Podcasts about Knightsbridge

Talking the highly successful raid on part of the Ukrainians, the Russian second and third order effects, and who's been taking notes on a future attack in the US.

This week on The Go-To Food Pod, we're joined by the much-missed voice of London restaurant criticism, former Evening Standard food writer Jimi Famurewa. For years, Jimi helped define what made eating out in the capital exciting, accessible, and culturally relevant. From neighbourhood heroes to headline-grabbing launches, his reviews brought warmth, wit and sharp insight to every corner of the scene. But earlier this year, in a surprising move, Jimi's column was abruptly axed during a major restructure, along with around 70 other jobs at the paper.In this episode, Jimi opens up about what it felt like to lose that platform so suddenly after putting so much of himself into it. He also talks candidly about the state of London dining right now, from the dominance of value-driven menus and weeknight deals, to the uneasy economics of running a restaurant in 2025. We hear about the places he got wrong, the ones he loved most, and what really happened when he reviewed Salt Bae's notorious gold steak spot in Knightsbridge. Plus, we quiz him on his dream weekend getaway, favourite neighbourhood hangouts, and whether we'll be seeing his byline in another major paper anytime soon.This is a rich, funny, and surprisingly moving episode with one of the most thoughtful voices in British food journalism.-----Please leave us a great rating and a comment and share it with your friends - it really helps us grow as a show.If you're in the industry and are looking for the greatest POS system in the world than look no further as Blinq are tearing up the rulebook—no long-term contracts, no hidden fees, and no per-device charges. Just £49 a month for unlimited devices and 24/7 UK-based support that's always there, in person when you need it.Built for hospitality, by hospitality, blinq is the fastest, easiest POS system on the market—so intuitive, anyone can use it. And while others take weeks to get you up and running, with blinq, you're live in just 2 hours.Join the hospitality revolution today & use the code GOTOBLINQ to get your first month free - https://blinqme.com/Buy Jimi's book Picky here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Picky-must-read-journey-professional-gourmet/dp/1399739549 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

▶️ Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardatherton-firsthuman/   This week, we are thrilled to feature two remarkable guests: Sensei Zen Takai and Edward Olver. Sensei Zen Takai, is a 16th-generation samurai warrior. After a brief stint as a punk rocker, he chose to return to his roots. With no descendants of his own and to ensure it lives on, he's on a mission to share his family's samurai tradition with the world.  He teaches mastery of the familiar samurai arts with creative expressions like calligraphy, poetry, and dance. Dedicated to self-mastery and spiritual alignment, Sensei encourages others to live harmoniously and connect deeply with their life's purpose. A former military man and banker, Edward Olver experienced a profound awakening after realising that external success—the Hollywood actress girlfriend and the Knightsbridge corner office—did not fulfill him. Through personal upheaval, he rediscovered his dharma and embraced growth aligned with life's natural rhythms. Now based at Broughton Hall - a UK hub for cutting edge research into consciousness - Edward focuses on regenerative practices, living in harmony with nature, and integrating timeless wisdom to foster holistic well-being. Their combined perspectives will offer insight into purposeful living. We talk: Training Samurai as a boy Samurai and the five elements How poetry can make you a better warrior Three-pointed thinking Beyond competition Links: Sensei Zen Takai at Broughton Sanctuary   Subscribe for more transformative conversations! 

PRWeek toasted the best international work last week at the PRWeek Global Awards in London. Here's a special behind-the-scenes look at the show with Andy Pharoah, VP of corporate affairs and sustainability at Mars and chair of judges for the awards program. Weber Shandwick was the big winner, taking home six awards from the Jumeirah Carlton Tower, in the heart of Knightsbridge, London.Plus, here's a recap of the biggest marketing and communications news of the week, including Adam Collins stepping down from the top comms job at Molson Coors, major hires at Eli Lilly and Company and Jeep and a tribute to Al Tortorella, a key figure in Tylenol's 1982 crisis response.  Follow us: @PRWeekUSReceive the latest industry news, insights, and special reports. Start Your Free 1-Month Trial Subscription To PRWeek

Brumm, brumm... Sorry, keine Zeit, für nen Beschreibungstext, muss meinen Ferrari Testaro- BRUUUUUMMMMM! Viel Spaß!

Join us for Hammer's Hands of the Ripper, a 1971 British horror film released as the second half of a double feature with Twins of Evil. Directed by Peter Sasdy, produced by Aida Young, and written by L.W. Davidson from a story by Edward Spencer Shew. Making good use of the large Baker Street set at Pinewood Studios—left over from The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes—the production was denied permission to film its final scenes at St. Paul's Cathedral, so a replica was constructed instead. If the Pritchards' home and staircase look familiar, it's because Hammer's ever-resourceful set designers reused elements from The Curse of Frankenstein years earlier (see episode 2 of our podcast for more on that classic). Director Peter Sasdy, who cited Hands of the Ripper as his favourite film, also directed the original Adrian Mole TV series (both The Secret Diary and The Growing Pains), three episodes of Hammer House of Horror, and two other Hammer features: Countess Dracula and Taste the Blood of Dracula (the latter coming to the podcast later this year, hopefully). Most monumentally, he directed the legendary BBC sci-fi thriller The Stone Tape (definitely check General Witchfinders number 5—our third most popular episode to date!). Eric Porter stars as Doctor Pritchard. Renowned for his work in film, television, and theatre, he famously played Professor Moriarty opposite Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes and Soames Forsyte in The Forsyte Saga. Angharad Rees plays Anna, the daughter of the Ripper. She appeared in Boon (take a drink), starred as Demelza in 28 episodes of Poldark, and, the year after Hands of the Ripper, featured in Under Milk Wood alongside Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, and Elizabeth Taylor. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, had a pub named after her in Pontypridd (sadly now a card shop), and founded a Knightsbridge jewellery company, Angharad. Pieces she designed were featured in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Wikipedia also notes she was once in a relationship with Alan Bates, which we mention only to plug episode 35, where we talked about The Shout.Lynda "Nurse Gladys Emmanuel" Baron appears as Long Liz—a curious name choice considering Long Liz was an actual canonical Ripper victim. Here, she's depicted alive and well (at least initially), years after Saucy Jack's supposed demise. Baron appeared as a recurring character in both Coronation Street and EastEnders, and played three different characters in Doctor Who across three Doctors.Dora Bryan turns up as Mrs Golding, one of two clairvoyants in the film. You may know her from 50 episodes of Last of the Summer Wine, Boon (drink), or as Helen in A Taste of Honey (written by Jon's mum's mate Shelagh Delaney). She (Dora, not Shelagh) also appeared in both a Carry On and a St Trinian's.Lastly, Norman Bird pops up as the Police Inspector. If he looks familiar, it's because he had over 200 TV and 60 film roles. He was in Spywatch (as Mr Jenkins), Boon (drink), Woof!, Whack-O!, and Help! (with Stephen Mangan). He also did a stint in Jim Davidson's Up the Elephant and Round the Castle—only mentioned because Ross was convinced it was alongside Marina Sirtis, but IMDb says she was in just one episode?Anyway, back to Norman Bird. He appeared in The Adventure Game, Whistle Down the Wind, Steptoe and Son, Fawlty Towers, Please Sir!, and The Medusa Touch (on our long list since day one). He was Mr Braithwaite, the farmer, in Worzel Gummidge and voiced Bilbo in the 1978 Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textThe prime London property market is showing signs of a rebound, with prices rising 4.7% and buyer interest growing. Many now believe we've hit the bottom, sparking fresh activity.

London, 1903: Glamour thrives, but so do deadly secrets. Amid the dazzling theatres and opulent restaurants of fashionable Knightsbridge, Flora Maguire is drawn into a web of intrigue that stretche... Uitgegeven door SAGA Egmont Spreker: Jane McDowell

S12:E2 - Welcome to the Downe House podcast, where you can learn more about Downe House School.  In this series, we're shining a light on our feeder schools and looking at how they prepare their girls for their future at down house with over 180 schools who regularly send pupils to us. Girls come to us with varied experiences, but all prepared for the journey ahead with an established set of values and principles. It's our job then to build on them further. Joining us on the podcast this week is Mr. Magoo Giles, Founder and Principal of Knightsbridge School. Two Knightsbridge alumni, now well into their time at Downe House, Freya and Alice, and Ruth Kingston, Housemistress of AGS. They talk to our host, Simon Jones, and their springboard for conversation is resilience. LinksDowne House online Website: www.downehouse.net

We're honoured to have the great Dame Penelope Wilton as our very special guest on Rosebud today, in a rare podcast interview for this distinguished and well-loved actress. Penelope talks to Gyles about her happy childhood, in and around Knightsbridge and Kensington in London - we find out about her interesting neighbours, Mr Onion and the one-armed colonel. She tells Gyles about her mother's illness and her unhappy time at boarding school. She talks about her drama school days, and her breakthrough role in Harold Pinter's classic play Betrayal at the National Theatre. She talks about the roles on TV which made her a household name: Ever Decreasing Circles and, more recently, Afterlife. We're delighted to give Rosebud listeners the chance to spend time with this delightful, talented performer. Enjoy this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're honoured to have the great Dame Penelope Wilton as our very special guest on Rosebud today, in a rare podcast interview for this distinguished and well-loved actress. Penelope talks to Gyles about her happy childhood, in and around Knightsbridge and Kensington in London - we find out about her interesting neighbours, Mr Onion and the one-armed colonel. She tells Gyles about her mother's illness and her unhappy time at boarding school. She talks about her drama school days, and her breakthrough role in Harold Pinter's classic play Betrayal at the National Theatre. She talks about the roles on TV which made her a household name: Ever Decreasing Circles and, more recently, Afterlife. We're delighted to give Rosebud listeners the chance to spend time with this delightful, talented performer. Enjoy this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode, Caroline Donaghue and Priya Rawal welcome a true authority in luxury prime real estate—none other than Super Prime International Real Estate Expert, Giles Hannah!Giles has established himself as a global expert in super-prime property, advising some of the world's wealthiest individuals. His extensive career has taken him from London to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, collaborating with prestigious developers and branded residences, including landmark projects Red Sea Global and AMAALA for Public Investment Fund (PIF). In this conversation, Giles shares insights from his remarkable career journey. It all began at Savills' Knightsbridge flagship office, where he was soon seconded to One Hyde Park, the Mandarin Oriental Residences project that redefined London's luxury real estate scene. From there, he joined the exclusive world of Christie's, gaining unparalleled exposure to the super-rich and the pinnacle of luxury living. Notably, he is known to have spearheaded the record-breaking sale of Château Louis XIV for over $300 million as reported —the highest reported real estate transaction in the world at the time.In recent years, Giles has concentrated his expertise in the Middle East, advising sovereign wealth funds and leading developers on transformative projects across the UAE and Saudi Arabia. And the journey doesn't stop here—2025 promises even more exciting ventures. Stay tuned!Supported by Angel O'Donnell & V1 Architectural Visualisation.Follow Caroline @caroline.donaghue, Priya @priya.rawal.london and the podcast page @therealrendezvous on Instagram and LinkedIn. Produced by BBE Podcast Agency.#therealrendezvous #gileshannah #propertypodcast #realestatepodcast #superprime #primeproperty #primerealestate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was born in Macau and moved to Hong Kong when I was five years old, where I have lived and studied since. At the age of fifteen, I went to the UK to continue my education until my first year of university. However, I found that I couldn't adapt to university life, so I made the decision to quit and enroll in culinary school. After graduating in one year, I began my apprenticeship at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge. Eventually, I returned to Macau and worked at a Michelin-starred restaurant, continuing to pursue my passion for cooking. By Kevin Law

