12:24
Unknown
It was the long, hot Summer of 1977. (Ever noticed how all
Summers seem long and hot in the hallowed halls of memory?) 40
years ago, but (astonishingly) as fresh and alive in my mind as a lover's
whispered goodbye. Myself and two friends were making our way to the
local YMCA, where one of them was moving into for a few months before
relocating to Cornwall to begin his training for a (short-lived) career in the
Royal Navy. The sun beat down upon us, a gentle breeze caressed our
heated brows, and, from the speaker of a small radio one of us carried,
came the 45 rpm version of BOND '77 by MARVIN HAMLISCH,
who had written the soundtrack of the soon-to-be-released
blockbuster biggie, The SPY Who LOVED ME.
I purchased the single (which I still have) that same day, from
the record department of my local BOOTS The CHEMIST (the
shop whose employ I'd left only a few months before), and my next ac-
quisition was the original soundtrack LP the instant it became available.
Summers seem long and hot in the hallowed halls of memory?) 40
years ago, but (astonishingly) as fresh and alive in my mind as a lover's
whispered goodbye. Myself and two friends were making our way to the
local YMCA, where one of them was moving into for a few months before
relocating to Cornwall to begin his training for a (short-lived) career in the
Royal Navy. The sun beat down upon us, a gentle breeze caressed our
heated brows, and, from the speaker of a small radio one of us carried,
came the 45 rpm version of BOND '77 by MARVIN HAMLISCH,
who had written the soundtrack of the soon-to-be-released
blockbuster biggie, The SPY Who LOVED ME.
I purchased the single (which I still have) that same day, from
the record department of my local BOOTS The CHEMIST (the
shop whose employ I'd left only a few months before), and my next ac-
quisition was the original soundtrack LP the instant it became available.
At the appointed time, I also dutifully trotted along to the local cinema
(called, unsurprisingly and unimaginatively, 'The CINEMA', which
had the largest screen in Scotland) to see the 10th JAMES BOND
movie in the 15 year-old series which had started in 1962.
Back then, in the days before
home video had become the latest
'must have' possession, the only way to
see a movie more than once (not count-
ing repeats on TV) was to trot back to
the cinema for another screening, which
I usually did - again and again and again
- 'though only with movies I'd enjoyed,
obviously. I no longer recall exactly how
many times I went to see The Spy Who
Loved Me, but I know I saw MOON-
RAKER four times two years later, and,
in between, I'd seen SUPERMAN The
MOVIE a staggering seven times (five
in the ABC in Glasgow's Sauchiehall
Street, twice in my local cinema)
before I was fully sated.
Anyway, on my last visit to see The Spy Who Loved Me,
I spied (no pun intended) the manager, Mr. BOB JOHNSTONE,
in the foyer as I made my way out. On a spur-of-the moment whim
(and what other kind is there?), I approached him and politely asked if
I could have the poster as the movie was at the end of its run. Much to
my surprise he acquiesced, and duly set about taking it from its display
case before pressing it into my eager hands. I still have it to this day,
'though, sadly, Mr. Johnstone has 'retired' to that great cinema club
in the sky and 'The Cinema' is now a Bingo hall (and has
been for longer than its 20 years as a cinema).
(called, unsurprisingly and unimaginatively, 'The CINEMA', which
had the largest screen in Scotland) to see the 10th JAMES BOND
movie in the 15 year-old series which had started in 1962.
| Bond babe Caroline Munro |
home video had become the latest
'must have' possession, the only way to
see a movie more than once (not count-
ing repeats on TV) was to trot back to
the cinema for another screening, which
I usually did - again and again and again
- 'though only with movies I'd enjoyed,
obviously. I no longer recall exactly how
many times I went to see The Spy Who
Loved Me, but I know I saw MOON-
RAKER four times two years later, and,
in between, I'd seen SUPERMAN The
MOVIE a staggering seven times (five
in the ABC in Glasgow's Sauchiehall
Street, twice in my local cinema)
before I was fully sated.
Anyway, on my last visit to see The Spy Who Loved Me,
I spied (no pun intended) the manager, Mr. BOB JOHNSTONE,
in the foyer as I made my way out. On a spur-of-the moment whim
(and what other kind is there?), I approached him and politely asked if
I could have the poster as the movie was at the end of its run. Much to
my surprise he acquiesced, and duly set about taking it from its display
case before pressing it into my eager hands. I still have it to this day,
'though, sadly, Mr. Johnstone has 'retired' to that great cinema club
in the sky and 'The Cinema' is now a Bingo hall (and has
been for longer than its 20 years as a cinema).
So, here's to the Summer of '77 - long since vanished into
history, but the spirit of which yet lingers and is only a thought
and sometimes merely a dream (or even just a movie) away.
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