Showing posts with label Derek Jarman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Derek Jarman. Show all posts
April 15, 2024
March 12, 2018
20,000 vinyl LPs 132: Jubilee & Thomas Arne
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My favorite version of Rule Britannia was performed by the character Amyl Nitrite in the 1978 film directed by Derek Jarman, Jubilee.
Originally performed with regal and VERY serious pomp, this is a very raucous and risqué version of the song. The actress who played Amyl was Pamela Rooke, aka, Jordan.
The vocal was actually sung by an opera singer named Suzi Pinns with Rooke (Jordan, as Amyl Nitrite) lip-syncing to it. Jordan/Pinns also sings the beautiful song, Jerusalem, based on a poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton: A Poem in Two Books.
Jubilee was one of my many "Roxie" discoveries (link below). I clearly remember going to the theater at the end of the 70's, not knowing what I was going to see but knowing I would see something new and incredibly exciting. Once again, I would not be disappointed; I was actually in for a whole world of new discoveries with this single film. The title of the film refers to the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977 (link below).
I had never heard of Brian Eno but as the film played I noticed his "ambient" pieces, Slow Water and Dover Beach and was blown away; I will never forget hearing them for the first time. I HAD to find out who it was by and what it was all about! Which I did, of course.
Ambient music was something new to me; a whole new form of music I had never even dreamed of. Still not knowing who or what the mudic was, I found the soundtrack for Jubilee and discovered a whole new world of music.
Slow Water (YouTube link) turned out to be from an album Eno had released earlier in the year, Music for Films, so, it was hot off the press, so to speak. That album was a mind opener to be sure (YouTube links below).
I discovered two other performers on the soundtrack I came to like: Adam Ant and the proto-punk band Wayne County & The Electric Chairs. Wayne County is now Jayne County.
I was delighted to find there were favorites of mine I had already come to like that appeared in the film, Toyah Willcox, the Slits and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Richard O'Brien and Nell Campbell (Little Nell) of The Rocky Horror Picture Show had spots in it as well.
The film is heavily influenced by the 1970s punk aesthetic in its style and presentation. Shot in grainy colour, it is largely plotless and episodic. It was shot in London neighbourhoods that were economically depressed and/or still contained large amounts of rubble from the London Blitz. The film had critics in British punk circles. Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood manufactured a T-shirt on which was printed an "open letter" to Jarman denouncing the film and his misrepresentations of punk. Jarman described the project as "a film about punk" during pre-production, but later explained that it had a much broader thematic scope. The film is now considered a cult film classic.
There is a video of the complete film, Jubilee, with Spanish sub-titles, on YouTube, however, it does tend to stop and get jerky at times (link below).
Oh, yes, about Thomas Arne. Between 1733 and 1776, He wrote music for about 90 stage works, including plays, masques, pantomimes, and opera. Many of his dramatic scores are now lost, probably in the disastrous fire at Covent Garden in 1808. During this period Arne's operas and masques became increasingly popular, and he received the patronage of Frederick, Prince of Wales, at whose country home, Cliveden, the Masque of Alfred, featuring Rule Britannia, was debuted in 1740.
Arne's father and grandfather were both upholsterers and both held office in the Worshipful Company of Upholders of the City of London. His grandfather fell on hard times and died in the debtors' prison of Marshalsea. His father earned enough money not only to rent 31 King Street, a large house in Covent Garden, but also to have Arne educated at Eton College. But in later life, he too lost most of his money and had to supplement his income by acting as a numberer of the boxes (ticket counter) at the Drury Lane Theatre.
Arne was so keen on music that he smuggled a spinet into his room and, damping the sounds with his handkerchief, would secretly practise during the night while the rest of the family slept. He also dressed up as a liveryman in order to gain access to the gallery of the Italian Opera.
Arne was a Freemason and because he was a Catholic he never composed music for the Church of England, unlike other leading English composers of his time. In 1769 Arne composed the song Soft Flowing Avon, with lyrics by Garrick, for the Shakespeare Jubilee held by Garrick in Stratford-upon-Avon to commemorate the life of William Shakespeare.
Arne died in 1777 and is buried at St Paul's, Covent Garden, London. A blue plaque, unveiled in 1988, commemorates him at 31 King Street in Covent Garden, London.
Today is the birthday of Thomas Arne, a leading British theatre composer of the 18th century, writing music for productions at Drury Lane and Covent Garden. His most famous works were a version of God Save the King, which became the British national anthem, the song A-Hunting We Will Go and the patriotic song Rule Britannia.
