25 years on from Summer XS

Following the huge international success of their album Kick, INXS toured it extensively starting in August 1987 and running through to November 1988 (including five UK dates during June).  Understandably burned out by the end, the band took a year off during which most members started musical side projects, before reconvening to record X, which was released in September 1990.

INXS, 1991
from left - Jon Farriss (drums/keyboards), Garry Gary Beers (bass), Tim Farriss (guitar), Michael Hutchence (vocals), Andrew Farriss (keyboards, guitar, harmonica), Kirk Pengilly (guitar, saxophone, vocals)

On the strength of Kick, the profile of the band had been steadily rising and it’s perhaps difficult now to remember just how big INXS were at that time.  Kick peaked at number 2 in Australia, number 9 in the UK and number 3 in the US album charts and was certified Platinum in Australia (x7), the UK, the US and Switzerland, was a Gold record in France, Germany and Hong Kong and Diamond in Canada (a category Tim Farris later admitted he didn’t even know existed - it apparently represents sales of 1m).  Total sales to date are approximately 12.8m copies.

X had a lot to live up to and opened well, reaching number 2 in the UK and number 5 in the US charts, racking up plenty of sales along the way - Platinum in Australia (x2), the US (x2) and the UK, hitting Gold in Germany and France.  Combined with the X Tour, it managed to spend an aggregate of eight months on the UK chart, returning to the Top 40 in July 1991.

In 1988, Michael Hutchence met soap-opera star and singer Kylie Minogue and when they ran away together in 1989, it brought the band to a whole new audience and level of publicity.  In 1991, INXS received a Grammy nomination for 'Best Rock Performance by a Group', whilst USA Today reported they were tied for second place as 'musical artists with the most videos played on MTV' (at the time, they had 37 different clips).  At the 1991 Brit Awards in March, INXS won 'Best International Group' (having previously been nominated in 1989) and Hutchence won 'Best International Male'.  They were also recognised as 'Best International Band' at the first Australian Music Awards.

The X Tour kicked off in October 1991 at the Mackay Entertainment Centre in North Queensland.  It hit the UK on November 25th with two nights at London Docklands Arena, a four night run at Wembley Arena, four nights at Birmingham NEC (where Alison & I would see them in 1997 as part of the Elegantly Wasted Tour), one night each at SECC in Glasgow (should have been two but the first was cancelled by weather), Manchester GMEX, Brigton (The Brighton Centre) and Bournemouth (Bournemouth International Centre) before two nights at The Point Theatre in Dublin.  The UK dates ended in January and, in all, the tour played to 1.2m fans through 80 cities over four continents.

After a successful ‘homecoming’ leg in Australia during April and May, INXS returned to Europe for a series of headlining festival shows from 28th June through to 16th July, the highpoint of which (according to most band members) was the 13th July sold-out show at Wembley Stadium.

So the stage was set, with Summer XS taking place six years to the day after Live Aid had been staged at Wembley Stadium, as INXS continued to enjoy rock giant status both in the UK and around the world.  And I was there.

My now slightly sun-bleached ticket - look at that price!

Saturday 13th July 1991 was warm but overcast.  I’d stayed up late the night before to watch the excellent Dogs In Space, which starred Michael Hutchence and was written & directed by Richard Lowenstein, who directed a lot of INXS videos from Burn For You onwards (his latest was Suicide Blonde, from the X album).  I was quite excited, since my then-girlfriend Liz (who had seen INXS at one of their Wembley Arena gigs in late 1990) had talked me into going to see the show and raved about them - slightly older, she was a fan of long-standing.  I knew of them, of course - I started going to nightclubs in 1986 so I was around as Kick broke out - and I bought X on vinyl a couple of weeks before the gig and really enjoyed it.

Me & Liz, 1991 - I wore that t-shirt a lot!

I picked up Liz and then her friends teenaged daughter (who took her friend), we piled into my Fiat Panda and took off down the M1, listening to an INXS mix-tape Liz had made.  By the time we reached the North Circular, we were all singing along as the signs for Jellyfish, one of the supporting bands, started to appear.  In fact, they were on pretty much every lamp-post we passed.

We parked in the multi-storey next to the stadium, crossed the bridge, found our gate and settled down as we waited to be let in.  The girls were chatty, Liz & I talked and watched the world go by, we went on memorabilia buying sprees and ate our lunch.  Finally the gates opened and we legged it - it was the first time I’d ever been to Wembley so of course I took the opportunity to run onto the (covered over pitch) and pretend I was representing England.  As did so many other blokes my age it became silly.

The four of us made our way towards the front and found some seats to the left of the stage, close enough that we could see people up there (if not clearly), though the huge video monitors would also come in handy as the day wore on.  The festival feel was maintained by having a whole host of bands on the programme which started in the early afternoon (INXS came onstage at about 8.45).  Another of my main reasons to go was the fact that Debbie Harry was playing and I’d been a Blondie fan since the late 70s, though I'd been too young to get to any of their concerts.

The Summer XS line-up was:
Jellyfish - don’t remember anything of their set at all, though they were apparently “a melodic San Francisco rock band” (and got in trouble for plastering their posters everywhere)
Roachford - who were excellent, I went onto the pitch for a dance when they played
Jesus Jones - didn’t like them before I went, didn’t like them any better when I left
Deborah Harry - who I adored.  I left the girls in the seats and pushed my way as far to the front as I could possibly get and then rocked out with the best of them.  She played 11 songs and ended her set with the superb “Atomic”.  Fantastic.
Hothouse Flowers - who were better live, I thought, than when I’d heard them on the radio

The INXS show was being recorded as part of the Live Baby Live project, under the supervision of Mark Optiz and the band’s manager, Chris Murphy decided it should be filmed as well.  In an interview at the time, he said that although he thought X was good “the band had grown lazy, the new songs were too slick and too much like Kick.  I was worried.  I knew I had to do something to bring it back to the basics, back to the strengths of the band.  Doing the film and releasing the live record accomplished that.  It was a way to remind the public of how powerful INXS was live, in case they’d written them off as a band who only released pop songs.”

