John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison onstage at the Cavern Club, August 22, 1962. Granada Television visited a lunchtime session that day and The Beatles were filmed for the first time.
ㅡ From the book "The Beatles: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Archives)" by Kevin Howlett.
Jane's grievances during her relationship with Paul
"Jane appeared on the BBC Simon Dee television show and admitted that her relationship with Paul was over. A few months later Jane told me how naïve she'd been so far as other girls were concerned. But there were other problems. She was also unhappy about drugs, which were as common among rock stars then as they are now, and definitely not thrilled by Paul's friendship with some of the Rolling Stones. [...] And more important to Paul than his relationship with Jane, was his partnership with John Lennon, whom he'd met shortly after his mother died of breast cancer when he was 14. In his emotional vacuum, Paul had turned to music and joined John's skiffle group the Quarry Men. And when John's mother was also to die just over a year later, the friendship had intensified with a shared sense of loss. And so it was to remain as adulthood and fame arrived, and the girls came and went. And, in John's case, a wife as well." --Ray Connolly (The Ray Connolly Beatles Archive, 2016)
This is very significant because Ray Connolly was a friend of Jane, Paul and John. Jane opened up to him and talked about many things that caused problems in her relationship with Paul, and one of these was apparently his relationship with John and how it appeared to be even more important to him than his relationship with Jane. Here is anither similar quote:
"Throughout the years, the underlying tensions in their relationship had remained the same. They centered on Paul's misgivings about Jane's commitment to her acting career and Jane's misgivings about Paul's primary ties to the other Beatles."
My recent ~endeavors~ have led me to dig up a bunch of old radio shows by and about the Beatles, and I wanted to share them in one place.
These are unofficial uploads. If you've ever searched out old Beatles-related content - particularly audio or video content - you have likely experienced the crushing devestation of locating a download link to some obscure interview George Harrison gave in 1977, only to click it and find the link dead! If you're interested in listening to any of the shows listed here, or think you may be interested one day, I recommend downloading them now rather than suffering the bitter sting of a dead link in days to come.
By the Beatles
Paul McCartney's Routes of Rock (Host: Paul McCartney; Approx. Runtime: 2.5hrs)
A five-part series that aired on BBC radio in October and November 1999. It was part of the promo for Paul's mostly-covers album, Run Devil Run. In this series, Paul plays old rock 'n' roll tracks along with his recent covers, interspersed with discussion of his formative musical influences and some cute early-Beatles anecdotes.
A twenty-six-part series that ran on the ABC Radio Network from June 4 to November 26, 1983. Unfortunately, I only have links to the first three episodes atm. Episode 1 // Episode 2 // Episode 3
About the Beatles
The Lost Lennon Tapes (Host: Elliot Mintz; Approx. Runtime: 221hrs)
Perhaps the most famous Beatles radio show of them all? The Lost Lennon Tapes ran from Januar 24, 1988 to March 29, 1992. The huge draw here is the inclusion of audio from the Lennon/Ono archives. I believe this is the only publicly available source for audio from many John Lennon interviews. Unfortunately, you only get to hear a few minutes of any interview at a time!
The show also features interviews with people from John's life (e.g. Julia Baird and Sean) as well as Beatles experts (including a young Mark Lewisohn!) There's huge depth here, and it's very much worth the listen.
The above link includes episode names, but this site has a more detailed list of what's included in each episode.
The Beatles - The Days In Their Life (Host: Ira Lipson; Approx. Runtime: 30hrs)
A 21-part series that aired in 1981 and followed the Beatles career from their genesis to the modern day. Includes archival interviews as well as (I think) new interview material with many people in the Beatles' stories.
The Beatles Story (Host: Brian Matthew; Approx. Runtime: 14hrs)
A BBC Radio 1 series that came out ~1972, with an extra episode that came out ~1974. Many original interivews were conducted for this series, but I believe we only see a subset of the existing material on this show. From the quotes in Tune In, it appears there are full tapes out there, perhaps in the BBC Archives - if anyone has any idea where the full interviews (conducted by Johnny Beerling) may be accessible, I'd love to know!
Collections of Misc. Radio Interviews
Series aside, here are a few accounts that have uploaded a number of one-off interviews with the Beatles:
The Beatles Interviews on YouTube. Lots of great, lengthy interviews, along with a few shorter clips. Disclaimer: the video titles don't always correctly identify the year/interviewer. Fortunately, Beatles fans live to correct things, so there is always lively discussion in the comments to sort out who the interviewer actually is, and when the interview was conducted.
Beatle Stories on YouTube. While the above channel's video titles are at times incorrect, this channel's titles are mostly straight-up unhelpful lol. Still, there's some good content here.
The Beatle Tapes 2 on the Internet Archive. This is the same user who uploaded The Beatles Story (see above). They have over five hundred uploads including many radio interviews, some video interviews, and several live performances as well. A treasure trove!
On the cover of Tan magazine, September 1965. (Featuring a photo of The Beatles with Mary Wells in October 1964.)
“I’d never really heard Marvin Gaye, The Miracles and all that until George played me the records up in their flat [on London’s Green Street] and they absolutely blew me away. I then went on a sort of crusade for Motown!” - Tony Hall, The Beatles: The BBC Archives
Cathy McGowan: “What records do you like, other than your own?”
