Hi Ho Silva Lining!

Hug a Whoodie!

“Blood of the Daleks”, the opening two-part story of the new BBC7 eight-episode radio season of “Doctor Who”, begins a lot like “The Runaway Bride”. As Catherine Tate’s Donna in the television special, so too new companion Lucie Miller, played with such spark by “Two Pints” actress Sheridan Smith, when she finds herself foisted upon the Doctor. She’d rather be anywhere than on board the TARDIS with this “frock-coated ponce”! The similarity continues up to the point where the Doctor immediately tries to return his unwanted guest back from whence she came!! But that’s about all these two adventures have in common. “Blood” feels like good old-fashioned “Doctor Who”, despite being audio only and in the double-length format. It also boasts a traditional cliff-hanger, at the end of episode one, with Paul McGann’s passionate eighth Doctor in peril of extermination. The story has been likened to “Genesis of the Daleks” in that we witness the birth of a new breed of Daleks, here from the remnants of a crashed Dalek spaceship, at the hands of a wannabe Davros. But, I think “Blood of the Daleks” owes more to “Revelation of the Daleks” with its warring Dalek factions, farming of humans, and incubation chambers. Even the incidental music reminds me of the Colin Baker serial.

I love it! Steve Lyons script is happy to draw on the best of all worlds, name checking the Mechonoids, from “The Planet of Decision”, the last episode of “The Chase”, as well as the Movellans, from “Destiny of the Daleks”, but avoiding the mention of Davros actually by name though referencing new series’ episode “Dalek” at the moment of flight. There’s even a nod to “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” with Kenneth Cranham’s character Tom Cardwell’s explosive batteries reminiscent of Dortmun’s homemade bombs in the Hartnell serial. The second episode is bursting at the seams with all manner of Dalek voices. Nick Briggs is in his element when barking “Dok-tor” at regular intervals and “E-le-vate” at the requisite moment. When the Skaro originals turn up and start ranting about ethnic cleansing, again reminding me of Davros in “Revelation”, these monsters scare the hell out of me. All they did on telly last year was pop up for a bit-of-a-bitch with the Cybermen, fly a bit, and then disappear down the proverbial plughole! And well before the end of the story. Here they are still going strong right up to the climax, leading into the first single-episode story “Horror of Glam Rock”, bizarrely featuring a race called the Only Ones (name of a Seventies’ punk band!), which sounds equally intriguing…

Happy Talk!

Having been tagged by fellow time-traveller Simon, Old Cheeser to all you bloggers out there, I have been summoned to reveal all! Well, not quite all!! Five facts about myself, in fact. Everyone knows of my passion for “Doctor Who” but, around the time of becoming a teen, or perhaps even earlier, emphasis shifted to music; initially pop from which it broadened out to encompass much more. So, I thought I’d try and stick to a musical theme being a qualified composer, but how did I get there?..

The first gig I went to was a revelation. It was at the Cheltenham Town Hall in 1972 and the band was Mott the Hoople. It was shortly after their initial success with “All the Young Dudes”, my all-time favourite single which disappointingly they didn’t perform, but before follow-up hit “Honaloochie Boogie”. It was a wall of sound. If you opened your mouth and spoke it was as though nothing came out. But, I guess that must’ve been when I decided I wanted to play in a rock ‘n’ roll band! What I really wanted to learn in school, thereafter, was how to write music down.

The next revelation was the single “Virginia Plain” by Roxy Music. At the age of 13, it was the weirdest thing I’d ever heard. I can analyse it now. See the mix… of chords with no thirds, descending chromatic bass line, one note synthesiser solo, Ferry’s unusual vocal delivery of his strange lyric, not so much sung as spoken with vibrato, but, back then, the song must have seemed like Stockhausen to me! And that might well be why I went to University to study music and specialise in composition.

A third defining moment was meeting 10cc the very week they were number one for the third and final time. The original line-up had scored number one hits with “Rubber Bullets” and, most famously for six weeks, the spectacularly brilliant “I’m Not in Love”. 10cc mark 2, a 6-piece, reached the top for just one week with “Dreadlock Holiday”, the week I saw them at the Colston Hall, Bristol. The new line-up included one of my keyboard heroes Duncan Mackay whom I’d seen twice before, at the same venue, as part of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. I was introduced to him backstage afterwards for a chat, along with founder members of 10cc, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman.

Another shining beacon from my musical history would have to be seeing Kate Bush in Liverpool on the first date of her one and only tour. She was just two albums into her career and responsible for another of my all-time favourite singles, “The Man with the Child in his Eyes”. I didn’t actually like “Wuthering Heights”, initially, until I saw the sheet music and thought, “Wow, unbelievable”, this looks interesting. Incidentally, as well as Steve Harley’s number one “Make Me Smile”, another all-time favourite, and 10cc’s “Dreadlock”, Duncan Mackay’s other number one was playing keyboards on Kate’s only chart topper.