INXS spent £250,000 filming the concert whilst Murphy convinced Polygram, their European record label, to stump up the rest.  On the night, the fact the band was barely breaking even on the show weighed heavily on Andrew Farriss, though he has since revised his opinion.  “I am so glad we did it,” he said in interview with Anthony Bozza.  “Thank God we did, that same band is not here any more.  Michael is not here any more.”  Andrew was so overcome with expectation of the event, he famously escaped to a bathroom where he spent ten minutes alone, enjoying a beer and smoking a cigarette.  In documentary footage, Michael Hutchence comments that the gig is making £1m and he was only getting £5k of that.

Murphy hired David Mallet to film the concert and he used sixteen 35mm cameras, including two on roving helicopters, to capture everything.  At the time, Mallet was an up-and-coming talent who’d cut his teeth on promo videos for Queen (Bicyle Race in 1978 and I Want To Break Free in 1984, which Brian May credits with the band losing US fans), Blondie (Hanging On The Telephone in 1978), a host of Bowie videos (including the iconic Ashes To Ashes in 1980) and many more.  His work on Bowie’s Glass Spider tour in 1988 and Madonna’s Blond Ambition in 1990 convinced Murphy he was their man.  Mallet also shot the video for Shining Star in 1991 and has since gone on to a strong career in concert films.

By the time INXS came on stage, I was ready.  Opening with two big songs from Kick got me into it straight away and they followed up with a few songs from X that were fresh in my mind but it was Original Sin that locked it for me, vibrant and alive with the all-out jam session at the end.  I do remember loving the rest of the gig, I remember being invigorated by the whole thing though I must confess that most of my memory of the show itself now comes from the DVD.  But no matter - as Mark Opitz said in interview, the band were incredible on the night and they were.  In fact, watching the film again (as I did when I wrote this post), they were clearly on fire and for a first gig by a band relatively new to me, I couldn’t have asked for anything better!

Lately (with a beautiful sax part opening from Kirk Pengilly) followed Original Sin in real life but it was never filmed (it’s an extra on the DVD).  Then came The Loved One, which remains one of my all-time favourite songs and it was launched with an introduction from Hutchence.  “This is a big gig.  Really happy to be here, la-di-da-di-dah - this is the biggest pub we’ve ever played.  Is this what they call a fucking rave or what?”

The show is superb - in sound and vision - and Mallet’s cameras catch it well, with plenty of highlights to savour.  During the opening to Mystify, the crowd sing along so Hutchence stops and holds out the microphone towards them and they bounce around once the band kicks in.  How cool must it be to see an audience do that for one of your songs?  There’s the moshpit run during Wild Life, the crowd going mad for Suicide Blonde, Hutchence kissing Andrew Farriss at the start of What You Need (which also includes the "play the fucking riff, Timmy!” incident).  Kick, Need You Tonight and Never Tear Us Apart sound huge and the set concludes with the best version I’ve ever heard of Devil Inside - the band always used to close on Don’t Change and whilst that would have been good, it really works well as it is.

“We had already headlined at plenty of stadiums and festivals, but this was different. Wembley is the most prestigious stadium in Europe - if not the world - and it was going to be magical. There were 16 cameras, 72,000 extremely psyched people and some great opening bands and we were ready to turn Wembley Stadium into the biggest pub on the planet.”
- Kirk Pengilly

“For us as Australians, Wembley was always thought of as one of those places you knew you that you wanted to play - if you were lucky.  To even have the opportunity to perform there was a dream.  There were something like 200 people backstage which was a bigger crowd than some of the pubs we'd played in! It was nuts and I couldn't really take it all in.”
- Andrew Farriss

“This gig was a prize; it meant that all those years of touring, playing gigs the world over paid off this one night.  We had played many concerts that were bigger but selling out Wembley Stadium was a prestigious hallmark for us, especially considering England’s affection towards INXS took years to develop.”
- Jon Farriss

“When we took part in Live Aid in 1985 it was made all the more special knowing that our performance was being projected onto the large screens at Wembley Stadium.  Wembley was the pinnacle of venues around the world, the place you read about in music magazines growing up in the 60’s and 70’s.  To sell out Wembley Stadium was certainly a dream come true.”
- Garry Gary Beers

“It was INXS Day on BBC Radio, MTV, you name it, we were everywhere you looked or listened, it was kind of surreal, which is always a good thing.  The whole gig was kind of like a big pressure cooker of 'let's see just how nervous we can make the band', but the tension had the opposite effect on me. I had to struggle to keep the smile off my face.”
 - Tim Farriss

Selling out Wembley Stadium was a big deal - AC/DC are the only other Australian band to do the same.  INXS had played the venue before, supporting Queen during the “Kind Of Magic” tour in July 1986 (which I didn't see, though had the opportunity to - really wish I had done now).

According to Billboard magazine, the concert grossed £1,426,617 and the audience was a sell-out capacity of 73,791.

The day after arguably one of their biggest gigs ever, the band and Mark Opitz recorded Shining Star (which Andrew Farriss had written on the road) at London’s Metropolis Studios.

* * * * *
Live Baby Live, the live CD and concert film video, were both released on 11th November 1991 (when I bought my copies). The film, which looks glorious but isn't in widescreen (presumably since TV's weren't set up for that then)  is well-edited and perfectly captures the scale of the event (shots of the crowd and stadium) without missing any of the intimate bits - such as the little nods between Kirk Pengilly and Tim Farriss (plus the fabulous ear signals during What You Need as Hutchence sings “Hey you, don’t you listen” and Kirk gestures to Tim, who had screwed up his riff).  It also captures the sheer energy of the show, the tightness of the musicianship and the real sense of camaraderie amongst the band.  For me, watching it on VHS back in the day was a revelation - I thought I’d picked up a lot from the video monitors (and I thought Kirk was the coolest thing ever in his red suit and black shades) - but I clearly hadn't.  I'm happy to say that even now I still find new bits every time I watch it.