George Harrison: “All the Motown Tamla records, Mary Wells, Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Impressions, all that crowd.” - Ready, Steady, Go!, March 20, 1964
“[The music] that we play at home — like Mary Wells, Miracles and not to mention Marvin Gaye.” - George Harrison, BBC's Public Ear, January 12, 1964
“Tamla Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles, The Impressions, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, The Exciters.” - George Harrison, The Beatles' Detroit press conference, September 6, 1964
“That boy George — he’s very quiet, but he’s cute.” - Mary Wells, Melody Maker, November 7, 1964
“Labeling the various members of the Beatles, Mary [Wells] recalled that Paul McCartney is the ‘real life of any party; Ringo Starr is a complete clown; George Harrison is kind of on the quiet side; and John Lennon is more of a businessman than the other three and he’s the toughest one to get to know.’” - Tan, September 1965
“The Beatles — who were always among Mary’s very early fans — are now her own favorites. She thinks they are very adorable and feels dreadfully sorry for them.
‘You have no idea how surrounded they are. There’s always someone wanting them. Their lives are certainly not their own. You know sometimes Paul or George will come into my dressing room and play a couple of records and then leave again.’” - Disc, October 31, 1964 (x)
Join me on Saturday 4th November to watch various Beatles performances (and maybe some other stuff) in a fun group environment where we can all go insane together.
The show starts at 8:30pm GMT (check what time that is for you here). I will post a watchparty room link here on my blog at 8pm so that everyone can get set up/in case we have technical issues and I need to think of a back up.
The main show is 8:30 but they're showing some other Beatle related programming, which I am also open to watching with you all so please vote below if you are interested..
8:30pm GMT - The Beatles and the BBC: A look back at some key moments that saw the BBC document The Beatles’ journey, including such songs as She Loves You and All You Need Is Love.
9:35pm GMT - Sounds of Liverpool at the BBC: A look into the BBC’s archives for a selection of performances from some of Merseyside’s biggest and best-loved musical stars.
11:10pm GMT - Sgt Pepper's Musical Revolution with Howard Goodall: Howard Goodall explores why Sgt Pepper is still seen as so innovative, so revolutionary and so influential, with the help of outtakes and studio conversations between the band.
00:10am GMT - Arena: Documentary examining the turbulent life and career of the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, who died in 1967 in mysterious circumstances.
*There's an hour break between sounds of liverpool and the pepper doc. i will probably watch the pepper doc regardless because i'm interested so you are welcome to join me, but idk it's a saturday, people have plans. i'm undecided on the brian doc but we'll see. anyway, vote on my poll x
The Beatles
Bootleg Recordings 1963
2013 Universal
—————————————————
Tracks Disc One:
01. There’s a Place [takes 5 & 6]
02. There’s a Place [take 8]
03. There’s a Place [take 9]
04. Do You Want to Know a Secret [take 7]
05. A Taste of Honey [take 6]
06. I Saw Her Standing There [take 2]
07. Misery [take 1]
08. Misery [take 7]
09. From Me to You [takes 1 & 2]
10. From Me to You [take 5]
11. Thank You Girl [take 1]
12. Thank You Girl [take 5]
13. One after 909 [takes 1 & 2]
14. Hold Me Tight [take 21]
15. Money (That’s What I Want)
Live at the BBC for «Saturday Club»
16. Some Other Guy [January 26th, 1963]
17. Love Me Do [January 26th, 1963]
18. Too Much Monkey Business [January 26th, 1963]
19. I Saw Her Standing There [March 16th, 1963]
20. Do You Want to Know a Secret [January 26th, 1963]
21. From Me to You [January 26th, 1963]
22. I Got to Find My Baby [January 26th, 1963]
23. Roll over Beethoven [June 29th, 1963]
Live at the BBC for «Easy Beat»
24. A Taste of Honey [June 23rd, 1963]
25. Love Me Do [October 20th, 1963]
26. Please Please Me [October 20th, 1963]
27. She Loves You [October 20th, 1963]
Live at the BBC for «Saturday Club»
28. I Want to Hold Your Hand [December 21st, 1963]
29. Til There Was You [December 21st, 1963]
30. Roll over Beethoven [December 21st, 1963]
Live at the BBC for «Pop Go the Beatles»
31. You Really Got a Hold on Me [June 4th, 1963]
32. The Hippy Hippy Shake [June 4th, 1963]
33. Till There Was You [June 11th, 1963]
34. A Shot of Rhythm and Blues [June 18th, 1963]
35. A Taste of Honey [June 18th, 1963]
36. Money (That’s What I Want) [June 18th, 1963]
37. Anna (Go to Him) [June 25th, 1963]
38. Love Me Do [September 10th, 1963]
39. She Loves You [September 24th, 1963]
40. I’ll Get You [September 10th, 1963]
41. A Taste of Honey [September 10th, 1963]
42. Boys [September 17th, 1963]
43. Chains [September 17th, 1963]
44. You Really Got a Hold on Me [September 17th, 1963]
45. I Saw Her Standing There [September 24th, 1963]
46. She Loves You [September 10th, 1963]
47. Twist and Shout [September 24th, 1963]
Live at the BBC for «Here We Go»
48. Do You Want to Know a Secret [March 12th, 1963]
49. Please Please Me [March 12th, 1963]
Live at the BBC for «Side by Side»
50. Long Tall Sally [May 13th, 1963]
51. Chains [May 13th, 1963]
52. Boys [May 13th, 1963]
53. A Taste of Honey [May 13th, 1963]
Live at the BBC for «From Us to You»
54. Roll over Beethoven [December 26th, 1963]
55. All My Loving [December 26th, 1963]
56. She Loves You [December 26th, 1963]
57. Till There Was [December 26th, 1963]
Demos
58. Bad to Me
59. I’m in Love
—————————————————
In the BBC's archive there is a mysterious undated reel with the Beatles requesting records to be played. Their introductions give intriguing clues to the music that was inspiring the group around May 1964.
