Spurs win the Double

May 1961: Spurs win the Double. Those Glory Glory Days

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Glory Glory 2020-3

It may be 60 years since Spurs won the Double but, doing the maths, it’s sobering to think that it’s also now 38 years since the first and only time I saw Julie Welch’s 1983 TV film, Those Glory Glory Days. I still remember what a gem it was.

So, as I have already written about Spurs and the famous Double season, I thought this month I would cover the climax of the two competitions via the medium of the Welch film.

Those Glory Glory Days starts in the 1980s with a female sports journalist at White Hart Lane having to put up with a lot of casual sexism in the press box, with one of the main protagonists played by Richard Wilson. As she leaves, she bumps into Danny Blanchflower, played by himself, also working as a sports writer. He gives her a lift, something that actually happened to Julie Welch in real life, as she says in this article: “I met Danny for the first time in early September 1974, at Selhurst Park, and he really did give me a lift back to Fleet Street afterwards. It’s always difficult meeting God, but he was always brilliant to me. Incredibly talkative. A fine, fine man. Always my hero, for ever!”

More to follow

With The Beatles

The Beatles spent the entire month of May playing a residency at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg, and played 000 gigs in total.

The month’s UK Top Tens

4 May 1961
1. Blue Moon: The Marcels
2. Wooden Heart: Elvis Presley
3. You’re Driving Me Crazy: The Temperance Seven
4. Gee Whiz It’s You: Cliff Richard
5. War Paint: The Brook Brothers
6. Are You Sure: The Allisons
7. Don’t Treat Me Like a Child: Helen Shapiro
8. Theme From Dixie: Duane Eddy
9. African Waltz: Johnny Dankworth
10. Where The Boys Are/Baby Roo: Connie Francis

11 May 1961

18 May 1961

25 May 1961

Films released this month

The Curse of the Werewolf
The Shadow of the Cat
Double Bunk
Where the Boys Are
Spare the Rod
Les Nymphettes
Don’t Bother to Knock

February 1961: Spurs beat Villa twice in Double chase

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Pic: spurscollectables.com

On two consecutive Saturdays in February 1961, Tottenham Hotspur beat Aston Villa at Villa Park, sparking real hope amongst Spurs fans that the much-coveted Double of winning both the Football League and FA Cup in the same season was within their grasp. The first win, on Saturday 11 February, was their 29th match in the League, the second on 18 February was the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.

Spurs went into the first, the League match, in a commanding position: top of the table with 23 wins, two draws and three losses.

Source: 11v11.com

They had started the season with a never-equalled-since eleven straight victories. The 2-0 win over West Ham on Christmas Eve meant that their record stood at P23 W20 D2 L1. They had wobbled a little since then, so the two fixtures against Aston Villa would be crucial in determining how the rest of the season would pan out.

Match reports taken from Ralph Finn, Spurs Supreme, Robert Hale 1961, pp93-96.

 

With The Beatles

The Beatles played 36 gigs in the Liverpool area in February 1961. On 9 February they played for the first time as the Beatles at the Cavern Club in Mathew Street, where some had played previously as the Quarrymen. It was a lunchtime show, and they got paid £5 to share between them. George Harrison turned up in blue jeans, which were banned from the club, but he managed to convince the bouncer that he was one of the performers.

On 14 February, they played a Valentine’s night concert at Litherland Town Hall.  Paul McCartney wore a red satin heart, embroidered with the names John, Paul, George and Pete, on his coat during the group’s performance of Elvis Presley’s song Wooden Heart. The heart was later raffled, and the winner was promised a kiss from McCartney. However, when she claimed her prize, the stage was invaded by hordes of other girls. John Lennon was knocked to the floor, all the others were mobbed, and The Beatles were eventually rescued by bouncers. The show was temporarily stopped until calm could be restored.

The month’s UK Top Tens

2 February 1961
1. Are You Lonesome Tonight: Elvis Presley
2. Pepe: Duane Eddy
3. Poetry in Motion: Johnny Tillotson
4. Sailor: Petula Clark
5. Portrait of My Love: Matt Monro
6. You’re Sixteen: Johnny Burnette
7. Counting Teardrops: Emile Ford and the Checkmates
8. I Love You: Cliff Richard
7. Perfidia: The Ventures
9. Rubber Ball: Bobby Vee
10. Buona Sera: Mr Acker Bilk

9 February 1961
1. Are You Lonesome Tonight: Elvis Presley
2. Sailor: Petula Clark
3. Poetry in Motion: Johnny Tillotson
4. You’re Sixteen: Johnny Burnette
5. Pepe: Duane Eddy
6. Portrait of My Love: Matt Monro
7. Rubber Ball: Bobby Vee
8. Counting Teardrops: Emile Ford and the Checkmates
9. Buona Sera: Mr Acker Bilk
10. Sailor: Anne Shelton

16 February 1961
1. Are You Lonesome Tonight: Elvis Presley
2. Sailor: Petula Clark
3. You’re Sixteen: Johnny Burnette
4. Rubber Ball: Bobby Vee
5. Pepe: Duane Eddy
6. FBI: The Shadows
7. Buona Sera: Mr Acker Bilk
8. Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes: The Everly Brothers
9. Rubber Ball: Marty Wilde
10. Poetry in Motion: Johnny Tillotson

23 February 1961
1. Sailor: Petula Clark
2. Are You Lonesome Tonight: Elvis Presley
3. Walk Right Back/Ebony Eyes: The Everly Brothers
4. You’re Sixteen: Johnny Burnette
5. Who Am I/This is It: Adam Faith
6. FBI: The Shadows
7. Rubber Ball: Bobby Vee
8. Will You Love Me Tomorrow: The Shirelles
9. Pepe: Duane Eddy
10. Calendar Girl: Neil Sedaka