Make Me Smile: The Soul of John Deakin

 

Make Me Smile: The Soul of John Deakin

Adrift in Soho by Colin Wilson

Tosh on Colin Wilson's "Adrift in Soho" 

The Greatest Dinner in Soho London

 

The gangs all here: Timothy Behrens, Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Michael Andrews. © The John Deakin Archive

"Modernists & Mavericks: Bacon, Freud, Hockney & The London Painters" by Martin Gayford (Thames & Hudson)

Martin Gayford, the author of "Modernists and Mavericks," is a terrific writer on the arts, and this book is the obvious and organic meeting of author and its subject - The London artists of the post-war years.   For one, Gayford knows David Hockney and Lucian Freud, and he also interviewed all the living artists that are in this book.  It's not a book of gossip, but a survey approach to artists who worked in London from the end of World War II to the early 1970s. 

I became familiar with some of these artists through the art collection of the late David Bowie.  When the family auction off his works, I did go see paintings by Frank Auerbach, David Bomberg, and others of that world.  What's interesting is that these artists worked in London, a city that was on the surface, destroyed by the ravages of bombings and the war, yet, it became a visual playground for the great post-war painters.  Freud always worked with a model in front of him, in his studio, Auerbach worked in the same format using the same model painting after painting, and Bacon's world was basically Soho London and its citizens.  So, the world of the London painter was a small one, but a very intense series of moments, months, and years working on their art.  As well as having sex, drinking and socializing within their world. 

Gayford captures the London painters in a moment where they did talk about their fields of interest, which was painting, but also I didn't realize that there was a sizable female presence in the painting world as well, regarding Paula  Rego, Bridget Riley, and others.   Gayford brings up a lot of painters working in that era, who are not as famous as Hockney and company.   I have been pretty much drawn to the medium of paint, due to its placement within a frame, and the texture of various colors and brushes. I like the communication between the artist's hand and what appears on their canvas.   The importance is not that these artists all lived and worked in London, but their ability to transform their space, time, and presence in such a location that was limited at the time.   Across the pond was New York City, and beyond that, for Hockney Los Angeles, still the majority of the London Painters stayed at home and reflected on their world with high intensity and feeling.  "Modernists and Mavericks" is a very solid art history book, with some excellent paintings within its pages.  I enjoyed Gayford's book immensely.  

"High Buildings, Low Morals: Another Sideways Look At Twentieth-Century London" by Rob Baker (Amberley)

ISBN: 9781445666259

To quote Noël Coward, from the back cover of Rob Baker's book "I don't know what London's coming to - the higher the buildings, the lower the morals."  "High Buildings, Low Morals" is for me a classic book.   I first discovered Baker's obsession on 20th Century London through his blog "Another Nickel in the Machine."  Eventually using his blog as the source, he made two books. "Beautiful Idiots and Brilliant Lunatics" and this one "High Buildings, Low Morals."  Both are excellent as well as his blog, and in my studies, the two best books on contemporary (20th century) London culture.  Baker is amazing that his identity disappears and what comes up is the subject matter of his interest: the linage between London theater, social life, film and stage stars, and gangsters.   These two books remind me of Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon," but the big difference is that Baker is a through historian in his approach to match the dots in that urban landscape.  He has the genius to match individuals with a narrative that is much bigger than the figures because it's a web that holds the city together. 

Here we get narratives about Noël Coward, Lord Boothby & Ronnie Kray, Tallulah Bankhead, Graham Greene, and obscure and entirely forgotten British stars like Billie Carleton, the Duchess of Argyll (an old porn scandal) and even Mussolini, among many others.  Also reading this book, I get the full physical picture of London bombed during World War II, as well as the psychology of that cities population.  It's an epic presentation and Baker has the genius to edit it in (or out) various stories that tell even a bigger picture.  Historian on a brilliant level, I can't recommend his books too much.  For anyone who is, of course, interested in London, but also how an urban city lives and moves - it's a fascinating series of tales, that is almost unbelievable, but yet, true. 

Look at Life - Coffee Bar, 1959

Soho Coffee cafe culture circa. 1959.   Best documentary so far this year.