Thomas Augustine Arne - 1778
engraving by
My favorite version of Rule Britannia was performed by the character Amyl Nitrite in the 1978 film directed by Derek Jarman, Jubilee.
vinyl lp front cover
album photos by Jean-Marc Prouveur & Johnny Rozsa
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Originally performed with regal and VERY serious pomp, this is a very raucous and risqué version of the song. The actress who played Amyl was Pamela Rooke, aka, Jordan.
Pamela Rooke, aka, Jordan, as Amyl Nitrite
The vocal was actually sung by an opera singer named Suzi Pinns with Rooke (Jordan, as Amyl Nitrite) lip-syncing to it. Jordan/Pinns also sings the beautiful song, Jerusalem, based on a poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton: A Poem in Two Books.
Jordan/Suzi Pinns ~ Rule Britannia
movie trailer
Jubilee was one of my many "Roxie" discoveries (link below). I clearly remember going to the theater at the end of the 70's, not knowing what I was going to see but knowing I would see something new and incredibly exciting. Once again, I would not be disappointed; I was actually in for a whole world of new discoveries with this single film. The title of the film refers to the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977 (link below).
vinyl lp back cover
album photos by Jean-Marc Prouveur & Johnny Rozsa
photo of album back cover by Styrous®
Synopsis
When Queen Elizabeth I
asks her court alchemist to show her England in the future, she’s
transported 400 years to a post-apocalyptic wasteland of roving girl
gangs, an all-powerful media mogul, fascistic police, scattered filth,
and twisted sex: Britain in the era of punk (link to plot below).
vinyl lp back cover details
album photos by Jean-Marc Prouveur & Johnny Rozsa
detail photos of album back cover by Styrous®
I had never heard of Brian Eno but as the film played I noticed his "ambient" pieces, Slow Water and Dover Beach and was blown away; I will never forget hearing them for the first time. I HAD to find out who it was by and what it was all about! Which I did, of course.
Brian Eno -1974
Ambient music was something new to me; a whole new form of music I had never even dreamed of. Still not knowing who or what the mudic was, I found the soundtrack for Jubilee and discovered a whole new world of music.
Slow Water (YouTube link) turned out to be from an album Eno had released earlier in the year, Music for Films, so, it was hot off the press, so to speak. That album was a mind opener to be sure (YouTube links below).
Slow Water scene
GIF from film
I discovered two other performers on the soundtrack I came to like: Adam Ant and the proto-punk band Wayne County & The Electric Chairs. Wayne County is now Jayne County.
I was delighted to find there were favorites of mine I had already come to like that appeared in the film, Toyah Willcox, the Slits and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Richard O'Brien and Nell Campbell (Little Nell) of The Rocky Horror Picture Show had spots in it as well.
vinyl lp back cover detail
detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®
The film is heavily influenced by the 1970s punk aesthetic in its style and presentation. Shot in grainy colour, it is largely plotless and episodic. It was shot in London neighbourhoods that were economically depressed and/or still contained large amounts of rubble from the London Blitz. The film had critics in British punk circles. Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood manufactured a T-shirt on which was printed an "open letter" to Jarman denouncing the film and his misrepresentations of punk. Jarman described the project as "a film about punk" during pre-production, but later explained that it had a much broader thematic scope. The film is now considered a cult film classic.
There is a video of the complete film, Jubilee, with Spanish sub-titles, on YouTube, however, it does tend to stop and get jerky at times (link below).
vinyl lp back cover detail
album photos by Jean-Marc Prouveur & Johnny Rozsa
detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®
~ ~ ~
Oh, yes, about Thomas Arne. Between 1733 and 1776, He wrote music for about 90 stage works, including plays, masques, pantomimes, and opera. Many of his dramatic scores are now lost, probably in the disastrous fire at Covent Garden in 1808. During this period Arne's operas and masques became increasingly popular, and he received the patronage of Frederick, Prince of Wales, at whose country home, Cliveden, the Masque of Alfred, featuring Rule Britannia, was debuted in 1740.
Arne's father and grandfather were both upholsterers and both held office in the Worshipful Company of Upholders of the City of London. His grandfather fell on hard times and died in the debtors' prison of Marshalsea. His father earned enough money not only to rent 31 King Street, a large house in Covent Garden, but also to have Arne educated at Eton College. But in later life, he too lost most of his money and had to supplement his income by acting as a numberer of the boxes (ticket counter) at the Drury Lane Theatre.
