(TV) Jesse / Batman Authorship / Dr. No / Back On Topic: Lloyd or Verl aine Playing Infamous Riff?!?:

["Casey, Leo J" <Leo.J.Casey@Volpe.dot.gov>]

There is a pretty 'strong' On Topic (Lloyd) piece at 
the bottom of this e-mail so jump ahead if Batman 
arcana puts you to sleep.

Jesse, I gotta defer to you--- you are definitely 
the Batman expert. Obviously, over the years, you 
were interested in investigating much more than the 
tv show.

Where did you get all this info and fascinating 
stuff on the **authorship/creator** question; is 
there web-site or a couple of books about all this?

I'd be nuts not to take advantage of the opportunity 
to ask you a couple of question. 

I remember being in a book store in Harvard Sq. in 
the 1980s, and seeing a thick hardcover book that 
contained a synopsis of every Batman story from the 
very beginning (1941?) up until that time (including 
I think all the Batman stories in "World's Finest" 
Comics, and "Detective Comics. I think the book had 
other info as well---and I think it was titled 
something like "The Batman Dictionary" (Or 
"Encyclopedia"?).  I was in Graduate school with no 
money so I didn't buy it, but have always kinda 
regretted it.  Despite trying several times to 
locate a used copy in some comic book stores (even 
tryng e-bay once), I have never seen it again.

Do you know anything about this book? 

(Also, do any of our more technically minded 
know how to cleverly alter  r fool a read-only 
cd that I bought with files containing a copy 
of every panel/frame of every volume, over 50 
years, of a comic Book series?  The actual 
picture files --a strange file extension name 
each take a huge number of k bytes on my hard 
drive.  It's drastically impacting my home PC's 
memory and speed.  Unfortunately, the stranger, 
who sold it to me used a blank cd-r with (heated) 
white 'paint' on it, which I know will make 
the cd-r degrade soon!  But these files won't 
allow me to burn them to another disc.)

The stuff on Kane getting credit, when 
others did the majority if not almost all 
of the creative work, reminds me a lot 
of the early Disney animators' situation. 
Back then  they drew each animation-cell 
by hand in gorgeous detail [no cheap, skimpy,  
and repeating over-and-over scenic backgrounds 
as in the later Hanna Barbara[s[p?]Studios' 
cartoons. Prime example of the Disney animators 
labors is "Pinocchio" [1939?].  Walt Disney 
exploited these guys, and took all the 
credit---unlike Kane's Batman,  Disney didn't even 
originate the story of Pinocchio, [the Brothers 
Grimm?] (About 15 years ago Disney lawyers 
threatened to sue a restaurant owner on Cape Cod 
if he didn't change the name of his restaurant 
from "Gepetos'".)

There was also the Disney employee who drew 
(and wrote) those fabulous "Uncle 
Scrooge (Mc Duff)" comic books of the 1950s 
and 60s---his name was [something] Banks.

I was trying to find out more about the origin 
of the guitar riff in the first James Bond movie, 
"Dr, No".

MM Lister BlackMonk wrote: 
>The riff on the bass strings from the Dr. No 
>theme? Vic Flick. 

I wasn't actually asking about the 'Dr. No Theme', 
which is a different track from the Bond's Theme 
on the record--- but---it was the guitarist, 
Vic Flickin The John Barry's Orchestra, who played 
both guitar on both of those tracks (but definitely 
lead guitar on the Bond Theme--not bass).

Flick's web-site says:
Monty Norman was contracted to compose the first 
Bond film, "Dr. No". Three weeks before the 
film's release date, the main theme of James Bond 
remained uncompleted. Film producer, Cubby Broccoli, 
contacted [John ] Barry and commissioned him to 
complete a suitable final score. With the aid of 
Flick's excellent guitar skills, they finished 
the score in time, and went on to make movie history. 

**Flick performed the legendary Bond theme on what 
he refers to as a "big, blonde f-hole Clifford Essex 
Paragon Cello-Bodied guitar, fitted with a DeAmond 
Volume Pedal into a Vox 15-Watt Amplifier."** [I bet 
Richard or Tom or you musicians on the List know 
what Flick's talking about.] 


