Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
Some of us can still remember watching it, and many have highlighted the band's clear awkwardness, while being interviewed by Noel Edmonds, as proof of the internal divisions within the band but, then again, I remember every interview Noel Edmonds ever did on that show being painfully awkward.
Over on the UK singles chart, December launched with the Jam's final single Beat Surrender gripping the highest of the high ground. Could the recently defuncted band hold on and take the highly prestigious Christmas Number One spot?
Things were far less silly on the British album chart where, serenely, The John Lennon Collection reigned supreme for the whole month.
But it wasn't the only historical event going on, because, also in that month, we got a taste of the future, when Time magazine's Man of the Year award was, for the first time ever, given to a non-human.
That non-human was the computer.
Which computer, Wikipedia doesn't tell me, so I shall assume they meant every computer, even mine, which was rubbish. So, well done to my Commodore VIC-20 for winning Man of the Year.
Over in the cinemas, we were ignoring this technological threat to our award-winning chances and burying our faces in both popcorn and the following: 48 Hrs, Gandhi, Airplane II, The Dark Crystal and Tootsie. To be honest, I'm not too keen on any of those films but, if given a choice, I'd opt for Airplane II because I'm shallow.
Over on the UK singles chart, December launched with the Jam's final single Beat Surrender gripping the highest of the high ground. Could the recently defuncted band hold on and take the highly prestigious Christmas Number One spot?
No, they couldn't. For, just as it seemed they might triumph, they were pipped to it by Renée and Renato who snatched that prize from them with the genuinely ridiculous Save Your Love.
And, with that one move, the Christmas Number One spot suddenly became a whole lot less prestigious.
Things were far less silly on the British album chart where, serenely, The John Lennon Collection reigned supreme for the whole month.
But what of the galaxy's greatest comic? Just how was it preparing for Christmas?
It was still giving us Robo-Hunter, Harry Twenty on the High Rock, Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper, while Tharg's Future Shocks now seems to have been re-titled Tharg's Time Twisters.
Less typically, Prog 296 gave us a strip called Homer the Barbarian of which I know nothing, while Ace Trucking Co vanished after Prog 293.
And I see that Prog 293 promised us the chance to win a video game that would talk to us, and Prog 294 gave us a review of E.T.
What more could a man demand in life?
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35 comments:
HA HA HA HA HA!!! 100 years ago today in London the first woman was sawed in half by a magician! The magician failed and she lived!
Once we robots become magicians there will be no more failures!
I've watched that Abba interview, Noel Edmonds is a really poor interviewer, Right up there with Clive Anderson, The Bee Gees wouldn’t have stood for that sort of treatment.
I've never understood the appeal of Noel Edmonds either, Steve. Or Clive Anderson, dangermash.
A zarjaz Dredd cover by the mighty Mike McMahon on prog #296 there, but otherwise more of the same old, same old we've been seeing from Tharg for some time now in this feature.
Homer the Barbarian was a one-off send up of sword and sorcery cliches written by Alan Grant, who was the wrong Alan for the job really - Moore did that kind of thing much better - but it looked ok thanks to the underrated Massimo Belardinelli. I suspect it may just have been a try out for giving him a job on the forthcoming Slaine.
-sean
I wonder what I Hate Humans makes of Robo-Hunter.
-sean
Ha Ha Ha! Magnus the Robot Fighter. Out of print. I am in print. Live. I will teach you how to saw a human in half.
Ha Ha Ha. Robo-Hunter. If not done by Marvel it does not count. I will saw comic books in half too along with people in boxes. The day is coming.
Magnus the Robot Hunter wasn't by Marvel.
Stupid robot.
Long live the new flesh.
The Late, Late Breakfast Show was abruptly cancelled in 1986 when a man was killed while attempting a bungee-jump - anyone remember that notorious incident? Noel Edmonds later said he'd considered emigrating to Australia following the controversy. Sadly he never did...
I was in the Lower 6th form when Renee & Renato reached #1. At the end of the dinner-hour Alison-Jane Price came rushing in to the 6th form common room and said "You'll never guess what's No.1" and then burst into a rendition of Save Your Love (she'd gone home for dinner and heard the new Top 40 on Radio 1). But I already knew because my friend Kevin and I had heard the new Top 40 rundown on Kevin's transistor radio.
I do remember that Noel Edmonds incident, Colin.
Sadly, I don't recall where I was when I discovered Renee and Renato had hit the Number One spot but I do know that, wherever I was, a little piece of my soul died that day.
Sean, thanks for the Homer info.
Dangermash, I remember Richard Whiteley having a truly terrible chat show on Yorkshire TV, sometime around 1980. Then again, I've got it in my heard that Fred Trueman once had a terrible chat show, as well.
