had been mustered out, and in June of the following year only two full Army divisions were available for deployment in an emergency. By 1947 the Army numbered a mere 700,000-sixth in size among the armies of the world.
Yet too much had changed for the Army to return to its small and insular prewar status. Millions of veterans now remembered their service with pride. The beginning of the Cold War, especially the Berlin blockade of 1948, dramatically emphasized the need to remain strong. The Army had become too deeply intertwined with American life and security to be reduced again to a constabulary force. Moreover, the time was not far off when new conflicts would demonstrate the limits of atomic power and prove that ground forces were as necessary as they had been in the past.
Further Readings
Despite its age, Charles B. MacDonald's The Mighty Endeavor: American Armed Forces in the European Theater in World War 11 (1969) remains a sound, informative, and highly readable survey of the American role in the war in Europe. For the interwar Army, I. B. Holley, jr.'s General John M. Palmer, Citizen Soldiers and the Army of a Democracy (1982) is good for the early years. Palmer was the architect of the National Defense Act of 1920. D. Clayton James' The Years of MacArthur: Volume 1, 1880-1941 (1970), looks at the interwar Army in terms of the man who dominated it in the 1930s, while Forrest Pogue's George C. Marshall, Volume 1: Education of a General, 1880-1939 (1963), focuses on the man who oversaw its transformation into a powerful, modern mass army. Volume 2: Ordeal and Hope, 1939-1945 (1986), and Volume 3: Organizer of Victory, 1943-1945 (1973), are the best sources on the War Department and the General Staff and cover an enormous range of topics from strategy and logistics to personalities.
Len Deighton's Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk (1980) is a popular, semijournalistic account that places German tactical and operational innovations in the context of interwar German Army politics and the Nazi rise to power and also discusses the relationship between tactics, equipment, and organization in a nontechnical way. Fire-Power: British Army Weapons and Theories of War, 1904-1945 (1982), by Shelford Bidwell and Dominick Graham, is a seminal and important book, tracing changes in military doctrine from the perspective of the artillery arm from World War I through World War II. Bidwell and Graham analyze the origins of Blitzkrieg tactics and panzer organizations and the evolution of indirect artillery fire and their impact on war.
W. G. F. Jackson's Battle for North Africa, 1940-1943 (1975), is reliable, and Martin Blumenson's Kasserine Pass (1967) can be supplemented by Ralph Ingersoll's The Battle Is the Pay-off (1943). Written in the immediate aftermath of the Kasserine Pass debacle by a journalist-captain who accompanied the Rangers on their raid against the Italian-held pass at El Guettar, it has the gritty immediacy of a con-
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temporary first-person account and ends with an impassioned plea for tougher physical conditioning and more realistic training.
A useful antidote to grand theoretical speculations about the nature of war is John Ellis' The Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II (1980). Using a vast array of first-person accounts, Ellis focuses on the experience of frontline combat in both theaters. Ellis has also written Cassino: Hollow Victory (1984), a gripping and critical account of Allied attempts to break through the mountains of central Italy, an effort which, the author believes, was crippled by a self-serving and inept Allied high command. Useful companions are Wyford Vaughan-Thomas' Anzio (1961) and Martin Blumenson's Anzio: The Gamble That Failed (1963).
Max Hastings' Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy (1984) is among the best of the new books on the invasion. A careful and skilled journalist, Hastings asks why it took so long for the Allies to break out of the beachhead. He finds the flawed performance of the citizen armies of Britain and the United States at fault, when compared to the skill and proficiency of the Germans. Russell F. Weigley, in Eisenhower's Lieutenants: The Campaign of France and Germany, 1944-1945 (1986), asks similar questions about American combat performance and advances a provocative thesis, suggesting that the U.S. Army never reconciled its two conflicting heritages-that of the frontier constabulary, with its emphasis on mobility, and that of U. S. Grant's direct power drive in the Civil War. Thus, U.S. combat formations in World War II were structured for mobility, while American strategy and operations called for head-on confrontations with the center of enemy strength.
Ralph F. Bennett's ULTRA in the West: The Normandy Campaign, 1944-1945 (1980), heavily based on the original, declassified decrypts, is sound on ULTRA'S impact on the land campaign. Charles B. MacDonald's A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge (1985) updates earlier accounts of the German Ardennes offensive with the latest available information about the Allied intelligence failure, while his Company Commander (1978) is still one of the most moving and honest first-person accounts of small-unit command responsibility available. (MacDonald was one of the youngest captains in the Army in 1944 when his company was hit and overrun in the first hours of the German offensive.)
Stephen Ambrose's Supreme Commander: The War Years of General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1970) is a judicious and balanced assessment of Eisenhower from his arrival in Washington in December 1941 through the German surrender in May 1945. Omar N. Bradley's
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and Clay Blair's A General's Life (1983) is a far more partisan biography of the so-called G.I. General, which provides a sometimes disconcerting glimpse of the internal tensions and disagreements within the Allied high command in Europe. It should be balanced with Nigel Hamilton's exhaustive, but also pugnaciously partisan three-volume biography, Monty: The Making of a General, 1887-1942 (1981), Monty: Master of the Battlefield, 1942-1944 (1983), and Monty: Final Years of the Field-Marshal, 1944-1976 (1987), and all can be supplemented by the fairly reliable official histories produced by the American and British military services in the postwar period.
Two general histories provide excellent surveys of the Pacific war, from the causes to the conclusion. John Toland's The Rising Sun, 1936-1945 (1971), views the war from the Japanese perspective and focuses on the war's causes, Japanese war plans, and the early victorious campaigns from the vantage point of Japan's military leadership. A counterpart volume is Eagle Against the Sun (1985) by Ronald H. Spector. Like Toland, Spector covers the entire conflict but views the war from the American perspective. Eagle Against the Sun may be the best single-volume survey of the Pacific war yet written.
The historical literature on Pearl Harbor and the first six months of the war in the Pacific is voluminous-so vast that readers must be especially careful in their selections. Perhaps the best picture of life in the prewar army is found in James Jones' fictional From Here to Eternity (1985). The subject of Pearl Harbor has produced countless pages of description and analysis, but much is of interest only to professional historians and specialists in the subject. Two books of special value to the general reader are Walter Lord's Day of Infamy (1957) and Gordon Prange's At Dawn We Slept (1982). Day of Infamy begins in the predawn hours and details the fascinating, dramatic events of the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The book is short, and Lord writes in a clear, journalistic style. At Dawn We Slept is a more complete and exhaustive book on the attack, the events leading to it, and the surrounding controversies. Although the book is over 700 pages long, the style is readable, the story interesting, and the treatment complete. If a student can read only one book on Pearl Harbor, Prange's work is the logical choice.
The best single-volume survey of the first six months in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor is John Toland's But Not in Shame (1961), which relates the story of defeat in the Pacific with a true sense of heroism and tragedy. Included are the American defeats at Pearl Harbor, Bataan, Corregidor, and Wake Island, and the Allied failures in the Dutch East Indies and Singapore. Stanley Falk's Bataan:
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March of Death (1984) is a moving and unbiased account of one of the most emotional subjects in American military history.
The battles for Guadalcanal and for Buna went on simultaneously, but Guadalcanal received far more attention from the American press at the time and from historians since that date. However, the quality of the works on Guadalcanal varies greatly. An older but reliable account is The Battle for Guadalcanal (1979) by Samuel B. Griffith II, which can be supplemented by Richard Tregaskis' Guadalcanal Diary (1984), a classic in war reporting that came out of the fighting on Guadalcanal. For the Papua Campaign, Lida Mayo's Bloody Buna (1979) not only chronicles the battles but also effectively conveys the nightmarish qualities of fighting in New Guinea-the constant rain, the disease, the lack of proper food and equipment, and the constant threat of death from the Japanese or from the jungle.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of books have been written on the campaigns that produced victory over Japan in the Pacific war. They range from very detailed volumes in the official histories of the United States Army, Navy, and Marine Corps to highly romanticized books on specific actions, people, weapons, and so forth. The following three books are accurate, balanced, and interesting accounts of the subject. Two sound works covering the offensive period are D. Clayton James' The Years of MacArthur, 1941-1945 (1975), for the offensives in the Southwest Pacific and the Philippines, and James and William Belote's Titans of the Seas (1974), an account of the carrier battles in the Pacific. But no work better describes combat in the Pacific war at the squad and platoon level than Island Victory (1983) by S. L. A. Marshall. During World War II as a combat historian he gathered material for Island Victory by interviewing infantrymen of the 7th Infantry Division who had just cleared two small islands in the Kwajalein Atoll. The book tells the stories of squad and platoon fights with holed-up Japanese on islands no more than 250 yards wide. There are no generals or colonels here, no high-level planning or strategy. This is the story of ground combat from the vantage point of the individual infantryman, and, like MacDonald's Company Commander, the work is a testimony to the determination and heroism of the individual GI.
Note: The publication dates are shown for the most recent editions listed in Books in Print. Many of these books were originally published years earlier.
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'Juno And The Paycock'is a play written by who? | Juno and the Paycock: A play ahead of its time - The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
Monday, Jul. 28, 2014 4:11PM EDT
Last updated
Title Juno and the Paycock
Written by Sean O’Casey
Directed by Jackie Maxwell
Starring Mary Haney, Jim Mezon
Venue Shaw Festival
City Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
Juno and the Paycock, the second play in Irish playwright Sean O'Casey’s great Dublin Trilogy, is a stylistically slippery son of a gun. Set during the Irish Civil War of the early 1920s, it shifts from broad comedy to high tragedy on a dime – with long patches of vaudevillian clowning interrupted by heart-wrenching speeches by mourning women that seem ripped right out of Euripides.
In Roller Derby Saved My Soul Nancy Kenny stars as a shy 30-year-old who discovers her inner superhero after a trip to the roller derby.
Multimedia
Has the Fringe circuit been good for Canadian theatre?
In one of her most sensitive productions to date, director Jackie Maxwell skillfully steers the Shaw Festival ensemble through even the choppiest waters of O’Casey’s 1924 play. She has two able hands helping keep the ship on course: Mary Haney and Jim Mezon, who star as the title characters – the heroic Juno Boyle and her strutting, preening husband, “Captain” Jack Boyle.
You’ll recognize their working-class family dynamic from any number of Irish stories on stage or on screen: While Jack Boyle shirks work and spends what money he gets on going to the pub, Juno never stops working in and out of the home to keep the family together. As Juno and the Paycock begins, straits are even direr than usual as daughter Mary (Marla McLean) is on strike and son Johnny (Charlie Gallant) is unemployable, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after losing his arm in the War of Independence that preceded the current civil unrest.
When an anglophile solicitor named Bentham (Gord Rand, effectively aloof) shows up with news that the Boyle family has inherited a small fortune from a long-lost relative, it seems too good to be true. Of course, and this is hardly a spoiler, it is: Whether rich or poor, the men of the Boyle family are fated to tear the family to pieces just as the men of Ireland are doing the same with the country.
It’s odd how prominent a role Henrik Ibsen is playing this season at the Shaw Festival despite there being none of the Norwegian’s works on the bill. Half of Bernard Shaw’s play The Philanderer takes place at a club named after Ibsen – to which only manly women and womanly men are admitted. In Juno and the Paycock, Ibsen pops up when Captain Jack Boyle – whose bluster and buffoonery Mezon applies an unsettling undercoat of menace – stumbles upon what his daughter is reading. “The Doll’s House, Ghosts, an’ The Wild Duck,” he scoffs. “Buks only fit for chiselurs.” (That’s how O’Casey wrote it – and the cast, most of the time, does an okay job selling the dialect.)
O’Casey, like Shaw, may have been inspired by Ibsen’s naturalism, but the very metatheatrical presence of these plays on the stage shows that he couldn’t be constrained by it. Maxwell’s production, expressionistically designed by Peter Hartwell, is most riveting when exploring the moments that Juno and the Paycock moves into heightened registers – especially, the last two astounding scenes.
First comes the punch to the gut, with Haney, rising to the occasion, delivering the play’s most famous speech as the family suffers its largest loss. “Sacred heart o’ Jesus, take away our hearts o’ stone, and give us hearts o’ flesh!” she cries, straight out, breaking the fourth wall and every heart in the audience.
If this penultimate scene harkens back to Greek tragedy, the final one looks ahead to the works of Samuel Beckett as Boyle and his ne’er-do-well pal Joxer (an uneven Benedict Campbell) return from a night of drinking and stumble around the apartment in the dark. It’s a scene pulled off terrifically here with Mezon and Campbell descending into terrifying incoherence.
If the play has its dull patches earlier, it’s more O’Casey’s fault than the cast. (There’s a terrific supporting performance of terror from Gallant who has few lines, but is always a striking presence.) With its adventurous ending, it’s easy to forget that Juno and the Paycock is not a mythological play or an absurdist one, but was political and polemic and daringly topical in its time. First staged in the spring of 1924, it was set only a couple years earlier and tackled the divisions between “Diehards” and “Free-Staters“ in Ireland that were hardly healed, head-on. O’Casey’s next play in his Dublin Trilogy, The Plough and the Stars, would be even more explosive and result in rioting.
Can you imagine living in a society where the drama engages so directly with the society in which we live? It was only after seeing Juno and the Paycock that I realized that this is the first season since Maxwell took over as artistic director of the Shaw Festival that not a single Canadian work – whether original or adapted – has been on the playbill.
Follow J. Kelly Nestruck on Twitter: @nestruck
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... JUNO LED DOWNLIGHTS ARE SETTING NEW STANDARDS FOR EF CIENCY, PERFORMANCE AND APPLICATION DIVERSITY. SINCE THEIR INCEPTION, JUNO LED DOWNLIGHTS HAVE BEEN AN ... ...
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... JUNO SOLO-TASK LED LIGHTING MINIATURE LUMINAIRE OFFERS POWERFUL ILLUMINATION . JUNO SOLO-TASK LED LUMINAIRES ARE THE MIGHTY-MITE OF UNDERCABINET LIGHTING. ...
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... THE ADHERENCE TO THE MANY MYTHOLOGICAL EPITHETS OF THE ROMAN GODDESS JUNO BY THE CHARACTER JUNO IN SEAN O'CASEY'S PLAY JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK IS EXPLAINED ... ...
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What name is given to the box and string instrument that sounds when hit by a current of air? | stringed instrument | Britannica.com
Stringed instrument
bow
Stringed instrument, any musical instrument that produces sound by the vibration of stretched strings , which may be made of vegetable fibre, metal, animal gut, silk, or artificial materials such as plastic or nylon. In nearly all stringed instruments the sound of the vibrating string is amplified by the use of a resonating chamber or soundboard . The string may be struck, plucked, rubbed (bowed), or, occasionally, blown (by the wind); in each case the effect is to displace the string from its normal position of rest and to cause it to vibrate in complex patterns.
A Japanese musician plucking the strings of a koto with the right hand to generate a pitch and …
© Feng Yu/Fotolia
Because most stringed instruments are made from wood or other easily perishable materials, their history before written documentation is almost unknown, and contemporary knowledge of “early” instruments is limited to the ancient cultures of East Asia and South Asia, the Mediterranean, Egypt, and Mesopotamia; but even for these places historians must depend largely on iconographic (pictorial) sources rather than surviving specimens.
Stringed instruments seem to have spread rapidly from one society to another across the length and breadth of Eurasia by means of great population shifts, invasions and counterinvasions, trade, and, presumably, sheer cultural curiosity. In the Middle Ages the Crusades (late 11th through the late 13th century) stimulated Europe to adopt a whole set of new instruments; similarly, the Chinese adopted many new instruments from their Central Asian neighbours as Buddhism spread eastward and as the Han Chinese expanded their influence across the region (roughly, the 3rd century bce to the 10th century ce). Indeed, the only world area that did not echo to the sound of strings was the pre-Columbian Americas.
No system of classification can adequately categorize the interactions of natural material, craftsmanship, and exuberant imagination that produced an endless variety of stringed instruments. In the West the most widely accepted system of classification is that developed by E.M. von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs , a method based on the type of material that is set into vibration to produce the original sound. Thus, stringed instruments are identified as chordophones —that is to say, instruments in which the sound is produced by the vibration of chords, or strings. This main category is then further divided into four subtypes— lutes , zithers , lyres , and harps —according to the manner in which the strings are positioned in relation to the body of the instrument. Within these categories, the descriptive nomenclature of an instrument is given in terms of parts of the body: for example, the belly (front; soundboard), back, sides, and neck. Instruments are not necessarily related only to others in the same classification. Transformations continually occur, and “hybrids,” according to the Sachs-Hornbostel system, may in fact represent altogether viable subtypes of their own.
The production of sound
wind instrument
The ear , because of its own structure, adds to and subtracts from the outside sound. It is, for instance, relatively insensitive to low-frequency sound pressure but is extremely sensitive to fine degrees of pitch change. At the same time, it can accept a great number of pitch and tuning systems . On a worldwide basis, there are a large and varied number of tonal systems, the most ancient stemming from China. The oldest known of these in the West is the so-called Pythagorean system, articulated by the famed 7th-century Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras ; others include meantone temperament , just intonation , and the equal-tempered system, methods of tuning calculation that vary slightly in the exact size they assign to the intervals within an octave. All of these systems represent theoretical mathematical concepts to some degree, and their origins must be sought in arcane numerological systems rather than in practical musicianship. Thus, “tuning” and “playing in tune” do not necessarily refer to the same thing; players and tuners make constant adjustments to any basic mathematically determined framework according to their judgment and experience. In other words, even though a given “scientific” tuning system outlines scales and modes , the instrumentalist who plays an instrument with great pitch flexibility (the violin , for instance) spends much time in the spaces between the notes assigned in the given scale. The Japanese zither ( koto ), for example, can be tuned according to a number of fixed systems; nevertheless, its player produces many microtonal (using intervals that differ from the equally spaced semitones of Western music) variations on these fixed pitches by manipulation of the strings. The person who plays the Vietnamese dan bau monochord creates all pitches and nuances on its metal string by pulling in the flexible bamboo stem to which it is attached. In Western musical tradition, moreover, piano tuners would not think of tuning altogether according to the dictates of a well-tempered system; rather, they use a so-called stretched tuning, in which they imperceptibly sharpen (raise) pitches as they ascend and thus make the highest notes relatively sharper than the lowest ones. Investigation has disclosed that string players tend to play in the Pythagorean rather than the well-tempered system.
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Inconsistencies, then, are inherent in all tuning systems; makers of fretted lutes—such as the guitar and the Greek laouto (a type of lute with moveable frets), for example—operate according to a combination of ear and rule of thumb when they insert or adjust frets (note-position markers—e.g., of gut or wire) in the fingerboard. Such instruments are fretted according to the “rule of the eighteenth,” in which the first fret is placed at one-eighteenth of the distance from the top to the bottom of the string, the second, one-eighteenth of the distance from the first fret to the bottom, and so on. Even if this method produced an acoustically perfect scale (which it does not), the player would not be able to reproduce this exactly, for as he presses the string to the fingerboard, the string is stretched and is thus slightly lengthened. That is why the act of stopping a string at its exact centre gives a note slightly sharper than the expected octave above the open string. Despite all of this, the search for an acoustically perfect tuning system goes on.
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Though constructional methods differ widely from one area and instrument to another, there are a limited number of basic problems to be overcome by the maker of stringed instruments. The very principle that makes it possible for chordophones to sound is string tension; at the same time, tension is destructive to the instrument, since it tends literally to pull it apart. So the body of an instrument must be made of strong material; it must be reinforced, and, at the same time, it must not be so rigid that it cannot easily resonate—i.e., produce a supplementary vibration intensifying that of the string. The challenge of reconciling these opposite needs is the central one for the chordophone maker. Climate too has a marked effect on musical instruments: humidity expands a wooden instrument, and dryness contracts it. Of these factors, dryness is the most harmful, since the contraction of the wood actually pulls the instrument apart. Much energy has been expended over the centuries in investigations of various varnishes, shellacs, glues, and sealers. Many makers prefer to make their instruments in dry conditions, for the expansion caused by humidity is unlikely to prove as harmful as the contraction caused by dryness.
Music: Fact or Fiction?
Aside from a family of Southeast Asian instruments known as boat lutes—which, by definition, are hewn from a single block of wood—and a few other chordophones, including the Japanese biwa (a lute), portions of the koto (a zither), and often the Puerto Rican cuatro (a lute)—the bodies of most wooden instruments are constructed from multiple pieces of wood. The instruments are built up of many pieces of wood glued together; the shaping of curved pieces is accomplished by gouging and planing (as in the belly of the violin) or by heating and pressing in a frame (the sides of the violin or guitar). Soundboards , the most important part of the resonance system of stringed instruments, are carefully planed to close tolerances. Mass-production methods are unsuitable for the production of high-quality chordophones because no two pieces of wood are precisely alike in their acoustical qualities; each piece of wood requires special judgment and treatment. Ideally, therefore, stringed instruments of the highest quality must be individually made. Piano manufacture is a partial exception to this rule, but even in a piano factory, individual treatment and craftsmanship are allowed full sway. The modern piano is a product of several different factories. The cast-iron frames are made by specialized foundries, and the steel strings, the keyboards, and the actions (mechanisms for striking the strings) are produced by specialized firms. Each of these processes requires an experienced artisan, and the work of assembly, polishing, tuning, and tone regulation calls for hours of individual attention to each instrument.
A portion of the soundboard of an upright piano.
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The construction and maintenance of Western stringed instruments generally have been complicated over the centuries by a continual rise in standard pitch, requiring strings to be tightened. Older instruments (such as a Stradivari violin) have been subjected to additional physical strain and therefore needed heavier bass-bars (braces under the belly).
As already stated, the methods of sound production on a stringed instrument include plucking, striking, bowing, and blowing. A string vibrates in a complex way: the entire string vibrates in one segment (producing the fundamental pitch), and various segments at the same time vibrate independently to produce overtones . The resulting sound is weak indeed unless the instrument is provided with a resonator to amplify the sound. The shape of the resonator varies greatly. It has been influenced by the materials, tools, and technology available in the society, the symbolic meaning of the shape, and the sound desired by the culture . The last factor seems to be governed by the first three; that is to say, the prescribed shape of the resonator affects the overtone structure of the instrument, producing a certain timbre (characteristic tone colour), which the society in question then defines as attractive-sounding.
One of the clearest illustrations of the basic importance of the shape of the resonator to a musical instrument is the African mouth bow (a musical bow that the player partially inserts in his mouth). By varying the size and shape of the oral cavity while striking or plucking the single, unfingered string, the player produces a clearly perceptible, if quiet, melody that exists only because the changes in the mouth emphasize various overtones. On stringed instruments with permanently fixed resonators, the size, dimensions, shape of apertures, thickness, and bracing of the resonating surfaces largely determine which overtones will be emphasized and thus what the instrument will sound like. On a well-made violin, for example, the resonances of the body of air enclosed in the body of the instrument and of the belly should be close in pitch to the two strings A and D, thus amplifying and colouring these pitches and their overtones. The sound quality of a stringed instrument is also influenced by the thickness and material of the strings; primarily, however, it is the size and shape of the resonating body and especially the material, density, and thickness of the soundboard that determine the sound of an instrument. A well-known Spanish guitar maker, in a successful attempt to prove the importance of the belly of the guitar, once constructed an instrument—an excellent one—from papier-mâché (an acoustically dead material), except for a carefully chosen and wrought wooden soundboard. Makers, then, devote a large part of their skill and knowledge to the choice of material for the soundboard; the maker of wood-bellied instruments prefers old wood because it is dry and well seasoned. Thus, some guitar makers find the soundboards of discarded pianos unusually suitable for their purposes; makers of the classical Chinese zither, or qin , preferred old coffins or well-seasoned wood from old trees.
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The timbre of a struck or plucked stringed instrument is also affected by the manner of setting the string into motion. A string plucked with a sharp point (the player’s fingernail or a plastic plectrum ) emphasizes the higher overtones, thus creating a “bright” tone quality. By contrast, a soft pad, such as that on a piano hammer, emphasizes the fundamental pitch. The relative hardness of the hammer on the piano is thus of critical importance to the sound of the instrument and plays a central role in the final process in piano manufacture: voicing. To voice a piano, a skilled worker adjusts the timbre of the instrument by the simple expedient of pricking the felt hammers with needles until a unified quality has been achieved throughout the range of the instrument. The tone of an instrument is also markedly affected by the place where the string is struck. The permanently fixed striking place on keyboard instruments has to be chosen with concern for both the timbre and the mechanical requirements of the instrument. On nearly all other stringed instruments the player varies the tone quality by choosing to pluck, strike, or bow at various places along the length of the string. The exception here is the Aeolian harp , which has no player; its strings are set into vibration by the wind.
Animation demonstrating a type of action in a grand piano.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Another way in which musicians and musical instrument makers influence the sound of their instruments is by the use of sympathetically vibrating strings. On the piano, for example, when the so-called damper pedal is raised, thus leaving all the strings free to vibrate, the act of striking one note causes all closely related pitches to vibrate in sympathy, thus modifying the loudness and tone of the struck note. This effect (which is encountered also on the zither and harp) is not a central feature of these instruments, but there are numerous Eurasian chordophones on which the principle is of fundamental importance. The plucked instruments of Hindustani music , the sarod and the sitar , possess numerous sympathetic strings tuned according to the notes of the mode being played. The South Asian fiddle, sarangi , has some two to three dozen sympathetic strings; the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle (Hardingfele) has four or five sympathetic strings; and the viola d’amore typically has seven. Sympathetic strings are generally made of thin brass or steel, and their vibration reinforces the upper harmonics, thus producing a bright, silvery sound.
The sarod, one of the principal melodic solo instruments of Hindustani music.
Wesleyan University Virtual Instrument Museum (www.wesleyan.edu/music/vim)
The bridge of a Hardanger fiddle, with the sympathetic strings visible beneath the main strings.
© Wulffenstejn Hardanger Fiddle/hardingfele.com
Types of instruments
Lutes
Probably the most widely distributed type of stringed instrument in the world is the lute (the word is used here to designate the family and not solely the lute of Renaissance Europe). The characteristic structure consists of an enclosed sound chamber, or resonator, with strings passing over all or part of it, and a neck along which the strings are stretched. Players move their fingers up and down the neck, thus shortening the vibrating portion of the strings and producing various pitches .
A street musician playing a Japanese samisen.
DO’Neil
In the lute the part of the resonating chamber over which the strings pass is called the belly, and the other side of the resonator is called the back. The portion between the back and belly is the side, or rib. A lute may be plucked with the fingers or a plectrum or may be bowed, but the means of sound production do not affect the essential morphological identity of plucked, struck, and bowed lutes.
Historically, lutes may be subdivided into those with skin and those with wood bellies; in most Eurasian cultures examples of both types exist side by side. In Iran, for instance, the wood-bellied lute is the ʿūd and the skin-bellied is the tar ; in the United States it is the guitar and the banjo , respectively. In Japan the wood-bellied lute is the biwa , and the samisen has a skin belly and back. Chinese fiddles (bowed lutes) tend to have a skin belly and, like the banjo, an open back. The two different varieties of lute are distinct in sound and structure, and methods of construction, timbre, history, and symbolic associations differ markedly. A second subdivision concerns the shape of the instrument; for instance, the lute proper has a round back, the guitar a flat one.
An ʿūd, from Iran, with the characteristic wooden belly and …
Wesleyan University Virtual Instrument Museum (www.wesleyan.edu/music/vim)
The string vibrations of the lute are transferred to the resonating chamber by the bridge , which holds the strings above the lute’s belly; the resonator magnifies the vibrations and transmits them to the air. Makers lavish great attention on the choice and fashioning of material for the belly: if it is of wood, it must be selected and aged with much care and planed to a prescribed thickness; if it is of skin, it must be made from only certain materials. (The belly of the Japanese samisen is preferably made from the skin of a female cat; the wooden belly of the Puerto Rican cuatro is best constructed from wood from a female jagrumo tree that has been well seasoned and, if possible, taken from an old house.) Since the late 20th century, synthetic materials have largely replaced skin bellies.
Most lute strings have traditionally been made of animal intestines (gut), metal, or silk, though nylon has become a common replacement for gut. Whatever the material, each string must be of equal thickness throughout its length. Some lutes have only a single string, but the great majority have three, four, or more. Very often there are sets, or courses, of two strings to a pitch, so that an instrument that produces four pitches with open strings actually has eight strings arranged in pairs.
In the tunings of lutes, though fourths and fifths ( intervals the size of four and five tones of a Western seven-note scale, as C to F and C to G) predominate in many places, any given instrument is likely to be tuned differently from one location, piece, or player to another. Functionally more important is the question of whether a lute is fretted or unfretted. It is clearly easy to change from one pitch to another on an unfretted instrument by sliding the finger along the string, but it is also possible to do this on an instrument with extremely high frets (Japanese biwa, Indian vina ) by pressing—hence stretching—the string into the cavity between two frets. Instruments with low frets (the guitar, the banjo, the European lute, and the viol ) are found mainly in the West, where a limited and clearly defined tonal system is in use and where significant microtonal changes in pitch are not necessary. Even here, however, players manage to produce microtonal inflections, slides, and vibrations on fretted instruments. Many Central Asian lutes, such as the dutār, use movable gut or nylon string frets, tied on so they can be adjusted to the mode of the music . The metal frets of the Indian sitar are tied on with strings for the same reason.
Musician playing a banjo, which is a type of skin-bellied fretted lute.
Courtesy of Val Chandler
The fiddle can be distinguished from other lutes only by the manner in which it is played—usually with a horsehair bow . The practice of rubbing the strings with this implement is of uncertain age and origin, but it seems to have appeared almost simultaneously (9th–10th century ce) in China , Java , the Arab world, Byzantium, and Europe. As with the other lutes, there is a fundamental division between skin- and wood-bellied instruments. (The former are far more common on the fiddle than the latter, which occur mainly in Europe.) Musically more significant, however, is the division between the stick fiddle, in which the player’s finger does not actually press the string to a fingerboard (but rather slides up and down the string itself), and the fiddle with a fingerboard (for example, the violin ). The Mongolian morin huur (also spelled khuur) is unique in that the two strings are far enough above the fingerboard that most of the pitches are fingered with the face of the nail rather than the end as is common elsewhere in the world. On fiddles without fingerboards (including the Chinese erhu , the Arab rabāb and its Asian relatives, various African fiddles, and the South Asian sarangi ), the player’s left hand is able to move with extreme flexibility up and down the string, thus making the subtlest kind of inflection possible.
Indian street musicians playing (left to right) a harmonium (portable reed organ) and a …
Ben Edwards—Impact Photos/Heritage-Images
As with other lutes, fiddles may have only one string (the Tuareg imzhad) or nearly 40 (the sarangi); on the latter, most of the strings are not directly touched or sounded by the player but vibrate sympathetically when other strings are set into motion, thus giving a fuller resonance . Examples, in addition to the sarangi, include the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle , the Swedish nyckelharpa, and the viola d’amore.
The fiddle bow itself generally is constructed so that the player can tighten or loosen the hair at will; on most stringed instruments the player is able to make immediate changes by manipulating the bow hair with the hand while playing, thus producing various tone qualities. The bow of the violin, perfected in the early 19th century by Franƈois Tourte , has a screw mechanism that cannot be changed while playing. Most bows are actually bow-shaped, but the Tourte bow is made in a compound curve to which considerable tension can be applied, making it possible to apply much pressure to the strings. The bows of the two-stringed fiddles of China (such as the erhu and the jinghu ) and Korea ( haegŭm ) pass between the strings so that both sides of the hair may be used.
Musician playing a haegŭm, a type of fiddle, in a …
Korea Britannica Corp.
The bowing principle has been applied to nonlutes from time to time: the ancient Icelandic fidla is a bowed zither, as is the Korean ajaeng ; the Scandinavian talharpa is a bowed lyre . The musical saw is classified as a bowed idiophone .
Musician playing an ajaeng, a type of bowed zither, in a …
Korea Britannica Corp.
Zithers
Instruments of the zither family, in which the strings lie parallel to and are of the same length as the string bearer (often also the resonator), are especially widely distributed in Eurasia, the Americas, and Africa. The least-complex zither type of instrument is the musical bow, shaped very much like a hunter’s bow. (The musical bow is sometimes classified as a harp.) The bow’s single string is tapped or struck, and the pitch can be varied by varying the tension of the string or by using the player’s mouth as a resonator and varying its size and shape, thus emphasizing different harmonics. It is a favourite instrument in equatorial Africa and Brazil, and it is also common in New Guinea .
The Brazilian musical bow, berimbau.
Wesleyan University Virtual Instrument Museum (www.wesleyan.edu/music/vim)
Aside from the musical bows, there are two important subdivisions of this category. The so-called long-zither family is found only in East Asia; because its characteristic resonating chamber is slightly convex, instruments of this type are sometimes called half-tube zithers. Larger models may be nearly 1 foot (30 cm) wide and more than 6 feet (180 cm) long; there are a varying number of strings frequently provided with movable bridges. These instruments, of which the best-known example is the Japanese koto, seem to derive ultimately from tube zithers made directly from lengths of bamboo . The bamboo prototypes are said to be idiochordic because their strings, part of the bamboo itself, are worked loose from the tough surface of the tube, to which they remain attached at either end. The maker then inserts small bridges at the extremes of the strings. (Various modifications and transformations of this principle exist, such as the bamboo-tube valiha of Madagascar and the sasandu of Roti, Indonesia, in which wire strings replace the idiochordic ones.) All long-bodied, curved-surfaced Asian zithers of the koto type may owe something to this idiochordic principle. In East Asian tradition the most ancient zither is the seven-stringed qin , which seems to have originated in the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 bce). The Japanese wagon and koto , the Korean kayagŭm , and the Chinese zheng fit into this general category.
The other important subdivision of the zither family is the flat zither; in Africa it is usually made either from a hollowed plank over which strings are fastened ( board zither ) or from individual narrow canes lashed together, each having one idiochordic string ( raft zither ). The typical box zither is a rectangular or, more often, trapezoid-shaped hollow box, with strings that are either struck with light hammers or plucked. Examples of the former are the Persian sanṭūr and its Chinese derivative, the yangqin (“foreign zither”); the cimbalom of east-central Europe; and the piano (which is a sort of cimbalom with keyboard ). The most prominent plucked box zither is the Arab qānūn and its various derivatives, including the harpsichord (a plucked zither controlled by a keyboard). In Europe a variety of plucked zithers developed having a fretted fingerboard under one or a few of the strings. In the United States popular box zithers include the hammered dulcimer , notable for its prominence in folk music of the early 20th century, and the autoharp , which is equipped with damper bars that prevent unwanted strings from sounding, making it relatively easy to play chords.
Struck zithers are occasionally termed dulcimers , and unfretted plucked ones psalteries , after European instruments using those names. The Aeolian harps of 18th- and 19th-century Europe, moreover, were not harps at all; rather, they were blown box zithers.
North American hammered dulcimer.
| Aeolian harp |
'Entomophobia' is the fear of what? | stringed instrument | Britannica.com
Stringed instrument
bow
Stringed instrument, any musical instrument that produces sound by the vibration of stretched strings , which may be made of vegetable fibre, metal, animal gut, silk, or artificial materials such as plastic or nylon. In nearly all stringed instruments the sound of the vibrating string is amplified by the use of a resonating chamber or soundboard . The string may be struck, plucked, rubbed (bowed), or, occasionally, blown (by the wind); in each case the effect is to displace the string from its normal position of rest and to cause it to vibrate in complex patterns.
A Japanese musician plucking the strings of a koto with the right hand to generate a pitch and …
© Feng Yu/Fotolia
Because most stringed instruments are made from wood or other easily perishable materials, their history before written documentation is almost unknown, and contemporary knowledge of “early” instruments is limited to the ancient cultures of East Asia and South Asia, the Mediterranean, Egypt, and Mesopotamia; but even for these places historians must depend largely on iconographic (pictorial) sources rather than surviving specimens.
Stringed instruments seem to have spread rapidly from one society to another across the length and breadth of Eurasia by means of great population shifts, invasions and counterinvasions, trade, and, presumably, sheer cultural curiosity. In the Middle Ages the Crusades (late 11th through the late 13th century) stimulated Europe to adopt a whole set of new instruments; similarly, the Chinese adopted many new instruments from their Central Asian neighbours as Buddhism spread eastward and as the Han Chinese expanded their influence across the region (roughly, the 3rd century bce to the 10th century ce). Indeed, the only world area that did not echo to the sound of strings was the pre-Columbian Americas.
No system of classification can adequately categorize the interactions of natural material, craftsmanship, and exuberant imagination that produced an endless variety of stringed instruments. In the West the most widely accepted system of classification is that developed by E.M. von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs , a method based on the type of material that is set into vibration to produce the original sound. Thus, stringed instruments are identified as chordophones —that is to say, instruments in which the sound is produced by the vibration of chords, or strings. This main category is then further divided into four subtypes— lutes , zithers , lyres , and harps —according to the manner in which the strings are positioned in relation to the body of the instrument. Within these categories, the descriptive nomenclature of an instrument is given in terms of parts of the body: for example, the belly (front; soundboard), back, sides, and neck. Instruments are not necessarily related only to others in the same classification. Transformations continually occur, and “hybrids,” according to the Sachs-Hornbostel system, may in fact represent altogether viable subtypes of their own.
The production of sound
wind instrument
The ear , because of its own structure, adds to and subtracts from the outside sound. It is, for instance, relatively insensitive to low-frequency sound pressure but is extremely sensitive to fine degrees of pitch change. At the same time, it can accept a great number of pitch and tuning systems . On a worldwide basis, there are a large and varied number of tonal systems, the most ancient stemming from China. The oldest known of these in the West is the so-called Pythagorean system, articulated by the famed 7th-century Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras ; others include meantone temperament , just intonation , and the equal-tempered system, methods of tuning calculation that vary slightly in the exact size they assign to the intervals within an octave. All of these systems represent theoretical mathematical concepts to some degree, and their origins must be sought in arcane numerological systems rather than in practical musicianship. Thus, “tuning” and “playing in tune” do not necessarily refer to the same thing; players and tuners make constant adjustments to any basic mathematically determined framework according to their judgment and experience. In other words, even though a given “scientific” tuning system outlines scales and modes , the instrumentalist who plays an instrument with great pitch flexibility (the violin , for instance) spends much time in the spaces between the notes assigned in the given scale. The Japanese zither ( koto ), for example, can be tuned according to a number of fixed systems; nevertheless, its player produces many microtonal (using intervals that differ from the equally spaced semitones of Western music) variations on these fixed pitches by manipulation of the strings. The person who plays the Vietnamese dan bau monochord creates all pitches and nuances on its metal string by pulling in the flexible bamboo stem to which it is attached. In Western musical tradition, moreover, piano tuners would not think of tuning altogether according to the dictates of a well-tempered system; rather, they use a so-called stretched tuning, in which they imperceptibly sharpen (raise) pitches as they ascend and thus make the highest notes relatively sharper than the lowest ones. Investigation has disclosed that string players tend to play in the Pythagorean rather than the well-tempered system.
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Inconsistencies, then, are inherent in all tuning systems; makers of fretted lutes—such as the guitar and the Greek laouto (a type of lute with moveable frets), for example—operate according to a combination of ear and rule of thumb when they insert or adjust frets (note-position markers—e.g., of gut or wire) in the fingerboard. Such instruments are fretted according to the “rule of the eighteenth,” in which the first fret is placed at one-eighteenth of the distance from the top to the bottom of the string, the second, one-eighteenth of the distance from the first fret to the bottom, and so on. Even if this method produced an acoustically perfect scale (which it does not), the player would not be able to reproduce this exactly, for as he presses the string to the fingerboard, the string is stretched and is thus slightly lengthened. That is why the act of stopping a string at its exact centre gives a note slightly sharper than the expected octave above the open string. Despite all of this, the search for an acoustically perfect tuning system goes on.
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Though constructional methods differ widely from one area and instrument to another, there are a limited number of basic problems to be overcome by the maker of stringed instruments. The very principle that makes it possible for chordophones to sound is string tension; at the same time, tension is destructive to the instrument, since it tends literally to pull it apart. So the body of an instrument must be made of strong material; it must be reinforced, and, at the same time, it must not be so rigid that it cannot easily resonate—i.e., produce a supplementary vibration intensifying that of the string. The challenge of reconciling these opposite needs is the central one for the chordophone maker. Climate too has a marked effect on musical instruments: humidity expands a wooden instrument, and dryness contracts it. Of these factors, dryness is the most harmful, since the contraction of the wood actually pulls the instrument apart. Much energy has been expended over the centuries in investigations of various varnishes, shellacs, glues, and sealers. Many makers prefer to make their instruments in dry conditions, for the expansion caused by humidity is unlikely to prove as harmful as the contraction caused by dryness.
Music: Fact or Fiction?
Aside from a family of Southeast Asian instruments known as boat lutes—which, by definition, are hewn from a single block of wood—and a few other chordophones, including the Japanese biwa (a lute), portions of the koto (a zither), and often the Puerto Rican cuatro (a lute)—the bodies of most wooden instruments are constructed from multiple pieces of wood. The instruments are built up of many pieces of wood glued together; the shaping of curved pieces is accomplished by gouging and planing (as in the belly of the violin) or by heating and pressing in a frame (the sides of the violin or guitar). Soundboards , the most important part of the resonance system of stringed instruments, are carefully planed to close tolerances. Mass-production methods are unsuitable for the production of high-quality chordophones because no two pieces of wood are precisely alike in their acoustical qualities; each piece of wood requires special judgment and treatment. Ideally, therefore, stringed instruments of the highest quality must be individually made. Piano manufacture is a partial exception to this rule, but even in a piano factory, individual treatment and craftsmanship are allowed full sway. The modern piano is a product of several different factories. The cast-iron frames are made by specialized foundries, and the steel strings, the keyboards, and the actions (mechanisms for striking the strings) are produced by specialized firms. Each of these processes requires an experienced artisan, and the work of assembly, polishing, tuning, and tone regulation calls for hours of individual attention to each instrument.
A portion of the soundboard of an upright piano.
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The construction and maintenance of Western stringed instruments generally have been complicated over the centuries by a continual rise in standard pitch, requiring strings to be tightened. Older instruments (such as a Stradivari violin) have been subjected to additional physical strain and therefore needed heavier bass-bars (braces under the belly).
As already stated, the methods of sound production on a stringed instrument include plucking, striking, bowing, and blowing. A string vibrates in a complex way: the entire string vibrates in one segment (producing the fundamental pitch), and various segments at the same time vibrate independently to produce overtones . The resulting sound is weak indeed unless the instrument is provided with a resonator to amplify the sound. The shape of the resonator varies greatly. It has been influenced by the materials, tools, and technology available in the society, the symbolic meaning of the shape, and the sound desired by the culture . The last factor seems to be governed by the first three; that is to say, the prescribed shape of the resonator affects the overtone structure of the instrument, producing a certain timbre (characteristic tone colour), which the society in question then defines as attractive-sounding.
One of the clearest illustrations of the basic importance of the shape of the resonator to a musical instrument is the African mouth bow (a musical bow that the player partially inserts in his mouth). By varying the size and shape of the oral cavity while striking or plucking the single, unfingered string, the player produces a clearly perceptible, if quiet, melody that exists only because the changes in the mouth emphasize various overtones. On stringed instruments with permanently fixed resonators, the size, dimensions, shape of apertures, thickness, and bracing of the resonating surfaces largely determine which overtones will be emphasized and thus what the instrument will sound like. On a well-made violin, for example, the resonances of the body of air enclosed in the body of the instrument and of the belly should be close in pitch to the two strings A and D, thus amplifying and colouring these pitches and their overtones. The sound quality of a stringed instrument is also influenced by the thickness and material of the strings; primarily, however, it is the size and shape of the resonating body and especially the material, density, and thickness of the soundboard that determine the sound of an instrument. A well-known Spanish guitar maker, in a successful attempt to prove the importance of the belly of the guitar, once constructed an instrument—an excellent one—from papier-mâché (an acoustically dead material), except for a carefully chosen and wrought wooden soundboard. Makers, then, devote a large part of their skill and knowledge to the choice of material for the soundboard; the maker of wood-bellied instruments prefers old wood because it is dry and well seasoned. Thus, some guitar makers find the soundboards of discarded pianos unusually suitable for their purposes; makers of the classical Chinese zither, or qin , preferred old coffins or well-seasoned wood from old trees.
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The timbre of a struck or plucked stringed instrument is also affected by the manner of setting the string into motion. A string plucked with a sharp point (the player’s fingernail or a plastic plectrum ) emphasizes the higher overtones, thus creating a “bright” tone quality. By contrast, a soft pad, such as that on a piano hammer, emphasizes the fundamental pitch. The relative hardness of the hammer on the piano is thus of critical importance to the sound of the instrument and plays a central role in the final process in piano manufacture: voicing. To voice a piano, a skilled worker adjusts the timbre of the instrument by the simple expedient of pricking the felt hammers with needles until a unified quality has been achieved throughout the range of the instrument. The tone of an instrument is also markedly affected by the place where the string is struck. The permanently fixed striking place on keyboard instruments has to be chosen with concern for both the timbre and the mechanical requirements of the instrument. On nearly all other stringed instruments the player varies the tone quality by choosing to pluck, strike, or bow at various places along the length of the string. The exception here is the Aeolian harp , which has no player; its strings are set into vibration by the wind.
Animation demonstrating a type of action in a grand piano.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Another way in which musicians and musical instrument makers influence the sound of their instruments is by the use of sympathetically vibrating strings. On the piano, for example, when the so-called damper pedal is raised, thus leaving all the strings free to vibrate, the act of striking one note causes all closely related pitches to vibrate in sympathy, thus modifying the loudness and tone of the struck note. This effect (which is encountered also on the zither and harp) is not a central feature of these instruments, but there are numerous Eurasian chordophones on which the principle is of fundamental importance. The plucked instruments of Hindustani music , the sarod and the sitar , possess numerous sympathetic strings tuned according to the notes of the mode being played. The South Asian fiddle, sarangi , has some two to three dozen sympathetic strings; the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle (Hardingfele) has four or five sympathetic strings; and the viola d’amore typically has seven. Sympathetic strings are generally made of thin brass or steel, and their vibration reinforces the upper harmonics, thus producing a bright, silvery sound.
The sarod, one of the principal melodic solo instruments of Hindustani music.
Wesleyan University Virtual Instrument Museum (www.wesleyan.edu/music/vim)
The bridge of a Hardanger fiddle, with the sympathetic strings visible beneath the main strings.
© Wulffenstejn Hardanger Fiddle/hardingfele.com
Types of instruments
Lutes
Probably the most widely distributed type of stringed instrument in the world is the lute (the word is used here to designate the family and not solely the lute of Renaissance Europe). The characteristic structure consists of an enclosed sound chamber, or resonator, with strings passing over all or part of it, and a neck along which the strings are stretched. Players move their fingers up and down the neck, thus shortening the vibrating portion of the strings and producing various pitches .
A street musician playing a Japanese samisen.
DO’Neil
In the lute the part of the resonating chamber over which the strings pass is called the belly, and the other side of the resonator is called the back. The portion between the back and belly is the side, or rib. A lute may be plucked with the fingers or a plectrum or may be bowed, but the means of sound production do not affect the essential morphological identity of plucked, struck, and bowed lutes.
Historically, lutes may be subdivided into those with skin and those with wood bellies; in most Eurasian cultures examples of both types exist side by side. In Iran, for instance, the wood-bellied lute is the ʿūd and the skin-bellied is the tar ; in the United States it is the guitar and the banjo , respectively. In Japan the wood-bellied lute is the biwa , and the samisen has a skin belly and back. Chinese fiddles (bowed lutes) tend to have a skin belly and, like the banjo, an open back. The two different varieties of lute are distinct in sound and structure, and methods of construction, timbre, history, and symbolic associations differ markedly. A second subdivision concerns the shape of the instrument; for instance, the lute proper has a round back, the guitar a flat one.
An ʿūd, from Iran, with the characteristic wooden belly and …
Wesleyan University Virtual Instrument Museum (www.wesleyan.edu/music/vim)
The string vibrations of the lute are transferred to the resonating chamber by the bridge , which holds the strings above the lute’s belly; the resonator magnifies the vibrations and transmits them to the air. Makers lavish great attention on the choice and fashioning of material for the belly: if it is of wood, it must be selected and aged with much care and planed to a prescribed thickness; if it is of skin, it must be made from only certain materials. (The belly of the Japanese samisen is preferably made from the skin of a female cat; the wooden belly of the Puerto Rican cuatro is best constructed from wood from a female jagrumo tree that has been well seasoned and, if possible, taken from an old house.) Since the late 20th century, synthetic materials have largely replaced skin bellies.
Most lute strings have traditionally been made of animal intestines (gut), metal, or silk, though nylon has become a common replacement for gut. Whatever the material, each string must be of equal thickness throughout its length. Some lutes have only a single string, but the great majority have three, four, or more. Very often there are sets, or courses, of two strings to a pitch, so that an instrument that produces four pitches with open strings actually has eight strings arranged in pairs.
In the tunings of lutes, though fourths and fifths ( intervals the size of four and five tones of a Western seven-note scale, as C to F and C to G) predominate in many places, any given instrument is likely to be tuned differently from one location, piece, or player to another. Functionally more important is the question of whether a lute is fretted or unfretted. It is clearly easy to change from one pitch to another on an unfretted instrument by sliding the finger along the string, but it is also possible to do this on an instrument with extremely high frets (Japanese biwa, Indian vina ) by pressing—hence stretching—the string into the cavity between two frets. Instruments with low frets (the guitar, the banjo, the European lute, and the viol ) are found mainly in the West, where a limited and clearly defined tonal system is in use and where significant microtonal changes in pitch are not necessary. Even here, however, players manage to produce microtonal inflections, slides, and vibrations on fretted instruments. Many Central Asian lutes, such as the dutār, use movable gut or nylon string frets, tied on so they can be adjusted to the mode of the music . The metal frets of the Indian sitar are tied on with strings for the same reason.
Musician playing a banjo, which is a type of skin-bellied fretted lute.
Courtesy of Val Chandler
The fiddle can be distinguished from other lutes only by the manner in which it is played—usually with a horsehair bow . The practice of rubbing the strings with this implement is of uncertain age and origin, but it seems to have appeared almost simultaneously (9th–10th century ce) in China , Java , the Arab world, Byzantium, and Europe. As with the other lutes, there is a fundamental division between skin- and wood-bellied instruments. (The former are far more common on the fiddle than the latter, which occur mainly in Europe.) Musically more significant, however, is the division between the stick fiddle, in which the player’s finger does not actually press the string to a fingerboard (but rather slides up and down the string itself), and the fiddle with a fingerboard (for example, the violin ). The Mongolian morin huur (also spelled khuur) is unique in that the two strings are far enough above the fingerboard that most of the pitches are fingered with the face of the nail rather than the end as is common elsewhere in the world. On fiddles without fingerboards (including the Chinese erhu , the Arab rabāb and its Asian relatives, various African fiddles, and the South Asian sarangi ), the player’s left hand is able to move with extreme flexibility up and down the string, thus making the subtlest kind of inflection possible.
Indian street musicians playing (left to right) a harmonium (portable reed organ) and a …
Ben Edwards—Impact Photos/Heritage-Images
As with other lutes, fiddles may have only one string (the Tuareg imzhad) or nearly 40 (the sarangi); on the latter, most of the strings are not directly touched or sounded by the player but vibrate sympathetically when other strings are set into motion, thus giving a fuller resonance . Examples, in addition to the sarangi, include the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle , the Swedish nyckelharpa, and the viola d’amore.
The fiddle bow itself generally is constructed so that the player can tighten or loosen the hair at will; on most stringed instruments the player is able to make immediate changes by manipulating the bow hair with the hand while playing, thus producing various tone qualities. The bow of the violin, perfected in the early 19th century by Franƈois Tourte , has a screw mechanism that cannot be changed while playing. Most bows are actually bow-shaped, but the Tourte bow is made in a compound curve to which considerable tension can be applied, making it possible to apply much pressure to the strings. The bows of the two-stringed fiddles of China (such as the erhu and the jinghu ) and Korea ( haegŭm ) pass between the strings so that both sides of the hair may be used.
Musician playing a haegŭm, a type of fiddle, in a …
Korea Britannica Corp.
The bowing principle has been applied to nonlutes from time to time: the ancient Icelandic fidla is a bowed zither, as is the Korean ajaeng ; the Scandinavian talharpa is a bowed lyre . The musical saw is classified as a bowed idiophone .
Musician playing an ajaeng, a type of bowed zither, in a …
Korea Britannica Corp.
Zithers
Instruments of the zither family, in which the strings lie parallel to and are of the same length as the string bearer (often also the resonator), are especially widely distributed in Eurasia, the Americas, and Africa. The least-complex zither type of instrument is the musical bow, shaped very much like a hunter’s bow. (The musical bow is sometimes classified as a harp.) The bow’s single string is tapped or struck, and the pitch can be varied by varying the tension of the string or by using the player’s mouth as a resonator and varying its size and shape, thus emphasizing different harmonics. It is a favourite instrument in equatorial Africa and Brazil, and it is also common in New Guinea .
The Brazilian musical bow, berimbau.
Wesleyan University Virtual Instrument Museum (www.wesleyan.edu/music/vim)
Aside from the musical bows, there are two important subdivisions of this category. The so-called long-zither family is found only in East Asia; because its characteristic resonating chamber is slightly convex, instruments of this type are sometimes called half-tube zithers. Larger models may be nearly 1 foot (30 cm) wide and more than 6 feet (180 cm) long; there are a varying number of strings frequently provided with movable bridges. These instruments, of which the best-known example is the Japanese koto, seem to derive ultimately from tube zithers made directly from lengths of bamboo . The bamboo prototypes are said to be idiochordic because their strings, part of the bamboo itself, are worked loose from the tough surface of the tube, to which they remain attached at either end. The maker then inserts small bridges at the extremes of the strings. (Various modifications and transformations of this principle exist, such as the bamboo-tube valiha of Madagascar and the sasandu of Roti, Indonesia, in which wire strings replace the idiochordic ones.) All long-bodied, curved-surfaced Asian zithers of the koto type may owe something to this idiochordic principle. In East Asian tradition the most ancient zither is the seven-stringed qin , which seems to have originated in the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 bce). The Japanese wagon and koto , the Korean kayagŭm , and the Chinese zheng fit into this general category.
The other important subdivision of the zither family is the flat zither; in Africa it is usually made either from a hollowed plank over which strings are fastened ( board zither ) or from individual narrow canes lashed together, each having one idiochordic string ( raft zither ). The typical box zither is a rectangular or, more often, trapezoid-shaped hollow box, with strings that are either struck with light hammers or plucked. Examples of the former are the Persian sanṭūr and its Chinese derivative, the yangqin (“foreign zither”); the cimbalom of east-central Europe; and the piano (which is a sort of cimbalom with keyboard ). The most prominent plucked box zither is the Arab qānūn and its various derivatives, including the harpsichord (a plucked zither controlled by a keyboard). In Europe a variety of plucked zithers developed having a fretted fingerboard under one or a few of the strings. In the United States popular box zithers include the hammered dulcimer , notable for its prominence in folk music of the early 20th century, and the autoharp , which is equipped with damper bars that prevent unwanted strings from sounding, making it relatively easy to play chords.
Struck zithers are occasionally termed dulcimers , and unfretted plucked ones psalteries , after European instruments using those names. The Aeolian harps of 18th- and 19th-century Europe, moreover, were not harps at all; rather, they were blown box zithers.
North American hammered dulcimer.
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What was the principle woodused by Thomas Chippendale during the eighteenth century? | Chippendale--The Royalty of Antique Furniture
The Early Years
But in 1754, Mr. Chippendale, as he was known in London, published his detailed collection, Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, a portfolio of fashionable English furniture design templates and one of the first furniture design books. In it Chippendale adapted existing design styles to the fashion of the mid-18th century. Both makers and sellers of furniture rushed to purchase it, making Chippendale a household name. And so pervasive was the influence of his book that the name of Chippendale is often indiscriminately applied to all mid-18th century furniture.
Chippendale created his Director as a catalogue from which his wealthy patrons could choose particular elements for their furniture, which would then be custom made for them in his workshop. It contained 161 plates, reflecting many elements of the Rococo, Chinese, Gothic and Neoclassical styles.
Publication of the Director clearly had a stimulating effect on Chippendale�s career since all his known commissions date from after its publication. However, the Chippendale style didn�t remain within the confines of the Chippendale workshops very long. So popular were the designs with the wealthy class that soon other furniture makers were using Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker�s Director as a pattern book for their shops, too.
In 1754, the same year as the publication of his Director, Chippendale moved to spacious premises in the fashionable paved thoroughfare of St. Martin�s Lane which his firm occupied for the next 60 years. He then formed a partnership with James Rannie, a Scottish merchant, who injected capital into the business. They employed between 40 and 50 artisans. And while the notes in his Director showed Chippendale possessed a sound practical knowledge of timbers and craftsmanship, he most likely, at this stage in his career, would have been responsible for design and management, instead of working at the bench.
A versatile man, he was willing to design and supply wallpapers, carpets, fire grates, decorative ormolu, chimney pieces, even complete room schemes, in addition to furniture. As well as equipping State Apartments with luxurious ensembles, his firm regularly supplied routine articles for the servants� rooms and domestic offices. He offered a complete house furnishing service, undertook repairs, removals, hired out furniture, compiled inventories and was even prepared to direct and furnish funerals for respected customers.
Fine Woods Make the Difference
Chippendale style furniture was generally made of mahogany, imported from the West Indies. Though cabinetmakers occasionally used veneers, they�re not typical of this style. Instead they preferred using solid wood to accommodate the elaborate carving found in this style. And they upholstered the newly introduced camel-back sofas in rich brocades, velvets, and damasks.
While cabinetmakers used Cuban, Dominican and Honduran mahogany during the latter part of the 18th Century, the finest was Cuban, a dense, heavy wood with a close grain. When they carved it, minute white flecks would appear in the wood. Honduran mahogany is lighter in weight and color. The mahoganies from the Dominican Republic and Jamaica fell somewhere between Cuban and Honduran in quality. Flame mahogany refers to the character of the grain, obtained by using the first branch or crotch of the tree. Another much sought-after grain was mottled, often referred to as "plum pudding" mahogany.
Nevertheless, in the Chippendale period in America, Connecticut cabinetmakers used cherry more often than mahogany. During the same period, furniture makers in Bermuda used local cedar which had an orangish hue. Throughout America, furniture makers used softwoods like white pine for the main carcase of furniture, but in England, they favored hardwood such as oak.
By mixing and melding the extravagant Rococo style with the Gothic and Chinese styles, Chippendale came up with a hybrid that displaced the more angular Queen Anne style. From the 1760's, the neoclassical work of architect Robert Adam, with whom he worked on several large projects, influenced him greatly.
Chippendale's Signature Form�The Cabriole Leg
He extensively employed the Queen Anne-style cabriole leg. While there are six different basic Chippendale style legs�the lion�s paw, the ball and claw, the late Chippendale, the Marlborough, the club and the spade�he based three of them on the cabriole shape which is an elegant, serpentine style ending in a distinctive foot. These include the lion�s paw, which ends with a lion paw shaped foot, the club, which is a simple round foot and the ball and claw, which looks like an eagle talon holding a ball. The remaining leg styles are straight�the Marlborough being a plain, square leg, the spade a tapered round leg often with a square or trapezoid foot, and the late Chippendale having a square leg with a square foot. Chippendale�s Gothic and Chinese influenced designs had straight or tapering legs, tracery carving and fret and lattice work.
Block-front furniture�where the center front recedes in a shallow concave curve between slightly convex ends�seems to have been unique to North America. Chippendale never illustrated furniture of this type in his Director. Furniture connoisseurs believe that this style originated the area of Boston, Massachusetts, and assumed a Chippendale character.
Another characteristically American furniture form was the highboy. English cabinetmakers abandoned the chest-on-stand, of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, for the chest-on-chest where the lower section is supported on low bracket feet. Furniture makers supported the highboy, known back then as a high chest of drawers, on high cabriole legs, the top being surmounted by a swan-neck broken pediment sometimes known in America as a "bonnet." The center of the pediment was usually embellished with a cartouche showing the family�s crest, except in American pieces this is smaller. It was customary to display these elaborately carved pieces in the drawing room, even though they were designed to hold personal belongings. The lowboy, or the lower part of the highboy, was usually elaborately embellished with carving and sometimes stood by itself.
Chippendale chairs often exhibit features of Queen Anne or early Georgian furniture. Often, American Chippendale chairs had Queen Anne back-splats or kidney-shaped seats. American cabinetmakers used doweled through tenon construction, even in sophisticated furniture, up to the late 18th century. In England this feature had died out in all but country furniture by the early 18th century. Of course, there are exceptions, so that identification is dependent upon more subtle points such as the less extreme line of the American back leg as compared with the English examples which are less vertical. However, in America, cabriole legs tended to be somewhat curlier than in England.
Chinese Chippendale
Another style of furnishing that�s often associated with the name of Chippendale is the so-called "Chinese Chippendale" or Chinoiserie, which remained immensely popular, especially for bedrooms, despite the rise of Neoclassicism. Japanning, or painted decoration sometimes imitating lacquer, became the last word in chic.
While he based his work upon the general Queen Anne and Georgian characteristics of sober design and thoroughly fine construction, retaining many of the early 18th-century details, Chippendale introduced many other forms. Though collectors identify his name with the extensive variety of chair designs�from geometrical to Chinese, lattice, or sumptuously carved and interlaced forms, his workshop�s output also included desks, mirror frames, hanging bookshelves, settees, china cabinets and bookcases�featuring fretted cornices and latticework glazed doors�and tables with delicately fretted galleries and distinctive cluster-column legs of Gothic inspiration.
Noted Makers of Chippendale Furniture
Records dating from before the American Revolution prove that there were many skilled craftsmen in the country. In Boston, for example, there were 150 known cabinetmakers, while Philadelphia had equally as many. In the South, craftsmen-slaves produced good work. It�s not surprising, therefore, to discover that many of the cabinetmakers who produced American Chippendale furniture weren�t of British descent. George Gostelowe who worked in Philadelphia was Swedish while Andrew Gautier was a Huguenot.
Some of the most remarkable makers of Chippendale furniture were Quakers, for example the Goddards and the Townsends of Newport, Rhode Island Island, and William Savery of Philadelphia, Pennyslvania. In the history of American colonial furniture, the Townsends and the Goddards are truly remarkable for the quality of their work and for the number of them of different generations who made furniture�altogether some 20 individuals from three generations of the Townsends, including Christopher and his sons John and Job and his grandsons Job junior and Edmund were well known, while of the Goddards the best known was John.
Reproductions
It was the practice in the mid-18th Century to purchase a finely made piece of furniture or decorative object and then have copies made at a lower price to increase its number. These, as with modern reproductions, of the Chippendale style were often hand carved but don�t have the depth and detail of carving that genuine Chippendale furniture has. Nye recommended that collectors look for evidence of craftsmanship�hand planing, hand sawing, handmade nails, as well as shrinkage in the wood. In addition, reproduction pieces will have been constructed of younger mahogany which isn�t as dense and is grainier than the slow-growth wood used to make 18th-century pieces.
High Prices for Quality
Thomas Chippendale, who�s furniture designs today command stratospheric prices, had to, on more than one occasion, fight for payment on his commissions. Today, collectors should be wary of any piece of Chippendale furniture that doesn�t have a four to six-figure price tag, especially for pieces made in Philadelphia, according to Nye. "If it�s not appropriately priced, the dealer knows that it�s not 18th century," said Nye. "A reputable dealer will give a written guarantee that the piece is authentic and the guarantee will include a detailed description of the piece and its provenance. Watch out for the �too-good-to-be-true� price."
Nye also noted that while the market is strong for exceptional items, many Chippendale pieces are undocumented and unsigned, so collectors need to look at form and aesthetic attributes. "Many American cabinetmakers borrowed liberally from Chippendale�s designs, so their pieces weren�t as pure as English ones," he added.
The Chippendale Society, founded in England in 1963, owns an important collection of furniture and documents, usually on display at Temple Newsam House, Leeds, England.
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What is the name of the bell used by 'Lloyds of London'? | Old Furniture Book: Chapter 3
CHAPTER III.
CHIPPENDALE.
IN studying the various periods into which different makes of furniture may be divided, the accentuating of one point, say of ornaments or the structural peculiarities, is noted, not as being sharply defined, but as being a gradual growth. Chippendale did not originate at first. Indeed, he hardly adapted, for the East India trade had brought to market Chinese designs which he used, and French furniture was so popular that he copied bodily in his book such designs as pleased him, although the term "French chairs," as employed at this time, referred to their being upholstered and not to the style or decoration. Thomas Johnson published a book about the middle of the eighteenth century, in which was a medley of French, Gothic and Chinese designs, many of which have a strong family likeness to Chippendale's. There was also Matthias Lock, who began to publish his books as early as 1740, dedicated to such "nobility as would stand for him." These books included one on Pier Frames, Girandoles, Tables, etc', also, one on Ornaments and Sconces, all of which were characteristic of what was considered desirable at this time, and which style Chippendale followed too. Ince & Mayhew published what they called a "Universal System of Household Furnishing." They made many designs, over three hundred, and not only set forth the fine taste in which they were conceived, but gave the workmen directions for executing them. They positively ran wild on "Chinese taste," their fretwork and combination of Chinese and Gothic being perfectly extravagant. Like Chippendale they designed terms, or as we should call them pedestals, for busts toilet-tables, book-cases, many mirror-frames, and chairs most intricate in their carved backs, with ribbon-work, scrolls, and elaborate patterns in brass nails.
Figure 18. Kitchen, Wayside Inn, Sudbury, Mass.
What were known as "overdoors" were very carefully designed by Chippendale, Ince & Mayhew, Robert Manwaring, and later by the Adam Brothers. These overdoors were the wood or leadwork into which glass was set, to go above front doors.
William Halfpenny, carpenter and architect, as he called himself, published many works on Furniture, Temples, Garden Seats, Windows, Doors, Obelisks, etc., beginning in 1719. Among the many books are these two, "Twenty New Designs of Chinese Lattice and Other Works for Staircases, Gates, Pailings, etc.," and also, "Chinese and Gothic Architecture." So fond were the Halfpennys (for the son was later associated with the father) of Chinese work that they seldom missed an opportunity of putting in a Chinese figure. On their ceilings, above the chimney-pieces everywhere that decoration could be crowded in, � one is apt to find a Chinese mandarin with pigtail and umbrella.
The originality of Chippendale soon spoke for itself. He worked in so many styles, and has so grown in estimation, that his name is made to cover the greatest variety of designs. When he first came before the public his work met with much adverse criticism, Isaac Ware, a contemporary, writes of him thus: �
� "it is our misfortune at this time to see an unmeaning scrawl of C's inverted and looped together, taking the place of Greek and Roman elegance even in our most expensive decorations."
But the early extravagances of his designs were soon modified, and even they were touched with a grace which made them pleasing to the eye while wholly extravagant. His better and more familiar work is to-day the model upon which cabinet-workers rely, no one having arisen who can improve on his designs. Thousands of pieces of furniture are called by his name, both in this country and England, which were not even contemporary with this maker and bear no resemblance either to his designs or to work known to be his.
Figure 19. Chippendale Chairs
About the time that Chippendale came on the field (1750) it had become the custom for architects and designers to publish catalogues of their designs. Thomas Chippendale, a progressive business man, was not behind his contemporaries, so in 1754 he published his catalogue, which he called "The Gentleman's and Cabinet-Maker's Director." It was a very successful publication, passed through several editions, and brought him added name and fame. It sold for �3 13s. 6d., and had fine copper-plate engravings. The title page of Chippendale's "Director," specifies designs for the following pieces of furniture:
"Chairs, Sofas, Beds and Couches, China-Tables, Bason-Tables and Tea-Kettle Stands, Frames for Marble Slabs, Bureau-Dressing-Tables, and Library-Tables, Library Bookcases, Organ for Private Rooms or Churches, Desks and Bookcases, Dressing and Writing-Tables with Bookcases, Toilets, Cabinets, and Clothes-Presses.
China-Cases. China-Shelves, and Book-Shelves. Candle-Stands and Terms for Busts, Stands for China Jars and Pedestals, Cisterns for Water, Lanthorns. and Chandeliers, Fire-Screens, Brackets and Clock-Cases, Pier-Glasses and Table-Frames, Girandoles Chimney-Pieces and Picture-Frames, Stove-Grates, Boarders. Frets, Chinese-Railing and Brass-Work for Furniture."
At this period the best room or "saloon" was wainscotted chair high, and the remainder prepared for wall-paper, or battened for hangings of silk or tapestry. Chippendale drew many beautiful designs, which he calls "borders for paper-hangings," and which were used as finishings at the top of the paper. Some of them were also employed as patterns for carving, or work in stucco painted and gilded.
It must be remembered that Chippendale was par excellence a carver of wood, and so we find him working almost exclusively in "solid mahogany," as we have come to call it, which wood had been introduced into England about the time of Raleigh (1595), though it was not used to any extent as a material for furniture until about twenty-five years before Chippendale published his book. Indeed it seems to have been used in America for this purpose quite as soon as in England, although there are in that country a few detached pieces of mahogany furniture made late in 1600, showing that some wood had been imported before Raleigh caused it to be brought in more freely, along with "tabac" and the potato, which latter vegetable was first grown at Sir Walter's estate called "Youghal," near Cork, Ireland. Sir Walter did not use the new wood in his own beautiful house, but had splendidly carved oak chimney-pieces and furniture made by men whom he brought from Flanders for that purpose.
At the time Chippendale published his book he was about forty years old, as it is generally, supposed that he was born about 1710. Worcester is given as the place of his birth, and authorities state that other members of his family practiced the art of wood-carving before him, but the information about his early history is very scant. His shop was in St. Martin's Lane, London, and he employed as many as a hundred men, so it is rather strange that more authentic specimens of his handiwork have not survived. While mahogany was the wood which he used chiefly for his furniture, he employed a close-set pine for carving many of the beautiful floriated mirror-frames for which he was so justly celebrated. Scrolls, flower and leaves, falling water, and a particular bird of his own fancy, with a long and prominent beak, were employed in the decoration of these mirrors, which were richly gilded, the ornament being entirely of wood without the addition of porcelain plaques or metal work, which was such a feature of the French furniture of this period, the influence of which is noticeable in many of Chippendale's designs. It is true that he did not carry out some of his designs, notably such pieces as the state beds, etc., after the style of Louis XV. One glance at the "Director" will show how impossible these beds were. The top, supported on posts, rises like Ossa upon Pelion piled, with layers or terraces of carved figures of children, rock-work, and everything else, the whole crowned by groups consisting of several figures and animals.
Figure 20. Chippendale Chair
His designs for bedposts show the French influence, being fluted and wreathed with flowers. Many stand flat on the ground without ornamental feet, and are plain on top to support a canopy or tester.
Most successful of all the furniture designed by this maker are the chairs, many of them decorated with graceful scroll-work and delicate garlands of flowers, though the styles with which we are most familiar are massive, heavy pieces with carving upon them, and either with or without solid underbraces. A unique piece is shown in Figure 20. This chair is thought to have been imported into this country about 1760, but I should suppose it to be a very much earlier example of Chippendale's work, while he was still content to copy, for the front legs show the bear's paw while the rear ones are the familiar Dutch foot.
It belongs to the South Carolina College, at Columbia, S. C. and was given to it by General Preston about 1850. In his letter of presentation he calls it "the quasi throne of the Colonial Governors of South Carolina," but beyond this its history is unknown. This chair is of solid mahogany as most of these chairs were, and shows about the edges of the carving traces of the chisel-marks, a not at all unusual feature in these old hand-carved pieces. The splat (i. e. the central part of the back) is plainly pierced. The term "cabriole", which we apply now to the leg, in Chippendale's time referred to a chair having a stuffed back. It has generally been supposed that Chippendale was the originator of the ball-and-claw foot, which is of two varieties, but he copied this style of decoration directly from the Dutch. The foot in this chair is what is known as the "bear's paw", so called from the fur which is rudely carved above the foot. The other style being the "bird's claw." The chairs with cabriole legs were called bandy or bow-legged when they first came into use, about 1700, which is also about the time that easy-chairs were first used in bedrooms. Up to that date chairs had been rather severe and of the nature of stools and settles. As writing became better learned there was a demand for dainty and ornamental desks for ladies' use, as well as library desks for men, and bookcases were also needed.
In Chippendale's book, "The Gentleman's and Cabinet-Maker's Director", while there are designs given for every imaginable piece of furniture, there is not a single illustration of the ball-and-claw or hoof foot; yet it is known by authentic pieces, coming down as late as 1780, and preserved in the South Kensington Museum, London, that such work was done by him. Further than this, we are used to consider mahogany as pre-eminently the wood he worked in, yet in this same guide this wood is mentioned by him but once.
"Six designs of chairs for Halls' Passages, or Summer-houses. They may be made either of mahogany or any other wood, and painted, and have commonly wooden seats."
All this fine solid mahogany furniture made by Chippendale, and by which his name is so firmly perpetuated, was regarded by him as merely commercial work. What he really took a pride in was very fussy, covered with upholstery, with an abundance of carving and gilding, and even metal work on the exposed parts. Rosewood was used by him also, with elaborate carving which was sometimes embellished with gilt, or, in cases where great elegance was demanded, by brass, copper, or silver mounts richly chased. He turned out many pieces of soft wood japanned or painted, and decorated also with gilt and colours.
Little of this furniture ever came to America. It was made to order for the nobility and gentry, and its immense cost rendered it possible only for the very wealthy. Among the two hundred copper-plate designs given in Chippendale's book, quite a large portion of them are in what is known as "Chinese taste," which had taken the world of fashion by storm. Sir William Chambers, who had travelled in China, is given the credit for having introduced this style into furniture and decoration, which was further adapted by Chippendale and other makers, but it was already known before Chambers's day. Both Chambers and Robert Adam, the best architects of their day, were Scotchmen. Chambers was born in 1726, and from his earliest years had a love for the sea. This induced him to make a voyage to Canton, where he made innumerable notes and sketches of furniture, buildings, and gardens, which he made full use of later. In 1759 he published his book "The Decorative Part of Civil Architecture," which was most successful. He was appointed drawing-master to the Prince of Wales, afterward George III., and managed to retain the royal favor for the rest of his life. He not only designed many houses for wealthy patrons and altered many others, but he was afterward appointed landscape gardener at Kew, and knighted.
The older Chinese furniture which one sees in Europe dates from the eighteenth century, and was made for and imported by the Dutch; hence the medley of styles, Elaborate bedsteads, tables, and cabinets were decorated with ivory figures in relief. There is furniture of this description in the United States, splendidly carved out of cedar and decorated with hundreds of tiny figures of men and women carved from ivory and set on. Such a piece is shown in Figure 21, the original of which is at Memorial Hall, Philadelphia.
Not only was Chinese furniture in wood and wicker brought from the Orient, but the Dutch, whom we have come to look upon as ready imitators, followed Oriental styles not only in furniture but in pottery as well. Chippendale specifies nine of his designs for chairs in Chinese style as proper for a lady's dressing-room, especially if it were hung with an India paper. They were likewise recommended for Chinese temples. These chairs commonly have cane bottoms with loose cushions, but if required may be stuffed and have brass nails.
As early as 1711 Addison comments on the motley confusion heaped up in a lady's library, where there were few books but "Munkies, Mandarins, and Scaramouches" without end; and to keep these ornaments in countenance was also furniture made after Chinese designs.
Besides these styles Chippendale also used a modification of the Gothic, notably in such places as the doors of cabinets, or the doors and the tops of bookcases. Horace Walpole, in his little Gothic villa at Strawberry Hill, had awakened a still further taste for a revival of Gothic designs; and everybody, to be in the mode, had their cabinet doors and bookcases with embattled tops and Gothic tracery. Of all the styles Chippendale adopted and adapted, this one left the least enduring trace. More successful were his bookcases based on Louis XV. style. They are of mahogany and have the rococo ornaments peculiar to this style. This work shows off gilding admirably. These bookcases with drawers and desk, as well as the bureaus, were used in bedrooms which were often boudoirs and studies as well. So a receptacle which could be quickly locked was quite necessary.
Figure 21. Carved Cedar Table
In Chippendale's catalogue are directions given for many small articles which were much in demand and highly fashionable when the book was written, but for which the present day and generation has no use. Such were the charming little tea-caddies with brass handles and locks, stands for candles, or china jars or animals with which the drawing-rooms of those days were crowded. There were also carved brackets, decorated with the bird we have spoken of before, and exquisite foliated designs making graceful adornments for any room, and often neglected in sales where other and better-known examples of this period bring fabulous prices. When carved in pine these brackets are always gilded, but occasionally they may be obtained in walnut and mahogany.
The designs for such pieces are largely Original with Chippendale, for their use had just become needed, and we must remember besides that it was Chippendale's misfortune to live in a transition period, and that the rococo which preceded him, and by which his first work was influenced, died very hard. Indeed his first style might be called rococo, and the designs swelled and bulged, were covered with meaningless and fantastic ornament, and ran riot through all styles and countries. It had for its chief merit the fact that it was executed with great delicacy and beauty and had a grace about it which was always pleasing. The two sides of a design are seldom alike, and the merit of such pieces is due purely to the skill of the carver. Yet it was under his skilful hand that later the beauty of simplicity was once more proved, and he sought classic models for his inspiration. Speaking himself of designs for French chairs he says, "for greater variety the feet and elbows are different." The moulding around the bottom of the edge of the rails also comes under his consideration, and he mentions Spanish leather or damask as good material for covering chairs.
He it was who exemplified the principle that each part of a piece of furniture should be adapted to its use, and that overloading an article with ornament did not necessarily add to its beauty. After his rococo period came the rage for Chinese designs, and lastly the plain and solid style with which we are familiar.
Two very handsome chairs are shown in Figure 22, the side chair showing an abundance of exquisite carving on the knees and in the splat. It is wonderful what variety he encompassed working in the small space and confined shape of this part of a chair. It will be observed that in all the chairs shown no two splats are alike.
Figure 22. Chippendale Chairs
All the construction of the Chippendale furniture of the last period is remarkably solid and of the first order, and the wood is of a dark and rich mahogany. The best pieces of this period are those in which the originality of the designer had full play, and when he was not influenced by either the French or Oriental taste. The furniture of this period, fine and free in design, was well adapted to the fashions and mode of life of the people for whom it was made. He retained the roomy character of the Dutch furniture, which was needed for the style of dress affected by both sexes. The Spanish furniture of oak, with cane work or leather, introduced by Catherine of Braganza, was not the only innovation brought to England by that lady, for Evelyn says in his "Diary" for May 30, 1662,
"The Queene ariv'd with a traine of Portuguese ladies in their monstrous fardingals or guard-infantas � Her Majesty in the same habit, her foretop long and curiously turn'd aside."
In the next forty years fashions changed, � they changed slowly in those days, � and among other things laid at the door of "Good Queen Anne" may be added the hoop-skirt. Flowered and damask gowns were worn over it, and in the "Spectator" of 1712 a number of gowns are advertised for sale, all the property of Mr. Peter Paggen, of Love Lane, near Eastcheap, London. Among them is an "Isabella-coloured kincob gown, flowered with green and gold; a purple and gold Atlas gown with a scarlet and gold Atlas petticoat edged with silver."
A little later in the century a lady's gown was all ruffles and flounces, in fact "every part of the garment was in curl, and caused a lady of fashion to look like one of those animals which in the country we call a Friesland hen."
The reigns of the first two Georges had Hogarth for their illustrator, and in the set of drawings called "Marriage � la Mode" we see the hoods, skirts without trains, unruffled and often accompanied by a sack, or something between a cloak and a gown, and called a mantua. During the reign of George I. there was no queen to set the fashion, so it changed little. In 1735 Caroline, queen of George II. on the king's birthday appeared in a "beautiful suit made of silk of the produce of Georgia, and the same was acknowledged to excel that of any other country." The ladies who accompanied her wore flowered silks of various colours, of a large pattern, but mostly with a white ground, with wide short sleeves and short petticoats. These gowns were often pinned up behind in fantastic fashion, and generally quite narrow. It was also � la mode to wear gold or silver nets on the petticoats, and to face and guard the robes with them and even to wear them on sleeves. Lady Harcourt, a famous beauty of Caroline's court, wore on one occasion a "white ground rich silk, embossed with gold and silver, and fine coloured flowers of a large pattern."
What we know as a morning-gown they called, in the middle of the eighteenth century a nightgown, and we read of a "garnet-coloured lustring nightgown with a tobine stripe of green and white, trimmed with floss of the same colour and lined with straw-coloured lutestring." A gay garment truly.
These were the styles in vogue when Chippendale began to design and make furniture for his patrons, whom he desired to see among the most fashionable. While the ladies were so gay, the gentlemen were quite as elegant, with three-cornered hats, wigs and patches, embroidered waistcoats, with stiffened skirts to their coats, knee-breeches, silk stockings, and snuff-boxes. Such modish people could not bestow themselves comfortably in chairs with arms, so chairs without arms, and tabourets, as they were called, were quite necessary for comfort. The fashionable ailment of the day, for men at least was gout, and we find designs for "gouty stools," in which the top could be raised or lowered as best suited the needs of the patient. His designs for sofas made these articles of great size; they ran from six feet nine inches to ten feet long. His ideas as to decoration seem amusing, for he mentions that the carvings on the sofa should be emblematic of Watchfulness, Assiduity, and Rest.
Wine-coolers for which Chippendale made many designs, sometimes had brass bands around them which had the effect of making them look very heavy and clumsy. Coolers of this style were round or oval, but some of better design were oblong or square. Numbers of beautiful little tea-tables, or tea-poys, as they were often called, were also made by Chippendale, and what he called in his book of designs "candle stands" were no doubt sometimes put to this use, though their height � he says they should run from three feet six inches to four feet six inches, rendered the taller ones awkward. Figure 23 shows a very beautiful example of one of these stands richly carved. The post is three feet seven and a half inches high, and the hexagonal top has a standing rim of very delicate carving. The little tea-stand next to it has also a slight rim, and some carving on the pedestal and feet. The music-stand is not a usual piece, and has a cupboard and drawer to contain the sheets. All three pieces are of mahogany and belong to the collection at Memorial Hall, Philadelphia.
Many of these tables or stands made their way to America, for tea-drinking was a great resource for the ladies. As early as 1720 Bohea tea was selling at Philadelphia for thirty shillings a pound. Its great cost prohibited its common use, and it was not until much later that it became common, so the greatest treat that could be offered to a neighbour was a drink of tea, particularly if the proud housewife could serve it out of a tiny porcelain cup without a handle, such cups being almost as great a rarity as the tea.
The little rim which set up above the edge of the table was intended to prevent the tea furniture from falling off. These tables are occasionally seen in America in their simpler forms. There are special ones made to order for customers by Chippendale, which are seldom allowed to leave the families for which they were originally made. There are two such tea-tables made in "Chinese taste" with fretwork legs, sides to the table, and the little standing rim to protect the china. One of these tables was made for the great-grandmother of the present owner, by Chippendale, and has come down in a state of perfect preservation. It is held in England, is thirty-nine and three-eighths inches high, the top is thirty-two by twenty-one and five-eighths inches.
Chippendale, in his book, gives very elaborate directions for preparing the wood from which this fretwork carving was to be made. In order to have it as strong as possible he advises the use of three thin sheets of wood glued together, the grain to run in opposite directions, and the fret carving to be made in this. I-le particularly recommends this use of glued wood for such pieces as China-cases, which were largely fretwork with pagodas on top and hanging ornaments at the sides.
Figure 23. Chippendale Candle, Tea and Music Stands
Card-tables were also made in great varieties and numbers by this same maker, and his graceful designs were copied by other and less well-known makers, so that these tables, at least in "Chippendale style," are not uncommon. His card-tables were of two styles, with leaves which folded together on top when not in use, and a plain oblong table without leaves. As card-playing was one of the most fashionable pursuits of the day in England, which fashion was followed with becoming promptitude by us. It is seen that many of these tables were needed to accommodate the gay world. Those most esteemed were the kind with leaves, which could seat a larger party than the oblong ones, and which, when not in use, could be folded together and set against the wall. Both styles, when made by Chippendale, were decorated only with carving. During the last half of the eighteenth century there were probable few families who did not own at least one card-table.
Gambling at cards had always been an amusement at courts, and there were many games in vogue. Ombre had been introduced in the previous century by Catherine of Braganza, and quadrille was another favorite game of hers. Pepys under date of February 17, 1666-7, alludes to the fact that Catherine played not only on week days but on Sundays as well.
"This evening, going to the Queene's side to see the ladies, I did find the Queene, the Duchesse of York, and another or two at cards, with the room full of great ladies and men, which I was amazed at to see of a Sunday, having not believed it, but contrarily, flatly denied the same a little while since to my cosen Roger Pepys."
The next reign, that of James II., saw basset introduced, and it retained its popularity through several reigns and was still the mode when Queen Anne occupied the throne. It broke "into her hours by day as well as by night," and the drain on the privy purse was excessive, for the queen was a good loser.
The Cocoa-Tree Club, at No. 64 St. James Street, London, was, during Queen Anne's reign, a regular gambling-den. Walpole says:
"Within this week there has been a cast at hazard at the Cocoa-Tree, the difference of which amounted to �180,000."
By George II.'s reign cards were universal. The preface to the "Court Gamster" says:
"Gaming has become so much the fashion that he who in company should be ignorant of the games in vogue would be reckoned low-bred and hardly fit for conversation."
The Princess Amelia Sophia, daughter of George II., was an inveterate snuff-taker as well as gambler. Horace Walpole, who was often invited to make one at her card parties, has left many graphic pictures of her. At Bath the card-tables were one of the chief attractions, and the sums of money staked during a single night seem prodigious. But of all the Georges, George IV. had the most reckless propensities, Before he was twenty-one years old he had lost �800,000, one of his boon companions being that confirmed gamester, Charles James Fox.
Almack's was a famous gambling-club, opened in 1764. The gamesters began by pulling off their velvet and embroidered coats, putting on frieze garments, and pulling leather sleeves over their lace ruffles. High-crowned, broad-brimmed straw hats were worn to shade their eyes from the light, to keep their hair from being tumbled, and perhaps to conceal their emotions.
Figure 24. Chippendale Card-Table
George II. was still on the throne when Chippendale published his "Director," and in such a gambling age it is no wonder that he made many card-tables in order to please his patrons. Not alone at court were they in demand, but one has only to read such transcripts of the times as Jane Austen's or Miss Burney's novels to find that nearly every country family sat down of an evening to a quiet hand at cards. Following at a distance, but as well as they were able, the fashions set at court, Americans too played cards, and Chippendales tables were sent across the ocean and were copied by colonial cabinet-makers, who by this time had become very successful workers themselves. Contemporary letters, which describe the propensity of the ladies to play loo all day as well as all night were, no doubt, too extravagant. On the great plantations at the South, gambling was said to be a favorite diversion, and piquet, �cart�, faro, hazard, and basset were played, as well as less exciting games. Besides the tables with plain polished surfaces, some were covered with a green cloth. Others had pockets to hold the counters, which were old silver Spanish pieces or were made of mother-of-pearl. These tables were valued highly, the early ones being walnut, the later mahogany. In some of the inventories already quoted mention is made of various styles of playing-cards which were imported by the gross, as well as "pearl fish," which were the fashionable counters.
In Figure 24 a very beautiful Chippendale card-table is shown. It is of mahogany, richly carved on the knees, and with a heavy carved moulding. It is unusual in having five legs, one of which moves out to sup. port the second half of the top. The feet are ball-and-claw, and within the lid is lined with cloth, has depressions for counters, and also four flat panels, one at each corner, where the candle-sticks stood. It belongs to Miss Sarah Frost, Rochester, N. Y., and has been in her family over mo years.
Most of Chippendale's furniture presents certain characteristics that are easily mastered. First may be mentioned the ball-and-claw foot, and the cabriole leg which he adopted from the Dutch, and which he used so freely before he introduced the straight leg. Then the backs of his chairs are quite distinctive, whether the splats run up and down, or become cross-braces, or are elaborated into very ornamental ribbon-work. The top bar is generally extended on each end into what, for a better name, we will call "ears."
Figure 25. Chippendale Marble-Topped Table
Chippendale never used inlay on any of his pieces, preferring to produce the decoration by carving. In his very ornate carvings we have mentioned the long-billed bird, the falling-water effect, and the familiar ribbon-work which is often introduced into backs with such good effect. There are a number of patterns for carving shown in the designs in his book, and used by him over and over again, with which we have become well acquainted. Little carved bands were quite universally employed to decorate the rims of his card-tables, and in his fine chairs the front bar of the seat often had a shell or other ornament carved upon it. The very finest chairs by this maker are seldom found in America, though furniture was imported freely. In Smith's "History of New York" for the year 1756, two years after Chippendale published his work, there is the following statement:
"In the City of New York, through our intercourse with Europeans, we follow the London fashions, though by the time we adopt them they become disused in England. Our affluence during the late French war introduced a degree of luxury in tables dress, and furniture with which we were before unacquainted. But still we are not so gay a people as our neighbours at Boston, and several Southern colonies."
This is the first time possibly that the descendants of the Pilgrims have gone on record as a "gay people."
When the seats of Chippendale's pieces are stuffed, it will be noticed that the material is usually drawn over the rails, and sometimes adorned with gilt-headed nails set in a pattern or straight. See Figure 19. He says in his catalogue that he considers this the handsomer fashion; but in some cases, where the seats were covered with set work or crewel work, they were set in the wooden frame. There are two such chairs made by Chippendale and given by the fourth Duke of Marlborough in 1790 to an ancestor of the present owner. The seats of these ribbon-backed chairs were worked by the famous Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and are still in a fresh and blooming state of preservation. These arm-chairs are very handsomely carved, and rest on large ball-and-claw feet. The carving is not confined to the knee alone, but runs down the leg to the end of the claw. These are owned in England.
That quantities of this furniture are changing hands all the time is evident from reading the records of sales which go on at all the large auction rooms in Europe. It is safe to say that fully half of it comes to America, and that it is possible to buy here choice specimens of the works of all the famous cabinet-makers. Even the well-known Battle Abbey has been despoiled, and while much of the furniture was Flemish and German, and not of particularly good quality, there were also some pieces of both Chippendale and Adam Bros., the latter being represented by several mirrors. Chippendale chairs of undoubted authenticity bring easily at these sales $200 each, while one of distinctly inferior quality sold for $335, owing to the authenticity of its history.
At a sale of furniture held within the year at Christie's, in London, a genuine surprise was furnished when a set of mahogany Chippendale chairs brought $5,225. A few weeks later two chairs, apparently out of the same set, appeared at another sale, also, at Christie's and about an hour before the sale they were withdrawn. These chairs, says the catalogue, were given by a lady to the vicar and church wardens of a parish church in Lincolnshire. The lady died, and her executors held that they were lent, not given, and the sale was stopped until the rightful ownership should be established by law. But there was also in the catalogue still another chair which was said to belong to the same set, yet which was of a different wood and more boldly carved. This chair brought but a little more than $100. The removal of the two previously mentioned chairs from the sale, and the whole mystery which surrounds them, has given rise to wild rumours, and all kinds of reports are circulated which makes one very cautious about buying at auctions. In fact catalogues at auctions are little to be relied on, as one will often find pieces heavy with inlay, or of undoubted American make, boldly marked Chippendale, while Sheraton is made to shoulder the baldest imitations of his style and design. It must always be a matter of regret that furniture-makers so rarely signed their work. If they had realized that individual specimens would bring as much as fine paintings, they would not have left their work clouded with an uncertain pedigree.
Figure 26. Chippendale Chair-Backs and Mirror-Frame
Chippendale did not make sideboards. He made side or serving-tables but the sideboard was a later growth, due largely to three cabinet-makers who succeeded Chippendale, � Shearer, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton, all of whom, like Chippendale, published catalogues of their designs. The nearest approach which Chippendale made to a sideboard was a table with a shallow drawer for linen. He did not make any of those pieces of furniture with drawers and cupboards which are so often called by his name.
It may be seen that on Chippendale's title-page he refers to "frames for marble slabs." These were generally tables, � side or serving tables we should call them, � and they were elaborately carved on legs and edges. Nor were they unknown in this country, for inventories as early as the middle of the eighteenth century refer to sideboard tables with marble tops, as well as marble-topped parlor tables.
In Figure 25 is shown an unusually elegant marble-topped parlor table. The profuse carving is in Chippendale's very best style, not flamboyant, but elegant and graceful. On each of the long sides is a grotesque mask, and the legs, carved over the knees with shells and flowers in low relief, end in a ball-and-paw, the hair on the foot being most delicately carved. The wood is dark, rich mahogany; the marble top is of brown tint with light veinings. This fine piece is at Memorial Hall, Philadelphia.
To sum up, then, briefly, Chippendale's peculiarities may be expressed as follows: �
He used the ball-and-claw foot with the cabriole leg: this was succeeded by the straight leg.
The tops of his chairs are almost invariably prolonged into little ear-like ornaments.
He never used inlay on his furniture.
He used carving as ornament, generally worked in solid mahogany for his larger pieces, and in a close-set pine which was gilded for his smaller and ornamental pieces.
Many of the gold-frame looking-glasses have the glass pane divided by delicate ornament or pilasters. This was to save expense, as in this way several small panes of glass could be used instead of one large and more costly one. The glass made in England was in very thin plates, and the bevel was ground by hand, so that it followed every twist and turn in the convolutions of the frame which rested on it.
Strength, beauty, and adaptability to the use for which the piece was made, were the watchwords for Chippendale's most characteristic furniture. It is true that during the early years of his work there was a large demand for everything French, to which he catered, yet he in time reversed this and caused the attention of the world to be drawn to England as the centre from which could be obtained the best designs in furniture. While Chippendale sought for his effects largely in his use of carving and gilding, although we find little of this latter work in the pieces seen in America, he also took the greatest pains to select brilliant and elegant brocades, wrought stuffs, and hand-worked material for the upholstered parts of his furniture. Nor did he neglect brass nails as a means of brightening up a piece, though both Hepplewhite and Sheraton used them more than he did. None of the furniture which we so fondly ascribed to his name is from the designs figured in his book, his use of brilliant metal mounts is practically unknown among us. He himself admired the beautiful Louis XIV. ribbon ornament which he lavished on so many chair backs, and he says "If I may speak without vanity, they are the best I have ever seen, or perhaps have ever been made."
Like his fellow-craftsmen, Chippendale made cases for tall clocks, and some of them are odd and not in the least graceful or beautiful. One will have for ornament on the extreme top a crowing cock, life size, and rampant, the base on which he stands being a mass of ugly carving. Another has what might be called a sunburst, with a star in its midst; others have allegorical figures. His designs for mantel clocks were much prettier and in better taste everyway. He used walnut as well as mahogany for the cases, and sometimes Chinese panels, or panels painted with nymphs and goddesses, called in "French taste," were inserted. These decorations served, besides, to ornament the fire-screens which were popular pieces of furniture. He made designs for chimney-pieces or "over-mantels." These were filled in with glass. Chippendale says:
"Chimney-pieces require great care in the execution. The embossments must be very bold, the foliage neatly laid down, and the whole properly relieved. The top may be gilt, as likewise sonic other ornamental parts'"
Knowing the sturdy, plain characteristics of Chippendale's furniture as we see it, this constant reference to gilt and the mass of over-decoration seems quite out of place. His beds were called Canopy beds, Chinese beds, Dome beds, Gothic beds with flat testers, Field beds, Tent beds, Sofa beds with canopies, and the usual high four-posters.
Many beautiful clothes-presses were made by Chippendale, either chest like affairs on four legs, or having drawers below and wardrobe above, some of these latter bearing a strong resemblance to the French pieces from which they were copied.
Scant mention is made of Chippendale, in contemporary literature, but he has the distinction accorded to but few of having a large class of furniture design called by his name, instead of being designated by the period in which it was made. Mr. Clouston, in his book on "Chippendale Furniture," says that there were two Chippendales, father and son, and alludes to the author of the "Director" as "the elder Mr. Chippendale". The son, like many sons of great men, seems to have lost his identity in the reputation which has been gradually gathering about his father's name. He seems to have produced nothing of moment, and the family has sunk again into the obscurity from which one man had the genius to raise it.
Click the book image to turn to the next Chapter.
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Where was British Prime Minister Spencer Percival when he was assassinated in 1812? | The Assassination of the Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval | The Public Domain Review
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The Assassination of the Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval
Only once has a British Prime Minister been assassinated. Two hundred years ago, on the 11th May 1812, John Bellingham shot dead the Rt. Hon. Spencer Perceval as he entered the House of Commons. David C. Hanrahan tells the story.
Illustration of the shooting, artist unknown. (Source: Norris Museum)
On Monday 11 May, 1812, an unremarkable, anonymous man, just over forty years of age, made his way to the Houses of Parliament. The man had become a frequent visitor there over the previous few weeks, sitting in the gallery of the House of Commons and carefully examining the various members of the government through his opera glasses. At 5.00 p.m. on this particular day he walked into the lobby that led to the House of Commons and sat near the fireplace. No-one could have known that he was carrying, concealed on his person, two loaded pistols.
As it was a fine evening Mr. Spencer Perceval, the Tory First Lord of the Treasury, or Prime Minister, had decided to dispense with his carriage and walk from No. 10, Downing Street, to the Houses of Parliament. He arrived there around 5.15pm, entered the building and walked down the corridor towards the lobby entrance to the House of Commons. He handed his coat to the officer positioned outside the doors to the lobby.
As Mr. Perceval entered the lobby a number of people were gathered around in conversation as was the usual practice. Most turned to look at him as he came through the doorway. No-one noticed as the quiet man stood up from beside the fire place, removing a pistol from his inner pocket as he did so. Neither did anyone notice as the man walked calmly towards the Prime Minister. When he was close enough, without saying a word, the man fired his pistol directly at Mr. Perceval’s chest. The Prime Minister staggered forward before falling to the ground, calling out as he did so words that witnesses later recalled in different ways as: “I am murdered!” or ‘Murder, Murder’ or ‘Oh God!’ or ‘Oh my God!’
Amid the confusion, a number of people raised Mr. Perceval from the ground and carried him into the nearby Speaker’s apartments. They placed him in a sitting position on a table, supporting him on either side. Most ominously, the Prime Minister had not uttered a single word since falling on the floor of the lobby, and the only noises to have emanated from him since had been a few pathetic sobs. After a short time Mr. Smith MP, on failing to find any perceptible sign of a pulse, announced his terrible conclusion to the group of stunned onlookers that the Prime Minister was dead.
The Assassination of Spencer Perceval, illustration by Walter Stanley Paget (1861-1908) from Cassell's Illustrated History of England. Vol.5 (1909)
Before long Mr. William Lynn, a surgeon situated at No. 15 Great George Street, arrived on the scene and confirmed that Mr. Smith was indeed correct. The surgeon noted the blood all over the deceased Prime Minister’s coat and white waistcoat. His examination of the body revealed a wound on the left side of the chest over the fourth rib. It was obvious that a rather large pistol ball had entered there. Mr. Lynn probed an instrument into the wound and found that it went downwards and inwards towards the heart. The wound was more than three inches deep. The Prime Minister, who was not yet fifty years of age, left behind a widow, Jane, and twelve children.
