I have noticed that every time E. Paige reads out e-mails from
listeners, she says "pass the e-mails, Malc"(olm Prince, producer) and
there is then a loud noise as if someone is rustling some thick brown
paper--always exactly the same noise--, before Elaine reads out the e-
mails off her teleprompter with no further shuffling of papers.

Clearly this is listerner fraud, another example of the BBC sexing up
programs at the expense of gullible listeners.

This takes the biscuit, or should that be Cookie? Will heads roll now
that all is revealed? Don't bety on it.

>I have noticed that every time E. Paige reads out e-mails from listeners

I'd just wish she could learn to read something out in a more natural way, 
so that it *sounds* like she is talking from her head not reading from 
paper. It's SO forced, it sounds like a kid reading a book. Her delivery of 
things written down is quite the worst on R2 - even the newsreaders sound 
more natural than her.

D.

David Wright wrote:
> Her delivery of things written down is quite the worst on R2 - even the newsreaders sound 
> more natural than her.

One would certainly hope so, given that a newsreader's job is to read 
things that are written down.

On 30 Oct, 19:56, Calum <com.gm...@scottishwildcat.nospam> wrote:
> David Wright wrote:
> > Her delivery of things written down is quite the worst on R2 - even the newsreaders sound
> > more natural than her.
>
> One would certainly hope so, given that a newsreader's job is to read
> things that are written down.

Well, no, not really, because the presenters [at least some of the
time] would like you to think that they are ad-libbing between the
music. We know that newsreaders are reading from a script, we would
find it disconcerting or perhaps amusing if we got the impression they
were reeling it off the top of their head.

Shows like EP's are obviously scripted, but your typical presenter in
this style would add more sense [and/or cheeriness] to the
enunciation. Nigel Ogden or Humph, for example. But what about Steve
Wright, Bruce, Evans, Vine, etc.? They have a more freestyle approach,
but is it all it seems?

On Oct 31, 6:33 am, 420...@googlemail.com wrote:
> On 30 Oct, 19:56, Calum <com.gm...@scottishwildcat.nospam> wrote:
>
> > David Wright wrote:
> > > Her delivery of things written down is quite the worst on R2 - even the newsreaders sound
> > > more natural than her.
>
> > One would certainly hope so, given that a newsreader's job is to read
> > things that are written down.
>
> Well, no, not really, because the presenters [at least some of the
> time] would like you to think that they are ad-libbing between the
> music. We know that newsreaders are reading from a script, we would
> find it disconcerting or perhaps amusing if we got the impression they
> were reeling it off the top of their head.
>
> Shows like EP's are obviously scripted, but your typical presenter in
> this style would add more sense [and/or cheeriness] to the
> enunciation. Nigel Ogden or Humph, for example. But what about Steve
> Wright, Bruce, Evans, Vine, etc.? They have a more freestyle approach,
> but is it all it seems?

>From an economic point of view it would make sense to use freestylers
who have several shows a week, because it would save on scriptwriting
expenses. Perhaps this is part of the reason why these guys seem to be
so highly paid. It would also explain why they are so inane. Contrast
them to Laycock, for example, or Humphrey Lyttleton, who always seem
to be word perfect with well turned sentences. To me this area is
where Parky excels as a broadcaster, sounding completely natural
without being an inane twit like most of the Cockney mob who infest R2
during the weekdays.

Here is an example of inanity. On Pick of the Pops last week Dale
Wynton presented the sublime version of Got You Under My Skin by the
Four Seasons (one of the greatest pop records of all time) and after
it has played comments that the song was by Cole Porter and featured
in the 1936 movie Born to Dance. Then he says something like "see, I
know everything on a Sunday afternoon." Does he think we readers are
stupid and don't realise that he was fed this information by some
production assistant? If he knew so much about the song, how come he
did not mention that this was a Frank Sinatra signature song, that it
was nominated for an Oscar for best song, or that the title is a
possible hidden reference to heroin addiction. Parkinson would not
have added the "I know everything comment." (Wynton also comments on
it being by the Four Seasons before they were Frankie Valli and the
Four Seasons, without explaining that by rights they should have
become Frankie Valli and the Three Seasons as no additional seasoning
was recruited--but perhaps I am being pedantic.)