"Jumpin' Jack Flash: David Litvinoff and the Rock n' Roll Underworld" by Keiron Pim

ISBN: 978-0-224-09812-0 Jonathan Cape Vintage

"Jumpin' Jack Flash: David Litvinoff and the Rock n' Roll Underworld" by Keiron Pim (Jonathan Cape Vintage, ISBN: 978-0-224-09812-0)

For me, what is there not to love about this book?  In 300 or so pages, I get a bit of Jewish London history of the East End, The Krays, The Rolling Stones, and a tale of an obsessive record / music collector who was also a criminal, Francis Bacon  & Lucian Freud, London Soho night life, as well as one of the leading influences of the great film "Performance."    Not only that, he was hired as an advisor for the film, and hinted that perhaps (or perhaps not) wrote some of the scenes for the film.   David Litvinoff is a figure who very much lived in the shadows of other people.  Yet, his presence, was greatly noted in the world of the Krays as well as to the world of Eric Clapton, Stones, and the swinging London 60s.   Litvinoff, was an invented character (of sorts) who was the bridge between the criminal life of London and the world of rock n' roll with a side trip to the cinema.  The author, Keiron Pim, did a fantastic job in putting together this biography that couldn't have been that easy.  

"Francis Bacon In Your Blood" by Michael Peppiatt

978-1-63286-344-7 Bloomsbury Publishing

Michael Peppiatt's memoir of life with the great painter Francis Bacon is rich in alcohol and every expensive meal they ate.  If Peppiatt added recipes to this book, it would have been one of the great cookbooks of all time.  On the other hand, we have lives here that spent the greatest of all possible times.   Depression is around the corner, but when you're drinking the finest alcoholic drinks and eating food like today will be your last, it is hard to feel sorry for the participants in Bacon's life.  The one thing I love about Francis Bacon is his mystique.  On one level, he's very obvious and seems to be easy to read, but the truth is that he's' quite a complex character.  

Peppiatt's memoir or narrative mainly takes place in Soho London and Paris.  One can't imagine Bacon existing in another city than those two.   Bacon, is without a doubt, one of the great citizens of London.   Who wouldn't want to spend time under his expertise as a guide to the underworld of various expensive restaurants, nightclubs and numerous (often seedy) bars.   In his world, painters as well as East-End gangsters show up, and is a heady mix of a sense of danger and having a great meal at the same time.  

"Francis Bacon In Your Blood" is just as complex as its subject matter.  Peppiatt is known for his excellent Bacon biography "Anatomy Of An Enigma."   Of the two, the biography is the better book.  The memoir here is almost like a sketch book of notes regarding the author's time with Bacon, which overall, was pretty intense.   Bacon, I suspected, that once he liked you, one is forever in his circle till he either destroys you or fatten you up - and in no way or fashion could I have existed in his world - just on the drinking and eating of extremely rich foods.  The fact that he lived to the of 80-something is remarkable, considering his drinking and eating habits.   The excess of his life is fully exposed in Peppiatt's memoir, and what is interesting is how one can survive such a pleasurable nightmare.  

Peppiatt does all the right things in his book, but I feel it needs a stronger editorial help.  A lot of the stories are repeated by Bacon (as they were in real life), but not necessary in a book form.   This is a huge book, and I think it would have been a better read if it was half its size.  The only thing that I found interesting in Peppiatt, besides his closeness to his subject matter, is when he became an editor of "Art International."  Mostly due to my interest in publishing.  If he was going to write on anything else besides Bacon, I would have liked to read actually more about his publishing a magazine.   The fact that Peppiatt is straight and compared to Bacon's other colorful friends, he doesn't come off that interesting.   I'm not clear why Bacon found him so interesting enough to put him squarely in his world.  Perhaps he needed someone that was sort of neutral in his life, so he can talk.  Perhaps like one who confesses to a priest, he needed a listener who wouldn't have an attitude towards him.  And in most cases, Peppiatt was a very good friend and listener to Bacon's rants, complaints, and his love for the 'dirty' life of Soho London and elsewhere. 

Book is released in December, 2015.

- Tosh Berman

The Sunday Series: Sunday April 19, 2015

Sunday April 19, 2015

The only holiday I like is Record Store Day.  Like "Read a Book" day, it is the one holiday where you can surrender your passion to a common cause - which is to keep the local record store open in your neighborhood.  If you don't have a record store in your neighborhood, then that means you live in a place that has no importance whatsoever.  People are fed many ways.  I think most people would consider a 7/11 or Trader Joe's as an essential business to live nearby.  I, on the other hand, would prefer a record store than a shop full of food.  You eat, but then what?  Music has a lasting presence in one's life, and therefore I feel it is much important than a good meat department.

