Sunday, November 7, 2021

The Island Records Story - Kiss Me Neck!

Jamaica, early sixties, and posh English toff Lord Chris Blackwell is "searching for talent" in a Kingston nightclub. Comedian Charles "Charlie" Hyatt is doing standup, and Lord Chris is so spliffed up he signs him to the fledgling Island Records on the spot, flying him to London's busy Soho area for appearances at London's trendy Marquee Club!

We can only guess at the audience we hear in this live recording from '65 - is that Mick Jagger's laugh we hear? Or Marianne Faithfull's? Hyatt's salty brand of comedy, high (possibly literally) on in-yer-face innuendo and entendres stuck in the singular, would not wash with today's Young Quakers, but we're not here to give too much of a fuck about them.

Hyatt had quite the life, should you be desirous of finding out more, with much more going for him than the funnyman act, good tho' it was. His appearance in Cool Runnings, which of course you saw, was just one of many, and varied, roles in an impressive movie career. And he married a swell dame, too. Kudos!


This post made plausible thru th' æegis of The Lupine Assassin Repository Of Recorded Arts

31 comments:

  1. As this is a post exuding merriment and jocularity, perhaps you might like to share a salty anecdote?

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  2. I do love all the Island Various Artists releases over the years. At present, I am listening to all? of Nick Drake's music. Yet another loss lamented. I am reading a book, Dreaming England, which delves into his psychology and music and what makes it "English" and what it is about the Englishness in us. We do not follow National Dress codes or St George's Day. I think that we, the English are struck by melancholy and don't see it as a negative in our psyche. I was talking to my daughter, Angela about this and she asked me if I was crying. I wasn't. I explained that the sheer memory of England creates emotion still, after nearly 50 years in Australia. I believe that we carry England in our heart, and that's more than enough. There's no need for the excess waving of flags for us, is there. Just looking up at a cloudless Summer sky is beautiful.

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  3. You guys have weird senses of humor.

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    Replies
    1. Heyy ... don't include me wit' them bums.

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    2. The weirdest thing I witnessed was when Bob Hope came to the London Palladium. H started with all these cracks about American politicians of the time. He appeared utterly bewildered when no one laughed. How was he to know that no one in Britain knew who the hell Spiro T Agnew was. however, a section of the audience showed their appreciation by lobbing flour bombs at him, a few of which hit him. Now THAT'S funny, the kind of weirdness that appeals to the British, except Po' Bob left Bristol far too soon.

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  4. Anybody want to add this to their comedy album collection? Piece of social history, Island Records, mild amusement for these pre-post-Apocalyptic times?

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  5. ... those of th' 4/5g© looking forward to the Carly Simon coverage will be disappointed to learn that OBG has submitted some swell screed!

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    Replies
    1. And stay right here 'cause these are the good old days!

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  6. You asked for a salty anecdote? "Two peanuts were walking down the street..."

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  7. What's the saltiest song, ever?

    Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Hey, Jude

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    Replies
    1. Do you need me to explain the joke, Farquhar?

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    2. Oh no! *unconvincing laugh* I was merely being considerate to the numbskulls who come here who may need a little help!

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    3. Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na.

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    4. Ha ha! Now everyone can join in our fun, Babs!

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  8. This has been a surprisingly historic post. Charlie Hyatt joins Slayer in th' Dumpster O' Doom™ - the only acts ever to have excited zero download enthusiasm in th' history of th' IoF©!

    No use whining for a link now - and it's your loss, because you won't ever get another chance to hear this - not even on YouTube! - and it's a fun listen.

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    Replies
    1. Try a little decaf & a laxative, Farq.

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    2. An Englishman, a Scotsman, an Irishman, a Welshman, a Latvian, a Turk, a German, an Indian, several Americans (including a southerner, a New Englander, a Minnesotan and a Californian, an Argentinean, a Dane, an Australian, a Slovakian, an Egyptian, a Japanese, a Moroccan, a Frenchman, a New Zealander, a Spaniard, a Russian, a Guatemalan, a Colombian, a Pakistani, a Malaysian, a Croatian, a Uzbek, a Cypriot, a Pole, a Lithuanian, a Chinese, a Sri Lankan, a Lebanese, a Cayman Islander, a Ugandan, a Vietnamese, a Korean, a Uruguayan, a Czech, an Icelander, a Mexican, a Finn, an Honduran, a Panamanian, an Andorran, an Israeli, a Venezuelan, a Fijian, a Peruvian, an Estonian, a Brazilian, a Portuguese, a Liechtensteiner, a Mongolian, a Hungarian, a Canadian, a Moldovan, a Haitian, a Norfolk Islander, a Macedonian, a Bolivian, a Cook Islander, a Tajikistani, a Samoan, an Armenian, an Aruban, an Albanian, a Greenlander, a Micronesian, a Virgin Islander, a Georgian, a Bahaman, a Belarusian, a Cuban, a Tongan, a Cambodian, a Qatari, an Azerbaijani, a Romanian, a Chilean, a Kyrgyzstani, a Jamaican, a Filipino, a Ukrainian, a Dutchman, an Ecuadorian, a Costa Rican, a Swede, a Bulgarian, a Serb, a Swiss, a Greek, a Belgian, a Singaporean, an Italian, a Norwegian and 47 Africans walk into a fine restaurant….
      “I’m sorry,” says the maître d’, “you can’t come in here without a Thai.”

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    3. This is, in many ways, perhaps my favorite joke.

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  9. I for one would love to hear this. Could we have a link please. Longtime listener, first time caller. Silence is a virtue on-line. Thanks folks.

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    1. Because you are a swell guy with courtly etiquette out th' ass, it is a pleasure to share this. And a delight to say howdy to another 3/4g©, as the old ones are starting to smell funny.

      The rest of youse nogood bums - HANDS OFF.
      This is Lee's link, and any of youse tryin' to grift off of it will be subject to th' CURSE O' FOAM®, here manifested as a swarm of hornets trapped in your upper colon.

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  10. Sir, you're a gentleman. Much appreciated indeed. Cheers!

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