More Songs About Chocolate and Girls #3: March 18th 1967.

Another issue of Valiant, but this one has many more ads than the previous edition from 1965. Click on the images to get a larger version of most. Somewhere I have one of those Golden Wonder Peanut Club badges, and once I find the super space toffee tin full of badges I'll stick it on here.

Happy Birthday.

Oops, late for the birthday post again. Just like last year. Having spent yesterday watch FC United progress to the first round proper (proper!) of the FA Cup by beating Barrer one-nil, I think I can be forgiven my memory lapse.

The only constant ingredient for these posts is that the title is the name of a song, something which some correspondents have spotted, so here is the annual round up. From the top:

The Streak - Ray Stevens.
Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
How I Wrote Elastic Man - The Fall.
Pennies from Heaven - Al Bowly Festival.
Islands in the Stream - Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.
Between the Wars - Billy Bragg.
Nine to Five - Dolly Parton.
A Dazzling Array of Talent - Turbonegro.
Disco Inferno - Trammps.
Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice.
Into The White - Sonic Youth.
Holiday Hymn - Vic Goddard.
Chartered Trips - Husker Du.
Hurry Up Harry - Sham 69.
Mojo Kitty - The Dirtbombs.
Ca Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand.
YMCA - The Village People.
Candy Apple Grey - Husker Du.
Big Gold Dream - Fire Engines.
Everything's Gone Green - New Order.
The Book I Read - Talking Heads.
Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones.
Gordon's Not A Moron - Julie and Gordon.
Drinkin' Wine Spo Dee O Dee - Sticks McGhee.
Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow - The Rivingtons.
Hush - Deep Purple, but I favour Killdozer's cover of it.
Another Sunny Day - Belle and Sebastian.
Toadies - The Minute Men.
All Night Party - A Certan Ratio.
Part-time Punks - The Television Personalities.
Black to Comm - The MC5.
Smokestack Lightning - Howlin' Wolf.
There'll be Bluebirds etc - Dame Vera Liniment.
I'm Alive - The Hollies.
Cigarettes and Alcohol - The Bootles.
Swans - Camera Obscura.
We Are Phuture - Phuture.
Saturday's Kids - The Jam.
Up On The Roof - The Drifters.
Boredom - Buzzcocks.
Paper Plane - The Status Quo.
Toast - Streetband.
Stand Down Margaret - The Beat.
Jackie - Jacques Brel.
Smiley Smile - The Beach Boys.
Eat Yourself Fitter - The Fall.
Park Life - Blur.
Playground Twist - Siouxsie and The Banshees.
MacArthur Park - Richard and Anita Harris.
Parking Lot Blues - ESG.
Pretty Polly - The Byrds.
Lost Cause - Supercharger.
The Kids are alright - The Who.
Rock Lobster - The B-52s.
4D (Fourth Dimension) - The Byrds.
Uncle Joe's Mintballs - Mike Harding.
Time's Up - Buzzcocks.
Time Bomb High School - The Reigning Sound.
Meat Is Murder - The Smiths.
You Can't Get Good Riblets In Space - Man Or Astroman?
The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get - Morrissey.
When Harpo Played Her Harp - Jonathan Richman.
Slipped, Tripped and Fell In Love - Ann Peebles.
More Songs About Chocolate and Girls - The Undertones.
F is for Fake - The Sid Presley Experience.
Justified and Ancient - The KLF.
M.I.C.H.A.E.L. - The Man From Del Monte.
Mr. Blue Sky - The Electric Light Orchestra.
I Started A Joke - The Bee Gees.

Phew!

I Started a Joke.

There was a news story today about some voting that went on somewhere, somehow, to come to a consensus about The Funniest Joke Of All Time. And a fairly funny piece of Tommy Cooper daftness won. Fair enough, but I told it to my kids and while they laughed at the idea of a bus driver calling a baby 'ugly', they barely raised an eyebrow at the punchline.

So, the joke that should have won it, as it's the starting point for nearly all kids, a joke so basic that every kid gets it; the joke which acts as training wheels for junior humour...

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Doctor.
Doctor Who?
That's right! How did you know?

and a variation...

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Doctor.
Doctor Who?
No, Doctor Doom, this is the Latverian Embassy, isn't it?

I'll be here all week, folks.

Mr. Blue Sky.

Tintern Abbey, earlier today. A beautiful bright day and a location which was, surprisingly, less affected by cultural tourism than I would have expected. There was scarcely a sniff of old Billy Wordsworth.

More Songs About Chocolate and Girls #2: July 17th 1965.

So here, as the second part of an occasional, continuing, series, are all the ads from Valiant, July 17th 1965. All three of them, and two-thirds using Gerry Anderson properties. Click on the adverts below for larger versions. More to follow.

M.I.C.H.A.E.L.

Lucas. Happened upon this today, and as mentioned on its You Tube page, "If you like surf guitar, hillbillies, crusaders, poontang, or Highlander II, then this is the movie for you. It's a short documentary documenting the warped inspirations behind Michael Lucas's schtick bands." I totally missed out on The Knights of the New Crusade so will be exploring further...

Justfied and Ancient.

Norton and Stockton Ancients 2 FC United of Manchester 5.
Seven goals, three pitch invasions, six quid on the gate, 200 pies in the club house, 1526 in the ground for NaSA's record attendance (beating the previous one for a friendly against Middlesbrough) and one police helicopter made this a fun day out for all the family. Well, me and the eldest, actually, and he was the one who went on the pitch, not me.

Apologies in advance for the quality of the behind-camera singing, neilboo will not be be getting a recording contract, but this video captures the day more or less perfectly.

F is for Fake.

Top end of China Lane this morning. A leftover from the filming of the Captain America movie and timely (no pun intended) as I'm currently reading Men of Tomorrow, Gerard Jones' brilliant social history of the birth of the US comics industry.

More Songs About Chocolate and Girls #1. June 8th 1957.

One of the many blog or website ideas I had and never carried through was one which would represent adverts from old comics, because I like that sort of thing. So here, as the first part of an occasional, continuing, series, are all the ads from Radio Fun #974, from June 8th, 1957.  All two of them. More to follow.