Three Years The World Has Been Waitin' Just For You, Three Bloody Years!

Side 2 of a mixtape featuring The Boo Radleys, compiled 22nd February 1997.

 

I posted Side 1 of this C90 compilation on Saturday 20th August 2022. Sometimes the follow up side will be swift, sometimes it will take over 1,100 days (and posts) to get there. I hope you think it was worth the wait...!

As before, this selection almost exclusively draws on EPs, remixes and tracks from music paper cassettes, last time NME this time Melody Maker. Whilst Giant Steps set their own bar so high that they couldn't hope to match it again (although they tried), the singles were always great value for money, packed with songs that often matched, sometimes surpassed their album siblings.

One happy consequence of the three year gap between posting the two sides of this collection is that I've since been able to obtain a decent MP3 rip of the Blues For George Michael demo, which I previously had to swap out for an edit of the single version. So, I've recreated and reposted Side 1, both sides now coming in at exactly 45:57. Spooky!

So, for the first time, you can now experience the entire C90 as I originally intended, and a reminder of how utterly brilliant The Boo Radleys were before BritPop and a hit single did them in.

1) Lazarus (12 Inch Version By Alan Moulder)

2) Atlantic (1996)

3) Ride The Tiger (Demo Version) (1996)

4) Cracked Lips, Homesick (1994)

5) Stuck On Amber (1995)

6) Donkey (1995)

7) Tortoiseshell (Re-Recorded Version) (1994)

8) Janus (1995)

9) The Only Word I Can Find (1995)

10) If You Want It, Take It (1993)

11) Vote You (1997)

12) Martin, Doom! It's Seven o' Clock (Stereolab Mix) (1995)

1992: Lazarus EP: 1

1993: Giant Steps: 10

1994: Barney (...And Me) EP: 4, 7

1995: Find The Answer Within EP: 9

1995: It's Lulu EP: 6, 12

1995: Wake Up!: 5

1995: Wake Up Boo! EP: 8

1996: The Basement Tapes Volume 1 (Melody Maker promo cassette): 3

1996: What's In The Box? EP: 2

1997: Ride The Tiger EP: 11

Side Two (45:57) (GD) (M)

Side One here

Juice

Hop on board for the ride of a lifetime with The O'Jays.

By 1972, the original five-piece had reduced to a trio, Eddie Levert, Walter Williams and William Powell. A fateful meeting with Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff saw The O'Jays signed to their Philadelphia International label and...magic happened.

This selection features seven extended workouts, mostly album versions produced by Gamble and Huff, with a couple of mixes by Tom Moulton. Call it Philly Sound, call it disco, call it what you want, but it will move your body, mind and soul. 

If you want funky soul grooves, you've got it. 

If you want thought provoking lyrics with a social conscience, you've got it.

If you want the source material for samples by Groove Armada, Grandmaster Flash, Enigma, Gang Starr, Drake and Jungle Brothers, you've got it.

If you want earthy vocals and sweet harmonies, you've got it.

If you want nothing more than just great music, you've got it.

Enjoy!

1) Message In Our Music (Album Version By Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff) (1976)

2) For The Love Of Money (Album Version By Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff) (1973)

3) Love Train ("A Tom Moulton Mix") (1977)

4) When The World's At Peace (Album Version By Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff) (1972)

5) Back Stabbers (A Tom Moulton Mix) (1977)

6) Livin' For The Weekend (Album Version By Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff) (1975)

7) I Love Music (Album Version By Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff) (1975)

1972: Back Stabbers: 4

1973: Ship Ahoy: 2

1975: Family Reunion: 6, 7

1976: Message In The Music: 1

1977: I Love Music / Love Train EP: 3

2012: Philadelphia International Classics: 5

Juice (47:42) (GD) (M)

Keep One Step Ahead Of Yourself

Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez collaborating with Róisín Murphy on a cover of a Talking Heads classic?

When you think of it, why didn't they think of it sooner?

