Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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I only know Howard Keel for three things.
The first is being in Dynasty.
The second is singing Bless Yore Beautiful Hide - although I've no idea just whose beautiful hide he was blessing or whether he even was a legally ordained minister with the power to bless beautiful hides.
And the third is him being terrorised by giant plants that want to eat him.
And guess what? March 9th, 1974 was the night on which I first encountered the third of those events because it was on that very evening that BBC One broadcast the film the world can only know as The Day of the Triffids.
What with the channel having, earlier, broadcast the Doctor Who adventure Death to the Daleks, there was clearly, that evening, no shortage of things to keep us gripping our chair arms in sheer, white-knuckled, fear.
By strange coincidence, the first ever Doctor Who companion Carole Ann Ford was also in Day of the Triffids and was, as far as I can remember, machine-gunned to death, while being menaced by vegetables.
At least, her character was. I'm fairly sure the actress herself is still alive and well and that no performers were machine-gunned to death during the making of that film.
In the real world, the week saw Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath resign, succeeded by Labour's Harold Wilson who'd already run the UK from 1964 to 1970 and fancied another crack at it.
Within days of that, the miners' strike was over.
And, the day after that, the Three-Day Week was over.
That was good news for all who loved coal and full-length weeks but it was also a good spell for Alvin Stardust because, over on the UK singles chart, his latest offering Jealous Mind hit the top spot.
Meanwhile, on the British album chart, the Carpenters' Singles 1969-1973 reclaimed the summit it had previously surrendered to Slade's Old New Borrowed and Blue.
Obviously, any sane man loves anything which bears Alvin Stardust's name but there were other singles on that chart and, of those, these are the ones I dug:
Devil Gate Drive - Suzi Quatro
The Air That I Breathe - the Hollies
Jet - Paul McCartney and Wings
Candle in the Wind - Elton John
The Man Who Sold the World - Lulu
After the Goldrush - Prelude
Dance With the Devil - Cozy Powell
My Coo-Ca-Choo - Alvin Stardust
Living for the City - Stevie Wonder
Teenage Rampage - the Sweet
Ma-Ma-Belle - Electric Light Orchestra
and
The Show Must Go On - Leo Sayer.
Should one wish to further investigate the issues raised in this post, that week's UK singles chart lives here.
And the accompanying LP chart dwells within.
Can Marvel's tallest hero be back in the fold?
Yes, he can.
And it's just as well. For, it seems a brand new villain's about to make his debut.
That villain is the Collector and I do believe he's dragged the team into things by trying to add the winsome Wasp to his menagerie.
But can Hank and the gang stop him without putting a strain on the hero that will cause him to stay stuck forever at giant size?
Elsewhere, Dr Strange wants to know the secret of Eternity and decides that some sort of mind meld with the Ancient One should do the trick.
However, Baron Mordo seems to have plans that may just scupper the whole thing.
Far more important, of course, is that Mary Jane gets a job comprised of dancing on tables and taking photos.
It can mean just one thing.
That we're about to meet the schemings of a man the world would know only as the Brainwasher if it had ever heard of him.
Things get possibly subterranean for Iron Man when Tony Stark and colleagues find themselves pulled into an underground city, to be confronted by its queen who tells him she'll execute them all unless he builds a machine which will allow her to invade the surface world.
Meanwhile, above ground, Thor and Hercules are scrapping in the streets of New York, for the attention of Jane Foster.
But what's this? I do believe this issue also contains a full-page ad for the imminent arrival of a brand-new star in the Avengers' comic! Who can he be? And what can be his gimmick?
In the pages of Daredevil, the Sub-Mariner shows up at Franklin and Murdock's legal practice, looking to sue the entire human race.
When that plan falls through, he decides to earn himself his day in court by getting arrested for smashing up New York.
This can only bring him into conflict with the man without fear who turns out to be the man without a hope, as Subby promptly batters him from pillar to post.
And we finish off with one of my Fantastic Four faves, as Diablo escapes his dungeon and decides the best way to take over the world is by unleashing a man-made dragon upon the denizens of Empire State University.
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37 comments:
I thought for sure you were talking about “the little shop of horrors” instead of “the day of the trif…”. Never heard of it!
I second the digging of “Teenage Rampage” and “Ma-ma-Belle”, welcome additions to the pop charts, the pair of them.
I don’t think Leo Sayer’s “The Show Must Go On” got much airplay in the States but Three Dog Night’s cover was a Top Ten hit here. Since that’s the version I’m most familiar with, I confess I prefer it to Sayers’ original.
I did like Sayers’ “Long Tall Glasses” which hit #9 on the U.S. charts.
b.t.