Track Listing:

"Guns in the Sky"
"New Sensation"
"I Send a Message"
"The Stairs"
"Know the Difference"
"Disappear"
"By My Side"
"Hear That Sound"
"Original Sin"
"The Loved One"
"Wildlife"
"Mystify"
"Bitter Tears"
"Suicide Blonde"
"What You Need"
"Kick"
"Need You Tonight"
"Mediate"
"Never Tear Us Apart"
"Who Pays the Price"
"Devil Inside"

On the re-issue, there’s an excellent 40 minute behind-the-scenes documentary which shows the band in preparation for the gig with a real sense of nervous excitement about them all, which is refreshing to see.

The Live Baby Live album reached number 8 in the UK, number 3 in Australia and number 72 in the US (though it sold over 1m copies there).  Shining Star, the single recorded directly after the concert and the only new material on the album (it’s heard over the closing credits of the DVD), was released on 2nd November.  It reached number 31 in the UK, number 21 in Australia and 14 in the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.  The CD single was backed with live versions of Send A Message (from Summer XS), Faith In Each Other (Sydney 1990) and Bitter Tears (Paris 1991).

The album - produced by INXS and Mark Opitz - featured several songs recorded at Wembley, as well as highlights from gigs in Paris, Dublin, Glasgow, Rio de Janeiro (“Hey, hey Rio?” before launching into Suicide Blonde), Montreal, Spain, Switzerland, Melbourne, Sydney, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Las Vegas.

Track Listing:

"New Sensation"
"Guns in the Sky"
"Mystify"
"By My Side"
“Shining Star”
"Need You Tonight"
"Mediate"
“One X One”
“Burn For You”
“The One Thing”
“This Time”
"The Stairs"
"Suicide Blonde"
"Hear That Sound"
"Never Tear Us Apart"
"What You Need"

Summer XS memorabilia - taken from the DVD insert

The Radio One broadcast is available on YouTube as are most of the songs, many of them through the official INXS channel.

Part of the DVD documentary, showing the audience gathering.  I wonder if I'm in one of those shots?
An excellent gig and an excellent memory, a great band at the top of their game and I'm chuffed to have been there.


sources:
band interviews from the Live Baby Live DVD re-issue liner notes, no credit (released by Sanctuary Visual Entertainment)
INXS: The Official Inside Story Of A Band On The Road, text by Ed St. John
Gig information from Billboard Magazine
Story To Story: The Official INXS Autobiography, by INXS and Anthony Bozza

NewCon Press Birthday Bash!

I have a long (six years) association with NewCon Press and it’s one I’m very proud of.  The press is run by the great Ian Whates, who’s a lovely bloke, a smart editor (I’ve been in two NewCon anthologies so far, with another on the way and my Hauntings experience is one I treasure) and a dedicated writer with a solid work ethic.  He also runs my writing group (the Northampton SF Writers Group, or NSFWG) and I thoroughly enjoy those evenings, especially the market-gossip we indulge in after the critiques are done.

NewCon Press (you can read more of my adventures with them here) has now reached a landmark anniversary and when Ian decided to hold the 10th Birthday Party in London, I immediately accepted the invite (also swayed, I must admit, by the chance to spend time with writing chums).

The day didn’t start auspiciously, as Midland Mainline had sold five carriages worth of tickets and only bothered to put on four (though I luckily got to sit down and read for most of the journey).  Just outside Luton, I realised the woman standing just behind me was pregnant so offered her my seat and she, her partner and I chatted as we rolled into London.  At St Pancras, talented musicians had taken over all three of the pianos with the last one, by the ticket office, finishing off a rousing rendition of the Match Of The Day theme, which got hearty applause.  I walked through to Kings Cross (spotted Kathy Boulton) and, as is my wont, tubed over to Covent Garden (but, unlike at the writer/blogger do earlier this year, I took the lift up this time).  I wandered around, took a selfie to sate my Frenzy-love and walked to the deli on the corner of Leicester Square, whose chicken-salad-ciabatta is just superb.  I ate it sitting on a wall in the centre of the Square, listening to a young girl sing Hallelujah (very well) and watching the world go by, which is a pretty good way to spend a lunchbreak.  I walked up to Hamleys to pick up a gift for Dude (laser pistols this time) and had a bit of celebrity-spotting success - as I was going up the stairs, Charlotte (who won this years Great British Sewing Bee, a programme Dude & I both enjoyed) was coming down - then, since it was after one, I tubed back to Kings Cross and walked up York Way to the pub, The Star Of Kings.

Ian in full flow - picture by Tasha Jacqueline

The NewCon party was in the basement, which was very hot (damp is probably a more accurate word) with no windows and a very low ceiling.  It was great.  The first person I saw was Kevin, who used to be in the NSFWG but had recently moved away and it was good to see him again.  He was with fellow NSFWG chums Paul Melhuish, Tim Taylor and Rod & Nelli Rees, so we chatted and had a laugh.  I went to get a round in, chatted with Rosanne Rabinowitz as we waited to be served (and wouldn’t you know, the free bar had run out by then), then sat with Donna Scott and had a catch-up.

Part of the NSFWG gang - me, Paul Melhuish, Nelli Rees, Tim Taylor (Rod Rees not pictured...)