The song in question, Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), at once feels at home with Kenny's Nuyorican palette of rhythms and grooves, whilst at the same time sounding like it could have been lifted straight from Róisín's current catalogue. 

I've gone for all nine minutes of the extended version here - and why not? - but the original comes in at a more radio-friendly 3:48, whilst a dub version at just under a minute longer rounds out the digital single package available on Bandcamp.

I've clearly not been keeping up with the music press, as Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) is apparently lifted from Naive Melodies, an expansive tribute to Talking Heads’ rhythmic legacy, due on 24th October.

Naive Melodies is curated by DJ/Producer/Artist Manager Drew McFadden, and features artists that, with a few exceptions like Theophilus London and Wu-Lu, are largely unfamiliar to me. 

I'll need to delve into the album a bit more before deciding to buy but Kenny and Róisín's EP is in the (shopping) bag.

It would be negligent of me not to refer back to the original Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), with a detour by way of David Byrne's own (re)version from his American Utopia show at the O2 Arena in London on 29th October 2018.

I saw a broadcast version of the entire show on Sky Arts a while back and it was memerising from start to finish. 

And to close,  a fan-made video of the definitive version of Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) by Talking Heads, taken from their 1980 album Remain In Light. 

By sheer coincidence, this album has been on regular rotation on my playlist in the past month or so, and the grooves are etched deep in my mind. 

Sumptuous

Yesterday's post about new music from Emma Pollock became an itch that I had to scratch so, as a companion piece, here's a 10-song, 40-minute selection.

Bearing in mind that I've been a relative latecomer to Emma's solo music and benefitted from additional signposting and recommendations from the blogging luminaries such as Charity Chic Music, The Vinyl Villain and 27 Leggies, this features a couple of songs from third album In Search Of Harpersfield and a varied trio from The Delgados. The rest are other artists who had the incredibly good sense to work with Emma, their songs all the better for the collaboration.

It always feels more by luck than judgement, given how quickly I cobble these selections together, but I'm really happy that the two 'sides' both run to a smidge under 20 minutes each and also seem to flow as a cohesive listening experience.

I can't take too much credit for that though, Emma and co. did all the heavy lifting here!

Please click on the additional links below to buy more music. There's another Bandcamp Friday coming up on 5th September, if you want your pennies to benefit even more.

Side One

1) No Danger: The Delgados (2000)

2) Size Nine And A Half (Cover of Ivor Cutler): Citizen Bravo ft. Emma Pollock (2020)

3) Parks And Recreation: Emma Pollock (2016)

4) A Certain Compulsion (Remixed By White Label): The Grand Gestures ft. Emma Pollock (2016)

5) Thirteen Gliding Principles (Mark Radcliffe Session): The Delgados (1996)

Side Two

1) The Actress: The Delgados (1998)

2) Dark Skies: Emma Pollock (2016)

3) Ears (Single Version): Cinerama ft. Emma Pollock (1998)

4) Nuada: King Of Woolworths ft. Emma Pollock (2003)

5) Paper (ToffoBean Remix): Starless ft. Emma Pollock (2020)

1997: BBC Sessions: A5

1998: Peloton: B1

1998: Va Va Voom: B3

2000: The Great Eastern: A1

2003: L'Illustration Musicale: B4

2016: In Search Of Harperfield: A3, B2

2016: The Grand Gestures Remixed: A4

2020: Paper EP: B5

2020: Return To Y'Hup: The World Of Ivor Cutler: A2

Side One (19:57) (GD) (M)

Side Two (19:35) (GD) (M)

I've included links above to the albums (or, in the case of the BBC Sessions, the closest equivalent) that can be purchased via Bandcamp. 

And, as if you need reminding, Emma's fourth album, Begging The Night To Take Hold, is also available to pre-order now.

You've Got This Upside Down, So Pour It Out

Celebrating a superlative female songwriter yesterday led me almost directly to thinking of Emma Pollock.

Good ol' Iffypedia lists Emma's birth date as 20th December 1972 AND 14th August 1971, so I'm either way too early or I've just missed it by a couple of weeks. Either way, there's no reason not to rejoice that this time next month, Emma's fourth album - and first in nine years - will be with us.