Caroline Hirons, arguably the most important figure in British beauty, stopped by this week's Pretty Curious and is holding serious court, babes. Caroline gives the best skin in the biz, and she's breaking down all the goodness she's got going on over at her skincare brand, Skin Rocks. Plus! We're talking Gen Alpha skincare, English breakfasts, and just exactly how the “Caroline effect” has taken over the British beauty space. Caroline grew up around the beauty industry, as both her mother and grandmother worked in the industry. From her first day on the counter in Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, Caroline fell in love with skincare in particular and went on to qualify in beauty therapy, leaving the shop floor for more senior roles in 2001. After gaining a wealth of experience across all departments in the previous 10 years, Caroline moved to consulting for brands and retailers in 2008, working with and advising some of the top names in the industry. Launching her blog back in 2010, she quickly amassed the eyes and ears of millions. She's utilized all her knowledge to launch her own brand, which includes her Limited-Edition Kits of recommended products which sell out in hours as well as the Skin Rocks brand, which consists of the award winning skincare line and app. She's also the host of the new beauty podcast, Glad We Had This Chat - which just wrapped up its first season! Caroline Hirons is on Instagram @carolinehirons and you can follow Skin Rocks @skinrocks Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to learn more about the products from this episode, or head to JonathanVanNess.com for the transcript. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our Senior Producer is Chris McClure. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie  Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Caroline Hirons, the Queen of Skincare, stopped by this week's Pretty Curious and is holding serious court, babes. Caroline gives the best skin in the biz, and she's breaking down all the goodness she's got going on over at her skincare brand, Skin Rocks. Plus! We're talking Gen Alpha skincare, English breakfasts, and just exactly how the “Caroline effect” has taken over the beauty space. Caroline grew up around the beauty industry, as both her mother and grandmother worked in the industry. From her first day on the counter in Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, Caroline fell in love with skincare in particular and went on to qualify in beauty therapy, leaving the shop floor for more senior roles in 2001. After gaining a wealth of experience across all departments in the previous 10 years, Caroline moved to consulting for brands and retailers in 2008, working with and advising some of the top names in the industry. Launching her blog back in 2010, she quickly amassed the eyes and ears of millions. She's utilized all her knowledge to launch her own brand, which includes her Limited-Edition Kits of recommended products which sell out in hours as well as the Skin Rocks brand, which consists of the award winning skincare line and app. She's also the host of the new beauty podcast, Glad We Had This Chat - which just wrapped up its first season! Caroline Hirons is on Instagram @carolinehirons and you can follow Skin Rocks @skinrocks Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to learn more about the products from this episode, or head to JonathanVanNess.com for the transcript. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our Senior Producer is Chris McClure. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new museum has opened in London promising visitors one of the best selfie experiences in the capital. The Paradox Museum specializes in special effects and mind-boggling optical illusions, and visitors are actively encouraged to snap away to their hearts' content. It is the brainchild of co-founder Miltos Kambourides, a Cypriot entrepreneur with a background in luxury resorts. He wanted to create a museum that could combine science with a true entertainment experience—and generate a lot of images on Instagram and other social media apps.  He says, “Every exhibit was designed with the photo in mind. People leave this place taking with them the memories through their smartphones. So, for the entertainment industry, this is so important. The old-style museum is boring. The new-style museum is the one that you can communicate easily to your friends and family, and go back and remind yourself by seeing your photos in your phone.” With 50 exhibits across 25 rooms, there are plenty of opportunities to grab selfies to impress your friends. The emphasis is clearly on fun rather than information, but the Paradox Museum tries to cater to those who want to better understand the science behind the optical illusions. Each exhibit has a QR code which can be scanned, revealing the science behind the smoke and mirrors. Kambourides says, “Every exhibit is a product of years of research and development that was done prior to COVID and during COVID.” If you've ever wondered what it might be like to be upside down in a London Tube station, then the museum has the answer. The Paradox Underground station looks like a normal Tube station if it were flipped 180 degrees. Visitors can pose on the set, snap their shots and then flip the image on their phones for a topsy-turvy effect. The museum is situated in Knightsbridge, right across from the world-famous Harrods department store. There is already a chain of Paradox museums in other cities across the world, including Paris, Miami, Stockholm, Berlin, Barcelona, Las Vegas, and Shanghai. London is the 12th site, with more planned. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Patrick White nació Knightsbridge, en 1912 y murió en Sídney, 1990. Es el único Premio Nobel de Literatura australiano, hasta el momento. Es el autor de doce novelas, dos libros de cuentos y ocho obras de teatro. 'El jardín colgante' quedó inacabada y permaneció oculta durante años. Se publicó en 2012.

Deel 2 in de grappige en sexy Mister-serie van Louise Bay! Uitgegeven door April Books Sprekers: Tabio Awan, Verona Stam

We're just back from Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans where we're absolutely thrilled to have been awarded 'Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication' at the Spirited Awards. Whoop!!While it was very hot there, it's been pretty damned steamy back home in the UK too. So, like most, we're looking at ways to enjoy the rays whilst keeping cool. Which is where this episode comes in…Starting with our featured products. We've got not one but two cocktails in cans: Whitebox Spicy Margarita and Moth Piña Colada – chill them and they're perfect accompaniments whether you're chilling in the park, on the beach, in fact, anywhere where the sun is shining.As for our bar this week, we head up to The Berkeley Rooftop Pool and Bar for tequila cocktails, tacos and, yes, a pool, right in the heart of London's Knightsbridge.And at this time of year, more than ever, we all need to be on top of our ice game. This is where our book choice comes in. It's The Ice Book – cool cubes, clear spheres and other chill cocktail crafts, with expert tips from the King of Ice, Camper English.Staying with things on the cooler side brings us to our guest. Iain McPherson, has made the science of sub-zero temperatures into an art form with his pioneering techniques in his cocktail creations. We talk to him about this, his award-winning Edinburgh bar Panda & Sons, and a whole lot more.For more from The Cocktail Lovers, visit thecocktaillovers.comFor the products featured in this episode, see websites below:What we're mixing:Clover Club 60ml London Dry gin15ml raspberry syrup*15ml freshly-squeezed lemon juice1 egg white3 fresh raspberries to garnishMethod:Add all ingredients to a cocktail shake and dry shake vigorously to emulsify egg white. Fill shaker with ice then shake again. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with three fresh raspberries pierced onto a cocktail stick and place atop the glass.*Raspberry syrup:2/3 cup water2/3 cup caster sugar1 cup raspberriesMethod:Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan while stirring occasionally. When sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and stir in raspberries. Break down with a masher or fork. Leave for an hour to steep then strain through a fine strainer.Hoot The RedeemerMOTH DrinksNauticusPanda & SonsThe Berkeley Rooftop Pool & BarThe Ice Book – Cool cubes, clear spheres and other chill cocktail crafts by Camper EnglishWhitebox CocktailsThe Cocktail Lovers theme music is by Travis 'T-Bone' WatsonEdited by Christian Fox Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Highlights from this week's conversation include:Christopher's Background and Journey in Venture (0:13)Venture Capital as a Place of Hope (4:33)Macroeconomic Trends in Venture (5:50)Activity in the Secondary Market (7:44)Platforms and Working with Them (12:30)LPs' Preferences in the Market (14:37)The role of venture capital in the global economy (16:43)Working with institutional LPs (17:38)Tailoring services for different client types (19:00)Structural approach to client services (22:19)Navigating the slow-moving venture capital landscape (24:41)Insider Segment: Vested's API integration (27:29)Cold emails vs. Warm intros (00:31:55)Looking beyond current AI trends (33:45)Meeting etiquette and deal pitches (35:29)Long-term relationships in venture capital (39:07)Transitioning within venture capital firms (42:32)Fundraising advice and market entry strategy (45:52)Final thoughts and closing remarks (47:22)Knightsbridge Advisers has dedicated more than four decades to building premier portfolios of venture capital relationships in the industry and providing institutional investors access to strong performing venture managers. Knightsbridge focuses on fund of funds and separately managed accounts for primary, secondary, and opportunistic investments in venture capital and growth equity partnerships. Learn more: knightsbridgevc.com/ Vested empowers startup employees to capitalize on their hard-earned equity, primarily by providing funding to help exercise stock options. The company's overarching mission is to democratize access to equity, ensuring that startup employees both understand and have a real chance to tangibly benefit from the shares they're granted.Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies. The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this podcast are for general informational purposes only.

The Weird Circle | (07) What Was It || (08) Knightsbridge Mystery | 1943The Weird Circle was produced in New York and broadcast between 1943 and 1945. Licensed by the Mutual Broadcasting System, and later, NBC's Red network. Produced 78 shows in total.: : : : :My other podcast channels include: MYSTERY x SUSPENSE -- DRAMA X THEATER -- COMEDY x FUNNY HA HA -- VARIETY X ARMED FORCES -- THE COMPLETE ORSON WELLES .Subscribing is free and you'll receive new post notifications. Also, if you have a moment, please give a 4-5 star rating and/or write a 1-2 sentence positive review on your preferred service -- that would help me a lot.Thank you for your support.https://otr.duane.media | Instagram @duane.otr

Casi tres lustros después de que comenzasen sus problemas legales, el activista Julian Assange recuperará la libertad. Lo hará a cambio de reconocer su culpabilidad por haber vulnerado la Ley de Espionaje. Tras ello será liberado y podrá regresar a Australia, su país natal. Julian Assange que tiene ya 52 años (53 cumplirá a principios de julio) fue acusado hace más de diez años de liderar una conspiración para obtener y revelar información reservada de la defensa estadounidense. Para ello se valió de Wikileaks, una organización que fundó y que dirige desde entonces. Hoy Wikileaks se habla poco, pero hace unos años era la estrella de los servicios informativos. Entre 2010 y 2011 hizo honor a su nombre filtrando información confidencial sobre el ejército de Estados Unidos en las guerras de Irak y Afganistán lo que ocasionó un escándalo de primer nivel que afectó de lleno a Barack Obama. Los problemas de Assange empezaron en Suecia en 2010, donde fue acusado de violación por una joven con la que había mantenido relaciones íntimas. Temiendo que le extraditasen a Estados Unidos, burló a la Justicia sueca huyendo a Londres, donde sería arrestado poco después y puesto a disposición judicial. Aprovechando que estaba en libertad condicional se refugió en la embajada de Ecuador y solicitó asilo político, algo que le concedió sin dudarlo el entonces presidente Rafael Correa. En esta embajada, ubicada en un edificio de apartamentos del barrio de Knightsbridge, pasó casi siete años hasta que en abril de 2019 el presidente Lenín Moreno le retiró el asilo y permitió que la policía británica accediese a la legación diplomática para detenerle. En la embajada ecuatoriana siguió dirigiendo Wikileaks al tiempo que se ponía en marcha un movimiento internacional que reclamaba su liberación. En estos años de reclusión en la embajada y con el objetivo de que su caso no fuese olvidado, se dedicó a recibir a celebridades como Pamela Anderson o Lady Gaga, con quienes se fotografiaba en las dependencias de la embajada. Decidió también intervenir con filtraciones en las elecciones estadounidenses de 2016, y alinearse con el independentismo catalán a pesar de que lo desconocía todo de España y de la propia Cataluña. En aquel entonces Assange se había convertido ya en un problema para Ecuador. Su protector Rafael Correa ya no era presidente y su sucesor, Lenín Moreno, no simpatizaba con su causa y entendía que era una fuente continua de dolores de cabeza con Estados Unidos, que reclamaba su extradición, con el Reino Unido, a cuyo sistema judicial estaba Assange evitando, y con España a causa de su apoyo a los independentistas catalanes. Los últimos cinco años los ha pasado en una prisión de alta seguridad a las afueras de Londres donde los problemas de salud que ya traía de la reclusión en la embajada se han agravado. El de Assange era un problema enquistado, pero ya no preocupaba a demasiada gente más allá de su familia y los seguidores que le han defendido durante todos estos años. El Gobierno de Joe Biden quería acabar ya con este asunto y se ha avenido a negociar con él. Los términos son satisfactorios para ambas partes. Assange reconoce su culpabilidad a cambio de una pena de cinco años que ya ha cumplido en el Reino Unido. El espinoso asunto de la extradición se ha resuelto con el compromiso de que Assange vuele hasta Saipán, capital de las islas Marianas del Norte, un territorio no incorporado de Estados Unidos, para rematar allí la entrega y los flecos legales. Tras ello podrá volver a Australia donde le espera su esposa, Stella Assange, una abogada de origen español con quien se casó en prisión. Con esto pone punto final a una historia rocambolesca, digna de una película en la que el protagonista pasó primero de héroe a villano y luego a personaje intrascendente sacado de una época de la que ya nadie se acuerda. En La ContraReplica: 0:00 Programa 29:25 Milei en las legislativas 37:37 Impuestos al automóvil 42:15 Jano García y Rubén Arranz · Canal de Telegram: https://t.me/lacontracronica · “Contra la Revolución Francesa”… https://amzn.to/4aF0LpZ · “Hispanos. Breve historia de los pueblos de habla hispana”… https://amzn.to/428js1G · “La ContraHistoria de España. Auge, caída y vuelta a empezar de un país en 28 episodios”… https://amzn.to/3kXcZ6i · “Lutero, Calvino y Trento, la Reforma que no fue”… https://amzn.to/3shKOlK · “La ContraHistoria del comunismo”… https://amzn.to/39QP2KE Apoya La Contra en: · Patreon... https://www.patreon.com/diazvillanueva · iVoox... https://www.ivoox.com/podcast-contracronica_sq_f1267769_1.html · Paypal... https://www.paypal.me/diazvillanueva Sígueme en: · Web... https://diazvillanueva.com · Twitter... https://twitter.com/diazvillanueva · Facebook... https://www.facebook.com/fernandodiazvillanueva1/ · Instagram... https://www.instagram.com/diazvillanueva · Linkedin… https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernando-d%C3%ADaz-villanueva-7303865/ · Flickr... https://www.flickr.com/photos/147276463@N05/?/ · Pinterest... https://www.pinterest.com/fernandodiazvillanueva Encuentra mis libros en: · Amazon... https://www.amazon.es/Fernando-Diaz-Villanueva/e/B00J2ASBXM #FernandoDiazVillanueva #fdv #assange Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Today, I am joined by Matt Williams to talk about Open Source Intelligence, getting better information and opting out of the fear-based news cycle while maintaining situational awareness. Featured Event: SelfRelianceFestival.com/Webinar Sponsor 1: EMP Shield, Coupon Code LFTN Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com Show Resources https://www.knightsbridge.ltd/ https://www.twitter.com/kbr_intel Global Hotspot Report and Briefing - $14.95 (email only 5 days a week)/$24.95 (with weekly 60-90m briefing call)  Coupon Code LFTN for a free month to try it out!! Matt Williams is the head of intelligence operations for Knightsbridge Research, Ltd., an open-source intelligence (OSINT) company focused on global hotspots. He spent over a decade in Wall Street research and financial operations, later moving to an executive position at a midsized Texas firm. He's learned and applied these techniques in both personal and professional instances for over 20 years. Matt works from his ranch in North Texas raising cattle, gardening, and watching tornados from the front porch. Make it a great week GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.  Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link  