Ringo asked for: Cilla Black's You're My World, which climbed to number one that month, and, showing his love of Country and Western music, Pen and Paper by Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Kitty Wells version of I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know*.
Paul picked Hitch Hike and Pride and Joy, both featured on the 1963 Marvin Gaye album That Stubborn Kinda Fellow. **
George chose two Tamla Motown records - the Miracles' I've Been Good To You, and the first UK hit for the label, My Guy by Mary Wells. He also asked for the Impressions' big US hit It's All Right, and an early Elvis Presley track My Baby Left Me.
John requested the Tommy Tucker hit Hi-heel Sneakers, and anything by Little Richard - "He was my favourite when I was about 16, after Elvis. I didn't know which one I liked best... but I like Little Richard best now!" His other selection was an interesting choice - Gonna Send You Back To Georgia, by Timmy Shaw. "I like it because the beat's marvellous, the voice is marvellous and it's a good song. And it's great, so play it!"
Beatles at the BBC - The Radio Years 1962-70, by Kevin Howlett
*Cannot find the Kitty Wells version anywhere on youtube so I linked to Skeeter Davis instead.
**Later in '64 Paul was asked to select a single for broadcast on the new show Top Gear, and chose Mockingbird by Inez and Charlie Foxx.
John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr relaxing during a recording session for Side By Side at the BBC Paris Theatre in Lower Regent Street, London, April 4, 1963. None of The Beatles songs recorded for the BBC featured piano playing.
ㅡ From the book "The Beatles: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Archives)" by Kevin Howlett.
Can I just mention how weirdly unsettling it is to know that we've got a partially lost media that we're trying to find the origin of? Now, I know we found the "origin" of it. Darius S.'s broadcast recording from 1984 on NDR2. But in this case, that's not enough.
Now, I know you might be wondering, "Why's he on about this? What's with the massive topic shift from the post he made on Sunday?" Well, it's because I mentioned TMMSOTI in the image, if you were mad enough to go so far as to look closely at the image (It's the normal orientation of the Gas Station dream, next to the biggest text on that image.), but that's not important.
What is important is that it feels weird to know that this song exists, has existed for close to 40 years now, and no one is even close to figuring out its origins. Granted, the search only started 4 years ago, but still. And the strange thing is, they can't even find NDR's official record of the broadcast!
"Strange." Heh. As if I didn't know that's not nearly the worst case of record-keeping out there. The BBC has a much MUCH worse history of record-keeping, especially from the mid-50s. Most of early Doctor Who's serials are audio only now, and who knows how much of Hartnell and Troughton's acting was lost because of the BBC deciding to wipe without backups. (Side note: those are REALLY British names, even to me, a Brit.)
But back to business. TMMSOTI is undeniably a product of the '80s. From the sound of it, it's unashamedly synth-heavy, as heard in the chorus, but overall, it doesn't feature electronic instruments all that much. It doesn't feel so much like punk, or "post-punk", as Wikipedia describes it, but I'm not a connoisseur of that genre. The only song I've really listened to from it is London Calling by The Clash (who have enough range to also write such songs as Rock the Casbah and Should I Stay or Should I Go), so I'm in no such way describing myself as someone who does, solidly and truly, know what the hell they are talking about.
If there's a solidly defined bassline in there, I sure as hell cannot decipher it. Transcripts I find on Songsterr do not feel solid about the bassline. Literally the only things that feel solid in that song are the guitar and the drums. The guitar feels solid because it's the main driving force, right the way through the whole song. It plays eighth note power chords in the intro and guitar "solo", and arpeggios in the verses.
AS FOR THE DRUMS. HOO BOY. I don't think I've mentioned this here, but I have a minor penchant for the drums (read: done every Beatles song to the best of my ability). I listen to that, I hear someone who's been playing for a while. Every fill has a different pattern. The timekeeping is rock-solid. About as close to metronome as humanly possible.
So, what's so significant about rock-solid drumming? Well, apart from the fact that it's a grand measure of skill, it's also a sign that this isn't just your average garage band (not to be confused with the app of the same name.)
So it's a semi-professional drummer with a skill for keeping time, and a guitarist that knows his way around some chords. The bassline is obscured by the quality, and the synths are generic enough as is. Some theorise it originated from behind the Iron Curtain, but if that's the case, why send it to NDR2, based in Hamburg, instead of the much closer West Berlin?
In my very VERY limited opinion, I think it's much more likely that it's a small West Germany band that got lucky enough to get their demo featured on Musik Für Junge Leute in 1984, where it was then, unceremoniously dumped into the nearest rubbish receptacle. If anything, had it not been for Darius S. taping that night's NDR2 broadcast, we might not have heard this song... ever, in fact. Hell, even he forgot about the tape for that broadcast until digitising them for an archive 20 years later.
I guess that goes to show how remarkably fickle memory is, where no one remembers the song's title or the band's name. Also has the side effect of being fucking creepy when you think about it, because it's quite existential in a way. How, when all's said and done, everyone might forget about us unless we are immortalised in some way. I guess that it helps that the Internet exists now.
I like going back to old pages on comedy message boards, as part of my general obsession with the idea that everything is better and makes more sense if understood in its full context. Also, I find it a combination of interesting, enlightening, and straight-up funny to read early reactions to comedy things that we’d now think of as classics. Look at something that now is a cool vintage thing where knowing about it means you understand this influential piece of comedy history, and see that when it first came out, it was dismissed as newfangled nonsense that doesn’t have any of the heart or talent behind earlier stuff and comedy isn’t what it used to be.
