Web Page No 2694

12^th June 2020

1st Picture. The Temps

 2nd Picture. The sheet music for You’re Drivin’ Me Crazy

 3rd Picture. The original disc in the original dust cover

 4th Picture. Whispering Paul McDowell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSe-CBQ4rqk

The Temperance Seven

The Temperance Seven was founded at Christmas 1955 by students at the Chelsea School of Art, though the band mythologized its foundation as dating from 1904 at the fictitious Pasadena Cocoa Rooms, Balls Pond Road, North London. The three founder members were Paul McDowell (who originally played trombone), Philip Harrison (who originally played banjo) and Brian Innes (drums). Gradually the band evolved into a nine-piece ensemble with a light-hearted and humorous performing style, although they were all serious musicians.

The name "Temperance Seven" was suggested by Douggie Gray, of the Alberts fame. The Alberts were cult figures in the art scene in the mid 1950s and were forerunners of the sort of humour that became Monty Python. The Temperance Seven was a subtle play on words – the number seven being "one under the eight". That there were nine members or "one over the eight" implied intemperance.

In 1960, they recorded "Ukulele Lady" with vocal refrain by Peter Sellers, produced by George Martin. It was featured on a 12-inch Parlophone album called Peter and Sophia (Loren).

In 1961, the Temperance Seven achieved national fame with the no. 1 hit  "You're Driving Me Crazy", arranged by Frank Skinner and produced by George Martin. It was quickly followed by "Pasadena", which reached No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart. They toured the UK widely that year, often in shows promoted by their manager Ralph Peters and their performances acquired a set routine beginning with the last few bars of "Pasadena" (which became their signature tune) and ending with the stirring strains of the "Gaumont-British News". By the summer of 1961 their fame was such that they appeared at the London Palladium for a two-week top of the bill performance. This was arranged by Ralph in combination with an appearance at that year's Royal Variety Performance.

Before the band became famous, Paul McDowell had also been a member of the Experimental Theatre Club revue, with Ian Davidson, Robin Grove-White and Doug Fisher. At the time, they had been performing their show, called "****" (Four Asterisks), at the Edinburgh Fringe, but after the runaway success of "You're Driving Me Crazy", Paul McDowell had to quit the group to tour with his band. This prompted Ian Davidson to look for a replacement, and he found Terry Jones, future Monty Python member, who thus obtained his first chance to be part of the revue.

The Temperance Seven came to popularity during the resurgent trad-jazz era of the early 1960s. Their unique sound, coupled with their musicianship and ingeniously humorous compositions, set them apart from their contemporaries; however, they arrived at the cusp of that era and as popular tastes changed with the emergence of the Beatles, the Temperance Seven gradually slipped into obscurity, although similar bands such as the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band carried on for several years whilst claiming no affiliation.

The Temperance Seven is also listed as the band for Spike Milligan and John Antrobus' stage play The Bed-Sitting Room, which opened at the Mermaid Theatre on 31 January 1963, with a subsequent production opening on 3 May 1967 at the Saville Theatre.

The original Temperance Seven were dissolved in the mid 1960s, but the band was resurrected in the latter part of that decade by drummer Dave Mills, who had replaced Brian Innes in 1966 and led the band for several years, firstly as The New Temperance Seven, and was instrumental in arranging their appearances in Hong Kong and  Bahrain, where he eventually settled to be replaced by Ian Howarth. The band continued to perform with new personnel and, from time to time, original members made guest appearances. During the 1980s, Chris Hook took over leadership of the band. The personnel have not changed since that time and the band continues to work around the UK. Many members of the original band reunited for a BBC Radio programme about the group in 2003.

The Temperance Seven dressed in a manner appropriate to the style of music they played. Some members also went under preposterous pseudonyms emphasised by the wearing of a minor yet conspicuous item of clothing – Colin Bowles a dog collar and John R. T. Davies a fez.  The early personnel included: Clifford Bevan (tuba), Joe Clark (clarinet), "Canon" Colin Bowles (piano, harmonium), Alan Swainston Cooper (clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, phonofiddle, pedal clarinet, Swanee whistle) John R.T. Davies "Sheik Haroun of Wadi el Yadounir" (trombone, second trumpet, alto saxophone), Martin Fry (sousaphone) (pseudonym: Franklyn D. Paverty), John Gieves-Watson (banjo, spoons), Phillip "Fingers" Harrison (banjo, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone), Cephas Howard "Captain, cashiered" (trumpet, euphonium), Brian Innes "Professor Emeritus" (percussion), "Whispering" Paul McDowell (trombone, vocal refrains)

Paul McDowell. During breaks from the band, he found work as a performer in revue at the Edinburgh festival and on the BBC Home Service’s Monday Night at Home programme. When he left the Temperance Seven permanently, he returned to writing sketches for That Was the Week That Was and The Frost Report, and appearing at Peter Cook’s Establishment club.

