Podcast appearances and mentions of Dame Edna Everage

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted, songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, and the intertwining careers of Joe Boyd, Sandy Denny, and Richard Thompson. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-one-minute bonus episode available, on Judy Collins’ version of this song. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by editing, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum For about an hour this was uploaded with the wrong Elton John clip in place of “Saturday Sun”. This has now been fixed. Resources Because of the increasing problems with Mixcloud’s restrictions, I have decided to start sharing streaming playlists of the songs used in episodes instead of Mixcloud ones. This Tunemymusic link will let you listen to the playlist I created on your streaming platform of choice — however please note that not all the songs excerpted are currently available on streaming. The songs missing from the Tidal version are “Shanten Bells” by the Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” by A.L. Lloyd, two by Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, three by Elton John & Linda Peters, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow” by Sandy Denny and “You Never Know” by Charlie Drake, but the other fifty-nine are there. Other songs may be missing from other services. The main books I used on Fairport Convention as a whole were Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge, Clinton Heylin's What We Did Instead of Holidays, and Kevan Furbank's Fairport Convention on Track. Rob Young's Electric Eden is the most important book on the British folk-rock movement. Information on Richard Thompson comes from Patrick Humphries' Richard Thompson: Strange Affair and Thompson's own autobiography Beeswing.  Information on Sandy Denny comes from Clinton Heylin's No More Sad Refrains and Mick Houghton's I've Always Kept a Unicorn. I also used Joe Boyd's autobiography White Bicycles and Chris Blackwell's The Islander.  And this three-CD set is the best introduction to Fairport's music currently in print. Transcript Before we begin, this episode contains reference to alcohol and cocaine abuse and medical neglect leading to death. It also starts with some discussion of the fatal car accident that ended last episode. There’s also some mention of child neglect and spousal violence. If that’s likely to upset you, you might want to skip this episode or read the transcript. One of the inspirations for this podcast when I started it back in 2018 was a project by Richard Thompson, which appears (like many things in Thompson’s life) to have started out of sheer bloody-mindedness. In 1999 Playboy magazine asked various people to list their “songs of the Millennium”, and most of them, understanding the brief, chose a handful of songs from the latter half of the twentieth century. But Thompson determined that he was going to list his favourite songs *of the millennium*. He didn’t quite manage that, but he did cover seven hundred and forty years, and when Playboy chose not to publish it, he decided to turn it into a touring show, in which he covered all his favourite songs from “Sumer Is Icumen In” from 1260: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Sumer is Icumen In”] Through numerous traditional folk songs, union songs like “Blackleg Miner”, pieces by early-modern composers, Victorian and Edwardian music hall songs, and songs by the Beatles, the Ink Spots, the Kinks, and the Who, all the way to “Oops! I Did It Again”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did it Again”] And to finish the show, and to show how all this music actually ties together, he would play what he described as a “medieval tune from Brittany”, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”] We have said many times in this podcast that there is no first anything, but there’s a reason that Liege and Lief, Fairport Convention’s third album of 1969, and the album other than Unhalfbricking on which their reputation largely rests, was advertised with the slogan “The first (literally) British folk rock album ever”. Folk-rock, as the term had come to be known, and as it is still usually used today, had very little to do with traditional folk music. Rather, the records of bands like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel were essentially taking the sounds of British beat groups of the early sixties, particularly the Searchers, and applying those sounds to material by contemporary singer-songwriters. People like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had come up through folk clubs, and their songs were called folk music because of that, but they weren’t what folk music had meant up to that point — songs that had been collected after being handed down through the folk process, changed by each individual singer, with no single identifiable author. They were authored songs by very idiosyncratic writers. But over their last few albums, Fairport Convention had done one or two tracks per album that weren’t like that, that were instead recordings of traditional folk songs, but arranged with rock instrumentation. They were not necessarily the first band to try traditional folk music with electric instruments — around the same time that Fairport started experimenting with the idea, so did an Irish band named Sweeney’s Men, who brought in a young electric guitarist named Henry McCullough briefly. But they do seem to have been the first to have fully embraced the idea. They had done so to an extent with “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, but now they were going to go much further: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves” (from about 4:30)] There had been some doubt as to whether Fairport Convention would even continue to exist — by the time Unhalfbricking, their second album of the year, was released, they had been through the terrible car accident that had killed Martin Lamble, the band’s drummer, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend. Most of the rest of the band had been seriously injured, and they had made a conscious decision not to discuss the future of the band until they were all out of hospital. Ashley Hutchings was hospitalised the longest, and Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny, the other three surviving members of the band, flew over to LA with their producer and manager, Joe Boyd, to recuperate there and get to know the American music scene. When they came back, the group all met up in the flat belonging to Denny’s boyfriend Trevor Lucas, and decided that they were going to continue the band. They made a few decisions then — they needed a new drummer, and as well as a drummer they wanted to get in Dave Swarbrick. Swarbrick had played violin on several tracks on Unhalfbricking as a session player, and they had all been thrilled to work with him. Swarbrick was one of the most experienced musicians on the British folk circuit. He had started out in the fifties playing guitar with Beryl Marriott’s Ceilidh Band before switching to fiddle, and in 1963, long before Fairport had formed, he had already appeared on TV with the Ian Campbell Folk Group, led by Ian Campbell, the father of Ali and Robin Campbell, later of UB40: [Excerpt: The Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Shanten Bells (medley on Hullaballoo!)”] He’d sung with Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd: [Excerpt: A.L. Lloyd, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” ] And he’d formed his hugely successful duo with Martin Carthy, releasing records like “Byker Hill” which are often considered among the best British folk music of all time: [Excerpt: Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, “Byker Hill”] By the time Fairport had invited him to play on Unhalfbricking, Swarbrick had already performed on twenty albums as a core band member, plus dozens more EPs, singles, and odd tracks on compilations. They had no reason to think they could actually get him to join their band. But they had three advantages. The first was that Swarbrick was sick of the traditional folk scene at the time, saying later “I didn’t like seven-eighths of the people involved in it, and it was extremely opportune to leave. I was suddenly presented with the possibilities of exploring the dramatic content of the songs to the full.” The second was that he was hugely excited to be playing with Richard Thompson, who was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, and Martin Carthy remembers him raving about Thompson after their initial sessions. (Carthy himself was and is no slouch on the guitar of course, and there was even talk of getting him to join the band at this point, though they decided against it — much to the relief of rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, who is a perfectly fine player himself but didn’t want to be outclassed by *two* of the best guitarists in Britain at the same time). And the third was that Joe Boyd told him that Fairport were doing so well — they had a single just about to hit the charts with “Si Tu Dois Partir” — that he would only have to play a dozen gigs with Fairport in order to retire. As it turned out, Swarbrick would play with the group for a decade, and would never retire — I saw him on his last tour in 2015, only eight months before he died. The drummer the group picked was also a far more experienced musician than any of the rest, though in a very different genre. Dave Mattacks had no knowledge at all of the kind of music they played, having previously been a player in dance bands. When asked by Hutchings if he wanted to join the band, Mattacks’ response was “I don’t know anything about the music. I don’t understand it… I can’t tell one tune from another, they all sound the same… but if you want me to join the group, fine, because I really like it. I’m enjoying myself musically.” Mattacks brought a new level of professionalism to the band, thanks to his different background. Nicol said of him later “He was dilligent, clean, used to taking three white shirts to a gig… The application he could bring to his playing was amazing. With us, you only played well when you were feeling well.” This distinction applied to his playing as well. Nicol would later describe the difference between Mattacks’ drumming and Lamble’s by saying “Martin’s strength was as an imaginative drummer. DM came in with a strongly developed sense of rhythm, through keeping a big band of drunken saxophone players in order. A great time-keeper.” With this new line-up and a new sense of purpose, the group did as many of their contemporaries were doing and “got their heads together in the country”. Joe Boyd rented the group a mansion, Farley House, in Farley Chamberlayne, Hampshire, and they stayed there together for three months. At the start, the group seem to have thought that they were going to make another record like Unhalfbricking, with some originals, some songs by American songwriters, and a few traditional songs. Even after their stay in Farley Chamberlayne, in fact, they recorded a few of the American songs they’d rehearsed at the start of the process, Richard Farina’s “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” and Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Ballad of Easy Rider”] Indeed, the whole idea of “getting our heads together in the country” (as the cliche quickly became in the late sixties as half of the bands in Britain went through much the same kind of process as Fairport were doing — but usually for reasons more to do with drug burnout or trend following than recovering from serious life-changing trauma) seems to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and the Band getting together in Big Pink. But very quickly they decided to follow the lead of Ashley Hutchings, who had had something of a Damascene conversion to the cause of traditional English folk music. They were listening mostly to Music From Big Pink by the Band, and to the first album by Sweeney’s Men: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “The Handsome Cabin Boy”] And they decided that they were going to make something that was as English as those records were North American and Irish (though in the event there were also a few Scottish songs included on the record). Hutchings in particular was becoming something of a scholar of traditional music, regularly visiting Cecil Sharp House and having long conversations with A.L. Lloyd, discovering versions of different traditional songs he’d never encountered before. This was both amusing and bemusing Sandy Denny, who had joined a rock group in part to get away from traditional music; but she was comfortable singing the material, and knew a lot of it and could make a lot of suggestions herself. Swarbrick obviously knew the repertoire intimately, and Nicol was amenable, while Mattacks was utterly clueless about the folk tradition at this point but knew this was the music he wanted to make. Thompson knew very little about traditional music, and of all the band members except Denny he was the one who has shown the least interest in the genre in his subsequent career — but as we heard at the beginning, showing the least interest in the genre is a relative thing, and while Thompson was not hugely familiar with the genre, he *was* able to work with it, and was also more than capable of writing songs that fit in with the genre. Of the eleven songs on the album, which was titled Liege and Lief (which means, roughly, Lord and Loyalty), there were no cover versions of singer-songwriters. Eight were traditional songs, and three were originals, all written in the style of traditional songs. The album opened with “Come All Ye”, an introduction written by Denny and Hutchings (the only time the two would ever write together): [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Come All Ye”] The other two originals were songs where Thompson had written new lyrics to traditional melodies. On “Crazy Man Michael”, Swarbrick had said to Thompson that the tune to which he had set his new words was weaker than the lyrics, to which Thompson had replied that if Swarbrick felt that way he should feel free to write a new melody. He did, and it became the first of the small number of Thompson/Swarbrick collaborations: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Crazy Man Michael”] Thompson and Swarbrick would become a brief songwriting team, but as much as anything else it was down to proximity — the two respected each other as musicians, but never got on very well. In 1981 Swarbrick would say “Richard and I never got on in the early days of FC… we thought we did, but we never did. We composed some bloody good songs together, but it was purely on a basis of “you write that and I’ll write this, and we’ll put it together.” But we never sat down and had real good chats.” The third original on the album, and by far the most affecting, is another song where Thompson put lyrics to a traditional tune. In this case he thought he was putting the lyrics to the tune of “Willie O'Winsbury”, but he was basing it on a recording by Sweeney’s Men. The problem was that Sweeney’s Men had accidentally sung the lyrics of “Willie O'Winsbury'” to the tune of a totally different song, “Fause Foodrage”: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “Willie O’Winsbury”] Thompson took that melody, and set to it lyrics about loss and separation. Thompson has never been one to discuss the meanings of his lyrics in any great detail, and in the case of this one has said “I really don't know what it means. This song came out of a dream, and I pretty much wrote it as I dreamt it (it was the sixties), and didn't spend very long analyzing it. So interpret as you wish – or replace with your own lines.” But in the context of the traffic accident that had killed his tailor girlfriend and a bandmate, and injured most of his other bandmates, the lyrics about lonely travellers, the winding road, bruised and beaten sons, saying goodbye, and never cutting cloth, seem fairly self-explanatory: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Farewell, Farewell”] The rest of the album, though, was taken up by traditional tunes. There was a long medley of four different fiddle reels; a version of “Reynardine” (a song about a seductive man — or is he a fox? Or perhaps both — which had been recorded by Swarbrick and Carthy on their most recent album); a 19th century song about a deserter saved from the firing squad by Prince Albert; and a long take on “Tam Lin”, one of the most famous pieces in the Scottish folk music canon, a song that has been adapted in different ways by everyone from the experimental noise band Current 93 to the dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the comics writer Grant Morrison: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Tam Lin”] And “Matty Groves”, a song about a man killing his cheating wife and her lover, which actually has a surprisingly similar story to that of “1921” from another great concept album from that year, the Who’s Tommy. “Matty Groves” became an excuse for long solos and shows of instrumental virtuosity: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves”] The album was recorded in September 1969, after their return from their break in the country and a triumphal performance at the Royal Festival Hall, headlining over fellow Witchseason artists John and Beverly Martyn and Nick Drake. It became a classic of the traditional folk genre — arguably *the* classic of the traditional folk genre. In 2007 BBC Radio 2’s Folk Music Awards gave it an award for most influential folk album of all time, and while such things are hard to measure, I doubt there’s anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of British folk and folk-rock music who would not at least consider that a reasonable claim. But once again, by the time the album came out in November, the band had changed lineups yet again. There was a fundamental split in the band – on one side were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, whose stance was, roughly, that Liege and Lief was a great experiment and a fun thing to do once, but really the band had two first-rate songwriters in themselves, and that they should be concentrating on their own new material, not doing these old songs, good as they were. They wanted to take the form of the traditional songs and use that form for new material — they wanted to make British folk-rock, but with the emphasis on the rock side of things. Hutchings, on the other hand, was equally sure that he wanted to make traditional music and go further down the rabbit hole of antiquity. With the zeal of the convert he had gone in a couple of years from being the leader of a band who were labelled “the British Jefferson Airplane” to becoming a serious scholar of traditional folk music. Denny was tired of touring, as well — she wanted to spend more time at home with Trevor Lucas, who was sleeping with other women when she was away and making her insecure. When the time came for the group to go on a tour of Denmark, Denny decided she couldn’t make it, and Hutchings was jubilant — he decided he was going to get A.L. Lloyd into the band in her place and become a *real* folk group. Then Denny reconsidered, and Hutchings was crushed. He realised that while he had always been the leader, he wasn’t going to be able to lead the band any further in the traditionalist direction, and quit the group — but not before he was delegated by the other band members to fire Denny. Until the publication of Richard Thompson’s autobiography in 2022, every book on the group or its members said that Denny quit the band again, which was presumably a polite fiction that the band agreed, but according to Thompson “Before we flew home, we decided to fire Sandy. I don't remember who asked her to leave – it was probably Ashley, who usually did the dirty work. She was reportedly shocked that we would take that step. She may have been fragile beneath the confident facade, but she still knew her worth.” Thompson goes on to explain that the reasons for kicking her out were that “I suppose we felt that in her mind she had already left” and that “We were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, though there wasn't a name for it back then.” They had considered inviting Trevor Lucas to join the band to make Denny more comfortable, but came to the (probably correct) conclusion that while he was someone they got on well with personally, he would be another big ego in a band that already had several, and that being around Denny and Lucas’ volatile relationship would, in Thompson’s phrasing, “have not always given one a feeling of peace and stability.” Hutchings originally decided he was going to join Sweeney’s Men, but that group were falling apart, and their first rehearsal with Hutchings would also be their last as a group, with only Hutchings and guitarist and mandolin player Terry Woods left in the band. They added Woods’ wife Gay, and another couple, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, and formed a group called Steeleye Span, a name given them by Martin Carthy. That group, like Fairport, went to “get their heads together in the country” for three months and recorded an album of electric versions of traditional songs, Hark the Village Wait, on which Mattacks and another drummer, Gerry Conway, guested as Steeleye Span didn’t at the time have their own drummer: [Excerpt: Steeleye Span, “Blackleg Miner”] Steeleye Span would go on to have a moderately successful chart career in the seventies, but by that time most of the original lineup, including Hutchings, had left — Hutchings stayed with them for a few albums, then went on to form the first of a series of bands, all called the Albion Band or variations on that name, which continue to this day. And this is something that needs to be pointed out at this point — it is impossible to follow every single individual in this narrative as they move between bands. There is enough material in the history of the British folk-rock scene that someone could do a 500 Songs-style podcast just on that, and every time someone left Fairport, or Steeleye Span, or the Albion Band, or Matthews’ Southern Comfort, or any of the other bands we have mentioned or will mention, they would go off and form another band which would then fission, and some of its members would often join one of those other bands. There was a point in the mid-1970s where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport Convention while Fairport Convention had none. So just in order to keep the narrative anything like wieldy, I’m going to keep the narrative concentrated on the two figures from Fairport — Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson — whose work outside the group has had the most influence on the wider world of rock music more broadly, and only deal with the other members when, as they often did, their careers intersected with those two. That doesn’t mean the other members are not themselves hugely important musicians, just that their importance has been primarily to the folk side of the folk-rock genre, and so somewhat outside the scope of this podcast. While Hutchings decided to form a band that would allow him to go deeper and deeper into traditional folk music, Sandy Denny’s next venture was rather different. For a long time she had been writing far more songs than she had ever played for her bandmates, like “Nothing More”, a song that many have suggested is about Thompson: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Nothing More”] When Joe Boyd heard that Denny was leaving Fairport Convention, he was at first elated. Fairport’s records were being distributed by A&M in the US at that point, but Island Records was in the process of opening up a new US subsidiary which would then release all future Fairport product — *but*, as far as A&M were concerned, Sandy Denny *was* Fairport Convention. They were only interested in her. Boyd, on the other hand, loved Denny’s work intensely, but from his point of view *Richard Thompson* was Fairport Convention. If he could get Denny signed directly to A&M as a solo artist before Island started its US operations, Witchseason could get a huge advance on her first solo record, while Fairport could continue making records for Island — he’d have two lucrative acts, on different labels. Boyd went over and spoke to A&M and got an agreement in principle that they would give Denny a forty-thousand-dollar advance on her first solo album — twice what they were paying for Fairport albums. The problem was that Denny didn’t want to be a solo act. She wanted to be the lead singer of a band. She gave many reasons for this — the one she gave to many journalists was that she had seen a Judy Collins show and been impressed, but noticed that Collins’ band were definitely a “backing group”, and as she put it “But that's all they were – a backing group. I suddenly thought, If you're playing together on a stage you might as well be TOGETHER.” Most other people in her life, though, say that the main reason for her wanting to be in a band was her desire to be with her boyfriend, Trevor Lucas. Partly this was due to a genuine desire to spend more time with someone with whom she was very much in love, partly it was a fear that he would cheat on her if she was away from him for long periods of time, and part of it seems to have been Lucas’ dislike of being *too* overshadowed by his talented girlfriend — he didn’t mind acknowledging that she was a major talent, but he wanted to be thought of as at least a minor one. So instead of going solo, Denny formed Fotheringay, named after the song she had written for Fairport. This new band consisted at first of Denny on vocals and occasional piano, Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Lucas’ old Eclection bandmate Gerry Conway on drums. For a lead guitarist, they asked Richard Thompson who the best guitarist in Britain was, and he told them Albert Lee. Lee in turn brought in bass player Pat Donaldson, but this lineup of the band barely survived a fortnight. Lee *was* arguably the best guitarist in Britain, certainly a reasonable candidate if you could ever have a singular best (as indeed was Thompson himself), but he was the best *country* guitarist in Britain, and his style simply didn’t fit with Fotheringay’s folk-influenced songs. He was replaced by American guitarist Jerry Donahue, who was not anything like as proficient as Lee, but who was still very good, and fit the band’s style much better. The new group rehearsed together for a few weeks, did a quick tour, and then went into the recording studio to record their debut, self-titled, album. Joe Boyd produced the album, but admitted himself that he only paid attention to those songs he considered worthwhile — the album contained one song by Lucas, “The Ballad of Ned Kelly”, and two cover versions of American singer-songwriter material with Lucas singing lead. But everyone knew that the songs that actually *mattered* were Sandy Denny’s, and Boyd was far more interested in them, particularly the songs “The Sea” and “The Pond and the Stream”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “The Pond and the Stream”] Fotheringay almost immediately hit financial problems, though. While other Witchseason acts were used to touring on the cheap, all packed together in the back of a Transit van with inexpensive equipment, Trevor Lucas had ambitions of being a rock star and wanted to put together a touring production to match, with expensive transport and equipment, including a speaker system that got nicknamed “Stonehenge” — but at the same time, Denny was unhappy being on the road, and didn’t play many gigs. As well as the band itself, the Fotheringay album also featured backing vocals from a couple of other people, including Denny’s friend Linda Peters. Peters was another singer from the folk clubs, and a good one, though less well-known than Denny — at this point she had only released a couple of singles, and those singles seemed to have been as much as anything else released as a novelty. The first of those, a version of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” had been released as by “Paul McNeill and Linda Peters”: [Excerpt: Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”] But their second single, a version of John D. Loudermilk’s “You’re Taking My Bag”, was released on the tiny Page One label, owned by Larry Page, and was released under the name “Paul and Linda”, clearly with the intent of confusing particularly gullible members of the record-buying public into thinking this was the McCartneys: [Excerpt: Paul and Linda, “You’re Taking My Bag”] Peters was though more financially successful than almost anyone else in this story, as she was making a great deal of money as a session singer. She actually did another session involving most of Fotheringay around this time. Witchseason had a number of excellent songwriters on its roster, and had had some success getting covers by people like Judy Collins, but Joe Boyd thought that they might possibly do better at getting cover versions if they were performed in less idiosyncratic arrangements. Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway went into the studio to record backing tracks, and vocals were added by Peters and another session singer, who according to some sources also provided piano. They cut songs by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “You Get Brighter”] Ed Carter, formerly of The New Nadir but by this time firmly ensconced in the Beach Boys’ touring band where he would remain for the next quarter-century: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “I Don’t Mind”] John and Beverly Martyn, and Nick Drake: [Excerpt: Elton John, “Saturday Sun”] There are different lineups of musicians credited for those sessions in different sources, but I tend to believe that it’s mostly Fotheringay for the simple reason that Donahue says it was him, Donaldson and Conway who talked Lucas and Denny into the mistake that destroyed Fotheringay because of these sessions. Fotheringay were in financial trouble already, spending far more money than they were bringing in, but their album made the top twenty and they were getting respect both from critics and from the public — in September, Sandy Denny was voted best British female singer by the readers of Melody Maker in their annual poll, which led to shocked headlines in the tabloids about how this “unknown” could have beaten such big names as Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Only a couple of weeks after that, they were due to headline at the Albert Hall. It should have been a triumph. But Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway had asked that singing pianist to be their support act. As Donahue said later “That was a terrible miscast. It was our fault. He asked if [he] could do it. Actually Pat, Gerry and I had to talk Sandy and Trevor into [it]… We'd done these demos and the way he was playing – he was a wonderful piano player – he was sensitive enough. We knew very little about his stage-show. We thought he'd be a really good opener for us.” Unfortunately, Elton John was rather *too* good. As Donahue continued “we had no idea what he had in mind, that he was going to do the most incredible rock & roll show ever. He pretty much blew us off the stage before we even got on the stage.” To make matters worse, Fotheringay’s set, which was mostly comprised of new material, was underrehearsed and sloppy, and from that point on no matter what they did people were counting the hours until the band split up. They struggled along for a while though, and started working on a second record, with Boyd again producing, though as Boyd later said “I probably shouldn't have been producing the record. My lack of respect for the group was clear, and couldn't have helped the atmosphere. We'd put out a record that had sold disappointingly, A&M was unhappy. Sandy's tracks on the first record are among the best things she ever did – the rest of it, who cares? And the artwork, Trevor's sister, was terrible. It would have been one thing if I'd been unhappy with it and it sold, and the group was working all the time, making money, but that wasn't the case … I knew what Sandy was capable of, and it was very upsetting to me.” The record would not be released for thirty-eight years: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Wild Mountain Thyme”] Witchseason was going badly into debt. Given all the fissioning of bands that we’ve already been talking about, Boyd had been stretched thin — he produced sixteen albums in 1970, and almost all of them lost money for the company. And he was getting more and more disillusioned with the people he was producing. He loved Beverly Martyn’s work, but had little time for her abusive husband John, who was dominating her recording and life more and more and would soon become a solo artist while making her stay at home (and stealing her ideas without giving her songwriting credit). The Incredible String Band were great, but they had recently converted to Scientology, which Boyd found annoying, and while he was working with all sorts of exciting artists like Vashti Bunyan and Nico, he was finding himself less and less important to the artists he mentored. Fairport Convention were a good example of this. After Denny and Hutchings had left the group, they’d decided to carry on as an electric folk group, performing an equal mix of originals by the Swarbrick and Thompson songwriting team and arrangements of traditional songs. The group were now far enough away from the “British Jefferson Airplane” label that they decided they didn’t need a female vocalist — and more realistically, while they’d been able to replace Judy Dyble, nobody was going to replace Sandy Denny. Though it’s rather surprising when one considers Thompson’s subsequent career that nobody seems to have thought of bringing in Denny’s friend Linda Peters, who was dating Joe Boyd at the time (as Denny had been before she met Lucas) as Denny’s replacement. Instead, they decided that Swarbrick and Thompson were going to share the vocals between them. They did, though, need a bass player to replace Hutchings. Swarbrick wanted to bring in Dave Pegg, with whom he had played in the Ian Campbell Folk Group, but the other band members initially thought the idea was a bad one. At the time, while they respected Swarbrick as a musician, they didn’t think he fully understood rock and roll yet, and they thought the idea of getting in a folkie who had played double bass rather than an electric rock bassist ridiculous. But they auditioned him to mollify Swarbrick, and found that he was exactly what they needed. As Joe Boyd later said “All those bass lines were great, Ashley invented them all, but he never could play them that well. He thought of them, but he was technically not a terrific bass player. He was a very inventive, melodic, bass player, but not a very powerful one technically. But having had the part explained to him once, Pegg was playing it better than Ashley had ever played it… In some rock bands, I think, ultimately, the bands that sound great, you can generally trace it to the bass player… it was at that point they became a great band, when they had Pegg.” The new lineup of Fairport decided to move in together, and found a former pub called the Angel, into which all the band members moved, along with their partners and children (Thompson was the only one who was single at this point) and their roadies. The group lived together quite happily, and one gets the impression that this was the period when they were most comfortable with each other, even though by this point they were a disparate group with disparate tastes, in music as in everything else. Several people have said that the only music all the band members could agree they liked at this point was the first two albums by The Band. With the departure of Hutchings from the band, Swarbrick and Thompson, as the strongest personalities and soloists, became in effect the joint leaders of the group, and they became collaborators as songwriters, trying to write new songs that were inspired by traditional music. Thompson described the process as “let’s take one line of this reel and slow it down and move it up a minor third and see what that does to it; let’s take one line of this ballad and make a whole song out of it. Chopping up the tradition to find new things to do… like a collage.” Generally speaking, Swarbrick and Thompson would sit by the fire and Swarbrick would play a melody he’d been working on, the two would work on it for a while, and Thompson would then go away and write the lyrics. This is how the two came up with songs like the nine-minute “Sloth”, a highlight of the next album, Full House, and one that would remain in Fairport’s live set for much of their career: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth”] “Sloth” was titled that way because Thompson and Swarbrick were working on two tunes, a slow one and a fast one, and they jokingly named them “Sloth” and “Fasth”, but the latter got renamed to “Walk Awhile”, while “Sloth” kept its working title. But by this point, Boyd and Thompson were having a lot of conflict in the studio. Boyd was never the most technical of producers — he was one of those producers whose job is to gently guide the artists in the studio and create a space for the music to flourish, rather than the Joe Meek type with an intimate technical knowledge of the studio — and as the artists he was working with gained confidence in their own work they felt they had less and less need of him. During the making of the Full House album, Thompson and Boyd, according to Boyd, clashed on everything — every time Boyd thought Thompson had done a good solo, Thompson would say to erase it and let him have another go, while every time Boyd thought Thompson could do better, Thompson would say that was the take to keep. One of their biggest clashes was over Thompson’s song “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, which was originally intended for release on the album, and is included in current reissues of it: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”] Thompson had written that song inspired by what he thought was the unjust treatment of Alex Bramham, the driver in Fairport’s fatal car crash, by the courts — Bramham had been given a prison sentence of a few months for dangerous driving, while the group members thought he had not been at fault. Boyd thought it was one of the best things recorded for the album, but Thompson wasn’t happy with his vocal — there was one note at the top of the melody that he couldn’t quite hit — and insisted it be kept off the record, even though that meant it would be a shorter album than normal. He did this at such a late stage that early copies of the album actually had the title printed on the sleeve, but then blacked out. He now says in his autobiography “I could have persevered, double-tracked the voice, warmed up for longer – anything. It was a good track, and the record was lacking without it. When the album was re-released, the track was restored with a more confident vocal, and it has stayed there ever since.” During the sessions for Full House the group also recorded one non-album single, Thompson and Swarbrick’s “Now Be Thankful”: [Excerpt, Fairport Convention, “Now Be Thankful”] The B-side to that was a medley of two traditional tunes plus a Swarbrick original, but was given the deliberately ridiculous title “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”] The B. McKenzie in the title was a reference to the comic-strip character Barry McKenzie, a stereotype drunk Australian created for Private Eye magazine by the comedian Barry Humphries (later to become better known for his Dame Edna Everage character) but the title was chosen for one reason only — to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the song with the longest title. Which they did, though they were later displaced by the industrial band Test Dept, and their song “Long Live British Democracy Which Flourishes and Is Constantly Perfected Under the Immaculate Guidance of the Great, Honourable, Generous and Correct Margaret Hilda Thatcher. She Is the Blue Sky in the Hearts of All Nations. Our People Pay Homage and Bow in Deep Respect and Gratitude to Her. The Milk of Human Kindness”. Full House got excellent reviews in the music press, with Rolling Stone saying “The music shows that England has finally gotten her own equivalent to The Band… By calling Fairport an English equivalent of the Band, I meant that they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they maintain their roots in rock.” Off the back of this, the group went on their first US tour, culminating in a series of shows at the Troubadour in LA, on the same bill as Rick Nelson, which were recorded and later released as a live album: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth (live)”] The Troubadour was one of the hippest venues at the time, and over their residency there the group got seen by many celebrities, some of whom joined them on stage. The first was Linda Ronstadt, who initially demurred, saying she didn’t know any of their songs. On being told they knew all of hers, she joined in with a rendition of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. Thompson was later asked to join Ronstadt’s backing band, who would go on to become the Eagles, but he said later of this offer “I would have hated it. I’d have hated being on the road with four or five miserable Americans — they always seem miserable. And if you see them now, they still look miserable on stage — like they don’t want to be there and they don’t like each other.” The group were also joined on stage at the Troubadour on one memorable night by some former bandmates of Pegg’s. Before joining the Ian Campbell Folk Group, Pegg had played around the Birmingham beat scene, and had been in bands with John Bonham and Robert Plant, who turned up to the Troubadour with their Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page (reports differ on whether the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, also came along). They all got up on stage together and jammed on songs like “Hey Joe”, “Louie Louie”, and various old Elvis tunes. The show was recorded, and the tapes are apparently still in the possession of Joe Boyd, who has said he refuses to release them in case he is murdered by the ghost of Peter Grant. According to Thompson, that night ended in a three-way drinking contest between Pegg, Bonham, and Janis Joplin, and it’s testament to how strong the drinking culture is around Fairport and the British folk scene in general that Pegg outdrank both of them. According to Thompson, Bonham was found naked by a swimming pool two days later, having missed two gigs. For all their hard rock image, Led Zeppelin were admirers of a lot of the British folk and folk-rock scene, and a few months later Sandy Denny would become the only outside vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin record when she duetted with Plant on “The Battle of Evermore” on the group’s fourth album: [Excerpt: Led Zeppelin, “The Battle of Evermore”] Denny would never actually get paid for her appearance on one of the best-selling albums of all time. That was, incidentally, not the only session that Denny was involved in around this time — she also sang on the soundtrack to a soft porn film titled Swedish Fly Girls, whose soundtrack was produced by Manfred Mann: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow?”] Shortly after Fairport’s trip to America, Joe Boyd decided he was giving up on Witchseason. The company was now losing money, and he was finding himself having to produce work for more and more acts as the various bands fissioned. The only ones he really cared about were Richard Thompson, who he was finding it more and more difficult to work with, Nick Drake, who wanted to do his next album with just an acoustic guitar anyway, Sandy Denny, who he felt was wasting her talents in Fotheringay, and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, who was more distant since his conversion to Scientology. Boyd did make some attempts to keep the company going. On a trip to Sweden, he negotiated an agreement with the manager and publisher of a Swedish band whose songs he’d found intriguing, the Hep Stars. Boyd was going to publish their songs in the UK, and in return that publisher, Stig Anderson, would get the rights to Witchseason’s catalogue in Scandinavia — a straight swap, with no money changing hands. But before Boyd could get round to signing the paperwork, he got a better offer from Mo Ostin of Warners — Ostin wanted Boyd to come over to LA and head up Warners’ new film music department. Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records and moved to LA with his fiancee Linda Peters, spending the next few years working on music for films like Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange, as well as making his own documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and thus missed out on getting the UK publishing rights for ABBA, and all the income that would have brought him, for no money. And it was that decision that led to the breakup of Fotheringay. Just before Christmas 1970, Fotheringay were having a difficult session, recording the track “John the Gun”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “John the Gun”] Boyd got frustrated and kicked everyone out of the session, and went for a meal and several drinks with Denny. He kept insisting that she should dump the band and just go solo, and then something happened that the two of them would always describe differently. She asked him if he would continue to produce her records if she went solo, and he said he would. According to Boyd’s recollection of the events, he meant that he would fly back from California at some point to produce her records. According to Denny, he told her that if she went solo he would stay in Britain and not take the job in LA. This miscommunication was only discovered after Denny told the rest of Fotheringay after the Christmas break that she was splitting the band. Jerry Donahue has described that as the worst moment of his life, and Denny felt very guilty about breaking up a band with some of her closest friends in — and then when Boyd went over to the US anyway she felt a profound betrayal. Two days before Fotheringay’s final concert, in January 1971, Sandy Denny signed a solo deal with Island records, but her first solo album would not end up produced by Joe Boyd. Instead, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens was co-produced by Denny, John Wood — the engineer who had worked with Boyd on pretty much everything he’d produced, and Richard Thompson, who had just quit Fairport Convention, though he continued living with them at the Angel, at least until a truck crashed into the building in February 1971, destroying its entire front wall and forcing them to relocate. The songs chosen for The North Star Grassman and the Ravens reflected the kind of choices Denny would make on her future albums, and her eclectic taste in music. There was, of course, the obligatory Dylan cover, and the traditional folk ballad “Blackwaterside”, but there was also a cover version of Brenda Lee’s “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”] Most of the album, though, was made up of originals about various people in Denny’s life, like “Next Time Around”, about her ex-boyfriend Jackson C Frank: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Next Time Around”] The album made the top forty in the UK — Denny’s only solo album to do so — and led to her once again winning the “best female singer” award in Melody Maker’s readers’ poll that year — the male singer award was won by Rod Stewart. Both Stewart and Denny appeared the next year on the London Symphony Orchestra’s all-star version of The Who’s Tommy, which had originally been intended as a vehicle for Stewart before Roger Daltrey got involved. Stewart’s role was reduced to a single song, “Pinball Wizard”, while Denny sang on “It’s a Boy”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “It’s a Boy”] While Fotheringay had split up, all the band members play on The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Guitarists Donahue and Lucas only play on a couple of the tracks, with Richard Thompson playing most of the guitar on the record. But Fotheringay’s rhythm section of Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway play on almost every track. Another musician on the album, Ian Whiteman, would possibly have a profound effect on the future direction of Richard Thompson’s career and life. Whiteman was the former keyboard player for the mod band The Action, having joined them just before they became the blues-rock band Mighty Baby. But Mighty Baby had split up when all of the band except the lead singer had converted to Islam. Richard Thompson was on his own spiritual journey at this point, and became a Sufi – the same branch of Islam as Whiteman – soon after the session, though Thompson has said that his conversion was independent of Whiteman’s. The two did become very close and work together a lot in the mid-seventies though. Thompson had supposedly left Fairport because he was writing material that wasn’t suited to the band, but he spent more than a year after quitting the group working on sessions rather than doing anything with his own material, and these sessions tended to involve the same core group of musicians. One of the more unusual was a folk-rock supergroup called The Bunch, put together by Trevor Lucas. Richard Branson had recently bought a recording studio, and wanted a band to test it out before opening it up for commercial customers, so with this free studio time Lucas decided to record a set of fifties rock and roll covers. He gathered together Thompson, Denny, Whiteman, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, pianist Tony Cox, the horn section that would later form the core of the Average White Band, and Linda Peters, who had now split up with Joe Boyd and returned to the UK, and who had started dating Thompson. They recorded an album of covers of songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Otis and others: [Excerpt: The Bunch, “Willie and the Hand Jive”] The early seventies was a hugely productive time for this group of musicians, as they all continued playing on each other’s projects. One notable album was No Roses by Shirley Collins, which featured Thompson, Mattacks, Whiteman, Simon Nicol, Lal and Mike Waterson, and Ashley Hutchings, who was at that point married to Collins, as well as some more unusual musicians like the free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill: [Excerpt: Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, “Claudy Banks”] Collins was at the time the most respected female singer in British traditional music, and already had a substantial career including a series of important records made with her sister Dolly, work with guitarists like Davey Graham, and time spent in the 1950s collecting folk songs in the Southern US with her then partner Alan Lomax – according to Collins she did much of the actual work, but Lomax only mentioned her in a single sentence in his book on this work. Some of the same group of musicians went on to work on an album of traditional Morris dancing tunes, titled Morris On, credited to “Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield”, with Collins singing lead on two tracks: [Excerpt: Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with Shirley Collins, “The Willow Tree”] Thompson thought that that album was the best of the various side projects he was involved in at the time, comparing it favourably to Rock On, which he thought was rather slight, saying later “Conceptually, Fairport, Ashley and myself and Sandy were developing a more fragile style of music that nobody else was particularly interested in, a British Folk Rock idea that had a logical development to it, although we all presented it our own way. Morris On was rather more true to what we were doing. Rock On was rather a retro step. I'm not sure it was lasting enough as a record but Sandy did sing really well on the Buddy Holly songs.” Hutchings used the musicians on No Roses and Morris On as the basis for his band the Albion Band, which continues to this day. Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks both quit Fairport to join the Albion Band, though Mattacks soon returned. Nicol would not return to Fairport for several years, though, and for a long period in the mid-seventies Fairport Convention had no original members. Unfortunately, while Collins was involved in the Albion Band early on, she and Hutchings ended up divorcing, and the stress from the divorce led to Collins developing spasmodic dysphonia, a stress-related illness which makes it impossible for the sufferer to sing. She did eventually regain her vocal ability, but between 1978 and 2016 she was unable to perform at all, and lost decades of her career. Richard Thompson occasionally performed with the Albion Band early on, but he was getting stretched a little thin with all these sessions. Linda Peters said later of him “When I came back from America, he was working in Sandy’s band, and doing sessions by the score. Always with Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks. Richard would turn up with his guitar, one day he went along to do a session with one of those folkie lady singers — and there were Pat and DM. They all cracked. Richard smashed his amp and said “Right! No more sessions!” In 1972 he got round to releasing his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly, which featured guest appearances by Linda Peters and Sandy Denny among others: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away”] Unfortunately, while that album has later become regarded as one of the classics of its genre, at the time it was absolutely slated by the music press. The review in Melody Maker, for example, read in part “Some of Richard Thompson’s ideas sound great – which is really the saving grace of this album, because most of the music doesn’t. The tragedy is that Thompson’s “British rock music” is such an unconvincing concoction… Even the songs that do integrate rock and traditional styles of electric guitar rhythms and accordion and fiddle decoration – and also include explicit, meaningful lyrics are marred by bottle-up vocals, uninspiring guitar phrases and a general lack of conviction in performance.” Henry the Human Fly was released in the US by Warners, who had a reciprocal licensing deal with Island (and for whom Joe Boyd was working at the time, which may have had something to do with that) but according to Thompson it became the lowest-selling record that Warners ever put out (though I’ve also seen that claim made about Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle, another album that has later been rediscovered). Thompson was hugely depressed by this reaction, and blamed his own singing. Happily, though, by this point he and Linda had become a couple — they would marry in 1972 — and they started playing folk clubs as a duo, or sometimes in a trio with Simon Nicol. Thompson was also playing with Sandy Denny’s backing band at this point, and played on every track on her second solo album, Sandy. This album was meant to be her big commercial breakthrough, with a glamorous cover photo by David Bailey, and with a more American sound, including steel guitar by Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose overdubs were supervised in LA by Joe Boyd): [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Tomorrow is a Long Time”] The album was given a big marketing push by Island, and “Listen, Listen” was made single of the week on the Radio 1 Breakfast show: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Listen, Listen”] But it did even worse than the previous album, sending her into something of a depression. Linda Thompson (as the former Linda Peters now was) said of this period “After the Sandy album, it got her down that her popularity didn't suddenly increase in leaps and bounds, and that was the start of her really fretting about the way her career was going. Things only escalated after that. People like me or Martin Carthy or Norma Waterson would think, ‘What are you on about? This is folk music.'” After Sandy’s release, Denny realised she could no longer afford to tour with a band, and so went back to performing just acoustically or on piano. The only new music to be released by either of these ex-members of Fairport Convention in 1973 was, oddly, on an album by the band they were no longer members of. After Thompson had left Fairport, the group had managed to release two whole albums with the same lineup — Swarbrick, Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks. But then Nicol and Mattacks had both quit the band to join the Albion Band with their former bandmate Ashley Hutchings, leading to a situation where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport plus their longtime drummer while Fairport Convention itself had no original members and was down to just Swarbrick and Pegg. Needing to fulfil their contracts, they then recruited three former members of Fotheringay — Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, Donahue on lead guitar, and Conway on drums. Conway was only a session player at the time, and Mattacks soon returned to the band, but Lucas and Donahue became full-time members. This new lineup of Fairport Convention released two albums in 1973, widely regarded as the group’s most inconsistent records, and on the title track of the first, “Rosie”, Richard Thompson guested on guitar, with Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Rosie”] Neither Sandy Denny nor Richard Thompson released a record themselves in 1973, but in neither case was this through the artists’ choice. The record industry was changing in the early 1970s, as we’ll see in later episodes, and was less inclined to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of art. Island Records prided itself on being a home for great artists, but it was still a business, and needed to make money. We’ll talk about the OPEC oil crisis and its effect on the music industry much more when the podcast gets to 1973, but in brief, the production of oil by the US peaked in 1970 and started to decrease, leading to them importing more and more oil from the Middle East. As a result of this, oil prices rose slowly between 1971 and 1973, then very quickly towards the end of 1973 as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict that year. As vinyl is made of oil, suddenly producing records became much more expensive, and in this period a lot of labels decided not to release already-completed albums, until what they hoped would be a brief period of shortages passed. Both Denny and Thompson recorded albums at this point that got put to one side by Island. In the case of Thompson, it was the first album by Richard and Linda as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Today, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and as one of the two masterpieces that bookended Richard and Linda’s career as a duo and their marriage. But when they recorded the album, full of Richard’s dark songs, it was the opposite of commercial. Even a song that’s more or less a boy-girl song, like “Has He Got a Friend for Me?” has lyrics like “He wouldn’t notice me passing by/I could be in the gutter, or dangling down from a tree” [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “Has He got a Friend For Me?”] While something like “The Calvary Cross” is oblique and haunted, and seems to cast a pall over the entire album: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “The Calvary Cross”] The album itself had been cheap to make — it had been recorded in only a week, with Thompson bringing in musicians he knew well and had worked with a lot previously to cut the tracks as-live in only a handful of takes — but Island didn’t think it was worth releasing. The record stayed on the shelf for nearly a year after recording, until Island got a new head of A&R, Richard Williams. Williams said of the album’s release “Muff Winwood had been doing A&R, but he was more interested in production… I had a conversation with Muff as soon as I got there, and he said there are a few hangovers, some outstanding problems. And one of them was Richard Thompson. He said there’s this album we gave him the money to make — which was I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — and nobody’s very interested in it. Henry the Human Fly had been a bit of a commercial disappointment, and although Island was altruistic and independent and known for only recording good stuff, success was important… Either a record had to do well or somebody had to believe in it a lot. And it seemed as if neither of those things were true at that point of Richard.” Williams, though, was hugely impressed when he listened to the album. He compared Richard Thompson’s guitar playing to John Coltrane’s sax, and called Thompson “the folk poet of the rainy streets”, but also said “Linda brightened it, made it more commercial. and I thought that “Bright Lights” itself seemed a really commercial song.” The rest of the management at Island got caught up in Williams’ enthusiasm, and even decided to release the title track as a single: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Neither single nor album charted — indeed it would not be until 1991 that Richard Thompson would make a record that made the top forty in the UK — but the album got enough critical respect that Richard and Linda released two albums the year after. The first of these, Hokey Pokey, is a much more upbeat record than their previous one — Richard Thompson has called it “quite a music-hall influenced record” and cited the influence of George Formby and Harry Lauder. For once, the claim of music hall influence is audible in the music. Usually when a British musician is claimed to have a music ha

