Pic: rareandantiquebooks.com
By the time that The Spy Who Loved Me was published in April 1962, I must have read nearly all the previous James Bond books. I think the first I got hold of was From Russia, With Love, but I can’t be certain. By 1962, there were eight full length novels:
Casino Royale
Live And Let Die
Moonraker
Diamonds Are Forever
From Russia, With Love
Dr No
Goldfinger
Thunderball
plus the short story collection, For Your Eyes Only.
Most would have been borrowed from Gerrards Cross library, then situated in the town’s Memorial Centre. My father would go there at least once a week, and I would tag along. I had moved up from the children’s library by the age of 12, and was allowed to borrow what I wanted. Whether he had any qualms about me reading the “adult” content of the Bond series, or anything else for that matter, I don’t know.
It’s a long time since I read The Spy Who Loved Me, and I don’t now have a copy with which I can refresh my memory, but there is enough online about all the James Bond books (including an individual Wikipedia page for each) to remind me. It purports to be a memoir written by a young woman called Vivienne Michel, whose manuscript somehow arrived on Fleming’s desk.
…..
It’s interesting that the novel was so poorly received that Fleming blocked its publication in paperback, something that must have caused consternation at Pan, accustomed as they were to shifting millions of copies of all the earlier novels. They did eventually publish it in 1967, after Fleming’s death.
More to follow.
With The Beatles
April 1962 started with the Beatles playing 11 gigs in Merseyside area in the first 10 days of the month.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday 10 April, Stuart Sutcliffe died over in Germany. He had stayed on in Hamburg after leaving the Beatles, in order to stay with his fiancée Astrid Kirchherr and pursue his artistic career. But he had been suffering from increasingly severe headaches and blackouts and had collapsed in February. The Kirchherr family suspected a brain tumour, and sent him for X-rays, although nothing was found. He was also seen by two doctors who could find nothing wrong. Then, on 10 April he collapsed again, and Kirchherr rushed home to accompany him when an ambulance was called to take him to hospital. He died in her arms on the way. The cause of death was listed as cerebral paralysis caused by bleeding in the right ventricle of the brain.
The following day, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Pete Best flew from Manchester to Hamburg, for their first residency at the Star-Club. George Harrison was unwell, so flew the following day with Brian Epstein. Lennon, McCartney and Best were met at the airport by Astrid Kirchherr.
The group went on to play 18 gigs at the Star-Club between xx April and the end of the month.
Source: beatlesbible.com
The month’s UK Top Tens
5 April 1962
1. Wonderful Land: The Shadows
2. Tell Me What He Said: Helen Shapiro
3. Dream Baby: Roy Orbison
4. Can’t Help Falling In Love/Rock-a-Hula Baby: Elvis Presley
5. Wimoweh: Karl Denver
6. Stranger On The Shore: Mr Acker Bilk
7. Twistin’ The Night Away: Sam Cooke
8. Hey! Little Girl: Del Shannon
9. Hole In The Ground: Bernard Cribbins
10. Softly As I Leave You: Matt Monro
12 April 1962
1. Wonderful Land: The Shadows
2. Dream Baby: Roy Orbison
3. Tell Me What He Said: Helen Shapiro
4. Can’t Help Falling In Love/Rock-a-Hula Baby: Elvis Presley
5. Hey! Baby: Bruce Channel
6. Twistin’ The Night Away: Sam Cooke
7. Stranger On The Shore: Mr Acker Bilk
8. Wimoweh: Karl Denver
9. Hey! Little Girl: Del Shannon
10. Hole In The Ground: Bernard Cribbins
19 April 1962
1. Wonderful Land: The Shadows
2. Dream Baby: Roy Orbison
3. Hey! Little Girl: Del Shannon
4. Hey! Baby: Bruce Channel
5. Tell Me What He Said: Helen Shapiro
6. Can’t Help Falling In Love/Rock-a-Hula Baby: Elvis Presley
7. Twistin’ The Night Away: Sam Cooke
8. Theme From ‘Z Cars’: Johnny Keating
9. Never Goodbye: Karl Denver
10. When My Little Girl Is Smiling: Craig Douglas
26 April 1962
1. Wonderful Land: The Shadows
2. Hey! Baby: Bruce Channel
3. Dream Baby: Roy Orbison
4. Hey! Little Girl: Del Shannon
5. Tell Me What He Said: Helen Shapiro
6. Can’t Help Falling In Love/Rock-a-Hula Baby: Elvis Presley
7. Twistin’ The Night Away: Sam Cooke
8. Speak To Me Pretty: Brenda Lee
9. When My Little Girl Is Smiling: Craig Douglas
10. Never Goodbye: Karl Denver
Source: officialcharts.com
Films released this month
Source: filmdates.co.uk
From Chatterley to the Beatles 