In 1964 he toured north America as the Establishment and appeared at the Second City theatre company in Chicago. Returning to the UK, he wrote scripts for David Frost and Marty Feldman and moved into television and film acting. He was the prison officer Mr Collinson in Porridge and Colin Phillips in the romantic comedy The Two of Us.

In the cinema he was a laird in the 1978 remake of The Thirty Nine Steps, which starred Robert Powell, and he appeared in Chemical Wedding (2008), a bizarre occult tale written by the rock singer Bruce Dickinson in which Simon Callow played a mild professor possessed by the spirit of the occultist Aleister Crowley.

In 1987, his zany detective story Dope Opera was published by Pluto Press. In 2012 he wrote All Those Lives, an entertaining memoir which is available as an ebook. In recent years, he became a teacher of tai chi, running courses in England and Greece. He was married three times and is survived by his third wife, Trisha, and children Helena, Lola, Sidonie and Milo. Paul William McDowell, singer, actor and writer, born 15^th  August 1931; died 2nd May 2016.

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Peter

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On this day 12^th June 1960-1965

On 12/06/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/06/1961 the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Probation Officer (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/06/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was 3 convicts dig out of Alcatraz with spoons.

On 12/06/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/06/1964 the number one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/06/1965 the number one single was Long Live Love - Sandie Shaw and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page No 2690

29th May 2020

1st Picture. Civil Defence rule booklet

 2nd Picture. Civil Defence pin badge

 3rd Picture. Portsmouth Civil Defence Shoulder flashes

4th Picture. Fort Widley used a CD base.

Civil Defence Corps

The Civil Defence Corps (CDC) was something that I vaguely remember from my childhood days but never understood what they did and as far as I know never knew anyone who was a member.

It was  a civilian volunteer organisation established in 1949 to mobilise and take local control of the affected area in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Cold War nuclear attack. By March 1956, the Civil Defence Corps had 330,000 personnel and was an organisation that existed for over 30 years, it was stood down in 1968, although one Civil Defence Corps still operates within the British Isles, namely the Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps.

Although under the authority of the Home Office, with a centralised administrative establishment, the corps was administered locally by Corps Authorities. In general, every county was a Corps Authority, as were most county boroughs in England and Wales and large burghs in Scotland. The CDC was never established in Northern Ireland. Each Corps Authority established its own Division of the corps.

Each division was divided into several sections:

Headquarters Section, responsible for staffing control centres and divided into three sub-sections.

Intelligence and Operations Sub-Section, responsible for recording and analysing information and preparing instructions.

Signal Sub-Section, responsible for installing, operating and maintaining communications systems.

Scientific and Reconnaissance Sub-Section, responsible for advising controllers on scientific and technical aspects of nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, and providing reconnaissance parties (especially to monitor nuclear fallout).

Warden Section, responsible for local reconnaissance and reporting, and leadership, organisation, guidance and control of the public.

Rescue Section, responsible for rescue operations, demolition and debris clearance.

Ambulance and First Aid Section, built around peacetime local ambulance services.

Ambulance Sub-Section, responsible for the operation of ambulances to transport casualties to Forward Medical Aid Units.

First Aid Sub-Section, responsible for basic first aid at the scene and the removal of casualties by stretcher to ambulances.

Welfare Section, responsible for the welfare of those rendered homeless and/or deprived of normal facilities, including evacuation, accommodation, feeding, sanitation, clothing, nursing, information etc.

From 1949 to 1968, the Civil Defence Corps Training School was at Taymouth Castle in Scotland. The Castle was also one of the sites for PYTHON, the plan for continuity of government in the event of nuclear war.

