News On The March – Blogs, Radio and Treat Me Nice
First, thanks to Random Nytrgg for choosing The Elvis Presley Challenges as the best Elvis blog on the web. Random writes a highly distinctive blog that mixes Elvis with all kind s of issues, both personal and political. She is prolific and always worth reading and has had plenty of praise. I have also forgiven her for beating me to write the quickest review of the box set ‘Young Man With A Big Beat.’
Second, I will be appearing on BBC Radio Nottingham at 9.30pm on 30th April 2012 and BBC Radio Bristol at 1.30 pm on 4th May 2012. This is a big week when I should really be preparing for a Cup Final on the Saturday. For those interested, yes I do have a ticket. Readers of the blog who are outside the broadcasting range should be able to listen to the podcast on the BBC website. If not, I will see what I can do and whether this blog can include links in the next couple of weeks.
Third, the second edition of Treat Me Nice is still selling and we expect to move on to a third edition before the end of the year. I am hoping to have different distribution arrangements for the third edition so it is available in bookstores outside the UK. Meanwhile, if you do not want to wait for the third edition you can order direct from this website. Click here.
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Elvis Presley Challenge No 30 – Tom Watson
“Mr Murdoch, you must be the first mafia boss in history who did not know he was running a criminal enterprise,” so said Tom Watson to James Murdoch of News International at the Parliamentary Select Committee hearing 
last November. At the time not everybody approved. Alexander Chancellor in the Guardian was quite sniffy. He described the remark as silly and concluded that James Murdoch was safe. Tom Watson had been unable to resist playing to the gallery and had failed to master the forensic talents of skilled interrogators. These are my words not those of Chancellor but they summarise what his critics said. Not surprisingly, Sky News was not quite as concerned about the adversarial skills of Watson. They were more interested in the spiritual redemption father Rupert had experienced in the back of his limousine on his way to the hearing. Rupert Murdoch, the man who prefers to think of days as being humble rather than himself. If the Tom Watson wisecrack was not to the taste of everyone at least it was grammatically accurate. God knows who taught Rupert Murdoch how to use English grammar. Perhaps he lost his grammatical grip while managing his empire. ‘It was the Sun wot done it,’ may be a half decent excuse.
Well, James Murdoch was not safe and News International is now rocking and will rock a little more after this week and the publication of the Tom Watson and Martin Hickman book ‘Dial M for Murdoch.’ The book reveals that members of the Parliamentary Select Committee were put under surveillance by a ‘crack’ squad of News International reporters. The objective was to find secrets about the committee members. At the London Book Fair this week, Watson made clear to all those who listened that his lawyers had read the book and insisted on corroborative evidence. To use the tortured language of Murdoch, ‘Dial M for Murdoch’ had more than one corroborative day. So we can believe the story is true, just as we can accept the allegations about the once Director Of Public Prosecutions, Ken McDonald, being wined and dined by News International editors and Chief Executives. And if dirt had been found then threats would have followed. ‘Fix the jury and buy the judge? We’ll do our best, Mr Capone.’ True, there is no evidence that either the Select Committee or the Director of Public Prosecutions responded to the behaviour of News International but all this proves is that Capone had superior influencing skills. Whatever the Foster adverts might say, Australian villains are no match for authentic Chicago gangsters.
Watson has predicted that his book ‘Dial M for Murdoch’ will be the most attacked book this year. Trevor Kavanagh at the Sun is already leading the way but it would take a better man than me to summarise the opinions of that particular hysteric. His journalistic style consists of disconnected slurs and random resentments that avoid argument and defy logic. Somewhere in his prose, though, he mentions that Watson is an intolerant bully and, worst of all sins, is even a socialist. When Tom Watson was interviewed by Jonathan Heawood of English Pen last Monday the response of the audience at the London Book Fair was far more appreciative. Many of those listening dwelled on more serious matters such as how close Murdoch had come to owning all of BSkyB and controlling rather than dominating the British media, and how members of the Government were determined to help Murdoch undermine what are the pathetic remains of British democracy. The catastrophe was averted in the same way Kevin Costner sorted Robert De Niro in ‘The Untouchables’ or Alan Ladd blasted Jack Palance in ‘Shane’. For once, the good guys won and it was impressive how Tom Watson at the London Book Fair resisted praise and glory. The Kavanagh caricature was not present. Indeed, Watson several times stressed the contribution and importance of others. The work done by Martin Hickman on the book ‘Dial M for Murdoch’, and the moment when Ed Milliband decided he would fight elections without the support of Murdoch. We will all have a view as to what constituted the McCarthy moments that punctuated the sordid saga of News International but only lost self-centred souls would deny Tom Watson praise and respect. He made a difference and that is the best epitaph there is.
