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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 those who were 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 city 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 labyrinthian 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, though 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, so I promptly purchased one, which I still own to this very day, 40 years later. (Still got the softcover too.)
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.
27 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.
Ah, The Tricorn, Kid. I remember it well, although not with any particular nostalgia. The building achieved some fame as being labeled the ugliest building in Britain by Radio 4 listeners in the early 2000's and I believe Prince Charles had some unflattering comments about the place in one of his books, not being a fan of the Brutalist style of architecture of which The Tricorn was a prime example. Having just watched the film The Brutalist on DVD this weekend, I can better appreciate the architectural intent of the design, but concrete architecture does nothing for my soul, especially when it looks even worse in the rain.
I don't remember any bookshops in it (I probably last ventured into its gloomy depths in 1978) but I did buy some cord trousers there around that time. My then girlfriend worked in the Fine Fare supermarket which was the main commercial tenant of the Tricorn. I do remember the cart selling old comics that stood at the end of Charlotte Street, the road that The Tricorn sat on. The Tricorn was opposite the newsagents J W August, which from memory was a great place for DCs and those DC Limited Collector's Editions.
My memory of The Tricorn is kind of vague, B, though I seem to recall it was largely market traders who tenanted it when I was there in '81 & '85. I also dimly recall Fine Fare, though can't remember if I was ever in it or not. (I once worked in the Fine Fare in my home town back in the mid-'70s.) Hard to believe it was built in '66 as it never really had any hint of the '60s about it - it seemed more like something from the '70s to me. On your recent trips back home, did you see the car park which sits on The Tricorn's former site? Alas, I only knew Portsmouth when The Tricorn was part of it, so should I ever return, I think I'll miss it - along with The Salon cinema in Southsea.
I've driven past the area where the Tricorn once stood a few times in recent years, and it is an uninspiring open car park, although I doubt if Commercial Road and Charlotte Street get deluged with shoppers these days. The big stores in both Portsmouth and Southsea have all gone - decamped elsewhere. No Debenhams or John Lewis any more. Which is a big shame, as Portsmouth and Southsea have a lot going for it geographically and location-wise.
Going back to Southsea, I too miss The Salon cinema (which was the Southsea Odeon up until 1978 or so). Probably the best cinema in Portsmouth in its day. My earliest memory of seeing a film there was The Early Bird (with Norman Wisdom), on a double bill with 'Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion' (a re-purposed Daktari 2-parter). I also saw A Man Called Flintstone, Thunderbirds Are Go!, OHMSS, Battle for the Planet of The Apes there, plus many Saturday morning matinees in the sixties.
Unfortunately, I only ever saw Annie Hall and 200 Motels in the Salon in 1978, though I saw an advance poster for For your Eyes Only in the foyer in 1981. Actually, I only saw the last 15 or 20 minutes of Zappa's movie, and it was a complete pile of pish! I was in Southsea in 1978 for a few days to be Best Man at a then-friend's wedding and we went to the flicks to give his intended a bit of space. Funnily enough, we'd both already seen Annie Hall back in our home town when it was first released, but we'd enjoyed it and decided it could bear another viewing. Southsea is a poorer place for The Salon's absence.
Do you like any of Madonna's songs, Kid? I ask because this week marks 40 years since she reached No.1 in the UK for the first time (with the song Into The Groove). Back in 1998 Madonna gave an interview to the Radio Times in which she said she could feel "the fleetingness of time" and that phrase has stuck in my mind ever since. Madonna was only 39 when she gave that interview and now she's nearly 67 so I suppose the fleetingness of time must seem even more urgent to her nowadays.
Surprisingly, I've got quite a number of Madonna's albums and CD singles, CJ, though I'm not so keen on her very early stuff. However, there's a fair bit of her stuff I enjoy.
I see the Sunday In Old Money blog still hasn't published any comments despite the appearance of several new posts since Monty first alerted us to the blog's existence a few weeks ago.
Yeah, I won't be leaving any more comments, CJ, if he can't be @rsed answering them. I noticed he HAD responded to one of your comments though, when I looked in yesterday.
You're getting your blogs mixed up, Kid - I left a comment on the Power Of The Bee-Sting blog not the Sunday In Old Money blog but I didn't know my comment had received a reply so thanks for informing me and I'll check it out!
Doesn't surprise me, CJ, I'm seemingly in a continual state of confusion these days and sometimes I'm unsure whether it's New York or New Year. I'm forever getting things muxed ip.
In my response to McS, I referred to 'The Likely lads'. It should, of course, have been 'The Likely Lads' (capital second L).
I spotted your error, Kid but I didn't mention it because I was traumatised by Eric's finger. Can you believe that the charity shop just down the road from me had the very same M&W book last week and it was 49p? I've already got it so didn't buy it, in fact I might even have two copies. It seems to pop up quite frequently. Like Eric's finger.
What?! Are you saying that wee Eric had his finger up your @rse as well, M? The dirty wee devil!
Well he did work for the BBC.
That explains it then. It's one of the qualifications you need to get a job there.
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