Midnight Voices                      
The discussion forum for fans of Pete Atkin and Clive James,
their works and collaborators on stage, TV, disc and in print.

Web Digest week 32 (05.04.98, MV866 - 874) begins | index | prev | next |
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Date: Mon, 06 Apr 1998 09:45:23
Subject: MV866: Screen-freak
From: <email address> (John N L Morrison)

Now that I've bought the Monyash double CD, the video (PAL - hurry up and buy
the last 3 - 2 - 1...), the reissue of the first two records *and* have all
the original vinyls from the first time around -**and** have all the MV
postings, I suppose I qualify as a PA/CJ anorak (do we really have to spell
out all the acronyms first time as the Cabinet Secretary instructed me all
those years ago? I guess not, with only 129 members ofthe club). So...

Most of the references have been explained, but one sticks with me, and I
don't think it has been teased out in any exegesis. In Screen-freak, CJ
writes:

        Dance, Ginger, dance
        The caftan of the caliph turns to powder at your glance
        This one for Funny Face and Fancy Pants
        A buck and wing might fix the Broken Lance
        And break my trance. 

(transcribed from the original sleeve-notes)

Everything in initial caps is of course a film - but can anyone give mne the
film reference to Ginger and the caliph's powdery caftan? Come on, I know you
can!

Better still if you can X-ref to Cinemania 97.... 

John N L Morrison

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From: Cary <email address>
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 22:23:10 +0000
Subject: MV867: AMG database

There's an interesting music database called AMG - All Music guide.
All Pete's albums are listed in full with tracks and credits and at 
the bottom of each there is a list of similar/related albums.Live 
Libel for instance  is compared to, amongst others, 'Here's a Howdy 
Do: A Gilbert & Sullivan Festival by King's Singers.' To give you 
another taste below is the list of similar albums for 'Beware of the 
Beautiful Stranger' You can find the site at  
http://www.allmusic.com/amg/music_root.html

 List of Similar Albums

 Madman Across the Water by Elton John 
 Hurt by Chris Spedding 
 Martyrs & Madmen: The Best of Roger Daltrey by Roger Daltrey 
 Past, Present & Future by Al Stewart 
 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles 
 Definitely What! by Brian Auger 
 Second Contribution by Shawn Phillips 
 One of the Boys by Roger Daltrey 
 Sweet Thursday by Sweet Thursday 
 Lou Reed by Lou Reed 
 Faces by Shawn Phillips 
 Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris by The Soft Machine 
 Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 by Elton John 
 International Heroes by Kim Fowley 
 Enlightenment by Van Morrison 
 Between Thought and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology by Lou Reed 
 Born in Blood by Pain Teens 
 Collection by Steve Tilston 
 Big, Bad & Blue: The Big Joe Turner Anthology by Big Joe Turner 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~        
ROCK FOLLIES - The Classic 1970's TV Drama starring 
Julie Covington, Charlotte Cornwell and Rula Lenska. 
Online at:-  http://members.xoom.com/Follies
Pictures,sounds and much more (unofficial site)
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Regards - Cary (like Mary with a 'C' for cat)

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Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 20:28:54 -0600 (MDT)
From: <email address>
Subject: MV868 Re: MV866: Screen-freak

>Most of the references have been explained, but one sticks with me, and I
>don't think it has been teased out in any exegesis. In Screen-freak, CJ
>writes:
>
>        Dance, Ginger, dance
>        The caftan of the caliph turns to powder at your glance
>        This one for Funny Face and Fancy Pants
>        A buck and wing might fix the Broken Lance
>        And break my trance. 
>
>(transcribed from the original sleeve-notes)
>
>Everything in initial caps is of course a film - but can anyone give mne the
>film reference to Ginger and the caliph's powdery caftan? Come on, I know you
>can!
>

Surely "Ginger" refers to Ms. Rogers. Haven't a clue about the rest, though.
Jeff Moss

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Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1998 21:51:14 +0100
From: Pete Smith <email address>
Subject: MV869 Re: MV866: Screen-freak

>
>        Dance, Ginger, dance
>        The caftan of the caliph turns to powder at your glance
>        This one for Funny Face and Fancy Pants
>        A buck and wing might fix the Broken Lance
>        And break my trance. 
>
>Everything in initial caps is of course a film - but can anyone give mne the
>film reference to Ginger and the caliph's powdery caftan? Come on, I know you
>can!
>
Well... it's Ginger Rogers, pretty obviously. But she wasn't in Funny
Face, Fancy Pants or Broken lance, so the caftan reference is probably
not a Ginger reference either. Or is it? I'm getting overtones of
Rudolph Valentino/The Sheikh here, but that's a different era from the 3
named films which are all '50s movies. 
-- 
Pete Smith

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From: "John Schwiller" <email address>
Subject: MV870 Re: MV869; MV866: Screen-freak
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1998 23:58:07 +0100

>Well... it's Ginger Rogers, pretty obviously. But she wasn't in Funny
>Face, Fancy Pants or Broken lance, so the caftan reference is probably
>not a Ginger reference either. Or is it? I'm getting overtones of
>Rudolph Valentino/The Sheikh here, but that's a different era from the 3
>named films which are all '50s movies.