We meet the team behind Sale e Pepe, a beloved hotspot in London's Knightsbridge, to hear about its stylish revamp that blends modernity with traditional Italian hospitality. Markus Thesleff and Santino Cicciari discuss the transformation of the restaurant ahead of its 50th anniversary and why creating memorable dining experiences is just as vital as serving delicious food.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 270. I'm joined by Matt Williams of Knightsbridge Intelligence to discuss Iran's unveiling of its new shipping container missiles and the threat that poses. We also discuss the role of the CCP on the border and China's moves abroad. Get the Merch: Brushbeater Store The Guerilla's Guide to the Baofeng Radio is a #1 Bestseller!  Knightsbridge Research discount code: SCOUT Radio Contra Sponsors: Civil Defense Manual Tactical Wisdom Blacksmith Publishing Radio Contra Patron Program Brushbeater Training Calendar Brushbeater Forum Palmetto State Armory Primary Arms

Andy and Jon are joined by Charles Clegg, Co-Founder and CEO of Custodian, a car management app, designed for car collectors and enthusiasts. The story begins for Charles with a pair of Bristols... (oooh eer misses). One that he miraculously identified from his pushchair, the second belonging to his Mother, which after 20 years of ownership, met a fiery end parked in Knightsbridge, causing shop evacuations and road closures. Later on discussion turns to a Ferrari, in grey, bought new by Charles father, and he would travel on a small shelf behind the front seats! As he grew, he was afforded the luxury of Range Rovers, with arm rests both in the centre and the side of the rear bench. Clearly paving the way for what Charles comically calls a 'masochistic' relationship with the classic 4x4. Naturally, there is also lots of talk around the benefits of the Custodian platform, what it can do, and excitingly we manage to discover what is in store too...Please do check it out (we're not being paid for this.. we think it is cool) In their words…"Loving your car is easy. Owning it isn't.Meet Custodian, the free platform that simplifies car ownership. Create a digital garage, protect your car's history, schedule tasks, browse a specialist car marketplace, and manage your insurance - all in one convenient place.”www.custodian.club Hopefully this is once more an episode you enjoy, and wish to share with friends, maybe even leave a review for. Thanks for listening. Jon and Andy Support the showWe'd love you to hear and share your stories, please tag and follow us on social media. www.instagram.com/mydadscar_podcastwww.Facebook.com/mydadscar podcastwww.buymeacoffee.com/mydadscarIf you'd like to support the podcast and are able to, you can ‘buy us a coffee' which will help towards costs of hosting and purchasing equipment to allow us to record guests in person, rather than just on zoom. Get in touch with us direct - MyDadsCarPodcast@gmail.com

Phones Show Chat 785 - Show Notes Steve Litchfield and Ted Salmon with Mark Finlay MeWe Groups Join Links PSC - PSC Photos - PSC Classifieds - Steve - Ted Feedback & News The New Samsung Range - S24 Ultra vs S24 Plus vs S24 Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Sony's Music Pro Dan Carter's Sony Xperia 5 Mk.V Review Device Week Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 Pixel 8 Pro Microsoft Surface Duo Motorola Edge 30 Ultra - Ted's Review - Clash of the Ultras Ready4 Android App - Ready4 Assistant Android App Ready4 for a Windows PC Phone Link for the PC - DeX Moto's Software Compatibility Chart NexDock XL Sony Xperia 1 Mk.V RAW vs JPG Images DraStic Photo of the Week from MeWe PSC Photos Group Chad Dixon with Urban DJ, Samsung Galaxy S2, Knightsbridge, 2011 and Patient, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, South London, 2015: Links of Interest PodHubUK - Steve on Twitter - Ted on Mastodon - MeWe PSC Group - PSC Photos - PSC Videos - WhateverWorks - Camera Creations - Tech Talk UK - TechAddictsUK - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - Coffee Time - Ted's Salmagundi - Steve's Rants'n'Raves - Steve's YouTube Shorts

The last of Season 1, and what an episode to finish on. If you are looking for a little inspiration, or a little reassurance to keep going, then this is the one for you. We got to chat with the absolutely amazing and truly inspiring, Tracie Giles.With over 25 years' professional experience, Tracie Giles is recognised as a global leader in Permanent Makeup and Aesthetics.Tracie began her career as a freelance Permanent Makeup Artist in 1999, in what was still a relatively unknown industry in the UK. She worked from various salons where she steadily built her client base, perfected her skills, and developed her own exclusive PMU techniques.Having trained extensively in the UK, the US and Eastern Europe, Tracie adopted a novel approach when founding Tracie Giles London by combining the fine artistry that was prevalent in Eastern Europe with the very best health and safety practices from America. Combining these two disciplines in such a new and unregulated industry had never been done before, and this was the driving force behind Tracie recruiting an international team, sharing skills, and standardizing Permanent Makeup techniques.  In 2003, Tracie founded Tracie Giles London and within 2 years established a permanent base in London's Harley Street. Fast forward 5 more years and Tracie had achieved her goal of becoming the first and only UK salon dedicated to the art of Permanent Makeup, bringing luxury cosmetic tattooing to the high street from a 5-storey Knightsbridge clinic operating 6 days per week with a multi-million pound turnover. In 2016, Tracie and her daughter Charlotte founded PMU training and product supply brand ID Liner and in 2023, Tracie Giles proudly became part of the Private Clinic Group, working alongside some of the UK's very best doctors and cosmetic surgeons to provide a multi-disciplinary treatment offering to their clients. A true pioneer of Semi-Permanent Makeup in the UK and a determined businesswoman, Tracie Giles London is now one of the leading Permanent Makeup clinics worldwide, a celebrity favourite and featuring monthly in the press. With a team of award-winning expert Permanent Makeup Artists cherry-picked from around the globe, we have an unrivalled reputation for delivering exceptional Permanent Makeup results and are firmly established as a vintage in the world of Permanent Makeup. 

Welcome to The Photography Bar podcast, where we talk all things photography. In this episode we talk about Bond Villains being spotted in Knightsbridge, our Top 5 Xmas Gifts for for photographers/enthusiasts and Kam Chats with Friend of the Show Jeff Brown and Martin Bains the CEO of the BIPP You can support he channel by leaving us a 5* review on your favourite podcast app like Spotify and Apple podcasts ----- SUBSCRIBE to our new Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePhotographyBar   Support the show by joining our Patron : https://www.patreon.com/thephotographybar ----- Here is everywhere you can find us: Website: https://www.thephotographybar.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thephotogbar Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thephotographybar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thephotographybar1/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thephotographybarpodcast   Products discussed on the show: 5 - LaCie 1TB Rugged Mini USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive https://www.parkcameras.com/shop/lacie-1tb-rugged-mini-usb-30-portable-hard-drive_b1720134l   4 - Think Tank Cable Management 30 V3 https://www.parkcameras.com/shop/think-tank-cable-management-30-v3_9368252t   3 - Vanguard Alta BCL Battery Case Large https://www.parkcameras.com/shop/vanguard-alta-bcl-battery-case-large_9374002f   2- Lume Cube: https://amzn.eu/d/h2SCeCC   1 - Lomo Cameras - LomoApparat Mini Gift Bundle https://shop.lomography.com/uk/lomoapparat-black-wide-angle-camera-gift-bundle and the Fisheye Baby Metal Black https://shop.lomography.com/uk/fisheye-baby-metal-black   Bonus Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2 Smartphone Printer Clay White https://www.parkcameras.com/shop/fujifilm-instax-mini-link-2-smartphone-printer-clay-white_2280388w

He's one of the biggest YouTube stars in the world, and Sam Fane aka 'Seen Through Glass' is Jason and Dave's special guest this week. From his early days of car spotting in Knightsbridge, to filming some of the most exotic supercars around the world and getting paid for it, Sam's is a brilliant story and this is a cracking episode!

Marisa Hordern quit her day job 15 years ago and started the jewellery brand Missoma to create quality, fashion-forward pieces that wouldn't break the bank. Marisa explains how the brand has grown a loyal customer base from its humble beginnings, shipped to more than 200 countries and opened its first shop. Plus: seasonal shopping tips from the co-founder of Knightsbridge Rocks, Brenda Tuohy, who's a connoisseur of fine jewellery with a knack for finding the right piece for the right occasion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Visuals: https://getbehindthebillboard.com/episode-63-guy-murphyEpisode #63 features our first ever planner, which seems a bit overdue considering the best planners are often the best creatives and vice versa. And we've haven't got just any old planner, but one who's been round the block with tread to spare. Guy Murphy many things: award-winning strategist, big creative thinker, agency leader, but also someone who just loves ideas and the chat about strat and tech and how they're all joined up. Plus he's a footy fan. All of which makes him perfect for the pod.Guy started his career at the home of planning BMP, before moving to BBH for a successful 16 year tenure where he first met and worked with Hugh. Guy rose through the ranks to become Deputy Chairman, before heading off to Knightsbridge and the global reach of JWT. But he couldn't shake Hugh, whom he worked with again on the Baileys pitch, winning with a strategy of lusciousness and a campaign of a thousand lips shot by @rankinarchive @rankincreative (BtB episode #17)One of Guy's BBH high points was for Levi's Japan, ‘The original jeans for original people' featuring the world's largest photocopier - so big you could lay down on it - shipped in from Korea for the shoot. A great idea that could work on any platform, but especially well for billboards. We also discussed the Audi design / jewellery campaign which was a huge change in strategy, but still resulted in award winning iconic work.We ended with Dan and Guy having a spod-off, debating AI and the future of OOH and Guy's current position as Co-Founder of AdTech start-up OSSA. (OSSA is a self-service advertising platform using GenAI to help small business do digital advertising)Thanks so much Guy for coming on. It was a a real pleasure getting behind the strategy behind the billboard

Episode 256. I'm joined by Matt Williams of Knightsbridge Research to break down Iran's next moves in the Middle East in the unfolding war between Hamas and Israel, how each of the other nations will react and what the spillover effect in South America might unfold. Get the Merch: Brushbeater Store The Guerilla's Guide to the Baofeng Radio is a #1 Bestseller!  Nehemiah Strong discount code: SCOUT1 Radio Contra Sponsors: Civil Defense Manual Tactical Wisdom Blacksmith Publishing Radio Contra Patron Program Brushbeater Training Calendar Brushbeater Forum Palmetto State Armory Primary Arms

Are you ready to unlock the secrets to the perfect UK vacation? Strap in as we embark on a journey to discover the best places to stay in London! As your guide, I'll be sharing my top tips to choose the right area that fits your needs and budget. We'll navigate the quaint charm of Covent Garden, historical richness of Tower of London, and the diverse delights of South Bank, South Kensington, Knightsbridge, Belgravia, and Chelsea. This is not just about finding a place to lay your head, it's about immersing yourself in the heart of London life. We'll tackle the task of budgeting for your accommodation without compromising on comfort and location, especially if you're visiting during peak periods. Then, we dive deeper into London's diverse neighbourhoods. From the bustling streets of Covent Garden to the grandeur of Belgravia, each area is brought to life with vivid descriptions and insider tips. Whether you're searching for a luxury hotel, a chic boutique, or a budget-friendly option, this episode promises to be your personal pocket guide to choosing the perfect place to stay in London. Tune in and let the adventure begin!Show notes - Episode #68Support the show❤️ Do you enjoy our weekly podcast? We love putting together our shows for you and sharing our knowledge, love of UK travel and of course practical tips to save you time and money.

This batch contains recordings made at a range of meetings and events in the UK (London, Bournemouth, and Plymouth) in 2019. More materials here: https://first164.blogspot.com/

Episode 252. I'm joined by Matt Williams of Knightsbridge Research to discuss the current situation at the border, its root causes and how China and Russia are seeking to exploit it. The second and third order effects are grim for America's prospects. Get the Merch: Brushbeater Store The Guerilla's Guide to the Baofeng Radio is a #1 Bestseller!  Nehemiah Strong discount code: SCOUT1 Radio Contra Sponsors: Civil Defense Manual Tactical Wisdom Blacksmith Publishing Radio Contra Patron Program Brushbeater Training Calendar Brushbeater Forum Palmetto State Armory Primary Arms

Episode Overview: What does beauty mean to you? How much aesthetic “enhancement” is too much? Should you look like your Instagram filter or AI avatar in real life? The ever increasing societal and media pressure to change your physical appearance as a means of gaining fame and becoming rich. How to put emphasis on internal beauty rather than external. Divyas personal journey of getting cancer as a young woman, the taboos and how it changed her life completely. How chemotherapy impacted Divyas body and mind.  What do you do and what procedures are you known for? How to take care of your skin? Skincare and injectables.  Is Botox a poison? When should people start using Botox ? What are fillers ? How are they used?  Shaming and stigma around cosmetic enhancing and how to deal with it.  Best practices to look and feel young.  How to properly hydrate your skin.  How plastic surgery is creating unrealistic standards of females. Asking for forgiveness rather than permission. What's your purpose? 3 biggest life lessons from Divya.  What's your recipe for happiness? About Guest: Dr. Divya Veluvolu MB, BCh, BOA (hons) is a specialist doctor in anti-aging and regenerative medicine practicing in Knightsbridge and Harley Street in central London, as well as regularly hosting visiting clinics in California and India. https://www.instagram.com/drdivyalondon/ Find Dana on: Instagram https://rb.gy/pm0wwp https://www.youtube.com/@IsThisItPodcast If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure to Subscribe and like. Sponsors: https://momo-kombucha.com  Use discount code ISTHISIT15 to get a 15% off of your first order of 6 or 12 bottles of Momo kombucha. If you are enjoying this show, please consider joining my exclusive Patreon Community for some bonus content. http://patreon.com/user?u=82757269 Sign Up for My Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/1f9ea0495d70/better-life-one-tap-away --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dana-grinberga/message