Life’s so much more complicated than that, of course. Liking a few pop records doesn’t get you into University! A lot of hard work does and it doesn’t stop when you get there. I was very lucky to have a brilliant music teacher at school in Michael Rangeley. He laid all the important musical foundations in me. Students in other fields found it surprising that I could be interested in pop, being classically trained. But having been in a band at home, Boulevard, I formed another at Uni, The Disturbed, as glam made way for punk!

From studying with John Tyrrell and composer Nigel Osborne at Nottingham and Stanley Glasser in London, I got to meet Peter Maxwell Davies, composer on Ken Russell’s movies “The Devils” and “The Boy Friend”, work with John Harle, a brilliant saxophonist and composer of the “Silent Witness” theme, but, best of all, become friends with the late Tim Souster, known to SF fans as the arranger of the theme tune of Douglas Adams’ “Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. As you might have guessed, I never became a rock star. Education made me Captain Sensible!

The Gospel According to Charlotte Church!

Recently, when I saw the above pictures of Charlotte Church at the Pride of Britain Awards 2005, I thought how remarkably similar she looks to Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper in "Torchwood". It might have something to do with her fringe, or the make-up, or the fact that they're both from Wales! Perhaps there's a cloning operation going on in Cardiff about to be uncovered in the second series? Anyhow, below is a second gallery of the delectable - and doesn't she know it - Ms Church making a right Charlie of herself, in a nice way, in more-familiar skimpy attire!! And, my excuse, if I need one? Well, it's my birthday today and I decided I needed a treat!!!

Carry On Down Bikini Bottom!

The Satanic Rites of Charlotte Church!

Charlotte Church has always been thought of as having the "voice of an angel" so it came as something of a pleasant surprise when I stumbled upon these almost gothic-like images of her. Dressed in black amongst the ruins of a church, shrouded in fog, candle carrying, incense burning, she looks more suited to starring in Hammer horror movies than appearing on "Songs of Praise", or even "Top of the Pops", hence the tongue-in-cheek title of the post (a corruption of the 1973 Christopher Lee film "The Satanic Rites of Dracula") and gallery below (another Christopher Lee movie, from 1975, and the last horror film the studio ever made).

In this set of eleven pictures, Charlotte reminds me a little of Linda Hayden, star of my two favourite horror films, "Taste the Blood of Dracula" and "Blood on Satan's Claw". She has a similar appealing figure, not stick thin, like a boy or so-called supermodel, but is voluptuous in the same way Kate Winslet is beautifully feminine. Whatever one thinks of her musical ability, or attitude to life in other areas, she is at least a suitable role model for young girls to look up to in not giving a fig over weight issues. Victoria Beckham and Keira Knightley are a bad influence in this respect. Wanting to be so skinny, for whatever reasons, can only cause psychological harm as well as physical.

Fashion is supposed to go round in cycles but the ultra-slim female is lasting an awfully long time and, like all inferior things, is simply a product of the market place. Ignore it is the best advice! If I was a casting director about to make a horror picture in the mould of Hammer's best gothic romances, I'd want to screen test Charlotte. The photographer responsible for these pictures obviously saw her in a different light. She looks good in more typical fashion shoots too but it's refreshing to see a different take on her beauty in these shots! Now, when's she dumping that rugby-playing boyfriend of her's?!!

To the Devil a Daughter!

Who’s Who?

Celebrity is a strange business. Look at the career of Billie Piper! One minute she is a crap, though commercially-successful, pop star, the next a much-admired, in some quarters, “Doctor Who” companion. But, in the blink of an eye, she’s moved on to star in prestigious costume dramas. ITV1 is about to launch a new SF series, with the intention of rivalling the adventures of the great Time Lord, called “Primeval”. And, guess what? It stars ex-pop star Hannah Spearritt from cheesy pop combo S Club (7). Coincidence or deliberate strategy? It’s all about a time rift! Now there’s an original idea!! I wonder where we’ve heard that one before?!!

Hannah’s ex-band mate Jo O’Meara has just popped up again on telly. In an even more bizarre twist, she’s appearing alongside eccentric, but wildly-brilliant, film director Ken Russell in “Celebrity Big Brother 5”. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried! None of the non-entities knew of him or any of his work. He had Alan Bates and Oliver Reed indulging in a spot of nude wrestling long before Russell T thought it oh-so-modern to have a couple of guys playing tonsil tennis on prime time. I won’t be eulogising over “Bog Bother” as I absolutely abhor the concept and the exceptionally un-divine Davina.

And, while Ms O’Meara wastes her time trying to rekindle her career, I will, at least, be tuning in to Hannah’s drama. There’s the clue... Drama. Let’s have more of it on TV. I’ll, no doubt, post more on “Primeval” later. Meanwhile, which pop stars are likely to appear in a science fiction drama next? It’s only a matter of time. After all, Charlotte Church, Jennifer Ellison and Rachel Stevens, yet another ex-S Clubber (you’ve got to be careful how you say that!), have already been suggested as possible replacements for Billie Piper in “Doctor Who”!! See below to help imagine them in the part!!!

Who Might’ve Been?

a.L.L. T.h.e. s.O.N.g.s. T.h.e.Y. s.A.N.g.

t.A.T.u. live, December 2006