I AM ROBOT. I EAT TRANSITORS FOR QUICK ENERGY. Where can I find these transistor radios?
I do recall Fred Trueman being on tv quite regularly in the 70s Steve.
Seems like back in the day having a terrible chat show was almost as popular an activity for Yorkshiremen as nicking dogs.
-sean
Another Yorkshireman with a chat show (briefly) was Harold Wilson after he resigned as Prime-Minister.
Colin,
I'm glad he didn't move to Australia as I'd managed to forget he even existed... I vaguely recalled the tragedy actually being broadcast, but a quick search suggested the fatality occurred during practise. The BBC didn't come of well during the inquest.
Steve,
I also owned a Vic 20 which remains fondly nostalgic in my thoughts. If you ever start Steve Does Computers, I'll be there.
DW
Sean-
"nicking" according to the internet, is British slang for stealing. I think I already knew that.
...they're stealing dogs in Yorkshire?
Why would somebody do that? You guys have dog pounds, I assume. They give 'em away.
They...they're not...not like eating these dogs, are they?
I know they have been described here as an odd folk, but that is beyond the pale.
M.P.
MP - did you miss my revelation from a few weeks ago that, while watching the original Lassie with Elizabeth Tylor?
Lassie keeps running away from home to the heroes of the show. Lassie's owner comes to the cottage yet again to retrieve his dog, There was a scene in which the owner of Lassie states "I know what you Yorkshire men are! You are all dog thieves." (More or less, lol.)
SO that's Yorkshire... a bunch of dog knickers... according to Lassie. The movie didn't say the Yorkshire men ate the dogs, though.
Yeah, Charlie, but why steal a dog in first place, is what I'm saying.
And I'm a dog person. We always had dogs when I was growing up.
But I live in an apartment now so...
Dogs were free! Sometimes they'd just show up outta nowhere.
Cats too.
This was the country, mind you.
A lotta weird things still happen out there, or so my brother tells me.
M.P.
While you might think Australia dodged a bullet by narrowly avoiding Noel Edmonds (was he taking a leaf from Leggy Mountbatten's book?), don't worry, there are plenty of Edmonds equivalents here that we'd be happy to send back to the Old Country, if we could figure out how.
Nicking dogs and dog knickers are two completely different things Charlie.
-sean
Seems Noel Edmonds emigrated to New Zealand recently instead, so we all win (except for the Kiwis).
-sean
"Leggy Mountbatten"?!
I shouldn't make fun.
Without him and Dick Jaws the Rutles wouldn't be what they are today.
M.P.
Hey Steve! It just occurred to me - you're covering Dec 82 here, so where are the 2000AD and Dredd annuals?
-sean
Huh. Seems the annuals weren't covered in this feature last year either. Or any of the December progs?
(Can that be right...?)
-sean
Sean, I have a feeling I forgot to do the December progs, last year. And I totally forgot about the annuals this year. I shall do the annuals this Sunday.
DW, the Vic-20's inbuilt memory of 3.5 kb was truly awesome.
Well, no-one seemed to notice Steve, but I look forward to reading about the annuals on Sunday.
Assuming all goes well - I hear South Yorkshire is declaring a Major Incident because its ...er, raining. Good luck keeping your head above water.
-sean
The rain is indeed coming down heavily but I think I'm well above anywhere that's likely to flood.
Steve
Technically it had 5k but used 1.5k for the OS. I did get an additional 16k of ram, and so my Vic was even more awesome than usual ;-) I do still occasionally play Donkey Kong on a Vic 20 emulator, which is a surprisingly complete, if pretty blocky, port of the original.
DW
I have it on good authority from my man in Havana that tomorrow night will be the last night the earth will be able to see Galactus.
The Western World's biggest POS has left the White House. It's been a long 4 years.
And now Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson inherits the title of the Western World's biggest buffoon.
Well Colin... the talking heads running our respective nations like to talk about the US's and UK's "special relationship," lol.
And as I'm thinking Sean could chime in, in the French when you say someone is "special" it's not really a complement, LOL. Somehow, in this case, I think we should mean the French version of "special."
I always assume when I see a listing like "Boris Johnson (Con)" its in French, Charlie.
-sean
Sean - Con as in the french Con? Ouch! LOL
Charlie, Boris Johnson and his fellow Conservatives are desperately trying to distance themselves from Trump after spending 4 years grovelling to the Orange Messiah. Boris even said that Trump should be given the Nobel Peace Prize. Now the shameless Tories want to be Biden's best friend.
Tonight is the last night earth can see Galactus!
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