The 16:9 PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY SCREENFEED – DIGITAL SIGNAGE CONTENT The Austrian firm Umdasch refers to itself as The Store Makers - designing, building and kitting out retail stores at scale both in Europe and globally. About seven or eight years ago, the company looked at the shifting state of retail and realized that staying relevant meant adding digital to its toolset - a decision that's played out nicely for the business unit, which is part of a much bigger holding company that is a global leader in construction - from office towers to single family homes. I first met Bernd Albl earlier this year at ISE, knowing almost nothing about Umdasch and not a whole lot more about what the company refers to as shop-fitting. But after this podcast chat, I now know a whole lot more about the company and more broadly about the expectations, challenges and demands of properly designing and equipping retail in 2023. We get into a lot of things, including defining experience in retail. We also have an interesting discussion about sustainability in retail - particularly a shift from doing store refreshes every five to seven years, to 10 years and longer. That's driven mainly by demands to stop tossing out perfectly good wood, plastic and metal finishings to make way for new designs. One of the beauties of applying digital is its ability to refresh a store's look and feel by changing files, not hard materials. Subscribe from wherever you pick up new podcasts. TRANSCRIPT Bernd, thank you for joining me. Can you tell me what Umdasch does and what it means by store makers?  Bernd Albl: Okay, Dave. First of all, thanks for having me. Umdasch actually is a family-owned company within the History of Wealth brand for about 150 years. We are a shopfitting company, basically focused on the European market, and we are building stores in different areas, from fruit areas to grocery stores, the fashion industry, banks, automotive industry, all places. We say we are businesses done, and we are around 2000 employees in our organization, and since around seven years, we established the business of digital retail because we saw that the business is completely shifting from the traditional millwork and handcraftmanship towards digital business and this is what Umdasch stands for, and our headquarters is in Austria, in Amstetten. For people who don't know Austria like me, where would you locate it? Is it by Vienna or somewhere else?  Bernd Albl: Probably most of you might know of Munich, Salzburg, or Vienna, and Amstetten is in the middle between Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna, around one and a half hours away from Vienna towards Germany, in that direction.  Umdasch is quite a big company. I think I saw the turnover is 1.5 billion Euros. Bernd Albl: So, this is when you're talking about the whole company. Umdasch is basically three company pillars. The biggest one is called Doka, which is a forworking company, and it is also established in the North American market.  So, we always say that about every building is higher than 200 meters in the world is by 80% built by Umdasch Technology, and the second one is ours one, it's the Umdasch store makes its shopfitting business, and the youngest group is Ventures, where we invest venture capital for disruptive technologies in the field of construction and in the field of retail technology. And in total, yes, we are doing around 1.5 billion euros turnover.  So you're pretty substantially backed in terms of your initiative. You're anything but a startup..  Bernd Albl: Yes, that's definitely right.  When you say you are doing the build of stores, is that the build, including the whole actual physical building or when you're talking about store makers or shop fitters, you're talking about the interior? Bernd Albl: It's a very good question. The value chain in projects in the past, we usually were focused on the interior design, on the production of interior installation of interior shop fitting. But as I mentioned, as we are a big company, we are also building those big buildings with our technology. So our supply chain is moving in the direction of a very early stage of building. When it's in the building phase where Umdasch comes in and that's where we want to jump in and guide the customer from building to the interior, to the operating of the building as well as the stores. So we are serving the customer of the whole supply chain and operating chain of buildings, basically not just focused on shop fitting.  When you mentioned that the digital end of this was started about seven years ago. Was that the result of seeing an opportunity or because the retail industry and the requirements and ask of the retail customers was to incorporate this in there, so you had to add this? Bernd Albl: Honestly, some years ago, we had very tough times in shop fitting. We had losses at the end of the year, and we have seen that with the rise of standard online shopping, we are faced with a very big shift of how customers are shopping in the future. And this brought us in real trouble some years ago, and we were faced with the decision, what should we do? Should we run away, or should we jump into this new topic, integrate and develop our core business? And this is what we have done, and about it was eight years ago we sat together and said which technology should we start in terms of retail technology because there are so many technologies in the market, but what should be the first step for Umdasch which customers and retailers believe that we can deliver? And the second aspect was how we can handle the shift of parroting within our employees. Because some of them were afraid as they know that online shopping and digital technologies are our enemies and core business, and now we want to bring them into our core organization. And therefore, we figured out two technologies at the beginning. The first was digital signage to replace a poster price screen, and the second one was electronic shelf labeling, it's the price tag on the shelf. With those two technologies, we started the digital initiatives within the Umdasch group in terms of retail and where we started the shift of paradigm and the shift of the whole organization towards getting more and more digital, That's not an easy shift to make for a more traditionally focused company. Is it? A lot of training, a lot of education.  Bernd Albl: That's right. On the one hand, we have definitely shown our employees the chance we have. On the other hand, yes, we have to convince them and train them how to integrate screens. It sounds very simple when you say just implement a screen but honestly, mistakes in the implementation of hardware are still done. When you look through stores in the market, air circulation maintenance, possibilities and all those things and we are not focused on one single store project. We are focused on rollouts where we built thousands of stores and there you have to really exactly plan how you implement this. Because if you don't do this very carefully and you have any troubles, for example, with air circulation and you have snack work afterwards and you have to make changes then it costs a lot of money. So therefore we have to create the knowledge of our technical designers when they are designing the furniture and the stores. And there are many other aspects where we teach them how to implement this and not just in terms of digital signage but also in terms of electronic shelf labeling, and I would say it's booming since Corona, where we have seen many of the big retail chains there, which are investing hundreds of millions of dollars and euros. For example, Walmart, as you might  know, had decided to implement electronic shelf labels in the North American market. There is a few million hundred dollar project which is currently started. They have to exactly plan how to implement those simple little looking electronic shelf labels on the shelf edge. That it's not falling down, that it's not stolen, doesn't get broken et cetera, and that the appearance of the whole shelf is still working as soon as an electronic shelf labeling is put in front of the product on the shelf edge. And there could be a real disconnect between building engineers and pure interior design teams with the technology that then has to go in. I've heard of and seen endless cases of why did they do that? And why didn't these folks talk to each other? So if you can keep that all within one business entity doing all that planning then you don't get those disconnects, right?  Bernd Albl: Definitely, and this was one reason why we have merged different departments within Umdasch together where we have brought together, for example, in Duisburg in Germany, we have built it up a new office where we brought together all the interior designers together with our digital retail designers, where the digital storytelling comes together with the shop fitting design, storytelling i would say, that you definitely see the red line through the customer experience when it's designed. And this was one of the mistakes we also made in the past, that we separated those teams that we said, 'okay let's plan the store, and afterwards we plan the digital applications'. But, we instantly saw that it's not working, because the harmony and the whole concept wasn't given, therefore it's very necessary that as soon as and in the very early stage of the project, both competencies in the organization are working on the project and start communicating instantly together with the customer to realize shop fitting journeys of the customer which are working.  I don't know your business, but I assume for a more traditional shop fitting a company as part of a larger team that's doing any number of things, and you become a contractor to a larger project, whereas with this I'm getting the sense that you guys start right at the strategy stage and carry on through the project execution, and I'm wondering, do you also do aftercare, are you doing managed services where you're managing the digital signage component of the the retail network? Bernd Albl: Definitely this is something you have to provide in terms of digital installation, as many other full service integrators we were serving in a very early stage from the concept until software development and installation. Also, operating means content creation, hosting onsite services et cetera. But, what we have seen in combination with shop fitting, we have seen that those competencies which we already have in terms of digital are asked in the future from shop fitters. That means that the retailer wants to have a single point of contact, the kind of support hotline for shop fitting topics. If he needs other shelves, or if he needs when something's broken, or if he needs extra components. He doesn't want to contact different points within the organization. He wants to have one single point of contact, and we have also faced the topic of SLAs within shop fitting, so that we have to react within a certain period of time and fix the problem onsite. Why? Because, the furniture which will be produced in the near future, will get smarter and sensors will be implemented. And as soon as you have technical and electronic components within the traditional shop fitting environment you need those services, maintenance and operating services for customers. One easy topic is, for example, the cash desk.  Right. When you're talking about sensors, that's something you could do right now, but is it a case of the sensor technology and the thinking behind all of that needs to just mature a bit more so that it's fully integrated as opposed to something you add on. Bernd Albl: First of all, yes, some installations we are doing are stupid ones, which are not reacting based on sensors. Yes, we definitely see that trend on the market. The sensors will be unable to allow the retail to get more flexible, to get more target oriented to decrease the loss by improper communication to customers when it comes to digital signage, for example, where there is the combination of sensors when you use it for audience measurement and smart targeting. And we have seen sensors, weight sensors, light sensors, out of shelf sensors, however in terms of loitering, in terms of queue management where we see that the different kinds of sensors are getting more and more popular. And everything that pays in for the retailer to optimize processes because all of them have stuff topics that they don't find the stuff they need on the shop floor, so we have to help them to optimize the process costs and reduce the effort for the staff they have on the shop floor. And the other thing is to increase the shop experience for the customer, and sensors will definitely be one of the hot topics for the near future, and this is why you are seeing when you look on the signage market or on other retail technology markets that camera sensors, optical sensors and the radar sensors are getting more and more required from integrators and asked by retailers for smart solutions. And when you're using things like audience measurement technologies, whether it's camera base, radar base, whatever it may be. What are they looking to get out of that? Are they just trying to understand how the store works or are they trying to do almost personalized, one-to-one messaging to shoppers as they come within a quote unquote a strike zone.  Bernd Albl: As I mentioned, one thing is definitely to optimize the one-to-one communication to the customer that you send the right message to the right customer. Let's say, if he is a male customer in the age between 25 and 35, that we play out the right playlist when he's looking on the screen first of all. Therefore, optimizing the one-to-one communication to the customer, and the other thing is we are using the sensors for reducing process costs for the retailer. For example, one of the hot topics currently is off the shelf management or expired date management, this is something everybody's working on, how they can support the retailer to reduce those process costs for him. And those are the most important two areas where sensors are currently asked for and audience measurement, for example, as I mentioned, there is one use case where you can use a sensor.  Let's talk about some of the trends you're talking about. I was reading through some Umdasch material as well as some interviews, and one of the areas that was mentioned as a trend is individualization. What do you mean by that?  Bernd Albl: We definitely see that many brands are closing their stores. Many are reducing the number of stores they have in the field, and they want to increase the customer experience when they're entering the store, and one big criteria is how to hold the customer as long as possible in the store and to increase his basket to create a high level of individualization for him. Individualization means that we show the right information to him to give in an atmosphere and ambient design where he feels convenient and also we compare a little bit when you go online shopping or when you go on websites due to cookies and other trackers, it's very easy to flexibly create the web information based on your requirements, and this is something the customer has used and is standard for him and this is in some kind we try to transform those flexibility of experience rooms to the real store. That means that we want to play out the right stores, that we send the right push notification on the mobile application for his checkout devices that we probably play the right sounds due to the audience which is inside the store, that the influence is light based on the outside ambient, and there are so many possibilities on the turntable. You can increase or decrease to create an more and more individualized experience for the shopper. Right. You mentioned experience several times. How do you define experience in a retail environment? And I'm also curious how the retailers define that when it comes to applying digital.  Bernd Albl: This is a very good question. Honestly, some of our retailers don't know it exactly by themselves and this is something when we are working on a concept, what we evaluate together and one starting point is definitely the brand itself, the values of the brand. The atmosphere that the brand wants to communicate, that they want to transport and what are the visions and what is the reason for the store?  What is the offering of the store and what is the message of the store? And as soon as you have answered all those different questions, you can create the storytelling around that. At the end, this creates the experience and from the consulting, our experts are using the right materials, they're choosing the right colors and the right light atmosphere. We bring in the right technologies, the right touch points as soon as we have defined together with the customer the right use cases. By the way, this is one of the big mistakes many retailers are making over the concepts. First of all, they're thinking how many screens to be installed? Where should we place a screen? But they don't think about the real use behind the benefit of the touchpoint, and this is the way we create digital touchpoints. First of all, we say what benefit we wanna create. Then, we look at the area of the story which we want to offer and technology is the last point of the whole story. And all this together, is the key of success, and we call it already experienced stores to bring them alive. And I want to add one more thing is we always have to keep in mind when we create those stores that we have to think mid or long term in terms of operation. Most of our customers want to have the most fancy store possible, but we have to think what is in three years, what is in five years with the store. We also have to keep in mind how we can run the store, how we can operate, how we can keep this level of experience up for the next year, not just for one year. And this is also a very important point when you start designing an experience store for retailers and customers.  Yeah, they have to think about a five to seven-year creative budget, that's gonna be refreshed steadily, and they have to think about technology that's somewhat future-proofed and isn't gonna look old in five years.  Bernd Albl: You're talking about five to seven years. Honestly in Europe, I don't know what's happening in North America and Canada. We are faced with the topic that our stores have to last for the next 10 to 12 years, we are asked by the retailers. This is a very hot topic currently due to sustainability and ESG, that we have to develop stores that last much longer. So therefore, we as a shop fitter have to rethink our business model because it's definitely right what you're seeing, but in the past we have designed stores about every five to seven years at that time, and about 20 years in pharmacy stores. But in the near future, I think within the next three years we have to have concepts ready that enable us to realize concepts that are economically beneficial for a shop fitter to create stores that last more than 10 years. One of those things could be operating and digital services you provide and this is one of the big challenges for shop fitters in Europe they have currently faced and I think it's a very positive challenge because it has to be done. And this has to primarily do with waste material at the end of that five to seven years that you're throwing out all the wooden cabinets, the metal work, the plastic and everything and refreshing the whole look of the store, and therefore you're filling a landfill site with all this old retail design material. Bernd Albl: Exactly. All those topics you have mentioned are paying into this topic and the big challenges we have is, for example, Nike is one of our big customers in Europe. They're using used materials already, and we definitely see in the design process that the demand for used and refurbished materials is getting high. The quality is not there yet, what is expected by the retailer is that it lasts for a certain period of time. But the trend is definitely going in that direction, and that's the reason why we have implemented at the EuroShop this year, a sustainability database within our organization where we do a lot of research for refurbished materials, how long they last, how you can use them in shop fitting, and therefore we are currently investing a lot of money and time to create the knowledge you need and to fulfill this demand, which is definitely increasing over the next two to three years. You mentioned Nike. And as one of your main clients, there seems to be two kinds of tracks in retail design lately when it comes to digital, there are stores like Nike's and other particularly athletic apparel kinds of retailers where they, as well as fast fashion, where the stores are just visually noisy. There's all this digital going on, and that's it's very much digital forward, and then the other track, particularly in luxury retail is, it's very minimalistic where there's digital integrated in there, but it's definitely not in your face. It has a very distinct purpose and kind of blends in with the overall design. Is that what you're seeing? Bernd Albl: Yes, this is something that we can underline. Unfortunately, we are not doing the digital installations for Nike. But this is definitely a goal that we are heading towards… To calm them down? Bernd Albl: I would say digital has a very major part of the storytelling of those stores. When you look at night towns, for example, it's for the whole experience, digital applications also enable the retailer to entertain a big number of customers on the shop floor. When we come to luxury stores where you have a limited number of customers on the shop floor, at the same time, you're focused more and more on the one-to-one communication from staff to the customer. And, there is also much more to the product, the real product in the center of the storytelling. And they're much more focused on the materials they're using for shop fitting. And the luxury feeling and being luxury doesn't mean to be digital. That's the reason why we don't see too many digital applications at luxury stores. They are more minimalized there, because the product is in the front and especially the staff is in the front.  They're in there for the product, not just attracted by the shiny lights.  Bernd Albl: That's right.  What does digital represent for the shop fitting side of Umdasch's business? I think I saw something saying, it used to be maybe 10%, but now it's roughly half. Bernd Albl: No. I would laugh that it would be half. My boss always says, Bernd, you have to do at least 50% of our total turnover to be digital. Probably in the future. Yes. Definitely. This is something where we see the trend because digital services are also getting into traditional shop fitting applications. Bernd Albl: Currently, we're doing around 10 to 15% of our total turnover number digitally.  And are you primarily operating in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, or I assume that some customers take you all over the world with the projects.  Bernd Albl: This is a strategy we have within the whole organization of Umdasch. With the shopfitting department we are doing business basically in the whole Europe, in the Middle East, in Turkey and in some areas of North Africa. And, we say in those areas where we are actively doing business.  Last question. If I was traveling through Europe and asked you, okay, I'd love to see one of your stores where you've guided the project and deployed and is a reference case you can talk about. Where would you send me or somebody else to go look?  Bernd Albl: When you fly over from Canada to Europe, I would say let's make a pit stop in London and go to Harrods. So, we are currently rebuilding Harrods back to its 1920s. Oh, wow. Interesting. I'll be in London in mid-September, so I'll have to pop by Harrods. Take a Trip to Knightsbridge.  Bernd Albl: Perfect. But give me a ring. I will come over there and let's go there together. Alright Bernd. Thank you very much for spending the time with me. Bernd Albl: Thanks for having me and all the best to Canada.

