Simon Kuper's book Chums is excellent (and incredibly accessible) on the toxic and wide-reaching influence of Oxford Tory culture :

www.goodreads.com/book/show/58...

Haha you first 🤣 I have a few other things to watch at the minute <hurriedly downloads all of Netflix> but I'd be very interested in your thoughts!

Wait, what?!
Just imagining the call from his agent :

"Udo, baby! Just checking in - yep, yep, we are SUPER excited about Love Is A River too!

Erm listen, about that title..."

I was thinking "I bet I've seen heaps of his stuff!" so I checked wiki - not really, just 6 LVTrier films (didn't bother w Manderlay) and Ace Ventura : Pet Detective 😆

I did have to pause the scrolling and reorient myself when I, er, came across Spermula though :

My biggest memory of Udo Kier is watching a screening of Breaking The Waves at Glasgow Uni (I think by the GU Chr1stian Soc? I just wanted to see the film), and being absolutely TERRIFIED by Udo's Man On The Trawler - so I'd say he is absolutely bang on about submitting to the artist's vision. RIP x

Wow that *is* long! Must investigate, thanks for drawing attention Dave :)

Haha forgot the screenshot, numpty 😄

Pottering around y'day I came across my ##PeoplesPop24 final votes/rankings - a proper delight to rediscover! Hadn't listened to any of these for a half year plus, but plenty of em were sounding Fresh to these ears last night. "Washing" in partic had me thinking "God, these lyrics are SHARP"

Better than a demonstration, he submitted it to appear on Call My Bluff

Errm no why on Earth would I do that. <hurriedly crams Romeo Cleaners search history down the back of the sofa>

Also LOL at the memory of The Ferguson Theory, I know he found his true calling in US chat shows but at this point he was 100% Sanitised Sadowitz, aged 13/14ish (TX date?) I'd watch but think "this is laaaaame and I have 2ndhand embarrassment for CF". At least we got to hear Ace Of Spades each week!

Also LOL at the memory of The Ferguson Theory, I know he found his true calling in US chat shows but at this point he was 100% Sanitised Sadowitz, aged 13/14ish (TX date?) I'd watch but think "this is laaaaame and I have 2ndhand embarrassment for CF". At least we got to hear Ace Of Spades each week!

God, I would've totally watched the full night of this at the time, except Newsnight (yawn) and Further Abroad (adore Meades now, way too young to understand then).
Particularly remember watching R&S in bed, lights off, and being blinded by the "slow strobe" effect accompanying Powdered Toast MAANN!

Och after all the Martin Duffy / Denise Johnson stuff they (and specifically BG) can absolutely f*ck off, not getting any money off me any time soon

I doubt P.S. would've lasted much longer if Mani hadn't joined for Vanishing Point - I still absolutely love that LP and the couple that followed it.

It's actually impossible to imagine what they'd have sounded like without him* -

"okay, let's write Kowalski / Sw*stik* Eyes / Shoot Speed Kill Light but without Mani on bass" 😬

*insert probably-justified dig at More Light / Chaosmosis / Come Ahead here, I'd given up by then so I wouldn't know

Thanks Ned, lovely to read and an unexpected but welcome LOL at that pumped-up popinjay of a frontman (gr8 songs but jeez!).

Here's my two cents from FB (hugged / chatted to him when he DJed for a Roses tribute band (yup), and PS Glasgow 2000 = best gig I've ever seen ❤️ )

bsky.app/profile/trem...