Elaine Paige adds plenty of cheeriness, but considering that she is
heavily scripted, the scripts just aren't very good.

Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1951@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

> Here is an example of inanity. On Pick of the Pops last week Dale
> Wynton presented the sublime version of Got You Under My Skin by the
> Four Seasons (one of the greatest pop records of all time) and after
> it has played comments that the song was by Cole Porter and featured
> in the 1936 movie Born to Dance. Then he says something like "see, I
> know everything on a Sunday afternoon." Does he think we readers are
> stupid and don't realise that he was fed this information by some
> production assistant?

Calm down dear, it's only a silly radio show.

I suspect 99% of listeners didn't actually care, and instead just took it
for the throwaway remark that it was meant to be, perhaps just smiled a
little - even if only inwardly -  forgot about it and enjoyed the rest
of the show?


-- 
                                 Andy Clews
                            University of Sussex
                 *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email ***

> On Oct 31, 6:33 am,

really? I was in bed.

> 420...@googlemail.com wrote:
>

> > Shows like EP's are obviously scripted, but your typical presenter in
> > this style would add more sense [and/or cheeriness] to the
> > enunciation. Nigel Ogden or Humph, for example. But what about Steve
> > Wright, Bruce, Evans, Vine, etc.? They have a more freestyle approach,
> > but is it all it seems?

> >From an economic point of view it would make sense to use freestylers
> who have several shows a week, because it would save on scriptwriting
> expenses. Perhaps this is part of the reason why these guys seem to be
> so highly paid. It would also explain why they are so inane. Contrast
> them to Laycock, for example, or Humphrey Lyttleton, who always seem
> to be word perfect with well turned sentences. To me this area is
> where Parky excels as a broadcaster, sounding completely natural
> without being an inane twit like most of the Cockney mob who infest R2
> during the weekdays.
>
> Parkinson would not
> have added the "I know everything comment."
>
> Elaine Paige adds plenty of cheeriness, but considering that she is
> heavily scripted, the scripts just aren't very good

My point was that the "freestylers" are probably scripted for more
than 50% of the time anyway, and maybe much more than that in some
cases, but some of them are fairly good at getting it across without
sounding too synthetic. They have production teams which I imagine are
more numerous and highly paid than on the "fringe" shows. Is that
dishonesty in the spirit of the OP?

I imagine that Dale's comments were intended as ironic self-
deprecation [he knows you know he doesn't know, unless you're simple,
in which case he's just being light hearted and cheering you up],
which you wouldn't expect of Parkinson, no.

Calling Elaine Paige "cheery" is like calling saccharine "sweet",
IMHO, i.e. you are probably technically correct but the quality you
describe can be irritating when blanketed in an artificial ambience...

On 31 Oct, 12:31, jmm1951  wrote:

> perhaps I am being pedantic

Yes, I think you are.

On Oct 31, 9:25 am, A.Cl...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:
> Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1...@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:
>
> > Here is an example of inanity. On Pick of the Pops last week Dale
> > Wynton presented the sublime version of Got You Under My Skin by the
> > Four Seasons (one of the greatest pop records of all time) and after
> > it has played comments that the song was by Cole Porter and featured
> > in the 1936 movie Born to Dance. Then he says something like "see, I
> > know everything on a Sunday afternoon." Does he think we readers are
> > stupid and don't realise that he was fed this information by some
> > production assistant?
>
> Calm down dear, it's only a silly radio show.
>
> I suspect 99% of listeners didn't actually care, and instead just took it
> for the throwaway remark that it was meant to be, perhaps just smiled a
> little - even if only inwardly -  forgot about it and enjoyed the rest
> of the show?
>
> --
Of course you are right. I was just being self-deprecatingly ironic in
not acknowledging this. I did enjoy the rest of the show, especially
the stunning recording of the Carpenters doing Calling Occupants of
Interplanetary Craft, a stunning tour de force, which as Wynton
pointed out, did not even make it into the top 30 in the USA.

"And please come on peace, we beseech you
Only a landing will teach them
Our earth may never survive
So do come, we beg you
Please interstellar policeman
Oh, won't you give us a sign
Give us a sign that we've reached you..."