In the shock of what had happened, the assassin was almost forgotten. The man had not attempted to escape as he might well have done amid the confusion. Instead, he had returned quietly to his seat beside the fireplace. The identity of the man was revealed as John Bellingham, not a violent radical but a businessman from Liverpool. The details of his story soon began to emerge. As a result of a dispute with some Russian Businessmen, Bellingham had been imprisoned in Russia in 1804 accused of owing a debt. He had been held in various prisons there for the next 5 years. Throughout all of this time he had pleaded with the British authorities for assistance in fighting his cause for justice. He believed that they had not given his case sufficient attention.
Bellingham was finally released from gaol and returned to England in 1809 a very bitter man. He felt deep resentment against the British authorities and immediately set about seeking financial compensation from them for his suffering and loss of business. Once again, however, Bellingham felt that he was being ignored. He petitioned the Foreign Secretary, the Treasury, the Privy Council, the Prime Minister, even the Prince Regent, but all to no avail. No one was willing to hear his case for compensation. Finally, he came to the insane decision that the only way for him to get a hearing in court was to shoot the Prime Minister.
Detail from a painting of The Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, in the year of his death, 1812, by George Francis Joseph. (Source: National Portrait Gallery)
On the Friday following the assassination of the Prime Minister, John Bellingham did indeed get his day in court, but only to answer a charge of murder. His trial took place in a packed court room at the Old Bailey, presided over by Sir James Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. The tall, thin Bellingham came before the court wearing dark nankeen trousers, a yellow waistcoat with black stripes and a brown greatcoat. The members of his defence team first attempted to get the trial postponed on the grounds that they had not been given sufficient time to prepare for the case. Mr. Peter Alley, Bellingham’s chief counsel, told the court that he had only been given the case the day before and that he had never even met Mr. Bellingham until that very day. He asserted that given adequate time, in particular to find medical experts and witnesses in Liverpool who knew Mr. Bellingham personally, he was confident he could prove his client to be insane. The Attorney General, Sir Vicary Gibbs, on behalf of the prosecution, argued vehemently against any such postponement. Ultimately Mr. Allen’s request was unsuccessful and the trial proceeded.
The Attorney General set about dismantling the reason Bellingham had given as justification for his heinous act by arguing that the Government had been aware of what had happened to him in Russia, had examined his claims and had rejected them. He also rejected any notion that Bellingham was insane. He said that Bellingham had been well able to conduct his business and had been trusted by other to conduct theirs without any hint of insanity on his behalf.
Titlepage from the pamphlet 'The Trial of John Bellingham for the Wilful murder of the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval, in the lobby of the House of Commons' (Source: National Library of Medicine)
When his time came to speak, Bellingham continued to base his defence upon what had happened to him in Russia: his unjust arrest for a debt he did not owe and the failure of the British Government to assist at that time and since. Before outlining the details of his experience in Russia, he stated that he was pleased the judge had not accepted his counsel’s arguments alleging his insanity. He made it clear that although he believed what he had done to be necessary and justified, he bore Mr. Perceval or his family no personal malice:
Gentlemen, as to the lamentable catastrophe for which I am now on my trial before this court, if I am the man that I am supposed to be, to go and deliberately shoot Mr. Perceval without malice, I should consider myself a monster, and not fit to live in this world or the next. The learned Attorney General has candidly stated to you, that till this fatal time of this catastrophe, which I heartily regret, no man more so, not even one of the family of Mr. Perceval, I had no personal or premeditated malice towards that gentleman; the unfortunate lot had fallen upon him as the leading member of that administration which had repeatedly refused me any reparation for the unparalleled injuries I had sustained in Russia for eight years with the cognizance and sanction of the minister of the country at the court of St. Petersburg.
Bellingham was clear about where he felt the blame lay for Spencer Perceval’s death:
A refusal of justice was the sole cause of this fatal catastrophe; his Majesty’s ministers have now to reflect upon their conduct for what has happened. . . . Mr. Perceval has unfortunately fallen the victim of my desperate resolution. No man, I am sure, laments the calamitous event more than I do.
In the end, of course, his arguments for justification had no influence upon a judge and jury shocked by his horrific murder of the Prime Minister. The Lord Chief Justice even became openly emotional and began to cry at one point during his statement to the jury:
Gentlemen of the jury, you are now to try an indictment which charges the prisoner at the bar with the wilful murder . . . of Mr. Spencer Perceval, . . . who was murdered with a pistol loaded with a bullet; . . . a man so dear, and so revered as that of Mr. Spencer Perceval, I find it difficult to suppress my feelings.
He dismissed any idea that Bellingham might have been insane at the time of committing the crime:
. . . there was no proof adduced to show that his understanding was so deranged, as not to enable him to know that murder was a crime. On the contrary, the testimony adduced in his defence, has most distinctly proved, from a description of his general demeanour, that he was in every respect a full and competent judge of all his actions.
In such circumstances it is no surprise that John Bellingham was found guilty of Spencer Perceval’s murder by a jury that took only fourteen minutes to reach a verdict. On the following Monday he was executed and his body sent for dissection to St. Bartholomew’s hospital. He is remembered in history as the only assassin ever of a British Prime Minister.
Following his execution John Bellingham's skull became the subject of research for phrenologists, representing the head of a destructive personality. Shown here is a comparison of Bellingham's skull with that of a 'Hindoo', from A System of Phrenology (1834) by George Combe
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What type of covering,once often used on scientific instrument cases, is called 'Shagreen'? | Regency History: The Assassination of Spencer Perceval 11 May 1812
The Assassination of Spencer Perceval 11 May 1812
by
from The Life and Administration of the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval
by Charles Williams (1813)
On 11 May 1812, Spencer Perceval was assassinated. He remains the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated.
A difficult political situation
Spencer Perceval became First Lord of the Treasury in 1809 when the Duke of Portland’s health made it impossible for him to continue leading the government. He was not the King’s first choice, but such was the division in the government at the time that many of the politicians refused to serve with one another. Perceval was eventually chosen to form a cabinet, effectively making him Prime Minister. He also kept the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer as no one else would accept it.
The assassination
The June 1812 issue of La Belle Assemblée included a long account of the assassination of Perceval and subsequent trial of his murderer. It gave the following account of the assassination:
“On the 11th May, about a quarter past five, as the Right Honourable Spencer Perceval, Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Lord of the Treasury &c. &c. was entering the lobby of the House of Commons, he was shot by a person of the name of Bellingham, who had place himself for that purpose at the side door leading from the stone staircase. Mr Perceval was in company with Lord F Osborne, and immediately on receiving the Ball, which entered the left breast, he staggered and fell at the feet of Mr W Smith, MP for Norwich, who was standing near the second pillar. The only words he uttered were – “Oh! I am murdered,” and the latter was inarticulate, the sound dying between his lips. He was instantly taken up by Mr Smith, who did not recognise him until he had looked in his face. The report of the pistol immediately drew great numbers to the spot, who assisted Mr Smith in conveying the body of Mr Perceval into the Speaker’s apartments, but before he reached them, all signs of life had departed.”
The assassin
John Bellingham, a disgruntled bankrupt, shot Perceval as the figurehead of the government which he held responsible for his financial misfortune. Had he been of a mind to escape, he probably could have done so, as little attention was paid him in the furore surrounding the fallen Perceval. However, such was not his intention. Bellingham was arrested, tried at the Old Bailey, pronounced guilty and sentenced to death.
Tribute to Perceval
from The Georgian Era (1832)
Before the death sentence was given, the Recorder spoke these words:
“You have been guilty of the murder of a person whose suavity of manners disarmed hostility and rancour. By his death charity has been deprived of its warmest friend, and religion of its best support, and the country of its greatest ornament. A man whose public character and talents were capable of saving his country. The murder you have perpetrated in the midst of unarmed men, confiding in their innocence and the sacred functions vested in them by their country, and in the very sanctuary of the law.”
This post was written on 11 May 2012 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Spencer Perceval's assassination.
Sources used include:
Bell, John, La Belle Assemblée (1812, London)
Clarke, The Georgian Era (Vizetelly, Branston and Co, 1832, London)
Williams, Charles, The Life and Administration of the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval (1813)
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What is the name of the bell in Lincoln Cathedral? | Lincoln Cathedral - A history of the Bells, Bellringers and Bellringing by John Ketteringham
Lincoln Cathedral - A history of the Bells, Bellringers and Bellringing
John R. Ketteringham Lincoln Minster Shops Ltd
This is a comprehensive history of the Bells, Bellringers and Bellringing from early Christian Churches right through to the 20th century and a book well worth having on the shelves of anyone interested in church bells and the wider background.
There have been bells at Lincoln Cathedral since its consecration in 1092 and the rules for ringing them survive from circa 1260. The names of those who rang the bells for the daily services are recorded from 1283 and the earliest surviving Company of Bell Ringers in the country is that of Lincoln Cathedral which can trace its foundation to 1595 although not formally constituted until 1612.
Bells identified in this book include: Great Tom, Quarter Bells, Saint Hugh's Tower, Saint Mary's Tower, The Lady Bells and The Closing Bell.
Paperback ISBN: 0 953760 60 XOut Of Print
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Who created the character 'Sgt. Ernest Bilko' played by Phil Silvers? | Lincoln Cathedral bell Great Tom falls silent - BBC News
BBC News
Lincoln Cathedral bell Great Tom falls silent
26 November 2011
Image caption The bell has been ringing in Lincoln since 1835
The main bell which strikes every hour at Lincoln Cathedral has stopped working.
The cause of the fault on the Great Tom bell has been put down to wear and tear. The bell workings will be taken down between Saturday and Sunday.
The handmade mechanism will then be sent away for specialist repair.
It is only the second time the bell has fallen silent since World War II. The first time was during filming of the Da Vinci Code in 2005.
Lincoln Cathedral works manager Carol Heidschuster said: "We do have a problem with Great Tom, not so much the bell but the clapper that's in the bell.
"It has five leaf springs and three of those have sheared, which means we've had to silence the main hour bell."
It's going to be out of action for a while, I'm afraid
Carol Heidschuster, Lincoln Cathedral works manager
She said there would still be chimes every quarter of an hour.
"It's going to be out of action for a while, I'm afraid.
"I hope we could get something sorted by Christmas Day but what I'm really concerned about is New Year's Eve.
"The actual bell is going to be taken apart at the weekend and then we need to wait until the fabricator can give us an indication of how long it is going to take to make these springs," Ms Heidschuster said.
The bell, which has been ringing since 1835, chimes 40,880 times a year.
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Who published a report after a Public Enquiry into racial disturbances in South East London in April 1981? | The 1981 riots in South London
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The 1981 riots in South London
Transpontine investigates some previously confidential Government papers , released to the National Archives at the end of December 2011, which provide some insights into the riots that swept across England in July 1981 . Included in the papers is some information on events in South London, which combined with contemporary press reports gives an idea of what happened in the area at that time.
Woolwich and Lewisham
Included in the documents is a briefing from the F4 division of the Home Office (responsible for links with security services, special branch etc) with details from the Metropolitan Police of disturbances on Thursday 9th July: ‘At 7:24 pm 100 black youths and 50 white youths were reported at Woolwich, but there was no trouble… at 8.42 pm disturbances broke out at Woolwich, with youths throwing stones and overturning vehicles. Serials had previously been deployed to the Woolwich area for the Anti-Nazi League meeting and these, supplemented by the Special Patrol Group and Urgent Response Units deployed from Operations Room, moved into the area to prevent trouble… At 10.35 pm disturbances broke out at Lewisham … During this time the disturbances at Woolwich were continuing’. Statistics from the Met’s ‘R’ district (Woolwich) showed that 37 people had been arrested in Woolwich, with four minor injuries to police, 8 windows broken and two cars overturned. ‘P’ District (Lewisham) reported 10 arrests.
The Times reported these events the next day: 'London police quickly quelled what threatened to be a riot early yesterday evening in Woolwich, south-east London. About 200 black and Asian youths ran through the town centre smashing 15 shop windows and overturning two cars. There was some looting. The youths were outnumbered by police who quickly dispersed them. 27 arrests were made… In Lewisham, eight youths were arrested after clashes in which goods were looted from Chiesman’s department store. About 100 black youths in Deptford threw bottles at a police car (Times, 10 July 1981).
The Woolwich events seem to have been provoked by rumours of a racist skinhead invasion to attend a gig at the Tramshed (a similar occurence had led to the riots in Southall in the previous week). According to the Deptford and Peckham Mercury (16 July 1981), people initially gathered on the streets to defend local venues thought vulnerable to racist attack - groups were reported at local Sikh temples in Calderwood Street and Masons Hill (where an Anti Nazi League meting was taking place), a mosque in Thomas Street, and the Simba project (an African-Caribbean community group). An (untrue) rumour that the skinheads were arriving on the Woolwich ferry prompted hundreds of mainly young people to run down Powis Street, and it was here that shop windows were broken and cars overturned, with a tobacconist shop being looted.
The same paper reported that on that night too, bottles were thrown at police by a crowd on Tanners Hill, Deptford (presumably the same incident referred to in The Times). In Balham High Road 'Around 35 shops were damaged in a wave of violence which started shortly after midnight when some 200 youths roamed the streets. Worst hit was the Argos Discount Store where hundreds of pounds worth of goods were stolen' (South London Press, 14 July 1981). On the following Friday night, two cars were overturned in Daneville Road, Camberwell (Mercury, 16 July 1981), while 'a 15 year old youth was arrested in Rye Lane, Peckham, for allegedly throwing a petrol bomb at police' (South London Press, 14 July 1981).
The trouble in Lewisham seems to have been fairly sporadic, prompting some self-congratulation from the police in the South London Press: 'Lewisham has escaped almost trouble free from a week of rioting in Britain's inner cities thanks to sensitive policing and public co-operation, a police chief said yesterday. Apart from a window being smashed at Chiesman's in Lewisham High-St, and a minor stone throwing incident in Sydenham on Saturday where three people were arrested, there have been no repeats of the mass looting and rioting which has hit many areas. Although many shopkeepers have taken the precaution of boarding up their windows and police have been issued with protective clothing and headgear, P District's acting commander Dennis Rowe said that he is "delighted" the borough has remained peaceful.
'Although many of our officers have been drafted into other areas where there have been riots and the ones left behind have had to work long hours, they are still endeavouring to remain patient and to police the area sensitively... I am aware that while we have to continue to remain firm and to make those arrests that are correct, we can still keep sight of the need to be understanding. Through a concerted effort by our liaison officer and home beat constables along with a tremendous spirit of co-operation by local community groups, youth leaders and the general public we have been successful... We are even getting a feedback from a number of black and white youths who are proud of their borough saying "This is our town and we don't want to smash it up' (SLP 17 July 1981).
Many local black people probably had a less rosy view of community-police relations, particularly in the aftermath of the New Cross Fire in January 1981. Indeed there was renewed controversy in July when police warned that a planned New Cross Massacre Action Committee fundraiser couldn't go ahead for licensing reasons at the Evelyn 190 Centre in Evelyn Street, Deptford ('Clash over fire victims' disco', Mercury, 16 July 1981).
Battersea Park
Battersea was another flashpoint: 'A gang of youths attacked four policeman on Sunday afternoon [12 July], striking them to the tarmac floor of the roller skating rink in Battersea Park. Two PCs - Robert Smith and Brian Tullock - were rushed to hospital with serious head wounds. PC Smith needed 13 stitches. "It all started when we answered a call saying a car had been overturned in the park, said Det. Con. Larry Lawrence, "Four of us were in plain clothes but as soon as we identified ourselves we were attacked by about 20 youths carrying hockey sticks and wooden staves. The blows rained down on PC Smith and PC Tullock was given a severe kicking". Mr Lawrence said a crowd of 200 stood watching. "The only human touch there was a girl who took off her cardigan and wrapped it around PC Smith's head as he lay bleeding". A crowd of youths carrying hockey sticks and wooden staves ran through the park during the early evening damaging two cars and throwing petrol bombs at the police'.
'Later in the evening three policeman were injured in Francis Chichester Way when 35 youths hurled missiles and fire bombs at police lines. The incidents followed outbreaks of violence on Saturday night when 17 arrests were made in Queenstown Road and Falcon Road area' (South London Press, 14 July 1981).
Brixton
The main Brixton riots occurred in April 1981, arguably setting off the whole cycle of 1981 uprisings. But in July there were two further outbreaks, first of all on Friday 10 July:
''Violence returned to the streets of Brixton this weekend, a few hours after Lord Scarman finished part one of his enquiry into the April riots. Large crowds clashed with police, cars were overturned and set alight, shops were attacked and looted only a short distance from Lambeth Town Hall where GLC leader Ken Livingstone was addressing an Anti Nazi League meeting. His audience had a grandstand view as officers fought looters... 31 officers were hurt and there were 157 arrests, mainly for looting and assaulting police.
Trouble started at about 4 pm when police arrested a Rastafarian called Maliki in Atlantic Road. A popular disc jockey and community leader Lloyd Coxsone (32) tried to intervene but was arrested for obstruction. Within minutes youths had set up barricades across Atlantic Road... Police reinforcements were quickly on the scene but at 4:30 a Panda car in Atlantic Road was overturned and set on fire. An unmarked car which came to its aid was also overturned and fired but officers escaped unhurt.
Outside the Atlantic pub [later renamed the Dogstar in the 1990s] black leaders used a loud hailer to appeal for calm. Mr Maliki told the crowd that Mr Coxsone had been released and urged them to disperse. But some youths had already taken advantage of the confrontation to start looting shops in Atlantic Road. Rattner's the jewellers were attacked at 4.30 and a mob then ran down Electric Lane to raid Curry's the electrical goods shop...
Police formed themselves up in squads of about a dozen men with a sergeant in command. They lined up along the main road, walking under cover of riot shields towards the crowds. They were apparently trying to disperse the mob along Effra Road and Brixton Hill... By 8.30 police had cleared the centre of Brixton' (Source: South London Press, 14 July 1981).
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Brixton police station in the early hours of the 14 July, following a meeting at New Scotland Yard where predictably senior officers lobbied for greater police powers and more riot equipment (the National Archives papers include a report of this meeting, and of arrangements to provide riot helmets and plastic bullets from the army to the police).
Railton Road raids
Then on 15 July there was further trouble in Brixton following controversial police raids on Railton Road. The Government papers in the National Archives includes a detailed report of these raids, supposedly prompted by reports that petrol bombs were being stored there.
Eleven premises were raided, numbers 35, 37, 47, 52, 54 and 60 Railton Road under warrants obtained under Section 187 of the Licensing Act 1964 ‘suspected of being used for unlawful drinking’, and 50, 56, 58, 62 and 64 under section 6 of the Criminal Justice Act. Several of the properties were semi-derelict and due for demolition. 176 CID and uniformed officer were employed ‘to enter the premises and a further 391 officers were either held in reserve or employed in cordoning off the area’. The report admitted that ‘No evidence was found during the operation of the manufacture of petrol bombs or of premises being used for illegal drinking that evening. Seven people were arrested, all for minor offences’.
Details in the report do give some indication of social life on 'the frontline' (as that part of Railton Road was known) at that time: at 47 ‘a new record player and a small quantity of drugs were found’; at 54 Railton Road, there were ’25 to 30 people on the premises’; at 58 the police paid compensation for damage to a space invaders machine and a pool table; at 62 ‘The ground floor of these premises was used as a quasi-masonic temple and at the time of the raid two ceremonial swords were laid out on the floor and other items of regalia stored in a cabinet.’ (Report of Enquiry by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dear into Police Operations in Railton Road, Brixton on Wednesday 15 July 1981).
This report downplays the extent of damage to people's homes, but locally there was intense anger at the way the raids had been conducted:
'Joseph Francis (17), who was asleep when the raid occurred, said his unlocked bedroom door was axed by two policemen. He said a woman and baby in the room were thrown to the floor when the mattress was dragged from under them and furniture was ripped open.
Mr. Gladstone McKenzie arrived at his shop, the Railton Free Off Licence, to find the door and windows smashed and the back room ransacked. He said he had always had a good relationship with the police and was shocked by the extent of the damage. Some upstairs windows looked as though they had been broken from are inside as most of the glass was lying outside.
One of the houses wrecked during Wednesday's raid had just had £4,000 of Inner City Partnership money spent on it. No. 50 Railton Road is owned by Lambeth Council and leased to the Railton Youth Club...
100 youths were involved in running fights with police in Railton-rd. on Wednesday night. Petrol bombs, stones and bottles were thrown and 10 officers were injured. The trouble started just after 11 p.m. when two cars were set alight and a barricade of corrugated iron and timber set up behind them. But the police, drawn up in strength at the junction of Railton-rd. and Coldharbour-lane, made no move. Masked youths, one carrying a long stave, then charged the police lines, hurling missiles but were quickly driven back. A fire engine attempting to reach the burning cars was stoned. There was another scare when a convoy of eight powerful motorbikes ridden by white youths roared through the riot area.
At 11.45 police started cautiously moving up Railton-rd behind a wall of riot shields and sealing off side roads. Another large force was meanwhile approaching from the Herne Hill end. It was at about this time that the first petrol bombs were thrown. By 12.15 the barricade was being removed and police were in control of the area, though they remained on guard for some hours' (South London Press, 17 July 1981).
The left in Brixton
A briefing report for Ministers included in the National Archives papers highlighted the involvement in left-wing groups, particularly in the Brixton area: ‘There is considerable evidence of activity by extremist organisations that have been hit by some of the worst of the recent violence' though it acknowledged that 'It seems unlikely that in any major case extremists have actually instigated the violence’. The report doesn't say that the radical left seems to have been too fragmented into rival groups to co-ordinate any kind of large scale effective action, but it does provide evidence of this.
The report mentions the Labour Committee for the Defence of Brixton founded following the 1981 riots at the instigation of the ‘Militant Tendency’ and operating ‘from an address in Railton Road’; ‘the Workers Revolutionary Party has a books hop in Atlantic Road and a Youth Training Centre in Stockwell’; ‘the Revolutionary Communist Group has its headquarters in Railton Road’; ‘the Revolutionary Communist Party set up a Lambeth Unemployed Workers Group shortly before the Riots, and has since formed a South London Workers Against Racism group, similar to the East London Workers Against Racism which attracted some notoriety for organising vigilante patrols’; ‘the Race Today Collective has offices in Brixton. The edition [sic] of its magazine is Darcus Howe, who has been associated with campaigning in support of the H-block hunger strikes, the New Cross Massacre Action Committee’; ‘After the riot the Socialist Workers Party circulated a leaflet in Brixton in which it said “it was a magnificent way for Brixton to fight back"’ (Brief for a Debate on Recent Outbreaks of Civil Disorder in Great Britain).
The aftermath: riot training on Greenwich peninsula
As reported at Greenwich Phantom , following the riots the River Way Police Holding and Training Centre was created for a couple of years on Greenwich peninsula (Greenwich Council published a critical report in 1984 on 'Riot Training in Greenwich'). The map shows that this included a mock-up street and areas for petrol bomb, CS gas, water cannon and smoke grenade training.
| Leslie Scarman, Baron Scarman |
Who is the British counterpart of the American Rube Goldberg? | The Riots of 2011 and the Riots of 1981 | DavidAlton.net
The Riots of 2011 and the Riots of 1981
/ David Alton
The Riots of 2011 and the Riots of 1981
Just thirty years ago, between July 4th and 6th 1981, I watched as rioters assaulted policemen, looted shops, and reduced Liverpool’s Lodge Lane and Upper Parliament Street to burning embers. Hundreds of policemen sustained injuries as Molotov Cocktails and anything else which came to hand were turned into missiles. Rioters broke into a dairy, stole milk floats, and filled bottles with petrol. The thin blue line was all that separated the rioters and arsonists from the city’s commercial and retail centre.
The Liverpool riots saw C.S, Gas used in Great Britain for the first time and it emerged that canisters used against the protestors should not have been deployed on crowds of people. A police vehicle, seeking to clear the crowds, hit a man who died. 70 buildings were so badly burnt that they had to be demolished. Nearly 500 police officers suffered injury (if guns had been on the streets there would have been fatalities) and 500 people were arrested. At the height of the disturbances Young Socialists distributed leaflets calling for all charges against rioters to be dropped.
A year before these Toxteth riots, there had been disturbances in St.Paul’s, Bristol, but 1981 brought riots to Brixton’s streets in London and copy-cat rioting in Birmingham’s Handsworth, Chappletown in Leeds, and Manchester’s Moss Side.
It was something of a misnomer to describe the Liverpool riots as the Toxteth riots because they broke out along the boundary of two parliamentary constituencies – Toxteth and Edge Hill.
I had been Edge Hill’s MP for two years, previously serving as City Councillor for Smithdown and Low Hill. The rioting surged along Smithdown Road and over to Edge Hill’s Wavertree Road, where the police station was attacked and vandalised.
The riots began after the arrest on July 3rd of a young black man, Leroy Cooper, a constituent of mine. On visiting his home, and talking to him and his father, I had no doubt that some heavy-handed policing – and Leroy’s humiliation at their hands – had been a spark which had ignited the tinder box.
For some years I had been critical of the arrogant style of policing personified by the then Chief Constable, Kenneth Oxford – an incredibly different policeman from some of the excellent incumbents who followed him. With their emphasis on much needed community policing, Merseyside Police gained authority and respect under the leadership of Sir Norman Bettison and Bernard Hogan-Howe (who I hope will now be appointed to run the Met) but, at the time, I told Parliament that if Mr. Oxford were not prepared to restore respect and confidence in the police service “he should go.”
But, aside from policing, there were many other factors which played their part – and none of which were any justification for the unleashing of violence and destruction.
On July 14th I asked Willie Whitelaw, who was Home Secretary, about the age or criminal responsibility and what was being done about the parents who had allowed their children to become rioters and looters.
In a special debate on July 16th Whitelaw told the House of Commons that “Liverpool 8 has long suffered a range of social, economic and high crime problems. The three days of violence reflect the complexity of the situation. The first night consisted largely of black youths, children of many generations of Liverpool people, erupting against the police. The second saw a concerted attack on the police by white and black youngsters. The third witnessed a predominantly white crowd of looters exploiting the earlier disturbances, while local black leaders played a major part in keeping their young people off the streets.”
In August 2011 doesn’t this sound all too familiar?
Three months before the 1981 riots, on April 7th, I had taken part in a fiery debate in the House of Commons, warning that the devil was making mischief for idle hands. Young black men were particularly likely to be without gainful employment:
“Ethnic minorities suffer especially from unemployment. Between 1973 and 1977 unemployment doubled, but for black people it quadrupled. Black youth is disproportionately affected by unemployment. In Liverpool, 47 % of youngsters under 18, 34% of young people between 18 and 19 and 27 % between 20 and 24 are out of work. About 11,000 people under 20 are out of work…The Government must wrestle with the problem. If they do not, others will prey on the disadvantages of the young.”
Warning that a time bomb was ticking away in the heart of the city I pointed to agents provocateurs seeking to capitalise on the alienation and discontent.
In the Commons I highlighted the activities the far Left – the Workers Revolutionary Party – and the far Right, Viking Youth – and later received Writs (which were never pursued in the Courts) from organisations trying to shut me up.
Youth Training Centres had been established in Brixton and Toxteth (where riots would erupt three months later) and I quoted from a leaflet which proclaimed “We warn that you can have no illusions that there is going to be an upturn in this slump. The ruling class have no answers to this crisis … There is no peaceful road to socialism—we are building a revolutionary socialist youth movement to lead the struggle.”
On July 16th 1981, in the special debate which followed the riots I argued that:
“Race is not the cause, nor, taken separately, are unemployment, inadequate housing or bad police relations with the public. Taken together, however, those issues provide the ingredients necessary for the conflagrations which have occurred throughout Britain. They are also weapons in the hands of those whose only aim is to destroy and disrupt. The House must take notice of the intrinsic roles which extreme Left-wing as well as Right-wing groups have been playing in fomenting the disturbances. They have been using the problems of race, unemployment, inadequate housing and poor police relations with the community as the fuel to feed their fire.”
Government, meanwhile, seemed oblivious to the causes of the riots and were ham-fisted in their response. The Prime Minister toured the area for 15 minutes in a bullet proof car. A constituent remarked to me: “Even the Queen gets out and shakes a few hands and talks to people”. In a meeting with the city’s Archbishop and Bishop, Derek Worlock and David Sheppard, they tried to impress upon her one word – “compassion” – only to be told by Denis, her husband, that “it’s not really one of the Prime Minister’s words.”
The subsequent and inevitable Official Inquiry (the Scarman Inquiry into the riots in Brixton, many of whose findings had application in Toxteth, too) confirmed many of my own conclusions. Margaret Thatcher responded by sending Michael Heseltine to be “Minister for Merseyside” – and to spearhead a strategy for urban renewal. Gradually there was a recognition that fouling your own nest, undermining the legitimate rule of law, and the negative effects on a city’s reputation, all deter investment and are not the way to achieve social progress.
Ultimately, the people of Liverpool put the riots and the politics of extremism behind them. This led to a renaissance in Liverpool’s fortunes. It would be a terrible tragedy if, in the debris and the aftermath of the riots of the summer of 2011, those lessons were now forgotten.
_____________________________________________
Mr. David Alton (Liverpool, Edge Hill) April 7th, 1981.
The Government have measured the success of the youth opportunities programme by the number of people who have gone on to full-time employment. It is of grave concern that the number is diminishing. By September last year the figure had fallen from 80 per cent. to 59 per cent. About 41 per cent. of our youngsters return to the dole queue once they are supposedly trained. What point is there in having the best educated or trained youngsters if they end up on the dole?
Many of my young constituents complain about inadequate remuneration on the schemes. The allowance of £23.50 has not been adequately increased in line with inflation. Once travel expenses are taken out, it leaves little more than would be received on supplementary benefit, so the incentive for school leavers to become involved in such programmes is not great.
Industry’s annual take-up of apprenticeships has dropped by 10,000 since 1979–80, which is alarming. Whilst it is better to pump money into the programmes than to have people on the dole, if the number of real jobs and apprenticeships is falling there is little hope for the unemployed. The 10,000 drop is a cut of 10 per cent., which exemplifies Government waste in failing to get adequate training opportunities through private industry.
The Secretary of State for Employment is keen to introduce a voluntary option of military training as part of the YOP, but that would damage the intent of the programme. In many depressed areas, a person would be forced to take the option. Six months is not sufficient time for training of real value, which makes the option ludicrous, as well as damaging. Local headmasters have written to me expressing concern.
There is also the correlation between youth unemployment and crime. The Merseyside chief constable has warned that if youth unemployment increases it will mean a corresponding increase in crime.
Ethnic minorities suffer especially from unemployment. Between 1973 and 1977 unemployment doubled, but for black people it quadrupled. Black youth is disproportionately affected by unemployment.
In Liverpool, 47 per cent. of youngsters under 18, 34 per cent. of young people between 18 and 19 and 27 per cent. between 20 and 24 are out of work. About 11,000 people under 20 are out of work. Recently only 20 or 30 job vacancies were notified to one local careers office. 839 That is appalling, and the Government must wrestle with the problem. If they do not, others will prey on the disadvantages of the young.
A group called “Youth Training” is circulating in Liverpool a letter is signed by Vanessa Redgrave, the chairman, which concerns courses available in a local youth training centre. The courses include hairdressing, drama, cookery, electrical work, dressmaking, boxing and judo. The centre has a tea bar offering soft drinks and soups. It states: Youth Training is open to all youth between 16 and 22, There is a form attached to enrol for dressmaking, hairdressing, cooking, catering, music and drama. Nowhere is it stated that the Workers Revolutionary Party, a very Left-wing group, is involved.
However, on 20 March the Workers Revolutionary Party newspaper, News Line, stated: A call for youth everywhere to build the Young Socialists as a mass revolutionary youth movement and to build the Youth Training Movement was issued by the Young Socialists national secretary Claire Dixon, moving the main resolution”— at its conference in Southport.
The article states: The Youth Training centres will concentrate on training youth in all the up-to-date techniques and technology … We must mobilise a massive youth movement—a revolutionary youth movement. We must take our message to youth everywhere. We warn that you can have no illusions that there is going to be an upturn in this slump. The ruling class have no answers to this crisis … There is no peaceful road to socialism—we are building a revolutionary socialist youth movement to lead the struggle.”. It continues: Vanessa Redgrave of the Workers Revolutionary Party, Central Committee, appealed to the conference to throw its full support behind the Youth Training programme.’ This is a serious matter. One centre has been opened in Liverpool and, according to another edition of News Line, another has been opened in Brixton, in South London. These people are preying on the disadvantages of youngsters and unemployed people.
It is not just people on the far Left who are preying on the disadvantages of youngsters and the unemployed in this way. In the same area, as the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Heffer) will know, a group called “Viking Youth” on the far Right is trying to do the same kind of thing. Unless we take measures to try to tackle their problems, unemployed youngsters will be more and more susceptible to organisations of that kind. The cynicism, bitterness, anger and frustration of young people will be used to pull them into these extreme Left- and Right-wing organisations. In this respect, we should heed the warning of the hon. Member for Bolton, East (Mr. Young) earlier in the debate.
I accept that there are no simple or easy solutions. I do not believe anyone who says that there are, whether they be monetarists or Marxists. It is right to remind the House that when the present Leader of the Opposition was Secretary of State for Employment, unemployment rose—including unemployment among young people. When he was Secretary of State, unemployment in Britain rose from 579,000 to 1.2 million. In Wales it rose from 3 per cent. to 7 per cent., and in his own constituency from 3.9 per cent. to 11.4 per cent. The right hon. Gentleman said: 840 I am not prepared to sit in this place and preside over mass unemployment. I do not hold the right hon. Gentleman personally responsible for what happened after that but I find it difficult to take that kind of sentiment and statement seriously when I see the same right hon. Gentleman walking through the streets of my city waving a stick and shaking his fists, especially when people participating in the march that he led stayed at the Adelphi hotel, the most prestigious in town.
When I hear the Prime Minister talking about the problems of unemployment and about her sympathy for the unemployed, I remind the House that she has not set foot in Liverpool since the election of May 1979
§ Mr. Eric S. Heffer (Liverpool, Walton)
I remind the hon. Gentleman of his claim that the unemployment demonstration in Liverpool would or could lead to violence. Some of us pointed out that it was a Labour Party unemployment demonstration involving trade unionists in this country as well as people from Merseyside and elsewhere. It did not lead to violence. It was a most peaceful demonstration. Indeed, ours is the only party at present doing anything about rousing the people of this country to activity against unemployment.
§ Mr. Alton
The House will recall that only a week or so ago my right hon. and hon. Friends and I presented a massive petition, with more than a quarter of a million signatures, from people concerned about unemployment in this country, because we believed that that was a way of bringing the concern of the nation to the attention of the House. We do not believe that rabble-rousing or dazzling rhetoric is an answer to the nation’s problems. That is why we do not lead marches. We do not believe that that sort of protest would lead to a solution. We are modest enough to accept that we have no simple solution. I was making the point to the hon. Member for Walton and others that those leading the march had themselves been in jobs in which they had responsibility to try to tackle the problem. They failed before, and I believe that they will fail again.
§ Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)
rose—
§ Mr. Alton
I shall not give way. I wish to make progress. The hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) has only just arrived. He has not been present for the rest of the debate.
§ Mr. Skinner
I was at the youth unemployment committee.
§ Mr. Alton
The Prime Minister seems to subscribe to the view that if two wrongs do not make a right, one should try a third. We seem to be treated to the same old formula as before. She is regarded by many young people in the North of England as being rather like the wicked witch of the South, except that she has got the words of the spell wrong and the incantation is going sadly awry.
We have had enough of here-today-gone-tomorrow politicians who march through our cities, staying in the most prestigious hotels. Their policies have failed and they will fail again. They are swooping and preying on those unfortunate enough to be unemployed. They are dishonest and deceitful in raising false hopes in communities that have suffered long enough. Indeed, they are behaving in a downright criminal way. There are 2½ million people out of work, and it will soon be 3 million.
841
Let the hon. Member explain about the Lib-Lab pact. That was when unemployment rose.
§ Mr. Heffer
Will the hon. Member explain what the Liberal-controlled council in Liverpool is doing?
§ Mr. Alton
One person becomes unemployed every 30 seconds. Our entire industrial base is being eroded. Factories close and businesses go bankrupt. Productivity and profitability decline. The entire economic policy of the Government is a disaster. Twenty five per cent. of our people have now been out of work for more than a year. Half a million are said to be unemployable because they lack essential skills, and 77 per cent. have no formal qualifications whatever.
We Liberals have positive and sensible solutions to offer. We would get rid of the pretence that there is an easy solution to unemployment. We would create the climate for new jobs by increasing incentive, by introducing a prices and incomes policy and by giving workers a say in the running of their firms and a stake in the profits. By doing that we would remove much of the confrontation at the workplace—the kind of mindless militancy which in Liverpool, as the hon. Member for Walton knows, has led to the loss of many jobs. By reducing the working week and allowing much earlier retirement we would create the possibility of many new jobs.
§ Mr. Heffer
What about the Lib-Lab pact?
§ Mr. John Lee (Nelson and Colne)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. With the greatest respect, the hon. Member for Liverpool, Edge Hill (Mr. Alton), endeavouring to make his contribution, has been present since the debate began. He is now being hounded by hon. Members who have appeared relatively recently. That is monstrous. Many hon. Members have sat here throughout the debate hoping to participate later.
§ Mr. Heffer
I shall explain to the House exactly what the Liberal-controlled city council has done to deal with unemployment in Liverpool. As a result of Liberal policies, backing the Government’s policies, the unemployment situation in some parts of Liverpool has worsened. In housing, in maintenance departments and in other sectors, the Liberals have been responsible for putting people out of work in Liverpool. Let the hon. Gentleman answer that.
§ Mr. Alton
I hope that the hon. Member for Walton will at some time place before the House any evidence that he may have. The Liberal-controlled council in Liverpool has not made a single person unemployed. There has not been a single redundancy as a result of Liberal policy on the city council. I refute any allegation to that effect. The reason why there has been a decline in the construction industry, with 300,000 people out of work, is that we have the worst public sector house building figures since 1924. That is hardly the fault of the Liberal-controlled council in Liverpool.
I shall not detain the House much longer, as I know that other hon. Members wish to speak. I return to other constructive suggestions that we would use to tackle unemployment. At present, £9 billion or £10 billion per year is being raised in revenue from North Sea oil. We should like to see some of that channelled into many youth opportunities and apprenticeship training schemes. In West Germany, more than 400 occupations are covered by 842 apprenticeship schemes. We would offer firms new youth training allowances and insist by law that new apprenticeships be created.
We believe that many other useful schemes could he promoted. Insulation programmes, for example are socially useful and also employ people. They also save energy. That would be far more useful than having young people on YOP schemes going around counting the number of lamp posts.
In conclusion, I wish to speak of the climate that we should create for British industry. As long ago as 1879, John Stuart Mill wrote: There is a far more complete remedy for the disadvantages of hired labour …—the admission of the whole body of labourers to a participation in the profits, by distributing among all who share the work, in the the form of a percentage on their earnings, the whole or a fixed portion of the gains. It was in that tradition that my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Grimond) wrote in his excellent and inspiring book “The Common Welfare”: From the stand point of economic efficiency, as a means of increasing the opportunities of the less well-off, and certainly as a cure for inflation and unemployment, corporatism as it has been increasingly practised in the last 40 years is a failure. A free society must be a libertarian society and that libertarian society must incorporate a free market and voluntary cooperation. My right hon. Friend then goes on to describe various succesful producer co-operatives throughout the world, and it was in an attempt to try to strengthen that tradition that my right hon. Friend the leader of the Liberal Party, and my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Mr. Smith) forced the last Government to establish the Co-operative Development Agency, to foster the creation and maintenance of industrial partnerships.
We should never forget that it was the Liberals, not the Labour Party or those members of it who belong to the self-styled Institute for Workers Control of Industry, who forced that policy through. That is why this country needs the sort of ideas that I have been outlining today. We shall vote with the Opposition tonight because we are not satisfied that the Government are doing what they should be doing about youth unemployment. I should like to see much more done, and I hope that the Government will therefore take into account some of the things that I have said.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
July 16th 1981 (in the aftermath of the riots):
Mr. David Alton (Liverpool, Edge Hill)
The hon. Member for Coventry, South-West (Mr. Butcher) said that all of us in the Chamber are over 30 years of age. That is true. Another feature that unites us all is that we all have a job. That is one of the themes to which I shall return.
The hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Heffer) spoke of the number of consultants who have been coming into Liverpool over the years. He said that when Ministers come to Liverpool they should understand that the city needs not more reports or papers from consultants but positive assistance. That is a remark that I endorse wholeheartedly. The greatest growth industry on Merseyside over the past few years—perhaps the only one—has been that of consultants coming to the city to 1464 feed off its problems without offering it any real hope for the future. It is Government action and action by all hon. Members that is required.
The hon. Gentleman talked about the blame that we must all bear. He struck a true chord. He referred to the initiatives that the council is taking. The council is right to embark on a major consultation exercise by asking those in the area what they want before trying to put right the damage and destruction that has been caused in Liverpool over recent weeks.
The hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Mr. Steen) talked about self-help and neighbourhood councils. I agree with him. I hope that he will persuade some of his Liverpool colleagues that the establishment of directly elected neighbourhood councils will be one way of tackling some of the problem of alienation in the community. However, I repudiate what he said about the gangs which he claimed were being established in some of the centres in the Upper Parliament Street area, an area which I represent in common with my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Toxteth (Mr. Crawshaw).
That area has a large number of community centres, but they are not all the breeding grounds for the terrorist groups and gangs which the hon. Member for Wavertree described. He mentioned the Harding centre in my constituency which provides many activities for local people, whatever colour or class they may be. Many people use that centre to great advantage, as do people using the Pakistan centre. It must be said that the Afro-Asian-Caribbean council in Liverpool has tried to bring together the different rival groups so that they can work with one another. Therefore, it is not fair to say that those centres are being used purely so that young people can go on a rampage of looting and rioting or to establish gangs which are in conflict with one another.
§ Mr. Steen
I apologise for missing the beginning of the hon. Gentleman’s speech. It has been suggested that it would be better to use all the public money which has been pumped into the separate units in one neighbourhood community centre, which would be managed by all the separate groups, and where they would have their separate identity. If we want to develop a multi-racial society, we must not separate groups from one another.
§ Mr. Alton
That is precisely what is happening in Liverpool. Many groups are coming together to try to work in the interests of that community. I said before the hon. Member came into the Chamber that the establishment of directly elected neighbourhood councils and the corporate management to which he and the right hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Freeson) referred is the way to proceed.
We cannot escape the fact that money will be required. I hope that the Minister will deal with this point. Whilst I am not in favour of simply throwing money at problems, it is imperative that money is provided by central Government towards the cost of rebuilding many of the businesses which have been decimated during the riots. To expect the hard-pressed ratepayers of Liverpool to bear the burden of the Riot (Damages) Act is expecting too much in a city which has suffered from reductions in its rate support grant and in its aid from the central Exchequer.
The one common line of agreement and consent which has run through the whole debate in looking at the disturbances which have swept the country over the past few weeks is that none of those things has been attributable 1465 to one cause. We cannot link what may appear to have been a racially inspired disturbance in one area to disturbances in other areas where race is not a factor, particularly in the case of the riots in Liverpool, which is a city prized for its racial tolerance and successful integration and assimilation of ethnic communities. Therefore, I must repudiate what the right hon. Member for Down, South (Mr. Powell) said earlier. His self-fulfilling prophecies over the years have not made any contribution to bringing about integration or the creation of a multi-racial society, which is something which I believe in.
Race is not the cause, nor, taken separately, are unemployment, inadequate housing or bad police relations with the public. Taken together, however, those issues provide the ingredients necessary for the conflagrations which have occurred throughout Britain. They are also weapons in the hands of those whose only aim is to destroy and disrupt. The House must take notice of the intrinsic roles which extreme Left-wing as well as Right-wing groups have been playing in fomenting the disturbances. They have been using the problems of race, unemployment, inadequate housing and poor police relations with the community as the fuel to feed their fire.
Liverpool boasts a multi-racial society which has demonstrated a remarkable tolerance towards the assimilation of different ethnic groups into its community structure, yet it is no secret that Liverpool is considered one of the most depressed urban areas in Europe and that 40 per cent. of the population are unemployed in central Liverpool, while for young blacks the figure is over 50 per cent. While unemployment doubled for white persons between 1973 and 1977, it quadrupled for the black population. At the Leece Street employment office in central Liverpool, 18,000 people are registered as unemployed—one-third of the number for the whole city. The House must set a target of reducing by at least 10,000 the number registered at that office.
As I have said, no one factor alone can be blamed, but alienation of the black community and passage of legislation such as the British Nationality Bill has not helped to bring black and white together. We must also include overcrowding, poor housing conditions and houses that lack basic amenities. Only last week a Bill was printed that I introduced called the Minimum Housing Standards Bill, which seeks to introduce standards that today should be an accepted right in Britain. People should have running hot water, inside toilets and a bathroom. Hundreds of thousands of construction workers are standing idle in the dole queues, so how can we justify leaving over 1 million people rotting in such conditions, when we have the means to improve the quality of their lives?
There is an even bigger problem—the paranoic hatred of the community towards some police officers in Liverpool, the cause of which can partly be attributed to police methods, such as the over-use of stop and search and the “sus” laws to detain innocent persons. It can also be attributed partly to the fact that there are no longer sufficient policemen on the beat, as so many hon. Members have pointed out. As the hon. Member for Leicester, South (Mr. Marshall) said, many policemen travel around at night in panda cars and jeeps and become alienated from the local community.
It is no coincidence that virtually at the centre of the conflagration, on the borders of Edge Hill and Toxteth, there used to be a neighbourhood community police station 1466 at Kingsley Road, and there was another one just down the road in Lawrence Road. It is nonsense to spend £12 million building a new police headquarters in the centre of Liverpool, where nobody lives, and to close down neighbourhood police stations—it is said, for economic reasons—in areas where people live and where there are many tensions. I hope that the chief constable and the police committee will reconsider the strategy.
The Merseyside chief constable faces a major challenge in restoring confidence in the police. He must earn the respect of the whole community. If he is unwilling to do that, I am afraid that he must go. It will be a difficult task, especially when chief constables are imposed on a community instead of being chosen from within the community in which they should work and reside.
There are about 500,000 young people unemployed in Britain, and it should be possible to take some of them into the police force. It is a sad indictment of the Merseyside police force it contains only six black faces. It is the 150th anniversary of the special police, and in this year it should be possible to recruit more black special constables, which would be a good way to get black people involved in policing their own communities. At present they see the police as the enemy.
It would also be wise to listen to pleas for community policing from people such as Chief Constable John Alderson of Devon and Cornwall, who also has experience of the City of London, so he is talking not only from a rural background. To dismiss his pleas for more community police stations and policemen on the beat, as many chief constables have done, is not the way to proceed.
I turn to what happens when law and order breaks down. Great courage was shown by many of our Liverpool police officers during the two nights of rioting that I witnessed over a week ago. When law and order breaks down, as it has during the past two weeks, we must consider carefully how to handle that situation. I do not support the use of plastic and rubber bullets against rioters. Inevitably, such methods are dangerous and serve only to escalate the gravity of retaliation by rioters. I am also dubious about the use of water cannons, having seen hoses turned on the police on the streets of Liverpool just 10 days ago.
While I understand the reason why the chief constable ordered the use of CS gas, I must tell the House that about an hour before it was used, at about 3 o’clock in the morning, I heard a message on the Liverpool police radio sets asking police officers who knew how to handle CS gas to report to police headquarters. That demonstrates how unprepared our police force was for the use of that gas.
I am grateful to the Home Secretary for saying earlier today that there would be an inquiry into how the wrong kind of CS gas could have been used on the streets of Liverpool. I understand that the canisters were clearly marked to the effect that they should not be used against people but only for the penetration of buildings. The use of that gas in such a situation should deeply concern us all.
To put police into a riot situation without adequate shields or proper uniforms and without the skills to handle riots—until now, they have been trained only in crowd control—is like sending a farmer to plough a field with a child’s spade. The police must never again be exposed to the brutal onslaught which they suffered in central Liverpool. While the Home Secretary is undoubtedly right 1467 to improve riot equipment, far more training in riot control is necessary. The Government must address themselves to far more fundamental matters than asbestos gloves.
Not only was the police response inadequate and ineffective to deal with what happened in Liverpool, as my hon. Friend the Member for Toxteth said earlier. The political response in the aftermath has been appalling. Effective remedies should come from the top. Unfortunately, the Government have proved incapable of showing appropriate sensitivity. For example, when 44 young dancers died in a Dublin discotheque in February this year, the Prime Minister at once sent her kind wishes to her Irish colleague Mr. Charles Haughey, but when 13 young black people died in a fire at a party in South-East London no official person said a compassionate word about it.
As this week’s edition of The Economist says: Mrs. Thatcher’s compassion, or at least her worry, is now aroused—her television address on Wednesday was that of someone who had fretted over every word. About time. Her friends and Cabinet colleagues should play through to her a television videotape of her speech to a farmers’s show on the worst morning after the riots and get her to see why that more characteristic earlier reaction was a national calamity”.
I must also point out to the Home Secretary that spending 15 minutes travelling through the streets of Liverpool looking at a riot-torn area from a bullet-proof car is not the way to restore confidence in the political process or political leaders. As a constituent put it to me, “Even the Queen gets out and shakes a few hands and talks to people”. I am pleased that the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister came to Liverpool. I am sorry that they came in such circumstances. I hope that they will come again and that the circumstances will be happier for them and for my city.
I hope that the Liberal Party’s response will be helpful to the whole House. My right hon. Friend the Leader of the Liberal Party was in Liverpool yesterday. He toured the area and met many people in the centres mentioned earlier by the hon. Member for Wavertree, talking to people in the streets and to shopkeepers and residents who had been affected. He also announced yesterday that he had established a special commission, to be headed by Mark Bonham Carter, assisted by Lord Evans and Lord Winstanley. It is our hope that an examination of the wider political issues involved will be of assistance to Lord Scarman who is undertaking a very useful inquiry into Brixton. I hope, however, that when Lord Scarman’s report is finally concluded it will not be just another set of documents to gather dust on Government shelves.
Parliament itself must also learn how to respond better to the immigrant and native black community. If the prophecies of the right hon. Member for Down, South are not to come true, we must put our own house in order. That surely means that there ought to be some black faces in this Chamber. That is one reason why I support an electoral system which would ensure that minorities are properly represented in the House.
Unemployment, housing, racial tension and policing have all played their part, but the House must also look at those who fan the flames. The chief constable of Manchester spoke of a conspiracy. It is certainly true that on the nights when riots flared in Liverpool every lunatic from the extreme wings of politics seemed to be on the streets of Liverpool.
1468 Someone was organising the petrol bombs. There were people in hoods overturning cars, causing disruption and deliberately helping those who wanted to fan the flames of the violence. People were also distributing leaflets. Other hon. Members have already referred to leaflets that were distributed in their own constituencies.
The House will recall that immediately after the riots I brought to the attention of the Home Secretary a leaflet that was deliberately designed to incite and inflame the situation in central Liverpool. It was put out at the height of the rioting.
No hon. Member can forgive the orgy of violence, looting and destruction which took place, yet on the night of the riots a leaflet was delivered by the Labour Party Young Socialists which says that they defend all those arrested during these events, and call for their immediate release and the dropping of all charges against them. The leaflet was printed and published at 70 Victoria Street, which is the headquarters of the Labour Party in Liverpool, and it bore the telephone number of a prospective Labour Party candidate.
The hon. Member for Walton disavowed that leaflet immediately afterwards and like most hon. Members—I would hope all—said that he could not condone the looting and rioting that took place. Yet those wolves in sheep’s clothing who distributed that sort of wicked literature—it can only be described as such—deliberately incited people in that area to go on looting, burning and pillaging in the expectation that all charges against them would be dropped, whatever the nature of their offences.
§ Mr. Heffer
I have made it quite clear that I disagree with a number of points in that leaflet. However, the hon. Gentleman must also be fair. He should point out that it also stated quite clearly that in no way did the people responsible for it condone rioting, looting and violence. I appreciate that there are parts of the leaflet with which I disagree. In fact, the general secretary of the party issued a statement to the effect that it had nothing to do with the Labour Party. But in order to be fair to these youngsters, who I believe were misguided in respect of some of the points they made, the hon. Gentleman should point out that they made it clear that they were not in favour of looting, violence or rioting to solve political problems.
§ Mr. Alton
That leaflet said that, whatever the crimes committed, all charges should be dropped. That can only be seen by any fair-minded person as an act of incitement and a deliberate act of provocation at a time when the rioting and looting were at their worst. I received a copy of the leaflet in the middle of Sunday night’s riots.
Only last week, I wrote to the hon. Member for Walton. I appreciate that he has been as busy as I have and that probably he has not had a chance to reply. However, I put to the hon. Gentleman a statement by Mr. Jim Hollinshead, the chairman of the Labour Party Young Socialists in Liverpool, who said on television that the leaflet was endorsed by the constituency parties in Edge Hill, Toxteth and Scotland Exchange. He even claimed, although I understand the hon. Gentleman has repudiated this, that the hon. Gentleman’s own agent saw the text of the leaflet before it was distributed.
Such leaflets have been distributed throughout the country. According to an article in one of the Sunday newspapers, Militant Left-Wingers have drawn up plans to organise street rioters and looters into a highly disciplined revolutionary force 1469 to topple the Government. ‘Red’ Andy Bevan, organiser of the Labour Party Young Socialists, said: ‘We must bring the Tories down at the earliest opportunity—we can’t wait two years for an election.’ And he revealed that he knew well in advance that Britain’s streets were about to be ripped apart by an explosion of violence”.
§ Mr. Heffer
Is the hon. Gentleman quoting what Andy Bevan said or what the writer of the article said that Andy Bevan said? There is a distinction. I have sent many letters to various newspapers and statements have been attributed to me that I never made but which people said that I made. Had Andy Bevan said anything like that, there would undoubtedly be some inquiry in the Party. However, to quote what some newspaper writer said that Andy Bevan said is not necessarily the same as quoting what he actually said.
This is a quite unnecessary discussion. As I said on the radio, it would be much better if the hon. Gentleman came forward with some positive proposals to deal with the problem instead of coming forward with a silly leaflet that was issued by youngsters who though that they were helping to solve a problem. There was no malice nor was there any intention to incite violence. In fact, they were against violence.
§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Ernest Armstrong)
Order. Long interventions make long speeches even longer, and There are many hon. Members waiting to speak.
§ Mr. Alton
I shall quote from Miss Claire Doyle, who came to Toxteth from Brixton at the height of the riots. She spoke at a meeting in Toxteth, and said: The Young Socialists in Toxteth wanted to channel the energies of the youth in the area against the Tories.
Mr. Heifer
What is wrong with that?
Mr. Afton
Everyone knows that the youth of the area were on the streets of Liverpool, looting and rioting—
Mr. Haffer
Every one of them?
§ Mr. Alton
People were deliberately trying to foment the riot and to orchestrate events. It is not only the wolves in sheep’s clothing that are involved but the wolves themselves. The following report appeared in a Sunday newspaper: Mr. Tony Cliff,…a member of the Central Committee of the SWP, said yesterday that the party must try now to coordinate young rioters in all parts of the country. His call was made at a…meeting held in the Liverpool offices of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers. … Mr. Cliff.…said. The riots and looting have been fantastic, but they have not gone far enough. …We must teach them to take the bakery, not just the bread. Others referred to youth training centres, as they are euphemistically called. Four days before the Brixton riots I spoke in a debate in this House on youth unemployment. I said: the government must wrestle with the problem. If they do not, others will prey on the disadvantages of the young.”—[Official Report, 7 April 1981; Vol. 2, c. 839.] I quoted from News Line. Miss Claire Dixon, speaking at the Young Socialists’ conference. said: There is no peaceful road to socialism—we are building a revolutionary socialist youth movement to lead the struggle.” Those are the people who have established youth training centres in London and in my constituency. I do not subscribe to the sheer conspiracy theory. Many things are involved, and have led to this conflagration. However, such events require people to come into a community, to organise, to provide petrol bombs and to 1470 manipulate people in a way that will destroy the peace. We cannot forgive the bully boys either. They travel by bus into areas such as Southall with one aim in mind—to disrupt life and violate the citizens who live there.
These arsonists of the psychotic Right—often associated with the National Front and other similar organizations—wear their insignia and incite racial hatred with apparent impunity. Freedom of expression is an important right, but when it amounts to the incitement of racial violence and other civil disturbances it flies in the face of the precious rights of those whom a democratic society has pledged itself to protect. These Right-wing Fascist groups should be put on criminal charges right away.
A chemistry of events came together to create the type of explosion that we saw in the city of Liverpool. I hope that there will be an attempt by the politicians of that city to work with one another in common cause to try to rebuild the city. I want to see an end to the bickering among politicians in the city of Liverpool. I desperately want to see the city that I represent being rebuilt by our people. I hope that we can build on the confrontation that we have seen. Then we may see some good from this evil.
9.33 pm
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What was the first name of the character 'Sgt. Pepper Anderson'in the series 'Police Woman'? | Angie Dickinson Police Woman Tv Series
Angie Dickinson Police Woman Tv Series
Angie Dickinson Police Woman Tv Series
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"""It will be the greatest show on earth"", is attributed to which American showman after his merger with another show?" | Angie Dickinson Wasn't So Tough in 'Police Woman,' but She Sure Looked Good - The New York Times
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BETWEEN the March 1974 pilot episode of the series "Police Woman," -- shown as an installment of Joseph Wambaugh's standard-setting TV crime anthology "Police Story" -- and the premiere six months later, Angie Dickinson insisted her character's name be changed to something catchier.
As she explains in the audio commentary on "Police Woman: The Complete First Season," released last month by Sony Home Entertainment, Lisa Beaumont was a handle far too beige for a female vice cop, so she was rechristened Sgt. Suzanne (Pepper) Anderson.
Considering she spent most of her time impersonating prostitutes, going undercover in women's prisons and sneaking behind the scenes on "porno flicks," the switch was as smart a move for the character as doing the series was for the actress. Ms. Dickinson's career, as she says on one disc, was "just coasting" at that point. "Police Woman" was a comeback for an actress then better known as Mrs. Burt Bacharach.
Released almost simultaneously with the lurid Roger Corman-produced bootlegging drama "Big Bad Mama," which featured a controversial nude scene (with William Shatner, no less) and was also recently released on DVD, "Police Woman" allowed Ms. Dickinson to bring her sweaty sex appeal to television. In so doing, she made Pepper Anderson more titillating than any female crime-fighter TV has ever seen.
Sorry, Angels.
So what if she was already past 40 when the series had its premiere -- Ms. Dickinson looked well worn, not worn out. When she said "I wonder what kind of a freak we've got this time," she sounded deliciously provocative. With a whipped topping of blond hair cascading toward her frequently bare shoulders -- the series used any excuse to put her in a halter -- the former beauty queen left little wonder why she had been an honorary member of the Rat Pack. As Sinatra might have said, the broad could cook.
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Although remembered as a proto grrl-power star vehicle, the series actually was a testosterone-heavy ensemble drama right from the pilot episode, which was titled "The Gamble" and is included with the 22 official episodes in the five-disc set. This was good for the show, which features such choice first-season guest stars as Judy Canova, Cathy Rigby, Larry Hagman, Pat Morita, Bob Crane, Philip Michael Thomas and Elinor Donohue. But it was bad for feminism.
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Although Pepper describes a white slaver (played by the wonderfully oily William Windom in an episode titled "The Beautiful Die Young") as "the kind of guy I'd love to bust," Ms. Dickinson's character is often relegated to looking good while ducking bullets or cradling a downed officer whose last words are "Ma'am, could you hold me please?" No one ever asked Baretta to do that.
Pepper's partner, Lt. Bill Crowley -- portrayed by the ruggedly handsome Earl Holliman, who replaced a wimpier Bert Convy after the pilot -- engages in the most violent action on "Police Woman." So, do Charles Dierkop, an oddly appealing actor who was the Luis Guzman of the 70's, and Ed Bernard, who had appeared in "Shaft," as Royster and Styles, funky fellow detectives prone, like so many vintage TV characters, to such period-defining lingo as "bread," "jive," "heavy" and the classic "Freeze, turkey!"
Audiences today, used to "Alias" and "Buffy," would be more satisfied seeing Pepper kick some serious butt herself, rather than willingly be set out as "bait for the rapist," as she says in an episode about a razor-wielding sicko, played by a pre-"Greatest American Hero" William Katt, who forces his victims to do an elaborate striptease before offing them. But back in the 70's, Pepper was enough to spice up prime-time TV -- certainly more than a lady cop named Lisa Beaumont could ever have.
FRANK DeCARO
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If you ordered 'Pollo' in an Italian restaurant, what would yoube eating? | Juan Pollo in Norwalk, California with Reviews - YP.com
antojitos.alondra.5 rated
First Of All, 1. The Food here is delicious and exceptional! 2. The prices are great! 3. everyone here is so friendly! I came here about a week ago on a Sunday, I ordered the special "CALDO DE RES" and letme tell you, I had this as a kid, and I loved it! came here and tried theirs, oH MY! =] which came with a side or Rice, slices of Avcado, Sauce, and limes. (chopped onion and cilantro) The caldo/soup was great! all the seasonings were a great ad on The avocado slices really just added more zest to the already great food! I was so satisfied with the food that I ordered a plate to go which at the time I was craving chicken, so I ordered the Mole which is a spiced sauce added on meat. I had chicken on mole.. It was medium spiced, with almost a sweet hint, and scrumptious juice chicken drums that slid right off the bone. I will almost definitely come back
Valerie T. rated
its a must!!!
this place is amazing!!! the line is always out the door ...prices r good n they got the best mexican desserts n their turkey bacon avocado sandwiches r by far the best ...the bread is lightly toasted n warm...REALLY GOOD everthing made fresh including the fruit salads with crema ...
| Chicken (disambiguation) |
Which US state has a 'Golden Poppy' as the state flower? | CrossFit Long Beach Gym Personal Training and Group Classes - Eating Paleo At Restaurants
Eating Paleo At Restaurants
Grain-free, dairy-free meal options when you must eat out.
(updated regularly with new options posted at the top. Have a contribution? Send it to gina [at] crossfitlongbeach [dot] com)
Waba Grill - Various Locations in So Cal
By Edelina: You can order any of their rice bowls with veggies only (35 cents extra) and they offer choices of chicken, salmon, beef and shrimp. I usually order the Chicken teriyaki bowl (no teriyaki sauce), veggies only, add grilled shrimp (no teriyaki sauce), add 1/2 avocado. They also have fresh brewed unsweetened tea. I also place a similar order at the Golden Bowl at Bixby and Atlantic--chicken (no sauce) and veggies only, add avocado.
Congregation Ale House
By Gina: Located on Broadway, between Pine and Long Beach Blvd. Julia turned us onto this place. This is not your typical bar food. Julia and Maria define it best as a gastro-pub. They make their own sausages from scratch and you can tell because they're really fresh. They come wrapped in flatbread but we skipped that. And they do sweet potato fries. And they have a $7.00 lunch special before 3pm.
RED — A sipology kitchen
By Patricia: Located at 3405 Orange Ave, Long Beach, CA 90807 (corner of Orange and Wardlow.) Tuesdays they offer a $5 lunch burger special with a drink order. Very yummy. They have a bunch of great burgers and you can order yours without the bun. Plus they do sweet potato fries — not french fries.
Paleo Margarita is Officially Called "Tequila Rickey"
By Orlando: So all of us trying to eat and drink Paleo have been trying to explain this drink to every bartender in So Cal....... Here's the official name: Tequila Rickey. Here's a link to CocktailsDB.com to help explain it. There are also other versions that can be mixed with different alcohols. Enjoy and drink up!
Chili's
By Orlando: Not much on the menu there for the Paleo eater.....but I made do. The sirloin steak with the Asada rub, all veggies for the sides, no butter and I ordered a side of Pico de Gallo to dump over everything......actually was pretty tasty.
Delius on Cherry and Spring
By Gina and Chad: We love their cobb salad with no blue cheese crumbles or dressing. Their vinagrette is delicious. Have them toss it for you. Gina also loves their Spinach Salad and orders it with garlic shrimp instead of herb chicken (it's a little dry).
By Orlando: Meat Lovers Omelette with tomatoes and onion added. No cheese, of course, and tomato and avocado slices instead of the potatoes...all I'm going to say is "eggs and all that pork......is a heavenly breakfast/brunch"
Italian Deli option
By Orlando: So Italian was on the lunch menu today.....didn't take much creativity to feel like I was still eating an Italian meal. I ordered a sausage and pepper sandwich, minus the cheese and bread....it's as simple as it sounds, some Italian sausage, some peppers and onions all cooked in marinara sauce.
Quiznos
Orlando had the Cobb salad, minus the cheese and subbed the ranch dressing for italian, added onions and pepperchinnis....and now it's sorta Cobb/Antipasto, but Paleo none the less!
Los Compadres (Anaheim and Redondo)
Julia and Gina like the shrimp ceviche, spicy version, especially when it's hot. Hold the tortialla chips. Comes with a fair amount of avocado, too. Gina also likes their "Mexican Margarita" which is simply tequila, lime juice and club soda. It's tart but refreshing.
Cisco Burger (Anaheim, near Magnolia)
Chad and Orlando like the Cisco Pile without the cheese and potatoes. It has eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, tomatoes, peppers, salsa. It's really good.
Wahoo's (many locations)
Melissa likes the Fish Salad without cheese, beans or salad dressing. She gets the cajun/spicy fish which adds great flavor and uses fresh salsa as the dressing. The salad comes with a big pile of guacamole too.
The Wahoo's Salad with chicken is another great Paleo Meal. Order with double chicken, no cheese, no tortilla chips and extra salsa for the dressing.
Peruvian Dish - Inka Grill
Orlando went to Inka Grill and got the Saltado de Vainitas con Carne - it's basically grilled onions, tomatoes, broccoli and meat, you can also get it with chicken. This dish is pretty common in all Peruvian restaurants. Make sure you tell them broccoli only and no green beans (have to stay Rx). Make sure not to eat the rice or bread. And for extra flavor you can spread the Aji salsa on it (it's the light green salsa), it's very tasty. Aji is a type of pepper from Peru....if you're feeling brave, spread the red salsa.
Carls Jr
$6 low-carb, double patty, no bun, no cheese, no ketchup. Orlando suggests hot sauce and eat it with a fork and knife.
Tam's Burgers (on Atlantic, near Market)
Chicken salad with Italian dressing....major paleo salad....loads of chicken!
In-N-Out
Order a triple animal/protein style burger with no cheese and no sauce. It has 3 mustard-cooked patties with all the veggies and extra pickles, all wrapped up in lettuce. If you're not into that much meat...... order a double.
El Pollo Loco
4 piece meal + 2 side combo. Get the garden salad (salad dressing=tomato salsa) and steamed vegetables for the 2 sides. No tortillas! Can also get the 8 piece if in need of more protein. Or...
Pollo bowl with vegetables instead of beans and rice.
El Taco Loco #3 (Magnolia and 15th)
Gina likes the tostada de ceviche - hold the corn tortilla. So good!
Thai Restaurant
Green Chicken Curry... Grilled chicken in a coconut milk curry sauce, with bamboo shoots and basil. Extra salad and veggies, instead of rice and noodle soup. I know it's hard, but you have to stay away from the thai tea or coffee.
Lucielle's
So, I (Orlando) wasn't totally Paleo....but Niraj was kind enough to buy, so I felt the need to bend the rules a little...
Beef rib and hot link with the fresh sauteed veggies and buffalo wings for a starter (no ranch) My cheat was the BBQ sauce...but it's my birthday weekend! You can order the ribs "dry" which is without the barbecue sauce.
GreenFields's
Orlando recommends this one. For a nice dinner out, linen table cloths and napkins (I know what you're all thinking, but they actually let me in....anyway)
Brazilian BBQ...it's all you can eat meat...need I say more. And they have a pretty good selection of veggies and salads, to go with your protein overload.
Javier's - Mexican Food
Javier's is fancy Mexican food...enough said about that. There is a Javier's in Irvine Spectrum and one in Newport Coast...enjoy!
Orlando was able to pull off a plate and make it Paleo. Order the Carnitas plate: instead of the beans, order veggies or salad, toss the tortillas and extra guacamole. Pour the salsa over the salad and he said he actually felt like he was eating real Mexican food!
Baba Ganoush - Lebanese food
4276 Atlantic Ave. 90807 562-424-4567
Mediterranean Salad with Chicken, no feta cheese. Add a few Kabobs to get a little more meat and vegtables. Great service...enjoy!
Flame Broiler
So, Flame Broiler can be a perfect lunch spot for the Paleo Dieter. You can order just about any of the plates, with no rice or sauce and you'll be good to go! I had the chicken beef combo plate with all veggies, no rice, no sauce, then added their Magic Hot Sauce. The plate comes with a salad and italian dressing and orange slices.
www.flamebroilerusa.com to find a location near you.
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What fruity name did Gwyneth Paltrow give to her daughter, born in 2004? | 'Fruity' Celeb Baby Names Irk Singer's Daughter | Fox News
'Fruity' Celeb Baby Names Irk Singer's Daughter
Published May 27, 2004
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At least one person in Britain isn't happy movie star Gwyneth Paltrow ( search ) and her rock-star husband, Coldplay's Chris Martin ( search ), decided to name their newborn daughter "Apple."
Peaches Geldof ( search ), daughter of a rock star herself, lamented the practice of goofy celebrity-offspring names in the Daily Telegraph of London Wednesday.
"I am named, as you may have noticed, after a fruit," wrote the 14-year-old daughter of Boomtown Rats singer Bob "Live Aid" Geldof ( search ). "I'm not Jane or Sarah or Samantha: I am Peaches. This doesn't make sense to me at all."
Young Geldof said Apple Martin has a lot of teasing to look forward to thanks to her name, and she has plenty of first-hand experience.
"I've never announced my name to anyone without being asked to repeat it at least twice," she wrote. "I also get a lot of lascivious comments: 'Ooh, you're a juicy piece of fruit, aren't you, young lady?' 'I'd like to take a bite out of that peach ...' 'Look at those peaches.'"
While Geldof says life hasn't always been "peaches and cream" for her, she does see an upside to an untraditional moniker, according to the Daily Telegraph. "It's unusual, it's exotic, it's not boring. It also gives me [or so I like to think] an air of mystery."
And she lists some other unusual children-of-celebrity names that make her feel Peaches isn't the worst thing one could be branded, such as David Bowie's son Zowie and Prince Jackson, son of the Gloved One.
Her own sisters make the list: Fifi Trixibelle, Little Pixie and Heavenly Hiraani Tigerlily. And despite the teasing she's endured, Geldof writes that she plans to continue the tradition when she has kids.
"I'll probably end up calling it Grape."
A knife-wielding stick-up artist made shopkeepers laugh when he tried to rob them wearing a plastic bag with eyeholes on his head and shopping bags on his feet, according to the Daily Telegraph of London.
"Bugger off, you look silly," one gas station cashier told the poorly masked perpetrator Simon Kent, 24.
Another shop worker just said no when he demanded cash. When he returned to a village store he had robbed of £350 a few weeks earlier, he fled when his plastic bag mask blew off.
He also failed a liquor store robbery when the cashier locked herself in a cupboard and he could not make her come out. Two assistants in a self-service store ran away and he could not open the till.
The getaway driver, Michael White, 29, used his own car and witnesses wrote down the license plate number, according to Lewes Crown Court.
Other than the £350 robbery in East Sussex, only one of their other raids in Kent and Sussex was successful. Their haul was £5 and two packets of cigarettes.
The men admitted two counts of robbery and five of attempted robbery. Both were jailed for five years.
—Thanks to Out There reader Buz H.
Taxi! Bank Robber Calls a Cab for Getaway
WEST PATERSON, NJ (AP) — An accused New Jersey bank robber needed some help with his getaway - so he asked a bank employee to call him a cab.
Police say Ernest Di Falco was busted about a-half hour after the Bank of New York branch in Rutherford was robbed. According to investigators, a bank worker wrote down the taxi's license number.
Even though he wore a disguise, police say another bank employee recognized Di Falco and remembered he worked in a nearby pizzeria.
Officers say they've recovered the cash, a fake gun, as well as an old .22-caliber revolver.
Di Falco is now charged with armed bank robbery.
Student Manure Prank Backfires
EMINENCE, IN (AP) — It's a senior prank that stinks.
Officials at Indiana's Eminence High School say someone spread hundreds of pounds of manure around the school and smeared some on the doors.
It took several trips with a front-end loader to remove the smelly stuff from school property. Superintendent Norman Stockton says it's an act of vandalism.
He promises the students responsible will be prosecuted if caught. He figures no more than a-half dozen students were involved. But the incident caused school officials to cancel a senior class trip to the Indianapolis Zoo.
Senior class president Kyle Malott says all the seniors shouldn't be punished. He says rather than canceling the trip, the pranksters should have been forced to clean up the mess.
| Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment |
Who played by the title role in the 2002 film comedy 'Maid In Manhattan'? | What Did Megan Fox Name Her Son? Bodhi, Apple And More Unique Celebrity Baby Names
What Did Megan Fox Name Her Son? Bodhi, Apple And More Unique Celebrity Baby Names
02/21/14 AT 9:02 AM
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Megan Fox and Brian Green welcomed their second child on Feb. 12 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, and since then, fans have been curious as to what name they gave him. The couple has another son, Noah, who was born in October 2012.
TMZ reports Fox and Green named their newborn Bodhi Ransom Green, with “Bodhi” being a Buddhist term that means awakened, and is used to describe the understanding a Buddha has of the nature of things. Fox is certainly not the first celebrity mother to give her child an uncommon name. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were criticized rather harshly after naming their daughter North West.
Actor Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-El after Superman because he is a comics fan. Beyonce named her daughter Blue Ivy, in part because four is Beyonce’s favorite number (IV is the Roman numeral for 4) and also because during her pregnancy Beyonce found blue ivy on a tree in Croatia, which was apparently significant to her and husband Jay-Z.
Brian Austin Green and wife, Megan Fox, at the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards in January 2013. Photo: Reuters
Related Stories
Megan Fox Expecting Baby No. 2!
Beyonce’s best friend Gwyneth Paltrow and husband Chris Martin named their daughter Apple. Paltrow explained the name to Oprah Winfrey in 2004, saying, “Basically, it was because when we were first pregnant, her daddy said, if it's ... a girl, I think her name should be Apple. And I just, it sounded so sweet, and it conjures such a lovely picture for me, you know apples are so sweet and they're wholesome, and it's biblical …”
Actor Forest Whitaker named his son Ocean, stating, "I want those names to be their destiny, for my daughter to be honest and my son to be expansive. I try to be like a forest, revitalizing and constantly growing."
Former Playboy playmate Holly Madison named her little girl Rainbow, and even admitted she knew the name might not be the easiest to deal with as the girl grows up. “I know she's gonna go through the phase when she’s younger where she hates her name," Madison told OMG Insider correspondent Keltie Colleen earlier this year. “So she’ll probably go by ‘Rain’ or ‘Bow,’ but I’ll always call her Rainbow.”
And of course there's Blanket, the youngest son of the late pop icon Michael Jackson. Though his real name is Prince Michael Jackson II, the world knows him as Blanket. He's now 12.
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"Who recognised the ""wind of change blowing through Africa""?" | BBC ON THIS DAY | 3 | 1960: Macmillan speaks of 'wind of change' in Africa
About This Site | Text Only
1960: Macmillan speaks of 'wind of change' in Africa
The Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, has had a frosty reception from politicians in South Africa after speaking frankly against the country's system of apartheid.
In a speech to MPs in the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town, Mr Macmillan spoke of the "wind of change" blowing through the continent of Africa, as more and more majority black populations in the colonies claim the right to rule themselves.
"Whether we like it or not," he said, "this growth of national consciousness is a political fact."
The government's aim, he said, was to "create a society which respects the rights of individuals - a society in which individual merit, and individual merit alone, is the criterion for a man's advancement, whether political or economic."
To do justice in Africa means not only being just to the black man of Africa, but also to the white man of Africa
South African Prime Minister, Dr Verwoerd
Nationalist Party politicians listened to him in silence, and a number refused to applaud when he had finished.
Dr Verwoerd, the South African Prime Minister and the architect of the apartheid system, thanked Mr Macmillan for his speech, but said he could not agree.
"We are the people who brought civilisation to Africa," he said. "To do justice in Africa means not only being just to the black man of Africa, but also to the white man of Africa."
Mr Macmillan's speech is the first time a senior international figure has given voice to the growing protest against South Africa's laws of strict racial segregation.
The speech was widely anticipated throughout the country, as Mr Macmillan had already said he would take the chance to say what he thought about the situation in South Africa.
Even so, the plain-speaking nature of the speech took many in Cape Town by surprise.
Mr Macmillan is in South Africa at the end of a month-long tour of the African continent, in which he has travelled about 17,000 miles.
His visit was always controversial, and many accused him of giving the Nationalist Party credibility by allowing himself to be a guest of the South African government.
His speech today is likely to lay those criticisms to rest.
| Harold Macmillan |
According to Arthurian Legend, who as well as Arthur, loved Guinevere? | The “Wind of Change” speech | South African History Online
South African History Online
From Union to South African Republic 1900-1976
Related articles
The Union of South Africa Act, 2 December 1909
The “Wind of Change” speech
"The wind of change is blowing through this continent and, whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it as a fact, and our national policies must take account of it. ... As I see it, the great issue in this second half of the twentieth century is whether the uncommitted peoples of Asia and Africa will swing to the East or to the West. Will they be drawn into the Communist camp? Or will the great experiments of self-government that are now being made in Asia and Africa, especially within the Commonwealth, prove so successful, and by their example so compelling, that the balance will come down in favour of freedom and order and justice?
- Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister, 3 February 1960;
to the South African Parliament, Cape Town.
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Who produced the classicwestern'The Wild Bunch'? | The Wild Bunch (1969) - IMDb
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An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
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Title: The Wild Bunch (1969)
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Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »
Videos
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a cripple, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
Director: Howard Hawks
A Civil War veteran embarks on a journey to rescue his niece from an Indian tribe.
Director: John Ford
An American bartender and his prostitute girlfriend go on a road trip through the Mexican underworld to collect a $1 million bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.
Director: Sam Peckinpah
A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.
Director: John Ford
An aging Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons--his sole purpose being to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
Director: Sam Peckinpah
A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
Director: Sam Peckinpah
A recently released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.
Director: Sam Peckinpah
A Missouri farmer joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
Director: Clint Eastwood
A marshall, personally compelled to face a returning deadly enemy, finds that his own town refuses to help him.
Director: Fred Zinnemann
A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.
Director: John Ford
A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smoldering settler/rancher conflict forces him to act.
Director: George Stevens
Dunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.
Directors: Howard Hawks, Arthur Rosson
Stars: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru
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Storyline
In the Wild Bunch the movie opens with a group of aging outlaw's final score, a bank robbery. The event concludes with a violent and overtly bloody shootout that would generally mark the finale of a movie. This is correct in that it marks the finale of an era, for the characters and the world they live in. They simply can no longer keep up, the times are changing, technology advancing, and they're style of life is getting left behind in the dust that they spent so long galloping through. They abandon their careers for the simpler life of retirement. They enjoy this time, they live their fantasies. During this time the law is always on their tracks, bounty hunters. The further into their fantasy they get, the closer their demise seems to get. When one of their own is captured they are faced with the choice of escape or what is certainly a suicide mission to attempt and free their fallen behind comrade. For them it is not a choice. They all die in what can only be described as a ... Written by [email protected]
Born too late for their own times. Uncommonly significant for ours. See more »
Genres:
7 August 1969 (Hong Kong) See more »
Also Known As:
(director's cut)
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)| DTS (1995 re-release)| Dolby Digital (1995 re-release)| Mono (35 mm prints)| SDDS (1995 re-release)
Color:
Did You Know?
Trivia
This film was adapted from a story thought up by Roy N. Sickner , an actor and stuntman. Walon Green wrote the script, which was then rewritten by Sam Peckinpah . Green felt that Peckinpah's rewrite was substantial enough to deserve credit, but he had to lobby the WGA (Writers Guild of America) to allow Peckinpah a credit. Green has always said he was grateful to Peckinpah for not rewriting too much of the script just to get credit. Green, Sickner and Peckinpah all shared Academy Award nominations for best screenplay (the only Oscar nomination Peckinpah ever received in his entire career.) They didn't win. See more »
Goofs
According to the Internet Movie Car Database, Mapache's car is a 1914 Packard Six -- and the film's apparently set in 1913. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
[indistinct voices]
Rev. Wainscoat : Do not drink wine or strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, least ye shall die. Look not though upon the wine when it is red, and when it bringeth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright at the last, it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. Now folks, that's from the Good Book, but in this here town it's five cents a glass. Five cents a glass, now does anyone think that that is a price of a drink?
Shall We Gather at the River?
(uncredited)
"Dutch, there are just some people who can't stand to admit they're wrong"
17 February 1999 | by mokman
(Springfield, MO) – See all my reviews
This is simply one of the best westerns, maybe overall best films ever made. Peckinpah's best by far. It is one of those films that grabs you by the thoat and doesn't let you go until it is over. Brilliant casting. I would be hard pressed to find someone who could have played Pike's part better than William Holden. But the rest of the cast for the main characters: Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Warren Oates Ben Johnson, Jaimie Sanchez and Edmund O'Brien are equally effective in their respective roles. Even the secondary actors, namely Strother Martin and LQ Jones are also great as the "gutter trash" bounty hunters Robert Ryan has to lead in chasing down Pike and his band.
This movie deals with aging gunfighters who had outlived their era, and see their "code of conduct" now passe' in the early 20th Century on the eve of World War I. Technology
in the way of cars, planes, and machine guns has rendered living and dying more impersonal than in Pike's et. al day. In some ways, with the end of the millennium at hand and all the vast technological changes, and changes in values, habits, and lifestyles that have taken place, even in the last couple of decades, many of us viewing the picture can sense just a bit of empathy with the main characters... Although this movie is an action film, there is a sort of foreboding throughout the film that the end is near for them. Yet when it occurs it will happen on their terms. One of my favorite scenes is when Pike and Dutch are sitting in their bedrolls by the fire at Angel's village. Pike talks about the railroad man Harrigan and how "some people just can't stand to admit they're wrong... or learn by it!" And then Dutch asks Pike if he believes they had learned anything today, referring to the bloodbath in the opening scene in Starbuck, to which Pike replies "I sure hope to God we did." The movie when released in 1969 received a lot of criticism for the violence, which was indeed unparralelled at that time. But it is relatively tame by today's standards. Moreover, the violence is not gratuitious as we see in so many films today. You see consquences to the violence hence the "death ballet." the two children holding each other during the shootout in the opening scene, and Robert Ryan's agonizing chagrin at carnage in the street and noticing the young children emulating the gunfighters in the street, the dead bodies not yet removed.. A suprising number of people who have seen this film have not seen the Director's Cut which was re-released in 1994. It puts back in many key scenes, which develops Pike and Deke Thorton's past, which is crucial to tying the movie together and making it a brilliant film. Without these scenes, then it makes little or no sense.. Unfortunately, many television stations when showing this film show the "butchered" version........
A 30th Anniversary addition has recently come out that includes a half-hour documentary "The Wild Bunch: A Portait in Montage, " which, made in 1996 received much acclaim, including an Oscar Nomination.. It makes the viewer even more appreciate Peckinpah's brilliant improvisational skill as well as the technical feats, such as the unforgettable Rio Grade river bridge scene.
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| Sam Peckinpah |
Who was the Britishphysicist noted for his investigation of 'Black Holes'? | DVD Savant Review: Sam Peckinpah's The Legendary Westerns Collection
Sam Peckinpah
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Sam Peckinpah has remained a legendary name among western fans, and this Warners boxed set has been highly anticipated for over a year. Only one of the films here is a repeat release: The Wild Bunch came out in the very first batch of Warner Bros. DVDs back in 1997. It was a flipper that forced viewers to watch the movie in two halves, and it wasn't enhanced for 16:9. The other four titles are new to the format, with Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid attracting the lion's share of attention by virtue of having two different versions of the movie, one of which represents a premiere of a new cut.
The disc extras have an authoritative pedigree, as they've been compiled by a set of Peckinpah biographers. Some of them worked with Peckinpah and others are industry producers and editors: Nick Redman, Paul Seydor, Garner Simmons and David Weddle. If there's a known fact about Peckinpah, chances are we first read about it in one of the fine books turned out by this "Peckinpah Posse." Viewers unfamiliar with 'bloody Sam' beyond his ultra-violent reputation will have a lot of information to absorb.
Savant admires all of the titles in this box, which include every period Western picture Sam made except for his first and disastrous The Deadly Companions, and Major Dundee . A hot television writer and director, Peckinpah's flair with authentic-sounding frontier dialogue won him many a Hollywood admirer, and the sleeper success of Ride the High Country led to critical accolades and the beginnings of a high-profile career. I prefer to evaluate the movies as fine Westerns rather than examine them through their maker - Peckinpah was a talented writer-director with a self-destructive bent who alienated his producers and blamed others for his own problems. The stories of bad behavior on sets and in public are mostly unprintable, and he quickly drove a flourishing career straight into the proverbial ground. Most of the second half of Peckinpah's too-short theatrical career is the work of a dissipated man who lost his grip on his profession - The Killer Elite, Convoy , The Osterman Weekend . Peckinpah was a great talent but he doesn't qualify as a Hollywood martyr.
Sam Peckinpah's "The Legendary Westerns Collection" celebrates the cream of his work - his westerns are moving, amusing and occasionally profound. And his masterpiece The Wild Bunch stands up as one of the best movies ever made, by anybody.
Ride the High Country
Richard E. Lyons
Pick that up! These mountains don't need your trash!
Ride the High Country put Peckinpah on the map with critics and the foreign cinema literati. His first feature The Deadly Companions was an independent western that sprang from a television relationship with Brian Keith. It turned into a mess when its tyrannical star Maureen O'Hara and her producer brother didn't allow Peckinpah the leeway to alter an awkward script. Peckinpah tried to swing the picture his way by purposely shooting a different (and better) ending, whereupon the producer did a sloppy recut and added insult to injury by slamming ninety minutes of mind-numbing guitar noodling onto the sound track. So far the Panavision Carousel production for Pathé-America has only appeared in cheap pan-scanned video versions, making it impossible to fairly evaluate.
Producer Richard E. Lyons and Peckinpah had a good experience on Ride the High Country, following an original script that Peckinpah tweaked and improved with his excellent dialogue skills. Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea meet a bible-thumping farmer and for several scenes thereafter put a Biblical lilt into their sly verbal exchanges. When the greying lawmen share old times, they talk like codgers enjoying a dirty joke we can't share: "All night, Logan!" "Wa-ay up, Logan!" The dialogue reveals character even on the rebound, as when Ron Starr, staring at farm girl Mariette Hartley, is startled because he thinks he hears the word "Ass."
Like all of Peckinpah's westerns Ride the High Country gathers up the ragged thematic ends of the genre's previous decade and weaves them into a perfect swansong for the weather-beaten likes of McCrea and Scott, each of whom was on the verge of retirement. This is a moral tug of war between integrity and crooked pragmatism.
Synopsis:
Aging lawman Steve Judd (Joel McCrea) takes a job transporting gold from the Sierra Nevada mining town of Coarsegold, and hires old pal Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott) not knowing that Westrum and his callow sidekick Heck Longtree (Ron Starr) intend to abscond with the paydirt. On the way they pick up Elsa Knudsen (Mariette Hartley) a runaway farm girl hoping to marry Billy Hammond (James Drury), a miner. But she doesn't realize that Billy is only one of a bunch of uncouth Hammond boys, a near-feral group with no respect for the bonds of marriage.
Ride the High Country has a leisurely pace that finds space for almost everything we enjoy in modest westerns. It defines the West in a different way, as Gil and Steve live not in some prairie or desert of the imagination but in a changing California with horseless carriages, Chinese restaurants and obnoxious bankers. Once top-gun town-tamers, Gil and Steve are now on the skids. Steve's coat is frayed and Gil survives by fleecing hicks with an "Oregon Kid" carnival act. Gil sees the possibility of lifting a hundred thousand in gold as a ticket out of old-age poverty, while Steve is content to stay honest and take whatever comes with grace and humility.
1
Gil and Steve are contrasted with the next generation as represented by young couple Elsa and Heck. She's too sheltered to make critical character judgments and he's too cocksure of himself to stay out of trouble. Without ever resorting to a lecture, Ride the High Country lauds the influence that an ethical man of experience can have on the young. Steve Judd is a terrific role model. Elsa admires his gallantry and Heck is shocked to find out that a sixty-year old man can beat him in a fair fight. The film is a meditation on how to live, giving us examples of religious extremism (Joshua Knudsen), greedy license (the mining town) and hillbilly brutality (the Hammonds). Actually, Judd does bark one brief lecture at Heck that today elicits cheers of approval from Sierra Club types, and anybody who cares about the environment (the quote in blue above).
Savant first saw Ride the High Country in Jim Kitses' class at UCLA. Kitses characterized the film as a 'temptation,' with Steve Judd's integrity holding firm against the corruption of the world. He straightens out a young hoodlum, delivers a maiden from a terrible fate, holds off a band of killers and refuses to let an old 'friend' rob him of his principles. Casting straight-arrow Randolph Scott against type as a grinning con-man is nothing less than brilliant. Gil has consciously chosen a crooked path and his cynical remarks serve to deny the knowledge that he's doing wrong. He's corrupt, but the virtuous Steve Judd will redeem him. When I first rented Ride the High Country on 16mm from Films Incorporated I was told that it was frequently shown in California prisons. The film booker claimed that hardened criminals responded positively to the film's message.
Ride the High Country was filmed by ace cameraman Lucien Ballard, a lighting artist whose contribution to Peckinpah's two best films is so great that I'm surprised he's not given more credit for them. This low budget film mixes High Sierra locations, Griffith Park faked locations, the MGM back lot and phony stage 'exteriors' beautifully. The lighting emphasizes the stars' age and often provides the 'sand' to back up their words. Joel McCrea barks out the command "Move!" in close-up, with lighting similar to the choker CU in The Wild Bunch where William Holden says "If they move, kill 'em!" It's unfair to judge Peckinpah's visual abilities by his later movies where he was reportedly often incapacitated on the set, but Ballard's work creates romantic visuals to match the director's lyrical themes. There's a heart to Ballard's camerawork that doesn't appear in Major Dundee. Peckinpah reinvented the western from his own point of view but he definitely preferred older visual forms. One of Sergio Leone's biographers noted that Peckinpah had little understanding for the Italian's extreme close ups and long static takes. Peckinpah needed a strong cameraman tuned-in to his aesthetic wavelength, and Ballard was the man.
Ride the High Country was an incredibly lucky film. When bad weather ruined the mountain location shoot producer Lyons had Bronson Caverns re-dressed to look like a Sierra-top mining camp, and got away with it. When the rough cut was complete, MGM editorial maven Margaret Booth wanted to 'adjust' the whole picture 'up to MGM standards,' eliminating eccentric moments like the little digression among Joshua Knudsen's chickens before the final showdown. But the studio production chief was so unimpressed by a screening that he ordered the picture locked 'as is' for final negative cutting to proceed. So studio indifference made this one of the few Peckinpah films to be finished as cut! Actually, Peckinpah was barred from the lot for the final mix, and producer Lyons graciously helped the director stay involved by playing mixes over the telephone.
Ride the High Country is vastly improved on DVD from the 1992 laserdisc, which had a big splice-jump right in the middle of the impressively profound final shot. The color is a huge improvement, coaxing hues out of film elements that can no longer make satisfactory theatrical screening prints. Some of the original dialogue recording and effects cutting are a little rocky, but George Bassman's masterful score fits the film well. It was partially re-used for Richard Lyons' follow-up picture Mail Order Bride, a movie similar in structure to this one.
A Justified Life: Sam Peckinpah and the High Country is a featurette interview with Fern Lea Peter, Peckinpah's younger sister. She speaks of his family history on their ranch outside of Fresno and gives us a first-person account of Peckinpah's early life illustrated with many family photos. She identifies Sam's father as the source of the characterization of Steve Judd, offering the opinion that Peckinpah would never have behaved the way he did in later years if his father were around. And there really is a town called Coarsegold!
The Wild Bunch
1969 / 2:35 anamorphic 16:9 / 145 min. / Two-Disc Special Edition; The Original Director's Cut / available individually at 26.98
Starring
William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Warren Oates, Jaime Sanchez, Ben Johnson, Emilio Fernandez, Strother Martin, Albert Dekker, L.Q. Jones, Aurora Clavell
Cinematography
Roy N. Sickner, Walon Green, Sam Peckinpah
Produced by
Phil Feldman
Would you give someone guns to kill your mother, or your brother?
The Wild Bunch is the big one, and if one hasn't seen it yet, by all means stop reading this! Thirty-six years later, Peckinpah's best film is still the last truly original Western. Unforgiven and Dances with Wolves are great pictures, but they don't break new ground. Critics, film historians and western buffs have written up this masterpiece from every conceivable angle - its violence, its sexual politics and its position midway between the western, the gangster film and the historical epic. One fine article analyzed the half-dozen musical rhythms coursing through the final sequence. Another proposed that Peckinpah's vision of the Death of the West was also a marker for the beginning decline of America, a country awash in corruption and violence.
When Warners first released movies to VHS home video The Wild Bunch was one of the first titles out, albeit in the original (adjusted) theatrical length of about 135 minutes. Until a longer repertory print appeared around 1979, the only Americans to see Peckinpah's full cut (145 minutes) were those who attended the first week of its limited-run in big cities. In foreign markets -- the UK and Spain -- the film played in 70mm and stereophonic sound, but not in the states. Sam Peckinpah's personal print of the film played at a special Jerry Harvey Beverly Canon screening in 1974 and at Filmex in 1976, rare occasions indeed. Peckinpah's print included a very classy intermission.
A pan-scanned but full length laserdisc appeared in the late 1980s, and Warners undertook a major 70mm stereophonic restoration in 1992 that was stopped dead when the MPAA tried to re-rate the film as NC-17. Protests and negotiations followed for two years until a big re-premiere in 1995 at the Cinerama Dome.
Warners' Two-Disc Special Edition of The Wild Bunch is indeed a Director's Cut. The quality is excellent and the extras only a little disappointing; more on that below.
Synopsis:
A band of brutal outlaws led by the bitter Pike Bishop (William Holden) is decimated when a railroad company ambush led by Pike's old pal Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan) turns into a bloodbath. Barely escaping, the six survivors head to Mexico with Thornton's cutthroat bounty hunters in hot pursuit. They get on the good side of a Huerta warlord named Mapache (Emilio Fernandez) by taking his commission to steal U.S. Army guns in a daring raid on an armed train convoy. They manage to outrun Thornton, the bounty hunters and the pursuing U.S. Cavalry, but completing their deal with the ruthless and bloodthirsty Federales is not going to be a piece of cake - Mapache needs those guns to hold off Pancho Villa's revolutionaries, and would just as soon kill Pike's gringos "as break wind."
The Wild Bunch gathers up the western genre in one big eclectic mass and reinterprets it from a subversive perspective. The past is dead and the remnants of old banditry have become outcasts in a world transformed by technology and big money; the loyalties and words of honor so revered in Ride the High Country and Major Dundee have become a liability. Pike Bishop talks solidarity but cannot hold his bunch together; the reality consistently falls short of the dream. His big railroad robbery kills half his men and nets the Bunch only "a dollar's worth of steel holes." He more or less abandons the loose-cannon Crazy Lee (Bo Hopkins) in Starbuck and then finds out that the boy was related to the Bunch's oldest member. Pike talks big words about sticking together but cannot summon a practical protest when one of his own is being tortured to death. About all the Bunch can brag about it that they "don't hang nobody," when the truth is that they probably never had the opportunity. Thornton marvels that Pike "never got caught," even though that accomplishment is tempered by the knowledge that he left his best friend to suffer a long prison term.
The Wild Bunch rests at the center of a dynamic group of films about armed Americans taking violent 'expeditions' across the border . Filmed in Mexico with the cream of the Mexican industry's action experts, it has several big directors (Emilio Fernandez, Chano Urueta, Alfonso Arau, Fernando Wagner) as actors. Peckinpah's script, direction and cutting (a marvelous, adventurous job by Louis Lombardo) are superb; the attention to detail and the layered texture of each scene is the equal or better than anything in Leone or Visconti. Some of Peckinpah's editing and film speed ideas are borrowed from Akira Kurosawa, who can still be listed as Peckinpah's superior -- in the long run Peckinpah's complicated plotting still leaves a few ragged ends.
Peckinpah salts the film with unusually powerful 'meaningful' dialogue, much of it highly quotable. The only really dated patch is during a 'sensitive' campfire scene where Ernest Borgnine's Dutch earnestly asks Pike if they can learn from their mistakes. Peckinpah wisely avoids shoving The Wild Bunch into the category of 'revolution-chic' pictures, then the rage in Europe. At the conclusion Deke Thornton and Freddie Sykes (Edmond O'Brien) are clearly running off to join Pancho Villa against the Federales. It would have been easy to give Thornton or Sykes some crazy pro- Ho Chi Minh dialogue line like, "If only our mercenary efforts had been for a worthwhile cause like la revolución!
This powerful comeback film was a resurrection for Sam Peckinpah, who had been blackballed from studio work after Major Dundee and an ill-fated false start on The Cincinnati Kid. If producer Phil Feldman was responsible for Peckinpah's artistic freedom and excellent performance here he should have been given credit, for in The Wild Bunch all the virtues claimed for the director finally pay off. The key to Feldman and Peckinpah's assemblage of top actors and top-flight production values is the dialogue line, "This time we do it right."
Almost every role is a perfect casting fit. William Holden was wallowing in feeble action films (The Devil's Brigade) and limp cameos ( Casino Royale ) and puts in his best all-round performance since David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai . Ernest Borgnine is far better than usual, with Peckinpah's influence keeping him from going over the top, as he was wont to do on films for Robert Aldrich. Robert Ryan hadn't gotten a role this good since the 1950s; his characterization does the most with the least screen time. Peckinpah also skimmed the cream of his stock company, adding a few choice nuggets like Albert Dekker (he died before the film was released) and an almost unrecognizable Edmond O'Brien.
The Wild Bunch surprised us with its portraits of hard men under pressure, going beyond Aldrich's good start in Flight of the Phoenix . Virtue is practically irrelevant, with men formed into various groups for survival. All activity is in pursuit of money (the Bunch's unapologetic thievery), power (the brutal Mexican civil war) or both (Railroad agent Pat Harrigan is both greedy and a perverse authority figure). Yet the script celebrates the bonds among these civilized savages. The near-subhuman Gorches recognize no law except their relationship as brothers. Both Thornton and Dutch openly admire Pike Bishop and Angel respects him as a father figure. Even the reprehensible Mapache inspires worship, from a pint-sized telegraph messenger.