Donna and me

On my way to get another drink (they put so much ice in the diet Pepsi I think you only got two or three mouthfuls) I bumped into Neil Bond (Donna’s hubby).  Haven’t seen anywhere near enough of him recently and it was good to catch up, he was talking to Pete Sutton and introduced us, then Gary Couzens wandered by.  Across from us, Kim Lakin-Smith was chatting so I grabbed her for a photo-op and got the lady she was talking to to take the picture.  Kim & I chatted for a while, then she went to find her husband and I chatted with her friend, who - I found out - was Bryony Pearce, who has a story in the latest NewCon antho Now We Are Ten.  We had no idea who the other was but got on well, talking about writing (YA, her field and horror) and how we get our own kids to read.  Great chat, lovely and interesting woman.  Spotted Kathy Boulton again and we got to say "hi" to each other this time.  Andrew Hook and Sophie Essex, who are always good company, joined us and we chatted about writing and conventions until Ian interrupted the room with a NewCon update, outlining the projects the press has ‘coming soon’.  I lost track of what was hush-hush and what wasn’t, so I won’t divulge anything, but it all sounded good.  Then there was cake.  And it was lovely.

Neil Bond, Kim Lakin-Smith, me, Gary Couzens, Pete Sutton

Bryony Pearce, me, Sophie Essex, Andrew Hook
(taken by Tim, who may have been a little unsteady on his feet at the time...)

Bryony went off to the signing line for the anthology, so I sat with Paul and we discussed our latest projects, the state of horror and what we planned for the future.  All too soon, it was time to head off.  I said my goodbyes (thanks for the book, Andrew!), found Ian and his lovely partner Helen (who gives the best hugs), thanked them for organising a great event and made my way out to the warm (but briefly chilly-feeling) outside, saying goodbye to Neil (who hugged me so I wouldn’t go so quickly) on the way.

The cake - picture by Tasha Jacqueline (by the time I got there, it'd been cut up)

An excellent day all round, chuffed to be part of the NewCon family to help celebrate its 10th birthday and, as always, it’s creatively invigorating to spend time with so many writers, poets and artists.

Happy birthday NewCon Press, here’s to the next ten years!

The Grieving Stones, by Gary McMahon (a review)

In a new edition of the occasional series, I want to tell you about a book I've read and loved, which I think adds to the horror genre and that I think you'll enjoy if you're a fan.

A small therapy group arrives at Grief House hoping that a combination of isolation and hard work will help them begin the healing process each of them so desperately needs.

But their presence has awakened something in the old dwelling. Something linked to the ancient stone megaliths at the rear of the property and a terrible crime, committed centuries before.

Before the weekend is over, the group will learn the secrets of the Grieving Stones, and come to understand the true meaning of transformation.

“When she looked at the windows, a premature night had fallen. The house smelled of herbs and butchered meat.” 

Alice, whose husband Tony killed himself, is a member of a counselling group run by the enigmatic Clive Munroe.  When he suggests that a select group spend the weekend at a dilapidated building in the Lake District called Grief House, she decides to go though she has her reservations - namely that she doesn’t really like any of her fellow members and thinks Clive might like her in the wrong way.  On the journey to Ullswater, Clive hits an animal and kills it, which shocks them all even though none of them can properly identify the beast.  Then, when they reach the house, it’s in a lot worse state than they’d thought.

I like Gary McMahon and I like his writing, which always contains a brutal honesty mixed with a dark sense of the elegance to create fear and tension in even the most mundane of situations.   This is no different.  Location plays a huge part and the combined beauty and isolation of the Lake District is wonderfully used, especially over the hill from the house where the Grieving Stones stand.  McMahon also taps into the history of the area, weaving in the perfectly pitched tale of the Staple Sisters from the 1600s, half-believed to be witches but since they helped local folk and farmers they were left alone.  Once Alice latches onto their story - though a clever plot device - things begin to unravel and build themselves up at pace.  All of the characters are thoroughly believeable, with each member of the group - from Moira, who’s lost her son, to Jake, whose sister was murdered; from Steve who lost his wife, to Clive who might not be the person he presents to them all - being well-rounded and human.  Alice is a much more complex creation, whose layers begin to shed early on at the accident and keep falling away as the story progresses - that we feel so strongly for her makes each incident hit like a blow.  The story moves at a measured pace, giving the characters (and the house) time to breathe and this works well, as we uncover each revelation along with the characters, building to an awful sense of understanding about Mag and Meg Staple (“They were not good, they were not evil.  They were just two sisters trying to eke out a living in a world that did not look kindly upon women who lived without a man.”).  The supernatural elements are well used and nicely frightening, utilising the half-glimpsed to paint a bigger terrifying picture - the punch dummy in the attic, the curious reflection in the kitchen window and the apparently backwards girl.

This is an excellent piece of work, genuinely unsettling and frightening, whilst also being spot-on about the human condition in dealing with loss, grief and guilt.  Packed with great lines (“The brakes screeched like frightened birds”), scary set pieces and a sense of foreboding, this is well worth a read and I highly recommend it.

The book will be published on 16th July and launched at next weekend's Edge-Lit.

KettFest 2016 with Sue Moorcroft

Last year, as part of the KettFest Festival, I did my first solo talk/reading (on the history of horror, which you can read about here) and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I was asked to take part again this year and readily agreed, though I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.  After having a conversation with my friend Sue Moorcroft, we decided to team up and talk about our creative processes.  “We love talking about writing,” she said, “why not let’s do it in front of others?”  It was a great idea, I was just worried about how we’d stop after 50 minutes…

Sue had been away in Malta so although we’d planned to meet one evening at The Trading Post and go through our plan for the day, we couldn’t fit it in.  Instead, we met at The Kino Lounge in town at 11, spent fifteen minutes talking about what we could do and the rest of the time catching up.  At 12.15, we got to the library, introduced ourselves and went over to our corner.  The first person we met was Mick Arnold, who’s in the RNA with Sue (and who I met at the first Brum writer/blogger bash) and then my Uncle Philip called in to wish us luck.  After chatting with him, Sue & I set up our tables - one for the books, one for us - and waited for the audience to file in.  Alison & Dude arrived, my old chum Jon turned up with his son, Susan from my writing group was there, Darren Paterson came along - he & I have been friends on social media for a while but, apart from a brief meeting on Rothwell High street, this was our first proper meeting even though we live in the same town - and Councillor Mick Scrimshaw, who supported my event last year.  Andrea, Sue’s friend whose real life experiences provided the basis of the plot of Sue’s next novel, was there as well as half a dozen other folk.