And Reach Out I'll Be There by the Four Tops (would be a great name
for a gay band, wouldn't it?) was another sublime effort, a great
contrast to Herman's Hermits No Milk Today, a truly bathetic and
bizarre effort, of which Wynton did comment on the strange lyrics.

"No milk today, my love has gone away
The bottle stands for love, a symbol of the dawn ."

I just quoted the above as an example of the kind of inanity that you
hear ALL THE TIME on Radio 2,  which becomes a bit wearing after a
while. It is the tendency of the presenters to make the show about
themselves and not about the music that is annoying. Maybe it is a
generational thing, because I cannot imagine Parky, Laycock,
Lyttleton, or Jacobs making such a remark. All of them come across,
whether it is an illusion or not, as people who love the music and
want to communicate their enthusiasm to listeners. The attitude
conveyed by many of the other presenters is kind of "Hey, I am pig
ignorant and I get a million pounds a year of the license payers'
money for doing this crap. Suck it up!"

Still if that is what the licence payers want, then that is their
business. As I live in the US, I don't have to pay for it and BBC
Radio is still the best thing on the Internet.

"jmm1951"  wrote in message 
news:1193841251.892169.318050@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com...
> On Oct 31, 9:25 am, A.Cl...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:
>> Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1...@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:
>>

> And Reach Out I'll Be There by the Four Tops (would be a great name
> for a gay band, wouldn't it?) was another sublime effort, a great
> contrast to Herman's Hermits No Milk Today, a truly bathetic and
> bizarre effort, of which Wynton did comment on the strange lyrics.
>
> "No milk today, my love has gone away
> The bottle stands for love, a symbol of the dawn ."

I always thought it was "The bottle stands forlorn". At least that rhymes.

    Chris

On Oct 31, 3:20 pm, "Chris Brown"  wrote:
> "jmm1951"  wrote in message
>
> news:1193841251.892169.318050@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com...
>
> > On Oct 31, 9:25 am, A.Cl...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:
> >> Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1...@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:
>
> > And Reach Out I'll Be There by the Four Tops (would be a great name
> > for a gay band, wouldn't it?) was another sublime effort, a great
> > contrast to Herman's Hermits No Milk Today, a truly bathetic and
> > bizarre effort, of which Wynton did comment on the strange lyrics.
>
> > "No milk today, my love has gone away
> > The bottle stands for love, a symbol of the dawn ."
>
> I always thought it was "The bottle stands forlorn". At least that rhymes.
>
>     Chris

I copied the lyrics from a Web site, so they may have been erroneous.
Wynton's comment was on the lyrics in general, not that particular
line.

http://artists.letssingit.com/song-2zn1sqw

jmm1951 wrote:

> A.Cl...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote: 
>>Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1...@gmail.com):

>>>Dale Wynton presented the sublime version of Got You Under My Skin by
>>>the Four Seasons (one of the greatest pop records of all time) and
>>>after it has played comments that the song was by Cole Porter and
>>>featured in the 1936 movie Born to Dance. Then he says something like
>>>"see, I know everything on a Sunday afternoon." Does he think we 
>>>readers are stupid and don't realise that he was fed this information 
>>>by some production assistant?

Readers?

>>Calm down dear, it's only a silly radio show.
>>I suspect 99% of listeners didn't actually care, and instead just took it
>>for the throwaway remark that it was meant to be, perhaps just smiled a
>>little - even if only inwardly -  forgot about it and enjoyed the rest
>>of the show?

> Of course you are right. I was just being self-deprecatingly ironic in
> not acknowledging this. I did enjoy the rest of the show, especially
> the stunning recording of the Carpenters doing Calling Occupants of
> Interplanetary Craft, a stunning tour de force, which as Wynton
> pointed out, did not even make it into the top 30 in the USA.
>
> "And please come on peace, we beseech you
> Only a landing will teach them
> Our earth may never survive
> So do come, we beg you
> Please interstellar policeman
> Oh, won't you give us a sign
> Give us a sign that we've reached you..."

Hmmm... I bought the LP with that on (thirty years ago?). I was never 
all that convinced. Wasn't it something to do with some 
"Extra-Terrestrial Contact Week" or something?

