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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Jan 29, 2013 10:54:38 GMT
They changed the cover of this one once he got big!
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Post by Richard Marple on Jan 29, 2013 13:18:55 GMT
It's always surprised me how long it took Bowie from when he first started (1964?) to superstardom (1972, arguably - Space Oddity was a hiccup). Can anyone think of a comparable gestation period? IIRC Pulp took at least a decade to become a regular recording band, & a few years longer before they were fully mainstream. Alan McGee of Creation had the chance to sign them in the late 1980s & turned them down, which he later regretted.
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Post by ajsmith on Jan 29, 2013 13:33:31 GMT
Yep, Pulp formed in 1979 and had their first top 40 chart hit in 1994!
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Post by Brian Denton on Jan 29, 2013 18:28:24 GMT
It's always surprised me how long it took Bowie from when he first started (1964?) to superstardom (1972, arguably - Space Oddity was a hiccup). Can anyone think of a comparable gestation period? IIRC Pulp took at least a decade to become a regular recording band, & a few years longer before they were fully mainstream. Alan McGee of Creation had the chance to sign them in the late 1980s & turned them down, which he later regretted. But IIRC Bowie was recording in 1964. If Pulp started recording in 1989 and had hit pay dirt in 1994 I still think Bowie wins in terms of gap between starting to record and 'star' billing!
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Post by Brian Denton on Jan 29, 2013 18:33:47 GMT
You often see the Decca LP "The World Of David Bowie" in used-record shops - it has a full-on 1973 glam cover with DB in glitter and spiked orange hair, but all the tracks are from his mid-to-late 60s period ! I wonder if people who bought this at the time were disappointed at first, but then grew to like it ? A friend of mine has the original LP The World of David Bowie on Decca and it has a cover in fitting with Bowie in 1967. The orange-haired re-release cover (which is alas all I have) is an abomination. The American Mercury MWSTW cover sleeve (which I also have) is a rather strange cartoon, but is at least comtemporary. I think the dress cover was a bit too much for US sensibilities....
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Post by johnstewart on Jan 29, 2013 19:36:54 GMT
To solve the mystery, I recall TOTP did do two films of their own round the time of 'Laughing gnome' and 'Life on mars' 73.
What I recall was a plastic gnome with beard being wlked along a garden wall, animated by an offscreen hand. The gnamoe was then seen sitting I think on full size living room armchair watching a TV. It wasn't proper animation just a hand obviously moving the prop; and pretty awful.
Don't recall Bowie in it, but they often would include shots either from stock or lookalikes. I seem to think a then current still of Bowie might have been included. It's not known to my knowledge to be in the very comprehensive selection from 73 the BBC have of TOTP films.
At the time I seem to recall Tony Blackburn plugging it. John Peel was known to be both a friendly rival and friend of Tony. Intrigued by the Deram material Peel investigated at the time and dug out some better Deram Bowie material. The single version of 'Love you till tuesday' was played along with 'We are hungry men' and the Pye release 'Can't help thinking about me'.
Believe peel may have also played 'London boys' which despite the Cabaret setting of the Deram version is a serious and dark song.
The David Bowie Deram albumj special edition CD features a great altenate mix/take of 'Laughing gnome'. It;s a bit more offbeat with even more offbeat and ridiculous quips by Bowie to the speeded up Gnome voice. Along with the previously unreleased material it shows auite a diverse and interesting contrast of song styles from the genius pen of Bowie.
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Post by Richard Marple on Jan 29, 2013 21:35:15 GMT
IIRC Pulp took at least a decade to become a regular recording band, & a few years longer before they were fully mainstream. Alan McGee of Creation had the chance to sign them in the late 1980s & turned them down, which he later regretted. But IIRC Bowie was recording in 1964. If Pulp started recording in 1989 and had hit pay dirt in 1994 I still think Bowie wins in terms of gap between starting to record and 'star' billing! I got the feeling Pulp made some recordings in the 1980s, possibly only demos, though I think the point stands.
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Post by John Green on Jan 29, 2013 21:45:55 GMT
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Post by ajsmith on Jan 30, 2013 0:35:36 GMT
But IIRC Bowie was recording in 1964. If Pulp started recording in 1989 and had hit pay dirt in 1994 I still think Bowie wins in terms of gap between starting to record and 'star' billing! I got the feeling Pulp made some recordings in the 1980s, possibly only demos, though I think the point stands. Pulps first album was in fact "It" from as early as 1983.. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_(album)Which still leaves a lengthy 11 year gap between first professional release and first top 40 hit. That'll be my last word on this.. don't want to take the thread further off course!
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Post by markandresen on Jan 30, 2013 14:55:19 GMT
Ray and Philip on the money again. The only other thing I recall is an afternoon BBC request screening, which would suggest 'Ask Aspel' to me more than TOTP anyway. And I THINK promos were often retrospectively shot for this programme - in-house - anyway. Kenny Rogers and the First Edition's 'Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town' I recall as looking particularly amateurish and Super 8.
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Post by Paul Watkins on Jan 30, 2013 15:11:23 GMT
Since the only BBC source of the Laughing Gnome has gone walkies, has anyone checked with the makers of the promo which i assume may be Caravel Films?
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Jan 30, 2013 15:29:28 GMT
Caravel no longer exist. I have tried the extant phone number every year since I started this!!!!!!!!!
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Post by Paul Watkins on Jan 30, 2013 15:33:25 GMT
Caravel no longer exist. I have tried the extant phone number every year since I started this!!!!!!!!! Wonder what happened to their archive then? if they had one that is. Where were they based Ray? any idea
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Post by Paul Watkins on Jan 30, 2013 15:34:58 GMT
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Jan 30, 2013 15:40:59 GMT
Am ringing the number as I type - again - just in case it's a different one. But....it just rings and rings and rings as it always did. I first heard of Caravel reading Keith Badman's book 'the Beatles - After the Breakup' (first I'd heard of Ringo's promo for Photograph) - and that was before the ME Forum had me as a member. After 40 or so rings, it bleeps and goes dead.... It typed all that while holding - it was NOT a voicemail.
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