There are those who complain loudly about the negative aspects of Record Store Day, which is hysterical, because there are none.   To stand in line in hopes of getting that specific piece of vinyl that is being released that very day is part of the pleasure as well as the disappointments in not obtaining the sacred item you're in line for.  One wonders while standing there, if there is a possibility of not getting that specific record.  Of course it is, because perhaps the store forgot to order that product, or due to its limited edition status, so there were not enough copies to go around. So yes, I was disappointed when I didn't get the Serge Gainsbourg collection of his soundtrack work - but it was a sense of failure with a great deal of anticipation and adventure attached to it.

I must say it was a shock to me that I found four copies of the "Charlie Feathers" 10" album of his King recordings in the bin.  Originally issued on 7" 45rpm and 78rpm format. This collection is a must if one has even the slightest interest in rockabilly music.  The guitar work of Jerry Huffman is like a series of switchblade cuts on one's body.  When I put the needle on this record, I hear human misery.  So yes, music to me is like putting a mirror in front of my face - it has to represent the inner and deeper feelings in my soul.  Food just keeps me going till the next meal, but music like Feathers, keeps me fed on a spiritual/sexual plane that can't be denied.  Rockabilly music is all fucking, violent death, cheap liquor, and desires being mis-placed at the wrong place and time.  Satan's favorite music.  And one is dying just to taste the bottle that Satan had his diseased mouth over. After playing these four songs, I feel like spitting the blood out of my mouth.

On the same trip to the record store, I found another great 10" album by Chris Barber and his jazz band.  The album is called "Jazz Sacred and Secular."  Barber is a British trombone player, and is one of the key players in the Soho London music scene of the 1950s.  He was famous for having Lonnie Donegan in his band, who later became the figurehead that in a certain fashion, started the British Invasion in the early 1960s.  Shuffle genius and architect to the do-it-yourself type of music, he made a major presence on a lot of British musicians.   The beauty of this recording is that it is like listening to a well-received long distance call.  Although from the UK, it reached out to New Orleans.   Chris Barber actually spent time in New Orleans, and that one visit had a profound effect on his whole life.  This 10" disk is a combination tribute to Duke Ellington as well as the New Orleans life.  The mood is happy, but of course, it has traces of deep sadness.  Music unlike food serves on different levels. If you taste food and it's too bitter or sweet, one may choose to spit it out.  Music, on the other hand, is a texture that one craves for - due to its emotional responses within the grooves of the record.   Barber's version of "Black and Tan Fantasie" is originally from Harlem, but here it is placed in Soho, London.   Even the British spelling of Fantasy gives this recording a sense of being placed out of the storefront window, looking in, and just absorbing the goods in the store although you're outside.   The sense of location changes, but nevertheless they are real places - and each place has a vision or a history.   Even if it is made-up, it is still real, because what you're hearing is a place that is imagined or desired for.

A bad day is a world without a turntable and a good pair of headphones.  I live in a very dangerous world - although it is in my imagination, I have the music to back-up that landscape of desire.

"THE AMAZING MRS SHUFFLEWICK: The Life of Rex Jameson" by Patrick Newley

978-1-898576-21-1

The book as literature is not that hot, but the subject matter is interesting as well as the world around Mrs. Shufflewick.   This is a biography of Rex Jameson, a British comedian whose only major role is a drunken old cockney women by the name of Mrs. Shufflewick.   The author Patrick Newley was Jameson's manager in his late life.  What I like about the book is that you get information regarding London music hall life.  More likely if it wasn't for "The Amazing Mrs. Shufflewick" we would probably not know a thing about this fascinating artist.

Jameson wrote his own material, and actually not that different from his character.  Consistently drunk, a show with him was either a great hit or a terrible miss.  Nevertheless he kept a very private life, that is a combination of a kitchen sink drama with music hall overtures.   On the fringes of culture, Mrs. Shufflewick comments on the sexual mores of a cockney drunk.  Reading his work on paper, it comes off beautifully, and even though with the power of the Internet we have very little information on Jameson and his character Mrs. Shufflewick.

The bad thing about the book is that it is very much like a long magazine article.  Which is not bad, but this is a subject matter that needs a more detailed history of the drag artist as well as life working in various pubs and theaters of London circa. 50's and 60's.

Down below is a rare footage of Mrs. Shufflewick

"Don't Tell Sybil" by George Melly - a Memoir

Atlas Press, Distributed by D.A.P.  ISBN: 978-1-900565-65-3

Fascinating memoir by the always interesting George Melly on his life with E.L.T. Mesens, a surrealist from Belgium, who ended up as a gallery owner as well as a poet and artist in 1950s London.  In the50's, Melly became Mesens' assistant in his gallery, as well as being a jazz singer of some note.  One of the eminent London-center eccentrics, Melly dishes out the information regarding Surrealism, as it was dying out as a social scene.  

