Sunday 16 August 2009

Sunday night is... Adam Faith




One of the first British stars of my UK youth, along with the earlier, rawer version of Cliff Richard (who was pretty good in Expresso Bongo, gorgeous East-End-Jewish agent performance by Laurence Harvey), not forgetting Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Helen Shapiro, Billy Fury etc.

Faith was, relatively speaking, a post-Buddy Holly pop intellectual, interviewed by Malcolm Muggeridge on TV about youth and sex and so on. Articulate and sleek. Later a good actor. Good with money. Died early at 63. This is a sixties reprise of a fifties hit. The hairstyle was greased and parted before.

Associations: a windswept seafront, the boarding house, Weetabix, mother too loud over breakfast, the amusement arcade, funny cowboy hats, the old Hillman Minx. Our neighbour E, who had run shops in her time, once said that running a shop was anxiety punctuated by boredom. That was Early British Childhood time for me. And it lasted a good ten years or more. I think I must have been mentally running a corner-shop tobacconist's.

*

Oh, and I forgot this amazing thing, sent to me by James.



A little like the famous film of Picasso painting live, but with a story.



4 comments:

Pascale Petit said...

Thanks for the nostalgia! I grew up at my Gran's with a budgie called Adam (after Faith), cats called Elvis, Ernie and Billy, all named by my aunt. Didn't Adam go on to play Budgie?

Billy C said...

"Didn't Adam go on to play Budgie?"

He did indeed. Brilliantly I thought.

George. The second vid. I don't know what to say. I've never seen anything like it. So beautiful and yet so tragic. I'll leave it at that.

George S said...

Yes, I remember Budgie, Billy. Have never really watched much regular telly so only saw it occasionally but thought it was good.

Which star was Ernie, Pascal? Not Ernie Wise?

Billy C said...

No, George, Ernie Wise was Earnest Wisemaster.I've no idea who Ernie Pscal? was. Sorry.