But GR was Kitty Foyle..   IMDB has lots of Caliph characters but I've not
hit on the prime suspect yet. Did Astair ever wear a caftan ?

John Schwiller

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 10:07:35 +0100
From: Roy Brown <email address>
Subject: MV871 Re: MV869; MV866: Screen-freak

In article ...
[snip]
>>
>>Everything in initial caps is of course a film - but can anyone give mne the
>>film reference to Ginger and the caliph's powdery caftan? Come on, I know
you
>>can!
>>
>Well... it's Ginger Rogers, pretty obviously. But she wasn't in Funny
>Face, Fancy Pants or Broken lance, so the caftan reference is probably
>not a Ginger reference either. Or is it? I'm getting overtones of
>Rudolph Valentino/The Sheikh here, but that's a different era from the 3
>named films which are all '50s movies. 

Umm.. when was The Thief of Baghdad?
There were Ray Harryhausen films (brilliant stop-motion animations) and
one of them had Hercules(?) slaying the Medusa - you'd turn to stone at
her glance. I don't know about powder, though.

A 'buck and wing' is a dance step, but you probably knew that.... 
-- 
Roy Brown               Phone : <phone number>       Fax : <fax number>
Affirm Ltd              Email : <email address>
<postal address>        'Have nothing on your systems that you do not    
                         know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.' 

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Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 15:08:04 +0100 (BST)
From: Nick Tothill <email address>
Subject: MV872 Re: MV870; MV869; MV866: Screen-freak

On Thu, 9 Apr 1998, Midnight Voices wrote:

> >Well... it's Ginger Rogers, pretty obviously. But she wasn't in Funny
> >Face, Fancy Pants or Broken lance, so the caftan reference is probably
> >not a Ginger reference either. Or is it? I'm getting overtones of
> >Rudolph Valentino/The Sheikh here, but that's a different era from the 3
> >named films which are all '50s movies.

I always assumed that that line is not supposed to be one reference. The
song appears to be full of completely unrelated films spliced together -
the subject's complaint appears to be not so much that he dreams in
Cinemascope as that his dreams are a kaleidoscope of disjointed film
scenes taken wildly out of context: 'I've seen the Maltese Falcon fall
moulting to the street'. So it could well be a juxtaposition - Ginger
dancing in 20th century dress, and the caliph, who's probably supposed to
be watching an odalisque, rather than a tap-dancing blonde. But I still
have no idea where the caliph might come from.

Nick.

PS: I'm currently working (allegedly) in Hawaii. It turns out that the
smallest inhabited island in the Hawaiian chain, Molokai, is known as 'The
Friendly Isle'. I don't know whether it has white sand beaches, though.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick Tothill                       Research Student, Astrophysics Group,
                                   Physics Department,
<phone number>                     Queen Mary & Westfield College,
<email address>                    University of London, U.K.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A man expelled from Oslo university after fellow students complained about
his strong odour and tattered clothing is taking Norway to court over his 
right to smell bad.
The man, who has lived in a plastic shack in Oslo since 1978, claims his
lifestyle helps him achieve a deeper understanding of astrophysics."
                                                   - The Guardian, 31/01/98

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Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 01:21:36 +0100
From: Pete Smith <email address>
Subject: MV873 Re: MV871; MV869; MV866: Screen-freak

In message <email address>,
Midnight Voices <email address> writes
>
>Umm.. when was The Thief of Baghdad?

When wasn't it? 1924 (Douglas Fairbanks), 1940 (Sabu), 1961 (Steve
Reeves !?!)

The 1940 version, directed by Michael Powell (amongst others) was the
one with the remarkable (for the time) special effects. I can't for the
life of me remember a caftan turning to powder.    

>A 'buck and wing' is a dance step, but you probably knew that.... 

I didn't until you mentioned it. But "Broken Lance" was a (rather good)
western with Spencer Tracy and Richard Widmark. Not much dancing there
then.

Typical Clive James; jam a few references together, get them to scan and
rhyme and hope nobody notices that they don't really match up.    
-- 
Pete Smith

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From: Richard Corfield <email address>
Subject: MV874: Morgan Studios
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1998 16:32:44 +0100 (BST)

Hello All,

I was in London this morning and decided to pay a brief prilgrimage to
Willesden High Road in search of the fabled Morgan Studios where Pete
recorded most of his albums. The only place that I could find was on the
corner of Willesden High Road and Maybury Gardens. Although it was a sound
studio it was not Morgan. I am wondering whether it has changed hands over
the years?

Any info would be appreciated and if perchance I have got the right place
then I will happily forward the two photos I took of it in case Steve wants
to scan them into the PA webpage.

Happy Easter to you all!

Best regards,

Richard Corfield

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The discussion forum for fans of Pete Atkin and Clive James,
their works and collaborators on stage, TV, disc and in print.
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