A very affectionate, yet pointed, portrait of Mesens and his world.  The reader gets the flavor of those times, and this is especially cool, because there is not that much literature on surrealism during the 50's/60's and especially from the London scene at the time.  

"Revolt Into Style: The Pop Arts" by George Melly

It took me forever to locate "Revolt Into Style" and finally I found a copy at my neighborhood record store.  I couldn't even find it via the Internet - so hooray for the neighborhood store (Rockaway Records by the way.)

But now that I have located the book by the legendary blues singing Surrealist bi-sexual dandy George Melly - I find it slightly boring. The hint for it was more exciting than reading the book.  But saying that it is still an unique look by a crazed Soho figure on the British pop world of the '60s.  So it's very much a period piece of that decade.  He write most of the book in 1969, and therefore the subject matter was still happening while he wrote this book.

For a gent that was born during the '20s his attitude to the '60s generation is pretty hip, but you still get traces of his jazz past.  The book is divided by music, films/theater, fashion, and literature.  The problem with the book is that Melly didn't go far enough with his personality regarding his subject matter.  I suspect he was paid by a paper for most of these observations. But still a collectible and a must for a Mod obsessive reader.

Soho in the Fifties by Daniel Farson

In many ways this can be the companion book to Boris Vian's version of Paris,  Manual of Saint-Germain des Prés.  Writer, photographer and media TV host Daniel Farson takes us on a tour of Soho London circ. 1950's where a great deal of time was spent at local caffs (the British diner), bars, and restaurants.  it was pretty much the world of its most famous citizens the painter Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.  But the real star of the scene was photographer John Deakin, an outlandish personality at the time, who struck disgust, annoyance and in a funny way friendship among the local citizens of Soho.

Farson has a talent in capturing the boozy bohemia of those times, and sees Soho as the ultimate destination against boredom and restrictions.  More eccentric characters per block then perhaps anywhere else in the world, Soho is rich in music culture as well as literature.  I have already started a good size collection of books on Soho - and the reason I like it is because of the conservative nature of the world at the time, and the tension that these loons bring to their culture.  The edition I have was published in 1987, and its fully illustrated with photos by Farson, who had the talent or charm to capture these vibrant personalities doing what they do best - socializing and drinking.   Essential!

the only book devoted to John Deakin's work.  Essential find.

TamTam Books' Tribute to Daniel Farson

Daniel Farson was a Soho London citizen, writer, TV personality,  and a fantastic photographer.  Down below are some samples of his work:

"Living for Kicks" hosted by Daniel Farson, 1960 (Amazing footage of British youth - WATCH!)

At the moment in London, there is an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.  Do go!

Shelagh Delaney, 1959

Cyril Connolly and Caroline Blackwood circ 1953

Richard Burton, 1950's

Adam Faith 1962

Lucian Freud and Brendan Behan, 1952

Francis Bacon

"Limehouse Days" by Daniel Farson

"Soho in the Fifties" by Daniel Farson

"Scamp" by Roland Camberton

Slowly but very seriously reading every novel that takes place in Soho London, and "Scamp" by the mysterious Roland Camberton is one of the best.  Written and published in 1950, this novel tells the tale of a 30 year old who is pinning a lot of hopes on a new literary journal he wants to start called Scamp.  But of course he has to raise the money as well as get the writers - and here we have an incredible snapshot of Boho London as well as a London still affected by the war.

The beauty of this book is not really its plotting but its sense of place and time.  Camberton is a wonderful observer of London life and people just barely making it.  One Soho bar or coffee (cafe) after another - you can basically taste the lukewarm weak tea and the even warmer beer off the page.  What makes it for me is Camberton's take on this world - slightly mocking towards its subject matters - but still you get a full understanding what makes these citizens of Soho tick.

Portrait of Roland Camberton by Julia Rushbury

The original and current cover for "Scamp" by John Minton

As usual, when you get a Iain Sinclair introduction, that makes the book a must.  And this new press that seems to be devoted to one of my favorite subjects - London circ. 1950's is a sign of superb editorship.  New London Editions is the press and the three other titles I have read so far - makes this an exciting discovery.

