BOND ON VINYL
Spinning the sounds of 007, plus other Bond related news.
If you listened to any of the Bond Music: Six of the Best shows on the On Her Majesty’s Secret Podcast network over the last five years you’ll know I like my Bond music on vinyl. As I recently posted about in my regular Can’t See The Forest newsletter, there is something very tactile and satisfying about the vinyl listening experience that CD or digital just can’t replicate.
I’ve recently been working my way through my vinyl collection to rehouse them in the correct storage materials, and over the past few days, the Bond-related albums received their new protective sleeves. This got me considering which are my favorite examples of 007 vinyl.
In terms of music, I would rank John Barry’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service score as a top listen.
The Casino Royale ‘67 album is also a great listen (some would say it’s the best thing to come out of that movie - but that’s a whole other conversation).
While it’s not the best in terms of content, I still get a kick of having a first pressing of the Dr. No soundtrack in my collection. There’s something special about holding on to something that was around at the very beginning of the Bond movie phenomenon.
What’s your favorite 007 vinyl listen?
Alan
Bond Briefing
A massive thank you to our first few rounds of subscribers. The reception and uptake of folks registering to receive this newsletter exceeded any expectations we had. It was a very humbling start seeing the names roll in as folks signed on.
Bond News
IFP 2024 publishing plans
Ina Fleming Publications recently sent out an email memo outlining their publishing plans for the coming year, which will include:
All six original Raymond Benson novels available in one eBook omnibus
Agent Higson’s bestselling On His Majesty’s Secret Service in paperback
The Ian Fleming 007 books arriving in brand-new hardback editions
A new paperback edition of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the children’s classic
Spy Museum Load-In
Our good friends at the Ian Fleming Foundation recently posted a few photos of the vehicles from their collection that will be included in the upcoming Bond-In-Motion exhibit arriving at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC.
Ian At The Movies
I noticed that the upcoming Guy Ritchie movie The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, based on the World War 2 Special Operations Executive’s Operation Postmaster will include a character named Ian Fleming, played by actor Freddie Fox.
Here’s the action-packed trailer.
Bond Reads
A round-up of thoughts on Bond-related books recently read or announced.
“Love and Let Die” by John Higgs
A book about Bond, the Beatles and growing up in 60s Britain written by an author whose other books I’ve enjoyed should have been a guaranteed hit with me ... but... I just didn’t know what to make of this.
For a start Higgs' central thesis that Bond and the Beatles represented opposing influences on British culture since the early sixties just doesn’t resonate with me or match my personal experience, being a life-long fan of both in equal measures.
This was another issue in that the book is far from balanced with Higgs clearly preferring and favoring the Fab Four (and Lennon in particular) to Bond. - A quick check of the bibliography shows 4 times as many Beatles sources listed as Bond-related ones. - The author’s adulation of Lennon is also contrasted by a clear, almost vitriolic, disdain for Ian Fleming.
Add to that some sloppy factual mistakes (on both sides) that began to annoy me, and a far from satisfactory conclusion to support the central thesis, meant that being so personally immersed in the source material, I wasn’t the right audience for this after all.
Bond Chronology
An extract from our current in-progress project. - A detailed chronology of the James Bond phenomenon from creation until today, one month at a time.
August 1952
The revised manuscript to Casino Royale is sent to William Plomer.
12
Ian Fleming becomes a father with the birth of a son, Caspar.
16
Ian Fleming writes a quick note to his wife Anne on his newly purchased typewriter:
“My love, This is only a tiny letter to try out my new typewriter and to see if it will write golden words since it is made of gold.”
Bond Blatherings
The first episode of our new On Her Majesty’s Secret Podcast show, James Bond vs Spy Movies is now available on your preferred podcast platform. - Just how did the Manchurian Candidate stack up against Dr. No? It was closer than you might think.
You can check out the discussion right HERE
Bond for Sale
Forest Comics & Books, our eBay store, usually has a few Bond items for sale along with all sorts of other pop-culture-related goodies which can be found HERE
Looking for a few James Bond book ideas? - How about checking out our dedicated 007 on-line bookstore?
Of course, there is always our own James Bond Lexicon which you can order from Bookshop.org just by clicking HERE or on the cover below.
If you would like a personalized, signed copy we still have a few copies of both the James Bond Lexicon and James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007 in stock. Just drop us a note at alan@jamesbondlexicon.com and we can get that fixed for you. (Sorry US only at the moment due to shipping costs)
Where to Find Us Online
For more information on what else we have going on with writing, podcasting, and general slice-of-life stuff, check out our regular FREE weekly CAN’T SEE THE FOREST newsletter -
We also have our monthly Before They Were Beatles newsletter featuring articles and news related to all things early Beatles
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See you next time
Alan J. Porter & Gillian J. Porter
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