At 12:30, we kicked off.  Sue talked about her forthcoming novel from Avon Books, The Christmas Promise and I shared the story of how Drive came about.  There were a couple of questions from the audience, which we answered and went off at tangents with, we asked each other questions, we took more questions from the floor and the fifty minutes went by so quickly we ended up taking the hour.  Great fun for us and, thankfully, the audience seemed to enjoy it too.

Still talking with my hands...

Afterwards, I chatted with Darren and a lady who was interested in starting writing, sold a couple of books, signed a couple of books and talked more about writing.  What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday lunchtime.

As everyone drifted off, Sue, Mick, Andrea and I went back to the Kino Lounge for lunch.  We chatted - about politics, writing and tattoos - watched the weather change - from overcast to monsoon to sunny - and ate our bacon buttys.  Andrea was surprised Sue & I had never done an event together before, since we apparently synced in well (thanks, no doubt, to all those evenings in The Trading Post and the long journeys to and from FantasyCon and Edge-Lit) and it definitely gave me the taste to do more.  Maybe next year…

Thanks to Jo Selby-Green for organising the Fest, Mick Arnold for the photographs and everyone who came, especially those who asked a question.

For Your Eyes Only, at 35

For Your Eyes Only, the twelfth James Bond film in the official EON series (and the fifth to feature Roger Moore in the lead role), opened in the UK on 26th June 1981.  It was directed by John Glen (the first in his eventual five-film run), produced by Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and written by Richard Maibaum & Michael G. Wilson.  Peter Lamont was the production designer, Derek Meddings supervised the visual effects and Bill Conti wrote the score.  The film was originally planned for release in 1979 to follow The Spy Who Loved Me (it’s announced at the end of that film) but was put back to allow Moonraker to go into production.

UK quad poster

Following the outer space excess of Moonraker (which remained the series highest grossing entry until Goldeneye in 1995), producer Cubby Broccoli wanted a conscious return to the style of the earlier Bond films and, indeed, the novels of Ian Fleming.  For Your Eyes Only, he decided, would be stripped back of gadgets and humour, allowing for a grittier, more realistic approach - a reboot before they were in fashion, as it were.  Broccoli’s stepson, Michael G. Wilson, had been made an executive producer for Moonraker and was given more creative input in the series.  He agreed with the need to get back to basics and collaborated on the screenplay with Bond veteran Richard Maibaum.  The script took key elements from two of Fleming’s short stories - Risico (Kristatos and Columbo) and For Your Eyes Only (the murder of the Havelocks) - and included unused sequences from Live And Let Die (the keelhauling), Goldfinger (the Indentigraph, called the Identicast in the novel) and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (the winter sports).  The macguffin of the film - the ATAC - and the villain Locque were both added by the pair.

As the script was being written, Broccoli had a major problem in that Roger Moore was undecided as to whether or not he wanted to continue.  His original three-film contract took him up to The Spy Who Loved Me and following that, he negotiated contracts on a film-by-film basis.  This uncertainty led to other actors being considered for the role, including Lewis Collins (then well-known as Bodie in The Professionals), Michael Billington (who played Anya’s lover in The Spy Who Loved Me) and Michael Jayston.  Broccoli worked hard to persuade his friend and star to make at least one more film and Moore, helped by a substantial increase in his salary, eventually signed on, though he remained uneasy about the tougher character he was being asked to play.  For my part, I think this is probably his best performance as Bond - he still has some quips but they’re toned down from the 70s excesses and his character shows a harder, more vengeful streak.  His age also seems to be acknowledged, especially with the young ice skater Bibi - he rebuffs her advances by saying “You get your clothes on and I’ll buy you an ice cream.”

At work in Cortina - front left - Tony Waye (Assistant director), Bob Simmons (Action co-ordinator), Roger Moore, Cubby Broccoli, John Glen, Michael G Wilson

Further to the back-to-basics philosophy, there were several changes in the key crew.  John Glen, who’d worked as editor and second unit director on a number of previous Bond films, was promoted to director.  Ken Adam, the production designer, was working on Pennies From Heaven in America and when his assistant Peter Lamont was asked who he thought should replace him said “why not me?”  Both Glen and Lamont decided to pull back from Adam’s trademark grand sets in favour of a more realistic design.

Of the old guard, both Desmond Llewelyn (Q) and Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny) returned but Bernard Lee, who’d played M since Dr No (1962) was hospitalised with stomach cancer and died on 16th January 1981 before he could film his scenes.  As a mark of respect, the part wasn’t recast and his dialogue was split between Q, the Minister Of Defence (Geoffrey Keen) and Bill Tanner (James Villiers).

from left - Carole Bouquet, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Cassandra Harris

Carole Bouquet, who had previously auditioned for the part of Holly Goodhead in Moonraker, was chosen to play the vengeful Melina Havelock and in an interesting twist became the first Bond girl who doesn’t share a love scene with our hero until the closing credits.  She is also only a year older than Lynn-Holly Johnson.  Julian Glover, who’d once been shortlisted as a potential Bond prior to Live And Let Die was cast as Kristatos, whilst Chaim Topol was suggested by Broccoli’s wife Dana for Bond’s ally Columbo (and it was he who came up with the pistachios quirk).  Cassandra Harris, cast as Countess Lisl, took her fiance to lunch with Broccoli and his team, the first time any of them were to meet Pierce Brosnan.  Lynn-Holly Johnson, who played Bibi Dahl, was a professional ice skater Broccoli had seen and liked in the film Ice Castles (1978).  Michael Gothard played Kristatos’ henchman, the hired assasin Emile Locque, who doesn’t say a single word throughout the film (though he screams as he dies).  Unfortunately, the film ends with a cringeworthy sequence featuring then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (played for laughs by Janet Brown) which doesn’t sit with the tone of the film at all, dates it badly and feels like a terrible joke that should have been cut in the scripting stage.  Roger Moore reportedly hated it too.

