THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 6 January 1962

At #4 to begin 1962 is Pat Boone's 'Johnny Will':

Giles cartoon for this week: the Post Office industrial dispute

The background to this industrial dispute is the expansion of the British economy in the 1950s. The nation was heavily in debt and struggling with a balance of payments deficit. It was essential to boost exports but at the same time the public wanted more (and/or better) housing and consumer goods; this meant there was a competition for labour, made harder by the postwar shortage of manpower (which led to the drive to attract Commonwealth immigration), so wages were rising faster than productivity. The Government tried to negotiate the conflicting demands with a prices and incomes policy.

    Britain was keen to modernise and the Electricity Act of 1947 took over over 500 local authority and commercial electricity producers. 'The newly nationalised electricity industry made a huge effort to build up Britain's electrical system. building dozens of power stations and encouraging people to use more electricity in their workplaces and homes,' says this British Library blog; and as the country electrified, it generated a boom in consumer electrical goods - TVs even more than washing machines! To hold down prices and rein in consumer spending the Government not only imposed a variable 'purchase tax' on luxury goods such as TVs - 50% at this time! - but also a combination of minimum down payments and maximum credit periods (see p. 30 here.)

Image source (p.25)

    As to the incomes side of policy, the Government had imposed what it called a 'pay pause' affecting public sector workers including teachers, as a 'breathing space for productivity to catch up' and in the hope that it would set an example to the private sector also. The pay freeze invited conflict over the established use of third-party arbitration between employers and unions, as the Chancellor Selwyn Lloyd noted in his secret memorandum to Cabinet in August 1961.

    In response to governmental interference with the established negotiating mechanisms, the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) led by Ron Smith began a work-to-rule on 1 January 1962 and called it off on 1 February. 

    Separately, the Post Office Engineers Union, (POEU) representing engineering staff (mostly in telecommunications including the public telephone system) started a work-to-rule on 20 January 1962 and called it off on 11 March. Prior to the 'pay pause' that union had gone to the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal, who as future Prime Minister Harold Wilson told Parliament 'were threatened by the Government representatives and told what they had to do. Nevertheless, they awarded 7½ per cent. Within minutes the Postmaster-General was put up to say that the 5 per cent. would be paid, but that the other 2½ per cent. awarded by the tribunal would be withheld until some uncertain date in the future and without retrospection.'

Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

31 December; 'Ireland's first national television station, Telefís Éireann (later RTÉ), began broadcasting. A speech by Irish President Éamon de Valera opened the new era.'

1 January: 'Western Samoa (now called Samoa) became independent from New Zealand. The two fautua (advisers), Malietoa Tanumafili II and Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole were named as the two heads of state.'

    'The People's Revolutionary Party was founded as a Marxist–Leninist political party in South Vietnam, and its leaders receiving instruction directly from the Lao Dong Party of North Vietnam.'

    'The Beatles auditioned unsuccessfully for Decca Records with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and, at that time, drummer Pete Best.'

    'Illinois becomes the first U.S. State to decriminalize homosexual activity.'

3 January: 'A spokesman for Pope John XXIII revealed that Cuban leader Fidel Castro and several other officials had received a decree of excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church in 1961 under two sections of canon law, for impeding bishops in their work and for violence against clergymen. In September, Cuban bishop Eduardo Boza Masvidal and 135 priests had been forced to leave Cuba.'

5 January: 'The first recording on which The Beatles play, the 45 rpm record My Bonnie, credited to "Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers" (recorded last June in Hamburg), is released by Polydor in the United Kingdom; "The Saints" is on the B-side.'

    Also on 5 January: 'Prison inmate Clarence Gideon sent a letter, written in pencil, to the United States Supreme Court, asking them to reverse his conviction for burglary on the grounds that he had not been given the right to an attorney. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and, on March 18, 1963, issued the landmark decision of Gideon v. Wainwright, holding that the Sixth Amendment guarantee, of the right to assistance of counsel, required the appointment of a lawyer for any person unable to afford one.