Charlie Gunningham was a little uncertain about the long term future of his teaching career in the late 1990's. But, like many changes in life, there was a sequence of events … some unplanned and generally not expected, that eventually catapulted his professional life from teaching to something totally different … the tech world of digital real estate. This mixture of influential events included completing an MBA, connecting with an American “hedge fund” manager and entrepreneur who had found himself in Perth WA, investing in untried mapping technology … and even being on stage with his wife at a Dame Edna Everage show at the Regal Theatre in Subiaco WA. And … all of this coming together just as the world wide tech bubble was about to burst.

Paul Dornan has worked in the TV and creative world for over three decades as a writer, producer, script-mentor and director. He's written everything from sit-com, to film to radio drama and created drama that's funny and comedies that's are dramatic. His work has been seen by huge audiences and sold around the world, he co-wrote a Number 1 best-selling comedy book that ruined Alan Bennett's Christmas by keeping him at number 2. He's worked with a galaxy of stars from Dame Edna Everage to the Spice Girls to Christopher Lloyd from Back To The Future and some of the top producers and writers in the comedy world.  Paul is also the founder of True Funny – a new service offering creative consultancy and coaching to help keynote speakers and business leaders bring humour, warmth and characterful storytelling to their work and speech-making. He also now runs the Find Your Funny Masterclasses at the Comedy Store for speakers. In 2024 he's teaching a new course on Writing Comedy for the world-famous Faber Academy in London.   Paul's three key mindset messages: Don't be boring Respect yourself The customer is always wrong   The food Paul wanted to try Lithuanian, so I made him one of my favourite dish called Ceburekai.  Please visit www.mindsetkitchen.co.uk for the recipe and video.   

The life and times of the creator of Dame Edna Everage is being celebrated at a state memorial service today.

Media and entertainment royalty - as well as the royals of Buckingham Palace - have honoured the life and work of comedy icon Barry Humphries. A State Memorial has been held in the Sydney Opera House to celebrate the man behind comic creations Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.

The life and times of the creator of Dame Edna Everage is being celebrated at a state memorial service today.

The life and times of the creator of Dame Edna Everage is being celebrated at a state memorial service today.

What does it mean to be truly funny? We often associate the word ‘funny' with comedy and making people laugh. But it can also mean being witty, incisive ironic, playful, teasing, or delivering little moments of truth. On this episode, I'm speaking to comedy writer Paul Dornan, whose new company, True Funny, helps people discover what makes them funny — in the loosest sense of the word — and how they can maximise that in the way they present themselves. Not to make them artificially funny in an [inster funny joke here] type way, but naturally and authentically.In our discussion, we explored how Paul came to become a comedy writer, working with comedy legend Barry Humphries. He explains how comedy was an inherent part of his family and how that led him to his career. We explore what makes comedy work and why being funny is all about being human.Paul shares some of his thoughts about how being more authentic can make us more engaging and how the increasing power of cognitive technology means we all need to be more human.To find out more about Paul and his company, True Funny: https://truefunny.co.uk/During our discussion, Paul referred to a number of comedians and comedy shows:Barry Humphries and Barry's comedy alter ego Dame Edna Everage: https://www.dame-edna.com/A clip that Paul referred to where Dame Edna speaks to former UK Prime Minister Ted Heath. Read this explanation first https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pauldornan_truefunny-activity-7055216788594151424-DmtU?and then watch the clip here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pauldornan_this-is-the-dame-ednated-heath-clip-in-all-activity-7055218623996424192-0UOo?The Cambridge Footlights: https://www.cambridgefootlights.org/Monty Python: https://www.montypython.com/Peter Cook: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cook/Jonathan Coleman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Coleman_(presenter)Jimmy Carr: https://www.jimmycarr.com/Del Boy, a character from the TV show ‘Only Fools & Horses': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_BoyRicky Gervais, the creator of the TV series ‘The Office': https://www.rickygervais.com/Mrs Brown's Boys; https://www.mrsbrownsboys.com/

Dan and Julia discuss how to spot and deal with common summertime pests, including cabbage white butterflies, red spider mites and asparagus beetles. Julia gets stuck into salads, explaining how to grow a succession of lush leaves throughout the year. Dan recalls happy memories of Dame Edna Everage and her wonderful gladies, sharing tips on how to grow these fabulous flowers without all the stiffness and formality they've become known for.Julia's Favourite Salad Leaves:Lettuce 'Black Seeded Simpson'.Lettuce (Little Gem) ‘Delight'.Lettuce 'Cocarde' - very attractive arrowhead leaf green-tinged red. Good for spring, summer and autumn growing.Lettuce 'Salad Bowl' - both green and red, RHS recommended.Lettuce 'Lollo Rosso'.Lettuce 'Butterhead'.Lettuce 'Winter Density' - good for cooler months.Wild rocket - hardy and the best flavour.Dan's Favourite Gladioli:G. papilio ‘Ruby' - just delicious - the colour of crushed blackberries.G. communis subsp. byzantinus - Mediterranean but naturalised in the UK.G. murielae - the Abyssinian gladiolus - very late flowering and needs baking in a sunny spot, but the flowers are deliciously fragrant.G. ‘Sancerre' - pure white.G. ‘Shaka Zulu' - deep, deep purple.The ‘Flevo' varieties, such as G. 'Flevo Cool' and G. 'Flevo Laguna' are perfect for small gardens and growing in pots.Where you'll find us:Dan will be at Gilbert White's House in Selborne near Petersfield for their 30th Annual Unusual Plants Fair on June 17th and 18th , ready to supply visitors with any last-minute Father's Day Gifts. Alitex is hosting an open morning on 16th June 9 am - 4 pm, at Torberry Farm, near Petersfield. To book a visit, use this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The entertainment world had two significant losses this spring with the deaths of Darcelle XV and Dame Edna Everage. Their lives were fascinating (including a child abducted by a koala!?) and well-lived and they will be missed by their fans. We also talk to Stevan Lemke about his fatigue to help others navigate this debilitating symptom. Follow us on Facebook | Instagram | Email us at mail@every1dies.orgClick on this link to Rate and Review our podcast!

The story of how the Gladiolus found its way to the stage involves one of our top botanists, and some fascinating research into plant genetics.

The story of how the Gladiolus found its way to the stage involves one of our top botanists, and some fascinating research into plant genetics.

Nick Cave, the Australian born singer-songwriter and author, reveals the formative influences and experiences that have inspired his own creativity. With his band The Bad Seeds, Cave is renowned for the darkness and drama of his narrative based work. His lyrics are often populated by flawed people doing bad things, but seeking redemption in love or God, or both. His musical output is diverse, ranging from rock'n'roll, to piano-based love songs. The tragic death of his 15 year old son Arthur in 2015 has informed recent work, with songs about devastating loss, grief and love explored throughout the albums Ghosteen and Carnage. Nick Cave has also written novels, poetry, a screenplay, and has recently published Faith, Hope and Carnage - a book exploring his ideas about creativity and belief. Nick Cave talks to John Wilson about the influences of his father, an English teacher, and his mother, a school librarian, in encouraging his love of literature from a young age. He recalls seeing The Johnny Cash Show on television at the age of 10 and being spellbound by the country music star, with whom he later worked. He also remembers the life-changing effect of hearing Leonard Cohen's Songs Of Life and Death album for the first time, and the profound influence the Canadian poet and songwriter had own his own lyrics. He reveals that fellow Australian Barry Humphries was another artist who inspired his own work, having seen a Dame Edna Everage show in Melbourne in the early 1970s. Nick Cave also discusses the impact that the death of his son had on his life, work and marriage. Producer: Edwina Pitman

Are British Mispronunciations Of Global Food Disrespectful?