> And Reach Out I'll Be There by the Four Tops (would be a great name
> for a gay band, wouldn't it?) was another sublime effort, a great
> contrast to Herman's Hermits No Milk Today, a truly bathetic and
> bizarre effort, of which Wynton did comment on the strange lyrics.
> 
> "No milk today, my love has gone away
> The bottle stands for love, a symbol of the dawn ."

No, it's: "The bottle stands *forlorn*, a symbol of the dawn"

See: 
<http://www.mathematik.uni-ulm.de/paul/lyrics/hermanshermits/nomilk~1.html>

Bloomin' 'eck! That's lengthy - almost as many words as The Eagles' 
"Lyin'Eyes". I wonder if Herman had them written on his cuff when he 
sang it on stage?

I see it was written by Graham Gouldman, successful songwriter of the 
1960s and 1970s and one-time member of 10cc. Some of his songs did 
have that artificial kitchen-sink "Up The Junction" feel to them. 
Think of another Herman/Hermits offering: "A Must To Avoid" (which 
even Herman once said sounded like "A Muscular Boy"). Contrived or what?

Gouldman could do better. Think of the stuff he did for The Yardbirds, 
for a start.

jmm1951 wrote:
> On Oct 31, 3:20 pm, "Chris Brown"  wrote:
> 
>>"jmm1951"  wrote in message
>>
>>news:1193841251.892169.318050@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>
>>>On Oct 31, 9:25 am, A.Cl...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:
>>>
>>>>Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1...@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:
>>
>>>And Reach Out I'll Be There by the Four Tops (would be a great name
>>>for a gay band, wouldn't it?) was another sublime effort, a great
>>>contrast to Herman's Hermits No Milk Today, a truly bathetic and
>>>bizarre effort, of which Wynton did comment on the strange lyrics.
>>
>>>"No milk today, my love has gone away
>>>The bottle stands for love, a symbol of the dawn ."
>>
>>I always thought it was "The bottle stands forlorn". At least that rhymes.
>>
>>    Chris
> 
> 
> I copied the lyrics from a Web site, so they may have been erroneous.
> Wynton's comment was on the lyrics in general, not that particular
> line.
> 
> http://artists.letssingit.com/song-2zn1sqw

The line is reproduced variously on internet lyrics sites as:

"The bottle stands forlorn"
"The bottle stands for lorn"
"The bottle stands for lon"

Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1951@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:
>> I suspect 99% of listeners didn't actually care, [...]

> Of course you are right. I was just being self-deprecatingly ironic in
> not acknowledging this. I did enjoy the rest of the show, especially
> the stunning recording of the Carpenters doing Calling Occupants of
> Interplanetary Craft, a stunning tour de force, which as Wynton
> pointed out, did not even make it into the top 30 in the USA.

Yes, that is a rather pleasing song, but then anything by The Carpenters is
generally rather pleasing.

> And Reach Out I'll Be There by the Four Tops (would be a great name
> for a gay band, wouldn't it?) [...]

I'll have to take your word for that.

> I just quoted the above as an example of the kind of inanity that you
> hear ALL THE TIME on Radio 2,  which becomes a bit wearing after a
> while. [...]

> Still if that is what the licence payers want, then that is their
> business. As I live in the US, I don't have to pay for it and BBC
> Radio is still the best thing on the Internet.

There is no licence fee for radio in the UK.  There did used to be, decades
ago, but now the licence is only for receiving TV, even though licence fees
do also finance BBC Radio (to the best of my knowledge).  So we (in the UK)
don't pay directly for radio either.


