So, there’s this Twitter account called ‘McFadden’s Cold War’ run by @Coldwar_Steve - a character who posts surreal photo montages of politicians, footballers, celebrities and Phil Mitchell - ALWAYS Phil Mitchell - against a backdrop of bleak British imagery. It’s very funny and his work is regarded by some as the perfect antidote to Brexit Britain and the rise of Trump.
Simply put, these images are great and the guy is a genius. Coldwar Steve has amassed over 74,000 Twitter followers and an army of famous fans, including the artist Grayson Perry. The Guardian recently profiled Steve’s work and it’s well worth a read here. Is it art? Is it satire? Is it crucial commentary on a world that’s in crisis? I don’t know... but I know that I like it.
Of course, with Coronation Street being such an intrinsic part of what it means to be British, Corrie has not escaped Coldwar Steve’s attention. I’m new to his stuff but it seems that Dev Alahan and Kevin Webster have been regular motifs from the start. Roy Cropper and Steve McDonald have also appeared, as have many other characters from our beloved Corrie.
I told my wife about McFadden’s Cold War and after showing her some of Coldwar Steve’s work, she agreed that you need to see it to get it... and that it is true brilliance. So, without further ado, see below my Top Ten Corrie related examples of Steve’s schtick. Great, aren’t they? My favourite is ‘Street party selfie’.
To be honest, the world is so mad nowadays and Corrie storylines are moving so far beyond the realms of possibility, that I wouldn’t be shocked if images such as these started appearing in the ITV previews. Frankly, life is bonkers and you’ve got to laugh or else you’d cry. Keep doing what you do, Coldwar Steve - the world needs you right now!
George Michael - God rest his soul - lived a colourful life. Apparently though, he was never happier than when drinking tea and watching Corrie in his PJs. A man after my own heart!
I remember reading this interview with him in the Guardian when he said that his guiltiest pleasure was Sunday morning when he saved up “loads of episodes of Corrie to watch”. I was already a fan but he went up further in my estimation when I discovered he was into Coronation Street.
George was renowned for his sense of humour and he loved Corrie because it was “a laugh”. He once said that “even when life is tragic on Coronation Street, it's still funny”.
I wonder if George ever knew that his face was plastered across the wall of the factory in the late 1980s. I bet he would have got a real kick out of it if he did.
"Well I guess it would be nice... if I could touch your body"
One of my favourite pastimes when watching Classic Corrie on ITV3 is following the winds of change in popular culture in 1980s Weatherfield. Well, that and keeping track of Sally's changing hairstyles.
Although I was disappointed to learn last week that sometime around November/December 1988, the Smiths poster (see previous blog) had been removed, I was cheered by the fact it had been replaced by an image of George Michael from the famous ‘Faith’ video released a year previously. I bet Morrissey was livid!
George Michael was such a big Corrie fan that he once went on a private tour of the set and enjoyed meeting the actors and crew as much as - or possibly more than - they enjoyed meeting him. There are some wonderful accounts of this online and apparently he was there on the day Kate Ford was rehearsing the scene in which Tracy murdered Charlie Stubbs. See this article in the Manchester Evening News.
I guess that means George visited the set in late 2006 or early 2007. Sally Dynevor shared this brilliant photo on Twitter soon after his tragic death. Obviously, I'm dating the set visit from my encyclopedic knowledge of Sally Webster's hairstyles!
I’m not sure if George would still regard Corrie to be a laugh or if, like the rest of us, he might be questioning whether his beloved soap had featured a bit too much of the tragedy recently at the expense of the comedy.
Still, I'm pretty sure he’d have had faith, faith, faith - and that’s exactly what we've all gotta have.
Family and friends aside, I have two loves in life - 1) The Smiths and 2) Coronation Street. As is well documented (for example, in previous blogs here and here), I particularly enjoy it when there is synchronicity between the two.
I noticed in a Classic Coronation Street episode shown on ITV3 last week that the wall of 'Baldwin’s Curtains' (as the business had recently been renamed) was adorned with a Smiths poster:
The poster is in the right hand corner of the above image. In this scene, Shop Steward Ivy Tisley is busy with a clipboard while Shirley Armitage and Vera Duckworth are gossiping about Mike Baldwin’s arrest for drink driving. The episode was originally broadcast in April 1988, six months or so after The Smiths spilt up. The poster can be seen in closer detail below:
This poster advertised the band's eponymously titled debut album and featured the image from the front cover of the record, which is of American actor Joe Dallesandro in a still from Andy Warhol's 1968 film 'Flesh'.
The first Smiths album was released in 1984. Does this mean the poster was on the factory wall for at least four years? I have no idea but the fact that this prop was incorporated into the Corrie set at all fills me with joy.
I bet Morrissey got a kick out of it too - his favourite TV programme, which he used to send scripts to as a boy, now paying homage to his band.