And, if that's not good news enough, Emma is promoting the album with a 10-date tour of England and Scotland in October.

I'm a latecomer to Emma's prodigious talent, having only had a passing acquaintance at the time with her role in The Delgados. Now ten years into a solo career, and based on the three songs I've heard so far, Begging The Night To Take Hold promises to be another highlight.

As an appetiser, I've included a couple of Emma's singles from the archives, a preview of a new album track performed live at The Holy GrAle in Durham last November and finally, the second single (and third song) from Begging The Night To Take Hold.

Sumptuous.

1) Acid Test (Watch The Fireworks) (2007)

2) Parks And Recreation (In Search Of Harperfield) (2016)

3) Marchtown (Live @ The Holy GrAle, Durham, 7th November 2024)

4) Future Tree (Begging The Night To Take Hold) (2025)

 

 

 

Solid Gold Songwriter

Happy birthday to Valerie Simpson, born 26th August 1946.

Age 18, a fateful meeting with Nickolas Ashford in 1964 led to a lifelong partnership, both in marriage and as songwriters, until Nickolas' passing in 2011. 

Too many classics to fit in here, not least their work with Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Diana Ross and Chaka Khan, but I've included one of each, a few other oft-covered gems, plus two big songs from their own recordings.

What a talent.

1) I'll Find You: Valerie & Nick (1964)

2) The Real Thing: Betty Everett (1965)*

3) Let's Go Get Stoned: The Coasters (1965)*

4) Ain't No Mountain High Enough: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (1967)

5) Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand): Diana Ross (1970)

6) Bourgié Bourgié: Ashford & Simpson (1977)

7) Clouds: Chaka Khan (1980)

8) Solid: Ashford & Simpson (1984)

* co-written with Jo Armstead

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21st Century (Sub)Urban Head Music

Four transporting and transformative tracks from GLOK aka Andy Bell, Rico Conning, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Julian Cope.

All clocking in at 15 minutes long, all locating and locking into an individual groove, ideal whether you're laid back, or stuck in a bank holiday traffic jam, trying to reach your destination. You will get there.

Invocation is the closing song from Pattern Recognition, Andy Bell's debut album as GLOK, unbelievably five years ago now. Andy has described GLOK as "all about the push and pull between electronic and psych in my music". The pulsating electronica, brief vocal snippets and hypnotic rhythms carry the listener along with no sense of the passage of time, just total immersion in the moment.

I knew of Rico Conning's work as a producer, starting with the limited edition remix 12" single of Sometimes by Erasure in 1986, which featured his work. I found my way back to Rico in 2022, courtesy of his remix of This Is Something by Summerisle Six aka Sean Johnston with Jo Bartlett on vocals. 

I then tracked back to Rico's own releases on Bandcamp. Frogmore is a four-track album from 2017 and is a revelation. Rico describes the title song as "a kind of audio diary" of the time he had a cabin "in the misty mountains of Malibu" in the early 2000s. The song is broken down into three distinct phases, the first two mining individual (treated) guitar seams, the third a brief and unexpected vocal reprise. It's wonderful.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard are a band that I came to relatively recently and with some trepidation, not least because of the, let's face it, pants name, but also the daunting prospect of a back catalogue comprising roughly one million albums, EPs and live recordings.

Take the step beyond though and the rewards are immense. Laminated Denim is a two-song album from 2022, Hypertension comprising the second (digital) side. The most vocal-heavy of the four songs selected today, it's also unexpectedly easy going. With the song title, I guess I was expecting a full-on sonic assault, but despite being 15 minutes long, it's one of their most accessible songs that I've discovered to date.

Julian Cope's never been too bothered about being accessible. Despite writing some of the most catchy, melodic pop songs and being able to get away with ba-ba-ba's where other artists can't, he's also partial to a long-form drone and a dirge. Frequently, Julian's psych excursions can come over like a bad trip (road or otherwise), but when he's on, he's ON.

