Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A painter whose romantic prints, especially "The Singing Butler", are Britain's top-sellers, though critics dismiss his work.
On the island
Eight records
Shades of Scarlet Conquering is about the kind of woman I think that I would be attracted to. You know, she's very cool and she's very calm, and she is, of course, Scarlett Bahara, hence the title of the song. And you know, that kind of woman, I think, if I'm honest, has always rung a bell for me.
Now this takes me back to the first time I ever went dancing. I was 14 year old in the local drill hole where the Territorial Army used to be based. They had what they called the Jazz Club, which was odd because I never played jazz. But I can remember going in there and being absolutely overawed.
I think that anybody who saw that Palladium performance will not forget it, the way those mop heads shook and stuff. And you know, I just thought, my God. And, you know, coming back to Desert Island thing, it's the one upbeat track I've got on the Desert Island.
Like a Rolling StoneFavourite
I discovered Bob Dylan, I think, in my early twenties and And I think that his music was the first time that I ever seriously sat and listened to lyrics. and actually begun to think about What these lyrics meant to me, I think some of the lyrics in it are just fabulous.
Page forty three is about living for the moment. You know, your moment comes very briefly and you must go for it and you must dive right in there.
This song is dedicated to somebody who they know who they are and I think they'll be listening. And I think that without a doubt, if I was on a desert island, I'd be spending a hell of a time thinking about them.
And the last resort, I I think deals with um the disaffection of sort of middle America. And I just love it.
You know, wh when we're very young we think our Father is omnipotent, that He can protect us from war, hunger, everything. And I thought that about my Dad. I thought, you know, if ever I get into any trouble, he will be there. As we grow older, we see our parents' limitations.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:16Where did the idea for [The Singing Butler] come from?
I think my thinking behind it was that this was some kind of eccentric who had been to a ball and he had come home but he wasn't ready for sleep yet. So he he called his butler and said, Come with us and the butler drove them to the beach and then came and of course the the curious thing is I didn't have a title for the painting and I thought well what are they dancing to if it's you know if it's not music and I thought well it's a singing butler you know and and hence you know
Presenter asks
12:47Did you ever feel during that period of time that you had a kind of vocation?
Well, I wouldn't have understood that word so then, but um no, I I felt I had something, if only a just a tiny a tiny sort of feeling, if you like, and I was able to get things down on these boards that … surprised me and gave me enough confidence to keep on going.
Presenter asks
14:25What did copying [the masters] teach you?
Well, this is just a quick example. If you're going to paint a sky, you mix blue and white. And if you want to mix a stormy sky, add some black. Wrong. You know, that that will be disastrous. To the white, you've got to add cream, you've got to add a bit of pink, to the blue, you've got to add a bit of green, and you don't use black, try brown, that's better. You know, so I mean, by copying people like money, you actually find these things out.
The keepsakes
The book
Helmut Newton
And I think that, you know, if if I'm absolutely honest, um I would need some stimulation. I would want some stimulation. It would sustain me, I think, looking at all of this beauty and glamour that that he portrayed. So that would be my choice of book.
The luxury
Presenter asks
21:35Can you explain the appeal of your work?
I think top of the list would be people can identify with them. Because I suspect that many people have either been in situations I paint or they should as hell like to try them. And I think that when people can identify with something, you know, they'll champion it. … And I think that's the appeal.
Presenter asks
24:56How do you explain [not being hung in public galleries]?
I think the the people best placed to answer that are the the people who run those establishments. … What does trouble me is that their annual budget is taxpayers' money. And their annual budget is used to purchase new works. And they purchase new works for themselves. They don't purchase work for the people, which is what they should be doing.
“I'm in them because I'm there and I'm cheap.”
“I've always tried to um you know maintain that um That many of the people in these situations are there, it's their choosing to be there. You know, and these people in the dark interiors are not the happiest people on earth. Time and again they're driven to the same bars to make the same mistakes. You know, I try to show that, that that this isn't real fun, this stuff. You know, I mean, you're gonna have your heart broken, you're gonna have your heart ripped out sometimes, but that's the price that some of us will pay for love.”
“I'll be surprised and this isn't some kind of egotistical bluff I'll be surprised if my work isn't around in a few hundred years. I'll be surprised by that.”
“I think that their arrogance is breathtaking. You know, that they could actually suggest that to another human being that um you know he is welcome to paint so long as you don't take him seriously. You know, but yeah, you're right. When you're on a bad day it hurts. I mean everybody I think wants to be liked by everybody, but I think in this country there are two routes ahead of you. There's the one where you um appeal to popular taste or you appeal to a few and I just happen to be on another route from them.”