6 January: John F. Kennedy was formally elected as the 35th president of the United States, as a joint session of the U.S. Congress witnessed the counting of the electoral vote. U.S. Vice-President Richard Nixon, who had opposed Kennedy in the 1960 election, formally announced the result.

UK chart hits, week ending 6 January 1962 (tracks in italics have been featured previously)

Htp: Clint's labour-of love compilation https://www.sixtiescity.net/charts/61chart.htm

1	Stranger On The Shore	Acker Bilk	Columbia
2	Moon River	Danny Williams	HMV
3	Let There Be Drums	Sandy Nelson	London
4	Johnny Will	Pat Boone	London
5	Tower Of Strength	Frankie Vaughan	Philips
6	Midnight In Moscow	Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen	Pye
7	So Long Baby	Del Shannon	London
8	Toy Balloons	Russ Conway	Columbia
9	I'd Never Find Another You	Billy Fury	Decca
10	My Friend The Sea	Petula Clark	Pye
11	Multiplication	Bobby Darin	London
12	Take Five	Dave Brubeck	Fontana
13	Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen	Neil Sedaka	RCA
14	Don't Bring Lulu	Dorothy Provine	Warner Brothers
15	Bambino	The Springfields	Philips
16	September In The Rain	Dinah Washington	Mercury
17	Goodbye Cruel World	Jimmy Darren	Pye
18	Walkin' Back To Happiness	Helen Shapiro	Columbia
19	Run To Him	Bobby Vee	London
20	Take Good Care Of My Baby	Bobby Vee	London

THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 7 January 1961

Topping the chart at the start of the year is Johnny Tillotson with 'Poetry In Motion':

Giles cartoon for this week: The London Boat Show

The seventh London International Boat Show was held at Earl's Court from 4 - 14 January 1961 - Pathé News preview here. The last show was in 2018.

    The first opened at the Empire Hall, Olympia on 30 December 1954 (Pathé clip here), sponsored by the Daily Express (Giles' employer), whose chairman Max Aitken was himself 'a keen power boat sailor.' 

    One of those who helped set up the exhibition was award-winning Hampshire-born boatbuilder Jack Chippendale, who in 1954 had just formed a company, Chippendale Boats, to market self-assembly boat kits using a new technique of glued construction and went on to help found the annual Southampton International Boat Show.

(source)

Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

1 January: 'The British farthing coin, used since the 13th century, and worth 1/4 of a penny, ceased to be legal tender.'

Last minted in 1956; the bird is a wren, the smallest and commonest of British birds

2 January: 'Cuba's Prime Minister, Fidel Castro, demanded that the United States Embassy in Havana reduce its staff from 87 to no more than 11 no later than Wednesday. U.S. President Eisenhower ended diplomatic relations with Cuba the next day.'

3 January: 'At the United States National Reactor Testing Station near Idaho Falls, Idaho, the atomic reactor SL-1 exploded, killing three military technicians.'

4 January: 'East Germany's Chancellor and Communist party chief, Walter Ulbricht, held a secret emergency meeting of the Politburo of his Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the SED, and told his fellow party leaders that East Germany's own economic failures accounted for 60% of the departure of East Germans to West Germany. He warned the SED that the nation needed to take action to fix housing shortages, low wages, inadequate pensions, and the six-day workweek before the end of the year. Ulbricht also criticized East German schools, pointing out that 75% of the people who left were younger than 25. Most importantly, he created a task force to stop the loss of refugees; the solution would come in the form of the Berlin Wall and the heavily-guarded border in August.'

5 January: 'Mister Ed, one of the first "fantasy sitcoms" on American television, premiered as a syndicated TV program and would be picked up by the CBS network beginning on October 1.' It featured a talking horse.

6 January: 'John F. Kennedy was formally elected as the 35th president of the United States, as a joint session of the U.S. Congress witnessed the counting of the electoral vote. U.S. Vice-President Richard Nixon, who had opposed Kennedy in the 1960 election, formally announced the result, saying, "I now declare John F. Kennedy elected president." The results were 303 votes for Kennedy, 219 for Nixon, and 15 for U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr..'

