Rainbow Valley

The record that started a decade, and made history doing it.

The 1960s didn't begin with a fanfare. They began with a carry-over. Emile Ford and the Checkmates had reached number one back in November 1959 with "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For" and when January 1st 1960 arrived, they were still sitting comfortably at the top of the British chart. The new decade started mid-song. There are worse ways to begin.

But here's the thing about that chart position that goes well beyond the novelty of a decade boundary. Emile Ford was the first Black British artist ever to reach number one on the UK singles chart. That's not a footnote. That's a headline.

Ford had come to Britain from the Bahamas in the mid-1950s, part of the wave of Caribbean immigration that was reshaping the country whether the country was ready for it or not. He studied in London, formed a group with his brothers, and built a sound that was warm, bright, and completely irresistible. The record itself was a cover of a 1917 music hall song, updated for the skiffle age and produced with a lightness that made it feel effortless. Six weeks at number one. A place in history that the British pop world was slow to acknowledge but cannot now take back.

This is the story that opens Seven Inches of History, one of Rainbow Valley's shorter bite-size episodes that drop into the main podcast feed alongside the full-length documentaries. The series is taking on every UK number one of the 1960s, one record at a time, and this is where it all begins. One man, one song, one extraordinary first.

Find this episode and the full Rainbow Valley back catalogue at https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/rainbowvalley and follow us on Twitter at @rv_podcast.

#EmileFord #TheCheckmates #SevenInchesOfHistory #RainbowValleyPodcast #UKNumberOne #BritishPop #1960s #PopHistory

Episode 018 of The Rainbow Valley podcast – telling the stories that made the swinging decade.

Join me as I tell the story of the movie that nearly brought 20th Century Fox crashing to the ground.

The longest and most expensive movie ever made at the time.

The movie that nearly killed it's leading lady, Elizabeth Taylor.

The movie that sparked one of the greatest romances of the twentieth century.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of the making of Cleopatra (1963)

This and other episodes are available on our website rainbowvalley.libsyn.com

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

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Or send us your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

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This has been a Stinking Pause production.

Thanks for listening

Scott

http://rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast

In London in the 1880s, the city was gripped by fear. A killer was prowling the cobbled, fog heavy streets of Whitechapel murdering prostitutes in a chilling reign of terror.

Fast forward seventy years and a new killer was on the loose, this time, not in the impoverished Victorian East End, but towards the west.

Again his victims of choice would be prostitutes. Believed to have claimed anything up to possibly seven lives, or even more, his identity, again like the infamous Jack, was never discovered….or was it?

The newspapers dubbed him The Nude Killer or Jack the Stripper and his crimes are now pretty much forgotten. At the time, his crimes led to one of the largest manhunts in British history with some famous suspects along the way.

There would be links to high ranking officials, world famous sportsmen and the Profumo affair.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of The Hammersmith Nude Murders.

This and other episodes are available on our website rainbowvalley.libsyn.com

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

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This has been a Stinking Pause production.

Thanks for listening

Scott

It can certainly be safe to say that the 1960s produced some of the most dramatic changes in the world of popular music.

From the early days of rock and roll, through to the swinging beat scene, the British invasion, American surf music and right through to the San Francisco sound of the peace and love generation, there was a voice that was there from the beginning. That voice was still there at the end of the decade and beyond.

Sadly that voice is largely unknown to today's generation. Some of today's kids would probably only be vaguely familiar with it if they are fans of some of the biggest and most popular movies to come out of that decade.

Matt Monro was described as the UK's answer to Frank Sinatra, a label he detested. For Matt Monro was not an answer to anything. Matt Monro was unique, he was his own entity, had his own marvellous style, and was possibly the finest male popular music singer the UK has ever produced.

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

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Website rainbowvalley.org

Or send us your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

This has been a Stinking Pause production.

Thanks for listening

Scott

Episode 019 of The Rainbow Valley podcast – telling the stories that made the swinging decade.

Join me as I tell the story of one of the finest singers Britain has ever produced.

A true icon in the world of popular music, and one of the defining voices of the 1960s.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of Dusty Springfield.

This and other episodes are available on our website rainbowvalley.libsyn.com

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

Join our Facebook group

Or send us your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

#Podpals

#podernfamily

This has been a Stinking Pause production.

Thanks for listening

Scott

http://rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast

1963 - a massive year in terms of news events.

A year that would see an increase in tensions in America as the battle for racial equality raged on. It would be the year in which a scandal in the UK involving call girls, Russian spies and MPs , would eventually bring down the government. The Beatles would begin their dominance of the UK chart signalling the beginning of the British invasion, the Russians would make history as the first woman blasts off into space and Martin Luther King would declare to the world that he had a dream. Along with the Great Train Robbery, the beginning of what would become known as the Moors Murders, the death of the Pope, and the assassination of the US president it truly was one of the most remarkable twelve months in the swinging decade.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of the hits and headlines from 1963.