It's not just comedy, this applies to everything. The Beatles were dismissed by many Serious Music Critics, in their day, as shallow teen heartthrob pop music (as opposed to what they were, which were perpetrators and enablers of domestic violence). Bob Dylan was famously dismissed as a sellout in 1965 by some Mancunians who, when I listen to the kind of shit that’s come from a revolution that began by plugging in guitars, I sometimes think may have had a point. I am now just barely old enough to hear some music getting called cool “classic”, when I can remember that music being new and considered shitty pop music that will never be as good as classic rock.
I think I like those in particular for all the above reasons, but also because there is something comforting in seeing someone say something that made total sense given the information they had at the time, and turn out to be wildly wrong. Makes me think about all the things that seem obvious and definitely correct to me now, given all the information I have, and maybe someday, it’ll turn out to all be wrong. Most of the things I think are true now are pretty depressing, so it’s nice to think maybe no one’s ever really right about everything.
There are a lot of comments along these lines in old comedy forum archives, but my favourite by far of all the lines to have not aged well is the person who said in June 2005 that: “Comedians often seem to be of the ‘world owes me a living’ type - no matter how many times they fail, they'll never jack it in and work in an office. Yes, I’m looking at you, John Oliver.” Honestly, doesn’t that give you hope for the future? If you ever feel like you’re so bad at something there’s no point in carrying on and you should give it all up, remember that person who said that in June 2005. If you just keep working at it for another year or so, you too could have Ricky Gervais mention your name to Jon Stewart one time and get to leave everyone who didn’t like you behind.
Anyway, I came across something today that I’d not seen before, which is an article in The Daily Telegraph from August 2005. This is different from other stuff because it’s not just comments from random people in a place where anyone can post, it’s an actual publication. A shit publication, but still, people get paid to write for it. And in 2005, they wrote an article called “Politics kills off comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe”.
The judges have been lamenting the "soul-destroying" lack of humour at this year's award, the comic centrepiece of the Edinburgh Festival which, over its 25-year history, has previously uncovered talent such as Hugh Laurie, Eddie Izzard, Steve Coogan, Jimmy Carr, Frank Skinner, The League of Gentleman and Graham Norton.
When judges meet for the first time today to draw up a long-list for the £7,500 prize, they are expected to be "hard pressed" to find acts to fill all 30 spaces.
Yesterday, they described this year's shows as "silly", "flat" and "of the level of fifth-form humour", and complained that they concentrated too much on politics, particularly on Tony Blair, George W Bush and weapons of mass destruction.
John Pidgeon, the head of entertainment at BBC Radio and chairman of the judges, lamented the "remarkable overuse of the 'C' word".
In 2005, comedy had gotten too political, too sweary, had run out of steam, would never again be great like it was when it was bringing in giants of hard-hitting, seriously talented stand-up like Graham Norton; epitomes of comedy with a real heart and soul like Jimmy Carr; and noted guy who married a teenage student at the place where he was teaching, Frank Skinner. That list of white men is the greatest comedy ever got, and now all this new stuff is just kids trying to be cool with their c-words and their political material but it will never measure up.
I really enjoy this bit from later in the article:
The judges were at a loss to explain why 2005 was so short on talent. Graham Smith, Channel Five's commissioning editor for comedy, last judged the competition in 2003. "You could say there was a surfeit of rich comedy that year. The winner was Daniel Kitson and - just to illustrate how strong it was - Jimmy Carr came second. Any other year the runners-up would have been winners."
I like that paragraph because:
1) Apparently the decline of comedy took exactly two years; it was at the top of its game back in the glory days of 2003, and was dead by 2005.
2) Apparently the likes of Jimmy Carr only coming second is a sign of the incredibly deep talent pool in a comedy competition, that’s how strong the field was back then!
3) They’re talking about the Perrier Award, which Daniel Kitson won in 2002, over fellow nominee Jimmy Carr. In 2003, Demitri Martin won it. I should know, there’s a video on YouTube from 2003 of Adam Hills yelling about Demitri Martin beating him for the Perrier Award while they destroy a cow. Get your facts straight, people.
That aside, I was amazingly not at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival, so I guess I can’t really say whether it was any good. I’ve seen/heard a number of shows that were done there (Tim Minchin’s Darkside, bits of the Zaltzman and Oliver Show, two Daniel Kitson shows, I’ve seen some of what Flight of the Conchords did there that year, Phil Nichol’s Nearly Gay, I’ve seen Dara O’Briain’s 2006 DVD and I’m pretty sure that’s mainly taken from his 2005 Edinburgh show, I've seen shows by Demitri Martin and Flight of the Conchords that would have also been taken from 2005, 2005 had a Mark Watson 24-hour show), and have enjoyed all of them. But also, the ones I’ve seen/heard are the ones that were good enough for someone to still have heard about and bothered to seek out in 2022/2023, I’m sure there was a lot of shit going on in that year too.
So if anyone ever tries to tell you that comedy, or for that matter anything else, had “classic” years and they just don’t make the great stuff the way they used to anymore, remember that people were already complaining about comedy “getting too political these days” by 2005. I’m continually amazed by how often you can go back years, and find the complaints about “look at the problem with [anything] these days, it’s not great the way it used to be” stays exactly the same.