Peckinpah's realignment of the John Ford universe is at its strongest in The Wild Bunch. References to Ford pictures run deeper than the appropriation of songs like Shall We Gather at the River? The Bunch hark back to Ford's villainous Clantons in My Darling Clementine : Walter Brennan's "When you pull a gun, SHOOT a man!" is definitely the kind of talk that inspires Pike Bishop's hard-bitten outbursts. Some Ford references are much more subtle, like the shawl that Henry Fonda takes from Cathy Downs' Clementine Carter on the way to a church dance. In Starbuck Pike extends his arm to help an elderly lady across the street, and Dutch carries her packages. During the escape, Pike's horse tramples a younger woman into the dust; pausing at the edge of town, he frees her shawl from his spur, throws it down, and continues.
Peckinpah was also fan enough of John Huston to liberally borrow from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , especially the brief respite in the Mexican village, with its grateful campesinos assembling to give the Bunch a fond farewell. Peckinpah embraces sentimentality in these scenes, with the irony that our bloody desperados are flattered and moved to be the recipients of such unquestioning love. Pike and his boys bask in the accolades withheld from Steve Judd's upstanding lawman at the beginning of Ride the High Country.
The ending of The Wild Bunch is the most obvious Sierra Madre lift, with Thornton and Sykes laughing, much as had Tim Holt and Walter Houston. The moment isn't quite as rich as in the John Huston classic, but it will do.
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What we don't get are the missing scenes implied on the package text. Besides the apocryphal stories of even more outrageous gore (the demise of the clerks and the female customer in the telegraph office, for one), there's also the tantalizing moment retained in the trailer of Sykes' distress at learning that Mapache has seized Angel. Although these legendary remnants are probably just legends, I wouldn't be surprised if legal issues restrained the disc producers from including a lot of special material - note that that the recovered dailies avoid clear views of name actors. The only mementos Savant has of the film are some original transparencies and a 3/4" tape (somewhere) of the Network Television re-cut of the final gundown scene, artistically censored into a dreamlike and incomprehensible blur of violence-free violence.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
1970 / 1:85 anamorphic 16:9 / 121 min. / available individually at 19.98
Starring
Jason Robards Jr., Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong
Cinematography
John Crawford and Edmund Penney
Produced by
Sam Peckinpah and Phil Feldman
The Ballad of Cable Hogue was a big departure for Peckinpah, who clearly wanted to use his new-found notoriety from The Wild Bunch to establish a wider reputation for himself. Most of Hollywood was still unaware of his Class-A status as an actor's director in Noon Wine, an acclaimed TV drama. Although Cable Hogue is another western, it is also a light comedy. There isn't another movie like it, which works in its favor.
Synopsis:
Penniless Arizona bum Cable Hogue (Jason Robards Jr.) is dry-gulched and left to die by false friends Bowen and Taggart (Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones). In a miraculous bit of luck he stumbles upon a water well located at the perfect midpoint between two stagecoach stops. Cable gets his paperwork in order and sets up a sharp little trimming station selling cheap meals and "watle": Cable can't spell. His only friend is the frontier con-man/preacher Joshua Douglas Sloan (David Warner), a man of the cloth who uses his Bible verse to seduce young women. Lonely in his settled life at Cable Springs, the new man of property cultivates the acquaintance of a spirited prostitute named Hildy (Stella Stevens), introducing her to the pleasures of his idyllic shack far from the evils of town life. But Cable remains set on exacting vengeance from the Taggart and Bowen.
Cable Hogue is a stack of ideas both good and bad. Jason Robards and Stella Stevens are excellent and Peckinpah is able to coax a pleasant warmth from their tawdry romance. Hogue first visits Hildy as a prostitute and then provides a home for her at Cable Springs, a relationship that ends abruptly when the penny-pinching man of property jokes that he's bartering meals for her services. Hildy never acknowledges the slight, which tells her that it's time to move on. This is one of the few Peckinpah films with a positive male-female relationship at its center, but from The Wild Bunch on he has a hard time conceiving of women as much more than prostitutes, she-cats or one-night lays. Even though Robards and Stevens sweeten the relationship, there's a lot lacking in Peckinpah's view of men and women together.
The film seeks its own pace and rhythm and succeeds whenever Peckinpah lets his character scenes dictate the flow. Robards interacts well with Warner's shady preacher, the various town businessmen and stagecoach driver Slim Pickens. Genre expectations are turned on their head more than once, as when Hogue's forgiveness toward the treacherous Bowen inspires the crook toward a complete reformation. Hogue's reconciliation with Hildy is effected with the gift of a flowered chamber pot, to replace the one she broke while trying to bash his head in.
At 121 minutes The Ballad of Cable Hogue eventually comes off as too long and too slack. It opens with a badly dated split-screen title sequence, and returns at several junctures for grating musical interludes sung by Richard Gillis. "Butterfly Mornings" would have been okay once, but Robards' and Stevens' duet never quite gels. The feeling of being out at a desert rest stop is hurt by direction that sacrifices Peckinpah's formal touches for multi-camera coverage that merely records the performances.
Peckinpah has a gift for verbal humor that doesn't translate well into slapstick. Jokes fall flat - a tent collapsing over a temperance union meeting, or David Warner scuttling around in speeded-up motion. The humor jumps to life whenever the focus returns to the characters, as with Bowen and Taggart's frantic episode with a pit of rattlesnakes.
Film critics in 1970 loved The Ballad of Cable Hogue but film distribution with smaller studio fare that year was hit-and-miss. That put its reputation squarely on the shoulders of film journals eager to laud it on an 'auteurist' basis. Since most everything that happens in the film is a restatement of familiar Peckinpah themes -- the End of the Frontier, the unwelcome encroachment of progress -- critics thought that events like the final automobile accident were inspired touches. The change in perceptions between The Wild Bunch and Cable Hogue is like day and night: The former seems naturally profound, an author's angry statement bursting to get out. The latter comes off as a catalogue of "director's themes." Still, the film's amiable attitude and endearing characters place it far in plus territory.
Warner's DVD of The Ballad of Cable Hogue is presented enhanced at a widescreen 1:78 aspect ratio, optimizing its sometimes arbitrary compositions. The picture becomes grainy only during optical sections. Audio is clear. Jerry Goldsmith's score is no standout, and mainly seems to serve as extensions of the 'song interludes.'
This disc has one welcome featurette, as the 1970 promotional piece listed on the box does not appear on the disc menus. A new interview with Stella Stevens lets her tell her Hollywood story starting with Li'l Abner . Her perspective demonstrates how actors saw the director completely differently from everyone else -- Peckinpah served his performers well and they loved him.
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
1973 / 2:35 anamorphic 16:9 / 106 122 115 min. (two versions) / Two-Disc Special Edition / Available separately at 26.98
Starring
James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Jason Robards,
Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, R.G. Armstrong, Luke Askew, John Beck, Richard Bright, Matt Clark, Rita Coolidge, Jack Elam, Emilio Fernández, Paul Fix, L.Q. Jones, Slim Pickens, Jorge Russek, Charles Martin Smith, Harry Dean Stanton, John Davis Chandler, Michael T. Mikler, Rutanya Alda, Walter Kelley, Gene Evans, Donnie Fritts, Aurora Clavel, Elisha Cook Jr., Barry Sullivan, Dub Taylor
Cinematography
Art Direction
Ted Haworth
Produced by
Gordon Carroll
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is a major Peckinpah picture dogged by production grief. This time his nemesis was a genuine studio joy-killer. MGM's James Aubrey routinely took pictures away from directors (Blake Edwards was one) for re-cutting, often just to prove who was in charge. Peckinpah may have thought he'd learned his Major Dundee lesson and could do things his own way by filming in Mexico, but MGM botched the film's release just the same. Savant remembers seeing it on opening day in Westwood with screenwriter Steve Sharon, and both of us thought it a complete failure. For television showings several "R"-rated sequences were replaced with new material we hadn't seen in the theater, like the brief appearance of Barry Sullivan as John Chisum.
In 1988 Jerry Harvey's Z Cable channel reignited interest in the film by airing Peckinpah's longer Preview cut. But, as reported by Paul Seydor in the featurette extras, the film had never gone through a fine-cut process. Scenes lack energy and the film sags badly in its middle section. This 2-Disc Special Edition addresses that problem with two separate versions of the film, the slightly slack 1988 Preview/Turner Cut, and a new 2005 fine cut that combines it with sections from the original theatrical cut. The 2005 combo cut is tightened up, with a few surprises added and subtracted along the way (see below). It adds yet another cut to the stack of versions in the vault, but it is the best so far.
Synopsis:
1909. Bushwhackers from the politically corrupt Santa Fe Ring gun down New Mexico rancher Pat Garrett (James Coburn) on his own land. 1881. Pat is a friend to and former lawbreaker with William Bonney (Kris Kristofferson). Seeing middle age and poverty on the horizon, Garrett sells out to the ambitious cohorts of governor Lew Wallace (Jason Robards Jr.), takes on a badge, and proceeds to hunt down and kill Bonney - better known as Billy the Kid.
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is yet another elegiac and lyrical look at the death of the West seen through the soul-weary eyes of an outlaw turned lawman. Looking for a comfortable existence, Pat Garrett takes the bait offered by the "Santa Fe Ring," a cabal of territorial fat cats. The fix is in in New Mexico, and at its center is Governor Lew Wallace, a pious hypocrite who would eventually gain fame as the author of Ben-Hur. Grasping old-time land barons like John Chisum (played in stark contrast to John Wayne's heroic version) are being squeezed out by the Eastern politicos to whom Pat reluctantly sells his soul. His first job as part of a territorial image enhancement campaign is to eliminate the notorious William Bonney.
Peckinpah's most easily recognized filmic pattern is the use of a binary hero to provide character conflict, and every critic from Jim Kitses forward has ruminated on the polar tensions between Steve Judd and Gil Westrum, Amos Dundee and Ben Tyreen, Pike Bishop and Deke Thornton. In each case the bonds of loyalty go deep into the past, and the present conflict illuminates the pair's weaknesses and strengths.
Without any malice toward Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, its character conflict lacks impetus. James Coburn's Garrett broods with regret and self-loathing in the very first scene and the rest of the movie is a slow reveal of a static situation. Despite a lot of comings and goings, neither Pat nor Billy engage in anything resembling a constructed plot; everything is left to interior states. The time is taken up with images of our two heroes deeply immersed in soul-searching (or, staring meaningfully), repetitive shoot-out scenes and a couple of key moments restaged from older Billy the Kid movies such as The Left-Handed Gun. Peckinpah helped write One Eyed Jacks and his staging of the jail breakout compares well with Marlon Brando's, mainly because R.G. Armstrong's ferocity easily bests Slim Pickens in the original.
Most of the action in the story is repetitive; too many scenes are structurally unnecessary. Billy and Pat arrive at various trail stops and either shoot people or beat them up. Characters are introduced and eliminated, adding more bloodshed but not advancing the story. Billy's big decision to not go to Mexico is fumbled in yet another gundown of Chisum cowboys, a brainless moment in which he tenderly says his farewells to his old buddy Paco (Emilio Fernández), and then leaves Paco's raped daughter to deal with the body and her ransacked wagon on her own. Much of the film's narrative tension is expended on random action scenes.
What Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid has going for it in spades is atmosphere and peripheral characterization -- in the details, it's brilliant. We see both Billy's gang and Pat bedded down with prostitutes and completely believe scenes where they hang out in groups in corrals and barrooms. A quick look at the cast list above will make any fan of American westerns think he's died and gone to heaven - just about every character actor capable of picking up a gun is represented, and more tiny but effective roles are filled by interesting casting choices. Hanging around in the background when Pat and Billy first talk are Jorge Russek (The Wild Bunch, Hour of the Gun ), Harry Dean Stanton ( Two Lane Blacktop ) and Charlie Martin Smith (American Graffiti). Bob Dylan's acting turn is something of a casting stunt, but he's not allowed to do much more than say some elliptical dialogue and be a fly on the wall.
Among the good scenes is a shorter selection of priceless, classic moments. The most beautiful turn is by Katy Jurado and Slim Pickens; their poetic farewell by the river is in itself worth the price of admission. The framing story restored to the preview version, showing Pat Garrett's murder by the Santa Fe Ring in 1909, is equally effective and editorially brilliant. It's intercut with the chicken-shooting scene, so that Pat is first hit by a bullet fired 28 years earlier.
But Peckinpah pays a high penalty for pretentious details. Billy's surrender while assuming a Christ position isn't all that offensive, but having Pat shoot his own reflection in a mirror is the ultimate in trite Peckinpah lore. It worked the first time in The Wild Bunch because it was one detail in a flurry of action. The eye-rolling moment where Peckinpah appears as a coffin maker is the last straw. Garrett encounters him on the way to keep his appointment with destiny, and we're treated to the worst drivel ever spoken in a serious western: "So you finally figured it out, eh Pat?" This unexpected pomposity is the shape of things to come in Peckinpah; even the best of his later films (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Cross of Iron) labor mightily under the weight of an 'auteur' straining for significance.
Warners' DVD of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid looks stunning in two new transfers. The enhanced transfer on the "1988 Preview/Turner Cut" is so good we can see evidence of film damage traceable to camera and lens problems that plagued the film on location - a handful of scenes still have emulsion scratches. Paul Seydor and Katy Haber explain that retakes were able to fix most of the affected material.
Bob Dylan's laid-back acoustic and electric music comes across well in both cuts, providing a laconic mood that blends nicely with Billy's song-singing during his laid-back jailbreak. In the original theatrical cut the perfectly pitched top-40 hit Knockin' on Heaven's Door had audible lyrics. When we saw the same scene without vocals in the Preview/Turner cut we assumed that Peckinpah preferred an instrumental-only version. Dylan's voice has been restored for the 2005 Recut, and unless one is dead set against hearing the folk singer in a Peckinpah picture, it adds greatly to the moment.
Paul Seydor and the other value-added producers/contributors explain that their 2005 Special Edition Recut (disc one) carries out Peckinpah's cutting notes. These fellows knew the director well enough to suggest that their changes are less 'experimental' than the late 90s recut of Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.
The Recut version is an attempt at the fine cut that Peckinpah never got to make, combining sections of the tighter Theatrical Cut with the 1988 Preview cut, and adding some new editorial alterations. Some of the improvements are worthy of applause. A simple shuffle of shots in the opening editorial time-shift between 1909 and 1881 gives the scene more impact. Several meandering scenes perk right up by ending them earlier, rather than let them peter out. Some tangential dialogue lines are lost in the process -- Savant didn't miss them but some viewers might.
The fine cut sections cleverly reorder some material. The interesting raft scene happens much earlier. A long patch of previously alternating Billy-Pat material is arranged to a more felicitous effect -- a montage shot of a rider at sunset now seques into a nighttime campfire scene, suggesting a more fluid continuity. Savant only noticed one scene missing entirely, the brief bit where John Beck bunks down with Elisha Cook Jr. and Dub Taylor (or maybe I blinked and it got by me). The new ending is a bit surprising - it reverts to a slightly altered version of the original theatrical finish.
The additions are also interesting. The still-based title sequence from the Theatrical Cut perks up the beginning. Garrett has a scene with prostitute Ruthie Lee (Rutanya Alda of The Deer Hunter ), forcing her to tell him where Billy has holed up. But best of all, the Recut restores the domestic scene between Garrett and his wife Ida, played by Aurora Clavell of The Wild Bunch, previously seen only in a television version. It's a great scene of a typically lousy Peckinpah male-female relationship, an addition that adds greatly to our understanding of Coburn's character. Between this movie and Major Dundee Ms.Clavell has had two major Peckinpah scenes restored in less than a year.
This shorter 2005 Recut is also given a better digital brush-up. I didn't notice any scratches this time. John Coquillon's ruddy photographic style looks better than it did in original prints.
The second disc also holds a pair of interesting taped interview featurettes done in jumpy multi-camera style, as was the Stella Stevens interview on Cable Hogue. Peckinpah secretary, production associate and sometime girlfriend Katy Haber gives us an excellent run-down on Sam's state of mind while making the movie, putting several legendary tales about the director into proper context. Editor/author Seydor appears on camera to explain the crazy path Pat Garrett took on its way the screen. James Aubrey apparently had his own editing team assemble a version of the movie in parallel with Peckinpah's cutters, a blood-chilling abuse of executive power which amounts to creative terrorism.
Kris Kristofferson's interview piece offers up an accounting of his career from the Army to Heaven's Gate, accompanied by country singer and actor Donnie Fritts. Kristofferson's testimonial is one of the few to fully understand Peckinpah's excesses, as he remembers holding the half-crazed director in line on more than one occasion, even taking a gun away from him once. He chalks up Peckinpah's erratic behavior to ordinary alcoholism -- in his drunken rage the director would become confused and lash out at completely innocent victims.
As an added treat, Kristofferson and Fritts perform two songs about Peckinpah for Nick Redman's docu camera. Kristofferson comes off as an impressive fellow indeed, amiable and firm-minded. We can indeed picture an Army general accepting Kristofferson's statement that he wants to quit teaching English Lit at West Point, to become a songwriter!
Warner DVD's Sam Peckinpah's Classic Westerns Collection is a terrific boxed set that represents an enormous amount of work by both the Turner/Warner DVD department and the Peckinpah experts assembled by Nick Redman. Every transfer is a vast improvement. The Wild Bunch strikes one as a renewed experience. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid's two versions will give the Peckinpah adepts fresh fodder for contemplation and debate.
The assembled authors provide full-length commentaries for all of the features. We get facts, opinions, analysis and personal perspectives from each of them, with the phrase most commonly heard being how Peckinpah and The Wild Bunch changed their lives. Their collective interpretation of the world of Sam Peckinpah is nigh-unimpeachable.
The assembled extras will be too much of a good thing for many fans, especially because of understandable overlaps in coverage and other redundancies between commentaries and featurettes. The collection comes to honor Peckinpah and not to criticize him, and some viewers are going to get the idea that he belongs in the company of other Hollywood casualties like Orson Welles and Erich von Stroheim. His story is a lot more complicated than that.
On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
Ride the High Country
| i don't know |
In the game of 'Scrabble', how many points are awarded for the letter 'K'? | Scrabble Tile Distribution and Point Values
By Erik Arneson
Updated September 29, 2016.
One of the first things that beginner Scrabble players should learn is the game's tile distribution. It's vital to know that, for example, only one J, K, Q, X and Z are in the bag -- and that they provide the best opportunities for high scores.
Scrabble Tiles Listed by Point Values
0 points: blank/wild (2)
1 point: E (12), A (9), I (9), O (8), N (6), R (6), T (6), L (4), S (4), U (4)
2 points: D (4), G (3)
3 points: B (2), C (2), M (2), P (2)
4 points: F (2), H (2), V (2), W (2), Y (2)
5 points: K (1)
8 points: J (1), X (1)
10 points: Q (1), Z (1)
Scrabble Tiles Listed Alphabetically
Blank/Wild: 2 tiles, 0 points
A: 9 tiles, 1 point
B: 2 tiles, 3 points
C: 2 tiles, 3 points
D: 4 tiles, 2 points
E: 12 tiles, 1 point
F: 2 tiles, 4 points
G: 3 tiles, 2 points
H: 2 tiles, 4 points
I: 9 tiles, 1 point
J: 1 tile, 8 points
K: 1 tile, 5 points
L: 4 tiles, 1 point
M: 2 tiles, 3 points
N: 6 tiles, 1 point
O: 8 tiles, 1 point
P: 2 tiles, 3 points
Q: 1 tile, 10 points
R: 6 tiles, 1 point
S: 4 tiles, 1 point
T: 6 tiles, 1 point
U: 4 tiles, 1 point
V: 2 tiles, 4 points
W: 2 tiles, 4 points
X: 1 tile, 8 points
Y: 2 tiles, 4 points
Z: 1 tile, 10 points
| Five Points |
Who won an 'Oscar' for Best Director at the 2001 'Oscars'? | Keeping Score in Scrabble - Letter Tiles and Point Values
How to Keep Score in Scrabble
Keeping Score in Scrabble
Knowing how to keep score in Scrabble is simple, but it’s also important. Each letter in Scrabble has its own value, while certain points on a Scrabble board are worth more points than others. Finally, there are a few special circumstances where Scrabble scoring differs than in other points of the game.
Scrabble Letter Tiles – Point Values
Below is a table showing the point values of each tile in Scrabble. I’ll include a table to show how many of each letter exists in a standard Scrabble game, as well. When you play one of these letter tiles on the Scrabble board, you get the point value indicated on the letter tile.
Scrabble Point Distribution
A – E – I – O – - U – L – N – R – S – T = 1 point
D – G = 2 points
B – C – M – P = 3 points
F – H – W – Y – V = 4 points
K = 5 points
J – X = 8 points
Q – Z = 10 points
The following table shows how many of each letters there are in a standard game of Scrabble. In all, there are 100 tiles to play in any given Scrabble game.
Scrabble Letter Distribution
1: J – K – X – Q – Z
2: B – C – F – H – M – P – W – Y – V – Blank Tiles
3: G
4: D – L – S – U
6: N – R – T
10: E
Double and Triple Scores
When any of the letters of a word you place on the board covers a double or triple score, apply that modifier to your word score. If it’s a double or triple letter score, only modify the score for the letter on that tile. If it’s a double or triple word score, add up the score for all the tiles and then multiply the amount by the modifier.
If you happen to cross two or more modifiers with your word, apply all of them. If you cross a triple letter score and a double word score, then multiple the triple score letter by x3 and then multiple the whole word score by x2. If you happen to cross two word multipliers, then remember to multiple the word score by both values. In this way, scores can reach large numbers.
There is a limiting factor to the scores made by these tiles, though. That’s because, once used, these tiles can’t be reused for the purposes of multipliers.
Reusing Double and Triple Scores
After a double-word or triple-word score has been used and figured, that space will not be worth a double- or triple-word score again in the game. The same goes for double-letter and triple-letter scores.
For example, imagine that a letter tile saying double-word score, like the one you play off of at the beginning of the game, is “activated” at the beginning of the game. Whoever plays off that tile first gets a double-word score. But the next player who builds a word off that same letter does not get a double-word score. This rule is there for several purposes, but it keeps people from simply beating opponents by playing an -s or -ed or -ing at the end of words on the board. You can still do so, but you won’t score as many points (or more) if the original word played involved double- or triple-word scoring.
50 Point Bonus
If at any time, you use all 7 tiles in your rack one on play, you get an automatic 50 point bonus. This does not apply in the endgame scenario when you have less than 7 letters on your rack, of course.
Final Scores in Scrabble
Who “goes out” also has a big affect on the score. Eventually, the letter tiles will run out. When this happens, you will have a dwindling number of letter tiles on your rack. When this happens, the first person to get rid of all the letters on their rack on their turn “goes out”. The scoring is not yet finished, though.
Every player with letters should add up the point values of those letters. These players should subtract that letter amount from their score.
Once this is done, the point value for all those letters should also be added up collectively and added to the score of the person who “went out” or got rid of all their letter tiles first. In this way, the winner of a Scrabble game is often determined by who goes out first. This can be forgotten or only half-applied with new Scrabble players, so knowing how to score correctly in Scrabble is important.
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"Which artist painted the picture entitled, ""Les Parapluies""" | WebMuseum: Renoir, Pierre-Auguste: Les Parapluies
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste
Umbrellas
, c. 1883; Oil on canvas, 180 x 115 cm; National Gallery, London
This picture, as well as being a delight in itself, illustrates a transitional aspect of Renoir's art. It shows a new attention to design as a well-defined scheme of arrangement, the umbrellas forming a linear pattern of a far from Impressionist kind, the linear element also being stressed in the young modiste's bandbox, the little girl's hoop and the umbrella handles. In this care for definite form, apparent also in the figures at the left, one can see a discontent with Impressionism and a search for a firmer basis of style that would date the work to about 1883-4, after his journeyings abroad and the revision he brought into his ideas. It is unlikely that it preceded the
Muslim Festival
of 1881 and more probably represents a subsequent reaction.
The C�zanne -like treatment of the tree at the back also suggests it was painted after Renoir stayed with him at L'Estaque in 1882. The children and the lady with them are more indicative of the style of the 'seventies than the rest of the picture which may well have passed through stages of repainting over a period. The charm of the whole is nevertheless able to overcome the feeling of slight discrepancy that may result from close examination.
Durand-Ruel bought the picture from Renoir in 1892 and sold it to Sir Hugh Lane, in whose bequest it came to the Tate Gallery in 1917. It was transferred to the National Gallery in 1935.
| Pierre-Auguste Renoir |
Which city was served by Kai Tak airport? | Pierre-Auguste Renoir | The Umbrellas | NG3268 | National Gallery, London
Why is this not on display?
Renoir's 'Umbrellas' shows a bustling Paris street in the rain. The composition of the painting does not focus on the centre of the picture which is a tangle of hands. It even cuts off figures at either edge like a photographic snapshot. This kind of unconventional arrangement was something that several of the Impressionists, including Renoir and Degas , enjoyed experimenting with.
The work is particularly intriguing in that it shows the artist at two separate points in his career, the second of which was a moment of crisis as he fundamentally reconsidered his painting style.
When he began 'The Umbrellas' in 1880-1, Renoir was still using the typically loose brushwork and bright, pure colours of the Impressionist movement - the sort of technique he employed in 'The Skiff (La Yole)' . During the early 1880s, he became increasingly disillusioned with the Impressionist technique.
He began to look back to more traditional art: the drawings of Ingres and the 'purity and grandeur' of classical art. Returning to 'The Umbrellas', he repainted the figure on the left in a crisper style, using a more muted palette. The rapid changes in women's fashions allow us to date the second stage of the painting to 1885-6.
Share this painting
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Who at July 2003 is the 'Shadow' Secretary of State for Health? | Who is Liam Fox? Meet the new Secretary of State for International Trade
Who is Liam Fox? Meet the new Secretary of State for International Trade
Liam Fox MP
Here we look at who have been given jobs in Theresa May's new Cabinet .
Liam Fox
MP for Woodspring from 1992 to 2010 which then became North Somerset in 2010.
New Job: Secretary of State for International Trade
Old Job: Defence secretary (2010 to 2011)
Dr Liam Fox Credit: Paul Grover for the Telegraph/Paul Grover for the Telegraph
CV
Educated at state school in Scotland Dr Fox later studied medicine at Glasgow University. He worked as a GP and a civilian army medical officer before becoming an MP in 1997.
Dr Fox was an advisor to Micheal Howard in the early 1990s before becoming a Government whip.
He held a number of shadow roles and was party chairman between 2003 to 2005, before becoming shadow secretary of state for defence.
When the Conservatives formed a Coalition Government in 2010 he became the defence secretary until 2011, when he stepped down from the role amid controversy about his close friend Adam Werritty, who had allegedly introduced himself as an advisor.
Previous political experience
| Liam Fox |
Under what name did Michael Barratt have four No.1 hits in the 1980's? | Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade - GOV.UK
GOV.UK
Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade
Organisations:
Responsibilities
The Secretary of State is responsible for the work of the Department for International Trade, including:
developing, co-ordinating and delivering a new trade and investment policy to promote UK business across the globe
developing and negotiating free trade agreements and market access deals with non-EU countries
negotiating plurilateral trade deals (focused on specific sectors or products)
providing operational support for exports and facilitating inward and outward investment
Current role holder: The Rt Hon Liam Fox MP
Liam Fox was appointed Secretary of State for International Trade on 13 July 2016. He is the Conservative MP for North Somerset.
Liam attended school at St Bride’s High School before studying medicine at the University of Glasgow Medical School, graduating with MB ChB degrees in 1983.
Political career
Liam held several ministerial roles in John Major’s Conservative government. He served as Constitutional Affairs Spokesman (1998-1999), Shadow Health Secretary (1999-2003), Conservative Party chairman (2003-05), Shadow Foreign Secretary (2005) and Shadow Defence Secretary (2005-10). In 2010, he was appointed Secretary of State for Defence, a position from which he resigned on 14 October 2011.
Career outside politics
Liam worked as a GP before his election to Parliament and is a former Civilian Army Medical Officer and Divisional Surgeon with St John Ambulance.
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What was the capital of Scotland from the 12th century to 1437? | Perth | Definition, meaning & more | Collins Dictionary
Definitions
noun
1. a city in central Scotland , in Perth and Kinross on the River Tay : capital of Scotland from the 12th century until the assassination of James I there in 1437. Pop: 44 200 (2009 est)
2. a city in SW Australia , capital of Western Australia, on the Swan River: major industrial centre ; University of Western Australia (1911). Pop: 1 897 548 (2012)
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © Harper Collins Publishers
| Perth |
In the Hindu religion, who is the goddess of destruction and the wife of Siva? | Perth | Article about Perth by The Free Dictionary
Perth | Article about Perth by The Free Dictionary
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Perth
Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Medical , Acronyms , Wikipedia .
Perth,
city (1991 pop. 1,018,702), capital of Western Australia, SW Australia, on the Swan River estuary. Fremantle is Perth's port. Perth is a communications and transportation center and the state's financial, commercial, and cultural hub. The suburbs of Fremantle, Kwinana, and Welshpool have heavy industries. Perth was founded in 1829 but did not gain importance until the Coolgardie gold rush (1890s), the development of the port at Fremantle, and the construction of rail lines (early 20th cent.). Perth evolved into a modern metropolis in the late 20th cent. and saw much new construction. The Univ. of Western Australia and Murdoch Univ. are there. It is also the seat of Roman Catholic and Anglican archbishops. Perth is very isolated; Adelaide, the closest major city, is nearly 2,000 mi (3,219 km) away.
Perth,
former county, Scotland: see Perthshire Perthshire
or Perth,
former county, central Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Perthshire was divided between the Tayside and Central regions. In the local government reorganization of 1996, those regions were dissolved and the council area of Perth and
..... Click the link for more information. .
Perth,
town (1991 pop. 41,916), Perth and Kinross, central Scotland, on the Tay River. It was called St. Johnstoun until the 17th cent. Perth is famous for its dye works and cattle markets. Other industries are linen and wool factories and whiskey distilling. Points of interest include Tay St., beside the river, and the Inches, parks that were formerly islands in the Tay.
Strategically located between the Highlands and the Lowlands, Perth was long an important military fortress. It was the capital of Scotland from the 11th to the mid-15th cent. James I of Scotland was murdered there in 1437. John Knox preached his famous sermon against idolatry in the Church of St. John in 1559; the resulting iconoclasm leveled the city's four monasteries. Gowrie House (no longer standing) was the scene (1600) of a plot to seize James VI (James I of England; see Ruthven Ruthven
, Scottish noble family, believed to trace its ancestry to Thor, a Saxon or Dane, who settled in Scotland in the reign of David I. The name is derived from lands in Perthshire held by the family.
..... Click the link for more information. , family). James I in 1618 issued the Five Articles of Perth, which opened the battle between crown and church. The earl of Montrose took the city after the battle of Tippermuir in 1644; Oliver Cromwell Cromwell, Oliver
, 1599–1658, lord protector of England. Parliamentary General
The son of a gentry family, he entered Cambridge in 1616 but probably left the next year.
..... Click the link for more information. seized it again in 1651. It was held by Jacobites in 1689, 1715, and 1745. A prison was built in 1812 for French prisoners of war.
Perth
a city in western Australia and the capital of the state of Western Australia; situated on the Swan River 20 km from the Indian Ocean. Population, 97,500 (1971; including suburbs, 725,000). Perth is a major industrial, commercial, and transportation center of Western Australia. Agricultural and mining products are exported from the city through the ports of Fre-mantle and Kwinana. Perth has facilities for shipbuilding and the manufacture of automobiles and hoisting and transportation equipment. There are chemical, textile, and wood-processing industries. Meat is one of the products of the city’s food-processing industry. Paper and cardboard are manufactured locally. Perth has a university.
Perth
1. a city in central Scotland, in Perth and Kinross on the River Tay: capital of Scotland from the 12th century until the assassination of James I there in 1437. Pop.: 43 450 (2001)
2. a city in SW Australia, capital of Western Australia, on the Swan River: major industrial centre; University of Western Australia (1911). Pop.: 1 176 542 (2001)
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Who was the first woman to be featured on the reverse of a British banknote? | Politicians join fight to keep women on British banknotes - Telegraph
Women's Politics
Politicians join fight to keep women on British banknotes
Exclusive: David Cameron has been called upon by 46 female Labour MPs and peers, including Harriet Harman, the party’s deputy leader, and Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, to back a campaign to keep a woman on British banknotes.
Elizabeth Fry is being replaced by Sir Winston Churchill.
By Emma Barnett , Women's Editor
7:00AM BST 21 Jun 2013
Comments
The outgoing Bank of England governor, Sir Mervyn King announced in April 2013 that Sir Winston Churchill will replace social reformer Elizabeth Fry on the face of the new five pound notes from 2016. The decision means that there will be no women represented for their contributions to the country’s history on the British banknote, apart from Her Majesty the Queen.
Now 46 members of Parliament and of the House of Lords have written letters to both the Prime Minister and the Bank of England’s Court of Directors in a bid to reverse the decision.
The letter to the Bank calls for the decision to be reviewed and for the Court, which is made up of the Bank of England’s non executive directors, who scrutinise its decisions, to discuss the issue at its next meeting.
A copy of the document seen by Telegraph Wonder Women says: “We ask that you seek to review the decision about Elizabeth Fry and ensure that the Bank plays its role in celebrating the contribution of women to our country. We are sharing our letter with the Prime Minister to ask him to join us in raising these concerns and recognising the contribution of women across all spheres of public life.
“We would welcome confirmation this correspondence will be discussed at your forthcoming meeting on the July 17 as well as a positive reply to our request.”
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It is understood that the Court of Directors will indeed discuss the issue at their next meeting, after receiving the letter yesterday afternoon.
Stella Creasy, the Labour MP and a shadow home affairs minister, who has led the campaign in Westminster, told The Telegraph that the letter wasn’t intended to deny Sir Winston a much deserved place on a banknote.
“No one is having a pop at Sir Winston. He is a highly respected figure. But we are trying to draw attention to the consequences of taking Fry off. It’s about the message that a total absence of women, bar the Queen, from our banknotes sends to our society. We don’t understand the Bank’s decision,” she explained.
“We want a commitment to the public representation of women in this country, and we believe the Prime Minister should join us.”
Earlier this month the Bank said it would stand by its decision to remove Elizabeth Fry from the current £5 note, after being confronted by Caroline Criado-Perez, a women’s rights campaigner , who has launched an online petition , (with nearly 30,000 signatures at the time of writing) to keep a woman on British banknotes. She has now launched a legal challenge against the Bank of England, accusing them of ignoring the Equality Act.
Yesterday the Women's Engineering Society also wrote to the Bank of England , calling for a female engineer to take her place on banknotes.
Only one other woman has ever featured on a British banknote and that was Florence Nightingale.
The MPs have suggested a number of other prominent women who could take their place on British tender: “There are many wonderful women whose contribution to our national life should be celebrated - for example Mary Seacole, Mary Wollstencraft, Emmeline Pankhurst or Rosalind Franklin.”
Other high profile signatories of the letter include: Dame Tessa Jowell, the former shadow Olympics minister and Baroness Jan Royall, the leader of the House of Lords.
A spokesman for the Bank of England said: “The Bank did consider the representation of women when selecting the next figure to feature on a banknote. The selection decision was made taking into account objectively selected criteria. Four candidates, three men a woman, were considered when Sir Winston Churchill was chosen as the historical character to appear on the next new banknote, and the female candidate was chosen as the contingency candidate.”
The letter to the Court of Directors in full:
Dear Sirs,
We are writing to you as the Court of Directors of the Bank of England to express our concerns following the Bank’s announcement it intends to remove the only woman historical figure to be celebrated on our bank notes.
Like many people across the country we support the celebration of Winston Churchill on our banknotes, given his immense service to our country. However we are very disappointed that the Bank has taken this decision in a way that means for the first time for a decade, all those celebrated on our bank notes will be men. The celebration of our history and the contribution made by great citizens on our legal tender is something of which we are very proud. And the Bank will understand the great symbolism of the faces that appear on our national currency.
That is why it is so deeply disappointing that the Bank should choose not to celebrate the contribution of any women to British history and our national life. The Bank has given no explanation of why Elizabeth Fry is being replaced rather than one of the other figures. The Court will know too that if all the historical figures are being replaced there are many wonderful women whose contribution to our national life should be celebrated - for example Mary Seacole, Mary Wollstencraft, Emmeline Pankhurst or Rosalind Franklin.
Indeed, the fact that Florence Nightingale is the only other woman who has ever been represented alongside Elizabeth Fry also suggests there is a need for the Bank to show stronger leadership in honouring the role of women in our nation’s history.
We would also expect the Bank to consider its leadership role on these issues as part of its duties under the Equality Act. Given these concerns, we ask that you seek to review the decision about Elizabeth Fry and ensure that the Bank plays its role in celebrating the contribution of women to our country. We are sharing our letter with the Prime Minister to ask him to join us in raising these concerns and recognising the contribution of women across all spheres of public life.
We would welcome confirmation this correspondence will be discussed at your forthcoming meeting on the 17th July as well as a positive reply to our request.
We look forward to your response prior to this event.
Yours sincerely,
| Florence Nightingale |
What is Britain's largest native land carnivore? | historicle figures - Pam West British Bank Notes
historicle figures
HISTORICAL FIGURES ON BANK OF ENGLAND BANKNOTES
by Jonathan Callaway
The recent announcement by the Bank of England that they intend to introduce a new fiver in 2016 with Sir Winston Churchill on the back, replacing Elizabeth Fry, has prompted a lot of media interest in who appears on our banknotes and how these decisions are taken. This article looks at who we have seen so far and considers who might come next.
Prior to 1928 Bank of England banknotes had hardly changed since the 18th century; they all looked like the old white fiver. But 1928 saw the introduction of a green £1 note and a reddish-brown 10 shillings note to replace the UK’s Treasury issues. The white fiver, meanwhile, continued to reign supreme right up to 1956. The many higher denominations had all been withdrawn in 1944 thanks to Operation Bernhard, the massive counterfeiting operation undertaken by Nazi Germany, so until 1956 the population had to make do with just three Bank of England denominations and nothing larger than a five pound note.
The white fiver was replaced by the blue ‘Lion and Key’ five pound note, a beautiful but short-lived design replaced after only ten years. It was only in 1960 that the Queen first appeared on a Bank of England note, accompanied on the reverse by a stylised image of Britannia. Britannia, an allegorical female representation of Britain, had always appeared on Bank of England notes in a vignette based on the Bank’s seal. She had also frequently appeared on English provincial banknotes in the 19th century, usually with sword and shield and sometimes with a lion at her feet in a range of poses from the frankly militaristic to the demurely feminine. The front of the Lion and Key fiver carried a bold image of Britannia wearing a Roman helmet, an image more classical Victorian than Elizabethan. Britannia continues to appear on every note, be it as a small vignette, in the watermark or as one of the images in the hologram security device. Arguably, therefore, current Bank of England notes already have two females on them, the Queen and Britannia.
In the late 1960s the Bank started thinking about further changes to its banknote designs and the view was formed that introducing historical figures on them would enhance their attractiveness while giving scope to the designers to bring in more anti-counterfeiting design features. It took until July 1970 for the Bank finally to get round to putting the first historical figure on one of its notes. The note chosen to initiate the new series was the re-introduced £20 note in a lovely design with the Queen on the front accompanied by a delightful vignette of George and the Dragon. On the reverse we see the first in a long line of historical figures, William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
It is difficult to think of a more fitting figure than our national poet and playwright to start this process but less well known is the fact that had the Bank decided not to issue a new 50 pence note to replace the old 10/- note, the honour would have gone to Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618), one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries but better known as an adventurer and explorer than as a writer (he wrote poetry). The 50p note was scuppered when a 50p coin was introduced instead. Shakespeare lasted 23 years on the £20 note before making way for Michael Faraday. We will now look at all those who came after him, taking them in chronological order. A summary at the end lists all these historical figures by denomination and date.
In 1971 the next figure to appear was the Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), who shared the back of the new £5 note with a depiction of one of his famous victories, the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro. He lasted 20 years on the note. The Duke was not only a famous military figure but also a former Prime Minister responsible for the passing of the Catholic Emancipation Act (he was Irish born, though a Protestant) and presiding over the 1832 Reform Act.
The next figure to appear, and the first female historical figure, was Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) in 1975. She enjoyed 19 years on the back of the £10 note and her image was accompanied by a scene from the hospital in Scutari (now part of modern Istanbul in Asian Turkey) where she first came to public attention for nursing soldiers wounded in the Crimean War. In 1856, after the war ended, she returned to Britain and went on to establish a number of training facilities for nurses.
In 1978 the last £1 note was introduced with Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) on the reverse. This small note, known as the ‘Luncheon Voucher’ was in circulation for only ten years and was the Bank of England’s last £1 note before it was withdrawn and replaced by a £1 coin. Newton qualifies to appear on a banknote for his most famous moment, when the apple fell on his head and he ‘discovered’ gravity. This story is however apocryphal but he did write of watching apples fall and wondering why they always fell straight to earth. In 1687 Newton published his single greatest work, the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica ('Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy') which embodied his studies on gravity. He was by far the most eminent scientist of his day and felt by many to have been as influential on the development of physics as Albert Einstein himself. He found time amongst his scientific research and writing to become the Master of the Royal Mint, a position he took very seriously in his pursuit of counterfeiters.
In 1981 we see Sir Christopher Wren appear (1632-1723) on the back of the newly re-introduced £50 note. This was the first note of this denomination since 1944 and remains the highest Bank of England denomination (and is likely to stay as such, the Bank apparently deciding against issuing a £100 note on the grounds that it would give out a potentially inflationary signal and be used mainly in the cash economy). Wren appears along with an image of St Paul’s Cathedral, his most famous creation. Apart from being one of our most famous architects, Wren was also one of the founding members of the Royal Society and devoted much of his earlier years to the study of astronomy.
In 1990 the Bank started a new series of notes, slightly reduced in size to previous issues. The theme of featuring a historical character on each note continued, however. The new series began with a new fiver portraying George Stephenson (1781-1848) on the reverse. He is seen with the Rocket, the famous steam locomotive he built and first ran on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. It had a top speed of an impressive 36mph. Its success ushered in the railway age when thousands of miles of lines were built all over the UK, making a huge contribution to the success of the industrial revolution.
A year later, in 1991, a new £20 note joined the tenner, this time the featured figure being Michael Faraday (1791-1867). Faraday was another scientist, his speciality being electromagnetism, a principle which paved the way for the development of electric motors. He devoted much time to lecturing and instituted the annual Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution which continue to this day. An image of him delivering one of these lectures appears alongside his portrait.
The £10 note was updated the following year, in 1992, and Charles Dickens (1812-1870) joins the illustrious list of historical figures. Dickens is still a hugely popular author as attested to by the numerous screen and TV adaptations of his novels. The note carries a scene from the cricket match described in the Pickwick Papers, one of his most successful novels.
In 1994 the £50 note was redesigned and a new figure appears on the reverse, Sir John Houblon (1632-1712), the Bank of England’s first Governor. Arguably the least well-known historical figure to appear on their banknotes, he is also one of the longest-lasting, still there after nearly 20 years.
In 1999 it was decided to replace the £20 note once again, prompted perhaps by the increasing occurrence of attempts to forge the notes. The previous £20 note had lasted just ten years and this new one, featuring Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934), lasted just eleven. Elgar is one of Britain’s most famous composers who wrote a number of popular works such as his Pomp and Circumstance marches including Land of Hope and Glory. He made his name in the pre-First World War period with his composition Enigma Variations.
A year later in 2000 a new £10 note was issued, featuring Charles Darwin (1809-1882). Darwin is rightly lauded for his hugely influential work The Origin of the Species, which revolutionised scientific thought and propelled Darwin into the forefront of top-ranking scientists. It was however a controversial book in its day and even today is challenged by some religious groups. Darwin’s beard is said to have influenced the choice of his portrait given the apparent difficulty it presented to the banknote engravers – and thus to potential forgers. This consideration does not appear to have worked against the bald and clean-shaven Churchill.
In 2002 Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) was selected to grace the reverse of a new £5 note. She was a prominent 19th century philanthropist and penal reformer, a Quaker born into the Gurney banking family who were one of several Quaker families whose banks were merged to create today’s Barclays Bank. Her husband was a member of the Fry family who founded the J S Fry chocolate and confectionary business.
In 2007 yet another £20 note was issued, with the first Scot to appear on an English note, Adam Smith (1723-1790). Smith is considered by many as the father of modern economics whose work The Wealth of Nations argued in favour of free trade and the division of labour – thus providing a theoretical basis for the modern industrial factory system. There is no sign of any of the Scottish banks wishing to reciprocate by putting an Englishman on one of their notes, and indeed the Clydesdale could rightfully accuse the Bank of England of pinching their idea – Adam Smith featured on their £50 notes from 1981 to 2009.
The most recent note to be introduced was another first, in that two figures were selected to appear on the reverse of a new £50 note in 2011, Matthew Boulton (1718-1809) and James Watt (1736-1819). Their claim to fame was their collaboration in the development of steam engines which powered many of the factories of the Victorian industrial revolution. They also established a coin mint in Soho, near Birmingham which supplied the Royal Mint as well as many foreign governments.
While the Bank is not easily influenced in its decision-making about who appears on its banknotes it does keep a list on its website of all the suggestions for new names made by the public. They range from Geoffrey Chaucer to David Beckham but the latter is highly unlikely to appear if the Bank sticks to its stated criteria, that the individual must be universally recognised as having made an outstanding and lasting contribution in their chosen field – and, though not explicitly stated – be dead.
The choice of Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) on the new fiver is proving not uncontroversial. A feminist campaign group is threatening legal action under the Equality Act, insisting that the Bank reconsider its decision and choose another female figure. The Bank is currently resisting this and is refusing to disclose how its decision was actually made, though they do say that the final decision always rests with the Governor and that a shortlist of four had been drawn up (of which only one was female). One suspects, however, that when Darwin is eventually replaced on the £10 note they may reveal a greater sensitivity to arguments about women’s rights. Jane Austen or Emmeline Pankhurst anyone?
SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL FIGURES ON BANK OF ENGLAND NOTES
STOP PRESS
Looks like it will be Jane Austen! On 25 June 2013 the outgoing Governor of PRESS the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King hinted strongly that Jane Austen could indeed replace Charles Darwin on the £10 note in 2017. She has been “quietly waiting in the wings” and is one of the figures the Bank has been working for over two years. A formal announcement might take place before the new Churchill notes appear, probably in 2016, though the final decision will rest with the incoming Governor, Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of Canada. He would be a brave man to change it now!
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Which US state is nicknmaed the 'Centennial State'? | Colorado State Nickname | The Centennial State
Colorado State Nickname
Quarter-coloradoquarterlg.jpg
The U.S. Mint's bicentennial commemorative quarter for Colorado features the Rocky mountains, pine trees , and one of the state's nicknames; "Colorful Colorado." Colorado became the 38th state in 1876 . Public domain image on Wikipedia .
The U.S. Mint's bicentennial commemorative quarter for Colorado quarter; Colorado became the 38th state in 1876. The Colorado quarter features the Rocky mountains, pine trees, and one of the state's nicknames: Colorful Colorado. Photo by United States Mint/ Wikipedia (Public Domain Image).
Nicknames for the State of Colorado
Colorado is nicknamed "The Centennial State" because it became the 38th state of the United States in 1876 (one hundred years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence ). All State Nicknames
Colorful Colorado
Another well- known nickname is "Colorful Colorado" because of the state's magnificent scenery of mountains, rivers and plains.
Colorado
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Postage stamps of which country bear the name 'Suomi'? | American State Nicknames
Every US state has a nickname (or two, or more), but not all American states have official nicknames. By "official" I mean a nickname that has been formally adopted as a "state symbol" by the state's legislature, rather than one that is just in common use. However, a number of states have officially added a nickname to their licence plates (either as an option, or as an obligation under the legislation) even though the nickname is not recognised separately as a "state symbol".
The table shows all those that I've been able to research. I haven't included slogans or state mottos (which sometimes get mixed up with nicknames), and it's important to note that some nicknames were never widely adopted, having sometimes only appeared in one or two places.
I have used numerous reference sources for this research, although I don't include them individually here as this page is already rather long. Apart from various Almanacs, directories, dictionaries and official Web sites, my main reference source has been H.L. Mencken's The American Language. Not surprisingly there are often conflicts between sources when it comes to details, and I've tried to express this in the text.
Where possible I've tried to specifically identify whether a state has a nickname which is officially recognised as such by the state's legislature. When I've been able to do so, the details appear alongside the state's name (with the date it was adopted). No nickname alongside the state's name, means that so far I've been unable to find any formal confirmation either way.
Alabama (no official nickname)
Alabama has a central position within the cotton-growing area east of the Mississippi, which has led it to be known as the Cotton State (1844) or the Cotton Plantation State. However, this term was also applied to all the states of the area as a group. There were also many variations quoted, such as Cottondom (first seen in 1856), Cotton Belt (1871), Cotton Country (1871), and even Cottonia (1862). The first Alabamians were sometimes known as "lizards", which gave the state its earlier nickname of Lizard State back in 1845. In more recent times the state has been known as the Yellowhammer State, from Civil War days, and many people believe that it derives from the species of woodpecker - in reality, it arose from the yellow colour of the home-dyed uniforms that the Alabama troops wore during the Civil War. Occasionally, Alabama also gets the Camelia State. While there is no official nickname for the state, The Heart of Dixie is the most commonly used. It was introduced by the state's Chamber of Commerce in the 1940s for publicity purposes, and in 1951 was approved by the legislature for inclusion on licence plates, although the first of these did not appear until four years later.
Alaska (no official nickname)
Alaska has no official nickname although, when it joined the union in 1959 a number of suggestions were made. The 49th State is the most obvious, and Great Land was also suggested. It was also suggested that it be known as the Sourdough State, as well as the North Star State (this name also being claimed by Minnesota). It was even at one time referred to as Up Over (in comic opposition to New Zealand and Australia, which are "Down Under"). Various facetious nicknames were also applied, including Seward's Ice Box and Seward's Folly, after William Henry Seward who bought Alaska from the Russians in 1867. However, Alaska is more commonly (but unofficially) known as The Last Frontier, or The Land of the Midnight Sun. Alaska licence plates display North to the Future
Arizona
When Arizona was admitted to the union in 1912, it quickly gained the nickname The Baby State, which it held on to until 1959 when Alaska was admitted. However, it was also sometimes known as The Valentine State, based on the fact that it was admitted on Valentine's Day. It's not surprising that the success of copper mining the state means that it is occasionally known as the Copper State. Its connection with American Indians gave Arizona the name Apache State, with other nicknames such as Aztec State, Sand Hill State, Sunset State and Grand Canyon State being used at one time or another, with the last of these appearing on licence plates..
Arkansas (The Natural State - 1995)
The earliest known nickname for Arkansas seems to be Bear State, recorded first in 1858, and this is a nickname to which several states have laid claim. It was also sometimes known as The Bowie State and The Toothpick State (both alluding to the Bowie knife, the favourite weapon of the area, and which was sometimes called "a toothpick knife"), and the Hot-water State (because of the number of hot springs in the area). However, the first official nickname for Arkansas came in 1923 when the legislature designated the state as The Wonder State. In more modern times, Arkansas has had the unofficial nickname of The Razorback State, but was more officialy known as The Land of Opportunity for many years. Arkansas licence plates display another nickname (The Natural State) which became the state's most recent official nickname in 1995.
California (The Golden State - 1968)
California was first known simply as The Gold State, because of the Gold Rush of 1848. It was also sometimes known as El Dorado and, because of its wine connections, The Grape State. The "Gold" was changed to "Golden" by 1867, and since then the state has been known as The Golden State, which became the state's official nickname in 1968 (appearing also on licence plates). California's state flower is the Golden Poppy, which has led some to assume that it is from this which the state gets its nickname whereas in reality it is much more likely that the state flower was chosen because of the "golden" reference.
Colorado
Admitted to the union 100 years from the founding of the Union, Colorado quickly became known as The Centennial State. At about the same time, and because of the abundant silver mines, it also laid claim to The Silver State, but which Nevada disputed its right to as early as 1871. The minerals of the state also led to, according to some unconfirmed reports, The Lead State. It also tried for Switzerland of America, but four other states (Maine, New Jersey, New Hampshire and West Virginia) disputed this one. It then tried for Treasure State, but Montana wanted that. Its high elevation has led to the state occasionally being known as the Mile-high State (although that's an epithet now reserved for Denver, the "Mile High City") and the Highest State, its great beauty produced Colorful Colorado, and the many roaming bison herds led to The Buffalo Plains State. In practice, Colorado remains The Centennial State, but it is The Mountain State which appears on licence plates.
Connecticut (The Constitution State - 1959)
First known as Land of Wooden Nutmegs (after a scam commonly perpetrated there of selling useless nutmegs made of wood), the state quickly became known as The Wooden Nutmeg State, and then just The Nutmeg State. Connecticut has had its fair share of other nicknames. The fact that the first formal constitution written on American soil, back in Hartford, 1639, gave it The Constitution State, a nickname that was made the state's official nickname in 1959, and which appears on licence plates. It was also given the Provisions State and The Blue Law State, from some of its "Blue Laws" in colonial times. In 1843, the only nickname recorded for the state was The Freestone State, and it has also been known as The Land of Steady Habits.
Delaware (The First State - 23 May 2002)
Nobody quite knows where the modern-day Delaware's Blue Hen State comes from. It was first recorded in the early 1800s, and may be an allusion to a "blue hen chicken", a term meaning a "quick-tempered and fiery person", possibly deriving from the fact that Delaware soldiers took "Blue Hen Cocks" with them as entertainment in the form of cock fights. In the 16th cenury, the Spanish introduced peaches into the state, and a hundred years later the state was almost overrun with them, leading to the nickname The Peach State (which in turn led the state to adopt the Peach Blossom as the state flower in 1895). It also once had the nickname New Sweden, after the name of the original Swedish settlement of "Nye Sverige", founded in 1638. And its small size gave it the nickname of Uncle Sam's Pocket Handkerchief, or more recently, Small Wonder. The state also had two other common nicknames - The Diamond State (because of its small size) and the semi-official name (as it appears on licence plates), The First State (being the first to be admitted to the Union in 1787). In 2002, the state formally adopted The First State as its official nickname after a group of elementary school children approached the majority leader of the House and asked for help in getting the unofficial nickname made official.
District of Columbia
Not really a state as such, DC has no official nickname - but is frequently called The Nation's Capital (which appears on its licence plates) and America's First City
Florida (The Sunshine State - 1970)
At one time, back in the 1860s, Florida was known as The Peninsula State, for obvious reasons. Later in the 19th century, it also became known as The Everglades State. Florida is a large producer of oranges which led the state to be known as The Orange State (and in one reference, The Citrus State),the meaning of the state's name ("flowery") led to The Flower State and its location on the east of the Gulf of Mexico led to The Gulf State. For many years, Florida appears as The Sunshine State on its licence plates, but this name was only given official status in 1970 when it was officially adopted by the legislature. The nickname is also unofficially claimed by New Mexico and (until 1980) South Dakota.
Georgia (No Official Nickname)
In 1843, Georgia was listed as The Pine State, but thirty years later some were calling it The Cracker State. A "cracker" in this context was slang for a low Southern white man, coined in the mid-18th century (although other sources suggest that it may relate to the many teamsters in the state, and be an allusion to the cracking of their whips). Whatever the origin, many Georgians hated the nickname. Georgia has also been known as The Buzzard State (from laws Georgia introduced to protect buzzards), from the peanut came The Goober State, and from its leadership, Yankee-land of the South. The nicknames for Georgia these days are The Empire State of the South (originally used in the mid 19th century, but since then has been hotly disputed by Taxes), and the name that appears on licence plates, The Peach State (the peach being the official state fruit since 1995). However, Georgia's legislature has not designated an official nickname for the state.
Hawaii (The Aloha State - 1959)
Many of Hawaii's supporters call it Paradise of the Pacific, or Crossroads of the Pacific (although this is mostly associated with the city of Honolulu), and others call it the Pineapple State . But since 1959 a Polynesian greeting has given the state's official nickname (which also appears on licence plates), The Aloha State.
Idaho
The name of the state is often (but incorrectly) supposed to be Indian for "gem of the mountains". This has led the state to be nicknamed Gem of the Mountains, or most succinctly in more recent times, The Gem State. But Idaho's famous potatoes aren't ignored, and Land of the Famous Potato and Spud State are sometimes seen, with Famous Potatoes appearing on the licence plates.
Illinois
The sucker fish once gave Illinois the nickname, The Sucker State (and also, incidentally, gave us the slang word "sucker", for someone who is easy prey). The state has actually had numerous nicknames over the years - Garden of the West, The Garden State and The Corn State being just three of them. Lincoln began his political career in Illinois, and in 1955 its slogan became Land of Lincoln (which now appears on its licence plates). However, these days it is often known as The Prairie State, a name which it has had since at least as early as 1842, before which it was a term applied to all the plain states.
Indiana (no official nickname)
Indiana is one of the few states that has had only one nickname - The Hoosier State - a name it has had since the 1830s. At one time, a "hoosier" was any rough person in the Wild West, but it eventually came to be applied contemptuously (like "Yankee") to anyone from Indiana. Nobody quite knows where "Hoosier" comes from, but it seems to have first appeared in 1826. Indiana licence plates display the motto, The Hospitality State
Iowa
Nobody is quite sure where the name "Hawkeye" came from, but it is possibly from Fennimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans" - alternatively, it may have been coined as a tribute to the Indian leader, Chief Black Hawk. It seems to have applied to Iowans from around 1840, and The Hawkeye State is first recorded around 1859. A more popular and recent (but also only semi-official) nickname is the Corn State, which has appeared on the state licence plates.
Kansas (The Sunflower State)
Kansas has probably had more nicknames in its history than any other state. Around the time of the Civil War, it was known as The Battleground of Freedom, but later was known as The Garden of the West, or just The Garden State. However, these last two nicknames were disputed by other states and never really caught on. Another pre-Civil War nickname, based on the old "squatter laws", was The Squatter State. In 1890 it was The Grasshopper State, and other natural calamities gave The Cyclone State and The Dust Bowl State. It has also been called The Salt of the Earth. The Jayhawker State is a name derived from the slang name for a Kansan from around 1875 (although it was used in a wider sense as a fighting abolitionist before then), and still occasionally used, but shortened to Jayhawk State. Kansas itself officially favoured the more demure Sunflower State, which is the official nickname (and the sunflower is the state flower), with The Wheat State appearing on its licence plates.
Kentucky (The Bluegrass State)
The "Blue Grass" region of the US once extended from Pennsylvania in the east to Ohio in the west, and down into Tennessee in the south. Although the grass is green, the bluish buds produced in the spring give the grass a distinctly blue colour. Kentucky itself was the Bluegrass State from the time of the Civil War, and remains so (the name appears on the state licence plates). One suggestion for the origin of the name "Kentucky" is that it means "dark and bloody ground", and this led to the state (actually its a commonwealth) being known as Dark and Bloody Ground. This refers to battles between tribes of Indians, and not to any conflict with the white man, despite the fact that references as early as 1839 were saying that it was an allusion to battles between Indians and the first white settlers, and brought to the language by Daniel Boone. Over the years, Kentucky has been known as the Hemp State, the Rock-Ribbed State and the Tobacco State.
Louisiana
Louisiana has been the Pelican State since around 1859 (the Pelican is also the official state bird), and has had few nicknames since then. In 1872, it was listed as being the Creole State, but the misunderstandings of northerners, who thought it suggested African blood rather than the correct meaning of "caucasian", led to its demise. Occasionally, Louisiana gets called the Sugar State. The influence of the great river has led some to call it Child of the Mississippi, and the state's many waterways have also results in the Bayou State (which is the name on the state's licence plates).
Maine
Maine has a pine tree on its seal, and has been known as the Pine Tree Statesince the middle of the 19th century, possibly aroun the 1850s. It derives from the white pine, the official state tree. But it was also recorded as the Lumber State in 1843. The state motto is Dirigo, meaning "I direct", and this has led some to call it the Old Dirigo State. Licence plates in Maine declare the state to be Vacationland, and it has also been known as the Border State.
Maryland
Maryland is another state that has had numerous nicknames since colonial times. Old Line State (from the Maryland Line in the old Colonial army, which some say was bestowed on the state by George Washington) and Terrapin State (representative of the decline in standing of the state), are probably the oldest, but in 1923 the editor of the Baltimore Sun used the name Maryland Free State in an ironic editorial when the state was denounced as a traitor to the union for not introducing legislation to enforce prohibition. In fact the editorial was never published, but he went on to use the term in other articles and this soon spread amongst other newspapers in the state, often being shortened to the Free State. Maryland has also been known as the Monumental State (a name which had appeared by 1843, and which derives from Baltimore's nickname of "Monumental City"), the Oyster State (from the Chesapeake oyster, once considered a great pride for the state) and also the Chesapeake State (by which name it is known on its licence plates).
Massachusetts
Massachusetts is a commonwealth, and is usually known as the Bay State, a nickname that goes right back to its early settlers in 1789, with Old Bay State appearing some 50 years later. Both allude to the colony of Massachusetts Bay, founded in 1628. The earlier Plymouth settlement gave Massachusetts Old Colony, a name which first appeared around 1798, and those first colonists also led to the state sometimes being known as the Pilgrim State and the Puritan State. There are reports of it also being called the Baked Bean State, an allusion to the fact that the puritans would serve baked beans on Sundays. But Massachusetts licence plates declare The Spirit of America or The Codfish State
Michigan
Michigan has been known as the Wolverine State from at least 1846, when it first appeared in the "Knickerbocker Magazine", although "Wolverine" for an inhabitant of Michigan goes back at least 10 years earlier. Nobody is quite sure exactly why this name should have been applied, as there is no evidence that wolverines actually existed in the state. It is likely that the name was given to Michiginians because of their vicious and gluttonous actions, either by the Ohians during the Toledo War (over a disputed strip of land around Toledo) or by the Indians who saw how aggressively the land was being taken. Michigan is also known as the Lake State, or the Great Lakes State (which appeared on the state licence plates) for its proximity to Lake Michigan, but this name conflicts with the "Lake States", given to the states which border the Great Lakes. To avoid this conflict, some have turned it into the Lady of the Lake and the more remote Water Wonderland. Detroit's heavy car manufacturing industry has also led some to refer to the Auto State.
Minnesota
The official nickname of Minnesota is the North Star State, and the state seal has the motto L'Etoile du Nord on it. It is also commonly known as the Gopher State, a nickname which dates back to around 1880 and is based on the fact that the American football team of the Minnesota State University were known as "The Golden Gophers" (a variety of squirrel) - but Arkansas also laid claim to the name 35 years earlier. Energetic supporters of the state have variously given it names like Bread and Butter State or Bread Basket of the Nation, Cream Pitcher of the Nation, and the Wheat State, all based on the state's production of wheat and dairy produce, and Playground of the Nation. The numerous lakes in the state have also led it to be known occasionally as the Land of 10,000 Lakes (in fact, Minnesota has more like 12,000 lakes) - Minnesota licence plates have 10,000 Lakes on them.
Mississippi
In 1872, Mississippi was known as the Mudcat State, after a large catfish that lived in the river mud (a similar allusion may also have given it the less common nickname the Mud-Waddler State) . Bayou State dates from around 1867, and Eagle State is possibly a shortening of Border-Eagle State, which first appeared around 1846, and both may be from the eagle that appears on the state's seal. The state is also sometimes known as the Groundhog State or the Hospitality State (which appears on the licence plates) . However, the abundance of the magnolia, and its adoption as the official state flower and tree, has led to the modern nickname of the Magnolia State.
Missouri
Missouri has been known as the Iron Mountain State, Bullion State (from around 1848, and possibly an allusion to the nickname of Missouri senator Benton, who was known as "Old Bullion"), the Lead State, the Ozark State, the Puke State (possibly a corruption of "Pike", as there is a Pike County in Missouri, and another just across the river in Illinois), the Cave State, and the Pennsylvania of the West. The modern nickname of the Show Me State (which also appears on licence plates) was given national popularity at the end of the 19th century from a phrase included in a speech by a Missouri congressman, William Vandiver, although it had existed before then.
Montana
In its early days, Montana was the Bonanza State (around 1893, and from the rich mineral deposits) and the Stub-Toe State (from 1890, and an allusion to its steep mountain slopes). But the rich gold and silver deposits have led it now to be known as the Treasure State, although the wide open spaces have also produced Big Sky Country (which is what appears on the state's licence plates)
Nebraska (The Cornhusker State - 1945)
In 1922, Nebraska was sometimes known as the Antelope State, and the Black Water State. But the legislatures has already passed an act in 1895 which declared the state as the Tree Planters State, and its licence plates showed the Beef State. The dark colour of its rivers resulted in some calling it the Black Water State in around 1916. Others have called it the Bugeating State, after a nickname of "Bug-eaters" given to Nebraskans, a derogatory term based on the poverty-stricken appearance of the state. In 1945, the original nickname (which also appears on licence plates) was replaced by the Cornhusker State, where "Cornhusker" was originally applied to the University of Nebraska's athletic and football teams.
Nevada
Having been admitted to the Union during the Civil War, Nevada adopted the Battle-Born State as its nickname, and this is still used today, having been officially adopted as the staet slogan in 1937. Facetious nicknames, like Divorce State have appeared (in this case, due to the rise of Reno and Las Vegas), but the state was more seriously known as Silverland (traced back to 1863, from the wealth of silver deposits). This eventually became the Silver State (a nickname challenged by Colorado, but which is what appears on the state's licence plates today), and also led to the Mining State. However, the Sagebrush State (challenged by Wyoming) is more common (the sagebrush being the state's official flower), occasionally shortened to Sage State
New Hampshire
Back in 1830, New Hampshire was known as the Granite State, and this nickname has prevailed to the present day (there was once a huge industry based on the quarrying of granite). On the way, various other nicknames have appeared, such as White Mountain State, Switzerland of America (both because of the abundance of white-topped mountains) and the Mother of Rivers (because of the many rivers which start in the white mountains). New Hampshire licence plates declare the state motto, Live Free or Die!
New Jersey (no official nickname)
In the 1880s, New York suffered plagues of insects which originated in the marshes of New Jersey, which led the state to be known as the Mosquito State. The clam fisheries on the coast led some to call it the Clam State, and others called it Switzerland of America (one of five states to be so-called). The famous "Camden and Aboy Railroad" led to the state sometimes being known as the Camden and Aboy State, and the blue uniforms of the Civil war gave it the Jersey Blue State. But these days New Jersey is simply known as the Garden State, a name coined by Abraham Browning in a speech at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876, and which has, despite the objection and veto of the governor, appeared officially on state licence plates since about 1954.
New Mexico
New Mexico has been known as the Sunshine State, a name recorded from around 1926, as well as the Cactus State, and the Spanish State. Enthusiastic supporters have variously regaled New Mexico with Land of Cactus, Land of the Delight Makers, Land of Opportunity, Land of Heart's Desires and Land of Enchantment, but it is the last of these which has stuck and which appears on licence plates.
New York
The state motto is "Excelsior", and some have called New York the Excelsior State. The trousers worn by the early Dutch settlers resulted in the Knickerbocker State It has also sometimes been known as the Gateway to the West. But, when George Washington referred to New York state as "the seat of Empire" in 1784, he set the seed for the state's long-term nickname which appeared in around 1820 - the Empire State. It is this which appears on state licence plates.
North Carolina
Once commonly known as the Old North State, because of its position and history, North Carolina has some beautiful mountain country which led it to also be known as the Land of the Sky. But the modern day nickname of the Tarheel State goes back to the mid 19th century. North Carolinians were known as "tarboilers" as early as 1845, also as "Tar Heels". Why they were so called is not really known - one suggestion is that a brigade of North Carolinians failed to hold a position during the war in 1869, and Mississippians blamed the fact that they had failed to tar their heels that morning. By 1844, the state was being called the Tar and Turpentine State, and by 1859 just Turpentine State. The Wright Brothers launched their first flight in North Carolina, and this has led to First In Flight, a nickname or motto which now appears on car licence plates, along with First in Freedom
North Dakota
A local ground squirrel, the flickertail, gave North Dakota its Flickertail State nickname (an attempt to make this the official nickname in 1953 was defeated), and the Indian tribes its Sioux State and Land of the Dakota .Its importance led it to be sometimes known as Great Central State. But the International Peace Gardens (crossing the northern border of the state into Manitoba) have given the state its modern nickname (and car licence plate slogan) of the Peace Garden State (it's worth noting that some references incorrectly give "Peach Garden State", which is a transcription error that seems to have propagated through many works!) - it first appeared on licence plates in 1956, and in 1957 the legislature formally required it to appear on licence plates.North Dakota was also known as the Roughrider State (an allusion to the "Rough Rider" cavalry that Theodore Roosevelt is supposed to have led) and this name was used in the 1960s and 1970s as part of a tourist campaign, but attempts in 1971 and 1973 to have this replace "Peace Garden State" on licence plates failed.
Ohio
During the very early part of the 19th century, Ohio was sometimes known as the Yankee State since many settlers had come from New England, but that's a nickname that was given up a long time ago. Some of the state's proponents claimed Mother of Presidents, (sometimes Mother of Modern Presidents) having been where more than half a dozen presidents had started their lives (it's a name that Virginia once used). But the state tree, a variety of horse chestnut, gives the state its current nickname of the Buckeye State - although its adoption owes a lot to William Henry Harrison who, during the 1840 presidential adopted a log cabin made of buckeye timber as his emblem, and many of his supporters would carry buckeye canes. Ohio licence plates declare The Heart of it All
Oklahoma
Even before the land was thrown open to white settlement, many early settlers snuck across the border and made claims there. When the first official settlers were allowed across, they found these "sooners" already in possession of the land that they were hoping to take. This led to the state being called the Sooner State. Those who had waited patiently for the canon's "boom", a signal that they could cross into Oklahoma, resulted in the much rarer nickname Boomer State, or Boomer's Paradise. According to some Oklahoma licence plates, Oklahoma is OK!
Oregon
Through the years, Oregon has various been called the Sunshine State (yes, another one!), Webfoot State (derived from the nickname given to residents, because of the high level of rainfall) and Hard-case State (named after the evil characters who flocked to the state in its early days, and from their austere descendants). But Oregon's state animal is the beaver (since 1969), and it is a widely recognised symbol for the state - which has led the State University athletic team to be known as "the Beavers", and state to being called the Beaver State. Oregon licence plates call the state Pacific Wonderland
Pennsylvania
One of the oldest state nicknames (and that which appeasr on its licence plates) is the Keystone State, probably applied to Pennsylvania from the late 18th century (although the first official citation is from 1802, when at a rally Pennsylvania was toasted as "the keystone in the union"). The industry of Pennsylvania once gave it the nicknames of the Coal State and Steel State, but these have long drifted into oblivion. Philadelphia is known as "The Quaker City", a name which was sometimes been transferred to Pennsylvania itself as the Quaker State.
Rhode Island (no official nickname)
The smallest state (but the one with the longest full name of "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations") is often just called Little Rhody, dating back perhaps as early as 1851 (and more recently, the Smallest State). In 1847, it was being referred to as the Plantation State (a reference to the state's full name). Because of its position, its other common nickname (mainly for the benefit of tourists) is the Ocean State, and this is what appears on its licence plates.
South Carolina
The palmetto palm (a variety of fan palm) has been associated with South Carolina since colonial days, and the first appearance of Palmetto State (the nickname used in modern times) appears to have been around 1843. But numerous other nicknames have emerged over the years - Rice State, the Swamp State, the Iodine State (used to promote iodine-rich produce) and the Sand-lapper State. It is also sometimes known as the Keystone of the South Atlantic, and the Seaboard State. State licence plates use the first words of the song - Nothing Could be Finer
South Dakota (The Mount Rushmore State - 1980)
When Dakota split into two parts, South Dakota became variously known as the Blizzard State, the Artesian State (for the many artesian wells in the state), and the Land of Plenty. It was also known as the Sunshine State a name, which unlike the other three, was retained and which was depicted on the state flag until 1980. In that year, South Dakota deferred to Florida's claim on the nickname and relaunched the state officially as the Mount Rushmore State, which appears in words on the state flag. The other common nickname is The Coyote State, which comes from the prairie wolf, named by the Nahuatl Indians as the "coyotl", from which we get "Coyote" (and which is also a nickname for the residents of the state). Licence plates declare Great Faces, Great Places.
Tennessee
Tennessee is known officially (by some accounts) and on its licence plates as the Volunteer State, a name which goes back (depending on which reference you use) either to 1812, when the volunteer soldiers showed particular courage in the Battle of New Orleans, or to 1847 when the Governor called for three regiments to serve in the Mexican War, and 30,000 men volunteered. The state was also known as the Lion's Den, back in 1843, possibly because border ruffians were then known as "lions of the West". Tennessee is named after the Indian name for the state, which means "The River with the Big Bend", and which led to The Big Bend State, and the diet of fatback pig and cornmeal (both abundant produce in the state) gave it the Hog and Hominy State (it is also sometimes known as the Hog State, and the Hominy State). Tennessee remembers the fact that it was the home of three US Presidents, in the nickname Mother of Southwestern Statesmen. The tan colour of Tennessee soldiers' uniforms in the War Between the States gave them the nickname of "butternuts" (after the squash), and the state is sometimes known as the Butternut State as a result.
Texas (no official nickname)
Probably no state has a more well-known nickname than Texas - the Lone Star State (which is how it is described on its licence plates). It represents the symbol on the 1836 Texas Republic flag (itself based on history going back to the "Long Expedition" in 1819), and on the state flag and seal of today. Despite its prominence, the nickname is purely traditional and has not been enshrined in legislation. Many attempts have been made to apply other nicknames to the state, with various levels of success. Its huge cattle "industry" led it to be known as the Beef State for a while, and its size gave it the Jumbo State. In 1961, the New Yorker called it the Super-American State, and others have tried for the Banner State, and the Blizzard State.
Utah
The first settlers in Utah were the members of the Church of Latter Day Saints, also called the Mormons. Their hard work and great influence in the state has given Utah most of its various nicknames. Its common, and long-standing, nickname, the is Mormon State, of which there are a couple of variations - such as Land of the Mormons and Land of the Saints. The Mormons named the state "Deseret" when they arrived, and so Utah was also sometimes known as the Deseret State. "Deseret", from the Book of Mormon, is actually a honeybee, and the early Mormon settlers were described as having carried with them "swarms of bees". This is what gave the state its symbol (officially adopted in 1959) of a conical beehive with a swarm of bees around it (on the state flag), and the nickname of the Beehive State. The only "non-Mormon" nickname is the Salt Lake State, but even this is closely linked with the Mormons, who first settled in what is now known as Salt Lake City, next to the great Salt Lake.
Vermont
I can find no reference to any other nickname for Vermont other than the Green Mountain State (which, not surprisingly, is also on the licence plates). This name comes from "Green Mountain Boy", a name for an inhabitant going back to 1772, in turn named after the militia of the previous year which was organised to protect the state against the New Yorkers (and, of course, derives from the state's name itself, coined in 1761 by Rev Dr Peters, who named the mountains "Verd Mont", meaning "green mountain", which itself probably came from the "Green Mountains" which were named by Samuel de Champlain in 1647).
Virginia
Virginia has the oldest citation for any state nickname. Old Dominion has its first recorded sighting in 1778, but this derives from Ancient Dominion, the nickname for the state from the end of the 17th century. It is also known as the Mother of States, being the first state to be colonised (a name not attributed to Virginia until 1855, whereas Connecticut had been given the name in 1838), and Mother of Presidents, because Virginia supplied seven of the first twelve of the US Presidents. Some also developed this last name into Mother of Statesmen. The early British loyalists who settled in the states were Cavaliers, and this gave the state another nickname, the Cavalier State. Virginia's licence plates are a little less ambitious, and simply declare Visit Virginia!
Washington
The many conifer forests of Washington state produced the nickname the Evergreen State, coined by Seattle Realtor and historian, C.T. Conver. Although numerous references say that the nickname was officially adopted by the legislature in 1893, the Washington legislature's own Web site says that it "has never been officially adopted by law". It is also known as the Green Tree State, which appears on its licence plates. Before that, the Chinook Indians lent their name to the Chinook State, a nickname which has been traced back to 1890.
West Virginia
West Virginia is one of the states which attempted to lay claim to the Switzerland of America, but is more usually known (including on licence plates) as the Mountain State. The shape of the state also gave West Virginia The Panhandle State.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin inhabitants are "badgers", and Wisconsin is the Badger State. The name appears to have arisen from the early lead miners who worked at the Illinois Galena lead mines in the 1830s. These mines are close to where Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin meet, and were also responsible for giving the "Sucker" and "Puke" nicknames to those from Illinois and Iowa. However, "badger" arose not from the burrowing in the lead mines, but because those from Wisconsin did not live in houses, but in caves in the hillside that looked like badger burrows. They earned the nickname at the mines, and took it back on their return to Wisconsin. Interestingly, Wisconsin adopted the badger as the official state animal in 1957. But Wisconsin is predominantly a dairy state, producing 40% of the country's cheese, and 20% of its butter - not surprisingly, then, the state is sometimes nicknamed the Dairy State, America's Dairyland (which is how it appears on licence plates) or even the Cheese State.
Wyoming
The first grant of suffrage in the US was made in Wyoming in 1869, leading to the state being called the Suffrage State or the current Equality State. But the state's symbol is a cowboy on a bucking bronco, leading to some calling it the Cowboy State. Wyoming's licence plates declare, Like No Place on Earth.
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Which is the wold's largest rodent? | Video: Meet Gary, the world's largest pet rodent - Telegraph
Weird News Video
Meet Gary, the world's largest pet rodent
A couple in America have adopted a giant rodent the size of a labrador, and even allow it to sleep in their bed.
4:15PM BST 21 Jun 2013
Melanie Typaldos, 57, shares her home in Texas with her pet Gary - the world's largest rodent.
The computer programmer and her husband, Richard Loveman, 54, even let the giant guinea pig - known as a capybara - sleep in their bed.
The couple fell in love with the South American mammals during a holiday to Venezuela , and adopted Gary from an owner who could no longer care for him.
The capybara has become part of the family and enjoys nothing more than swimming with his owners in the swimming pool, which was built to remind the pet of his natural habitat.
Melanie says: "Although some people might find it strange, it’s really no different than having a dog or a cat .
Related Content
| Capybara |
Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus were two members of the 'First Triumvirate' in 60 BC. Who was the third? | The World's Largest Rodent by Don Zolidis | Playscripts Inc.
Awards
Play Details
Billy's life was pushed to the brink of insanity when his father disappeared and his mother slipped into a catatonic state after a failed suicide attempt. His older sister, Meg, has enough on her hands with a job at Wal-Mart to pay off medical bills and a Latin lover who is determined to teach Billy how to be a man. Billy's only friends are a home schooled lesbian evangelist named Chastity whom he desperately lusts after and a large, magical talking capybara, the world's largest rodent. Together, they must find a way to revive Billy's mother and save Billy's world.
SET: Flexible.
NOTES: Adult content and language
Recent Reviews
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What is the southern hemisphere's equivalent of the Aurora Borealis? | Australia's southern skies light-up with Southern Lights or Aurora Australis | Daily Mail Online
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Forget the Northern Lights... here's the Southern Spectacular: Australia's skies are lit up with the fantastic colours of the Aurora Australis
The Aurora Australis or 'Southern Lights' is best seen in parts of Tasmania on a clear and cold night's sky
It is the Southern Hemisphere's version of the Aurora Borealis or 'Northern Lights' best seen in North America
The phenomenon occurs when electrons emanating from the sun and gases in the upper atmosphere collide
The result is this illuminating spectrum of green, purple, yellow and red lights streaking across the sky
| Aurora |
The name of which James Thurber character has passed into language as a daydreaming fantasist? | Aurora - YouTube
Aurora
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Uploaded on Jun 10, 2007
New Antarctica Feature Film: www.frozensouth.com
Go to http://www.antarcticimages.com for a higher resolution version of this clip.
Time-lapse footage of the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights.
This is the Southern Hemisphere equivalent of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.
Filmed during the Antarctic winter in the general vicinity of McMurdo Station and Scott Base, where the sun is below the horizon for 4 months of the year.
Most of the individual clips here were each taken over about a 10 minute period to give you an idea of how much they were moving in real time.
Have a look at my time-lapse clip "A Year on Ice" for more Antarctic footage which includes other aurora clips in the winter section.
The specific music used is by Danny Elfman from the Black Beauty soundtrack, the track is called "Memories"... available at most music retailers.
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In which war was the Battle of Poitiers, fought? | Battle of Poitiers
Battle of Poitiers
The Black Prince’s great victory over the French King John.
King John of France surrendering himself to the English at the Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years War
The previous battle of the Hundred Years War is the Battle of Creçy
The next battle of the Hundred Years War is the Battle of Agincourt
Date of the Battle of Poitiers: 19th September 1356.
Place of the Battle of Poitiers: Western France.
Combatants at the Battle of Poitiers: An army of English and Gascons against the French and their allies.
Edward, the Black Prince, commander of the English army at the Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years
Commanders at the Battle of Poitiers: The Black Prince against King John I of France.
Size of the armies at the Battle of Poitiers: The Black Prince’s army numbered some 7,000 knights, men-at-arms and archers.
Numbers in the French army are uncertain but were probably around 35,000, although Froissart gives the size of the French army as 60,000. The French army comprised a contingent of Scots commanded by Sir William Douglas.
Uniforms, arms and equipment in the Battle of Poitiers: Depending upon wealth and rank a mounted knight of the period wore jointed steel plate armour incorporating back and breast plates, a visored bascinet helmet and steel plated gauntlets with spikes on the back, the legs and feet protected by steel greaves and boots, called jambs. Weapons carried were a lance, shield, sword and dagger. Over the armour a knight wore a jupon or surcoat emblazoned with his arms and an ornate girdle.
The weapon of the English and Welsh archers was a six foot yew bow discharging a feathered arrow of a cloth metre. The rate of fire was up to an arrow every 5 seconds. For close quarter fighting the archers used hammers or daggers.
Winner of the Battle of Poitiers: The English and Gascons decisively won the battle.
Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years: map by John Fawkes
Account of the Battle of Poitiers: Edward III, King of England, began the Hundred Years War, claiming the throne of France on the death of King Philip IV in 1337. The war finally ended in the middle of the 15th Century with the eviction of the English from France, other than Calais, and the formal abandonment by the English monarchs of their claims to French territory.
The war began well for Edward III with the decisive English victories at Sluys in 1340 and Creçy in 1346 and the capture of Calais in 1347. In the late 1340s the plague epidemic, called the Black Death, decimated the populations of France and England, bringing military operations to a halt; one of the plague’s victims being the French king Philip VI.
In 1355 King Edward III again planned for an invasion of France. His son, Edward the Black Prince, now an experienced soldier 26 years of age, landed at Bordeaux in Western France and led his army on a march through Southern France to Carcassonne. Unable to take the walled city, the Black Prince returned to Bordeaux. In early 1356 the Duke of Lancaster landed with a second force in Normandy and began to advance south. Edward III was engaged in fighting in Scotland.
The Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years: click here to buy this picture
The new king of France, John I, led an army against Lancaster forcing him to withdraw towards the coast. King John then turned to attack the Black Prince, who was advancing north east towards the Loire pillaging the countryside as he went.
In early September 1356 King John reached the Loire with his large army, just as the Black Prince turned back towards Bordeaux. The French army marched hard and overtook the unsuspecting English force at Poitiers on Sunday 18th September 1356.
Cardinal Talleyrand leaves the English camp the night before the Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years
The local prelate, Cardinal Talleyrand de Périgord, attempted to broker terms of settlement between the two armies; but the Black Prince’s offer of handing over all the booty he had taken on his “chevauchée” and maintaining a truce for 7 years was unacceptable to King John who considered the English would have little chance against his overwhelming army, and the French demand that the Black Prince surrender himself and his army was unacceptable to the English. The two armies prepared for battle.
The English army was an experienced force; many of the archers veterans of Creçy, ten years before, and the Gascon men-at-arms commanded by Sir John Chandos, Sir James Audley and Captal de Buche, all old soldiers.
Sir John Chandos urges the Black Prince to attack saying ‘Sire the Day is yours’ at the Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years: picture by R. Caton Woodville: click here to buy this picture
The Black Prince arranged his force in a defensive position among the hedges and orchards of the area, his front line of archers disposed behind a particularly prominent thick hedge through which the road ran at right angles.
King John was advised by his Scottish commander, Sir William Douglas, that the French attack should be delivered on foot, horses being particularly vulnerable to English archery, the arrows fired with a high trajectory falling on the unprotected necks and backs of the mounts. King John took this advice, his army in the main leaving its horses with the baggage and forming up on foot.
The French attack began in the early morning of Monday 19th September 1356 with a mounted charge by a forlorn hope of 300 German knights commanded by two Marshals of France; Barons Clermont and Audrehem. The force reached a gallop, closing in to charge down the road into the centre of the English position. The attack was a disaster, with those knights not shot down by the English archers dragged from their horses and killed or secured as prisoners for later ransom.
Capture of King John of France and his 14 year old son at the Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years: picture by Henri Dupray: click here to buy this picture
The rest of the French army now began its ponderous advance on foot, in accordance with Douglas’ advice, arrayed in three divisions; the first led by the Dauphin Charles (the son of the King), the second by the Duc D’Orleans and the third, the largest, by the King himself.
The first division reached the English line exhausted by its long march in heavy equipment, much harassed by the arrow fire of the English archers. The Black Prince’s soldiers, Gascon men-at-arms and English and Welsh archers, rushed forward to engage the French, pushing through the hedgerow and spilling round the flanks to attack the French in the rear.
After a short savage fight the Dauphin’s division broke and retreated, blundering into the division of the Duc D’Orleans marching up behind, both divisions falling back in confusion.
The final division of the French army, commanded by the king himself, was the strongest and best controlled. The three divisions coalesced and resumed the advance against the English, a formidable mass of walking knights and men-at-arms.
Thinking that the retreat of the first two divisions marked the end of the battle, the Black Prince had ordered a force of knights commanded by the Gascon, Captal de Buche, to mount and pursue the French. Chandos urged the Prince to launch this mounted force on the main body of the French army. The Black Prince seized on Chandos’ idea and ordered all the knights and men-at-arms to mount for the charge. The horses were ordered up from the rear; in the meantime Captal de Buch’s men, already mounted, were ordered to advance around the French flank to the right.
Capture of King John of France and his 14 year old son at the Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years: click here to buy this picture
As the French army toiled up to the hedgerow the English force broke through the hedge and struck the French like a thunderbolt, the impetus of the charge taking the mounted knights and men-at-arms right into the French line. Simultaneously Captal de Buch’s Gascons charged in on the French flank. The English and Welsh archers left their bows and ran forward to join the fight, brandishing their daggers and fighting hammers.
The French army broke up, many leaving the field, while the more stalwart knights fought hard in isolated groups. A mass of fugitives made for Poitiers pursued by the mounted Gascons to be slaughtered outside the closed city gates.
King John found himself alone with his 14 years old younger son Philip fighting an overwhelming force of Gascons and English. Eventually the king agreed to surrender.
The battle won, the English army gave itself up to pillaging the vanquished French knights and the lavish French camp.
The Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years
Casualties at the Battle of Poitiers: In his dispatch to King Edward III, his father, the Black Prince stated that the French dead amounted to 3,000 while only 40 of his troops had been killed. It is likely that the English casualties were higher. Among the French prisoners were King John, his son Philip, 17 great lords, 13 counts, 5 viscounts and a hundred other knights of significance.
The Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years: click here to buy this picture
Follow-up to the Battle of Poitiers: On the night of the battle the Black Prince entertained the King of France and his son to dinner and the next day the English army resumed its march to Bordeaux.
The effect of the defeat on France and the loss of the King to captivity was devastating, leaving the country in the hands of the Dauphin Charles, escaped from the ruins of his division at Poitiers. Charles faced immediate revolts across the kingdom as he attempted to raise money to continue the war and ransom his father.
Capture of King John of France at the Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years: picture by Richard Caton Woodville: click here to buy this picture
The release of King John proved difficult to negotiate as Edward III sought to extract more and more onerous terms from the French. Meanwhile the war continued to the misery of the wretched inhabitants of France.
King John was released in November 1361 against other hostages. Due to the default of one of those hostages John returned to London and died there in 1364.
Anecdotes and traditions of the Battle of Poitiers:
King John actually surrendered to a French knight, Sir Denis de Morbeque, who took him to the Prince of Wales with the Earl of Warwick.
Poitiers was the second great battle won by the English yew bow, although in this case it was the threat of the arrow barrage that caused the French to launch the ill-judged advance on foot thereby exposing them to the English/Gascon mounted charge that won the battle.
Capture of King John of France at the Battle of Poitiers on 19th September 1356 in the Hundred Years
References for the Battle of Poitiers:
The Hundred Years War by Robin Neillands.
British Battles by Grant.
The previous battle of the Hundred Years War is the Battle of Creçy
The next battle of the Hundred Years War is the Battle of Agincourt
| Hundred Years' War |
The Parthenon in Athens stands on which hill? | Poitiers
POITIERS - 19 September 1356
The French cavalry now dismounted, could not break a consolidated and manoeuvrable longbow position.
The battle of Poitiers was a decisive military engagement during the 100-year war and was fought on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers by the Army of Edward, the Black Prince and King John II of France.
As a result of the battle of Crécy, the new French King Jean II made some important changes in the way the French armies would fight. In 1351 he did away with what had amounted in the past to an individuals right to withdraw from battle independently. Previously his army had been partly a feudal levy and partly mercenary. In an attempt to create a national army, he established a hierarchy on the battlefield so that each man reported to a captain and took an oath not to withdraw that will. The King also raised the rate of pay for his soldiers. However the latter was largely ineffective due to the inflation caused by a combination of the Black Death and poor management of the Treasury
The Black Prince was appointed in 1355 as Lieutenant by King Edward III in Bordeaux in Gascony. In that year Prince Edward set sail for Bordeaux while at the same time King Edward the third and the Duke of Lancaster set off for Calais. With this new invasion King John of France began raising his own army In 1356 the Black Prince set out from Bordeaux to cross the Loire and meet up with the Duke of Lancaster coming south from Calais. However, without much strategy the Black Prince despoiled and pillaged the villages and towns in the region thereby alerting the French King to his exact position. He soon found a large army bearing down upon him. As at Crécy the French had destroyed bridges, this time over the Loire, in an attempt to corral the English into a pitched battle. The Black Prince realised he would not be able to make contact with the Duke of Lancaster heading South and that given the size and position of the French Army facing him and its rapid progress South, he would not make it back safely to Bordeaux.
The English Army totalled fewer than 7,000 men. The French Army was reputedly 20,000 strong. Contact was first made on Saturday, 17 September, East of Poitiers. As the next day was Sunday, a truce was arranged, which enabled the English to find better ground. They chose a position just 2 miles South of Poitiers near Nouaillé-Maupertuis.
The Black Prince arranged his troops on a plateau above a wooded slope where his army was protected on the left flank by marshes and woodland and on the right flank by rough ground and hedges to the North East. He divided his army into three units all of which fought on foot.
The archers were drawn up against a hedgerow that commanded the only passage through. Much of the lower ground was marsh where two rivers met.
The English Army totalled fewer than 7,000 men. The French Army was reputedly 20,000 strong. Contact was first made on Saturday, 17 September, East of Poitiers. As the next day was Sunday, a truce was arranged, which enabled the English to find better ground. They chose a position just 2 miles South of Poitiers near Nouaillé-Maupertuis.
The Black Prince arranged his troops on a plateau above a wooded slope where his army was protected on the left flank by marshes and woodland and on the right flank by rough ground and hedges to the North East. He divided his army into three units all of which fought on foot.
The archers were drawn up against a hedgerow that commanded the only passage through. Much of the lower ground was marsh where two rivers met.
The French Knights had learned the lessons of the battle of Crécy where they had been bogged down in similar ground. They left their horses in the rear and prepared to attack on foot. Only one of mounted attack was made. Nevertheless, some of the advantages of superior numbers was negated by the fact that the dismounted knights maintained their full armour and were therefore heavily weighed down.
The battle opened with a mounted attack of some 300 elite Knights with German mercenaries, which was designed specifically to cut down the English longbow men and thus prepared the way for the three waves of men at arms on foot following behind. The latter were divided into three battles the first commanded by the Dauphin, the second by the Duke of Orléans and the third by the King himself.
The cavalry charge got off to a bad start as the two marshals leading it separated from one another and attacked two different points. The Earl of Warwick’s archers shot head-on into the cavalry charge but with little effect. However the Earl of Oxford deployed his archers in marshy ground on the right flank which was safe from attack by cavalry. This enabled the longbow men to shoot into the flanks and rear of the French Cavalry which was thus broken. A further advance by the Duke of Clermont suffered a similar fate from Lord Salisbury’s archers hidden behind the hedges.
The upward sloping terrain did, as at Crécy slow the charge which was thrown back by the vollys of arrows from the longbow men. However, unlike at Crécy the cavalry charge was immediately followed up by the French men at arms on foot. This attack led by the Dauphin succeeded in reaching the hedges and engaged the archers in hand to hand combat. The battle front had now widened beyond the narrow gaps in the hedges and the sheer number of attackers meant that in some places the English lines began to break.
The Black Prince realised that his men would soon be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the advancing French. He decided to manoeuvre and counter attack by sending a party of mounted knights round the left flank of the French. His longbow men remained in position defending the front. At a critical moment he charged the French Army with mounted knights in the rear and flank, while a party of Gascon longbow men hidden behind a hedge, stood up and loosed of volley after volley of arrows into the adversary.
With the Dauphin’s force broken and retreating, the king's brother the Duke of Orlean’s troops were so demoralised they simply retreated off the battlefield without striking a single blow. This enraged the French King who immediately ordered his huge battle which still greater in number than that of the English, to attack. The Black Prince strengthened his line with his reserve and took all the remaining men and form them in a single mass. He also sent one of his Gascon vassals Captal de Buch round the slope which would hide them from view with a small force of some 100 150 archers round to the French flank and rear
The English now counter-attacked, meeting the French forces at the base of the slope below the hedge. The archers short of arrows joined in hand to hand combat. The Gascon force simultaneously attacked in to the French armies flank and rear. The French King was unaware of the fact that the attack on the flank was by a very small force. The French Army believing that force to be larger than it was began to give way and retreat towards Poitiers. The King, his son and their retinue however remained on the battlefield and fought until captured.
The numbers killed on the French side are said to have amounted to some 2500 and unlike at Crécy were greatly outnumbered by the number of prisoners taken by the English. English losses are said to have been negligible.
Calendars
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What name appears on the postage stamps of Switzerland? | Swiss Stamps - What does Helvetia mean?
Swiss Stamps
What does Helvetia mean?
Everyone has seen Swiss stamps with the legend HELVETIA on them. The same is true for Swiss coins. Most people know that this name represents Switzerland. Switzerland is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural confederation, with beginnings dating back to the year 1291.
The languages spoken by the Swiss people are German, French, Italian, and to some extent, Romanish. The name of the country in these languages is "Schweiz" (German), "Suisse" (French), "Svizzera" (Italian), and "Svizra" (Romanish).
Hey, wait! Where is "Switzerland"? "Switzerland" is a 16th Century Anglicized version of the German word "Schweiz" ... a person from Schweiz would thus be called a "Schweizer", and the land that they come from would be called similarly "Schweizerland". Well ... that makes sense!
By the same analogy, I would imagine that the English word "Swiss", used to describe anyone or anything from Switzerland, is derived from the French word "Suisse".
OK, we know all the modern names for Switzerland. But what of Swiss stamps and coins? What then is "Helvetia"? Helvetia is actually the REAL LATIN language name of the country, given to it in ancient times.
In the map of ancient Gaul, shown above, one of the most important tribes inhabiting the western part of present day Switzerland was known as the "Helvetii". The location can be seen at the middle-right side of the map. In 58 BC, during the Second Gallic War, the armies of Julius Caesar defeated the Helvetii at the battle of Bibracte. Years later, in 44 BC, Julius Caesar built the first Roman settlement on the Rhine at Augusta Raurica. Today, it is one of the most important archeological sites in Switzerland. The Helvetii were subsequently integrated into the Roman Empire. In the early middle ages, the area of present day Switzerland was subsequently settled by the Alemanni, the Burgundians, and then the Franks. After 1000, the area was under the control of the Holy Roman Empire and then under control of the Habsburgs.
During the Napoleanic Wars, the area was named the "Helvetic Republic".
In 1848, when the cantons of the former Helvetic Republic joined together to become a single country, the new country was named the "Confederatio Helvetica".
Ever wonder what the ISO symbol for Switzerland, "CH", stands for? It stands for "Confederatio Helvetica", or the "Helvetican Confederation".
But what of the female figure on some Swiss coins and early Swiss stamps that we see? This Helvetia is the female personification of Switzerland. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield with the Swiss arms. She is commonly depicted with braided hair, adorned with a wreath, which is the symbol of confederation.
The Swiss Confederation continues to use the name in its Latin form, where it is inappropriate or difficult to use all of its four official languages on public documents. Thus, the name appears on Swiss stamps and on Swiss coinage, to this day.
eBay Auction and Store Links
Switzerland
The following links feature category-focused affiliated seller listings on various eBay sites worldwide. They may enable visitors to shop for and to buy specific items for the particular collecting subject they've just read about.
The affiliated eBay seller auction lots provided by eBay, Inc. are not the responsibility of the management of this website. On high priced material, make sure the lots you are buying are properly authenticated.
Remember that the lots on most of the European eBay sites are priced in EUROS. The lots on the Switzerland eBay site are priced in SWISS FRANCS. The Swiss Franc is roughly equivalent to the US Dollar. Shipping charges may be more, and the lots may take longer to arrive. Also, make sure the foreign seller ships to your country, before bidding on or buying his lot.
| Helvetia |
Which actress took the lead role in the films 'Kitty Foyle' (1940), 'Roxie Hart' (1942), and 'Magnificent Doll' (1946)? | Swiss Stamps - What does Helvetia mean?
Swiss Stamps
What does Helvetia mean?
Everyone has seen Swiss stamps with the legend HELVETIA on them. The same is true for Swiss coins. Most people know that this name represents Switzerland. Switzerland is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural confederation, with beginnings dating back to the year 1291.
The languages spoken by the Swiss people are German, French, Italian, and to some extent, Romanish. The name of the country in these languages is "Schweiz" (German), "Suisse" (French), "Svizzera" (Italian), and "Svizra" (Romanish).
Hey, wait! Where is "Switzerland"? "Switzerland" is a 16th Century Anglicized version of the German word "Schweiz" ... a person from Schweiz would thus be called a "Schweizer", and the land that they come from would be called similarly "Schweizerland". Well ... that makes sense!
By the same analogy, I would imagine that the English word "Swiss", used to describe anyone or anything from Switzerland, is derived from the French word "Suisse".
OK, we know all the modern names for Switzerland. But what of Swiss stamps and coins? What then is "Helvetia"? Helvetia is actually the REAL LATIN language name of the country, given to it in ancient times.
