Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
This month in 1982, there was a whole lot of shakin' going on.
That's right, pop-pickers, the non-stop hit machine that was Shakin' Stevens was at it again, as he hit the Number One spot on the UK singles chart, for the third time, with his latest smash Oh Julie. Could nothing stop the man?
Nothing.
Resistance was futile.
At least on the singles chart.
On the album chart, it was a whole other matter, with its Number One slot being seized by Barbra Streisand, thanks to her compilation Love Songs, known in her native USA as Memories.
But, speaking of memories, how well can I remember the contents of the comics that Marvel UK brought out in that week?
No sooner has Jane Foster returned to Thor's strip than she gets to hang out in Hades while her ex must tangle with Ulik and Pluto.
That's the Greek god of the afterlife. Not Mickey Mouse's dog.
Elsewhere, the Punisher's after Cap. For what reason, I cannot say but I suspect the star-spangled Avenger isn't going to approve of Frank's crime-fighting methodology.
But more importantly than even that, we have the chance to win ten Doctor Who records.
However, what could those records be? It's too early for them to be either Doctor in Distress or the KLF's Number One smash Doctorin' the TARDIS and it's too late for the disco version of the theme tune that made the chart in (I think) 1978. Could these records be audio versions of old episodes?
Who can know?
It would appear that everyone's favourite web-spinner's about to go up against the massive menace of Magma.
Tragically for all music lovers, it seems the Magma in question is a super-villain, rather than the French progressive rock band of the same name.
I know the strip's brought to us by the pencil and ink of Herb Trimpe and Mike Esposito and that Iron Man also shows up.
From this, I conclude this is a tale from Marvel Team-Up.
There's also a centrefold poster of Spidey squaring up to the Green Goblin, and yet another chance to win those ten Doctor Who records.
Posts
44 comments:
Jane is rocking some CRAZY bell-bottoms as she dangles over the pit! The Spider-Man figure actually looks sort of dynamic and Not Entirely Lame for once. Can’t tell if that’s a photo of some guy in a Spidey costume, or an illustration. The dingy, smoggy-gray photo of Manhattan sure makes that city look very un-inviting tho, don’t it.
Shakin’ Stevens is another example of a big UK pop star that most folks over here in the States have never heard of. Well, except Charlie, maybe. I can’t get over the idea that a lot of you guys don’t really know who Garth Brooks is.
b.t.
I must admit that I don't remember Jane Foster as being so... how can I put this... generously proportioned in the pectoral area.
I also love the fact that Pluto is sporting a Mick Miller haircut. I'd imagine that anyone under 45 or not in the UK will have to Google Mick Miller to see the similarity though!
Not sure why (well, actually I am sure why) but I'd love to have seen Matt Baker take a crack at that Thor cover, lol.
I do have to admit I am a tad bit surprised our UK brothers have not heard of Garth Brooks at least in general, if not the particulars like "Friends in Low Places."
But... who knows?
Suits you sir!!!
Charlie and Bt, I've heard of Garth Brooks but I couldn't name a single song he's ever done. I do remember that, when he first emerged, there was an English soccer player called Garth Crooks whose fame possibly overshadowed him.
Dave, I've just had to Google Mick Miller. I can't say his face rings any bells for me.
Like Steve, I've heard of Garth Brooks but I can't name any of his songs.
Also like Steve, I'm not familiar with Mick Miller.
Garth Brooks' lack of recognition in the UK is probably because he sings country music which has never been big here (Kenny Rogers had two UK #1 hits, Lucille and Coward Of The County, but he was an exception).
I've been reading about Garth Brooks on Wikipedia and he seems like a decent guy - he's always supported gay rights and he sang at Biden's inauguration. Unlike daft old Meatloaf who was an anti-vaxxer, thought climate change was a hoax and supported Trump...
Ditto as regards Garth Brooks & Miller.
One of Steve's opening words/phrases need elucidating to Team USA.
Here goes...
All UK gents, on hearing the term 'pop pickers', instantly hear the following tune, resounding through their heads:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY85ET2gXGQ
Now - and for all time - Team USA will also have the 'pop pickers' tune, lodged in their noggins!
