Post-Yuletide Update

One of the benefits of the holiday-from-the-day-job season, at least in academic circles, is a two-week break that, among other things, allows more quality time, some of it even during daylight hours, to get some painting and/or drawing done, and this year I’ve used such opportunity to continue with the Seventies project.

The first drawing to be processed follows on from the previous one of ‘The Protectors’ in that it features a pair of representations of the picture sleeves of the 7″ vinyl record of Tony Christie‘s ‘Avenues and Alleyways’, which song provided the memorable theme tune to that particular television series. This still life is in fact something of a concoction, with images of the respective record covers sourced from the internet, drawn from prints of the images and then transformed into objects with reference to an arrangement of two physical 7″ single records in picture covers, the random choice of which, in terms of the music contained within, are individually and collectively about as far from the Christie song and production as it’s possible to imagine, even if all three are enduring classics of their kind!

‘Tony Christie “Avenues and Alleyways” 7-inch Picture Sleeves’

 coloured pencil and putty eraser on Seawhite cartridge paper/

42 x 30cm

still life composition for ‘Avenues and Alleyways’, featuring the 7″ picture sleeves of Cabaret Voltaire’s ‘Nag Nag Nag’ and the Gang of Four’s ‘Damaged Good’ EP

After ‘The Protectors’, one remembers the capers of Roger Moore and Tony Curtis as Lord Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde, ‘The Persuaders!’ and the private detective team of ‘Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)’ as played by Mike Pratt (on the right of the image represented in the drawing) and Kenneth Cope in white-suited ‘ghost’ mode, both of which series obviously kept me interested and entertained enough to remain in the memory bank.

‘The Persuaders!’

graphite and putty eraser on Seawhite cartridge paper/42 x 30cm

‘Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)’

graphite and putty eraser on Seawhite cartridge paper/42 x 30cm

‘Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)’ was remade in the 1990s starring north east Surrealist duo Vic Reeves (Jim Moir) and Bob Mortimer and this geographical and regional accent fact inspires thoughts of the Newcastle-set ‘Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?’, which was a 1970s sequel to the original Sixties British television sitcom ‘The Likely Lads’, both starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes, and also spawned a feature film that I recall with more clarity than others and again featured a memorable theme song including the lyric “It’s the only thing to look forward to, the past”, of particular resonance in the context of the Seventies project! The Likely Lads certainly seems to have remained an enduring favourite, a significant part of British popular culture and represents a vivid marker of its times.

‘Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?’

graphite and putty eraser on Seawhite cartridge paper/42 x 30cm

‘Billy Liar’ is a fictional character who’s long held a place in my affections, via Keith Waterhouse’s novel (and its ‘…on the Moon’ sequel) and the 1960s film starring Tom Courtney in the title role, who I always ‘imagine’ since, but I have a dimmer recollection of my first exposure being in fact a Seventies’ sitcom production, thus the drawing below features the actor Jeff Rawle in the eponymous role, represented as one of Billy’s heroic imaginary alter-egos, the President of Ambrosia or somesuch.

‘Billy Liar’

graphite and putty eraser on Seawhite cartridge paper/30 x 42cm

Finally, another sitcom dreamer, ‘Citizen Smith’, as played by Robert Lindsay, one of whom’s revolutionary rallying cries, “Power to the People”, seems so grimly ironic  in the light of the recent UK General Election resulting in the grotesque travesty of ‘the People’s PM’ representing ‘the People’s Government’, having been returned by a significant enough proportion of an ignorant and deluded electorate – I could rant on at inordinate length of my disgust and fear at the turn of political events in the UK but will end for now and remain focused on the creative, for it’s all we have left.

‘Citizen Smith’

graphite and putty eraser on Seawhite cartridge paper/30 x 42cm

Adventures in Sci-Fi

'UFO'

Graphite and putty eraser on 'Seawhite' cartridge paper/42 x 30cm (A3)

Following on from the previous entry, the drawing above also features among its cast of human subjects the actress Gabrielle Drake, on this occasion represented in character as ‘Lt. (Gay) Ellis’ as she appeared in the early 1970s British television series ‘UFO’, which I recall as being a particular favourite of my young self at the time, quite possibly to the point of obsession, as I know I numbered among my substantial collection of ‘Dinky’ toy cars (a definite obsession) the range of three vehicles that were merchandised from the show, including the gold car of the platinum blond 'Commander Ed Straker' (played by Ed Bishop), who forms the central figure of the trio depicted. The portrait to the right is of the magnificently and memorably-named Vladek Sheybal, in his role of ‘Dr Doug Jackson’, who, in a curious coincidence, is recorded as appearing in 10 episodes of the total of 26 produced, as is/was Gabrielle Drake, who I must admit I had no recollection of, unlike her role in the previously-referenced ‘Kelly Monteith Show’: apparently, Drake and Sheybal only featured in 2 episodes together, 1970’s ‘Kill Straker!’ and the following year’s ‘Ordeal’.

I think it’s highly-probable that the attraction to Vladek Sheybal’s name was the precursor to my undimmed devotion to those of East European football clubs, easily imaginable as it is that it should belong to, for example, the surprise Bulgarian Cup winners of 1973 who subsequently made an obscure appearance in the following season’s European Cup-Winners’ Cup, perhaps going out of that much-missed competition after a hard-fought and unlucky defeat to AC Milan at the Second Round stage.

Whatever, ‘UFO’, however deeply buried in the recesses of the mind and undisturbed for many years, maintains its presence in the memory and the Seventies project has allowed it to see the light of day once again.

By those curious connections the mind whimsically makes, of its own accord, Ed Straker’s dyed blond hair referenced that of Gary Numan, pictured similarly on the cover of Tubeway Army’s ‘Replicas’ LP from 1979. Now, this was something of a surprise at the time as I distinctly recall seeing Tubeway Army making what was quite possibly their debut appearance on ‘Top of the Pops’, performing ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ one Thursday evening during the Spring of 1979 - it sparked something of a pro/con debate in John Rogers’ English class in school the following morning, I’m back there in the room - featuring a jet black-haired Numan as the front man, and it is this memory that forms the inspiration for the following drawing in the project, represented from a still taken from a still of a ‘Top of the Pops’ broadcast. Vividly remembered days, of youth, indeed.

'Tubeway Army, 'Are 'Friends' Electric?', Top of the Pops', 1979'

Graphite and putty eraser on 'Seawhite' cartridge paper/42 x 30cm (A3)

As an aside, it’s worth mentioning that, despite both of these fond (I suppose) memories, my interest in science fiction withered early and it’s never been rekindled, it’s just one of those things I can find no way into or seem to have any desire to.