John Balance Enters Valhalla is the title track of an unexpected five-track album released in 2019; then again, most Cope releases tend to drop without fanfare or warning these days.

A tribute to Geoffrey Nigel Laurence Rushton (né Burton) aka Coil co-founder and "Visionary Voice" John Balance, who died in 2004 at the age of 42. Julian various describes the album as 'mesmerizing', 'upbeat', 'emotional', 'rhythm-laden' with 'hefty grooves', tracking "the various stages of the artist’s journey into legendary Valhalla".

The music meanders, the main groove even popping off into the next room about two thirds of the way through, before giving way to some radio chat, before returning for the final approach, leaving the listener behind and it forges on into the distance. Stirring stuff.

If any/all of this music appeals, I've provided links below to purchase the full albums digitally, although if you're snappy, you can get the last remaining copy of the GLOK album on gatefold double orange vinyl.

1) Invocation (Album Version By Andy Bell): GLOK (2021)

2) Frogmore: Rico Conning (2017)

3) Hypertension: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (2022)

4) John Balance Enters Valhalla: Julian Cope (2019)

2017: Frogmore: 2

2019: John Balance Enters Valhalla: 4

2021: Pattern Recognition: 1

2022: Laminated Denim: 3

21st Century (Sub)Urban Head Music (1:01:02) (GD) (M)

Dub With Me And Then We'll Dub Together

In case you hadn't noticed, Adrian Sherwood's fourth solo album, The Collapse Of Everything, was released into the world on 22nd August.

At risk of predictability, Sunday seems to be frequently my go-to day for sharing dub excutsions on this weaving path through the musical landscape.

Therefore, it would be remiss of me to pass up these converging opportunities to spotlight Sherwood at the controls, with the videos for the first four songs (so far) from the album.

Starting with Dub Inspector (track 2), back for the opening title track, then back on course for The Well Is Poisoned (Dub) and Body Roll. Considering how long Adrian's been at this music lark, his ability to carve out fresh dub soundscapes is undiminished.

Aided and abetted by the usual On-U Sound suspects, including Doug Wimbish and Keith LeBlanc (RIP), with Horseman and Gaudi adding to the magic. 

Heck, even Brian Eno pops up with "guitar, vocals, effects" on The Well Is Poisoned (Dub), and there's some lovely sax and flute by Alex White from The Fat White Family on three of the four featured tracks.

The Collapse Of Everything Is available now on clear or standard black vinyl, as well as shiny disc and digital. 

If you can wait, there's another Bandcamp Friday in a couple of weeks (5th September) if you would like even more of your hard earned wonga to reach Mr. Sherwood.

The album's closing piece, The Grand Designer, was also the title track of 10" vinyl and digital EP release in June, with three other non-album cuts (one featuring the late, great Lee 'Scratch' Perry). Again, worth every penny.

And, if you're feeling splendiferously frivolous, why not splurge on a couple of Adrian's recent remixes for other artists? 

July saw Adrian's dub rendition of No Cigar by Shit Robot aka Marcus Lambkin, working with Joe Goddard and Al Doyle from Hot Chip and issued on the super hip DFA Records label.

The upcoming Bandcamp Friday will also mark the one-year anniversary of Echoes Of The Night, an EP by Pitch Black featuring four - count 'em, four - dubs by Adrian Sherwood, dating from (I think) 2020, all but one previously unreleased.

And I've not even mentioned the entire album of Adrian Sherwood dubs, Obscured By Version, brand new but delving into the archives of Dub Syndicate.

We're spoilt, really.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything Happens, Don't Look For Patterns

I've somehow managed to avoid creating a Buzzcocks selection before now and I approached this one with trepidation.

I mean, where do you start? Especially as I wanted one that spanned their early recordings with Howard Devoto in 1976 through to the final album released before Pete Shelley's passing in 2018. And all in 45 minutes, maximum.

This is my valiant attempt, alternating between their 'classic' period (1976-1981) and their 'reformation period' (1989-2014).