Phillip
Whilst checking if Thor conformed to b.t.'s wrist bands theory, I noticed that, strangely, Mjlonir's haft is striped red & black, just like Thor's wrist bands. Usually, the haft is grey & black (methinks!) Still, there's plenty of yellow on the cover, in line with Marvel UK's policy, with Ulik looking like he's just fallen in a vat of custard.
Pop pickers should go on an album of catchy instrumentals, along with Green Onions & Spanish Flea!
Phillip
By an extraordinary coincidence, 'Pop Pickers' has just been played on the BBC News channel, in relation to the RSPB's annual great garden birdwatch!
Phillip
Love that Pop Pickers piece Phillip!
Thanks for sharing! It is indeed catchy in a pleasurable way!
Reminds me of that typical music on TV when variety acts were quite popular in the 60s like on Ed Sullivan or Bozo the Clown.
SO If I understand the remarks below the link on Youtube, this was played on the BBC as the intro to the show "Pick of the Pops" which played a variety of pop songs every week? Of was it a count down of the charts?
It's a catchy tune and not sure here in the USA we have anything similar that we would all know.
We did have "Casey Casem" do a count down of the top 40 (80?) every weekend. But I honestly could not tell you a theme song... Some of Team USA may know? Also I always assumed "casem" was a play on "case them" which is slangy of "show them off" or "highlight them."
Charlie - I remember the 'Pop Pickers' tune mostly being played by a D.J. named Alan 'Fluff' Freeman, as he did the chart countdown, each week. However, other D.J.'s did it, too. 'Fluff' Freeman had a very 'plummy' voice - even more so than Tony Blackburn. There was a whole range of these Radio 1 D.J.s (Freeman might have been non-BBC - I forget) - some of whose heads eventually got stuck up their own backsides. That's why they got satirized as Smashey & Nicey:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w95TvONmzFc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAIWTLal9e4
Phillip
SO around 15 years ago, I used to stream some of the BBC music programs at work. This older fellow played tunes from the 30s and 40s. I'm sure I could pick his name out if I saw a list. Dewey Something? He played like 30s - 40s and the guy who followed him (I think) played more show tunes. It's hard to tell who followed who b/c at some point I think they were all basically doing their job from home and their program was being posted weekly vs. being broadcast?
So I send an email to the BBC Host saying how much "Joe from Chicago loves to listen to his show at work. It was nice to hear music from 75 years ago versus all the new stuff."
Well, there I am at my desk when the boss walks in. The radio host is reading some emails that had been sent to him and he reads out "And Joe from Chicago..."
The boss looks at me and I at her. She says, "I have this hunch you are the only Joe from Chicago listening to a radio show from the UK at this moment. Sounds like Joe has some spare time on his hands???"
Ouch!
Phillip, Fluff Freeman was Australian so I'm surprised you think he had a plummy voice - I never thought so.
And Freeman did the chart countdown in the '60s long before I was listening to Radio One. I mainly remember him from the '80s and '90s when he presented Pick Of The Pops which by then was a nostalgia programme featuring the Top 20 from previous years.
Colin - Your memory is better than mine. 'Pick of the Pops' is probably what I'm remembering.
Charlie - Maybe it was Radio 2 D.J. Jools Holland (Squeeze). Charlie - If you'd contacted the radio station as 'Charlie', instead of your real name, the boss would've been none the wiser! ;)
Phillip
Phillip I think it was BBC2! They seemed to have ecclectic shows that had their own unique focus for an hour vs just rock n roll or just classical.
I swear the dude was named Dewey Something...
He was already, quite likely, in his late 60s /early 70s 15 years ago. I did eventually find his BBC podcasts, b/c I think he and the ecclectic shows got bumped from scheduled programming and he sounded quite old maybe pushing 80-ish and this was maybe 10 years ago.
As a practical matter, I have to imagine anyone spinning tunes from the 1930s and 40s was likely quite old in the first place around 2005 or so.
Charlie, I've had a rummage around on the internet and the only candidate I can find for your man of mystery is Hubert Gregg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Gregg
The only other Radio 2 presenter I can unearth with a vaguely similar name is Huey Morgan from The Fun Lovin' Criminals but he seems extremely unlikely to be the one.
That's interesting. According to Wikipedia, The Fun Lovin' Criminals are another of those American acts who've been massively more successful in Britain than in America, having had two platinum and one gold album in the UK, despite never having even made the Top 100 in the States.