I was older than many of the audience on Monday. I can remember the Murdoch version of the Sun being launched in Britain. Prior to this there had been tabloids but not tabloid culture. Newspapers reported the news and news meant politics. Newspapers had something else besides dirt and gossip. But once Murdoch outlawed serious news from his papers he drove arrogantly into his own cul de sac. Of course, he always intended to finish in a cul de sac but what he envisaged consisted of a dumbed down population that would mindlessly vote for the powerful simply because they were supposed to be glamorous. He missed the second dead end, that with nothing to write about but dirt and gossip he was obliged to dig deeper and deeper into personal lives. The empire of Murdoch did not go into decline or lose its way. The mistakes Murdoch made were inevitable and the seeds were sown forty years ago. The dirty tricks were the consequence of 
the trashy tabloid culture that Murdoch created. The elite of Britain should have treated the bad taste of Murdoch with contempt. Instead, they embraced it like the corrupt policemen you see in a cheap Hollywood ‘B’ movie. Make no mistake, this scandal will run and run. Our elite is shabbier than ever. When Watson resigned his post as Government Minister he was condemned by Tony Blair for being disloyal. Tom Watson had had the temerity to state the obvious, to remind Blair that his leadership was the reason long standing Labour voters were abandoning the Labour Party. The avarice and war mongering of Blair had gone out of style. Some have claimed that Watson was a puppet of Gordon Brown but after the performance I witnessed at the Book Fair I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt. Nobody else, in quite the way Watson did, challenged the most repulsive leader the Labour Party has ever had or stood up to Murdoch. Let us give credit when it is due.
And, of course, Tom Watson is a suitable topic for an Elvis Presley Challenge, more suitable than most as it happens. He is not only an Elvis fan and has a potentially great rockabilly hairstyle but he has the same birthday as the supreme rock and roller. We all know the scene in ‘King Creole’ where bar sweep Danny Fisher stands up to the gangster bully Walter Matthau. As Elvis sang in this great movie and later resurrected brilliantly in his ’68 TV special, ‘if you’re looking for trouble you came to the right place.’ Last Monday, we listened to Tom Watson describe how resistance eventually led to the Leveson enquiry into a corrupt press. The London Book Fair felt like the right place to be. Enjoy the clips.
If you want to read about Elvis, rock and roll and much more click here.
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Elvis Presley Challenge 29 – Bobby Darin
More than one woman has explained to me why men never grow up. They say it is something to do with privilege and power. Men are indulged and respond like children. Those men who are perpetually indulged remain children. Some merely have 
moments and head without caution towards infancy for brief escapades. If the movie ‘Beyond The Sea’, directed by Kevin Spacey, has not been quoted as evidence for this argument it should be. Spacey was given the option to take control of the movie when the planned director Barry Levinson abandoned the project. Spacey, a Darin fan, not only directed the movie, he sang the songs on the soundtrack as well. He may have more brains than the average Elvis impersonator but the familiar adolescent fantasy was revealed to be as deep rooted. Spacey was not an awful singer and most of the time he did a decent impersonation of the vocal performances by Darin. There was an irony in the movie that somebody as bright as Spacey must have realised. Spacey was impersonating the man who was perhaps the greatest mimic of them all. Okay, the mimicry of Big Al Downing was important because of the way he straddled various genres and acted as a missing link but nobody is as versatile as Bobby Darin. Well, there is one obvious example but regular readers of this challenge do not need me to mention his name just yet. The versatility of Darin became obvious in the film. Spacey is required to perform a version of the big Darin country tinged hit ‘Things’. The song is used as backing material for a poignant scene. The intention is that we do not listen to the performance too closely. Spacey may be comfortable with the swing and folk music that Bobby Darin performed but country music and the subtle performance of Darin was beyond him.
When Robert Matthew Walker broke ground from most critics and in the 70s analysed seriously the musical catalogue of Elvis he insisted that only one singer could match Elvis for versatility. The singer he named was Bobby Darin. These comments were made in the early 80s. Both Darin and Presley were dead and nobody was especially interested. The memory of Darin was on its way to being neglected and there were too many awful 70s Elvis albums still on the shelves of record stores. Nobody was interested in Elvis as a barometer of anything. Both men were underestimated and both remain that way although fans are persistent and people like Kevin Spacey for Darin and Peter Guralnick for Elvis have emerged to defend their heroes to those prepared to listen.
