The B52s did make it through to an earlier draft of this, but along with Kraftwerk and a couple of others didn't make the final version. Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
Fantastic to hear about The Yetties! I once bought a copy of "Dorset is Beautiful" purely for the album cover. I only played it once - I must remedy that.
Loved this Mike - design, architecture, and such a great compilation. My faves would be Telephone Thing and You Know My Name, Look Up The Number, I think, but some lovely ones there that I hadn't heard.
I've got a feeling that Penguin Cafe Orchestra track was once used for an advert...
Thank you Gayle, so pleased you enjoyed it. Yes, it's a five minute walk from The Beatles' old Apple building. And thanks again for suggesting Blondie!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post Mike - will definitely check out the Mayfair box - a great subject we can all relate to in so many ways - I have a vague memory that Gilbert Scott was inspired by Sir John Soanes - I’d add a photo but not sure about copyright etc - if you look at the ceiling of his breakfast room in the Museum you can see a connection to the roof of these wonderful phone boxes. They are classical in every sense.
The Starman image and line from the song gets me every time - one of my all time favourite songs - glad it’s now connected with phone boxes in my head through this Substack post now! Thank you again.
What about Meri Wilson - Telephone Man - weird, fun and strangely memorable little song from the 70s I think. Not a phone box but the story of getting a phone connected and waiting for an enginneer to arrive….I wonder if, in a few decades, we will be regarding those ubiquitous dark green BroadBand boxes with such affection and nostalgia (Gigaclear??) They look so plain until you see an engineer - sitting in front of an open one - headphones on, tools to hand, and in front of him a multicolored spaghetti of wires restrained inside - i can’t help but think of all the millions and millions of connections going on every single second!
Were their “party lines” in the UK back in the day? It was a frequent feature in period movies and early television in the US when a series of households shared a single line connecting multiple receivers with coded rings to tell you who was being called and often someone listened in on all of the calls because they could. Not strictly UK but perhaps a legacy, I remember returning to my Belfast office in 1980 to find a message slip asking me to call Mullingar 3.
Darling Doris by Fat and Frantic is a celebration of and lament for the telephone box itself. A harrowing tale as a much loved friend is replaced by a phone box "without a door, often out of order, often vandalised, it had no sense of dignity, attraction to the eyes." Unlike Doris who was probably a k6.
6-0-6-0-8-4-2…
and I’m waitin for you!
Also, “Sylvia’s Mother”, wherein a suitor unsuccessfully tries to talk to Sylvia. This was a fun read, by the way, thanks.
The B52s did make it through to an earlier draft of this, but along with Kraftwerk and a couple of others didn't make the final version. Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
Fantastic to hear about The Yetties! I once bought a copy of "Dorset is Beautiful" purely for the album cover. I only played it once - I must remedy that.
Loved this Mike - design, architecture, and such a great compilation. My faves would be Telephone Thing and You Know My Name, Look Up The Number, I think, but some lovely ones there that I hadn't heard.
I've got a feeling that Penguin Cafe Orchestra track was once used for an advert...
Thank you! Yes I think it was used in an advert
Great post, Mike! I'll be in London later this year, so I'll try and remember to head to the Royal Academy to see a bit of history.
Thank you Gayle, so pleased you enjoyed it. Yes, it's a five minute walk from The Beatles' old Apple building. And thanks again for suggesting Blondie!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post Mike - will definitely check out the Mayfair box - a great subject we can all relate to in so many ways - I have a vague memory that Gilbert Scott was inspired by Sir John Soanes - I’d add a photo but not sure about copyright etc - if you look at the ceiling of his breakfast room in the Museum you can see a connection to the roof of these wonderful phone boxes. They are classical in every sense.
The Starman image and line from the song gets me every time - one of my all time favourite songs - glad it’s now connected with phone boxes in my head through this Substack post now! Thank you again.
What about Meri Wilson - Telephone Man - weird, fun and strangely memorable little song from the 70s I think. Not a phone box but the story of getting a phone connected and waiting for an enginneer to arrive….I wonder if, in a few decades, we will be regarding those ubiquitous dark green BroadBand boxes with such affection and nostalgia (Gigaclear??) They look so plain until you see an engineer - sitting in front of an open one - headphones on, tools to hand, and in front of him a multicolored spaghetti of wires restrained inside - i can’t help but think of all the millions and millions of connections going on every single second!
Thank you Tracey, really pleased that you enjoyed it. I'd forgotten about the Telephone Man song - a real gem. Thanks for reminding me!
This is lovely, Mike, a real homage to phone boxes.
Thank you Rosalind. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Were their “party lines” in the UK back in the day? It was a frequent feature in period movies and early television in the US when a series of households shared a single line connecting multiple receivers with coded rings to tell you who was being called and often someone listened in on all of the calls because they could. Not strictly UK but perhaps a legacy, I remember returning to my Belfast office in 1980 to find a message slip asking me to call Mullingar 3.
Yes we did indeed have party lines and very confusing they were too!
Oh! ‘The telephone is ringing’…Under My Wheels, from the great Alice Cooper when Alice was a band. And not from Manchester…ha-ha!
Flattered, Mike! Thank you!
You're most welcome! And thank you!
How did I miss No Reply (or Red Frame, White Light for that matter). Great post, Mike.
Thank you Deryck!
Oh that’s a Friday treat. My nephew is studying at the RA this year. I’ll tell him and next time I’m down will go tapping on the boxes.
So pleased you enjoyed it!
Darling Doris by Fat and Frantic is a celebration of and lament for the telephone box itself. A harrowing tale as a much loved friend is replaced by a phone box "without a door, often out of order, often vandalised, it had no sense of dignity, attraction to the eyes." Unlike Doris who was probably a k6.