It's strange to think that only 30 years before (this album release), 6th June 1944 to be precise, the D-Day allied landings in Normandy were taking place..so it's the 75th anniversary of D-Day this week.
So, tying the two together, here's a track from the Be-Bop Deluxe debut album, which I think Bill wrote as a song of peace and hope.....strange thing time...……(Also b-side to Be-Bop's 'Teenage Archangel' single, on Bill's 'Smile' Records, before the album obviously)
I sound so YOUNG on this recordin, incredibly naive and not very sophisticated guitar playing...but, nevertheless, the sentiment holds true. Inspired initially by two things: As a child I would lie on my back on the lawn of 28 Conistone Crescent, gazing up at the clouds and imagining Spitfires or maybe Glouster Meteors circling overhead. The other inspiration was seeing vapour trails in the dawn sky whilst travelling back from a distant gig with first line up Be Bop Deluxe.
Amazing, everything about, the perspective on life these people must have.
I think you might find this interesting, Alfie Fripp, Veteran of The Great Escape, discussing his experiences: https://youtu.be/b39mTJdEC-8
Well I have to say, thanks so much alec for posting this link..I was aware of Alfie Fripp, maybe from a TV interview, but hadn't seen this...What a wonderful gentleman and fascinating recollections..razor sharp...you could listen for hours.....I must explore further and find the second part of this interview etc.
It's sad to see men and women like Alfie, men and women of this calibre, almost all gone and soon to be confined to history. I think of my late Father, who was in active service in a Mosquito plane and my late Mother and family now past when I see anything like this, and, imo, sadly the world will never see people of their like again, not many anyway.....If you have time alec, check out the Mosquitto, it was a wonderful aircraft...
And, did you see the D-Day veterans, all in their mid to late 90s, do tribute parachute jumps yesterdaysalec?....there may be some footage on YT...simply extraordinary.
Only a couple of them were in their 90s :) Mind you, the rest were no spring chickens! Yesterday I was at Duxford, the Imperial War Museum aerodrome from which they all took off. Saw them all in a hangar beforehand, preparing their stuff and having a last briefing.
Anyone into planes will say "Wow!" when I tell you that we saw 21 Dakotas take off one after another - something that we are never likely to see again.
I also live quite close to the place - Salisbury Hall - where the Mosquito was designed and prototyped. It too is now a museum. There are no airworthy Mosquitos just now, but years ago I was priviliged to see the last flying Mozzie do a special display over its birthplace.
I'm not really into planes, and certainly not into military stuff, but some things are simply transcendent.
Part 2 is on Patricia Fripp’s channel: https://youtu.be/1z79Ls7bJmA and I suspected that was her voice and her brother’s voice in Part 1.
Agree with your sentiments, Tourist. My father was in the Pacific Theatre in mine sweeping operations and he was a gunnery officer.
Never liked to talk about the war very much with me and maybe because I pestered him about it when I was a child, looking for details, but he revealed to me that he had to not overthink, which I thought was interesting. I eventually stopped bugging him about it all.
He told me funny stories, strange things people said and about mishaps that happened but that’s not what I was looking for with my questions.
He’d say things like, “It wasn’t anything you imagine it to be” and things to that effect, which shut me up. Maybe he never got a chance or had the inclination to unburden himself the way Alfie did. I really don’t know.
That must have been some site, seeing all those Dakotas taking off, heard my Dad talk about them many a time...I really would have liked to have witnessed some part of the actual events first hand, but have had to settle for TV/media coverage, which has been really very good.
I will have to visit the Salisbury aviation museum, which I think also houses an English Electric Lightning, another big favourite of both my Dad and me..We went to several air displays when I was a young lad back in the mid to late '60s and early '70s and remember being 'blown-away' by the Lightning = amazing aircraft (very loud too!..lol).
Btw Perfect Monster, all of the veterans who have attended and taken part in these 75th anniversary commemorations, are aged between 91 and 101 years old.
A while back, I visited the Yorkshire Air Museum with my American friend John Backlund, (the guitar designer,) and saw an original WW2 Dakota. We went inside and witnessed the conditions that troops had to endure on their flight to be dropped by parachute over France. Incredibly spartan, no nods to comfort whatsoever. Imagining them all lining up to jump from the plane into enemy fire was chilling. It shows just how dire the situation was, with Facism overtaking Europe, that these guys were prepared to sacrifice their lives in the cause of freedom.
These days, the rise of populism is a serious worry and an ugly threat to everything that was won from the battle against Nazi Fascism. The Brexit stupidity, Trump's nationalism and the rise of other dictatorial regimes in the world mark a step backwards and risk losing everything that our ancestors sacrificed their lives for. No buts or maybe's...it's our duty to resist the rise of ignorance and hold out against those who would drag us back into dark times.
By the way...pleased my journal entry has sparked this conversation.
It's strange to think that only 30 years before (this album release), 6th June 1944 to be precise, the D-Day allied landings in Normandy were taking place..so it's the 75th anniversary of D-Day this week.
So, tying the two together, here's a track from the Be-Bop Deluxe debut album, which I think Bill wrote as a song of peace and hope.....strange thing time...……(Also b-side to Be-Bop's 'Teenage Archangel' single, on Bill's 'Smile' Records, before the album obviously)
Very interesting information. Thanks, Tourist. Great track and perfect choice.
