Rainbow Valley

Scott
  • 4.6 (12)
  • History
  • Updated Bimonthly

Rainbow Valley is a monthly podcast where your host, Scott takes a look at key events and personalities that shaped one the most influential, vibrant, tumultuous and swinging decades in history. Join us as we celebrate the 1960's with the stories surrounding the music and news events of the decade that shook the world.

  1. 8h ago

    Episode 042 - Seven Inches Of History 004 - Adam Faith - Poor Me

    Two number ones before breakfast. Adam Faith was just getting started. Adam Faith was not an accident. While some artists stumble into the charts through luck or timing, Terence Nelhams-Wright from Acton arrived at number one in the spring of 1960 as the result of a series of very deliberate decisions. The name. The image. The sound. All of it carefully assembled, and all of it working perfectly. "Poor Me" was his second consecutive number one, following "What Do You Want" which had topped the chart at the end of 1959. Back to back number ones before most people had even worked out who he was. The songwriter was Les Vandyke, pen name of Johnny Worth, who had an almost uncanny gift for matching a lyric to a performer. The narrator of "Poor Me" is convinced the universe has it in for him romantically. Faith delivered that conviction with a sincerity that made it completely believable. The sound was John Barry's work. The pizzicato string arrangement, plucked and precise, gave the record an intimacy that set it apart from everything else on the chart. Barry would go on to write the James Bond scores and win five Academy Awards. In 1960 he was a young arranger who understood that putting Faith's voice right at the front of the mix, with minimal decoration around it, was exactly the right call. Three weeks at number one. A career built on intelligence as much as talent. And then, just to prove he was more than a pop star, a famous television interview in which he sat opposite John Freeman and actually thought about the questions. Not many number one artists of 1960 could say the same. Seven Inches of History is Rainbow Valley's bite-size series covering every UK number one of the 1960s. Every episode is available now at https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/rainbowvalley. Follow us on Twitter at @rv_podcast. #AdamFaith #PoorMe #SevenInchesOfHistory #RainbowValleyPodcast #UKNumberOne #BritishPop #1960s #PopHistory

    7 min

  2. 8h ago

    Episode 041 - Seven Inches Of History 003 - Anthony Newley - Why

    The accidental pop star who couldn't wait to get back to the theatre. Anthony Newley never really wanted to be a pop singer. He wanted to be in the theatre. The trouble was, the British public had other ideas, and in February 1960 they kept "Why" at number one for four consecutive weeks, making it very difficult for him to pretend the whole pop star thing wasn't happening. The route to the chart had been almost accidental. Newley had been cast as a rock and roll singer in a 1959 film called "Idle on Parade," recorded a few songs for it, and watched in mild surprise as one of them reached number three. The record industry noticed. So did the public. Before long, Terence Nelhams-Wright from Hackney, the boy who had played the Artful Dodger in David Lean's Oliver Twist, was one of the most recognisable faces in British pop. "Why" was written by Bob Marcucci and Peter De Angelis, a pair of American songwriters who knew exactly what the teenage market wanted. Newley gave it something extra though. That slightly theatrical quality in his delivery, the sense of a performer actually thinking about the words rather than just singing them, lifted the record above the merely competent. Four weeks at number one. His first chart-topper, and not his last. What makes the story interesting is where he went next. "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off." West End. Broadway. A creative life that made the pop hits look like a warm-up act. Which, for Newley, they probably were. Seven Inches of History is Rainbow Valley's bite-size series working through every UK number one of the 1960s, one record and one story at a time. Short, sharp, and full of corners you didn't know were there. Every episode is waiting for you at https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/rainbowvalley. Follow us on Twitter at @rv_podcast. #AnthonyNewley #Why #SevenInchesOfHistory #RainbowValleyPodcast #UKNumberOne #BritishPop #1960s #PopHistory

    8 min

  3. 8h ago

    Episode 040 - Seven Inches Of History 002 - Michael Holliday - Starry Eyed

    One week at the top, a lifetime of sadness behind the smile. The first brand new number one of the 1960s belonged to a man from Liverpool with a voice like warm honey and a stage name chosen for its lightness. Michael Holliday. It suited him perfectly. What it didn't tell you was anything about the anxiety and depression that shadowed every step of his career. "Starry Eyed" went to number one on January 24th 1960, held off the blocks for one week before Anthony Newley came along and nudged it aside. One week sounds brief. In a chart as competitive as early 1960s Britain, one week at the top was no small thing. Holliday had built his career on a voice that drew inevitable comparisons to Bing Crosby, warm and unhurried, perfectly suited to the kind of professional pop that Norrie Paramor produced for him at Columbia Records. "Starry Eyed" was exactly that kind of record. Bright, melodically comfortable, performed with a ease that concealed how much work had gone into making it sound effortless. His second number one, following "The Story of My Life" in 1958, and a reminder that before the beat groups arrived, this was what British pop sounded like at its best. The sadder part of the story is what came after. The commercial tide was turning. The 1960s had different ideas about what pop should sound like, and the warm baritone crooner wasn't part of them. Holliday died in 1963, at thirty-eight. The inquest returned an open verdict. Seven Inches of History tells all of it. The hits, the stories, the people behind the records. These are Rainbow Valley's bite-size episodes, short and focused, dropping into the main feed as the series works its way through every UK number one of the decade. Listen to this episode and everything else Rainbow Valley has made at https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/rainbowvalley and follow us at @rv_podcast   #MichaelHolliday #StarryEyed #SevenInchesOfHistory #RainbowValleyPodcast #UKNumberOne #BritishPop #1960s #PopHistory

    8 min

  4. 8h ago

    Episode 039 - Seven Inches Of History 001 - Emile Ford and the Checkmates - What Do Want to Make Those Eyes At Me For?