Now for the Bob Kane/Disney/Monty Norman 
'authorship'/creator similarities.

Monty Norman did *not* write, compose, or orchestrate,
or play on (Barry's) "The James Bond Theme" that 
appeared in "Dr. No" (and in most of the subsequent 
Bond movies).  But Norman was given total credit for 
this track, and has received all royalties from it from 
1962 to this day.  

In fact, there's a fascinating web-site that I stumbled 
upon yesterday
 http://www.geocities.com/jaoll/barry/lawsuit.htm which 
has a detailed description of a late 1996[?] trial in 
which Monty Norman sued the Sunday London Times for a 
long story they had written written in which they gives 
Barry sole credit. 

The jury asked the judge how much Mr. Norman had 
received over the years for just this single disputed 
track. Norman, who was only able to find his 
accountant's' records from 1976-1996, said he had 
received over 1.5 million pounds!  (If only Tom 
could one mass-appeal song like that he'd be golden.) 

Barry, already a zillionaire by now from his prolific 
soundtrack composing career, was not interested in the 
Bond Theme royalties, he just wanted to be given proper 
credit after 34 years and to protect the Sunday Times. 

So, of course, as in the OJ, Michael Jackson, and 
Robert Blake trials, justice is not done, and the 
jury finds  in favor of Norman and the Times had to 
pay him for its "slur" on his 'authorship'.

Finally, more about Batman and Robin----no just 
kidding and testing Listers' patience in case 
anyone ever read this far. Jesse wrote:
>Do you mean [Television playing the James Bond 
Theme] at times other >than as the lead-in to 
(very secret-agenty) "Call Mister Lee"?

Yes and No. 
Last night, I remembered there was a relatively 
long snippet of the entire band playing The 
James Bond Theme at the March 20, 2002, 
Irving Plaza, NYC show, which I attended. 

After years (3+ wasted decades?) of listening to 
Television's studio and other recordings, I've 
reached the point where I'm fuckin' sick to death 
of their songs------no just kidding----the point 
where I'm 97.63% certain that I can tell when it's 
Lloyd playing lead and when it's Verlaine playing l
ead.  But I'm a little stumped about the Bond 
guitar riff from the March 20, 2002 show.

Yes, at almost all concerts Lloyd plays the lead on 
"Call Mr. Lee", and in the credits of their 1992 
Capitol album, T.V. gives credit for the album's music 
to the band (and in one of The Wonder's 1992 interviews 
with T.V., he says or implies that the genesis of the 
song's solo was Richard (Keith might know the interview).  

However, I have watched in-person as well as some video 
footage of several live performances of the song, 
and on more than one occasion Tom does the solo on "Call 
Mr. Lee"---it's even obvious to a non-musician guitar 
dunce like me--if you watch his fingers.  At the March 20, 
2002 show, it's definitely Lloyd doing the long, stellar 
solo on the song, BUT the solo then ends and then segways 
very soon afterwards into the band playing a considerable 
piece of the Bond riff--but this time it could very well 
be be Verlaine taking it (not that it at all matters) as R
ichard's solo has ended .

Does does anyone know? (my memory fails me on this one.)

I think Mr. Obbard, who attended that particular show 
should take a quick break from packing all those boxes, 
and go and stare very intensely at his framed cardboard 
cover of the vinyl version of MM on his hallway wall, 
until he passes into a hypnotic state, and then his wife 
(or whoever is helping him pack )will slowly take him 
step-by-step back to that night at Irving Plaza--and then 
whisper into his left ear,  "Who was playing which parts 
that night on 'Call Mr, Lee' "?  That's the only way to 
definitively settle this---although I hope others will 
post some votes. 

There is at least one other (but maybe two) show(s) 
at which the James Bond Theme riff is played, but it's 
not *during* "Call Mr. Lee", I'm 95.03% sure it's 
Richard playing a short bit when the band's not 
playing---it's during a slight delay or tune-up 
between songs (something that rarely ever happens).

	Leo
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