7 January: 'Following a four-day conference in Casablanca, five African chiefs of state announced plans for a NATO-type African organization to ensure common defense. From the Charter of Casablanca emerged the Casablanca Group, consisting of Morocco, the United Arab Republic, Ghana, Guinea, and Mali.'

UK chart hits, week ending 7 January 1961

Htp: Clint's labour-of love compilation https://www.sixtiescity.net/charts/61chart.htm

Twelfth Night, Should Auld Acquaintance, etc

Time to look back... Here's Sid Caesar spoofing This Is Your Life:

YEARSTARTER: Soft Porn DIY, The New Soft Sell, by Wiggia

During the Christmas break I needed to know how to fix a small problem that I had encountered in my garage, and as is the way these days there is somewhere on Youtube a video, or several, showing you how to do it.

While browsing the dozens of videos that suited my needs something became rather obvious, that there were series of videos which featured young women doing all these tasks, and well, but wearing what in any other circumstances would be called inappropriate-for-the-task apparel.

No way am I prudish but there is an obvious reason for all this provocative DIY: it makes money. People subscribe to the sites and it creates income. The scantily-dressed women have an advantage over the standard bearded, tartan-shirted artisan for obvious reasons: sex sells.

In the interests of furthering my knowledge and taking one for the team I decided to delve further into this new world that has been created; it has to be said it is nearly all coming from videos made in the USA but I am sure the theme will spread.

It is a genre not confined to just DIY; it has already spread to gardening, for which I am grateful, having given up years ago watching the morose Monty Don and the other current boring trendy presenters, well most, so below we have a sampling of what could be coming to your TV screens soon, the days of Barry Bucknell are very long gone.

This one is from a series called What Meike Makes. Here on a workshop tour she ably demonstrates how things work and shows the best way to operate power tools wearing exemplary safety clothing that cannot be caught up in any machinery…

This is followed by another, Wood Girl, who despite wearing an outfit for the beach manages to turn out a very passable wooden stool. I cannot remember ever seeing anyone dressed like that in Latham's wood yard, but that was a long time ago!

It may be going against the grain (geddit ?) but I am all for gender equality in the workshop.

There are others similar to the above, and even electricians, but we move on to gardening were it gets even more explicit; sit tight, this is a big move on from Gardening Makeover programs. Firstly a young lady who inevitably grows cucumbers, large tomatoes and melons though you will have to make the effort and watch the whole series as I did for you and it is hard work.

I bring you Holly Wolf, Carol Klein she ain't; here she needs help with her brussel sprouts, don’t we all!

Here we have Nina Rynd growing early tomatoes in a fashion only she could carry off. Nina is very versatile and does videos on boat maintenance and DIY , fascinating stuff…

Moving on we go briefly back to gardening. There are several naked gardening videos and a naked World Gardening Day - new to me but what would I know? There is even for those so inclined male naked gardeners, not a pursuit I would recommend especially if using power tools!!!!!

This lady is ostensibly discussing microbes, ye-e-e-e-s:

A much more educational video from the most glamorous truck driver in America: Carolina shows us how to tap wheels, check oil and water and other essentials on the road, and why not…

Inevitably in hot climes and surrounded by water wearing a lot of clothing is a hindrance, but Taylor in Woman’s life on a Sailboat shows us how to sail, scuba dive and everything else and occasionally wears a hat! Oh, and nice boat!

Even cooking has its followers on Youtube. This is Pong (really), showing us how to cook pasta - don’t try using knives while watching this video, you need to concentrate on what you are doing, not what you are thinking…

I hope this small sample gives you a taste of things to come in the world of informative videos. Ah well, back into the garage!