This week, as we prepare for King Charles's coronation and Camilla prepares to succeed in becoming the first divorcée to be crowned Queen, Lois Rogers has the inside story on the machinations of the previous divorcée who aspired to that title, Wallis Simpson. Then, speaking of women and machinations, Rich Cohen shares the crazy, true story of how United Airlines once had men-only flights, complete with free cigars and flight attendants who had to be unmarried. And finally, theater critic John Lahr remembers his good friend Barry Humphries, the extraordinary comic talent behind Dame Edna Everage. All this and more make this a show you won't want to miss.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the weekly bonus episode of Hot off the Wire, where we look back at some of the top headlines from the week in the world of sports and entertainment.  This week's episode includes: The end of the “Late Late Show” with James Corden. Deaths of notable celebrities Harry Belafonte, Jerry Springer and others.  A trial involving singer Ed Sheeran. Shakeups at CNN and Fox News. And the fight between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney. Also, be sure to check out our Streamed & Screened podcast for the latest episode on Star Wars Day and the limited series “A Small Light” on National Geographic. Streamed & Screened is available on all major podcast platforms. — Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports Episode transcript Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically Welcome to the weekly bonus episode of Hot Off the Wire, where we look back at some of the top headlines from the week in the world of sports and entertainment. I'm Terry Lipshetz, senior producer for Lee Enterprises and your host. Be sure to subscribe to Hot Off the Wire through Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss Daily News updates. This week's episode includes the end of The Late Late Show with James Corden, deaths of notable celebrities Harry Belafonte, Jerry Springer and others, a trial involving singer Ed Sheeran, shakeups at CNN and Fox News, and the fight between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney. Also, be sure to check out our Streamed and Screened podcast for the latest episode on Star Wars Day and the limited series A Small Light on National Geographic. Streamed and Screened is available on all major podcasts, platforms. James Corden has said farewell to The Late Late Show. Corden says he's ending his run on CBS because he wants to return to the UK to be close to his family. Moving here to America eight years ago, it was a huge leap for me. My family, my son was three, our daughter was 12 weeks old and we now have another small person and she's a medic. Corden says he started the show with Obama. Then Trump, then a global pandemic. But he says all he's ever tried to do with the show is bring joy. All we've ever wanted is just be a little a little bit of light and levity at the end of your day. And he ended his last show with a song. Thanks for watching. That's our show. I'm Donna Border. But entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte has died of congestive heart failure at his home in New York, according to his publicist. Belafonte was 96. I'm Archie's are a letter with a look at his life there. That right there is what Harry Belafonte was best known for. Belafonte said in a 2001 AP interview. He heard about that song used in all kinds of ways, but one in particular, more people have told me they sing that song in the shower than any place, than any other song I've ever heard of. Belafonte was one of the first popular black performers on film. He was one of the first to sell a million records and the first to win an Emmy. Belafonte also was an activist marching for civil rights and taking on presidents to push for social change. For 27 years on daytime TV, audiences chanted his name. And Jerry Springer has died. He was the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a TV news anchor. His career took off hosting a talk show that featured brawls, thrown chairs and lots of words that had to be bleeped. In a 1998 AP interview, Jerry Springer said he didn't worry about what was said about his show. Someone comes up to me and love you, man. Love you, man. You're the greatest. I don't go to sleep at night thinking, you know what? I must be the greatest. Because, you know, nor when someone comes and says, Boy, you're ending Western civilization. Do I go to sleep at night sobbing, saying, Oh, my God, I've ended Western civilization. You know, it's just not anything you can really take seriously. The statement says Springer died peacefully at his home near Chicago after a brief illness. He was 79. I'm Ed Donahue AP news before Bo Jackson knew everything. Before Deion Sanders introduced prime time. There was Dick Groat, a wiry shortstop with a slick glove and a lightning quick guard with a lethal set shot. Groat was a star on the baseball diamond, and the basketball court in the 1950s wrote, who parlayed a spectacular hoops career with Duke into a brief stint in the NBA before becoming an all-star in the 1960 National League MVP while playing baseball for his hometown, Pittsburgh Pirates died Thursday. He was 92. Rhodes family said in a statement that he died from complications of a stroke. I'm definitely back. Tony Award winning comedian Barry Humphries, internationally renowned for his garish stage persona, Dame Edna Everage, has died. He was 89 years old. Humphrey's death was confirmed by a Sydney hospital where he spent several days following complications from a hip surgery. Humphries had lived in London for decades and returned to his native Australia in December for Christmas. He found fame as Dame Edna Everage, a condescending and imperfectly veiled snob whose evolving character has delighted audiences over seven decades. In 2016, Humphries spoke about playing the quirky character. I've always enjoyed watching her on stage because she says things I wouldn't dream of, said Humphries. A law school dropouts found major success as an actor, writer and entertainer in Britain in the 1970s. However, the United States was an ambition that he found stubbornly elusive. I'm Karen Travers. A trial begins over whether musician Ed Sheeran copied a Marvin Gaye song. I'm Margie Szaroleta with the latest. The Estate of Ed Townsend, a songwriting partner of Marvin Gaye, is arguing that Let's get it on. It sounds an awful lot like Sheeran's song Thinking Out Loud. Done in Townsend's tenor, say. Even Sheeran has segued from thinking out loud to Let's get it on in concert. Sheeran's lawyers say the two songs have common chord progressions that are freely available to all songwriters. Jurors will be asked to consider the raw elements of melody, harmony and rhythm, but not lyrics or the vibe of the songs. Testimony continues in a New York courtroom in a case involving musician Ed Sheeran and the estate of a co-writer of a Marvin Gaye song, Ed Sheeran testified You would be an idiot to stand in front of 20,000 people and admit he ripped off a song. At issue is whether Sheeran Song Thinking out loud copies the Marvin Gaye song Let's Get It On, co-written by late songwriter Ed Townsend. Lawyers for the Townsend Estate say video showing Sheeran flipping between the two songs in concert are tantamount to a confession. Sheeran says it's easy to weed the songs because they're in the same key. Townsend daughter Kathryn Townsend Griffin told reporters outside court she wants to protect her father. All I'm expecting is his name to be honored and his work and his legacy. Two big shakeups in cable news. Familiar hosts are gone. Here's the AP's Jack Quinn. Fox News has announced it's parting ways with Tucker Carlson, whose last show was on Friday. Carlson frequently made news himself with his controversial coverage of the Capitol insurrection onscreen. Friendship with Donald Trump and embarrassing emails just made public in the lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems. The other show host, Don Lemon, fired from CNN. Pop culture expert Professor Robert Thompson at Syracuse University says Carlson's departure is the most surprising. One of their big moneymakers now being kicked to the curb at the same time, they're having to shell out an enormous chunk of money to dominion over it. CNN. No reason was given for terminating Don Lemon after 17 years. But he had gotten into hot water with a comment suggesting presidential candidate Nikki Haley was past her prime. I'm Jackie Quinn. Disney will be laying off several thousand employees this week, including at ESPN. A second round of cuts, that's part of a previously announced plan to eliminate 7000 jobs this year. His agent says Dancing with the Stars Judge Len Goodman has died after battling bone cancer. He was 78. Here's the AP's Margie Szaroleta. I don't know what's going on. Was that an earthquake or did you just rock this place? Len Goodman was famous for delivering pithy observations as head judge on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Goodman had been a competitive dancer and British champion before starting a dance school and eventually judging competitions. He was head judge on the British show Strictly Come Dancing for 12 Years. Goodman said in a 2014 AP interview, the producer of that show stood up for him when ABC wanted to do its own version, but thought Goodman was too old. He said, You got to have Len, you know, he's wise and I and know what she said. But I know eventually they agreed. Marches are Aleta Herb Douglas, who turned a chance encounter with Jesse Owens as a teenager into fuel to win a bronze medal in the long jump at the 1948 Olympics has died in Pittsburgh. He was 101. I'm Ed Donahue. AP News. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is brushing off Disney's lawsuit against him as politically motivated. The AP's Ben Thomas. The corporate kingdom finally comes to an end. Disney alleges the governor waged a targeted campaign of government retaliation after the company opposed a law that bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity, a policy critics called don't say gay. We had a little bit of a tussle earlier this year. DeSantis framed it this way. Disney came out against something that was really just about protecting young kids and making sure that students are able to go to school, learning to read, write and subtract, and not having a teacher tell them that they can change their gender. Disney accuses DeSantis of weaponizing government power against it for expressing a political viewpoint with which he disagrees. He's back. Tucker Carlson has emerged on Twitter with a video that does not directly mention his recent former employer, Fox News. Two days after being fired, Tucker Carlson tweeted a two minute monologue that did not address why he suddenly became unemployed. The other thing you notice when you take a little time off is how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are. They're completely irrelevant, the conservative, a former TV host, said Corporate media and political parties work to prevent discussions of big issues. But when honest people say what's true calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful. At the same time, the liars who've been trying to silence them shrink. Fox News did not explain why it fired its most popular personality a week after settling a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems. Media reports centered on private messages sent by Carlson. Sources say they included crude remarks and slurs against a senior Fox executive, Jennifer King. Washington And I'm Rita Foley. AP News Fox ratings have tumbled and Tucker Carlson slot after his firing. I'm Lisa Dwyer. Hundreds of thousands of Fox News viewers are reacting to Tucker Carlson's firing by abandoning the network and his old timeslot, at least temporarily. Fox had 56% fewer viewers in the 8 p.m. Eastern hour Wednesday than Carlson had on the same day a week ago. Meanwhile, Eric BOLLING at the Conservative Alternative Newsmax has seen his audience shoot up. BOLLING had 510,000 viewers on Wednesday, compared to 168,000 on the previous Wednesday. It's reminiscent of Fox's slump amongst viewers who were angry at the network's coverage on election night 2020. But that anger proved only temporary and viewers later returned. I'm Lisa Dwyer. Comedian Richard Lewis says he has Parkinson's disease. Marches are a letter with the latest. Richard Lewis says in an online video he's had a rocky time for the past three and a half years. One reason is because he's been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which he discovered because he was shuffling when he walked. Lewis, who is 75, says he also has had shoulder and hip replacement surgeries and back pain. He is retiring from standup comedy and will focus on writing and acting. Musician Prose Michelle of the Fugees has been found guilty of illegally funneling money from a malaysian businessman into a political campaign and trying to stop a federal investigation. Marches are Aletta with the latest. A jury in Washington has found Michelle guilty on charges that include conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. Prosecutors say Michelle used straw donors to funnel businessman Joe Lowe's money to President Barack Obama's reelection campaign in 2012. Prosecutors say Michelle also tried to stop an investigation into Lowe from the Justice Department under the Trump administration. Michelle did not comment after the verdict, but his lawyer, David Counter, says he's extremely disappointed and this is not over. AP Sports. I'm Josh round three history right off the top of the NFL draft Thursday night. More from correspondent Greg ECHLIN. It was the first time two black quarterbacks were taken with the first two picks after former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was taken by the Carolina Panthers. C.J. Stroud from Ohio State went to the Houston Texans with trailblazing people like Ward Moon, Randall Cunningham, Jackie Robinson, Magic Johnson, everybody. All the all the people who paved the way for our culture to be here in this moment. It's amazing. I hope that I can be a specialist in one day. Quarterbacks accounted for three of the first four picks when Indianapolis grabbed Anthony Richardson, who played at Florida. The only non-quarterback among the top four was defensive end Wil Anderson Jr who came from Alabama. After six weeks of waiting, Aaron Rodgers is leaving behind his brilliant legacy in green bay and heading to the bright lights and massive expectations of the Big apple. The new york jets have agreed on a deal to acquire the four time NFL MVP from the Packers, according to a person with knowledge of the trade. The Jets will receive Rodgers, the number 15 overall pick and a fifth rounder this year from the Packers. The 39 year old Rodgers passed for 3695 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. Rodgers is expected to replace former number two overall pick Zach Wilson as the Jets starter. I'm given cool off. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is taking a big picture approach to his team's stunning first round loss to the Miami Heat in the NBA playoffs after the eighth seeded Heat ended the top seeded Bucks season with a 128 126 overtime loss in Game five Wednesday. Antetokounmpo's answer to a reporter's question about whether or not the team's season was a failure went viral. There's no failure in sports. You know, there's good days, bad days of some days you are able to be successful so that you're not content. And Cooper averaged 23.3 points and 11 rebounds over three games in the series while missing two games with a back injury. I'm given cool by the Houston Rockets are set to name email Udoka as the team's new head coach, a source tells the Associated Press. The 45 year old Udoka spent one season as the coach of the Boston Celtics, leading the team to an NBA Finals appearance last season. However, you doco was suspended by the Celtics for the 2022 23 season after a month long investigation found multiple violations of team policy. The Celtics officially parted ways with Utica in February while naming interim Jill Missoula as head coach. You doco will replace Stephen Silas in Houston following the Rockets 22 and 60 season. I'm gettin cooled off. Brittney Griner got emotional talking about her detainment in Russia. The WNBA star had to take a moment to compose herself in Phenix after being asked about her resiliency over the ten months she was in a Russian prison on drug charges. You know, I'm no stranger to a hard time. Griner was arrested last year at a moscow airport after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. What did she do to survive? Just dig in deep. Honestly. You know, you're going to be faced with adversities throughout your life. And this was a pretty big one. But I just kind of relied on my hard work getting through it. Griner was exchange for a Russian arms dealer in December. She's kept a low profile following her return to the U.S.. I'm Ed Donahue. And animatronic Dragons burst into flames during a show at Disneyland in California over the weekend. The fire breathing dragon in the popular band has MCS show normally as Flames. But the crowd at Disneyland got a different show Saturday night as it caught on fire. Ryan Lough, who captured the scene on cellphone video, says he knew something was wrong when the dragon's head was on fire. Then the whole body went up in flames. No injuries were reported by the Anaheim Fire Department. The show features Mickey Mouse battling the dragon. But Lough said Mickey banished from the stage as soon as the dragon's head became engulfed in flames. I'm Julie Walker. Bud Light may have fumbled its attempt to broaden its customer base by partnering with a transgender influencer. But experts say inclusive marketing is simply good business. And here to stay, Bud Light sales fell 17.6% after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted a video of herself with a beer can with her face on it that the brand sent her, setting off backlash almost immediately. Still, marketing experts say younger people support diversity efforts and want companies to take a stand on controversial issues. According to a 2021 Gallup poll, 21% of people in Gen Z identify as LGBT, compared to 3% of baby boomers. Gallup has also found younger consumers are the most likely to want brands to promote diversity and take a stand on social issues. However, marketing experts say it's possible Bud Light's experience will cause other brands to rethink using transgender people in their ads. I'm Julie Walker. I'm Terry Lipshetz, thanking you for listening. Audio provided by the Associated Press. Music is by skill sell and provided through pixabay. Be sure to subscribe to Hot off the Wire on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss an episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matthew Bannister on Barry Humphries, best known for his comic creations Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. We have tributes from Rob Brydon and John Humphrys. Len Goodman, who went from working as a welder to international fame as head judge of Strictly Come Dancing. Professor Elizabeth Murray, a pioneer in the use of digital technology in health care. And Jah Shaka, dub reggae star, producer and sound system king. Interviewee: Rob Brydon Interviewee: John Humphrys Interviewee: Mary Richardson Interviewee: Anne Pender Interviewee: Professor Fiona Stevenson Interviewee: Neil Fraser (also known as music producer Mad Professor) Interviewee: Bryan Gee Producer: Paul Martin Archive used: Dame Edna Everage on Parkinson, BBC One, 1998, uploaded to YouTube 01/07/2017; One More Audience with Dame Edna Everage, ITV, 1988, uploaded to YouTube 22/04/2023; Another Audience With Dame Edna Everage, ITV, 1984, uploaded to YouTube, 01/09/2022; Barry Humphries on Parkinson, BBC One, 1982, uploaded to YouTube. 23/04/2023; Barry Humphries, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 29/05/2009 Dame Edna Everage on the Today Programme, BBC Radio 4, 18/09/2019; Len Goodman, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 24/06/2011; Jah Shaka, Junior Brown, Warriors, Reggae Records Archives, YouTube uploaded 26/09/2022; Jah Shaka sound system live London, (Tape Edit)YouTube uploaded 15/10/2022;