Arne was so keen on music that he smuggled a spinet into his room and, damping the sounds with his handkerchief, would secretly practise during the night while the rest of the family slept. He also dressed up as a liveryman in order to gain access to the gallery of the Italian Opera.
Arne was a Freemason and because he was a Catholic he never composed music for the Church of England, unlike other leading English composers of his time. In 1769 Arne composed the song Soft Flowing Avon, with lyrics by Garrick, for the Shakespeare Jubilee held by Garrick in Stratford-upon-Avon to commemorate the life of William Shakespeare.
Arne died in 1777 and is buried at St Paul's, Covent Garden, London. A blue plaque, unveiled in 1988, commemorates him at 31 King Street in Covent Garden, London.
Thomas Arne commemorative plaque
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 – Adam and the Ants - Deutscher Girls, Producer – Guy Ford - 2:40
A2 – Wayne County & The Electric Chairs* - Paranoia Paradise, Producer – Miles Copeland (2), Peter Crowley - 2:00
A3 – Chelsea (2) - Right To Work, Producer – Mark Perry, Miles Copeland (2) - 3:00
A4 – Maneaters Nine To Five - 2:41
A5 – Adam and the Ants - Plastic Surgery, Producer – Danny Beckerman, Wil Malone - 4:35
Side 2:
B1 – Suzi Pinns - Rule Britannia, Producer – Danny Beckerman, Wil Malone - 2:50
B2 – Suzi Pinns - Jerusalem, Producer – Danny Beckerman, Wil Malone - 2:50
B3 – Amilcar - Wargasm In Pornotopia, Producer – Guy Ford - 4:00
B4 – Brian Eno - Slow Water, Producer – Brian Eno - 3:16
B5 – Brian Eno - Dover Beach, Producer – Brian Eno - 4:36
Companies, etc.
Produced For – E.G. Records (2)
Copyright (c) – E.G. Music Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – E.G. Music Ltd.
Published By – E.G. Music Ltd.
Published By – Javeberry Music
Published By – Step Forward Music
Lacquer Cut At – Master Room
Pressed By – Phonodisc Ltd.
Credits:
Film Director – Derek Jarman
Photography By – Jean-Marc Prouveur, Johnny Rozsa
Producer – Megalovision
Notes:
Cover reads:
The Outrageous Soundtrack From The Motion Picture "Jubilee" Cert. X
A Megalovision film.
Custom picture labels:
Produced by Megalovision for E.G. Records.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, stamped): 2302079 A // 1 M
Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, stamped): 2302079 B // 1 M
Various – Jubilee
Label: Polydor – 2302 079, E.G. Records (2) – 2302 079
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: UK
Released: 1978
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Soundtrack, New Wave, Punk, Minimal
Viewfinder links:
Adam & the Ants articles/mentions
Brian Eno articles/mentions
Side 1:
A1 – Adam and the Ants - Deutscher Girls, Producer – Guy Ford - 2:40
A2 – Wayne County & The Electric Chairs* - Paranoia Paradise, Producer – Miles Copeland (2), Peter Crowley - 2:00
A3 – Chelsea (2) - Right To Work, Producer – Mark Perry, Miles Copeland (2) - 3:00
A4 – Maneaters Nine To Five - 2:41
A5 – Adam and the Ants - Plastic Surgery, Producer – Danny Beckerman, Wil Malone - 4:35
Side 2:
B1 – Suzi Pinns - Rule Britannia, Producer – Danny Beckerman, Wil Malone - 2:50
B2 – Suzi Pinns - Jerusalem, Producer – Danny Beckerman, Wil Malone - 2:50
B3 – Amilcar - Wargasm In Pornotopia, Producer – Guy Ford - 4:00
B4 – Brian Eno - Slow Water, Producer – Brian Eno - 3:16
B5 – Brian Eno - Dover Beach, Producer – Brian Eno - 4:36
Companies, etc.
Produced For – E.G. Records (2)
Copyright (c) – E.G. Music Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – E.G. Music Ltd.
Published By – E.G. Music Ltd.
Published By – Javeberry Music
Published By – Step Forward Music
Lacquer Cut At – Master Room
Pressed By – Phonodisc Ltd.