Well... I've been plunking on BBC2 Radio schedule for April 2008. I think I found the host of the show: Desmond Carrington! And after reading the Wiki bio it all fits perfectly!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009rxg9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Carrington
I must have listened to via the "Listen Again" option at BBC 2. Wiki says he had 800,000 listeners when he retired, at the age of 90 (!!!) in 2016. Yowza.
IT was really a great show and I wish there were ways to go back and listen again. He really put together great themes for the given broadcast and one heard so many fabulous tunes basically now lost to obscurity.
Oh brother...
I've been listening to DESMOND CARRINGTON on youtube. I don't think it was him. Desmond is who I would "listen again" to after the other guy I was thinking of.
Desmond's voice is higher and thinner than the guy I am thinking of, though their programming is fairly similar.
The search continues... and for some reason the name "Dewey" sticks in my head. Ah well... the mysteries of life.
"Desmond Carrington" sounds like a made-up name. Like something out of a soap opera.
Can you imagine having to go around through life introducing yourself saying "Hello there, I'm Desmond Carrington?"
"Can I buy you a drink, sugar-britches? I'm Desmond Carrington."
"What's the problem, officer, was I driving too fast? I'm Desmond Carrington."
"Those drugs aren't mine and I didn't know about the girl in the trunk, officer. I'm Desmond Carrington."
M.P.
Charlie:
A bit late, but Casey Kasem’s AMERICAN TOP 40 absolutely had a theme tune. A few years ago, someone posted over 50 complete episodes on Youtube (edited to have just the beginning and end of each song, and with all the commercials removed), all from the early to mid-70s. I listened to a bunch of ‘em on my commute, top to bottom — with the bulk of the songs edited out, each episode was only about an hour long. It was awesome! Brought back SO many memories. As often happens, someone made the guy take em all down, but maybe he’ll upload em again sometime. I should check one of these days…
b.t.
To my brothers across-the-pond:
You are not missing anything by not being familiar with the country-music travesty that IS Garth Brooks. He is such a fake hillbilly. He does his "drawl" while singing, but his regular speaking voice is like upscale New Jersey. Such a fraud.
When I inherited the jukebox department at my old music warehouse, I was saddled with 1,000 copies each of Garth Brooks' "Friends In Low Places" & "Thunder Rolls" on '45. I tried like hell to sell'em off. Many operators told me to quit sending them off.
The goofy egotist even thought he could re-invent himself as a kinda Seattle rocker. Naming himself Chris something. I can't remember the last name, and don't care to look it up. It bombed.
Brooks sold alot of music, made a lot of money, and became a big-wig at Capital Records. Even got to play baseball for a major team.
All & all, though, Garth Brooks is one of the finest definition of WANKER.
Steve, while there are quite a lot of audio versions of old Dr Who episodes these days, so far as I'm aware the only one available about forty years ago was a 'Genesis of the Daleks' lp that came out (I think) in '78.
Albums have a longer shelf-life than singles, so that might have been remaindered and become a competition prize by early '82.
Another possibility is the BBC Radiophonic Workshop album 'Dr Who Sound Effects' released around the same time, which I had a copy of.
And for anyone who thinks owning an lp of sound effects back then makes me a terminally sad case, it's actually a brilliant album - heard today, tracks like 'Metebelis III Atmosphere', 'Zygon Spaceship Control Centre' and 'Kraal Disorientation Chamber' sound like Mille Plateaux-style ambient glitchcore.
Btw, good to see your cultural horizons are broad - and stylish - enough to include le Frogprog.
We'll overlook the terrible Pluto joke though, eh?
-sean
Has anybody else noticed how fat Garth Brooks' head is?
That thing is like a watermelon.
I dunno where he buys his hats, but I bet they cost a lot.
Bein' big enough to fit on that coconut of his.
And Sean, my friend, you may well be a bit eccentric owning an album of Dr. Who sound effects.
If you listen to it, that's worse.
M.P.
Given they were off-loading four year old Spider-bikes last week, four year old Genesis of the Daleks LPs seem reasonable. Don't know about Garth Brooks but Garth Crooks always comes across as a bit of a $%^&. Team if the week, my arse.