Image description: Canva graphic promoting a new issue of Thoughts of You a Dennis Wilson fanzine. Background is a pale salmon pink/peach paper with vintage risograph zine style blue ink scuff marks. Part of the image shows the front cover of the fanzine, and the text New Zine Out Now. Thoughts Of You Issue 2: Surfer Boy. (this text is in a retro 60s/70s swirly font), next to a graphic of a non-white man with blond hair and a leg prostheses, wearing beads, a pink shirt with yellow flowers, and blue shorts, surfing with arms out on a pink surfboard with yellow squiggles. ko-fi.com/dwzine denniswilsonzine.tumblr.com (written in a fashion mag style font that looks a bit like it's written in eyebrow pencil) Below is clipart of an open magazine, edited to look like a lo-res photocopy, with added text £1/$1+ Pay what you feel.
Thoughts Of You Issue 2: Surfer Boy
The even longer difficult second issue.
125 pages (no, I don’t know how either) of Dennis Wilson and The Beach Boys.
Contents include: Dennis surfing cover art by artsantis, archive interviews with Dennis on music, surfing, touring, Brian, being a Beach Boy, roller skating, The Harmony and his affinity for the sea & mostly being ridiculously positive & enthusiastic during the Beach Boys notorious ‘78 Australian tour. Originally published in Australian publications Surfing World & TV Week in 1978.
Also tributes to Billy Hinsche and Taylor Hawkins; Beach Boys/Beatles mash up art by Why The Longplay face?; a rant about a vaguely Dennis related NFT (inc. some casual swearing), fan memories of Dennis by Bengt Stenström; an archive review of Pacific Ocean Blue from Surfing World in '78; Dennis & Brian accidentally gatecrashing the BBC's Top Of The Pops coverage of Kokomo; art by PDC, Ooonthemarket333, Valerie Simadis, and Jackie Modra;
cartoons by Ollivier Cartoonist (a homage to Bobby Figueroa, Dennis decides it's time Carl learns how to surf, & celebrating the Beach Boys 60th anniversary); a random anonymous Dennis confession; typographic collages inspired by Pond's Sitting Up On Our Crane; obscure vintage Beach Boys compilations with cover art portraying the whole band surfing ; Beach Boys album cover glitter art found on etsy + other odd merch, screen shots of Dennis as the original true surfer of the band...
plus: zine updates inc. getting featured on De Ziners insta & by Simon on The Streets; zine links/back issue & merch information; taking part in virtual zine fests inc. Quaranzine Fest, & KC Zine Con #6 & #7 feat. lots of trash pandas reading zines, competition winners and more...
PDF only. Once again it’s pay what you feel (minimum £1/$1) & all profit is going to homelessness charity Simon On The Streets.
Info about the charity and why I’m supporting them.
(a fuller version is in issue 1) - justgiving link.
For Dennis, who saw homeless people as his equals.
Where to buy:
ko-fi (zine account - also available on my personal account
Energy Engineers England English Enid Enqiklopëdicëskij Enqiklopëdii Enqiklopëdiä Entail Entoni Entrenched Enërgii Enërgëticëskih Enërgëticëskij Enërgëtika Enërgëtiki Epic Episkopi Epohi Equated Eric Ernst Español Esr Essay Estimates Et Eta Etapy Ethnically Eti Etih Etimi Etimologiä Etnicëskaä Etnicëskih Etnicëskim Etnicëskië Etnicëskoë Etnika Eto Etogo Etom Etomu Etot Etu Etël'stan Eu Eurobarometer Euromonitor Europa Europe European Eurotunnel Evans Evel Even Evil Evolüqii Evolüqionnoj Evolüqiä Ewan Example Executive Executives Exercise Exorcising Explicit Explicitly Ezra F Fabian Fabians Factbook Factor Facts Faire Fakt Fakticëskij Fakticëskomu Fakto Faktorov Faktory Fakty Falklands Fame Familii Family Fantasta Faradëä Farmaqëvticëskaä Farmaqëvticëskih Farmaqëvticëskij Federal Federalism Fentëzijnyh Ferguson Fertilization Feudalism Fiddle Fifa Figurativista Fil'mov Fil'my File Filipa Film Financial Finansiruëmaä Finansiruëmym Finansovogo Finansovoj Finansovom Finansovyh Finansovyj Finansovym Finansovyë Finch Fiqdxëral'd First Flag Florëj Flot Flota Floty Floyd Flëming Flëminga Flëmingom Folklëndah Folklëndskaä Folklëndskië Following Fond Fondom Fonë Football For Forbes Foreign Forged Forma Formal'no Formal'nogo Formed Formirovanië Formu Formuly Fort Forthcoming Fortmann Forum Fostër Fotografiä Foundation Fr France Francis Franqii Franqiëj Franquzskij Franquzskogo Franquzskuü Français François French Frenka Frensisa Frensisom Fresco Fridrih From Frontë Frëjda Frëjn Ft Full Fund Funkqij Funkqiämi Funt Funtah Funtov Further Futbol Futbol'nuü Futbol'nyh Futbol'nyë Futbolu Future Fëdëralizaqiä Fëdëralizm Fëdëraqiëj Fëjn Fëodal'nym Fëodalizm Fërt Fëvral' Fëvralä G Gabriel Gael'skij Gaelg Gagnon Gal'frid Gal'fridom Galërëj Galërëä Gamble Gamil'ton Gamil'tona Gandhi Ganshof Gardners Garnett Garnizony Garol'd Garri Garsiä Garsië Gascoin Gastingsë Gateway Gatvik Gavan' Gavin Gaz Gaza Gazetteer Gazifikaqii Gazët Gazëta Gazëty Gb Gbp Gbr Gdp Gdë
