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The Persuader
My personal blog, started in 2006. No paid or guest posts, no link sales.
Posts tagged ‘Don Black’
11.08.2021
There is something quite elegant about title typography from the turn of the decade as the 1960s become the 1970s.
There is 1971ās Diamonds Are Forever by Maurice Binder, which apparently is one of Steven Spielbergās favourites, but Iām thinking of slightly humbler fare from the year before.
I got thinking about it when watching Kevin Billingtonās The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer, which has Futura Demi tightly set (it is the 1970s) but arranged in an orderly, modernist fashion, aligned to the left on a grid. Nothing centred here; this is all about a sense of modernity as we entered a new decade.


Similarly the opening title for Alvin Rakoffās Hoffman, starring Peter Sellers and SinĆ©ad Cusack. For the most part itās Kabel Light on our screens, optically aligned either left or right. Itās a shame Matt Monroās name is spelled wrong, but otherwise itās nice to see type logically set with a consistent hierarchy and at a size that allows us to appreciate its forms. Monro belts out the lyrics to one of my favourite theme songs, āIf There Ever Is a Next Timeā, by Ron Grainer and Don Black, and the title design fits with them nicely.


It certainly didnāt stay like thisāas the decade wore on I canāt think of type being so prominent in title design on the silver screen. Great title design is also something we seem to lack today in film. I helped out in a minor way on the titles for the documentary Rescued from Hell, also using Futura, though I donāt know how much was retained; given the chance it would be nice to revisit the large geometric type of 1970.
Tags: 1969, 1970, 1970s, actors, Alvin Rakoff, celebrity, design, Don Black, film, history, Kevin Billington, Maurice Binder, opening title, Peter Cook, retro, Ron Grainer, Steven Spielberg, typeface, typography, UK Posted in culture, design, interests, typography | No Comments »
21.05.2021

Iāve bought Don Blackās The Sanest Guy in the Room, which is a great readāyou know that itās piqued your interest if you can do 110 pages in a single sitting. Thereās more to go, and itās entertaining learning a bit about the backgrounds to his songs, āBorn Freeā arguably his best known. (I do know there are insurance commercials with the song, so I hope he, and the families of John Barry and Matt Monro are getting decent royalties from themāthough itās pretty bad I have no idea which company itās for. I assume itās a successor firm to AA Mutual.)
Don has been very humble in this book and in one part, excerpts his favourite lyrics that others have written. In my mind, however, Don is the top man in his business, and it seems right that I highlight a few of my favourites out of his extensive repertoire and honour him. These come to mind, in no particular order. Many show a good use of rhyme, and all evoke imagery. The repetition of a root word is also clever. And theyāre āsingableā. As someone who works with the English language professionally they appeal to me for their ingenuity and, in some cases, brevity. Surprisingly, by the time I chose 10, I realized I had not included any of his James Bond lyrics.
Any errors are mine as I recall the songs in my head.
But how do you thank someone
Who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
(āTo Sir with Loveā, from To Sir with Love)
Youāve been dancing round my mind
Like a bright carousel.
(āIf There Ever Is a Next Timeā, from Hoffman)
While your eyes played games with mine
(āOn Days Like Theseā, from The Italian Job)
This way Mary, come Mary,
While the sun is high,
Make this summer the summer that refused to die
(āThis Way Maryā, from Mary, Queen of Scots)
Walkabout,
And as you wander on
Reflect and ponder on
The dreams today forgot to bring.
(āWalkaboutā, from Walkabout)
The me I never knew
Began to stir some time this morning.
The me I never knew
Arrived without a word of warning.
You smiled and you uncovered
What I had not discovered.
(āThe Me I Never Knewā, from Aliceās Adventures in Wonderland)
Most people stay and battle on with their boredom
But whatās the sense in dreaming dreams if you hoard āem?
(āI Belong to the Starsā, from Billy)
Love has no season,
There are no rules.
Those who stop dreaming are fools.
(āOur Time Is Nowā, from the Shirley Bassey album The Performance)
Main attraction, couldnāt buy a seat
The celebrity celebrities would die to meet
(āIf I Never Sing Another Songā, as originally performed by Matt Monro)
Thereās so much more for me to find,
Iām glad Iāve left behind behind.
(āIāve Never Been This Far Beforeā, from Aliceās Adventures in Wonderland)
Tags: 2020, 2021, book, Don Black, England, film, history, James Bond, John Barry, language, London, Matt Monro, music, publishing, Shirley Bassey, UK Posted in culture, interests, publishing, UK | 1 Comment »
31.03.2021
While I care much more about when John Simm will grace our screens again (pun intended), it was hard to avoid the reality TV that gets beamed into our living rooms during prime-time. There is the disgusting Married at First Sight Australia, where I am speechless with shock that fellow Scots alumnus John Aiken appears to dispense mansplaining without conscience, but, on the other channel, the far more pleasant The Bachelor New Zealand, where, finally, for the first time on our airwaves, I see a Kiwi male that I can identify with. Apart from the times when I appeared on telly (I realize that this sentence sounds wanky, but if you canāt identify with yourself, then thereās something wrong).
While Zac the lifeguard from a few years ago seemed like a lovely chap, he was in many ways the usual stereotype: sporty, unfazed, carefree, white, with a great smile. Moses Mackay is cultured, worldly, considered, respectful, humble, well dressed, and, surprisingly for this show, wasnāt quick to snog every contestant. It was also nice to see a bachelor whoās a person of colour on our screens for a change. He grew up poor and thatās not an unfamiliar story to many of us. Heās comfortable talking about his relationship with God. Heck, he even croons for a living.
Iām no Matt Monro but Iāve serenaded my partnerājust get us at the James Cook when the elderly gent is banging out tunes by Michel Legrand, or, as I call him, Big Mike, on the lobby piano. And yes, for some of us, this is perfectly normal. Just ask Moses.
For all of us fellas who wanted to see an example of a cultured Kiwi gentleman on our screensāand as the fĆŖted star, not the comic reliefāour wishes were finally granted.
Iāve no idea whom he picked, although I knew one of the contestants who didnāt make itāNew Zealand is that small. I could say the same about Zacās season as well. Iām sure not knowing the outcome also puts me in a minority. But I wish him well.
I’m reminded of my friend Frankie Stevens, since I mentioned Matt Monro above. I once did the same to Frankie and he said something along the lines of, ‘I was touring with Matt. We were in Spain, and he’d come in the morning with a glass of whisky.’ Another time I mentioned John Barry. ‘I worked with Johnny and Don Black. On The Dove. I sang the theme tune but Gregory Peck wanted someone else.’
For my overseas readers: you don’t usually have these conversations in Aotearoa with a guy who’s not only met your musical heroes, but worked with them. All I could do was show I had the theme on my phone.
With apologies to Lyn Paul, but Frankie would have been great (and indeed better) singing the theme to The Dove.
Tags: 2020, 2021, Aotearoa, Australia, celebrity, Don Black, Frankie Stevens, friends, John Barry, life, Matt Monro, music, musician, New Zealand, Time Warner, TV, TV3, TVNZ, Wellington, Whanganui-a-Tara Posted in culture, media, New Zealand, TV, Wellington | No Comments »
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