Poetry Broadcasts and Documentaries.

[johncorrigan]

Another very good programme from BBC4 TV:

"Sex, Chips and Poetry - 50 Years of the Mersey Sound" - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...e-mersey-sound

Absolutely excellent programme...a great documentary about the Poets and the City and some of the people they influenced.

[Lat-Literal]

Indeed, Lat-Lit, it was a pleasure to see The Mersey Sound last night; instant memories
of Messrs McGough, Patten and Henri, Sunday evening poetry recitals when I did a season in 1969 with Century Theatre in the NW, 1969. A refreshing change, too, to see several documentaries on BBC 4 in the last few nights after months of TOTP's repeats in prime time schedules, night after night! I've just spent a couple of hours doing cut and paste transfers from Radio Times to the front covers of DVD transfers from HD; Betjeman and me, Rick Stein's
Story; Cornwall's Native Poet: Charles Causley; Vienna: Empire, Dynasty & Dream; Tunes for Tyrants, Pt I of 3 and a fascinating documentary, (BBC 2), Stop All the Clocks, on WH Auden.
The trouble here is that I'm easily diverted by sheer curiosity to my bookshelves and three hours later was still reading February House,(2005), Sherrill Tippins, which focusses on Auden's American years when he shared Carson McCullers Brooklyn brownstone house, early 1940s, with Jane & Paul Bowles, Britten & Pears, and Gypsy Rose Lee! Pages and pages of their lively discussions over dinner with Auden usually holding court, or intimidating Britten over the libretto for Paul Bunyan. A real page turner.

A lot of good programmes, there, Stanley, at the very least on paper. I intend to watch "Tunes for Tyrants" which has a thread of its own. My York trip has had to be postponed!

Absolutely excellent programme...a great documentary about the Poets and the City and some of the people they influenced.

It coincided, JC, with the re-running of the documentary on Cilla which I wanted to watch but it was the clear choice of the two programmes about Liverpool and its history.

[Stanley Stewart]

A lot of good programmes, there, Stanley, at the very least on paper. I intend to watch "Tunes for Tyrants" which has a thread of its own. My York trip has had to be postponed!

Thanks, Lat-Lit. Forgot to mention the BBC 4 tribute to Tom Petty and his sad death at 66. They decided to change the late night schedule, 2 Oct, to include his 1980 gig, Rock Goes to College, 45 mins, at Oxford Polytechnic, with only a few hours notice which will disappoint Petty's many fans. In turn, I didn't know his work very well, apart from his hits, American Girl and I Won't Back-down. He was quite dishy with an engaging platform presence. Surprised BBC 4 didn't wait for a week or two, allowing a bit of time for publicity? Don't know whether it is available on iPlayer but I've transferred a print to DVD!
RIP, Tom Petty.

[Lat-Literal]

A lot of good programmes, there, Stanley, at the very least on paper. I intend to watch "Tunes for Tyrants" which has a thread of its own. My York trip has had to be postponed!

Thanks, Lat-Lit. Forgot to mention the BBC 4 tribute to Tom Petty and his sad death at 66. They decided to change the late night schedule, 2 Oct, to include his 1980 gig, Rock Goes to College, 45 mins, at Oxford Polytechnic, with only a few hours notice which will disappoint Petty's many fans. In turn, I didn't know his work very well, apart from his hits, American Girl and I Won't Back-down. He was quite dishy with an engaging platform presence. Surprised BBC 4 didn't wait for a week or two, allowing a bit of time for publicity? Don't know whether it is available on iPlayer but I've transferred a print to DVD!
RIP, Tom Petty.

I might have another viewing of the Ella Prom this weekend. Being currently immobile with the most optimistic assessment of any sort of improvement unlikely for another five days (although that is for the most common age group with such an injury which is the 10-20 year olds so I imagine it will be longer for someone 40 years older and with kindly parents ringing up every hour to flap) there is only so many episodes of "Location, Location, Location" and similar one can bear. Honestly, I don't know how they find so many very young professionals with nearly a million pounds to spend on housing. It must be a red rag to most average people.

Elsewhere it was fascinating to me to see at the end of "First Date" that the voice describing what was happening in that programme was none other than that of Brian Protheroe. I don't know a great deal about him but it is very much an early to mid seventies name to me - the song "Pinball" but principally he was, I think, an actor so it wouldn't surprise me at all if your paths had crossed at some time. It must be several decades since I have seen his name mentioned.

When the news broke about Petty's passing - unfortunately before it actually happened - I went directly to Bob Harris's Twitter page because it is virtually impossible in this country to separate those two people, such was Harris's long term devotion. He put it very simply but meaningfully - "To Hell with this day". I was never a massive fan of Petty but several of his songs - especially "American Girl" - epitomized a strong concept of the US in the seventies for a British teenager comprising the uplifting, the expansive and the exotically far away. See also Bob Seger's "Hollywood Nights". These are the sort of songs that not not only motored musically but are inevitably to be found on compilations entitled "Driving". (Of course, one decides along the way - 1980s - never ever to go to the US because of its ridiculous gun lobby.)

It is, though, the Traveling Wilburys who are closer to my heart - the supergroup of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty which recorded two albums in 1988 and 1990. This was at a time when Lynne was out of favour with many, being seen as trying to turn everything including that project into another Electric Light Orchestra. I always got that point but I also got the other point which is that his talent if not equal to all of the others is undeniable and we were lucky that the group happened. In fact, it has been in this decade when my liking of Lynne has returned to how I felt about him in the 1970s and the Traveling Wilburys - with Tom Petty - are key to what is now a historical overview. I only wish I didn't have to remind myself how to spell their name every time I try to write about them.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Absolutely excellent programme...a great documentary about the Poets and the City and some of the people they influenced.

- personally, I would have enjoyed the documentary even more if they'd cut out the simplistic voice-over with its infantile delivery. But the comments from and about the three poets themselves - and the archive film clips were marvellous.

I highly recommend the Charles Causley documentary from Sunday night, too:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b097bcv3/cornwalls-native-poet-charles-causley?suggid=b097bcv3