The headline speaks for itself huns, this episode is spicy!! After seeing Barbie together last week (dressed in pink, obv) we couldn't wait to discuss our verdicts and debate the VERY polarised online conversation, including Barbie-burning Republicans and some very cross incels.  Plus, we deepdive into Barbie's salacious origin story and the woman who created her, and reveal why Ken's crotch became one of toymaker Mattel's most unexpected nightmares. Also, what is going on with so-called Margot Robbie fans editing her face beyond recognition, and what does this say about our warped beauty standards? Which obviously prompted us to fret that everyone around us is getting tweakements and we should too *cries* Finally, we have a ‘cheugy' moment dissecting the latest TikTok lingo, as well as the very strange success of new ‘robot' social media star PinkyDoll. Please do rate review and subscribe, and send us a DM with all your hot pink Barbie thoughts to @straightuppod on Insta And enjoy our two delicious restaurant reviews of Little Kudu in Peckham and Sale e Pepe in Knightsbridge. 

Join Sam and I as we explore the Carlton Tower Jumeirah in London!   And I might just tease him a bit along the way..  Samuel Wilcox is the Senior Sales Manager with Jumeirah Hotel Group Carlton Tower JumeirahSituated in the heart of Knightsbridge, one of London's most exclusive neighborhoods, and rising high over world- class shopping destination Sloane Street, The Carlton Tower Jumeirah is a beacon of sophistication where heritage meets contemporary luxury. The hotel has been reinvented for a generation of discerning guests with elegant, timeless interiors complemented by the most spectacular viewsReady to go?  Me too!   Find out more information below!On the web:  https://www.jumeirah.com/en/stay/london/the-carlton-tower-jumeirah Insta:  https://www.instagram.com/thecarltontowerjumeirah/ Black Dog Luxury Travel Website: https://blackdogluxurytravel.com/Want to connect? I'd love to hear from you! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackdogluxurytravel/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackdogluxurytravelLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blackdogluxurytravel/

Episode 225. I'm joined by Matt Williams of Knightsbridge Research to break down the latest moves Saudi Arabia has made in contrast to the US Dollar as a world reserve currency, China's moves, Taiwan and the fallout from the Ukraine classified documents leaks. The Guerilla's Guide to the Baofeng Radio is a #1 Bestseller!  Knightsbridge Research discount code: SCOUT Nehemiah Strong discount code: SCOUT1 Radio Contra Sponsors: Civil Defense Manual Tactical Wisdom Blacksmith Publishing Radio Contra Patron Program Brushbeater Training Calendar Brushbeater Forum Palmetto State Armory Primary Arms

We're still in London, and things are getting (literally) hairy for the twins. After a brutal murder takes place at Pembroke Manor, Elizabeth is even more convinced that the serial killer is a werewolf. She decides to do some solo snooping - and makes a truly startling discovery (after stealing evidence from a crime scene). Meanwhile Jessica, worryingly unbothered by seeing a mutilated corpse in her own bed, has a scary experience in Knightsbridge tube station, multiple minor characters talk about the importance of honesty (yawn), and Luke reads his werewolf poetry. Oh yes. Don't be a naff narg me old chinas, join us in London town! This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was just another normal day at the Harvey Nichols flagship store in Knightsbridge.  As the day was drawing to a close at about 7.50pm, 22 year old Clare Bernal was finishing up her shift in the beauty department. With only 10 minutes to go there were a few customers still milling around, and Clare and her colleagues were looking forward to the end of another day. Nobody paid much attention to the man who approached Clare from behind and when a colleague realised what was happening, it was too late.... Find out more about the UK True Crime Podcast: https://linktr.ee/uktruecrime Sources https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stalker-idUKL1819195720070118 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/feb/27/gender.ukguns https://www.chillingcrimes.com/blogs/news/clare-bernal https://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/152888/My-stalker-broke-in-and-bugged-my-sofa https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/family-woman-22-shot-dead-14017132 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/harvey-nichols-assistant-s-death-was-unforeseeable-432752.html https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tunbridge-wells/news/tragic-story-of-murdered-clare-to-air-tonight-199131/ https://www.thefreelibrary.com/HARVEY+NICKS+GIRL%27S+NEW+LOVE%3B+Shot+Clare+planned+to+marry%2C+says...-a0136244169 https://www.protectionagainststalking.org/ https://www.channel5.com/stalked-murder-in-slow-motion/season-1/clare-bernal https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20482930 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17294314

Episode 219. I'm joined by Matt of Knightsbridge Research to discuss the admission by General Laura Richardson, Commander of US Southern Command, that China's economic and military influence in South America presents a clear and present danger to the US, a confirmation of what I have covered for many years now. The Guerilla's Guide to the Baofeng Radio is a #1 Bestseller!  Knightsbridge Research discount code: SCOUT Nehemiah Strong discount code: SCOUT1 Radio Contra Sponsors: Civil Defense Manual Tactical Wisdom Blacksmith Publishing Radio Contra Patron Program Brushbeater Training Calendar Brushbeater Forum Palmetto State Armory Primary Arms

Join us for a discussion with the visionary and leading surgeon behind the skincare that has been to space and back, Dr Yannis Alexandrides. In this episode Dr Yannis explains the new trends in aesthetic medicine and how 111SKIN is paving the way to make surgically precise skincare the new benchmark for achieving truly transformative results from topical products. DR. YANNIS ALEXANDRIDES is an American and British board certified plastic surgeon specialising in facial reconstructive and rejuvenation surgery. Since 2001 he has been the founder, director and head of surgical practice at 111 HARLEY ST. in London, one of the city's most renowned cosmetic surgery practices specialising in both surgical and non-surgical procedures. A pioneer in innovative cosmetic treatments, Dr. Yannis was among the first in his field to advocate non-surgical procedures to his clients with his ethos being that surgery is always the last resort. This unique perspective combined with the success of his original Dramatic Healing Serum that Dr Yannis developed and used on his patients as a part of their post-surgical aftercare led to the launch of 111SKIN. An advanced anti-ageing product range featuring a key proprietary formula NAC Y2, 111SKIN combines Dr. Yannis' knowledge of effectively targeting the signs of ageing with space scientists' expertise in protecting the skin against environmental damage. In keeping with the holistic approach that Dr. Yannis takes to his work and his belief that a patient's overall health and wellness need to be addressed before embarking on any aesthetic treatments, 2016 saw the launch of 111CRYO, the first full body, non-nitrogen cryotherapy chamber in the UK, exclusively at Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge. Most recently, Dr. Yannis has launched 111SPA/CLINIC by 111SKIN; a revolutionary spa concept offering the latest aesthetic performance face and body treatments for the first time in a multi-sensory spa environment. Inspired by his surgical expertise, powered by clinically-engineered, aesthetician-grade skincare and utilising in-clinic technology, 111SPA/CLINIC by 111SKIN is a true fusion of proven clinical results within a luxurious, sensual experience. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/skincareanarchy/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/skincareanarchy/support