from left - Julian Glover, Topol

Since John Barry was unable to work in the UK at the time, American composer Bill Conti - best known for his work on the Rocky films - was chosen.  His score, very much of its time, doesn’t really suit the film (though it’s an decent enough listen) and has dated quite badly (though I maintain that the discordant piano during the ski sequence fits the visuals perfectly).  Conti also wrote the music to go with Michael Leeson’s lyrics for the title song, sung by Sheena Easton who maintains the honour of being the only singer to feature in the opening titles.  The song reached number 8 in the UK charts, number 4 in the US and was nominated for the Best Song Oscar.  Blondie were asked to submit a song but it was rejected - it’s available on their album The Hunter and, I think, would have worked just as well.

On a budget of $28m ($6m less than Moonraker), Bond was ready to head into the 1980s.

“We had gone as far as we could into space. We needed a change of some sort, back to the grass roots of Bond. We wanted to make the new film more of a thriller than a romp, without losing sight of what made Bond famous - its humour.”

- John Glen

Production began on 2nd September 1980 in the North Sea, filming exterior scenes with the St Georges (interiors were shot at Pinewood later, as was the explosion which was filmed in the tank on the 007 stage).

The production moved to Corfu and, on 15th September, began filming at the Villa Sylva at Kanoni, which doubled as Gonzales’ Spanish villa.  On a location scout, it had been decided to use the local hills and olive groves for the chase scene between Melina’s Citroën 2CV and the Peugeot 504s driven by Gonzales’ men (Bond’s Lotus was blown up early on to show that he would be relying more on his wits than gadgets).  The chase was supervised by Remy Julienne (who would work on every Bond film up to Goldeneye) and filmed over twelve days, using four 2CVs which were modified for the stunts required.  The scene includes Roger Moore’s ad-lib “I love a drive in the country, don’t you?” which clearly takes Carole Bouquet by surprise and he has since stated that of all the cars he ever drove as Bond, the 2CV was his favourite.

The Citroen 2CV jumps the Peugeot in the olive groves

The crew moved to Kalambaka on the Greek mainland to shoot in and around the monastery that sits on top of a virtually sheer column of rock.  Although permits had been signed and agreed, the monks who lived in the neighbouring monastery of Meteora took exception, complaining that Bond’s reputation for sex and violence was an affront and demanding filming be halted.  To prevent filming, they hung laundry out of windows in an attempt to ruin the shots.  Local people and the government intervened and shooting was allowed to continue, though only exteriors were used - St Cyrils monastery itself was built at Pinewood.  On location, Roger Moore - who has a fear of heights - had to resort to some ‘moderate drinking’ to calm his nerves but the fall was performed by Rick Sylvester (who also did the parachute jump at the start of The Spy Who Loved Me).  Derek Meddings developed a system that would dampen the sudden stop and although Sylvester was nervous - he later said “From where we were shooting you could see the local cemetery” - the stunt went without a hitch.

Bond kicks Locque's car off the cliff, the scene that concerned Roger Moore

The raid on Kristatos’ warehouse was also filmed, along with the scene where Bond kicks Locque’s car over the edge of a cliff.  Roger Moore felt the scene was too cold-blooded - he said it “was Bond-like, but not Roger Moore Bond-like” (though I would argue his killing of Sandor in The Spy Who Loved Me is just as nasty) - but agreed to film it as originally written.  The raid sequence also saw Topol injured, when a piece of debris hit him in the face - the scene is included in the movie, with the actor falling toward Moore.

Could that be Locque, or is it a character from Guess Who?

Returning to Pinewood in Novermber, work began on Peter Lamont’s sets at Pinewood, including the Identigraph scene with Q.  On the DVD documentary, Roger Moore (a known practical joker) said he convinced Desmond Llewellyn his dialogue had been changed and handed him new sheets the continuity girl had typed up.  Desmond spent his lunch-hour learning the new lines only to discover, when he got on set, that it was a joke.  His response is not recorded.

The church in the pre-credits sequence was filmed at Stoke Poges, next door to the golf course from Goldfinger (1964).  The sequence of Bond visiting his wife’s grave was written to provide continuity between potentially different actors, when it was still unsure if Moore would be continuing in the role.

Martin Grace hangs on over Beckton Gas Works

The helicopter sequence was filmed at the abandoned Beckton Gas Works in London (later used as a location for Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987)).  Featuring some excellent stunt work - Martin Grace was hanging onto the Jet Ranger, whilst Marc Wolff was the pilot - it also included an incredible Derek Meddings foreground miniature, which used forced perspective to allow the helicopter to apparently fly into a warehouse.  For footage inside the building, a full-scale mock-up was mounted on a rail, allowing Roger Moore to be filmed inside it.  The bald man in the wheelchair was clearly meant to be Blofeld but ongoing legal battles with Kevin McClory meant the character couldn’t be named or properly seen.  Unofficially disposing of Bond’s greatest villain down a chimney stack was Cubby Brococli’s perfect way of saying the 007 series could survive without Blofeld, who wouldn’t re-appear until Spectre in 2015.

Not-Blofeld at Beckton Gas Works (Martin Grace on the skid)

Whilst the first unit was in England, the second unit, supervised by Al Giddings, shot the underwater scenes in the Bahamas with stand-ins. Since Carole Bouquet had a sinus condition, she couldn’t film underwater so the close-ups of Bond and Melina were shot on a dry soundstage.  Smoke, wind, lighting effects and dubbed on bubbles gave the illusion of the actors being submerged.  Giddings also co-ordinated the logistically difficult keelhauling sequence with John Glen.  The submarine scenes were filmed at Pinewood on the 007 stage tank, where Peter Lamont created two working props for the Neptune, as well as a mock-up with a fake bottom.

