POP MOTORING

If Spy Vibers are looking to add more Pop Art to their lairs, check out the newest collection from Art & Hue. For this collection of images, they have focussed on classic icons from the world of motoring, including the E-Type Jag, Mini Cooper, Vespa, and others. More info at Art & Hue. Related posts: 1960s Pop Models,  Jet Set Prints, Interview: Avengers Pop Art, Thunderbirds Are Pop, New Avengers Pop, Beat Film Pop, 60s Spy Pop, Carnaby Pop
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Spy Vibers, have you heard my segments on the Cocktail Nation radio show? Spy Vibe is featured in a podcast segment every month, where I introduce classic spy films/series and share recordings from the Cold War. This month I introduce Danger Diabolik, starring John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, and Adolfo Celi (Thunderball). For radio action, go to Episode #1 (Danger Man) and Episode #2 (The 10th Victim), Epsiode #3 (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), Episode #4 (Roger Moore/The Saint), and Episode #5 (The Avengers), Episode #6 (The Prisoner), and Episode #7 (The Ipcress File), Episode #8 (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), Spy Vibe Radio: UFO, and Spy Vibe Radio: Danger Diabolik. Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Spy Vibe Radio: Danger Diabolik, Dr. No 60th, Oy-Oy-Seven, Spy Vibe Radio (UFO), Cold War Comic Strips, Thunderball Event, Mission to India, Mort Walker Celebration,  Peter Wyngarde Celebration, Batman 66 Exhibit, Prisoner Fifty Event, Ian Fleming Publications 2017-2018, Interview: Ed Hulse Pulp, Avengers Audio Drama, Interview: Callan At 50, Interview: Playboys, Spies, Private Eyes, TWA Returns, Spy Vibe Radio 8, Interview: Ryan Heshka, Mid-Century Modern Schulz, Agent Werewolf, Mata Hair Exhibit, Johnny Sokko 50th, Interview: Trina Robbins, Eddie Izzard, The Prisoner Capt Scarlet 50th, Hugh Hefner R.I.P., Jack Good R.I.P., Interview: Shaken Not Stirred, Callan 50th, Spy Vibe Radio 7, The Prisoner 50th Event, Spy-Fi Event, Kaho Aso 007, Two Million, Bo Diddley, Carnaby Pop, Le Carre Events, Billy Bragg Skiffle, Elvis 68, Jack Kirby The Prisoner, Casino Royale Concert, Review: The Prisoner Vol 2, Interview: The Prisoner Essential Guide, Maud Russell Mottisfont, Spy Vibe Radio 4, Batman Gallants, Adam West R.I.P., Village Triangle, Roger Moore R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio 3, Sgt Pepper 50th, Satanik Kriminal OST, 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview: Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review.

BO DIDDLEY

Its always interesting to look at cross-pollination in pop culture, and the music scene in the early-mid 1960s was no exception. British kids inspired by African-American artists dedicated themselves to a mission: to honor their heroes by playing American roots music with reverence, and by citing their sources during concerts and television appearances. Kids like The Beatles, Clapton, and the Stones helped to spread the gospel, as it were, and they turned on a wider audience to their heroes, who had been, up to that point, limited to black labels and small venues. The Brits essentially reintroduced North America to its own largely forgotten and ignored culture and made it mainstream. And where artists like Howlin Wolf and Jimmy Reed found new success during the era, there were a few musicians who had already broken through the barriers in the States by crossing over to Rock and Roll in the early days of the form. I'd like to return today to one such hero -an old Spy Vibe favorite- Bo Diddley! Where would the 1960s have been without his trademark beat? And just to set the record straight, these are but a few of the UK acts who covered Bo: The Yardbirds, The Who, The Animals, The Shadows, The Rolling Stones, The Pretty Things, The Kinks, The Merseybeats, Manfred Mann, The Birds, and the Liverbirds. 

Elias McDaniel (1928-2008) moved from Mississippi up to Chicago as a young boy, where childhood pals gave him the nickname "Bo Diddley." The name stuck as a moniker through some early years as a fighter and onto the stage as a musician. Bo dreamed about pounding out traditional drum patterns and, inspired by John Lee Hooker, soon took to the guitar as a percussive instrument. This was the era in Chicago when Chess and VeeJay were pumping the airwaves with the sounds of John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Jimmy Reed, and newcomer Chuck Berry. Bo knew that he couldn't do what they did on the guitar, so he went back into his corner (as he puts it in interviews) and figured out his own trade-mark approach to playing. That drummer instinct came through strong and we have what is now commonly called "The Bo Diddley Beat" - a Rumba-style rhythm that added the Hambone playfulness of banging out beats and rhymes. Bo didn't invent it, per se, but he certainly popularized it. Spy Vibers can hear some really raw iterations of the beat in the fife and drum music of northern Mississippi, for example.