Credits:
Film Director – Derek Jarman
Photography By – Jean-Marc Prouveur, Johnny Rozsa
Producer – Megalovision
Notes:
Cover reads:
The Outrageous Soundtrack From The Motion Picture "Jubilee" Cert. X
A Megalovision film.
Custom picture labels:
Produced by Megalovision for E.G. Records.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, stamped): 2302079 A // 1 M
Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, stamped): 2302079 B // 1 M
Various – Jubilee
Label: Polydor – 2302 079, E.G. Records (2) – 2302 079
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: UK
Released: 1978
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Soundtrack, New Wave, Punk, Minimal
Viewfinder links:
Adam & the Ants articles/mentions
Brian Eno articles/mentions
Tilda Swinton
Net links:
Jubilee ~ Plot
Cast
Black Acrylic ~ Derek Jarman - Jubilee
Dangerous Minds ~ Photo-spread for Derek Jarman’s Jubilee
Dazed ~ The radical Derek Jarman films you need to watch
Jim's Reviews ~ The Films of Derek Jarman: Jubilee
YouTube links:
Thomas Arne - Rule Britannia!
'Amyl Nitrate' ~ Rule Britannia
~ Jerusalem
Brian Eno - Slow Water
~ Dover Beach
Adam & the Ants ~ Deutscher Girls
~ Plastic Surgery
Wayne County & The Electric Chairs ~ Paranoia Paradise Amilcar - Wargasm In Pornotopia
Jubilee ~ complete w/Spanish sub-titles (1 hr., 40 min., 15 sec.)
Net links:
Jubilee ~ Plot
Cast
Black Acrylic ~ Derek Jarman - Jubilee
Dangerous Minds ~ Photo-spread for Derek Jarman’s Jubilee
Dazed ~ The radical Derek Jarman films you need to watch
Jim's Reviews ~ The Films of Derek Jarman: Jubilee
YouTube links:
Thomas Arne - Rule Britannia!
'Amyl Nitrate' ~ Rule Britannia
~ Jerusalem
Brian Eno - Slow Water
~ Dover Beach
Adam & the Ants ~ Deutscher Girls
~ Plastic Surgery
Wayne County & The Electric Chairs ~ Paranoia Paradise Amilcar - Wargasm In Pornotopia
Jubilee ~ complete w/Spanish sub-titles (1 hr., 40 min., 15 sec.)
March 11, 2018
Derek Jarman articles/mentions
Jubilee & Thomas Arne
mentions:
Adam & the Ants ~
Dirk Wears White Sox
Kings of the Wild Frontier
Derek Jarman - 1993
photo by Howard Sooley
March 14, 2017
Roxie Theater ~ San Francisco
~
Crime ~ hot wire my heart
Jubilee & Thomas Arne
The Residents ~ Not Available
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Crime ~ hot wire my heart
Jubilee & Thomas Arne
The Residents ~ Not Available
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Roxie Theater
photo by Simon Durkin
May 30, 2013
20,000 vinyl LPs 21: Adam & the Ants ~ Dirk Wears White Sox
front cover photo by Clare Johnson
photo of front cover by Styrous©
One of the treasures in my vinyl record collection, Dirk Wears White Sox, has always intrigued me with it's image of a woman on the cover album. She is vague, diaphanous, mysterious and compelling. I have the same fascination with her as I have with the woman on the back cover of the Jorge Pardo album (see link below).
front cover photo by Clare Johnson
photo by Styrous©
In 1978 I saw Jubilee, the British cult film directed by Derek Jarman, which stars Jenny Runacre, Ian Charleson, Amyl Nitrate (Pamela Rooke aka Suzi Pinz on the soundtrack album who does a hilarious but GREAT version of Rule Britania, see link below) and many punk rockers, including Toyah and Adam Ant. The title of the film refers to the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977. Naturally, I was hot on the trail for the soundtrack album. It was my first awareness of Adam and the Ants. A year or so later, I discovered Dirk Wears White Sox by The Ants.
Dirk Wears White Sox was the only LP by the original Ants lineup; it was released by Do It in 1979. The album features a young Adam Ant exploring the fusion of punk, glam, and minimalist post-punk and songs of alienation, sex, and brutality. The album offers a fascinating look at the Ants' formative years, capturing Ant's raw energy.
Adam wrote the words and music for the album and "Dirk" is a reference to is 50's British film star, Dirk Bogard (1921-99). He was a great Bogarde fan. In 1974, Bogard starred in the film Il Portiere Di Notte (in English The Night Porter). The song, Dirk Wears White Sox was inspired by that film but it was cut from the original 1979 album but released on another album years later.
