‘Fame requires every kind of excess. I mean, true fame. A Devouring neon. Long journeys across grey space. Danger. The edge of every void. Understand the man who must inhabit these extreme regions. Even if half-mad, he is absorbed into the public’s total madness. Even if fully rational, a bureaucrat in hell, a secret genius of survival, he is sure to be destroyed by the public’s contempt for survival.’ Have You Got It Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd, Don DeLillo, Great Jones Street, Sky Arts 2024
‘Syd Barrett, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, has died at the age of 60 … He left Pink Floyd in 1968 and lives as a recluse in Cambridge.’ ibid. news
‘There was religious acid-taking at that time.’ ibid. man
‘A flair way beyond his years.’ ibid. friend
Before long Barret would find himself at the epicentre of the biggest underground movement ever to hit Britain. ibid.
‘Spectacular psychedelic heavy metal.’ ibid. Pete Townsend
Pink Floyd sign to EMI Records in in 1967. ibid.
‘We were committed to being a pop group and Syd was absolutely on the way to being, No I don’t want to be a pop star.’ ibid.
Stories are legion about Syd’s alarming behaviour on stage in this period. ibid.
For several shows the band perform as a five-piece in the hope of keeping Syd around. ibid.
Syd’s last gig with Pink Floyd was on 20th January 1968 at Hastings Pier. ibid.
They are an anomaly. The Sparks Brothers, admirer, Amazon 2021
They don’t really look a band. They do look like people who’ve been let out for the day. ibid.
They’re otherworldly. ibid.
The best to come out of America. ibid.
There are 25 Sparks albums. ibid. Russell
How can Ron and Russell Mael be successful, underrated, hugely influential and overlooked all at the same time? ibid. commentary
We made our first appearance on American Bandstand … ‘Can I get approval for these poor guys in aisle six.’ ibid. band present food stamps
Old Grey Whistle Test: The presenter Bob Harris didn’t like Sparks. ibid. admirer
They literally were thrown out of England. ibid.
Being a British band was a lifetime dream of ours. ibid. Ron
You won’t believe what’s on the television. Mark Bolan is playing a song with Adolf Hitler. ibid. John Lennon call to Ring Starr, anecdotal
Sparks: Kimono My House. ibid. 1974 album
People went their separate ways … Art for Art’s Sake. ibid band splits
Our film project with [Jacques Tati] is like that cake … just fallen to bits. ibid. Russell
Lyrically, they just go mental. ibid. admirer
A punk sensibility to it. ibid. Ross
‘Where is that Yankee ingenuity? …’ ibid. Big Surprise tonight lyrics
Sparks 1979: Beat the Clock. ibid. caption
The apogee of electronic pop music. ibid. admirer from Heaven 17
May 1982: Anst in My Pants. ibid.
The things we wish to convey is a sense of joy. ibid. Ron
Sparks are a lot of things Americans don’t care for. ibid. commentator
They recorded every day. ibid.
They had saved for that rainy day … They were working so hard … They never tried to dumb it down. ibid.
Bloody hell, they look amazing. Have they not aged? ibid.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is dying. He is 35 years old. Mozart has written over 800 works. Now he struggles to finish his last masterpiece. Five days later Requiem in D Minor is performed at Mozart’s own memorial service. Mozart: Rise of a Genius I, BBC 2024
This is the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: a child prodigy, a flawed human, and a composer the like of which the world has never seen. ibid.
And ultimately battled himself. A genius who channelled all this to chart the human condition. ibid.
The Mozarts travel nearly 200 miles to Vienna. ibid.
‘Mozart’s talent was blinding. Unworldly.’ ibid.
For the child Mozart it means a tour of 88 European cities. ibid.
In 1764 Mozart comes to London. ibid.
Symphony No. 1 in E Flat Major 1764. ibid.
So come the spring of 1778 Mozart is in love. ibid.
Paris: Symphony No. 31 in D Major 1778. ibid.
Mozart will spend the next two years stuck in Salzburg. ibid.
Idomeneo will premiere in Munich just days after Mozart’s 25 birthday. ibid.
Vienna 1786: Mozart is about to premiere his new opera The Marriage of Figaro. Mozart: Rise of a Genius II
‘It was like Mohammad Ali talking about an inferior opponent.’ ibid.
His sister’s talents have been crushed under domestic drudgery. ibid.
Great Mass in C Minor, 26 October 1783, St Peter’s Abbey, Salzburg. ibid.
‘He is like a modern rock star.’ ibid.
Mozart’s gamble pays off. His series of concerts is a sell-out. ibid.
The most dazzling composer and showman of his generation. ibid.
The former child star is finally back where he wants to be – centre stage and in the spotlight. ibid.
In 1785 the 29-year-old Mozart is on top of the world. ibid.
Mozart has bitten the hand that feeds him. And The Marriage of Figaro is given only nine performances. A fault-line is starting to crack open. ibid.
London 1765: A little boy by the name of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. And he was now to be the subject of a rigorous examination … placing the boy on music trial. Lucy Worsley: Mozart’s London Odyssey, BBC 2024
This is the fascinating story of the pivotal year that little Mozart and his family spent in London. ibid.
Writing perfect pieces of music at just eight years old … He’s given us some of the greatest symphonies, concertos and just plain tunes the world has ever known. ibid.
At the forefront of a new fashion for public concerts. ibid.
Leopold started to believe that dark forces were working against the Mozart family. ibid.
‘London’, he writes, ‘is a dangerous place where the inhabitants have no religion, and it’s filled with evil’. ibid.