Occassionally I have the experience of reading a book which has a sort of internal sound track as I’m reading it and it has happened with the book which I’m reading at the moment. It’s The Long View by Elizabeth Jane Howard, and almost from the beginning I’ve been hearing Under My Thumb – as I read it, over and over again! I hope to finish the book tonight and write about it tomorrow sometime.
As I am the youngest in a large family I had a lot of teenage siblings who were into – The Beatles (girls) and The Rolling Stones (boys), when I was just a wee thing. So being a girly it was The Beatles for me and when I asked Jack – who did Under My Thumb? (why Google when you have a Jack to ask?) – he said The Rolling Stones of course! Well actually, being Jack he said The Strolling Bones, but I knew what he meant and I was gobsmacked, because I had always thought that it had been done by a Motown group.
Anyroad up – I got on to You Tube to see what was available and I couldn’t resist putting two on, the performances are 40 years apart and sadly the line ups are obviously quite different, and on that note, did you know that Brian Jones bought Cotchford Farm which had belonged to AA Milne who wrote most of the Winnie the Pooh books there? That was where Brian died.
Jack immediately said – oh Kathy McGowan, Ready, Steady, Go – well I can’t remember her at all, I’m one of the Top of the Pops generation. Have a look at the 1966 version, obviously they hadn’t got around to lassooing the crowd with a big rope to keep them under control. The guys are having a tough time holding them back.
This version is from 2006, what a difference 40 years makes. Keith looks as if he has just been switched off when they get to the end. It reminded me that I haven’t got around to reading his autobiography yet.
Anyway I just thought I would share with you what has been going around in my head for days now. Do you ever get invaded by songs or tunes whilst you are reading?
I thoroughly enjoyed the article on Cotchford Farm. Poor Christopher…
Peggy Ann,
I don’t think I would ever move from there if I had been lucky enough to own it. Christopher Robin had a hard time of it at school, as you can imagine!
I liked the Stones! That was a great track. I still have the LP Aftermath with that track on it! I remember Cathy McGowan too. In fact I am sure she appeared in the play School for Scandal at the Georgian Theatre in Richmond, North Yorkshire way back when. Don’t think she did a lot of acting.
Didn’t know about Cotchford Farm being the home of Christopher Robin! He was a bit ungracious to the family who invited him to revisit the house! Whatever he thought he could have kept it to himself and given a kinder reply. I’ve gone off him!!!
Evee,
He was bullied mercilessly at school because his dad just used his childhood to write the books and didn’t even bother to change his character’s name, it must have been terrible for him at the time but he obviously never got over the experience, even as an adult. Well – as Philip Larkin said –
They f**k you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.
I’m fairly sure that Christopher Robin stuck to that last bit.
Love the poem. I identify with it totally!
Still, CR didn’t need to be so ungracious to people who obviously thought they were doing him a good turn! He could easily have said “Thanks but the house holds bad memories and I don’t want to go back…” nicely!
Evee,
I think he was just an incredibly grumpy pain in the neck. Some people don’t know when they’re lucky as AA Milne must have been a great dad.CR was just incredibly rude and ignorant.
Evee,
I thought you would identify with it!
My dad is a huge Stones fan so I am pretty fond of them too. I love the ’60’s video and the swooning girls – hilarious!
Anbolyn,
I love the old videos too, and seeing what passed for high fashion then!
Stones fan myself (tho as a teen I was on Team Paul…don’t like his Post-menopausal dye job tho). I posponed a chemo treatment to see the Stone when they played here on the Bridges to Babylon tour in 1998.
I love that you hear soundtracks to books – I do too!
Pearl,
That hair of his does look terrible, you’d think he would be happy that he still has a good head of hair and would let it go silver.
I had a feeling that you would have seen the Stones – but wow that was determination. I’m glad it worked out for you. I’m glad you hear soundtracks too!
It was totally worth it – they were amazing! We’d bought the tickets in October, months before I was diagnosed. I wasn’t about to miss it.
My oncologist said that he’d had patients delay treatment for weddings and graduations and such, but I was the first he’d had to do it for the Stones! That was 15 years ago, so I’m apparently none the worse for having done so…
Pearl,
It sounds like the Stones gig must have done you almost as much good as the chemo, and what a great experience to look back on!
Beatles all the way, especially that bad boy John – until I met my Jack. I read Keith’s autobiography and liked it. He was very rough on Mick. And I still can’t figure out why any of them are still alive after how much they abused their bodies. Alcohol and drugs preserve flesh?
Have you seen The Rolling Stones film ‘Rock and Roll Circus’? It’s a strange and delightful early (1968) concert. Watch the audience for a lot of other performers in attendance.
Joan,
I sometimes think that good (expensive) alcohol must have a pickling effect on people. My brother says that Keith takes a doctor on tour with him so he won’t overdose, don’t know how true that is though.
I haven’t seen that film, that’s something to try and track down.