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Lufthansa Luke Lynch Lëgalizovany Lëgënda Lëgëndy Lëjboristah Lëjboristskaä Lëjboristskoj Lëjboristskoë Lëkarstv Lëkqii Lënta Lëonë Lëptu Lësom Lëstër Lëstërskogo Lët Lëtnëgo Lëtnëmu Lëtnëë Lëto Lëvaä Lëvoqëntristskaä Lëvoqëntristy Lëvosoqialisticëskaä Lëvostoronnëë Lëvyë Lëxit Lübogo Lüboj Lüboë Lübvi Lüd'mi Lüdi Lüdäh Lüdëj Lüs'ëna M Maastrihtskomu Machine Macintyre Mackie Macmillan Made Magnat Magnitskogo Maiden Mail Maj Majk Majkl Majkla Major Majority Majorëq Make Makes Makfoll Making Maks Maksim Maksimal'no Maksvëll Maksvëlla Malkolm Malo Maloj Malom Malyj Malyë Man Managing Manchester Mancëstër Mandat Manic Manufacturers Manw Manwëm March Margaret Marianne Marjorie Mark Markom Marlo Marriage Marshall Mart Marta Martin Martinus Marwalla Maslo Mason Mass Massa Mastercard Mastërom Mastërskaä Mastërskoj Matcah Matci Mathias Matter Matters Matthew Matërial Matërialov Maurice Maxoritarnoj May Maä Maë Mb Mccormmach Mccourt Mcdonough Mcgeever Mclean Mcmahon Mcmillan Meaning Means Measures Mediawiki Medical Meehan Mej Melitz Melori Members Men Mensëll Menë Mep Mera Merely Meri Merthyr Met Michael Michel Michigan Mid Middle Mify Migranty Migraqii Migraqiä Migration Migrirovavwië Mike Mil'tona Milliarda Milliardov Milliardy Million Milliona Millionah Millionov Millënium Milmo Milna Mineola Minimum Minister Ministers Ministership Ministr Ministra Ministrom Ministrov Ministry Ministërskaä Ministërstvo Ministërstvom Minuta Mir Mira Mirnoë Mirnyë Mirotvorcëskih Mirovaä Mirovogo Mirovoj Mirovoë Mirovyh Mirovym Mirovymi Mirovyë Miru Mirë
Mln Mnogih Mnogimi Mnogië Mnogo Mnogom Mnoxëstvo Mnënië Mnëniëm Mnëniü Mobil'naä Mobil'nogo Mode Modern Modërn Modërnistskuü Moema Mogla Mogut Mok Mokruü Molodyh Molodyë Molodöxi Momënta Mon Mona Monarchist Monarchy Monarh Monarhii Monarhiiostrovnyë Monarhiiunitarnyë Monarhiä Monarhiëj Monarhom Monarhov Monarhu Monetary Monmutskij Monmutskim Month Montsërrat Mora Moral More Morrisa Morskoj Morä Moräkov Morämi Morë Morëj Morëm Moskva Moskvoj Moskvë Most Motor Mourn Moxno Moxët Moßi Moö Moü Mp Mrs Msn Much Mul'ti Multinational Mura Murray Musical Musora Muzyka Muzykal'nyë Muzyki Muzëj Mysl' Myth Mägkië Mëcty Mëdalëj Mëdiafajly Mëdiaqëntrom Mëdiqinë Mëlkih Mën'waä Mën'wimi Mën'winstv Mën'winstva Mën'wë Mënäütsä Mënëë Mëridiana Mërë Mëssiü Mëst Mëstnogo Mëstnoj Mëstnoë Mëstnyh Mëstnyj Mëstnyë Mësto Mëstom Mësäqë Mësäqëv Mëtafizicëskië Mëtaforicëski Mëtalom Mëtodov Mëtropolii Mëxbüdxëtnyë Mëxdu Mëxdunarodnaä Mëxdunarodno Mëxdunarodnoj Mëxdunarodnom Mëxdunarodnoë Mëxdunarodnyh Mëxdunarodnyj Mëxdunarodnym
Mëxdunarodnyë Mörfi Müziklov N N'ü N'üport N'ütona Na Nablüdalsä Nablüdaëtsä Nacala Nacalas' Nacali Nacalis' Nacalo Nacalos' Nacalë Nacavwijsä Nacavwëësä Nacinaä Nacnötsä Nad Nadëlëno Nadöxnyë Nagor'ë Nagornogo Nahoditsä Nahodätsä Naibol'wim Naibolëë Naimënovanij Nakalivaniä Nakazan Nalicii Nalicië Nalog Nalogi Nalogoobloxënië Nalogov Nalogovyj Name Names Nami Nana Naperville Napisana Napisaniä Napisannoë Napisano Napisany Napolëonovskih Napravlënij Naprimër Naprämuü Napräxönnyj Napëcatano Naqij Naqional'naä Naqional'noj Naqional'nuü Naqional'nyh Naqional'nym Naqionalist Naqionalisticëskogo Naqionalizirovany Naqionalizma Naqiä Naravnë Narkotorgovqëv Narodnoj Naruwitëläm Naruwëniäm Narädu Nascityvala Nascityvaüßië Naslëdië Naslëdnyh Naslëdovanië Naslëdstvom Naslëdstvënnoj Nastoäßëë Nastupila Nastuplëniä Nasëlënii Nasëlëniä Nasëlënië Nasëlëniëm Nasëlönnosti Nation National Nations Nato Naturalista Naturalizm Naturalizovannym Nature Naucnoj Naucnoë Naucnyh Naucnyë Nauka Nauki Nauku Naval Navigaqiä Navy Nawih Nazad Naznacaëmaä Naznacaët Naznacaëtsä Naznacaütsä Naznacëna Naznacëniä Nazval Nazvanii Nazvanij Nazvaniä Nazvanië Nazvat' Nazyvat' Nazyvaëmuü Nazyvaëmyj Nazyvaët Nazyvaüt Nazyvaütsä Naömnyh Nd Neal Nesbit Network Neurotic Never Nevis New News Newsru Ng Ni Niall Nicholas Nicholls Nigel Nih Nijhoff Nikakih Nikakoj Nikogda Nikto Nim Nimi Nivëna Nixë Nixëstoäßimi Nizkaä Nizkij Nizkim Nizkimi Nizkogo Nizmënnost' Nizmënnostëj Nizvërxëniü Nizwëj No Nobel Nobëlëvskaä Nobëlëvskuü Nominal Nominal'nomu Nominate Nominirovan Norfolk Norm
