To get us in the mood, here's that funky theme tune from Hugo Montenegro...
We start today with a glorious slice of 70's nostalgia from Belfast's Ian Livingstone...
So I set off on a tack
Along the rusty railway track
Balancing on the steel rails
Following the flow of the line
On a journey, of an old world
Where no trains have passed
Since the old days
And in this place
I can be Tom Sawyer or Steve McQueen
Or the Man from U.N.C.L.E. or me
I can be Tom Sawyer or Steve McQueen
Or The Sundance Kid or even me
On the old railway line
Meanwhile, across the pond, Americana legend James McMurtry shares a similar nostalgia for the long lost summers of our youth...
We were used to all the best
The man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Wild, Wild West
We ruled the skies from a backyard swing
Nothing that flies could've stopped that thing
Next up, Sweden is the place where swing meets hip hop... no, come back - these guys are good!
Just as long as I don’t miss the reruns
of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Garfunkel and Simon
I grew up on A-team, Airwolf and MacGyver
'Cause I’ve heard from the elders
That everything was better back in the days
Even the weather!
Today's best new discovery is The Ragamuffins. They sound like a Scouse Arctic Monkeys and one of their EPs is called The Benefits of A Downhill Paper Round. What more do you want? Blood?
Let's up the ante like the Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Leave a trail of destruction
I can sense your reluctance, 'cos I'm just style over substance
I started feeling like I've lost direction
Could you be my compass?
My needle needs some adjusting, it's just style over substance
We follow that with the least annoying member of Genesis. Quite an accolade...
So if anybody tells you stories
Of how they're gonna change your world
Be they the Aga Khan, the ex Shah of Iran,
Or the man from U.N.C.L.E.,
Say I don't believe you cos I know we don't need you.
In the name of religion or of any politician,
I'm sure we've heard it all.
Can't really disagree with the sentiment though.
Neil Tennant was obviously a fan of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. And before he got a job in the Pet Shop, he used to work for Marvel Comics, which probably explains why Captain Britain also gets name-checked in this tune...
As you no doubt remember, the two main characters in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. were Napoleon Solo (played by Robert Vaughan) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum). And here they are now...
Sometimes on days like this
When the mirror seems so unkind
I remember the kid playing in the Georgia sun
His nose in a mystery book
Playing “pilot” in a magnolia tree
Shooting down those enemy fighter planes one by one
Just pretending to be Mickey Mantle
Hitting rocks in a field by the road
Or Napoleon Solo living the life of a spy
Lots of TV shows referenced in that one, including The Jetsons, Perry Mason and The A Team...
That last one just keeps popping up on this blog, doesn't it?
There are also a number of artists that have stolen the name of Robert Vaughan's character for their own musical identities, like this Danish ska band...
...this bunch from Spain...
...and this guy from the Glasgow underground...
I couldn't find any bands named after Ilya though.
For me, the obvious winner today was probably the most tenuous, though clearly Declan had Napoleon and Ilya in mind when he penned this deep cut from Get Happy!! Need a great pop song but only have 2 minutes to spare? Elvis is your man...
Writing as someone considerably older than you I don't think I ever watch this. I suppose it was broadcast in ENgland in the 1960s, and in Scotland in the 7's, but I have no memory of ever seeing it. I do remember the toy car with one of the Men leaning out the window (with a gun?)
ReplyDelete