Month: October 1996

What The Heart Feels by Stephen Bill, Orange Tree Theatre, 11 October 1996

The programme for this one went missing, so we have to reconstruct cast and creatives as best we can from on-line archives reviews and stuff.

Stephen Bill wrote it. The Doolee description reads:

“…a group of friends attempt to build an arts centre in the Midlands.”

The production was previewed in The Evening Standard:

What The Heart Feels, Standard PreviewWhat The Heart Feels, Standard Preview 11 Oct 1996, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Kim Bunce wrote it up thus in The Independent:

What The Heart Feels Kim Bunce ObserverWhat The Heart Feels Kim Bunce Observer 10 Nov 1996, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While Michael Billington, an Orange Tree fan, wrote the following:

What The Heart Feels Billington GuardianWhat The Heart Feels Billington Guardian 19 Oct 1996, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I think we quite liked this play/production. In truth I only vaguely remember it from the descriptions.

Letter To Ben Murphy, 7 October 1996

Ben Murphy and I were getting towards the end of our road together by the autumn of 1996. I sense I am only half expecting to get paid again.

The album I refer to in this letter can only be “How Bonkers Is That”, which contains much of the material he and I debated in correspondence the previous year.

Anyway:

Ben Murphy                     7 October 1996

(Alton address redacted)

Dear Ben

GREAT TAPE – WHERE’S ME DOSH? HERE’S SOME MORE STUFF!!!!!

I haven’t sent you any new material for ages – so here’s some. Let me know what you think. The album is great. I don’t know why you agonise so much about them, they always come out fine.

Cheers.
Ian Harris (Z/Ian)

Encs.

Letter To Dr Demento, 7 October 1996

Self explanatory letter to Dr Demento. Unsurprisingly, there was no reply. I tried.

Submission For Broadcast          7 October 1996
Dr. Demento
P.O. Box 884
Culver City, CA 90232
USA
Dear Dr D

INTRODUCING THE RECORDINGS OF BEN MURPHY

I enclose a tape of songs recorded by Ben Murphy, who performs and records dementia here in Blighty. I write many of the songs, he writes many too and some are “classic dementia”.

Some of the material will not cross the pond too well, but some surely will. I have cued the Tarantino Man song (last track, Side A) for your initiation. The Brit Pop subject matter might please you (I’m Not Young, Britpop, Uncommon People) or you might even enjoy some truly British dementia for a change (Songbooks, Euroscepticals, BSE).

Please enjoy and broadcast if you will. I can be contacted as above. I shall be in New York 1 November to 8 November if that helps at all.

Yours sincerely

Ian Harris

Encs.

Letter To Mike Ward, Actors’ Workshop, 7 October 1996

Mike Ward 7 October 1996
Actor’s Workshop
West Grove Terrace
Hopwood Lane
Halifax West Yorkshire
HX1 5EX

 

Dear Mike

HERE’S THE NEW ONES & THE 1996 REMIXES!!!

The heading is self explanatory I think. It was good to see you the other week and thanks for your kind note. The new run of News Revue is a bit “boom boom – in yer face” for my taste, but who knows what the discerning audience might feel?

I am now officially a jet setter – we’ve won a piece of work in NYNY and are off on 1 November for a week.

Nevertheless, hope to see you and speak soon.

Yours sincerely

 

 

Ian Harris

Encs.

What’s the Story, Boring Tory, Newsrevue Lyric, 1 October 1996

I don’t recall this one making the show, but I was attending NewsRevue a bit less often by late 1996, so it might have done without me seeing it. It shows due reverence for the fag end of that Tory government, and for the rock group Oasis.

WHAT’S THE STORY, BORING TORY
(To the Tune of “What’s the Story, Morning Glory”)

 

VERSE 1

All our dreams are made,
When were chained from the goolies by a chambermaid,
This is Conservative morality;
Another conference afternoon,
Listening to the crap from our favourite loon,
The public only hope it’ll all be over soon.

CHORUS 1

Need some little lies to make up, Need some little lies to make up, make up,
Need a few more lines to fake up, Need a party line to bend your mind,
We’ll get your vote in the end so might as well.
What’s the story, boring Tory, Well?
We need a few more lies to make up make up, Hell?
What’s the story, boring Tory, Hell?
Need a few more lies to make up make up.

VERSE 2

All our votes are won,
When the press gets all jingoistic, read the Sun,
We’re sprouting on so Eurosceptically;
Another low opinion poll,
Another gaff and minister deep in a hole,
Tomorrow no-one knows what was the controversy.