With the Battle of Bir Hakeem over Rommel is ready to drive on Tobruk, but first he has to get passed the Knightsbridge Box, where the 2nd and 4th Armored Brigades are waiting. What follows is mistakes by both sides, but Rommel reacts more quickly because he is with his men. Meanwhile, 8th Army Commander Ritchie is far away and has no idea what's going on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode one hundred and fifty-five of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Waterloo Sunset” by the Kinks, and the self-inflicted damage the group did to their career between 1965 and 1967. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a nineteen-minute bonus episode available, on "Excerpt From a Teenage Opera" by Keith West. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, 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/ Resources No Mixcloud this week, as there are too many Kinks songs. I've used several resources for this and future episodes on the Kinks, most notably Ray Davies: A Complicated Life by Johnny Rogan and You Really Got Me by Nick Hasted. X-Ray by Ray Davies is a remarkable autobiography with a framing story set in a dystopian science-fiction future, while Kink by Dave Davies is more revealing but less well-written. The Anthology 1964-1971 is a great box set that covers the Kinks' Pye years, which overlap almost exactly with their period of greatest creativity. For those who don't want a full box set, this two-CD set covers all the big hits. And this is the interview with Rasa I discuss in the episode. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before I start, this episode has some mentions of racism and homophobia, several discussions of physical violence, one mention of domestic violence, and some discussion of mental illness. I've tried to discuss these things with a reasonable amount of sensitivity, but there's a tabloid element to some of my sources which inevitably percolates through, so be warned if you find those things upsetting. One of the promises I made right at the start of this project was that I would not be doing the thing that almost all podcasts do of making huge chunks of the episodes be about myself -- if I've had to update people about something in my life that affects the podcast, I've done it in separate admin episodes, so the episodes themselves will not be taken up with stuff about me. The podcast is not about me. I am making a very slight exception in this episode, for reasons that will become clear -- there's no way for me to tell this particular story the way I need to without bringing myself into it at least a little. So I wanted to state upfront that this is a one-off thing. The podcast is not suddenly going to change. But one question that I get asked a lot -- far more than I'd expect -- is "do the people you talk about in the podcast ever get in touch with you about what you've said?" Now that has actually happened twice, both times involving people leaving comments on relatively early episodes. The first time is probably the single thing I'm proudest of achieving with this series, and it was a comment left on the episode on "Goodnight My Love" a couple of years back: [Excerpt: Jesse Belvin, "Goodnight My Love"] That comment was from Debra Frazier and read “Jesse Belvin is my Beloved Uncle, my mother's brother. I've been waiting all my life for him to be recognized in this manner. I must say the content in this podcast is 100% correct!Joann and Jesse practically raised me. Can't express how grateful I am. Just so glad someone got it right. I still miss them dearly to this day. My world was forever changed Feb. 6th 1960. I can remember him writing most of those songs right there in my grandmother's living room. I think I'm his last living closest relative, that knows everything in this podcast is true." That comment by itself would have justified me doing this whole podcast. The other such comment actually came a couple of weeks ago, and was on the episode on "Only You": [Excerpt: The Platters, "Only You"] That was a longer comment, from Gayle Schrieber, an associate of Buck Ram, and started "Well, you got some of it right. Your smart-assed sarcasm and know-it-all attitude is irritating since I Do know it all from the business side but what the heck. You did better than most people – with the exception of Marv Goldberg." Given that Marv Goldberg is the single biggest expert on 1950s vocal groups in the world, I'll take that as at least a backhanded compliment. So those are the only two people who I've talked about in the podcast who've commented, but before the podcast I had a blog, and at various times people whose work I wrote about would comment -- John Cowsill of the Cowsills still remembers a blog post where I said nice things about him fourteen years ago, for example. And there was one comment on a blog post I made four or five years ago which confirmed something I'd suspected for a while… When we left the Kinks, at the end of 1964, they had just recorded their first album. That album was not very good, but did go to number three in the UK album charts, which is a much better result than it sounds. Freddie "Boom Boom" Cannon got to number one in 1960, but otherwise the only rock acts to make number one on the album charts from the start of the sixties through the end of 1967 were Elvis, Cliff Richard, the Shadows, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and the Monkees. In the first few years of the sixties they were interspersed with the 101 Strings, trad jazz, the soundtrack to West Side Story, and a blackface minstrel group, The George Mitchell Singers. From mid-1963 through to the end of 1967, though, literally the only things to get to number one on the album charts were the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Monkees, and the soundtrack to The Sound of Music. That tiny cabal was eventually broken at the end of 1967 by Val Doonican Rocks… But Gently, and from 1968 on the top of the album charts becomes something like what we would expect today, with a whole variety of different acts, I make this point to point out two things The first is that number three on the album charts is an extremely good position for the Kinks to be in -- when they reached that point the Rolling Stones' second album had just entered at number one, and Beatles For Sale had dropped to number two after eight weeks at the top -- and the second is that for most rock artists and record labels, the album market was simply not big enough or competitive enough until 1968 for it to really matter. What did matter was the singles chart. And "You Really Got Me" had been a genuinely revolutionary hit record. According to Ray Davies it had caused particular consternation to both the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, both of whom had thought they would be the first to get to number one with a dirty, distorted, R&B-influenced guitar-riff song. And so three weeks after the release of the album came the group's second single. Originally, the plan had been to release a track Ray had been working on called "Tired of Waiting", but that was a slower track, and it was decided that the best thing to do would be to try to replicate the sound of their first hit. So instead, they released "All Day And All Of The Night": [Excerpt: The Kinks, "All Day And All Of The Night"] That track was recorded by the same team as had recorded "You Really Got Me", except with Perry Ford replacing Arthur Greenslade on piano. Once again, Bobby Graham was on drums rather than Mick Avory, and when Ray Davies suggested that he might want to play a different drum pattern, Graham just asked him witheringly "Who do you think you are?" "All Day and All of the Night" went to number two -- a very impressive result for a soundalike follow-up -- and was kept off the number one spot first by "Baby Love" by the Supremes and then by "Little Red Rooster" by the Rolling Stones. The group quickly followed it up with an EP, Kinksize Session, consisting of three mediocre originals plus the group's version of "Louie Louie". By February 1965 that had hit number one on the EP charts, knocking the Rolling Stones off. Things were going as well as possible for the group. Ray and his girlfriend Rasa got married towards the end of 1964 -- they had to, as Rasa was pregnant and from a very religious Catholic family. By contrast, Dave was leading the kind of life that can only really be led by a seventeen-year-old pop star -- he moved out of the family home and in with Mick Avory after his mother caught him in bed with five women, and once out of her watchful gaze he also started having affairs with men, which was still illegal in 1964. (And which indeed would still be illegal for seventeen-year-olds until 2001). In January, they released their third hit single, "Tired of Waiting for You". The track was a ballad rather than a rocker, but still essentially another variant on the theme of "You Really Got Me" -- a song based around a few repeated phrases of lyric, and with a chorus with two major chords a tone apart. "You Really Got Me"'s chorus has the change going up: [Plays "You Really Got Me" chorus chords] While "Tired Of Waiting For You"'s chorus has the change going down: [Plays "Tired of Waiting For You" chorus chords] But it's trivially easy to switch between the two if you play them in the same key: [Demonstrates] Ray has talked about how "Tired of Waiting for You" was partly inspired by how he felt tired of waiting for the fame that the Kinks deserved, and the music was written even before "You Really Got Me". But when they went into the studio to record it, the only lyrics he had were the chorus. Once they'd recorded the backing track, he worked on the lyrics at home, before coming back into the studio to record his vocals, with Rasa adding backing vocals on the softer middle eight: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Tired of Waiting For You"] After that track was recorded, the group went on a tour of Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. The flight out to Australia was thirty-four hours, and also required a number of stops. One stop to refuel in Moscow saw the group forced back onto the plane at gunpoint after Pete Quaife unwisely made a joke about the recently-deposed Russian Premier Nikita Khruschev. They also had a stop of a couple of days in Mumbai, where Ray was woken up by the sounds of fishermen chanting at the riverside, and enchanted by both the sound and the image. In Adelaide, Ray and Dave met up for the first time in years with their sister Rose and her husband Arthur. Ray was impressed by their comparative wealth, but disliked the slick modernity of their new suburban home. Dave became so emotional about seeing his big sister again that he talked about not leaving her house, not going to the show that night, and just staying in Australia so they could all be a family again. Rose sadly told him that he knew he couldn't do that, and he eventually agreed. But the tour wasn't all touching family reunions. They also got into a friendly rivalry with Manfred Mann, who were also on the tour and were competing with the Kinks to be the third-biggest group in the UK behind the Beatles and the Stones, and at one point both bands ended up on the same floor of the same hotel as the Stones, who were on their own Australian tour. The hotel manager came up in the night after a complaint about the noise, saw the damage that the combined partying of the three groups had caused, and barricaded them into that floor, locking the doors and the lift shafts, so that the damage could be contained to one floor. "Tired of Waiting" hit number one in the UK while the group were on tour, and it also became their biggest hit in the US, reaching number six, so on the way home they stopped off in the US for a quick promotional appearance on Hullabaloo. According to Ray's accounts, they were asked to do a dance like Freddie and the Dreamers, he and Mick decided to waltz together instead, and the cameras cut away horrified at the implied homosexuality. In fact, examining the footage shows the cameras staying on the group as Mick approaches Ray, arms extended, apparently offering to waltz, while Ray backs off nervous and confused, unsure what's going on. Meanwhile Dave and Pete on the other side of the stage are being gloriously camp with their arms around each other's shoulders. When they finally got back to the UK, they were shocked to hear this on the radio: [Excerpt: The Who, "I Can't Explain"] Ray was horrified that someone had apparently stolen the group's sound, especially when he found out it was the Who, who as the High Numbers had had a bit of a rivalry with the group. He said later "Dave thought it was us! It was produced by Shel Talmy, like we were. They used the same session singers as us, and Perry Ford played piano, like he did on ‘All Day And All Of The Night'. I felt a bit appalled by that. I think that was worse than stealing a song – they were actually stealing our whole style!” Pete Townshend later admitted as much, saying that he had deliberately demoed "I Can't Explain" to sound as much like the Kinks as possible so that Talmy would see its potential. But the Kinks were still, for the moment, doing far better than the Who. In March, shortly after returning from their foreign tour, they released their second album, Kinda Kinks. Like their first album, it was a very patchy effort, but it made number two on the charts, behind the Rolling Stones. But Ray Davies was starting to get unhappy. He was dissatisfied with everything about his life. He would talk later about looking at his wife lying in bed sleeping and thinking "What's she doing here?", and he was increasingly wondering if the celebrity pop star life was right for him, simultaneously resenting and craving the limelight, and doing things like phoning the music papers to deny rumours that he was leaving the Kinks -- rumours which didn't exist until he made those phone calls. As he thought the Who had stolen the Kinks' style, Ray decided to go in a different direction for the next Kinks single, and recorded "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy", which was apparently intended to sound like Motown, though to my ears it bears no resemblance: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy"] That only went to number nineteen -- still a hit, but a worry for a band who had had three massive hits in a row. Several of the band started to worry seriously that they were going to end up with no career at all. It didn't help that on the tour after recording that, Ray came down with pneumonia. Then Dave came down with bronchitis. Then Pete Quaife hit his head and had to be hospitalised with severe bleeding and concussion. According to Quaife, he fainted in a public toilet and hit his head on the bowl on the way down, but other band members have suggested that Quaife -- who had a reputation for telling tall stories, even in a band whose members are all known for rewriting history -- was ashamed after getting into a fight. In April they played the NME Poll-Winners' Party, on the same bill as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Moody Blues, the Searchers, Freddie And The Dreamers, Herman's Hermits, Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders, the Rockin' Berries, the Seekers, the Ivy League, Them, the Bachelors, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Twinkle, Tom Jones, Donovan, and Sounds Incorporated. Because they got there late they ended up headlining, going on after the Beatles, even though they hadn't won an award, only come second in best new group, coming far behind the Stones but just ahead of Manfred Mann and the Animals. The next single, "Set Me Free", was a conscious attempt to correct course after "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy" had been less successful: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Set Me Free"] The song is once again repetitive, and once again based on a riff, structured similarly to "Tired of Waiting" but faster and more upbeat, and with a Beatles-style falsetto in the chorus. It worked -- it returned the group to the top ten -- but Ray wasn't happy at writing to order. He said in August of that year “I'm ashamed of that song. I can stand to hear and even sing most of the songs I've written, but not that one. It's built around pure idiot harmonies that have been used in a thousand songs.” More recently he's talked about how the lyric was an expression of him wanting to be set free from the constraint of having to write a hit song in the style he felt he was outgrowing. By the time the single was released, though, it looked like the group might not even be together any longer. There had always been tensions in the band. Ray and Dave had a relationship that made the Everly Brothers look like the model of family amity, and while Pete Quaife stayed out of the arguments for the most part, Mick Avory couldn't. The core of the group had always been the Davies brothers, and Quaife had known them for years, but Avory was a relative newcomer and hadn't grown up with them, and they also regarded him as a bit less intelligent than the rest of the group. He became the butt of jokes on a fairly constant basis. That would have been OK, except that Avory was also an essentially passive person, who didn't want to take sides in conflicts, while Dave Davies thought that as he and Avory were flatmates they should be on the same side, and resented when Avory didn't take his side in arguments with Ray. As Dave remembered it, the trigger came when he wanted to change the setlist and Mick didn't support him against Ray. In others' recollection, it came when the rest of the band tried to get Dave away from a party and he got violent with them. Both may be true. Either way, Dave got drunk and threw a suitcase at the back of a departing Mick, who was normally a fairly placid person but had had enough, and so he turned round, furious, grabbed Dave, got him in a headlock and just started punching, blackening both his eyes. According to some reports, Avory was so infuriated with Dave that he knocked him out, and Dave was so drunk and angry that when he came to he went for Avory again, and got knocked out again. The next day, the group were driven to their show in separate cars -- the Davies brothers in one, the rhythm section in the other -- they had separate dressing rooms, and made their entrance from separate directions. They got through the first song OK, and then Dave Davies insulted Avory's drumming, spat at him, and kicked his drums so they scattered all over the stage. At this point, a lot of the audience were still thinking this was part of the act, but Avory saw red again and picked up his hi-hat cymbal and smashed it down edge-first onto Dave's head. Everyone involved says that if his aim had been very slightly different he would have actually killed Dave. As it is, Dave collapsed, unconscious, bleeding everywhere. Ray screamed "My brother! He's killed my little brother!" and Mick, convinced he was a murderer, ran out of the theatre, still wearing his stage outfit of a hunting jacket and frilly shirt. He was running away for his life -- and that was literal, as Britain still technically had the death penalty at this point; while the last executions in Britain took place in 1964, capital punishment for murder wasn't abolished until late 1965 -- but at the same time a gang of screaming girls outside who didn't know what was going on were chasing him because he was a pop star. He managed to get back to London, where he found that the police had been looking for him but that Dave was alive and didn't want to press charges. However, he obviously couldn't go back to their shared home, and they had to cancel gigs because Dave had been hospitalised. It looked like the group were finished for good. Four days after that, Ray and Rasa's daughter Louisa was born, and shortly after that Ray was in the studio again, recording demos: [Excerpt: Ray Davies, "I Go to Sleep (demo)"] That song was part of a project that Larry Page, the group's co-manager, and Eddie Kassner, their publisher, had of making Ray's songwriting a bigger income source, and getting his songs recorded by other artists. Ray had been asked to write it for Peggy Lee, who soon recorded her own version: [Excerpt: Peggy Lee, "I Go to Sleep"] Several of the other tracks on that demo session featured Mitch Mitchell on drums. At the time, Mitchell was playing with another band that Page managed, and there seems to have been some thought of him possibly replacing Avory in the group. But instead, Larry Page cut the Gordian knot. He invited each band member to a meeting, just the two of them -- and didn't tell them that he'd scheduled all these meetings at the same time. When they got there, they found that they'd been tricked into having a full band meeting, at which point Page just talked to them about arrangements for their forthcoming American tour, and didn't let them get a word in until he'd finished. At the end he asked if they had any questions, and Mick Avory said he'd need some new cymbals because he'd broken his old ones on Dave's head. Before going on tour, the group recorded a song that Ray had written inspired by that droning chanting he'd heard in Mumbai. The song was variously titled "See My Friend" and "See My Friends" -- it has been released under both titles, and Ray seems to sing both words at different times -- and Ray told Maureen Cleave "The song is about homosexuality… It's like a football team and the way they're always kissing each other.” (We will be talking about Ray Davies' attitudes towards sexuality and gender in a future episode, but suffice to say that like much of Davies' worldview, he has a weird mixture of very progressive and very reactionary views, and he is also prone to observe behaviours in other people's private lives and make them part of his own public persona). The guitar part was recorded on a bad twelve-string guitar that fed back in the studio, creating a drone sound, which Shel Talmy picked up on and heavily compressed, creating a sound that bore more than a little resemblance to a sitar: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "See My Friend"] If that had been released at the time, it would have made the Kinks into trend-setters. Instead it was left in the can for nearly three months, and in the meantime the Yardbirds released the similar-sounding "Heart Full of Soul", making the Kinks look like bandwagon-jumpers when their own record came out, and reinforcing a paranoid belief that Ray had started to develop that his competitors were stealing his ideas. The track taking so long to come out was down to repercussions from the group's American tour, which changed the course of their whole career in ways they could not possibly have predicted. This was still the era when the musicians' unions of the US and UK had a restrictive one-in, one-out policy for musicians, and you couldn't get a visa to play in the US without the musicians' union's agreement -- and the AFM were not very keen on the British invasion, which they saw as taking jobs away from their members. There are countless stories from this period of bands like the Moody Blues getting to the US only to find that the arrangements have fallen through and they can't perform. Around this time, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders were told they weren't notable enough to get permission to play more than one gig, even though they were at number one on the charts in the US at the time. So it took a great deal of effort to get the Kinks' first US tour arranged, and they had to make a good impression. Unfortunately, while the Beatles and Stones knew how to play the game and give irreverent, cheeky answers that still left the interviewers amused and satisfied, the Kinks were just flat-out confusing and rude: [Excerpt: The Kinks Interview with Clay Cole] The whole tour went badly. They were booked into unsuitable venues, and there were a series of events like the group being booked on the same bill as the Dave Clark Five, and both groups having in their contract that they would be the headliner. Promoters started to complain about them to their management and the unions, and Ray was behaving worse and worse. By the time the tour hit LA, Ray was being truly obnoxious. According to Larry Page he refused to play one TV show because there was a Black drummer on the same show. Page said that it was not about personal prejudice -- though it's hard to see how it could not be, at least in part -- but just picking something arbitrary to complain about to show he had the power to mess things up. While shooting a spot for the show Where The Action Is, Ray got into a physical fight with one of the other cast members over nothing. What Ray didn't realise was that the person in question was a representative for AFTRA, the screen performers' union, and was already unhappy because Dave had earlier refused to join the union. Their behaviour got reported up the chain. The day after the fight was supposed to be the highlight of the tour, but Ray was missing his wife. In the mid-sixties, the Beach Boys would put on a big Summer Spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl every year, and the Kinks were due to play it, on a bill which as well as the Beach Boys also featured the Byrds, the Righteous Brothers, Dino, Desi & Billy, and Sonny and Cher. But Ray said he wasn't going on unless Rasa was there. And he didn't tell Larry Page, who was there, that. Instead, he told a journalist at the Daily Mirror in London, and the first Page heard about it was when the journalist phoned him to confirm that Ray wouldn't be playing. Now, they had already been working to try to get Rasa there for the show, because Ray had been complaining for a while. But Rasa didn't have a passport. Not only that, but she was an immigrant and her family were from Lithuania, and the US State Department weren't exactly keen on people from the Eastern Bloc flying to the US. And it was a long flight. I don't know exactly how long a flight from London to LA took then, but it takes eleven and a half hours now, and it will have been around that length. Somehow, working a miracle, Larry Page co-ordinated with his co-managers Robert Wace and Grenville Collins back in London -- difficult in itself as Wace and Collins and Page and his business partner Eddie Kassner were by now in two different factions, because Ray had been manipulating them and playing them off against each other for months. But the three of them worked together and somehow got Rasa to LA in time for Ray to go