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Now just where do I start with this post? I'll jump right in. The Tricorn Shopping Centre in Portsmouth was built in 1966 and demolished in 2004, and somewhere in between (the '80s) was described as the third ugliest edifice in the UK. However, it had shoppers who were for it as well as against it so there seems to have been mixed opinions as to its value as a trading site. Falling into a state of disrepair over the decades, it eventually became too far gone to save and was demolished, the site being turned into a ground floor car park in 2024.
So what's that got to do with comics? Well, I lived in Southsea for a few months back in 1981 and visited The Tricorn a few times. If I recall correctly, there was a comics and book shop within its confines (not far from a cafe on the other side of the open lane), and it was there I first saw the above book, which I recently purchased on eBay. I also associate it with the equally thin Doctor Strange 'companion' volume, which I intend to buy before too long, mainly because both publications remind me of the carefree days of my time down in Portsmouth.
When I revisited the place in 1985, again for a few months, it was in The Tricorn I saw The Morecambe & Wise Special, which I'd first seen in my home town in the '70s. I never bought the hardback version at the time, but eventually bought the softcover release a wee while later, but I kind of pined for the hardback. You can imagine how pleased I was, then, to spot a batch of 'remaindered' copies of the book on one of the market traders' stalls in The Tricorn, which I promptly purchased. (The book, not the stall, and only one, not the whole batch.)
And that's all there is to this post - it's a self-indulgent reminiscence of a time in the '80s which I remember fondly and am loath to let go of. What's odd, though, is that, back home, I was then living in a different house to the one I was in when I first saw the book in the '70s, yet I don't associate the hardback with my then-new house, but its predecessor, the one I inhabited (and now do again) when it was first published. A facsimile was issued in 2009, which I also bought, so now I have three copies in all. (Two hardbacks and one softcover, in case you're keeping score.)
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Below is The Tricorn and car park, which now exist only in memory and photos, and perhaps a video or two. Do you recall the place, and if so, what were your feelings about it? Do tell.
12 comments:
I've never seen that book before which is strange because I feel sure they would have had a copy in 'Nostalgia and Comics' in Birmingham at some point. I love the cover. Who's the artist, I can't quite read it? I've got the M&W book, picked it up in a charity shop a few years ago. The back cover has always disturbed me. I know they were close but that's a little bit too close in my opinion, even in fun.
The artist is Bob Larkin, M, but I'm surprised to learn that the M&W back cover disturbs you, as the pair are clearly joshing. M isn't actually copping a feel of W's bum, it's just posed that way. I thought it was funny when I first saw it and it still puts a smile on my face.
Never been to Portsmouth but I'll just mention that this weekend marks 30 years since I first bought a video recorder - yes, I know they took off in the early '80s but I was extremely slow and didn't get around to buying one until July 1995. I can't remember the exact date of my purchase but it was around about July 26th or 27th 1995 and I do remember taping an episode of Victoria Wood about a week later - after doing some research on the BBC Programme Index I've discovered the episode in question was broadcast on Friday, August 4th 1995 at 8pm (it was a Christmas-themed episode first shown in December 1989). I kept that video recorder until 2002 when I replaced it with a DVD player which I've still got so I've now had my DVD player for over three times longer than I owned my video recorder.
I bought my first VHS player and recorder around the mid-'80s, CJ, and had a few of them over the years. I still have two Panasonic video recorders purchased in the '90s, though I never use them now. I've only kept them because I used to have two Panasonic video cameras and have still to edit some of the footage I shot back then (which I'll hopefully get around to one day).
I now have a DVD player in my 'studio', and a Blu-ray player in my living room. The Blu-ray also plays DVDs, though the DVD player doesn't play Blu-ray discs. I only actually have two Blu-ray films - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mickey's Christmas Carol.
I considered getting a Blu-ray player, Kid, but never bothered in the end as there never seemed any need to. Blu-ray discs were supposed to replace DVDs but they never did so I was happy enough with my DVD player. There's nowhere local to buy DVDs or Blu-rays anymore as WH Smith's closed in 2014 and my local Tesco stopped selling DVDs, CDs and Blu-rays a couple of years ago.
I really only bought one so that I could play my DVDs on it, CJ, in case DVDs and their players were phased out. Mickey's Christmas Carol (which I originally bought on VHS) isn't available on DVD in the UK in a format that plays on our system, unless one has a multi-region player, whereas Blu-ray discs are region-free. I may get another Blu-ray player for my 'studio' and dispense with my DVD player altogether. I'll keep the discs though, 'cos as I said, they play on Blu-ray players.
What is your 'studio', Kid?
It's my upstairs back room in which I used to letter comics, edit videos I'd shot (no, not 'those' kind), draw caricatures of friends, and do anything that was remotely artistic. I used Studio 77 as my 'business' name, so as I ran it from my room, I referred to it as my studio.
It's the position of Eric's middle finger that concerns me. Unless of course he's checking Ern's prostate.
Our first VCR was rented and it was early 1982. The first thing I remember recording was Doctor Who Earthshock episode 2. For some reason I didn't record ep 3 but I recorded ep 4 and the tape ran out right at the very end of the credits. It was timed perfectly.
When I started work in 1989, the first things I bought with my wages were a colour portable TV and a VCR with standard play and long play which doubled the recording time of a tape but in poorer quality.
I've currently got a blu ray player which also has a hard drive for recording. I only buy blu rays if they are cheap enough as I don't think they are that much better than DVDs. It also plays digital files via USB.
When I used to record TV shows on VHS, I usually found that if I didn't have time to watch something as it was broadcast, I seldom had time to watch a recording of it later, a few exceptions aside. Don't think I'd be interested in recording anything in Blu-ray. And don't worry none about Eric's finger - he's sure to have washed it first.
Although I have a DVD player I rarely use it as I can record TV shows on my Virgin box and I have all but given up on buying DVDs of films. Like yourself I rarely have time to watch the shows I've recorded, maybe when I retire later this year but I doubt it.
You'll be too busy catching up on reading all the comics you've bought over the last 10 years, McS, that you still haven't read yet. As for DVDs, I've probably got far too many, but I like the thought that they're there if I ever want to watch them. The 60th Anniversary box set of The Likely lads has the 1964 clip from Christmas Night With The Stars which wasn't available on the previous collection, so I'm glad to have it.
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