CHORUS 2

Need a minister to scapegoat, (Ken Clarke), Need a good excuse to scapegoat, Ken Clarke,
Need to exorcise the turncoat, Not the party line, so just resign,
Not one of us, so we guess you might as well.
What’s the story, warning Tories, Well?
Just hold the party line and wake up wake up, Well?
What’s the story, boring Tories, Well?
Need a few more lies to make up make up, Well?

OUTRO

MAJOR: Why can’t we be successful like Oasis?
CLARKE: We’re very much like Oasis, Prime Minister. Always squabbling, consistently failing to please the public, and no-one outside Britain takes us even faintly seriously.

Below is Oasis singing What’s the Story, Morning Glory with lyrics on the screen.

The Dirt On Tony Blair Chorus, NewsRevue Lyric, 1 October 1996

I’m trying to work out what I was getting at with this one. I think the conceit of it was the idea doing the rounds that Tony Blair was a closet Roman Catholic – the twist in the lyric being the idea that he was a closet Tory.

I don’t think it got used in NewsRevue, which is such a shame.

THE DIRT ON TONY BLAIR CHORUS
(To the Tune of “Gloria”)
A BIT OF BAROQUE AND ROLL TO BE SUNG ACAPELLA

INTRO – DIDDLY POM CHORUS

Pom-pom, pom pom, pom-pom, pom pom pom,
Diddly om pom pom, diddly om pom pom
Pom-pom, pom pom, pom-pom, pom pom pom,
Diddle-iddle-iddle pom, diddle-iddle-iddle pom,
Pom-pom, pom pom, pom-pom, pom pom pom,
Diddly om pom pom, diddly om pom pom
Pom-pom, pom pom, pom-pom, pom pom pom,
Diddle-iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle, iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle,
Pom
Diddle-iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle iddle-iddle

(you can work this stuff out yourselves – I’m a lyricist you know, not a bloody acapellist)

1st LYRICAL BIT – LYRICAL CHORUS & DIDDLY POM CHORUS

Tony Blair, Tony Blair (iddle-iddle-iddle pom, iddle-iddle-iddle pom)
Tony Blair, Tony Blair (iddle-iddle-iddle pom, iddle-iddle-iddle pom)
Is an evil genius,
He’s an evil genius.
Tony Blair, Tony Blair, Tony Blair, Tony Blair,
Is a secret Tory.
(iddle-iddle-iddle pom, iddle-iddle-iddle pom iddle-iddle-iddle pom, iddle-iddle-iddle pom)
Tony Blair, Tony Blair, is a se-e-e-e-cret…….Tory.
(So what’s new?)

2nd LYRICAL BIT – LYRICAL CHORUS & DIDDLY POM CHORUS

Tony has evil eyes and,
Tone has a legal wife named,
Cheri;
Cheri Blair’s been in court occasionally.
Pom-pom, pom pom, pom-pom, pom pom pom,
Diddly om pom pom, diddly om pom pom
Pom-pom, pom pom, pom-pom, pom pom pom,
He’s a clo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-set;
(A closet what?)
Tony Blair is a closet Tory.
Pom diddly-om diddly-om
Diddly-om pom pom.

Below is Gloria In Excelsis Deo from Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major Gloria V589, with the music and Latin lyrics on screen:

https://youtu.be/0ICW_iZcti4

Submission To Simon Bell Re NewsRevue, 1 October 1996

Simon Bell
News Revue

LIST OF SONGS SUBMITTED AND TAPE TRACK LISTING
OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 1996 RUN

Dear Simon

Welcome to News Revue!! This starter pack consists of my latest songs plus some older ones which have longevity or are still topical. Please call me and let me know if you are short of any subjects or styles and I shall try to oblige. If any of the enclosed need a bit of rewrite then I am happy to change them on request.

Good luck and I look forward to meeting you soon.

Song Title
Original Title/
Artist on Tape Approx.. No. of weeks performed
7+ 4-6 1-3 New
side 1
what’s the story boring tory? what’s the story morning glory / oasis N
snowbill 1996 snowbird / ann murray N
the netanyahu chorus hallelujah chorus / handel 4-6
paisley and adams father and son / cat stevens 4-6
john major just cares for my baby just cares for me / nina simone 4-6
tony blair gloria / vivaldi N
solicitors are doing it for their fees solicitors are doing it / eurythmics & aretha 4-6
when i see an orangeman smile when i see an elephant fly / dumbo 4-6
eight babies two ladies / caberet 4-6
side 2
this old hise this ole house / shakin stevens 1-3
alexander lebed’s name alexander’s ragtime band / bessie smith N
mr ghali my blobby N