I found a copy of the Look-in annual from 1977 in a charity shop a while back. This two-page article on Gerry Anderson is from that. You might think his supermarionation heyday was behind him by 1977, but flicking through the rest of the annual you get a clear reminder of how big his live-action offering Space 1999 (starring none other than future Oscar-winner Martin Landau) was at the time.
Clicking these images should magnify, and make them a bit more readable.
What strikes me here, given the youth of the target market, is the absolute lack of dumbing down. I can't imagine it would be written the same way, or take up two whole pages of narrow-spaced Times New Roman, for the kids of today.
Anyway, what better way to end this post than with Cliff Richard Jr from Gerry's 1966 film Thunderbirds Are Go. Listen at your peril.
Ha ha - That clip made my day. Cliff and the Shadows puppets (Cliff's looked really like him but the moon looked like a banana).
ReplyDeleteI love going through old annuals. They were very wordy and full of information back in the day and I often put my family right on some fact or figure based on what I'd gleaned from annuals.
It's a great clip, isn't it?
DeleteWish I could say modern annuals are as good, but...
Ah, what a great find. I love old annuals too. And I used to have - oh I wish wish wish I still had it - a cut-out doll of Lady Penelope complete with a cardboard wardrobe with doors that opened (well, flaps.) Lovely stuff. The clip is a treat too; the likeness to all the band members is spot on (if you don't include the limbs..)
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, the Shadows' dance moves were well suited to wooden puppets...
DeleteWhat a shame you don't still have Lady P!