We’re talking to commentator David Robertson for thoughts on Barry Humphries who passed away on the weekend, and the Melbourne Comedy Festival, planning to ’uncancel’ him after cancelling him for transgender comments. Help Vision to keep 'Connecting Faith to Life': https://vision.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week the pod opens with a tribute to Dame Edna Everage who sadly passed last week - who, as well as her infectious personality and talent, also had the measure of Boris Johnson long before many of us did. Then it's onto Marina Vs Mogg - as Jemma and Marina discuss that head-to-head meeting which, at the time of record, had clocked over 7 million views on Twitter.  Then ding dong, Raab has gone - with reactions ranging from profound, to hilarious, to just plain idiotic. Jemma and Marina contemplate how on earth Oliver Downden will fill those teeny-tiny Deputy PM shoes. Given his latest interview with Sophie Ridge on Sky: not well. Then it's a quick stop on the new plan to save Britain (wonder why it needs saving after 13 years of Tory rule) which is...more British Conservatism- brought to you by wrong-about-everything, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lord David Frost. Enjoy! Thank you for sharing and do tweet us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Items run up the flagpole this week include … … our memories of the exquisite agony of teenage dances, especially Dave's at the Mecca Ballroom in Wakefield, 1965. ... unforgettable things said and done by Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. … rock stars with Brian Jones's hair. … do we care more about the people who make music than the music itself?… a point from Massive Attack – “is the discussion ‘should AI recreate music?' or is it ‘Why is contemporary music so homogenised & formulaic that it's really easy to copy?'” … songs that never fail to fill dancefloors. … a “Ladies' Prosecco Afternoon” with a Robbie Williams impersonator. … what'll be the next music revival? … when did you last see a Teddy Boy? … Dave's story about why Take It Easy by the Eagles meant so much to him. … and the eternal appeal of Mod. … plus birthday guest Andrew Newbury – “was We Can Work It Out the Beatles' tipping point?”Tickets for Word In The Park in London on June 3rd here!: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-happy-return-of-word-in-the-park-tickets-576193870377Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early and ad-free access to all of our content!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Items run up the flagpole this week include … … our memories of the exquisite agony of teenage dances, especially Dave's at the Mecca Ballroom in Wakefield, 1965. ... unforgettable things said and done by Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. … rock stars with Brian Jones's hair. … do we care more about the people who make music than the music itself?… a point from Massive Attack – “is the discussion ‘should AI recreate music?' or is it ‘Why is contemporary music so homogenised & formulaic that it's really easy to copy?'” … songs that never fail to fill dancefloors. … a “Ladies' Prosecco Afternoon” with a Robbie Williams impersonator. … what'll be the next music revival? … when did you last see a Teddy Boy? … Dave's story about why Take It Easy by the Eagles meant so much to him. … and the eternal appeal of Mod. … plus birthday guest Andrew Newbury – “was We Can Work It Out the Beatles' tipping point?”Tickets for Word In The Park in London on June 3rd here!: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-happy-return-of-word-in-the-park-tickets-576193870377Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early and ad-free access to all of our content!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Items run up the flagpole this week include … … our memories of the exquisite agony of teenage dances, especially Dave's at the Mecca Ballroom in Wakefield, 1965. ... unforgettable things said and done by Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. … rock stars with Brian Jones's hair. … do we care more about the people who make music than the music itself?… a point from Massive Attack – “is the discussion ‘should AI recreate music?' or is it ‘Why is contemporary music so homogenised & formulaic that it's really easy to copy?'” … songs that never fail to fill dancefloors. … a “Ladies' Prosecco Afternoon” with a Robbie Williams impersonator. … what'll be the next music revival? … when did you last see a Teddy Boy? … Dave's story about why Take It Easy by the Eagles meant so much to him. … and the eternal appeal of Mod. … plus birthday guest Andrew Newbury – “was We Can Work It Out the Beatles' tipping point?”Tickets for Word In The Park in London on June 3rd here!: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-happy-return-of-word-in-the-park-tickets-576193870377Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early and ad-free access to all of our content!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Los amantes del humor de todo el mundo están de luto por el fallecimiento del humorista australiano Barry Humphries. Muchos están celebrando la risa que durante décadas han provocado los personajes cómicos audaces y escandalosos del artista, particularmente la amada Dame Edna Everage.

Người hâm mộ trên toàn thế giới chia sẻ những tình cảm dành cho nghệ sĩ Barry Humphries vừa ra đi. Ông là nhân vật độc đáo và được nhiều tầng lớp khán giả khắp nơi trên thế giới rất yêu mến qua hình tượng Dame Edna Everage duyên dáng sặc sở mà ông hóa thân.

Australian comedian Barry Humphries, the country's most iconic entertainers, who had a long and celebrated career, and was known for his satirical humour and colourful alter ego, Dame Edna Everage has died aged 89. - ஆஸ்திரேலிய நகைச்சுவை நடிகர் Barry Humphries, நம் நாட்டின் மிகச்சிறந்த பொழுதுபோக்கு கலைஞர்களில் ஒருவர். மிக நீண்ட மற்றும் புகழ்பெற்ற வாழ்க்கையை கொண்டிருந்த அவரது நையாண்டி நகைச்சுவை மற்றும் வண்ண மயமான Dame Edna Everage என்ற பெண் வேடம் உலகப் பிரசித்தி பெற்றது. அவர், நேற்று முன்தினம் தனது 89ஆவது வயதில் காலமானார்.

Imagine going to a remote cattle station in 1993 to watch Slim Dusty and Dame Edna Everage perform on the back of a road train.

A renowned jockey and father of four Dean Holland, has tragically died after a shocking fall at a racetrack in Western Victoria.A statue of Barry Humphries as alter-ego Dame Edna Everage has been proposed for the Melbourne suburb the comic genius helped put on the map.Australians are not putting their money where their mouths are, at least when visits to dentists are concerned, with half the population skipping their appointments in the past year.Too many veterans feel unworthy to march on Anzac Day and that needs to change, says a senior Australian Army officer whose strong feelings on the matter are underpinned by his own family story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clashes between rival military factions in Sudan continue, making it difficult for foreign nationals to leave the country. Also: Kenya finds more bodies in "starvation cult" investigation, and Barry Humphries, the man behind Dame Edna Everage, dies aged 89.

La mort de Barry Humphries a déclenché une vague d'hommages pour l'icône nationale dans le pays et dans le monde.

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv A recent gold heist in Canada may be the largest, but not the first Foreign nationals to be evacuated from Sudan army Fire breaks out on US bridge after fuel tanker explosion Supreme Court preserves abortion drug access Barry Humphries Dame Edna Everage comedian dies at 89 Tributes paid to Dame Edna Everage creator Barry Humphries Ukraine war Bakhmut defender remembered by comrades Waterspout crashes onto beach full of people in Miami Sudan fighting Khartoum violence mapped as civilians flee city Family of Halyna Hutchins to proceed with civil lawsuit against Baldwin

Fans all over the world are mourning the loss of larrikin entertainer Barry Humphries. Many are celebrating the laughter invoked from Humphries' bold and outrageous comic personas, particularly the beloved Dame Edna Everage.

Iconic Australian comedian Barry Humphries has passed away peacefully at age 89. Barry Humphries was best known for portraying Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, and fellow comedians Ricky Gervais and Matt Lucas have written tributes to the entertainer. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says Barry Humphries was a 'cultural fixture' for Aussies everywhere and his Madge Allsop helped put New Zealand on the map.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dame Edna was kind enough to join Philip and Simon for a chat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La mort de Barry Humphries a déclenché une vague d'hommages pour l'icône nationale dans le pays et dans le monde.

Whilst on assignment to Hong Kong, Ormsby Wilkins bumped into some friends.. Date Unknown.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comedians, broadcasters and politicians are paying tribute to Barry Humphries who was 89. UK nationals, trapped by the fighting in Sudan, feel abandoned by the government.

Australian comedian Barry Humphries has died aged 89. He had a long and celebrated career, and was known for his satirical humour and colourful alter ego, Dame Edna Everage. We take a look at the life of one of the country's most iconic entertainers.

Australia is mourning the loss of stage great Barry Humphries, who entertained global audiences for seven decades through his unforgettable comic creations, most notably Dame Edna Everage.  Sydney Roosters star Angus Crichton has emerged from the privacy of his five-month battle with bipolar disorder to declare himself ready for his Anzac Day comeback.  The state's prosecuting authority conducted an internal inquiry over allegations that a lawyer used cocaine at a staff party inside the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Sydney's CBD.  Scammers sending fake text messages pretending to be from major brands and government agencies will be targeted by a $10 million initiative in next month's federal budget.  For updates and breaking news throughout the day take out a subscription at dailytelegraph.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barry Humphries - who rose to global fame behind character Dame Edna Everage - has passed away aged 89 Social media awash with tributes for the entertainer from Ricky Gervais to PM Anthony Albanese  The Pharmacy Guild warns of medicine stockpiling over a Federal Government plan  Geelong thump Sydney in the AFLSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barry Humphries - who rose to global fame behind character Dame Edna Everage - has passed away aged 89 Social media awash with tributes for the entertainer from Ricky Gervais to PM Anthony Albanese  The Pharmacy Guild warns of medicine stockpiling over a Federal Government plan  Geelong thump Sydney in the AFLSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barry Humphries - who rose to global fame behind character Dame Edna Everage - has passed away aged 89 Social media awash with tributes for the entertainer from Ricky Gervais to PM Anthony Albanese  The Pharmacy Guild warns of medicine stockpiling over a Federal Government plan  Geelong thump Sydney in the AFLSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Eyes & Teeth Robert Pearce a pantomime Dame and performer of poems and stories and a wonderful new way of entertaining families in festivals and theatres across the land.In this edition of Eyes & Teeth I talk to Robert about our time together touring with Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee and we talk of our fondness of meeting the late and very great Roy Hudd.We also talk about the wonderful Dame Edna Everage – Barry Humphries and west country comedian the adorable Andy Ford. Listen to the passion of a performer who gives his all to make the world a happier place.Welcome Robert Pearce

RuPaul. Lily Savage. Bianca Del Rio. Dame Edna Everage. These iconic drag queens are household names, but have you ever heard about Princess Seraphina? Or William Dorsey Swann, aka 'The Queen'?Today we're bringing you a very special mash-up episode for Comic Relief, all about the history of Drag Queens. Danny & Billy are joined by historian Kate Lister, host of Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society.Where did the term Drag Queen come from? What is a Molly House? And why could you expect to be served a stewed prune there? It wasn't to aid digestive health that's for sure...Red Nose Day has always been a time to spread a bit of joy. We know there's a lot going on right now and for many people things are really tough. But if you can donate, every penny will add up to a life-changing difference. Text PODCAST to 70205 to give £5 today. To donate £5 text the word PODCAST to 70205. Texts cost your donation amount plus your standard network message charge and 100% of your donation will go to Comic Relief, a registered charity. You must be 16 or over and please ask the bill-payer's permission. For full terms and conditions visit comicrelief.com/podcastmashupProduced by Charlotte Long & Lucas Poole. Mixed by Stuart Beckwith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

RuPaul. Lily Savage. Bianca Del Rio. Dame Edna Everage. These iconic drag queens are household names, but have you ever heard about Princess Seraphina? Or William Dorsey Swann, aka 'The Queen'?Today we're bringing you a very special mash-up episode for Comic Relief, all about the history of Drag Queens. Kate is joined by Gossip Gays hosts Danny Beard (winner of RuPaul's Race UK) and DJ Billy Andrew.Where did the term Drag Queen come from? What is a Molly House? And why could you expect to be served a stewed prune there? It wasn't to aid digestive health that's for sure...Red Nose Day has always been a time to spread a bit of joy. We know there's a lot going on right now and for many people things are really tough. But if you can donate, every penny will add up to a life-changing difference. Text PODCAST to 70205 to give £5 today. To donate £5 text the word PODCAST to 70205. Texts cost your donation amount plus your standard network message charge and 100% of your donation will go to Comic Relief, a registered charity. You must be 16 or over and please ask the bill-payer's permission. For full terms and conditions visit comicrelief.com/podcastmashupProduced by Charlotte Long & Lucas Poole. Mixed by Stuart Beckwith.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit.For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denis' career encompasses almost every aspect of show business from singing and performing to recording and composing. His musical career began at the age of six as a banjolele-playing singer at children's matinees. By the 1950s and early 60s, he was a member of Britain's first ever boy band The King Brothers, one of the most successful pop groups of that era and the youngest Variety act to play the London Palladium. From pop star to award-winning TV composer (including the Black Beauty theme and Lovejoy), to award-winning theatre composer (Privates On Parade) and songwriter, and collaborating along the way with such legends as Alan Ayckbourn, Sammy Cahn and Don Black, the artists with whom Denis has worked (and played) read like a who's who of British and American stage and screen--Tony Bennett, Nina Simone, Peter Sellers, Howard Keel, Sophie Tucker, Lena Horne, Alma Cogan, Albert Finney, Dame Edna Everage, Maureen Lipman, Elaine Stritch, Dudley Moore, Bruce Forsyth, Ronnie Corbett, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and even Jimi Hendrix. His highly acclaimed and entertaining memoir KEY CHANGES revised and updated 2020 edition can be purchased from our SHOP.​For more career information and a full archive see deniskingmusiclibrary.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 473, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: That's The Spot 1: This stickier version of "Jurassic Park" is at 5801 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. La Brea Tar Pits. 2: This patriot of few regrets was hanged in 1776 on what is now 66th and 3rd in New York City. Nathan Hale. 3: In 1993 Joe Carter hit a World Series-winning home run at 1 Blue Jays Way in this city. Toronto. 4: At 110 stories, see the taller side of Sears at 233 S. Wacker Dr, in this city. Chicago. 5: A sign that says "Get In Here" greets you at the Fog City Diner, located at 1300 Battery St. in this U.S. city. San Francisco. Round 2. Category: Robin 1: He's starred in 2 "Good" movies: "Good Morning, Vietnam" and "Good Will Hunting". Robin Williams. 2: That old gang of his included Will, John and Tuck. Robin Hood. 3: He's the only Bee Gee who fits the category. Robin Gibb. 4: This former soap star is married to Sean Penn. Robin Wright. 5: Medical thriller writer who has given us "Coma" and "Vector". Robin Cook. Round 3. Category: Special "Ed" 1: This city's name derives from the Celtic word meaning "Eiden's Fort". Edinburgh. 2: In our opinion, it's a newspaper article that represents the publisher's point of view. editorial. 3: At least the Antarctic range named for this Henry Ford descendant isn't considered a failure. Edsel Ford. 4: Hell-oooo, possums, "She's" the international star who took a "Royal Tour" in 2001. Dame Edna Everage. 5: This place, whose name means "place of pleasure", is often thought to have been in Mesopotamia. Garden of Eden. Round 4. Category: Broadway Roles 1: In 1951 he was "The King"; Gertrude Lawrence was "I". Yul Brynner. 2: In 2002 this "Notes on a Scandal" dame went "Into the Woods" as Giant (well, her recorded voice did, anyway). Judi Dench. 3: In 1968, before the force was with him, he landed the lead in "The Great White Hope". James Earl Jones. 4: (Hi. I'm Bebe Neuwirth.)In 1997 I won my 2nd Tony Award for playing Velma Kelly in "Chicago"; in 2007 I appeared in a revival of the production playing this dancer, Velma's rival. Roxie. 5: In 1948 he was drafted to play "Mister Roberts". Henry Fonda. Round 5. Category: Also An Apple Variety 1: Irish satirist Swift. Jonathan. 2: Acting brothers Alec, Billy and Stephen. Baldwin. 3: Broadway musical about Charlemagne's son. Pippin. 4: British royal house symbolized by a white rose. York. 5: Austere, like the people of an ancient Greek city. Spartan. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!

"Her Majesty and I will be pulling each other's crackers"

Jeffrey is joined by actor, comedian, author and close personal friend of Dame Edna Everage, Barry Humphries, as he reveals which book and film he believes are ‘unputdownable'. Jeffrey's latest book, Over My Dead Body, is out now in hardback, ebook and audiobook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're talking to Neil Crompton on the V8 Sleuth Podcast powered by Repco. Ahead of the release of his autobiography ‘Neil Crompton: Best Seat in the House', Neil shares a couple of stories from his career behind the wheel and behind the microphone, ranging from Peter Brock to Dame Edna, touring car legends to Indycar testing - and you can even hear a snippet of one of his earliest pieces of TV commentary. He also gives an update on his health in the wake of his prostate cancer diagnosis earlier in 2021.Pre-order Neil's book: https://bit.ly/2X1wOjv

Have you ever dreamed of turning your hobby into your career? Have you ever felt a little lost, unsure of your path or lacking direction? What's it like to sit across from some of Australia's most powerful, inspirational women and be trusted with the honour of capturing them with your paintbrush? Tsering Hannaford is a seven time Archibald Prize finalist - one of the most prestigious Art prizes in Australia. Her portraits have been finalists every year since 2015 and last year she came Runner Up with a self portrait. Tsering has painted some incredible female powerhouses and is herself an absolute artistic powerhouse. Though it wasn't until one of her pieces was purchased by another notable Aussie creative, Barry Humphries AO (aka Dame Edna Everage!) that she realised she might be able to turn her talent into her career. About me... I'm Emma Georgiadis and I have worked in media for over fifteen years as a radio announcer, newsreader and producer, as well as behind the scenes. I have degrees in Media, Education and Law, and also work freelance as a presenter, emcee, voice over artist and writer. I was also a teacher for ten years and was responsible for running student leadership programs, Australia-wide. I have travelled extensively teaching in schools from Cambodia to New York to the Galapagos Islands. I have a passion for teaching emotional and social wellbeing, with experience in girls' education in particular and I continue to work as a motivational speaker presenting wellbeing programs that empower and liberate young people. So if you're open to growth and looking to become the best version of you, you've come to the right place! Step inside the Empowerhouse... Instagram: @emmageorgiadis LinkedIn: Emma Georgiadis Facebook: Emma Georgiadis