-- 
                                 Andy Clews
                            University of Sussex
                 *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email ***

On Nov 1, 6:41 am, A.Cl...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:
> Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1...@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:
>
> >> I suspect 99% of listeners didn't actually care, [...]
> > Of course you are right. I was just being self-deprecatingly ironic in
> > not acknowledging this. I did enjoy the rest of the show, especially
> > the stunning recording of the Carpenters doing Calling Occupants of
> > Interplanetary Craft, a stunning tour de force, which as Wynton
> > pointed out, did not even make it into the top 30 in the USA.
>
> Yes, that is a rather pleasing song, but then anything by The Carpenters is
> generally rather pleasing.
>
> > And Reach Out I'll Be There by the Four Tops (would be a great name
> > for a gay band, wouldn't it?) [...]
>
> I'll have to take your word for that.
>
> > I just quoted the above as an example of the kind of inanity that you
> > hear ALL THE TIME on Radio 2,  which becomes a bit wearing after a
> > while. [...]
> > Still if that is what the licence payers want, then that is their
> > business. As I live in the US, I don't have to pay for it and BBC
> > Radio is still the best thing on the Internet.
>
> There is no licence fee for radio in the UK.  There did used to be, decades
> ago, but now the licence is only for receiving TV, even though licence fees
> do also finance BBC Radio (to the best of my knowledge).  So we (in the UK)
> don't pay directly for radio either.
>
> --
>                                  Andy Clews
>                             University of Sussex
>                  *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email ***



I stand corrected on the license fee, though my understanding is that
BBC radio is financed out of license fee revenues, ditto the Web
sites.   Certainly the BBC through the World Service on short wave and
now through the Internet broadcasts to a worldwide audience that does
not pay a license fee. It is easy to forget sometimes that the BBC is
a public service broadcaster, one of whose primary missions is to
promote Britain and British culture to the world. Hence, for example,
playing the music of young British performers like Georgina Bromilow,
for example, may not just be a quirk of people like Parky, but also
part of the BBC's mission to promote British performers to a wider
audience.

Part of the genius of the BBC has been to make popular programs out of
TV shows whose public service intent is to educate and stimulate--a
kind of evening classes of the air. I am thinking of things like
Ground Force, Changing Rooms, and then, of  course, all those cooking
shows, which I am sure have something to do with the desire to promote
culinary arts skills, health eating, and the Fight on Flab, which is
more relevant in today's time of the obesity epidemic than it ever was
when Terry Wogan was still a charming young Irishman.

However, the BBC has announced that it will probably introduce
advertising for foreign viewers of its Web sites, partly on the
grounds that they do not pay a license fee, even though UK users do
not pay for the Web sites either.

Although the lyrics of No Milk Today are a little strange, to me it is
the singing (?) of Peter Noone that is really atrocious. He must be
the least talented vocalist ever to have a hit record. Even Benny Hill
is a better singer. An engaging character, to be sure, but a singer,
no.

[Re: the Four Tops. In gay circles, I have read, the, ahem, more
active sexual actor is known as a top and the more passive as a
bottom. Presumably this is a more recent coinage, but it is doubtful
whether any band today would choose a name like the Four Tops (or
Bottoms for that matter). Presumably the name was a variation on
Spinners, a name used by bands on both sides of the Atlantic, possibly
because records span on a turntable. There was also a UK folk group
called the Spinners, and as they came from Lancashire one assumes the
name had something to do with a connection with the cotton industry.]

Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1951@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

> I stand corrected on the license fee, though my understanding is that
> BBC radio is financed out of license fee revenues, ditto the Web
> sites.

That's correct, and explains why the recent cuts announced by the Beeb are
mainly as a result of a lower-than-requested increase in the licence fee.

> However, the BBC has announced that it will probably introduce
> advertising for foreign viewers of its Web sites, partly on the
> grounds that they do not pay a license fee, even though UK users do
> not pay for the Web sites either.

We do pay, actually, through the TV licence fee...

> Although the lyrics of No Milk Today are a little strange, to me it is
> the singing (?) of Peter Noone that is really atrocious. He must be
> the least talented vocalist ever to have a hit record. Even Benny Hill
> is a better singer. An engaging character, to be sure, but a singer,
> no.

Not heard "I'm Into Something Good" (the title may be inaccurate) by
Herman's Hermits then?   I thought Noone sang that quite well.

And what about His Bobness, Mr Robert Zimmerman... would you say he is
'talented' as a singer?   He may have written great songs but IMHO he sure
can't sing any of 'em.


-- 
                                 Andy Clews
                            University of Sussex
                 *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email ***

As if by magic, A.Clews@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk appeared !