Members of the corps were issued with dark blue battledress and berets. A system of horizontal bars and point-down chevrons was used to indicate rank.

                               

The Civil Defence Corps initially inherited vehicles and equipment that had been stored from the end of the Second World War. However, it was realised that a nuclear attack demanded a different kind of response from the war time experience, potentially wiping out any local emergency response and communications in the affected area, so from 1954 there was a new approach to training and equipment to reflect this.This included a new rescue ManPack, and the purchase of new vehicles.

The headquarters sections were equipped with mobile control centres, despatch riders, and Land Rovers equipped for reconnaissance (e.g. to measure radiation levels, damage, and road accessibility). These were fitted with radio to communicate back to base, and could carry a second radio for forward communication to personnel on foot. To repair or establish communication, there were also field cable party Land Rovers towing trailers for cable laying.

A reconnaissance detachment comprised four Land Rovers, each with a crew of four (driver, leader/navigator, radiac operator, wireless operator), which would be sent in on three parallel paths towards an area affected by a nuclear strike (with one vehicle spare). The radio operator would be in touch with area control at a base station, which could be a mobile station based in a Ford Thames signal office vehicle, or could be in a local town hall. The wireless equipment was Pye or BCC which were 12 volt powered, using the vehicle supply or batteries. A second 5-channel radio operating was fitted between the driver and navigator and could be used to communicate with personnel on foot. These vehicles were fitted with hard tops with side windows. The Radiac operator would gather radiation level measurements that would be analysed together with wind patterns by the intelligence section.

The field cable party Land Rovers were soft-tops towing trailers with both cable and poles, so that cables could be carried over roads. Establishment of communications was one of the first priorities. Other vehicles included rescue trucks, equipped with a wide range of rescue equipment and trained staff with Rescue Manpacks, and welfare vehicles, as well as ambulances.

All this was going on in Cosham and Fort Widley and apart from being vaguely aware of its existence I had no idea of what their role in life was.

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On this day 29th May 1960-1965

On 29/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/05/1961 the number one single was You're Driving Me Crazy - The Temperance Seven and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/05/1962 the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was Panic on Wall Street.

On 29/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/05/1964 the number one single was Juliet - Four Pennies and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/05/1965 the number one single was Where Are You Now (My Love) - Jackie Trent and the number one album was Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 780

FIRST PICTURE: SGT ERNIE BILKO




SECOND PICTURE: THE LONG FORGOTTEN MINIATURE TRAIN AT HILSEA.













BILKO OR THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW ‘YOU’LL NEVER GET RICH’.

The Phil Silvers Show (originally entitled You'll Never Get Rich) was one of the most popular American comedy television series which ran from 1955 to 1959 for a total of 143 episodes (including a 1959 special).The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko of the United States Army. The series was created and written by Nat Hiken and won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Series. The show is sometimes titled Sergeant Bilko or simply Bilko in reruns. The show's success transformed Phil Silvers from a jobbing comedian into a major star.

By 1955, most American television had moved to Los Angeles, but Nat Hiken insisted on filming the series in New York City. Early episodes were filmed at Dumont's television centre in New York (with later episodes shot at the CBS Studios in the Chelsea, Manhattan. Most of the series was made to simulate a live performance. The actors memorized their lines, as in a play, and performed the scenes in sequence before a studio audience. Thus, there are occasional awkward pauses. This method of filming changed when Mike Todd made a guest appearance and refused to memorize the script. He insisted on the episode being filmed like a Hollywood movie, one scene at a time, and out of sequence. It was found that Todd's way was faster, cheaper, and was less demanding for the actors, so the series changed production methods. The finished films were screened for a live audience, whose response was recorded and added to the soundtracks.

Bilko's right-hand men were Cpl. Rocco Barbella and Cpl. Steve Henshaw. The large supporting cast included Private Sam Fender, the slovenly Private Duane Doberman and Private Dino Paparelli. Some episodes gave Bilko a romantic interest (with Sgt. Joan Hogan). Paul Ford (Col. Hall) was notorious for forgetting his lines and when he would get a blank expression on his face, the cast knew that they had to do something. They would then say something to the effect of "Oh you remember Colonel, the top brass is coming." At that point, Ford would pick up where he left off and the audience would respond by laughing.