In this episode, Jeannette talks to Kev Orkian who is a top-notch comedian, actor, and multiple business owner. He is also the owner of The Jongulers Comedy Group. He has had a highly successful career, but he knew that many other performers were struggling. That was one of the reasons he now coaches and mentors as well as continuing to perform himself and run his other businesses. The stories of him and Priscilla Presley in panto and working with Dame Edna Everage are especially funny and provide an interesting lesson.   He explains how he coped with dyslexia and ADHD at a time when these conditions were not properly understood, nor accepted by his parents. Kev also provides insight into what it was like to be raised in an Armenian family by parents that were extremely strict and that disciplined using corporal punishment. He explains how that and the culture he was immersed in shaped him. In particular, how it and being bullied at school inspired him to be funny and turned him into someone that is not afraid of taking risks.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Life is about believing that you can do it, then going out and doing it. Don´t let others around you put you off of following your dreams. The less you say to negative people about new ventures you are setting up the better.  In this world if you need to take risks. Risks create opportunities and they create a life that you want. Tragedy and life problems can be used to build resilience. Always be in control of your own life.  Don´t be afraid to say no to what looks like a big opportunity if there are too many strings attached. Everyone should have a FU account. Resources behind you that ensures you are never so desperate you have to say yes to something you don´t want to do. Open yourself up and be ready to receive positivity now. Use your positive voice to cancel out your negative voice. If you are given the chance to do a performance, say yes. Even if the pay is not great you never know who is watching and what could come from it.   BEST MOMENTS ‘For me, the battle was not my dream, it was fighting their (his parent´s) insecurities. ´ ‘You need to hold yourself accountable, every single morning.' ‘Manifesting positivity is an incredible resource for you.'   This is the perfect time to get focused on what YOU want to really achieve in your business, career, and life. It's never too late to be BRAVE and BOLD and unlock your inner BRILLIANCE. If you'd like to join Jeannette's FREE Business Discovery Session just DM Jeannette on info@jeannettelinfootassociates.com or sign up via Jeannette's linktree https://linktr.ee/JLinfoot   VALUABLE RESOURCES Brave, Bold, Brilliant podcast series   EPISODE RESOURCES Website - https://www.kevlive.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kev_orkian Barry Humphries Autobiographies and Books Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T Kiyosaki Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill   ABOUT THE GUEST Kev Orkian is without question one the UK's finest Entertainers, Motivational Speakers and Internationally acclaimed Award Winning Comedy Pianist. A highly skilled Pianist, Singer & Actor, Kev has honed his art to perfection over many years from his days as a classical concert pianist to performing Stand-up and supporting some of the biggest names in British comedy. Blending his off-beat humour with sensational performances on the piano he has been dubbed one of the world's finest comedy pianists. Kev's vast repertoire of appearances with other entertainers has seen him share the stage with such artists like Katherine Jenkins, Lionel Richie, Dame Edna, & Matt Lucas to name a few. Supporting some of the UK's biggest comedy names, Kev has shared critical acclaim and standing ovations with his own one-man show. As a consummate pianist he has toured with a variety of orchestras and appeared at many prestigious venues including the Sydney Opera House, Windsor Castle & The Kodak Theatre in LA. He made his West End debut starring in Fame at the Victoria Palace Theatre. This foray into London's theatre scene led to many other West End roles in musicals like Me & My Girl, Grease, Buddy Holly, Happy Days and Boogie Nights. 2009 saw Orkian's leap onto the UK comedy circuit with performances at London's Comedy Store, Jongleurs and Highlights chain of comedy clubs at which he regularly receives standing ovations and rave reviews for the originality of his act. In August 2010 Kev took his ‘Illegal Tour' to the Edinburgh Fringe, appearing at the Underbelly, in what was his debut appearance at the festival. 2011 saw him bring the second chapter to his foreign comedy character “The Guilty Pianist” to the fringe festival, which earned him the Spirit of the Fringe award. 2011 also saw him performing at the South Africa's most prestigious Cape Town funny festival where he received the accolade for the most standing ovations for one entertainer, including an appearance for Archbishop Desmond TuTu. He is the only international entertainer to have been invited 6 years in a row to perform for the funny festival. He has entertained audiences from all over the world, including private invitations from members of the royal family, including HRH Prince Philip's 89th Birthday, HRH Prince Charles, Princess Margaret, Prince Andrew, and Numerous Royal families from Oman, Dubai, Saudi and Abu Dhabi. Kev was invited again to headline the Tropicana Hotel this year in Vegas to 14 sell out shows, whilst filming his new documentary “Armenia Uncovered”. A patron and avid supporter of the British Forces Foundation, Kev is constantly invited to entertain army bases around the UK, including numerous trips to Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cape Town and Cyprus, with fellow performer James Blunt. In 2014 Kev appeared in the lead role of David Baddiel's “The Infidel Musical” receiving much accolade before moving on to play “Dudley Moore” in 2015 & 2019 in the production of Goodbye The Afterlife of Cook & Moore. Kev is the founder & CEO of Howlin' Entertainment Ltd, he is also the founder and CEO of British Pantomime Academy, JongleursGroup & Howlin' Comedy Club…Kev is also regularly seen touring the globe with his Motivational Talks “Billionaire Talent” inspiring Positivity through his stories and experiences. @TheKevOrkian @BillionaireTalent @HowlinTV   ABOUT THE HOST Jeannette Linfoot is a highly regarded senior executive, property investor, board advisor, and business mentor with over 25 years of global professional business experience across the travel, leisure, hospitality, and property sectors. Having bought, ran, and sold businesses all over the world, Jeannette now has a portfolio of her own businesses and also advises and mentors other business leaders to drive forward their strategies as well as their own personal development.   Jeannette is a down-to-earth leader, a passionate champion for diversity & inclusion, and a huge advocate of nurturing talent so every person can unleash their full potential and live their dreams.    CONTACT THE HOST Jeannette's linktree  https://www.jeannettelinfootassociates.com/ YOUTUBE LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Email - info@jeannettelinfootassociates.com   PODCAST DESCRIPTION   Jeannette Linfoot talks to incredible people about their experiences of being Brave, Bold & Brilliant, which have allowed them to unleash their full potential in business, their careers, and life in general. From the boardroom tables of ‘big' international business to the dining room tables of entrepreneurial start-ups, how to overcome challenges, embrace opportunities and take risks, whilst staying ‘true' to yourself is the order of the day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#Soho #Drag #Comedy Meets Vanity Von Glow & David Lewis. The New Normal Drag and Cabaret Show, at Zebrano Bar Soho. Welcome to That Stagey Blog podcast. This is an audio version of this interview which is also available as a video on YouTube.

Steve Nallon is one of Britain's most versatile and prolific writers and performers, working in all aspects of the media from film and television to radio and theatre as actor, writer, broadcaster, academic and voice artist. His eclectic body of work ranges from acting, stand-up and audio books through to playwriting, panto and motion capture performance - plus a time as a university lecturer on Greek Drama, Restoration Theatre and the American Musical.Steve began as a performer in 1976 on the Northern Working Men's Club circuit in his home county of Yorkshire in northern England. After gaining a degree in Drama and English at the University of Birmingham, he went on in 1984 to became a foundering member of the ITV television series SPITTING IMAGE, providing voices for The Queen Mother, Roy Hattersley, Denis Healey, Malcolm Rifkind, Margaret Thatcher, David Attenborough, Enoch Powell, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Ted Heath, Leonard Rossiter, Harold Wilson, Alan Bennett and many more for well over a decade. And when in 2015 SPITTING IMAGE created a puppet of the then Prime Minister David Cameron for the show NHS IN STICHES at the Hackney Empire it was Steve who was invited to provide the voice. Steve was invited to be a special guest at the Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration of SPITTING IMAGE at the BFI (British Film Institute) and the interview with Steve featured in the BBC Arena documentary WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SPITTING IMAGE?Steve continues to work as an impressionist on television, often guesting on such programmes as POINTLESS CELEBRITIES and THE ONE SHOW. He has made appearances on ALISTAIR MCGOWAN'S BIG IMPRESSION (as Dame Maggie Smith), THE IMPRESSIONABLE JON CULSHAW (as Ann Widdecombe) and RORY BREMNER... WHO ELSE? (as Patricia Routledge). Steve has been heard on countless radio comedies and panel shows, notably FIRST IMPRESSIONS and AND THIS IS THEM, and his impression based stand-up act was featured on the cult comedy TV series DAN AND DUSTY SHOW (ITV1) to great acclaim. Among his other television credits as a celebrity guest are THE COMEDY YEARS (ITV), CALL MY BLUFF (BBC), NOEL'S TELLY YEARS (BBC), WHEN TV GUESTS GO HORRIBLY WRONG (C5, PULL THE OTHER ONE, LOOSE LIPS and DON'T DRINK THE WATER.Over the years Steve has contributed to various TV shows and documentaries celebrating the art and craft of the impressionist including NIGHT OF A THOUSAND FACES (BBC) in a sketch with Dame Edna Everage and WHO DID YOU DO? (BBC) presented by the actor Ricky Gervais. In SIXTY YEARS OF SWING, a documentary for BBC Parliament on the history of General Election night broadcasts, Steve discussed the contributions of anchor men and political pundits such as Robin Day and Bob MCKenzie, giving illustrations of their individual styles and vocal techniques along the way. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode was recorded "LIVE" over Zoom as part of the Soho Horror Film Festival's SHOCKDOWN SATURDAY line-up celebrating the work of DEMENTIA PART II director Matt Mercer.  Matt has joined us several times in the past to talk both Halloween 6 and Ravenous but now, he has opted for something completely different... This time? It's HOWLING III: THE MARSUPIALS! Directed by an unshackled Philippe Mora (Howling 2, The Beast Within) this is a wild old time that features werewolf nuns, extermination clauses and Dame Edna Everage! Again, huge thanks to Matt for taking the time to talk with us and to our pal Mitch Harrod of the Soho Horror Film Festival for AGAIN asking us to be involved.  Synopsis is as follows... A female werewolf runs away from her family and falls in love with a man who works in the movie business, while a sociologist searches for proof of the werewolves' existence.   Please note that this podcast may contain strong language and even stronger Scottish accents.  Also, why not pop over and take a look at our Patreon page? Remember, you can keep up to date with our news by following us via the usual social media outlets:  Facebook (including our group THE CHUD LOCKER!) Twitter Instagram Plus you can drop us an email to stronglanguageviolentscenes@gmail.com OR check out our WEBSITE!  Strong Language & Violent Scenes theme by Mitch Bain & The Sunshine Orchestra Edits & Artwork by Andy Stewart

"when I set up the Friends of the Prostrate charity"

Not since Barry Humphries donned a blue rinse wig and presented Dame Edna Everage to the world has there been a dame as outspoken as Twitter sensation Titania McGrath. She is a spoof of the current ‘cancel culture’ and springs from the imagination of Andrew Doyle. He took the name from Shakespeare’s Titania, Queen of the Faeries who believed in fantasies and applies them to the real world. But there is a serious side to the parody which Doyle discusses in his latest book examining free speech. He believes the question should not be about the substance or content, but rather about defending the bigger question of the freedom to say it. So, we invited Andrew Doyle onto Sputnik to discuss the changing landscape of free speech. In 2017, a bomb ripped through the Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert. 22 people were sadly killed in the attack, and now four years on from the atrocity, a new law is set to bring a legal requirement for public places and venues to ensure preparedness for, and protection from, terrorist attacks. Martyn’s Law, named after Martyn Hett, who died in the bombing, is the result of campaigning by his mother, Figen Murray who has lobbied for proper security requirements and a duty to protect public spaces and venues, sadly missing from the Ariana Grande concert. Counter-terrorism expert Philip Ingram MBE came on to Sputnik to explain the mechanisms of Martyn’s law and discuss the failures highlighted during the ongoing Arena bombing inquiry.

"he was decapitated"

Kev Orkian - Where do I start? Kev kindly took some time to talk to me away from his businesses running Howlin Entertainment, The British Pantomime Academy, Jongleurs Group as well as touring the World with his Comedy Stage Show, playing characters in pantomime, talking to Ricky Grover on their spooky podcast "the Goosebumpers",.I met Kev on a few shows in the past I think just over 10 years ago, one of them at Her Majesty's Theatre London featuring Brian Conley, Sam Kane, Sir Cliff Richard and many more, have a listen to a funny behind the scenes story with Cliff and another with Dame Edna. Kev continues to spread positivity and laughter keeping pro-active more than ever in these strange times we're living through.There is much laughter... 

"she had over 500 love affairs"

Happy Fartsgiving, everyone! We know that a day full of stuffing your face with meats, veggies and carbs is certainly going to lead to some intestinal discomfort. So we're here to wallow in the stinky aftermath with you and we've brought along three fart-centric "films" to help pass the time (and the gas). Up first, we have a tape so outrageous for the first several years of its existence, you could only get it in novelty shops! Of course we're talking about the notorious F.A.R.T. The Movie from 1991, starring Joel Weiss as Russell, a dude who's two favorite things in life are watching TV and farting. But when his wife leaves him at home on New Year's Eve to watch nothing but fart-related programming, will he have a change of heart (or change of farts)?  Next, we take a look at a 50-minute parody of then-popular American Gladiators TV show titled American Flatulators from 1995. It's just like Gladiators but all the competition is based around, you guessed it, farting.And finally, we take a look at the film that essentially killed the Australian film industry with one big fart, Les Patterson Saves the World from 1987. It stars infamous Aussie gross-out humorist Barry Humphries and the titular Patterson (as well as his alter ego Dame Edna Everage) as he acts as a diplomat to the Middle East and inadvertently saves the world from biological warfare. All this plus Sean's love of Peacock, Parker getting down with the sickness, a call from the Ghost of Norman Bates, inappropriate Monty Python stories, Freddy Krueger news, the hottest blu-rays of the week and so much more.LISTEN NOW:MP3 Direct DonloydAlso, if you like the show, please take a minute and subscribe and/or comment on us on iTunes, Stitcher, Blubrry or Podfeed.net. Check us out on Facebook and Twitter! We'd love to see some of your love on Patreon - it's super easy and fun to sign up for the extra bonus content. We will pass this gas with your love and support.

INSTAGRAM: @youth_bioyPSALM READING: Proverbs 24:23–34NEW TESTAMENT READING: 1 Thessalonians 4:1–18OLD TESTAMENT READING: Jeremiah 23:9–25:14More Please is the title of the autobiography of comedian and actor Barry Humphries (best known for playing his alter ego Dame Edna Everage). He writes that these two words, ‘More please’, were his first coherent utterance.He went on to say, ‘I have always wanted more. I never had enough milk or money or socks or sex or holidays or first editions or solitude or gramophone records or free meals or real friends or guiltless pleasure or neckties or applause or unquestioning love or persimmons. Of course, I have always had more than my share of most of these commodities but it always left me with a vague feeling of unfulfillment: where was the rest?’

Richard  has enjoyed a great career in hair, make-up and wigs. He has worked on Finding Neverland,  Evita, La Cage Aux Folles, Frost Nixon, Waitress and Priscilla in New York. London theatre credits include: BIG the MUSICAL, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat,  Fiddler on the Roof, Nine to Five, Uncle Vanya, Guys and Dolls at the Royal Albert Hall, Pack of Lies, Pinter at the Pinter, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Labour of Love, Spamilton, Lazarus the David Bowie Musical, The Libertine, Mrs Henderson Presents, Elf, The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Season, The Ruling Class, Assassins, Urinetown, Forbidden Broadway, Richard the Third, From Here To Eternity, The Commitments, Strangers On A Train, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Merrily We Roll Along, Privates on Parade, South Pacific, Top Hat, Hairspray, Passion, Legally Blonde, End of the Rainbow, Piaf, Sweet Charity, Frost/Nixon, The Producers, Kiss Me Kate, Starlight Express and “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Nationwide productions include: The Madness of King George for Nottingham Playhouse and National Theatre LIVE, CILLA the Musical, White Christmas, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, We Will Rock You, Nine To Five, A Damsel in Distress at Chichester Festival Theatre, Benidorm the Musical, Abigail's Party and Little Britain Live.Film credits include: The Ghost Writer, Titanic, It's De-Lovely, Star Wars, Mask of Zorro, Disney's Santa Clause and Richard Harris as Dumbledore in Harry Potter. Television  includes: ITV's CILLA, Vikings, Black Sails, Ripper Street, Mr Selfridge, Little Britain, Catherine Tate Show, French and Saunders, Poirot, Miss Marple, Gavin and Stacey, House of Saddam and Larkrise to Candleford.  Richard owns London's Wig Specialities and is personal wig-maker to Sir Sean Connery, Kylie Minogue, Sheridan Smith, Paloma Faith, Jessie J and Dame Edna Everage.Plans include: The UK and Ireland tour of Waitress, the return of Hairspray to the Coliseum in 2021 and The Angel of Darkness for Netflix filming in Budapest.