Enjoy!

1) Promises (1978)

2) Keep On Believing (2014)

3) Orgasm Addict (No-Remix Demo) (1976)

4) Sell You Everything (2006)

5) Are Everything (1980)

6) Why Compromise? (1999)

7) What Do You Know? (1980)

8) Up For The Crack (2003)

9) Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)? (1978)

10) Totally From The Heart (1996)

11) Strange Thing (1980)

12) Who'll Help Me To Forget? (1993)

13) What Do I Get? (1978)

14) I've Had Enough (2006)

15) Love You More (1978)

16) Your Love (1996)

1978: Love Bites: 9

1978: Love You More EP: 15

1978: Promises/Lipstick EP: 1

1978: What Do I Get? EP: 13

1980: Are Everything EP: 5

1980: Running Free EP: 7

1980: Strange Thing EP: 11

1993: Trade Test Transmissions: 12

1996: All Set: 10, 16

1999: Modern: 6

2000: Time's Up: 3

2003: Buzzcocks: 8

2006: Flat-Pack Philosophy: 4, 14

2014: The Way: 2

Everything Happens, Don't Look For Patterns (44:58) (GD) (M)

If that's whet your appetite for more Pete Shelley, I've reactivated a short selection that I created in 2021 to acknowledge the passing of Sir Clive Sinclair. 

Earlier this year, I also posted a selection of Pete's pop videos, which you can revisit here.

Because You Demanded More, The Return Of Versions Galore!

Side 2 of a cassette compilation of cover versions, recorded 26th November 1999.

When I posted Side 1 in July 2024, I remarked "Who would have thought a quarter of a century on, many of these artists would still be recording and touring?"

The more sobering realisation is how many artists are sadly no longer with us since I originally recorded the mixtape at the end of the last century: Brian Wilson, Marc Moreland, Tony Ogden, Charlie Watts, Cathal Coughlan, Rod McKuen...and that's just in the first four songs of Side 2 alone.

The other thing that struck me was the 1993 was clearly a good year for cover versions, as demonstrated here by Spell aka Boyd Rice and Rose McDowall, Barry Adamson and Louise Ness, One Dove (Dot sings Dolly!) and Slowdive all turning in versions that hold up well against the originals.

And despite Frente! having the greater commercial success with their cover of a cover, it's the earlier acoustic driven version of Bizarre Love Triangle by Devine & Statton aka Ian Pinchcombe and Alison Statton that wins hands down every time. 

1) Do It Again (Album Version): Wall Of Voodoo vs. The Beach Boys (1987)

2) She's A Rainbow (Left Hand Blue Mix By Fluke): World Of Twist vs. The Rolling Stones (1991)

3) Shiny Happy People: The Fatima Mansions vs. R.E.M. (1991)

4) Seasons In The Sun: Spell vs. Rod McKuen (1993)

5) Jolene (Edit By Khayem): One Dove vs. Dolly Parton (1993)

6) Some Velvet Morning: Slowdive vs. Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood (1993)

7) Broken English (7" Extended) (Remix By Sunscreem & Phil Bodger): Sunscreem vs. Marianne Faithfull (1992)

8) White Rabbit: The Shower Scene From Psycho vs. The Great Society with Grace Slick (1985)

9) Purple Haze: Soft Cell vs. The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1983)

10) "Heroes": Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie vs. David Bowie (1990)

11) Bizarre Love Triangle: Devine & Statton vs. New Order (1989)

12) Je T'Aime ... Moi Non Plus: Barry Adamson & Louise Ness vs. Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin (1993)

1983: Soul Inside EP: 9

1985: White Rabbit/Cinnamon Girl EP: 8

1987: Happy Planet: 1

1989: Bizarre Love Triangle EP: 11

1990: Love Child EP: 10

1991: Bertie's Brochures: 3

1991: She's A Rainbow EP: 2

1992: Broken English EP: 7

1993: Seasons In The Sun: 4

1993: The Negro Inside Me EP: 12

1993: Volume Seven: 6

1993: Why Don't You Take Me EP: 5

Side Two (46:15) (GD) (M)

Side One here

In September 2022, I posted another all-covers compilation, Hokey Karaoke (Volume One), which repeats some of the tracks from Versions Galore, and can be found here

There Are Sensations That Just Aren't True And There's A Feeling That I Get When I'm With You

Twenty six and a half minutes of highlights from Robert Forster's show at the Metro Social in Sydney on Saturday 23rd November 2024.