In the map of ancient Gaul, shown above, one of the most important tribes inhabiting the western part of present day Switzerland was known as the "Helvetii". The location can be seen at the middle-right side of the map. In 58 BC, during the Second Gallic War, the armies of Julius Caesar defeated the Helvetii at the battle of Bibracte. Years later, in 44 BC, Julius Caesar built the first Roman settlement on the Rhine at Augusta Raurica. Today, it is one of the most important archeological sites in Switzerland. The Helvetii were subsequently integrated into the Roman Empire. In the early middle ages, the area of present day Switzerland was subsequently settled by the Alemanni, the Burgundians, and then the Franks. After 1000, the area was under the control of the Holy Roman Empire and then under control of the Habsburgs.
During the Napoleanic Wars, the area was named the "Helvetic Republic".
In 1848, when the cantons of the former Helvetic Republic joined together to become a single country, the new country was named the "Confederatio Helvetica".
Ever wonder what the ISO symbol for Switzerland, "CH", stands for? It stands for "Confederatio Helvetica", or the "Helvetican Confederation".
But what of the female figure on some Swiss coins and early Swiss stamps that we see? This Helvetia is the female personification of Switzerland. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield with the Swiss arms. She is commonly depicted with braided hair, adorned with a wreath, which is the symbol of confederation.
The Swiss Confederation continues to use the name in its Latin form, where it is inappropriate or difficult to use all of its four official languages on public documents. Thus, the name appears on Swiss stamps and on Swiss coinage, to this day.
eBay Auction and Store Links
Switzerland
The following links feature category-focused affiliated seller listings on various eBay sites worldwide. They may enable visitors to shop for and to buy specific items for the particular collecting subject they've just read about.
The affiliated eBay seller auction lots provided by eBay, Inc. are not the responsibility of the management of this website. On high priced material, make sure the lots you are buying are properly authenticated.
Remember that the lots on most of the European eBay sites are priced in EUROS. The lots on the Switzerland eBay site are priced in SWISS FRANCS. The Swiss Franc is roughly equivalent to the US Dollar. Shipping charges may be more, and the lots may take longer to arrive. Also, make sure the foreign seller ships to your country, before bidding on or buying his lot.
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Which British singer was the first white woman to be signed to the 'Tamla Motown' music label? | Teena Marie: Singer and songwriter who became Motown’s most successful white female artist | The Independent
Tuesday 28 December 2010 00:00 BST
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The Independent Online
Teena Marie wasn't the first white female singer signed to Berry Gordy Jr's legendary Motown label – the Californian Chris Clark and British vocalist Kiki Dee preceded her in the 1960s – but she certainly had the most impact, blazing a trail for many of the crossover R&B to pop artists who followed.
Issued between 1979 and 1981, her four Motown albums were full of soulful, slinky, sensual, self-penned ballads – "Irons In The Fire", "Portuguese Love" – which helped define the quiet storm format on late night R&B radio in the US, while her uptempo, funkier compositions – "Behind The Groove" and "I Need Your Lovin'", her two 1980 British hits – dominated daytime playlists and the dancefloor.
She was mentored by the flamboyant Rick James, who produced and wrote most of her Wild And Peaceful debut album – including the gorgeous "Déjà Vu (I've Been Here Before)" and the direct "I'm A Sucker For Your Love", her first UK chart entry, credited to her and James – and had a long, fiery relationship with her. The frisson between them was still tangible whenever they performed the torrid duet "Fire And Desire".
She became a gifted songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and performer in her own right. Her desire to control her career led to conflicts with Gordy, who refused to release her from her contract, yet wouldn't sanction any more records by her either. This resulted in a legal case and an historic ruling that granted her freedom in 1982 and became known as the "Brockert Initiative" after her real name. "It wasn't something I set out to do," she said in 2004. "I just wanted to get away from Motown and have a good life. But it helped a lot of people, like Luther Vandross and the Mary Jane Girls and a lot of different artists, to be able to get out of their contracts."
After signing to Epic she scored a Top 5 hit in the US with the Prince-like "Lovergirl" in 1985, and topped the R&B charts in 1988 with the sublime "Ooo La La La", later referenced by The Fugees on "Fu-Gee-La". She left the label two years later and concentrated on bringing up her daughter Alia Rose, who is now a singer using the name Rose Le Beau and guested on the two albums her mother made for Cash Money Records in the noughties. In 2009, Marie issued Congo Square on the revived Stax label, and made a triumphant appearance at the Indigo 2 in London last January, her first UK visit in 18 years.
Born Mary Christine Brockert in 1956, she told the Blues And Soul.com website that she had Portuguese, Irish, Italian and Native American ancestry. She was billed Tina Marie Brockert when she appeared on an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies in 1964, and later took up the name Teena Marie.
She was raised in Venice, California, two blocks away from a black neighbourhood. "I had a lot of black friends and I learned a lot about blacks and black music," she said. "All the kids used to call me Off White because I acted sort of black and I was comfortable with the black kids." Her best friend Mickey, a black girl, accompanied her when she appeared on Soul Train. "I can remember being chased home a couple of times and being called nigger lover. I was only 13 or 14, and to a young mind, that's heartbreaking. I can remember going in my house and sitting in my room and crying."
In her early teens she formed her own soul-flavoured band. "I used to listen to all the early Tamla things like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye," she recalled. "I was introduced to Hal Davis, who got me an audition with Berry Gordy. Berry wanted me for a movie he was planning. The project got shelved but he wanted me on the label."
Between 1976 and 1978 she worked with various producers at Motown's LA base but grew frustrated when no recording met Gordy's approval. She was even reticent when a tie-up with James was suggested. "Why should Rick be able to work with me after everyone else had failed?"
Yet James enthused about her from the start. "I was around the Motown office and I heard this girl singing her ass off," he said. "I walked in and here's this little short munchkin white girl.I said, 'Wow, you're really great. Are you on Motown?' Working with her was my first chance to teach someone all the things I knew. I taught herguitar, bass and piano and I taught her how to produce. Showed her how to carry her vocals where she wouldn't exploit the song too fast, usingher range. It was probably the greatest experience I've ever had working with a vocalist."
This heady combination of restraint, yearning and eventual release would remain Marie's vocal trademark, on tour de force slow jams such as "Casanova Brown" – one of several she wrote about James – or "Shangri-La", that became staples of urban radio in the US. Marie always recognised the crucial role James had played, both on a personal and professional level, and was devastated when he died in 2004. "Rick knew there were feelings in my heart and songs upon my lips. He didn't say: 'This is a white girl, I can't produce her'. Our relationship grew into something really beautiful."
Still, in 1979, Motown wasn't quite sure what to make of this alabaster-skinned girl with red hair who sounded black, and purposely packaged the James-produced Wild And Peaceful in a nondescript seascape sleeve that didn't include a picture of her. The strategy worked and empowered Marie, who would grace the covers of the 12 albums she subsequently issued, starting with 1980's Lady T, which was co-produced by Richard Rudolph, the husband of the late Minnie Ripperton.
However, despite the success of Irons In The Fire and It Must Be Magic, Gordy's meddling and a dispute over non-payment of royalties created an impasse and forced Marie's hand. "Every good artist needs a lawsuit," she later told Billboard magazine. "At the time it was going on, I was very bitter and frightened, and when I won the suit there was no great euphoria. I'm just really sorry it had to happen."
Though Robbery, her first Epic release, didn't match her Motown success, her career regained momentum and she made the US Top 100 with Starchild (1984), Emerald City (1985), Naked To The World (1988) and remained a constant presence on the R&B charts there throughout the the '80s. But despite the involvement of Soul II Soul's Jazzie B, who produced and co-wrote the single "Since Day One", 1990's Ivory didn't fare as well and Marie and Epic parted company.
Throughout the '90s, many rap and hip-hop acts sampled classic Marie tracks such as "Square Biz" and, when she made La Doña in 2004 for Cash Money Records, she could call on guests like Common, Lady Levi and MC Lyte, as well as James and the soul singer Gerald Levert, who duetted with her on "I Got You" and "A Rose By Any Other Name" respectively. La Doña became a bestseller, while Marie was Grammy-nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "I'm Still In Love" in 2005. The other nominees – Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Angie Stone and the eventual winner, Alicia Keys – all named her as a major influence.
On the following year's Sapphire she collaborated with another Motown veteran, Smokey Robinson, and paid tribute to James on "You Blow Me Away". The death of her former mentor and lover hit her hard, and she turned to prescription drugs, though she overcame her dependency.
Congo Square, her last album, named after a historical meeting place for slaves in New Orleans, featured Faith Evans, the widow of Notorious BIG, the former Shalamar singer Howard Hewett, jazz pianist George Duke and R&B singer Shirley Murdock, and reached the US Top 20. "I've been through quite a few trials and tribulations over the last two years," she said last year. "I spent many of those hours in prayer and felt like God was putting his arms around me. I started thinking about the music I grew up on.
"Each song I was coming up with began to sound like the style of some favourite artist of mine from the past, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, Billie Holliday, the old Chicago soul of The Emotions and the new Chicago vibe of Kanye West. Ice Cube's bumpin' in the trunk vibe and, of course, Rick James. It's all in there." In 2008 she said, "All in all, it's been a wonderful, wonderful ride."
Mary Christine Brockert (Teena Marie), singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer: born Santa Monica, California 5 March 1956; one daughter; died Pasadena, California 26 December 2010.
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Which city was the capital of India, until being replaced by Delhi in 1912? | Tamla Album Discography (1961-1981)
Tamla Album Discography (1961-1981)
by David Edwards, Mike Callahan and Patrice Eyries
Last update: July 31, 2012
Tamla was one of the earliest of the Motown labels, and certainly one of the most successful. It was the home of such superstars as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder, as well as successful acts such as the Marvelettes, the Isley Brothers, Brenda Holloway, Tammi Terrell, Valerie Simpson, Eddie Kendricks, Tata Vega, Thelma Houston, Syreeta, and others.
The first Tamla label (far left) was white with black printing. Above the center hole is a world globe with a record overlapping the lower half and offset to the right. Around the globe is "TAMLA", the oceans on the globe, and the center of the record, are an indigo (dark bluish purple) color. At the bottom of the label on the early issues is the address "2648 W. Grand Boulevard, Detroit 8, Michigan". This label was used to from 220 to 231. The second label was transitional; the design was the same as the white label but the white was replaced with yellow and the purple was replaced with brown, with the black of the logo changed to red. This label was used on a few issues from about 229 to 233.
The third label (far left) was yellow with black printing, above the center hole is a brown record on the left side and a world globe with "TAMLA" in the center on the right side. This label was used until approximately December, 1968, or Tamla TS-291. The forth Tamla label (near left) was yellow with black printing, the top fourth of the label was brown with the Tamla logo above the center hole. "TAMLA" was in yellow in a square box with a globe above. This label was used through the 1980s.
A short-lived variation of the fourth label (far left) in the late 1960s had the record number and stereo designation in large, dark print. Early promotional labels (near left) had a similar design to label 1 and label 2, but with a large promo stamp on the label..
Promotional versions of the fourth label (far left) were white with black print. Tamla also used promotional labels with no graphics (near left).
We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail . Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Tamla or Motown Records, which are currently owned by Universal Music Group. Should you want to contact Universal, or should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and Follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 1998, 1999, 2012 by Mike Callahan.
TAMLA ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY, PART 1
Cover
Number - Title - Artist - [Release Date] (Chart) Contents
Tamla TM-200 (mono)/TS-200 (stereo) Main Series:
TM-220 - Hi, We're the Miracles - Miracles [6/8/61] Originally issued in mono only. Who's Lovin' You/Depend On Me/Heart Like Mine/Shop Around/Won't You Take Me Back/'Cause I Love You//Your Love/After All/Way Over There/Money/Don't Leave Me
TM-221 - The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye - Marvin Gaye [6/8/61] Originally issued in mono only. Masquerade/Funny Valentine/Witchcraft/Easy Living/How Deep The Ocean//Love For Sale/Always/How High The Moon/Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide/Never Let You Go/You Don't Know What Love Is
TM-222 - The Great Gospel Stars - Gospel Stars [2/61] This is believed to be the first album released on a Motown label. The Motown phone number is listed under the address, "TR 1- 3340". Originally issued in mono only. He Lifted Me/Jacob Wrestled With The Angels/He Knows It All/Make Everything Alright/If Any Man//Swing Low/Behold The Saints Of God/Lamb On The Altar/He's Using Me/Sweet Bye And Bye
TM-223 - Cookin' with the Miracles - Miracles [11/13/61] Originally issued in mono only. That's The Way I Feel/Everybody's Gotta Pay Some Dues/Mama/Ain't It Baby/Determination//You Never Miss A Good Thing/Embraceable You/The Only One I Love/Broken Hearted/I Can't Believe
TM-224 - Tamla Special #1 - Various Artists [6/62] There are at least two cover variations of this album. One has "Tamla Special #1" in the upper left hand corner, the second has "Tamla/Motown Special #1" in the upper left hand corner. There is some variation in color, also. Originally issued in mono only. Money - Barrett Strong/Way Over There - Miracles/Shop Around - Miracles/Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells/Oh Lover - Singin' Sammy & Sherri//Depend On Me - Miracles/Please Forgive Me - Mary Wells/Who's Loving You - Miracles/Oh I Apologize - Barrett Strong/That's Why I Love You So Much - Singin' Sammy & Sherri
TM-224 - Tamla/Motown Special #1 - Various Artists [6/62] Second cover. Originally issued in mono only. Money - Barrett Strong/Way Over There - Miracles/Shop Around - Miracles/Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells/Oh Lover - Singin' Sammy & Sherri//Depend On Me - Miracles/Please Forgive Me - Mary Wells/Who's Loving You - Miracles/Oh I Apologize - Barrett Strong/That's Why I Love You So Much - Singin' Sammy & Sherri
TM-225 - Introducing the Downbeats - Downbeats [Unissued] The Downbeats were a male vocal trio. They later added a female singer and became the Elgins (see Soul label).
TM-226 - Money and Other Big Hits - Barrett Strong [Unissued]
TM-227 - They Shall Be Mine - Rev. Columbus Mann [12/62] Originally issued in mono only. Saved All Day/Jesus Loves/They Shall Be Mine/I Just Rose To Tell You/Come To The Fountain/In My Soul//His Love Bubbles Over/I Feel The Spirit/Never Turn Back/Hush Children Hush/They Didn't Know
TM-228 - Please Mr. Postman - Marvelettes [11/20/61] Originally issued in mono only. Angel/I Want A Guy/Please Mr. Postman (45 version)/So Long Baby/I Know How It Feels//Way Over There/Happy Days/You Don't Want Me No More/All the Love I Got/Whisper [jacket incorrectly states "I Know How It Feels" again]/Oh I Apologize
TM-229 - Marvelettes Smash Hits of 62' - Marvelettes [6/62] The original cover of this album was titled Marvelettes Smash Hits of 62', with the cover having a large black "M" on it with white circles containing the names of the songs in purple. The title on the white record label is The Marvelettes Sing. Originally issued in mono only. Mashed Potato Time/Love Letters/The One Who Really Loves You/Twistin' The Night Away/Hey Baby//Twistin' Postman/Good Luck Charm/Slow Twist/Lover Please/Dream Baby
TM-229 - The Marveletts Sing - Marvelettes [11/13/63] The second cover for this album was titled The Marveletts Sing. The front cover is black with white circles containing the songs in purple. The name of the group is misspelled on the cover as "Marveletts" rather than "Marvelettes". The title on the record label is "The Marvelettes Sing". Originally issued in mono only. Mashed Potato Time/Love Letters/The One Who Really Loves You/Twistin' The Night Away/Hey Baby//Twistin' Postman/Good Luck Charm/Slow Twist/Lover Please/Dream Baby
TM-230 - I'll Try Something New - Miracles [7/62] Originally issued in mono only. I'll Try Something New/What's So Good About Good-Bye/He Don't Care About Me/A Love That Can Never Be/I've Been Good To You//Speak Low/On the Street Where You Live/If Your Mother Only Knew/I've Got You Under My Skin/This I Swear, I Promise
TM-231 - Playboy - Marvelettes [7/62] Originally issued in mono only. Playboy/Mix It Up/Beechwood 4-5789/I'm Hooked/I Think I Can Change You//Forever/Someday Someway/Goddess Of Love/You Should Know/(I've Got To) Cry Over You
TM-232 - Tribute to Uncle Ray - Little Stevie Wonder [10/62] Originally issued in mono only. Hallelujah I Love Her So/Ain't That Love/Don't You Know/The Masquerade/Frankie and Johnny//Drown in My Own Tears/Come Back Baby/Mary Ann/Sunset/My Baby's Gone
TM-233 - The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie - Little Stevie Wonder [9/62] Originally issued in mono only. Fingertips/Square/Soul Bongo/Manhattan at Six/Paulsby//Some Other Time/Wondering/Session Number 112/Bam
TM-234 - The Miracles Sing Modern - Miracles [Unissued]
TM-235 - [Unissued]
TM-236 - Christmas with the Miracles - Miracles [10/29/63] (12-64, #29Xmas; 12-65, #15Xmas; 12-67, #59Xmas) Originally issued in mono only. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town/Let It Snow/Winter Wonderland/Christmas Everyday/I'll Be Home For Christmas//The Christmas Song/White Christmas/Silver Bells/Noel/O' Holy Night
TM-237 - The Marvelous Marvelettes - Marvelettes [2/28/63] Originally issued in mono only. Strange I Know/I Forgot About You/Locking Up My Heart/Which Way Did He Go/Silly Boy//It's Gonna Take A Lot Of Doing/Smart Aleck/My Daddy Knows Best/Too Strong To Be Strung Along/Why Must You Go
TM-238 - The Fabulous Miracles - Miracles [5/63] (6-63, #118) This is sometimes referred to as You've Really Got a Hold on Me by the Fabulous Miracles, due to that being the label title. Originally issued in mono only. You've Really Got A Hold On Me/I've Been Good To You/Such Is Love, Such Is Life/I Can Take A Hint/Won't You Take Me Back//A Love She Can Count On/Whatever Makes You Happy/Heartbreak Road/Happy Landing/Your Love
TM-239 - That Stubborn Kinda' Fellow - Marvin Gaye [1/31/63] Originally issued in mono only. Stubborn Kind of Fellow/Pride And Joy/Hitch Hike/Get My Hands On Some Lovin'/Wherever I Lay My Hat//Soldier's Plea/It Hurt Me Too/Taking My Time/Hello There Angel/I'm Yours, You're Mine
TM-240 - 12 Year Old Genius - Little Stevie Wonder [5/31/63] (7-63, #1) Originally issued in mono only. Fingertips/Soul Bongo/La La La La La//(I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over/Hallelujah I Love Her So/Drown In My Own Tears/Don't You Know
TM-241 - The Miracles Recorded Live on Stage - Miracles [5/31/63] (10-63, #139) Originally issued in mono only. Mighty Good Lovin'/A Love She Can Count On/Happy Landing//I've Been Good To You/What's So Good About Good-Bye/You've Really Got A Hold On Me/Way Over There
TM-242 - Marvin Gaye Recorded Live on Stage - Marvin Gaye [9/9/63] Originally issued in mono only. Stubborn Kind Of Fellow/One Of These Days/Mo Jo Hanna/The Days Of Wine And Roses//Pride And Joy/Hitch Hike/Get My Hands On Some Lovin'/You Are My Sunshine
TM-243 - The Marvelettes Recorded Live on Stage - Marvelettes [6/17/63] Originally issued in mono only. Beechwood 4-5789/Strange I Know/Someday, Someway/Locking Up My Heart//Twistin' Postman/Tossing And Turning/So Long Baby/Playboy
TM-244 - Recorded Live at the Regal - Various Artists [Unissued]
TM-245 - The Miracles Doin' Mickey's Monkey - Miracles [11/11/63] (1-64, #113) Originally issued in mono only. Mickey's Monkey/Dance What You Wanna/The Wah-Watusi/The Twist/Dancin' Holiday/Land Of 1000 Dances//I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying/The Monkey Time/The Groovy Thing/Twist And Shout/Do You Love Me
TM-246 - Soul Supreme, Volume One - Various Artists [Unissued]
TM-247 - Soul Supreme, Volume Two - Various Artists [Unissued]
TM-248 - Workout Stevie Workout - Little Stevie Wonder [Unissued]
TM-249 - Shades of Time - Choker Campbell & His 16 Piece Band [Unissued]
TM-250 - With A Song in My Heart - Little Stevie Wonder [12/28/63] This album was apparently originally issued in mono only. With A Song In My Heart/When You Wish Upon A Star/Smile/Make Someone Happy/Dream//Put On A Happy Face/On The Sunny Side Of The Street/Get Happy/Give Your Heart A Chance/Without A Song
TM-251 - When I'm Alone I Cry - Marvin Gaye [4/1/64] This album was apparently originally issued in mono only. You've Changed/I Was Telling Her About You/I Wonder/I'll Be Around/Because Of You//I Don't Know Why/I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face/When Your Lover Has Gone/When I'm Alone I Cry/If My Heart Could Sing
TM-252 - Greatest Hits - Marvin Gaye [4/15/64] (5-64, #72) Originally released in mono only, this album was released in stereo as TS-252 in April, 1965, after the jacket logos changed to the square logo. Can I Get A Witness (S)/You're A Wonderful One (S)/Stubborn Kind Of Fellow (S)/I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby (S)/Pride And Joy (S)/Hitchhike (S)//Sandman (S)/Hello There Angel (S)/One Of These Days (S)/I'm Yours You're Mine (S)/Taking My Time (S)/It Hurt Me Too (S)
TM/TS-253 - The Marvelettes' Greatest Hits - Marvelettes [2/16/66] (3-66, #84 #4R&B) This number was reserved in 1964, but the album was not issued until 1966, after Tamla had switched to the square logo on the jacket. Both mono and stereo issues have the square logo. The original cover for this album was orange with blue printing; the second pressing was green with gold printing. This album contains a true stereo alternate take of "Please Mr. Postman" which is the only stereo version released of this song. Don't Mess With Bill (S)/You're My Remedy (S)/Locking Up My Heart (S)/As Long As I Know He's Mine (S)/Too Many Fish In The Sea (S)/Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead (S)//Please Mister Postman (S, alternate take)/Playboy (S)/Strange I Know (S)/Forever (S)/Twistin' Postman (S)/Beechwood 4-5789 (E)
TM/TS2-254 - The Miracles' Greatest Hits from the Beginning - Miracles [3/22/65] (4-65, #21 #2R&B) (2-LP set) Original cover had a globe Tamla logo in the lower right corner, later issues had a square Tamla logo. Disc 1: Got A Job/I Cry/Mama Done Told Me/(I Need Some) Money/Bad Girl//I Love You Baby/I Need A Change/All I Want Is You/(You Can) Depend On Me/Who's Loving You; Disc 2: That's What Love Is Made Of/Mickey's Monkey/I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying/You've Really Got A Hold On Me/I Like It Like That/A Love She Can Count On//Shop Around/Way Over There/I've Been Good To You/Would I Love You/I'll Try Something New/What's So Good About Good Bye
TM-255 - Stevie at the Beach - Stevie Wonder [6/23/64] Originally issued in mono only. Castles In The Sand/Ebb Tide/Sad Boy/Red Sails In The Sunset/The Beachcomber/Castles In The Sand (Instrumental)//Happy Street/The Party At The Beach House/Hey Harmonica Man/Beachstomp/Beyond The Sea
TM-256 - A Collection of 16 Big Hits, Volume 2 - Various Artists [6/23//64] Originally issued in mono only, this album was released in stereo in August 1966 as TS-256. Heat Wave - Martha & Vandellas (S)/Fingertips, Part II - Stevie Wonder (E)/When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - Supremes (S)/I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying - Miracles (S)/Leaving Here - Eddie Holland (S)/You Lost The Sweetest Boy - Mary Wells (S)/I Want A Love I Can See - Temptations (S)/As Long As I Know He's Mine - Marvelettes (S)//Hitch Hike - Marvin Gaye (S)/Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells (E)/Shake Sherry - Contours (S)/Buttered Popcorn - Supremes (S)/I'll Have To Let Him Go - Martha & Vandellas (S)/Playboy - Marvelettes (S)/Just Loving You - Kim Weston (S)/Greetings (This is Uncle Sam) - Valadiers (S)
TM-257 - Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway [6/19/64] Released as TS-257 in rechanneled stereo in November, 1966, but later reissue Motown 5242ML is reported to be true stereo. I've Been Good To You/Sad Song/Every Little Bit Hurts/Too Proud To Cry/Who's Loving You/Land Of A Thousand Boys//Suddenly/Embraceable You/Unchained Melody/A Favor For A Girl (With A Love Sick Heart)/(You Can) Depend On Me/Can I
TM/TS-258 - How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You - Marvin Gaye [1/21/65] (2-65, #128 #4R&B) This album was issued in 1965, when Tamla was transitioning between the "record and globe" logo and the square logo on the record jacket. This album did not have a logo on the jacket front. You're A Wonderful One/How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)/Try It Baby/Baby Don't You Do It/Need Your Lovin' (Want You Back)/One of These Days//No Good Without You/Stepping Closer To Your Heart/Need Somebody/Me And My Lonely Room/Now That You've Won Me/Forever
TM/TS-259 - Hello Broadway - Marvin Gaye [11/12/64] Hello Broadway/People/The Party's Over/On The Street Where You Live/What Kind Of Fool Am I/My Kind Of Town//The Days Of Wine And Roses/This Is The Life/My Way/Hello Dolly/Walk On The Wild Side
TM/TS-260 - Side by Side - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston [Unissued]
Note: At this point, the logo on the jackets changes from the "record and globe" logo to the square logo.
TM/TS-261 - A Tribute to the Great Nat King Cole - Marvin Gaye [11/1/65] Nature Boy/Ramblin' Rose/Too Young/Pretend/Straighten Up And Fly Right/Mona Lisa//Unforgettable/To The Ends Of The Earth/Sweet Lorraine/It's Only A Paper Moon/Send For Me/Calypso Blues
TM/TS-262 - [Unissued]
TM/TS-263 - Hurtin' and Cryin' - Brenda Holloway [Unissued]
TM/TS-264 - Motortown Revue in Paris - Various Artists [11/1/65] (12-65, #111) Stereo release issued in January, 1966. All tracks live. Too Many Fish In The Sea - Earl Van Dyke & Soul Brothers/Stop! In The Name Of Love - Supremes/Baby Love - Supremes/Somewhere - Supremes/Ooo Baby Baby - Miracles/Mickey's Monkey - Miracles//If I Had A Hammer - Martha & Vandellas/Nowhere To Run - Martha & Vandellas/Dancing In The Street - Martha & Vandellas/High Heel Sneakers - Stevie Wonder/Funny How Time Slips Away - Stevie Wonder/Fingertips - Stevie Wonder
TM-265 - Hello Dummy - Willie Tyler And Lester [11/65] Probably released in mono only. Intro/Lie/Robbery/Green Stamps/Yo Yo/Stockings/Lower Set/Handkerchief/Watch/Define Duck/Teacher's Pet/Dog Food/Paris/Cold-Head/Big Mouth/Skinny/Adam's Apple/New Year's/Scallops/Herbie/Baby/Shine Suit//Color Shoes/Money/Difficult/Eyes/Sister/Tour Short/Will/Back Seats/Aunt/Tongue/Can't Talk/Turn Head/ABC's/Counting/Smoke/Talk/Sing-Bath/Break Heart/Fever
TM/TS-266 - Moods of Marvin Gaye - Marvin Gaye [5/23/66] (7-66, #118 #8R&B) I'll Be Doggone/Little Darling (I Need You)/Take This Heart Of Mine/Hey Diddle Diddle/One More Heartache/Ain't That Peculiar//Night Life/You've Been A Long Time Coming/Your Unchanging Love/You're The One For Me/I Worry 'Bout You/One For My Baby
TM/TS-267 - Going to a Go-Go - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [11/1/65] (11-65, #8 #1R&B) The Tracks Of My Tears/Going To A Go-Go/Ooo Baby Baby/My Girl Has Gone/In Case You Need Love/Choosy Beggar//Since You Won My Heart/From Head To Toe/All That's Good/My Baby Changes Like The Weather/Let Me Have Some/A Fork In The Road
Note: At this point, some of the Mono prefixes change from TM- to T-.
T/TS-268 - Up-Tight Everything's Alright - Stevie Wonder [5/4/66] (6-66, #33 #2R&B) Love A Go Go/Hold Me/Blowin' In The Wind/Nothing's Too Good For My Baby/Teach Me Tonight/Up Tight//Ain't That Asking For Trouble/I Want My Baby Back/Pretty Little Angel/Music Talk/Contract On Love/With A Child's Heart
TM/TS-269 - This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You) - Isley Brothers [5/23/66] (6-66, #140 #15R&B) Nowhere To Run/Stop! In the Name of Love/This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)/Take Some Time Out For Love/I Guess I'll Always Love You/Baby Don't You Do It//Who Could Ever Doubt My Love/Put Yourself In My Place/I Hear A Symphony/Just Ain't Enough Love/There's No Love Left/Seek And You Shall Find
T/TS-270 - Take Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston [8/25/66] (4-67 #24R&B) It Takes Two/I Love You Yes I Do/Baby I Need Your Loving/It's Got To Be A Miracle (This Thing Called Love)/Baby Say Yes/What Good Am I Without You//Till There Was You/Love Fell On Me/Secret Love/I Want You 'Round/Heaven Sent You I Know/When We're Together
TM/TS-271 - Away We A Go-Go - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [11/16/66] (12-66, #41 #3R&B) Whole Lot Of Shakin' In My Heart (Since I Met You)/You Don't Have To Say You Love Me/(Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need/Save Me/Oh Be My Love/Can You Love A Poor Boy//Beauty Is Only Skin Deep/I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself/Baby Baby/Walk On By/Swept For You Baby/More More More of Your Love
TM/TS-272 - Down to Earth - Stevie Wonder [11/16/66] (1-67, #92 #8R&B) A Place In The Sun/Bang Bang/Down To Earth/Thank You Love/Be Cool Be Calm (And Keep Yourself Together)/Sylvia//My World Is Empty Without You/The Lonesome Road/Angel Baby (Don't You Ever Leave Me)/Mr. Tambourine Man/Sixteen Tons/Hey Love
TM/TS-273 - Marvin Gaye at the Copa - Marvin Gaye [Unissued] Cover slicks were printed for this album. It was finally released in April, 2005, by Hip-O Select/Motown on their CD of At The Copa [B0003629-02 DG02] with additional tracks.
TM/TS-274 - The Marvelettes - Marvelettes [3/67] (4-67, #129 #13R&B) Barefootin'/Message To Michael/The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game/When You're Young And In Love/I Know Better/I Can't Turn Around//He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'/The Day You Take One (You Have To Take The Other)/When I Need You/Keep Off No Trespassing/This Night Was Made For Love/I Need Someone
T/TS-275 - Soul on the Rocks - Isley Brothers [8/29/67] Released in monaural as T-275. Got to Have You Back/That's The Way Love Is/Whispers (Gettin' Louder)/Tell Me It's Just A Rumor Baby/One Too Many Heartaches/It's Out Of The Question//Why When Love Is Gone/Save Me From This Misery/Little Miss Sweetness/Good Things/Catching Up On Time/Behind A Painted Smile
T/TS-276 - Make It Happen - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [8/29/67] (9-67, #28 #3R&B) Original album title was Make It Happen, but the title was changed to The Tears of a Clown and reissued when that song hit in 1970. The Soulful Shack/The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage/My Love For You/I'm On The Outside (Looking In)/Don't Think It's Me/My Love Is Your Love (Forever)//More Love/After You Put Back The Pieces (I'll Still Have a Broken Heart/It's A Good Feeling/You Must Be Love/Dancing's Alright/The Tears Of A Clown
TS-276 - The Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [1970] (12-70, #143 #30R&B) Reissue of Make It Happen. The reissue was not issued in monaural. The Soulful Shack/The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage/My Love For You/I'm On The Outside (Looking In)/Don't Think It's Me/My Love Is Your Love (Forever)//More Love/After You Put Back The Pieces (I'll Still Have a Broken Heart/It's A Good Feeling/You Must Be Love/Dancing's Alright/The Tears Of A Clown
TM/TS-277 - United - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell [8/29/67] (10-67, #29 #7R&B) Ain't No Mountain High Enough (S)/You Got What It Takes (S)/If I Could Build My World Around You (S)/Somethin' Stupid (S)/Your Precious Love (S)/Hold Me Oh My Darling (S)//Two Can Have A Party (S)/Little Ole Boy Little Ole Girl (S)/If This World Were Mine (S)/Sad Wedding (S)/Give A Little Love (S)/Oh How I'd Miss You (S)
TM/TS-278 - Greatest Hits, Volume 2 - Marvin Gaye [8/29/67] (9-67, #178 #19R&B) How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (S)/One More Heartache (S)/Your Unchanging Love (S)/I'll Be Doggone (S)/Little Darling (I Need You) (S)/Pretty Little Baby (S)//Ain't That Peculiar (S)/Baby Don't You Do It (S)/Try It Baby (S)/Take This Heart of Mine (S)/Hey Diddle Diddle (S)/Forever (S)
TM/TS-279 - I Was Made to Love Her - Stevie Wonder [8/29/67] (9-67, #45 #7R&B) The first cover had his name and the title awkwardly covering part of his photo. This was corrected in a second cover where the text was at the left side of the album jacket, leaving the photo uncovered. I Was Made to Love Her/Send Me Some Lovin'/I'd Cry/Everybody Needs Somebody (I Need You)/Respect/My Girl//Baby Don't You Do It/A Fool For You/Can I Get A Witness/I Pity The Fool/Please Please Please/Every Time I See You I Go Wild
TM/TS-279 - I Was Made to Love Her - Stevie Wonder [1967] Second cover. I Was Made to Love Her/Send Me Some Lovin'/I'd Cry/Everybody Needs Somebody (I Need You)/Respect/My Girl//Baby Don't You Do It/A Fool For You/Can I Get A Witness/I Pity The Fool/Please Please Please/Every Time I See You I Go Wild
TM/TS-280 - Greatest Hits, Volume 2 - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [2/26/68] (2-68, #7 #2R&B) Going To A Go Go/The Tracks Of My Tears/I Second That Emotion/Ooo Baby Baby/My Girl Has Gone/Come On And Do The Jerk//Whole Lot Of Shakin' In My Heart/The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage/(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need/More Love/Choosy Beggar/Save Me
TM/TS-281 - Someday at Christmas - Stevie Wonder [11/27/67] (12-67, #81Xmas) Someday At Christmas/Silver Bells/Ave Maria/The Little Drummer Boy/One Little Christmas Tree/The Day That Love Began//The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)/Bedtime For Toys/Christmastime/Twinkle Twinkle Little Me/A Warm Little Home On A Hill/What Christmas Means To Me
Note: At this point, commercial issues generally become stereo only with a few exceptions. Mono deejay albums were still produced until the end of 1968.
TS-282 - Stevie Wonder's Greatest Hits - Stevie Wonder [3/68] (4-68, #37 #6R&B) Released in monaural as TM-282DJ with a white promotional label. Uptight (Everything's Alright) (S)/I'm Wondering (S)/I Was Made To Love Her (S)/Hey Love (S)/Blowin' In The Wind (S)/A Place In The Sun (S)//Contract on Love (S)/Work Out Stevie Work Out (S)/Fingertips, Part 2 (E)/Castles In The Sand (S)/Hey Harmonica Man (S)/Nothing's Too Good For My Baby
TS-283 - Young, Gifted and Black - Bob & Marcia [Unissued]
TS-284 - You're All I Need - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell [8/26/68] (9-68, #60 #4R&B) Released in monaural as TM-284DJ with a white promotional label. Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing/Keep On Lovin' Me Honey/You're All I Need To Get By/Baby Don'tcha Worry/You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin'/Give In, You Just Can't Win//When Love Comes Knocking At My Heart/Come On And See Me/I Can't Help But Love You/That's How It Is (Since You've Been Gone)/I'll Never Stop Loving You Baby/Memory Chest
TS-285 - In the Groove - Marvin Gaye [8/68] (11- 68, #63 #2R&B) Original album title was In the Groove. Released in monaural as TM-285DJ with a white promotional label. Reissued with a new cover and title as I Heard It Through the Grapevine when that song became a hit. You/Tear It On Down/Chained/I Heard It Through The Grapevine/At Last (I Found A Love)/Some Kind Of Wonderful//Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever/Change What You Can/It's Love I Need/Every Now And Then/You're What's Happening (In the World Today)/There Goes My Baby
TS-285 - I Heard It Through the Grapevine! - Marvin Gaye [1969] Reissue of In the Groove with a new cover and title. You/Tear It On Down/Chained/I Heard It Through The Grapevine/At Last (I Found A Love)/Some Kind Of Wonderful//Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever/Change What You Can/It's Love I Need/Every Now And Then/You're What's Happening (In the World Today)/There Goes My Baby
TS-286 - Sophisticated Soul - Marvelettes [8/68] (9-68, #41R&B) Released in monaural as TM-286DJ with a white promotional label. My Baby Must Be A Magician/Destination: Anywhere/I'm Gonna Hold On Long As I Can/Here I Am Baby/You're The One For Me Bobby/Reachin' For Something I Can't Have//Your Love Can Save Me/You're The One/Don't Make Hurting Me A Habit/What's Easy For Two Is Hard For One/The Stranger/Someway Somehow
TS-287 - Doin' Their Thing - Isley Brothers [4/3/69] This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)/Who Could Ever Doubt My Love/I Guess I'll Always Love You/That's The Way Love Is/One Too Many Heartaches/Why When Love Is Gone//Just Ain't Enough Love/Got To Have You Back/There's No Love Left/I Hear A Symphony/Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)/Take Some Time Out For Love
TS-288 - In Full Bloom - Marvelettes [10/69] Seeing Is Believing/Sunshine Days/That's How Heartaches Are Made/The Truth's Outside My Door/I Have Someone (Who Loves Me Too)/Uptown//At Last I See Love As It Really Is/Now Is The Time For Love/Too Many Tears Too Many Times/Rainy Mourning/Everybody Knows (But You)/Love Silent Love Deep
TS-289 - Live! - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [1/69] (2-69, #71 #6R&B) Once In A Lifetime/You And The Night And The Music/I Second That Emotion/The Tracks of My Tears/Poinciana/Up Up And Away/Theme From Valley Of The Dolls/Yester Love//Walk On By/Yesterday/If You Can Want/Mickey's Monkey/Ooo Baby Baby/Going To A Go Go
TM/TS-290 - Special Occasion - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [9/68] (10-68, #42 #1R&B) Also released on a monaural white label promotional issue as TM-290DJ. The original cover had a 4 inch by 4 inch picture of the group on the front, cover change made the picture approximately 8 inches by 8 inches. Yester Love/If You Can Want/Special Occasion/Everybody Needs Love/Just Losing You/Give Her Up//I Heard It Through The Grapevine/Yesterday/Your Mother's Only Daughter/Much Better Off/You Only Build Me Up To Tear Me Down
TS-291 - For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder [12/68] (1-69, #50 #4R&B) May have been released in monaural on a white label promotional issues as TM-291DJ. For Once In My Life/Shoo-Be- Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day/You Met Your Match/I Wanna Make Her Love Me/I'm More Than Happy (I'm Satisfied)/I Don't Know Why//Sunny/I'd Be A Fool Right Now/Ain't No Lovin'/God Bless The Child/Do I Love Her/The House On The Hill
Note: From this point, all releases are stereo only.
TS-292 - M.P.G. - Marvin Gaye [4/69] (6-69, #33 #1R&B) Too Busy Thinking About My Baby/This Magic Moment/That's The Way Love Is/The End Of Our Road/Seek And You Shall Find/Memories//Only A Lonely Man Would Know/It's A Bitter Pill To Swallow/More Than A Heart Can Stand/Try My True Love/I Got To Get To California/It Don't Take Much To Keep Me
TS-293 - Marvin Gaye and His Girls - Marvin Gaye [4/30/69] (6-69, #18 #16R&B) Once Upon A Time (with Mary Wells) (S)/What's The Matter With You Baby [with Mary Wells] (S)/It's Got To Be A Miracle (This Thing Called Love) [with Kim Weston] (S)/It Takes Two [with Kim Weston] (S)/Your Precious Love [with Tammi Terrell] (S)/Good Lovin' Ain't Easy To Come By [with Tammi Terrell] (S)//Little Ole Girl Little Ole Boy [with Tammi Terrell] (S)/I Can't Help But Love You [with Tammi Terrell] (S)/What Good Am I Without You [with Kim Weston] (S)/I Want You 'Round [with Kim Weston] (S)/Deed I Do [with Mary Wells] (S)/Together [with Mary Wells] (S)
TS-294 - Easy - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell [9/69] (10-69, #184) Good Lovin' Ain't Easy To Come By/California Soul/Love Woke Me Up This Morning/This Poor Heart Of Mine/I'm Your Puppet/The Onion Song//What You Gave Me/Baby I Need Your Loving/I Can't Believe You Love Me/How You Gonna Keep It (After You Get It)/More, More, More/Satisfied Feelin'
TS-295 - Time Out for Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [7/69] (8-69, #25) Doggone Right/Baby Baby Don't Cry/My Girl/The Hurt Is Over/You Neglect Me/Abraham Martin And John//For Once In My Life/Once I Got To Know You (Couldn't Help But Love You)/Wichita Lineman/The Composer/Here I Go Again/I'll Take You Any Way That You Come
TS-296 - My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder [8/29/69] (10-69, #34 #3R&B) My Cherie Amour/Hello Young Lovers/At Last/Light My Fire/The Shadow Of Your Smile/You And Me//Pearl/Somebody Knows Somebody Cares/Yester-Me Yester-You Yesterday/Angie Girl/Give Your Love/I've Got You
TS-297 - Four in Blue - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [11/69] (12-69, #78 #3R&B) You Send Me (With Your Good Lovin')/Dreams Dreams/Tomorrow Is Another Day/Hey Jude/California Soul/A Legend In It's Own Time//You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'/We Can Make It We Can/When Nobody Cares/Don't Say You Love Me/Wish I Knew/My World Is Empty Without You
TS-298 - Stevie Wonder Live - Stevie Wonder [3/70] (4-70, #81 #16R&B) Intro./Pretty World/Sunny/Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet/Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day/Everybody's Talking/My Cherie Amour/Yester-Me Yester-You Yesterday/I've Gotta Be Me/Once In A Lifetime//A Place In The Sun/Down to Earth/Blowin' In The Wind/By The Time I Get To Phoenix/Ca' Purange/Alfie/For Once In My Life/Thank You Love
TS-299 - That's the Way Love Is - Marvin Gaye [10/69] (11-69, #189 #17R&B) Gonna Give Her All the Love I've Got/Yesterday/Groovin'/I Wish It Would Rain/That's The Way Love Is/How Can I Forget//Abraham Martin And John/Gonna Keep On Tryin' Till I Win Your Love/No Time for Tears/Cloud Nine/Don't You Miss Me A Little Bit Baby/So Long
TS-300 - Super Hits - Marvin Gaye [9/15/70] (11-70, #117 #19R&B) I Heard It Through The Grapevine/Pride And Joy/The End Of Our Road/Ain't That Peculiar/Stubborn Kind Of Fellow/Can I Get A Witness/How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)/That's The Way Love Is//Too Busy Thinking About My Baby/Chained/You're A Wonderful One/Try It Baby/I'll Be Doggone/Hitch Hike/You/Baby Don't You Do It
TS-301 - What Love Has...Joined Together - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [4/28/70] (5-70, #97 #9R&B) What Love Has Joined Together/My Cherie Amour/If This World Were Mine//You've Made Me So Very Happy/This Guy's In Love With You/And I Love Her
TS-302 - Greatest Hits - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell [5/70] (6-70, #171 #17R&B) Your Precious Love (S)/Ain't No Mountain High Enough (S)/You're All I Need to Get By (S)/Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing (S)/Good Lovin' Ain't Easy To Come By (S)/If This World Were Mine (S)//The Onion Song (S)/If I Could Build My Whole World Around You (S)/Keep On Lovin' Me Honey (S)/What You Gave Me (S)/You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin' (S)/Hold Me Oh My Darling (S)
TS-303 - Great Expectations - Kiki Dee [7/16/70] The Day Will Come Between Sunday and Monday/Johnny Raven/Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing/Jimmy/I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You/More Today Than Yesterday//Love Makes The World Go Round/You Don't Have To Say You Love Me/Love Is A Warm Kind Of Sorrow/For Once In My Life/My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)/I Second That Emotion
TS-304 - Signed, Sealed and Delivered - Stevie Wonder [8/7/70] (8-70, #25 #7R&B) Never Had A Dream Come True/We Can Work It Out/Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours/Heaven Help Us All/You Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover/Sugar//Don't Wonder Why/Anything You Want Me To Do/I Can't Let My Heaven Walk Away/Joy (Takes Over Me)/I Gotta Have A Song/Something To Say
TS-305 - The Return of the Marvelettes - Marvelettes [9/15/70] (11-70, #50R&B) So I Can Love You/Marionette/That's How Heartaches Are Made/A Breath Taking Guy/No More Tear Stained Make Up/Uptown//Someday We'll Be Together/After All/Our Lips Just Seem To Rhyme Everytime/Fading Away/Take Me Where You Go/I'll Be In Trouble
TS-306 - A Pocket Full of Miracles - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [9/30/70] (10-70, #56 #10R&B) Flower Girl/Who's Gonna Take The Blame/Darling Dear/You've Got The Love I Need/Get Ready/Bridge Over Troubled Water//Something-Something You Got/Point It Out/Don't Take It So Hard/Backfire/The Reel Of Time/Wishful Thinking
TS-307 - The Season for Miracles - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [11/23/70] (12-70, #13Xmas) Deck the Halls-Bring a Torch Jeannette Isabella/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/I Can Tell When Christmas Is Near/I Believe In Christmas Eve/The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)/Jingle Bells//It's Christmas Time/Go Tell It On The Mountain/Away In A Manger-Coventry Carol/Peace On Earth (Goodwill Toward Men)/The Day That Love Began/A Child Is Waiting
TS-308 - Where I'm Coming From - Stevie Wonder [4/12/71] (5-71, #62 #8R&B) On original copies the "WONDER" on cover is die-cut to be taken out to make a "Wondermobile". Later pressings had a regular non-die-cut cover. Look Around/Do Yourself A Favor/Think Of Me As Your Soldier/Something Out Of The Blue/If You Really Love Me//I Wanna Talk To You/Take Up A Course In Happiness/Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer/Sunshine In Their Eyes
TS-309 - All by Myself - Eddie Kendricks [4/12/71] (5-71, #80 #6R&B) Let's Go Back To Day One/This Used To Be The Home of Johnnie Mae/I Did It All For You/It's So Hard For Me To Say Good- Bye//Something's Burning/Can I/Didn't We
TS-310 - What's Going On - Marvin Gaye [5/21/71] (6-71, #6 #1R&B) What's Going On (S)/What's Happening Brother (S)/Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky) (S)/Save The Children (S)/God Is Love (S)/Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) (S)//Right On (S)/Wholly Holy (S)/Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (S)
TS-311 - Valerie Simpson Exposed - Valerie Simpson [5/21/71] (7-71, #159 #30R&B) I Don't Need No Help/Love Woke Me Up This Morning/Now That There's You/Sinner Man (Don't Let Him Catch You)/Can't It Wait Until Tomorrow//I Just Wanna Be There/Back To Nowhere/There Is A God/World Without Sunshine/We Can Work It Out
Note: At this point there is a slight change in numbering system from "TS-" prefix to "T-" prefix (later, T6, T7, T8) with a pricing suffix; the numerical sequence is not changed.
T-312L - One Dozen Roses - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [8/27/71] (9-71, #92 #17R&B) When Sundown Comes/No Wonder Love's A Wonder/The Tears Of A Clown/Satisfaction/Crazy About The La La La/Cecilia//I Don't Blame You At All/That Girl/Faces/I Love You Dear/Oh Baby Baby I Love You/The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game
T-313L - Stevie Wonder's Greatest Hits, Volume 2 - Stevie Wonder [10/21/71] (11-71, #69 #10R&B) Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day (S)/Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours (S)/If You Really Love Me (S)/For Once In My Life (S)/We Can Work It Out (S)/You Met Your Match (S)//Never Had A Dream Come True (S)/Yester-Me Yester-You Yesterday (S)/My Cherie Amour (S)/Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer (S)/Travelin' Man (S)/Heaven Help Us All (S)
T-314L - Music of My Mind - Stevie Wonder [3/3/72] (3-72, #21 #6R&B) Love Having You Around/Superwoman/I Love Every Little Thing About You/Sweet Little Girl//Happier Than The Morning Sun/Girl Blue/Seems So Long/Keep On Running/Evil
T-315L - People..Hold On - Eddie Kendricks [5/21/72] (6-72, #131 #13R&B) If You Let Me/Let Me Run Into Your Lonely Heart/Day By Day/Girl You Need A Change Of Mind/Someday We'll Have A Better World//My People Hold On/Date With The Rain/Eddie's Love/I'm On The Sideline/Just Memories
T-316L - You're the Man - Marvin Gaye [Unissued]
T-317L - Valerie Simpson - Valerie Simpson [7/14/72] (8-72, #162 #50R&B) Fix It Alright/Benjie/Drink The Wind/One More Baby Child Born/Keep It Coming//I Believe I'm Gonna Take This Ride/Could Have Been Sweeter/Silly Wasn't I/Genius I/Genius II
T-318L - Flying High Together - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [7/27/72] (8-72, #46 #31R&B) I Can't Stand to See You Cry/Theme From Love Story/We've Come Too Far To End It Now/Flying High Together/With Your Love Came/It Will Be Alright//Oh Girl/You Ain't Livin' Till You're Lovin'/We Had A Love So Strong/Got To Be There/Betcha By Golly Wow
T-319L - Talking Book - Stevie Wonder [10/27/72] (11-72, #3 #1R&B) You Are The Sunshine Of My Life (S)/Maybe Your Baby (S)/You And I (S)/Tuesday Heartbreak (S)/You've Got It Bad Girl (S)//Superstition (S)/Big Brother (S)/Blame It On The Sun (S)/Lookin' For Another Pure Love (S)/I Believe
T-320R2 - 1957-1972 - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [12/72] (1-73, #75 #14R&B) (2-LP set) The Tears Of A Clown/I Don't Blame You At All/Satisfaction/Got To Be There//More Love/We've Come Too Far To End It Now/Abraham, Martin and John//Intro. Of Orchestra/Bad Girl/Shop Around/The Tracks Of My Tears/Here I Go Again//Ooo Baby Baby/Mickey's Monkey/Going To A Go-Go
T-321C - 1957-1972 - Smokey Robinson & Miracles [12/72] Number assigned to the second tape of Tamla T-320C of the cassette tape release.
T-322L - Trouble Man (Soundtrack) - Marvin Gaye [11/8/72] (12-72, #14 #3R&B) Main Theme From Trouble Man (2)/"T" Plays It Cool/Poor Abbey Walsh/The Break In (Police Shoot Big)/Cleo's Apartment/Trouble Man/Theme From Trouble Man//"T" Stands For Trouble/Main Theme From Trouble Man (1)/Life Is A Gamble/Deep-In-It/Don't Mess With Mister "T"/There Goes Mister "T"
T-323L - [Untitled Christmas Album] - Marvin Gaye [Unissued]
T-324L - Nick and Val - Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson [Unissued]
T-325L - Renaissance - Miracles [4/18/73] (6-73, #174 #33R&B) First album by the Miracles after Smokey Robinson went solo. What Is A Heart Good For/If You're Ever In The Neighborhood/I Wanna Be With You/Wigs And Lashes/Don't Let It End ('Til You Let It Begin)//I Love You Secretly/I Don't Need No Reason/Nowhere To Go/I Didn't Realize The Show Was Over
T-326L - Innervisions - Stevie Wonder [8/3/73] (8-73, #4 #1R&B) Too High/Visions/Living For The City/Golden Lady//Higher Ground/Jesus Children of America/All In Love Is Fair/Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing/He's Mistra Know-It-All
T-327L - Eddie Kendricks - Eddie Kendricks [5/18/73] (6-73, #18 #5R&B) Only Room For Two/Darling Come Back Home/Each Day I Cry A Little/Can't Help What I Am/Keep On Truckin'/Any Day Now/Not On The Outside/Where Do You Go (Baby)
T-328L - Smokey - Smokey Robinson [6/19/73] (7-73, #70 #10R&B) Smokey's first solo album after split with the Miracles. Holly/Medley: Never My Love-Never Can Say Good-Bye/A Silent Partner In A Three-Way Love Affair/Just My Soul Responding/Sweet Harmony//Will You Love Me Tomorrow?/Wanna Know My Mind/The Family Song/Baby Come Close
T-329V1 - Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye [8/28/73] (9-73, #2 #1R&B) Let's Get It On (S)/Please Don't Stay (Once You Go Away) (S)/If I Should Die Tonight (S)/Keep Gettin' It On (S)//Come Get To This (S)/Distant Lover (S)/You Sure Love To Ball (S)/Just To Keep You Satisfied (S)
T-330V1 - Boogie Down! - Eddie Kendricks [2/25/74] (3-74, #30 #1R&B) The Thin Man (S)/Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need (S)/Son of Sagittarus (S)/Boogie Down (S)//Hooked On Your Love (S)/Honey Brown (S)/You Are The Melody Of My Life (S)/Trust Your Heart (S)/Girl Of My Dreams (S)/Loving You The Second Time Around (S)
T6-331S1 - Pure Smokey - Smokey Robinson [3/15/74] (4-74, #99 #12R&B) Original title was to be "The Many Faces of Love", title was changed to "Pure Smokey" prior to release. It's Her Turn To Live/The Love Between Me And My Kids/Asleep On My Love/I Am I Am/Just Passing Through//Virgin Man/She's Only A Baby Herself/Fulfill Your Need/A Tattoo
T6-332S1 - Fulfillingness' First Finale - Stevie Wonder [5/22/74] (8-74, #1 #1R&B) Smile Please/Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away/Too Shy To Say/Boogie On Reggae Woman/Creepin'//You Haven't Done Nothin'/It Ain't No Use/They Won't Go When I Go/Bird Of Beauty/Please Don't Go
T6-333S1 - Marvin Gaye Live! - Marvin Gaye [6/19/74] (7-74, #8 #1R&B) Introduction And Overture/Trouble Man/Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)/Distant Lover/Jan//I'll Be Doggone/Try It Baby/Can I Get A Witness/You're A Wonderful One/Stubborn Kind Of Fellow/How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)/Let's Get It On/What's Going On
T6-334S1 - Do It Baby - Miracles [8/21/74] (9-74, #41 #4R&B) Do It Baby/Up Again/Where Are You Going To My Love/What Is A Heart Good For/You Are Love//Give Me Just Another Day/We Feel The Same/Calling Out Your Name/A Foolish Thing To Say/Can't Get Ready For Losing You
T6-335S1 - For You - Eddie Kendricks [11/13/74] (12-74, #108 #8R&B) Please Don't Go Away/One Tear/Shoeshine Boy/Deep And Quiet Love//Let Yourself Go/If/If You Think (You Can)/Time In A Bottle
T6-336S1 - Don't Cha Love It - Miracles [1/16/75] (2-75, #96 #7R&B) Keep On Keepin' On (Doin' What You Do)/Sweet Sweet Lovin'/A Little Piece Of Heaven/Don't Cha Love It/Got Me Goin' (Again)//Gemini/Brokenhearted Girl-Brokenhearted Boy/Take It All/Gonna Tell The World (Wedding Song)/You Are Love
T6-337S1 - A Quiet Storm - Smokey Robinson [3/26/75] (4-75, #36 #7R&B) A Quiet Storm/The Agony And The Ecstasy/Baby That's Backatcha/Wedding Song//Happy/Love Letters/Coincidentially
T6-338S1 - The Hit Man - Eddie Kendricks [6/18/75] (7-75, #63 #9R&B) If Anyone Can/Happy/Get The Cream Off The Top/Body Talk//Fortune Teller/Skippin' Work Today/You Loved Me Then/I've Got To Be
T6-339S1 - City of Angels - Miracles [9/17/75] (10-75, #33 #29R&B) Overture/City Of Angels/Free Press/Ain't Nobody Straight in L.A./Night Life//Love Machine/My Name Is Michael/Poor Charlotte/Waldo Roderick DeHammersmith/Smog
T13-340C2 - Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder [9/76] (10-76, #1 #1R&B) (2-LP set plus a bonus extended play 45rpm record [T 340EP] titled A Something's Extra for "Songs In The Key Of Life", and a 24-page lyric book) Disc 1: Love's In Need Of Love Today (S)/Have A Talk With God (S)/Village Ghetto Land (S)/Contusion (S)/Sir Duke (S)//I Wish (S)/Knocks Me Off My Feet (S)/Pastime Paradise (S)/Summer Soft (S)/Ordinary Pain (S); Disc 2: Isn't She Lovely (S)/Joy Inside My Tears (S)/Black Man (S)//Ngiculela-Es Una Historio-I Am Singing (S)/If It's Magic (S)/As (S)/Another Star (S); EP: Saturn (S)/Ebony Eyes (S)//All Day Sucker (S)/Easy Goin' Evening (My Mama's Call) (S)
T6-341S1 - Smokey's Family Robinson - Smokey Robinson [2/10/76] (3-76, #57 #9R&B) When You Came/Get Out Of Town/Do Like I Do/Open//So In Love/Like Nobody Can/Castles Made Of Sand
T6-342S1 - I Want You - Marvin Gaye [3/16/76] (4-76, #4 #1R&B) I Want You/Come Live With Me Angel/After The Dance (Instrumental)/Feel All My Love Inside/I Want You (Intro. Jam)/All The Way Around/Since I Had You/Soon I'll Be Loving You Again/After the Dance
T6-343S1 - He's a Friend - Eddie Kendricks [1/16/76] (1-76, #38 #3R&B) He's A Friend/A Part Of Me/I Won't Take No/Never Gonna Leave You/Get It While It's Hot//Chains/The Sweeter You Treat Her/It's Not What You Got/On My Way Home/All Of My Love
T6-344S1 - The Power of Music - Miracles [9/14/76] (10-76, #178 #35R&B) Power Of Music/Love To Make Love/Can I Pretend/Let The Children Play (Overture)//Gossip/Let The Children Play/Street Of Love/You Need A Miracle
T6-345S1 - Any Way You Like It - Thelma Houston [10/28/76] (12-76, #11 #5R&B) Any Way You Like It (S)/Don't Leave Me This Way (S)/Don't Know Why I Love You (S)//Come To Me (S)/Don't Make Me Pay (For Another Girl's Mistake) (S)/Sharing Something Perfect Between Ourselves (S)/If It's The Last Thing I Do (S)/Differently (S)
T6-346S1 - Goin' Up in Smoke - Eddie Kendricks [9/14/76] (10-76, #144 #22R&B) Goin' Up In Smoke/The Newness Is Gone/Sweet Tenderoni/Born Again/Don't You Want Light//Music Man/Thanks For The Memories/To You From Me/Don't Put Off Till Tomorrow/Skeleton In Your Closet
T6-347S1 - Full Speed Ahead - Tata Vega [8/16/76] Full Speed Ahead/Try Love From The Inside/Never Had A Dream Come True/Just When Things Are Getting Good/Been On My Own Too Long (In The Wilderness)/Love Is All You Need/Music In My Heart/Keep It Coming/Just As Long As There Is You/Try God
T6-348S1 - Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits - Marvin Gaye [9/14/76] (10-76, #44 #17R&B) Let's Get It On/I Want You/How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)/I Heard It Through The Grapevine/Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)//What's Going On/After The Dance/Can I Get A Witness/Trouble Man/Distant Lover
T6-349S1 - One to One - Syreeta [1/13/77] One To One/I Don't Know/Rest Yourself/I Too Am Wanting//Tiki Tiki Donga/Don't Cry/Harmour Love/One To One (Reprise)
T6-350S1 - Deep in My Soul - Smokey Robinson [1/18/77] (2-77, #47 #16R&B) Vitamin U/There Will Come A Day (I'm Gonna Happen to You)/It's Been A Long Time (Since I Been In Love)/Let's Do The Dance Of Life Together//If You Want My Love/You Cannot Laugh Alone/In My Corner/The Humming Song (Lost For Words)
T6-351S1 - Keep It Comin' - Valerie Simpson [1/13/77] Keep It Coming/Sinner Man (Don't Let Him Catch You)/Drink The Wine/Silly Wasn't I/Now That There's You//Love Woke Me Up This Morning/Can't It Wait Until Tomorrow/Genius I/Genius II
T7-352R2 - Live at the London Palladium - Marvin Gaye [3/15/77] (4-77, #3 #1R&B) (2-LP set, with sides 1 and 3 on disc #1, sides 2 and 4 on disc #2) All tracks on sides 1-3 are live; side 4 is a studio track. Side 1: Intro. Theme (S)/All The Way 'Round (S)/Since I Had You (S)/Come Get To This (S)/Let's Get It On (S); Side 2: Trouble Man (S)/Medley: Ain't That Peculiar-You're A Wonderful One-Stubborn Kind of Fellow-Pride and Joy-Little Darling (I Need You)-I Heard It Through The Grapevine-Hitch Hike-You-Too Busy Thinking About My Baby-How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (S)/Medley 2: Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)-God Is Love-What's Going On-Save The Children (S); Side 3: Medley 3 (with Florence Lyles): You're All I Need To Get By/Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing-Your Precious Love-It Takes Two-Ain't No Mountain High Enough-Distant Lover-Closing Theme (S); Side 4:Got To Give It Up (S)
T6-353S1 - Totally Tata - Tata Vega [2/22/77] Mr. Troublemaker/Blame It On The Sun/Come In Heaven Earth Is Calling/Deep Inside//Jesus Takes Me Higher/Love Comes From The Most Unexpected Places/It's Too Late/You'll Never Rock Alone/Ever So Lovingly
T6-354S1 - Here My Dear - Marvin Gaye [Unissued] Transferred to Tamla T-364LP2. This was to be the initial single LP that dealt with Gaye's divorce from Anna Gordy, which as part of a settlement over back alimony and child support, she was to receive half the proceeds. As Gaye worked on the album in the studio, the emotional nature of the album led him to expand the scope to double-LP length, which was renumbered and issued in late 1978.
T7-354R1 - Eddie Kendricks at His Best - Eddie Kendricks [1/17/78] (3-78, #48R&B) Keep On Truckin'/He's A Friend/Skippin' Work Today/Girl You Need A Change of Mind, Part 1/Shoeshine Boy//Boogie Down/Intimate Friends/Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)/Can I/It's So Hard For Me To Say Good-Bye
T6-355S1 - Big Time (Soundtrack) - Smokey Robinson [6/28/77] (8-77, #39R&B) Theme from Big Time/J.J.'s Theme/Hip Trip/He Is The Light Of The World//So Nice To Be With You/Shana's Theme (with Dialogue)/If We're Gonna Act Like Lovers/The Agony And The Ecstasy/Theme From Big Time (Reprise)
T6-356S1 - Slick - Eddie Kendricks [8/25/77] (10-77, #47R&B) Something Shady (Is Going On)/Baby/I Want To Live (My Life With You)/You Got It/Intimate Friends//Diamond Girl/Then Came You/I'll Have to Let You Go/California Woman
T6-357S1 - Greatest Hits - Miracles [7/19/77] The Power Of Music (S, 3:36)/Overture (S, 2:23)/Love Machine (S, 6:45)/Do It Baby (S, 2:59)//Take It All (S, 3:34)/Don't Cha Love It (S, 3:13)/What Is A Heart Good For (S, 2:50)/Night Life (S, 3:11)/Gemini (S, 2:54)/Don't Let It End ('Til You Let It Begin) (S, 3:00)
T7-358R1 - The Devil in Me - Thelma Houston [10/18/77] (11-77, #64 #29R&B) I'm Here Again/It's Just Me Feeling Good/I Can't Go On Living Without Your Love/Triflin'//Give Me Something To Believe In/Memories/I've Got The Devil In Me/Baby, I Love You Too Much/Your Eyes
T7-359R1 - Love Breezes - Smokey Robinson [2/21/78] (4-78, #75 #19R&B) Why You Wanna See My Bad Side/Love So Fine/Feeling You Feeling Me/Madam X//Shoe Soul/Trying It Again/Daylight And Darkness/I'm Loving You Softly
T7-360R1 - Try My Love - Tata Vega [1/15/79] (4-79, #170 #63R&B) Come On And Try My Love/I Need You Now/Get It Up For Love/If Love Must Go/Magic Feeling//Gonna Do My Best To Love You/I Just Keep Thinking About You Baby/Whopper Bopper Show Stopper/In The Morning
T7-361R1 - Ready to Roll - Thelma Houston [10/20/78] (11-78, #74R&B) Saturday Night Sunday Morning/Love Is Comin' On/I Wanna Start My Life All Over Again/Midnight Mona//Pardon Me/Everybody's Got A Story/Strange/Am I Expecting Too Much/Can't We Try
T7-362R1 - Someday at Christmas - Stevie Wonder [10/20/78] This is a reissue of Tamla TS-281. Someday At Christmas/Silver Bells/Ave Maria/The Little Drummer Boy/One Little Christmas Tree/The Day That Love Began//The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)/Bedtime For Toys/Christmastime/Twinkle Twinkle Little Me/A Warm Little Home On A Hill/What Christmas Means To Me
T9-363A2 - Smokin' - Smokey Robinson [10/31/78] (1-79, #165 #70R&B) (2-LP set) The Tracks Of My Tears/Love's So Fine/Baby That's Backatcha/The Agony And The Ecstasy//Quiet Storm/Dialogue/Why You Wanna See My Bad Side/Daylight And Darkness/Madam X//The Tears Of A Clown/Bad Girl/(You Can) Depend On Me/Here I Go Again/Mickey's Monkey/You've Really Got A Hold On Me/Shoe Soul//I Second That Emotion/Ooo Baby Baby/Vitamin U/Baby Come Close
T-364LP2 - Here, My Dear - Marvin Gaye [12/15/78] (1-79, #26 #4R&B) (2-LP set) Here My Dear/I Met A Little Girl/When Did You Stop Loving Me/Anger//Is That Enough/Everybody Needs Love/Time To Get It Together//Sparrow/Anna's Song/When Did You Stop Loving Me When Did I Stop Loving You (Instrumental)//A Funky Space Reincarnation/You Can Leave But It's Going to Cost You/Falling In Love Again/When Did You Stop Loving Me When Did I Stop Loving You (Reprise)
T7-365R1 - Ride to the Rainbow - Thelma Houston [5/22/79] Saturday Night Sunday Morning/I Wanna Be Back In Love Again/Love Machine//Imaginary Paradise/Just A Little Piece of You/Ride To The Rainbow/Paying For It With My Heart/Give It To Me
T7-366R1 - Where There's Smoke... - Smokey Robinson [5/22/79] (6-79, #17 #8R&B) It's A Good Night/I Love The Nearness Of You/The Hurt's On You/Ever Had A Dream//Get Ready/Share It/Crusin'
T8-367M1 - Warm Thoughts - Smokey Robinson [2/25/80] (3-80, #14 #4R&B) Let Me Be The Clock/Heavy On Pride (Light On Love)/Into Each Rain Some Life Must Fall/Wine Women And Song//Melody Man/I Wanna Talk About Marrying You/What's In Your Life For Me/I Want To Be Your Love/Travelin' Through
T7-368R1 - I Just Need More Money - Shadee [7/23/80] I Just Need More Money/Rock Star/Ballin'/Disco Hall Of Fame//Darling I Love You So Much (I Swear)/Butterflies (That's What Love Does)/Never Loved Anyone Til You
T8-369M1 - Love Man - Marvin Gaye [Unissued] Album covers were printed for this release.
T6-370M1 - Givin' All My Love - Tata Vega [9/80] Givin' All My Love/You Keep Me Hangin' On/Abandoned/Reachin' All Around My Love//There's Love In The World/You Better Watch Out/Love Your Neighbor/(I've Got My) Second Wind/I Get So Used To You Being Around
T13-371N2 - Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants - Stevie Wonder [10/30/79] (11-79, #4 #4R&B) (2-LP set) Earth's Creation/The First Garden/Voyage To India/Same Old Story/Venus' Flytrap And The Bug/Ai No Sono//Seasons/Power Flower/Send One Your Love (music)/Race Babbling//Send One Your Love/Outside My Window/Black Orchid/Ecclesiastes/Kesse Ye Lolo De Ye/Come Back As A Flower//A Seed's A Star And Tree Medley/The Secret Life Of Plants/Tree/Finale
T7-372R1 - Syreeta - Syreeta [4/80] (5-80, #73 #39R&B) Blame It On The Sun/Let Me Be The One/You Bring Out The Love In Me/Please Stay/He's Gone//Love Fire/Here's My Love/Signed Sealed Delivered (I'm Yours)/Dance For Me Children/One More Time For Love/One More Time For Love (Reprise)
T8-373M1 - Hotter Than July - Stevie Wonder [9/29/80] (11-80, #3 #1R&B) Did I Hear You Say You Love Me/All I Do/Rocket Love/I Ain't Gonna Stand For It/As If You Read My Mind//Master Blaster (Jammin')/Do Like You/Cash In Your Face/Lately/Happy Birthday
T8-374M1 - In Our Lifetime - Marvin Gaye [1/81] (2-81, #32 #6R&B) Praise/Life Is For Learning/Love Party/Funk Me//Far Cry/Love Me Now Or Love Me Later/Heavy Love Affair/In Our Lifetime
T8-375M1 - Being with You - Smokey Robinson [2/17/81] (3-81, #10 #1R&B) Being With You/Food For Thought/If You Wanna Make Love (Come 'Round Here)/Who's Sad//Can't Fight Love/You Are Forever/As You Do/I Hear The Children Singing
T8-376M1 - Set My Love in Motion - Syreeta [10/21/81] (1-82, #189 #40R&B) Quick Slick/Move It Do It/You Set My Love In Motion/There's Nothing Like A Woman In Love/Can't Shake Your Love//I Must Be In Love/Wish Upon A Star/Out The Box/I Know The Way To Your Heart/I Love You
T13-377M2 - Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium - Stevie Wonder [Unissued] Released in the TMG Consolidated Series as 6002TL2.
T8-378M1 - Yes, It's You Lady - Smokey Robinson [Unissued] Released in the TMG Consolidated Series as 6001TL.
At the start of 1982, Motown went to a consolidated numbering system, all further releases on Tamla were issued using this system. See the TMG Consolidated Series Discography.
Thanks to Bill Morgan, Paul Williams, Jennings Falcon, Steve Kamins and Ernie Mabrey.
| i don't know |
Which film won four 'Oscar's' at 2001 ceremony, including Best Art Direction, Best Original Score and Best Cinematography? | CNN.com - Entertainment - 'Gladiator,' Crowe, Roberts win top Oscars - March 26, 2001
set your edition
'Gladiator,' Crowe, Roberts win top Oscars
"I love the world!": Julia Roberts won her first Oscar -- best actress for "Erin Brockovich" -- and was joyously ecstatic on the podium
By Jamie Allen
CNN
(CNN) -- "Gladiator," the digitally enhanced Roman epic blockbuster, stood victorious at the 73rd Academy Awards, taking home a leading five Oscars, including best picture and a best actor statuette for Russell Crowe.
WINNERS
What was the night's biggest surprise?
'Crouching Tiger' not winning best picture
Steven Soderbergh winning best director
Marcia Gay Harden winning best supporting actress
The show ending before midnight EST
(QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)
Russell Crowe 'stunned' to win best actor
1.7 MB/20 sec.
Julia Roberts comments after winning the best actress award
161 K/15 sec.
Marcia Gay Harden of 'Pollock' on her Oscar
285 K/27 sec.
Benicio Del Toro: 'I've been lucky'
139 K/12 sec.
73rd Annual Oscars
Julia Roberts, the bankable star with the flashbulb smile, won her first Academy Award for her role in the legal feel-good film "Erin Brockovich," while "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" took home four Oscars, including best foreign language film. "Traffic" also netted four Oscars, including best director for Steven Soderbergh.
But as the credits rolled on the ABC telecast, it was "Gladiator," the film that combined swordplay and stunning visual effects to create the story of a wronged Roman general bent on revenge, that had the most reasons to celebrate. Douglas Wick, a producer with "Gladiator," thanked the film's director, Ridley Scott, for making it happen.
"Ridley, you invaded three continents with your tireless perfectionism, and brought new meaning to the phrase, 'mad dogs and Englishmen in the noonday sun,'" said Wick.
Crowe, holding his first best actor Oscar, also thanked Scott.
"I owe this to one bloke, and his name is Ridley Scott," Crowe said. "To anyone who grew up in the suburbs anywhere, a dream like this seems vaguely ludicrous. But this moment is directly connected to those childhood imaginings."
The award's presentation ended a remarkable year for Crowe, who made as many headlines for his on-screen performances as he did for his off-screen romance with married actress Meg Ryan. He was also the apparent subject of a kidnapping plot that never panned out.
'I love the world!'
Meantime, Roberts, who played the trashy-but-determined mom and legal aid in "Erin Brockovich," took four minutes to give her acceptance speech, during which she thanked "everyone I've ever met in my life."
"Thank you, thank you ever so much. I'm so happy," she said at one point. "I love the world! I'm so happy! Thank you!"
In one of the night's biggest upsets, Soderbergh won best director for "Traffic," the drug drama that highlights perceived failures in the United States' war on drugs.
Many observers had picked Ang Lee , director of the high-flying "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," to win that honor, as he did at the Directors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes.
But Soderbergh gracefully took the golden statuette.
"I want to thank anyone who spends part of their day creating -- a book, a film, a painting, a piece of dance, a piece of music -- anybody who spends part of their day sharing their experience with us," said Soderbergh. "I think this world would be unlivable without art."
Supporting Oscars
ABC telecast the Oscars live from the Shrine in Los Angeles, California. Steve Martin hosted the event, which ended just a few moments before midnight EST � a short event, by Oscar standards.
The ceremony got off to a quick start, with Benicio Del Toro and Marcia Gay Harden taking home their first Oscars early in the evening.
Harden, who won best supporting actress for her role as the supportive wife of abstract-expressionist painter Jackson Pollock in the movie "Pollock," thanked the academy, then turned to thank her mother and father.
"Dad, who's here tonight, thank you for teaching me how to soldier through tough situations, and mom for teaching me to do it gracefully," said Harden.
Del Toro, who played a Tijuana, Mexico, cop in "Traffic," dedicated his Oscar for best supporting actor to two filming locations in the movie: Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico.
Other Academy Awards handed out included:
Best foreign language film, art direction, best original score and best cinematography Oscars to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
Best screenplay adaptation and best film editing Oscars to "Traffic"
Best original screenplay to Cameron Crowe for "Almost Famous"
Best makeup to "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
Best costume design, visual effects and sound Oscars to "Gladiator"
Best feature-length documentary to "Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport."
Veterans' awards
Bob Dylan, the 1960s folk poet/musician, took the best song Oscar for his "Wonder Boys" tune "Things Have Changed." Dylan had earlier performed the song for the crowd via satellite hook-up from Sydney, Australia.
"Oh good God, this is amazing," Dylan said moments after he heard his name announced. He thanked several people, including "Wonder Boys" director Curtis Hanson, "who just kept at it, who encouraged me to do it. And I'm so glad I did. God bless you all with peace, tranquility and good will."
Famed Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis was honored with the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award, celebrating his 60-year career during which he's been involved in the creation of more than 600 films and garnered more than 30 Oscar nominations.
"I must say I've been very lucky in my life," said De Laurentiis, who stepped to the stage amid a standing ovation. "Let me dedicate this to the Italian film industry with the hope that they come back in life with new talent and fresh ideas."
Soderbergh won best director for 'Traffic'
Cinematographer Jack Cardiff was given an honorary Oscar for a career that includes "The African Queen" (1951) and "War and Peace" (1956).
"I'm not dreaming, but it's mighty close," said Cardiff. "I think of all those takes and millions of retakes, but tonight makes it all worth while."
Spacy beginning
The ceremony opened with a video-cast from the International Space Station with astronauts "beaming down" Martin.
Back on Earth, Martin made the most of the celestial opening. "That introduction cost the government $1 trillion," he said, "so there goes your tax cut."
Martin, following in the footsteps of popular Oscar host Billy Crystal, shirked the tradition of Crystal's musical opening. Instead, he relied on his experience as a stand-up comic to open the night with a monologue.
"Hosting the Oscars is much like making love to a woman," said Martin. "It's something I only get to do when Billy Crystal is out of town."
RELATED STORY:
| Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon |
Which eponymous heroine of an American novel is a byword for incurable optimism? | CNN.com - Entertainment - 'Gladiator,' Crowe, Roberts win top Oscars - March 26, 2001
set your edition
'Gladiator,' Crowe, Roberts win top Oscars
"I love the world!": Julia Roberts won her first Oscar -- best actress for "Erin Brockovich" -- and was joyously ecstatic on the podium
By Jamie Allen
CNN
(CNN) -- "Gladiator," the digitally enhanced Roman epic blockbuster, stood victorious at the 73rd Academy Awards, taking home a leading five Oscars, including best picture and a best actor statuette for Russell Crowe.
WINNERS
What was the night's biggest surprise?
'Crouching Tiger' not winning best picture
Steven Soderbergh winning best director
Marcia Gay Harden winning best supporting actress
The show ending before midnight EST
(QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)
Russell Crowe 'stunned' to win best actor
1.7 MB/20 sec.
Julia Roberts comments after winning the best actress award
161 K/15 sec.
Marcia Gay Harden of 'Pollock' on her Oscar
285 K/27 sec.
Benicio Del Toro: 'I've been lucky'
139 K/12 sec.
73rd Annual Oscars
Julia Roberts, the bankable star with the flashbulb smile, won her first Academy Award for her role in the legal feel-good film "Erin Brockovich," while "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" took home four Oscars, including best foreign language film. "Traffic" also netted four Oscars, including best director for Steven Soderbergh.
But as the credits rolled on the ABC telecast, it was "Gladiator," the film that combined swordplay and stunning visual effects to create the story of a wronged Roman general bent on revenge, that had the most reasons to celebrate. Douglas Wick, a producer with "Gladiator," thanked the film's director, Ridley Scott, for making it happen.
"Ridley, you invaded three continents with your tireless perfectionism, and brought new meaning to the phrase, 'mad dogs and Englishmen in the noonday sun,'" said Wick.
Crowe, holding his first best actor Oscar, also thanked Scott.
"I owe this to one bloke, and his name is Ridley Scott," Crowe said. "To anyone who grew up in the suburbs anywhere, a dream like this seems vaguely ludicrous. But this moment is directly connected to those childhood imaginings."
The award's presentation ended a remarkable year for Crowe, who made as many headlines for his on-screen performances as he did for his off-screen romance with married actress Meg Ryan. He was also the apparent subject of a kidnapping plot that never panned out.
'I love the world!'
Meantime, Roberts, who played the trashy-but-determined mom and legal aid in "Erin Brockovich," took four minutes to give her acceptance speech, during which she thanked "everyone I've ever met in my life."
"Thank you, thank you ever so much. I'm so happy," she said at one point. "I love the world! I'm so happy! Thank you!"
In one of the night's biggest upsets, Soderbergh won best director for "Traffic," the drug drama that highlights perceived failures in the United States' war on drugs.
Many observers had picked Ang Lee , director of the high-flying "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," to win that honor, as he did at the Directors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes.
But Soderbergh gracefully took the golden statuette.
"I want to thank anyone who spends part of their day creating -- a book, a film, a painting, a piece of dance, a piece of music -- anybody who spends part of their day sharing their experience with us," said Soderbergh. "I think this world would be unlivable without art."
Supporting Oscars
ABC telecast the Oscars live from the Shrine in Los Angeles, California. Steve Martin hosted the event, which ended just a few moments before midnight EST � a short event, by Oscar standards.
The ceremony got off to a quick start, with Benicio Del Toro and Marcia Gay Harden taking home their first Oscars early in the evening.
Harden, who won best supporting actress for her role as the supportive wife of abstract-expressionist painter Jackson Pollock in the movie "Pollock," thanked the academy, then turned to thank her mother and father.
"Dad, who's here tonight, thank you for teaching me how to soldier through tough situations, and mom for teaching me to do it gracefully," said Harden.
Del Toro, who played a Tijuana, Mexico, cop in "Traffic," dedicated his Oscar for best supporting actor to two filming locations in the movie: Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico.
Other Academy Awards handed out included:
Best foreign language film, art direction, best original score and best cinematography Oscars to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
Best screenplay adaptation and best film editing Oscars to "Traffic"
Best original screenplay to Cameron Crowe for "Almost Famous"
Best makeup to "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
Best costume design, visual effects and sound Oscars to "Gladiator"
Best feature-length documentary to "Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport."
Veterans' awards
Bob Dylan, the 1960s folk poet/musician, took the best song Oscar for his "Wonder Boys" tune "Things Have Changed." Dylan had earlier performed the song for the crowd via satellite hook-up from Sydney, Australia.
"Oh good God, this is amazing," Dylan said moments after he heard his name announced. He thanked several people, including "Wonder Boys" director Curtis Hanson, "who just kept at it, who encouraged me to do it. And I'm so glad I did. God bless you all with peace, tranquility and good will."
Famed Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis was honored with the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award, celebrating his 60-year career during which he's been involved in the creation of more than 600 films and garnered more than 30 Oscar nominations.
"I must say I've been very lucky in my life," said De Laurentiis, who stepped to the stage amid a standing ovation. "Let me dedicate this to the Italian film industry with the hope that they come back in life with new talent and fresh ideas."
Soderbergh won best director for 'Traffic'
Cinematographer Jack Cardiff was given an honorary Oscar for a career that includes "The African Queen" (1951) and "War and Peace" (1956).
"I'm not dreaming, but it's mighty close," said Cardiff. "I think of all those takes and millions of retakes, but tonight makes it all worth while."
Spacy beginning
The ceremony opened with a video-cast from the International Space Station with astronauts "beaming down" Martin.
Back on Earth, Martin made the most of the celestial opening. "That introduction cost the government $1 trillion," he said, "so there goes your tax cut."
Martin, following in the footsteps of popular Oscar host Billy Crystal, shirked the tradition of Crystal's musical opening. Instead, he relied on his experience as a stand-up comic to open the night with a monologue.
"Hosting the Oscars is much like making love to a woman," said Martin. "It's something I only get to do when Billy Crystal is out of town."
RELATED STORY:
| i don't know |
Which actor took the lead roles in the films, 'Blade Runner', 'The Hitcher', and 'Flesh And Blood'? | Biografía de Rutger Hauer
Página oficial: http://www.rutgerhauer.org/
Biografía
Rutger Oelsen Hauer is a Dutch film actor. He is well known for his roles in Flesh + Blood, Blind Fury, Blade Runner, The Hitcher, Nighthawks, Sin City, Ladyhawke, The Blood of Heroes and Batman Begins. Hauer was born in Breukelen, Netherlands, to drama teachers Arend and Teunke, and grew up in Amsterdam. Si...
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Rutger Oelsen Hauer is a Dutch film actor. He is well known for his roles in Flesh + Blood, Blind Fury, Blade Runner, The Hitcher, Nighthawks, Sin City, Ladyhawke, The Blood of Heroes and Batman Begins. Hauer was born in Breukelen, Netherlands, to drama teachers Arend and Teunke, and grew up in Amsterdam. Since his parents were very occupied with their careers, he and his three sisters (one older, two younger) were raised mostly by nannies. At the age of 15, Hauer ran off to sea and spent a year scrubbing decks aboard a freighter. Returning home, he worked as an electrician and a carpenter for three years while attending acting classes at night school. He went on to join an experimental troupe, with which he remained for five years before he was cast in the lead role in the very successful 1969 television series Floris, a Dutch Ivanhoe-like medieval action drama. The role made him famous in his native country. Hauer's career changed course when director Paul Verhoeven cast him as the lead in Turkish Delight (1973) (based on the Jan Wolkers book of the same name). The movie found box-office favour abroad as well as at home, and within two years, its star was invited to make his English-language debut in the British film The Wilby Conspiracy (1975). Set in South Africa and starring Michael Caine and Sidney Poitier, the film was an action melodrama with a focus on apartheid. Hauer's supporting role, however, was barely noticed in Hollywood, and he returned to Dutch films for several years. Hauer made his American debut in the Sylvester Stallone vehicle Nighthawks (1981), cast as a psychopathic and cold-blooded terrorist named "Wolfgar" (after a character in the Old English poem Beowulf). The following year, he appeared in arguably his most famous and acclaimed role as the eccentric, violent, yet sympathetic replicant Roy Batty in Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi thriller, Blade Runner. Hauer is a dedicated environmentalist. He fought for the release of Greenpeace's co-founder, Paul Watson, who was convicted in 1994 for sinking a Norwegian whaling vessel. Hauer has also established an AIDS awareness foundation called the Rutger Hauer Starfish Foundation. He married his second wife, Ineke, in 1985 (they had been together since 1968); and he has one child, actress Aysha Hauer, who was born in 1966 and who made him a grandfather in 1988. In April 2007, he published his autobiography All Those Moments: Stories of Heroes, Villains, Replicants, and Blade Runners (co-written with Patrick Quinlan) where he discusses many of his movie roles. Proceeds of the book go to Hauer's Starfish Foundation.
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| Rutger Hauer |
Which US state is nicknamed 'Old Dominion'? | Rutger Hauer - Biography - IMDb
Rutger Hauer
Biography
Showing all 52 items
Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (7) | Trivia (32) | Personal Quotes (6)
Overview (4)
6' 1½" (1.87 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Blonde, blue-eyed, tall and handsome Dutch actor Rutger Hauer has an international reputation for playing everything from romantic leads to action heroes to sinister villains. Hauer was born in Breukelen, a town in the province of Utrecht, the Netherlands. He is the son of Teunke (Mellema) and Arend Hauer , both actors. Because his parents were often touring, he and his three sisters were raised by a nanny. A bit of a rebel during his childhood, he chafed at the rules and rigors of school and was often getting into mischief. His grandfather had been the captain of a schooner and at age 15, Hauer ran away to work on a freighter for a year. Like his great-grandfather, Hauer is color-blind, which prevented him from furthering his career as a sailor. Upon his return he attended night school and started working in the construction industry. When he again bombed at school, his parents enrolled him in drama classes. Fancying himself a poet, he spent most of his time writing poetry and hanging out in Amsterdam coffee houses instead of studying. He was expelled for poor attendance and afterward spent a brief period in the Dutch navy. Deciding he didn't like military life, he convinced his superiors that he was mentally unfit and was sent to a special home for psych patients. It was an unpleasant place, but Hauer remained there until he convinced his ranking officers that the military really did not need him.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: A. Nonymous
Spouse (2)
( 22 November 1985 - present) (1 child)
Heidi Merz
Frequently worked with Paul Verhoeven
His intense depiction of psychopaths
A jacket with a red AIDS ribbon designed by a Japanese fashion stylist
Trivia (32)
Father of Ayesha Hauer
Is color blind.
According to an interview she gave when Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) was first published, Rutger Hauer was Anne Rice 's original vision for Lestat when the book was being written. Despite a popular rumor that Julian Sands was her first choice, he did not even begin to show up in films or television until 1982, so Rice could not have been aware of him in 1976 when she was writing the book; Rutger has been acting since 1968. Rice may have said Sands would be great for the part when they were casting the film, because she has said that by the time the film was being made Hauer was too old to play Lestat.
Was Paul Verhoeven 's first choice to play RoboCop (1987), before Peter Weller was cast.
Both his first and last name end with the letters "er". He has appeared in 13 movies/television-series whose title or alternative title end with "er" or "ers". He has played 8 characters whose names end with "er".
Speaks German fluently (more or less accent-free).
Wife, Ineke ten Kate, whom he married in 1985, was a painter and sculptor.
Is an environmentalist. Fought for the release of Greenpeace's co-founder, Paul Watson, who was convicted in 1994 for sinking an illegal Norwegian whaling vessel. According to the Official Rutger Hauer website, the vessel was sunk in 1992 as a protest to Norway's announced intention to return to the commercial slaughter of whales, which was to be done in violation of the International Whaling Commission's global ban on whaling.
The Dutch Mail Service issued a stamp in 1995 with Rutger on it, taken from a scene in Turkish Delight (1973).
Set up an AIDS research foundation called the Rutger Hauer Starfish Foundation.
Parents, Arend and Teunke Hauer, operated an acting school in Amsterdam.
Has appeared in two vampire movies with Donald Sutherland : Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and Salem's Lot (2004).
Director Richard Donner originally wanted to use him as the villain Marquet in Ladyhawke (1985), but Hauer turned that role down and expressed more interest in playing the film's hero Etienne Navarre.
Son of Arend Hauer .
Spent five years in a pantomime company prior to seriously pursuing an acting career.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hauer became well known to the British mainstream for a series of Guinness commercials where he is clad in black. He publicly took a dislike for the drink and had to spit it out after each take. His appearance is credited for an increase in sales of Guinness.
Grandfather of Leandro Maeder .
He gives master classes in moviemaking to students and new actors and moviemakers. This takes places in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He has been doing this for several years.
Turned down a role in Paul Verhoeven 's Black Book (2006).
Has a tattoo on each shoulder; one of his former wife, and the other of a friend who died. Explained that "It's a way of saying 'You're under my skin.'".
As a hobby, he used to design trucks in the 1980s.
Founded the I've Seen Films International Film Festival.
Has named his five favorite films as Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), Apocalypse Now (1979), Wings of Desire (1987), GasLand (2010) and Position Among the Stars (2010).
Has made a television series and five movies directed by Paul Verhoeven . However, they had a falling-out on their last combined effort, the much-troubled Flesh+Blood (1985), and the two have not worked again since.
When making his debut in the United States, he was advised to use a more English-sounding name in order to better appeal to the American public. He refused, assuming that his American career would be short-lived anyway.
Loves to ride the motorcycle. While on a break from filming The Blood of Heroes (1989), he made a tour and subsequently got lost in the Australian desert. It was by chance that he found the setback on his own.
Has a vampire named Kurt Barlow in Salem's Lot (2004) and a fairy named Niall Brigant on the television series True Blood (2008).
Has played Dracula in Dracula III: Legacy (2005), and the arch-nemesis of Dracula, Van Helsing in Dracula 3D (2012) where Thomas Kretschmann was Dracula. Ironically, Kretschmann went on to play the role of Van Helsing on the television series Dracula (2013) a year after.
Was considered for the role Bukovsky in Lifeforce (1985).
Was offered the lead role in Das Boot (1981). He turned it down in favour of Blade Runner (1982).
He did his own stunt driving on The Hitcher (1986).
Personal Quotes (6)
"Good guy" or "bad guy", hero or anti hero; doesn't matter to me, what role I play, only the character have something magical.
I don't know what the appeal is. I can see I've got blue eyes and I don't look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame but I can't understand the fuss.
I have a lot of energy. I'm a lot stronger than most people.
During the initial release of The Hitcher (1986), he stated that he would not be seeking antagonist roles. In 1986, a periodical in Spokane, Washington, The Spokesman Review, ran the headline "He plays villains without a 'Hitch'". Was concerned of being typecast.
[on what his favorite or most memorable performance is of his own]: The deepest was Blade Runner (1982), because it was the first time where I just danced with the director and, let's say, the concept and the tone: I understood, on a very strong level, what he wanted, and by instinct I gave it to him. Half the time, what the hell did I know? I was just starting out to be an actor right there. This was after an experience on Nighthawks (1981) which was pretty tough and very bureaucratic and difficult. If your creative ideas are strangled, that doesn't work for me. It doesn't mean I have to be right -- that's not the point at all. It's just there needs to be a click between the creator and you. That was Blade Runner for me. To dance along, so long and beautifully, and then for it to be reformatted so it could live another 20 years; this is something completely unique. So there's only one way to answer that question.
Film is not a medium for actors. Everyone seems to think so, since it is the actors who get promoted to stardom. Creating stars is only a marketing ploy. It's the stars that sell a movie. The same technique is used in selling music, baseball games and hamburgers. An actor does not make or break a movie. Some of them look good on screen, but they are not important. How many extremely bad movies are there with one good or very good actor, or even two or three very good actors in the credits? I like to think of myself as a good actor, and even I made quite a lot of bad movies. Why are good actors no longer good when they play in a bad movie? And how many good movies have actors that are normally mediocre at best?
See also
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What type of foodstuff are 'Shropshire Blue' and 'Limburger'? | Shropshire Blue | Murray's Cheese
Shropshire Blue
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The Murray's Cut Process
Every day, the expert cheese cutters at Murray’s Cheese select the perfect wheels from our caves and cut your cheese to order. Each order is cut inside of our state-of-the-art clean room. Cutting cheese at Murray’s is an art, not a science, so while your piece may be slightly over or slightly under what you ordered, you can rest assured that it was cut just for you.
Wrap Process
Your cheese is wrapped in our specially-produced cheese paper. The paper is lined with a breathable layer to allow the cheese to continue maturing while en route to your door. The breathable paper prevents the cheese from being suffocated, but also prevents it from drying out.
State of the Art Packaging
Every order is packed in a thermal lined box with reusable food-friendly gel packs. The goal is for the cheese to arrive to you cool to cold. Remember, cheese cannot be frozen.
Shipping Fresh to Your Doorstep
Depending on the contents of your order and the destination of your shipment, you'll be offered One Day, Two Day or Ground shipping at checkout. Since some of our cheeses can only be in transit for 1 Day, One Day shipping may be your only option. If you're ordering harder cheeses or grocery items, you may be offered 2 Day or Ground. Finally, if you're ordering very heavy items like pickles or large cheese boards, Ground may be the ONLY option offered to you. You can always call us (1-888-692-4339) with special shipping questions or concerns.
The Periship Guarantee
Murray’s Cheese is partnered with PeriShip, a value added logistics provider, exclusive to FedEx, and industry leader in the management of perishable shipments. Once your order leaves Murray’s, PeriShip will monitor it and keep you informed of any changes or issues. PeriShip utilizes a wide array of resolution capabilities, to manage shipments that encounter extended transit times, ensuring your cheese arrives in peak condition, even if weather or other issues intervene.
If you've been to England, you've probably seen it around: the carrot-colored paste and those royal blue veins. The orange color comes from annato, a natural, vegetable food coloring found in many cheeses. Full-flavored and unpressed, this bright orange cheese has a surprisingly smooth texture. A golden, russett rind forms after each cheese is made by hand, creating a sharp, tangy cheese that stands out among its blue brethern. A peppery Pinot Noir balances out the robust flavor of this cheese lingering on the palate.
Just the Facts
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In which Midlands city is the University of Central England? | Cannundrums: Cheese: Shropshire Blue
Cheese: Shropshire Blue
Shropshire Blue cheese, also known as orange Stilton,
is made of pasteurized cow's milk in the United Kingdom. It has a natural orange-brown rind, blue veining, and distinctive orange color which comes from the addition of annatto, a coloring produced by the pulp surrounding the seed of the achiote (which also gives color to other cheeses such as Cheddar and Gouda).
It is a soft cheese made the same was as Stilton cheese, except for the addition of annatto, by Stilton cheese makers. The annatto reacts with the curd and softens it a little, making it creamier in texture and a little bit milder and sharper than Blue Stilton. It was originally developed at a dairy in Inverness, Scotland by Andy Williamson, a cheesemaker who'd made Stilton cheese in Nottinghamshire.
It was originally called Inverness-shire Blue, but later marketed as Shropshire Blue despite the fact it had no link to Shropshire. It is now made by a dairy in Leicestershire and dairies in Cropwell Bishop and Colston Bassett, Nottinghamshire, small towns I was familiar with when I lived in England in the late 1970s.
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Who replaced George Stephenson on the British £5.00 note in 2002? | Old-style £5 notes to be withdrawn | Daily Mail Online
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Old-style £5 notes to be withdrawn
The older style £5 notes featuring a portrait of George Stephenson, who built the world's first public railways, are to be withdrawn from circulation.
The Stephenson £5 notes have been in circulation since June 7 1990 and they make up 54 million of the 211 million £5 notes in circulation today.
"Holders of these notes may continue to use them, but after November 21 2003 they will no longer be legal tender," said a spokesman for the Bank of England.
"Most banks, building societies and Post Offices will continue to accept the Stephenson note for several months after this date but this will be at the discretion of the individual institution."
However, as with all old Bank of England notes, the Stephenson £5 notes will remain payable at the Bank of England forever.
The new-style £5 notes, which have been in existence since May 2002 and feature Elizabeth Fry, the Quaker prison reformer, will remain in circulation.
The Fry £5 has enhanced security features including a foil hologram, an ultraviolet feature and micro-lettering.
| Elizabeth Fry |
What is the nickname of Brentford football team? | BBC NEWS | UK | Bank suspends new �5 notes
Tuesday, 28 May, 2002, 16:12 GMT 17:12 UK
Bank suspends new �5 notes
The new note is supposed to be more durable
The Bank of England is carrying out further tests on its new �5 note after it was discovered that the serial numbers could be rubbed off.
Banks were asked to stop issuing the notes following about six complaints from members of the public.
Tests already conducted by the Bank of England show that on some notes it is possible to remove both of the serial numbers if the note is rubbed hard.
A spokesman for the Bank said the notes had been rigorously tested before being first issued last Tuesday.
Wiped off
He added that the serial numbers were not a key security feature but merely gave information about the note's origin.
The Bank conducted tests before issuing the note
Before their issue, the new notes were described by the Bank of England's chief cashier Merlyn Lowther as "the most secure five pound note we have ever produced".
The Bank's inquiry was prompted by about half a dozen calls but it did not initially suspend distribution of the new notes.
Insurance broker Steve Hedges, 24, of Formby, Liverpool, told the Daily Mirror the number wiped off in his hands.
"At first the number smudged, then it vanished," he said. "There was no ink left on my hands."
Hologram
The Bank spokesman said an urgent investigation had been launched.
He added: "We did undertake extensive tests before the notes were launched and had no reason to believe there would be any problems."
Those who raised the concerns were told to exchange the notes at a local bank.
The new notes are the same size and colour as the existing note but have extra security features, including a hologram.
The notes feature philanthropist Elizabeth Fry
They were made at the Bank's printing works in Debden, Essex, and are supposed to have a longer life span than the current "fivers", which last on average less than one year.
Victorian prison reformer Elizabeth Fry appears on the new note and becomes only the second woman to appear on the back of an English banknote.
Nurse Florence Nightingale has already appeared on the �10 note.
Have you had one of the new �5 notes? Has this problem affected you? Send us your experiences.
I've just read this article and tried using a rubber on one of the digits of the vertical blue security code, it started to fade immediately without smudging. If I remember correctly all bank notes are sent through washing machine and dipped in acid to test their durability - how did these pass the test?
Greg, England
It now seems harder to launch a single note in England than a complete new currency in Europe.
Paul, UK
This just reminds me of the way the English press criticised and laughed at the tiny problems encountered when the euro was launched (the coins were poisonous - only not as much as the �1 coins, as it turned out). It now seems harder to launch a single note in England than a complete new currency simultaneously across 12 countries in Europe. What a nice lesson of humility for us!
Paul, UK
I would like to enquire exactly how 'soluble' these security codes are, since, on acquiring one at my local grocers I assumed my friend behind the counter was having a laugh, and proceeded to give what I assumed to be 'play money' to my eighteen month old sister. Unfortunately, she now has the serial number printed in reverse on her forehead. Can anyone suggest anything I could possibly use to remove this? I've tried surgical spirit, and strawberry milkshake, but both have been ineffective.