on stage. Page waited around long enough to see that Ray had got on stage at the Hollywood Bowl, then flew back to London. He had had enough of Ray's nonsense, and didn't really see any need to be there anyway, because they had a road manager, their publisher, their agent, and plenty of support staff. He felt that he was only there to be someone for Ray Davies to annoy and take his frustrations out on. And indeed, once Page flew back to the UK, Ray calmed down, though how much of that was the presence of Rasa it's hard to say. Their road manager at the time though said "If Larry wasn't there, Ray couldn't make problems because there was nobody there to make them to. He couldn't make problems for me because I just ignored them. For example, in Hawaii, the shirts got stolen. Ray said, ‘No way am I going onstage without my shirt.' So I turned around and said to him, ‘Great, don't go on!' Of course, they went on.” They did miss the gig the next night in San Francisco, with more or less the same lineup as the Hollywood Bowl show -- they'd had problems with the promoter of that show at an earlier gig in Reno, and so Ray said they weren't going to play unless they got paid in cash upfront. When the promoter refused, the group just walked on stage, waved, and walked off. But other than that, the rest of the tour went OK. What they didn't realise until later was that they had made so many enemies on that tour that it would be impossible for them to return to the US for another four years. They weren't blacklisted, as such, they just didn't get the special treatment that was necessary to make it possible for them to visit there. From that point on they would still have a few hits in the US, but nothing like the sustained massive success they had in the UK in the same period. Ray felt abandoned by Page, and started to side more and more with Wace and Collins. Page though was still trying to promote Ray's songwriting. Some of this, like the album "Kinky Music" by the Larry Page Orchestra, released during the tour, was possibly not the kind of promotion that anyone wanted, though some of it has a certain kitsch charm: [Excerpt: The Larry Page Orchestra, "All Day And All Of The Night"] Incidentally, the guitarist on that album was Jimmy Page, who had previously played rhythm guitar on a few Kinks album tracks. But other stuff that Larry Page was doing would be genuinely helpful. For example, on the tour he had become friendly with Stone and Greene, the managers who we heard about in the Buffalo Springfield episode. At this point they were managing Sonny and Cher, and when they came over to the UK, Page took the opportunity to get Cher into the studio to cut a version of Ray's "I Go to Sleep": [Excerpt: Cher, "I Go to Sleep"] Most songwriters, when told that the biggest new star of the year was cutting a cover version of one of their tracks for her next album, would be delighted. Ray Davies, on the other hand, went to the session and confronted Page, screaming about how Page was stealing his ideas. And it was Page being marginalised that caused "See My Friend" to be delayed, because while they were in the US, Page had produced the group in Gold Star Studios, recording a version of Ray's song "Ring the Bells", and Page wanted that as the next single, but the group had a contract with Shel Talmy which said he would be their producer. They couldn't release anything Talmy hadn't produced, but Page, who had control over the group's publishing with his business partner Kassner, wouldn't let them release "See My Friend". Eventually, Talmy won out, and "See My Friend" became the group's next single. It made the top ten on the Record Retailer chart, the one that's now the official UK chart cited in most sources, but only number fifteen on the NME chart which more people paid attention to at the time, and only spent a few weeks on the charts. Ray spent the summer complaining in the music papers about how the track -- "the only one I've really liked", as he said at the time -- wasn't selling as much as it deserved, and also insulting Larry Page and boasting about his own abilities, saying he was a better singer than Andy Williams and Tony Bennett. The group sacked Larry Page as their co-manager, and legal battles between Page and Kassner on one side and Collins and Wace on the other would continue for years, tying up much of the group's money. Page went on to produce a new band he was managing, making records that sounded very like the Kinks' early hits: [Excerpt: The Troggs, "Wild Thing"] The Kinks, meanwhile, decided to go in a different direction for their new EP, Kwyet Kinks, an EP of mostly softer, folk- and country-inspired songs. The most interesting thing on Kwyet Kinks was "Well-Respected Man", which saw Ray's songwriting go in a completely different direction as he started to write gentle social satires with more complex lyrics, rather than the repetitive riff-based songs he'd been doing before. That track was released as a single in the US, which didn't have much of an EP market, and made the top twenty there, despite its use of a word that in England at the time had a double meaning -- either a cigarette or a younger boy at a public school who has to be the servant of an older boy -- but in America was only used as a slur for gay people: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Well Respected Man"] The group's next album, The Kink Kontroversy, was mostly written in a single week, and is another quickie knockoff album. It had the hit single "Til the End of the Day", another attempt at getting back to their old style of riffy rockers, and one which made the top ten. It also had a rerecorded version of "Ring the Bells", the song Larry Page had wanted to release as a single: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Ring the Bells"] I'm sure that when Ray Davies heard "Ruby Tuesday" a little over a year later he didn't feel any better about the possibility that people were stealing his ideas. The Kink Kontroversy was a transitional album for the group in many ways. It was the first album to prominently feature Nicky Hopkins, who would be an integral part of the band's sound for the next three years, and the last one to feature a session drummer (Clem Cattini, rather than Avory, played on most of the tracks). From this point on there would essentially be a six-person group of studio Kinks who would make the records -- the four Kinks themselves, Rasa Davies on backing vocals, and Nicky Hopkins on piano. At the end of 1965 the group were flailing, mired in lawsuits, and had gone from being the third biggest group in the country at the start of the year to maybe the tenth or twentieth by the end of it. Something had to change. And it did with the group's next single, which in both its sound and its satirical subject matter was very much a return to the style of "Well Respected Man". "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" was inspired by anger. Ray was never a particularly sociable person, and he was not the kind to do the rounds of all the fashionable clubs like the other pop stars, including his brother, would. But he did feel a need to make some kind of effort and would occasionally host parties at his home for members of the fashionable set. But Davies didn't keep up with fashion the way they did, and some of them would mock him for the way he dressed. At one such party he got into a fistfight with someone who was making fun of his slightly flared trousers, kicked all the guests out, and then went to a typewriter and banged out a lyric mocking the guest and everyone like him: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"] The song wasn't popular with Ray's bandmates -- Dave thought it was too soft and wimpy, while Quaife got annoyed at the time Ray spent in the studio trying to make the opening guitar part sound a bit like a ukulele. But they couldn't argue with the results -- it went to number five on the charts, their biggest success since "Tired of Waiting for You" more than a year earlier, and more importantly in some ways it became part of the culture in a way their more recent singles hadn't. "Til The End of the Day" had made the top ten, but it wasn't a record that stuck in people's minds. But "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" was so popular that Ray soon got sick of people coming up to him in the street and singing "Oh yes he is!" at him. But then, Ray was getting sick of everything. In early 1966 he had a full-scale breakdown, brought on by the flu but really just down to pure exhaustion. Friends from this time say that Ray was an introverted control freak, always neurotic and trying to get control and success, but sabotaging it as soon as he attained it so that he didn't have to deal with the public. Just before a tour of Belgium, Rasa gave him an ultimatum -- either he sought medical help or she would leave him. He picked up their phone and slammed it into her face, blacking her eye -- the only time he was ever physically violent to her, she would later emphasise -- at which point it became imperative to get medical help for his mental condition. Ray stayed at home while the rest of the band went to Belgium -- they got in a substitute rhythm player, and Dave took the lead vocals -- though the tour didn't make them any new friends. Their co-manager Grenville Collins went along and with the tact and diplomacy for which the British upper classes are renowned the world over, would say things like “I understand every bloody word you're saying but I won't speak your filthy language. De Gaulle won't speak English, why should I speak French?” At home, Ray was doing worse and worse. When some pre-recorded footage of the Kinks singing "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" came on the TV, he unplugged it and stuck it in the oven. He said later "I was completely out of my mind. I went to sleep and I woke up a week later with a beard. I don't know what happened to me. I'd run into the West End with my money stuffed in my socks, I'd tried to punch my press agent, I was chased down Denmark Street by the police, hustled into a taxi by a psychiatrist and driven off somewhere. And I didn't know. I woke up and I said, ‘What's happening? When do we leave for Belgium?' And they said, ‘Ray it's all right. You had a collapse. Don't worry. You'll get better.'” He did get better, though for a long time he found himself unable to listen to any contemporary rock music other than Bob Dylan -- electric guitars made him think of the pop world that had made him ill -- and so he spent his time listening to classical and jazz records. He didn't want to be a pop star any more, and convinced himself he could quit the band if he went out on top by writing a number one single. And so he did: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Sunny Afternoon"] Or at least, I say it's a single he wrote, but it's here that I finally get to a point I've been dancing round since the beginning of the episode. The chorus line, "In the summertime", was Rasa's suggestion, and in one of the only two interviews I've ever come across with her, for Johnny Rogan's biography of Ray, she calls the song "the only one where I wrote some words". But there's evidence, including another interview with her I'll talk about in a bit, that suggests that's not quite the case. For years, I thought it was an interesting coincidence that Ray Davies' songwriting ability follows a curve that almost precisely matches that of his relationship with Rasa. At the start, he's clearly talented -- "You Really Got Me" is a great track -- but he's an unformed writer and most of his work is pretty poor stuff. Then he marries Rasa, and his writing starts to become more interesting. Rasa starts to regularly contribute in the studio, and he becomes one of the great songwriters of his generation. For a five-year period in the mid-to-late-sixties, the period when their marriage is at its strongest, Ray writes a string of classic songs that are the equal of any catalogue in popular music. Then around 1970 Rasa stops coming to the studio, and their marriage is under strain. The records become patchier -- still plenty of classic tracks, but a lot more misses. And then in 1973, she left him, and his songwriting fell off a cliff. If you look at a typical Ray Davies concert setlist from 2017, the last time he toured, he did twenty songs, of which two were from his new album, one was the Kinks' one-off hit "Come Dancing" from 1983, and every other song was from the period when he and Rasa were married. Now, for a long time I just thought that was interesting, but likely a coincidence. After all, most rock songwriters do their most important work in their twenties, divorces have a way of messing people's mental health up, musical fashions change… there are a myriad reasons why these things could be like that. But… the circumstantial evidence just kept piling up. Ray's paranoia about people stealing his ideas meant that he became a lot more paranoid and secretive in his songwriting process, and would often not tell his bandmates the titles of the songs, the lyrics, or the vocal melody, until after they'd recorded the backing tracks -- they would record the tracks knowing the chord changes and tempo, but not what the actual song was. Increasingly he would be dictating parts to Quaife and Nicky Hopkins in the studio from the piano, telling them exactly what to play. But while Pete Quaife thought that Ray was being dictatorial in the studio and resented it, he resented something else more. As late as 1999 he was complaining about, in his words, "the silly little bint from Bradford virtually running the damn studio", telling him what to do, and feeling unable to argue back even though he regarded her as "a jumped-up groupie". Dave, on the other hand, valued Rasa's musical intuition and felt that Ray was the same. And she was apparently actually more up-to-date with the music in the charts than any of the band -- while they were out on the road, she would stay at home and listen to the radio and make note of what was charting and why. All this started to seem like a lot of circumstantial evidence that Rasa was possibly far more involved in the creation of the music than she gets credit for -- and given that she was never credited for her vocal parts on any Kinks records, was it too unbelievable that she might have contributed to the songwriting without credit? But then I found the other interview with Rasa I'm aware of, a short sidebar piece I'll link in the liner notes, and I'm going to quote that here: "Rasa, however, would sometimes take a very active role during the writing of the songs, many of which were written in the family home, even on occasion adding to the lyrics. She suggested the words “In the summertime” to ‘Sunny Afternoon', it is claimed. She now says, “I would make suggestions for a backing melody, sing along while Ray was playing the song(s) on the piano; at times I would add a lyric line or word(s). It was rewarding for me and was a major part of our life.” That was enough for me to become convinced that Rasa was a proper collaborator with Ray. I laid all this out in a blog post, being very careful how I phrased what I thought -- that while Ray Davies was probably the principal author of the songs credited to him (and to be clear, that is definitely what I think -- there's a stylistic continuity throughout his work that makes it very clear that the same man did the bulk of the work on all of it), the songs were the work of a writing partnership. As I said in that post "But even if Rasa only contributed ten percent, that seems likely to me to have been the ten percent that pulled those songs up to greatness. Even if all she did was pull Ray back from his more excessive instincts, perhaps cause him to show a little more compassion in his more satirical works (and the thing that's most notable about his post-Rasa songwriting is how much less compassionate it is), suggest a melodic line should go up instead of down at the end of a verse, that kind of thing… the cumulative effect of those sorts of suggestions can be enormous." I was just laying out my opinion, not stating anything as a certainty, though I was morally sure that Rasa deserved at least that much credit. And then Rasa commented on the post, saying "Dear Andrew. Your article was so informative and certainly not mischaracterised. Thank you for the 'history' of my input working with Ray. As I said previously, that time was magical and joyous." I think that's as close a statement as we're likely to get that the Kinks' biggest hits were actually the result of the songwriting team of Davies and Davies, and not of Ray alone, since nobody seems interested at all in a woman who sang on -- and likely co-wrote -- some of the biggest hit records of the sixties. Rasa gets mentioned in two sentences in the band's Wikipedia page, and as far as I can tell has only been interviewed twice -- an extensive interview by Johnny Rogan for his biography of Ray, in which he sadly doesn't seem to have pressed her on her songwriting contributions, and the sidebar above. I will probably continue to refer to Ray writing songs in this and the next episode on the Kinks, because I don't know for sure who wrote what, and he is the one who is legally credited as the sole writer. But… just bear that in mind. And bear it in mind whenever I or anyone else talk about the wives and girlfriends of other rock stars, because I'm sure she's not the only one. "Sunny Afternoon" knocked "Paperback Writer" off the number one spot, but by the time it did, Pete Quaife was out of the band. He'd fallen out with the Davies brothers so badly that he'd insisted on travelling separately from them, and he'd been in a car crash that had hospitalised him for six weeks. They'd quickly hired a temporary replacement, John Dalton, who had previously played with The Mark Four, the group that had evolved into The Creation. They needed him to mime for a TV appearance pretty much straight away, so they asked him "can you play a descending D minor scale?" and when he said yes he was hired -- because the opening of "Sunny Afternoon" used a trick Ray was very fond of, of holding a chord in the guitars while the bass descends in a scale, only changing chord when the notes would clash too badly, and then changing to the closest possible chord: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Sunny Afternoon"] Around this time, the group also successfully renegotiated their contract with Pye Records, with the help of a new lawyer they had been advised to get in touch with -- Allen Klein. As well as helping renegotiate their contracts, Klein also passed on a demo of one of Ray's new songs to Herman's Hermits. “Dandy” was going to be on the Kinks' next album, but the Hermits released it as a single in the US and took it into the top ten: [Excerpt: Herman's Hermits, “Dandy”] In September, Pete Quaife formally quit the band -- he hadn't played with them in months after his accident -- and the next month the album Face To Face, recorded while Quaife was still in the group, was released. Face to Face was the group's first really solid album, and much of the album was in the same vein as "Sunny Afternoon" -- satirical songs that turned on the songwriter as much as on the people they were ostensibly about. It didn't do as well as the previous albums, but did still make the top twenty on the album chart. The group continued work, recording a new single, "Dead End Street", a song which is musically very similar to "Sunny Afternoon", but is lyrically astonishingly bleak, dealing with poverty and depression rather than more normal topics for a pop song. The group produced a promotional film for it, but the film was banned by the BBC as being in bad taste, as it showed the group as undertakers. But the single happened to be released two days after the broadcast of "Cathy Come Home", the seminal drama about homelessness, which suddenly brought homelessness onto the political agenda. While "Dead End Street" wasn't technically about homelessness, it was close enough that when the TV programme Panorama did a piece on the subject, they used "Dead End Street" to soundtrack it. The song made the top five, an astonishing achievement for something so dark: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Dead End Street"] But the track also showed the next possible breach in the Kinks' hitmaking team -- when it was originally recorded, Shel Talmy had produced it, and had a French horn playing, but after he left the session, the band brought in a trombone player to replace the French horn, and rerecorded it without him. They would continue working with him for a little while, recording some of the tracks for their next album, but by the time the next single came out, Talmy would be out of the picture for good. But Pete Quaife, on the other hand, was nowhere near as out of the group as he had seemed. While he'd quit the band in September, Ray persuaded him to rejoin the band four days before "Dead End Street" came out, and John Dalton was back to working in his day job as a builder, though we'll be hearing more from him. The group put out a single in Europe, "Mr. Pleasant", a return to the style of "Well Respected Man" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion": [Excerpt: The Kinks, “Mr. Pleasant”] That was a big hit in the Netherlands, but it wasn't released in the UK. They were working on something rather different. Ray had had the idea of writing a song called "Liverpool Sunset", about Liverpool, and about the decline of the Merseybeat bands who had been at the top of the profession when the Kinks had been starting out. But then the Beatles had released "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane", and Ray hadn't wanted to release anything about Liverpool's geography and look like he had stolen from them, given his attitudes to plagiarism. He said later "I sensed that the Beatles weren't going to be around long. When they moved to London, and ended up in Knightsbridge or wherever, I was still in Muswell Hill. I was loyal to my origins. Maybe I felt when they left it was all over for Merseybeat.” So instead, he -- or he and Rasa -- came up with a song about London, and about loneliness, and about a couple, Terry and Julie -- Terry was named after his nephew Terry who lived in Australia, while Julie's name came from Julie Christie, as she was then starring in a film with a Terry, Terrence Stamp: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Waterloo Sunset"] It's interesting to look at the musical inspirations for the song. Many people at the time pointed out the song's similarity to "Winchester Cathedral" by the New Vaudeville Band, which had come out six months earlier with a similar melody and was also named after a place: [Excerpt: The New Vaudeville Band, "Winchester Cathedral"] And indeed Spike Milligan had parodied that song and replaced the lyrics with something more London-centric: [Excerpt: Spike Milligan, "Tower Bridge"] But it seems likely that Ray had taken inspiration from an older piece of music. We've talked before about Ferd Grofe in several episodes -- he was the one who orchestrated the original version of "Rhapsody in Blue", who wrote the piece of music that inspired Don Everly to write "Cathy's Clown", and who wrote the first music for the Novachord, the prototype synthesiser from the 1930s. As we saw earlier, Ray was listening to a lot of classical and jazz music rather than rock at this point, and one has to wonder if, at some point during his illness the previous year, he had come across Metropolis: A Blue Fantasy, which Grofe had written for Paul Whiteman's band in 1928, very much in the style of "Rhapsody in Blue", and this section, eight and a half minutes in, in particular: [Excerpt: Paul Whiteman, "Metropolis: A Blue Fantasy" ] "Waterloo Sunset" took three weeks to record. They started out, as usual, with a backing track recorded without the rest of the group knowing anything about the song they were recording -- though the group members did contribute some ideas to the arrangement, which was unusual by this point. Pete Quaife contributed to the bass part, while Dave Davies suggested the slapback echo on the guitar: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Waterloo Sunset, Instrumental Take 2"] Only weeks later did they add the vocals. Ray had an ear infection, so rather than use headphones he sang to a playback through a speaker, which meant he had to sing more gently, giving the vocal a different tone from his normal singing style: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Waterloo Sunset"] And in one of the few contributions Rasa made that has been generally acknowledged, she came up with the "Sha la la" vocals in the middle eight: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Waterloo Sunset"] And the idea of having the track fade out on cascading, round-like vocals: [Excerpt: The Kinks, "Waterloo Sunset"] Once again the Kinks were at a turning point. A few weeks after "Waterloo Sunset" came out, the Monterey Pop Festival finally broke the Who in America -- a festival the Kinks were invited to play, but had to turn down because of their visa problems. It felt like the group were being passed by -- Ray has talked about how "Waterloo Sunset" would have been another good point for him to quit the group as he kept threatening to, or at least to stay home and just make the records, like Brian Wilson, while letting the band tour with Dave on lead vocals. He decided against it, though, as he would for decades to come. That attitude, of simultaneously wanting to be part of something and be a distanced, dispassionate observer of it, is what made "Waterloo Sunset" so special. As Ray has said, in words that seem almost to invoke the story of Moses: "it's a culmination of all my desires and hopes – it's a song about people going to a better world, but somehow I stayed where I was and became the observer in the song rather than the person who is proactive . . . I did not cross the river. They did and had a good life apparently." Ray stayed with the group, and we'll be picking up on what he and they did next in about a year's time. "Waterloo Sunset" went to number two on the charts, and has since become the most beloved song in the Kinks' whole catalogue. It's been called "the most beautiful song in the English language", and "the most beautiful song of the rock 'n' roll era", though Ray Davies, ever self-critical when he's not being self-aggrandising, thinks it could be improved upon. But most of the rest of us disagree. As the song itself says, "Waterloo Sunset's fine".

