Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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No change could be detected atop the UK music charts, this week in 1973. Sitting proud above the milling throng on the singles list was Donny Osmond's Young Love, while ruling the LP roost was the world's most English Scotsman Rod Stewart with his compilation Sing It Again, Rod.
I must shock the world and confess the Donny Osmond single isn't one of my favourite tracks of all time - but songs I did approve of on that week's chart included:
Rock On - David Essex
Angie - Rolling Stones
Life on Mars - David Bowie
and
Nutbush City Limits - Ike and Tina Turner
While the corresponding album chart resides here.
There's no shortage of super-team action in this week's Mighty World of Marvel when the Avengers and the Fantastic Four both land themselves in crossover action, due to a desire to find and stop the incredible Hulk.
Needless to say, this leads to a near endless battle, on the streets of New York, between the green one and the orange one.
Even more memorably, I do believe this is the tale in which Stan Lee keeps referring to Bruce Banner as Bob.
And that's not the only super-team action we get, because a brand new gang makes its Marvel UK entrance, as we join the X-Men for their first-ever adventure, thanks to the arrival of Jean Grey and a dastardly plot - by a man called Magneto - to take over an Air Force base that's packed solid with nuclear missiles.
Meanwhile, a deadly new opponent enters the life of Spider-Man too, as we're introduced to Norton Fester who gains incredible strength and agility when exposed to a meteor.
Obviously, with him having gained his powers in such a fashion, he becomes the menace the world knows as Meteor Man!
Well, no. In fact, he chooses to call himself the Looter. Clearly, this man doesn't have a clue how these things are done.
A man who does know how these things are done is the Grey Gargoyle who's still having his first-ever tussle with the mighty Thor.
But even that punch-up may not be enough to satisfy fans of Norse fisticuffs. And, so, we also get a Tale of Asgard in which Odin launches into sensational solo action and battles Ymir and his giant ice buddies.
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36 comments:
Both Meteor Man (Spidey & Valkyrie Team-up) & "Joe" (in Captain America) are villains I first saw in 1980/81 (?) Thus, I wrongly assumed both were fairly "recent". Only years later, did I learn MM & "Joe" were both Ditko villains, from WAY back. Strange two villains were under-used, by Marvel, for so many years afterwards.
Phillip
Steve - your writeup had me ROTF LMAOing! Too funny!
Charlie H
Steve, your list omitted that graveyard smash 'Monster Mash' by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers!
Fifty years after 'Angie' the Stones have just released a new album called 'Hackney Diamonds' - the Stones were already being called "The Strolling Bones" to imply they were getting too old even back in the '70s but Sir Mick is now 96 ffs.
Steve, did you know that Kenneth Williams regarded himself as Welsh despite being born and bred in London? He must be the world's most English Welshman!
Yesterday was officially the hottest day of the year in the UK which is bonkers considering it's September!
-Phil
I alwaws got "Joe" and Meteor Man (A.K.A. the Looter) confused. Both had some limited super strength. One got it in an industrial accident, the other from cracking open a meteorite. Didn't they both have facemasks? I had to do some research here to figure out the difference.
I hope everybody appreciates that.
You guys remember that movie Creepshow from the '80's? There were three horror stories in that movie, which was an homage to the old horror comics of the '50's.
Anyway, in one of those stories, some country f#%& yokel played by Stephen King (!) finds a meteorite in his yard and cracks it open with a hammer, just like the Looter did.
Anyway, he did not get some modest degree of super-strength and become a D-list supervillain.
Instead, he got infected by an alien fungus of some sort.
Maybe there's a lesson here. I'm not sure exactly.
M.P.
Colin - I think Mick Jagger's roughly Joe Biden's age.
M.P. - Your research is appreciated! I read that Creepshow book too. To me, the memorable story was somebody staked out on a beach, with cockroaches overflowing out of their mouth! My memory might be conflating 2 different scenes, however, as - it being a beach - crabs, or other crustaceans - seem more likely! Also, the topics were slightly adult, for young kids to be reading (at least in the early 80s). My visiting American relative, who gifted Creepshow to my brother & myself, was worried she'd incur my mother's wrath, for providing such a comic book!