    The record that started a decade, and made history doing it. The 1960s didn't begin with a fanfare. They began with a carry-over. Emile Ford and the Checkmates had reached number one back in November 1959 with "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For" and when January 1st 1960 arrived, they were still sitting comfortably at the top of the British chart. The new decade started mid-song. There are worse ways to begin. But here's the thing about that chart position that goes well beyond the novelty of a decade boundary. Emile Ford was the first Black British artist ever to reach number one on the UK singles chart. That's not a footnote. That's a headline. Ford had come to Britain from the Bahamas in the mid-1950s, part of the wave of Caribbean immigration that was reshaping the country whether the country was ready for it or not. He studied in London, formed a group with his brothers, and built a sound that was warm, bright, and completely irresistible. The record itself was a cover of a 1917 music hall song, updated for the skiffle age and produced with a lightness that made it feel effortless. Six weeks at number one. A place in history that the British pop world was slow to acknowledge but cannot now take back. This is the story that opens Seven Inches of History, one of Rainbow Valley's shorter bite-size episodes that drop into the main podcast feed alongside the full-length documentaries. The series is taking on every UK number one of the 1960s, one record at a time, and this is where it all begins. One man, one song, one extraordinary first. Find this episode and the full Rainbow Valley back catalogue at https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/rainbowvalley and follow us on Twitter at @rv_podcast.   #EmileFord #TheCheckmates #SevenInchesOfHistory #RainbowValleyPodcast #UKNumberOne #BritishPop #1960s #PopHistory

    9 min

  5. May 19

    The Making Of Cleopatra (1963)

    Episode 018 of The Rainbow Valley podcast – telling the stories that made the swinging decade. Join me as I tell the story of the movie that nearly brought 20th Century Fox crashing to the ground. The longest and most expensive movie ever made at the time. The movie that nearly killed it's leading lady, Elizabeth Taylor. The movie that sparked one of the greatest romances of the twentieth century. Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of the making of Cleopatra (1963)   This and other episodes are available on our website  rainbowvalley.libsyn.com   You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast Join our Facebook group Or send us your thoughts and feedback to rainbowvalleypod@gmail.com #Podpals #podernfamily   This has been a Stinking Pause production.   Thanks for listening Scott http://rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast

    1h 39m

  6. May 19

    Episode 016 - The Hammersmith Nude Murders (1964 - 1965)

    In London in the 1880s, the city was gripped by fear. A killer was prowling the cobbled, fog heavy streets of Whitechapel murdering prostitutes in a chilling reign of terror. Fast forward seventy years and a new killer was on the loose, this time, not in the impoverished Victorian East End, but towards the west. Again his victims of choice would be prostitutes. Believed to have claimed anything up to possibly seven lives, or even more, his identity, again like the infamous Jack, was never discovered….or was it? The newspapers dubbed him The Nude Killer or Jack the Stripper and his crimes are now pretty much forgotten. At the time, his crimes led to one of the largest manhunts in British history with some famous suspects along the way. There would be links to high ranking officials, world famous sportsmen and the Profumo affair.   Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of The Hammersmith Nude Murders.   This and other episodes are available on our website  rainbowvalley.libsyn.com   You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast Join our Facebook group Or send us your thoughts and feedback to rainbowvalleypod@gmail.com   This has been a Stinking Pause production.   Thanks for listening Scott

    1h 4m

  7. May 19

    Matt Monro

    It can certainly be safe to say that the 1960s produced some of the most dramatic changes in the world of popular music. From the early days of rock and roll, through to the swinging beat scene, the British invasion, American surf music and right through to the San Francisco sound of the peace and love generation, there was a voice that was there from the beginning. That voice was still there at the end of the decade and beyond. Sadly that voice is largely unknown to today's generation. Some of today's kids would probably only be vaguely familiar with it if they are fans of some of the biggest and most popular movies to come out of that decade. Matt Monro was described as the UK's answer to Frank Sinatra, a label he detested. For Matt Monro was not an answer to anything. Matt Monro was unique, he was his own entity, had his own marvellous style, and was possibly the finest male popular music singer the UK has ever produced.   You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast Join our Facebook group Website rainbowvalley.org Or send us your thoughts and feedback to rainbowvalleypod@gmail.com   This has been a Stinking Pause production.   Thanks for listening Scott

    2h 16m

  8. May 19

    Dusty Springfield

    Episode 019 of The Rainbow Valley podcast – telling the stories that made the swinging decade.   Join me as I tell the story of one of the finest singers Britain has ever produced.   A true icon in the world of popular music, and one of the defining voices of the 1960s.   Ladies and gentlemen, Rainbow Valley is proud to present the story of Dusty Springfield.       This and other episodes are available on our website  rainbowvalley.libsyn.com   You can follow the podcast on Twitter @rv_podcast Join our Facebook group Or send us your thoughts and feedback to rainbowvalleypod@gmail.com #Podpals #podernfamily   This has been a Stinking Pause production.   Thanks for listening Scott http://rainbowvalley.libsyn.com/podcast

    2h 24m
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4.6
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Rainbow Valley is a monthly podcast where your host, Scott takes a look at key events and personalities that shaped one the most influential, vibrant, tumultuous and swinging decades in history. Join us as we celebrate the 1960's with the stories surrounding the music and news events of the decade that shook the world.

Information

  • Creator
    Scott
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    43
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Rainbow Valley