Fearful Symmetry

31 July 2007

RIP Frank Butcher

Frank Butcher

Sad to hear of the death of Mike Reid. Mainly as a reminder of Eastenders' last real golden age for me. Occasionally I'll have a look back at 'enders (like last weekend) but it seems a sad shadow of it's former life, with drawn out non-realistic plodding plots and weak characters. Just like Coronation Street in fact. In the good old days the soaps concentrated on the old standbys of solid characters that would be recognisable to their viewers and plots involving marriage, death, affairs, work and feuding in and between families - again something its viewers could easily associate themselves with. Then the days of plot inflation kicked-in (to which you must blame Brookside with it's religious cults, incest and bodies under the patio) and everything went a bit pear-shaped. And there's also the problem of too many episodes a week so that the, now rather silly, plots go by at light speed, or things have to deliberately slowed right down - I'm sick of seeing conversations about things that are going to happen, then them happening, then more conversations about what has just happened, over and over again. Back in the mists of time there was only one soap with multiple episodes a week - Crossroads and that was universally derided.

Mike Reid's Frank was a probably a bit of stunt casting at first and whilst not the world's greatest actor Reid did managed to create one of the series most memorable characters. This is was mainly because he brought some authentic East End humour to the show with his background as a stand-up and incorporation of some great rhyming slang: 'Mind your Arris!' That and the hat and coat and the right hang-dog expression at the right time.

There's a great Youtube tribute featuring the 'My Name is Frank Butcher' track that came out a while ago.

You can also download it here.

Altogether now : 'RICKY!!!'

RIP Kelly Johnson

Also recently heard of the death of Kelly Johnson, guitarist and singer for the all-girl heavy metal group Girlschool. Her obituary made the nationals but I think this is probably the best way to remember her when Girlschool teamed up with Motorhead to form Headgirl, possibly their finest hour.

Rock In Piece, Kelly.

Something a bit more cheerful

Some lovely mellow stuff with Feist singing'I Feel It All' on a bus,

Air's 'Mer Du Japon' which still sounds good no matter how many times you hear it - and it's so popular as background music for tv shows you do tend to hear it rather a lot,