Bo's side-guitar player left for the service in 1956 and was replaced by a female musician named Peggy Jones ("Lady Bo"). She established a swinging stage vibe with Bo Diddley and is known as one of the first female lead guitarists. The uncommon site of their male/female act, accentuated by the two rectangular guitars, was quite sizzling (and even erotic). Lady Bo was replaced in 1962 by Norma-Jean Wofford ("The Duchess"/above), who continued to boogie with Diddley as a rocking lady strummer. Together they made quite a few television appearances between 1962-1966 that captured their contagious, throbbing beat and cool moves- not to mention the stage-side Go Go dancers and teen audience! Check out some throbbing Bo Diddley beat below. In other news, check out my episodes of the Cocktail Nation radio show, where I introduce classic spy films/TV series and play soundtracks and rare cuts: Episode #1 (Danger Man) and Episode #2 (The 10th Victim), Epsiode #3 (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), Episode #4 (Roger Moore/The Saint), and Episode #5 (The Avengers). Episode #6 (The Prisoner). Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Billy Bragg Skiffle, Elvis 68, Jack Kirby The Prisoner, Casino Royale Concert, Review: The Prisoner Vol 2, Interview: The Prisoner Essential Guide, Maud Russell Mottisfont, Spy Vibe Radio 4, Batman Gallants, Adam West R.I.P., Village Triangle, Roger Moore R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio 3, Sgt Pepper 50th, Satanik Kriminal OST, 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review.

LA DOLCE MICKEY

Mickey Mouse has returned in a new series of shorts based on the classic "rubber hose" style animation of the 1920s and 1930s and on the background style of the 1950s and 1960s. Under the helm of Paul Rudish (Samurai Jack, Clone Wars, Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls), Mickey gets a jet-setting facelift complete with scooter and adventures to cool locations like Tokyo, Paris, New York, and the Swiss Alps. Rudish: “The story comes first, and it might lend itself to a particular location. It’s always fun to find those locations and capitalize on what they have to offer. As long as his personality is intact, Mickey can live and do anything all over the world. For Croissant de Triomphe at first we were playing with the idea of Mickey trying to rush across an urban environment to deliver something – we were thinking of making him a bike messenger in New York. But then I realized I didn’t really want to draw him in a bike helmet. So I thought how about a scooter helmet – and scooters are awesome in France! And the environment felt really fresh and fun to explore.” I hope Mickey takes a trip down Via Veneto with a character named Marcello! More details here.

Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, Japanese fashion model and spy! Jason Whiton, creator of Spy Vibe, has written a sixties thriller inspired by his love of Ian Fleming and based on newly declassified intel from the Cold War. More info at his website here. Recent Spy Vibe posts: Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute, Ian Fleming memorial, Emma Peel Megaset returns. More Bo Diddley here. 

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address

MOD MOVIE RETURNS

The long out-of-print Mod classic, Quadrophenia (1979), will be released on DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection on August 28th. From Criterion: "The Who’s classic rock opera Quadrophenia was the basis for this invigorating coming-of-age movie and depiction of the defiant, drug-fueled mod subculture of early 1960s London. Our antihero is Jimmy (Phil Daniels), a teenager dissatisfied with family, work, and love. He spends his time knocking around with his clothes-obsessed, pill-popping, scooter-driving fellow mods, a group whose antipathy for the motorcycle-riding rockers leads to a climactic riot in Brighton. Director Franc Roddam’s rough-edged film is a quintessential chronicle of youthful rebellion and turmoil, with Pete Townshend’s brilliant songs (including “I’ve Had Enough,” “5:15,” and “Love Reign O’er Me”) providing emotional support, and featuring Sting and Ray Winstone in early roles." The disc features a new restored and uncut print supervised by the cinematographer, a 5.1 surround mix supervised by The Who, director commentary, interviews, 1964 and 1965 French TV episodes about Mod culture and The Who, personal history by Mod, Irish Jack, and more!