Amy Clarke left agency land to start up her own apparel brand – Confetti Rebels Amy walked away from big budgets in agency land to start her own apparel business Confetti Rebels. If Amy were a pair of glasses, she would be the bedazzled pair made famous by Dame Edna Everage! She is a pocket rocket; her passion and Instagram dancing are infectious, and her designs are full of rainbow bright colours and empowering slogans. Amy is honest and unfiltered when it comes to sharing the highs and lows or starting up your own business. It is hard not to love this lady and the Confetti Rebels range. www.confettirebels.com,auInstgram @confetti_rebels See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Nerds are back, proving that 107 episodes just isn't too much for the human body to handle.This week, the Professor has a complaint about that saintly game developer, Valve. What's his problem with Gabe and the multi award winning game studio? They're sold out of VR headsets with only a month to go before the release of Half Life: Alyx.The Masters of the Universe are coming back as well. The Professor has another complaint, this time about the casting of Skeletor. He thinks it's ridiculous to bring back Skeletor's original voice in a different role and cast a new actor for Skeletor. Even if that actor is the esteemed Mark Hamill. DJ thinks this sacrilege is 100% ok. The star studded cast list has the Nerds highly excited for this revival.Now that Dragon has been human rated, SpaceX have moved the capsule to the launch pad, and the crew are a pair of former Shuttle pilots. This will be the first manned space mission from the US since the Shuttle program was shut down. America Can Into Space? Soon, hopefully.Professor and DJ have some trouble pronouncing American Indian and Finnish words in the Remembrances and Shoutouts, and laugh at the Boomers who couldn't believe Bill and Ted actually speak like that.Stay hydrated and come hang out with us again next week.Valve Index all sold out…while Half Life : Alyx is a month away-https://www.roadtovr.com/valve-index-sold-out-stock-check-2-13-2020/Masters of the Universe:Revelations cast revealed….and its star studded-https://boundingintocomics.com/2020/02/14/mark-hamill-lena-heady-sarah-michelle-gellar-part-of-all-star-voice-cast-for-netflixs-masters-of-the-universe-revelation-series/Crew Dragon capsule now at the launch site…-https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/15/spacex-crew-dragon-capsule-delivery/Games PlayedProfessor– Particle Fleet Emergence - https://store.steampowered.com/app/422900/Particle_Fleet_Emergence/Rating – 4/5DJ- Warzone 2100 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1241950/Warzone_2100/Rating – 3.5/5Other topics discussedMagic smoke ((also factory smoke, blue smoke, angry pixies, or the genie) is a humorous name for the caustic smoke produced by severe electrical over-stress of electronic circuits or components, causing overheating and accompanying release of smoke.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_smokeSamsung Gear VR (The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset developed by Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Oculus VR, and manufactured by Samsung.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Gear_VRFacebook’s Oculus Quest VR Headset Shipments Delayed As Industry Grapples With Coronavirus Complications-https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/02/19/facebooks-oculus-quest-vr-headset-shipments-delayed-as-industry-grapples-with-coronavirus-complications/#51e1cb152c8dPlaystation VR ( (officially abbreviated as PS VR), known by the codename Project Morpheus during development, is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, which was released in October 2016)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_VRVirtual Boy (The Virtual Boy is a 32-bit table-top portable video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_BoyWarcraft III : Reforged (Warcraft III: Reforged is a remastered edition of the 2002real-time strategy video game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion The Frozen Throne.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warcraft_III:_ReforgedMossman (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer in the new Masters of the Universe series)-https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/heman/images/5/58/Mossman_myp_%281%29.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20111105161316Justice league Action : Missing the Mark (When famous actor Mark Hamill is kidnapped by master villain The Joker it will take all his voice acting skills to escape.)-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL-VHe_4GmEHe-Man singing What’s Going On by Four Non Blondes-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32FB-gYr49YSpaceX Rocket Engines (Since the founding of SpaceX in 2002, the company has developed four families of rocket engines — Merlin,Kestrel,Draco and SuperDraco — and is currently (since 2016) developing another rocket engine: Raptor.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_rocket_enginesKennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 (Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, United States.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center_Launch_Complex_39Space shuttle (The Space Shuttle is a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system that was operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_ShuttleSpace Shuttle Challenger Disaster (The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was a fatal incident in the United States space program that occurred on Tuesday, January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disasterSpace Shuttle Columbia disaster (The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a fatal incident in the United States space program that occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) disintegrated as it re-entered the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disasterAsteroids (Asteroids is a space-themed multidirectional shooter arcade game designed by Lyle Rains, Ed Logg, and Dominic Walsh and released in November 1979 by Atari, Inc. )-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroids_(video_game)Roundabout (Roundabout is an open-world indie driving video game developed and published by American indie studio No Goblin LLC)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundabout_(video_game)Eiffel 65 - I'm Blue (da ba dee)-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yV3R0fj988Christopher Eccleston reveals he was ‘very ill’ with anorexia while filming ‘Doctor Who’-https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/doctor-who-christopher-eccleston-anorexia-depression-1203338303/Epigraphy (TNC podcast)-https://thatsnotcanon.com/epigraphypodcastShout Outs16 February 2020 – Sonic the Hedgehog earns $100 million at the global box - https://variety.com/2020/film/news/sonic-box-office-global-little-women-milestone-1203505417/Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” dominated global box office charts after debuting to $100 million worldwide. “Sonic,” based on the popular Sega video game, pulled in $43 million when it launched in 43 international territories, representing 60% of its foreign footprint. Among overseas markets, Mexico saw the biggest start with $6.7 million, followed by the United Kingdom with $6.2 million, France with $4.3 million and Germany with $3.3 million. “Sonic” easily took the No. 1 spot on both international and domestic box office charts, knocking last weekend’s victor, Warner Bros.’ “Birds of Prey” to second place. The R-rated comic-book adventure — starring Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn — pocketed $23 million from 78 foreign markets, dipping 46% from its inaugural outing. To date, “Birds of Prey” has made $83 million abroad and $142 million worldwide.17 February 2020 – Saskia Beer daughter of food icon Maggie beer dies unexpectedly – https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-17/saskia-beer-daughter-of-maggie-beer-dies-suddenly-in-her-sleep/11970996Saskia Beer, the daughter of South Australian cooking legend Maggie Beer has died "unexpectedly" yet "peacefully" in her sleep at the weekend. Saskia was the eldest daughter of Barossa Valley food icon Maggie Beer, who shared a statement on social media on Sunday saying her family had "broken hearts". "It is with broken hearts we need to let you all know that our beautiful, extraordinary daughter Saskia died unexpectedly yet peacefully in her sleep on Friday night," the post said. She died at the age of 46.17 February 2020 – Holden is shutting down at the end of the year. - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-17/holden-car-brand-axed-after-160-years-in-australia/11972092About 600 Holden employees will lose their jobs after parent company General Motors announced it would axe the iconic Australian car brand by the end of the year. GM said the brand was no longer competitive in the current market and would be "retired" from sales, design and engineering across Australia and New Zealand by 2021. The announcement coincides with GM's decision to withdraw Chevrolet from the domestic market in Thailand by the end of the year.Remembrances17 February 1909 – Geronimo - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeronimoProminent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Apache tribe. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Chiricahua Apache bands — the Tchihende, the Tsokanende and the Nednhi — to carry out numerous raids, as well as fight against Mexican and U.S. military campaigns in the northern Mexico states of Chihuahua and Sonora and in the southwestern American territories of New Mexico and Arizona. Geronimo's raids and related combat actions were a part of the prolonged period of the Apache–United States conflict, which started with American settlement in Apache lands following the end of the war with Mexico in 1848. During Geronimo's final period of conflict from 1876 to 1886, he "surrendered" three times and accepted life on the Apache reservations in Arizona. Reservation life was confining to the free-moving Apache people, and they resented restrictions on their customary way of life. He was a superb leader in raiding and warfare, he frequently led large numbers of men beyond his own following. At any one time, he would be in command of about 30 to 50 Apaches. He died from pneumonia at the age of 79 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.17 February 2017 – Alan Aldridge - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_AldridgeBritish artist, graphic designer and illustrator. He is best known for his psychedelic artwork made for books and record covers by The Beatles and The Who. He designed a series of science fiction book covers for Penguin Books. He made a big impression with his illustrations for The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics book. He also provided illustrations for The Penguin Book of Comics, a history of British and American comic art. His work was characterised by a flowing, cartoony style and soft airbrushing – very much in step with the psychedelic styles of the times. His work includes the 1971 anti-war poster entitled A great place for hamburgers but who'd want to live there! Aldridge also created the artwork for Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John in 1975. He also the creator of the Hard Rock Café logo. He died at the age of 78 in Los Angeles, California.18 February 2019 – Toni Myers - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_MyersCanadian film editor, writer, director, and producer, best known for her 3D IMAX work. Ms. Myers’s half-century in filmmaking included credits as writer, producer, narrator and editor as well as director. Much of that work involved documentaries that made use of Imax technology, which, with a bigger screen and enhanced sound, creates a more vivid viewing experience than a conventional movie offers. Ms. Myers directed three feature-length Imax films: “Space Station 3D” (2002), about the construction and occupation of the International Space Station; “Hubble 3D” (2010), which documented a 2009 shuttle flight to repair the Hubble telescope; and “A Beautiful Planet” (2016), which concentrated on images of Earth shot from space. All had marquee narrators — Tom Cruise for the first, Leonardo DiCaprio for the second, Jennifer Lawrence for the last. She explained in a 2010 interview with The Gazette of Montreal, “The sun rises and sets every 90 minutes in space, which means there wasn’t much time to capture the shots we asked them to get,”. She also said “There was no time or room to say: ‘Could you move to the right? It would make a better shot,’”. She died from cancer at the age of 76 in Toronto.Famous Birthdays16 February 1964 – Christopher Eccleston – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_EcclestonEnglish actor. The recipient of an Emmy Award and two BAFTA Award nominations, Eccleston is best known for his work on television and in film – in particular for his collaborations with directors Danny Boyle and Michael Winterbottom and writers Peter Flannery, Jimmy McGovern and Russell T. Davies. Eccleston garnered attention for his film roles as Derek Bentley in Let Him Have It and David Stevens in Shallow Grave and for his television performances in Cracker and Hillsborough. His BAFTA-nominated performance as Nicky Hutchinson in the BBCminiseries Our Friends in the North (1996) established Eccleston as a household name in the UK; he followed the serial with film roles in Jude, eXistenZ, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and 28 Days Later and television roles including the drama series Clocking Off and a second BAFTA-nominated performance as Messianic figure Stephen Baxter in the ITV drama serial The Second Coming. Eccleston garnered widespread attention and acclaim for portraying the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the 2005 revival of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, becoming the first to play the role since 1996. He departed the role after a single series, winning a National Television Award and receiving Broadcasting Press Guild Award and BAFTA Cymru Award nominations for his performance. Eccleston has since appeared in the television series Heroes among other tv series and films including G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Thor: The Dark World and Legend. He won an International Emmy Award for his performance in an episode of the anthology series Accused. Onstage, Eccleston has played the title roles in productions of Hamlet and Macbeth as well as starring in productions of Miss Julie, A Doll's House and Antigone. He was born in Langworthy, Salford.17 February 1864 – Banjo Paterson – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo_PatersonAndrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong,New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood. Paterson's more notable poems include "Clancy of the Overflow" (1889), "The Man from Snowy River" (1890) and "Waltzing Matilda" (1895), regarded widely as Australia's unofficial national anthem. He was born in "Narrambla", near Orange, New South Wales.17 February 1934 – Barry Humphries - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_HumphriesAustralian comedian, actor, satirist, artist, and author. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer, and an accomplished landscape painter. Humphries' characters have brought him international renown, and he also appeared in numerous stage productions, films, and television shows. Originally conceived as a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife who caricatured Australian suburban complacency and insularity, Dame Edna Everage has evolved over four decades to become a satire of stardom – a gaudily dressed, acid-tongued, egomaniacal, internationally fêted Housewife "Gigastar". He was born in Kew, Melbourne, Victoria.Events of Interest17 February 1864 – H.L Hunley sunk a ship- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_USS_Housatonic- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._L._Hunley_(submarine)#Attack_on_HousatonicH.L. Hunley or Hunley made her only attack against an enemy target on the night of February 17, 1864. The target was the USS Housatonic, a 1,240 long tons (1,260 t) wooden-hulled steam-powered sloop-of-war with 12 large cannons, which was stationed at the entrance to Charleston, about 5 miles (8.0 kilometres) offshore. Desperate to break the naval blockade of the city, Lieutenant George E. Dixon and a crew of seven volunteers successfully attacked Housatonic, ramming Hunley's only spar torpedo against the enemy's hull. The torpedo was detonated, sending Housatonic to the bottom in five minutes, along with five of her crewmen. Hunley did not survive the attack and sank, taking with her all eight members of her third crew, and was lost. The Sinking of USS Housatonic on 17 February 1864 during the American Civil War was an important turning point in naval warfare. H.L. Hunley became renowned as the first submarine to successfully sink an enemy vessel in combat, and was the direct progenitor of what would eventually become international submarine warfare, although the victory was Pyrrhic and short-lived, since the submarine did not survive the attack and was lost with all eight Confederate crewmen.17 February 1984 – Krull makes its way into theatres in Finland - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krull_(film)The film was released under Krull ja näkymätön vihollinen or Krull and the invisible enemy. Directed by Peter Yates, the feature starred Ken Marshall and Lysette Anthony, and here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com: "A prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet." Krull underwent a very expensive, harsh, and dangerous production process. The film's huge budget ballooned, mainly due to the designers having to make numerous alterations to the sets corresponding to the heavily evolving script. The film was a commercial failure upon release, and critical opinion has been mixed, both upon release and in retrospect. Numerous reviewers have highlighted its visual effects and soundtrack, while several critics have criticized its plot as being derivative and nonsensical. The film has gone on to achieve cult film status.17 February 1989 – Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure came into theatres. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_%26_Ted%27s_Excellent_Adventure#ReleaseThe flick premiered on this day in 1989, and it still enjoys a cult audience today ... so much so that a third installment is said to be in-the-works. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure received generally positive reviews, and was a success at the box office, grossing $40.5 million against a $6.5 million budget. The picture had been planned for a 1988 release, and filming and production had completed on schedule. However, the original film distributor, DEG, fell into significant debt in late 1987, and by 1988 had filed for bankruptcy. At this point, the film was in post-production, and the director Stephen Henek attempted to show around the rough cut to other distributors. Henek said many of these companies were confused, asking him "Are there kids that really speak like this?" on seeing the film. However, the cut had an extremely popular reaction from a test audience of volunteers pulled from local malls, which led to a small bidding war from production companies to get the title.IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094RSS - http://www.thatsnotcanonproductions.com/topshelfnerdspodcast?format=rssInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/General EnquiriesEmail - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comRate & Review us on Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/nerds-amalgamated-623195

Join Caroline Wilson and Corrie Perkin for Part Two of our Live Christmas Show.  We were raising funds at our event for The Salvos Drought Relief programs. They work alongside of other rural support agencies, participate in community engagement activities and conduct regular visits to farmers and rural workers in need of practical assistance, or simply a listening ear and a hand of friendship. Our donation will go towards emergency financial assistance e.g. help with bills, vouchers for farming supplies, help in the delivery of donated goods and food hampers and much more. If you would like to make a contribution via our fundraising page HERE.  Thanks to Select Harvests, Cobram Estate, Humphrey Law Socks and Hardie Grant Books for donating wonderful prizes for our lucky door prizes.    TIME CODES / SHOW NOTES 1.00 min Caro and Corrie welcome Anna Barry (aka Anna from the Op-Shop) and Julia Wilson (aka Caro’s Mum). 2.00 – What annoys us most about Christmas? Anna, the busy mantra. Julia – it was better in the 1940s Caro – why the urgency to “catch up before Christmas” Corrie – Black Friday, over-rated Ginger bread houses, tangled Christmas lights, competitive Christmas lunch catering stories. 6.20 – Heart-felt thanks from Corrie for all of the well wishes after her dog Bearsy’s death. 6.50 – ‘Crush of the Week’ Jacinda Adern. “She behaves like Australian’s should” says Julia of Jacinda. Caro looks back on some of her past crushes. 8.45 Book Screen and Food (BSF) Corrie’s Top Ten Books of 2019 NON-FICTION: Manderley Forever by Tatiana de Rosnay The Anarchy by William Dalrymple The Salt Path by Raynor Winn The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie FICTION: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett The Dutch House by Ann Patchett Damascus by Christos Tsiolkas The Offing by Benjamin Myers AND THE BOOK CORRIE CAN’T WAIT TO READ OVER SUMMER: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong   11.00 ANNA’s Best Summer Read The Dutch House by Ann Patchett   12.20 JULIA’S Best Summer Read A Lady In Waiting by Anne Glenconnor (lady in waiting to Princess Margaret).   14.00 – CARO’s Book of the Year Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton.   15.30 – Caro’s Top Ten Films of 2019 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Never Look Away The Marriage Story Judy The Irishman(on Netflix) Official Secrets The Final Quarter The Good Liar Blinded by the Light After the Wedding   Netflix Recommendations  Corrie’s Top 3 The Crown Designated Survivor Marchella   18.30 Anna’s Netflix Pick Unbelievable on    21.00 Julia’s Recipe Recommendation is for Curried Rabbit in Grapefruit Cases by Dame Edna Everage. 23.00 Anna’s Recipe from Simple by Yottam Onttolenghi (See recipe at end)  24.30 Anna’s Grumpy about the City of Melbourne’s poor Christmas decorations this year. 25.30  ‘6 Quick Questions’ Anna’s best Op-Shop find of the year, a Richmond FC vinyl single and The Sportsman’s Cookbook. 27.00 – Corrie’s tips for wrapping gifts well. 29.30 – Worst Christmas Moments. 33.00 – Julia’s GLT (good local tip). Go Local, stay local, buy local. 33.53 – Anna’s GLT – a case of Brown Brother’s Prosecco (perfect for spritzes). 37.00 Miss Jane (and Simon) sing The Podcast Song.   Hot Charred Cherry Tomatoes with Cold Yoghurt. (From Yottam Ottolenghi’s Simple) SERVES FOUR AS A STARTER OR MEZZE Ingredients*350g cherry tomatoes*3 tbsp olive oil*¾ tsp cumin seeds*½ tsp light brown sugar*3 garlic cloves, finely sliced​*3 thyme sprigs*5g fresh oregano*3 sprigs left whole and the rest picked, to serve*1 lemon: finely shave the skin of ½ to get 3 strips and finely grate the other ½ to get 1 tsp zest*350g extra thick Greek- style yoghurt (such as Total), fridge-cold*1 tsp Urfa chilli flakes (or ½ tsp regular chilli flakes)*flaked sea salt and black pepper Method Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Place the tomatoes in a mixing bowl with the olive oil, cumin seeds, sugar, garlic, thyme, oregano sprigs, lemon strips, ½ teaspoon of flaked salt and a good grind of pepper. Mix to combine, then transfer to a baking tray just large enough to fit all the tomatoes together snugly. Roast for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are beginning to blister and the liquid is bubbling. Turn the oven to the grill setting and grill for 6–8 minutes, until the tomatoes start to blacken on top. While the tomatoes are roasting, combine the yoghurt with the grated lemon zest and ¼ teaspoon of flaked salt. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Once the tomatoes are ready, spread the chilled yoghurt on a platter (with a lip) or in a wide, shallow bowl, creating a dip in it with the back of a spoon. Spoon over the hot tomatoes, along with their juices, lemon skin, garlic and herbs, and finish with the picked oregano and chilli flakes. Serve at once, with some bread. For videos and pics make sure you follow us on Instagram @DontShootPod. Like our Facebook page and hit 'Sign Up' to receive weekly updates HERE.  Email the show via feedback@dontshootpod.com.au 'Don't Shoot The Messenger' is produced, engineered and edited by Jane Nield for Crocmedia.