Dirk Wears White Sox was the only LP by the original Ants lineup; it was released by Do It in 1979. The album features a young Adam Ant exploring the fusion of punk, glam, and minimalist post-punk and songs of alienation, sex, and brutality. The album offers a fascinating look at the Ants' formative years, capturing Ant's raw energy.
Adam wrote the words and music for the album and "Dirk" is a reference to is 50's British film star, Dirk Bogard (1921-99). He was a great Bogarde fan. In 1974, Bogard starred in the film Il Portiere Di Notte (in English The Night Porter). The song, Dirk Wears White Sox was inspired by that film but it was cut from the original 1979 album but released on another album years later.
photo by Styrous©
The album featured an inner sleeve with lyrics and photos by Philip Grey. The photos are burned out, stylized images á la 1979 punk.
inner sleeve photos by Philip Grey
photo of inner sleeve by Styrous©
I love the title of this song
photo by Styrous©
album credits
photo by Styrous©
the record labels were pretty cool
side one record label
photo by Styrous©
side two record label
photo by Styrous©
Original 1979 release
Side one:
1. Cartrouble (Parts 1 & 2)
2. Digital Tenderness
3. Nine Plan Failed
3. Nine Plan Failed
4. Day I Met God
5. Tabletalk
Side two:
1. Cleopatra
1. Cleopatra
2. Catholic Day
3. Never Trust a Man (With Egg on His Face)
4. Animals and Men
5. Family of Noise
6. The Idea
David Barbe – percussion
Matthew Ashman – guitar, piano
Andrew Warren – bass guitar
Marco Pirroni – guitar on tracks 18 and 19
Jon Moss – drums on tracks 18 and 19
Andrew Warren – bass guitar
Marco Pirroni – guitar on tracks 18 and 19
Jon Moss – drums on tracks 18 and 19
Adam Ant was born Stuart Leslie Goddard on November 3, 1954, in London, England. He studied art at the Hornsey School of Art in London. The list of musicians associated with Hornsey is astonishing. He placed a classified ad in the weekly British music paper Melody Maker in June of 1976 that read: "Beat On A Bass With The B-Sides." A few days later he met with Andy Warren and they formed the group the B-Sides. They recorded a punk version of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" but broke up right after that.
Melody Maker Magazine ads resulted in many fine collaborations:
Melody Maker Magazine ads resulted in many fine collaborations:
- Jet Black met Hugh Cornwell (then of the band Johnny Sox) after reading an advertisement in Melody Maker, and the two helped form The Stranglers in 1974.
- Bill Bruford placed an ad in 1968 that was answered by Jon Anderson and Chris Squire to form the founding lineup of Yes.
- Rick Davies, backed financially by Dutch millionaire Stanley August Miesegaes, formed Supertramp, the "band of his dreams" in 1969.
- Deep Purple found the then-unknown David Coverdale in 1973.
- Depeche Mode placed an ad in 1981 and found Alan Wilder.
- Vince Clarke of Erasure found Andy Bell in 1985.
- The original members of Suede recruited guitarist Bernard Butler in 1989.
- Steve Hackett of Genesis put an ad in MM that was answered by the band frontman Peter Gabriel in 1970.
- Annie Haslam of Renaissance (band) responded to an ad in MM and was invited for audition and became the lead vocal in 1970.
- Wang Chung got its start when Jack Hues met Nick Feldman after answering Feldman's ad for a musician in 1977.
- Noel Redding, the bassist of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, auditioned for The Animals after responding to an ad. Eventually the bassist of The Animals, Chas Chandler, introduced him to Jimi Hendrix.
- Mike Barson of Madness tried to replace Suggs (Graham McPherson) when he wasn't turning up to band practise as he was bunking off to attend Chelsea football matches
- Limahl teamed up with band 'Art Nouveau' and formed Kajagoogoo from an advert he placed in MM.
20,000 vinyl LPs 2: Jorge Pardo
Amyl Nitrate (Suzi Pinz) singing Rule Britania on YouTube
Car Trouble can be heard on YouTube
Nine Plan Failed can be heard on YouTube
There's terrific historical info about Adam and the Ants during 1978 on the blog, Kill Your Pet Puppy.
The entire collection is for sale. Interested? Contact Styrous®
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