I sound so YOUNG on this recordin, incredibly naive and not very sophisticated guitar playing...but, nevertheless, the sentiment holds true. Inspired initially by two things: As a child I would lie on my back on the lawn of 28 Conistone Crescent, gazing up at the clouds and imagining Spitfires or maybe Glouster Meteors circling overhead. The other inspiration was seeing vapour trails in the dawn sky whilst travelling back from a distant gig with first line up Be Bop Deluxe.
‘Jets At Dawn’ as well ...
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/spitfires-fly-over-the-white-cliffs-of-dover-as-pilots-practice-their-formation-flying-ahead-of-thursdays-commemorations-for-the-75th-anniversary-of-d-day/ar-AACjPxt?ocid=spartanntp
Worth a read, here's a little snippet:
"Fearless D-Day veterans in their nineties prepare to parachute into Normandy 75 years on to mark anniversary
Two fearless D-Day veterans in their nineties are to parachute into Normandy 75 years after they first landed there.
Harry Read, 95, and John Hutton, 94, will take part in the descent on Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary of the landings."
Amazing, everything about, the perspective on life these people must have. I think you might find this interesting, Alfie Fripp, Veteran of The Great Escape, discussing his experiences: https://youtu.be/b39mTJdEC-8
Well I have to say, thanks so much alec for posting this link..I was aware of Alfie Fripp, maybe from a TV interview, but hadn't seen this...What a wonderful gentleman and fascinating recollections..razor sharp...you could listen for hours.....I must explore further and find the second part of this interview etc.
It's sad to see men and women like Alfie, men and women of this calibre, almost all gone and soon to be confined to history. I think of my late Father, who was in active service in a Mosquito plane and my late Mother and family now past when I see anything like this, and, imo, sadly the world will never see people of their like again, not many anyway.....If you have time alec, check out the Mosquitto, it was a wonderful aircraft...
And, did you see the D-Day veterans, all in their mid to late 90s, do tribute parachute jumps yesterdaysalec?....there may be some footage on YT...simply extraordinary.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/dday-anniversary-veteran-97-joins-parachutists-to-descend-on-normandy-75-years-later-a4160461.html
Only a couple of them were in their 90s :) Mind you, the rest were no spring chickens! Yesterday I was at Duxford, the Imperial War Museum aerodrome from which they all took off. Saw them all in a hangar beforehand, preparing their stuff and having a last briefing.
Anyone into planes will say "Wow!" when I tell you that we saw 21 Dakotas take off one after another - something that we are never likely to see again.
I also live quite close to the place - Salisbury Hall - where the Mosquito was designed and prototyped. It too is now a museum. There are no airworthy Mosquitos just now, but years ago I was priviliged to see the last flying Mozzie do a special display over its birthplace.
I'm not really into planes, and certainly not into military stuff, but some things are simply transcendent.
Part 2 is on Patricia Fripp’s channel: https://youtu.be/1z79Ls7bJmA and I suspected that was her voice and her brother’s voice in Part 1. Agree with your sentiments, Tourist. My father was in the Pacific Theatre in mine sweeping operations and he was a gunnery officer. Never liked to talk about the war very much with me and maybe because I pestered him about it when I was a child, looking for details, but he revealed to me that he had to not overthink, which I thought was interesting. I eventually stopped bugging him about it all. He told me funny stories, strange things people said and about mishaps that happened but that’s not what I was looking for with my questions. He’d say things like, “It wasn’t anything you imagine it to be” and things to that effect, which shut me up. Maybe he never got a chance or had the inclination to unburden himself the way Alfie did. I really don’t know.
That must have been some site, seeing all those Dakotas taking off, heard my Dad talk about them many a time...I really would have liked to have witnessed some part of the actual events first hand, but have had to settle for TV/media coverage, which has been really very good.
I will have to visit the Salisbury aviation museum, which I think also houses an English Electric Lightning, another big favourite of both my Dad and me..We went to several air displays when I was a young lad back in the mid to late '60s and early '70s and remember being 'blown-away' by the Lightning = amazing aircraft (very loud too!..lol).
Btw Perfect Monster, all of the veterans who have attended and taken part in these 75th anniversary commemorations, are aged between 91 and 101 years old.
A while back, I visited the Yorkshire Air Museum with my American friend John Backlund, (the guitar designer,) and saw an original WW2 Dakota. We went inside and witnessed the conditions that troops had to endure on their flight to be dropped by parachute over France. Incredibly spartan, no nods to comfort whatsoever. Imagining them all lining up to jump from the plane into enemy fire was chilling. It shows just how dire the situation was, with Facism overtaking Europe, that these guys were prepared to sacrifice their lives in the cause of freedom.
These days, the rise of populism is a serious worry and an ugly threat to everything that was won from the battle against Nazi Fascism. The Brexit stupidity, Trump's nationalism and the rise of other dictatorial regimes in the world mark a step backwards and risk losing everything that our ancestors sacrificed their lives for. No buts or maybe's...it's our duty to resist the rise of ignorance and hold out against those who would drag us back into dark times.
By the way...pleased my journal entry has sparked this conversation.