The series was originally set in Fort Baxter, a sleepy U.S. Army base in the fictional town of Roseville, Kansas. Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko trying to wheedle money through various get-rich-quick scams usually behind the back of Col. Hall with his soldiers regularly helping him. Through it all, the platoon was fiercely loyal to Bilko and would depend on him to get them out of any military misfortune.

The show's setting changed with the fourth season, when the men of Fort Baxter were reassigned to Camp Fremont in California. This mass transfer was explained as being the inadvertent result of a Bilko con gone wrong. In reality, creator Hiken had left and it was an excuse to move the production to California and fill the episodes with guest appearances from nearby Hollywood.


In the series finale, Bilko discovers a cook who is the exact double of Colonel Hall. Bilko hires him to impersonate the colonel, so he can cheat the other officers in a bogus charity effort. The real Colonel Hall learns of the scam, and Bilko, Henshaw, and Barbella end up being locked in the guardhouse. As Colonel Hall looks at his prisoners on a closed-circuit TV he says "It's a wonderful show, and as long as I'm the sponsor, it will never be cancelled." The camera cuts to Bilko finally behind bars who waves to the camera and says, "Th-th-that's all, folks!" So ended the series.


Phil Silvers was born Philip Silversmith in Brooklyn the youngest of eight children in a Russian Jewish family. His father was one of the workers on the early New York skyscrapers. He started entertaining at age 11, when he would sing in theatres when the projector broke down. Two years later, he left school to sing professionally, before appearing in vaudeville as a stooge. He worked in short films for the Vitaphone studio and on Broadway. He made his major film debut in ‘Hit Parade of 1941’. Over the next two decades, he appeared in films for MGM, Columbia, and 20th Century Fox, in such films as ‘Lady Be Good’, ‘Coney Island’, ‘Cover Girl’, and ‘Summer Stock’.

A little known fact is that Phil Silvers wrote the lyrics for Frank Sinatra's "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)". Although he was not a songwriter, he wrote the lyrics on a whim while visiting Sinatra's home with composer Jimmy Van Heusen and meeting Sinatrs’s daughter.

He became a household name in 1955 when he starred as Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko in The Phil Silvers Show. Throughout the 1960s he appeared in films such as ‘It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World’ and ‘40 Pounds of Trouble’. He was featured in Marilyn Monroe's last film, the unfinished ‘Something's Got to Give’. In 1967 he starred in ‘Carry On, Follow That Camel’. He also appeared as a guest on The Beverly Hillbillies, The Carol Burnett Show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and The Dean Martin Show.

In 1972, he suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered. Despite his poor health, he continued working into the early 1980s including an appearance on Happy Days as the father of "Jenny Piccolo" (played by his real-life daughter Cathy Silvers). He died on November 1, 1985 in Century City, California at the age of 74. The cause of death was a heart attack. He was interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.

A few years ago a remake of Sgt Bolko was made staring Steve Martin but this was a poor shadow of the original.

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Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com

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Steve writes:-
Hi Peter, reading your blog and the announcement of the upcoming solid silver 60s tour and P.J.Proby, reminded me of a conversation I had with a second hand record shop owner in Evesham some years back.

According to this chap P.J.Proby lives or did live in Evesham and the Man himself used to frequent his emporium occasionally.

The shop owner also ran the Billie Davis fan club and had met her a few times and She was currently (back then)touring with Jet Harris the ex and original bass player in The Shadows.

I was taking this info at face value only unless.....someone out there knows better?

NEWS AND VIEWS:

Elvis Presley's 17 year-old grandson, Benjamin, has been offered a $5 million, five-album deal by Universal Music. "The music will be nothing like Elvis, nothing like him at all," said the teenager.


ON THIS DAY 24TH OCTOBER 1960-1965

On 24/10/1960 the number one single was Only the Lonely - Roy Orbison and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Take Your Pick (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 24/10/1961 the number one single was Walkin' Back to Happiness - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Britain grants Malta autonomy.

On 24/10/1962 the number one single was Telstar - The Tornadoes and the number one album was Best of Ball Barber & Bilk. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Cuban Missile Crisis. Very scary at the time.

On 24/10/1963 the number one single was Do You Love Me? - Brian Poole & the Tremoloes and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 24/10/1964 the number one single was (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me - Sandy Shaw and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 24/10/1965 the number one single was Tears - Ken Dodd and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.