When Dame Edna Everage heard that Philip Brady was still alive she thought she'd drop him a line before it is too late.  What followed was classic Dame Edna, nostalgia, life lessons, and the opinions of Australia's favourite Dame.  

LOOK OUT! It’s only Films To Be Buried With! Join your host Brett Goldstein as he talks life, death, love and the universe with the delightful and incredibly funny comedian, actor and podcaster ANNE EDMONDS!You may know her from her sterling podcasting work over on The Grub (a true madhouse of crazytimes), or maybe from her powerful turn in The Real Dirty Dancing, but surely you know her from being awesomely funny which will be further confirmed in this very podcast! She and Brett go full cinema nerd right here as they cover it all, from said Grub podcast, to the spirit of the podcast medium itself, to her ‘What’s Wrong With You?’ show, her growing up in the same town as Dame Edna Everage, crying on planes and the effect of flying on ones emotions, her earlier years working in mental health and the transition to comedy down the line, well known Australian movies and the stereotypes therein, and a whole heap more besides, including that Real Dirty Dancing appearance... Such a good one here - you shall truly enjoy. Dare I say, you’ll have the time of your liv(*LOUD BANG *silence *TV interference •citywide blackout)…EPISODE LINKS:• ANNE on TWITTER!• ANNE @ MELBOURNE COMEDY FEST!• WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?• THE REAL DIRTY DANCING!• THE GRUB PODCAST!• BRETT GOLDSTEIN on TWITTER!• BRETT on INSTAGRAM!• BRETT on PATREON!• FTBBW PODCAST MERCHANDISE!• 'SUPERBOB' - Brett's 2015 feature film!• 'CORNERBOYS' with BRETT & SCROOBIUS PIP!• DISTRACTION PIECES NETWORK on FACEBOOK• DISTRACTION PIECES NETWORK on INSTAGRAM See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Andrew Ross studied Acting at NIDA in 1984. He returned as Head of Music in 2010. Prior to his appointment, Andrew worked as a musical director, singing coach, pianist, actor and writer.He has performed and musically directed productions for most of Australia’s state theatre companies and commercial producers; on productions including Miss Saigon, The Venetian Twins, Mary Bryant, The End of the Rainbow, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Master Class and The Wharf Revue.Baz Luhrmann entrusted Andrew with the coaching of the singing on his film Moulin Rouge, a position that has led to frequent collaborations with Nicole Kidman.He has accompanied many artists in Australia and New York including Caroline O’Connor, Geraldine Turner, Hugh Jackman, Judi Connelli, Simon Burke and Toni Lamond.Andrew has had a long association with Barry Humphries, in roles that have included Musical Director and accompanist for the Australian shows Look at Me When I’m Talking to You, Remember You’re Out, Back With a Vengeance and Back to My Roots as well as for the Broadway season of Dame Edna: The Royal Tour, which won a Tony award.This year he joins Barry Humphries once again to collaborate on a new outing for the 'Housewife Superstar' - Dame Edna: My Gorgeous Life!After a brief retirement, Edna is returning to the stage to celebrate all that is Australian and to offer her unique and ‘caring’ insight. Andrew Ross will be supporting the Dame as co-Author, Accompanist, Musical Director and Director.In this episode of Stages, Andrew offers great insight into a varied and eventful career in the arts. He is truly one of the Industry’s nice guys!https://www.tegdainty.com/tour/dame-edna-my-gorgeous-life/

Trevor Ashley follows in a long line of Australian stage larrikans that include Roy Rene, Barry Humphries and Reg Livermore – talents who created unique performance personas and gave us Mo McCacky, Dame Edna Everage and Betty Blockbuster.  They all celebrated the outrageous and the particular of our culture, Ashley continues the biting and hysterical piss-take, serving it up to us in flamboyant and finely realised entertainments such as ‘Fat Swan’, ‘Little Orphan Trashley' and ‘Bodybag’.  In addition, Ashley has also enjoyed worldwide success with his one-man shows LIZA ON AN E, LIZA’S BACK IS BROKEN and DIAMONDS ARE FOR TREVOR.He’s also proved himself on the musical theatre stage with acclaimed performances in PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, HAIRSPRAY and LES MISERABLES.Intent on embracing many roles, Ashley also wears the titles of producer, director, writer and musician.STAGES sat down with Trevor shortly after his recent hit for the Sydney Gay & Lesbian 40th Anniversary Mardi Gras – a variety show at the Opera House titled ‘Trevor Ashley’s Mardi Galah’.

Clive Anderson and Emma Freud are joined by Dame Edna Everage, Alan Carr, Leonie Orton and Jake Arnott for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Kefaya and Antonio Forcione and Sarah Jane Morris. Producer: Sukey Firth.

Best known as Dame Edna Everage, Barry Humphries takes to the stage as himself in a concert celebrating the subversive music of Berlin's Weimar Republic. Barry talks to John Wilson about the show which he has curated and features cabaret star Meow Meow and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.In its 150th anniversary year, the National Museums Scotland prepares to open 10 new galleries, housing more than 3000 objects of decorative art, design, fashion, science and technology. The museum's Director Gordon Rintoul discusses this latest stage in an £80 million redevelopment.Director of Drive Nicholas Winding Refn's new film The Neon Demon is a shocking story set in LA's fashion world, with a palette of neon colour, hyper-real imagery and a dark, electronic sound track. Elle Fanning, who starred in Maleficent, plays an ingénue 16 year old, making her debut on the catwalks, exciting vicious, predatory interest from the established models. Wendy Ide reviews. The award-winning Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami has died. Mohsen Makhmalbaf, a fellow Iranian film maker and writer pays tribute.Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick is a new exhibition at Somerset House in London. The show has been curated by the artist and musician James Lavelle, and features the work of a number of contemporary artists, filmmakers and musicians inspired by the director of 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. John talks to James Lavelle and the artists Iain Forsyth and Jane PollardPresenter : John WilsonProducer : Dymphna Flynn.

On this week's LadyWatch agenda: Ryan and Jason address the death of Natalie Cole and why she doesn't have a special bonus memorial episode (and what you can do about it), send thoughts and prayers to Iman following the death of her husband, join Alexandra Billings in wagging a finger at Dame Edna Everage's alter ego, unpack how Princess Diana ended up staying with Goldie Hawn, and find out to what lengths Shirley Bassey went to urinate in the 70s. PLUS: Patti LaBelle's newest Walmart dessert creations, Vivienne Westwood re-creates heaven and hell in Culver City, Lana Wachowski models for Marc Jacobs' spring line and maybe Marc Jacobs is mean to his mother, Jane Fonda finally finds an award that deserves her, and Gloria Vanderbilt probably fucked Errol Flynn. Oh yeah, and much much more!

"As a composer I've always been intrigued by the way people who are not professional musicians talk about music and how they tend to reveal things about themselves when they do. And so twenty years ago, when Radio 3 was looking for a new programme in which a huge variety of people talked about their passion for music, I felt very excited about the possibilities. Over twenty years we've had a wonderful selection of guests. One unforgettable guest was the philosopher Isaiah Berlin, and I was astonished by his childhood memory: of actually watching the Russian Revolution at the age of 8 on a balcony in St Petersburg. He revealed that for him Bach was like 'daily bread', and chose the 5th Brandenburg Concerto. "Music connects us with what really matters, beyond the daily busyness of our lives; through music we plunge beneath the surface, and often find ourselves at earliest childhood memories. So, for instance, the poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy remembers the unexpected arrival at home of a piano, and how she learned to play Chopin to placate her mother when they'd had a row. "Music often gives us an unparalleled insight into the creative process. I was very fortunate to spend quite a bit of time with the artist David Hockney, both in his studio in London and in Los Angeles, and he gave a fascinating interview back in 1995 about his approach to designing for opera, and his passion for Wagner. One of the most memorable conversations over the last 20 years was with the neurologist Oliver Sacks. We talked about something which has always intrigued me, why we enjoy particularly sad music, and the link between music and depression. He reveals how a Schubert song helped him after the death of his mother. "But sometimes guests have surprised me with music choices that are - well weird. We don't censor them though..." Other speakers in the programme include: John Peel; Dame Edna Everage; Maggi Hambling; Sam Taylor-Johnson; Anoushka Shankar; George Steiner; Marina Lewycka, and Joan Armatrading. With Bach, Chopin, Wagner, Bruch, Russian folk music, Tavener, Edith Piaf, and the Coronation Street Theme tune. To mark the 20th anniversary of Private Passions, there will a be collection of new podcasts available. Produced by Elizabeth Burke A Loftus Production for BBC Radio 3.

Dame Edna Everage announces retirement; Peter Andre wants to share more of his life with us; Kate Moss thought about getting a boob job.

This is Part One of an Eight-part series on the history of Radio Netherlands, the Dutch International Service. Presented by the late Pete Myers, he was in top form when this was recorded. This is probably the most comprehensive audio compilation of what was achieved in the first 50 years of the Dutch external radio broadcaster. The series was recorded in November 1996 and broadcast in February 1997. It contains the voices and sound fragments from Guillermo Marconi, PCJ-tune "Happy Station"  and Eddy Startz, Radio Oranje , Radio Herrijzend Nederland, Lou de Jong, Henk van den Broek, (the station's first Director General), hr. Van Dulken, (the first Head of the English department), Joop Acda (Director General in 1980's), Bert Steinkamp (Programme Director), Lodewijk Bouwens (Director from 1994) and myself, Jonathan Marks (Director of Programmes 1992-2003). I was talking back then about the need for Radio Netherlands to modernise and embrace new technology including the Internet. I was also concerned that the reason for international broadcasting was about to change - and that we were not moving fast enough to address the "why".  In the end, they didn't  - so these recordings lasted longer than the station! About the host Pete Myers made his name in international broadcasting on the BBC African Service in the 1960's, and at Radio Netherlands as the host and producer of the Afroscene, Mainstream Asia, Asiascan, as well as countless documentaries. There is a  to him on this site. Pete wrote the series together with translator and researcher Luc Lucas. They used material from the Radio Netherlands sound archives, as well as recordings that I found in the Media Network broadcast collection. From the Independent Obituary, written by Mike Popham. Pete Myers, broadcaster: born Bangalore, India 17 April 1939; died Utrecht, The Netherlands 15 December 1998 Pete Myer's decision to leave the BBC while at the height of his popularity robbed listeners to the African Service and what is now the World Service of one of the most innovative and magnetic broadcasters to grace the international airwaves. In the mid-1960s, as the first presenter of the African Service's controversially revamped breakfast programme, Good Morning Africa, Myers was an immediate hit with the huge new audience which had just been opened up by the mass-marketing of cheap transistor radios and, particularly in West Africa, by the start of the BBC's Atlantic relay station on Ascension Island. Within months, he was being accorded pop-star treatment whenever he arrived on tours to meet his fans in person. Pete Myers was born in 1939 in Bangalore of Anglo-Indian parents but as he grew older enjoyed shrouding his origins in mystery. Consequently, and much to his delight, few people knew whether he was a Latin American, or an exotic blend of English, German, Jewish, Lebanese and Chinese. His father had in fact worked on the Indian railways. Myers's feel for Africa resulted from his arrival in Ghana in 1957, around the time of independence. His broadcasting career began unexpectedly in Accra when he was 17. He had got to know the presenter of a jazz programme who allowed him to listen in the studio while the show was being broadcast. Then came the day when the presenter remembered, just as he was about to go on air, that he had left his script at home. Dashing out of the building to retrieve it, he was knocked down and killed. The panic-stricken producer had no choice but to ask the teenage Myers to take over. Myers did so with such natural assurance that after five years he became Ghana's top music DJ and radio personality, and a favourite of the country's president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Away from the microphone, Myers pursued a parallel career as one of the founders of what subsequently became Ghana's National Theatre. During the Congo crisis, he and his companions risked their lives entertaining UN troops in Katanga. As Myers like to recount, the high spots of his thespian activity were taking the part of Elvis Presley in a musical called Pick Me a Paw-paw and playing Hamlet in Moscow at Nkrumah's behest. Leaving Accra for London in the mid-1960s, he was snapped up to become the presenter of the BBC's Good Morning Africa. In stark contrast to what had gone before, his resonant baritone and slick mid-Atlantic informality soon made him a household name throughout the African continent. A year or so later, while increasing his workload at Bush House, he became one of the founding presenters of Radio 1's Late Night Extra. But with a restricted playlist, and without the freedom to indulge his sometimes anarchic sense of humour, he failed to make the same impression on his domestic listeners. However, at the beginning of the 1970s, as a result of his spectacular success with African audiences, Myers was entrusted with transforming Good Morning Africa into a flagship breakfast show for the world. He presented The Morning Show, with its mixture of pop, politics and personalities, four days a week, and at the weekends hosted PM, his own show-biz interview programme. His treatment of celebrities like Peggy Lee, Shirley Bassey and Ingrid Bergman - his favourite - heralded that of Michael Parkinson on BBC TV. Myers was thrown by Dame Edna Everage, for once impersonated across the microphone by a dapper Barry Humphries in suit, monocle and trilby. Having broken the mould of broadcasting at Bush House, Myers felt he needed a change of scene and went to Lebanon to become the manager and resident impresario of a nightclub, the Crazy Horse Saloon. Unfortunately, he arrived just before the outbreak of the civil war. Bombed out of Beirut, he returned to London to find that The Morning Show had been relaunched as Network Africa and a new presenter, Hilton Fyle from Sierra Leone, had taken his place. Through ex-colleagues, he found a job opening Radio Nederland, in Hilversum. From 1976 onwards, he produced and presented hundreds of programmes in the Asian Service (Mainstream Asia, Asiascan), African Service (Afroscene) as well as the general English department. He eventually took over the helm of one of its most popular programmes, Happy Station. Pete Myers last visited London in 1987 for the 30th-anniversary recreation of the original Radio 1 group photograph on the steps of All Souls', Langham Place.    

Rosie Goldsmith profiles Dame Edna Everage, one of entertainment's most colourful characters . Dame Edna stepped into the public spotlight in 1950s as a dowdy Melbourne housewife. Over the years her popularity has soared and she has turned into a flamboyant "gigastar". She is known for her outlandish outfits, her wit and her derision of the cult of celebrity. But she is soon to leave the stage - her forthcoming tour of the UK will be her last. . Her manager, Barry Humphries, the man behind the creation of Dame Edna's stage persona, said "she's a little weary of touring and strange hotels". Producers: John Murphy Anna Meisel.

With John Wilson. Historian Simon Schama has selected his pick of works from the Government Art Collection for an exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery. While hanging the exhibition, he reveals how his choices were inspired by the British romance with travelling. Dame Edna Everage, Ann Widdecombe and Vanilla Ice are all making their pantomime debuts this year. Danny Robins has seen all three and considers the qualities needed for panto success. A large crane has been lowering a new art project onto the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank today. Created by artist Fiona Banner and architect David Kohn, A Room for London is designed to look like a boat, and is going to be available for people to live and sleep in for a night. The Artangel/Living Architecture project will be there for the whole of 2012. John reports from the site. Producer Philippa Ritchie.

In this episode, Jesse starts things off with a celebration of the music of Randy Newman.  Then, cartoonist Dan Piraro talks about Bizarro and politics.  Also, Dame Edna Everage graces the show with her presence. 

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian and performer Barry Humphries. For decades he has enjoyed global fame with his grotesque comic creations, the Melbourne housewife Dame Edna Everage and the drunken cultural attache Sir Les Patterson. Off stage, though, his life has been spent immersed in literature, music and the arts, and he says that his time spent on the desert island would allow him to devote himself to painting.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Songs of Sunset: They are not long, the weeping & the laughter by Frederick Delius Book: The Melbourne Street Directory Luxury: My paints.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian and performer Barry Humphries. For decades he has enjoyed global fame with his grotesque comic creations, the Melbourne housewife Dame Edna Everage and the drunken cultural attache Sir Les Patterson. Off stage, though, his life has been spent immersed in literature, music and the arts, and he says that his time spent on the desert island would allow him to devote himself to painting. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Songs of Sunset: They are not long, the weeping & the laughter by Frederick Delius Book: The Melbourne Street Directory Luxury: My paints.

Sue Lawley's castaway is comedian Dame Edna Everage.Favourite track: I Feel Pretty by Kiri Te Kanawa Book: Filofax Luxury: Madge Allsop