Episode 020 of the Rainbow Valley podcast – telling the stories that made the swinging decade.

Emil Savundra, for a brief period in the late sixties, was probably the most reviled man in the UK. A Sri Lankan swindler, the collapse of his Fire, Auto and Marine Insurance Company left about 400,000 motorists in the United Kingdom without coverage.

As a post-war black marketeer, Savundra committed bribery and fraud on an international scale before settling in the UK to sell low-cost insurance in the fast-growing automotive market. By defaulting on mandatory securities, he funded a lavish lifestyle and travelled in fashionable circles.

This attracted the attention of the press, who uncovered evidence of major fraud. In a TV interview with David Frost, Savundra demonstrated contempt for his defrauded customers (some of whom were in the studio audience) and denied any moral responsibility.

That particular tv show witnessed the birth of trial by television and is a fascinating piece of broadcasting history.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of David Frost, Emil Savundra, and the trial by television.

This and other episodes are available on our website rainbowvalley.libsyn.com

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

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Or send us your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

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This has been a Stinking Pause production.

Thanks for listening

Scott

http://rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast

On August 1st 1960, an album on the Warner Brothers label reached number one in the Billboard Mono Action Albums Chart. It was the debut album for this particular artist and would remain at the top for fourteen weeks. The album would stay in the chart for two years selling over 600,000 copies near release and ranking as the 20th best selling album of all time on the Billboard charts.

Its total running time was just short of thirty two minutes, it consisted of just six tracks, and was a recording of a live performance

It won album of the year at the 1961 Grammy awards as well as best new artist for its performer. Yet this was no pop, folk or rock album. It was the first comedy album to win album of the year and the only time that a comedian had won best artist.

That comedian was Bob Newhart and this particular album saved the struggling Warner Brothers Records label and changed the face of modern comedy and the way the world experienced stand up forever.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of The Button Down Mind Of Bob Newhart.

Don't forget you can also listen to our weekly sixties chart show evey Sunday on Mixcloud.

Link below:

https://www.mixcloud.com/scophi/rainbow-valley-sixties-chart-show-5th-march-2023/

1966: The Year We Won...And Lost The World Cup

As we head rapidly towards the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, you may be forgiven for thinking that this episode must surely recount the tale of how England won the world cup in the summer of 1966.

You wouldn't be far off though as this episode of Rainbow Valley is the story of not how we won the World Cup that summer, but how we lost it.

Three months before the World Cup finals were due to take place, the much coveted solid gold Jules Rimet trophy sat proudly on display in central London only to be stolen in what could only be described as a daylight robbery.

Fast forward a week or so and the thief is apprehended but no sign of the most famous sporting trophy in world….until an incredible canine steps in to save the day.

Ladies and gentlemen Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of Pickles-the unlikely hero of the 1966 World Cup final

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

Join our Facebook group at Facebook/rainbowvalleypodcast

Or send us your thoughts and feedback to [email protected]

This has been a Stinking Pause production.

Thanks for listening

Scott

WE'RE BACK!!

Our first episode in two years is finally with you – and it's a cracker. Join Scott as he tells the story of the making of the movie Zulu.

RAINBOW VALLEY – THE MAKING OF ZULU Rainbow Valley is a monthly podcast where your host, Scott takes a look at key events and personalities that shaped one the most influential, vibrant, tumultuous and swinging decades in history. Join us as we celebrate the 1960's with the stories surrounding the music and news events of the decade that shook the world.

22nd January 1879, Rorkes Drift, Natal, South Africa. A remote mission station, the setting for one of the most famous, battles in British history.

But until 1964 and the release of the movie Zulu, the story of the events of those ten hours were not particularly familiar to the British public.

In reality, 100 British soldiers defended a series of attacks by approximately 4000 Zulu warriors. By the end of the battle, which lasted from late afternoon until dawn the following morning, 15 soldiers were dead, two mortally wounded and surrounding them, the bodies of some 350 Zulus

Possibly one of the most celebrated and documented battles in British history you might think. But you would be wrong, for if it were not for the release of the movie 85 years later, it's likely it would have remained a mere postscript in the annals of military conflict.

The story of the making of Zulu begins with a magazine article written in 1958 and takes us on a journey that will change the lives of many people along the way. People such as director, Cy Endfield, producer and actor Stanley Baker, Zulu tribal leader, Chief Buthelezi and a certain young actor from south London called Michael Caine.

A movie that remained on cinema screens almost constantly for 12 years before becoming one of the most regarded and best loved British movies of all time, the story of its creation is almost worthy of a movie in its own right.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of the making of Zulu.

You can find all our previous episodes everywhere you download your podcasts.

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Thanks for listening

Scott

@scophi

NEXT TIME – THE BIG FREEZE OF 1963