DW
of. FFS
DW
MP, apparently Desmond Carrington wasn't a made-up name - I occasionally listened to his radio show and I knew he was an actor back in the '50s and '60s so you might think that "Desmond Carrington" was an invented stage-name but according to Wikipedia his name really was Desmond Herbert Carrington.
Anyway, he kept broadcasting almost to the end of his life - he retired in 2016 and died in 2017 aged 90.
Charlie and Killdumpster, I've been listening to Garth Brooks' Friends In Low Places on YouTube and I see what you mean about the country drawl, KD, but I think the song would grow on me after repeated listening.
According to Wikipedia 'Friends In Low Places/The Dance' reached #36 in the UK in 1996 but I don't remember it!
In the North, it's a very windy day - c.f. Roobarb:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIGyA41TDcE
Phillip
COLIN! Something tells me youbare my best hope finding Out who my favorite broadcaster was on BBC 2 about 15 Odd years ago. Looking at BBC2 schedule on Sunday evenings i am like 99% sure the “Dewey” i listened to was either immediately before or after David Jacobs. I did listen to DESMOND CARRINGTON but he was apparently on Tuesdays.
These broadcasters doing the show tunes / old tunes were apparently all in their llate 60s to early 80s when i listened with regularly around 2007 -2010.
But aince the BBC2 radio broadcasting schedule online cannot be searched pre 2008 how do look at 2006 or 2007?
Charlie - It's Dewey Bunnell !
https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_radio_two/2007-04-23
Phillip
Apologies, Colin!
Phillip
Thank you phillip I appreciate the effort. However the Dewey that you found was just an interview performed on the BBC radio station 2I think that Dewey was part of the group known as America. I am looking for the Dewey who hosted a radio program on Sundays I think right before David Jacobs on BBC Radio 3 where he played old tunes from the 30s the 40s
I've failed! Over to you, Colin...
Phillip
Yeah, M.P.-
Garth Brooks has a big, fat head. Both figuratively and literally.
When he originally released his greatest hits album & box set, he made exclusive deals with department stores so they would only be available through them.
My boss EXPLODED. He reamed-out our sales rep, then screamed at one of the big cheeses at Capital Records. At that time we were the no. 2 music supplier in the world, and he threatened to boycott their future releases if they didn't send us that product.
Three days later we had pallets delivered. Screw Garth Brooks.
The audacity of that man! He wanted to make it illegal to buy & sell used music unless he could get royalties!! What a greedy S.O.B!!!
As you can tell, I have absolutely nothing good to say about that man.
Charlie: As an out there guess could it have been Sheridan Morely? Apologies if e was already mentioned
Charlie, I'm scratching my head trying to think who you mean by "Dewey" because I don't know any British broadcasters with that name. The schedules for BBC Radio 2 in 2007/8 are available on BBC Genome and I've been looking at them - I can see David Jacobs but there's nobody called Dewey. Possibly you mean Russell Davies who had a show playing old songs from the '30s, '40s etc. That's the best I can do I'm afraid.
You can mock M.P., but I'm not going to take umbrage because at least I wasn't listening to Meatloaf and the ELO at the start of the 80s.
Old BBC Radiophonic Workshop records were great. Back in the day their stuff might come out under titles like 'Dr Who Sound Effects' with a picture of the Tardis on the cover, but thirty, forty years later they were being reissued in stylish sleeves on labels like Rephlex and Mute, alongside Aphex Twin and Throbbing Gristle albums, and sounding as cool as ever. So there.
-sean
Sean-
There's nothing wrong with having listened to E.L.O. in the early '80's! There was a gap in music back then and they filled it!
Disco was dying and New Wave was yet to be born.
And if I listened to Meatloaf, it was not on purpose. It was forced upon me.
M.P.
My ex-room mate, back in the early 80's, took down my punk rock/heavy metal posters to half-ass spray paint ELO's logo on our living room wall.
"Wonderful, Gary. Not only did we lose our security deposit, but now everyone will think we're cool."
Meatloaf blew. 3 hits over how many years? Bat Out Of Hell sold alot just because of 2 hits and the album cover.
Richard Corben did that cover, y'know.
I've always liked that guy's stuff. A great horror artist, with a humorous flair.
M.P.
One man’s Meatloaf is another man’s Throbbing Gristle.
:)
b.t.
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