Margery Hiltenmann, UK
I've got one...the last two digits of the blue vertical number have smudged just from being in my pocket. Collector's item?
Nick Bowman, UK
I've only had one of the new �5 notes so far, and I can't make the slightest impression on its number by rubbing it.
Chris Harvey, UK
Today a customer in front of me at the Chemist's shop, produced a new �5 note. The cashier did not know whether to accept it, and called a supervisor. Before the supervisor arrived, I offered to buy the �5 note from the other customer. He willingly accepted, and I now own a banknote which in time may become a collector's item!
Martin, England
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Which film studio produced the 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons? | Tom and Jerry | Tom and Jerry Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
Tom and Jerry Wiki
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Tom and Jerry is an American animated series of theatrical shorts, television shows and specials, feature film, home films created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn Mayer that centered on a never-ending rivalry between a cat ( Tom ) and a mouse ( Jerry ) whose chases and battles often involved slapstick comedy. Hanna and Barbera wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry cartoons at the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood, California between 1940 and 1957, when the animation unit was closed. The original series is notable for having won the Academy Award for the Best Short Film seven times, tying it with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the theatrical animated series with the most Oscars. Tom and Jerry has a worldwide audience that consists of children, teenagers and adults, and has also been recognized as one of the most famous and longest-lived rivalries in American cinema. In 2000, TIME named the series one of the greatest television shows of all time.
The four title cards used in the Tom and Jerry shorts
Beginning in 1960, in addition to the original 114 H-B cartoons, MGM had new shorts produced by Rembrandt Films, led by Gene Deitch in Eastern Europe. Production of Tom and Jerry shorts returned to Hollywood under Chuck Jones's Sib Tower 12 Productions in 1963; this series lasted until 1967, making it a total of 161 shorts. The cat and mouse stars later resurfaced in television cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera and Filmation Studios during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; a feature film, Tom and Jerry: The Movie , in 1992 (released domestically in 1993); and in 2000, their first made-for TV short, Tom and Jerry: The Mansion Cat for Boomerang . The most recent Tom and Jerry theatrical short, The Karate Guard , was written and co-directed by Barbera and debuted in Los Angeles cinemas on September 27, 2005.
Today, Time Warner (via its Turner Entertainment division) owns the rights to Tom and Jerry (with Warner Bros. . handling distribution). Since the merger, Turner has produced the series, Tom and Jerry Tales for The CW 's Saturday morning " The CW4Kids " lineup, as well as the recent Tom and Jerry short, The Karate Guard , in 2005 and a string of Tom and Jerry direct-to-video films - all in collaboration with Warner Bros. Animation . In February 2010, the cartoon celebrated its 70th anniversary and a DVD collection of 30 shorts, Tom and Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection, was released in late June 2010 to celebrate the animated duo's seventh decade.
Currently, Tom and Jerry is re-ran on Turner's Boomerang channel, along with Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts (times vary each day).
| Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Common Salt is a compound formed from two elements; one is Sodium, which is the other? | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio | Rarebit Early Animation Wiki
1957
Description
Active from 1929 to 1957, MGM produced some of the most well-known and well-liked cartoons syndicated all over the world, featuring characters such as Barney Bear, Droopy, and the now-iconic Tom and Jerry. MGM’s first foray into animation was through the purchase of Flip the Frog cartoon series, which featured a singing frog. This was produced by Ub Iwerks, who originally worked for Disney.
In 1943, MGM signed the Harman-Ising team to work on a series of color cartoons. They released the Happy Harmonies cartoon series, included a handful of cartoons with Bosko, the “Inkspot” kid. The directors at this time strived to compete with the immensely popular Silly Symphonies which were produced by Disney. As Harman-Ising repeatedly went over budget for Happy Harmonies, MGM decided to retaliate by creating their own studio instead in February of 1937, hiring away much of their staff. In March 1937, MGM took on Fred Quimby who was a film sales executive to set up and run the MGM cartoon department. He raided other studios for talent, taking Friz Freleng from Schlesinger, as well as Joseph Barberra from Terrytoons. The official MGM cartoon studio on Overland and Montana Ave. opened its doors on August 23rd, 1937.
The first series produced was The Captain and the Kids, but the humor was difficult to translate into animation from its original comic strip by Rudolph Dirks, and folded after 15 episodes. In October 1938, Harman and Ising were hired by Quimby as the new creative heads again, and in charge of their employees, many who had defected from them a year before. Ising’s first star creation for MGM was Barney Bear, while Harman focused on one-shot cartoons, creating the serious animation Peace on Earth in 1939 which was nominated for a Nobel Peace prize. Peace on Earth detailed the possibility of a post-apocalyptic world only populated by animals, and tells the story of their attempt to build a non-violent society after the fall of the human race.
Bill Hanna and Joseph Barberra started making cartoons together at the Fred Quimby’s instigation, a partnership that would last 60 years, as Harman and Ising were not able to make as many cartoons per year as MGM had wanted. After Freleng ‘s departure to work for Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1939, Quimby wanted to find more people to make cartoons. Barberra first started working as a gag and story-sketch artist for Freleng at MGM, and both Hanna and Barberra were members of Rudy Ising’s unit. Under Ising’s unit, Barberra and Hanna began writing on May 8th 1939 a story pitting a large gray cat against a small brown mouse, an animation titled Puss Gets the Boot, which Ising later credited to Barberra as doing most of the story sketches and Hanna with most of the directing. This one-reel cartoon was the first Tom and Jerry short, though not credited as such at the time, and was produced by Ising, with music supervised by Scott Bradley .
MGM announced the creation of the Barberra and Hanna unit in 1939, taking the cat and mouse creation with them to their new unit. The Hanna-Barberra unit could produce much more gag-driven cartoons than Ising could, and made themselves valuable to Quimby. Gus Arriola began working for Hanna and Barberra , and remarked that Barberra came up with 75% of the gags, as well as drawing the character layouts. After Officer Pooch, Hanna and Barbera made almost exclusively Tom and Jerry cartoons, as the series was overwhelmingly popular, competing with other aggressive, gag-driven cartoons such as Woody Woodpecker.
By 1942, the pace of Tom and Jerry was picking up, breaking free from the grid based musical timing inherited from Ising, and through Ising, Disney. Tom and Jerry cartoons of the mid 40′s manifested well the Terrytoons sensibility, and the MGM gloss hid well the base origins of violence and danger in the cartoon realities of Tom and Jerry, shifting from cute to brutal and back again. It was during this time of seeming aesthetic incompatibilities between Hanna and Barbera that they got their formula down, as Tom and Jerry were being nominated by the Academy Awards as regularly as Disney had in the previous decade, and was the first to defeat the 8 time streak held by Disney for best Animation.
Avery came to work for MGM in the early 40′s, leaving WB behind, and had no roots to the Studio’s “normal” way of doing things. He was known for his extreme characters placed in hilarious and wild situations, and for the precise timing of his gags. On Avery’s unit included writers such as Heck Allen, Bob Allen’s brother who had been writing for Ising for many years, who returned to MGM in 1942, as well as people who had left Disney in the midst of the ’41 strike. In 1943, Avery and his team worked on Red Hot Riding Hood, featuring a sexy nightclub singer drawn in a realistic, humanoid style, by the team of animators in Avery’s unit that had previously worked at Disney. The cartoon took on an immensely sexual nature, and the howls of arrousal as exhibited by Wolfie had to be censored as it was deemed too explicit.
Avery’s style took on a level of self-awareness not present in cartoons before, as his animations yearned for a type of subtlety that the comedy and gags scorned, delivering many ‘mock-apologies’ on screen for the gags pulled. In 1944, Avery created a star character for MGM, the Screwy Squirrel who appeared in Screwball Squirrel, as well as Avery’s next three cartoons, and modelled his character on Walter Lantz ‘ Woody Woodpecker. In his third year at MGM in 1944, Avery began to find his footing, as he had with Schlesinger in the past at Warner Brothers, and created the mock western Wild and Woolfy in 1945. For the most part during this period the Avery unit’s cartoons released had no close connection with the Hanna-Barbera unit, seeming to come from two separate studios. Avery created his best-known MGM character in 1943, Droopy, an anthropomorphic dog.
The third unit at MGM which was formerly headed by Ising became head by George Gordon in 1942 after Ising’s leaving to head the Army Air Force’s Animation unit. Gordon whom was a former Terrytoons animator had a similar sensibility to the Hanna-Barbera team. After Gordon left a year later in 1943, there was a small hiatus for about three years, and a third team was put together briefly with Preston Blair and Mike Lah to continue the Barney Bear cartoons.
By the mid 40′s, Tom and Jerry cartoons had a successful formula down, and was consistently doing well at the Academy Awards as well as being very popular in theatres. A high level of expertise manifested itself in the Tom and Jerry cartoons from the mid-40′s onwards, as the collaboration between the animators and supervisors was slick and set, and Scott Bradley ‘s musical accompaniment perfectly mirrored the rapid, deranged atmosphere of the cartoons themselves. Bradley’s musical accompaniment style was much more opportunistic in style than his counterpart Stalling at Warner Brothers , and he took the score into his own hands and tried to create excitement onscreen even when the cartoons were not the greatest, unlike Stalling’s scores which seem to emphasize it when he recognized a bad cartoon.
In the 50′s, MGM felt the loss of Avery due to overwork in May 1950, and Dick Lundy who had previously worked for Walter Lantz was brought in to replace Avery. Avery returned in October, 1951 and directed many more cartoons for MGM. In 1953, MGM decided to shut down the cartoon unit due to the introduction and growing popularity of 3-D that they feared would overtake the market, but Avery as well as Hanna-Barbera staff stayed at the studio despite the closure, working on commercial animations.
The studio reopened in 1954, but due to the budget constraints in place the quality of Hanna-Barbera’s Tom and Jerry was undermined, and directed Pet Peeve, the first CinemaScope cartoon by MGM. A number of sporadic Tom and Jerry CinemaScope features were also released within the decade.
After Quimby’s retirement in 1955, Hanna and Barbera took over the studio, and Mike Lah returned as well to supervise some Droopy and Tom and Jerry cartoons. MGM found that they could make money off of the reissuing of past cartoons, and decided it could save six hundred thousand dollars per year by ending new productions. The studio close in May 1957, and Hanna-Barbera formed their own production company, Hanna-Barbera Productions. They sold their cartoons for television to distribute through Columbia Pictures, which became one of the most successful television animation companies in the world, distributing shows such as Huckleberry Hound Show, Yogi Bear and The Jetsons.
References:
Barrier, J M. Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Print.
Puss Gets the Boot - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il1IeoMfNxs
© 2012 Rarebit Early Animation Wiki. All Rights Reserved.
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In which British city is the Clifton Suspension Bridge? | Clifton Suspension Bridge's 150th anniversary and the British genius who built it | Daily Mail Online
Our very own Eiffel Tower: Fireworks celebrate Clifton Suspension Bridge's 150th anniversary and the bloody-minded British genius who built it
For 150 years, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, linking Bristol with Somerset, has been wowing passers-by
Thousands will turn out on Monday for party to salute one of Britain's most remarkable engineering triumphs
They will also pay tribute to its designer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, one of the nation's greatest ever engineers
Construction on the iconic structure began in 1831, but the work was not completed until 1864
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Jacqui Abbot replaced Briana Corrigan in which pop group? | Clifton Suspension Bridge - British Pathé
British Pathé
Description
Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol.
M/S First electrician lowering the bulbs down to him. L/S From top of bridge river. M/S Man walking and partly sliding down the suspension rail. Camera pans with him revealing long shot of bridge. Low angle shot, looking up to man on rail fixing lamps. Close top shot, looking down to man fixing lamps pan over to river and roadway below. M/S High angle, man sitting astride rail. Pan across to another rail another man fixing lamps. M/S Workmen on pavement below fixing lamps in sockets.
C/U and L/S Man fitting lamps into socket. Low angle, to top of rail, man pulling up lamps. M/S Man on ground sending up lamps to man on rail pan up with wire to man on rail at top. High angle shot,man on rail with ropes. Shot from top of bridge over the adjacent countryside, river, etc. High angle, shot, two men on top of rails fixing lights. C/U One man on rail fixing lamps. Low angle shot, bridge pillion against the sky. L/S Bridge across the gorge, panning. Top shot of bridge. L/S Bridge from ground level.
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Who wrote the play 'Edward II'? | Who wrote Edward II... | Edward II (play) Questions & Answers
Asked from the Edward II (play) study pack
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Christopher Marlowe is the author of Edward II: The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable End of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer.
bookragstutor | 1598 days ago
| Christopher Marlowe |
Ian Gillan replaced Ronnie James in which pop group? | Literary Similarities Between Marlowe and Shakespeare
Literary Similarities Between Marlowe and Shakespeare
Many readers, critics, and biographers have remarked on close similarities between Marlowe’s works and Shakespeare’s poems and plays. The following material is summarized by Alex Jack, editor of the 400th anniversary edition of Hamlet by Christopher Marlowe (Amber Waves, 2005). It is sincerely hoped that this material will contribute to ongoing dialogue, research, and mutual respect among historians, critics, and everyone else who has been touched by the beauty and magic of the Marlovian and Shakespearean works.
Literary Influence: Marlowe’s literary influence on Shakespeare has been universally accepted. “In seven of his plays Shakespeare is clearly and probably consciously copying Marlowe and in eleven other plays there are faint traces and suggestions of Marlowe’s influence,” notes John Bakeless in The Tragicall History of Christopher Marlowe (Harvard UP, 1942). “The exact relationship of these two major figures is one of the chief puzzles of literary history. That it existed—that it was very far-reaching in its effect upon Shakespeare and through him upon all English letters ever after, there is no possible room for doubt.” “He [Marlowe] first, and he alone, guided Shakespeare into the right way of work . . .”declared critic Algernon Charles Swinburne. “Marlowe is the greatest discoverer, the most daring pioneer, in all our poetic literature. Before Marlowe there was no genuine blank verse and genuine tragedy in our language. After his arrival the way was prepared, the path made straight for Shakespeare” (The Age of Shakespeare, Harper, 1908).
Line and Verse: Christopher “Kit” Marlowe’s “mighty line” revolutionized the Elizabethan stage. Tamburlaine, Dr. Faustus, Edward II, The Jew of Malta, Dido Queen of Carthage, and The Massacre at Paris popularized blank verse in the late 1580s and early 1590s and set the standard for the playwrights who followed. On purely stylistic grounds, nearly half of the Shakespearean works have been attributed in whole or part to Marlowe by critics who accept Marlowe’s death in 1593. Edmund Malone, the founder of modern Shakespeare studies, credited Marlowe with Titus Andronicus, as did William Hazlitt and F. C. Fleay. Alexander Dyce, a founder of the Shakespeare Society in London, observed, “There is a strong suspicion that [Henry VI, Parts I, II, and III] are wholly by Marlowe.” Samuel S. Ashbaugh stated, “Shakespeare . . . must have taken a Richard III, written by Marlowe but now lost, and revised it into the Richard III subsequently ascribed to him by the pirate publishers. . . . There is far more of Marlowe than of Shakespeare in Richard III.” Jane Lee concurred, “Richard III is full of . . . Marlowe’s soul and spirit.” Richard II, King John, and other plays have also been credited to Marlowe.
Style: In a recent essay on “Marlowe’s Texts and Authorship,” Laurie E. Maguire, a scholar at Oxford University, notes that recent linguistic studies have presented compelling evidence that “Marlowe’s hand appears in several Shakespearean texts,” including the Henry VI plays, Titus Andronicus, Edward III, and Henry V (see “Marlovian Texts and Authorship,” in The Cambridge Companion to Marlowe, ed. Patrick Cheney, Cambridge UP, 2004). For Marlowe’s hand in specific Shakespearean plays, see British statistician T. V. N. Merrimam, “Neural Computation in Stylometry II: An Application to the Works of Shakespeare and Marlowe,” Literary and Linguistic Computing 9 (1994):1–6; “Marlowe’s Hand in Edward III,” Literary and Linguistic Computing 8.2 (1993):59–72; “Heterogeneous Authorship in Early Shakespeare and the Problem of Henry VI,” Literary and Linguistic Computing 13.1 (April 1998). In Rival Playwrights: Marlowe, Jonson, Shakespeare (Columbia UP, 1991), James Shapiro, professor of Shakespearean studies at Columbia University, concludes “Shakespeare seems to be very much aware of what Marlowe is up to and chooses to plot a parallel course, virtually stalking his rival,” especially in the first half of the Shakespearean canon leading up to Hamlet. He characterizes Henry V, as Tamburlaine, Part III. Louis Ule, who completed the first empirical studies of the entire canons, found their overlap so close as to be indistinguishable (see A Concordance to the Works of Christopher Marlowe, Georg Olms, 1979 and A Concordance to the Shakespeare Apocrypha, Georg Olms, 1987). John Baker concluded that the richness of Marlowe’s vocabulary easily encompassed Shakespeare’s and that many of their works were indistinguishable (Oxford’s Literary and Linguistic Computing 3.1, 1987).
Characters and Plot: Many characters in the Marlovian and Shakespearean works are cut from the same dramatic cloth, including Tamburlaine and Titus, Barabas and Shylock, Abigail and Jessica, the Duke of Guise and Aaron, Edward II and Richard II, and Mortimer and Hotspur. According to researcher John Baker, Marlowe’s canon organically matures into Shakespeare’s, and his [Aeneas and] Dido becomes Romeo and Juliet and then Anthony and Cleopatra and Troilus and Cressida. Edward II matures into Richard II. The Massacre at Paris evolves into Measure for Measure, while The Jew of Malta metamorphoses into The Jew of Venice or The Merchant of Venice and Dr. Faustus becomes Dr. Prospero or The Tempest.
Structure: The structure of the plays is also parallel. In a comparison of Marlowe’s Edward II and Shakespeare’s Richard II, Bakeless notes: “Shakespeare’s play, like Marlowe’s, has a fiery dispute near the beginning. In Richard II this is between Bolingbroke and Mowbray; in Edward the Second, between the king and his nobles. In each play the quarrel serves to bring the opposing factions into line against each other and reveal the general nature of the plot at once. In each play there are three king’s favorites: Gaveston and the two Spensers in Edward the Second, Busby, Green, and Bagot in Richard II. Each dramatist brings in a fourth timeserver who is less important: Baldock in Edward the Second; the Earl of Wiltshire, who is repeatedly mentioned but who does not come on the stage, in Richard II. Each king makes a levy upon his subjects’ property, and each dramatist uses this fact to help on the catastrophe. Each king is caught unprepared by the return of an absent enemy. Each is forced, after a hesitation of which each author makes full dramatic use, to abdicate. Each, in his anger, destroys a physical object: Edward a letter, Richard a mirror. Each is eventually murdered, and the coffin of each is brought on the stage in the final scene” (The Tragicall History of Christopher Marlowe).
Comic Scenes: Though all of his dramatic works were tragedies or histories, Marlowe introduced comic scenes and characters that were forerunners to the Shakespearean comedies. Dido Queen of Carthage has several comic scenes and characters, as does The Jew of Malta. Hero and Leander presents satirical touches and has a tongue-in-cheek quality. The clown Robin in Dr. Faustus anticipates Touchstone, the Gravedigger, and other clowns and jesters in the Shakespearean works. In the view of Harry Levin, the great Shakespearean scholar at Harvard, Cornelius and Valdes, Faustus’s two adepts in the black arts, are the prototypes of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Hamlet (see The Question of Hamlet, Viking, 1959). Interestingly, Tamburlaine was originally registered as a comedy but, as explained in a printer’s prefatory note to the first edition, the comic scenes were omitted. As Swinburne observed, “It is another commonplace of criticism to affirm that Marlowe had not a touch of comic genius, not a gleam of wit in him, or a twinkle of humour: but it is an indisputable fact that he had. In The Massacre at Paris, the soliloquy of the soldier lying in wait for the minion of Henri III. has the same very rough but very real humour as a passage in the Contention [the quarto edition of Shakespeare’s 2 Henry VI] which was cancelled by the reviser. The same hand is unmistakable in both these broad and boyish outbreaks of unseemly but undeniable fun” (The Age of Shakespeare, 1908)
Ideology and Universalism: Patriotic to the core, both Marlowe’s and Shakespeare’s plays helped fashion an English national identify and unify Protestants and Catholics at a time when religious civil war threatened. The patriotic sentiments in Marlowe’s The Massacre at Paris, as Shakespearean scholar A. L. Rowse remarked, “running deep and true into the past, elaborated in nearly a dozen plays all the way from the Henry VI trilogy to the end with Henry VIII, constituted one of the prime sources of inspiration for the genius of Shakespeare” (Christopher Marlowe: His Life and Works, Harper & Row, 1964). Patrick Cheney shows that Marlowe’s counter nationalism substituted positive individual values of independence and freedom for loyalty to the Crown (Marlowe’s Counterfeit Profession, U of Toronto P, 1997). As John Baker further notes, the prose introduction to Rape of Lucrece, the most popular poem of the age, concludes with the observation “the state government changed from kings to counsels” and observes in the text that it is the poet’s duty “to wrong the wronger until he renders right” and that “a king’s misdeeds cannot be hid in clay.” Beyond furthering English patriotism, the overall effect of these plays has been to humanize us (see Harold Bloom, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Riverhead, 1999) and create a universal consciousness beyond borders and national identity.
Venus and Adonis: Shakespeare’s first published work, Venus and Adonis, a long narrative poem, appeared in early June 1593, just two weeks after Marlowe’s reputed death. It is so similar in style, imagery, and tone to Marlowe’s Hero and Leander that critics have concluded that Shakespeare must have had access to the original manuscript since Hero and Leander was not published until 1600. In both poems, for example, the beautiful youth is referred to as “rose-cheeked,” an epithet not found in the classical myths. Both youths are compared to Narcissus who drowned seeking a kiss, another detail unique to both poems and not found in the Greek originals. As A. L. Rowse states, “The poems are full of echoes of each other, theme, arguments, phrases, whole passages” (Christopher Marlowe: His Life and Works, Harper & Row, 1964). Such examples run throughout the canons. Both Dido and Hamlet, for example, describe the slaying of Priam by Pyhrrus with similar details not found in Virgil’s Aeneid or other source. As John Baker has observed, Venus and Adonis is a thoroughly Kentish poem, set on the coast among the downs and brakes where Marlowe grew up (compared to Shakespeare who came from inland Warwickshire).
Printer Richard Field: Richard Field, the printer of Venus and Adonis, originally came from Stratford and is assumed by critics to have arranged for Shakespeare to move to London, find employment in the theater, and publish his first work. As publisher of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and other major sources of Marlowe’s early works, Field probably knew Marlowe and could just as easily have been asked to publish the poem under Shakespeare’s name. Lord Burghley, Queen Elizabeth’s principal advisor and Marlowe’s superior in the secret service, is believed by some critics to have commissioned Venus and Adonis and more likely would have selected Marlowe, the darling of the London stage and one of his own agents, than the unknown actor from Stratford. Burghley was also the guardian of Southampton, the young noble to whom Venus and Adonis was dedicated. Field took over the publishing company that had published King James VI’s works in Scotland, further tying him into courtly intrigue and intelligence between the two countries.
Upstart Crow Reference: The case for Shakespeare as a dramatist at this early period rests largely on a pun. In Groatsworth of Wit, published in 1592, Robert Greene mentions “an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers . . . the onely Shake-scene in a country.” On the basis of the pun on “Shake-scene” and the parody of a passage quoted from The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of Yorke, an early version of 3 Henry VI, later published under Shakespeare’s name, scholars have concluded that this is the earliest literary reference to Shakespeare, appearing to place him solidly within the London theater in the formative stage of his acting and writing career. However, the pun better fits Edward Alleyn, the leading actor in Marlowe’s plays at the Rose theatre, who had failed to help Greene in a time of poverty and sickness. Two years earlier in Never Too Late, Greene had taunted Alleyn and Marlowe in similar language: “Why Roscius [Alleyn], art thou proud with Esop’s Crow, being pranct with the glorie of others feathers? of thy selfe thou canst say nothing, and if the Cobler [Marlowe, the son of a shoemaker] hath taught thee to say Ave Caesar, disdain not thy tutor.” In any event, many scholars dismiss the claim that Groatsworth (or Henry Chettle’s Reply, a related document) allude to Shakespeare and assign The True Tragedy to Marlowe and “Ave Caesar” is a famous phrase from Edward III, a play now accepted as Shakespeare’s (see Hamlet by Marlowe and Shakespeare, edited by Alex Jack, 2005).
Female Characters: In the view of many critics, the female characters in Marlowe’s work, such as Zenocrate, Imogene, Abigail, and Dido, are not as fully developed as those in Shakespeare’s works, including Rosalind, Juliet, Portia, Ophelia, and Miranda. However, as Simon Shepherd observes in Marlowe and the Politics of Elizabethan Theatre (St. Martin’s, 1986), Marlowe’s women often take on “the role of Presenter, a role that was traditionally the male narrative voice of truth.” Marlowe’s texts “could be said to explore the construction of gender difference and problematize it,” as many feminist critics have observed about the Shakespearean works. It is more plausible that Marlowe created the witty paragons of female learning than Will Shakespeare, whose own wife and daughters evidently could neither read nor write. In John Baker’s view, Alice Arden in Arden of Faversham (an anonymous play often attributed to Marlowe) is the prototype for Lady Macbeth, and The Taming of a Shrew (the anonymous model for Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew) is Marlowe’s, and the women in it are well drawn and based on his mothers and sisters. Katherine, Margaret, and Ann (all Marlovian family names) appear frequently in the canons, as does John, the first name of Marlowe’s father.
The Supernatural: Both the Marlovian and Shakespearean works deal with magic, the occult, and explore the relation between the natural and supernatural worlds. Hecate, the queen of the Underworld in Greek and Roman mythology, and her furies are invoked in Dr. Faustus, Dido Queen of Carthage, and his other works. Hecate also figures prominently in Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, and she or her three furies appear in about two-thirds of the Shakespearean poems and plays. There may even be a symbolic connection. May 30, the day of Marlowe’s fateful encounter and “death” in Deptford, is the annual festival of Hecate. The setting and props of Kit’s last meal echo the Hecate Supper that was traditionally observed on this occasion. As a classical scholar, Marlowe translated works from Latin and Greek containing passages on Hecate and the three fates. Whether or not he deliberately staged his death on her holy day, the queen of Night served as the dark muse and inspiration for the Marlovian and Shakespearean plays and poems (see Hamlet by Marlowe and Shakespeare, edited by Alex Jack, 2005).
Theology: A new generation of critics has shown that many of Shakespeare’s plays are intricately constructed parodies or commentaries on relations between Church and State. Donna B. Hamilton’s Shakespeare and the Politics of Protestant England (U of Kentucky P, 2000), Kristen Poole’s Radical Religion from Shakespeare to Milton(Cambridge UP, 2000), Heather James’s Shakespeare’s Troy (Cambridge UP, 1997), and Patrick Cheney’s Marlowe’s Counterfeit Profession (U of Toronto P, 1997) show that they especially touch upon issues of uniformity and conformity dear to Archbishop Whitgift and Queen Elizabeth, issues that reached a peak in the Parliament of 1593 (and led up to Marlowe’s arrest). These include The Comedy of Errors, King John, the Henry IV plays, Titus Andronicus, and Twelfth Night. Following James’s accession as king, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Coriolanus, The Tempest, and other Shakespearean works continue to subtly challenge the ecclesiastical intolerance that characterized the Stuart era.
Biblical References: The Marlovian and Shakespearean works demonstrate a profound knowledge of the Bible. A comparative analysis of biblical references in the two canons shows a strikingly high correspondence. The average number of allusions per play—94.3 and 91.7 respectively—differs by only 3 percent. Both groups of works allude to the Gospel of Matthew more than to any other scriptural source, and eight of the ten most frequently quoted or referenced books in the Bible are the same in both canons. After studying for holy orders at Cambridge University, Marlowe received an M.A. in theology, while Shakespeare’s religious studies and orientation remain unknown (see Hamlet by Marlowe and Shakespeare, edited by Alex Jack, 2005).
Parallel Passages: There are numerous passages in the two bodies of work that are similar. In The Murder of the Man Who Was ‘Shakespeare,’ Calvin Hoffman (Grosset & Dunlap, 1955) presents thirty pages of striking examples drawn from both canons. In the new edition of Hamlet by Marlowe and Shakespeare, Alex Jack lists side by side over one hundred passages that echo or allude to similar vocabulary, phrases, or lines in Marlowe’s poems and plays.
Stylometric Studies: Dr. Thomas Mendenhall, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the father of stylometrics, or the scientific study of literature, developed a scientific method to determine the authorship of anonymous or disputed writings. He found that every author has a unique “literary fingerprint” that characterizes their work. After calculating and plotting the frequency of words of various lengths (two-letter, three-letter, and so on) in a given work, he constructed a graph that displays the writer’s unique ratio-curve. In researching Elizabethan playwrights, Dr. Mendenhall discovered that Shakespeare’s and Marlowe’s curves matched perfectly. “Christopher Marlowe agrees with Shakespeare as well as Shakespeare agrees with himself,” he declared in astonishment because he accepted the view that Marlowe had died at an early age (see Thomas Mendenhall, “A Mechanical Solution for a Literary Problem,” Popular Science Monthly 60.7(1901):97–105). In a recent computerized study, Peter Farey expanded upon Mendenhall’s research and found that authors may vary over time and between genres and that the two canons were consistent (see Farey, “Stylometrics: Mendenhall’s Graphs Revisited” : http://www2.prestel.co.uk/rey
Vocabulary, Staging, and Props: Various studies suggest that the poems and plays share a common vocabulary, versification (e.g., a fondness for the pyrrhic foot), diction, and other literary elements. In a study of the influence of Dr. Faustus on Hamlet, Harry Levin found that there is a striking resemblance in the way Faustus and Hamlet appear on stage and deliver their lines. Both characters speak 38 percent of the lines in their respective plays, and the average line length is almost the same: 3.5 to 3.2 lines per speech (see Levin, The Overreacher: A Study of Christopher Marlowe, Beacon Press, 1952). In comparison, the protagonists in the other Shakespearean plays average about 25 percent. Levin also found that Shakespeare borrowed the broad tripartite dramatic structure of his plays, with a main plot, overplot, and subplot, from Marlowe. Taking the entire canons in toto, mathematician Louis Ule found that Marlowe’s and Shakespeare’s vocabulary were virtually indistinguishable. The rate that each added new words (known as hapax-legomena) to new plays differed by only 1 percent (A Concordance to the Works of Christopher Marlowe, Hildesheim, 1979). The staging and properties are also similar. The Jew of Malta, for example, contains an average of 11.7 props (e.g., swords, crowns, scepters, coins, etc.) per thousand lines, compared to an average of 11.5 props for the Shakespearean tragedies as a whole, while other Elizabethan works range from 4.2 to 22 (Douglas Bruster, Shakespeare and the Question of Culture, Palgrave, 2003). In a study of run-on lines and “feminine” endings (in which an extra syllable is added to the regular iambic line of ten syllables), Peter Farey found that “plotted against a time-scale, rather than using the overall average for a comparison between authors, a perfectly smooth curve can be seen to pass through the two groups of plays, see: http://www2.prestel.co.uk/rey
Classical Sources: Often the underlying sources for Marlowe’s and Shakespeare’s works are the same (e.g., Ovid, Plutarch, Belleforest, Holinshed, Halle, etc.), and they are commonly in languages that only Marlowe, of the two, commanded, including Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and Spanish. A modern study, Geoffrey Bullough’s Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare (Columbia UP, 1957–1966), covers eight volumes and nearly six thousand pages and shows, over and over, that Shakespeare’s knowledge of the classical and neoclassical context was enormous, including, as Strauss, Baker, White, and Craig have shown (www2.localaccess.com/Marlowe), Plato’s works not then translated or known in English (e.g., Falstaff’s death mirrors Socrates’).
Specialized Knowledge: As a cobbler’s son, Marlowe showed a keen awareness of shoes and footwear in his plays, as do the Shakespearean works. For example, Julius Caesar opens with puns based on a cobbler’s lines where he claims to work with awl and mend old soles—i.e., works with “all” and mends “old souls.” “This is what our cobbler playwright does,” explains John Baker. “The plays are cobbled together, more so than any of the plays or works of the period, based on bits and pieces of others’ works and often on an underlying play or sources. Only Marlowe’s and Shakespeare’s plays worked like that.” Many other specialized areas of knowledge appear to be virtually the same. Topics for future comparative research include references to birds and animals, falconry and hunting, the law, kingship, medicine (especially the treatment of the elements and humours), navigation, geography, astronomy, magic, mythology, and the supernatural. The colors, sounds, and other sensory imagery in the two canons also need to be explored. Themes of concealment, disguised and mistaken identity, and exile and banishment could also be examined.
Diction and Imagery: The diction, imagery, and choice of words is often strikingly similar in the two sets of works. To cite just a few examples: the epithet “ugly Night” for the goddess of the dead appears frequently, as do the number 20,000 (alluding to the number of King David’s warriors), the word “beautified,” the plural of “cherubins,” and the interjection “hum.” The word “come” and its variants appear with unusual frequency in the Marlovian and Shakespearean plays. In Marlowe’s case, the signature use of this word comes in his famous line “Come live with me, and be my love,” in his poem The Passionate Shepherd to His Love. Other than “the,” “and,” and other common articles of speech, “come” is the principal word in Dr. Faustus, Edward II, The Jew of Malta, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, and Hamlet. There are many passages using the word “marvel,” a play on Marlowe’s name.
Motto: Marlowe’s motto or trope, “Quod me nutrit me destruit,” (found on his portrait at Cambridge) runs through the two canons. It leads off the Sonnets (“Consum’d by that which it is nourish’d by,” Sonnet 73), is woven into Hero and Leander, Venus and Adonis and Rape of Lucrece, and in various forms surfaces in the later plays
Familial Influence: The early or juvenile works often attributed by critics to Marlowe or Shakespeare are generally Kentish (site of Marlowe’s childhood in Canterbury and Dover) and appear to include names, places, and contexts associated with Marlowe’s family background as part of their plots, as evidenced most clearly in The Most Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth, Locrine, Timon (ms.), The Taming of a Shrew, King Leir, and Arden of Faversham. According to John Baker, Famous Victories, which appeared in 1594, has multiple allusions to Marlowe’s “death” in Deptford on Wednesday, May 30,1593. In Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 2 these references are modified, but the circumstances and date are retained (e.g., Falstaff is bashed in the head and left for dead on a Wednesday)
Registration Dates: Both Marlowe’s and Shakespeare’s works were registered at the Stationers’ Company on days that had a historical or personal significance. As John Baker shows, Tamburlaine was registered on August 24, the anniversary of the St. Bartholemew’s Day Massacre; Venus and Adonis on April 18, William Herbert’s birthday; A Midsummer Night’s Dream on October 8, the day in ancient Greece sacred to Theseus, the Duke of Athens, who figures prominently in the play; Hamlet on July 25, St. Christopher’s Day, Marlowe’s namesake; and the Sonnets, Pericles, and Antony and Cleopatra on May 20, the anniversary of Marlowe’s arrest (see Baker “On the Trail of Registration Dates,” 2002).
Image Clusters: In the field of literary criticism, “image clusters” are defined as randomly distributed images clustered around a key word that arise from the author’s unconscious and manifest images associated with a deep personal experience or emotion. For example, Shakespearean scholar Kenneth Muir identified a cluster of key words, including “death,” “plot,” “spirit,” “food,” “sleep,” “music,” “flowers,” and “ears,” associated with the word “hum” in The Two Noble Kinsman. In Silent Shakespeare and Marlowe Revisited (Daurus Press, 2000), D. Maure Wilbert identifies twenty more such clusters throughout the Shakespearean plays and suggests that they more likely correspond with serious trauma associated with Marlowe’s reputed death in Deptford rather than anything known about Shakespeare.
Notice the line drawn around the bottom half of the mask
Aging and Maturation: The apparent differences between the Marlovian and Shakespearean works can be explained by the natural process of aging and maturation, Marlowe’s changed circumstances (including possible exile in Italy where exposure to Renaissance learning, different languages, and the Commedia dell’arte and a warmer Mediterranean climate, lighter diet, milder air, and more open sexual expression could have turned his mind toward comedies and more refined language), and the evolving nature of the London stage and the publication of poems and plays. Marlowe’s arrest and near-death experience at Deptford in May 1593 may also have purged some of the bombast that characterized his youthful works. Like Prince Hamlet newly invigorated after his shipboard escape, Alex Jack suggests in his new edition of Hamlet, Marlowe’s dramatic and poetic mission changed after the wings of death brushed him in May 1593 and he escaped his destiny. In the Shakespearean works, he became more resolute and decisive, seeing heaven ordinate in the small, ordinary things of daily life as well as writ large in cosmic omens and signs. He focused more on the redemptive power of good than on the corruptive effects of evil as in his earlier writings.
Altered Circumstances: As British historian and critic Peter Farey suggests, possible reasons for the apparent differences between the Marlovian and Shakespearean works include: 1) a new “political agenda” required of Marlowe, including the exploration of themes he may or may not have been allowed to pursue before; 2) new paymasters and new locations, as the requirements of the Burbages (who managed the new Lord Chamberlain’s Men) in respect to plots, numbers, and staging, were not necessarily the same as those of Henslowe (manager of the Lord Admiral’s Men for whom Marlowe previously wrote); 3) new actors, including writing parts for Richard Burbage, the lead actor at the Theatre and the Globe, rather than Edward Alleyn at the Rose and the Fortune, and perhaps for better actors of female roles; 4) anonymity, having to avoid writing in a style that was unmistakably his; 5) collaboration, including Shakespeare’s own effect upon what was written and input from a wholly new company of actors and new or rival playwrights who also appeared on the scene; 6) the passing of time, following (or setting) trends such as away from the highly stylized approach, from end-stopped lines, and from regular iambic pentameter; 7) life experiences, including the complete upheaval of Marlowe’s life, and the deep emotions associated with exile and loss of name and identity; 8) learning, including the opportunity to explore new cultures, new ideas, new forms of art, new languages, and new literature; 9) new circumstances, including the need to hide the fact of his survival and continued authorship of poems and plays, to tuck himself away somewhere under an assumed identity, as different as possible from his own; and 10) new friends and acquaintances with different knowledge, interests, and enthusiasms compared to those of his former circle.
Shakespeare’s Role: The evidence for Marlowe’s survival and authorial role in the Shakespearean canon is compelling. However, the role of William Shakespeare is unclear. Some Marlovians feel he played no appreciable part other than lending his name to the arrangement. Others feel that William Shakespeare likely played a significant dramatic, and possibly even literary, role. In Shakespeare, Co-Author (Oxford UP, 2003), Shakespearean critic Brian Vickers presents a strong case for collaboration between Shakespeare and George Peele in Titus Andronicus, Thomas Middleton in Timon of Athens, George Wilkins in Pericles, and John Fletcher in Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen. Other critics and researchers are also beginning to detect “high” and “low” voices in the Shakespearean canon (see Mike Rubbo’s Much Ado About Something, T. V. M. Merriman op cit, and Bertram Fields Players: The Mysterious Identity of William Shakespeare, Regency, 2005).
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Who wrote the play 'The Duchess Of Malfi'? | BBC Arts - BBC Arts - The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi
Eileen Atkins as the Duchess, 1972 BBC production
The Duchess of Malfi is a tragic, macabre play written by John Webster in 1612-13.
First performed by Shakespeare's company, The King's Men, it displays the Jacobean Theatre tradition of stage violence and horror.
There have been many successful adaptations. Notable productions in the modern era include Adrian Noble's 1980 production, with Helen Mirren as the Duchess, and James MacTaggart's classic 1972 BBC television production with Eileen Atkins in the title role.
The Globe's newly built, candlelit Jacobean theatre, The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, hosted Dominic Dromgoole's production in January 2014.
This version of the play, starring Gemma Arterton, was broadcast on BBC Four on 25 May.
The Music of Malfi: Dance of the Madmen
About the play
Webster wrote The Duchess of Malfi during one of the high-points of the English theatre, known as Jacobean theatre - during the reign of James I (1603–25).
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Shakespeare was still writing major plays until about 1611, but the leading dramatist of the era was Ben Jonson. Other notable Jacobean playwrights included John Marston, Thomas Dekker and Webster.
A drive towards realism and satire in English comedy from around 1610 was matched in Jacobean tradegy by an obsession with moral corruption; Webster's The White Devil (1612) and The Duchess of Malfi (1619) are examples of this tendency, displaying a cynical and pessimistic outlook on life and people.
The Duchess of Malfi was performed by Shakespeare's company 'privately at the Blackfriars, and publicly at the Globe'.
There have been many successful adaptations of The Duchess of Malfi. Notable productions in the modern era include Adrian Noble's 1980 production, with Helen Mirren as the Duchess.
The Independent said: "Mirren was mesmerising as Webster's headstrong heroine conducting an illicit affair with Pete Postlethwaite, beneath the jealous eye of Bob Hoskins, at Manchester's Royal Exchange."
James MacTaggart directed a classic 1972 BBC television production with Eileen Atkins in the title role.
| John Webster |
Which best selling American author includes 'The Piranhas' and 'Descent From Xanadu' amongst his works? | John Webster (1580? - 1635?) - author of The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi
John Webster
Born sometime around 1580, John Webster was to be the last of the great Elizabethan playwrights. Much like many of his contemporaries, little is known of the poet himself. There was a John Webster admitted to the Middle Temple on August 1, 1598. If this Webster and the dramatist were one and the same, it would explain the many legal allusions in his plays and the inclusion of trial scenes in The White Devil, The Devil's Law Case, and Appius and Virginia.
The earliest known records of Webster's employment as a playwright are found in the diary of theatre manager Phillip Henslowe at the beginning of the new century. Among the payments which Henslowe noted in his diary in 1602 were those made to Webster, Anthony Munday, Thomas Middleton , Michael Drayton "and the rest" for a play entitled Caesar's Fall. Over the next decade or so, Henslowe's records show Webster collaborating with Dekker and Heywood, writing a prologue to Marston's Malcontent, and composing his two masterpieces The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi.
Webster has sometimes been criticized for the limited scope of his plays. He knows nothing, for instance, of the tenderness and pleasant fantasy of Shakespeare. It was mankind's anguish and evil alone which captured his imagination. But his verse is poetry of the highest order and holds its own with the best of Marlowe and Shakespeare . T.S. Eliot described Webster as the poet who was "much possessed by death, and saw the skull beneath the skin."
In The White Devil, the beautiful and spirited Vittoria falls under the spell of the dashing Duke Brachiano. At first, they are able to conceal their love affair, but when they feel their affair threatened, overcome by the fear of losing one another, they murder the suspicious husband Camillo. Even so, Vittoria is no cheap murderess. Webster creates a complex and compelling character who is simply not willing to abide those who stand in the way of her passion, and in the process, he creates one of the most exciting lovers' quarrels in all of dramatic literature.
In his other masterpiece, The Duchess of Malfi, Webster deals with a more innocent pair of lovers. The widowed Duchess of Malfi is forbidden to marry again by her brothers--Duke Ferdinand and the Cardinal--because they covet her estate. Unbeknownst to her brothers, however, the Duchess falls in love with her steward Antonio, and they marry secretly. The two lovers live happily for a time and the Duchess gives birth to three children, but when their marriage is discovered, the evil of the world stages a macabre dance around the little family from which there is no escape. A splendid nightmare, The Duchess of Malfi bears witness to a sensitive spirit, overwhelmed by the horror and despair of the world.
After The Duchess of Malfi, Webster lapsed into mostly second-rate work. Around 1620, he wrote The Devil's Law Case and collaborated a year later with Middleton on Anything For a Quiet Life. About 1625 he collaborated on The Fair Maid of the Inn with Massinger and Ford and on A Cure for a Cuckold with Heywood. And sometime before his death (probably in the 1630s), he composed the Roman tragedy Appius and Virginia.
After Webster's death, the Elizabethan theatre began to decline. The stage was filled with mediocre writers such as Glapthorne, Brome, Markham, Suckling and D'Avenant, reputed to be Shakespeare's illegitimate son. Then in 1642, the Puritans closed the public theatres, and there was darkness.
| i don't know |
"Can you identify the play by William Shakespeare in which the following quote appears, ""If music be the food of love, play on""?" | William Shakespeare (Character) - Quotes
William Shakespeare (Character)
Christopher Marlowe : What is the story?
William Shakespeare : Well, there's this pirate. - In truth I have not written a word.
Christopher Marlowe : I thought your play was for Burbage.
William Shakespeare : This is a different one.
Christopher Marlowe : A different one you haven't written?
[after sex]
William Shakespeare : Hmm?
Viola De Lesseps : And that was only my first try.
Lord Wessex : I cannot shed blood in her house, but I will cut your throat anon. Do you have a name?
William Shakespeare : Christopher Marlowe, at your service.
Viola de Lesseps : [as Thomas Kent] Tell me how you love her, Will.
William Shakespeare : Like a sickness and its cure together.
William Shakespeare : His name is Mercutio.
Ned Alleyn : What's the name of the play?
William Shakespeare : [prompting him] Go on!
William Shakespeare : I'm done with theater. The playhouse is for dreamers. Look what the dream brought us.
Viola De Lesseps : It was we ourselves did that. And for my life to come, I would not have it otherwise.
Viola De Lesseps : I loved a writer and gave up the prize for a sonnet.
William Shakespeare : I was the more deceived.
Viola De Lesseps : Yes, you were deceived, for I did not know how much I loved you.
[Saying their goodbyes]
William Shakespeare : You will never age for me, nor fade, nor die.
William Shakespeare : It is not a comedy I'm writing now.
William Shakespeare : Love knows nothing of rank or river bank.
William Shakespeare : Love denied blights the soul we owe to God.
William Shakespeare : A broad river divides my lovers: family, duty, fate. As unchangeable as nature.
William Shakespeare : You see? The comsumptives plot against me. "Will Shakespeare has a play, let us go and cough through it."
William Shakespeare : A lowly player.
Viola De Lesseps : Alas indeed, for I thought you the highest poet of my esteem and writer of plays that capture my heart.
William Shakespeare : Oh - I am him too!
[last lines]
William Shakespeare : My story starts at sea, a perilous voyage to an unknown land. A shipwreck. The wild waters roar and heave. The brave vessel is dashed all to pieces. And all the helpless souls within her drowned. All save one. A lady. Whose soul is greater than the ocean, and her spirit stronger than the sea's embrace. Not for her a watery end, but a new life beginning on a stranger shore. It will be a love story. For she will be my heroine for all time. And her name will be Viola.
William Shakespeare : Can you love a fool?
William Shakespeare : Follow that boat!
First Boatman : Right you are, guv'nor!... I know your face. Are you an actor?
William Shakespeare : [oh God, here we go again] Yes.
First Boatman : Yes, I've seen you in something. That one about a king.
First Boatman : I had that Christopher Marlowe in my boat once.
Viola De Lesseps : I have never undressed a man before.
William Shakespeare : It is strange to me, too.
Viola De Lesseps : You have never spoken so well of him before.
William Shakespeare : He was not dead before.
William Shakespeare : You still owe me for One Gentleman of Verona.
William Shakespeare : My muse, as always, is Aphrodite.
Philip Henslowe : Aphrodite Baggett, who does it behind the Dog and Crumpet?
William Shakespeare : You, sir, are a gentleman.
Ned Alleyn : And you, sir, are a Warwickshire shithouse.
William Shakespeare : I have a wife, yes, and I cannot marry the daughter of Sir Robert De Lesseps. You needed no wife come from Stratford to tell you that, and yet, you let me come to your bed.
Viola De Lesseps : Calf-love. I loved the writer and gave up the prize for a sonnet.
Viola De Lesseps : It is a house of ill repute!
William Shakespeare : It is, Thomas, but of good reputation. Come, there's no harm in a drink!
Philip Henslowe : Will! Where is my play? Tell me you have it nearly done! Tell me you have it started.
[desperately]
"The Twilight Zone: The Bard (#4.18)" (1963)
William Shakespeare : [In response to Julius Moomer being at a loss for words after discovering Williams Shakespeare has appeared] He speaks yet he says nothing. Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2.
[Trumpets sound, this is a paraphrase as Romeo was the original speaker and used she instead of he]
Julius Moomer : I got me an idea Will. You don't mind if I call you Will, do you?
William Shakespeare : What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet;
[Trumpets sound, also from Romeo & Juliet Act 2, Scene 2, by Juliet, but not mentioned by Shakespeare]
Julius Moomer : You never heard of Ingrid Bergman?
[laughs]
Julius Moomer : Where ya been pal?... Never mind, don't tell me.
William Shakespeare : A comely woman I take it. One fairer than my love. The all seeing sun ne'er saw her match since first the world begun.
[Trumpets sound, from Romeo & Juliet, Act 1, Scene 2, by Romeo-not mentioned by Shakespeare]
Julius Moomer : [Julius Moomer has just finished doing the jig of joy] Smatter Will? You don't look so good?
William Shakespeare : Like a strutting player whose conceit lies in his hamstring.
[Trumpets sound]
William Shakespeare : That's from Troilus and Cressida, Act 1, Scene 3
[by Ulysses]
William Shakespeare : I think I will take a walk now. I am that merry wanderer of the night.
[Trumpets sound]
William Shakespeare : A Midsummer's Night Dream, Act 2, Scene 1
[by Puck]
William Shakespeare : To be or not to be Mr. Moomer, that...
[Trumpets begin to sound, but are cut short, as he appears to forget his line. He shrugs his shoulders and exits through the door. From Hamlet Act 3, Scene 1 by Hamlet-not mentioned by Shakespeare]
William Shakespeare : But she has the most definitive line of the play. In the epilogue, I took it from Twelfth Night.
[trumpets play during the following quote]
William Shakespeare : If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken and so die.
[Act 1, Scene 1 by Duke Orsino-not mentioned by Shakespeare]
William Shakespeare : [after knocking out Rocky Rhodes] Blow, blow thou winter wind. Thou art not so unkind as man's ingratitude.
[Trumpets sound]
William Shakespeare : . That's from As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7
[by Amiens]
Julius Moomer : Hey Will, Will. Will. Hey wait a minute, Will. Wait a minute. What you doing? You're gonna louse up the whole deal. What am I going to say to them in there? What am I gonna tell them?
William Shakespeare : Tell them simply that foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun. It shines everywhere.
[Trumpets sound]
William Shakespeare : Act 3, Scene 1, Twelfth Night.
[by Feste]
William Shakespeare : The Doctor may never kiss you, Martha. Why not entertain a man who will?
The Doctor : Come on! We can have a good flirt later!
William Shakespeare : Is that a promise, Doctor?
The Doctor : Oh, fifty-seven academics just punched the air. Come on.
[regarding the loss of his only son to the Black Death in his absence]
Shakespeare : Made me question everything, the futility of this fleeting existence, to be or not to be.
[pauses]
Hitler : Well, what do you do for fun around here?
Shakespeare : Well, you're asking two questions there. The first brings me back to...
[Hitler shoots himself on the head]
Shakespeare : Oh dear, what have I done? Hmm, this is a new poem I think!
Shakespeare : Wallace and Gromit - to be or not to be, that is the question. Hmm, not to be.
Blackadder Back & Forth (1999)
Blackadder : [punches Shakespeare] That is for every schoolboy and schoolgirl for the next 400 years! Have you any idea how much suffering you're going to cause? Hours spent at school desks trying to find ONE joke in "A Midsummer's Night Dream", wearing stupid tights in school plays and saying things like, "What ho, my Lord," and, "Oh, look, here comes Othello talking total crap as usual."
[kicks Shakespeare]
| Twelfth Night |
What was the first name of the song-writing brother of George Gershwin? | Shakespeare's Plays
Shakespeare's Plays
Before the publication of the First Folio in 1623, nineteen of the thirty-seven plays in Shakespeare's canon had appeared in quarto format. With the exception of Othello (1622), all of the quartos were published prior to the date of Shakespeare's retirement from the theatre in about 1611. It is unlikely that Shakespeare was involved directly with the printing of any of his plays, although it should be noted that two of his poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece were almost certainly printed under his direct supervision.
Here you will find the complete text of Shakespeare's plays, based primarily on the First Folio, and a variety of helpful resources, including extensive explanatory notes, character analysis, source information, and articles and book excerpts on a wide range of topics unique to each drama.
Tragedies
The story of Mark Antony, Roman military leader and triumvir, who is madly in love with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Coriolanus (1607-1608)
The last of Shakespeare's great political tragedies, chronicling the life of the mighty warrior Caius Marcius Coriolanus.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Hamlet (1600-1601)
Since its first recorded production, Hamlet has engrossed playgoers, thrilled readers, and challenged actors more so than any other play in the Western canon. No other single work of fiction has produced more commonly used expressions .
Earliest known text: Quarto (1603).
Although there were earlier Elizabethan plays on the subject of Julius Caesar and his turbulent rule, Shakespeare's penetrating study of political life in ancient Rome is the only version to recount the demise of Brutus and the other conspirators.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
The story of King Lear, an aging monarch who decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters, according to which one recites the best declaration of love.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1608).
Macbeth (1605-1606)
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most stimulating and popular dramas. Renaissance records of Shakespeare's plays in performance are scarce, but a detailed account of an original production of Macbeth has survived, thanks to Dr. Simon Forman .
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Othello (1604-1605)
Othello, a valiant Moorish general in the service of Venice, falls prey to the devious schemes of his false friend, Iago.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1622).
Celebrated for the radiance of its lyric poetry, Romeo and Juliet was tremendously popular from its first performance. The sweet whispers shared by young Tudor lovers throughout the realm were often referred to as "naught but pure Romeo and Juliet."
Earliest known text: Quarto (1597).
Written late in Shakespeare's career, Timon of Athens is criticized as an underdeveloped tragedy, likely co-written by George Wilkins or Cyril Tourneur. Read the play and see if you agree.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Titus Andronicus (1593-1594)
A sordid tale of revenge and political turmoil, overflowing with bloodshed and unthinkable brutality. The play was not printed with Shakespeare credited as author during his lifetime, and critics are divided between whether it is the product of another dramatist or simply Shakespeare's first attempt at the genre.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1594).
Histories
One of Shakespeare's most popular plays, featuring the opportunistic miscreant, Sir John Falstaff.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1598).
This is the third play in the second tetralogy of history plays, along with Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1, and Henry V.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1600).
Henry V is the last in the second tetralogy sequence. King Henry is considered Shakespeare's ideal monarch.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1600).
The first in Shakespeare's trilogy about the War of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Part two of Shakespeare's chronicle play. Based on Hall's work, the play contains some historical inaccuracies.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1594).
Part three begins in medias res, with the duke of Suffolk dead and the duke of York being named Henry VI's heir.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1595).
Many believe Henry VIII to be Shakespeare's last play, but others firmly believe that he had little, if anything, to do with its creation.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
In the shadow of Shakespeare�s second tetralogy of history plays lies the neglected masterpiece, King John. Although seldom read or performed today, King John was once one of Shakespeare's most popular histories, praised for its poetic brilliance.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
More so than Shakespeare's earlier history plays, Richard II is notable for its well-rounded characters.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1597).
The devious machinations of the deformed villain, Richard, duke of Gloucester, made this play an Elizabethan favorite.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1597).
Comedies
All's Well That Ends Well (1602-1603)
In 1767, a scholar named Richard Farmer concluded that this play is really the revision of Shakespeare's missing Love's Labour's Won, which was likely written around 1592. It is considered a problem play, due primarily to the character Helena and her ambiguous nature. Is she a virtuous lady or a crafty temptress?
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
As You Like It is considered by many to be one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, and the heroine, Rosalind, is praised as one of his most inspiring characters.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
This is Shakespeare's shortest play, which he based on Menaechmi by Plautus.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Cymbeline (1609-1610)
This play, modeled after Boccaccio's Decameron, is often classified as a romance. It features the beautiful Imogen, considered by many to be Shakespeare's most admirable female character.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Love's Labour's Lost is a play of witty banter and little plot, written during the early part of Shakespeare's literary career, when his focus was on fancy conceits and the playful nature of love.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1598).
Considered a "dark" comedy, Measure for Measure was inspired by Cinthio's Epitia and Whetstone's Promos and Cassandra.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
The character of Shylock has raised a debate over whether the play should be condemned as anti-Semitic, and this controversy has overshadowed many other aspects of the play.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1600).
The Merry Wives is unique amongst Shakespeare's plays because it is set in Shakespeare's England. It features the Bard's beloved character, Falstaff.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1602).
A magical exploration of the mysteries of love, and one of Shakespeare's best-known comedies.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1600).
The story of two very different sets of lovers, Beatrice and Benedick and Claudio and Hero. The witty banter between Beatrice and Benedick is the highlight of the play.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1600).
Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1608-1609)
Portions of Pericles are ripe with imagery and symbolism but the first three acts and scenes v and vi (the notorious brothel scenes) of Act IV are considered inadequate and likely the work of two other dramatists. The play was not included in the First Folio of 1623. In Shakespeare's sources, Pericles is named Apollonius.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1609).
The Taming of the Shrew revolves around the troubled relationship between Katharina and her suitor, Petruchio, who is determined to mold Katharina into a suitable wife.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Hailed as a stunning climax to the career of England�s favorite dramatist, The Tempest is a play praising the glories of reconciliation and forgiveness. Some believe that Prospero�s final speeches signify Shakespeare�s personal adieu from the stage.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Troilus and Cressida is difficult to categorize because it lacks elements vital to both comedies and tragedies. But, for now, it is classified as a comedy.
Earliest known text: Quarto (1609).
Shakespeare loved to use the device of mistaken identity, and nowhere does he use this convention more skillfully than in Twelfth Night.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
The tale of two friends who travel to Milan and learn about the chaotic world of courting.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
The Winter's Tale is considered a romantic comedy, but tragic elements are woven throughout the play. We have a first-hand account of a production of the play at the Globe in 1611. It is one of Shakespeare's final plays.
Earliest known text: First Folio (1623).
Today's Guess the Play
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In the 1974 comedy TV series 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum', who played the part of 'Rangi Ram'? | It Ain't Half Hot Mum! - British Classic Comedy
1970's , 1970's BBC Comedy , 1980's , 1980's BBC Comedy , BBC Comedy , TV Comedy
It Ain’t Half Hot Mum! – 1974
As we commemorate VJ day we’ve heard a lot on the radio about this being a forgotten part of the war, clearly not so for David Croft and Jimmy Perry who wrote this hit sitcom. To mark the commemorations we’ve pulled this post to front and for the next couple of days we’ve embedded the final episode into the post.
Whilst in 1945 there were celebrations for VE day the war was not yet over for those fighting the Japenese. It was those troops that the Royal Artillery Concert Party depicted in this popular sitcom were entertaining.
Running for 56 episodes over 8 series It Ain’t Half Hot Mum was the BBC sitcom centering around the Royal Artillery Concert Party. At it’s peak it attracted audiences of 15 million.
For the first four series the setting is British India and Burma towards the end of the Second World War (in the period just after the German surrender where the Allies were trying to finish the war by defeating Japan in Asia). In the fifth series, the concert party are posted up the jungle, and from then on It Ain’t Half Hot Mum is set in Tin Min, Burmha close to the front line.
Like many shows of the time it courted controversy in its heyday for having Rangi Ram, an Indian character, played by a white actor, Michael Bates.
Co-writer Jimmy Perry said of the show ‘It’s without doubt the funniest series David Croft and I wrote. It’s also the show we’re not allowed to talk about.’
As for repeats it was repeated on satellite channel UK Gold but future repeats look unlikely, after it was put on a short list by the BBC as a TV show that could be possibly be repeated as a rerun, but it has since been removed. In 2012 the Mail Online reported ‘The word has gone out the series of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum will never be shown in the future on the channel. (referring to BBC1)
‘The censors feel the undertone of racism and catty remarks about different races and religions has no place on BBC channels.’
They added: ‘When the series was aired in the Seventies it was a different time, and the notions and sympathies of modern cultural Britain were a long way away.’
Summary
The story revolves around a large group of British soldiers stationed at the Royal Artillery Depot in Deolali, India.
The main characters are performers in the base’s Concert Party, which involves putting on comic acts and musical performances (similar to those seen in a music hall) for the other soldiers prior to their departure for the front lines. The Concert Party all love this particular job, as it enables them to keep out of combat duty (though some do harbour dreams of becoming world-famous actors when they leave the army).
This is much to the annoyance of Sergeant Major “Shut Up” Williams who having spent almost all of his life as a professional soldier, resents being in charge of a bunch of “nancy boys” and takes every opportunity to bring some form of military regime to the concert party. However the concert party also take every opportunity to thwart him supported by two senior officers who also appreciate their ‘cushy’ number’
Much of the comedy came from the love hate relationship between Sgt Major Williams and gunner “Lofty” Sugden. The two stars (Windsor Davies and Don Estelle) had a hit record with whispering grass.
Clips
| Michael Bates |
In which 'James Bond' film did Michelle Yeoh play the part of 'Bond girl - Wai Lin'? | It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum
It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum
1 9 7 4 - 1 9 8 1 (UK)
56 x 30 minute episodes
Following his success with Dad's Army , co-creator Jimmy Perry drew on his experiences as a member of a Royal Artillery Concert Party in Deolali, India, to create another World War II bound comedy series.
The motley crew sent to entertain the British troops in India were the responsibility of Sergeant Major Williams (the brilliant Windsor Davies), a gruff Welsh RSM who referred to his charges as ''A bunch of pooftahs'' and whose favourite command was "Shut Up!".
The concert party included Bombardier "Solly" Solomons (written out after the early episodes), Bombardier Beaumont (who was very effeminate, dressed up in drag for the concerts, and was constantly referred to as ''Gloria''), an intellectual pianist referred to by Williams as ''Mr La-de-Da'' Gunner Graham, chief vocalist "Lofty" Sugden (so called because he was extremely short) and Gunner Parkins (who the Sgt Major treated kindly and referred to as ''Lovely Boy'' because he believed him to be his illegitimate son), Scotsman Gunner Mackintosh, and Gunners Clark and Evans.
The entire troupe was run by a couple of commissioned buffoons called Colonel Reynolds and Captain Ashwood. The high-camp hi-jinks allowed for a broad music-hall-style humour to emerge, and the production had a manic energy about it, creating a wholly different atmosphere to the rather measured pace of Dad's Army .
All the same, there were some similarities, principally the writers' dogged attempts to give most of the characters their own catchphrases. Unlike their earlier series, however, few of them stuck this time around.
The local Wallahs genuinely considered themselves to be true Brits, providing much of the racial humour. Michael Bates (in black make-up and a turban) played the part of chief Wallah and narrator Rangi Ram.
Detractors claimed that, at the very least, a real Indian actor could have been cast in the part rather than a white-skinned man. Bates had a tongue-in-cheek response: he pointed out that he was born in Janshi, India, spoke Hindustani before he learned English, and, as the two genuinely brown faces in the cast actually belonged to a Pakistani and a Bangladeshi, he was, in fact, the only real Indian in the production.
Sadly, Bates died in 1978, and the part of Char-Wallah Muhammed was increased to maintain the balance. By this time, the vengeful, petty-minded BSM Williams was the dominant force in the show, constantly boiling over with anger at the inefficiency of his gunners.
Fake palm trees and a polystyrene crocodile were additions to a ''jungle'' in Norfolk where the series was made. And it wasn't half cold there for the cast.
They shivered with glycerine ''sweat'' applied to their foreheads and chests, and to make the mist for the ''swamp'', dry ice was dunked in mud and stirred. The desert was a Sussex coast sandpit.
The physical contrast in size and volume between Williams (Windsor Davies) and ''Lofty'' (Don Estelle) drew the biggest rewards and the two created an unlikely double-act that resulted, incredibly, in a number one hit single in 1975 with their rendition of Whispering Grass.
The last episode of the series showed the team ''demobbed'' and on their way home.
RSM Williams
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"Can you identify the play by William Shakespeare in which the following quote appears, ""Cowards die many times before their deaths""?" | Cowards die many times before their deaths - eNotes Shakespeare Quotes
Cowards die many times before their deaths
Caesar:
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once."
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Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, has had dreams in which her husband was murdered. At Caesar's request, the priests have sacrificed an animal which, upon being cut open, was discovered to have no heart. And so they sent word to Caesar that he should stay home on this fateful day, the ides of March, which the Soothsayer had already warned him about earlier in the play. Caesar muses, ""What can be avoided /Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods?" In other words, if the gods are predicting that he is going to die, then how will he get around it? He goes on to encourage his wife with the now-famous lines, finding it strange that men fear death so much, when death is inevitable in every man's life. He has been a strong and brave man, and has not wasted precious hours of his life anticipating tragedy.
| Julius Caesar |
Which American President used the slogan 'It's Morning Again In America' for his 1984 Presidential campaign? | Quotations from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Beware the ides of March. (1.2.13)
He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass. (1.2.24)
I am not gamesome: I do lack some part
Of that quick spirit that is in Antony. (1.2.28)
Poor Brutus, with himself at war,
Forgets the shows of love to other men. (1.2.46)
Set honour in one eye and death i' the other,
And I will look on both indifferently. (1.2.87)
Well, honour is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life: but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself. (1.2.92)
I was born free as Caesar; so were you:
We both have fed as well, and we can both
Endure the winter's cold as well as he. (1.2.97)
Ye gods, it doth amaze me,
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world,
And bear the palm alone. (1.2.129)
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus; and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs, and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings. (1.2.135)
When could they say, till now, that talked of Rome,
That her wide walls encompassed but one man?
Now is it Rome indeed and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man. (1.2.154)
There was a Brutus once that would have brook�d
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome
As easily as a king. (1.2.167)
Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights;
Yond' Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. (1.2.192)
'Tis very like: he hath the falling sickness. (1.2.256)
He reads much;
He is a great observer, and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men. (1.2.209)
But, for my own part, it was Greek to me. (1.2.283)
Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius. (1.3.90)
Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass,
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron,
Can be retentive to the strength of spirit;
But life, being weary of these worldly bars,
Never lacks power to dismiss itself. (1.3.93)
'Tis a common proof,
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder,
Whereto the climber-upward turns his face;
But when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. (2.1.22)
Between the acting of a dreadful thing
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream:
The genius and the mortal instruments
Are then in council; and the state of man,
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection. (2.1.63)
O conspiracy!
Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night,
When evils are most free? (2.1.77)
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds. (2.1.173)
For he is superstitious grown of late,
Quite from the main opinion he held once
Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies. (2.1.196)
But when I tell him he hates flatterers,
He says he does, being then most flattered. (2.1.208)
Boy! Lucius! Fast asleep? It is no matter;
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber:
Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies,
Which busy care draws in the brains of men;
Therefore thou sleep�st so sound. (2.1.240)
That great vow
Which did incorporate and make us one. (2.1.272)
You are my true and honourable wife,
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops
That visit my sad heart. (2.1.286)
Think you I am no stronger than my sex,
Being so fathered and so husbanded? (2.1.296)
Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds,
In ranks and squadrons and right form of war,
Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol. (2.2.22)
When beggars die, there are no comets seen;
The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes. (2.2.30)
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come. (2.2.34)
Danger knows full well
That Caesar is more dangerous than he:
We are two lions littered in one day,
And I the elder and more terrible. (2.2.45)
O constancy! be strong upon my side;
Set a huge mountain 'tween my heart and tongue;
I have a man's mind, but a woman's might.
How hard it is for women to keep counsel! (2.4.6)
Caesar. The ides of March are come.
Soothsayer. Ay, Caesar; but not gone. (3.1.1)
But I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true-fixed and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament. (3.1.58)
Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar! (3.1.77)
Ambition's debt is paid. (3.1.83)
He that cuts off twenty years of life
Cuts off so many years of fearing death. (3.1.101)
How many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted o'er,
In states unborn, and accents yet unknown! (3.1.111)
O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low?
Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,
Shrunk to this little measure? (3.1.148)
Your swords, made rich
With the most noble blood of all this world. (3.1.155)
O! pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers;
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever liv�d in the tide of times. (3.1.254)
Cry, 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war. (3.1.268)
Passion, I see, is catching. (3.1.283)
Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my cause, and be silent that you may hear. (3.2.15)
Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. (3.2.22)
As he was valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I slew him. (3.2.27)
Who is here so base that would be a bondman? (3.2.31)
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury C�sar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones. (3.2.79)
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man. (3.2.91)
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. (3.2.97)
O judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. (3.2.110)
But yesterday the word of Caesar might
Have stood against the world; now lies he there,
And none so poor to do him reverence. (3.2.124)
This was the most unkindest cut of all;
For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms,
Quite vanquished him: then burst his mighty heart;
And, in his mantle muffling up his face,
Even at the base of Pompey's statua,
Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell.
O! what a fall was there, my countrymen;
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,
Whilst bloody treason flourished over us.
O! now you weep, and I perceive you feel
The dint of pity; these are gracious drops. (3.2.189)
I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts:
I am no orator, as Brutus is;
But, as you know me all, a plain, blunt man,
That love my friend. (3.2.221)
Were I Brutus,
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony
Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue
In every wound of Caesar, that should move
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. (3.2.231)
He hath left you all his walks,
His private arbours, and new-planted orchards,
On this side Tiber; he hath left them you,
And to your heirs for ever; common pleasures,
To walk abroad, and recreate yourselves. (3.2.252)
Fortune is merry,
And in this mood will give us anything. (3.2.271)
When love begins to sicken and decay,
It useth an enforc�d ceremony.
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith. (4.2.20)
Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself
Are much condemned to have an itching palm. (4.3.7)
Shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes? (4.3.23)
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon,
Than such a Roman. (4.3.27)
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats;
For I am armed so strong in honesty
That they pass by me as the idle wind,
Which I respect not. (4.3.67)
By heaven, I had rather coin my heart,
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash
By any indirection. (4.3.72)
A friend should bear his friend's infirmities,
But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. (4.3.86)
All his faults observed,
Set in a note-book, learn�d, and conn�d by rote. (4.3.92)
There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries. (4.3.218)
We must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures. (4.3.247)
The deep of night is crept upon our talk,
And nature must obey necessity. (4.3.251)
Forever, and forever, farewell, Cassius!
If we do meet again, why, we shall smile;
If not, why then this parting was well made. (5.1.125)
O! that a man might know
The end of this day's business, ere it come;
But it sufficeth that the day will end,
And then the end is known. (5.1.131)
This day I breath�d first: time is come round,
And where I did begin, there shall I end;
My life is run his compass. (5.3.23)
O hateful error, melancholy's child!
Why dost thou show, to the apt thoughts of men,
The things that are not? (5.3.67)
I had rather have
Such men my friends than enemies. (5.4.28)
Thou art a fellow of a good respect;
Thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it.
Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face,
While I do run upon it. (5.5.45)
This was the noblest Roman of them all;
All the conspirators save only he
Did that they did in envy of great Caesar;
He, only, in a general honest thought
And common good to all, made one of them.
His life was gentle, and the elements
So mixed in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, 'This was a man!' (5.5.68)
_____
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With what instrument would you associate the classical performer Murray Parahia? | Mozart: The Complete Piano Concertos - Murray Perahia | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
Mozart: The Complete Piano Concertos
AllMusic Rating
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AllMusic Review by James Leonard
Recorded over 13 years between 1975 and 1988, Murray Perahia 's cycle of the complete piano concertos of Mozart , including the concert rondos and double concertos, remains perhaps the most enduring monument to his art. What is it about Perahia 's art, some skeptics might ask, that is worth enduring? For one thing, as this 12-disc set amply demonstrates, there is his incredible tone. Clear as a bell, bright as the sky, and deep as the ocean, Perahia 's tone is not only one of the wonders of the age, it's admirably suited to the pellucid loveliness of Mozart 's music. For another thing, there is his unbelievable control. From the simplest melody to the richest sonorities, Perahia 's control makes him the master of everything he surveys. For yet another thing, there is his astounding sense of rhythm. From the most vivacious Allegro con spirito to the most lugubrious Larghetto, Perahia 's tempos are always brilliantly judged and wonderfully propulsive. To top it off, there are his poetic interpretations. While some cynics might assert that his interpretations are all beautiful surface with no profound depths, more sympathetic listeners would argue that Perahia 's beautiful surfaces go all the way to the bottom of Mozart 's music. Accompanied by the accomplished outstanding English Chamber Orchestra -- the wind playing alone is worth the price of the set -- Perahia 's cycle of Mozart 's piano concertos should be heard by anyone who loves the music. Sony's late stereo and early digital sound is consistently clean, colorful, and immediate.
Track Listing - Disc 1
| The Piano |
Which animal is depicted on the flag of Sri Lanka? | Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op. 2, Nos. 1, 2 & 3: Murray Perahia, Ludwig van Beethoven: Amazon.ca: Music
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive Early Beethoven Performances May 12 2007
By Michael A. Brocato - Published on Amazon.com
Format: Audio CD Verified Purchase
Perahia performs these three works beautifully. His technique and style are masterful, his tone and nuance are well crafted, and the recording engineers have done an excelent job of capturing his exciting performances. I prefer his interpretations to the drier, (almost too) scholarly pressings of Jon O'Connor.
His performance of the 2nd sonanta (A Major) may be one of the two best overall performances I have ever heard either in recording or in live settings. (Which is very often in about the past 35 years.)
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Simpl;y gorgeous! Oct. 29 2001
By Russel E. Higgins - Published on Amazon.com
Format: Audio CD
I suggest that you buy this marvelous CD before Sony drops it from the active catalogue. It is simply a gorgeous interpretation of three of Beethoven's earliest piano sonatas, written early in his life, around the time that he was studying in Vienna with Haydn between 1792 and 1794. They are, however, unlike the Haydn sonatas, anticipating Beethoven's later exhilarating work in the form and showing definite evidences of the explosive excitement that would be a part of Beethoven's later piano pieces. The slow movements in all three sonatas are lovely, but the adagio in the C major sonata is absolutely exquisite, played sensitively and poignantly by Mr. Perahia. The menuetto in F minor sonata is a humorous, rather quirky movement with an attractive trio that moves gracefully back to the major theme. The prestissimo in Sonata #1 and the allegro assai of Sonata #3 have the fire and drive and the tonal contrasts that we associate with Beethoven's later work. There are big, Romantic images and technical wizardry in these early sonatas, and I think that the music lovers must study pieces like these in order to understand the depth and genius of Beethoven's later output.
The sonatas were never, in my opinion, played more beautifully. Mr. Perahia produces a simply beautiful tone in every note of the sonatas. He has complete technical command of his instrument and his interpretations are conceived in a loving manner. I do not believe that any interpretation in music is ever "definitive," but these probably come close to being ultimate. Finally, Sony reproduces Mr. Perahia's distinctive sound well, using 20 bit technology with "high definition sound." I am technically inept and have no idea what these terms mean, but the sound is brilliant and warm. If you enjoy this recording and wish to explore more of Mr. Perahia's excellent work, I suggest you purchase his fairly recent Sony recordings of Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti. They are as superb as the Beethoven CD and a delightful addition to one's recorded music collection.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Job June 21 2000
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Format: Audio CD
Murray Parahia has onced again released another set of great Beethoven sonatas (Hmm, all Beethoven sonatas are great!). His playing is as always, crystal clear with great technique, finger skills and musicality. I still think he has so much more to offer than what he produced in this recording. In conclusion, a fine recording with splendid results. Above everything else, for students learning the sonatas, this is a very good source for reference since Murray Parahia is by far one of the better pianists going around at present.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
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In which year was the voting age in Britain reduced from 21 to 18? | FAQs about UK parliament elections and voting - UK Parliament
Gunpowder Plot FAQs
FAQs about UK parliament elections and voting
This page may give answers to your questions on UK Parliament elections, by-elections and referendums as well as information about your constituency, voting and who can vote.
Who can I vote for?
Who are the candidates in my constituency?
Your local Electoral Registration Office will display the names of all the candidates on town hall and local council notice boards in your area about a week before polling day. Information is also normally available in local newspapers. Candidates may send information about themselves to you and there may be public meetings where you have the opportunity to hear all the candidates speak.
Electoral Commission FAQs: Where can I find out who is standing for election and get information on candidates? (external site)
Can I vote for a new Prime Minister?
No. You can only vote to elect your local MP in a general election. Even if you live in the constituency represented by the current Prime Minister or the leader of another political party, you are still only voting on whether he or she will be your local MP in the next Parliament
Where can I find the election result in my constituency?
Results are posted up by local officials on town hall and local council notice boards in each constituency and are also reported in the local and national media. Results are also available on the relevant local authority website for your local Electoral Registration Office.
Parliamentary election results are also added to each MP's biography page on this website.
When were women given the vote?
1918 (women aged 30 and over)
1928 (women aged 21 and over)
When were all men given the vote?
1918 (men aged 21 and over)
When was the voting age reduced to 18?
1969 (for both men and women)
About constituencies
Which parliamentary constituency am I in?
The constituency you are in depends on where you live, or in certain cases such as overseas residents or members of the armed forces, where you have lived in the past.
To find out which constituency you are in you can check on the Ordnance Survey website, or with your local Electoral Registration Office.
Every 8-12 years constituency boundaries are reviewed to take into account movement and growth of the population in the UK.
Referendums
When was the last referendum held in the UK?
A referendum was held on 23 June 2016 to decide whether or not the UK should remain a member of the European Union.
Prior to that there was a referendum in Scotland on 18 September 2014 on whether Scotland should be an independent country. On 5 May 2011 a UK-wide referendum was held on whether to change the voting system for electing MPs to the House of Commons.
Where can I find the results of the EU Referendum?
The full results of the EU Referendum are available on the Electoral Commission website:
Electoral Commission: EU Referendum results
Where can I find out more about the EU Referendum 2016?
You can find impartial information on the in-out referendum produced by the Commons Library and Lords Library at the link below. It sets out the background, an analysis of the results and their implications as well as looking at the process for withdrawal from the EU.
| one thousand nine hundred and sixty nine |
Which was the only team in the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa not to lose a match? | Citizenship Foundation: Issues Voting Timeline
Lowering the voting age to 16:
Timeline
A glance at some of the key moments in the history of Parliament in England.
Note: Throughout, Parliament refers to Parliament at Westminster.
13th Century
From the 13th Century, two knights are elected from each county by the county courts. Soon after, they are joined by two representatives from the boroughs.
This is not obligatory. As representation in Parliament is originally considered a burden rather than a blessing, not every local community is willing to pay for MPs to go to Westminster.
This results in gross inequalities in different parts of the country.
1430
Owners of freehold land worth over 40 shillings a year can vote in county elections.
1542
Wales is now represented in Parliament.
1707
Scotland is now represented in Parliament.
1800
Ireland is now represented in Parliament.
1430 - 1832
Some monarchs extended the franchise in some boroughs, in attempts to influence the make-up of Parliament.
However, the qualification to vote is often arbitrary.
In some boroughs, every male head of a household is eligible to vote, while in others it is restricted to those that own property or pay local taxes.
Around one in five adult men can vote.
1832
The Great Reform Act cleans up corruption in the voting system. Every man who pays more than £10 a year in rates or rent can now vote.
However, this only applies to the boroughs.
The 40-Shilling freehold (and a host of other possible qualifications) still applies in the counties.
The Act raises the number of voters by 38 per cent. 720,784 can now vote, in a population of over 10,000,000 of voting age.
1867
The Second Reform Act extends the franchise. Although this enables over two and a half million men to vote, it only applies to the boroughs.
People cannot vote if they claimed Poor Relief in the qualifying period.
1872
The secret ballot is introduced. Before this, the entire community would be watching to see how people voted on polling day.
1884
The Third Reform Act equalises voting restrictions between counties and boroughs.
Over 50 per cent of adult men can now vote.
Most British men over 21 may vote, if they have lived in the same place for a year.
1918, February
The Representation of the People Act gives the vote to women over the age of 30. It also reduces the time that voters must live in the same place from one year to six months.
1918, 21 November
A Bill is passed allowing women to be Members of Parliament.
1928
The Equal Franchise Act lowers the voting age for women to 21.
1969
The voting age for both men and women is lowered to 18. This takes effect from 1970.
1998, 1 July
Dr Ashok Kumar introduces a Ten Minute Rule bill. The debate is about empowering local authorities to consult with young people about services designed for their benefit.
2001, 8 December
Matthew Green MP introduces the bill Elections (Entitlement to Vote At Age 16) under the Ten Minute Rule. The bill is allocated a date for a second reading but runs out of parliamentary time.
2002,23 January
Prime Minister Tony Blair tells Mps, 'I am not sure that we would always want 16-year-olds to do all the things they can do. I think that it [the voting age] should remain as it is'.
2002, 27 November
Lord Lucus introduces the bill Voting Age (Reduction to 16) in the House of Lords.
2003, 9 January
The bill Voting Age (Reduction to 16) has its second reading in the House of Lords.
2003, 27 February
The Electoral Commission announces a review of the minimum age for voting and candidacy in UK public elections.
2003, Summer
A consultation takes place as part of the Electoral Commission's review of the minimum voting age.
2004, 19 April
The Electoral Commission submits its final report to the government. It recommends that the age at which someone can become an MP (the 'candidacy' age) is lowered to 18. However, it does not recommend lowering the voting age to 16, saying there is not enough public support for it.
More…
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In which opera do the characters 'Annina', 'Alfredo Germont' and 'Duophol' appear? | La Traviata (Verdi) - Synopsis
La Traviata -
Synopsis
An Opera by Giuseppe Verdi
Opera in three acts by Verdi; words by Francesco Maria Piave, after the play "La Dame aux Camelias," by Alexandre Dumas, fils. Produced Fenice Theatre, Venice, March 6, 1853. London, May 24, 1856, with Piccolomini. Paris, in French, December 6, 1856; in Italian, October 27, 1864, with Christine Nilsson. New York, Academy of Music, December 3, 1856, with La Grange (Violetta), Brignoli (Alfredo), and Amodio (Germont père). Nilsson, Patti, Melba, Sembrich and Tetrazzini have been among famous interpreters of the rôle of Violetta in America. Galli-Curci first sang Violetta in this country in Chicago, December 1, 1916.
CHARACTERS
ALFREDO GERMONT, lover of VIOLETTA
Tenor
GIORGIO GERMONT, his father
Baritone
GASTONE DE LETORIERES
. Tenor
BARON DAUPHOL, a rival of ALFREDO
. Bass
MARQUIS DOBIGNY
Bass
GIUSEPPE, servant to VIOLETTA
. Tenor
VIOLETTA VALERY, a courtesan
Soprano
FLORA BERVOIX, her friend
.. Mezzo-Soprano
ANNINA, confidante of VIOLETTA
Soprano
Ladies and gentlemen who are friends and guests in the houses of Violetta and Flora; servants and masks; dancers and guests as matadors, picadors, and gypsies.
Time: Louis XVI.
Place: Paris and vicinity.
Bianca Bianchi in the role of Violetta Valery in Verdi's opera, La Traviata, in a production at the Wiener Hofoper, Vienna, Austria.
Photo: Rudolf Krziwanek.
At its production in Venice in 1853 "La Traviata" was a failure, for which various reasons can be advanced. The younger Dumass play, "La Dame aux Camelias, " familiar to English playgoers under the incorrect title of "Camille," is a study of modern life and played in modern costume. When Piave reduced his "Traviata" libretto from the play, he retained the modern period. This is said to have non-plussed an audience accustomed to operas laid in the past and given in "costume." But the chief blame for the fiasco appears to have rested with the singers. Graziani, the Alfredo, was hoarse. Salvini-Domatelli, the Violetta, was inordinately stout. The result was that the scene of her death as a consumptive was received with derision. Varesi, the baritone, who sang Giorgio Germont, who does not appear until the second act, and is of no importance save in that part of the opera, considered the role beneath his reputation -- notwithstanding Germonts beautiful solo, "Di Provenza" -- and was none too cheerful over it. There is evidence in Verdis correspondence that the composer had complete confidence in the merits of his score, and attributed its failure to its interpreters.
When the opera was brought forward again a year later, the same city which had decried it as a failure acclaimed it a success. On this occasion, however, the period of the action different from that of the play. It was set back to the time of Louis XIV, and costumed accordingly. There is, however, no other opera today in which this matter of costume is so much a go-as-you-please affair for the principals, as it is in "La Traviata." I do not recall if Christine Nilsson dressed Violetta according to the Louis XIV period, or not; but certainly Adelina Patti and Marcella Sembrich, both of whom I heard many times in the role (and each of them the first time they sang it here) wore the conventional evening gown of modern times. To do this has become entirely permissible for prima donnas in this character. Meanwhile the Alfredo may dress according to the Louis XIV period, or wear the swallow-tail costume of today, or compromise, as some do, and wear the swallow-tail coat and modern waist-coast with knee-breeches and black silk stockings. As if even this diversity were not yet quite enough, the most notable Germont of recent years, Renaud, who, at the Manhattan Opera House, sang the role with the most exquisite refinement, giving a portrayal as finished as a genre painting by Meissonier, wore the costume of a gentleman of Provence of, perhaps, the middle of the last century. But, as I have hinted before, in old-fashioned opera, these incongruities, which would be severely condemned in a modern work, dont amount to a row of pins. Given plenty of melody, beautifully sung, and everything else can go hang.
Act I. A salon in the house of Violetta. In the back scene is a door, which opens into another salon. There are also side doors. On the left is a fireplace, over which is a mirror. In the center of the apartment is a dining-table, elegantly laid. Violetta, seated on a couch, is conversing with Dr. Grenvil and some friends. Others are receiving the guests who arrive, among whom are Baron Dauphol and Flora on the arm of the Marquis.
The opera opens with a brisk ensemble. Violetta is a courtesan (traviata). Her house is the scene of a revel. Early in the festivities Gaston, who has come in with Alfred, informs Violetta that his friend is seriously in love with her. She treats the matter with outward levity, but it is apparent that she is touched by Alfreds devotion. Already, too, in this scene, there are slight indications, more emphasized as the opera progresses, that consumption has undermined Violettas health.
First in the order of solos in this act is a spirited drinking song for Alfred, which is repeated by Violetta. After each measure the chorus joins in. This is the "Libiamo neliete calici" (Let us quaff from the wine-cup oerflowing).
Music is heard from an adjoining salon, toward which the guests proceed. Violetta is about to follow, but is seized with a coughing-spell and sinks upon a lounge to recover. Alfred has remained behind. She asks him why he has not joined the others. He protests his love for her. At first taking his words in banter, she becomes more serious, as she begins to realize the depth of his affection for her. How long has he loved her? A year, he answers. "Un di felice eterea" (One day a rapture ethereal), he sings.
On this the words, "Di quell amor che palpito" (Ah, tis with love that palpitates) are set to a phrase which Violetta repeats in the famous "Ah, fors elui," just as she has previously repeated the drinking song.
Verdi thus seems to intend to indicate in his score the effect upon her of Alfreds genuine affection. She repeated his drinking song. Now she repeats, like an echo of heartbeats, his tribute to a love of which she is the object.
It is when Alfred and the other guests have retired that Violetta, lost in contemplation, her heart touched for the first time, sings "Ah fors è lui che lanima" (For him, perchance, my longing soul).
Then she repeats, in the nature of a refrain, the measures already sung by Alfred. Suddenly she changes, as if there were no hope of lasting love for woman of her character, and dashes into the brilliant "Sempre libera degg io folleggiare di gioja in gioja" (Ever free shall I still hasten madly on from pleasure to pleasure).
With this solo the act closes.
Act II. Salon on the ground floor of a country house near Paris, occupied by Alfred and Violetta, who for him has deserted the allurements of her former life. Alfred enters in sporting costume. He sings of his joy in possessing Violetta: "Di miei bollenti spiriti" (Wild my dream of ecstasy).
From Annina, the maid of Violetta, he learns that the expenses of keeping up the country house are much greater than Violetta has told him, and that, in order to meet the cost, which is beyond his own means, she has been selling her jewels. He immediately leaves for Paris, his intention being to try to raise money there so that he may be able to reimburse her.
After he has gone, Violetta comes in. She has a note from Flora inviting her to some festivities at her house that night. She smiles at the absurdity of the idea that she should return, even for an evening, to the scenes of her former life. Just then a visitor is announced. She supposes he is a business agent, whom she is expecting. But, instead the man who enters announces that he is Alfreds father. His dignity, his courteous yet restrained manner, at once fill her with apprehension. She has foreseen separation from the man she loves. She now senses that the dread moment is impending.
The elder Germonts plea that she leave Alfred is based both upon the blight threatened his career by his liaison with her, and upon another misfortune that will result to the family. There is not only the son; there is a daughter. "Pura siccome un angelo" (Pure as an angel) sings Germont, in the familiar air:
Should the scandal of Alfreds liaison with Violetta continue, the family of a youth, whom the daughter is to marry, threaten to break off the alliance. Therefore it is not only on behalf of his son, it is also for the future of his daughter, that the elder Germont pleads. As in the play, so in the opera, the reason why the rôle of the heroine so strongly appeals to us is that she makes the sacrifice demanded of her -- though she is aware that among other unhappy consequences to her, it will aggravate the disease of which she is a victim and hasten her death, wherein, indeed, she even sees a solace. She cannot yield at once. She prays, as it were, for mercy: "Non sapete" (Ah, you know not).
Finally she yields: "Dite alla giovine" (Say to thy daughter); then "Imponete" (Now command me); and, after that, "Morro -- la mia memoria" (I shall die -- but may my memory).
Germont retires. Violetta writes a note, rings for Annina, and hands it to her. From the maids surprise as she reads the address, it can be judged to be for Flora, and, presumably, an acceptance of her invitation. When Annina has gone, she writes to Alfred informing him that she is returning to her old life, and that she will look to Baron Dauphol to maintain her. Alfred enters. She conceals the letter about her person. He tells her that he has received word from his father that the latter is coming to see him in an attempt to separate him from her. Pretending that she leaves, so as not to be present during the interview, she takes of him a tearful farewell.
Alfred is left alone. He picks up a book and reads listlessly. A messenger enters and hands him a note. The address is in Violettas handwriting. He breaks the seal, begins to read, staggers as he realizes the import, and would collapse, but that his father, who has quietly entered from the garden, holds out his arms, in which the youth, believing himself betrayed by the woman he loves, finds refuge.
"Di Provenza il mar, il suol chi dal corti cancello" (From fair Provences sea and soil, who hath won thy heart away), sings the elder Germont, in an effort to soften the blow that has fallen upon his son.
[Music excerpt]
Alfred rouses himself. Looking about vaguely, he sees Floras letter, glances at the contents, and at once concludes that Violettas first plunge into the vortex of gayety, to return to which she has, as he supposes, abandoned him, will be at Floras fête.
"Thither will I hasten, and avenge myself!" he exclaims, and departs precipitately, followed by his father.
The scene changes to a richly furnished and brilliantly lighted salon in Floras palace. The fete is in full swing. There is a ballet of women gypsies, who sing as they dance "Noi siamo zingarelli" (Were gypsies gay and youthful).
Gaston and his friends appear as matadors and others as picadors. Gaston sings, while the others dance, "E Piquillo, un bel gagliardo" (Twas Piquillo, so young and so daring).
It is a lively scene, upon which there enters Alfred, to be followed soon by Baron Dauphol with Violetta on his arm. Alfred is seated at a card table. He is steadily winning. "Unlucky in love, lucky in gambling!" he exclaims. Violetta winces. The Baron shows evidence of anger at Alfreds words and is with difficulty restrained by Violetta. The Baron, with assumed nonchalance, goes to the gaming table and stakes against Alfred. Again the latters winnings are large. A servants announcement that the banquet is ready is an evident relief to the Baron. All retire to an adjoining salon. For a brief moment the stage is empty.
Violetta enters. She has asked for an interview with Alfred. He joins her. She begs him to leave. She fears the Barons anger will lead him to challenge Alfred to a duel. The latter sneers at her apprehensions; intimates that it is the Baron she fears for. Is it not the Baron Dauphol for whom he, Alfred, has been cast off by her? Violettas emotions almost betray her, but she remembers her promise to the elder Germont, and exclaims that she loves the Baron.
Alfred tears open the doors to the salon where the banquet is in progress. "Come hither, all!" he shouts.
They crowd upon the scene. Violetta, almost fainting, leans against the table for support. Facing her, Alfred hurls at her invective after invective. Finally, in payment of what she has spent to help him maintain the house near Paris in which they have lived together, he furiously casts at her feet all his winnings at the gaming table. She faints in the arms of Flora and Dr. Grenvil.
The elder Germont enters in search of his son. He alone knows the real significance of the scene, but for the sake of his son and daughter cannot disclose it. A dramatic ensemble, in which Violetta sings, "Alfredo, Alfredo, di questo core non puoi comprendere tutto lamore" (Alfred, Alfred, little canst thou fathom the love within my heart for thee) brings the act to a close.
Act III. Violettas bedroom. At the back is a bed with the curtains partly drawn. A window is shut in by inside shutters. Near the bed stands a tabouret with a bottle of water, a crystal cup, and different kinds of medicine on it. In the middle of the room us a toilet-table and settee. A little apart from this is another piece of furniture upon which a night-lamp is burning. On the left is a fireplace with a fire in it.
Violetta awakens. In a weak voice she calls Annina, who, waking up confusedly, opens the shutters and looks down into the street, which is gay with carnival preparations. Dr. Grenvil is at the door. Violetta endeavours to rise, but falls back again. Then, supported by Annina, she walks slowly toward the settee. The doctor enters in time to assist her. Annina places cushions about her. To Violetta the physician cheerfully holds out hope of recovery, but to Annina he whispers, as he is leaving, that her mistress has but few hours more to live.
Violetta has received a letter from the elder Germont telling her that Alfred has been apprised by him of her sacrifice and has been sent for to come to her bedside as quickly as possible. But she has little hope that he will arrive in time. She senses the near approach of death. "Addio del passato" (Farewell to bright visions) she sighs. For this solo,
[Music excerpt]
when sung in the correct interpretive mood, should be like a sigh from the depths of a once frail, but not purified soul.
A bacchanalian chorus of carnival revelers floats up from the street. Annina, who had gone out with some money which Violetta had given her to distribute as alms, returns. Her manner is excited. Violetta is quick to perceive it and divine its significance. Annina has seen Alfred. He is waiting to be announced. The dying woman bids Annina hasten to admit him. A moment later he holds Violetta in his arms. Approaching death is forgotten. Nothing again shall part them. They will leave Paris for some quiet retreat. "Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo" (We shall fly from Paris, beloved), they sing.
[Music excerpt]
But it is too late. The hand of death is upon the womans brow. "Gran Dio! morir si giovane" (O, God! to die so young).
The elder Germont and Dr. Grenvil have come in. There is nothing to be done. The cough that racked the poor frail body has ceased. La traviata is dead.
Not only were "Il Trovatore" and "La Traviata" produced in the same year, but "La Traviata" was written between the date of "Trovatores" premiere at Rome (January 19th) and March 6th. Only four weeks in all are said to have been devoted to it, and part of the time Verdi was working on "Trovatore" as well. Nothing could better illustrate the fecundity of his genius, the facility with which he composed. But it was not the fatal facility that sacrifices real merit for temporary success. There are a few echoes of "Trovatore" in "Traviata"; but the remarkable achievement of Verdi is not in having written so beautiful an opera as "La Traviata" in so short a time, but in having produced in it a work in a style wholly different from "Il Trovatore." The latter palpitates with the passions of love, hatred, and vengeance. The setting of the action encourages these. It consists of palace gardens, castles, dungeons. But "La Traviata" plays in drawing-rooms. The music corresponds with these surroundings. It is vivacious, graceful, gentle. When it palpitates, it is with sorrow. The opera also contains a notably beautiful instrumental number -- the introduction to the third act. This was a favourite piece with Theodore Thomas. Several times -- years ago -- I heard it conducted by him at his Popular Concerts.
Oddly enough, although "Il Trovatore" is by far the more robust and at one time was, as I have stated, the most popular opera in the world, I believe that today the advantage lies with "La Traviata," and that, as between the two, there belongs to that opera the ultimate chance of survival. I explain this on the ground that, in "Il Trovatore" the hero and heroine are purely musical creations, the real character drawing, dramatically and musically, being in the role of Azucena, which, while a principal role, has not the prominence of Leonora or Manrico. In "La Traviata," on the other hand, we have in the original of Violetta -- the Marguerite Gauthier of Alexandre Dumas, fils -- one of the great creations of modern drama, the frail woman redeemed by the touch of an artist. Piave, in his libretto, preserves the character. In the opera, as in the play, one comprehends the injunction, "Let him who is not guilty throw the first stone." For Verdi has clothed Violetta in music that brings out the character so vividly and so beautifully that whenever I see "Traviata" I recall the first performance in America of the Dumas play by Bernhardt, then in her slender and supple prime, and the first American appearance in it of Duse, with her exquisite intonation and restraint of gesture.
In fact, operas survive because the librettist has known how to create a character and the composer how to match it with his musical genius. Recall the dashing Don Giovanni; the resourceful Figaro, both in the Mozart and the Rossini opera; the real interpretive quality of a mild and gracious order in the heroine of "La Sonnambula" -- innocence personified; the gloomy figure of Edgardo stalking through "Lucia di Lammermoor"; the hunchback and the titled gallant in "Rigoletto," and you can understand why these very old operas have lived so long. They are not make believe; they are real.
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What is the alternative name for the bird Philomel? | Opera Today : VERDI: La Traviata
Opera Today
The Tallis Scholars: Josquin's Missa Di dadi
‘Can great music be inspired by the throw of the dice?’ asks Peter Phillips, director of The Tallis Scholars, in his liner notes to the ensemble’s new recording of Josquin’s Missa Di dadi (The Dice Mass). The fifteenth-century artist certainly had an abundant supply of devotional imagery. As one scholar has put it, during this age there was neither ‘an object nor an action, however trivial, that [was] not constantly correlated with Christ or salvation’.
A Venetian Double: English Touring Opera
Francesco Cavalli’s La Calisto was the composer’s fifteenth opera, and the ninth to a libretto by Giovanni Faustini (1615-1651). First performed at the Teatro Sant’Apollinaire in Venice on 28th November 1651, the opera by might have been sub-titled ‘Gods Behaving Badly’, so debauched are the deities’ dalliances and deviations, so egotistical their deceptions.
Lalo: Complete Songs
Edouard Lalo (1823-92) is best known today for his instrumental works: the Symphonie espagnole (which is, despite the title, a five-movement violin concerto), the Symphony in G Minor, and perhaps some movements from his ballet Namouna, a scintillating work that the young Debussy adored.
Félicien David: Herculanum
It is not often that a major work by a forgotten composer gets rediscovered and makes an enormously favorable impression on today’s listeners. That has happened, unexpectedly, with Herculanum, a four-act grand opera by Félicien David, which in 2014 was recorded for the first time.
Félicien David: Songs for voice and piano
This well-packed disc is a delight and a revelation. Until now, even the most assiduous record collector had access to only a few of the nearly 100 songs published by Félicien David (1810-76), in recordings by such notable artists as Huguette Tourangeau, Ursula Mayer-Reinach, Udo Reinemann, and Joan Sutherland (the last-mentioned singing the duet “Les Hirondelles” with herself!).
