Rainbow Valley

Rainbow Valley - bringing you the stories from the decade that shook the world.

Join your host, Scott, for the story of the death of a young woman and a man destined to become President of the USA.

Episode 034 - Chappaquiddick Part One (1969)

July 16th 1969 and the world watched in awe as Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy in Florida carrying the promise that President John F Kennedy had made to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

1300 miles further north, some 36 or so hours later, the spotlight would turn to the youngest of JFK's brothers, Teddy, and Chappaquiddick island at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

For it was on this evening that Senator Edward Kennedy would accidentally drive his car off the island's Dike Bridge into Poucha's Pond. An accident that would claim the life of his 28-year-old passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle.

Inquests, inquiries and court hearings would follow over the next year, uncovering a tale of deceit and cover ups. An accident that would rob Kennedy of his chance of ever becoming President and claim the life of a young woman who many believe could have been saved.

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Thanks for listening

Scott

Rainbow Valley - bringing you the stories from the decade that shook the world.

Join your host, Scott, as he tells the tale of Viv Nicholson—a name synonymous with extravagance, drama, and unapologetic living. When this spirited pools winner declared she'd "spend, spend, spend!" after scooping £152,319 in 1961, she didn't just ignite public imagination—she carved her name into British cultural history

Episode 036 - Spend Spend Spend – The Rise and Fall of Viv Nicholson (1961)

1961 – the sixties haven't really started swinging just yet, the Beatles were still finding their feet, and rationing was still a fresh memory for some

Then BAM! Viv Nicholson and her husband Keith, from Castleford strike it richer than a triple-chocolate gateau, pocketing a cool £152,000. In today's money, that's enough to make your eyes pop and your Monzo card spontaneously combust.

Now, Viv wasn't one for dithering or asking a financial advisor. Oh no. When the reporters buzzed around like bees to a jam scone, asking what she'd do with the money, out came those three little words that cemented her place in British folklore: "Spend, spend, spend!" And did she ever! It wasn't just a motto; it was practically a royal decree.

Forget sensible shares or boring bonds. Our Viv was all about the high life – think champagne wishes and caviar dreams, but with a proper Yorkshire accent. Cars, clothes, holidays… if it glittered, Viv was probably signing a cheque for it. The fortune famously vanished quicker than a pint on a hot day, but honestly, the sheer audacity, the pure, unadulterated joy of it all? That's the stuff legends are made of. Viv Nicholson, – she came, she saw, she shopped.

Ladies and gentlemen, why not join Scott as he tells you the story of Spend Spend Spend – The Rise and Fall of Viv Nicholson.

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

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

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Thanks for listening

Scott

Rainbow Valley - telling the stories from the decade that shook the world.

Episode 037 - The Great Escape From Alcatraz (1962)

On today's episode we are travelling to a place that was designed to be the end of the line. A place synonymous with impenetrable security and the bleakest form of penal servitude. It sits starkly in the turbulent, frigid waters of the San Francisco Bay.

For twenty-nine years, from 1934 to 1963, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary housed America's most notorious, incorrigible criminals. It was a fortress. The official stance was unequivocal: no one had ever successfully escaped Alcatraz and lived to tell the tale.

Yet, in the early hours of June 12, 1962, that carefully constructed image of invincibility was shattered. Three men vanished, leaving behind a mystery that has captivated the world for over sixty decade

Ladies and gentlemen, why not join Scott as he tells you the story of Frank Morris, the Anglin Brothers, and the unthinkable breach of "The Rock."

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

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Scott

Rainbow Valley - telling the stories from the decade that shook the world.

Episode 038 - The Mini

This time on Rainbow Valley, we climb into one of the most famous little cars ever built and tell the story of how the Mini became so much more than four wheels and a cheeky grin.

Born not from glamour, but from crisis, the Mini arrived in the shadow of Suez, petrol rationing and a Britain trying to work out what sort of country it wanted to be after empire. What began as an urgent answer to fuel shortages soon became a triumph of imagination, as Alec Issigonis and his team at BMC took the rulebook of car design, gave it a firm shake, and produced something tiny, clever and utterly revolutionary.

But the Mini's real magic came when the 1960s caught up with it. Suddenly, this practical little economy car looked perfectly at home in a world of pop music, fashion, photography and youthful reinvention. It belonged outside ordinary homes, fashionable London flats, royal residences and Beatles garages alike. Then, as if that were not enough, it became a motorsport giant-killer, conquering Monte Carlo and proving that brains, balance and British cheek could still beat brute force.

From Longbridge workshops to Carnaby Street cool, from Paddy Hopkirk's rally triumph to those immortal red, white and blue Minis in The Italian Job, this is the story of a car that somehow managed to be practical, stylish, rebellious and deeply lovable all at once..

Join Rainbow Valley for the birth of the Mini: the tiny machine that helped define the decade that shook the world.

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

Thanks for listening

Scott

The story of James Bond on the big screen is a tale of highs and lows, ups and downs, twists and turns. The story of the making of the movies themselves is worthy of an Ian Fleming novel in its own right. It is the story has taken over sixty years to tell, and is still being told today.

As important to this story as Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig is the story of three other men. The three men who between them managed to bring one of the most successful and well-loved movie franchises to the big screen.

No journey into the world of cinematic Bond can begin without a look of the importance of Messrs' Fleming, Broccoli and Saltzman.

To many people, James Bond is only an entity that can be found on the big screen. This, of course, is not the case. Bond was born long before 1962 when Sean Connery first introduced himself to Sylvia Trench at the casino in Dr No.