I was disappointed when Matthew Walker compared Elvis to Bobby Darin. I suppose I wanted somebody cooler, someone who would be more impressive to people of my generation or, if I am being honest, my antagonistic friends. Not long after the book by Matthew Walker was published, the songwriters Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber appeared in a radio show hosted by a DJ called Brian Matthew. The format of the show was a steal from Desert Island Discs. The guests had to pick their favourite twelve records. The difference was that there was no desert island and the guests were music stars and not Radio 4 worthies. Rice and Webber picked an Elvis song called ‘The Girl Next Door Went A Walking’ because one of the songwriters was called Rice. As Tim Rice explained, how can you pick one Elvis song above all the others? He also selected a Bobby Darin song. This was ‘18 Yellow Roses’. Rice laughed about how often Darin impersonated others and asked the listeners to note how the performance was a copy of the cowboy style of Marty Robbins.
This is what is odd about versatility. There comes a point when people stop taking you seriously. There is a famous tale about the 
British entertainer Roy Castle who was obliged to appear at the Glasgow Empire, a theatre famous for its hostile and unforgiving audience. Castle revealed his usual repertoire. He sang songs, told jokes, performed magic tricks, danced, played a bewildering number of instruments and did impressions. The audience was always restless and one member of the audience who was perhaps less patient than the rest admitted before the end of the act that he had endured enough. ‘Jesus Christ,’ he shouted, ‘is there no end to the talent of the wee —-‘.
You can work the obscenity out for yourself. Note that, like the Glasgow accent that uttered the heartfelt plea, it was harsh. Roy Castle did not return to the Glasgow Empire. Later, he was quite successful hosting a show about record breakers, the man who could eat the most boiled eggs and so on. It suited him perfectly. He could talk about people like himself, people whose talents were extreme but inconsequential.
Bobby Darin had hits in Britain but for most British rockers he was a rock and roll version of Roy Castle. He lacked consequence and failed to offer the excitement of the real rebels. Today, this view appears to be harsh. We now realise that some of his records 
are exceptional. ‘Mack The Knife’ is a great record but it is easily surpassed by ‘Beyond The Sea’ which is probably perfect. It not only swings irresistibly but has relentless vocal invention. Similarly, the career of Darin is underappreciated. Not only did his music cover various genres he had a movie career that made real demands of a substantial acting talent. Darin won the acting awards that Elvis could only dream about. He wrote songs and played several instruments. Amet Ertegun, the founder and President of Atlantic Records, worked with the great Ray Charles and other fabulous black talents but he was always prepared to single out Bobby Darin for praise. Darin even managed a classic double A sided single, ‘Irresistible You’ and ‘Multiplication’. The sides were actually reversed in Britain. Like all great musicians he had exquisite timing and by sharing it with his audience he was able to add dynamism to his stage show. On stage, he was not like Roy Castle. Bobby Darin was not a dull performer. He was great.
But as marvellous as some of his records were – the hilarious ‘Bullmoose’ is another fine example – he was not the equal of Elvis. Inevitably, the versatile are obliged to produce moments that are not always compelling. No doubt some people will look at the music of Elvis and say he suffered from the same limitations but they misunderstand his history. Elvis was mismanaged and became self-destructive. Listen to him at his best, on the four CDs that document his career in the fifties on the still available box set ‘The King Of Rock And Roll’. Nobody has combined that degree of versatility with consequence and consistency. This is why he appeals to the adolescent in us. He made us feel privileged and indulged and without thinking our generation followed him into infancy and innocence. We chose simple rock and roll and excitement. Darin was talented enough to do everything but was always happier with sly sophistication. Although he should not be dismissed, his reach was more limited. The versatility had less consequence than that of Elvis. It explains why his career took him to Vegas, well before Elvis was finally dumped there.
If you want to read more about Elvis, rock and roll click here.
Bobby Darin sings Beyond The Sea:
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Elvis Presley Challenge No. 28 – Francis Maude
The name alone tests belief, makes us wonder what happens in the mansions of our rulers. Johnny Cash was right to invoke our
Abingdon School
sympathy for ‘A Boy Named Sue’ but even Johnny failed to imagine the double whammy inherited by the Minister for the Cabinet Office. Even if most of it was spent at £10,000 a term Abingdon School, Francis or Maude must have had a complicated childhood. Maybe somebody assumed his names would toughen him and anticipated Francis or Maude battling the school rugger team, similar to what happened to Sue in the Johnny Cash song. David Cameron understands public school privations as well as anyone although his schooling was only at the charity institution Eton College where as many as thirty boys (whose noses presumably point sideways) do not pay any fees at all. Cameron probably concluded that the harsh existence of Francis or Maude made him favourite to deal with the civil contingencies his policies would create. Cameron told the others, ‘When the going gets tough you find a man called Sue or Francis or Maude.’