John Taverner: Missa Corona spinea
This new release of John Taverner’s virtuosic and florid Missa Corona spinea (produced by Gimell Records) comes two years after The Tallis Scholars’ critically esteemed recording of the composer’s Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas, which topped the UK Specialist Classical Album Chart for 6 weeks, and with which the ensemble celebrated their 40th anniversary. The recording also includes Taverner’s two settings of Dum transisset Sabbatum.
Donizetti: Les Martyrs
As the editor of Opera magazine, John Allison, notes in his editorial in the June issue, Donizetti fans are currently spoilt for choice, enjoying a ‘Donizetti revival’ with productions of several of the composer’s lesser known works cropping up in houses around the world.
10 Mar 2006
VERDI: La Traviata
Could La Traviata be the opera with the most versions available on DVD? The appetite for the doomed heroine never wavers.
Giuseppe Verdi: La Traviata
Eva Mei, Piotr Bezcala, Thomas Hampson, Chorus and Orchestra of the Zurich Opera House, Franz Welser-Most (cond.)
Live from the Zurich Opera House 2005
ArtHaus 101 247 [DVD]
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The talk of last year was the production at Salzburg with Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, and Thomas Hampson; a live recording has been released on CD, and a DVD may follow. Hampson’s Papa Germont can be seen on another 2005 Traviata, directed by Jurgen Flimm and filmed in Zurich by Felix Breisach. Eva Mei and Piotr Bezcala round out the cast of the DVD.
ArtHaus has gone to some expense with the packaging. There is a slipcover for a triple-fold-out, with vivid photos from the production on every face. The booklet essay runs through the basics of the creation of Verdi’s opera, while a note on the case assures us that Flimm’s production of “discreet sets” explores “the opera’s psychological landscapes…fully and effectively…”
On the screen, the production can be seen as “discreet,” but surely some viewers will find it barren, perhaps even cheap. The backdrop consists of a folding black wall, around and through which characters appear. Some tables serve as the furnishing for Violetta’s home in act one, while in act two some lawn furniture and a plot of dirt with a few flowers (they look like cabbages from the long view) indicate the country house. The wall folds out to form the party scene at Flora’s, and for the final act Violetta’s home is bare of everything except a bed and an anachronistic electric heater in the middle of the floor.
Costumes for some of the minor characters appear fairly traditional, but the three main roles have outfits of vague time period, with Mei’s Violetta in particular looking more modern than the men, with her attractive short cut and sleek wardrobe.
In other words, for those who want a traditional, even lavish production (for all but the last act, one hopes), this production will not do. On its own terms, Flimm’s design does serve the primary objective of putting the emphasis on the human drama, and he has three fine principals to bring life to the otherwise arid environment.
But that is not to say that the direction cannot be questioned. Starting with the men, the approach to Alfredo, very well sung by Piotr Bezcala, seems wrong-headed. He is a naïf in act one, even dopey, clutching a ridiculous bouquet of fake flowers and shyly hanging back like a junior high school boy at his first dance. Bezcala has the looks to entrance most any woman, but what Violetta sees in him, as directed here, may confuse some viewers. Later Bezcala scores some dramatic points, flying into a rage at Violetta’s abandonment and ecstatically embracing her at their reunion. He also takes the high option at the end of his second act cabaletta, and with fair success.
Hampson’s Giorgio Germont takes stiff and proper as the defining characteristics of the elder Germont, to the extent that one worries when he takes a seat that the imaginary stick inside him will snap and cause grave internal injury. His love for his son comes wrenchingly into view at the end of the second act country house scene, although some of the gasps and awkward shuffling may be overdone to some viewers. He also gets the cabaletta to “Di provenza,” and sings it well enough to make one regret its absence in other productions. However, it does require that the Alfredo spend many a minute anxiously clutching Violetta’s note in agony.
But the heart and soul of any Traviata is its Violetta, and Mei took this viewer by surprise. She has been effective in some RCA recordings, and she gives a very professional performance in a recent La Sonnambula DVD. Here, she has a role that employs both her impressive coloratura and the ease of her top, best displayed by a fine high E flat at the end of act one. Throughout, she sings with graceful command of her resources.
Her acting favors dignity over pathos. In a notable exception, when Alfredo on meeting her expresses his wish that a beauty such as hers should find “immortality,” the fleeting wince of Violetta’s face rends the heart. Overall, however, in act one she may be a bit too cool, with the cries of “joy” really feeling forced. Similarly, she seems to concede to Papa Germont with less pain than some other Violettas, and when she says she will accomplish the break with Alfredo by dying, her underplaying may not convince all viewers. Act three, however, finds her right in the heart of the role, with a tear-inducing final collapse. For completists, she also sings both verses to “Addio del passato.”
Welser-Most’s conducting starts off rather cheerless and over-emphatic, especially during the “Libiamo,” but perhaps he chose to emphasize some of Verdi’s anger at bourgeoisie morality. As the opera progresses, he offers fine support.
The titles have some odd phrases: Germont calls Violetta a “sublime victim” and Violetta urges Alfredo to marry a “chaste virgin.” Well, yes, it is nice to find a chaste one, but beggars can’t be choosers. As they say.
For passionate lovers of the opera, this should be part of the collection. It can’t be called an unqualified success, but with a riveting Violetta and two fine singers in the other leads (as well as an Annina, Irene Friedli, who for once doesn’t sound a 1,000 years old), quibbles about the production and direction can be put aside. Recommended.
Chris Mullins
Los Angeles Unified School District, Secondary Literacy
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Marsala is a fortified wine from which island? | Whisky in Marsala wine casks - Whisky.com
Whisky in Marsala wine casks
Contents
5. Whisky Examples
1. The Origin
The Marsala wine is a fortified Italian wine that comes from the city of Marsala on the island of Sicily. Sicily is the big island in between Italy and Tunisia in the Mediterranean sea. The climate is mild with temperatures varying from 13°C (55°F) to 29°C(84°F). The European Community protected the term Marsala for wine that is produced inside Italy.
2. Production and post treatment
The most unique feature of the Marsala wine is the special maturation method. The locals call their special maturation method Perpetuum. This word came from the wine (not fortified) that had been produced on Sicily before. In the Perpetuum method the casks are never emptied completely. The casks are filled with the latest harvest, matured and then drawn off in respect to the necessary demand. When the next harvest is ready the casks are then filled up again. This means every Marsala wine is a combination of different vintages.
The difference between the indigenous Perpetuum wine and the Marsala wine is that the Marsala has been fortified by brandy to make it more durable on long sea journeys.
3. Effect on the taste
The Marsala wine has a sweet, complex, spicy and sometimes nutty aroma. This is also reflected in the whisky that had a Marsala wine maturation or finish.
Usually the spiciness and taste of the Marsala is used to make the famous Chicken Marsala.
4. Effect on the colour
The different Marsala wines come in different colours, ranging from dark amber to a light brown tone. The Marsala wines chosen for the whisky maturation are usually made from sweet, dark Marsala wine. So the Marsala wine finishes and maturations are usually darker than normal whiskies.
5. Whisky Examples
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Which car company produces the 'Stilo' model? | Definition and Culinary Uses of Marsala Wine
By Stacy Slinkard
Updated October 04, 2016.
Marsala wine is Italy's most famous version of fortified wine, hailing from Italy’s sunny southern region, Marsala is an ancient city on the coast of Sicily. Like its other fortified cousins - Port , Sherry , and Madeira , Marsala is a higher alcohol fortified wine (usually around 17- 20%) that is available in both sweet or dry variations. While Marsala wine is often recognized more for its use in various cooking and culinary combinations than its shipping status, this has not always been the case.
The History of Marsala Wine
During the early 1800s, England had a significant military contingent established in Marsala in response to Napolean and the French occupation of Italy. Consequently, as the British discovered the regional wine and wanted to ship it back to the homeland they employed the same strategy that they discovered for making Port in Portugal. This strategy basically consisted of adding a little grape brandy to the local still wine and voila you have a fortified wine that can endure the arduous adventure of ocean shipping without becoming unpalatable gut-rot in the process.
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How is Marsala Wine Made?
Marsala is crafted from local, indigenous white grapes – like Catarratto, Grillo (the most sought after grape for Marsala production) or the highly aromatic Inzolia grape. The ruby-colored Marsalas hail from any combination of three local red grape varietals . The fermentation of Marsala is halted by the addition of a grape brandy when the residual sugar content reaches the pre-determined levels according to the sweet/dry style the maker is shooting for. Similar to the solera system of blending various vintages of Sherry, Marsala often goes through a perpetual system, where a series of vintage blending takes place.
How Marsala Wine is Classified:
Marsala is generally classified according to its color, age, alcohol content, and sweetness/style.
Marsala Color Classifications:
Ambra (Amber colored) – made with white grapes.
Oro (Gold hues) – made with white grapes.
Rubino (Ruby colored) – made with red grapes, like Pignatello or Nerello Mascalese.
Marsala Age Classifications:
Marsala Fine – designates a Marsala wine that is aged for a minimum of one year. This is a typical cooking wine classification.
Marsala Superiore – refers to a Marsala wine that has spent up to three years in oak, but has a baseline minimum of two years in wood.
Marsala Superiore Riserva – has a minimum requirement of four years in oak and some producers will give it up to six years. This really starts the Marsala tier that you would look for to use as either an aperitif or dessert fortified wine option.
Marsala Vergine – has a minimum aging requirement of five years and may go up to seven years in oak.
Marsala Vergine Soleras – as the name implies is a Marsala blend of multiple vintages, with a minimum of five years of aging.
Marsala Stravecchio – aged a minimum of 10 years in oak.
Marsala Alcohol Content:
The lowest aging classifications typically have the lowest alcohol content. For example, Marsala Fine is typically around 17% abv and the Superiore Riserva designation starts the alcohol content of 18%+ abv.
Marsala Sweet/Dry Style Designations:
Like other wine sweet/dry designations, Marsala shares the terms: Dolce (sweet – typically denotes a residual sugar content of 100+ grams of sugar per liter), Semi Secco (semi-sweet/demi-sec – typically between 50-100 grams of sugar per liter) and Secco (dry – has a res. sugar content under the 40 grams per liter cut off). While Marsala is still known and loved as a cooking wine , in recent years the Italian wine designations have improved for this historic wine and as a result, Marsala has been gaining quality ground and catching glimpses of its former glory in the form of both an acclaimed aperitif and dessert wine .
Marsala Food Pairings:
Smoked meats, walnuts, almonds, assorted olives and soft goat cheese are good options for a dry (secco) Marsala. Opt for chocolate-based desserts and Roquefort cheese for a sweeter Marsala wine pairing. Or just whip up a tasty baked Chicken Marsala recipe and serve the same Marsala wine with the dish.
Marsala Producers to Try:
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In the 1974 comedy TV series 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum' who played the part of 'Gunner Beaumont'? | It Ain't Half Hot Mum (Series) - TV Tropes
It Ain't Half Hot Mum
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Series / It Ain't Half Hot Mum
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Clockwise from top: BSM "Shut Up" Williams, "Lofty" Sugden, and "Gloria" Beaumont.
Meet the gang 'cause the boys are here,
The boys to entertain you!
With music and laughter to help you on your way,
We're raising the rafters with a hey-hey-hey!
With songs and sketches and jokes old and new,
With us about, you won't feel blue!
So meet the gang 'cause the boys are here,
The boys to entertain you!
B-O-Y-S - boys to entertain you!
Yet another vintage BBC sitcom from before the days of political correctness. It Ain't Half Hot, Mum was written by the creators of Dad's Army and featured many of the same tropes and stock characters. The show, which broadcast between 1974 and 1981, was about the adventures of a Royal Artillery Concert Party stationed in India (later Burma) during World War II.
Nominally in charge of things were officers Lieutenant Colonel Charles Reynolds (Donald Hewlett), a stereotypical, stiff-upper-lip British army officer, and Captain Jonathan Ashwood (Michael Knowles), Reynolds' none too bright second-in-command. Actually in charge of things was the hard-as-nails Battery Sergeant Major Bryn "Shut Up" Williams (Windsor Davies), the only true soldier among the main cast, and always quick to seize any excuse to berate the motley assortment of actors and musicians under his command.
The performers included Jewish Bombardiernote Equivalent to a corporal. "Solly" Solomons (George Layton), the resident leading man; effeminate Gunner/Bombardier "Gloria" Beaumont (Melvyn Hayes), the resident leading lady; comically short and fat Gunner Harold "Lofty" Sugden (Don Estelle), who possessed a remarkable singing voice; inept but eager ventriloquist Gunner Nigel "Parky" Parkins (Christopher Mitchell), whom Williams suspects might be his son as he had a romantic affair with Parkins' mother years earlier; upper-class, university-educated pianist Gunner Jonathan "Paderewski" Graham (John Clegg); tough Scottish strongman Gunner "Atlas" Mackintosh (Stuart McGugan); bird caller and later George Formby impersonator Gunner "Nobby" Clark (Kenneth MacDonald); and the perpetually eating paper tearer Gunner "Nosher" Evans (Mike Kinsey).
Natives included "bearer" Rangi Ram (Michael Bates),note Bates, though Caucasian, was at least born in India. a confidante to all; "char wallah" Mohammed (Dino Shafeek), who sold tea from a kettle and later replaced Rangi as bearer following Bates' death; Indian "punkah wallah" Rumzan (Babar Bhatti), who frequently displayed Hidden Depths of intelligence and savvy; and Chinese cook Ah Syn (Andy Ho), who replaced Rumzan in the final series.
Common plot devices included conflict with the Indian locals, Sergeant Major's belief that Gunner Parkins might be his son, and his attempts to have the Concert Party "posted up the jungle". Eventually he was successful, and from the fifth series onwards the action relocated to Burma. The Concert Party would usually perform a musical number Once an Episode .
Tropes included:
AB Negative : In the episode "It's a Wise Child", Rangi steals Williams and Parkins' medical records, and the Concert Party discover that Parkins has Type O blood while Williams has Type AB blood, meaning he cannot be Parkins' father. However, since this would remove Williams' reason to keep Parkins from being posted up the jungle, throwing the door open to the rest of them being likewise posted, they doctor Parkins' record to list his blood type as AB before Williams can see it.
Acceptable Targets : Used and subverted in-universe when the Concert Party appears in a propaganda film for the US Army, but the men are horrified at the portrayal of both the British Army and the Japanese. When Graham asks a US officer if all Japanese people really have buck teeth and defective eyesight, he is told "They do for American audiences!" Eventually, Sugden accidentally erases the film, and all breathe a sigh of relief.
Armed Farces : The officers are Upper Class Twits , the non-commissioned officer is a brute, the enlisted men are various flavours of liabilities, layabouts, and ne'er-do-wells... it's the armed farces, all right.
Beware the Nice Ones : In the episode "Monsoon Madness", Sugden is driven insane by the heat and attempts to kill Sergeant Major Williams.
Big "SHUT UP!" : Williams is pretty much the king of this trope, to the point that his nickname among the Concert Party is "Shut up".
Bilingual Bonus : The Urdu spoken by the Indian characters is real.
Boomerang Bigot : Rangi dismisses the other Indians as 'ignorant natives' and uses phrases like 'we British' when talking to the crew. Michael Bates based this aspect of the character on similar encounters he'd had with social-climbing Indians in British India.
British Stuffiness : Colonel Reynolds and Captain Ashwood.
Catch Phrase :
Sergeant Major Williams has several: "SHUT UP!", his stock reaction to attempts by the men to protest against his orders or outwit him; "Lovely Boy", a favoured way to address members of the Concert Party when he isn't barking orders at them; "Oh dear. How sad. Never mind", his stock dismissal of excuses offered to get out of following his orders; and "Mr La-di-da Gunner Graham", his reaction to the university-educated Graham's eloquent attempts to reason with him.
Captain Ashwood's catchphrases included "That's rather a tricky one, sir", his reaction to the many questions or explanations for which he had no immediate answer, and "Carry on, chaps!", his favourite valediction as he left the performers and Williams to their own devices.
Rangi Ram's catchphrases include "You know, there is an old Hindu proverb which say ..." followed by a "proverb" which may or may not be relevant to the current situation, and "Don't be such clever dickie!", his preferred way to chastise Mohammed or Rumzan.
"Gloria" Beaumont's words of choice for expressing his anguish at the conditions in the jungle are, "I can't stand it!"
Character Outlives Actor : Michael Bates, who played bearer Rangi Ram, died of cancer in 1978 between Series 5 and 6. The character was written out of the remaining three series.
Deadpan Snarker : Sergeant Major Williams.
(a visiting officer has tasked the Concert Party with delivering the monthly bribe to a local bandit leader)
Captain Owen: In his own words, he wants it to be delivered "by the ladies who dress up as soldiers during the daytime."
Ashwood: (looks confused) Surely he means the soldiers who dress up as ladies?
Williams: That's a matter of opinion, sir.
Double Entendre : As with most Perry/Croft series, a fair amount of the humour revolves around innocent phrases with sexual connotations. For example, in "Meet the Gang", Ashwood is standing outside the battery office window dejectedly remarking that "it" shrivels up when exposed to the hot Indian sun, and invites a shocked Williams to take a look. A reverse angle shot finally reveals that he is referring to his unsuccessful attempts to cultivate a window box garden.
Drill Sergeant Nasty : Williams never misses a chance to belittle and berate the men under his command, determined to make real soldiers out of these pansy performing artists.
Even the Guys Want Him : Slight twist on this one with Beaumont, who in several episodes is mistaken for a real woman by sex-starved soldiers.
Frozen in Time : The series lasted seven years, one more than the real World War II - and the events cover just over four months in 1945 (May to September 1945; V-E Day is announced in Series 1, while V-J Day occurs in Series 8).
Grand Finale : Series 8 covers the last weeks of the war in 1945; in the final episode, the characters return to Britain to receive the ration books and complimentary suits of clothes given to all demobilised soldiers, and they discuss what they have planned for their returns to civilian life. Mohammed, meanwhile, writes to Beaumont that he is gearing up to follow them back to England and open a restaurant.
Hypocritical Humor : Rangi derides the Indian locals as "coolies" and "natives" despite being Indian himself (as mentioned under Boomerang Bigot , this was a real attitude among socially ambitious Indians during the later years of the British Raj).
It Will Never Catch On : Reynolds and Ashwood's plans for after the war involve television and laundromats. Neither thinks the other has much chance of success.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold : Sergeant Major Williams may be loud and blustery, but he'll defend those he cares about to the death, especially Parkins (whose mother is a former girlfriend of his).
Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe : Parkins' mother, Edith, was simultaneously involved with both Williams and the man she ended up marrying when Parkins was conceived, leading Williams to think he might be Parkins' father. Parkins is horrified by the idea (and even Williams isn't that thrilled as he witnesses Parkins' incompetence at everything he tries to do), and is relieved when a look at their medical records in "It's a Wise Child"note As in, "It's a wise child who knows his own father." reveals that his father probably is his mother's husband after all.
Modern Minstrelsy : Rangi was played by a white (though Indian-born) actor in "blackface".
Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying over You : In one episode the Concert Party find themselves behind enemy lines and are given a mission to blow up a bridge to cut-off the Japanese retreat, which is then cancelled at the last minute after Lofty's sent to set the charge in place. After trying three times to let him know they see the raft coming back and explode, causing them to mourn Lofty with Williams offering a eulogy just as Lofty comes back from where he got out of the river. When Williams finally sees him he's positively raging.
Proverbial Wisdom : Parodied with the native bearer Rangi Ram, who would often close an episode with "There is an old Hindu proverb, which say..."
Reassigned to Antarctica : Williams repeatedly threatens to have the Concert Party "posted up the jungle".
Scooby-Dooby Doors : In one episode where four of the men think they have arranged a romantic tryst with Mrs Waddilove-Evans and/or her maid. All go over to the house and rush in and out of the various doors to the same room, narrowly missing each other every time.
Screams Like a Little Girl : Beaumont, at ear-shattering pitch.
The Short Guy with Glasses : Sugden. To quote Williams, "Is it a mushroom? No. Is it a soldier? No. It's Gunner Sugden!"
Shotgun Wedding : Parkins' parents are implied to have had one of these, as he was born barely nine months after they were married.
Shout-Out : At one point, Williams says, "What about that ventriloquist? He did a turn with a fox. I mean, whoever 'eard of a fox talking?" This is a poke at popular children's series The Basil Brush Show , the title character in which is... a fox puppet.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute : Averted when George Layton (Solomons) left and Michael Bates (Rangi) died. No one was brought in to replace them but Gloria and Mohammed were promoted to Bombardier and Bearer respectively. When the actor playing Rumzan left in the final series, he got a Suspiciously Similar Substitute in the form of the cook Ah Syn.
Swing Low, Sweet Harriet : In one episode of the show Gloria is desperate to get right a number that involves him playing a beautiful girl on a garden swing. He gets hurt when Sergeant Major pushes him off the swing, and Sergeant Major is forced to take his place!
Title Drop : In the first episode, when Parkins writes to his mother, and the last episode, when Mohammed writes to Beaumont.
The Unintelligible : Rumzan, at least to those who don't speak Urdu. He drops a few English words at the end of each sentence to convey the gist of what he has just said in Urdu.
| Melvyn Hayes |
Who was the first woman, after the Queen, to be featured on the reverse of a British banknote? | Whatever happened to... It Ain't Half Hot Mum's Gunner Beaumont | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV | Daily Express
CELEBRITY NEWS
Whatever happened to... It Ain't Half Hot Mum's Gunner Beaumont
ACTOR Melvyn Hayes appeared in the Cliff Richard movies The Young Ones, Summer Holiday and Wonderful Life but he's best remembered as Gunner "Gloria" Beaumont in sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974-81).
14:18, Fri, Jul 12, 2013
Melvyn Hayes as Gunner Beaumont in It Ain't Half Hot Mum
Now 78, Melvyn lives on the Isle of Wight with third wife, actress Jayne Male. He has five daughters, one son and three foster children.
"On leaving grammar school in Battersea in the late 1940s, I didn't know what to do with my life. Because I'm short, everyone suggested becoming a jockey.
"I secured a trial at a stables but discovered I didn't like horses. After a fortnight I left and got a job with the News Chronicle, carrying printers' blocks up and down Fleet Street.
"At 15, I got a job at London's Comedy Theatre, assisting the Great Masoni, a magician, with his Indian rope trick. Tat was the start of my career, earning £4 a week.
"Afterwards, I worked in repertory theatres before beginning my screen career in the 50s. Early credits included the films The Man Who Loved Redheads and The Curse Of Frankenstein.
"My first movie with Cliff Richard was The Young Ones. The American choreographer persuaded me to dye my hair blond, a style I kept for Summer Holiday and Wonderful Life. Cliff was wonderful to work with.
"As well as films, I've made many TV appearances, beginning in the early days with shows like Quatermass, Billy Bunter Of Greyfiars School and Dixon Of Dock Green.
"But most people remember me for Gunner Beaumont, nicknamed Gloria, in It Ain't Half Hot Mum. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Crof, who also produced the sitcom.
"Gunner Beaumont was very effeminate and David had originally wanted John Inman for the role. I'd never played that kind of character before. After about six series, Jimmy and David wrote an episode where I had the chance to be butch for once after a coconut fell and bumped my character on the head.
"Jungle scenes were filmed on location in King's Lynn and, later, Farnborough. Te outdoor scenes were always shot during October and November. Invariably, it was freezing, especially filming river scenes.
My first movie with Cliff Richard was The Young Ones. He was wonderful to work with
Melvyn Hayes
"Over the years, I've appeared in plenty of pantos and stage shows. Some have even taken me abroad, such as a ten-week tour of the Middle East and Far East in Habeas Corpus.
"In fact, I met my wife, Jayne, on tour. We were in Te Dresser and a scene required me to slap her across the face. I couldn't because I fancied her too much. In the end, I had no choice. When she began crying on stage, I thought, 'What a great actress.' But she was still crying in the interval and I started worrying I'd broken her jaw!
"In recent years, I've appeared as Michael Rawlins in EastEnders. I played a driving instructor who fell for Dot Coton. I did about ten episodes and it's great being able to say I've done EastEnders.
"I've been lucky during my career and have worked most of my life. I'm still very busy and in the last couple of years have appeared in, among others, The Legend Of Dick And Dom and an episode of Benidorm, playing Mr Pink, a role written for me.
"Last Christmas, I finished a six-month theatre tour of You're Only Young Twice, which was great fun and now I'm writing my autobiography. For the last six years, I've lived on the Isle of Wight. It's a lovely, relaxing spot and everyone's friendly. What more could you ask for?"
For more information on Melvyn, visit www.melvynhayes.com.
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| i don't know |
Which flower has the Latin name Convallaria majelis? | convallaria majalis Lily Of The Valley, European lily of the valley PFAF Plant Database
Bloom Color: White. Main Bloom Time: Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Spreading or horizontal.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:390_Convallaria_majalis.jpg
Physical Characteristics
convallaria majalis is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in) by 0.3 m (1ft) at a fast rate.
It is hardy to zone (UK) 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies, self.The plant is self-fertile.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry moist or wet soil.
Synonyms
Convallaria bracteata. Convallaria fragrans. Convallaria latifolia. Polygonatum majale.
Habitats
Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; not Deep Shade; Ground Cover; Bog Garden;
Edible Uses
A wine can be prepared from the flowers, mixed with raisins[183].
Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Laxative ; Poultice ; Sedative .
Lily of the valley has a long and proven reputation in herbal medicine in the treatment of heart complaints. It contains the glycosides convallarin and convallamarin which are powerful cardiac tonics and diuretics and are also used in allopathic medicine[244]. However, because of the plants potential toxic properties it should never be used without expert advice[9]. All parts of the plant are antispasmodic, cardiotonic, strongly diuretic, emetic, febrifuge, laxative and sedative[4, 7, 9, 21, 46, 165, 222, 254]. The plant is usually harvested when in flower and can be dried for later use[4], though it is stronger acting when fresh[238]. The inflorescence is said to be the most active medicinally and is often harvested separately[4]. An infusion of the flowers and roots is a digitalis substitute (obtained from Digitalis species), though less powerful, that is especially useful in the treatment of valvula heart diseases, cardiac debility, dropsy and chronic lung problems such as emphysema[4, 222, 254]. Lily of the valley encourages the heart to beat more slowly, regularly and efficiently, at the same time it is strongly diuretic, reducing blood volume and lowering blood pressure[254]. Its effect is less cumulative than digitalis which makes it safer for elderly patients[238]. It is often prescribed combined with the fruits of Crataegus spp[238]. An ointment made from the roots is used in the treatment of burns and to prevent scar tissue[222]. The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Convallaria majalis : Lily Of The Valley for arrhythmia, cardiac insufficiency, nervous heart complaints (see [302] for critics of commission E).
Other Uses
Dye ; Essential .
An essential oil is obtained from the flowers[46, 171]. It is used in perfumery and for snuff[238]. A green dye is obtained from the leaves in spring[13, 14, 115]. A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves in autumn[14]. Plants can be grown as a ground cover in woodland shade or in a shrubbery[200, 208]. As a garden ornamental it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Cultivation details
Landscape Uses:Border, Container, Erosion control, Ground cover, Massing, Specimen, Woodland. garden Succeeds in almost any situation, including the dense dry shade of large trees[1, 4, 24]. Prefers a position in semi-shade in a moderately fertile well-drained moist woodland soil[200, 208]. Grows well in heavy clay, sand or chalky soils[208]. Dislikes pure clay soils and boggy sites[233]. Plants are hardy to -20°c or lower[200]. A polymorphic species[200]. It is a very ornamental plant, though it can become very invasive once it is established[28]. Plants can take a couple of years to become established[208]. There are several named varieties, selected for their ornamental value[233]. The flowers are sweetly scented[245]. Lily of the valley is occasionally cultivated as a medicinal plant for herbalists and allopaths. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233]. A good bee plant[4]. Special Features: Not North American native, Naturalizing, All or parts of this plant are poisonous, Suitable for cut flowers, Fragrant flowers.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe, otherwise in late winter, in a cold frame[164]. Germination, particularly of stored seed can be very slow, taking 2 - 12 months or more at 15°c[164]. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings can be allowed to grow on undisturbed in the pot for their first year. Apply a liquid feed during the growing season to ensure that the seedlings are well fed. Divide the young plants into individual pots when they die down in late summer and grow them on in pots in a shady position in a cold frame for at least another year before planting them out into their permanent positions when they are dormant[K]. Division in September[111]. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Other Names
European lily of the valley, lily-of-the-valley
Found In
Native throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere in Asia, and Europe. In Europe it it largely avoids the Mediterranean and Atlantic margins. Convallaria majalis var. manschurica occurs in Japan and parts of eastern Asia. Convallaria majalis var. montana occurs in the Eastern United States.
Weed Potential
Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.
This plant can be weedy or invasive.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status : This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Related Plants
| The Lily of the Valley |
Which Cricket county's Twenty/20 team are known as the 'Dynamos'? | Convallaria majalis - Plant Finder
Plant Finder
Tried and Trouble-free Recommended by 8 Professionals
Common Name: lily of the valley
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Native Range: Northern temperate regions
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Spread: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: April
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize
Flower: Showy, Fragrant, Good Cut
Tolerate: Rabbit, Deer, Heavy Shade, Erosion, Clay Soil
Garden locations
Culture
Easily grown in moist, fertile, organically rich, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. Performs well in sun-dappled shade. In optimum growing conditions, it will spread rapidly by rhizomes, almost to the point of being weedy, to form dense colonies in the landscape. This is a long-lived plant which naturalizes easily in woodland areas and may be left undisturbed for many years. Flowering may decrease over time, however, at which point dividing the plants may become appropriate. This is a cool weather perennial which is not recommended for growing in hot and humid summer climates south of USDA Zone 7a where it will perform poorly. May easily be propagated in spring or fall by root division.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Convallaria majalis, commonly known as lily-of-the-valley, is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial that that typically forms an indefinitely-spreading ground cover to 8-12” tall. It is native to Europe, but has escaped cultivation and naturalized over time throughout much of temperate eastern and central North America plus parts of the Northwestern U.S. Foliage and flowers make this an attractive and beloved shade garden wildflower. Each plant has 2 to 3 parallel-veined lanceolate-ovate to elliptic green leaves (to 5-10” long and to 1-3” wide). In spring, an erect to slightly arching flowering stem rises from the center of each leaf clump bearing a one-sided raceme (to 4-9” long) of nodding, bell-shaped, sweetly fragrant, white flowers (corollas to 1/3” long) which bloom in early to mid-spring. Each raceme typically contains 5-10 flowers. Globoid orange-red berries may appear in fall, each berry containing 1-6 seeds.
All parts of this plant are very poisonous because they contain cardiac glycosides.
Genus name comes from the Latin word convallis meaning a valley.
Specific epithet means of or belonging to May in reference to the month of flowering.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for aphids and spider mites. Stem rot, leaf spot, leaf blotch and anthracnose may appear but usually are not significant deterrents to growing this plant. Foliage decline will occur in hot summers.
Garden Uses
Best as a ground cover for shady areas where aggressive spread is desired. May be too rambunctious for shady areas of rock gardens or borders. Popular cut flower. Performs well under the shade of trees and shrubs.
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In which 'James Bond' film did the character 'Honey Ryder' appear? | Honey Ryder - James Bond Characters
Dr. No (1962)
The Character in the Movie
Honey Ryder was the leading Bond girl in Dr. No (1962). She was played by Ursula Andress, however due to her strong accent she was dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl. Earlier on in her life she travelled all around the Caribbean with her father, a marine biologist, studying the plants and fish in the many corals they visited. Her father died mysteriously when visiting crab key, an island just of the coast of Jamaica, although Honey knew it was no accident. Dr. No 's men had killed him.
After her father died and she had no one left to protect her, her landlord raped her. She didn't let this go unpunished however and one night when he was asleep, she put a black widow spider under his mosquito net. It took him a whole week to die. Since her fathers death she lived alone and collected rare shells to make money. She seemed to be able to defend herself and she wasn't scared of Bond when she first met him. However she was scared when the diesel dragon came after them and Dr. No's men captured her and Bond.
Later on, Honey was tied down near and the slowly rising water level would have drowned her, but Bond escaped and rescued her. Bond and Honey ran out of the place and stole a boat in which they drifted off into the sea, finally alone.
The character in the book
In Ian Fleming's novel Dr. No (1958), Honeychile Rider was a girl who had lived in a large house in the middle of a sugar cane field in the Beau Desert on the North coast near Morgan's harbour. When she was five, her parents were killed in a fire that burned down their home. After that, she lived in the cellars of the ruin's with her black nanny. Once when the cane was harvested, some of the snakes, scorpions and other animals who had lost their homes, came into the ruins and after a while they became like family to Honey, who fed them and looked after them. They would leave when the cane grew back and return to her when it was harvested again.
When she was 15, her nanny died and she was left to fend for herself. A man named Mander, who owned the cane field came into the ruins drunk one day. Honey tried to stab him, but he was too strong. He punched her, knocking her out and breaking her nose and then raped her. Honey got her revenge by putting a black widow spider in his bed one night when he was sleeping.
When she was eight, her nanny had found an encyclopedia among the ruins and Honey started at A. When she got to S at around age 18, she saw that some people sell shell's for a living. She used the only money she had to subscribe to a magazine and collected the shell's people were looking for. After she realized pretty shell's were not always the most valuable, she started collecting rare ones and made some money.
She started going to crab key and she found some rare shell's that she got $5 each for. She worked out that she could pay for an operation to get her nose fixed in New York in just five years. She was at Crab Key, diving for shells when Bond first saw her. She was naked besides a leather belt with a hunting knife on her right hip and a green diving mask. She looked strong and muscular and had a wide mouth, deep blue eyes and blond hair. When Dr. No's men come with dogs to search for them, she reveals that she has escaped them many times and suggests hiding underwater, using bamboo sticks to breath.
Her and bond were later captured, and Honey was tied to some rocks where she would eventually be eaten by crabs. She didn't die however, and managed to escape and meet up with Bond. She then left the island with him and they went together to New York where Bond payed for her nose operation.
Honey was a very independent girl who had never been out of Jamaica. She only knew a world of nature before meeting Bond.
Trivia and References to Honey Ryder
In the 2001 James Bond movie Die Another Day, the leading Bond girl Jinx (played by Halle Berry) had a similar entrance to that of Honey Rider, walking out of the sea in a bikini, although in an orange bikini this time.
In the music video for her song Honey, Mariah Carey mimics the scene where Honey walks out of the water in a bikini.
| Dr. No |
Who was the lyricist partner of Richard Rogers prior to Oscar Hammerstein? | James Bond (character) | Uncyclopedia | Fandom powered by Wikia
And now you're dead .
The name's Bond... James Bond, an iconic character that has lit up the imaginations of young men for generations. With his Walther PPK, his Aston Martin DB5, and his Gillette razor , Bond has tackled evil villains and saved the world on 24 thrilling cinematic occasions (plus one unofficial one). He is a symbol of rugged masculinity, suave sophistication, and British imperialism. This is a winning formula that should not be messed with.
Contents
Books
Fleming, enjoying his luxurious beach holiday.
If James Bond is Jesus, then Ian Fleming is the bloke who wrote The Bible . Between 1953 and 1965, Fleming wrote fourteen books that would make up the Bond testament. It is from his sacred texts that we get M, Q, Moneypenny, and Nic Nac. His works were later parodied in the Monty Python film, The Life of Austin Powers.
In giving the world the gift of Bond, Fleming gave a part of himself. During the Second World War, Fleming worked for the British Intelligence Service , excelling within this shadowy world of secrets and spymastery. The young officer spent his time in intelligence headquarters dreaming up daring examples of British ingenuity and bravery. If jetpacks and poison-arrow-shooting watches had been invented by the 1940s, some of these plans would surely have been put into action.
For those without comedic tastes, the self-proclaimed experts at Wikipedia have an article about James Bond (character) .
After the war, Fleming went and worked for a newspaper . As he sat at his desk, reporting on the nation's fattest cats and longest-married couples, Fleming's mind would wander to his secret service past. This did have an effect on his work.
“
Pussy tucked into her fifth bowl of Whiskers that day. It sat there, having been lightly shaken into the bowl by Pussy's owner, Mrs Beswick, the spoon long since cast aside. Beswick knew the dangers that such a massive consumption of meaty chunks could bring for a cat, but she would not let these worries stand in the way. For she had her plan . Pussy was to be the biggest, most powerful feline in the world.
”
Eventually, someone suggested to Fleming that he write a spy novel. It turned out that he was a natural at it. Every year, Fleming would travel to his Goldeneye resort in Jamaica . There, amongst the golden beaches and crystalline blue sea, Fleming would lock himself in an airless room with a typewriter , facing the wall. He was a bit weird, really. But Fleming was a genius nonetheless and his novels were exported from Jamaica faster than marijuana . It was only a matter of time before the books were turned into films.
The Men with the Licence to Kill
Look at him. He doesn't care what anybody thinks. He's going to enjoy his cigarette and then go have sex with a supervillain's girlfriend.
Some were old, some were young, some were funny, some were serious , some were English , some were Scottish . One of them was Welsh, which was just disgusting. While they have their differences, they all share a common love for killing people and forcing themselves upon women, and for that, we love them. They are our Bonds.
Sean Connery
Sean Connery wasn't just a Scottish milkman with a preponderance for overusing "sh" sounds . He wasn't just the first Bond. He was the Bond. The strategy of hiring an unknown, inexperienced actor who was able to take part in the film's daring stunts was a masterstroke. With his work on Dr. No , Connery redefined the role of 007, before anyone else had even had a go. He was cool, but he was also cold and cruel. Connery's Bond was a man you could believe in: tall, strong, handsome, and with a powerful sex appeal.
With the best Bond ever at the helm, the new series of Bond films was a magnificent success. Scores of eager fans would queue up at the overflowing cinemas to catch a glimpse of the dashing Scot's powerful sex appeal in such classics as Dr. No, Goldfinger , and Thunderball , all the while speculating on whether this Bond would go on to be the best of all time. They were right. He would be the best 007.
Connery brought a gritty realism to the role of Bond. There is a determination in his eyes that is always there, whether he is fighting SPECTRE, dodging poison tipped high heels, or protecting his money in a Caribbean tax haven.
Connery made six classic Bond films, before he was ridiculously cast aside for being too old. However, you can never keep a good 007 down. He would be back in an unofficial Bond film: Never Say Never Again. He may have been in his fifties, but age is irrelevant when you have the power and sex appeal of Connery. The film was a roaring, point-proving success and was by far the best unofficial Bond film ever made. Connery could have been Bond to this day, and the movies, despite his age, would have been the greatest ever.
George Lazenby
Wait, he looks nothing like Connery. His face is all wrong. And he looks suspiciously Australian .
When the Bond producers made the heinous and misguided decision to replace Sean Connery with a younger actor in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service , they committed the biggest, most sacrilegious error in Bond history. The man they hired in his place was a novice actor whose selection was based entirely on his looks and ability to perform stunts. It was madness.
George Lazenby appeared in only one Bond movie, which was a disaster. It made less money than Sean Connery's films, it was less popular with critics than Sean Connery's films and featured fewer images of Sean Connery than Sean Connery's films.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service featured many outrageous misjudgements, which mar the film and the series. Bond appears in a kilt (a slap in the face to the Scottish Connery), masquerades as a homosexual (a slap in the face to the powerfully heterosexual Connery) and breaks the fourth wall by talking to the audience (a slap in the face to Connery, who hated his fans). Perhaps worst of all, Lazenby utilises a huge and unwieldy safe-cracking device, which is far less advanced than one used in a previous Connery film. Are we supposed to believe technology went backwards in the intervening two years? The film is most remembered for the ending, where Bond marries his Bond girl, Tracy, who is then killed, presumably for having such a boring name. Bond cries over her dead body. In this moment, James Bond becomes a pussy.
Roger Moore
In all Fleming's novels, the phrase "raised eyebrow" does not appear once.
Before Sean Connery was offered the role of best Bond ever, Ian Fleming had recommended Roger Moore for the part. In many ways it was a blessing that Fleming did not live long enough to see himself proved so utterly wrong.
Under Moore's stewardship the Bond franchise became one big joke. Ridiculously smutty names (Dr Holly Goodhead, Mary Goodnight, Lady Bettie Greatlay, Jane Swallowspunk), ridiculously over the top henchmen and Grace Jones all blighted the era. With quips and double entendres, Moore brought a tongue-in-cheek approach to a firmly tongue-out-of-cheek role. This comedy was taken to its extreme when Bond dressed up as a clown to sneak into a circus in Octopussy . The "Twenty Bonds tumble out of an Aston Martin" scene was cut from the final production.
Despite his many glaring flaws and cringe-inducing innuendos, Moore "kept the British end up" as Bond in seven films. Seven! That's more than Connery! Moore didn't do a decent one after his third, yet they let him do four more! By the time Moore starred in his final 007 adventure, however, he was almost sixty years old and could keep the British end up no longer. With "0070", it was less A View to a Kill and more A Squint at a Slow Descent Into Senility.
However, do note that James Bond is meant to be a posh, upperclass Englishman...ENGLISH, not Scottish, Irish or Jamaican. So unfortunately, Moore is the only real bond.
Timothy Dalton
Maybe if he held a guitar, he'd be less dull. Nope.
When Timothy Dalton became the fourth man to play Bond, he brought in a much grittier, darker interpretation of the secret agent. He was dull. Where had the humour gone? Where were the witty asides that could charm the pants off (a then still unfortunately male) M? With Dalton as leading man there was a 63% decrease in double entendres and a 39% increase in nerdy superfluous detail.
Dalton's Bond was also a coward, as evidenced by the start of The Living Daylights , where he refuses to shoot a female
hitman
hitperson
assassin. In fact, the most memorable scene of the film features him sliding downhill on a cello; sliding away from the bad guys. Real men use cars. Furthermore, Dalton's Bond was unpatriotic. In Licence To Kill he leaves the secret service to embark on a revenge mission, abandoning his responsibility to his country in a manner Bond never would. He didn't have a Union Jack parachute either.
Dalton's entire persona was an abject failure. Where once Bond had made a witty aside, played a hand of baccarat and proceeded to calmly shoot dead a supervillian with his silenced Walther PPK, Dalton's Bond grunted, put some money on the pools, and clubbed a henchman from behind with a sock full of coins.
Dalton was contracted to do three films, but various legal disputes held up filming after the second was released. After five years of the Hollywood equivalent of turning off the lights and hiding behind the sofa until your boring relatives go away, Dalton finally got the hint and quit the role.
Pierce Brosnan
There are no Russians around. Let's drink like real Irish !
When James Bond stepped back onto our screens in 1995, he returned to a different world. The Cold War had ended and we were now friends with the Russians. So who was Bond going to kill? The answer to that question is (Russian) petty criminals and media tycoons. While it was nice to see Bond slap around Rupert Murdoch, it lacked the epic history-making spectacle of the Connery past. By the time attentions were turned to North Korea, it was too late. One can only hope that Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev , continues his efforts to renew hostilities with the West.
The Bond of the 1990s was also different. He was Irish. Pierce Brosnan, who had previously found fame in Mrs. Doubtfire, became the fifth man to play 007. His Bond lacked the serious grittiness that the role required, replacing it with gadgets, lots of gadgets . Brosnan's O'Bond used an exploding pen, an invisible car, a virtual reality fighting simulator and CGI to help him save the world. Over the course of Brosnan's four films, Q branch worked overtime, so much so that they had to bring in the disastrously miscast John Cleese as R to help. Not only did Cleese get the better of Bond verbally, but, by having Cleese stand next to a man in a dinner suit, Bond was turned into Manuel from Fawlty Towers. Sean Connery's Bond would never have stood for such treatment. Sean Connery's Bond would have slapped Cleese across the mouth and then had sex with someone's granddaughter.
Daniel Craig
He's not even wearing a tie. Make an effort blondie!
Take a look up the page and study the pictures. Now look to the left. Doesn't look much like James Bond does he? With his blond hair and blue eyes , Daniel Craig is more Barbie than Bond. Cubby Broccoli would have kicked him out of the audition room before he'd said a word. He knew that a blond playing Bond would be as ridiculous as a thin man playing Henry VIII or a northerner playing Doctor Who.
The most famous scene from Craig's first film, Casino Royale, shows him strutting out of the ocean modelling tiny swimming trunks, like a tart. By parading himself in such a way, Craig has become the first Bond boy. This is meant to be some kind of post-modern irony. All it does is make his Bond into a bit of a girl . While all the ladies, who find Bond too violent, gush over his abs and rock hard pecs, the real Bond fans know that this is not the body of a 007. Britain's finest spy should have a powerful, burly physique, with a small forest of hair on his chest. Bond should look like he got his body from wrestling metal-jawed giants in the daytime and then wrestling women into his bedroom in the evening. Craig looks like he got his body from lifting weights, probably whilst wearing a leotard in his local LA Fitness , next door to the waxing salon.
Bond music
There is only one way to make a Bond theme. The atmospheric brass, the stirring strings, the big, bombastic voice of a Jones or Sinatra . All these are essential music-making kit for a 007. Sadly, there hasn't been a decent James Bond theme since Carly Simon sang "Nobody does it better" for The Spy Who Loved Me .
It should be easy to create a stylish, glitzy, show song, that is new and refreshing, but also exactly mirrors the classics of Bond's 1960s prime. Yet, somehow, Duran Duran , Garbage and Jack White have all failed to emulate Shirley Bassey. Worst of all was Madonna's tinny, tuneless and tinnitus-inducing theme for Die Another Day. The last thing Bond needed was a gyrating grandmother waggling her vagina across the official Bond soundtrack. We'd already had Roger Moore.
Highlights of Bond's cinematic legacy
Is that Bond? He looks so different!
Bond converts a lesbian. Her name was Pussy Galore , the trusted pilot of nefarious villain, Goldfinger. For once, Bond had found a woman immune to his subtle charms. Or so she thought. While Pussy claimed to prefer her namesake, Bond knew she'd be no match for his sophisticated seduction technique: force. Lesbian or not, no woman could resist James's cheeky pin-her-down-in-a-barn-and-ignore-her-screams manoeuvre . They taught that at Eton .
A master of disguise. Having faked his own death at the start of You Only Live Twice, Bond needed to take on an elaborate disguise to mask his second life . His cohort, Tanaka, suggested he could become an authentic Japanese fisherman. So, in between training with the elite ninjas of Japan's secret service, Bond underwent a complex skin pigmentation procedure and was given a new wig. The transformation was complete when Japan's finest scantily-clad cosmetic technicians gave him authentic slitty eyes by way of hand crafted implant. Bond looked a completely new man. To celebrate this, he took part in a traditional Japanese marriage ceremony, the purpose of which one needs expert knowledge of modern espionage to fully comprehend.
Dripping Honey. In Doctor No, the first Bond girl , Honey Ryder, made an entrance from the sea that no man or bikini salesperson would ever forget. Singing a delightful song about mango trees, she was there to collect sea shells by the sea shore. But her role wasn't just to mock Connery's troubles with the letter "s," this lady could look after herself too. Her bikini came with a knife.
Shark! Thunderball's villainous protagonist, Largo, not only set new standards for the stylish use of eye patches, he also was an innovative trend-setter in creative murder. Locking Bond and an expendable guard in a swimming pool which was soon to be home to a swarm of hungry sharks , was a beautiful example of the art of the kill. Bond had nowhere to go. That is apart from going through the entrance the sharks were coming down. With his impossibly tiny breathing apparatus, Bond managed to reach the sharks' stylishly unattended home enclosure and walk free. Largo's plan may have failed on this occasion, but his ingenuity would inspire unlucky supervillains for decades to come.
These are just the tip of the iceberg amongst many moments that will live long in the memory of devoted fans worldwide. They may never be surpassed, but as long as James Bond is still indisputably better than Jason Bourne , E-ON films will continue producing the best series of films ever conceived.
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By what name is the English entertainer and Disc Jockey James Wilson Vincent better known? | Jimmy Savile Video - Jimmy Savile Net Worth
Jimmy Savile Video
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Jimmy Savile
Jimmy Savile Net Worth is $30 Million. Jimmy Savile is Presenter | Disc jockey. Jimmy Savile Date of Birth is 1926-10-31. Jimmy Savile Nickname is Jimmy Saville, James Wilson Vincent Savile, Savile, Jimmy. Jimmy Savile Height is 1.74 m. Jimmy Savile Country is Leeds.. Sir James W...
Jimmy Savile Net Worth is $30 Million.
Jimmy Savile Net Worth is $30 Million. Jimmy Savile is Presenter | Disc jockey. Jimmy Savile Date of Birth is 1926-10-31. Jimmy Savile Nickname is Jimmy Saville, James Wilson Vincent Savile, Savile, Jimmy. Jimmy Savile Height is 1.74 m. Jimmy Savile Country is Leeds. Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, OBE, KCSG , known professionally as Jimmy Savile, was an English DJ, television presenter, media personality and charity fundraiser. He hosted the BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, was the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops, and raised an estimated ??40 million for charities. A year after his death, hundreds of allegations of child sex abuse and rape became public, leading the police to believe that Savile was a predatory sex offender, and may have been one of Britain's most prolific sexual offenders.
Savile was conscripted to work in the coal mines as a Bevin Boy during the Second World War. He began a career playing records in, and later managing, dance halls. His media career started as a disc jockey at Radio Luxembourg in 1958 and on Tyne Tees Television in 1960, and he developed a reputation for eccentricity and flamboyance. At the BBC, he presented the first ed...
| Jimmy Savile |
What value American banknote has the United States Capitol on its reverse? | How Much Is Savile Worth - Jimmy Savile Net Worth
How Much Is Savile Worth
Read more...
Jimmy Savile
Jimmy Savile Net Worth is $30 Million. Jimmy Savile is Presenter | Disc jockey. Jimmy Savile Date of Birth is 1926-10-31. Jimmy Savile Nickname is Jimmy Saville, James Wilson Vincent Savile, Savile, Jimmy. Jimmy Savile Height is 1.74 m. Jimmy Savile Country is Leeds.. Sir James W...
Jimmy Savile Net Worth is $30 Million.
Jimmy Savile Net Worth is $30 Million. Jimmy Savile is Presenter | Disc jockey. Jimmy Savile Date of Birth is 1926-10-31. Jimmy Savile Nickname is Jimmy Saville, James Wilson Vincent Savile, Savile, Jimmy. Jimmy Savile Height is 1.74 m. Jimmy Savile Country is Leeds. Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, OBE, KCSG , known professionally as Jimmy Savile, was an English DJ, television presenter, media personality and charity fundraiser. He hosted the BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, was the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops, and raised an estimated ??40 million for charities. A year after his death, hundreds of allegations of child sex abuse and rape became public, leading the police to believe that Savile was a predatory sex offender, and may have been one of Britain's most prolific sexual offenders.
Savile was conscripted to work in the coal mines as a Bevin Boy during the Second World War. He began a career playing records in, and later managing, dance halls. His media career started as a disc jockey at Radio Luxembourg in 1958 and on Tyne Tees Television in 1960, and he developed a reputation for eccentricity and flamboyance. At the BBC, he presented the first ed...
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What was the famous slogan used by Clinton's campaign team in the 1992 Presidential campaign to remind them of the Key issue of the election? | Bill Clinton: Campaigns and Elections—Miller Center
About the Administration
The Campaign and Election of 1992:
Bill Clinton easily defeated the leading Democratic contenders in the 1992 primaries, despite charges about having avoided the Vietnam draft and his rumored affairs with women. He dealt with the infidelity issue on national television in an interview in which he admitted to having caused "pain" in his marriage. Although he said he had smoked pot as a college student, he added that he "didn't inhale," which struck his critics as disingenuous. Most voters seemed unconcerned with his private life or his stand on a war that had ended many years before. His opponent, President George H.W. Bush, ran a lackluster campaign that failed to convert his great successes in foreign affairs into a convincing argument to reelect him. Republican die-hards never forgave Bush for having broken his 1988 promise to not raise taxes. Middle-class Americans, moreover, had grown increasingly upset over Bush's refusal to act on the economic recession that had settled on the nation.
Presidential Speech Archive
Clinton pounded hard on the advantages given to the rich by the Reagan revolution, the Reagan-Bush $300 billion deficit, and the dire economic prospects that faced America's younger generation. His campaign handlers, led by political strategist James Carville, posted a sign at Clinton headquarters that sprightly summarized the Clinton message: "It's the economy, stupid."
The Bush campaign was not helped by the emergence of billionaire Ross Perot's independent candidacy, which Perot personally financed. His "United We Stand, America" citizens group promised a White House dedicated to patriotism, candor, honesty, and a balanced budget. Dissatisfied voters of all stripes flocked to his call, creating one of the most powerful third-party movements in American history. Although Perot drew support from both Republicans and Democrats, he probably hurt Bush disproportionately more than Clinton, owing to his harsh attacks against the incumbent and the timing of both his departure and re-entry into the 1992 campaign. But ultimately Perot's candidacy was damaged beyond repair by his own inconstant commitment to running—a posture that benefited the Clinton challenge.
On November 3, Clinton received more than twice the number of Electoral College votes than did Bush. Perot drew support from both parties, winning approximately 19 percent of the popular vote but no electoral votes. Clinton had delivered on his promise to do well in traditional Democratic strongholds, to win back large numbers of Reagan Democrats, and to attract middle-class Republicans. However, when his vote is compared to the combined Bush and Perot totals in 1992, it is clear that Clinton was a minority President. On the other hand, a larger percentage (55 percent) of the electorate voted in 1992 than in 1988, 1984, and 1980. And when the Clinton and Perot popular vote totals are combined (62 percent), the 1992 election amounts to a dramatic vote for change.
The Campaign and Election of 1994
Midway through his first term in office, Clinton's reelection prospects were dim, given the stunning victory of Republicans in the 1994 off-year elections. For the first time in forty years, both houses of Congress were controlled by Republican lawmakers. And almost everyone blamed Clinton. His campaign promise to reform the nation's health care system was soundly defeated. His controversial executive order lifting the ban against homosexuals in the military enraged conservatives and failed to generate significant public support. Clinton's work on behalf of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) split the Democrats, many of whom feared the loss of jobs to Mexico and Canada.
Additionally, a barrage of political and personal scandals plagued the Clinton administration in its first term. The most damaging issue surrounded charges that the Clintons had illegally profited from their involvement with a failed savings and loan that had dealings in Arkansas real estate on the Whitewater River. Charges swirled fast and furious, specifically linking the White House to a cover-up of the Whitewater affair and the suicide of Vincent Foster, a top White House aide and close friend of Hillary Clinton. Moreover, the administration was negatively affected by allegations of suspicious commodity dealings by the First Lady (she had turned a $1,000 investment in commodities into a $100,000 profit), and the rumored sexual escapades of President Clinton while governor of Arkansas (including allegations that he had sexually harassed an Arkansas state employee, Paula Corbin Jones).
Republican Contract with America
Although only 39 percent of the electorate voted in the 1994 congressional elections, the Republicans swept to victory. The well-organized right-wing of the Republican Party, under the leadership of Georgia congressman Newton ("Newt") Gingrich and assisted by the rise of conservative talk-radio (Rush Limbaugh, Oliver North, and G. Gordon Liddy), trumpeted their "Contract with America" to spectacular electoral response. The Contract, tested in focus groups around the nation, promised to complete the dismantling of the New Deal state that had been started under Ronald Reagan. (See Reagan biography, Domestic Affairs section, for details.) Gingrich became the Speaker of the House and Senator Robert Dole of Kansas became the Senate majority leader. Republicans controlled the House of Representatives 230 to 204 and held 53 Senate seats to the Democrats' 47 seats. Pollsters and political commentators predicted the end of the Clinton presidency—indeed, had the United States operated with a parliamentary system of government, Clinton would have been driven from office. Clearly, the 1994 election had been a dramatic political repudiation of the President.
Within two years, however, the Republican ascendancy and Contract with America was in a shambles. In January 1996, President Clinton delivered a State of the Union address that waxed eloquently about the future. His ratings were on the rise, and it looked as if the Comeback Kid stood a good chance to do what no Democrat had accomplished since FDR: serve two consecutive elected terms to the presidency. What had happened?Part of the answer rests with the over extension of the Republican charge. House Republicans had used the Contract as an inflexible governing plan when in fact American voters had never clearly endorsed its particulars. By 1996, Gingrich's no-holds barred attack on government programs had frightened many moderate Republicans. Americans began to wonder about the long-range consequences, for example, of dismantling environmental protection programs. Most importantly, when the Republicans proposed drastic cuts in Medicare expenditures coupled with a tax-cut disproportionately pegged to benefit the wealthy, an anti-Gingrich backlash began to roll across the nation. Americans grew weary of the nonstop personal attacks on Clinton and the First Lady by conservative ideologues they linked to the House Republicans. Millions of Americans began to identify the Republican majority in the House with a fringe "mean streak" in politics that offended their sense of fair play.
Finally, the Republican majority stumbled badly when it decided to force a government shut down unless Clinton signed its budget. Clinton, sensing the opportunity to show his mettle, vetoed Republican-passed spending bills in the fall of 1995, citing proposed cuts in education and Medicaid as being unfair. The U.S. government closed its doors twice, first for six days in November and again for twenty-one days in December 1995. Three-quarters of a million federal workers were caught in the middle of this political jousting just before Christmas, left to wonder whether they would be paid during the holiday season. Angry Americans, faced with locked government offices and closed national parks, blamed the Republicans, forcing them to back down and pass a temporary measure to reopen the government on January 5, 1996. Voters who had once urged the Republicans onward in their attacks on big government now applauded Clinton for protecting their interests.
Republican Challenger Robert Dole
For most of the time after 1994, Senator Robert Dole was the hands-down front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. The only serious question was whether retired general Colin Powell would run. But Powell removed himself from contention, in 1995, leaving Dole as the man to beat. Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander, millionaire publisher Steven Forbes, and right-wing gadfly Patrick Buchanan squared off in the early primaries. Buchanan did well in New Hampshire, and Forbes's expensive commercials (in which he advocated a universal "flat tax") forced Dole to spend precious dollars in response. Nevertheless, Dole took the key South Carolina primary on March 2, which positioned him to win enough delegate votes to sew-up the nomination by April.
Mindful of the disastrous Republican convention in 1992, Dole's handlers tried hard to distance the candidate from the far right without losing its support. In his nomination acceptance speech, he promised a 15 percent tax cut and announced his commitment to a "fairer, flatter tax"—a clear attempt to appeal to Forbes supporters. Moderate Republicans worried that the nominee's acceptance of a tax cut and a flat tax meant his conversion to Ronald Reagan "supply-side" economics, a sharp contrast to Dole's traditional interest in balancing the budget. When he announced that New Yorker Jack Kemp, a conservative, tax-cutting former congressman and member of the Bush administration, would be his running mate, Dole's moderate supporters feared the worst. A high point at the convention came with an informal and chatty speech by Dole's wife, the popular Elizabeth Dole, who went right into the audience, imitating the style of television talk-show hosts.
Dole headed into the campaign significantly behind Clinton in the polls. Although Dole received high marks for his integrity, his age (seventy-three), speaking style, and excessively dry wit worked against him. Dole tried hard to play up his combat record in World War II (during which he had lost the use of an arm) and his experience in office. But he seemed out of touch with a more youthful America. At one point, he criticized Hollywood and its amoral values. But instead of giving him a boost, the pitch came across to many as the ramblings of an old man. Most voters were fully aware that Dole would most likely be the last presidential candidate to have fought in World War II, a war that seemed like ancient history to the "baby boomers" (those born just after the war) of Clinton's generation.
The Ross Perot Candidacy
As with the 1992 election, Ross Perot again jumped into the fray, using his newly organized Reform Party to mount an independent bid for the presidency. The former governor of Colorado, Richard Lamm, challenged Perot for the Reform Party nomination but lost badly. Similar to his 1992 campaign tactics, Perot attacked both major party candidates. However, he failed to capture the public's attention to the same degree as in 1992. His selection of the little-known Washington author Pat Choate as his running mate did not help his campaign. Neither Clinton nor Dole agreed to debate Perot, and when the federal courts denied Perot's suit for a place in the debates, the third party candidate remained largely on the sidelines.
Engineering a Presidential Comeback
Starting in 1995, after Clinton defeated the Republicans in the budget battles, he engineered one of the most impressive comebacks in presidential campaign history. Clinton moved decisively to emphasize his earlier commitments to reforms aimed at the middle class. To that end, Clinton brought Dick Morris back into his strategy team. As the President's old friend and political consultant who had helped engineer his gubernatorial comeback in 1982, Morris quickly identified the key issues where Clinton could preempt the Republicans: crime, welfare reform, the federal budget, and affirmative action. Morris came up with a strategy in which Clinton distanced himself not only from radical Republicans but also from the liberals in his own Democratic Party.
Clinton embraced much of what Morris recommended. Seeking the public endorsement of police associations, Clinton supported a crime bill, claiming it would put 100,000 new police officers on the streets; he also championed anti-assault weapons measures. In addition, the President promoted the goal of a two-year limit on how long a person could remain on welfare—a stance that angered many in his party. He also focused on tax policies which targeted the middle class while shifting the burden to the upper class.
Along with his shift in strategy away from health care to more acceptable middle-class goals, Clinton capitalized on various opportunities during 1995 to improve his public standing. He delivered a stirring eulogy for government workers who had died when home-grown terrorists destroyed a federal building in Oklahoma City. He sprang to the defense of religious congregations whose churches had been burned in what appeared to be racially motivated arson attacks. The President's much-criticized decision in August of 1995 to authorize air strikes against the Serbs in Bosnia had unexpectedly produced a cease-fire within a month, giving Clinton the image of competence in foreign affairs.
Meanwhile, the Republicans seemed to be dooming themselves. The public soured on the political zeal of Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, especially evident in his complaint over seating arrangements on Air Force One en route with the President to the funeral of assassinated Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin. Then, when the Senate investigation (headed by Senator Alphonse D'Amato of New York) into the economic activities of the Clintons in Arkansas yielded little tangible evidence linking them to any criminal activity, the whole Whitewater investigation looked more and more like a partisan gambit. (This investigation ran parallel to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's Whitewater probe.) Most importantly, the economy had rebounded in the previous five months, allowing Clinton to take credit for low interest rates, a low unemployment rate, and a dramatic decline in the federal budget deficit. Thus, for Clinton, the harmonious August 1996 Democratic convention in Chicago, in which he won renomination without any opposition, was a vindication of his first term and reflected his successful strategy of offering centrist issues to the public.
On the Campaign Trail
Presidential Speech Archive
As the campaign unfolded, it looked as though Dole would go down to certain defeat. Clinton offered the public more of the same, including "McIssues" such as school uniforms and after-school programs for teenagers, none of which constituted major policy initiatives, but all of which preempted the Republican attempt to portray Democrats as dangerous radicals. Instead, Clinton became the candidate of "family values" and successfully won the suburban family vote, especially that of the "soccer Moms." The one negative for Clinton proved less than fatal. Press reports broke a story alleging improper contributions to the President's campaign war chest. The story embarrassed the Democratic campaign but failed to turn public support to Dole. The seventy-three-year-old senator from Kansas had announced his resignation from the Senate to focus on the campaign, and then he barnstormed the country nonstop to demonstrate his energy. While both tactics won him great respect, they did not change the outcome of the election.
The Democratic Clinton/Gore ticket won more than twice the number of electoral votes than the Republican Dole/Kemp ticket. Perot captured no electoral votes and garnered less than half of his 1992 popular vote. California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and the Republican strongholds of Florida and Arizona were among the thirty-three states Clinton won. The President failed, however, to win his desired mandate with a popular majority, and thus he remained a minority President. Still, the victory for the "Comeback Kid" was especially impressive in view of his predicted demise in 1994.
Although Clinton had won a personal victory, his party remained in deep difficulty. Republicans continued to control the House and Senate, proving that their congressional victory in 1994 had been no fluke. Moreover, Republicans maintained their recent gains in state legislative seats and in governorships, particularly in the South. In 1993, Clinton's first year in office, there had been 30 Democratic governors; that number fell to 17 entering 1997. Moreover, almost all the large states had Republican governors, and the Republicans had achieved parity in a long-time Democratic stronghold: state legislatures. The electorate was about evenly divided in party identification. In the South, a large majority of whites were now firmly aligned with the Republicans. During Clinton's two terms, the President failed to stem the slow but steady disintegration of the New Deal coalition toward a realignment favoring Republicans and independents.
Bill Clinton Essays
| It's the economy, stupid |
Who was the first female head of MI5? | Bill Clinton: Campaigns and Elections—Miller Center
About the Administration
The Campaign and Election of 1992:
Bill Clinton easily defeated the leading Democratic contenders in the 1992 primaries, despite charges about having avoided the Vietnam draft and his rumored affairs with women. He dealt with the infidelity issue on national television in an interview in which he admitted to having caused "pain" in his marriage. Although he said he had smoked pot as a college student, he added that he "didn't inhale," which struck his critics as disingenuous. Most voters seemed unconcerned with his private life or his stand on a war that had ended many years before. His opponent, President George H.W. Bush, ran a lackluster campaign that failed to convert his great successes in foreign affairs into a convincing argument to reelect him. Republican die-hards never forgave Bush for having broken his 1988 promise to not raise taxes. Middle-class Americans, moreover, had grown increasingly upset over Bush's refusal to act on the economic recession that had settled on the nation.
Presidential Speech Archive
Clinton pounded hard on the advantages given to the rich by the Reagan revolution, the Reagan-Bush $300 billion deficit, and the dire economic prospects that faced America's younger generation. His campaign handlers, led by political strategist James Carville, posted a sign at Clinton headquarters that sprightly summarized the Clinton message: "It's the economy, stupid."
The Bush campaign was not helped by the emergence of billionaire Ross Perot's independent candidacy, which Perot personally financed. His "United We Stand, America" citizens group promised a White House dedicated to patriotism, candor, honesty, and a balanced budget. Dissatisfied voters of all stripes flocked to his call, creating one of the most powerful third-party movements in American history. Although Perot drew support from both Republicans and Democrats, he probably hurt Bush disproportionately more than Clinton, owing to his harsh attacks against the incumbent and the timing of both his departure and re-entry into the 1992 campaign. But ultimately Perot's candidacy was damaged beyond repair by his own inconstant commitment to running—a posture that benefited the Clinton challenge.
On November 3, Clinton received more than twice the number of Electoral College votes than did Bush. Perot drew support from both parties, winning approximately 19 percent of the popular vote but no electoral votes. Clinton had delivered on his promise to do well in traditional Democratic strongholds, to win back large numbers of Reagan Democrats, and to attract middle-class Republicans. However, when his vote is compared to the combined Bush and Perot totals in 1992, it is clear that Clinton was a minority President. On the other hand, a larger percentage (55 percent) of the electorate voted in 1992 than in 1988, 1984, and 1980. And when the Clinton and Perot popular vote totals are combined (62 percent), the 1992 election amounts to a dramatic vote for change.
The Campaign and Election of 1994
Midway through his first term in office, Clinton's reelection prospects were dim, given the stunning victory of Republicans in the 1994 off-year elections. For the first time in forty years, both houses of Congress were controlled by Republican lawmakers. And almost everyone blamed Clinton. His campaign promise to reform the nation's health care system was soundly defeated. His controversial executive order lifting the ban against homosexuals in the military enraged conservatives and failed to generate significant public support. Clinton's work on behalf of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) split the Democrats, many of whom feared the loss of jobs to Mexico and Canada.
Additionally, a barrage of political and personal scandals plagued the Clinton administration in its first term. The most damaging issue surrounded charges that the Clintons had illegally profited from their involvement with a failed savings and loan that had dealings in Arkansas real estate on the Whitewater River. Charges swirled fast and furious, specifically linking the White House to a cover-up of the Whitewater affair and the suicide of Vincent Foster, a top White House aide and close friend of Hillary Clinton. Moreover, the administration was negatively affected by allegations of suspicious commodity dealings by the First Lady (she had turned a $1,000 investment in commodities into a $100,000 profit), and the rumored sexual escapades of President Clinton while governor of Arkansas (including allegations that he had sexually harassed an Arkansas state employee, Paula Corbin Jones).
Republican Contract with America
Although only 39 percent of the electorate voted in the 1994 congressional elections, the Republicans swept to victory. The well-organized right-wing of the Republican Party, under the leadership of Georgia congressman Newton ("Newt") Gingrich and assisted by the rise of conservative talk-radio (Rush Limbaugh, Oliver North, and G. Gordon Liddy), trumpeted their "Contract with America" to spectacular electoral response. The Contract, tested in focus groups around the nation, promised to complete the dismantling of the New Deal state that had been started under Ronald Reagan. (See Reagan biography, Domestic Affairs section, for details.) Gingrich became the Speaker of the House and Senator Robert Dole of Kansas became the Senate majority leader. Republicans controlled the House of Representatives 230 to 204 and held 53 Senate seats to the Democrats' 47 seats. Pollsters and political commentators predicted the end of the Clinton presidency—indeed, had the United States operated with a parliamentary system of government, Clinton would have been driven from office. Clearly, the 1994 election had been a dramatic political repudiation of the President.
Within two years, however, the Republican ascendancy and Contract with America was in a shambles. In January 1996, President Clinton delivered a State of the Union address that waxed eloquently about the future. His ratings were on the rise, and it looked as if the Comeback Kid stood a good chance to do what no Democrat had accomplished since FDR: serve two consecutive elected terms to the presidency. What had happened?Part of the answer rests with the over extension of the Republican charge. House Republicans had used the Contract as an inflexible governing plan when in fact American voters had never clearly endorsed its particulars. By 1996, Gingrich's no-holds barred attack on government programs had frightened many moderate Republicans. Americans began to wonder about the long-range consequences, for example, of dismantling environmental protection programs. Most importantly, when the Republicans proposed drastic cuts in Medicare expenditures coupled with a tax-cut disproportionately pegged to benefit the wealthy, an anti-Gingrich backlash began to roll across the nation. Americans grew weary of the nonstop personal attacks on Clinton and the First Lady by conservative ideologues they linked to the House Republicans. Millions of Americans began to identify the Republican majority in the House with a fringe "mean streak" in politics that offended their sense of fair play.
Finally, the Republican majority stumbled badly when it decided to force a government shut down unless Clinton signed its budget. Clinton, sensing the opportunity to show his mettle, vetoed Republican-passed spending bills in the fall of 1995, citing proposed cuts in education and Medicaid as being unfair. The U.S. government closed its doors twice, first for six days in November and again for twenty-one days in December 1995. Three-quarters of a million federal workers were caught in the middle of this political jousting just before Christmas, left to wonder whether they would be paid during the holiday season. Angry Americans, faced with locked government offices and closed national parks, blamed the Republicans, forcing them to back down and pass a temporary measure to reopen the government on January 5, 1996. Voters who had once urged the Republicans onward in their attacks on big government now applauded Clinton for protecting their interests.
Republican Challenger Robert Dole
For most of the time after 1994, Senator Robert Dole was the hands-down front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. The only serious question was whether retired general Colin Powell would run. But Powell removed himself from contention, in 1995, leaving Dole as the man to beat. Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander, millionaire publisher Steven Forbes, and right-wing gadfly Patrick Buchanan squared off in the early primaries. Buchanan did well in New Hampshire, and Forbes's expensive commercials (in which he advocated a universal "flat tax") forced Dole to spend precious dollars in response. Nevertheless, Dole took the key South Carolina primary on March 2, which positioned him to win enough delegate votes to sew-up the nomination by April.
Mindful of the disastrous Republican convention in 1992, Dole's handlers tried hard to distance the candidate from the far right without losing its support. In his nomination acceptance speech, he promised a 15 percent tax cut and announced his commitment to a "fairer, flatter tax"—a clear attempt to appeal to Forbes supporters. Moderate Republicans worried that the nominee's acceptance of a tax cut and a flat tax meant his conversion to Ronald Reagan "supply-side" economics, a sharp contrast to Dole's traditional interest in balancing the budget. When he announced that New Yorker Jack Kemp, a conservative, tax-cutting former congressman and member of the Bush administration, would be his running mate, Dole's moderate supporters feared the worst. A high point at the convention came with an informal and chatty speech by Dole's wife, the popular Elizabeth Dole, who went right into the audience, imitating the style of television talk-show hosts.
Dole headed into the campaign significantly behind Clinton in the polls. Although Dole received high marks for his integrity, his age (seventy-three), speaking style, and excessively dry wit worked against him. Dole tried hard to play up his combat record in World War II (during which he had lost the use of an arm) and his experience in office. But he seemed out of touch with a more youthful America. At one point, he criticized Hollywood and its amoral values. But instead of giving him a boost, the pitch came across to many as the ramblings of an old man. Most voters were fully aware that Dole would most likely be the last presidential candidate to have fought in World War II, a war that seemed like ancient history to the "baby boomers" (those born just after the war) of Clinton's generation.
The Ross Perot Candidacy
As with the 1992 election, Ross Perot again jumped into the fray, using his newly organized Reform Party to mount an independent bid for the presidency. The former governor of Colorado, Richard Lamm, challenged Perot for the Reform Party nomination but lost badly. Similar to his 1992 campaign tactics, Perot attacked both major party candidates. However, he failed to capture the public's attention to the same degree as in 1992. His selection of the little-known Washington author Pat Choate as his running mate did not help his campaign. Neither Clinton nor Dole agreed to debate Perot, and when the federal courts denied Perot's suit for a place in the debates, the third party candidate remained largely on the sidelines.
Engineering a Presidential Comeback
Starting in 1995, after Clinton defeated the Republicans in the budget battles, he engineered one of the most impressive comebacks in presidential campaign history. Clinton moved decisively to emphasize his earlier commitments to reforms aimed at the middle class. To that end, Clinton brought Dick Morris back into his strategy team. As the President's old friend and political consultant who had helped engineer his gubernatorial comeback in 1982, Morris quickly identified the key issues where Clinton could preempt the Republicans: crime, welfare reform, the federal budget, and affirmative action. Morris came up with a strategy in which Clinton distanced himself not only from radical Republicans but also from the liberals in his own Democratic Party.
Clinton embraced much of what Morris recommended. Seeking the public endorsement of police associations, Clinton supported a crime bill, claiming it would put 100,000 new police officers on the streets; he also championed anti-assault weapons measures. In addition, the President promoted the goal of a two-year limit on how long a person could remain on welfare—a stance that angered many in his party. He also focused on tax policies which targeted the middle class while shifting the burden to the upper class.
Along with his shift in strategy away from health care to more acceptable middle-class goals, Clinton capitalized on various opportunities during 1995 to improve his public standing. He delivered a stirring eulogy for government workers who had died when home-grown terrorists destroyed a federal building in Oklahoma City. He sprang to the defense of religious congregations whose churches had been burned in what appeared to be racially motivated arson attacks. The President's much-criticized decision in August of 1995 to authorize air strikes against the Serbs in Bosnia had unexpectedly produced a cease-fire within a month, giving Clinton the image of competence in foreign affairs.
Meanwhile, the Republicans seemed to be dooming themselves. The public soured on the political zeal of Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, especially evident in his complaint over seating arrangements on Air Force One en route with the President to the funeral of assassinated Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin. Then, when the Senate investigation (headed by Senator Alphonse D'Amato of New York) into the economic activities of the Clintons in Arkansas yielded little tangible evidence linking them to any criminal activity, the whole Whitewater investigation looked more and more like a partisan gambit. (This investigation ran parallel to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's Whitewater probe.) Most importantly, the economy had rebounded in the previous five months, allowing Clinton to take credit for low interest rates, a low unemployment rate, and a dramatic decline in the federal budget deficit. Thus, for Clinton, the harmonious August 1996 Democratic convention in Chicago, in which he won renomination without any opposition, was a vindication of his first term and reflected his successful strategy of offering centrist issues to the public.
On the Campaign Trail
Presidential Speech Archive
As the campaign unfolded, it looked as though Dole would go down to certain defeat. Clinton offered the public more of the same, including "McIssues" such as school uniforms and after-school programs for teenagers, none of which constituted major policy initiatives, but all of which preempted the Republican attempt to portray Democrats as dangerous radicals. Instead, Clinton became the candidate of "family values" and successfully won the suburban family vote, especially that of the "soccer Moms." The one negative for Clinton proved less than fatal. Press reports broke a story alleging improper contributions to the President's campaign war chest. The story embarrassed the Democratic campaign but failed to turn public support to Dole. The seventy-three-year-old senator from Kansas had announced his resignation from the Senate to focus on the campaign, and then he barnstormed the country nonstop to demonstrate his energy. While both tactics won him great respect, they did not change the outcome of the election.
The Democratic Clinton/Gore ticket won more than twice the number of electoral votes than the Republican Dole/Kemp ticket. Perot captured no electoral votes and garnered less than half of his 1992 popular vote. California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and the Republican strongholds of Florida and Arizona were among the thirty-three states Clinton won. The President failed, however, to win his desired mandate with a popular majority, and thus he remained a minority President. Still, the victory for the "Comeback Kid" was especially impressive in view of his predicted demise in 1994.
Although Clinton had won a personal victory, his party remained in deep difficulty. Republicans continued to control the House and Senate, proving that their congressional victory in 1994 had been no fluke. Moreover, Republicans maintained their recent gains in state legislative seats and in governorships, particularly in the South. In 1993, Clinton's first year in office, there had been 30 Democratic governors; that number fell to 17 entering 1997. Moreover, almost all the large states had Republican governors, and the Republicans had achieved parity in a long-time Democratic stronghold: state legislatures. The electorate was about evenly divided in party identification. In the South, a large majority of whites were now firmly aligned with the Republicans. During Clinton's two terms, the President failed to stem the slow but steady disintegration of the New Deal coalition toward a realignment favoring Republicans and independents.
Bill Clinton Essays
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Who was the Roman goddess of the youth? | HEBE - Greek Goddess of Youth, Cupbearer of the Gods (Roman Juventas)
Hebe
Translation
Youth (hêbê)
Wedding of Heracles and Hebe, Athenian red-figure pyxis C5th B.C., University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology
HEBE was the goddess of youth and the cupbearer of the gods who served ambrosia at the heavenly feast. She was also the patron goddess of the young bride and an attendant of the goddess Aphrodite .
Herakles (Heracles) received Hebe in marriage upon his ascension to Olympos, a wedding which reconciled the hero with Hebe's mother Hera.
In Greek vase painting Hebe was depicted either as the bride of Herakles, or the cupbearer of the gods, pouring ambrosia from a pitcher. Sometimes she had wings like the goddesses Iris and Nike .
Hebe's male counterpart was the boy Ganymedes and her opposite number was Geras (Old Age). She may have been equated with Selene's daughter Pandeia . Her Roman name was Juventas.
FAMILY OF HEBE
PARENTS
ZEUS & HERA (Hesiod Theogony 921, Homer Odyssey 11. 601, Pindar Isthmian Ode 4, Apollodorus 1.13, Pausanias 2.13.3, Aelian On Animals 17.46, Hyginus Preface)
OFFSPRING
ALEXIARES , ANIKETOS (by Herakles) (Apollodorus 2.158)
ENCYCLOPEDIA
HEBE (Hêbê), the personification of youth, is described as a daughter of Zeus and Hera (Apollod. i. 3. § 1.), and is, according to the Iliad (iv. 2), the minister of the gods, who fills their cups with nectar; she assists Hera in putting the horses to her chariot (v. 722); and she bathes and dresses her brother Ares (v. 905). According to the Odyssey (xi. 603; comp. Hes. Theog. 950), she was married to Heracles after his apotheosis. Later traditions, however, describe her as having become by Heracles the mother of two sons, Alexiares and Anticetus (Apollod. ii. 7. § 7), and as a divinity who had it in her power to make persons of an advanced age young again. (Ov. Met. ix. 400, &c.) She was worshipped at Athens, where she had an altar in the Cynosarges, near one of Heracles. (Paus. i. 19. § 3.) Under the name of the female Ganymedes (Ganymeda) or Dia, she was worshipped in a sacred grove at Sicyon and Phlius. (Paus. ii. 13. § 3; Strab. viii. p. 382.)
At Rome the goddess was worshipped under the corresponding name of Juventas, and that at a very early time, for her chapel on the Capitol existed before the temple of Jupiter was built there; and she, as well as Terminus, is said to have opposed the consecration of the temple of Jupiter. (Liv. v. 54.) Another temple of Juventas, in the Circus Maximus, was vowed by the consul M. Livius, after the defeat of Hasdrubal, in B. C. 207, and was consecrated 16 years afterwards. (Liv. xxxvi. 36 ; comp. xxi. 62; Dionys. iv. 15, where a temple of Juventas is mentioned as early as the reign of Servius Tullius; August. de Civ. Dei, iv. 23; Plin. H. N. xxix. 4, 14, xxxv. 36, 22.)
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES
Hebe and the feast of the gods, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Antikensammlung Berlin
Hesiod, Theogony 921 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
"Lastly, he [Zeus] made Hera his blooming wife: and she was joined in love with the king of gods and men, and brought forth Hebe and Ares and Eileithyia."
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 13 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Zeus married Hera and fathered Hebe, Eileithyia."
Callimachus, Iambi Fragment 202 (trans. Trypanis) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) :
"Mousa (Muse), I will sing for the little maid . . ((lacuna)) once when Hera was celebrating the feast of the seventh day of her daughter's birth [Hebe], the gods sitting on Olympos (Olympus) quarrelled, who would honour the child with the most beautiful gift . . ((lacuna)) Tritonis [Athena] brought many toys of cunning workmanship shrewdly carved, and many came from the guardian of the Apian Isthmos (Isthmus) [Poseidon], toys more precious than gold. The gods in amicable rivalry vied with one another in offering gifts. But you, Delian Apollon . . you said the following ‘Phoibos (Phoebus), you must try your skilful art [music] which will surpass the masterpieces of Hephaistos (Hephaestus).’"
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 13. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Olen [legendary Greek poet], in his hymn to Hera, says that Hera was reared by the Horai (Horae, Seasons), and that her children were Ares and Hebe."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Preface (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Again from Jove [Zeus] and Juno [Hera] [were born] : Juventus (Youth) [Hebe], Libertas (Freedom) [Eileithyia]."
HEBE CUPBEARER OF THE GODS
Homer, Iliad 4. 1 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Now the gods at the side of Zeus were sitting in council over the golden floor, and among them the goddess Hebe (Youth) poured them nectar as wine, while they in the golden drinking-cups drank to each other, gazing down on the city of the Trojans."
Euphronius, Fragment (from Scholiast on Aristophanes) (trans. Campbell, Vol Greek Lyric IV Bacchylides, Frag 41) :
"According to Euphronios (Euphronius), this is because Basileia (Princess) is a daughter of Zeus; and she seems to look after business connected with immortality, the responsibility of Athena in Bakkhylides (Bacchylides), where she intends to give immortality to Tydeus."
[N.B. Basileia "the Princess" is Hebe. As youth personified and the cup-bearer of the gods she was naturally responsible for immortality.]
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 13. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Hebe (Youth), whom Homer mentions in the duel between Menelaos (Menelaus) and Alexandros (Alexander) [Paris], saying that she was the cup-bearer of the gods."
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2. 20 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.) :
"Beautiful Hebe (Youth) . . . the youngest of the gods and the one most revered by them, since it is through her that they also are young."
Cicero, De Natura Deorum 1. 40 (trans. Rackham) (Roman rhetorician C1st B.C.) :
"What viands and beverages, what harmonies of music and flowers of various hue, what delights of touch and smell will you assign to the gods, so as to keep them steeped in pleasure? The poets array banquets or nectar and ambrosia, with Juventas (Youth) [Hebe] or Ganymede in attendance as cup-bearer."
Statius, Silvae 3. 1. 27 (trans. Mozley) (Roman poetry C1st A.D.) :
"The throne of thy father Jove [Zeus] and the stars thy valour won thee are thy abode, and Hebe with robe upgirt, more charming than the banished Phrygian lad [Ganymedes], hands thee the draught of blissful nectar."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 8. 93 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"I see Ganymedes come here to pour the wine, that long-haired cowdrover, first in Pergamos then domiciled in Olympos (Olympus), usurping the untouched cup of heavenly Hebe."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 14. 430 ff :
"Hebe come this way! Take up your pitcher, and bring your Trojan cupbearer who serves with cups the divine company--let Ganymedes draw honeyed drops from this river and fill all the mixing-bowls of Zeus! . . . that nectar of Olympos (Olympus) which they say is the drink of Zeus."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 19. 158 ff :
"[The Seilen (Silen) Maron performs a mime :] He depicted with wordless art the cupbearer [Ganymedes] of Kronides (Cronides) [Zeus], or pouring the dew divine to fill up the bowl, and the other immortals in company ever enjoying cup after cup. His poet's theme was the sweet potion. Aye, he danced also the maiden Hebe herself drawing the nectar; when he looked at the Satyroi (Satyrs), with voiceless hands he acted Ganymedes, or when he saw the Bakkhante (Bacchante) women, he showed them goldenshoe Hebe in a picture having sense without words."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 25. 430 ff :
"Ganymedes walked among the stars to pour out their [the gods'] wine, the sweet nectar of Olympos (Olympus), and there he was handing the cups which were the lot of virgin Hebe."
[N.B. By the "lot of virgin Hebe" he means it was her task before her marriage to Herakles (Heracles).]
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 27. 241 ff :
"All the inhabitants of Olympos (Olympus) were sitting with Zeus in his godwelcoming hall, gathered in full company on golden thrones. As they feasted, fairhair Ganymedes drew delicious nectar from the mixing-bowl and carried it round. For then there was no noise of Akhaian (Achaean) war for the Trojans as once there was, that Hebe with her lovely hair might again mix the cups, and the Trojan cupbearer might be kept apart from the immortals, so as not to hear the fate of his country."
[N.B. During the Trojan War, Ganymedes became distressed, and so Zeus had Hebe temporarily resume her former station as cup-bearer of the gods.]
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 33. 74 ff :
"[The godlings Eros and Hymenaios (Hymenaeus) were playing a game of cottabus in which wine was thrown from cups at a mark :] [Eros] on the golden top of Olympos (Olympus), shooting the nectar-drops from a cup. Beside him stood Hymenaios , his fair-haired playfellow in the dainty game . . . A large silver basin stood for their game, and the shooting mark before them was a statue of Hebe shown in the middle pouring the wine. The umpire in the game was Ganymedes, cupbearer of Kronides (Cronides) [Zeus], holding the garland."
HEBE HANDMAIDEN OF HERA
Hera and Hebe, Athenian red-figure pelike C5th B.C., Private Collection, Lucerne
Hebe (Youth) and Eileithyia (Birth) were handmaidens of their mother Hera, goddess of marriage. Homer describes her performing various tasks assigned to the "princess" of the house in a typical Homeric palace (cf. Nausikaa (Nausicaa) and Hermione in the Odyssey.)
Homer, Iliad 5. 720 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Hera, high goddess, daughter of Kronos the mighty, went away to harness the gold-bridled horses. Then Hebe in speed set about the chariot the curved wheels eight-spoked and brazen, with an axle or iron both ways. Golden is the wheel's felly imperishable, and outside it is joined, a wonder to look upon, the brazen running-rim, and the silver naves revolve on either side of the chariot, whereas the car itself is lashed fast with plaiting of gold and silver, with double chariot rails that circle about it, and the pole of the chariot is of silver, to whose extremity Hebe made fast the golden and splendid yoke, and fastened the harness, golden and splendid, and underneath the yoke Hera, furious for hate and battle, led the swift-running horses."
Homer, Iliad 5. 905 ff :
"Hebe washed him [Ares returning from battle] clean and put delicate clothing upon him."
Pindar, Nemean Ode 10. 17 ff :
"Beside her mother [Hera], guardian of marriage, Hebe (Youth) fairest of all the goddesses."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 9. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Praxiteles made the images [in a temple of Hera at Mantinea]; Hera is sitting, while Athene and Hera's daughter Hebe are standing by her side."
HEBE BRIDE OF HERACLES
Hebe married Herakles (Heracles) after the hero ascended to Olympos as a god.
Homer, Odyssey 11. 601 ff (trans. Murray) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"[Odysseus in the Underworld :] I marked the mighty Herakles (Heracles)--his phantom; for he himself among the immortal gods takes his joy in the feast, and has to wife Hebe, of the fair ankles, daughter of great Zeus and of Hera, of the golden sandals."
[N.B. This passage about Hebe in the Odyssey is a later interpolation.]
Hesiod, Theogony 950 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
"And mighty Herakles (Heracles) . . . made Hebe the child of great Zeus and gold-shod Hera his shy wife in snowy Olympos. Happy he! For he has finished his great works and lives amongst the dying gods, untroubled and unaging all his days."
Homeric Hymn 15 to Heracles (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th - 4th B.C.) :
"He [Herakles] lives happily in the glorious home of snowy Olympos, and has neat-ankled Hebe for his wife."
Pindar, Olympian 6. 57 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"And when he [Herakles] won Youth's [Hebe's] joyous fruit, fair Hebe's gleaming crown."
[N.B. "Youth's joyous fruit" is immortality, and Hebe, youth personified, is his bride.]
Pindar, Nemean Ode 1. 61 ff :
"[After the infant Herakles strangled the serpents, his stepfather Tyndareos (Tyndareus) summoned the seer Teiresias (TIresias) who prophesied the child's future :] Teiresias who then declared to him [Tyndareos] and all the gathered host, what chance of fortunes Herakles should encounter; of monsters merciless how many on the dry land, how many of the sea he should destroy; and of mankind, whom bent upon the path of pride and treachery he should consign to an accursed death. This too he told : . . . He [Herakles] in peace for all time shall enjoy, in the home of the blessed, leisure unbroken, a recompense most choice for his great deeds of toil; and winning the lovely Hebe for his bride, and sharing his marriage feast beside Zeus, son of Kronos (Cronus), shall live to grace his august law."
Pindar, Nemean Ode 10. 17 ff :
"[Herakles] who now upon Olympos dwelling, has to his wedded wife, beside her mother [Hera], guardian of marriage, Hebe fairest of all the goddesses."
Pindar, Isthmian Ode 4. 73 ff :
"That hero [Herakles] it was, Alkmene's (Alcmena's) mighty son, who came at last to high Olympos; he who, searching out all the far lands of earth and rock-walled stretches of the foaming seas, tempered the rough straits for the seamen's sails. Now at the side of Zeus the Aigis-bearer he dwells, enjoying happiness most fair, of the immortal gods a friend held in high honour, lord of the golden halls, husband of Hebe, son-in-law of Hera."
Bacchylides, Fragment 41 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric IV) (C5th B.C.) :
"Unless Zeus gives you Basileia (Princess) for your wife."
[I.e. To receive Basileia "the Princess" of heaven, is a metaphor for winning immortality.]
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 158 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"[Herakles] achieved immortality, and when Hera's enmity changed to friendship, he married her daughter Hebe, who bore him sons Alexiares and Aniketos (Anicetus)."
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 39. 3 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :
"Hera, the myths relate, after she had adopted Herakles in this fashion, joined him in marriage to Hebe, regarding whom the poet [Homer] speaks in the Nekyia (Necyia) : ‘I saw the shade of Herakles, but for himself he takes delight of feasts among the immortal gods and for his wife he hath the shapely-ankled Hebe.’"
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 19. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Hebe, who they think is the daughter of Zeus and wife to Herakles."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 17. 5 - 6 :
"By this side of Hera [in her main Argive temple] stands what is said to be an image of Hebe fashioned by Naukydes (Naucydes); it, too, is of ivory and gold . . . There is an altar upon which is wrought in relief the fabled marriage of Hebe and Herakles."
Aelian, On Animals 17. 46 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) :
"Herakles and his spouse [Hebe] whom poets celebrate as the daughter of Hera."
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2. 20 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.) :
"Before long you [Herakles] will live with them in the sky, drinking, and embracing the beautiful Hebe (Youth); for you are to marry the youngest of the gods and the one most revered by them, since it is through her that they also are young."
Ovid, Metamorphoses 9. 396 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"[Iolaos (Iolaus) was rejuvenated by Hebe :] This guerdon was the gift of Hebe Junonia [daughter of Juno-Hera], to gratify her husband's [Herakles'] wish."
Propertius, Elegies 1. 13 (trans. Goold) (Roman elegy C1st B.C.) :
"The passion of Hercules [Herakles], all afire for divine Hebe, tasted its first raptures after he had burned on an Oetean pyre."
Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 8. 230 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) :
"When Alcides [Herakles] has leisure at last to visit the heavenly banquet, and Hebe, child of Juno [Hera], sustains his weary form."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 35. 333 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"[After Dionysos was reconciled with Hera in heaven :] She [Hera] wished him in heaven as Hebe's bridegroom, had not Zeus our Lord on High ordained that in days to come twelvelabour Herakles was fated to be her husband."
HEBE & THE REJUVENATION OF IOLAUS
Poseidon, Amphitrite and Hebe, Athenian red-figure stamnos C5th B.C., Toledo Museum of Art
Ovid, Metamorphoses 9. 396 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Alcmena [mother of Herakles (Heracles)] was arrested by a strange surprise. In the high doorway stood a youth, almost a boy, his cheeks it seemed still downy, Iolaus, now restored in form and features to his early prime. This guerdon was the gift of Hebe Junonia [daughter of Juno, i.e. of Hera], to gratify her husband's [tHerakles'] wish.
She meant to swear not to bestow such gifts on any man thereafter, but was stopped by Themis. ‘Civil war,’ she said, ‘embroils Thebae now and save by Jove's [Zeus'] might Capaneus shall not be conquered . . . the prophet [Amphiaraus] yet alive shall see his ghost as earth gapes open; and his son [Alkmaion (Alcmaeon)] parent on parent shall avenge, a deed of loving duty and a deed of crime. Distraught with troubles, driven from his mind and home, the Eumenides [Erinyes, Furies] and his mother's [Eriphyle's] ghost (umbrae) shall hound him till his consort shall demand the fatal golden necklace, and the sword of Phegeus drain the blood of kith and kin. And then at last Callirhoe Acheloia [daughter of Akhelous], for her infant sons shall beg those years [removed from Iolaos] from Jove [Zeus] on bended knee, to speed their vengeance for the victor's death. And, at her suit, Jove [Zeus] shall foreclaim that gift of his stepdaughter [Hebe], and her sons shall be transformed from their infancy.’
As Themis, who foreknew the future, spoke these prophecies, a rumbling argument arose in heaven, the gods all grumbling why others should not be allowed to grant such gifts [rejuvenated youth]."
HEBE GODDESS OF YOUTH & BRIDES
Hebe was the goddess of youth and of the youthful bride. She was a companion of the wedding gods Hera, Aphrodite, the Kharites (Charites, Graces) and Harmonia (Marital Harmony).
Hesiod, Theogony 5 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
"[The Mousai (Muses)] utter their song with lovely voice, praising Zeus the aigis-holder, and queenly Hera . . . Aphrodite, and Hebe with the crown of gold, and fair Dione, Leto."
Homeric Hymn 3 to Pythian Apollo 186 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th - 4th B.C.) :
"[As Apollon plays the lyre and the Mousai (Muses) sing on Olympos :] Meanwhile the rich-tressed Kharites (Charites, Graces) and cheerful Horai (Horae, Seasons) dance with Harmonia (Harmony) and Hebe (Youth) and Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, holding each other by the wrist."
Pindar, Nemean Ode 7. 1 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"Goddess of childbirth, Eileithyia, maid to the throne of the deep-thinking Moirai (Moirae, Fates), child of all-powerful Hera, hear my song. For without thee should we see neither the light of day, nor know the kindly dark, nor win the gift of Hebe (Youth), thy sister, the glorious limbs of youth."
Pindar, Nemean Ode 8. 1 ff :
"O sovereign Hebe (Youth), herald of Aphrodite and her sweet passions born of heaven."
Ovid, Metamorphoses 7. 241 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"[Medea uses her magic to restore the youth of Aeson, father of Iason (Jason) :] Two turf altars she built [for the ritual], the right to Hecate, the left to Juventas (Youth) [Hebe], wreathed with the forest's mystic foliage, and dug two trenches [to the gods of the Underworld] in the ground beside and then performed her rites [applying her magic potions to the body of the man] . . . and Aeson woke and marvelled as he saw his prime restored of forty years before."
Ovid, Fasti 6. 65 ff (trans.Boyle) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Hercules' wife [Hebe] stood there; life's bloom shimmered in her face."
For MYTHS of Hebe as the goddess of youth see :
Zeus, Hera and Hebe, Athenian red-figure amphora C5th B.C., Staatliche Antikensammlungen
I. ATHENS Chief City of Attica (Attika) (Southern Greece)
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 19. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"There [at Athens] are altars of Herakles and Hebe, who they think is the daughter of Zeus and wife to Herakles."
II. PHLIUS (PHLIOS) Town of Sicyon (Sikyonia) (Southern Greece)
Strabo, Geography 8. 6. 24 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"In Phlios (Phlius) and Sikyon (Sicyon) the temple of Dia is held in honor; and Dia is their name for Hebe."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 12. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"A second hill on which the Phliasians [of Phlios in Argolis] have their citadel and their sanctuary of Hebe."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 13. 3 :
"On the Phliasian citadel [at Phlios in Argolis] is a grove of cypress trees and a sanctuary which from ancient times has been held to be peculiarly holy. The earliest Phliasians named the goddess to whom the sanctuary belongs Ganymeda; but later authorites call her Hebe, whom Homer mentions in the duel between Menelaos (Menelaus) and Alexandros (Alexander), saying that she was the cup-bearer of the gods; and again he says, in the descent of Odysseus to Haides, that she was the wife of Herakles. Olen [a legendary Greek poet], in his hymn to Hera, says that Hera was reared by the Horai (Horae, Seasons), and that her children were Ares and Hebe. Of the honours that the Phliasians pay to this goddess the greatest is the pardoning of suppliants. All those who seek sanctuary here receive full forgiveness, and prisoners, when set free, dedicate their fetters on the trees in the grove. The Phliasians also celebrate a yearly festival which they call Kissotomoi (Ivy-cutters). There is no image, either kept in secret of openly displayed, and the reason for this is set forth in a sacred legend of theirs though on the left as you go out is a temple of Hera with an image of Parian marble."
III. MANTINEA Town in Arcadia (Arkadia) (Southern Greece)
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 9. 2 :
"A temple of Hera [at Mantinea in Arkadia], Praxiteles made the images; Hera is sitting, while Athene and Hera's daughter Hebe are standing by her side."
IV. UNKNOWN LOCATION
Aelian, On Animals 17. 46 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) :
"Mnaseas in his work On Europe [Greek writer C3rd B.C.] says that there is a temple to Herakles (Heracles) and to his spouse [Hebe] whom poets celebrate as the daughter of Hera. Now they say that in the precincts of these temples a large number of tame birds are kept, adding that these birds are cockerels and hens. They feed and consort together according to their sex, are fed at the public expense, and are consecrated to the aforesaid gods. The hens feed in the temple of Hebe while their mates feed in the temple of Herakles. And a never-failing channel of clear water flows between them. Now on the one hand not a single hen ever appears in the temple of Herakles. On the other hand at the season of mating the cockerels fly across the channel and after consorting with the hens return to their own quarters at the side of the god whom they serve, cleansed by the water that separates the sexes. And so to begin with, as a natural result of this union eggs are laid; later on when the hens have warmed them and hatched the chicks, the cockerels carry off the male birds to rear them, while the hens make it their business to rear their daughters."