"Adrift in Soho" by Colin Wilson

About three years before Swinging London hit the headlines, Colin Wilson of "Outsider" fame was writing about the down and out (and in) Soho.  This was Wilson's second novel which reads like a memoir, and is a really beautiful snapshot of boho London before it was defined by the popular media of the time.  For some life was very causal, and for the hardcore Soho citizen a way of life that totally ignore the mainstream view of life.  Colin Wilson always struck me as a romantic, but in a very good way.  And this is a very solid and a very quick read into the world of Soho, London and its citizens.  And like any good book on London, the city becomes a character in the story.  The edition I read is New London Editions and it promises to be an important press.

Elaine Dundy's "The Old Man and Me"

The late and great Elaine Dundy is a very interesting woman, who lived near Book Soup and was a customer as well.  Little did I know of her writing career till I read "The Dud Avocado" which is fantastic by the way.  So her history is fascinating in that she was married to British theater critic great Kenneth Tynan and also wrote the first serious in depth biography on Elvis.

So of course "The Old Man and Me' would be of interest, but beyond that, it is quite a remarkable novel on various levels.  The thing that really caught my attention is that she really got into the language of the British and its difference from American English.   Two, she has some knowledge (of course) on the British personality and how that works with the American personality.  And three, this is a really smart novel about how cultures merge - especially in early 1960's London.   The main character resembles a much sweeter Patricia Highsmith twisted character who is dealing with identity and revenge of sorts.  She knows what she wants, but does not know why she wants it.  And that is the main problem with "Honey Flood."   She goes out to seduce, but she gets seduced and its a weird journey from naive to knowing.  

The book captures the culture of London in the early 1960's -before the Beatles and in some ways London itself is one of the characters in this novel.   It's a great piece of London literature. 

"Boutique London: King's Road to Carnaby Street" by Richard Lester

Not an easy subject matter to find in book form, and it almost takes an obsessive (and surely I am) person to collect all things that are groovy London fashion in the height of the late 50's to the mid-1960's. Nevertheless this is a beautifully and fun design of a book regarding one of my favorite subject matters - The classic (by my term) London Boutique.

With vintage shopping maps to lead you to the shops in the Soho/Mayfair area of London to great images inside the boutique - which is actually a rare viewing, due that there is little visual records of the 1960's boutique. So this book is a must for anyone thinking of opening their own boutique or want to shoplift some ideas for the purpose of improving their retail work space.

The beauty of shops or boutiques is that they convey someone's idea of paradise. And when you put that in a retail landscape, it becomes a form of self-expression. Early Carnaby Street to me at a very young age served as sort of a Disneyland - a place that I think couldn't possibly exist. But alas, it did (past tense) and this book proves it did exist

Gerald Kersh's "Night and the City"

Night and the City by Gerald Kersh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"Night and the City" is pretty amazing on different levels. On one end I don't think its a great novel, but as a portrait of a time, place, and a certain type of character its totally ace. Written in 1938 and mostly taking place in Soho London it is a snapshot of a group of hustlers trying to stay above the water-line of sorts.

The main character is Harry Fabian, who for god knows, should be a major iconic fiction figure. But alas, what we have here is a pimp who lives his life in a certain amount of fantasy. No self-control, not that bright, but at least he has the talent of a hustler, but hustles in small steps instead of a larger plan. And yes, he does have a large plan of opening up a wrestling ring/club, but he also a man of very little talent.

The fun of the book is knowing that he will hit downward, but how? The big character in the book is West London and its citizens. Along with Fabian we get Helen's road to ruin as well Phil Nosseross, the British Pound counting nightclub boss. Remarkable book and a remarkable new press : London Books Classic.

View all my reviews >>

The King of Carnaby Street

The King of Carnaby Street: A Life of John Stephen by Jeremy Reed

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Well first, the poet Jeremy Reed has excellent taste, but second, he's not one of the greatest biography prose writers that's out there. This book is more of a 'think' piece then a straight ahead biography. But besides that point, John Stephen is a fascinating man in an equal fascinating world of street fashion at the right time and place.

"The King of Carnaby Street" is a portrait of John Stephen who pretty much started the whole groovy Mod Carnaby Street scene. The first one to open a series of shops, he was also a taste-maker and obsessive worker. His private life was hellish like any other gay man who lived in the outlaw U.K., where at the time it was illegal to have homosexual sex. This book is a must for those who collect Mod-era subject matters. And I do, but I just wished the book was a bit more bio like and less.....well, Jeremy Reed.

View all my reviews >>