TO WHERE I AM NOW

Today in the strange and spooky mists of antiquity, Penzance opened a doorway to the past and let us see some wonderful things from the forties, the fifties and the seventies. But first we went up to Dare’s house today and took some pictures out of his moody bathroom window that shows the growing part of Penzance that was built in the 19th and 20th century. The supernatural surprises began on the walk back down the hill to the archive. There, in the bay, a ghost ship, a triple masted schooner anchored in the middle of the bay. One wondered whether the crew were spectres, drowned sailors returning to the location and the day of their sinking. Although I’d love to continue this Gothic fantasy the truth of the matter is that the ship, the Pelican Of London, was built in 1946, originally an Arctic trawler and renovated with added masts later. According to the net, the ship is on route to Sharpness further up the English West coast in Gloucestershire, anchoring in Mount’s Bay one presumes because of the stormy weather.

Further down the hill, glorious in its simplicity we experienced the orange splendour of a 1975 Dutch DAF 46. Strange little 850cc cars, that you don’t see much anymore. The car is famous for its Variomatic gearbox which allows the car to drive forwards and backwards at equal speed, making the car unbeatable in the former Dutch Annual Driving Backward Car Championships. Truth is most certainly stranger than fiction. Staying on cars, driving down the promenade today was a late fifties Standard 10 which I managed to get a snap of as it drove by. You very rarely see this car anymore, Standard stopped production under that name in England in 1963. The past seemed to follow us everywhere today as we had leftovers for dinner.

Out in the bay in the mist you could see the outline of St. Michael’s Mount. It really felt that we were in another age with fewer people on the streets, a cold wind, a low sky about to rain and hazy images on the horizon. The coming darkness was threatening, it made you want to get inside and lock the doors, so we did just that and watched The Menagerie, the double episode of Star Trek based on the pilot episode The Cage (cleverly using the old footage). There’s nothing like a little original Star Trek to warm your soul.

It was another day off from the studio today, a catch up day that never seems to happen. Emails to answer, comments and questions on the pages. I really need to figure out how to make the most of the time that I get. Olivia too is working on something all the time. I guess the main problem is that I’m too interested in too many things! Just the archive can keep me busy all day everyday. So if you ever send me a note and you don’t hear back I just didn’t get to it. The inbox is always so full, but I do try.

Music today has been interesting voices day. Starting with Lene Lovich who had hits in the New Wave seventies with more than one song, but mostly she is remembered for Lucky Number. She actually grew up in Detroit, but moved to England when she was 13 where she met her partner and co-writer Les Chappell. She was signed to Stiff Records and made Stateless in 1978 and then Flex in 1979 (CDs have extra tracks). No Man’s Land appeared in 1982 as she ended her relationship with Stiff. It was seven years until the independently released March (1989) on Pathfinder Records. It seems quite hard to find (I have it). But it was another 16 years till Shadows And Dust came out in 2005 and it’s now another 15 years since. Dear Lene, please make another record.

In honour of DAF, I quickly went backwards to Fox, the brainchild of Brill Building songwriter Kenny Young. He most famously co-wrote Under The Boardwalk as well as songs for Herman’s Hermits, The Searchers and more. He also discovered and wrote Come Back And Shake Me for Clodagh Rogers. His secret weapon in the seventies was Noosha Fox, real name, Susan Traynor, an Australian with an unusual voice allegedly an inspiration for Kate Bush. Only You Can and Imagine Me Imagine You were both hits from the debut album, but success eluded them completely on the second album as Kenny Young decided he wanted to sing some of his own songs, plus drummer Jim Frank sang two songs, why? It was like a Kate Bush album where five of the songs are sung by someone else. But they came storming back with their third album Blue Hotel where Noosha sang all the songs (they learned) including their most famous song, S-S-S-Single Bed in 1976, the album coming out in 1977. Then what the hell happened? Noosha had a brief low key solo career and then disappeared. Kenny Young went on to form Yellow Dog and had a hit with Just One More Night. Guitarist Herbie Armstrong went on to work with Van Morrison, keyboard player Pete Solley joined Procol Harum. But Noosha, where are you?

Song Of The Day today is in honour of artists that have hits and then don’t make any more records. Noctorum’s catchy Pop tune Stop Cryin’ Your Eyes Out isn’t exactly about that, in fact it’s not about that at all. But perhaps once in a parallel universe it could have been a hit for an artist that disappeared.

 

Stop Cryin’ Your Eyes Out

At last my relief
Now I’ve subscribed to this peace
Turn all the lights out but please
Stop cryin’ your eyes out

My skin has gone cold
Now that everything’s been sold
All of the secrets been told
Stop cryin’ your eyes out

Send me away with a wave and a tear
But now you don’t need to be scared of being near
How do you feel now I’m never coming back
All dressed in black

Humility is strong
When your faith lasts so long
But if I did nothing wrong
Stop cryin’ your eyes out

And as I disappear from view
All that’s left of me is you
And if there’s nothing you can do
Stop cryin’ your eyes out

You can lean on the glass leave a mark from your cheek
But you’ll lose all sense of who I was in a week
I’ll be a memory before the flowers die
So let’s say goodbye

On this last farewell
There is no-one left to tell
And all has ended well
Stop cryin’ your eyes out

And with everything you get
There isn’t time for your regret
So light up another cigarette
Stop cryin’ your eyes out
Stop
Stop cryin’ your eyes out
Stop
Stop cryin’ your eyes out

(Willson-Piper / Mason)
Noctorum – Offer The Light (2006)