Phillip
Creepshow was a movie, Phil! Are we talking about the same thing?!
Well, there was probably a comic book version too, but if you ever want to see that all played out on film, you can watch it on Youtube I guess.
Although, I recommend, not late at night.
If you're like me you're prone to nightmares...
M.P.
M.P.- This is it (1982):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creepshow_(comics)
I may have conflated the final 2 stories ("Something To Tide You Over" & "They're Creeping Up on You".)
Phillip
I had a half year bout with scabies a few years ago. Coincidentally a huge hunk of flaming outerspace matter went flying over head, brilliant green, landing out in some cornfield (I assume) to the west the week before. Was it a Coincidence though???
If any of you have questions about scabies you can email me. Always happy to share.
Charles H
UK Gents - i dont know if it’s a thing with you but here in the northern half of the USA it’s that time of year when meteorologists start opining on the fall colors we can expect, from the trees changing colors. Is that a thing with you? I have concerns if so, given you are having, and had, a heat spell!
Let us know if we can perhaps box up some leaves over the next month and send them to Steve for further distribution.
Look…
There is no indication in that Conan cover that he drew blood, hence the pool needn’t be tainted red like a June 6 beach in Normandy. I mean the dude’s head next to his left foot looks like he could have had a snapped neck!
Second, the pool looks like a creek more than a pool, hence a continuous supply of fresh water would keep it looking clear.
Third, the creek bed is clearly rocks and pebbles. Hence no disturbing of sediment.
I find the cover to be perfectly realistic.
Charlie, my mother had scabies about 20 years ago. It was awful for a while but it was cured by a cream that had to be applied over her entire body (the applying of the cream was done by a couple of nurses and not by me I hasten to add!)
Where I live the leaves turn from green to brown and nobody gasps at the beautiful autumnal colours!
I adored the poignant tone of “Angie” and spooky off-kilter mood of “Rock On” back in the day.
I don’t know if 1973 was an exceptionally good year for music or if it’s just that it was the year I got a combination AM/FM radio/alarm clock and thus began seriously paying attention to Pop music. Most likely the latter, I’m sure.
If, as the saying goes, “The Golden Age is Twelve”, it’s 100% true for me.
b.t.
Happy birthday, Phillip (or apologies if I've got the date wrong)!
I've just been listening (via BBC Sounds) to Radio 4's 'What's Funny About..?' on the subject of The Fast Show which claimed that the two most popular catchphrases were "Suits you sir" and "Does my bum look big in this?" but I wanted to cry WHAT ABOUT I'LL GET ME COAT???
It's tomorrow, Colin - but thanks in advance!
Phillip
Like Colin no one is that impressed with the leaves turning golden/brown or red in the industrial areas of Scotland but in the Highlands, borders and Perthshire areas it attract a fair few tourists . The downside is that normally the weather can be a tad wet when the leaves change. I was in the Lake District in England last autumn, it was stunning.
Philip have a good one.
I've just listened to "What's Funny About the Fast Show?", on Colin's recommendation. It's very good:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001q6mj
Phillip
Thanks very much, Paul. This afternoon, when it's less busy (and, hopefully, cooler), I'll venture out to Tesco, for tomorrow's birthday fare (food-wise.) Then again, a new Poundland's opening, so maybe everybody will descend on it, like flies, until the novelty's worn off! Thus making the new Poundland less attractive to me, but perhaps reducing Saturday's congestion elsewhere!
Phillip
The front page of yesterday’s Wall Street Journal had a large photo of a british man jumping into the seaside at a Bristol resort beach. The photo was explaining how Brits are beating the current heat wave.
Were any of you at the beach near Bristol the past few days?
Not me, Charlie, because I was too busy watching the bog-snorkelling championships ;)
We've had "Indian Summers" (can we still use that phrase?) before in this country but this time it feels more like a heatwave in June than a bit of warm weather at the fag end of summer. At least Tesco hasn't started selling Christmas cake and mince pies yet but it won't be long!
Phillip, you've previously said that you share a birthday with your brother so I assume you are twins? If so, are you identical or non-identical twins?