FRIDAY MUSIC: Hogmanay! by JD

 A mix of old and new to help us stagger into 2022! Yes it's Hogmanay, New Year's Eve and that means it is time for The White Heather Club to help ring out the old and ring in the new! http://wiki.scotlandonair.com/index.php?title=The_White_Heather_Club

Oh, I know it was corny and 'kitsch' but that is the nature of TV, then and now, if you think about it. It has been voted one of the worst programmes on TV which is a bit harsh when you realise TV has given us much worse such as Noel Edmonds or Jeremy Beadle and as for BBC News......

Anyway my father used to enjoy it with a glass of The Antiquary in his hand and there was nothing wrong with the music and the dancing on the show. 
http://www.theantiquary.com/

So this week's music is an updated version of the show while trying to keep alive the spirit of the original!

________________________________________

(Ed: If anyone remembers Broke Britain in the Fifties, homely entertainment was perfectly OK. We loved the White Heather Club - and beetle drives - and housey-housey - and Kan-U-Go - and...)

THURSDAY BACKTRACK: Music and news from 60 years ago - week ending 30 December 1961

At #4 this week, Sandy Nelson's 'Let There Be Drums':

Some memorable events (via Wikipedia):

24 December: 'Radio Mecca reported a breakthrough in a move toward democracy in Saudi Arabia, with news that Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud had submitted a proposed new Constitution to King Ibn Saud and his Council of Ministers. The draft, which would have created an elected legislature, was rejected, and three days later, Radio Mecca denied ever broadcasting the news.'

25 December: 'Pope John XXIII issued the papal bull Humanae salutis ("of human salvation") to summon the Second Vatican Council. The announcement surprised everyone, in that the Pope did not consult with advisers beforehand. "Vatican II" would open on October 11, 1962, with participation from Roman Catholic clergy and theologians worldwide.' 

    'The Second Vatican Council, also known as Vatican II, which took place from 1962 to 1965, was one of the most important councils in church history, and it profoundly changed the structures and practices of the church. It sought, in the words of Pope John XXIII, aggiornaménto, “to bring the church up to date,” and many of the council’s decrees did bring the church into the modern world. Although the reforms were welcomed by many, they produced internal disruptions greater than any the church has known since the Protestant Reformation.' https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism/The-church-since-Vatican-II

26 December: 'The Kingdom of Yemen, which had joined Egypt and Syria in March, 1958, to become part of the United Arab Republic, broke ties with the government of Egypt's Gamel Abdel Nasser. The Imam of Yemen had retained his throne while being linked with the UAR under the collective name "United Arab States".'

29 December: 'France's President, Charles de Gaulle, delivered his annual New Year's address on national television and radio, and announced that in the coming year, his listeners "would see the end of French Algeria 'one way or another'" and that with the withdrawal of French Army forces from Africa, 1962 would be "the year the army will be regrouped in Europe". The declaration was a shock to most of the one million French residents of north Africa who had still hoped that their homes would not become part of an Arab Muslim nation; Algeria would be granted its independence seven months later, on July 5.'

30 December: 'Congolese troops captured Albert Kalonji, who had declared the independence of the Congolese province of South Kasai, with himself as President, and later as the King. With South Kasai reconstituted into the Republic of Congo, Kalonji was imprisoned, but would escape on September 7, 1962, making a final, unsuccessful attempt, to set up a new government.'

UK chart hits, week ending 30 December 1961 (tracks in italics have been played in earlier posts)

Some uncertaintty this week; so we refer to Official Charts Dot Com on this occasion