Robert's second night in Sydney and his sixth and final show of his 40 Songs Over 2 Nights tour, having previously played in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Mostly Robert solo on acoustic guitar, with Adele Pickvance, member of the final iteration of The Go-Betweens, occasionally taking to the stage to provide bass and backing vocals.

I can only imagine how wonderful the full set - and 40 songs over 2 nights - must have been.

00:00  Was There Anything I Could Do? (16 Lovers Lane, 1988)

03:00  Part Company (Spring Hill Fair, 1984)

07:40   I'll Jump (Warm Nights, 1996)

10:39    I’ve Been Looking For Somebody (Danger In The Past, 1990)

15:16     Dive For Your Memory (16 Lovers Lane, 1988)

19:04    One Bird In The Sky (Inferno, 2019)

22:04    Draining The Pool For You (Spring Hill Fair, 1984)

Robert's also been a real creative streak of late, with 9th solo album Strawberries arriving in May, a mere two years after his previous offering. You can find Robert's five most recent albums on Bandcamp.

Strawberries is a joy, a brisk, exuberant album that is unmistakably Robert but also a chance to try on some new clothes and liking how they fit (if that isn't mangling the musical metaphor too much).

I was so inspired by the release of the title track in February that I wrote an entire post about strawberry themed songs.

To coincide with the album launch in May, Robert issued a second single from Strawberries, the driving, full-band explosion that is All Of The Time. Designed for the road, windows wound down, singing along at the top of your voice. 

If you've been startled by such an experience this summer, passing you in somewhere in Gloucestershire, it was probably me.

Today's post is dedicated to Stuart, with heartfelt thanks for a lifetime of friendship.

52 days to go.

Out On The Periphery, Nobody Can Hear You Bleep

Keeping up with Andrew Weatherall's prodigious output in the 1990s was no easy task, given that releases were frequently low-key, one-offs or under a dizzying number of aliases. 

No Discogs, no Flightpath Estate, no widely available internet even, to assist the erstwhile fan in their (largely unsuccessful) attempts to get a handle on it. 

And by the time you might see a mention in Jockey Slut or Mixmag, these frequently small run vinyl releases were already as rare as hen's teeth.

Lords Of Afford existed in 1994, a partnership between Andrew Weatherall and David Hedger, with a handful of releases in that year alone, limited to compilations and remixes for other artists.

Not enough for a Dubhed selection, but I've tracked down most of them on YT to share with you.

The only omission that I'm aware of is the Out There: A Thread Through Time compilation, which featured two tracks, Circular Sore and Circular Soar.

My introduction to Lords Of Afford came via a remix for the Repetitive Beats EP by one-off 'supergroup' Retribution. Contrary to the above, I managed to pick this one up on CD single on release at my local Virgin Megastore, on the shelf with the regular new singles that week.

Next up for me, although chronologically speaking this may have been their final Lords Of Afford outing, was a one-off track, Do Laugh (Whitey Part 4) on the brilliantly titled 1995 compilation, 101 + 303 + 808 = Now Form A Band.

A more recent acquisition, relatively speaking, was the Lords Of Afford remix of Flame In Darkness by Steve Bicknell, thanks to the accessibility of DIY vinyl rips on t'internet. 

A chance secondhand purchase in the late 1990s - and today's final selection - was The Recycled EP by The Moody Boys. And I've arguably saved the best to last, with an epic 10-minute 'Electric Forest Version' of Destination Africa.