JUVENTAS & THE MONTH OF JUNE
Ovid, Fasti 6. 65 ff (trans.Boyle) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Hercules' [Herakles'] wife [Juventas-Hebe] stood there; life's bloom shimmered in her face. ‘If my mother [Juno-Hera] told me,’ she says, ‘to leave all heaven I would not stay against my mother's will. So now I will not fight her over this time's name [i.e. in a dispute over which goddess gave her name to the month of June], but coax and almost play petitioner. I'd rather keep my rights of possession by pleading, and perhaps my case might win your favour. Mother owns the golden Capitol [of Rome] with her joint shrine, and rightly holds the summit with Jove [Zeus]. But my whole glory comes from a month's origin; I am anxious for my only honour. Does it matter, Roman, that you gave Hercules' wife the month's name, and posterity remembers? This land owes me something, too, on my great husband's [Herakles'] account. He drove the captured cattle here, where Cacus found no defence in his father's [Hephaistos' (Hephaestus')] gift of flame and dyed Aventine dirt with blood. I pass to more recent times. Romulus divided the people by years into two sections: one was readier to give counsel, one to fight, one age advises war, one wages it. So he decreed and marked the months with the same token: June's for JUNiors, the seniors' month precedes.’
She spoke. They would have hotly disputed the claim and cloaked family piety with wrath : Concordia (Harmony) [Harmonia] arrived [to settle the dispute]."
TITLES & EPITHETS
| Juventas |
'Mr. Lockwood' rents 'Thrushcross Grange' and asks the housekeeper 'Nelly Dean' to tell him about the landlord and his family. This is the basis of which novel? | Juventas - Roman Goddess of Youth
Juventas – Roman Goddess of Youth
Roman Gods and Goddesses - Occult World
Posted by: Occult World in Roman Gods J October 29, 2013 2 Views
The Goddess Juventas is the Roman goddess of youth, especially of youths who had reached the age of wearing adult clothing, which usually began at age 14. Juventas also protected young men who had reached the age of preparing for active military duty, which was typically 17. Juventas appears to be a very old deity in Rome’s religions, for hers is one of the oldest temples built on the Capitoline Hill, a center for religious activities in the oldest part of the city.
Juventas means “youth” and shares the same root as the English word juvenile, and the French word jeune, which means “young.”
Also known as: Juventus; Iuventus
Last updated: August 26, 2014 at 13:52 pm
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Which city completes, and is the site of the main campus of '........ Solent University'? | Southampton Solent University
Join over 49,000 Solent students worldwide
About Southampton Solent University
Home to a diverse student community, Solent University is dedicated to enabling learners of all backgrounds to become enterprising citizens and responsible leaders.
At the heart of the city
Solent's campus is located in the heart of Southampton city centre. We have strong local ties and are heavily involved in the cultural development of the region.
Strong international ties
Our international students come from over 100 countries - we're always keen to develop existing relationships and explore new opportunities.
First-class facilities
Our facilities are at the forefront of today’s fast-changing technology, allowing both students and businesses to make use of the very best resources.
Enhancing employability
Our industry-focused courses produce confident and highly employable graduates. In the sector, we rank in the top 20 for the creation of graduate start-ups.
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What is the nickname of Hull City F.C.? | Southampton Solent University | Ranking & Review
Review and web ranking of Southampton Solent University.
Southampton Solent University
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Established in 1855, Southampton Solent University is a non-profit public higher education institution located in the the urban setting of the small city of Southampton (population range of 250,000-499,999 inhabitants), South East England. Officially accredited/recognized by the Privy Council, Southampton Solent University (SSU) is a large (enrollment range: 10,000-14,999 students) coeducational higher education institution. Southampton Solent University (SSU) offers courses and programs leading to officialy recognized higher education degrees such as associate degrees, bachelor degrees, master degrees, doctorate degrees in several areas of study. This 161 years old HE institution has a selective admission policy based on students' past academic record and grades. The admission rate range is 70-80% making this UK higher education organization a somewhat selective institution. International applicants are eligible to apply for enrollment. SSU also provides several academic and non-academic facilities and services to students including a library, housing, sport facilities and/or activities, financial aids and/or scholarships, study abroad and exchange programs, as well as administrative services.
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GENERAL INFO
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Which king knighted air pioneers Alcock and Brown? | the trans Atlantic flight of Alcock and Brown
Alcock and Brown Take the Atlantic
Back in Newfoundland, two teams worked feverishly to finish assembling their planes and testing their equipment in preparation for what they considered the ultimate prize: the still unclaimed Daily Mail prize of fifty thousand dollars for the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic. One team had a clear head start: the Handley Page team headed by Admiral Mark Kerr. The Handley Page V/1500 �Berlin Bomber� was the largest aircraft built by the Allies during the war, and was equipped with four powerful Rolls-Royce engines.
The plane and crew were making preparations to fly the Atlantic almost from the beginning. They watched Hawker and Grieve begin their ill-fated trans-Atlantic flight; Alcock and Brown had also heard about the failed attempt of the Shamrock, which had gone down while crossing from England to Ireland in the first stage of an east-to-west crossing; and they had been there when the navy group passed through on their way to the successful crossing (with stops) of the Atlantic. The plane enjoyed the best airfield and the best accommodations, and for some of the time, had the only fuel on the island. Afterward, Handley Page executives would wonder what had kept their plane on the ground.
Alcock and Brown taking on mail on Vickers Vimy, June 13, 1919
By the time the final plane and its crew arrived in Newfoundland on May 26, the Handley Page had been tested and repaired many times. In what might be considered typical of the naval approach, Admiral Kerr seemed determined not to attempt the flight until his plane was in perfect condition. The last plane to arrive was the Vickers Vimy, a night bomber built too late to be used in the war. The Vickers engineers replaced the bombs with fuel tanks, quickly disassembled the plane, and shipped it to Newfoundland. The crew for the flight was headed by Captain John Alcock of the Royal Air Force, and the navigator was Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown of the Royal Flying Service.
Both men had spent the last years of the war in a German prison camp and had very limited flying experience, especially with so large a plane. (Brown, as it turned out, had been an observer when he was shot down, and had taught himself aerial navigation while a prisoner. He had almost no experience as a navigator before the flight of the Vimy.) The Vimy was assembled in an open field (there was no available hangar big enough) in cold and often rainy weather.
Spectators and Vickers Vimy at Lester's Field, June 1919
Miraculously (and with the help of a gifted local mechanic named Lester), the plane was ready after only fourteen days�Kerr was waiting for a new radiator to replace one on the Handley Page that �wasn�t quite up to snuff.� What Kerr did not know, but Alcock realized, was that the problem was not with the radiator, but with the water. Using local water, the Handley Page radiator kept clogging�which was exactly what had brought Harry Hawker down�because of the heavy mineral content and sediment. To counter this, Alcock had the water filtered several times and boiled (and then cooled), so that the radiator would not clog. On the morning of June 14, while the Handley Page team was preparing for yet another test, Alcock and Brown took off.
Take off of Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy, June 14, 1919
The flight of the Vimy was a difficult one. Brown had to climb out onto the wings six times during the flight to chip off ice that formed there. Several times, Alcock had to fly precariously close to the ocean, hoping that the warmer air of the lower altitude would melt the ice that kept clogging the engine. And on at least two occasions, Brown made what he thought would be a last entry into the flight log and stuffed it into his shirt, hoping his experience would be of use to later aviators if his body were ever found.
Alcock and Brown�s historic 1919 flight ended ingloriously, as the Vimy ploughed into an Irish bog�its front landing gear had been removed before the flight. The first people to greet the aviators thought they were joking when they claimed they had just flown across the Atlantic.
Sixteen and a half hours later, on the morning of June 15, the Vimy landed in a bog near the installation at Clifden, in Ireland. People on the ground tried to wave them off from the bog and direct them to a landing field that was prepared for aircraft; Alcock and Brown just waved cheerfully back. Before taking off, Brown had removed a front nose wheel from the plane in the hopes of reducing weight and drag. Now, without the front wheel, the Vimy landed in the bog and simply ploughed its nose into the soft mud. Local people and soldiers ran up to the plane and asked Alcock where he had flown from. When he said they had flown across the Atlantic, the crowd broke out in laughter.
The outgoing John Alcock and the diffident Arthur Whitten Brown�both of Manchester, England�had the right combination of skills to win the Daily Mail prize for the first flight across the Atlantic, outclassing better-funded teams.
England erupted in celebration. Alcock and Brown were knighted by King George V and awarded the Northcliffe prize by the Secretary of State for War and Air, Winston Churchill. Alcock and Brown toured England and were praised from banquet to banquet. But Alcock was killed in a crash in December 1919, and Brown never flew again (though he lived till after World War II).
Back in Newfoundland, Kerr decided he would attempt some sort of land record instead and flew to the United States. The Handley Page crashed near Cleveland, Ohio, and while the crew survived, the Berlin Bomber was a total loss, marking the end of Admiral Kerr�s brief career in aviation. Alcock and Brown�s crossing of the Atlantic was to have a profound effect on two men who up to this point had not done much flying.
One was a navy lieutenant named Richard E. Byrd, a dashing young flier trained at the navy�s Pensacola Flight School. During the war, Byrd had volunteered to fly bombers built in the United States to England, and when the war ended, before any such ferrying could take place, he formally requested to be part of the crew that would fly a Nancy across the Atlantic. Byrd could not know that such plans were already afoot, so when he was called to Washington he was disappointed to discover that he was not being asked to fly the planes, but to take command of the naval air station in Nova Scotia to scout out a suitable stop for a possible trans-Atlantic flight by the U.S. Navy. Later he discovered that foreign service (even in Canada) disqualified him from being a member of the NC crews.
The other man was a Frenchman who had worked his way up from being a shepherd in France to being a waiter to, by 1919, being the owner of two fashionable Manhattan hotels. His name was Raymond Orteig, and he had no connection to the world of aviation. But watching the prizes of post-war aviation being garnered by England and the United States, and seeing France fall by the wayside, he sent a letter to the president of the Aero Club of America, dated May 22, 1919:
�Gentlemen: As a stimulus to the courageous aviators, I desire to offer, through the auspices and regulations of the Aero Club of America, a prize of twenty-five thousand dollars to the first aviator of any Allied country crossing the Atlantic in one flight, from Paris to New York or New York to Paris, all other details in your care.
Yours very sincerely, (signed) Raymond Orteig.
Orteig made no secret of his motive: he hoped the prize would prove an incentive to French fliers and would lead to France�s once again being a first-rank nation in aviation. In the original rules, a five-year limit was set (it was later extended), and there was no stipulation that it had to be a solo flight�that was Lindbergh�s idea (as a way of lightening the load).
The year 1919 saw yet a third crossing of the Atlantic, this one in July by a British dirigible, the R.34, a virtual carbon copy of a captured German Zeppelin (called, as it happened, the L.33). The crossing was, in fact, a two- way transatlantic flight, making the R.34 the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic both ways. The flight from Scotland to New York was not without its harrowing moments. The weather was bad the entire trip over, and at one point a crew member had to parachute out of the airship to direct the ground crew. But the airship created a sensation in New York and heralded the beginning of regular airship service over the Atlantic. (The crossing back to Europe took only three days.)
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| George V |
Who played 'Trigger' in 'Only Fools And Horses'? | Atlantic Abroad - 98.10.15
For more, see the complete Atlantic Abroad Index .
Share your tales of life abroad in the Global Views forum of Post & Riposte .
October 15, 1998
If I hadn't seen the sign -- ALCOCK & BROWN LANDING SITE -- pointing down the narrow, rocky, rutted way that led me promptly to a closed gate, I would have turned around. Beyond the gate extended a typical Connemara landscape: treeless bog strewn with boulders and black-muzzled, grass-munching sheep. The gate, I reasoned, was closed to keep the sheep in and not me out, so I unhitched it and drove through.
I had landed in Ireland two days earlier, through the dawn fog over Shannon Airport. With hours to kill before the first northbound bus left the airport, I'd noticed a corner display ignored by my fellow jet-lagged newcomers, a miniature stage above which palm-sized brass letters spelled out "AVIATION HALL OF FAME." Gleaming under lights and laid out chronologically to form a page of aviation history were portraits and plaques commemorating famous flyers -- Orville and Wilbur Wright at top left, Chuck Yeager and Neil Armstrong at bottom right, Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart in between.
And directly before me: John Alcock and Arthur Brown.
I stepped closer, inspected the small black-and-white picture of the men, and read the words inscribed underneath: The first non-stop air crossing of the Atlantic was achieved on 14th-15th June 1919 by Captain John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Whitten Brown who flew a converted Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, County Galway.
I'd never heard of Alcock and Brown, though apparently they had cleared the Atlantic eight years before Lindbergh's solo flight. But I had heard of Clifden, the so-called "capital of Connemara" -- I was headed there.
The tourist office in Clifden was modest, crowded. Once I reached the counter with my request, a sharp-beaked, bespectacled woman chirped apologies in brogue: she had little to tell me about Alcock and Brown that went beyond what I'd already read in guidebooks, which was only that a monument -- a limestone fin celebrating the flyers' feat, erected in 1959 -- stood on a hill south of town. "Have you tried the library?" she asked.
A few doors down, the Clifden Town Library was also modest -- just a single room of books. That midafternoon it was empty except for a librarian, who passed me a book opened to a photograph of Alcock and Brown taken in the nearby Derrygimla Bog, where the aviators had landed (and immediately begun sinking) in 1919. In their first hours of fame, dressed in matching flight jackets and boots, the young men gazed assuredly back at the camera. Alcock, the pilot, was twenty-six years old, and Brown, his navigator, thirty-three. Blurred in the background sat the bomber, wheels stuck in bog muck, snout submerged in peat, tail pointing to the sky. When I asked what other materials were available, the librarian's sigh was part hiss: the only other good source on the flight of Alcock and Brown was an out-of-print book, and someone had filched his copy.
"But there's always the bog," he said -- somewhat dubiously, I thought.
Past the gate, jounced by seemingly every stone of the broken road that passed under the wheels of my cramped rented Opel, I rolled on. In the distance to my left, curtains of rain hazed the view of the Twelve Bens, Connemara's rocky mountains. Ahead, the road rose and disappeared -- into a clearing, I imagined, where the flyers must have brought their bomber down.
But over the rise I found only more bog, more sheep, and two weary bicycle tourers off their bikes, legs sprawled before them on the wet earth. They looked defeated by the rugged road -- and possibly bored by the bog. They were newlyweds, from Strasbourg, bicycling through Connemara on their honeymoon. When I asked them if I was on the right road to the Alcock and Brown landing site, they shrugged. They had quit here. The road, or at least a puddled path, continued, though, so I parked the car and proceeded on foot.
Later I read that Alcock and Brown had flown for England during the First World War -- in fact, both had been brought down under enemy fire and had survived enemy prisons -- but that their paths had crossed only six weeks before they strapped themselves into the open cockpit of the 13,000-pound wood-and-fabric Vickers biplane. Four hundred yards of a runway in St. John's, Newfoundland, launched them into what would be nearly 1,900 miles of unbroken fog. Brown determined much of the oversea course by dead reckoning.
My course was easy -- I just walked the muddy trail farther into the bog. Wind whipped over boulders and lily-padded pools of rainwater. Somber sheep wandered and chewed. A peat farmer stacked bricks of turf to dry in intermittent bouts of sunshine. Otherwise I saw nothing noteworthy, and felt aware only of the gusts from the west and a growing uncertainty about being anywhere near the landing site.
I also later read that the flyers had barely advanced over the ocean when the propeller on the generator for their wireless telegraph snapped, leaving them unable to transmit word to the world below; that flames raged from the rear of one of the Rolls Royce engines when a piece of its exhaust pipe broke free; that ice and snow repeatedly clogged the air intakes, forcing Brown to balance himself six times out on the fuselage and wings while he chipped away at it with his jackknife; and that at around three in the morning they flew straight into storm clouds, inside which hail swirled, lightning flashed, dashboard controls froze over, and the engines sputtered, ultimately sending the bomber spinning in a freefall toward the sea. Seconds from certain death, Alcock managed to fire up the engines again and level off. Brown pointed east, and the duo steered on toward dawn.
Now I could see the ruins of a building, just a lone crumbling wall, and beyond it a curious gray mound rising from an outcrop of rock; from the distance it looked like a breaching whale. I approached the wall and read a plaque indicating that here had stood Marconi's transatlantic wireless telegraphy station, the first in the world, in operation between 1907 and 1922. Alcock, I later discovered, had used the station to send his news back across the Atlantic on the morning of June 15th: Vimy arrived Clifden 8.40 gmt. Machine damaged through landing in bog.
When I turned the corner, the mound resembled not a whale at all but rather the nose of a battered old rocket frozen in lift-off from some underground station. It was enormous, ovoid, rain-cloud gray -- surely a monument to the flyers. But circling it I found no sign, no plaque, not the briefest inscription (except for the faint, scratched-in initials of previous visitors to the bleak spot). This unlikely immense protuberance in the bog must have once symbolized Alcock and Brown's unprecedented, world-awing achievement, but it now appeared to symbolize what can get forgotten in the rush of time. It could not have looked more abandoned or more out of place, and the lone sheep I discovered in shadow behind it -- holding its ground, not bleating or batting an eye at my presence -- appeared thoroughly unimpressed with it all.
"That is the way to fly the Atlantic," Brown had said upon arrival in the bog, after sixteen hours and twenty-seven minutes aloft. The young aviators were cheered as heroes as news of their flight spread around the world. In London, Winston Churchill handed them the long-sought £10,000 prize for the crossing, and at Windsor Castle, King George V knighted them -- Sir John Alcock, Sir Arthur Whitten Brown.
At the landing site, however, these names are nowhere to be found. And in the shadow of the towering, weather-beaten stone, in the company of a single sheep, in the lonely sweeping wind, I found myself amazed that the flyers had ever been there, had ever touched down in the bog. Apparently Alcock had felt the same way. "The wonder," he told an adoring world after the flight, "is that we are here at all."
Allan Reeder is a staff editor at The Atlantic Monthly.
Share your thoughts on Atlantic Abroad in the Global Views forum of Post & Riposte .
Copyright © 1998 by The Atlantic Monthly Company. All rights reserved. Photographs by Allan Reeder.
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Which British rock band comprises Romeo Stodart and his sister Michelle, together with Angela Gannon and her brother Sean? | :: Total Music Magazine ::
Mogwai
Mr Beast (PIAS)
You wouldn�t think there'd be a lot of mileage left in the old �quiet bit followed by loud bit� or 'progressively getting louder and louder� approach would you? But that would be reckoning without the mighty Mogwai who have turned the, rather mundane in some hands, act of hearing-a-pin-drop-becoming-a-wall-of-sound into something of an art form. Lurching from beautiful, gently undulating ambience to massive tsunami�s of white guitar noise (sometimes in barely an instant), this is music to watch typhoons pass, the soundtrack to tectonic plate movement, the musical equivalent of nature in all her wild, unfettered, dangerous glory.
****************************************************************** Scott Matthews
Passing Stranger (San Remo/Proper)
There�s been a buzz about Scott Matthews for some time now, and it�s more than fulfilled by his full-length solo debut, which crystallises a genre-crossing style rooted in strong songwriting. His pinched-but-exhilarated vocal delivery often recalls Jeff Buckley � a debt that Matthews seemingly acknowledges on tabla-driven highlight �Dream Song�, an exquisite distant cousin of Buckley�s own �Dream Brother� � but his melodic songwriting style, often bathed in slow-drift harmonies, is very much his own. Overlong with too many instrumental interludes but still plenty here to suggest that Scott Matthews will become a major talent.
Mclusky
Mcluskyism (Too Pure)
If they had only ever recorded �Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues� and �To Hell With Good Intentions� that alone would have been enough to justify Mclusky's existence, but there was so much more to their Half Man Half Biscuit meets Pixies clatter. Sadly this hugely underrated Cardiff trio are now no more, they are an ex-Mclusky, they have ceased to be, and that is a crying shame. If you can stretch to it head straight for the 3CD boxset, if not pick up the single CD effort, but you'd best be prepared to then head back and buy the entire (three album) back catalogue, �cos they really were that good
The Minus 5
The Minus 5: The Gun Album (Cooking Vinyl)
Scott McCaughey and friends (and with friends like Peter Buck, Bill Rieflin and Jeff Tweedy to call on McCaughey is a lucky man indeed), padding around in Beatles/Beach Boys/ELO territory, but whilst the music is defiantly upbeat the lyrical matters definitely tend towards the grim � which may explain why the album sleeve comes decorated with a pistol � imagine the Magic Numbers if their lyricist been Ian Curtis or an exponentially glummer Kinks and you�re in the general area. Maudlin subject matter accepted however this is a beautifully melodic album and perhaps the best effort in McCaughey�s seven album career to date.
Mot�rhead
Inferno: 30th Anniversary CD & DVD (SPV)
Last years fine Inferno album now expanded - as part of a 30th anniversary package - to include a DVD with the �Whorehouse Blues� video (and making of doc), six song�s taken from a 2005 set at Hammersmith, an interview with cover designer Joe Petagno, and a documentary (with most of the main players, including all of the original trio, contributing) wherein Phil Campbell sagaciously likens the Mot�rhead sound to �like taking a big shit after a curry� when in fact the monumental sound is due in no small part to the fact nobody has ever had the balls to tell Lemmy you�re not supposed to strum bass guitars.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Soul Rebels (Silverline: DualDisc)
Rootsy Lee �Scratch� Perry produced early outing for Bob Marley and the Wailers expanded to include a complete 5.1 mix on the DVD side with ten bonus tracks � including Upsetter instrumental versions � and CD-ROM section which navigates to web pages with an archive of early Wailer pictures and some liner notes, none of which really stretches the DualDisc format in any way (no video�s here for example) but there�s no doubting that most of the extra tracks are a welcome inclusion and the surround sound will definitely appeal to those of you that have the right gear to both smoke and play this on.
Madness
Divine (EMI Sight & Sound)
If ever a band were made for double CD/DVD packages then that band is the mighty Madness, with a positively obscene amount of timeless Ska-fuelled, classic pop nuggets under their collective belts - between �79 and �82 Madness pretty much owned the singles charts - and a well deserved reputation for making entertaining, generally idiotically cheap, videos that, unlike many more expensive efforts from the era, bear repeat viewings. This set really does have it all, twenty four songs, twenty eight vids and barely a duffer amongst �em, all together now �Good morning miss, can I help you son? Sixteen today, and up for fun�.
Bob Marley
Africa Unite: The Singles Collection (Island/Tuff Gong)
Celebrating the fact that, had he lived, Bob Marley would have been 60 this year - the Africa Unite concert in Ethiopia, marked the actual date of his birthday (Feb 6) - we now have this fine collection of twenty singles, almost forty if you hurry and snap up the limited bonus disc edition, including pre Island Records cuts, several new remixes and, most interesting of all for Marley fans of old, �Slogans� the first new official Bob Marley track in more than a decade. Originally demoed in 1979, overdubbed by sons Stephen and Ziggy and featuring the guitar talents of Eric Clapton it proves that Bob Marley still had a lot left to say. He is greatly missed.
M�m
Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Is OK (Morr Music)
There can be little more depressing for a musician than finding yourself inextricably linked to a record company who don't seem suitably enthused about your latest project. So it was for Icelandic quartet M�m - the brainchild of Gunnar �rn Tynes, �rvar Sm�rason, Krist�n and Gyda Valt�sd�ttir � who, thankfully for all concerned, have now finally regained control of their utterly delightful debut album. Skittering, glitching and bunny-hopping it�s way around a series of beautifully melodic themes, occasionally tipping over into clattering breakdowns before hauling itself back into calmer waters, leaving the listener thoroughly entranced
Murcof
Remembranza (The Leaf Label)
Those of you lucky enough to have encountered Tijuana born Fernando Corona�s previous outing Martes will already be aware of his wonderfully deft marrying of modern classicism, al la Arvo P�rt and Henryk G�recki, and the heavily textured minimalism of glitch electronica, yet more of which can be found on his equally entrancing second release (remix album Utopia aside) Remembranza. If you have yet to dip your toe in such alien sounding waters you may feel disinclined to do so, but you would then be missing some of the most beautiful, albeit often unsettlingly beautiful, noise available, so go on, get paddling
John Martyn
Bless the Weather (Island)
After two collaborative albums with wife Beverley, John Martyn struck out on his own once again to record 1971's beautiful, ruminative Bless the Weather. The resonantly woody double bass of long-time collaborator Danny Thompson and Martyn's own expressive guitar and lived-in vocals are to the fore on a set of songs that span archetypal 'acoustic John' ('Head and Heart') and tentative moves towards more expansive song structures ('Glistening Glyndebourne'). The album is one of the highlights of a series of remastered-with-bonus-bits reissues that also includes the experimental Inside Out and Sunday's Child, the latter probably Martyn's most underrated album.
Mattafix
Signs Of A Struggle (Buddhist Punk)
Dance music may still be in deep recession but it�s precisely when something is being more or less ignored by the mainstream that it throws up the �next big thing�. Not that Mattafix are offering us anything remarkably new or sonically astonishing but they are displaying welcome signs of a bass heavy, wooby sub-aquatic Massive Attack style fug married to a neat knack for nailing that all important hook. Unlike much of the hedonistic dance scene they also display a thoughtful line in lyrical concerns and some truly quirky instrumental flourishes � not shying away from guitars, or indeed steel pans, when the fancy takes them.
The Mitchell Brothers
A Breath Of Fresh Attire (The Beats)
Although this will almost certainly find itself in the grime section at record shops, the first release on Mike �The Streets� Skinners� The Beats label - the album is also produced by Skinner and he crops up on several tracks � find the Mitchell Brothers exhibiting the same inventive narrative flair as their mentor, who also peppers the album with the sort of melodic nuggets found in his own work. Nominally more hardcore than Skinners own efforts The Mitchell Brothers are still story tellers, as opposed to braggarts, chatting about the realities (girls, fights, raves, clothes, police) of being a young black geezer in present day London
Massive Attack
Unleashed OST (Virgin)
Given the predilection these days for using the latest chart fodder as movie soundtracks, or the sheer aimless noodling some original score albums are reduced to when stripped of their visual stimuli you may be forgiven for approaching most OST�s with some suspicion. If anyone was going to get the whole soundtrack ambience thing just right tho� it was always going to be Massive Attack as this Luc Besson commissioned soundtrack for Unleashed proves. From lush strings to spooked beats, thunderous racket and beyond this twenty-one track effort could just as easily pass for their latest artist album
Mad Professor
Method To The Madness (Trojan)
Better known to his mum and dad as Neil Fraser the Guyana born electronics bod and lovers rock fan decamped to London and by 1979 had begun making four track recordings (under the Ariwa banner) in his living room. Naturally enough it�s his high profile remix work for acts like Massive Attack, the Orb and Jamiroquai (all of which populate the second of the CD's on offer here) which will act as the �come buy me� temptation for Prof newbies, but it�s on CD1, featuring his lesser known work with Sister Audrey, John McLean, Earl 16, Chukki Starr, Horace Andy and others, that the real gems are to be found.
The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers (Heavenly)
There�s always one, every year around this time the music press desperately cast around for their �sound of the summer� release � which generally means some unashamedly poppy, upbeat, joyous, sing-a-long-a-festival-crowd type material that sounds like a toss up between the Mamas and Papas, Jimmy Webb and, erm, Space - and lo and behold here�s 2005�s entry courtesy of a pair of sibling duo�s Romeo and Michelle Stodart and Sean and Angela Gannon. Think west coast style vocal harmonies, think early sixties country driven pop and then add just a soupcon of Flaming Lips type indie know-how and Bob�s yer aunties husband
Steve Malkmus
Face The Truth (Domino)
Not entirely sure what makes an album credit Steve Malkmus and the Jicks (as on previous effort Pig Lib) or, as in this case, Mr Malkmus alone, but then being a contrary bugger is just part of the Man's appeal. Steadily chiselling out the sort of career that most people foresaw (wrongly as it now seems) for Beck the ex-Pavement frontman � god, I bet he hates being called that � continues gleefully genre hopping. Less strident than Pig Lib, Face The Truth finds Malkmus in more thoughtful lyrical mode but no less adventurous musically careering from country though psychedelia to pop and beyond.
Magnolia Electric Co.
What Comes After The Blues (Strictly Canadian)
Recorded more or less live in Steve �luddite? Me?� Albini�s Electric Audio studio in Chicago - resulting in What Comes After The Blues sounding a bit like it was recorded through a large Hessian blanket � Jason Molina and pals follow the critically acclaimed Trials And Errors with a set of songs that can best be described as beautifully depressing. Closest signpost for newbies would be a down-tempo alt-country Neil Young (a comparison Molina is struggling to shake due to his very distinctive voice), with a hefty nod towards Hank Williams which, even on paper, looks pretty damn enticing.
Peter Murphy
Unshattered (Artful)
The first recorded endeavours of ex-Bauhaus front man Pete Murphy since 2002�s middle eastern epic Dust, this time he is on more or less recognisable ground, basso-profundo Bowie croon and an ear for a melodic hook intact. More or less eschewing the bombast of his earlier material, this is an introspective, thoughtful Murphy (although in truth some of the material here dates back many years), and if the quality control lapses on occasion, it is only very occasionally, as tracks like Face Of The Moon, The Weight Of Love and Idle Flow are certainly amongst the best things he has ever recorded.
M.I.A.
Arular (XL)
Resolutely lo-fi from the off, Arular is built almost entirely around the most bare, minimal beats, throbbing pulses and sparse synth stabs and M.I.A.�s (aka Missing In Action, aka Tamil refugee Maya Arulpragasam) dancehall/ragga style chatting, which might lead you to expect a pretty one-dimensional experience, but not a bit of it. Created in the main on a battered old Roland 505 (loaned to her by Peaches) Maya oozes attitude and unashamed DIY ethics, mixing UK street slang with more pointed references to her not so distant past stuck in the middle of a Civil War, this is an astonishing debut.
Mars Volta
Frances The Mute (Island)
They may be tiring of the prog-rock label but ex-At The Drive In bods Cedric Bixler-Zavalas and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (who rightly insists �how can any innovative music not be progressive?�), have done absolutely bugger all to dispel the label on their latest album with a cover designed by the �prog� designer Storm Thorgerson, a storyline as convoluted as it is confusing and a track-listing that bears only a passing nod to what is on the album. But this is progressive music informed by funk, punk and Latin grooves, a mind mashing rollercoaster of a ride that has you jumping straight back on as soon as it grinds to a halt.
Mogwai
Government Commissions (PIAS)
Introduced from the stage at Maida Vale by the much lamented, and greatly missed John Peel, this collection of BBC Radio Sessions stands as both a fine example of the music Peel championed and an excellent example of the sort of sonic sorcery you might encounter at a live Mogwai event. There�s nothing here you might hum, or jig around to, but then we already have far too much of that kind of thing chundering out of the radio and TV. Nope this is passionate visceral noise married to beautiful restrained ambience and serves as a dead impressive stopgap until the next album proper which is due this year.
Morrissey
Live At Earls Court (Attack/Sanctuary)
It was perhaps inevitable that there would a live document of Morrissey�s extraordinary comeback year but, if anything, it�s a more essential purchase than You Are the Quarry, the studio release that prompted it all. Recorded at the very last show of a lengthy world tour, Morrissey and band are in thrilling form, despatching confident versions of Quarry highlights like �You Knew I Couldn�t Last�, and a clutch of Smiths standards � the clanging, bordering-on- metallic �Shoplifters� is particularly bracing (take a bow, drummer Deano Butterworth). As the man himself notes at one points: �It�s either this � or prison.� You�d better believe it.
Pat Metheny Group
The Way Up (Nonesuch)
For over three decades, jazz guitarist Pat Metheny has led a distinctly two-tier career. On the one hand, churning out a long succession of successful � but increasingly safe � albums with PMG; on the other, an eclectic sequence of solo albums spanning country, folk and avant-garde influences (1994�s ear-battering Zero Tolerance For Silence being the most surprising of all). Finally, with The Way Up, it looks like he�s finding a way to fuse the two approaches. A single, 68-minute �through-composition� of striking themes and remarkable playing, the PMG�s Nonesuch debut is contemporary jazz at its most vibrant.
John Martyn
Classics (Artful)
He�s been in the wars of late poor John Martyn, self induced of course as he does love a bevvie, and sadly his recent lower limb loss and chronic inability to moderate his alcoholic intake go hand in hand. It could also be argued that we need yet more versions of these, unarguably fine, JM compositions as much as John needs more leg surgery (his back catalogue is almost equal to the Fall's prodigious output), but Martyn virgins, yet to sample his often achingly beautiful and melancholy jazzy folk rock, his desperately soulful croak and his prodigious guitar skills, could do worse than pick up this double live set.
Marilyn Manson
Lest We Forget� (Interscope)
Bit late this (released before Christmas) but, given that initially there were those that believed Manson to be a one trick pony who would run out of steam soon after his early work with Trent Reznor, the fact we even have a Best Of… will doubtless confound many nay-sayers. Indeed if he had only ever recorded The Reflecting God and Irresponsible Hate Anthem (both here), he would have added immeasurably to the harder than hardcore metal scene, but add songs like The Fight Song, Disposable Teens and The Beautiful People and this back catalogue adds up to something very special indeed.
M�tley Cr�e
Red, White & Crue (Mercury)
If ever a band came to exemplify all that was crass, shallow, mindless and just plain wrong-headed about metal it was the ludicrous M�tley Cr�e. Read any of the numerous �warts-an-all� biog�s around and you�ll find an endless stream of the sort of on tour antics that would put Led Zeppelin (and indeed Genghis Khan) to shame. As for the music, well if you like your hair big, your guitars squealing, your women kneeling and naked and your lyrics idiotic � and let�s be honest, millions of meatheads did � then this album will leave you in hog heaven. Hard to describe this as a �best of�� but nonetheless that�s what it is.
Mennen
Freakazoid (Escapi)
If you like your rock with as much melody as crunch, aren�t opposed to a bit of a chorus (albeit a chorus with rubbish lyrics), like plenty of high speed staccato high pitched squealy bits in your guitar solo�s and don�t get all crinkled in the brow department when things occasionally slow down then you will definitely be at home to Mennen. Think Def Leppard meets early Van Halen - or indeed any of those pyrotechnic anthemic stadium rock oufits - and you�re not a million miles away, and don�t be put of by the singers orange barnet or the albums, frankly daft, title, big shorts' sporting skate punk this ain�t.
Man
And In The Beginning... (Castle)
If, like several old duffers in this office, you recall paddling in warm beer, wearing desert boots, loon pants and grandad shirts at shows by Stray, Good Habit, Focus, Uriah Heep and this lot, and your record collection has seen better days, then this double CD set may well warm your old cockles and inject a fresh spring into your aged step. If, however, you are a young tyke never initiated into the joys of choogling boogie with a large dose of daffy Welsh mysticism, you might be advised to approach with caution (interested parties should probably just read Deke Leonard’s very entertaining books instead).
Buy this album
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| Magic number |
For which film did Emma Thompson win an Academy Award for Best Actress? | Gallery 10 : July 2005 by factory - issuu
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JERSEY0705
THIS MONTH // AJERSEY LIVE BANDS / HUMAN RIGHTS / HOROSCOPES / WAKESURFING / HARBOUR VIEW / PROPERTY / JOBS
Retrospect Itex round the Island walk: 48.1 miles If there was a day not to attempt it... You brave souls.
Just a snippet of the circuit
I had a Bar-B at St Ouen’s on Saturday.Yet every time I took a bite from my burger - exhausted from standing still in the midday sun - pained people would walk past in twos, hobbling on blistered feet, and I felt like I should be walking with them. Everybody who set off at three on Saturday morning, regardless of whether they reached the finish line should be commended for their efforts for charity. Fifteen people took part in the first ever Itex walk back in 1991. Now in it’s fifteenth year, the Itex walk attracts over a thousand participants. Looking at the figures leading up to the lethal challenge that was the 2005 event, 7164 walkers had already clocked up nearly 350,000 miles and raised over £830,000 for charities. At the height of the conditions this time, a maximum of 28.3 degrees was recorded by the Met Office at the Airport. 13 walkers were treated in the Hospital’s A&E for blisters, aches and pains and heat stroke. Wow.
British Professional Surfing Association came to town Good weather, good waves; a great success.
Surfer, exit stage right.
Would you believe it, Jersey hosted a major surf comp that had good weather and good waves! Coupled with the fact that we were represented by talented local riders made the event a complete triumph. Sponsored by Kangaroo Poo, the Open featured mainly UK riders but there were surfers in attendance from as far afield as South Africa. Big shouts should go to fourteen year-old Jake Elms, who finished second in the under-16 Grommets section only behind British number one, 16-year-old Tom Butler. Another local rider to excel himslef was Fabien Baker, who finished third in a pro-junior competition, an event that included a wealth of classy surfers. Senior surfer Piers Gould performed outstandingly to reach the quarter-final of the Open, in what were difficult 2 to 4 feet onshore conditions. The Open was eventually won by the extremely talented South African, Reubin Pearce.
Sun + Population = Busy beaches The photo opposite is of Portobello, Edinburgh 1952
Och ay, my cotton trunks are itchy!
Has anyone noticed a change? As the tumble weed skipped across St Aubin’s beach, someone must have switched the signage and directed everybody to the far west of our isle. On that ridiculously hot weekend in June, the unthinkable happened; a five mile beach of plentiful sand became full to bursting. St Ouen was always considered a vast and exposed stretch of our coastline, boasting little more than great expanses of drifting sand and sparsely erected amenities, not to mention dangerous currents and a prevailing wind. Though the cafes have improved, and the toilets have those weird stainless steel all-in-one hand washers, St Ouen unfortunately will always remains a dangerous place to recreate. As surf kayaks, body boards and surfers dodge weekend warriors and pedestrians that have broken free of the yellow and red flags, one feels that the bay has been seen in a new light by many of Jersey’s inhabitants; all things to all people. But can it cope?
Draft smoking ban laws ready
The States of Jersey takes a step closer to stamping out smoking in public places
Hooked...
With regard to domestic health policy, the biggest bone of contention for our society at the moment in this proposed ban on smoking in public places. Many restaurants and even offices have adopted stringent rules on this issue. Though it may be met with severe opposition from pro-smoking campaigners, just think of all those people who slip back into chuffing because it goes so well with a pint. The smoking ban could help prevent such slides back into nicotine serfdom. Looking at the Island’s take on this issue, in November 2003 the States supported the committee’s tobacco strategy, which included this ban. Draft legislation is now ready to enable the ban to go ahead, as well as other measures, including the ban on local tobacco advertising. If approve the legislation may also make way for restrictions on the siting of cigarette vending machines and an increase in penalties for breaking tobacco laws.
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Intro A
s we mentioned in Retro, it’s been a bit of a scorcher during the month of June. Time for all your sunscreen-shy friends to cook themselves mildly and obtain that ‘are they burnt or are they recovering from something?’ tan. Sunburn or no sunburn, there’s a certain satisfaction in spending the day down at St Ouens, getting out the barbecues and kicking back. Leaving the beach smelling of eau de Suncream and seeing just how much sand you can leave in the shower really sets you up for summer evenings... The sunsets have also been pretty impressive of late (Amateur photographers of the island rejoice... ). Now that you can charge powerbooks from the car, it’s a great sunset time office for some of us too. No matter how stressful your day or how long your working day may be, an hour down at the beach seems to have the ability to strip back all the stress. It’s a technique I’ve been employing this month that I firmly recommend.
1. 4. 6. 8. 9. 10. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 18. 20. 22. 25. 32.
Although, using the Jersey geography rule, people seem to think that beaches are hours away from town, you can actually get down there in 15 minutes if you time it right. It’s easy to get into routine but forget your Eastenders, forget your gym, forget your TV dinner. Whether it’s a barbie at St Ouens, Jet skiing in St Aubin or wind surfing at St Brelade, it’s time to get out and enjoy it. After all, your friends in London are probably standing in the armpits of three strangers for an hour on the Northern line.
Retro Misc Dissemination Small Beer Faces Cruise & Spielberg At The Cinema Dark Water Human Rights Festival Art & Culture Battle Of Flowers Jersey Live Festival Renaissance Club Restaurant Review Fashion Beauty
GALLERY0705 Cover Credits: Photography: Danny Evans Styling: Alana Make-up: Suzi Robinson at Experience 2 Hair: Vicky at Toni & Guy Models: Dom and Charolotte at Gallery
BD
Jersey’s Premier Periodical
LIFESTYLE CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT FASHION NIGHTLIFE
Gallery is published 11 times a year as a lively yet discerning guide to all that happens on the Island and beyond, written by Islanders, for Islanders. For more information about where to get your copy, special subscriptions, advertising enquiries and contributions visit www.gallerymagazine.co.uk
GalleryContacts Gallery Magazine Broadcasting House Rouge Bouillon St Helier JE2 3ZA
t/f 01534 811100
July05Credits Sales (Jersey) Vanessa Marshall [email protected]
Music Editor Aimee Gasston [email protected]
Staff Photographer Danny Evans [email protected]
Illustration Giles Robson [email protected]
Thanks to: Our Great New Distribution Team, for getting all our magazines out! The Atlantic Hotel, Jacksons, David Hick Interiors, Dom, Charlotte, Suzi, & Vicky!
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With Madame Kwang our psychic old woman
Scientology
4
GECKO (MU-HONG): I, Madame Kwang warn you beware of telephones, oranges, women, and tarmac or you will definitely bite it. Badly. CATFISH (VING): If you are under the sign of the catfish I recommend that you drink nothing but white wine spritzers and eat only the horrible orange ones you get in packs of Revels for the whole of July or else. GORILLA (JIZ): Being a hugely powerful muscle-packed hunk of mammal, it’s unlikely that you’ve got very much to worry about at all. Well done you! ELECTRIC EEL (KINGALA): And to be honest it’s very unlikely that anyone is going to mess with you either or you’ll give them a big KAZAM. FERRET (TOQ): If you don’t eat for three days I forsee a great black cloud of hunger-type energy entering your body, centred on the stomach area and persisting until you have a meal. Believe. MANATEE (FU): Congratulations - this month you’ll get promoted, meet your life partner, and find true contentment. Only joking! Actually you’ll be getting hemorrhoids and your electricty will be cut off. SPIDER-MONKEY (CHON): I recommend that this season you support Chelsea. PIG (XANG): Follow your instincts, trust those close to you, keep your opinions to yourself etc. But most of all buy some deoderant, you stink. LEMUR (LUK): Can you smell burning? If so I predict that there’s something on fire. KLINGON (MUK): I forsee that by now you are well and truly bored of reading predictions. Sod it, they’re all made up anyway...
Elsewhere in this issue you’ll see the pearly toothed and vertically challenged Mr. Cruise talking about his latest film. What he doesn’t talk about is his real passion in life, Scientology. For the lowdown on this ‘religion’ (read cult), join Gallery for a hitlist of fully signed up celebs.
Tom Cruise
John Travolta
Joke Of The Month
Bill Gates dies in a car accident. He finds himself in purgatory, being sized up by St. Peter.“Well, Bill, I’m really confused on this call; I’m not sure whether to send you to Heaven or Hell. After all, you helped society enormously by putting a computer in almost every home in America, yet you also created that ghastly Windows ‘95. I’m going to do something I’ve never done before in your case; I’m going to let you decide where you want to go.”
St. Peter. “If this is hell, I REALLY want to see heaven!” “Fine,” said St. Peter, and off they went. Heaven was a place high in the clouds, with angels drifting about, playing harps and singing. It was nice, but not as enticing as Hell. Bill thought for a quick minute, and rendered his decision. “Hmmm. I think I’d prefer Hell,” he told St. Peter. “Fine,” retorted St. Peter, “as you desire.” So Bill Gates went to Hell.
Bill replied, “well, what’s the difference between the two?” St. Peter said, “I’m willing to let you visit both places briefly, if it will help your decision.” “Fine, but where should I go first?” “I’ll leave that up to you.” “Okay then,” said Bill, “Let’s try Hell first.” So Bill went to Hell. It was a beautiful, clean, sandy beach with clear waters and lots of bikini-clad women running around, playing in the water, laughing and frolicking about.The sun was shining; the temperature perfect. He was very pleased.“This is great!” he told
Two weeks later, St. Peter decided to check on the late billionaire to see how he was doing in Hell.When he got there, he found Bill, shackled to a wall, screaming amongst hot flames in dark caves, being burned and tortured by demons.“How’s everything going?” he asked Bill. Bill responded, with his voice filled with anguish, “this is awful! This is nothing like the Hell I visited two weeks ago! I can’t believe this is happening! What happened to that other place, with the beaches & scantily-clad women???
Gallery Guide To Wigs
If you were just thinking “How random - this has nothing to do with anything” you’d be right! Still if you spend just two minutes reading this lively and well researched article you’ll become a wig expert - time well spent!
BASIC
LONG
MID-LENGTH
The main feature is a curly flip or fullness that runs from one ear around the back to other Camilla Parker Bowles style innit?
This style falls below the shoulders, and can be straight, wavy or curly. Wasn’t this the one that Bon Jovi had for Young Guns II?
This style falls to the shoulder, and can be straight, wavy, or curly. Or was it this one? Bit like that sexy Tim in the apple iQ shop?
WEDGE
PAGE
SHAG
The main feature is a tapered back. The top can be curly or wavy, and fall forward or away from the face. Bit boring?
This style is about ear length.The top is smooth, and sides are feathered. The shape is defined by layers tapering over at the back which creates a “ledge”. Indeed.
The main feature is an all-over curly look. The curls can be tight or loose. Now that’s a bit more like it Halle Berry.
This “Dutch Boy” style is about chin length, and falls straight with a slight curl. Have you noticed these people haven’t got any eyes yet? I just did and it freaked me out.
This “Boy-Cut” usually has a parting. The hair is relatively straight and the back is tapered. Stay away from this one.
The main feature is a collar length back. The top can be curly or layered. You can always rely on a good shag. Official Gallery wig for summer 2005.
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Dissemination
MASSAGE?
GOOD NEWS FOR TOURISM Jersey War Tunnels has reported an excellent start to 2005 with footfall figures for May up 13% on 2004. Due to the Liberation 60 celebrations it is perhaps significant that the greatest upturn was that of senior citizens visiting the attraction, which saw a 20% increase on the previous year. According to Paul Simmonds, General Manager of Jersey War Tunnels, “This indicates that Jersey’s Occupation still offers a level of great interest for visitors. Our newest addition “Towards Tomorrow” has encouraged visitors to view the past experiences of the Occupation alongside contemporary thought processes thus allowing the ever changing visitor mix to make greater connections with the period.”
JERSEY JUNIOR CHAMBER
If you find yourself watching a holiday programme where people are getting a massage on the beach, listening to the waves roll in and wonder why you can’t do that here you wouldn’t be alone. One enterprising individual who thought people deserved some nice treatment is Louise De La Haye, a trained masseuse who has worked on tanned bodies worldwide on cruise ships from the UK to New Zealand. Situated on the beach in front of the Golden Sands/Beau Rivage area she offers back, neck and shoulder, full body swedish or sports massage, and Indian Head massages which cost £10 for 15 minutes, £15 for 30, or £25 for 60 minutes with a massage couch on the beach - a tempting offer. Call Louise on 07797 817193 for more details.
UZI SPATTERING? Described as “a spattering Uzi of narrative illustration and absurd wordage, combining art from the old guard with an explosive smorgasbord of emerging international talent”, the much anticipated Le Gun 2 goes on sale July 11th and will be availble in Jersey, through The Framing Workshop. Jersey’s very own Velofax will be supporting the up-and-coming Clor at the Notting Hill Arts Centre on the 11th for the launch party. Le Gun costs £8, for more details visit the website at www.legun.co.uk and be impressed.
JERSEY TELECOM SUMMER SIZZLER The Jersey Junior Chamber is an organisation set up specifically for professsionals 18-40. Part of the Junior Chamber International (a worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs), on the 20th July they’re holding a dinner that will be visited by guest speaker Senator Frank Walker. If you’re interested in going along or just want to find out more contact Ed Egglishaw, the Events Manager at events@jerseyjuniorc hamber.com or by mobile on 07797811775.
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Set to be the biggest and potentially best family event of the summer, the Jersey Telecom Summer Sizzler is taking place this year on 10th July at La Hougue Farm, St Peter. In association with Channel 103, the event raises money for two charities: Jersey Hospice and Childline, and this year features Jersey’s very own Nerina Pallot. Tickets are available from outlets island-wide with children under five getting in for free, individual tickets costing £10, and family tickets £35.You’re encouraged to bring along a picnic to enjoy in the sunshine - just don’t forget to save the biggest cheers for the Jersey based acts!
Small Beer
By Aimee. Illustration: Giles Robson
T
Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
his month’s installation comes in response to scurrilous allegations that have been made against me, emanating from various sources; namely that my writings are negative and less than jolly.This month’s Small Beer will be written in gentle defence of grumpiness. When I am asked what was the first record I ever bought I usually say it was Nirvana, which wasn’t on vinyl but cassette tape, and wasn’t my first either.The first record I ever bought was at the age of eight, when Nirvana were only embryonic, a twinkle in Jesus’s eye. The first record I ever bought, and it was vinyl proper, was Bobby McFerrin’s anthem of goodwill, ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’. The point that I am trying to make here is that if I am grumpy now, I didn’t start off that way, and that I must have adopted my particular outlook on the world for a reason, or reasons. On a very superficial level incessant glee is, for most of us, at odds with being honest.You might not feel like telling the postman that you are heartbroken and your cat has died, but if you are talking to somebody you care about at all then the question ‘How are you?’ should not necessarily be automatically replied to by the word ‘Fine’. Honesty is a valuable commodity, and for this reason alone false cheer should be frowned upon with your lined brow. Also, pretending everything is alright when it isn’t can be very dangerous, for instance, when your boat is filling up with water, or when a volcano is smoking ominously in your vicinity.
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Being critical is perhaps the base core that unites all grumpiness. If you think you shouldn’t have to pay one pound for a loaf of bread, or wait an hour and a half to get a bus into town, then you are generally thought of as being crabby. We should therefore consider whether or not being critical is a good thing. From dissatisfaction springs improvement. If cavemen had just sat around in their caves chewing on bits of raw flesh and gristle and shivering contentedly then we would probably still be doing that now. Also, if critical acumen did not exist then The Zutons would get ten stars for each album they ever did, and would continue to do so until their natural demise meant that the grandchildren of Razorlight replaced them. Look at many of the people who have left an imprint upon our culture, take Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre, Bob Dylan, Franz Kafka, for tasty starters. They all had days when their ear-toear grins slipped an inch. Whose fail to slip? Lorraine Kelly’s, David Beckham’s, Britney Spears’, Linda Barker’s. A scientist could maybe find some sort of pattern here, and hypothesise. While we’re at it, were it not for sorrow and petulance, we would not have the blues, and we would not have punk, and Leonard Cohen would probably never have been born. Yet perhaps Tony Hancock would not have a career either. There are two sides to every bad penny.
But this is the point! Depression is a horrible thing, but grumpiness is not necessarily, and it deserves just as much veneration as its more palatable cousins, Cheer and Happiness. To continue the flagging family analogy, they all have the same mother, and that is Zeal. Janice Hathy, a ‘stress management expert’ from Michigan, launched an annual event called ‘The Great American Grump Out’. She started it because people were apparently unnecessarily grumpy (yes, grumpy) after September the 11th. On this sacred day people are fined if they are caught frowning, and forced to wear special hats if their disposition is deemed to have dropped below the required level of ecstasy. I would like Janice Hathy to be forced to wear a hat for the rest of her life. I would have it stitched to the skin on her head, either a big pointy one with a ‘D’ on it, or, worse, one of those velvet jester’s hats that krazy, zany kids wear at festivals, and even on the streets. One of the only pieces of advice given to me in my formative years that I ever retained was from my art teacher. He said that if you always expect the worst, you can only ever be pleasantly surprised.This is a superb piece of inverse optimism.There is such a thing as being a cynical optimist, which means knowing that everything probably will go wrong, whilst fervently hoping it will not, and being delighted when it doesn’t.
Jersey
www.jerseyevents.com
Events
FOR COPIES OF ANY OF THE IMAGES BELOW, GO TO JERSEYEVENTS.COM, JERSEY’S MOST VISITED WEBSITE ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT JERSEY EVENTS 2005
FACES
Spielberg & Cruise War Of The Worlds
G
allery: Steven,no other film director has done more image-building for aliens than you. in your films “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T.” you describe them as loveable creatures. In your latest film, “War of the Worlds,” you have aliens from outer space attacking the world. What’s the reason behind your change of heart? Spielberg: I probably became somewhat... Cruise: ...more daring, am I right? Spielberg: Yes, there’s something in that. I used to be the goodwill ambassador between aliens us, and did everything I could to prepare the ground for a peaceful encounter. That bored me. I grew up with the science-fiction films of the 1950s and 60s, where flying saucers attack Earth and people have to resist with all their might. So I thought: before I retire I should direct a really mean invasion from outer space. When Hollywood’s most powerful director and its greatest star get together for one of the most elaborate films of all time, people expect a hit. Does that weigh on you? S: We sleep soundly in spite of that. Ever since “Jaws” I’ve had to live with this pressure of people’s expectations. But if I hadn’t been able to stand up to it, I could never have made films like “Schindler’s List” (1993), because I would have been too afraid to disappoint my audience. I’ve moved from large productions that move the masses to small, personal esoteric projects -- and back again. I would like to continue to swing to and fro between the different worlds, and challenge myself and my audience afresh again and again. Would you find it a disappointment if “War of the Worlds” grossed less than “Titanic” (1998), the most successful film of all time so far? S: It would be an honour. I make my films first of all for myself - and second of all for those who are not good at math. C: We made this film because we felt like it. Of course it should bring in the money that was put into the production. But we have only a limited influence on how successful it is ultimately going
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to be. Maybe there are certain people in the film business who multiply our two names and think they can calculate the boxoffice takings from that but we couldn’t care less about people like that. Your film is named after the futuristic novel of the same name by H.G. Wells. At the end of the novel it says that Earth is “no longer a fenced-in and safe place to live.” Doesn’t this sentence exactly describe the feeling that Americans have had about life since September 11? C: It describes the feeling all over. We live in a world in which we are able to communicate very quickly in many different ways, and yet find communicating more difficult than ever. In fact we need communication more urgently than ever as the enemies that threaten us are universal: drugs, illiteracy and crime. We have to fight against them together. The film’s a metaphor for that battle. S: We wanted to make a film in which people join forces, across all borders and despite all their differences, in order to fight against an enemy who is not of a human nature. But the film is set almost exclusively in the United States. Does it really describe a global catastrophe? S: It describes a global catastrophe from a subjective point of view. The audience experiences the war from the perspective of Tom’s character, from the point of view of an American docker. But we leave it in no doubt that the entire Earth is threatened. C: Of course audiences in other parts of the world will see the film through different eyes, because they bring with them other world views and political convictions. But I think the sense of fear and threat will become apparent wherever it’s shown. Aren’t you afraid that some audiences may even applaud when they see Americans lying on the ground? S: I wouldn’t want to speculate about that. We aren’t responsible if people perceive the film differently because of their ideology and their aversion to our country. C: As film-makers we are specifically working against this narrowing
of the view, which can lead to the hatred of an entire country, against this xenophobic paranoia. We are concerned mainly with individuals and their actions. For instance, I think one shouldn’t always talk about “the government” but about the people who are in the government. One shouldn’t always generalize. But if someone hates us from the bottom of their heart, they will see exactly what they want to see in our film. Won’t this film actually heighten a sense of vulnerability? S: It probably will. On the other hand, it is hard to imagine us feeling even more vulnerable than we already do. Is it legitimate for a film maker to not just make use of the real fears of an audience for a film, but actually heighten them too? S: First of all you have to use your own fears.When I tackled “Jaws” (1975), I had to face up to my own fear of water and sharks. And later that provided and excellent recipe for success again and again; because what terrified me, usually shocked audiences too. C: That’s very true. After seeing the film we feared for our lives, even in the bathtub. “Jaws” took the fun out of bathing for millions of people. Did you ever feel guilty about that? G: Not at all! On the contrary, I was impishly pleased. The reactions of the public showed me that the film worked and was touching their primeval fears. The greatest thing a film director can achieve is a film that works on a very fundamental level. Besides, I also increased the pleasure in bathing for many people: after seeing the film, they even organized little competitions on the beaches to see who dared to go furthest. C: My children whistle the theme of the film when they go to their diving lessons. And they haven’t even seen the film! How did ‘’War of the Worlds’’ end up on your schedule? C: We were just releasing ‘’Minority Report’’ and Steven and I were looking for films to make together. I visited him on ‘’Catch Me if You Can’’ and we were talking about a couple of things and he says, ‘’You know what? I think we should do ‘War of the Worlds’ together.’’ I just looked at him and said, ‘’Oh my God.’’ I was so excited. I’ve never made a sci-fi movie like this before. It’s the kind of movie as a kid you cut as many lawns as you can so you can get the money to see the film on day one. That day it was done. What attracted you to it,Tom? C: The story? The same things. I mean, for me, War of the Worlds was always a book that I really enjoyed and I felt that the story could be relevant, that the opportunity for character, it’s, all the elements are exciting. Also, obviously to work with my friend again... The story’s been told so many times. Why this movie and why now? S: I would’ve begun this movie 12 years ago when I bought the last surviving radio script at an auction. I got interested in the course of trying to find something to do with Tom.We’d been on our own crash course of finding a movie to make together after we had such a great time doing “Minority Report”.You know the old Hollywood blow smoke up your ass quotation, ‘Hey, let’s make a picture together.’ You hear it all the time and it never happens - we were determined that we were going to do a whole bunch of films together.
S
ome of the biggest and most successful movies ever made have been inspired by our fascination with extraterrestrials. Aliens, Gremlins, E.T., Flight Of The Navigator, Star Trek, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, X-Files, Men In Black, Independence Day, Predator - the list is stuffed with massive blockbusters. When you combine this kind of form with arguably the two biggest names in the movie business - Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg - you know that you’re probably in for quite a treat. For years the pair worked separately on some of the most successful movies ever made but teamed up for the first time on the massive hit Minority Report. This month sees their second collaboration come to life with War Of The Worlds a massive remake of the classic H.G. Wells radio play. Neither of these giants of Hollywood need any introduction, but just in case you’ve been away for the last twenty years, Cruise is an actor who’s been at the top of his game for the past 24 years. With a career encompassing Risky Business, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, Mission Impossible, and The Last Samurai he’s made himself the worlds leading film star. Directing him this time out will be the internationally renowned director of Duel, Jaws, the Indiana Jones trilogy, Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan. Can expectations get any higher? Gallery speak to Tom and Steven to find out.
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ATTHECINEMA CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY: PG
OUT: FRIDAY 29th
IMDB: TBA
Tim Burton craziness with Johnny Depp in the title role. Charlie Bucket comes from a poor family, and spends most of his time dreaming about the chocolate that he loves but usually can’t afford. Things change when Willy Wonka, head of the very popular Wonka Chocolate empire, announces a contest in which five gold tickets have been hidden in chocolate bars and sent throughout the country. The kids who find the tickets will be taken on a tour of Wonka’s chocolate factory and get a special glimpse of the wonders within. Charlie miraculously finds a ticket, along with four other children much naughtier than him. The tour of the factory will hold more than a few surprises for this bunch...
DARK WATER: 15
OUT: FRIDAY 15th
IMDB: TBA
Director Walter Salles (Central Station, Motorcycle Diaries) takes on a very different project in the shape of a Japanese horror story. Featuring the delectable Jennifer Connelly and Brit stars Pete Postlethwaite, Tim Roth and Dougray Scott, Dark Water is an American update of a Japanese horror much in the same vein as the Ring movies. The plot follows a mother and daughter, still wounded from a bitter custody dispute, holed up in a run-down apartment building. Adding further drama to their plight, they find themselves the target of the ghosts of former residents. Rated 15 but likely to be pretty scary if the original is anything to go by.
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: PG
OUT: FRIDAY 22nd
IMDB: TBA
Jessica Alba is everywhere at present - here she turns up as The Invisible Woman in this comic book remake. When an experimental space voyage goes awry, four people are hit by cosmic rays and become fantastic - hence the name. The inventor and leader of the group gains the ability to stretch his body, and takes the name, Mr. Fantastic. His girlfriend, Jessica Alba can turn invisible and create force fields. Her younger brother Johnny Storm gains the ability to control fire, becoming the Human Torch and pilot Ben Grimm becomes super-strong rock creature, Thing. Together, they use their unique powers to to foil the evil plans of Doctor Doom.
ONTHESOFA HITCH: 12A
OUT: 04.07.05
IMDB: 6.8
Complete ego trip for Will Smith - who hardly needs one. Alex Hitchens is “The Date Doctor.” He helps men to land dates. Sara (Eva Mendes) is a gossip columnist for a New York City tabloid. Both are very guarded around the opposite sex but despite their natures, Alex and Sara begin a relationship. Naturally, complications ensue when Sara’s latest scoop happens to be one of Alex’s clients. Surprisingly good, Smith actually comes across as a human being rather than the caricature he can sometimes become in his movies. Eva Mendes started out in Children Of The Corn V: Fields Of Terror but really stakes her claim as a leading lady here.
THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU: 15
OUT: 04.07.05
IMDB: 7.3
Internationally famous oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and his crew - Team Zissou - set sail on an expedition to hunt down the mysterious, elusive, possibly non-existant Jaguar Shark that killed Zissou’s partner during the documentary filming of their latest adventure. They’re joined on their voyage by a young airline co-pilot who may or may not be Zissou’s son(Owen Wilson), a beautiful journalist assigned to write a profile of Zissou (Cate Blanchett), and Zissou’s estranged wife and co-producer, Eleanor (played by Angelica Houston). They face overwhelming complications including pirates, kidnapping, and bankruptcy in this highly stylised and definitively Wes Anderson flavoured slice of quirky comedy.
THE WOODSMAN: 15
OUT: 04.07.05
IMDB: 7.2
Kevin Bacon plays Walter who, after twelve years in prison, arrives in an unnamed city, moves into a small apartment across the street from an elementary school, gets a job, and mostly keeps to himself. Finding it hard to escape his past as a convicted sex offender, Walter is warily eyed by his brother-in-law, shunned by his sister, and is hounded by a suspicious local police officer, Detective Lucas. After befriending a young girl in a neighborhood park, Walter must also grapple with the terrible prospect of his own reawakened demons. One of the few major league actors who would even consider taking on the role of a paedophile.
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DARK WATER
Dark Water is the latest Japanese horror to be remade for a Western audience. Directed by Walter Salles (“The Motorcycle Diaries”) and staring Jennifer Connelly it continues a recent trend in horror, as the genre moves from the blood-soaked teen slashers towards a more psychological and creepy style. Gallery sent Matt Pomroy to the press screening in London.
F
rankly, I’ve coughed up scarier things than most of the horror films of recent years, but the advance word on Dark Water was good. It has a great cast of actors rather than the usual pretty teenagers and was based on a Japanese horror film directed by Hideo Nakata (“The Ring”) so I decided to put it to the test. After staying up for 28 hours without sleep, unaided by caffeine or drugs, I went to the dark and warm screening room in Soho. If this film was scary enough to keep me awake for its duration then it passed the test. And bear in mind, I once fell asleep on a bass bin in a nightclub. Despite the first third of the film being hijacked by a great comedic (but not scary) performance by John C Rielly, this film is really rather good. Set in a grim tower block in perpetually raining New York it’s dark and sad rather than outright scary for the first half as a young single mother moves into a crumbling and damp apartment building and is soon plagued by odd noises and a creeping damp patch that drives her to madness. Better than it sounds but my eyelids were getting heavy. The second half, however, is wonderfully twisted with superb performances from Jennifer Connelly and eight year old Ariel Gade. It’s like a cross between The Sixth Sense and The Ring. It leaves you unsure what’s real and what are the mental delusions of Connelly’s character and it doesn’t need blood and gore to scare you.Tim Roth and Peter Postlethwaite are also plus points. Throughout the film I was sitting next to Mark Kermode, one of the best film critics in the business and horror-film expert and he even jumped at one point. And for the record, it took him just two minutes of polite chat prior to the film before mentioning The Exorcist – I swear this guy is possessed by it. So yes, it kept me awake all the way through and into my 30th hours without sleep, which is more than can be said of the Tube journey home afterwards. MP
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ARTS FULL FESTIVAL LINE-UP WEDNESDAY 20th JULY CARANDIRU A Brazilian movie set inside Sao Paulo’s House of Detention policed from within by long-term prisoners. An horrific, true story. THURSDAY 21st JULY DEADLINE Human rights are put in the spotlight in this Illinois set look at the capital punishment system. FRIDAY 22nd JULY PETIT SOLDATS An unflinching film looking at child soldiers in Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone and South Sudan. KIDS BEHIND BARS Documentary confronting the realities of child prisoners around the world. SATURDAY 23rd JULY BEHIND THE FENCE Film charting the effects of a 115 km security fence built to seperate Israel and Palestine. OUT OF THE SHADOWS John McCarthy takes us on a personal & emotional journey to Lebanon where he confronts the ghosts of his past.
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H
uman Rights isn’t an issue that we think of as affecting us in Jersey. As in most privileged corners of the world, we’ve got the option of burying our heads in the sand, pretending that all the bad things we hear have nothing to do with us. It may be easy to think that because people are being persecuted/murdered/raped on the other side of the world that we can’t make a difference, but the reality is that in today’s world it’s possible to educate yourself, take a stand and make a difference. Often it’s the cultural difference that makes it difficult for us to empathise with the problems of others. Jersey’s first Human Rights Film Festival aims to show that the variety of peoples having their human rights trampled upon is staggering - from Illinois to Israel violations are taking place each and every day. Showing at the Jersey Arts Centre from Wednesday 20th to Saturday 23rd July it’ll cover difficult and challenging issues such as Incarceration, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, war, violence, child prisoners, child soldiers and corporal punishment. Each evening there will be one or two films followed by a panel discussion which will include speakers from both abroad and Jersey who have had experience of working with the issues addressed. One of the film director’s may also be present to talk about their experiences while making their film. This is the first time Jersey has hosted a Human Rights Film Festival and represents a fantastic chance for people in Jersey to view independant
films tackling Human Rights issues from around the world. Carandiru for example sees a doctor treat prisoners for HIV inside Brazil’s infamous Carandiru prison, following his discovery of the incredible hardships the inmates go through. Not one for the faint of heart, Carandiru shows a side of life that barely registers over here yet is brought to life with intense vibrancy. As part of the festival there will also be an exhibition by local JEP photographer Richard Wainright in his first solo show in the Berni Gallery.The image above is one of many that will be exhibited and running alongside the festival the Arts Centre has invited Richard to show his shots from Monday 11th to Saturday 30th July. Although at times shocking, Richard’s photographs remain strikingly beautiful and help bring to life the complex issues raised in many of the films showing at the festival. Richard has travelled extensively in his work as a photographer for a variety of aid agencies, visiting some of the poorest and most war-torn areas of the world. In travels to countries such as Indonesia, Israel, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia, Thailand, Afghanistan and Liberia his photographs report the abuses people suffer and help us understand that these terrible things are happening to people as human as you or I. Give your sofa a break and go see what’s happening in the world around you. You never know - you might even decide to make a difference.
YOUNG-CHOON PARK / FRIDAY 29TH JULY/ ARTS CENTRE / £15 (£8 STUDENTS) / 8pm An amazing child prodigy, YoungChoon gave her first recital at age seven.An astounding piano player, over the past ten years she has averaged over 50 concerts per year in Europe, and the US. “...seductive clarity without falling into dryness... not only power, fire and passion but also proportions and form..” Suddeutsch Sietung.
HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL / WED 20 - SAT 23 JULY / ARTS CENTRE / £4 EACH NIGHT OR £12 FOR SERIES
There’s a distinct lack of opportunities to see independent films here, but this month The Human Rights Film Festival offers the chance to see movies which tackle important and challenging issues from around the world. Featuring films such as Carandiru, Deadline, Petit Soldats, Kids Behind Bars and Out Of The Shadows, each evening there’ll be one or two films followed by a panel discussion including speakers who have had experience of working with the issues addressed. Essential viewing.
TONY LAW AND CRAIG CAMPBELL / WED 27 JULY/ ARTS CENTRE / £14 / 8pm Two Canadian comedians are going to be telling jokes about sex, drugs and circumcision on the 27th and we recommend you come see them (as long as you’re over 18 - they’re quite full on).Two thirds of the sell-out Edinburgh hit Dinks II - Mouthbreathin’, they’re one of the hottest acts on the scene at the moment.
The Winner: We Need To Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver £9.99 Forget Freddy Kruger, this nightmare is in a totally different league. Fortunately, the Mothers-of-Mass-Murderers club has a limited membership, but here is a stark insight into what it would be like to have spawned the devil that is Kevin Khachadourian. Ms Shriver is a true wordsmith, whose startlingly rich and complex language flows effortlessly. Her dark journey into Eva’s mind; how she feels about being the mother of a teenager killer, and the nauseating possibility that this particular version of hell might be due to her own parental shortcomings, is disturbing, yet fascinating. Kevin tests the nature vs. nurture debate to the limit. For existing parents, it makes for white-knuckle reading. For those who haven’t yet arrived at that milestone, it will leave you wondering whether or not to go there, ever.
Liars and Saints Maile Meloy £7.99
Old Filth Jane Gardam £10.99
The Orange Prize for Fiction is awarded to women writers of outstanding talent. We have a copy of the 2005 winner, each of the five runners up, and the three New Writers Award titles to give away, thanks to the lovely people at Ottakars.To win visit our competitions page at: www.gallerymagazine.co.uk/competitions
How I Live Now Meg Rosoff £6.99
Major themes of love, deceit, and Character is everything in this A cracker, a corker, a ‘future family loyalty run through Meloy’s laughter’n’tears tale about a craggy classic’...get the idea? Ignore the multi-generational saga about the old-school judge. Known as Filth, Children’s Fiction handle; this captivating Santerres. Weddings, and myriad other names, his story is masterpiece is for everyone. Take funerals, scandals, and middle-class riddled with secrets and skeletons. the journey with Daisy, Piper and Catholic values weave a rich chronicle of this Mysteries are gradually unravelled as the plot the intense Edmond through their momentous conventionally dysfunctional family. skips cleverly between past and present. rites of passage.
Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, M. Lewycka £10.99
Billie Morgan Joolz Denby £8.99
The Mammoth Cheese Sheri Holman £7.99
When octogenarian Nikolai Old biker chicks don’t die, they Variety, spice, rich and tapestry marries the buxom Valentina, half turn into Billie Morgan. Attempts are the words begging to describe his age but double his size, his two at respectability are doomed as Holman’s vivid tangle of life in embittered daughters bury their the spectre of her past refuses Smalltown, USA. The eclectic mix differences to rescue him from her to lie still. Decisions made by the of townsfolk, including Manda, who barefaced cruelty. It would be heartbreaking if it former Hell’s Angel lead to consequences too gives birth to eleven babies, creates weren’t so funny. a colourful portrait of everyday abnormality. horrific to be silenced.
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The Jersey Battle of Flowers Association present
The Grand Day Parade 11th August 2005
Tickets and information from Battle HQ on 01 534 639000/730178. e-mail : [email protected]. www.battleofflowers.com
Jersey Battle Of Flowers Miss Battle Victoria Keen
T
he annual competition to select Miss Battle 2005 took place on Saturday 11th June at The Royal Hotel. Representatives from each parish took part in the competition which this year included the traditional interview style format, but also a fashion show featuring the competitors with outďŹ ts
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suppplied by Ellis Clothing. The eventual winner was Victoria Keen from the very proud parish of St John. Although she was runner-up in the parish competition, the three judges reached a unanimous decision and duly crowned Victoria, Miss Battle 2005.
The Jersey Battle of Flowers Association present
The Moonloight Parade 12th August 2005
Tickets and information from Battle HQ on 01 534 639000/730178. e-mail : [email protected]. www.battleofflowers.com
Miss Battle Runner Up
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Music
LOCAL BANDS On Saturday 28th May the local line-up for the 2005 Jersey Live festival was finally decided by judges at the Havana Club. Battling for the chance to play alongside Kasabian, The Bravery, The Futureheads, The Ordinary Boys, and 2 Many DJ’s were 12 local bands. Unfortunately for half of the bands that took part, some had to be cut - the crowd felt particularly sorry for Benny The Moth and The Merge - but only six could make it through to the main stage for the 3rd September. Commiserations to those that didn’t get through - congratulations to those that did. Here’s your opportunity to find out a little more about them. We look forward to seeing you there!
VELOFAX WHO’S IN THE BAND?: Chris Wackrow (25) Vocals/Guitar/Synth, Jim Bell (30-something) Drums, Gary Law (28) Bass. INFLUENCES: “Loads of weird ones: Talking Heads, Out-Hud, Prince and the, errrrrr, the Bergerac theme tune. No seriously, it’s been a big influence on us”. HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN TOGETHER?: Since early 2004. ARE YOU HAPPY TO BE PLAYING JERSEY LIVE?: “Great to be playing again for a second year. We’ve got loads of new songs for Jersey Live and are looking forward to putting on a good show”. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: At the moment two thirds of the band are living in London and gig whenever the other one manages to jetset his arse over to the big smoke. On July 11th they’re supporting the hotly tipped Clor at the Notting Hill Arts Club - want to come? Email [email protected] for details.
THE VALENTINES WHO’S IN THE BAND?: Chris Jegard (22) Vocals, Gavin Gaagaa (21) Guitar, Jordan (21) Bass, and Johnny Hill (22) Drums. INFLUENCES: They quite like old rock n’ roll and doo wop stuff like Phil Spector, and The Ronnettes. Also they’re into The Beach Boys and New York punk sounds like Blondie, The Ramones, and more recently the Strokes. HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN TOGETHER?: Only for a few months - one of them has always been away before. ARE YOU HAPPY TO BE PLAYING JERSEY LIVE?: “Excited (obviously), and a little bit nervous (obviously). Really just a little bit humbled. Nothing like this could happen in the UK where a band who have only been together a few months play alongside The Bravery”. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: The band’s all moving into a house in Brighton and are going to gig between there and London.
Photograph: Xanthe Hamilton
KILLIAN
WHO’S IN THE BAND?: Cillian Vocals and Guitar, Paul on Bass, Ali on Electric & Lead
Photograph: Danny Evans
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Guitar, Rob on Keyboards, and James on Drums. INFLUENCES: They can best describe their sound as ‘somewhere between Damien Rice and Snow Patrol’, so I guess you can count them as their influences. HOW DID YOU ALL GET TOGETHER?: The band started off as just Cillian and Rob who had no plans for it to become a five piece. Drummer James joined after seeing them at the Blue Note, Paul introduced himself after a gig at The Bridge Bar and then told Ali about them. He became the fifth member and completed the line up. ARE YOU HAPPY TO BE PLAYING JERSEY LIVE?: “We want all the material we’ve been producing to reach the widest audience possible - and Jersey Live is the biggest it gets over here. We’re glad to have made it through and are looking forward to getting out there”. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: They’ll have a cd out for the festival and at the end of July are heading to Dublin and Cork to create a buzz in the Irish music scene.
JACKSON MOODY BAND WHO’S IN THE BAND?: Gareth Moody (23) guitar / vocals, Phil Jackson (24) bass / vocals, Alex Moody (18) drums (just been offered a place at Drum Tech in London), & Jerome Le Noir (45) percussion. The band started out as a two piece with Gareth and Phil who met at school and started playing in a Nirvana cover band. At first they were playing open mics and the odd pub gig but soon realised that they we were in desperate need of a drummer; a problem solved by Gareth’s brother, Alex. They immediately gelled and took on the name The Jackson Moody Band, and with the addition of Jerome Le Noir on the djembe drum their sound developed the unique edge it needed. They’ve since played most of the island’s venues and are starting to look off island for their next step. HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN TOGETHER?: They were formed in September 2004, but myself and Gareth where playing as a two piece before hand. INFLUENCES: The Jackson Moody band influences include Sublime, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Manu Chow and Tryo. ARE YOU HAPPY TO BE PLAYING JERSEY LIVE?: “Everybody in the band was over the moon about being accepted. The opportunity to play on a large professional stage with some national and international bands, top A&R people and a crowd size of 7500 is just fantastic. We still can’t believe it. Roll on September 3rd...”. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: They’re going to start recording at the end of summer and hope to have an album out by the end of October.
THE OK’S WHO’S IN THE BAND?: Ali O’Keeffe (26) Guitar & Vocals, Paul O’Keeffe (24) Bass & Vocals, Jamie O’Keeffe (25) Drums &Vocals three brothers! Also guesting will be Matt Holerost (25) Keyboard and Guitar, and Chris Mousedale (21) Electric Guitar. INFLUENCES: Crowded House for harmornies, Muse for guitar riffs, Jeff Buckley, My Chemical Romance, and Bloc Party for their arrangements and drum beats. HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN TOGETHER?: “We’ve been playing together for thirteen years - but we’ve obviously known known each other since we were all born!”. ARE YOU HAPPY TO BE PLAYING JERSEY LIVE?: “The bands are only one part of the festival of course and the crowd is most important. I think it’ll be even better than last year - we’re encouraging people to turn up earlier and see the local bands perform. It’s more important for local bands than national in some ways - we only get to play on a big stage a few times a year”. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: Clouded at the minute but it desn’t look like we’re going to be in Jersey for much longer. Soon after the festival we’re going to be leaving the island - not that we really want to but we’re heading back to Ireland for a few months then we think New Orleans where we’ve done some recording - we’ll be popping back in though! Photograph: Chris Mousdale
BULLETPROOF WHO’S IN THE BAND?: Lee (29) bass, Eddie aka Darren (36) drums, and Steve (29) guitar/vox. INFLUENCES: Influences are a mixture from ska/punk/dub/reggae/ hardcore/grindcore/rockabilly.... with bands like Choking Victim, Snuff, Conflict, Capdown, Terrorizer, Leftovercrack, Living End. HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN TOGETHER?: They’ve been Bulletproof for six years, but have been in different bands for the past fifteen. ARE YOU HAPPY TO BE PLAYING JERSEY LIVE?: “We’re happy being part and playing at the jersey fest, but were a bit shocked to get picked at the so called battle of the jersey live bands (we only went to the havana club for the shock factor and to get wrecked and enjoy ourselfs) but the judges decided to pick us which made us laugh. But as the judges said when we spoke to them after was “we needed a band with a bit of umpfffff”. PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: “The future for us is difficult coz some of us are married with kids and good trades and we can’t really leave jersey. But we’ll still gig in Guernsey also we’ve gigs lined up in the UK in the next few months. We’ve got two cds out both done ourselves but the second is on Function Records which Shane from lebatol is looking out for, giving promos to fanzines and people who like our music like independent radio stations. For more on our cd go to www.functionrecords.com”.
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Ratings *****Elvis ****Eminem ***Erasure **E.L.O. *Enya
REVIEW BY AIMEE / STEVE-O / JULIA THEREZIEN
Foo Fighters: In
your honor
***
Two and a half years after the release of their last album, and ten years after their first the Foos are back with a double album that Dave Grohl claims to be “the definitive”. But more importantly, with one disc of blistering rock and another of acoustic sensitivity, it’s a work that lets Dave stretch out and fully explore both sides of his personality. Disc 1 is for the rockers. This 10-song disc includes some of the heaviest material the Foo Fighters have recorded. The guitars are more distorted, the grooves are faster and louder, and Grohl’s bloodcurdling vocals could give his old frontman a run for the money. It’s not that Grohl has abandoned all the qualities that made the Foos famous; it’s just that on tracks like No Way Back, In Your Honor, DOA, Free Me he’s cut away all the soft bits, cranked what’s left to 10 and fed it all through a distortion pedal and a wall of Marshalls. Disc 2 is where all those soft bits landed. The yin to Disc 1’s yang, the negative to its positive, these songs are some of the quietest, slightest and most intimate songs in Grohl’s catalogue. Norah Jones croons a duet with Dave on the breezy samba Virginia Moon. QOTSA’s Josh Homme repays his sideman debt with a brooding guitar line on the folksy Razor. Led Zep icon John Paul Jones drops by to tinkle some piano and pluck some mandolin. Indeed, either one of these discs would be a superior Foo Fighters disc on its own. Together, they’re easily the most revealing and significant achievement of his post-Nirvana career. Not bad for a guy who’s seen it all before. S
The Magic Numbers: by
The Magic Numbers
****
Hearing the album for the first time is a bit like bumping into an old friend you haven’t seen for ages, until you realise you’ve never actually met before. The MOJO award-winning band comprises two brother-and-sister pairs: the song writing Romeo and Michele Stodart, and their long-time friends Sean and Angela Gannon. The country and soul influences are heard clearly in their music, but throw them into the melting pot along with four highly individual characters, and plenty of sibling intuition, and the result is a unique sound; the whole is greater than the sum of the parts…or something. It’s all maths anyway. The first half of the album is the kinda foot-tapping, head-nodding stuff that makes you want to jump into a camper van with some friends and go off for an idyllic summer holiday, without a razor in sight. The second half is where the real quality is. The gentler, almost melancholy sound of This Love, Try, and perhaps the strongest track on the album,Wheels on Fire, show Romeo’s talent in its full glory. It’s a remarkable debut album, perfect as a summer soundtrack, with its bittersweet theme of the roller-coaster that is luuurv. JT
Palomino: Emmanuelle
*
They are a ‘song-driven’ band apparently, this lot, as opposed to a ‘sardine-driven’ or ‘sandstone-driven’ band. The liner notes also point out that the band ‘places all its faith in music for music’s sake’. Good job that, because this certainly wasn’t created for my sake. Though whether this is music remains questionable. Palomino sound like a bad pub band, and this is only made worse by the fact that they have written their own horrible songs. This album, mercifully their first, suffers from a terminal uninventiveness with lyrics as wooden and derivative as the tunes that carry them. Palomino want to recapture the more blithe and balmy euphony of the Byrds or the Beach Boys, or the buoyant, drum-tight pop of the Beatles, but they end up sounding like a 21st century Crowded House, only with less soul. Especially grating is the platitudinous drone of History or Doppelganger Life’s attempt to zing things up a bit with some funky acid jazz keyboard fingering and vocals which aim at ‘impassioned’ but hit ‘concussed Robbie Williams doing Dylan and Lennon for Matthew’. Highlights? Emanuelle is only 30 minutes long.To sum up, if you had had a few ales, and it was a flawlessly sunny day, and you were in love, and you had enough money, then you might be able to listen to this album all the way through. But then I think you’d probably have better things to do. AG
Benny the Moth
If you have heard of Benny The Moth & The Erogenous Zones then you will surely be singing back at them and shakin your behind to their vibe this summer. During 2004 the band got themselves a name at parties and live venues such as the Blue Note and the Watersplash, but most notably as one of the openers of last years Jersey Live festival, where they took everyone by surprise by rollin on stage with a full brass section and female backing troupe, playing easy summertime reggae with splashes of funk, ska, rock and soul. They are most definately beyond pigeonholing and this EP reflects all their different moods from the boisterious and bouncy crowd favourite ‘Think Ya Luvvly’ to the slo burning jazz rap of ‘Soul Jazz’, this is the sound of band making waves and totally doing their own thing. The band are back together this month to begin work on the follow up EP and to play gigs in Jersey throughout the summer before heading over to the UK for a two week September tour. If this EP is anything to go by this is a band that has an easy going and good natured feel, with inventive songwriting and a great attitude, no doubt they will capture the sounds of the summer and have you dancin all the way to the stars....be sure to keep an eye out for forthcoming dates.
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****NEWS************ The Darkness’ new album will not feature the recently departed and fabulously moustached Frankie Poullain, who claims to have been sacked from the band in March. Paul Buckmaster, famous for his work with Miles Davis, Elton and the Stones, will contribute string arrangements. ***********NEWS**** The two bands with the most frequently abbreviated names ever will be joining forces for a mammoth US tour starting in September. Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails kick begin in San Diego and wind their way to New York’s Madison Square Garden two months later.
**NEWS***************** Interpol have recorded a new song entitled ‘Direction’ written for the Six Feet Under soundtrack. The band describe it as ‘atmospheric’ and ‘good’. *******************NEWS*** If you find yourself in London head west to the Redferns Music Picture Gallery which is exhibiting rare and unseen photographs of Prince Bowie in his heyday. ‘David Bowie: Pin Up’ features work by Terry O’Neill, Mick Rock and Davis Bebbington and runs until August 13th.
Restaurant Review
The Harbour View
I
must confess, I find formal restaurants a little hard to bear. Preoccupied by the temptation to sit back and get comfortable, the occasion tends to pass me by as I look to pop a top button and loosen my tie.You’ll never find my elbows on the table or me slurping my wine, in fact I’m well aware that one should place the bread on the plate between bites; I enjoy the act of dining out without feeling bad for staining the tablecloth. On a balmy summer evening in June, I escorted my better half to Harbour View in St Aubin and felt I that had found the culinary medium I had inadvertently been looking for. To start, we ordered a mini platter of serrano meats and a charcuterie selection. I was delighted when the food arrived, as it was dressed on quirky crockery, which appeared to be made from coiled bamboo cane. I was further impressed to find that the cutlery for our starters were mere cocktail sticks – though knives and forks were on hand if preferred. I relish the opportunity to eat in such a tapas style and found the simplicity of the starter very attractive, allowing the flavour of the meats to capture my attention. The serrano in particular was tasty, dressed with fresh flakes of parmesan and sweet peppers. Admittedly, we were sharing the best evening sun the Island had experienced this summer to date, but I couldn’t help feeling that, had the weather been more muted, the backdrop would not have looked any less striking. Framed by the shingle driveway and edifices on either side, the restaurant overlooked a harbour that seemed to exhale a deep sense of unblemished heritage, radiating the kind of atmosphere that must have adorned St Helier’s old port long ago, before the Island invested in concrete and went ‘landfill happy’. Quaint would be an appropriate word, without placing to great a stress on the sleepy undertones of the term. Speaking generally about the pretty little harbour, St Aubin’s port is one of our isle’s best-preserved honey pots of time-old, traditional joie de vivre and authenticity. What has enhanced it’s appeal is the way in which restaurants like the Harbour View understand this, and have dressed their verandas and styled their interiors to act in manner of symbiotic benevolence towards that environment. Subtle touches in using rustic textures like rope and
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wicker are suggestive of the harmonic relationship the Harbour View enjoys with the marina beyond. For mains I selected the half lobster and my partner chose the gamba prawns - which were huge - with a sweet chilli dip. Both were served on a bed of mixed salad with a garlic mayonnaise dip, and accompanied by fresh bread. It was cooked to perfection; both meats succulent and complemented by the rich flavours of the Mediterranean style salad dressing. The music accompanying our meal was a buoyant impersonal downtempo, without intruding on the serenity of the alfresco setting. Downtempo music that you can identify with another place or setting detracts from the occasion. Much like our favourite operas, musicals and movies, any good restaurant indirectly draws your senses in to a particular theme or mood through its musical score; the Harbour View undoubtedly achieved this. Though the soundtrack to the evening may have been impersonal, the waiter service and customer care was of a high standard. All members of staff were welcoming and diligent in and around the service area. What one also notices about the Harbour View is its child friendly nature. With the service being swifter than the most formal of eating establishments, coupled with the simplistic approach to certain dishes and menu layout, families and groups with young children may find the Harbour View experience manageable for potentially restless little souls.
Though I may be in my twenties I did consider the effect that the lack of menus may have on the less mobile. Diners are required to saunter up to the main board, which although may be well presented, could prove problematic - both for the less agile and for the dining experience of those seated closest to the menu board area. This feature definitely adds to the informal feel of the restaurant - and I personally quite liked the concept - but then again, we were seated away from the thoroughfare, gazing out on a beautiful evening and eating our lovely food uninterrupted.
Breakfast Club: The Hungry Man
If you don’t often get down to St Aubin’s Harbour you should. And if the Harbour View is a place that you have not yet frequented but sounds appealing, there are few better places you may receive a dining experience of this kind.
Harbour View
1/2
Harbour View This months star guide Oyster: Lobster: Gamba: Prawn: Limpet:
Guest House, Bar and Eatery Le Boulevard, St Aubins Harbour, St Brelade, JE3 8AB Table Reservations: 747306 www.harbourview.je
The Hungry Man at Rozel harbour serves up the largest most man satisfying sized burgers you’ll ever see. They’re so big and filled with goodness, that if you try and imagine the greediest person you know being starved for a week before being unleashed in a burger joint, they’d probably struggle to finish one. Breakfast rolls are excellent and there is a never ending set of permutations for combining your egg/bacon/mushroom/sausage etc. We fully recommend a nice big mug of tea as well. What the Hungry Man really has going for it of course is the views and natural beauty of the area. If you’re driving in from town you’ll really feel that you’ve gotten away from it all once you start descending the hill into the bay and find a parking space along the harbour wall. This sunday if you haven’t got much on, we recommend you go visit... This feature higlights where you can go and get something tasty of a Sunday (or Saturday) Morning. If know anywhere we should tell people about? email [email protected].
Who says you can’t mix business with pleasure? Private booths Wi Fi hotspot FREE Internet access
Express lunches Full menu served all day New Extended bar area
Where? The New BlueFish.
Al Fresco Area Now Open
New Gourmet Pizzas Special kids menus Al Fresco Eating
.Whether an Al Fresco meeting, a family get together or a drink after work, Blue Fish offers a full menu all day in a relaxed, informal and comfortable environment. Whether a sunny Express Lunch or a party after work, Blue Fish is the perfect location.
BlueFish Restaurant 8-10 West’s Centre
Reservations: 767 186 Open 9.30 am till late
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We e k e n d Aw a y
Gallery Fashion 0705: Creative Direction: Alana Mann Photographs: Danny Evans
Dominic: MASSIMO Akaikuma Shirt £49. MASSIMO Paul Smith sandals. £79 MASSIMO Maharishi Trousers £175. AURUM Chanel Black J12 Chronograph watch £2640. Charlotte: FC Shorts £40.FC Shirt £50. MARC Pied A Terre £99. AURUM Pearl and diamond drop pendant £1712. AURUM Chanel Chocolate Steel and Diamond Watch £2045. AURUM White gold diamond pavee set bangle 5.2 carat £4300.AURUM Princess cut white gold ring with diamond trilliant shoulders £12900.VISION EXPRESS Glasses Chanel £149.
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Charlotte: FC Shorts £40, FC Shirt £50, MARC Pied A Terre £99, AURUM Pearl and diamond drop pendant £1712, AURUM Chanel Chocolate Steel and Diamond Watch £2045, AURUM White gold diamond pavee set bangle 5.2 carat £4300. VISION EXPRESS Glasses Chanel £149. DOMINIC: MASSIMO Maharishi Trousers £175.
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DOMINIC: DE GRUCHY Pink Faconnable Polo £57, DE GRUCHY White Paul & Shark Trousers £98, MARC SHOES Arcus Brown Shoes £89.99,AURUM Eterna 18 carat rose gold ‘1948’ watch £3555, VISION EXPRESS Prada Glasses £138, MASSIMO Paul Smith belt £55. CHARLOTTE: AXLE WOMAN Cream Ralph Lauren £312.50, AXLE WOMAN Lime Green Polo Shirt £52.50, AXLE WOMAN Seven Cropped Jeans £185, DE GRUCHY Shoes Silver Roland Cartier £70, AURUM Pearl and Diamond Earrings £2500, AURUM Chanel White J12 Diamond set watch £4085, AURUM Princess cut white gold ring with diamond trilliant shoulders £12900. LUGGAGE: BON CHOIX Alison Van Der Lande £475 Weekender Bags, DE GRUCHY Antler Bag £70, DE GRUCHY Brown Hidesign Bag £136. CAR: Range Rover Sport 4.2 V8 Supercharged First Edition in Vesuvius Orange, £54,060 on the road.
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DOMINIC: MASSIMO Paul Smith Jeans £109. MASSIMO Yen White T-Shirt £69. MASSIMO Holland Esquire Jacket £269. AURUM Claw set brilliant diamond stud earrings £5600. CHARLOTTE: NAUTILUS Laundry Orange Dress £255. AURUM Yellow and white diamond princess cut earrings £7200. AURUM Diamond set crossover ring £688. AURUM Yellow and white radiant cut dimaond pendant necklace. AURUM Brilliant cut three row line bracelet £9000
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DOMINIC: DE GRUCHY Gant Linen Shirt £85. DE GRUCHY Calvin Klein Brown Belt £31.50. DE GRUCHY Gant Navy Chinos £68.95. AURUM Eterna 18 carat rose gold ‘1948’ watch £3555. AURUM Claw set brilliant diamond stud earrings £5600.VISION EXPRESS Rayban Sunglasses £69. CHARLOTTE: DE GRUCHY Fenn Wright & Manson Dress £115. DE GRUCHY Pied A Terre shoes £99. AURUM Emerald and diamond Cluster Earrings £4445. AURUM Pear shaped emerald diamond cluster pendant £6000. AURUM Princess cut white gold ring with diamond trilliant shoulders £12900. STYLISTS Hairclip
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DOMINIC: BEAU MONDE Zegna suit £550. BEAU MONDE Canali Shirt £95. BEAU MONDE Brioni Tie £95. BEAU MONDE Brown shoes Paul Smith £155. MASSIMO Paul Smith belt £55. VISION EXPRESS Alain Mikli £400. AURUM Eterna 18 carat White Gold Gents Dress Watch £3598. AURUM Murano Glass and Silver Green Cufflinks £78. AURUM Claw set brilliant diamond stud earrings £5600.CHARLOTTE: ELLIS Bernshaw dress with shawl £299. DE GRUCHY Silver Roland Cartier shoes £70. AURUM Princess cut white gold ring with Diamond Trilliant shoulders £12900. AURUM Diamond 18 carat white gold scalloped line necklace £12950. AURUM White gold Diamond drop chandelier earrings £840.
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Make-up: Suzi Robinson at Experience 2 Hair:Vicky at Toni & Guy Models: Dom and Charolotte at Gallery Fashion Assistant: Bear Thanks to: Atlantic Hotel and its lovely staff, David Hick Interiors, Jacksons,
DOMINIC: FC Trousers £65. DE GRUCHY Calvin Klein Brown Belt £31.50. AURUM Claw set brilliant diamond stud earrings £5600. AURUM Chanel Black J12 Chronograph watch £2640. CHARLOTTE: DE GRUCHY Elle Macpherson Bra £26. DE GRUCHY Elle Macpherson Briefs £18. MARC Magrit Gold Sparkle shoes £99.99. AURUM Yellow and white radiant cut dimaond pendant necklace.AURUM White gold diamond pavee set bangle 5.2 carat £4300. AURUM ‘Camelia’ Blue Sapphire & Diamond watch £7595. BINOCULARS: DAVID HICK INTERIORS Fuji Second World War ship mounted binoculars of significant magnification, polished in nickel, with later adapted photographic tripod stand. WRAP: BON CHOIX Duck- egg Blue £45. Pale Blue £38. Pink £38.
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The de Gruchy Sale is now on. Up to 50% Off a large selection Cosmetics and Fragrances. See in-store for offers.
Smelling good
Beauty Monthly
By Alana Mann
You can never underestimate the importance of smelling wonderful - Gallery have been busy trying, testing and enjoying the best new products on the market.
APRES BATH
BATH Burt’s Bees - Do the most amazing Therapeutic Bath Crystals: which are very good value, £9.50 for a big tub Emerge revived and relieved aches and pains. Organic Blue - Bath & Massage oil: Smell great and relax the body, all products use organic ingredients and are approved by the vegetarian and vegan societies. Dermalogica - Stress Relief Treatment Oil: One of my favourite aromatic body oils which is water-soluble so can even be used in the bath, it also can be applied to the pressure points on the forehead to help headaches, £12.80. Me Mine - Bath & Shower gel: Smells of lavender and orange blossom, its great for a moisturising foam bath, £14. Aromatherapy Associates - Miniature Bath & Shower Oil Collection: Each time you have a shower or bath you can select one of the 9 oils which are 30% concentrate, small and compact perfect for travelling, £22
Clarins - Relaxing Body Balm: A softening complex with marshmallow, sweet almond and linseed, this unlike most other body moisturises is not at all oily, £18.50. Get fresh - Soy & Algae Body Oil: In Blackberry acts as a protective barrier, which will keep skin supple, £22. Pevonia - Phyto-aromatic mist: This will cool, refresh and restore the skin’s balance after exposure to the sun, it also is a brilliant product to seal make-up. Segreti Mediterranei - Deodorante Rinfrescante: Eucalyptus and grapefruit ensure this is one of the freshest deodorants on the market. Estee Lauder - After Sun: Presented in a beachified pot, smelling of summer this after sun will help calm the skin and maintain a longer lasting tan, £14.47. Decleor - Repairing After-Sun Balm: Is an 100% Natural product perfect for restoring your body at night after those sunny days, £34.
MASCARA FLESH POTS Shiseido - Sheer Gloss Lipstick: In Nude Bronze, a soft peachy colour which is so easy to wear, £14.50. Guerlain - Kiss Kiss: In Envie De Beige is a warm nude tone, a lasting lipstick in cubes of gold. Mac - Satin Lipstick: Fleshpot gives you a pale nude pout, which works perfectly with gloss on top. Estee Lauder - Lip Tint Balm: Contains SPF15, Rose Nectar is a pale pinky tone. Estee Lauder - Artist’s Lip Pencil: comes in a super pale colour and is the most moisturising pencil available which means its very versatile. Team with gloss, us as liner or lipstick or just highlight, £11.92. Pout - Lip Gloss: Fluff My Feathers provides wet lips with a hint of pink sparkle dust, £10. Nars - Lip Gloss: Giza is gorgeous creamy apricot, perfect for this time of year, £16. Dior Addict - Ultra-Gloss: Is an interesting balance between creamy colour and a see-through gloss, £11.92. Rimmel - Vinyl Lip: Less tacky but still high shine, Essential is natural, £3.99. Bobbi Brown - Lip Gloss: Pink Beige describes itself, a gloss that creates a more solid yet soft colour.
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Pixi - Duo Lash Tint: Is perfect for anyone with sensitive eyes, each end works as an eye enhancing shade, £18. Clinique - High Impact Mascara: The wetting agents in this mascara really do ensure rich coloured mascara which is not chalky, £10.50. Elizabeth Arden - Double Density: Thickens rather than separates for big lashes, £11.49. Dior - DiorShow Mascara: Is great for huge lashes, however you need to get to grips with the larger than life brush, £14.90. Clarins - Mascara Wonder Volume: This mascara gets colour from the base of lashes to tip, and also sets eyelashes with a lovely curve, £12.70. Guerlain - Divinora Waterproof Curving Mascara: I love Bleu Splash which is a blue-green colour, with one coat you have naturally pretty lashes, building up colour however seems to be a bit of an art. Rimmel - Extra Super Lash Curved Brush Mascara: Holds onto lashes, great for a one coat bit more than natural look, don’t rely on building up though, £3.99
For stockists see back of magazine. Products shots may not be to scale.