Vëdußië Vëdußëj Vëk Vëka Vëkov Vëkë Vëlicajwih Vëlicajwim Vëlicinë Vëlicëstva Vëlikaä Vëlikih Vëlikij Vëlikië Vëlikobritanii Vëlikobritaniä Vëlikobritaniäangloäzycnyë Vëlikobritaniëj Vëlikobritaniü Vëlikobritanskij Vëlikobritánii Vëlikobritániä Vëlikolëpnoj Vërdikt Vërdikta Vërhovnogo Vërhovnyh Vërhovnyj Vërhovnym Vërnonom Vërnulsä Vëroätnëë Vërsii Vërsiä Vërwina Vërwinë Vërë Vës'ma Vësnoj Vëst Vëstminstër Vëstminstëra Vëstminstërskij Vëstminstërskoj Vëstminstërskom Vëstminstërskoë Vëstminstërë Vëtrov Vëtry Vëtvi Vëß'ü Vëßatël'nyh Vëßatëlämi Vëßatëlëm Vëßaüßim Vïëzd W Wablonu Wadsworth Wales Walker Wall Walter War Warf Was Water Watts Waucojnda Way Wayback We Weather Web Webber Welle Welsh Went Were West Westman Westminster Westwell Wet What Whenever Where Which White Who Why Widely Wikimedia Wikipedia Wildside Wiley Will William Williams Windus Wing Winn Winter Winti Wirokij Wirokimi Wirotami Wirtz With Withdrawn Within Without Wkol'nikam Wkol'niki Wkol'nikov Wkol'nyë Wlëma Wona Words World Wossë Wotlandii Wotlandiä
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Consumer Guide / No.120 / Q & A with writer / broadcaster (The Burkiss Way, Quote...Unquote) Nigel Rees, with Mark Watkins.
MW: As a child, what did you inherit (and from whom)?
NR: My parents were not really into books or what we now call media but my father did have a sense of humour and I inherited that. If I had an inspiration it was from my uncle, Tom Gleave, a Battle of Britain pilot who was shot down and badly burned but who lived to fight on (literally) and write a book about it. At the age of 8, he had a dream to fly and he got away from his Liverpool home and achieved something heroic. I, too, at the age of 8 had a dream – to be in broadcasting – and I, too, got away from there to do that.
MW: Have you ever sworn on The Bible?
NR: Only for jury service which I have done once (and am now too old for it). I found it a most interesting experience at Southwark crown court in 2002. I did two cases both involving black defendants on charges of petty theft, possessing knives, etc. We let them both off. Although one was almost certainly guilty, the police work was so inadequate, it was a no-brainer to do this.
MW: Your favourite music to wake-up to? Switch-off the world and unwind to?
NR: My wife listens to BBC Radio 3 all day, so by default that is what I hear. We like to go to the opera (favourite Eugene Onegin) and ballet but my tastes in music range right across the spectrum. If I listen to music on my own, it is mostly pop (up to about 2000). I have a vast collection of albums which I carry around with me on one small SD Memory Card. Coming from Liverpool, I naturally prefer the Beatles to the Stones.
MW: Do you have a study at home?
NR: I have two homes, so two studies. In each, I have a trestle table from John Lewis, both purchased in 1973. On these I have written all of my broadcast scripts, my 50 or 60 books, and everything else.
MW: What sorts of things are in your personal archive and what systems, if any, do you have in place to retrieve items for reference purposes?
NR: Over the past ten years I have digitalized everything – so I am more or less paper free, thus saving a huge amount of space. Scanning all my writings and all my photographs was a mammoth task but tremendously well worth it. I can now search through the entire system very quickly – an absolutely marvellous resource.
MW: Have you ever “culled” due to necessity or overwhelm?
NR: Yes indeed. I am now very firm about not keeping books that I expect never to read again or which don’t earn their space on my shelves.
MW: Tell me about your devising ability…
NR: I created Quote … Unquote for radio because I wanted to provide myself with a work opportunity, writing and presenting. The same goes for a now-forgotten quiz, Where Were You in ’62? (Fifties and Sixties nostalgia on BBC Radio 2), which to my mind was a better show, if now forgotten. Again, I devised it in order to have something to do to earn a living. Same goes for all those books.
In creating other shows – for radio and TV – and proposing books, I have always been heavily involved. So choosing the guests – and usually picking the signature tune – has been what I do. If you are self-employed, as I have always been, you just find the energy – in order to stay afloat.
MW: Give your Top 3 favourite quotes and by whom, and the background behind them...