1	Moon River	Danny Williams	HMV
2	Tower Of Strength	Frankie Vaughan	Philips
3	Midnight In Moscow	Kenny Ball	Pye
4	Let There Be Drums	Sandy Nelson	London
5	Johnny Will	Pat Boone	London
6	Stranger On The Shore	Acker Bilk	Columbia
7	Toy Balloons	Russ Conway	Columbia
8	Take Good Care Of My Baby	Bobby Vee	London
9	My Friend The Sea	Petula Clark	Pye
10	Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen	Neil Sedaka	RCA
11	Multiplication	Bobby Darin	London
12	Big Bad John	Jimmy Dean	Philips
13	His Latest Flame / Little Sister	Elvis Presley	RCA
14	So Long Baby	Del Shannon	London
15	I'd Never Find Another You	Billy Fury	Decca
16	Walkin' Back To Happiness	Helen Shapiro	Columbia
17	Don't Bring Lulu	Dorothy Provine	Warner Brothers
18	Mrs Mills Medley	Mrs Mills	Parlophone
19	I'll Get By	Shirley Bassey	Columbia
20	I Understand	The G*Clefs	London

The Future Is The Past, But Better

Abandoned Railroads Throughout The United States (source: here)

 

I've thought for a long time that the USA has all it needs to build a wonderful country where no-one is in need. It's just a matter of the will to rearrange the pieces.

Take transportation, for example. When fuel prices bring an end to Happy Motoring and cheap air travel, look at the rail lines still there, ready to be refurbished.

If we can just close down the poker championship of investment gambling and obsessive wealth concentration.

Education - why ? by Paddington

 I went to school and got my undergraduate degree in England, in the 1960's and 1970's.

The educational system, then and there, was brutal in some ways. It was certainly unforgiving.

We took a test in the last year of primary school (5th grade), which determined which school in the county would accept you the next year, the top level generally being a grammar school, where the tradition was to focus on Latin, Greek and English literature. I actually went to something called a Mathematical school, established to train naval navigators in the 18th century.

Every year after that, most 'grades' were determined by exams taking mid-year and at the end of the year.

In the 5th year (sophomore), and sometimes a few the year before that, we took regional exams to determine competency in the chosen subjects. In my case, it was Astronomy, Chemistry, Mathematics, English, French, German, History, Further Mathematics and Physics. In Mathematics, we took the equivalent of most of the standard first semester college Calculus, plus the material college-level Precalculus. Tha languages exams included taking dictation, translation in both directions, writing essays, and having a conversation.

A poor performance meant that your school career was likely over. The successful (about 40%) then concentrated in 2-4 subjects, with a view to higher education. There was then another set of regional exams at age 18, which determined whether your university of choice would accept you.

At university, you were in the major which you had declared 18 months before, and there was basically no changing that. I took Mathematics, which meant that every class was Mathematics, Statics and Dynamics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, or Statistics.

We took exams immediately after Christmas break, merely to see how well we had adapted. At the end of that first year year, we took six 3-hour exams which simply determined whether we would be allowed back the next year, and which of two tiers of courses we would take.

For the second and third (and final) years, there were six 3-hour exams each year, with the level of the degree awarded based only on those exam results. There was no equivalent of GPA or academic transcript, problems which almost prevented me being accepted by a U.S. university for graduate study.

It was designed quite well to produce people who at least had a grasp of the basic content of their majors. It was also basically free of charge to the students and their families.

All of this has, of course, changed, with the U.K. adapting a version of the U.S. system, including having students pay their tuition, and a more liberal arts flavour. It is also much less selective, going from 5-10% in higher education in my generation to 50%  now.

One result is many thousands of students living with their parents into their 30's with crippling debt.

It was a great culture shock to experience the very generous nature of a U.S. university, including many chances to retake courses, change majors, or even transfer between institutions. It is certainly a more generous one than I went through. I have many friends who succeeded in this system who likely would never have been given a chance under the one that I went through. 

I have very mixed feelings after 40+ years as to whether it is better as a whole, given some of the many people that I know with massive college debt and no degree, and others with the illusion that they have been educated.

I have yet to determine what the actual goal of the U.S. system really is.

Boxing Day smiles, by Wiggia

 Merry Christmas, everyone !

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED

SAGE finally release the prototype
of how they wish the population to be by 2022.

Puzzled, confused, irritated by the events of the last year,

 like Fanny? It can only get worse.

A happy New Year to all !

FRIDAY MUSIC: Christmas Selection, Part 2, by JD