These are cheap jibes, I know, but the history of satire and politics in Britain up till now has been simple and crude. When the programme, ‘That Was The Week That Was’, first appeared on TV the satirists were content to giggle at the absurdities of politicians. They accused them of not being very bright and not much more. Fifty years ago, though, politicians had tried to 
appeal to as many voters as possible. The political parties lined up on the left and the right because that is where politicians were supposed to be. They represented themselves, the powerful and sometimes even the powerless but whatever their bias they assumed some responsibility to everyone. Difficult issues that divided the nation were referred to cross party committees and parliamentary commissions. Consensus was considered desirable. These courtesies were shattered in the sixties by trenchant and rebellious teenagers. An absence of manners and an unwillingness to compromise led eventually to a much more abrasive revolutionary champion. She was called Margaret Thatcher. Not quite what the left expected but there is a history of unintended consequences and the young of the sixties were always casual about history. As politics changed so did the satire. The gentle 
reminders of ‘That Was The Week That Was’ were replaced by the savage insults of ‘Spitting Image’. There is a cliché, long unfashionable, that a nation gets the government it deserves. The same can be said of politicians and satire. They started the nastiness so they should not be surprised that they are now held to account through foul mouthed ridicule. Thatcher probably relished such attention, was happy to bathe in a fame that left its stain. She liked it rough and tough and the head butting puppet of ‘Spitting’ defined her well.
Nobody, though, could have anticipated what followed. Now the politicians satirise themselves before the satirists. When did this phenomenon begin? Was it Tony Blair walking across Camp David, a man with too many teeth wearing too tight trousers and pretending to be a cowboy? It could have been the palpably false break in the 
voice when he announced the news about Princess Diana. Actually, there are too many Tony Blair moments for anyone to say. Nor should we forget Thatcher on the tank, wearing goggles and wrapped inside freshly laundered white linen. The moment we saw a crazed woman pretending to be Lawrence of Arabia, Boadicea and John Wayne (take your pick), a nightmare filtered through shimmering desert heat. The unthinkable had happened. The politicians were now more terrifying than the puppets on ‘Spitting Image’.
Francis Maude should not be in this company. He is too like the quiet bloke in those sinister ensemble scenes that occur in a 
Shakespeare play. Maude is the gang member whom we imagine saying something like, ‘Perhaps Richard we should count to ten.’ His ability to look harmless has been his political skill. He can talk about vindictive social engineering and pretend it is logical and essential. They all do it, of course, but Maude sounds as if he actually believes it, although forty years of neoliberalism has given him plenty of practice. Cameron is different, he sounds like he is preparing to sell you an encyclopedia.
Last week, though, Francis or Maude acquired a taste for satire and to describe the absurdity of what happened is beyond me. Imagine this; a minister says that he had no intention of causing a panic by telling people to fill their car fuel tanks. He only wanted to remind the British people to take sensible precautions. This is the same British people who have created a Christmas of such excessive consumption and indulgence that even God has abandoned the festival. The supermarkets are closed for Christmas Day and the people immediately forfeit their favourite carol and sing ‘Please, please, tell us where we can get our 
bread?’ Less than twenty four hours after Francis or Maude had issued his ‘sensible precaution’ garages were putting up signs that said ‘No petrol for sale.’ That’s right; Francis Maude is one of the people who run the country. What a pity they cannot swap places with the rioters. We might have effective government and ineffectual riots. Inevitably, the response has been quick. One blog talked about a pending tax on sex and an outbreak of panic shagging by the Brits. I know, I try to keep the blog family friendly but the image is irresistible and, I hate to say, the notion all too plausible.
But everybody makes mistakes and a slip of the tongue can happen to anyone. Unfortunately, Francis or Maude also came up with the idea that we should store petrol in our garages, later described as ‘sensible topping up’. ‘We meant a couple of pints, no more.’ One woman, unaware that Francis or Maude was a devotee of Bertholt Brecht, assumed he was serious and the result was that she was taken to hospital with 40% burns. And if that is not enough to leave you flabbergasted, not only is Francis or Maude still in a job there are Tories claiming that his comments show a brilliant grasp of strategy. ‘Look how he has put Unite and Len McCluskey on the back foot,’ say some. Indeed, William Hague is still defending these remarks as practical advice but then the man whose baseball cap was an earlier defining satirical moment has always played his part.
