Following on from Terence Stamp, it seemed logical to remain in the swinging sixties with his former partner in crime, Julie Christie. The ladies often do better than the gents in this feature, and Julie certainly racks up more mentions than Terry… although they do both feature in one of the best songs of the 60s, which I'd completely forgotten until Rigid Digit reminded me on Monday...
Terry meets Julie
Waterloo Station
Every Friday night
But I am so lazy, don't want to wander
I stay at home at night
After that, anything else will be an anti-climax. Still, there's some great tunes about Julie on her own. So let's crack on with them, shall we?
We begin with a song about Julie’s breakthrough role in
Billy Liar, named after that movie’s star…
Julie Christie, the rumour are true
As the pages turn, my eyes are glued
To the movie star and his sordid life
Mr. X and his long-suffering wife
Next, Al Stewart. He's no stranger to this feature…
Al Stewart – Gina In The King’s Road
Now Gina in the King’s Road
In a raincoat shimmering white
Hands thrust in her pockets
Like Julie Christie might
Half-Japanese are an American art-punk band who have been
going almost half a century. This was their debut single, released in 1975, in
which Julie keeps company with a curious collection of ladies, most notable
Yoko Ono, Shelley Duvall and Angela Bowie… it's an absolute racket.
Half Japanese – Calling All Girls
Another US punk band, this time from the 90s, and quite a bit more tuneful...
She talks like Julie Christie
Implied sex and foreign intrigue
It’s the accent that really gets me
She laughs to make me smile
France Gall was the first singer Serge Gainsbourg ever wrote
for. Here she takes a swing at the swinging 60s, trying to settle the old
argument of which was the swingingest: England or France? (This one wasn't written by Serge. Clearly, he would know the answer.)
At which point we arrive at the songs named after Julie
Christie. Of which, I think I found more titular mentions than for any other
Celebrity Jukeboxer so far. We begin with Philadelphia’s Bill Ricchini…
Bill Ricchini – Julie Christie
You look just like Julie Christie
And I feel just like Terry Stamp
I like that one. Would have included it in my Terence Stamp Jukebox on
Monday, but I guess I felt Bill was being a bit greedy, trying to feature here twice in one week.
Lorraine Bowen could well be described as a Billy Bragg
protégé – Bill encouraged her to go solo following her time in two 80s bands,
See You In Vegas and The Dinner Ladies. This is one of her most-loved tunes…
Lorraine Bowen – Julie Christie
Julie Christie
She makes me go misty
She makes me go “ah!”
Oh what a star
Slightly more erudite, we have the great Stephen Duffy, back
in the days when he was still calling himself after a French comic strip
character…
Stephen Tin Tin Duffy – Julie Christie
You remind me of
Julie Christie in 'Billy Liar'
You, your milky youth
Wide eyed devotion and pure desire
From a similar era, on Tea Time Records, here's my discovery of the week: The
Driscolls…
The Driscolls – Julie Christie
And another couple of lost gems from the 80s that I can find very
little info on… don't believe anyone who tells you that you can find out everything you want to know on the interweb.
Following the break-up of All About Eve in the early 90s,
lead singer Julianne Regan led another band called, less memorably, Mice. She
doesn’t sing on track 7 of their debut album though: it’s an instrumental.
Another instrumental, though different instruments were
used, comes from French composer André Popp’s 1974 album, in which every track
was dedicated to a different screen siren.
André Popp – To Julie Christie (The Wonderful World OfJulie)
This next lady got a write-up in No Depression… guaranteed
to get Charity Chic to give it a listen at least!
Kristin Mooney – Julie Christie
My choice for today was obvious from the start. It may be from a band you know as well as any of the last few (though god knows I've featured them enough here over the years), but if that's the case, I highly recommend you acquaint yourself with the work of Shirley Lee and Spearmint as soon as possible. Here's one good reason to do so...
My curiosity was piqued and I gave Kristin Mooney a listen.Not unpleasant.
ReplyDeleteWhat a thing to be mentioned in so many great songs. She was one of my very favourite actresses (or should I say actors) from the 60s. An edgy look to her too.
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