I wonder who The Smiths fan in the factory was - possibly Shirley. I can’t imagine Ivy, Vera or Ida Clough being into them.
This album happens to be my favourite in The Smiths’ back catalogue. It is essentially Morrissey’s teenage diary set to Johnny Marr’s wonderful guitar playing. One of the standout tracks is ‘Miserable Lie’, which is also a fave of Mary Taylor’s:
Whalley Range must be a more desirable area of Manchester now than when Morrissey were a lad!
I enjoyed Mary's Morrissey reference in last night's Corrie when describing some wilted gladdies in Preston's Petals.
Flowers were part of The Smiths' visual aesthetic and the shrubbery most commonly associated with the group was the gladiolus or 'sword lily'. Morrissey has said that this particular type of flower "leapt out" at him and "seemed really powerful".
Morrissey favoured the larger variety, which he would often wield above his head on stage. However, tired of carrying them around with him during gigs, by 1984 Moz had moved his gladdies to his back jean pocket in order to free his hands.
This explains Mary's brilliant quip to Tracy: "Have you seen these gladdies? I mean talk about wilted. They'd be fresher if they'd been sitting in Morrissey's back pocket these past 30 years!"
A superb touch by Corrie writer Mark Wadlow! For more on the two-way relationship between Coronation Street and Morrissey, be sure to check out my blog from a few years ago, still available here. Oh Manchester, so much to answer for...
By Martin Leay You can follow Martin on Twitter @mpleay
It’s a shame about Rob but it’s time for him to face the music.
With the threat of “best bird” Carla pulling the plug on his
big day, Wednesday night’s episode saw Rob iron his shirt and make his way to
the wedding with a happily-ever-after ending looking increasingly unlikely.
Beautiful grounds, a horse and carriage, elegant bridal wear
- this wedding can’t have come cheap. Wedding Planner Extraordinaire, Michelle
Connor is either the best negotiator in Manchester or the profit margin on hooky
hairdryers at Barlow's Buys is higher than Kylie Platt after a visit to The Dog
and Gun.
Tracy has been going for a “classy with a contemporary
twist” vibe and I was looking forward to seeing the blushing bride walk down
the aisle to a string-laden “Firestarter” or “Wonderwall”. But having sacked
the harpist the day before the wedding, this now looks improbable.
However, while the congregation waited for Tracy’s arrival,
they were treated to a lovely instrumental version of The Stone Roses’
“Waterfall” by an acoustic guitarist drafted in by Michelle.
Stone Roses' singer Ian Brown enjoys an OJ in The Rovers
I love it when Corrie writers acknowledge Manchester’s
musical heritage. Music is in the city’s DNA and I was sure that Rob’s Britpop-era
musical tastes would be reflected in the ceremony somehow.
I enjoyed the spoken word recital of “Cast No Shadow” (Oasis)
in Corrie’s October trailer, which did a powerful job of foreshadowing what was about to unfold on screen:
Rob is clearly into his classic indie but you never know,
there could also be a bit of drum and bass in his iTunes library if this video is
anything to go by:
That’s right, back in 2008 Marc Baylis appeared in the video
for the song “Propane Nightmares” by Pendulum. Amazing!
But back to Weatherfield and back to the wedding. The chorus
to “Waterfall” (not that we heard the lyrics, of course), goes “She'll carry on through it all/She's a
waterfall”.
Tracy Barlow is certainly hard-nosed but she adores Rob and I’m
not so sure she will be able to simply carry on through it all. In the short
term, at least, she’ll be crying a waterfall of tears on Ken’s shoulder before
the day is through and soaking his pristine white tux in the process.
All this talk of Rob’s record collection has got me thinking
about the wedding playlist. I have no idea whether Rob
and Tracy will get married or not. But what I do know is this – when the
Titanic began to sink, the band played on.
With that spirit in mind, if I was DJing – here are the ten
Manchester tunes that I feel would be most fitting to carry on spinning while Rob’s
world caves in on him and his fairy-tale wedding to Tracy crashes and burns:
1. Donovan (Happy Mondays)
2. Used To Be A Sweet Boy (Morrissey)
3. Lose Control (James)
4. Beast Inside (Inspiral Carpets)
5. The Kill (Joy Division)
6. Where Did It All Go Wrong? (Oasis)
7. Regret (New Order)
9. Nothing Left (Buzzcocks)
8. Going Down (Stone Roses)
10. Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (The Smiths)
And then I’d play The Smith’s “Strangeways, Here We Come”
album out in full because that’s exactly where Rob will be headed (again) if
the law does finally catch up with him.
Are there any other songs that should be played at Donovan’s
Disco? Unlike some DJs, I do take requests so please get them in on the
comments board.
I look forward to seeing how the wedding plays out tonight as we get
nearer and nearer to Rob Donovan’s Coronation Street swan song.
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