Elvis was surrounded by idiots and it is tempting to line them up and pick a corresponding character. But maybe the connection is more abstract than that. This is about the urge of the famous and powerful to be absurd. The phenomenon of politicians ridiculing
themsleves is mirrored by the descent of Elvis into bizarre and excessive caricature. Think of Francis or Maude but do not think of the usual Elvis villains – Parker and RCA and so on. No, remember the white suit and Elvis stoned in the Jungle Room. It might just give us an idea of what happens to politicians who think their personal whims should define the lives of others.
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Rattling, Chronicling and Mosquitoing
Q. What is being planned for the future after ‘Treat Me Nice’?
A. ‘Innocent Mosquitoes’ is being proof read and when this is complete it will be sent to Robin Castle who is responsible for designing the covers and preparing the artwork for all of the books published by Red Rattle Books. Once this is done it will go for printing and after that it will be made available on Amazon and in bookstores. Our objective is that readers will be able to purchase the book from Amazon in May.
Q. ‘Innocent Mosquitoes’ sounds very different from the book ‘Treat Me Nice’.
A. Yes it is although there are two very brief references to Elvis in the book. The subject, though, is completely different and so is the writing style. ‘Innocent Mosquitoes’ is a much lighter read than ‘Treat Me Nice’. We think ‘Innocent Mosquitoes’ will appeal to book clubs, especially those that embrace a wide range of readers. Indeed, we have already had interest from book clubs.
Q. So why did you write something so different?’
A. Because I went to Brazil and because I was interested in the story of Canudos where 30,000 people were slaughtered. I thought an account of the month long journey and the history of Canudos and Brazil would make a good book. The style of ‘Treat Me Nice’ was designed to establish accuracy and critical authority. ‘Innocent Mosquitoes’ evokes the atmosphere of Brazil and the mood of the character.
Q. Will the Elvis Presley Challenges continue?
A. Yes they will because they are rapidly increasing in popularity. The intention is to do at least 53 Challenges. When they are complete it will amount to year of Elvis Presley Challenges. Read together they will not only give plenty of information about Elvis and other music figures but also provide a not too serious political almanac. And, of course ‘Treat Me Nice’ is still available for those people who have not yet bought a copy.
Q. I noticed that one of The Elvis Presley Challenges reviewed the book, ‘The Courageous State’, by the economist Richard Murphy.
A. I have an interest in economics. I would think that half the books I read are about economics and the financial crisis.
Q. Do you read economic text books whilst you listen to Elvis?
A I do that quite often. I liked the economist who said on the Richard Murphy blog that Elvis would be no worse running the economy than George Osborne. Of course, that wouldn’t be difficult.
Q. The challenge last week was Big Al Downing and you included a musical clip. Are you going to do that more in the future?
A. Yes, I probably will. I should have thought of it before.
Q. What or who is the next challenge about?
A. Don’t know yet. What do you think?
Q. I think Francis Maude would be quite good.
A. It could well be.
Q. Which are the most popular blogs, the musical or the political?
A They are about the same.
Q. You are also working for Red Rattle Books?
A I am but I am in the process of becoming a partner with the company. They publish my books and I work for them as an editor. I am now very involved with the company. I think what the company is trying to do is worthwhile especially as the publishing industry is changing so rapidly and life is getting much tougher for authors. Red Rattle supports new authors and gives them a first stepping stone in a literary career. Our plan is to not only publish books by new authors but guarantee that the book they write after the one we publish is read and considered seriously by a prestigous literary agency. This gives them a shot at the big time so to speak. This access is not currently available to new authors.
Q. Which agency is that?
A. We can’t say at the moment but after we visit the London Book Fair this month we have a meeting in London with an agency and are quite excited by what we might achieve.
Q. Is there a website that provides details about Red Rattle and tells authors how to contact Red Rattle?
A. Yes and it has links that produce the contact E mail address but if you do not have an email account on your computer you will not be able to send emails direct. Going into your gmail account via the website is not possible. It is simple enough, though, to copy and paste the address. The website was designed and constructed by Wim Folkers who is based in Brussels.
Q. Will you only publish books by new authors?
A. No, we will also publish literary and cult classics. A varied list supports the authors and gives the reader a more interesting choice.