Filming the keelhauling sequence in the Bahamas

On 1st January 1981, the production began work at Cortina D’Ampezzo in Italy, where unusually mild weather meant no snow had fallen.  Instead, they had to ship some in from nearby mountains and dump it on the city streets.  Bond veteran Willy Bogner Jr led the second unit there and designed the chase sequence with Bob Simmons to surpass his work in both On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and The Spy Who Loved Me.  As well as being pursued by two motorcycles with studded tyres (to film them, Bogner used skis that allowed him to go forwards or backwards), Bond is also chased on the bobsled track in a gripping and visually dynamic sequence.  Unfortunately, on the last day of shooting the run, one of the stuntmen in the sled, 23 year-old Paolo Rigon, was killed after he became trapped under the bob.  Although he was an accomplished cross-country skier, Roger Moore wasn’t insured for downhill skiing so Bogner stood in for him.  Close-ups were filmed with Moore strapped to a sled being pulled downhill, as Bogner skied backwards operating the camera.

Locque and his men wait for Bond at the ski jump - from left, Claus (Charles Dance), Locque (Michael Gothard), Erich Kriegler (John Wyman)

Robbin Young, who played the florist, won Playboy’s “Be A James Bond Girl” where her prize was a small role and a spread in the magazine.  The film also marked the last appearance by Victor Tourjanksy, the ‘Man With Glass’ from The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.

First unit filming wrapped in February.  Back at Pinewood, Derek Meddings and his team created miniatures of the St George (and blew it up), Columbo’s yacht for the approach to Kristatos’ warehouse and elements of St Cyrils (including the basket lift).

top - film still
bottom - Derek Meddings with the foreground miniature exactly duplicating the real building 

A member of Derek Meddings' crew at work on the St Georges miniature, just before the diver explodes (hence the miniatures of Bond and Melina)

For Your Eyes Only premiered at the Odeon, Leicester Square on 24th June 1981 before going on general release on 26th June.  The premiere was attended by the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, for the benefit of the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation.  Topol suggested to Cubby Broccoli that he invite his former Bond co-producer Harry Salzman, which he did, marking the first re-union between the two men since their break up after The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).

left - Concept art for the poster by Brian Bysouth - right - raw photo of Nancy Stafford (the hand and crossbow used in the poster)

The poster, showing a woman standing with her legs spread, was designed by Bill Gold and caused a certain amount of controversy in the US - The Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times considered it unsuitable and edited out everything above the knee whilst the Pittsburgh Press painted on shorts.  I thought it was very good and had a copy of it on my bedroom wall for years.  The image is composite from two women Morgan Kane photographed - Joyce Bartle provides the legs (she wore her bikini bottoms the wrong way around) and former Miss Florida Nancy Stafford is the hand holding the crossbow.

Roger Moore presents Cubby Broccoli with his Irving Thalberg Award

Citroen produced a special “007” edition of the 2CV which had decorative bullet holes on the door, Corgi Toys produced die-cast models and a 007 digital watch was also available.  Marvel Comics published a comic book adaption (which I read and quite enjoyed), written by Larry Hama and drawn by Howard Chaykin.

At the Oscars on 29th March 1982, Sheena Easton performed the nominated title song and Roger Moore presented Cubby Broccoli with the Irving Thalberg Honorary Award, in honour of the Bond series.  The script was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay by The Writers Guild of America.

Setting a record for opening-day grosses (£14,998), it went on to made $195.3m ($509.6m adjusted for inflation) worldwide, making it the second highest grossing Bond film after Moonraker.  It was the last Bond film distributed solely by United Artists, as the studio merged with MGM soon after the release.

I like the film a lot though I must admit, at the time, I wasn’t so keen (you have to remember I was 12 when this was released) because after the glorious excess of Moonraker it seemed a bit too pedestrian.  But it’s not - the direction is tight, the set-pieces (especially the car chase and the submarine stuff with the St Georges) are suspenseful and well constructed and the acting is good across the board.  I’m a fan, so happy 35th anniversary For Your Eyes Only.

My friend Pauline

Everyone has ‘golden periods’ in their lives, a passage of time - maybe a minute, maybe a year - that you know will stay with you forever, where you experience or discover something that changes or defines you.  Sometimes you don’t realise until long after the fact - a wistful smile as you recall that wonderful summer, for example - but sometimes, if you’re lucky, you’re aware of them as they’re happening.

Pauline, in 1986, having just dropped me off after work
note - I took a lot of photos, even back then, but at this time I was still using a disc camera, hence the grainy image...

Me, June 1986
(taken on the Sixth Form trip to Great Yarmouth)

1986 was one-such time for me.  I finished school (having thoroughly enjoyed Sixth Form), started work straight away at Hunters Foods and passed my driving test.  I also met Pauline Weston at work (on 27th June, according to my diary of the time) who quickly became a very close friend and - I’m pleased to say - remains so to this day.

If you asked me now to explain how our friendship happened, I don’t think I could - something just clicked and whatever it was, it latched in tight.  My parents went on holiday and as I then couldn't drive,  Pauline offered to give me a lift into work.  You have to remember, I was fresh out of school - as brash and dopey as only a seventeen-year-old can be - and yet she tolerated me.  For my part it was easy - she was pretty, smart and independent, warm, witty and fiesty and I loved her for it, I still do.

I was proud to have a female best friend, partly because a platonic friendship seemed to confuse some people (as happened on our joint holiday to Corfu in 1992) but mostly because she was fun to be with and often gave me a completely different point of view on life.  We had a great time together and continue to do so.

1988

Our friendship has seen us both go through a lot over the years - marriages for each of us, children (her daughter wasn’t quite one when I met her, Dude came along in 2005), heartbreak and heartache, health issues - but we’ve always been there for each other.