Mary Jane’s turn in the spotlight at the Gloom Room A Go-Go was definitely a memorable moment. It’s just a shame Romita wasn’t doing full pencils at the time. Romita breakdowns/Heck pencils/Esposito inks art looked basically okay but had an “uncanny valley” quality. It looked pretty much like regular Romita art but something was always just slightly “off” about it….
b.t.
I think Howard Keel was actually in Dallas... a little embarassed I know that...
This was my first Avengers weekly, albeit a couple of years after it was published, and I’ve long forgotten how it came into my possession. Who were these colorful characters, why is the big man so miserable, and who is this ‘Jan’ they need to rescue? I wont browse the issue online, as I know it will never be better than it’s memory.
DW
b.t.-
"Long Tall Glasses" is a forgotten jem!
I never heard that until I was an adult, it came on the radio whilst I was driving through northern Missouri late at night (don't ask) and feeling a bit like a hobo myself, like the guy in the song.
Some songs have a certain eerie power when they come on the radio when you're driving late at night.
M.P.
Justyn, you're right. It turns out there were only two things I knew Howard Keel for.
Howard Keel played Miss Ellie's boyfriend as I recall (in DALLAS). He also starred in numerous musicals but the only one I can name is SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS.
Harold Wilson resigned as Prime-Minister in March 1976 just a few days after his 60th birthday. Apparently he was concerned that he might get dementia as his father had done. I think Wilson did eventually get dementia but it was long after he'd left Parliament and he died in 1995 aged 79. Being Prime-Minister more than once used to happen on a fairly regular basis but Harold Wilson remains the last person to do so. It could never happen nowadays because a Prime-Minister who loses an election is expected to resign the leadership of his/her party and it's unthinkable in modern politics that a defeated PM could remain as party leader then fight another election a few years later.
Hi Everyone! Long Tall Glasses is such a fun song! Still remember it and occasionally hum it 50 years on! Although, this is the first time Charlie learned that that was the title of the song! Charlie always thought the title of the song was, “You know I can’t dance!“
PS- why does Charlie always mix up Leo Sayer and Richard Simmons? Wth…
Hi Everyone! Long Tall Glasses is such a fun song! Still remember it and occasionally hum it 50 years on! Although, this is the first time Charlie learned that that was the title of the song! Charlie always thought the title of the song was, “You know I can’t dance!“
PS- why does Charlie always mix up Leo Sayer and Richard Simmons? Wth…
I never saw a single episode of DALLAS. I associate Howard Keel with SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, SHOW BOAT, and KISS, ME, KATE — although weirdly, I think I’ve only ever seen SEVEN BRIDES. Strange isn’t it — like a kind of ‘pop culture osmosis’. Similar to how I know who Suzi Quatro is, even though she wasn’t much of a success here in the States, and I don’t think I ever heard her sing until listening to ‘Devil Gate Drive’ for the first time just last week.
b.t.
Leo Sayer stood in front of me in a supermarket queue in Canberra, about ten years ago. He was pretty chirpy but didn't sing. Just bought some groceries and a bottle of wine, as I recall.
DW
But was he DANCING, DW.
That's what we really need to know here.
M.P.
Some songs, if heard for the first time while you're driving late at night or early in the morning, can really put a hook in you.
Like, give you goose bumps. My brother heard Lou Reed doing "Sweet Jane" live with this big jazz intro on his car radio one night (or early morning) and he still plays it.
I remember first hearing Pink Floyd's "One of These Days" on my car radio while driving in darkness and it kinda spooked me.
I thought it was Alan Parsons in a very dark mood.
M.P.
Was he seeking poultry and game, that’s what I want to know
b.t.
Hah!
M.P.
MP
He was pretty light on his feet.
Other people I've stood behind in supermarket checkout queues include:
Hurley out of Lost (admittedly in Wholefoods, Oahu)
Rodney Marsh (in Jackson, Wyoming)
Bobby Moore (Sainsbury's Rayleigh Wier)
DW
As far as seeing celebrities goes, there's a lotta low cards in that hand, DW.
M.P.
Agreed, but these are limited to celebs I’ve stood behind in queues.
DW
DW- you mean the Rodney Marsh of the Tampa Bay Rowdies fame??? My bro lives in Tampa very close to the small stadium and I keep pestering him “Have you seen Rodney Marsh?” I think he domiciles there and very occasionally he’s still on Talk Sport. Man - I would have loved to see the PK shoot-outs that the NASL did in the 70s vs. these kicks from the “spot” to resolve ties!