Many have said that Ian Fleming himself was the basis for the character of Bond, but as you will soon hear, the inspiration for the world's most famous spy came from a variety of sources and influences.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of Dr No and the birth of James Bond on the big screen

Rainbow Valley - Episode 013

1962 – A year of worldwide upheaval, the continuing space race and the death of Hollywood's biggest sex symbol.

The year would witness one of the most devastating air disasters as an Air France Boeing 707 would crash in Paris, John Glen would become the first American to orbit the earth and Albert Sabin would develop the first oral polio vaccine.

Algeria Burundi and Jamaica would all gain their independence this year and the Telstar satellite would provide eth first live transatlantic television pictures.

Along with an escape from Alcatraz, the A6 murders and Cuban Missile Crisis bringing the world closer than it's ever been to all out nuclear war, the soundtrack of the year was provided by Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard and The Tornadoes, oh and a certain group from Liverpool released their first major single this year as well.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of the hits and headlines of 1962.

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As we discovered in series one, the 1960s signified, for many, a decade of revolution, a decade of hope, a decade of immense change worldwide. We must not forget however that it was also a time of conflict, the cold war and racial tension.

Musically, the world moved from the rock and roll era and crooners into the British invasion, folk music and peace and love along with hippies, drugs and Woodstock.

If the sixties had ended on August 17th 1969 instead of the 31st December, Woodstock would be considered a fitting finale to a turbulent decade but instead, just a few months later the sixties dream became its nightmare at another free concert, this time headlined by the Rolling Stones. With support from Santana, Jefferson Airplane and a host of other acts, events would unfold that led to the ugliest scenes in the history of rock music culminating in the deaths of four people. The sixties would end, not so much swinging but reeling towards one of the darkest of days in the world of entertainment in 1969 leaving a black shadow over the decade. Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of the Rolling Stones at Altamont.

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Rainbow Valley – bringing you the stories from the decade that shook the world.

In the early hours of 8 August 1963, a Royal Mail train travelling overnight from Glasgow to London approached a red signal in the Buckinghamshire countryside.

The signal was false.

Waiting in the darkness was a gang of men about to carry out one of the most audacious crimes in British history.

This episode of Rainbow Valley tells the extraordinary story of The Great Train Robbery — the meticulously planned raid that netted the thieves around £2.6 million, an almost unimaginable sum at the time, and immediately became front-page news around the world.

We follow the story from the tampering of the railway signals and the stopping of the train at Sears Crossing to the violent attack on driver Jack Mills, the removal of the money at Bridego Bridge, and the gang's hurried retreat to Leatherslade Farm.

It was there that an operation which had depended upon careful planning began to unravel rather spectacularly.

We look at the men behind the robbery, including Bruce Reynolds and the soon-to-be-notorious Ronnie Biggs, the enormous police investigation that followed, the clues the gang left behind and the arrests, trials, prison sentences and extraordinary escapes that ensured the story continued long after the stolen cash had vanished.

And we also consider how the Great Train Robbery became part of British folklore. Over the years the thieves were sometimes portrayed as cheeky, almost romantic rogues pulling off the crime of the century. The reality — particularly the brutal treatment of Jack Mills — was considerably less glamorous.

It is a story of planning, nerve, greed, mistakes, manhunts and myth-making, played out against the unmistakable backdrop of Britain in the summer of 1963.

Rainbow Valley – bringing you the stories from the decade that shook the world.

All episodes of Rainbow Valley are available wherever you download your podcasts and at:

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#RainbowValley #GreatTrainRobbery #GreatTrainRobbery1963 #1963 #BritishHistory #SixtiesBritain #1960s #CrimeHistory #TrueCrime #RonnieBiggs #BruceReynolds #RoyalMail #Podcast

THE MAKING OF SERGEANT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND

On June 1st 1967, The Beatles released what was and is still considered by many the greatest album of all time. It was an album of firsts. It featured the first gatefold sleeve, the first time lyrics had ever appeared on a record cover and it was the first album the band would release following their decision to stop touring. It was the most expensive sleeve design in record distribution history featuring a host of celebrities past and present and arguably it can be considered the first album by a musical artist to be discussed in terms of art.

Within hours of its release it went multi-platinum and topped the charts around the world. The album spent 27 weeks at the top of the UK album chart and 15 weeks at number one in the USA.

The album is regarded by some as an early concept album that advanced the use of extended form in popular music while continuing the artistic maturity seen on the Beatles previous two albums Rubber Soul and Revolver. One of the first art rock LPs it aided the development of progressive rock and is credited with marking the beginning of the album era

The Beatles heralded in what would become known as the summer of love with a soundtrack that featured songs influenced by music hall, circus western and Indian music. We were asked to turn on tune in and drop out in a year that proved be a remarkable watershed in the social history of western youth.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of the making of Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Thanks for listening

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THE MAKING OF BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS

The 1960s heralded in a new era in a variety of ways. Society and political events influenced the cultural and art world throughout the decade. The early sixties would begin to be seen as the start of the permissive age. Lady Chatterley and the pill would nudge open the door to a new world of liberation that would reach out to people's attitudes, the way they dressed, the music they listened to and the movies they would watch.

1960 brought us Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, which whilst giving the world of celluloid its first flushing toilet; it would also foreshadow an age of more open-minded sensibilities. But just how much would the movie going public be prepared for an adaptation of a novella that told the story of a New York prostitute, her devoted gay best friend, Japanese landlord, and her cat. With Audrey Hepburn in what could potentially have been a career destroying, but eventually became the career defining role of Holly Golightly, the world was more than ready. Ladies and Gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's

Thanks for listening

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast

Join our Facebook group at facebook/rainbowvalleypodcast

Website rainbowvalley.libsyn.com

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

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