Corfu, 1992

When Alison & I started seeing one another, just after that Corfu holiday, I explained my friendship with Pauline straight away, because I was worried my future wife might not like it.  Thankfully, the pair of them got on as soon as they met.

Enjoying a laugh and some wine, 2002

Pauline & I laugh at similar things, our moral compass is on roughly the same bearing and she likes Bond films (though, sadly, doesn’t have a lot of tolerance for the Roger Moore-era ones), so we go to see them at the cinema together.  We get to make jokes at one anothers expense, such as our regular DVD evenings where my choice of film is often poorly received and whilst we share a love for disco and soul, my musical taste is subject to mirth as I’m apparently stuck in my ways (not that I can see it).

At Kettering Odeon, with Daniel Craig, November 2015

Free-spirited, kind and loyal, she can also be charmingly blunt.  Along with my Mum and Alison (I’m blessed to have such strong women in my life), she spent a lot of time trying to make me aware of how dangerous my weight was becoming but, like an idiot, I didn’t listen.  When I decided to make a change she was very supportive, as she was after my heart attack.  We’re now linked up on MapMyWalk and try to get out for a brisk three-or-four miler every fortnight (chatting from the minute we leave the house to the moment we get back).

After a walk, August 2015

I feel lucky to know Pauline, I’m honoured to call her my friend and I'm proud of our rich, shared history.  I’m also thankful that, all that time ago, she didn’t dismiss me as being a silly teenager.

left - 2002, right - 2012

It was her birthday yesterday and so this post is really a double celebration.  Happy birthday, my finest friend and here’s to the next thirty years of friendship!

Just about to set off on another walk - late May 2016

"We're All Individuals!" - The Life Of Brian, under the stars with Purple Rain

Regular readers might remember that last year, my friend David & I went to see Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and An American Werewolf In London at Stanwick Lakes, in an open-air programme run by Luna Flix.  We had such a great time at both events that we decided to do it again this year.

Friday evening was the first chance we had to get along to any of the showings but we were determined to see Life Of Brian.  The British weather apparently had other ideas and, right up until the morning, it was touch-and-go whether the screening would be postponed (worse, there was a heavy downpour during the day) but Monty Python won out in the end.

We got to Stanwick Lakes at the same time, parked next to each other, loaded up our supplies (he’d brought the chairs, I had the Haribo) and made our way to the ‘outdoor theatre’.  Somebody had already claimed ‘our spot’ (a favourite from last year) but we quickly found a place, settled ourselves down, put on our waterproofs (it was spitting) and caught up on each others news.  As always, the Luna Flix team had thrown themselves into it - Lucy, on the gate, was wearing a beard, Simon the head honcho was rehearsing some quotes and the refreshments man was dressed up selling “larks' tongues, otters' noses, ocelot spleens” and convincing female members of the audiences they needed beards - brilliantly, most of them complied!

The set up was the same as last year - with a big inflatable screen, a tremendous sound system (you could hear it clear across the lake in the car park) - and this time we had a selection of Python songs blasting us until it was dark enough.  The only downside to this was that it made conversation difficult - we’d be talking away, one of us would hear a song we liked and we’d drift off, coming back to our chat after it finished.

The film began just before ten, as the last orange faded from the sky and the geese flew over the lake and it was great.  Billed as a ‘quote-along’, the team had sent out sheets of dialogue and lyrics and we’d been encouraged to take along our own wooden spoons, shoes and rocks, to be deployed at key moments.  The film looked great - it was the first time either of us had seen it on the big screen and, as David said, there were so many new things he noticed - and the humour was as pitch-perfect as I remembered it.  There was also a wonderful bit, where Simon The Holy Man breaks his 18-year vow of silence - the film paused and someone came racing out of the refreshments stand, shrieking and yelling about his poor foot, before running off as the film restarted - great fun.

The film finished at 11.50 - with the entire audience singing along to Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life - and we made our way back to the car park, agreed that it had been a great choice to see in the open air.


Alison didn’t get to any of the 2015 schedule and, based on me and David raving about it, was determined not to repeat that.  We were originally planning to see Ferris Bueller’s Day Off but, following the untimely death of Prince, it was rescheduled and Purple Rain was added to the programme.  Alison had already seen it, I hadn’t and so we decided to go.

Saturday was another changeable day, weather-wise - Dude & I spent the afternoon shopping in Leicester, under various hues of sky and a few showers - but apart from the odd spit of rain, it was a dry evening.  There was a big crowd in, a lot of Prince fans and a great atmosphere with plenty of the man’s songs playing until showtime, which was again at 10pm.  Alison was excited - she really liked the film but hadn’t seen it for ages - and I was very much looking forward to it.

So what did I think?  Very much of its time (it was released in 1984), it looked terrific (with a beautifully crisp image) but it was a bit uneven, with iffy acting (though Morris Day was fantastic), an occasionally foggy story and some unexpected violence - but the soundtrack made up for everything.  Once The Kid is on stage - and we’re essentially treated to a Prince concert film - everything else is forgiven and since the film was apparently designed to showcase his talents, it succeeds admirably.  Which is the thing really, it’s all about the music.  Whether you were a big fan of his or not, if you’re about my age - mid-to-late 40s - then it’s a fair bet he soundtracked at least part of your teenage life and who didn’t dance to 1999 at a disco (school or otherwise)?  In fact, to make you feel old, that song was released in 1982 (I didn’t really notice it until the 1985 re-release, to be honest) which means it was as far from 1999 as we are now!

Ending with that freeze-fame (and a bit of a sing-along - what a great way for me to discover the film!), we had a wonderful time and Alison thoroughly enjoyed the experience, with the Luna Flix team again putting on another great presentation.  Roll on the next one!


If you’re local, check out the schedule here and pop along, it’s really good fun.