A table at the Wilton Arms pub in Knightsbridge filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler and Gregg Rosenthal share their final thoughts before a weekend of football action. First, we recap the Bengals-Dolphins Thursday night matchup, and Marc shares some life advice in his "The Floor is Yours" segment. Gregg gives us the Gregg Rosenthal Injury Minute, John Gonzalez makes a surprise appearance, and we finish off the show with Heroes of Week 4 Predictions. The Friday Fun Show airs live on YouTube at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST (almost) every Friday, just not this one.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A table at the Wilton Arms pub in Knightsbridge filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler and Gregg Rosenthal share their final thoughts before a weekend of football action. First, we recap the Bengals-Dolphins Thursday night matchup, and Marc shares some life advice in his "The Floor is Yours" segment. Gregg gives us the Gregg Rosenthal Injury Minute, John Gonzalez makes a surprise appearance, and we finish off the show with Heroes of Week 4 Predictions. The Friday Fun Show airs live on YouTube at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST (almost) every Friday, just not this one.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A table at the Wilton Arms pub in Knightsbridge filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler and Gregg Rosenthal share their final thoughts before a weekend of football action. First, we recap the Bengals-Dolphins Thursday night matchup, and Marc shares some life advice in his "The Floor is Yours" segment. Gregg gives us the Gregg Rosenthal Injury Minute, John Gonzalez makes a surprise appearance, and we finish off the show with Heroes of Week 4 Predictions. The Friday Fun Show airs live on YouTube at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST (almost) every Friday, just not this one.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.