Dress to Impress collections
Ellis Clothing 8 - 10 La Colomberie Tel: 732465
Are you interested in modelling work? With our experience in creating some of the Island’s most ambitious fashion shoots, Gallery is increasingly being approached to recruit models for numerous commercial projects. If you are interested in some part time modelling work, or pursuing a career in modelling, and would like to be considered for future projects just or call Alana Mann on 811100 or register at:
www.gallerymagazine.co.uk/models
MENS SCENTS
WOMENS SCENTS
Lancome - Miracle Homme L’Aquatonic: Great for summer, £33.62. Guerlain - L’Instant De Guerlain Pour Homme: Has a strong woody fragrance, 200ml, £55. Dunhill - Fresh: Manly fragrance ideal for any time of year (but particularly good for now!)
Elizabeth Arden - Green Tea Summer: Is a refreshing and easy scent to wear, £16.80. Echt Kolnisch Wasser - Cool Stick: Has a cooling effect when first applied to the skin. Guerlain - Orange Magnifica: This is a great quality scent with lasting power. La Prarie - Silver Rain Fragrance: Standing at 30cm tall this limited edition fragrance is housed in a Christofle sterling silver work of art. Containing three perfumes, two of which are exclusive to each piece, there are only 1,000 worldwide, six have been distributed in Europe, one of which has landed at de Gruchy, £1155.
MENS
Clinique - Liquid Face Wash: A non-drying cleanser, which will remove any pore-clogging dirt, £10.64. Decleor - Shaving Foam Gel: When my boyfriend tried this he truly was amazed, with essential oils it wakes up tired skin for a very precise shave, £10.75. Lancome Homme - Ultra-Soothing After-Shave Balm: This alcohol free balm leaves skin feeling comfortable with long lasting hydration. Neal’s Yard - After Shave Balm: Comes in the stunning blue bottle and really does have a cooling effect. Adidas - After Shave Soothing Cream: Will calm razor burns and moisturise, £4.46. Men-U - Premier Shave & Facial Pack: Contains a three step routine to a perfect shave, it also includes a Shaving brush which is essential for raising those bristles and stimulating facial circulation, £46.95. Clarins - Anti-Brilliance Shine-Free Gel: Great for keeping the shine under control throughout the day, £18. Mac - Scrub Mask: Is a gentle exfoliation treatment to remove those dead skin cells. Skin Ceuticals - Serum 15: Will protect against premature signs of aging and stimulate collagen production. It is ideal for all skin types, perfect to share with your partner, £34.04. VO5 - Fibre Putty: Perfect for unkempt ‘just out of bed look’, it can also be reworked throughout the day, £2.68. Avon - Ab Define: That’s right, this product hopefully will improve the skin tone of the abdominal area, £12. Skin Ceuticals - Foaming Cleanser: Is perfect for the uni-sex approach, it will remove excess oil and make-up leaving you feel completely refreshed, £22.50. Comfort Zone - Action Sublime: Is a fantastic daily moisturiser which contains an SPF12 to protect against photo-aging. With a fresh subtle aroma it is suitable for men and women alike, £64.50. Pur Monoi - Hei Poa: A Tahitian remedy that works wonders on dry skin and hair with a tasty scent.
Burt’s Bees - Foot Care Kit: Comes with Pumice stone, Coconut Foot Cream and a cute pair of yellow socks with an embroidered bee, £13. Ms Pedicure Diamond Dust Pedicure Wand: Is great for exfoliating the feet and unlike a pumice stone you have a good grip handle. Kiss - Fashion Toe Nails: These look fab, they really transform your feet. They are also easy to put on, £8.04.
GROOMING
FEET
(MENS!) PEDICURE Not one guy that I know has ever been for a pedicure. As men it’s not the sort of thing we would traditionally feel comfortable admitting. After having my feet massaged, scrubbed and soaked by Kelly at Bedroom though I’ve got no qualms with telling my mates.Although the foot-scrubber looked a little dangerous none of the process hurt at all - in fact it was all very relaxing. After a short chat with Kelly where she explained what she was going to do, I had my nails efficiently chopped and filed and the dead skin removed from the soles of my feet (there was quite a lot...) To get rid of all the remaining dead skin Kelly scrubbed them with a potion containing natural sugar crystals, and after a foot soak sorted out my cuticles. The best part was the massage though - after a tough game of football this is just what I’ll be doing from now on. The pedicure costs £20 from The Bedroom (don’t be shy guys, try it and you’ll like it!)
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Male grooming once ended with deodorant and brushing teeth, but in these enlightened days of metrosexuality, men are enjoying being pampered as much as women. Jason Shankey in London’s Fulham is exclusively for men and is more gentlemen’s club then grooming parlour. Gone are the copies of Heat magazine and cups of tea and in comes a waiting room with a big screen TV, beers and cigars. The walls are covered in classic film posters and the old school barber’s chairs clearly make it as a male domain. It’s a stones throw from Stamford Bridge and Chelsea players have been known to drop in. In fact, some of the team at Jason Shankey are soon off to look after Jenson Button’s face to ensure it’s in top shape after being stuck in a hot racing helmet for hours on end. Gallery sent London correspondent Matt Pomroy to check it out and with newly cleansed pores from an Express Facial he called us and said: “A free bar, cigars, bit of Sky Sports and then a pretty woman working her magic on your face...it gets my vote.” If you’re in London then this is a great place to start the weekend before hitting the bars on the pull. For more information go to www.jasonshankey.com
For stockists see back of magazine. Products shots may not be to scale.
Jersey
www.jerseyevents.com
Events
FOR COPIES OF ANY OF THE IMAGES BELOW, GO TO JERSEYEVENTS.COM, JERSEY’S MOST VISITED WEBSITE ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT JERSEY EVENTS 2005
FACES
Zara PalmerWatkinson’s
High Maintenance Woman
Great Lengths Looking groomed is something I pride myself on, but recently however many LK Bennett bags I buy, things just haven’t been looking right. It suddenly hit me as I was trying on the new diamond rings in Aurum the other day. They were all wrong. No not the diamonds, my nails. Short and sweet (ok, slightly bitten) with snagged cuticles, they’d fitted in with last year’s surfer look, but just didn’t work with this season’s St Tropez sundresses. They needed to be longer – not square-tipped, fake-French manicured Footballers’ Wives talons, but long, oval nails, coral-painted and glistening against slim tanned fingers. Unlike the two and a half carat sparkler on my finger, this particular fantasy was very easy to achieve – and an hour and a half later, I strolled out of Salon Seven’s nail bar the proud owner of a full set of nail extensions. The transformation was immediate – my posture improved, I felt instantly glamorous and developed a rather fetching way of sweeping my hair off my face so that everyone would see my fabulous nails. I even found myself waving to people I would normally ignore in King Street - just to show them off. I ended up ordering far too much in Dix-Neuf because I was so enjoying pointing to everything on the menu. I became fingerfixated, drumming my fingers on as many surfaces as I could find, for the wonderfully satisfying tapping sound they made. I even made five trips up and down in the lift at Voisins just to keep pushing the buttons with my new nails. But life is cruel and like the devastatingly handsome man who turns out to have an IQ of 43, long elegant nails have their drawbacks. My hands were handicapped – I first realised when I tried to collect my change at Dix-Neuf. I ended up leaving a huge tip because I just couldn’t pick up the coins. I couldn’t even unzip my Prada wallet – let along extract my AmEx card from the side pocket. Ordinary tasks have become minefields. The parking control man up at the airport wasn’t amused when I pressed the emergency call button because I couldn’t collect my change from the parking machine. I almost took my eye out when I tried to apply my Crème de Mer eye cream. And don’t even get me started on clasps, buttons, zips and hooks. One poor chap who took me out for dinner thought he was in luck when I asked him inside after he’d dropped me home – but not for coffee, just to help me take off my necklace. Punching the buttons on my mobile has been very tricky, and I haven’t dared speak to Aunt Eva since a saucy text intended for a male friend got sent to her by mistake when my nails slipped. So I might be in family disgrace, dishevelled and completely helpless, but at least my nails look fabulous. And like a rather dangerous but terribly exciting infatuation, I just can’t give them up. I’ve realised the secret - people who have long elegant nails actually have someone there to do all the mundane stuff for them. I think I might have to advertise for part-time help for a helpless female, to do all the things I can’t. Nails are certainly an expensive habit – and that’s just all the money I have to leave on the pavement because I can’t pick it up. No wonder the nail technician said they’d be expensive to maintain.
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OAKLEY THUMPTM is the world’s ďŹ rst digital music eyewear. No more wires. Just high-performance optics forged with an integrated, state-ofthe-art digital audio engine. Listen to music virtually anywhere. Change the way you see and hear the world. The Thump comes in seven colour cominations and two types: a 128 MB version and a 256 MB version with polarized lenses. Come and see the full Oakley range at Vision Express.
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vision express the one hour optical lab
1hr
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LA
Uncle Travelling Matt
The captain explains that we are entering United States airspace so passengers are not permitted to stand outside the toilet or gather in groups of three or more. It’s hard not to gather in groups, given that there are hundreds of us crammed in the plane together and we’d earlier been told to take walks up the aisle to avoid deep vein thrombosis. Now that queuing for the toilet is a criminal offence I began to wonder what awaits us upon landing. It turns out that what awaits us is a lot of queuing with the other huddled masses. Our fingerprints and mugshots are taken and there’s a barrage of questions and forms to fill out. One of the sections on the form asks if I am a spy. I wondered, how bad a spy do you have to be to blow your cover by ticking the yes box? Eventually, convinced that I was no danger, they let me out into Los Angeles where I was free to buy a cheap assault rifle and enough ammunition to wipe out a school. God bless the Republicans. God help the rest of us. I’m pleased to report that LA looks just like it does in the movies. The sun is beating down as we cruise into the city with the Hollywood sign up on the hill. Some classic 1980s LA rock on the radio, gangbangers in bouncing convertibles cruising alongside us and the tanned and moneyed flying past in sports cars, living the American dream. It’s like being in a game of Grand Theft Auto. Later that night, an actor (currently working as a barman) tells me that LA really is like a game of Grand Theft Auto and there are places that are off limits to bumbling white tourists. Another couple of actors (who’ve just finished their shift as waiters) fill me in on where to go. It seems that if you threw a rock into any bar in LA it would bounce off at least three actors before hitting the ground. Having had enough of meeting actors who are perpetually waiting for their break, with nothing but six years McJob experience and a bit-part in LA Law behind them, I head off to find some real stars, vowing not to leave the city until I do. If there’s one thing rich film stars like to do, it’s spend money so I walk to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and meet up with a Scottish paparazzi called Paul. He agreed to let me tag along following a tip off he’s just received and we head off to stalk Jim Carey. Sure enough, after 15 minutes of waiting outside a restaurant, Jim saunters out with Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan. Might there be collaboration in the pipeline? You head it here first. Jim poses for pictures, pulls a few faces and then jumps into a waiting car. Photographer Paul tells me that his pictures of Jim won’t make him much, but the ones of Angelina Jollie and ‘friend’ he got last week made him more than he earned in an entire year in his previous job at a local paper in Scotland “The world is celebrity obsessed and this place is their playground, the money is here, you should see where they live,” he laughed. It seemed like a plan, so I headed up to Mulholland Drive with a map of the star’s homes to see what I could find on behalf of Gallery Magazine.
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Whether you’re the right age to appreciate the obscure fraggle reference or not, Uncle Travelling Matt will appeal to anyone with a taste for travel. Ex 24se7en’er Matt Pomroy gives Gallery his reflections as he travels to the destinations around the globe that we all dream about.
My top seven findings are: 1) Julia Robert’s gardener can’t be bribed to dish the dirt – at least not with small bills. 2) Leonardo Di Caprio’s house is the coolest place on earth. 3) Mike Tyson’s house is huge, but has remained half built for over two years following his financial strife. 4) Matt LeBlanc’s house if proof that money can’t buy you taste. 5) There was a puddle of vomit outside Carrie Fisher’s house. Let’s hope she’s not back on the sauce. 6) John Travolta’s house is proof that lots of money still can’t buy you taste. 7) If Cuba Gooding Jnr ever recommends his builders to you, don’t call them. They’re the slackest manual workers I’ve ever seen (and I’ve been to France) but the fact that he lives opposite Britney Spears may have something to do with them seeming very distracted. Somehow you can forgive the builders for spending more time gawping than digging. Los Angeles and the whole of California seems to revolve around stars and fame, to the extent that hardmad wooden actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is their Governor. This is like us making Vinny Jones the Mayor of London and all the more worrying when you consider that California has an economy bigger than most countries. I head to Venice Beach to see where Arnold started out. It’s only 11 in the morning but there are fat-necked future Arnolds pumping weights. Maybe one day, one of them will also govern 40 million people. Maybe he’s just acting? After all, being in LA feels like being in a film. I play some basketball on the court where they filmed White Men Can’t Jump – although I fear any ‘your mamma’ jokes would get me stabbed - and then go onto the Baywatch beach and run in slow motion until bump into a girl from the hostel. She invites me to a party that night so I can meet some real people from LA.At this party I meet a wannabe rapper called Kerb Dog, some lawyers who are in Hollywood to get showbiz clients and a fashion designer from the Valley who thinks my accent is, “like, just, so rilly rilly cool” along with other assorted people, all drinking heavily. They all had one thing in common - they were trying to make it in LA and even though they had come from all over America, Los Angeles had absorbed them and was dangling the carrot of success just near enough to keep them here. Then, this rock chick introduces herself and whispers something in my ear. But I’ll save that story for when I make it onto Letterman. Party on, Your Uncle Travelling Matt
SOCIETY
Let’s face it. Jersey’s not that big a place and sometimes you’ll probably feel the need to escape to the big city. The problem is, when you’re visiting a place as large, hectic and complex as London and ‘Time Out’ hasn’t been able to help, you can find yourself in need of a little guidance when trying to find the best that London can offer. The Renaissance Club might just be the solution to that little problem. The Renaissance Club is an online members club that offers those that join the opportunity to explore the bright and glittering side of London in confidence. If you pop over for a weekend break or on business, you can use your membership to search out the kind of bars, clubs, restaurants and shops that will make your visit perfect. The Club has links with many of London’s most stylish dining establishments and drinking holes and a membership will ensure that you’re able to enjoy guest list and complimentary entrance at the clubs, free bottles of champagne in restaurants or a discounted price on many luxury products and services. Also, if you do decide to become a member, RClub will tease you each week with invitations to exclusive parties, some simple and elegant, others wild & extreme. All parties are hosted by the Club, mostly in London but sometimes as far a-field as Cuba, Turkey, Switzerland and France. Members of the Club are mostly professionals, 80 % of which are aged between 25 and 45 yrs old, with the majority working in the fields of finance, banking, law, property, media, journalism,
marketing, PR, fashion and retail. But whether they’re on a salary of £20,000 or £2 million, members are mentally wealthy. If you think big, work hard and want to shop, dine, go out, work out and party with the absolute minimum of hassle, Renaissance Club could be your keys to the city. The Club has 60:40 female to male split with research showing that women are often the driving force in spending and forming trends within the marketplace. As such, female members particularly appreciate the extra value that the membership card provides and also enjoy having access to up-to-date information on places to socialise and shop. As a club, they retain the right to be exclusive and make no apologies for that. The concept is that members want to relax and spend time with other like-minded professionals at exclusive parties organised by the Rclub team – this might be a lingerie fashion show on the King’s Road one week or a Venetian Masked Ball the next. The club is aimed towards those who are either successful London based professionals or business people frequenting London looking for instant access to a top end social set up. Could this be the end to sitting around in Hotel bars wondering where to go? For more details on The Renaissance Club go to their website: www.rclub.com or email Christian Gilbert at the club: [email protected] All telephone enquiries can be directed to 0870 737 2582.
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re the ent. the , e k itm of yb ds. pic ll ma comm path rt, roun the a rking nd r u o e f o t g h c o g a e y t eke n a k h a w i l p k wa ing t acked giv for a a we o y u n o k k r ld b ma o on e ma d tr an ny wo eiv sio f for ail an u c e her all at e wou aters a o c rec er y t l c se w r c a w e o o s e e t e k t i r e li ecr on han h th as wa t h r ot lm t th you er I w oat” e. It ’s n e to d a p rlier to ca d rea hate nt ov t l I g n b . a e c s a v e e sty fa ort chan recei out mised how you as I le sur ind th oard azing p r e s e g n e k I he led att pro wa “beh ngb n am ent r th ds, adin o m ous w bubb end tly fo r win d he ptune s to ldest sic Lo ced a p a N e i . n e n h e w o c n s s -d atie ight in a rie cla e nie ons mac ity l dN ion tun g is th n the expe dit ait p se of he lie at an daw subc y sto r n ed. t o o pp urfin en i ently dat d r c you w romi hing t rd bo bou owsy ats m na. o o d a f d an rec ip. dr as he p itc boa the kes rid ing l an g o ari ion dul tricks , a ing t, wa was g has ionsh eth your ornin th M ass cards and t t of d wake n y p m l r o n p l h d e o a b o ly i n r m s g d a e b y in rfi m ave ls th Bisca thou r of red spee tentia ish, e’s ent r the Eliza is m it or g boa kesu cha r c h h e n a e i o d T a n e l n . h itt r m he po Th mom e fo s the de igh oat Believ e a lo ard.W a wor y w ures el fro f us, t ud ow . pea -air, h at is re sk m ros b i a n p t a e a r . o o nd h is no h e s at ann ny o pro red ac a ing uge , w d m d t how wh urfb n a s, n h e a e th un ard out h th on boar cke now 970s zed s itions kee here the c or m re th uand o Wi ing s a s b p a i a p F r e sq rn ng pet nee t ab r p , the we ho k he 1 cial are any s g ove ning. ou w nity mo urfi d k is no r he feet r if y rtu ry nie ple w in t , a spe l com s n n m r i a o e a r o a p k a G ; in s it u m g o t e s ck o na ip Wa xpect kiin rding, es hi er yo age of pe an ba ecom regio and play ure sl urday d. Bu t opp s ’ s s r y r u e v d a a k e to d a b r S te n n sa eg Jac m an press n Sat sider a gre t ye little ricks t wa kebo er ca live u tal lectio aze b s now ort, U s i e a o v l a n h a t h e d l e it a r a a p d o oa rid e a W a t a hig ession ver co uld b ing m a c The c at is h the s ten ent w of new the b g m nlike the mor t s n o a i n e ti h a s i o ky w ost ard s. U hich eels fro ing. , wh d to rr on W for tion n bed w et ebo ason ith w ave f afte ipline terski at on icate p abl rt, Jac e, a h Jacky n ar k i o d e a s l y e n w d a c c s an sta c w t r s w he wa e bo de ith y, a dis of i n ll w Spo pla s ve. o T the jett rging even by th azine Ha the 5th king w ent iffere eftne tion. achie day ing, t e v y l e on e g n h d k d e i d d d a t v a n a a c n i s t e e e r m e a y s l a t n t d b m e ver t e a nc res t, J en an e sen qui mo set ow . Th ts o is r ding ner th a Pos perie imp g. Wh nd will n ion ut for gance dictiv can’t hos nto th boar e) ge ty wi y t a x n e c n y a i e s d le t ad ings ra d, b m ni Jer ths ake (wav ulari ith ead oar ors att et ee d io and mon sey w y be h e b petit he atche in th ge ye t bin I m ucat ting w ake pop t h p t r w in ed Jer ma da see is m ted tran tha sho fou on com ard an , pre ng the owth pw le nd t the can iding anifes is a s wave urf y had ed to sport t u a i S r t e r d g s n s i z n p b e nl etur ging o rd r is m ding he spo ves r apid tha to nsi tee a ht ane g o ke, r a s respo ol ble uvres l, L avin , she r emer wa of bo thrill ot bin n wit a a d inv al and e g n h rill n noe uce h is rd. is r tio ia. H ver its’ t fo ctio iv nt a bei rod whic tanda rna liforn owe hat th st nd m rev y o the th stead ithou onne p e u t k j h s c s a t n I a a r w dc te, Ja C ly in n g, n h mpe essive s fo tricks bey kton, ering ectio ing urfin outs, owed ty an t o b i h n o t i c r t t p at c rog ri es y A Stoc Stagg e dir po of cri Wa wak wipe To be of pu nb get le list ubs ose th year p ive eld in test. nto th s th ping ave. ree d i g l o .” u nd n W slip g w deg th hip s h con t i wh wo fou es of ear o kin ors nship the insigh ts is a plete s n w i y n a t dis r-end e the e n i e r n abil ts spo pio ult i true com e ent ther rid g’s tes nev the the Cham a res nd a ed, sly, now ted to rfin in the e con u h u g d o s g a f d in ke evi ke, xpec ve or th rou Worl ion o learn she ad giv f Wa cur e “Pr wa t Th
Those adrenaline junkies in our readership who would question the degree of fun there is to be had at nine nautical miles an hour should come down from their 30-knot pedestal and try it. Wakesurfing is far from the restrictive parameters that one may associate with a short wave and no towrope. It was during the sessions of Clayton, Christian and Gary that the potential of the discipline was further demonstrated. Drawing the short straw to get wet first, Christian immediately started to pull 360 spins and assault the wake, getting the most from all sections of the wave. Likewise, Gary and Clayton’s surfing abilities enabled every inch of the wake to be explored. Working through snap turns and challenging themselves from the back of the wake forward, it is easy to see why professional surfers, looking to develop their technique, treat the sport with such eagerness and enthusiasm. As the party watched J.C take to the water, we mused as to where the sport could go. At one time the only groups in serious pursuit of mastering the wakeboard were towing aerial specialists like John Bouchet across the bay. Nowadays, more people have invested in the proper gear, in realisation that the Island has the conditions and pedigree of riders tempted to try it;
wakesurfing could take off in the same way. To wakesurf you need the right gear too. It’s not advised that you attempt it behind an external propeller. You would need the right boat, preferably with the ballast tank technology to achieve the wake necessary for a good wave. Jacky would like to see the sport, along with wakeboarding achieve a level within the island whereby annual events could promote and develop the sport for all age groups. For the youngsters of today, Kelly Slater Pro Surfer and Tony Hawk Underground are impressive but lazy substitutes for the healthy alternative of trying the real thing. Any new activity that tempts us out into the open air should be embraced; wakeboarding and wakesurfing are just two examples that could be developed here in Jersey. When the late summer charts show a static black and deep purple, and every other August morning Elizabeth Castle floats on millpond water, what will you be doing? I know where I’ll be. A Big Thank you to Jacky and Gary for a great day out. Photos: Jon Carden // Matthew Porteus
Looking to develop an interest in wakesurfing or wakeboarding.... ? As if by magic your wakeboard prayers have been answered. Gallery got wind of a new wakeboard event that may be taking place in the Island. Scheduled for the weekend of the 19-20 August the contest has received backing by Jersey Tourism and details are currently being finalised. There is talk of a master class by visiting pro-riders and negotiations have begun to get clearance for the boats to get tight into the wall on high tide, allowing the hundreds of spectators to get a quality view of the competitors tricks and maneuvers. The facilities at Le Haule slipway will provide the contest venue. Gallery will keep you up to date with arrangements in our next issue. Make a note in your diary; this could be a brilliant event. FACT: The 2005 World Championships teams with Boardstock TEN and will be held at Clear Lake, California. LINKS: http://www.centurionboats.com/WAKE_SURF/index.html (CHECK OUT THE VIDEO) http://www.boardstock.com/ http://www.wakepics.com
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Gadgets W
idgets. No doubt you didn’t even know that you needed widgets in your already overcrowded life, but after you’ve used them you’ll wonder how you ever managed to get by without. Tagged as the world’s most advanced operating system, Tiger for Mac OSX claims to be able to change the way you use your computer. The new Dashboard hosts nifty miniapplications called widgets that appear instantly and keep you up to date with timely information from the internet.View stocks, check weather forecasts, track flights, convert currency and units of measure, even look up businesses in the phone book. Similar to Exposé, the Dashboard is simple and easy to use and zips across your Desktop at the click of a function key. Definitely worth investing in.
Boys
Girls
T
here’s a great deal we could learn from the ancient cultures.Take the Masai for example, if you let them they’ll teach you how to walk properly again. MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) is a range of revolutionary footwear that promises to re-establish the natural conditions of standing and walking. The Masai, a semi-nomadic tribe, walk long distances on a regular basis and in doing so develop toned lean leg muscles, a perfect posture and suffer very few back and joint complaints. MBT’s actually imitate the terrain the Masai walk on, and turn the hard and flat surfaces that we walk on every day into the soft and natural ground of the Masai Mara. But why are we featuring these shoes on the Gadgets page you may ask? Well, they’re not just any ordinary pair of shoes. Hidden within this deceptively simple looking trainer is a combination of three dimensional formed fibreglass and Swiss Masai Formula PU mid-sole (whatever they are) that took ten years to research and coordinate. The result is a shoe that works your body to stimulate your muscles and biomechanical elements. If you are thinking of getting a pair you’ll be treated to an initiation session that will teach you all about these little beauties and what they can do - for more details visit the website: www.mbt-uk.com or pop into Marc shoes in Bath Street.
Phone Of The Month: Sony Ericsson K750i
Vertical - it’s a phone. Horizontal - it’s a camera. If you’re into photography you’ll probably recognise the camera interface from Sony digital still cameras, just slide the lens cover open to change from the phone to the Digital Still Camera interface - nifty. Also carrying decent music capabilities, the K750i is full of tunes. An FM radio and advanced digital music player should be enough to keep you more than satisfied. Including data cable and 2meg camera the K750i is available for £280.99 (thats 28 airmiles!) - also, subject to status 0% interest free credit available.
£280.99
If you’re busy and need to stay in touch without holding on, a handsfree kit is essential. Easily transferred from one vehicle to the next, simply plug into the cigarette lighter, connect, and speak - couldn’t be simpler. The Siemens HKP500 car kit normally costs £16.99, but for a limited period is available for half price, £8.49, at Phone Factory, The Powerhouse, Queens Road.
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Hit the street with the new PSP (PlayStation Portable)
In stock now at iQ.
With eye-popping graphics, dazzling widescreen LCD, wireless connectivity and the ability to play games, music and movies when and where you want, the PSP gives you the freedom to enjoy entertainment on your terms. The portable entertainment revolution has arrived. In stock now at iQ! limited numebrs so get down to be the ďŹ rst to own one!
Other iQ News Better Buds
Camo-Pod! Fancy a change of scenery for your favourite music player? iQ now have a full range of zCovers to make your iPod or iPod mini all protected for the beach this summer and looking fruity at the same time! In stock now!
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iPod / iPodmini / iPod Shuffle / iBook / Powerbook / iMac / eMac / Mac mini
WHICHWAYNOW? CAREER WEB?
Time to stop climbing the ladder? ʻCareerʼ:
Taken from the Medieval Latin carr ria meaning road for carts. At every cultural epoch in our long history, society has offered increasingly diverse methods of carving out a living. From the Renaissance inspired Industrial Revolution – that allowed the profitable layman to sit alongside the aristocracy – to the blurring of the societal lines that followed, what had once been, for the many, a windowless room of undiscovered potential is now a portal of open doors that we may walk through at any time. Through wave on wave of feminism and counter-culture activism we have emerged from world wars, apartheid, segregation and Semitism to establish ourselves in this quasi-technocratic cyber-age of Internet, WAP and satellite. ‘Career’ has turned from walking the medieval mule-driven cart road of the masses, to a multidimensional process of selfdiscovery with an indigestible degree of choice. A topical question for this day and age is; ‘has the ladder that once demanded to be climbed evolved into a web to be traversed’? Is it not somewhat ironic that something so fundamental to our one shot at existence, is also a synonym for ‘loss of control’.You may have one suit for every day of the week hanging above neatly placed matching shoes, pre-scratched paycards bulging from the glove compartment; maybe even a change of clothes at work and a mosaic of family photos bordering your CPU; but does it make your working life any more predictable? Such constructed social rituals and motifs are as much a reflection of our nervous ignorance of what is to follow, as they are a mode to paint our identity. Let’s not get paranoid and ask the boss out for a latte to discuss ‘job security’, just admit that, unless you’re Ian Huntley, you may not know where life may take you in the years to follow. At the advent of 2005, Gallery produced a careers feature primarily focusing on the graduate, or young person in industry. This time Gallery looks towards those at the higher end of the employment spectrum. What does the word ‘career’ mean to them? How have they approached it? How has this approach changed? And what fruits have emerged from their labours?
Career Web or Career Ladder? DAVID MOORE : PARTNER : ERNST & YOUNG LLP When questioned about your view of the concept of ‘a career’ what initially springs to your mind? I view the term ‘a career’ as a long-term journey which should be fulfilling, challenging and, personally, where every week - if not every day - is different! Briefly describe the worst job you have ever done. This was undoubtedly a Saturday job working for a well-known supermarket chain in the UK. The very first day I was stuck cleaning a huge walk-in freezer for over four hours armed with only a pair of woolly gloves; it was terrible. The following Saturday I resigned. Can you remember the pervading cultural assumptions about working life and ‘a career’ when you finished education? At 18 years old my father was made redundant, having worked for the same company for over 30 years. I knew then, that after University, I wanted a job which would give me an ‘insurance policy’ and which I could use anywhere in the world. However, unsure which direction I wanted to go in, this needed to be diverse without closing doors – accountancy made sense. How do you think these principles have changed when looking at our society today? Times are certainly different for those born in the 1960s compared to the 1980s! There seems to be more of an appreciation that life is short, which means more graduates leave University and drift for a while, before deciding on a particular career path. Before I set off travelling for a year I secured a place at Ernst & Young. People now tend to do this the other way round and drift for a bit longer. How much do you feel that this will change in the future? Life is becoming more demanding with an ever-shorter response time - this is unlikely to change. Despite living in Jersey, we are going to have less free time and it is important to try and find a happy medium.
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In addition, there is a realisation that one’s career can no longer be set in stone; it seems to be much more of a web than in the past. What was your first experience of full time employment? My first full time job was as an Associate for Ernst & Young in London where I remained for 11 years before transferring to Jersey. Here I began studying for my ACA qualification and focused on Wholesale Banking & Capital Markets in UK Financial Services. Could you state your current position and briefly describe the roles and responsibilities you fulfil within it? I became a Partner with Ernst & Young in July 2003. A quarter of my time is spent advising on one-off assignments, another quarter heading up our IT assurance solutions offering across the Channel Islands and the remainder of my time advising and auditing banks, fiduciary businesses, esoteric securitisation vehicles and hedge funds. I also have a number of internal roles, such as counselling a number of our people. What has the company/organisation you currently work for given to your career? As far as diversity is concerned, there is never a dull moment. There are always many balls in the air at one time. Secondly, in this rapidly changing world of Corporate Governance and regulation, it is a great challenge to keep one step ahead. As for opportunity, after 11 years of living in London we were looking for a better place to raise our children. Shanghai was mooted, but Jersey seemed to be by far the best choice!
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WHICHWAYNOW? CAREER WEB? Continued from Page 44
Have you at any point in your career experienced deep anxiety for how things were going to develop/pan out? No. I tend to try and go with the flow and not get too anxious (although my wife would disagree!) - life’s too short. Should I have any uncertainties my best remedy is exercise, such as running, that allows me to step outside the problem. The demands can be so great that if you don’t it can take you over, resulting in a downward spiral.
Looking back on your career history, do you feel that it has progressed as a ladder climbed or a web traversed? Looking back at my career, I have progressed “up the ladder” to Partner. However, it seems that once the door to partnership opened, there was a web to traverse……
Career Web or Career Ladder? MARK JAMES : PARTNER : PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS Briefly describe the worst job you have ever done. One of my first job experiences was at the tender age of 14 when I worked as a ‘gardener’. I was asked to tidy up the lawn but a mere tidy up would not, in my view, utilise my obviously creative talents. I proceeded to redesign my employer’s prize lawn. Needless to say my career as a gardener was short lived!
collectively with my fellow partners, for ensuring that our business operates efficiently and effectively, that our clients receive the best service we can provide, and that our staff are looked after.
Can you remember the pervading cultural assumptions about working life and ‘a career’ when you finished education? I think, in society, there has always been a consciousness of a work to life balance, it’s just that it was not given a name in the past. A need to balance the various elements in your life has always been important.
What has the company/organisation you currently work for given to your career? PwC has given me great opportunities for career development and every day brings a new challenge. For example I currently work a split week between London and Jersey enabling me to gain experience in one of our London offices.
How do you think these elements have changed when looking at our society today? Now, there seems to be a greater pressure to achieve the work life balance, as people appear to be working longer hours. Furthermore, it is increasingly common to find, within families, both partners working full time jobs; the challenge in achieving the balance is therefore greater than before. What was your first full time position? In 1981 I began working for Coopers & Lybrand as an Audit Assistant. In 1998 C&L merged with Price Waterhouse creating our current existing firm. Could you state your current position and the briefly describe the roles and responsibilities you fulfil within it? I am a Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers and I am responsible,
Have you at any point in your career experienced deep anxiety for how things were going to develop/pan out? Life and work brings its daily challenges and issues. I would be lying if I said it has always been plain sailing but if we did not have challenges in life then things would be very dull. Looking back on your career history, do you feel that it has progressed as a ladder climbed or a web traversed? I think it is most appropriately summed up as a ladder climbed. I should say that it is a ladder I’m still climbing – even partners develop and progress as we gain new experiences.
Career Web or Career Ladder? JOHN SHENTON : TAX DIRECTOR : ERNST & YOUNG LLP When questioned about your view of the concept of ‘a career’ what initially springs to your mind? You spend most of your life at work and therefore it has to be something you enjoy; if you don’t, you should reconsider. Also, though it is certainly part of the equation, money should not be the first part. Briefly describe the worst job you have ever done. My worst job was a Saturday job working as a gardener, weed clearing around the ‘Branchage’ season - I didn’t really know a plant from a weed (and still don’t) and an incompetent gardener with hay fever is probably not the best combination. Can you remember the pervading cultural assumptions about working life and ‘a career’ when you finished education? I did not have an overriding passion to become a tax specialist. I knew that in order to find a good fulfilling career and be able to progress I would need qualifications. I think that these are even more important now. What I wanted was independence, as well as money to pay off the overdraft accumulated at Polytechnic. I stumbled into tax (as it was the first proper job I had ever applied for) and found that I enjoyed it. I still enjoy it (most of the time) and have moved jobs when opportunities have presented themselves.
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How do you think these have changed when looking at our society today? 20 years ago the Jersey Finance Industry was still in its relative infancy. There were more ownermanaged businesses than large corporations. As the Directors were usually also the owners I think there was a bigger commitment on both the employee and employers part. A job is now more of a commodity, to be traded for the best returns rather than a career. How much do you feel that this will change in the future? Unfortunately, I think for a lot of people it is likely that work will become more mundane and process driven. Regulation will continue to increase and the advances in technology will accelerate. The amount of human input and thought required will be reduced. People with flair will continue to flourish, however I fear for those in middle / lower management who may find it difficult to obtain a fulfilling job. What was your first full time position? Within three weeks of returning to Jersey from Polytechnic, having
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Help Desk Analysis
Providing 1st level technical support / service to all users, and be an operational link between the IT team and the user base. Requires 2 / 3 yrs IT experience including AS400, and have an excellent telephone manner. Call Andy on 875444.
JOBSINTRUST Immediate Trust Vacancies
Our Client, a highly reputable trust organisation seeks 5 experienced trust candidates to assist with new business. Initially the positions are offered on a contract basis with excellent hourly rates. Call Paul now for full details on 875444.
Trust Administrator
24846 A qualified or part-qualified trust administrator who is prepared to study is required by this fast growing and long established organisation. Call Emma on 876214
Trust Administrators (Trainee to STO)
Candidates with varying levels of experience sought by several well-established trust organisations. Ideally possess or willing to study towards relevant qualification and be looking for career advancement. Excellent all round package. Call Paul on 875444.
Company/Trust Administrator
25535 Many opportunities for all administrators! Contact us to find out more. Call Kim on 876214
JOBSINLAW
Legal Secretary
25447 Experienced legal secretary, ideally with commercial property experience. Working for one of the Channel Islands’ leading law firms. Call Emma on 876214
CLERICAL&SECRETARIAL Processing Clerk
24411 Good keyboard skills required. Great opportunity if you’re looking for a back office role with training. No office experience required. Call Kate on 876214
Assistant PA
24514 Good Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills. Assisting PA to senior executives. Sociable company with a great team spirit. Call Kate on 876214 Hospitality Catering Assistant 25400 You will have either deli bar experience or chef/waiting skills for these busy jobs in a staff catering outlet. You will also need cash handling skills, perfect hygiene and, ideally, food preparation experience. Need 5 years. Call Kate on 876214
TEMPJOBS CALLING ALL TEMPS !
If you have banking experience in any area within finance, then your skills and experience are wanted now!! We have a range of temporary positions, both long and short term to suit. Call Denise on 875444.
Newly Qualified Lawyer
25262 You will be a newly qualified lawyer for this exciting opportunity in a major law firm, specialising in markets and funds. Call Emma on 876214
AGENCIES
EVERY CALL GENERATED BY JOBSIN COULD BE A PLACEMENT. AT SUCH A LOW COST FOR JOB CLASSIFIEDS, CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO TRY IT? VISIT WWW.GALLERYMAGAZINE.CO.UK/JOBSIN
Rowlands Recruitment
Trinity House, Bath Street St. Helier, JE2 4ST Call: 876214 Email: [email protected]
Web: www.rowlands.co.uk
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WHICHWAYNOW? CAREER WEB? Continued from Page 46
completed a Foundation Course in Accountancy, I was offered a job as Clerical Assistant for the States of Jersey Income Tax Department - two employed from six applicants. I had actually decided to spend the summer on the beach so starting work at the beginning of August was not quite the plan. I had no idea what I wanted to do. In some ways I am in tax as that is what was advertised at the time, it certainly could have been a lot worse! Could you state your current position and then briefly describe the roles and responsibilities you fulfil within it? As Tax Director for Ernst & Young LLP I manage the tax department in Jersey. As for responsibilities it seems to be everything from actually doing some tax work through to budgets, risk management, marketing and staff counselling. What has the firm you currently work for given to your career? Since re-joining the firm just over three years ago, I have been given a relatively free reign to develop the tax department from a small three man band into a ten strong team. Have you at any point in your career experienced deep anxiety for how things were going to develop/pan out? Before re-joining Ernst & Young I worked for an organisation which was bought out by a Bank. This caused me some concern at the time as working for an owner managed business and being sucked into a large multinational was quite a culture shock. Looking back and speaking with my friends and ex-colleagues words like grumpy, unmotivated seem to crop up frequently. I just did not gel with the banking culture but must take some responsibility as I probably did
not make as much effort as I should have. A little give and take would have probably led to a smoother path but I have tended to stand by my convictions and stick to my principles. I have mellowed slightly in that I am not quite such an “angry” young man, but I still strongly believe that life is too short. Have you had many unexpected twists or turns; or has it been pretty much plain sailing? I have had my fair share of conflicts along the way, and there are times when saying nothing was the far wiser option than the one chosen, but generally my career has been pretty much without serious incident. When I had uncertainties I have always tried to do something about it rather than let things fester. Looking back on your career history, do you feel that it has progressed as a ladder climbed or a web traversed? What leads you to this conclusion? I have traversed the web without a doubt. Experience and hindsight are wonderful things, I think that if I knew at 22 what I know now, I may have sought to take the lift rather than try and scale the outside of the building. Do I regret this decision? Well, financially I may have been better off if I had played the game better, but you never really know. Whether I would have enjoyed work so much if I had conformed more – I doubt. I like a challenge, a debate and I really like people to have an opinion. I do not mind being wrong as long as I know why. Taking a more non confrontational approach to my career would probably not have suited my principles. I would hope that when people deal with me, they think of me as honest in that what they see is what they get.
Career Web or Career Ladder? JANINE WARD: HR DIRECTOR :JERSEY TELECOM When questioned about your view of the concept of ‘a career’ what initially springs to your mind? I perceive the term to mean a series of work experiences that build up your skills and experiences, providing ever greater challenges and bringing new opportunities, Briefly describe the worst job you have ever done. Probably being an accounts clerk (contract position) for the Health & Safety Council in London. It was a great job but I disliked it because I couldn’t type. To elaborate, the accounts were still manually typed with carbon copies and I hated seeing the evidence of all my mistakes! Can you remember the pervading cultural assumptions about working life and ‘a career’ when you finished education? I had no idea of what “career” I wanted to do when I left school / college. I had picked my degree because I had never heard of it before and I wanted to do something different; I wasn’t academic enough to be a doctor and didn’t want to be a nurse. However, when I finished my degree in social administration, I didn’t think I would end up working in any discipline that was even vaguely related to it. All I knew at the time was that I wanted to be self-sufficient and therefore I would need to find a job and see what happened after that. How do you think these have changed when looking at our society today? It appears to take longer for some people to actually get started in their first job. I would have expected the drive to find work even greater, but maybe parents are happy to support their children financially for an even longer period of time now. Also, the marital age will have continued to get older so maybe people are happy to delay the start of their working life. How much do you feel that this will change in the future? Probably the adoption of a far more flexible and less comfortable approach. The working world will be more challenging, more stressful and more demanding (probably sadly, but the pace of life is getting faster and we have to respond more quickly). Keeping skills up to date will also be increasingly challenging. What was your first full time position? Working as a booking clerk in a Tour Operator in London - securing group bookings for hotels within the city.
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Could you state your current position and the briefly describe the roles and responsibilities you fulfil within it? I am Human Resources Director, Jersey Telecom. Director of the Company and also responsible for the strategic and operational elements of Human Resources, Training & Development, Health & Safety, Change Management and Internal Communications. What has Jersey Telecom given to your career? I have only been here for just over a year but already it has already given me new opportunities and great development challenges. Have you at any point in your career experienced deep anxiety for how things were going to develop/pan out? Up until this year I doubt I would have been able to tell you what “career” I was having. My working life has been hugely varied. I have covered both public and private sector roles and have never known where I would end up. I’m not sure if I have ever been anxious – probably more frustrated at times when I saw no progression possible within current roles. My most important decision was coming back to Jersey from London and having to start from scratch in finding a new job. If you did have uncertainty at any stage, how did you achieve a resolution? I applied for new roles, some of which I got! Importantly, I took an MBA and learnt a great deal and developed my skills set. Looking back on your career history, do you feel that it has progressed as a ladder climbed or a web traversed? Mine has been a web – I have never known where I would end up, and at times I have had to go sideways and backwards. I’ve always moved for greater opportunities, and sometimes that has meant starting at a lower level and demonstrating my abilities.
Jersey
www.jerseyevents.com
Events
FOR COPIES OF ANY OF THE IMAGES BELOW, GO TO JERSEYEVENTS.COM, JERSEY’S MOST VISITED WEBSITE ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT JERSEY EVENTS 2005
FACES
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A-J
ST HELIER FREEHOLD. Three bedroom family home in good decorative order throughout. Large lounge/diner with functional gas fireplace. Safe enclosed lawned rear garden. Two parking spaces.
HAVRE DES PAS FREEHOLD. Spacious Edwardian town house, recently refurbished to provide a modern contemporary home. Bright and spacious with fantastic open plan living space and a second separate living room. South facing garden.fireplace. CLose to beach.
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ST SAVIOUR FLYING FREEHOLD. A top floor one bedroom apartment benefiting from laminate flooring and a fully fitted & applianced beech wood kitchen. Ensuite bedroom and a designated parking space.
Call on 888855 [email protected]
Callon on879787 879787 Call www.slomans.co.uk www.slomans.co.uk
£250k
3
A-J
GROUVILLE FREEHOLD Newly constructed detached house. Enclosed rear garden and integral garage. Finished to the highest standards, luxury fitted kitchen and 3 ensuite bathrooms. Solid oak flooring. Functional gas
Callon on879787 879787 Call www.slomans.co.uk www.slomans.co.uk
Slomans Estate Agents 13 Royal Square
Tel 01534 888855 www.thompsonestates.com [email protected]
St Helier JE2 4WA
Tel: 87 97 87 Email: [email protected]
Two unique luxury apartments for rent
For the right move... Move with Thompson Estates
Spacious two bedroom apartments with fantastic uninterrupted views of St Aubin’s Bay from the harbour to Noirmont Point. Large sun decks : ideal for entertaining. Recently refurbished with new fully applianced kitchen and new bath/shower rooms plus timber flooring throughout.
A-J cat £1,666 pcm & A-J cat £2,000 pcm. Lettings
For the right move
we are the experts in
a passion for Professionalism
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Residential sales
a passion for Service
reliable service
a passion for Hassle free results ...you will achieve a far better result buying and selling your home through ThompsonEstates.
Call us for a free verbal valuation.
Tel: 01534 888855 . 15 BERESFORD STREET .ST HELIER JERSEY JE2 4WN
01534 734488
Home Salsa Garden Parasol £45, Heal’s www.heals.co.uk
Poolside
If the sun’s out, and you’re relaxing around the pool this summer - couldn’t you do with some of these?
PARADISE Cushion £25, John Lewis www.johnlewis.com
SOMMAR Stool £2.50, Ikea www.ikea.com
One of the most important things to remember when planning your summer by the pool is being comfortable - you may have a lovely swim but when you get out make sure you can relax comfortably and get some shade. It’s no fun lying on the floor for hours on end!
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FACES
&PLACES
ALSO Fran Cosgrove (Celebrity Love Island Winner!) on Wednesday 27th July Visit: www.liquid.je for FREE membership and more info on all nights @ liquid
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NIGHTLIFE
NIGHTLIFE
NEWS Below is a selection of the nights out this month. If you have news you’d like to share with our readers, rumours, opinions or gossip let us know at:
[email protected]
Theory Offshore Dance Festival 2005 This year the Offshore Dance Festival has got a crakcing line-up. In the Theory Arena you can see Layo & Buahwacka, Plump DJ’s and the Scratch Perverts alongside Hi Fi Sushi ‘LIVE’, Holt, Gasston, and Le Sueur. Now world famous, Layo & Bushwacka are Layo Paskin and Matthew “Bushwacka” B - better known as co-owner and resident DJ at the End, the tech-house club founded by the Shamen’s Mr C. Set to play at Creamfields this year, the duo look set to be as big a draw as always.Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts & Plus One as Scratch Perverts are another huge name coming play at the 14th Century castle in the sea. They’ve become synonymous with HipHop and battle DJing ever since their formation in 1996, and their reputation as one of the world’s most progressive DJ collectives is unparalleled. Alongside Plump DJ’s and in the capable hands of the Jersey regulars, Jersey looks set for an immense night.
Theory Offshore Dance Festival @ Elizabeth Castle.The event includes a food village, face painting, massage parlour, as well as bars and full production.
Saturday 9th July, 6pm - 2am Limited tickets on sale at de Gruchys Email [email protected] for more information
Drink of the Month: Hawaiian Cocktail Ingredients
* * *
2 oz. Gin 1/2 oz. Cointreau or Triple Sec 1/2 oz. Pineapple Juice
Directions Summer’s here! What better way to celebrate than relaxing in the sun with a summery cocktail? A sweet treat from the land of endless summer, this Hawaiian cocktail is relatively simple to make. Simply combine the ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice, shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. For a nice touch, we suggest floating an orchid flower on the edge of the glass.
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THE NIGHTS ARE GETTING LONGER... The L’Auberge du Nord has been granted a 2am licence, so now you will be able to enjoy the live music and Pandemic club nights into the early hours. Roll on the summertime parties! For further information call the L’Auberge on 861697 or you can email: l’[email protected] £
WATCH OUT FOR KELLY Kelly Lorenna (from the massive N-Trance) will be live on stage performing their everpopular anthem “Set U Free” and other smash hits from her album at Liquid on Friday 8th July 2005. CHARITY SPECIAL On Saturday 23rd July, the L’Auberge du Nord will be hosting a charity event in aid of Uganda. Many of Jersey’s top bands will be playing and it promises to be another live music event not to be missed.Watch out in the press for further exciting details. SUMMER STUDENT MAYHEM Liquid are launching a brand new student session every Thursday during the summer (but it doesn’t mean that if you’re not a student you can’t come along and party with them!). The mayhem starts on Thursday 14th July with that DJ Colin Murray (Radio 1). JAZZ IN THE PARK If you’re a bit into all things jazzy and fancy a good day out, get down to Howard Davis Park on the 17th from 12pm until 9pm. Billed as ‘The Ultimate Picnic Opportunity’ Guureat.
Listings
Suzy’s Field Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Sugartrain Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Liquid (Every Friday) Moneypennies ‘The Bitch Is Back’ comes to Jersey to launch Back to the old skool with full club decor from the globally recognised house music phenomenon. Time: 10 - 2 Friday Night Live (Every Friday) Pure Nightclub Local bands and DJ’s Pip and Mark Time: 20:00 - 02:00 Chicago Rock Café LIVE & LOCAL: “Kelly McKenzie” Solo vocal guitarist Time: 18:00
Saturday 02 July Suzy’s Field Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry Theory @ Pure. An evening of real norty music, UK leading female DJ as well as Tom Wainwright (Hacienda), Warren Holt & S. Gasston. Time: 22:00 - 02.30, Tickets: £7 Innersoul 1st Birthday Party L’Auberge du Nord Funkyhiphopbreaks&beats - Andy Manson (Baked Beats) and Rich Eager (Melting Pot) Time: 22:00 - 02:00, £5 Students half price b4 11pm with student card
Theory Offshore - Dance Festival Elizabeth Castle. Theory Arena: Layo & Bushwacka, Plump DJ’s, Scratch Perverts & Hi Fi Sushi ‘LIVE’, Mikey Ashford, Holt, Gasston & Le Sueur Time: 18:00 - 02:30, Tickets: £25 - available from De Gruchy Contemporary Department and Jersey Post. Email: [email protected]
Tuesday 12 July Big Hellos Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Wednesday 13 July Class A (UK 70/80’s School Disco) Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry Chicago Rock Café LIVE & LOCAL: “Run for Cover” Irish folk rock band Time: 22:00
Wednesday 06 July Suzy’s Field Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry Jackson Moody Band Blue Note Bar Time: 21:00 - 23:00 Chicago Rock Café LIVE & LOCAL: “Halfway House” Jersey’s only all-girl band singing your favourite hits from the 60s & 70s Time: 22:00 Liquid (Every Wednesday) Off the record with Dave Smith and Tony Safe. The latest in funky house played out on the liquid balcony. Entrance is free through the side door by Chicago Rock Café
Friday 08 July Chicago Rock Café LIVE & LOCAL: “The Jackson Moody Band” The cool sounds of the Jackson Moody Band Time: 18:00
Friday 22 July
The Lion Park Festival Featuring Jackson Moody Band and others.
IN4XS (INXS Tribute) Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Theory presents Fussion The Watersplash An evening of breaks & beats with a special guest DJ set from...Lee Commbs (Fingerlickin’), Le Sueur & Holt, Downstairs: McKinnon & Campbell, Live Lounge: TBC Time: 22:00 - 02.30, Tickets: £8 @ De Gruchy, Carob & Watersplash. £10 on the door. Coaches: 10pm Lib Sq, 10.15pm Tipsy Toad. NB: Fast Track Entry with Ticket.
Chicago Rock Café LIVE & LOCAL: The Jackson Moody Band
Saturday 23 July Frank & Jono Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry L’Auberge Charity Special Charity event In aid of Uganda. Top Jersey bands playing. T: 861697
Friday 29 July
Liquid: Radio 1’s Colin Murray launches Student Mayhem with DJ Del Boy and the fear factor! Time: 10:00 – 02:30
Friday 15 July Class A (UK 70/80’s School Disco) Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Saturday 16 July
Suzy’s Field (Acoustic Set) Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Coloured Room Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Class A (UK 70/80’s School Disco) Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Sunday 03 July
IN4XS (INXS Tribute) Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Thursday 14 July
Chicago Rock Café LIVE & LOCAL: “The Merge” Original Indie Innovation
Chicago Rock Café (Every Sunday) Beach Party
Saturday 30 July
Thursday 21 July
Theory @ Pure An evening of the pumping house from legendry DJ Tall Paul (The Gallery) and S Gasston & Holt Time: 10-2, Tickets: £8
Chicago Rock Café Independence Day party
Liquid (Every Sunday) S.I.N. Night with your host DJ Sven Tease from the 1970’s and the sensational seventies dancers. Free entry in fancy dress. The lounge bar plays host to some of the finest R’n’B / Hip Hop DJs around open from 10 at the side entrance
original material Time: 22:00
Suzy’s Field Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry Jackson Moody Band The Star Time: 21:00 - 23:00 REMINISCE Theory @ Pure An evening of the finest classic house from back in the day... Warren Le Sueur (4 Hr set) and Upstairs: Gasston & Holt Time: 22:00 - 02.30, Tickets: £6 Spectrum L’Auberge du Nord Grooverider (Radio One), 9mm Live Beatboxing, DJ Killa (Guernsey), Terminal State. Time: 22:00 - 02:00, Tickets: £10. Tickets from White Label
Sunday 17 July Frank Tausney Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Monday 18 July Suzy’s Field (Acoustic Set) Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Tuesday 19 July Derrin Nauendorf @ 8.30pm then Frank Tausney Chambers 22:45
Wednesday 20 July Derrin Nauendorf @ 8.30pm then IN4XS (INXS Tribute) Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Chicago Rock Café LIVE & LOCAL: “Unwanted” Up & coming cover band with
Arnie Cottrell @ 6pm then Sugartrain Chambers Time: 22:45, Free Entry
Pandemic L’Auberge du Nord Mentor Records Party: Special Guest - Trevor Rockcliffe also featuring Pete de Momme and Carl Scott Time: 22:00 - 02:00, £8 entry
Sunday 31 July Jono ChambersTime: 22:45, Free Entry
Chicago Rock Café LIVE & LOCAL: “The Merge” 6pm
THEORY Present an electic line up for...
July2005
An evening of real norty music, UK leading female Dj...
Tom Wainwright
(Hacienda) Warren Holt & S. Gasston > £7
Sat 16th:
An evening of the finest classic house from back in the day...
REMINISCE
Warren Le Sueur (4 Hr set) Upstairs: Gasston & Holt > £6
Sat 23th:
An evening of the pumping house from legendry Dj...
Tall Paul (The Gallery) S Gasston & Holt > £8
Sat 30th July: THEORY presents FUSSION ‘Jersey’s Premier Club Night @ The Splash’ An evening of Breaks & beats with a special guest dj set from...
Lee Commbs (Fingerlickin’) Le Sueur & Holt Downstairs: McKinnon & Campbell Live Lounge: TBC The Watersplash, 10pm-2.30am Coaches: 10pm Lib Sq, 10.15pm Tipsy Toad. Ltd Tickets: £8 @ DeGruchy, Carob & Watersplash. NB: Fast Track Entry with Ticket!! £10 on the door!!
At PURE Nightclub, Caledonia Place, St. Helier. T: 01534 870457 From the organisers of the Jersey Live Festival, Positiv present the premier dance music event in the Channel Islands this summer...
TheoryOffshore ‘The Summer Dance Festival’
Saturday 9th July, 2005. 9 Hours of Music feat 13 Djs & Live Music. Layo & Bushwacka Plump DJ’s Scratch Perverts Hi Fi Sushi (LIVE) Simon Gasston, Holt & Le Sueur Mikey Ashford
6.00pm – 2.30am Elizabeth Castle LIMITED ADVANCE TICKETS: £25 (Subject to booking fee) Sold exclusively @Degruchy contemporary Fashion dept
Keep up to date with what’s going on with Jersey live in the forums at >
www.positiv.org.uk 52
Culture&Events Friday 01 July
Saturday 10 July
Sunday 17 July
Miriam Backhouse Jersey Arts Centre Miriam Backhouse became well known throughout the British folk scene during the 70s as a new young performer of traditional material. Now she’s back, adding the influences of her adopted South African home to traditional and modern European folk to provide an evening of heartfelt music. Time: 20:00, Tickets: £13 (£7 students)
‘The Barnstormers’ Howard Davis Park An al fresco evening concert in the park listening to country music. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Dawn Chorus Concert and Walk As the sun rises enjoy an uplifting classical concert by The Beech String Quartet, then join a local environmentalist on a circular walk to welcome in the dawn of a new day. Meeting point: End of Gorey Pier. 04:30 – 08:00 hrs. Free of charge. For further information – Tel: 500777.
Sunday 03 July ‘La Ronde Concert Band’ Howard Davis Park An al fresco concert in the park. Time: 15:00, Free Admission ‘The Barnstormers’ Howard Davis Park An al fresco evening concert in the park listening to country music. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Monday 04 July ‘The Band of the Island of Jersey’ Howard Davis Park An evening of Big Band music al fresco in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Tuesday 05 July Jersey Caledonian Pipe Band Howard Davis Park Enjoy an evening al fresco concert in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Wednesday 06 July Run for Cover Howard Davis Park An evening al fresco concert of Irish Folk in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Thursday 07 July Jersey Arts Centre youtheatre presents Poetry in Motion Jersey Arts Centre A physical exploration of poetry chosen by members of the centre’s awardwinning youtheatre. Visually stimulating and intellectually challenging – come prepared to be excited by the poetic form. Tickets £7
Friday 09 July
Horse Racing – Champion Hurdle Les Landes Race Course, St Ouen An afternoon’s racing, organised by the Jersey Race Club. Time: 14:30 hrs. Tickets £8.00 adults, under 15’s free. Tel: 863484.
Tuesday 12 July No Strings Attached Howard Davis Park An evening concert from this talented string quartet. Time: 20:00, Free ‘La Ronde Concert Band’ Howard Davis Park An al fresco concert in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Wednesday 13 July to Friday 15 July SEES presents An Evening of David Mamet Jersey Arts Centre A double-bill of one act plays by “the finest American playwright of his generation.” (Sunday Time) Time: 20:00, Tickets: £10 (£8 students) SUITABLE FOR 15YRS+ SQUIRRELS: a comedy about the agony of scriptwriting; an old writer and young writer form a bizarre triumvirate when a cleaning woman helps them to overcome writer’s block. SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO: a comedy about what brings men and women together, and what keeps them apart!
Thursday 14 July National Hill Climb Bouley Bay, Trinity A variety of motor vehicles race against the clock, reaching speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. Time: 10:00 - 17:00, Admission £5.00, under 16’s free. Spectator’s welcome.
Sand Racing La Braye, St Ouens The thrills and spills of local motor sport on the beach. Time: 14:30, Admission £2.00, under 16’s free. For more information - Tel: 852952 or visit www. jerseymotorsport.com
Friday 15 July
Jersey Harbours Open Day Alvert Quay. Get a rare look at some of the emergency services’ vessels that are not normally open to the public. Explore Jersey’s lifeboat and see the new States tug, ‘The Duke of Normandy’ Time: 10:00 – 14:00 hrs. Free of charge with a retiring collection.
Jersey Big Band Howard Davis Park An evening of big band music al fresco in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
09 July - 10 July The Extreme Weekend The Watersplash, St Ouen’s Bay. 11:00 hrs ‘til late. Spectators welcome Tel: 07797 716055. A weekend of extreme sports. BMX, freestyle motocross, skateboarding and surfing. BBQ’s and bands organised for the evening!
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Le Tour des Ports de la Manche Over 100 yachts are due to arrive into St Helier. Spectators will have the best viewing point alongside the harbour and southeast coast. For more information, contact Jersey Tourism. Tel: 500777.
Calima Howard Davis Park Enjoy an evening concert from this quartet of Spanish guitar and vocals. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Saturday 16 July
Mikhail Rudy and Misha Alperin 19N Double Dream Jersey Arts Centre Working in harmony, classical virtuoso Mikhail Rudy joins jazz pianist Misha Alperin to bring forth partly rewritten and partly improvised compositions of classical repertoire works by Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin, Debussy, Janacek and Scriabin. An inspired evening that will leave both classical and jazz enthusiasts enthralled. Time: 20:00, Tickets: £15 (£8 students)
Jazz in the Park Howard Davis Park Bring a picnic and experience the musical sounds of Jazz, al fresco in the park. Time: 12:00 - 21:00, Free Admission (no glass please)
Monday 18 July ‘The Band of the Island of Jersey’ Howard Davis Park An evening of Big Band music al fresco in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Tuesday 19 July Jersey Caledonian Pipe Band Howard Davis Park Enjoy an evening al fresco concert in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission We’re All Going On A Summer Holiday Howard Davis Park Music from around the world with The Beech String Quartet. Time: 14:00, Free Admission
Jersey Premier Brass Howard Davis Park An evening al fresco concert in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Tuesday 26 July Cantabile Ensemble Howard Davis Park An evening of choral music in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Wednesday 27 July Jersey Lillies Howard Davis Park Enjoy an evening jig with the ladies of the Jersey Lillies, al fresco in the park. Time: 20:30, Free Admission JAC Comedy and Avalon Promotions presents Tony Law and Craig Campbell Jersey Arts Centre These Canadians are a side-splitting duo. Time: 20:00, Tickets: £14 Suitable for 18+
Friday 29 July Sand Racing Millbrook, St Aubin’s Bay. 18:00hrs. Spectators welcome. For more information - Tel: 852952 or visit www. jerseymotorsport.com
EMBEB Symphonic Wind Ensemble with Christoper George Jersey Arts Centre The EMFEB revised Ensemble returns to Jersey with this feast for the ears. Tickets: £15 (£8 students)
Young-Choon Park (piano) Jersey Arts Centre Young-Choon gave her first recital at the age of seven, gained the highest masters degree at the Munich Hochschule and now plays an average of 50 concerts a year all over the world. Time: 20:00, Tickets: £15 (£8 students)
Wednesday 20 July to Saturday 23 July
Saturday 30 July
JAC in association with Oxford Brookes University present, Human Rights Film Festival Jersey Arts Centre. Various, Tickets: £4 for each night, £12 for the series of 6 films
Boderick Jersey Arts Centre Broderick’s percussionless but hugely rhythmical sound dramatises its eclectic mix of traditional and self-penned tunes. Time: 20:00, Tickets £13 (£7 Students)
Thursday 21 July Sunset Concert and Walk (Dolmen de Grantez). Meeting Point: Frances Le Sueur Centre, St Ouen. 19:00 - 21:30 hrs. Concert starts at 20:00 hrs. Tel: 500777 Walk through the small nature reserve at La Mielle de Morville, before heading to the Dolmen de Grantez for a wonderful sunset concert by the Liquorice Slick Clarinet Quartet, as the sun sets over St. Ouen’s Bay. Bring a picnic.
Saturday 23 July Sand Racing La Braye, St Ouens The thrills and spills of local motor sport on the beach. Time: 14:30, Admission £2.00, under 16’s free. For more information - Tel: 852952 or visit www.jerseymotorsport.com Gambia Beat Band Howard Davis Park An al fresco evening concert in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission
Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 July Surfing for Seb The Watersplash First Heat – Sat 08:30 Raffle, prize giving, BBQ and live music on Sunday. Entry forms available from the Splash and all surf shops. Closing date 26/07/05. All proceeds go to JABS (Jersey Association of Bereavement Support for Children)
Sunday 31 July Jersey Premier Brass Howard Davis Park An evening al fresco concert in the park. Time: 20:00, Free Admission human masters... Time:
Numbers
Sunday 24 July Jersey Big Band Howard Davis Park Time: 15:00, Free Admission Horse Racing – Jersey Derby Les Landes Racecourse, St. Ouen. 14:30 hrs. Tickets £8.00 adults, under 15’s free. Tel: 863484. An afternoon’s racing, organised by the Jersey Race Club.
Jersey Arts Centre: 700444 Jersey Tourism: 500777
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Listings
Cinema The following films are scheduled for release throughout July. Please note, not all of the films will be screened in Jersey!
Contact
Cineworld, Waterfront Centre 0871 2208000 www.cineworld.co.uk The New Forum Cinema Bath Street, 871611 MADAGASCAR CHARITY SCREENING! Sunday 3 July Being shown in aid of Jersey Hospice Care a charity screening of Madagascar is taking place at 10.30 on Sunday 3 July. The event has been organised as part of a large fund raising effort by local people taking part in the Cycle Peru Challenge 2005. Anyone interested in taking part should go to www.cycleperu.com for more details. Great film, great cause.
Friday 1 July Clean (15): IMDB: 7.2 Emily Wang (Maggie Cheung) is a woman wrestling with her dream of becoming a singer, her fitness as a mother, and daily life without her partner Lee (James Johnston). Her past is riddled with drugs and regrets, the result of which left Lee dead in a desolate motel room in Ontario, and landed Emily with a six-month jail sentence. The only thing that she desires for the future is a loving relationship with her son Jay, who is being cared for by Lee’s parents, Albrecht (Nick Nolte) and Rosemary. Dig! (15): IMDB: 8.0 A documentary on the once-promising rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, and the friendship/rivalry between their respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor. Imaginary Hereos (18): IMDB: 7.2 The Travis family façade is destroyed by an event incomprehensible to them - an event which will open locked doors and finally reveal the secrets that have haunted them for decades. Starring Sigourney Weaver and Jeff Daniels. The United States of Leland (15): IMDB: 6.9 The United States of Leland” tells the story of a young man’s experience in a juvenile detention center that touches on the tumultuous changes that befall his family and the community in which he lives. With Kevin Spacey. War Of The Worlds (12A): IMDB: 7.0 Based on the HG Wells novel originally braodcast as a radio play that terrified thousands this version star Tom Cruise as a docker. Right.
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Who Killed Bambi? (TBA): IMDB: 6.3 Isabelle, a beautiful nursing student, is starting her internship at a prestigious hospital. She meets Dr. Philip there, feels atracted to him from the beggining and starts suffering from strange fainting; so he calls her Bambi: her legs don’t support her. Patients mysteriously start to dissappear from their rooms; so Bambi and Dr. Philip start a cat vs. mouse paranoid game, in order to catch the probable killer. Friday 8 July The Descent (TBA): IMDB: 9.5 Sounds good. A woman is trapped in an elevator with the man she witnessed murder her best friend. Overnight (15): IMDB: 7.6 A documentary on the rise and stumble of Troy Duffy, the bartendercum-filmmaker who was swept up by Miramax’s Harvey Weinstein to turn his script for The Boondock Saints into a feature film. Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants (PG): IMDB: 6.6 For the first time since their friendship began, the girls will be separated for a summer. Lena visits her grandparents in Greece and meets Kostos. Tibby remains at home, films a movie, and befriends a young girl named Bailey. Bridget goes to soccer camp in Mexico and falls in love with Eric, one of the coaches at the camp. Carmen visits her dad in South Carolina and finds out a shocking secret. Sky Blue (15): IMDB: 7.0 Civilization has been destroyed by war and pollution, but the survivors have built the last city of Ecoban. As most natural resources have been exhausted, Ecoban is powered by pollution. The citizens of Ecoban need to continue creating this pollution leading them into conflict with the inhabitants of Marr while one man just wants to clear away the clouds and see the sky. Friday 15 July Dark Water (TBA): IMDB: TBA A mother and daughter, still wounded from a bitter custody dispute, hole up in a run-down apartment building. Adding further drama to their plight, they are targeted by the ghost of former resident. Starring the lovely Jennifer Connelly, you can read an interview with her earlier in the magazine. Madagascar (PG): IMDB: 6.3 At New York’s Central Park Zoo, a lion (Stiller), a zebra (Rock), a giraffe (Schwimmer), and a hippo (Smith) are best friends and stars of the show. But when one of the animals goes missing from their cage, the other three break free to look for him, only to find themselves reunited... on a ship en route to the island of Madagascar. When their vessel capsizes off the coast, however, the friends, who have all been raised in captivity, learn first-hand what life can be like in the wild.
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (15): IMDB: 6.1 Directed by Asia Argento, the story follows Jeremiah, a child who is pulled from his foster home and thrown into a troubled life on the road with his teenage mother, Sarah. They travel through the country roads of the U.S. and learn first hand about the troubles of the world. With an impressive cast including Oscar winner Peter Fonda (Easy Rider, Ulees Gold), this will be a much anticipated independent film. The Wedding Crashers (15): IMDB: TBA John Beckwith and Jeremy Klein, a pair of committed womanizers who sneak into weddings to take advantage of the romantic tinge in the air, find themselves at odds with one another when John meets and falls for Claire Clearly. Should be very good with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn sparking off each other. Friday 22 July 2005 The Devil’s Rejects (18): IMDB: TBA After killing Sheriff Wydell, the Firefly family is caught in the path of a vengeful cop (Sheriff Wydell’s brother). The police raid the family and Baby, Otis, Captain Spaulding and the rest head out. Rumor is that a prostitute named Candy falls for Otis. Get ready for a nation-wide killing spree! The Fantastic Four (PG): IMDB: TBA A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom. Much anticipated comic book translation that follows the recent Sin City. Kicking & Screaming (PG): IMDB: 5.6 Family man Phil Weston, a lifelong victim of his father’s competitive nature, takes on the coaching duties of a kids’ soccer team, and soon finds that he’s also taking on his father’s dysfunctional way of relating to people. Starring Will Ferrel and Robert Duvall. Secret Things (TBA): IMDB: 6.9 Two young women find themselves struggling to survive in Paris, street-wise Nathalie, a stripper, and naïve Sandrine, a barmaid. Together, they discover that sex can be used to their advantage, and pleasure. Both find positions in the office of a large bank, where bored, under-stimulated, prey are easy pickings. After making their way though several layers of executives at the bank, with destructive results, they approach Christophe, scion to the bank director. Silver City (15): IMDB: 6.3 The discovery of a corpse threatens to unravel a bumbling local politician’s campaign for governor of Colorado.
Friday 29 July Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (TBA): IMDB: TBA TIm Burton movie starring Johnny Depp - how good will this be?! Charlie Bucket comes from a poor family, and spends most of his time dreaming about the chocolate that he loves but usually can’t afford. Things change when Willy Wonka, head of the very popular Wonka Chocolate empire, announces a contest in which five gold tickets have been hidden in chocolate bars and sent throughout the country. The kids who find the tickets will be taken on a tour of Wonka’s chocolate factory and get a special glimpse of the wonders within. Errance (TBA): IMDB: TBA We don’t know anything about this film apart from the fact that it stars Laetitia Casta which has to be a good thing. Shallow Ground (18): IMDB: 5.1 Gory teen slasher methinks. A naked teenage boy covered in blood appears at a remote sheriff’s station one year after the brutal unsolved murder of a local girl. Now Sheriff Jack Shepherd, guilt ridden over the girl’s murder, must confront his own demons as he desperately searches for the boy’s true identity and possible victims. Little does Jack realize that he has started down a path that will bring him face to face with an unthinkable horror. Before sunrise the living will pay for the pain the dead have suffered. Skeleton Key (TBA): IMDB: TBA A young woman helping care for an invalid in New Orleans finds herself caught in the middle of morbid goingons centered around a group of Voodoo practitioners. Whisky (15): IMDB: 7.9 When his long-lost brother resurfaces, Jacobo, desperate to prove his life has added up to something, looks to scrounge up a wife. He turns to Marta, an employee at his sock factory, with whom he has a prickly relationship. the owner of a sock factory in Montevideo, and Marta, his employee, realize that their estranged relationship needs to change when Jacobo’s long-lost brother prompting them to pose as a married couple. True gem of a movie.
JulyDiary FRIDAY 1ST JULY ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
4 month Battle of the Somme began at 7:30am. By the end of the day 20,000 British soldiers dead, 40,000 wounded.
SATURDAY 2ND JULY JERSEY CLASSIC VEHICLE SHOW
Held at the Pallot Steam and General Motor Museum, Trinity. Amdmission is free. 10am start. CI and UK owners attd.
TUESDAY 5TH JULY ‘MURDER, MUCK & MAYHEM’
WEDNESDAY 6TH JULY JERSEY WAR TUNNELS
SATURDAY 9TH JULY EXTREME WEEKEND
SUNDAY 10TH JULY HORSE RACING LES LANDES
WEDNESDAY 13TH JULY 134TH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
THURSDAY 14TH JULY BOULEY BAY HILL CLIMB
A guided walk around a St Helier you never knew existed. Tales from the past and stories of today. 19:30. £4.
Will it go ahead? At the time of compilation, Gallery was still unsure as to the fate of this great summer event.
Held at the birthplace of Golf, St Andrews. Starts tomorrow. A demanding linx course, (Jean Van de Velde)
MONDAY 4TH JULY INDEPENDENCE DAY IN USA
4th July,1776 marked the end of British influence in the North American continent. We left, they got fat.
FRIDAY 8TH JULY NZ v LIONS TOMORROW
3rd test in Auckland, NZ This could be a crucial final game for the British and Irish Lions.
Les Landes hosts the Champion Hurdle today. Proceedings commence at 14:30.
Another episode of adrenaline junkies reaching speeds up to 90mph up a snaking circuit. Fun? ABSOLUTELY!
FRIDAY 15TH JULY ST JAMES CONCERT HALL HOST
SATURDAY 16TH JULY GOREY REGATTA
TUESDAY 19TH JULY JERSEY KAYAK ADVENTURE
WEDNESDAY 20TH JULY AUSTRALIA V ENGLAND
An orchestral & Choral extravaganza, performed by the country’s brightest young musicians. £9 Adults.
A tour around our stunning coastline. reach remote beaches, explore the cliff caves and see the wildlife.
Jazz muscians will be jamming in the Howard Davis ft. Dixieland, big band and acid to modern Jazz. Bring a picnic.
FRIDAY 22ND JULY BILLABONG PRO J-BAY
One of the best breaks on the planet plays host to the ASP tour. Today is the final day of competition.
MONDAY 25TH JULY TOUR DE FRANCE-FINAL STAGE
TUESDAY 26TH JULY TODAY IS BORING
FRIDAY 29TH JULY THE FAIR COMES TO TOWN!!!!
SATURDAY 30TH JULY FORMULA ONE IN HUNGARY
“Scream if you want to go faster”. Bruised Kidneys, fixed stall games and dodgy gun sights. Burbury & Candyfloss.
Cineworld are holding a charity screening of the film Madagascar, starting at 10:30 for 11am. £4 child, £10 Adults
Join experts for a 45 minute war trail at JWT, Meadowbank. A mini-expedition into the woodland surrounds.
SUNDAY 17TH JULY ‘JAZZ IN THE PARK’ PEOPLE!
Lance can’t win it again? Today the tour enters the final stage, racing around Paris’ most famous lanmarks.
SUNDAY 3RD JULY HELP JERSEY HOSPICE CARE !!!!
Couldn’t think of anything to tell you for today. But if you will, or have had fun on this day, mail us and let us know.
SATURDAY 23RD JULY SAND RACING
Le Braye plays host to this weekends round. Enjoy the thrills and spills of local motor sport. £2 Adults. U16 free.
Local and visiting sailors enjoy the opportunity of sailing in one of the oldest Regattas in the world!
The 1st test of the Ashes series held today at the home of cricket, Lords. Come on Freddie and Tresco!!!
SUNDAY 24TH JULY FORMULA ONE IN GERMANY
Hockenheim hosts the 12th stage of the season. Schuey’s on home soil. Will he reel in Alonso?
WEDNESDAY 27TH JULY DANISH PIPE SMOKING COMP
Armed with a pipe, 2 matches and 3 grammes of baccy. Whoever keeps his pipe burning the longest wins.
Schuey is still sore from losing...constantly. Ralph says he will quit at the end of the season. He’s not enjoying it.
57
Q&C
QUESTIONS This month we’ve been out and found answers to three awfully important questions for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
A: What’s your top tip? B: Do you tan or burn? C: Have you got a favourite ice-cream?
NAME: Vicky MacTaggart AGE: 25 OCCUPATION: Hairdresser
NAME: Nanada Fernandes AGE: 31 OCCUPATION: YSL Account Manager
NAME: Dom AGE: 31 OCCUPATION: Fashion Consultant
A: Wash your hair! B: I do go brown but it takes me ages
A: Dress yourself in your mind before
and ages - sunbeds!
A: Be Confident in yourself B: Quite dark! C: Strawberry and Vanilla most
C: Feast - the traditional one
definitely
I got mistaken for David James.
you dress your body
B: Usually pretty brown - one summer C: Coldrock / Smush-ins
COMPETITIONS To win simply go to our website and answer the questions! www.gallerymagazine.co.uk/competitions
A: Entertainment package!! Win yourself tickets for War Of The Worlds & loads of good books!
If you’re searching for entertainment how’s this for a competition? In conjunction with Cineworld and Ottakar’s, Gallery are able to offer tickets to see War Of The Worlds (for some lucky winners in VIP style!) and a selection of the shortlisted books from this year’s Orange Awards.
B: Man-style barbers treatment in London Jason Shankey style
What’s better than getting a proper shave guys? If you bothered to read the beauty pages you may have noticed that we went along to have the full face massage/shave etc treatment. Well if that sounded good you’ll be pleased to know that we’re offering the chance to win one yourself - as always, go to the website for details of how to win.
C: iPod-Shuffle Life is random
The iPod Shuffle. A MP3 player of beauty and not much bigger than a packet of Juicy Fruit. Visit our website, answer the question and you’ve got music wherever you want it courtesy of the lovely IQ shop.
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| i don't know |
"Give the title of the Wilfred Owen poem that begins: ""What passing-bells for those who die as cattle? - Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid fire. Can patter out their hasty orisons""?" | Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen
▼ Primary Sources ▼
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen, the eldest of the three sons and one daughter of Thomas Owen, a railway clerk and his wife, Susan Shaw Owen, was born at Plas Wilmot , near Oswestry , on 18th March, 1893. His father, a railway clerk, was transferred to Birkenhead in 1898, and between 1899 and 1907 Owen was educated at the Birkenhead Institute. In 1907 the family moved to Shrewsbury , where Thomas Owen had been appointed assistant superintendent of the Joint Railways and Wilfred attended Shrewsbury Technical School.
As his biographer, Jon Stallworthy , has pointed out: "Under the strong influence of his devout mother he read a passage from the Bible every day and, on Sundays, would rearrange her sitting-room to represent a church. Then, wearing a linen surplice and cardboard mitre she had made, he would summon the family and conduct a complete evening service with a carefully prepared sermon."
Owen left school in 1911, eager to go to university, and passed the University of London matriculation exam, though not with the first-class honours necessary to win him the scholarship he needed. His mother persuaded him to accept the offer of an unpaid position as lay assistant to the Revd Herbert Wigan, vicar of Dunsden . In return Wigan promised some tuition to prepare him for the university entrance exam. It has been claimed that this was not a success as Wigan had no interest in literature, and Owen had lost interest in theology, the only topic offered for tuition.
During this period he came under the influence of Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats and began writing poetry. In July he sat a scholarship exam for University College , but failed, and in mid-September crossed the channel to take up a part-time post teaching English at the Berlitz School in Bordeaux . This was followed by becoming a tutor for a eleven-year-old French girl in her parents' villa, in the Pyrenees.
Owen continued to write poetry and became friends with the French poet and political activist, Laurent Tailhade . He became interested in Tailhade's ideas on modern poetry as well as his political views that embraced anarchism and pacifism. Tailhade, a poet of the so-called "decadent" school, also introduced him to the work of Paul Verlaine and Gustave Flaubert .
The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 created a strong wave of patriotism and even though Tailhade had written two pacifist pamphlets he joined the French Army . Owen was concerned that he would be unable to cope as a soldier. However, he was aware it would give him the opportunity to write about something very important. He wrote to his mother: "Do you know what would hold me together on a battlefield? The sense that I was perpetuating the language in which Keats and the rest of them wrote!"
Owen finally returned to England, and, on 21st October 1915, he enlisted in the Artists' Rifles . Owen spent the next seven and a half months training for service on the front-line. While based at Hare Hall camp near Romford he met Harold Monro , the owner of the Poetry Bookshop in Devonshire Street and the editor of the Poetry Review , a magazine he had started in 1912. Monro read some of Owen's poems and gave him encouraging advice.
The First World War (3,250 pages - £4.95)
On 4th June 1916 Owen was commissioned into the Manchester Regiment and after further training he crossing to France on 29th December. He arrived on the Western Front at the Somme in January 1917. While at the front Owen began writing poems about his war experiences. This included being trapped for three days in a shell-hole with the mangled corpse of a fellow officer. After heavy artillery bombardment he was also blown out of his trench and on 1st May he was diagnosed as suffering from shell-shock and was sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital , near Edinburgh , to recuperate.
While in hospital he met Siegfried Sassoon , who had just published his statement Finished With War: A Soldier's Declaration , which announced that "I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority because I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers. I believe that the war upon which I entered as a war of defence and liberation has now become a war of aggression and conquest. I believe that the purposes for which I and my fellow soldiers entered upon this war should have been so clearly stated as to have made it impossible to change them and that had this been done the objects which actuated us would now be attainable by negotiation." Instead of the expected court martial, the under-secretary for war declared him to be suffering from shell-shock, and he was sent to Cocklockhart.
Sassoon was also a poet and his first volume of poems, The Old Huntsman , had just been published. Sassoon introduced Owen to Robert Graves , who was also recovering from wounds received at the front. His book of poems, Fairies and Fusiliers , had also been published in 1917. Sassoon suggested that Owen should write in a more direct, colloquial style. Over the next few months Owen wrote a series of poems, including Anthem for Doomed Youth , Disabled and Dulce et Decorum Est . Owen was also supported by his doctor, Arthur J. Brock , who arranged for two of of Owen's poems to be published in the hospital's literary journal, The Hydra.
Until he met Sassoon his few war poems had been patriotic and heroic. Under the influence of Sassoon his thoughts and style changed dramatically. During this time he wrote: "All a poet can do today is warn. That is why the true Poets must be truthful". Jon Stallworthy has pointed out: "The older poet's advice and encouragement, showing the younger how to channel memories of battle - recurring in obsessive nightmares which were a symptom of shell-shock - into a poem such as Dulce et decorum est, complemented Dr Brock's ‘work-cure’. The final manuscript of Anthem for Doomed Youth carries suggestions (including that of the title) in Sassoon's handwriting. Owen's confidence grew, his health returned, and in October a medical board decided that he was fit for light duties."
Wilfred Owen
Sassoon also introduced Owen to H. G. Wells and Arnold Bennett and they helped him get some of his poems published in The Nation . Owen also had talks with William Heinemann about the publication of a collection of his poems. Another friend he acquired through Sassoon was Robert Ross , who had enjoyed a long-term relationship with Oscar Wilde . According to Maureen Borland , the author of Wilde's Devoted Friend: Life of Robert Ross (1990): "In Ross's delightful and witty company, for a few precious hours, they could forget the horrors of trench warfare. Although these men were not among his partners, Ross was clearly homosexual and had two long-term relationships. He shared a house for fifteen years with (William) More Adey; a shorter partnership, with Frederick (Freddie) Stanley Smith, ended in 1917, when Smith took up a diplomatic appointment in Stockholm. Ross discouraged discussion of his sex life, and maintained a lifelong silence about the exact nature of his relationship with Wilde."
Owen's biographer, Jon Stallworthy has argued: "On leave in London, he met Robert Ross who in turn introduced him to some of his literary friends: Arnold Bennett, H. G. Wells, and a number of less well known figures, several of whom were homosexual, as were Ross and Sassoon themselves. It is clear from Owen's writings that he shared their sexual orientation; but it is debatable whether he ever entered into a physical relationship that, if detected, could have resulted in a prison sentence like that imposed on Oscar Wilde, a relationship that would have horrified his mother, whose good opinion he valued above all others. There is no evidence that he did. What is certain, however, is that Owen and Sassoon wrote more eloquently than other poets of the tragedy of boys killed in battle because they felt that tragedy more acutely, more personally."
In November 1917 Owen rejoined the 5th Manchester Regiment in Scarborough . While there he read Under Fire , a novel about trench warfare by Henri Barbusse , who had joined the French Army in 1914 at the age of forty-one. After being wounded several times he wrote the novel while in hospital. By this time, Barbusse had become a pacifist, and his writing demonstrated his growing hatred of militarism. Owen used some of the images in this book into his poetry. Poems written during this period included Insensibility , Strange Meeting , Exposure and Futility .Owen wrote to his mother that he wanted to return to the Western Front "to help these boys - directly by leading them as well as an officer can; indirectly, by watching their sufferings that I may speak of them as well as a pleader can".
In August 1918 Owen was declared fit to return to the Western Front . He fought at Beaurevoir-Fonsomme , where he was awarded the Military Cross . The British Gazette later recorded: "On the company commander becoming a casualty, he (Owen) assumed command and showed fine leadership and resisted a heavy counter-attack. He personally manipulated a captured enemy machine gun from an isolated position and inflicted considerable losses on the enemy. Throughout he behaved most gallantly."
Wilfred Owen was killed by machine-gun fire while leading his men across the Sambre–Oise Canal on 4th November 1918. A week later the Armistice was signed. Only five of Owen's poems were published while he was alive. After Owen's death his friend, Siegfried Sassoon , arranged for the publication of his Collected Poems (1920). Jon Stallworthy has argued: "Dying at twenty-five, he came to represent a generation of innocent young men sacrificed - as it seemed to a generation in unprecedented rebellion against its fathers - by guilty old men: generals, politicians, war profiteers. Owen has now taken his place in literary history as perhaps the first, certainly the quintessential, war poet." However, Owen only became a national figure when Benjamin Britten added music to his poems in War Requiem in 1962.
| Anthem for Doomed Youth |
Which is the next number in the Fibronacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, .....? | Anthem For Doomed Youth English Literature Essay
Anthem For Doomed Youth English Literature Essay
Published:
Last Edited:
23rd March, 2015
This essay has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers.
Anthem for Doomed Youth is a poem written by Wilfred Owen, a soldier who died just few days before the end of World War I. The poem expresses the writer's own experiences and his criticism about the War. Owen excellently articulates various imagery techniques to convince readers that war is not as glorious as what people might think. Using the imagery which describes the fierceness and the mourning about war is Owen's main idea in this poem.
   Through Owen's eyes, the war is fierce and deadly. The poem opens with a question
"What passing bells for these who die as cattle?"(1).  Using the image "passing bells", the poet asks for what method to use to honor the deaths of the soldiers. In battle when soldier dies, their unit may fire cannon, gun or at least solemnly play bagpipe to send them away. However, the soldier in this poem through the simile technique was compared to the cattle. Owen clearly communicates his thought just with few words about the stake of soldiers' deaths. The poet is greatly dismay by the inhuman death of the young soldiers. He pictures them as if they are helpless, harmless, docile creatures such as sheeps or cows in the chaotic herd. Those young men are  killed mechanically as the cattle lining up in the slaughterhouse. Owen conveys the inhumanity of these soldiers' deaths, and sympathizes to those who are died  for other's benefit.
In the second line: "Only the monstrous anger of the guns"(2), Â Owen uses personification method to give the gun the "monstrous anger" which is in fact the hatred and anger from the enemy. It is ironic, strange and terrified to realize that the soldiers are being dehumanized, but the weapons of the war are becoming more human. The "monstrous anger" of the gun would also suggest the loud sound of the guns as if the monster roaring angrily. In line second, third and fourth Owen repeats the word "only " to emphasize the brutality of war. He describes the image of the riffles and says that there is nothing else but the loud and anger sound of gun and bomb for the soldier's funeral.
"Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle.
Can patter out their hasty orisons." (3-4)
Consonant method is used to describe the sound of the guns with bullets being fired harshly and continuously: "stuttering", "rattle" and "patter".  The "r" sound appears frequently suggests the rapidity of the shots. It grabs reader's attention and builds the intensity. The image of riffles and those sounds give us a sensory experience of the war. Readers not only read about it, but also have the senses as if  they are there. Line two, three and four offer the answer for the first question of what would be the ceremony for the dead soldiers.The answer is that there will be no special ceremony, no bell, no music for the passing soldiers. The only thing available is the sound of nonstop gunshots in the battlefield. Owen successfully described the brutality, the ferocity of war in the first four lines of the poem with the images of deaths, riffles and "the monstrous anger of gun".
     The war not only is brutal in front line for the soldiers, it does also require the tremendous sacrifice from their families. The image that implied metaphor is "the shells are demented choirs". The choir from family and loved ones sing to send soldier away when they die is compared to the shelling sound. This image may help the readers to feel the bitter cry from family members that calling for their soldier's name. In the line 8, Owen wrote:
"And bugles calling for them from sad shires" (8).
The bugle is "an instrument played at funeral" (Webster dictionary). The shire is the countryside from which many soldiers came. This is very touching and sad image. The poet uses personification method, make the bugle as if human, can call for the dying soldiers. The symbol of "bugles" and "shires" makes the shift in space within the poem. Owen changes from battlefield setting to the soldiers' homeland. From the "sad shires", their loved one desperately worry and call for them. This idea seems to make up the other part of what the poet wants to express: In the war, there are soldiers who die in the front line, and there are also families' tremendous losses of their sons/brothers/husbands for the war. That is the sacrifice nothing could compare. The last sound of battle is the sound to call the soldiers home. If there is one soldier that dying out in the trench, there must be many more of mourners back home. They are the devastated widowers and forlorn family members.
     Wilfred Owen also expresses the idea about the soldier's sacrifice is ignored and unappreciated. He uses the series of negative sentences in line 5, 6 with repetition of "no" and "nor".
"No mockeries now for them; no prayers or bells:
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs" (5-6).
The choirs are described as a mad, horrific, scary sound. The bullet shot out and the shell grieved by wailing. There is no ceremony; there is no prayer or mourning music for the soldiers. There is only the horrendous spooky sound to send them away. Owen seems to express his perception about the role of religion which in this case is not very powerful. In countries where religion has played very important role, the religious custom usually provides the most majestic relief. Wilfred Owen mentions the images bell, prayers, candles choir as those used in a solemn ritual for the death. They just make us to remember the needy, lack of peace at the time  because their sounds are replaced with the modern tools of war as the noise of guns. The consolation of religion seems to have no place in the poem. No ritual, no religion can justify
the killing of the soldiers in the battlefield like animals. Yer their sacrifices is unappreciated and forgotten. Â Â Â Â
    The sestet part opened with another question. This part is a shift in focus from the octave. While the octave describe the reality of the deadly battle field, the sestet send reader to the transcendence.
"What candles may be held to speed them all?" (9)
A candle is the symbol used at funeral as the guiding light for a soul to find way to its afterlife and it represents a sincere act of crying. Owen uses candle image as if he wants to ask for a ceremony to speedily take the soldier out of the war, to bring the horror to an end. The poet continues his thought in line 10, 11.
"Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes." (10-11)
There is no candle. There is only the reflection of the comrade in the death soldier's eyes. The tear, the reflection is the candles which is "glimmers" and "shine" Â as light in the eyes of the soldiers. Â
"The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds." (12-13)
Once somebody dies, his body is wrapped in cloths before being buried and they are sent away with flowers. In this poem, the poet shows us that there is never a proper burial. There is no flowers, no pall for their funeral. Instead the grief of girls at home is the pall to cover the death body and the flowers are the tenderness thought in people's mind. The metaphor here connects the ritual of putting flowers on a grave with the patience and tenderness of those waiting at home.
This last line is an image that implies many different meanings. "And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds" (14).  First, the setting of dusk reminds us of death. The dusk of the day is when the sun about to set down and call it a day for its final rest. In this poem, the image of blinds being drawn would mean for those dead soldiers on the field that it is time to rest because the dark is drawing near the place where they lay. It could also depict the private grief for the mourners, that is when all the pomp and circumstance of a ceremonial funeral is over and they are left alone in a room with the "down of blinds". The poem ends with the image of the closing blinds at the dusk of the day. No matter how reader might want to  interpret, the image is no doubt a peaceful ending for the soldiers once they are on their way to their final resting place. The image plants in reader's' mind an emotional feeling of sympathy and emptiness.
    Owen, as a war soldier himself, has successfully voiced his opinion about the horror and the terrible loss of the war.  By successfully articulates various imagery technique through the poem, Owen has shown his genuine sympathy for young soldiers who sacrifice their lives for the war. War is all about gun fires and deaths, horror and loss; there is nothing fancy about it. Through a subjective voice of the one who has personally experienced the war, readers realize the brutality of war, and share with the poet the sorrow of loss. The war goes on within the soul of those who survived and of those who grieved. And for the "doomed youth", once they lay down when the dusk draws, they are the only one have seen the end of the war. May they rest in peace!
| i don't know |
Darren Clark is the second winner of the Open Golf Championship from Northern Ireland. Who was the first winner, in 1947? | Darren Clarke wife: BRITISH OPEN 2011 winner 'knows late wife Heather was watching' | Daily Mail Online
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Darren Clarke paid a moving tribute to his late wife Heather after pulling off one of the most emotional wins in Open history.
The Northern Irishman outclassed top Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson at Royal St George’s to win his first major by three strokes at the age of 42.
Worth the wait: Darren Clarke, playing in his 20th Open championship, became the second Northern Irishman to win the Claret Jug since Fred Daly in 1947
‘To sit in front of you guys with the Claret Jug next to me means the world,’ said Clarke in his victory press conference.
‘In terms of what’s going through my heart, there’s obviously somebody who is watching down from up above and I know she’d be very proud of me.’
Clarke’s wife Heather lost a battle with breast cancer five years ago.
Magic moment: The gallery on the 18th green erupts as Clarke claims his maiden major by three shots
One of the first players to congratulate him was Mickelson, whose own wife Amy has recovered from the same dreadful disease.
‘Darren was one of the first people who called us when Amy was diagnosed,’ said Mickelson. ‘He couldn’t have been a better person to talk to.
‘We talked for a few hours a couple of times and he told us what to expect and what they went through — their fears and so forth.
Reaching his destiny: Clarke kisses his fiancee Alison Campbell (left), before enjoying a pint of the black stuff
‘He’s a tremendous person and a very good friend and I couldn’t be happier for him.
‘He couldn’t be a nicer guy. There are going to be a lot of players who will be extremely happy for him.’
One of them was the absent Tiger Woods, who sent texts of encouragement before the final round. Another was Clarke’s protege, Rory McIlroy.
Boys' own stuff: Clarke becomes the oldest Open winner since Roberto Di Vicenzo, who was at the ripe old age of 47 in 1967
On the eve of the final round of the US Open last month, which McIlroy won by eight shots, Clarke sent him a text that read: ‘Show them how good you are.’
Now Rory returned the compliment. ‘Right back at you,’ his message read.
With South African Charl Schwartzel winning the Masters, it means that all three majors staged so far this year have been won by players managed by Chubby Chandler.
Elite stable: Chubby Chandler added The Open to his sparkling major list
Clarke was the 58-year-old Lancastrian’s first client back in 1990 and Chandler couldn’t stop the tears from falling as his best friend tapped in the winning putt.
‘We’ve had some dark phone conversations over the years and he lost five years of his career because of what happened with Heather,’ said Chandler.
‘But Rory has been great for him, they feed off one another. He played with Rory in practice and realised his game was up to it. This makes his career.’
Emotional scenes: Clarke is the picture of happiness with caddie John Mulrooney (left) while the gregarious Ulsterman has a lump in his throat while reading his victory speech
Clarke’s victory was worth an incredible near £3million, made up of the £900,000 first prize and a £2m sponsorship bonus offered by Mike Ashley, who owns Dunlop and Sports Direct.
Clarke was due to begin a WeightWatchers’ diet this week.
Sipping a pint of Guinness, he said: ‘I’ve got a feeling that I’ve picked the wrong week to be starting that.’
Pleased as punch: Clarke poses with friend Phil Mickelson (centre) - who stormed into contention with a stunning front ten - and playing partner Dustin Johnson (right)
Combined with Graeme McDowell’s victory in the US Open last year, it now means that three golfers from the six counties of Northern Ireland have won majors in the
space of 13 months.
To put that into perspective, in the history of major championship golf before this, Fred Daly’s victory in the 1947 Open had been the only success for a Northern Irishman.
A jubilant McIlroy tweeted: ‘Northern Ireland — golfing capital of the world’ and it really is hard to argue with that.
| Fred Daly |
In 1956 which Welsh peninsula became the first 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' in the U.K.? | Darren Clarke wife: BRITISH OPEN 2011 winner 'knows late wife Heather was watching' | Daily Mail Online
comments
Darren Clarke paid a moving tribute to his late wife Heather after pulling off one of the most emotional wins in Open history.
The Northern Irishman outclassed top Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson at Royal St George’s to win his first major by three strokes at the age of 42.
Worth the wait: Darren Clarke, playing in his 20th Open championship, became the second Northern Irishman to win the Claret Jug since Fred Daly in 1947
‘To sit in front of you guys with the Claret Jug next to me means the world,’ said Clarke in his victory press conference.
‘In terms of what’s going through my heart, there’s obviously somebody who is watching down from up above and I know she’d be very proud of me.’
Clarke’s wife Heather lost a battle with breast cancer five years ago.
Magic moment: The gallery on the 18th green erupts as Clarke claims his maiden major by three shots
One of the first players to congratulate him was Mickelson, whose own wife Amy has recovered from the same dreadful disease.
‘Darren was one of the first people who called us when Amy was diagnosed,’ said Mickelson. ‘He couldn’t have been a better person to talk to.
‘We talked for a few hours a couple of times and he told us what to expect and what they went through — their fears and so forth.
Reaching his destiny: Clarke kisses his fiancee Alison Campbell (left), before enjoying a pint of the black stuff
‘He’s a tremendous person and a very good friend and I couldn’t be happier for him.
‘He couldn’t be a nicer guy. There are going to be a lot of players who will be extremely happy for him.’
One of them was the absent Tiger Woods, who sent texts of encouragement before the final round. Another was Clarke’s protege, Rory McIlroy.
Boys' own stuff: Clarke becomes the oldest Open winner since Roberto Di Vicenzo, who was at the ripe old age of 47 in 1967
On the eve of the final round of the US Open last month, which McIlroy won by eight shots, Clarke sent him a text that read: ‘Show them how good you are.’
Now Rory returned the compliment. ‘Right back at you,’ his message read.
With South African Charl Schwartzel winning the Masters, it means that all three majors staged so far this year have been won by players managed by Chubby Chandler.
Elite stable: Chubby Chandler added The Open to his sparkling major list
Clarke was the 58-year-old Lancastrian’s first client back in 1990 and Chandler couldn’t stop the tears from falling as his best friend tapped in the winning putt.
‘We’ve had some dark phone conversations over the years and he lost five years of his career because of what happened with Heather,’ said Chandler.
‘But Rory has been great for him, they feed off one another. He played with Rory in practice and realised his game was up to it. This makes his career.’
Emotional scenes: Clarke is the picture of happiness with caddie John Mulrooney (left) while the gregarious Ulsterman has a lump in his throat while reading his victory speech
Clarke’s victory was worth an incredible near £3million, made up of the £900,000 first prize and a £2m sponsorship bonus offered by Mike Ashley, who owns Dunlop and Sports Direct.
Clarke was due to begin a WeightWatchers’ diet this week.
Sipping a pint of Guinness, he said: ‘I’ve got a feeling that I’ve picked the wrong week to be starting that.’
Pleased as punch: Clarke poses with friend Phil Mickelson (centre) - who stormed into contention with a stunning front ten - and playing partner Dustin Johnson (right)
Combined with Graeme McDowell’s victory in the US Open last year, it now means that three golfers from the six counties of Northern Ireland have won majors in the
space of 13 months.
To put that into perspective, in the history of major championship golf before this, Fred Daly’s victory in the 1947 Open had been the only success for a Northern Irishman.
A jubilant McIlroy tweeted: ‘Northern Ireland — golfing capital of the world’ and it really is hard to argue with that.
| i don't know |
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