tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597109012036351539.post4804299432978816406..comments2024-03-11T18:00:02.301+00:00Comments on Monkey Picks: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF MIKE STUART SPAN - 1969 BBC DOCUMENTARYMonkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07975282714651024572noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597109012036351539.post-11460264070999195942013-09-23T13:05:40.035+01:002013-09-23T13:05:40.035+01:00(Previous comment was for C).
Thanks ever so much...(Previous comment was for C).<br /><br />Thanks ever so much for getting in touch Stuart and adding some useful background. Really appreciate it. I'll add your comments to the main text above to ensure they're not missed. Would love to see the whole film someday. All the best. "Children of Tomorrow" of yours in particular is much loved still today as you probably know. Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07975282714651024572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597109012036351539.post-26127292251485608722013-09-23T13:00:51.066+01:002013-09-23T13:00:51.066+01:00Great piece of detective work! The whole thing now...Great piece of detective work! The whole thing now looks like a spoof with exagerated characters. Be nice to think bands have learnt since those days but I doubt the business is very much different.Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07975282714651024572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597109012036351539.post-52313782067327958072013-09-23T12:35:37.672+01:002013-09-23T12:35:37.672+01:00Just a couple of points you might like to know abo...Just a couple of points you might like to know about this clip. The song, written by Ken Howard and Allan Blakely (who wrote all the hits for Dave See, Dozy, Mick & Titch) was recorded at Radio Luxembourg studios in London and produced by Albert Hammond (It Never Rains In Southern California etc). It was universally hated by the group but our previous single Children of Tomorrow had not sold so we were persuaded to release it by our manager.<br />At the time of recording CoT we had also recorded a number of demos of similar material, and it was these recordings that our manager had originally taken to Tony Palmer, the TV producer who you see in this clip. He liked what he heard and he booked us when our new record was due to be released. Of course the new record was nothing like CoT and he was, shall we say, underwhelmed; hence the acerbic comments about the song and the manager – both of which were, of course, true.<br />One more fact – the documentary was actually called ‘Big Deal Group’ and was transmitted first in the series ‘A Year In The Life’. It was actually 50 minutes long (not 30 minutes) and was shown again over the Christmas period in 1989, along with one or two other programmes from the series, under the heading ’20 Years On’. This was an updated version and included contemporary interviews with the members of the group on how their lives had changed. The Adam Curtis blog article is an edited-down version of the original programme from 1969.<br /><br />Stuart Hobday<br />stuartmhobdayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13189398881123292741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597109012036351539.post-65758425246834072042013-09-22T22:22:58.009+01:002013-09-22T22:22:58.009+01:00Yes, a great documentary - Mr SDS and I were holid...Yes, a great documentary - Mr SDS and I were holidaying in Brighton soon after we saw it in '89 I think it was, and decided to see if we could track any of them down - we did! We met up with Gary Murphy and Roger McCabe and the conversations and insights were all very interesting, Mr SDS continued to have quite a bit of involvement with them thereafter. <br />As you say - stark realities of the music business - love the bit in the film where their agent manages to secure a high percentage commission out of their manager for 'doing that little bit more', and then tells him all the things he still has to do himself: basically everything!... :-(<br />Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02423624920558505937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597109012036351539.post-68441315617841909102013-09-22T16:33:39.318+01:002013-09-22T16:33:39.318+01:00Exactly. On this evidence it's little wonder t...Exactly. On this evidence it's little wonder they were ignored by the record buying public. I had to listen to "Children of Tomorrow" afterwards to cleanse my ears. Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07975282714651024572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597109012036351539.post-35453917897503790252013-09-22T15:09:36.701+01:002013-09-22T15:09:36.701+01:00Brilliant documentary, even if they're not pla...Brilliant documentary, even if they're not playing any of the tunes we've come to know and love by them!Wilthomerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10310808241428717740noreply@blogger.com