If you have visited here in the last day or so, you will have seen my experiment with some of the new templates. Not so new, really, but new to me. I found that the new-look Random Distractions took up to ten minutes to upload fully so I have returned to my old format. It may not be snazzy but at least I can get instant access.
The highlight of today for me was a trip further back in time. A new series of The Reunion started on Radio 4 this morning, bringing together some of the iconic girl singers of the 1960s. You can listen to the programme on BBC iPlayer for the next 7 days, an absolute must if you can remember the '60s. It is always said that if you can remember the '60s then you weren't there. Well, I can remember them very well as I spent the first seven years of them in a convent school followed by a convent college! We didn't get many opportunities to join in the fun but we had the records and Top of the Pops.
The guests on The Reunion were singers Sandie Shaw, Petula Clark, Helen Shapiro and Jackie Trent along with Vicki Wickham, the producer of Ready, Steady, Go! Also present in spirit, as she was so important both to the music of that period and to the women in the studio, was Dusty Springfield. Listening to the anecdotes and the all too brief clips of music took me right back to being 18 again. I must say that, apart from Puppet on a String, all of the songs have stood the test of time and I didn't squirm with embarrassment at being reminded of the music I loved in my youth.
Sandie Shaw had one of the loveliest voices. I saw her recently on the Jools Holland's show and she still sings well and can still show off her feet but we all have to admit to having changed over a forty year period. This is the girl we used to cram into the common room to watch on the only TV around:
I hadn't really thought of Petula Clark as a sixties singer as she had seemingly always been around, having appeared regularly on the radio since about 1940; however, this has to be one of the greatest hits of the '60s
Helen Shapiro wasn't among my favourites until she switched from pop to jazz but what a voice she had as a fifteen year old:
I remember Jackie Trent more for her songwriting than as a singer but this one was a great hit:
I would have loved to have been in the studio when The Reunion was being recorded. Sue MacGregor tried hard to keep the discussion under control but she was in a room with five very strong, successful women so she did the best thing possible - she joined in with the banter and laughter. It was great fun to listen to. I'll finish this nostalgic trip with the song that Sue MacGregor played at the end of The Reunion: the great, the one and only Dusty Springfield:
We'll take you anyway you choose to post. I like this format, but then I'm an old-fashioned girl.
ReplyDeleteThat is kind of you, e. Old-fashioned suits us very well.
DeleteThat would be a great radio show to hear and good Dusty Springfield was there in spirit.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are able to catch the radio show, Terra. I found it most uplifting.
DeleteIt was a great programme, M, and that was just the perfect Dusty track, wasn't it? Wasn't a fan of Jackie Trent at the time (we didn't think she was cool enough . . .) but it was fascinating to listen to her views on being a female singer in the 1960s. I was, however, a huge fan of Julie Driscoll, who wasn't featured in the programme but who is still making excellent music in her mid-sixties.
ReplyDeleteAnd I had no idea that Helen Shapiro, whom I still think of as a diminutive, husky-voiced Jewish teenager from the East End, is now singing for the other side, as it were . . .
Have to say, I am a huge fan of The Reunion; one of the programmes that stood out for me was the reunion of the women involved in the Ford (Dagenham) equal pay strike of the early 1960s. Living history! There are such riches to be found on BBC R4.
The following comment was sent by 60 going on 16. It arrived in my email inbox yesterday but hasn't appeared on the blog. Strange thigs seem to be happening to my comments! Here is whgat D had to say:
ReplyDeleteIt was a great programme, M, and that was just the perfect Dusty track, wasn't it? Wasn't a fan of Jackie Trent at the time (we didn't think she was cool enough . . .) but it was fascinating to listen to her views on being a female singer in the 1960s. I was, however, a huge fan of Julie Driscoll, who wasn't featured in the programme but who is still making excellent music in her mid-sixties.
And I had no idea that Helen Shapiro, whom I still think of as a diminutive, husky-voiced Jewish teenager from the East End, is now singing for the other side, as it were . . .
Have to say, I am a huge fan of The Reunion; one of the programmes that stood out for me was the reunion of the women involved in the Ford (Dagenham) equal pay strike of the early 1960s. Living history! There are such riches to be found on BBC R4.
D, I don't know what happened to your comment but I've copied and pasted it, as you can see.
DeleteDid you see the fuss the newspapers made today about Sandie Shaw's little spat with Jackie Trent? I thought it might have been intended seriously but the Sandie Shaw made it into a schoolgirl joke. Now it has been made into an accusation of attempted drowning. Oh well, I suppose all reunions have their moments of vengeance!
I heard the programme too as the kitchen is where I am to be found on a Sunday it seems - either cooking or on schoolwork in term time. I found it so entertaining, amusing and interesting. The subjects have been wide and varied, but I always enjoy them. How is your garden this year?
ReplyDeleteI spend Sundays in the kitchen, too, Adele. I listen to The Archers Omnibus and then Desert Island Discs or The Reunion, according to the season.
DeleteMy garden has been a disaster area this year with all the rain. Lots of green and weeds thriving but very few flowers.
I recently bought at iTunes - an album called 20th Century Masters The Millenium Collection Dusty Springfield. All the hits are there, and honestly she is as fresh and new as can be. I have a biography of her waiting on the shelf.
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with Sandie Shaw except for that one song. I wonder if she wasn't played much over here. Isn't she so beautiful!
Petula was huge in the US as was Dusty.
I do remember Helen though she wasn't played as much as P and D.
And Jackie Trent I've never heard of. What a video. Amazing to see regular looking people in love - not scantily dressed, not seductive movements. Very like A Man and A Woman, don't you think. I had a coat like hers when we went to England in 1971. :<)
I'll have to go look up that 'spat.'
I'm sure the whole world was a lot more innocent then, Nan!
DeleteLovely post - thank you for finding all of those clips and sharing. I especially like Helen Shapiro - Amy Winehouse had a touch of her style don't you think.
ReplyDeleteI started to listen to the programme, but found it all a bit too raucous so I'm glad I called in and got a different perspective.
I agree about Amy Winehouse, Colleen. Thankfully, Helen didn't come to the same tragic end.
DeleteHello Maureen
ReplyDeleteThanks for the trip down memory lane unfortunately we are unable to hear the actual programme down here so will have to make do with the mention of all those artists.
Thanks for dropping in and leaving the Welcome Home note - I'll put together some travel posts soon.
Take care
Cathy