I've no idea why the Weatherall/Hedger partnership didn't go beyond these few pieces of music but, sonically speaking, they are Weatherall's natural stepping stone from The Sabres Of Paradise to Two Lone Swordsmen, mining the minimalist seam to great effect.

At The Tiny Desk, Beth Knows Best, Better Than All The Rest

Beth Gibbons and full band performing a Tiny Desk Concert in May. I've been playing this again and again since, and keep finding new things to experience. 

"Beth Gibbons' voice can cleave your heart in half and heal it back together," writes Lars Gotrich in the introduction. "Gibbons' frail, yet resilient timbre acts as reassurance that our aching world is worth loving and fighting for. To experience that voice is humbling; up close, it's breathtaking."

If I were one of the band, I think I would struggle to play because my spine was tingling so much.

Four sublime, superb performances that may bring a tear to your eye.

And stay right to the end, when Beth responds to the outpouring of love from the enraptured audience. 

Magical.

0:12 Tell Me Who You Are Today 4:22 Floating On A Moment 9:57 Lost Changes 15:47 Mysteries

What I Wanted More Than Anything Was A Long Career

Celebrating Terence Stamp, 22nd July 1938 to 17th August 2025.

Today's post title is one of many quotes from the great actor and in this at least, his wish was granted. 

Terence made his debut as the title character in Peter Ustinov's 1962 adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Billy Budd but for my generation, it was his star turn as General Zod in Superman (1978) and, more prominently, Superman II (1980) that had the first and lasting impact.

My appetite for film and cinema became voracious in my teens and twenties, and perhaps inevitably, my interest in Terence's films pre- and post-Superman was strong.

The Collector (1965), Far From The Madding Crowd (1967), The Hit (1984), Wall Street (1987), Young Guns (1988) and an unforgettable appearance in The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994).

Terence lived with Michael Caine in London in the 1960s, had relationships with Julie Christie and Jean Shrimpton, and was much photographed during this period. With those piercing blue eyes and chiselled features, Terence was a striking presence throughout his life.

Yet, it was very nearly over before it had truly begun. Terenec was later reflected,

"When the 1960s ended, I just ended with it. 

I remember my agent telling me: 'They are all looking for a young Terence Stamp.' 

And I thought: 'I am young.' 

I was 31, 32. I couldn't believe it.

It was tough to wake up in the morning, and the phone not ringing. 

I thought: this can't be happening now, it's only just started. 

The day-to-day thing was awful, and I couldn't live with it. 

So I bought a round-the-world ticket and left."

The role of General Zod in Superman therefore proved to be a comeback, in more ways than one. Never an Oscar winner, perhaps, but a film with Terence Stamp in it was lifted by his presence. 

Steven Soderbergh clearly thought so when he cast Terence in the lead for The Limey. Released in 1999, it was a critical rather than commercial success but, like so many other films, it's hard to imagine another actor inhabiting the role.

I've followed Terence's career less - and I guess seen proportionately fewer films - in the 21st century, but it remained a thrill to see him appear on screen in Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (2016) and the lavish TV adaptation of His Dark Materials (2020). 

Unlike Ray Brooks, whose passing I wrote about last Monday, Terence did not feel the urge to write and release an album at any point (at least, as far as I know). However, Terence did record a version of the Donovan song Colours, which was used in the 1967 film Poor Cow (and appeared again thirty-odd years later in The Limey).

 

Apart from a limited foray into singing, the golden thread linking Ray and Terence is director Ken Loach.

Poor Cow was Ken's first full length feature film, and I remember the thrill of finding a cut-price VHS release in WH Smith in the 1990s. The year before, Loach directed the groundbreaking BBC play Cathy Come Home. Both starred Carol White as the lead character, with Ray and Terence playing flawed partners (to put it mildly).

Terence was passionate about his craft, regardless of whether others recognised the nuance in his performances. Terence once reflected that

"A lot of newspapers say, 

Terence Stamp is playing himself 

and we're as bored as he is."

Not me. Never me.

Rest easy, Terence.