> 
> And what about His Bobness, Mr Robert Zimmerman... would you say he is
> 'talented' as a singer?   He may have written great songs but IMHO he sure
> can't sing any of 'em.
> 

"A voice like sand and glue"

Ian

On Nov 1, 10:42 am, Ian Bush  wrote:
> As if by magic, A.Cl...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk appeared !
>
>
>
> > And what about His Bobness, Mr Robert Zimmerman... would you say he is
> > 'talented' as a singer?   He may have written great songs but IMHO he sure
> > can't sing any of 'em.
>
> "A voice like sand and glue"
>
> Ian


In a recent BBC Radio 2 broadcast about the Travelling Wilbury's
supergroup, it was recounted that Roy Orbison regarded himself as a
singer, whereas the others, like Dylan were not really singers, but
song stylists. That seems like quite a good distinction.

Certainly the other day hearing the Temptations, the Four Tops, the
Carpenters, and then Herman's Hermits, one was struck by the fact that
the adenoidal warblings of Mr .Noone (have you heard Mrs Brown, You've
Got a Lovely Daughter) put him more in the comic music hall or novelty
act category. Of course, his career as a pop star was based on his
youthful appearance as an actor on Coronation Street and  on his looks
which appealed to teenage girls. Being a star never had much to do
with singing, otherwise Marnie Nixon would have been a megastar.

A.Clews@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:

> jmm1951 (jmm1951@gmail.com):

>>I stand corrected on the license fee, though my understanding is that
>>BBC radio is financed out of license fee revenues, ditto the Web
>>sites.

> That's correct, and explains why the recent cuts announced by the Beeb are
> mainly as a result of a lower-than-requested increase in the licence fee.

>>However, the BBC has announced that it will probably introduce
>>advertising for foreign viewers of its Web sites, partly on the
>>grounds that they do not pay a license fee, even though UK users do
>>not pay for the Web sites either.

> We do pay, actually, through the TV licence fee...

>>Although the lyrics of No Milk Today are a little strange, to me it is
>>the singing (?) of Peter Noone that is really atrocious. He must be
>>the least talented vocalist ever to have a hit record. Even Benny Hill
>>is a better singer. An engaging character, to be sure, but a singer,
>>no.

> Not heard "I'm Into Something Good" (the title may be inaccurate) by
> Herman's Hermits then?   I thought Noone sang that quite well.

That was a cover. The song was American and the original version (by 
Earl Jean, IIRC) was miles better.

Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1951@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

> Certainly the other day hearing the Temptations, the Four Tops, the
> Carpenters, and then Herman's Hermits, one was struck by the fact that
> the adenoidal warblings of Mr .Noone (have you heard Mrs Brown, You've
> Got a Lovely Daughter) put him more in the comic music hall or novelty
> act category. 

Yes I have heard "Mrs Brown".  It is a rather strange song.

It seems Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone has his 60th birthday on the 5th
November, and he's still touring with an incarnation of Herman's Hermits. 
Seems he's kept fairly busy over the years.
See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Noone>

-- 
                                 Andy Clews
                            University of Sussex
                 *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email ***

A.Clews@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:

> Thus spake jmm1951 (jmm1951@gmail.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

>>Certainly the other day hearing the Temptations, the Four Tops, the
>>Carpenters, and then Herman's Hermits, one was struck by the fact that
>>the adenoidal warblings of Mr .Noone (have you heard Mrs Brown, You've
>>Got a Lovely Daughter) put him more in the comic music hall or novelty
>>act category. 

> Yes I have heard "Mrs Brown".  It is a rather strange song.

And like "I'm Henry/'Enery VIII I Am" (and "I'm Into Something Good"), 
it was not a Hermits original. "Henry VIII" was first featured by 
Harry Champion back in the days of the music hall, whilst even in the 
early 1960s, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers regularly featured it, and 
issued it on record. It must be that version that was borrowed by 
Herman's Hermits.

For "Mrs Brown...", the original was recorded by actor Tom Courtenay 
in about 1963 (roughly around the time of his coming to prominence in 
"The Loneliness Of The Long-Distance Runner"). I haven't heard it for 
a few decades, but IIRC that the Herman version was almost identical.

