The men who formed childhood memories
Something I do from time to time is to Google vinyl records I used to love as a kid: these include several spoken word LPs from Argo - Voices; Rhyme and Rhythm; Alice in Wonderland (somehow I originally typed 'Alive in Wonderland' - an interesting slip) starring Jane Asher, then a wonderful child actress; Through the Looking Glass (ditto) - and now those Tales by Beatrix Potter narrated by Vivien Leigh and adapted with songs by...?
That's what I set out to discover, and was astonished to discover the scripts/adaptations and lyrics were by the man behind Dad's Army, It ain't half hot Mum and 'Allo 'Allo! This was David Croft, and he was great friends with the musician and composer Cyril Ornadel who wrote those ever-so-sweet but memorable tunes. Ornadel was also a conductor who was involved in the original London productions of My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and The King and I. With such experience, no wonder the Beatrix Potter songs came out sounding the way they do.
I also discovered the source (I'd forgotten) for the acidulous voice I gave to baddies as a kid: Graham Stark, who sounds thoroughly vile (still) as Squirrel Nutkin. Apparently a great friend of Peter Sellers', he also appeared in several Pink Panther films (the one I remember is the sweaty-faced man in Return of the Pink Panther who through the film gets more of his fingers injured).
More of a pleasure was tracking down a Youtube of The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, which (as well as the feistily sung 'We don't care') includes a song which continues to haunt my imagination 'Follow your heart', hedonistic yet touching, sung by Barbara Brown. Here is the Youtube with that song, which can be found near the beginning (2.20) and towards the end (from 11:30) - I was touched to read that Su Pollard sang this at David Croft's memorial last year.
That's what I set out to discover, and was astonished to discover the scripts/adaptations and lyrics were by the man behind Dad's Army, It ain't half hot Mum and 'Allo 'Allo! This was David Croft, and he was great friends with the musician and composer Cyril Ornadel who wrote those ever-so-sweet but memorable tunes. Ornadel was also a conductor who was involved in the original London productions of My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music and The King and I. With such experience, no wonder the Beatrix Potter songs came out sounding the way they do.
I also discovered the source (I'd forgotten) for the acidulous voice I gave to baddies as a kid: Graham Stark, who sounds thoroughly vile (still) as Squirrel Nutkin. Apparently a great friend of Peter Sellers', he also appeared in several Pink Panther films (the one I remember is the sweaty-faced man in Return of the Pink Panther who through the film gets more of his fingers injured).
More of a pleasure was tracking down a Youtube of The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, which (as well as the feistily sung 'We don't care') includes a song which continues to haunt my imagination 'Follow your heart', hedonistic yet touching, sung by Barbara Brown. Here is the Youtube with that song, which can be found near the beginning (2.20) and towards the end (from 11:30) - I was touched to read that Su Pollard sang this at David Croft's memorial last year.
Labels: Beatrix Potter, David Croft, Vivien Leigh
posted by Pierre at 3:49 AM
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