Thing I Learned Today...

The first synthpop hit was the original version of "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn, from 1939. I had only been familiar with the Dame's later re-recording - the one that soundtracks the end of the world in Dr. Strangelove, which was done with a full orchestra. However, the original version, the one which stiffened the upper lips of the British as they faced down the Nazis alone during the Blitz, was just Vera backed by a Novachord, which was a primitive early synthesizer.

It pretty much just sounds like a cheap organ when it's backing her vocals, but when the song takes an instrumental break, it gets some pretty good early-electronic music tones going.

[www.youtube.com]

A duo of synthesizer and female vocals - It's Yazoo 40 years early!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2022 06:15PM by breno.

Color me fascinated. is this why in "War Songs" on "I, Assassin," Gary Numan sang:

"Old men love war songs
Love Vera Lynn
Old men love war songs
Now I'm Vera Lynn"

If she was rocking a synth then I guess the lyric finally makes some kind of sense.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

Very cool, Reno! It's been a long time since I've watched Dr. Strangelove, so the tune doesn't come to mind. But I'll definitely have to dig deeper. Thanks!

"Vera" - Pink Floyd
Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?
Remember how she said that
We would meet again
Some sunny day?
Vera, Vera
What has become of you
Does anybody else in here
Feel the way I do?
---------

The last time I listened to a Pink Floyd album other than Animals was pre-internet, or else I might have looked up who Vera Lynn was years ago. Now I know!

Hmmm… I swear I hear a hint of the synth tone used on ‘Enola Gaye’ on that recording. Cool find.

(My second mention here of an act discovered on the ‘Urgh’ soundtrack today!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2022 11:31AM by Bip.

Today I found out that the nearly identical photos on the covers of John & Yoko's Plastic Ono Band albums were taken by Daniel Richter -aka Moon Watcher, the man-ape who jump-starts mankind's long journey to the stars by figuring out he can use a bone to beat a tapir to death in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Hadn't really thought about this being another Kubrick-adjacent factoid when I went to post it on this thread.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2022 03:10AM by breno.