Q. Any literary classics in mind?
A. ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley would be a good place to start.
Q. I should have guessed. Tell me about ‘Crime Chronicles’.
A. This was set up by Gisela Lehmer who is based in Berlin and Irene Keith who is based in Brussels. They are interested in reviewing and promoting crime fiction. So far I have reviewed a couple of books and written an editorial. The Romanian thriller ‘Attack In The Library’ has just arrived from the publisher and I will review that this week. ‘Crime Chronicles’ also uses other writers and reviewers. There is plenty to read on the website. Wim Folkers also constructed this website. The illustrations are particularly good. The website is especially relevant as more mainland and East European crime fiction is being translated into English. Gisela and Irene are very interested in how the crime genres of individual countries have different styles and concerns.
Q. With the work that you are doing on Red Rattle Books, the Elvis Presley Challenge and ‘Crime Chronicles’ do you have time to write your own books?
A. It is sometimes difficult but I am still writing both fiction and non-fiction. There will be more books to follow ‘Innocent Mosquitoes’.
Q. I really enjoyed reading the book ‘Innocent Mosquitoes’. I liked the way it makes you laugh and cry. But then I really liked ‘Treat Me Nice’ because I am an Elvis fan and it is so pleasant to read a book that takes him and his music seriously.
A Thank you and thanks for suggesting Francis Maude for a future challenge.
These are the website addresses for Red Rattle Books and Crime Chronicles.
http://www.redrattlebooks.co.uk/
http://www.crimechronicles.co.uk/
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Elvis Presley Challenge No. 27 – Big Al Downing
In his 68 TV Special Elvis Presley says something like, ‘I’d like to do my favourite Christmas song, of all the ones I’ve recorded.’ He
plays and sings ‘Blue Christmas.’ The scene deceives the viewer. The song ‘Blue Christmas’ was not actually played in the sit down session where he revealed his favourite Christmas song. Presley preferred the much bluesier ‘Santa Claus Is Back In Town.’ The TV version of ‘Blue Christmas’ remains essential because half way through Elvis urges his musicians to ‘play it dirty’. In an instant, Elvis reveals his notion of what constituted grit and fire and we understand immediately how he differed from his critics. He saw potential for rebellion and protest in the unlikeliest places. I really only mention it because Big Al Downing plays it dirty, too, and like Elvis his music came from or finished in odd places.
In his biography ‘Elvis’, the muck raker Albert Goldman attempts to dismiss Elvis as no more than a mimic. Goldman is half right; Elvis did have a talent for mimicry. His imitation of an upper class Englishman on an alternative take of ‘Is It So Strange’ is both hilarious and eerily accurate. Goldman conveniently forgot, though, that his ability to bend his voice enabled Elvis to create styles that were unique to him. Big Al is not as original as Elvis but he is a talented mimic and it meant that he would never be restricted to a solitary genre.
Big Al was noticed by the English on a compilation based on the UK record label, Sue. The label combined 60s soul music with 
tougher rhythm and blues. The music on Sue ranged from Major Lance to Howling Wolf. Big Al was probably included because he was black and because ‘Yes I’m Loving You’ is such a great record. Nobody complained that a compilation of rhythm and blues and soul included an archetypal rockabilly hit because nobody really noticed. There is a website that honours Charlie Gillet. He was a DJ on Radio London and author of ‘The Sound Of The City’ which provides a very good history of rock and roll and rhythm and blues. Gillett is now dead and the website evokes a poorly maintained grave. Some of the comments are quite old. The hit ‘Yes I’m Loving You’ is mentioned. One person says that the record is just Fats Domino. Another disagrees and urges us to listen to the rockabilly guitar solo. The guitar afficianado understands correctly that ‘Yes I’m Loving You’ owes more to Memphis than New Orleans. But if UK soul and rhythm and blues fans listened to their Sue compilation and missed the dose of rockabilly planted in the middle it is understandable that someone today can hear the record and only hear Fats.
The Fat Man was an influence on Big Al who could and does recreate him when required. His versions of ‘When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again’ and ‘It Must Be Love’ sound as if they were recorded by Fats himself. Big Al is not as versatile as Elvis but he 
he could create more sounds than most and he could impersonate virtually anyone. Later in his career, this would become a feature of Big Al’s stage show. He would do impressions of Elvis, Jerry Lee, Little Richard and the rest. On stage the impressions were choreographed. On record he was less disciplined and Big Al somewhat endearingly often forgot who he was impersonating. The best example is ‘Oh Babe’ that mixes Larry Williams, Little Richard and Fats Domino in one record. Neither was he slavish about matching voices to the arrangements we associate with those voices. His Little Richard impersonation could feature on a rockabilly track and his Fats could appear on a pumping Little Richard style rocker. The results are initially confusing but subsequently educational and always exhilarating.