Of course, you might not be twins - one of my schoolfriends had a birthday on January 17th and his elder brother's birthday was January 18th so they nearly shared a birthday despite being two years apart in age.
Colin - Identical ( but I don't think we look as alike as we used to!)
Phillip
Can you gents stream WXRT 93.1 in Chicago? I am really curious to know if you can stream it outside the United States. And if you can, they are featuring 1983 music this morning what you all might enjoy!
"This site currently isn't available in the EU", it says. Hasn't Chicago heard about Brexit ;)
Phillip
Oh ffs… well no worries! They already played New Order’s Blue Monday!
And thank god Talksport streams to the USA!!! There is zero soccer radio talk here unless you speak Spanish!
Until a few years ago we even had the UK commercials on Talksport which were culturally entertaining. (Mostly for a large chain of oubs and gambling.) Now except by accident (?) local commercials are inserted. Very freaky to hear the restaurant around the corner in Elmhurst Illinois interjected into UK radio!
Enjoy the heat wave! And I’ll keep everyone posted on fall colors!
C Horse 47
Charlie, listening to Talksport online is a very odd experience for me, as it doesn't seem to have the slightest clue where I am and runs adverts aimed at people in places I've never been in my life.
I can confirm that I haven't been at the beach during this heatwave.
Colin, today's been sweltering. I remember last September and October being warmer than normal but nothing like this.
Phillip, Happy birthday to you.
Thanks, Steve (for tomorrow!)
Phillip
Plenty of thunder & lightning over West Yorkshire, right now. Hopefully, a break from the heat!
Phillip
The missus and I have been saying for weeks now how weirdly mild the weather has been here in Southern California. It’s mostly been in the mid-80s to low-90s (Fahrenheit). Today was our hottest in awhile — 95 degrees with sticky humidity.
Late August to Early September are typically the hottest weeks of the year hereabouts — and not just hot but wickedly humid as well. Anywhere from 100 degrees to 115 is standard, but it’s been astonishingly pleasant for most of the summer.
We keep thinking it probably means we’ll be in for inferno temperatures later this month and possibly throughout October too.
But anyhow…
Happy Birthday, Phillip :)
b.t.
Thanks, b.t. - as a birthday treat, I got Fortean Times. This decision was made because Gef, the Talking Mongoose features on the cover. In our local library, my brother & myself read about Gef, in the kids' section, and it totally freaked us out! The Fast Show has a catchphrase for everything. For Gef, it would be: "I'm from the Isle of Man!" Fortean Times feels a lot thinner in the hand, than when I bought it regularly, almost 20 years ago. Shrinkflation, I suppose!
As a little kid, I was taken to Los Angeles County Fair, and remembering feeling sick due to the heat. That may have been September.
In the UK, we complain about temperatures in the 30s (late 80s, early 90s), but in Los Angeles you obviously have it much worse!
Phillip
remember - not remembering! Typo City, Arizona.
Phillip
We moan about temps in the mid-high 20s if they last more than 3 dsys in the northern partcof UK ( certainly in Scotland). At 26-28 degrees ( last 2 nights in Glasgow area) I'm a puddle. We were in Australia in April ( their autumn) and some folk were wearing light coats and jumpers when it was 27 degrees ( including expat Scots, Brits now used to the heat) and I'm walking about in a t-shirt getting " weird foreigner looks". I had a similar reaction in New York it was baltic there when i was visiting November, and folk thought i was used to minus 5 degres . Its wet and cold in winter but rarely minus degrees in most of Scotland for long (bits of the highlands apart).
I buy Fortean Times now and then but its mostly for Hunt Emerson's one pager
Paul - Seems Hunt Emerson's done comic books (albeit humorous versions) of Coleridge's Rime & Dante's Inferno.
Phillip
In the film, Gef the Talking Mongoose will be voiced by Neil Gaiman!
Phillip
Seems the film's a mickey-take:
https://www.google.com/search?q=gef+the+mongoose+film&rlz=1C1TEUA_enGB467GB467&oq=gef+the+mongoose+film&aqs=chrome.0.0i512.9627j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:6bd47a75,vid:yua1KVzAmRA,st:0
Phillip
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