MP- i had same “late at night” song experiences twice driving around lately (since like 2006 lol). Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks” and Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks.” I tend to switch channels on the radio if I don’t know the song but not on these two occasions. CH47
Good lord… sensory overload in Chi-town! WXRT Saturday morning flashback is the year 1982. Lotta damn fine songs that year landscape landscape 80 boys. On the TV I’m watching Sheffield enroute to seemingly winning a soccer game, lol. And lastly, I am going through my very small stack of comics that were on the spinner rack in December 1973 to get ready for next months 50 years ago column by Steve!
LEO SAYER LYRICS I HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD FOR YEARS, PART 1:
“All the while Invincika, Gigantika
They’re all laughing at me now”
(See, even the ladies in the Freak Tent think he’s a hopeless loser — adds extra pathos, don’t you think? Mr. Sayer is welcome to use my revision, I won’t even need a co-writing credit or a cut of the royalties 😁)
Not stood behind anyone famous in a supermarket queue but I did stand behind Stephen Hawking at a cash point queue in Cambridge.
One evening Charlie sat between Dr. Renee Richards at the Virginia Slims tennis tournament in Chicago and Virgina Wade (maybe yvonne goolagong). Young Charlie almost shite his pants when Renee tapped him on the shoulder and asked the time! Paralyzed Charlie simply showed the doctor his watch.
Different times, Charlie was young…
DM / AA : Was Mr. Hawking already in a wheelchair at the time? I suppose he would have to be, he didn’t become recognizably famous until his condition became severe, I think. Either way, that’s a pretty impressive ‘Brush With Fame’.
Beats mine— I once saw Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. getting cash from an ATM at a shopping mall.
b.t.
Oh yes, he's gone the full Hawking at that stage, bt. This was the mid 80s.
Charlie?
Yes, although he’s better known as Rodney Marsh of QPR and Man City. He actually started at West Ham.
DW
DW- yes Charlie! Rodney was the man at Tampa Bay Rowdies! But he is 80 y.o. now.
He played back when NY Cosmos had Pele and Beckenbauer and the Rolling Stones flew the Concorde in to watch. But the tie-breaker process was phenom. Youtube it.
The number one album was a Carpenters compilation? I'm not sure if that's better or worse than 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' but frankly I don't care. What terrible records people were listening to in early '74.
Fortunately there were some better ones released that month. American jazzbo Julian Priester - best known, if at all, as a sideman (most notably with Sun Ra and Herbie Hancock's early 70s sextet) - released one of the few records under his own name, the brilliant 'Love Love'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul0zDWThUQQ
Also, 'Electronique Revolution' the first album by underground French prog outfit Heldon came out. Admittedly it has dated somewhat - those synths sound a bit clunky these days - but it still has a kind of period soixante-huitard charm.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS0WuJrp_4I
And if only to keep my ol' pal M.P. happy, let's not forget the lumpen bong smokers classic 'Secret Treaties' by Blue Oyster Cult -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yx2T4HH2N4
-sean
Hey Steve, you actually knew what happened in Dr Strange this week! Well done.
The impressive thing about 'When Meet the Mystic Minds' (a very Stan Lee title imo) - originally from Strange Tales #137 - is how involving it is despite largely consisting of little more than Dr Strange sitting next to the Ancient one. Really amazing work by Steve Ditko.
-sean
Colin, do you really believe the Harold Wilson dementia story? I thought it was fairly well known these days that he was forced out by MI5.
They deny it of course -
https://www.mi5.gov.uk/the-wilson-plot
But then they would, wouldn't they?
What more proof do you need?
-sean
Thanks, Sean.
Eric Bloom was the only (semi) famous guy I ever shook hands with.
It's funny, but I was at my uncle's birthday party a while back and he regaled us with the story about the time he met Willie Nelson, during Farm Aid in the 80's.
I thought about mentioning my brush with genius but decided against it.
Wisely, I think.
I imagine I would've gotten some blank stares.
M.P.
About 27 years ago when I lived in Swiss Cottage I stood behind alternative comedian Jerry Sadovitz in the queue at the little Sainsbury’s on Finchley Road.
More recently I stood behind actress and national treasure Alison Steadman in the queue in Sainsbury’s in Muswell Hill on Christmas Eve. That one was odd because I’d just edited a short film with her in and I felt like I vaguely sort of knew her.
*not Sainsbury’s in Muswell Hill - it was the M&S.
Sean, Harold Wilson being forced out by MI5 is news to me. That sounds like a fanciful conspiracy theory!
That's what they want you to believe, Colin.
Fun fact: although Harold Wilson had resigned as prime minister, he still stood in the following election and was an MP through the whole of Thatcher's first term, tíl '83.
-sean
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