Still available is a four set compilation of rock and roll that is identified by the word ‘sugar’ in the title. These sets consist of three CDs. The set ‘Raunchy Sugar’ is devoted to Memphis rockabilly and there are two sets called ‘Heavy Sugar’ which concentrate on New Orleans rhythm and blues. The Memphis set has a photograph of Elvis indolently accepting female adoration. The New Orleans collection has Fats looking into a pot of gumbo that is being prepared by his wife. Both men were more complicated than this attempt at thumbprints. Fats strayed from sexual fidelity and Elvis, as my grandmother used to say, liked his chuck.
Listening to these sets back to back is illluminating. The arrangements are obviously different. The Memphis records have sparse instrumentation and feature bold and prominent guitar solos. The New Orleans records have driving horn riffs. They may have played it differently but in the fifties the musicians in the two cities heard and played something new. Obviously, rockabilly fed from rhythm and blues and black music. Fats Domino was making rock and roll records before the white boys in Memphis. But listen to the CDs back to back and it is clear that the music of each city influenced the other. Riffs appear in New Orleans records that surprise you and the same happens with some of the hits from Memphis. There were links.
Rock and roll may be simple, and instinct is important so sometimes the musicians would not have realised that they were importing ideas. Awareness, though, is obliged to intrude. The curious and the opportunists are always present. This is why Elvis and Big Al Downing are important. Both men could reproduce easily what they heard around them and both were interested in ‘all kinds’. Much has been written about how Elvis found inspiration in black music. Less is said about the black musicians who were as curious about white music. The interest of Ray Charles in country music is well known but he was not alone. There are two fabulous CDs available called ‘Dirty 
Laundry’ and these collections document effectively how many black musicians were obliged to record country material simply because it was there, because it was different and sometimes because somebody said they should not. There were also many black musicians who because of temperament were drawn towards country music but failed because black musicians were not welcomed. Elvis was white and he had the freedom to cross genres.
Times changed allowing the curious Big Al Downing to add country music to his reportoire as he became older. Eventually, he was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame and secured a nomination as Best New Artist by the Academy Of Country Music. Elvis made rock and roll acceptable to a pop audience and later his music changed in ways nobody could have predicted. Goldman never persuaded his readers that Elvis was only a mimic but too many are prepared to dismiss Big Al as a follower. They should listen to his classics like ‘Down On The Farm’ and ‘Georgia Slop’. His great moments alone are important but before you seriously assess the man listen to the music of Memphis and New Orleans. Discover what kept the music distinct but also what pulled it together. The romantic myth is that rock and roll was sourced by originals. They played their part but the others should also be remembered. The missing links – the mimics, the opportunists and the curious – are not often given the credit they deserve.
If you want to read about Elvis, rock and roll and much more click here.
And now for some Big Al Downing
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The Elvis Presley Challenge No 26 – Budget Special – George Osborne
His original name was George Gideon Oliver Osborne but at the age of thirteen years he dropped the name Gideon. He wanted to be considered normal like his other chums at his expensive London private school. It clearly failed because Osborne more than 
any other Cabinet minister looks like the man ready to pull the switch on the gas oven. He has a vampire smirk that suggests his dark desires will prevail or as Ann Widdicombe once famously said about Michael Howard, ‘There is something about the night about him.’ There have even been rumours about Osborne salivating over cocaine lines with eccentric ladies giggling sweet Gideons in his ear. But at least he tried. Some have alleged that the name change was done deliberately to help his career in politics. Something helped him switch jobs from stacking shelves in Sainsburys to discussing policy in Conservative Central Office. This happened very quickly; think about Robert Johnson at the crossroads where he became a guitar genius. The fans of Robert Johnson believe the bluesman sold his soul to the devil. Most Tories become blank eyed when you mention the devil but a few wonder if perhaps Satan really did put a hand on the shoulder of one of his favourite vampires.