NR: Easy. I carry these quotes in my wallet, ready for when I am asked this question:
‘All political lives, unless they are cut off in mid-stream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs’ – ENOCH POWELL
– last words of his book Joseph Chamberlain (1977). Leader of the Liberal Unionists in the 1890s, Chamberlain never became Prime Minister and had to retire from public life through ill-health, with his tariff reforms (giving preferential treatment to colonial imports) not yet in place. Powell may also have had himself in mind when writing this concluding passage. Every day that passes I find proof of its wisdom.
‘Nothing matters very much and very few things matter at all’ – ARTHUR BALFOUR
– I saw this quoted in 1971, but there appears to be no other source for this much-quoted observation. Helps to keep things in perspective. Compare what Bishop Creighton (1843-1901) said when reassuring an anxious seeker after truth, that it was ‘almost impossible to exaggerate the complete unimportance of everything’ – quoted in The Lyttelton Hart-Davis Letters (for 2 May 1956).
‘Consider, Sir, how insignificant this will appear a twelvemonth hence’ – SAMUEL JOHNSON
– quoted in Boswell, Life of Johnson (1791), relating to 6 July 1763. When Boswell talked of some temporary setback as a serious distress, Johnson laughed and promulgated this excellent piece of advice.
MW: You’ve written specific books on Graffiti….but is it really art?
NR: My five paperback collections of humorous graffiti sold several million copies in the early 1980s – and were a spin-off from Quote…Unquote. So-called graffiti “art” just didn’t enter into it and I dislike it. Graffiti humour is now completely dead in the water and if people want to share jokes etc they have social media, email and text to do it with.
MW: You’ve had numerous guests on Quote… Unquote, from serious to showbiz. I’ve cherry-picked just a few here right across the board for you to comment on...firstly, writer, Monica Ali…
NR: She was an absolute gem and was absolutely right for the programme (2018) as well as having great charm. The first thing she said to me was that she had visited Tolstoy’s estate Yasnaya Polyana in Russia and called it a high point of her life. Having just done a visit there with my wife, I totally agreed with Monica, so we were off to a good start.
MW: James Burke…
NR: Do people remember him now? He was a TV science presenter, covered the moon shots etc. I can’t really remember how James did (in 1979) but suspect he didn’t quite have the sort of knowledge we were after. (Incidentally, I possess recordings of every single edition of Quote… Unquote – all 506 of them – and so technically I could listen to the two he appeared in, if I was so moved.)
MW: Benny Green…
NR: Jazz musician turned wonderful critic and writer (appeared many times from 1977). Noted for his slightly sour persona. When (actor) Ian McKellen sang a song on the show, Benny said, “I wonder if they’ll ever set that to music?”
MW: Matthew Parris…
NR: Perfect for the show (many times from 1995). He covered a wide range of subject matter – from politics to bookish stuff and also had plenty of personal anecdotes. Unfortunately, he regularly presented other shows on BBC Radio 4, so we couldn’t really use Matthew as often as we might have liked.
MW: Tim Rice…
NR: Appeared twice on the show – first in 1986 and then 33 years later. I have always admired the way he forged a whole new career for himself after parting from Lloyd Webber – collaborating with Elton John and garnering a shelf-full of awards. A good bloke too.
MW: Tom Stoppard…
NR: I met Tom first at the very moment he became famous (on the Edinburgh Fringe where his first play was put on by the same company which was presenting a revue I was in). When producer John Lloyd and I were making the Quote…Unquote pilot in 1975 we were determined that the guests should not be the usual sort of showbiz people who did these quizzes. So we had on Jonathan Miller, Germaine Greer, Michael Frayn and so on. Tom did the pilot with his then wife Miriam and, as this became the first to be broadcast, he got us off to a predictably good start.
MW: Fiona Richmond…
NR: Perhaps a surprise choice (in 1981). I had seen her act in a stage show Pyjama Tops (even reviewed it on the BBC Radio 4 arts programme, Kaleidoscope) and was aware of her supposed sex diaries in Men Only but can’t really recall how she came to be on the show, except that as with Stoppard she was not the sort of person you would expect to find on a Radio 4 panel game. We had 595 guests on the programme and we spread our net wide. Their only qualification was whether we thought they were up for it and up to it. I think she was – just. Or perhaps I was amused to be able to introduce the sex queen as the daughter of a vicar, which she was.
MW: The Goodies…
NR: Graeme Garden was on a lot in the early days but then he went off to I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue and we had a sort of rule that we wouldn’t have anyone on who was regularly appearing elsewhere. Bill Oddie (in 2001) rubbished Shelley’s ‘Ode to a Skylark’ which made me wonder whether he was really our sort of person. As to Tim Brooke-Taylor, I got the impression that he never liked me or my works, so I stuck to our rule not to have on people whom neither my producer nor I fancied!
MW: Rounding off, tell me about your Newsletter and other (known) plans post Quote… Unquote moving forward…
NR: When I brought the radio show to an end in December 2021 (after 46 years) I made it clear that The Quote… Unquote Newsletter which I had produced for 30 years would continue. This is a quarterly email attachment that goes out to over 1,200 subscribers round the world.
It grew out of an informal sheet of quotation queries that I began in the late 1980s in response to listeners and to readers of my 50 or so related books.
And so it goes on – details on my website http://www.quote-unquote.org.uk/
Otherwise, I am enjoying my retirement and have no plans to do any more broadcasting or write any more books.
There were several reasons why I decided to end the radio show but Covid knocked it on the head – because I was not able to do it as I had done for all those years. As to the cultural changes in the world at large and the BBC’s woke agenda, don’t get me started …
“Some people are flawed and interesting,” Callum said with a shrug. “Others are just flawed.”
We are all too powerful ...
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