Both songs were recorded mainly for the USA market, where Noone and 
the Hermits were much more popular than they were in the UK. Those two 
novelty numbers were relatively familiar to British audiences of the 
day (via Brown and Courtenay) but in America, they must have seemed 
very quaint, tripping from the tongue of the ever-shrewd Noone.

> It seems Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone has his 60th birthday on the 5th
> November, and he's still touring with an incarnation of Herman's Hermits. 
> Seems he's kept fairly busy over the years.
> See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Noone>

I met his mother once, in odd circumstances in Lancashire.

"JNugent"  wrote in message 
news:7PSdnbYequSXzrbanZ2dneKdnZydnZ2d@pipex.net...

<snip>

>> It seems Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone has his 60th birthday on the 5th
>> November, and he's still touring with an incarnation of Herman's Hermits. 
>> Seems he's kept fairly busy over the years.
>> See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Noone>
>
> I met his mother once, in odd circumstances in Lancashire.


Do tell...

-- 

Regards

John

Thus spake JNugent (not.telling@noparticularplacetogo.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

>> Yes I have heard "Mrs Brown".  It is a rather strange song.

> And like "I'm Henry/'Enery VIII I Am" (and "I'm Into Something Good"), 
> it was not a Hermits original. "Henry VIII" was first featured by 
> Harry Champion back in the days of the music hall, whilst even in the 
> early 1960s, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers regularly featured it, and 
> issued it on record. It must be that version that was borrowed by 
> Herman's Hermits.

It's Joe Brown I was thinking of as the kind of singer/band that would
perform or record Mrs Brown and 'Enery the Eighth.

>> It seems Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone has his 60th birthday on the 5th
>> November, and he's still touring with an incarnation of Herman's Hermits. 
>> Seems he's kept fairly busy over the years.
>> See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Noone>

> I met his mother once, in odd circumstances in Lancashire.

Did you run her over or something?

-- 
                                 Andy Clews
                            University of Sussex
                 *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email ***

A.Clews@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:

> JNugent (not.telling@noparticularplacetogo.com):

>>>Yes I have heard "Mrs Brown".  It is a rather strange song.

>>And like "I'm Henry/'Enery VIII I Am" (and "I'm Into Something Good"), 
>>it was not a Hermits original. "Henry VIII" was first featured by 
>>Harry Champion back in the days of the music hall, whilst even in the 
>>early 1960s, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers regularly featured it, and 
>>issued it on record. It must be that version that was borrowed by 
>>Herman's Hermits.

> It's Joe Brown I was thinking of as the kind of singer/band that would
> perform or record Mrs Brown and 'Enery the Eighth.

>>>It seems Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone has his 60th birthday on the 5th
>>>November, and he's still touring with an incarnation of Herman's Hermits. 
>>>Seems he's kept fairly busy over the years.
>>>See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Noone>

>>I met his mother once, in odd circumstances in Lancashire.

> Did you run her over or something?

In a manner of speaking, yes.

Thus spake JNugent (not.telling@noparticularplacetogo.com) unto the assembled multitudes:


>>>>It seems Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone has his 60th birthday on the 5th
>>>>November, [...]

>>>I met his mother once, in odd circumstances in Lancashire.

>> Did you run her over or something?

> In a manner of speaking, yes.

You can't stop there and leave us hanging in mid-air.  Come on now, let's
have the lurid details!

-- 
                                 Andy Clews
                            University of Sussex
                 *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email ***

A.Clews@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:

> Thus spake JNugent (not.telling@noparticularplacetogo.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

>>>>>It seems Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone has his 60th birthday on the 5th
>>>>>November, [...]

>>>>I met his mother once, in odd circumstances in Lancashire.

>>>Did you run her over or something?

>>In a manner of speaking, yes.

> You can't stop there and leave us hanging in mid-air.  Come on now, let's
> have the lurid details!

Ooh... no, no, no.

I've already said more than I should have.

Thus spake JNugent (not.telling@noparticularplacetogo.com) unto the assembled multitudes:

>> You can't stop there and leave us hanging in mid-air.  Come on now, let's
>> have the lurid details!

> Ooh... no, no, no.

> I've already said more than I should have.

Gah.  It's like recording something off the telly and finding the recording
ends early.

-- 
                                 Andy Clews
                            University of Sussex
                 *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email ***