HE'S OKAY FOR SOUND - AND SIGHT...

When the above article about the late JOHN BARRY, who died aged 77 on January 11th 2011, was published in the DAILY MIRROR on February 11th 1960, he was only 25 years of age.  It would take another 12 or 13 years for me to discover John Barry's music for the JAMES BOND movies, by which time he was in his early 30s - around the same age, in fact, that SEAN CONNERY was when he first started playing Bond.  Not that that tidbit means anything in particular, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway and it's entirely up to you whether you want to attach any kind of significance to it or not.

I discovered this article back around 1977, when I took it upon myself to paint the skirting boards in my bedroom.  First I had to lift my carpet, as well as, if I rightly recall, the one that had already adorned the floor when I first moved into the house.  Beneath the under-carpet was linoleum, and when I lifted that, various newspaper sheets covered the floorboards.  Among them was the issue of the Daily Mirror that contained this article, so as I was by then a confirmed John Barry fan, I cut it out and attached it to my bedroom wall.  I also remember an article about SHIRLEY BASSEY, but whether that was in the same newspaper or another one has now faded from my memory.  I kept it for a while, but eventually it was consigned to history.

So, since 1977 that article has adorned my bedroom wall in whichever house I lived in, and regular readers will be all-too aware of the fact that I'm again living in the same house I was then, after my family moved to another domicile in 1983, and then back to this one again in 1987.  However, it was showing its age (and had been for a while), suffering from discolouration and staining, with the paper having become increasingly fragile over the years and bearing quite a few discreet repairs.  Now was the time to replicate and replace this document, so that it can accompany me through however many years lie ahead.

First of all I scanned the original, then digitally removed the marks of the tape that had originally affixed it to my wall.  I tidied up various parts of it, then printed it out on card, the better to have a copy that's a little more robust than its paper predecessor.  I've included a couple of photos of them on the wall so that you can compare them in context (see footnote on second pic).  I've also included scans of the article 'before and after' (the 'after' is at the top of the post) so that you can all admire my handiwork and tell me what a good job I've done.  (Oh, go on, don't be spoilsports.)

And in case you were wondering, no, I didn't put the previous tenant's carpet and lino back again after painting the skirting boards; I put new newspapers down over the floorboards and put my own carpet over them, and that situation lasted until 1983, when we moved to another house in a different neighbourhood.  Just over four years later, I was back in that room, again painting the skirting boards, putting down new newspapers, laying another carpet, and, of course, putting the article back on its old spot on the wall.

Who was it said "The more things change, the more they remain the same" ?  In this instance he was right.

I had to cheat with this one, as I didn't take a photo before removing it from the wall (I've
got an old pic somewhere, but can't find it) so I merely hung it over its replacement.  The
image sizes of both are the same, though I left a slightly wider margin around the new one
(as you can see) as the old one was pretty close-cropped in places