For many on the left, Osborne is the most hateable of those within the present government. Cameron is more of an empty headed performer than a vicious architect. We may not like his friends but Cameron is at least nice to his own. George Oliver is an almost unique mix of social advantage and sycophancy. His haters think of the photograph of Osborne out in the countryside shooting grouse. Osborne looks like a parvenu, a spare part amidst all the wellingtons and waxed jackets. The effect is odd, even mysterious considering his private education, privilege and wealth. Osborne likes to pretend his family was a typical hard working family of wallpaper manufacturers. This may explain some of the stickiness but the wealth of the family has benefited much from their membership of the British aristocracy. Inevitably, his education was ultra expensive but in the case of our economic tiller the return was poor. Osborne graduated from Oxford with a 2-1 in Modern History. This can be roughly trranslated as thick posh. So the left not only hate him, he makes them feel superior. But he is not the first Tory averse to intellectual curiosity. He is amongst friends and that helps.
One characteristic above all enrages his enemies. George Oliver Osborne appears to care about nothing or no one other than himself. When he inadequately explains his policies and argues incorrectly that high income tax discourages investment (not 
that 50% on income over £150,000 is high) it becomes clear that he has one ambition and that is to pass money from the poor to the rich. So far his performance as a chancellor has been awful. Economic growth, employment, investment have all deteriorated and Britain’s credit rating has acquired hostile caveats. He persists, though, in arguing that Britain needs more neo-liberalism economics. He claims that he is friendly to business and understands business but his desire to cut the welfare state indicates a man who has failed to grasp the principles of limited liability. This exists to ensure that businessmen do not go bankrupt only their businesses. It is how businessmen and businesswomen are given a second chance. The welfare state is limited liability for the rest of us. It allows us to start again after misfortune. But in case you believed his shameless phrase ‘we are all in it together’ George is not really an equality man. When it comes to limited liability ordinary people will just have to miss out. To quote Polly Toynbee from The Guardian, ‘In the US and UK the gap between the income of the top 10% and the bottom 10% multiplied by 14 times in the last 25 years.’ She should have added that growth rates have been disappointing throughout that period, half of what they were when the rich paid high rates of tax on incomes over £150,000. But the great blunderer does not do statistics and his dewy eyed view of laissez faire indicates he is also averse to modern history. He has been lucky. He suits this modern age of madness.
When the going gets tough the tough get going is the famous phrase. Well, when these challenges involve the really nasty I usually sidestep them. Thatcher was ducked and Cameron was compared to Parker. This challenge is one of the least pleasant. Elvis has his faults but George Oliver Osborne operates at his own chilling level. But an Elvis doppleganger does exist for our chancellor.
Freddie Bienstock like Osborne was supported by family connections. He had the responsibility of finding songs for Elvis and it required his vigilance and scheming to ensure that Elvis recorded as much cheap rubbish as he did. He is famous for two 
incidents, in particular. On one occasion he told Leiber and Stoller, ‘I don’t care how good it is. I want a song here tomorrow.’ On another he tried to slip a song past Elvis that several months earlier had been rejected by Elvis after he had heard a couple of bars. Elvis, though, remembered it and told Freddie. ‘I didn’t like it the first time and I don’t like it now.’
Bienstock was not interested in quality, only in placing songs that earned him, Parker and others decent royalties. They were the musical equivalents of supply side economists. The impact on the demand from the public did not interest them. Osborne has the same feelings about the UK economy. If Bienstock squeezed from Elvis’ music the affection Elvis had earned from his fans then Osborne is more than willing to sacrifice economic purchasing power. Make the rich even richer and they will invest and the economy will grow is his one dimensional belief. Worrying about how customers will buy what is produced and having compassion for the unemployed is for economic softies. Bienstock had the same hard heartedness towards the talent of Elvis and to his fans being served tripe. Presumably, this was part of his ego. He wanted others to realise he could be brutal and competitive within the Elvis environment. It is easy to imagine Osborne doing the same with awful economic projections and the embarrassing comparisons with the positive effects of the Obama stimulus in the States. We picture him toughing out the horror with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, his wilfulness making him supreme to the too many competitive males that exist in the coalition.
Special circumstances need to apply for men and women to take pride in failure but they often exist as many of us know from our workplaces. Perverse ambitions from unqualified men with huge egos applied in the career of Elvis Presley and they apply in the economic policies of the coalition government. Bienstock employed crazy accountants who were unable to understand long term consequences. Osborne is luckier. He has the Treasury and their myopic madness. All of this takes us back to why Osborne is hated so much and why Bienstock was willing to do such damage. Neither men cared about what they should have nor understood that they had responsibilities. Bienstock did not suffer and neither probably will Osborne. The rest of us are not so lucky.
To read more about Elvis and his music, click here.
