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Picture Post Idols
Book by Savage, Jon
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
13 people want to read
About the author
Jon Savage
64 books116 followersJon Savage (born Jonathan Malcolm Sage) is an English writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his definitive history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, England's Dreaming (1991).
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January 15, 2023
'Picture Post' was undoubtedly one of the leading illustrative magazines of the two decades of its existence ('Illustrated' was probably one of the other very good ones). From its inception in 1938 it regularly captured men, women and events that captured the nation's interest. And it all began when 'The Lambeth Walk' was a 1938 dance craze; the Post photographers went down to Lambeth and used the song to expose the severe social conditions in the borough. This backed the editors' 'conviction that the lives of ordinary people could be rewarding to curiosity'.
From there the post grew in stature as pin-ups and propaganda dominated the period from 1938 to 1945. Shirley Temple was featured and she set a fashion statement that set thousands of mothers dressing their daughters in her image; the stars did their bit for the war effort and the Post featured such as Noel Coward, George Formby and, naturally, Gracie Fields and Marlene Dietrich, 'Miss Legs' as the GIs called her (and no wonder from one wonderful Post image from 1941), travelled around America on wartime concert tours, which were well illustrated in the magazine.
The decorative and performing arts dominated from 1945 to 1953, 'Austerity Binge' as Bevis Hillier was later to call it, as with the war over, the nation chased stars from across the pond around the country. Rita Hayworth was mobbed, Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn and Humphrey Bogart captured the cinemagoers imagination while our own James Mason was a true heartthrob. Even Chico and Harpo Marx visited these shores and Groucho, somewhat reluctantly apparently, came over in July 1954 when it was reported, 'everyone was keener to meet him than he was to meet them'.
The third period was designated 'Sex, TV and Rock 'n' Roll' when unreachable American idols such as Elvis Presley and James Dean were played off against such as the home grown Tony Hancock; Alfred Hitchcock, pictured on the steps of the British Museum, straddled both camps. The crooners were to the fore as were American glamour girls; in the latter category, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell caused quite a stir with the film 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' while Jayne Mansfield was over in 1957 (when I saw her as a young boy as she switched on Blackpool illuminations). The British were represented by a young Joan Collins. who returned from Hollywood for a time, Diana Dors Yana and Blackpool-born Sabrina.
In the early to mid-1950s jazz enjoyed a heyday with Louis Armstrong provoking 'a frenzied acclamation' at the Empress Hall in May 1956, his first visit to these shores for 25 years. And speaking of long absences, Stan Kenton and his Orchestra were reportedly in the Post the first American band to tour Britain since 1934 (what about Glenn Miller I wonder?).
Marlon Brando was prominent in 1954's 'The Wild One' and, although it was featured in the making in the Post, it was not seen in British cinemas until 1968 due to being banned at the time. Marilyn Monroe was again heavily featured with pieces on 'Niagara' and, unsurprisingly, 'The Seven Year Itch' while a young Elizabeth Taylor was photographed splendidly by Baron in 1954 at a time when she had made over 20 films. And mention of Elizabeth Taylor brings us to Richard Burton, who was making a name for himself and who, in one of the best photographs in this particular book, is pictured walking in Wales with his father in 1953, 10 years before he began his first liaison with Elizabeth Taylor.
Skiffle made its appearance and there are features on Lonnie Donegan 'skiffling' while 'The Comets are Coming' features Bill Haley rocking around the clock. And to counter balance Haley, the Bermondsey boy himself is noted as being 'the Prince of Rock' and was described as 'a home boy really'. That was Tommy Steele, whose 'Rock with the Caveman' rivalled the songs of Elvis and the rest.
It was also the time of the flowering of British comedy as Stanley Baxter, Max Wall, Morecambe and Wise, Arthur Askey ('Hello Playmates') and Frankie Howerd had their followings and their own pieces in the Post. And finally there was 'Britain's favourite American comedian' - Danny Kaye of whom the Post said, 'an astonishing success, who constantly, suddenly and unplanned, does the unexpected'. Well, I can confirm that, for my Dad worked backstage at Blackpool's Opera House and was on duty when Danny came to Blackpool and he said that he was the best performer he had ever seen and that, when there was a delay in the audience leaving due to transport difficulties, he sat on the edge of the stage and entertained everyone with a succession of anecdotes for over an hour.
It was a sad time when 'Picture Post' called it a day in 1957, but times were changing and the end was inevitable. However, books such as this one are a timely reminder and a delightful record of the excellent features that they reported of times long gone.
15 January 2023
This somehow surfaced in a pile of books and I was so fascinated by flicking through the magnificent illustrations that I thought I ought to refresh my memory with a complete read, which I have now done!
The thing that struck me most was the number of anecdotes I have about some of the people featured for with my Dad being stage manager for the Blackpool Tower Company he worked with a number of the stars who crop up in the book.
I think I might have been a little harsh with my four stars first time round so this time I will give it five stars for it was compulsive reading for me to see how the austerity period following the Second World War developed into so-called juvenile delinquency, austerity and then the rock 'n; roll era. And I caught the back end of the rock 'n' roll period which was good!
Frank Sinatra did come to Blackpool but I was too young to realise it, Johnny Ray did and my Dad said the ladies went wild and I saw Arthur Askey bring the FA Cup onto the stage after Blackpool had won it in 1953. There were plenty of other stars that brought back happy memories but the overall impact of the book as that it was a fun time to be around and that Picture Post had captured those days to perfection. It was well worth a second read.
From there the post grew in stature as pin-ups and propaganda dominated the period from 1938 to 1945. Shirley Temple was featured and she set a fashion statement that set thousands of mothers dressing their daughters in her image; the stars did their bit for the war effort and the Post featured such as Noel Coward, George Formby and, naturally, Gracie Fields and Marlene Dietrich, 'Miss Legs' as the GIs called her (and no wonder from one wonderful Post image from 1941), travelled around America on wartime concert tours, which were well illustrated in the magazine.
The decorative and performing arts dominated from 1945 to 1953, 'Austerity Binge' as Bevis Hillier was later to call it, as with the war over, the nation chased stars from across the pond around the country. Rita Hayworth was mobbed, Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn and Humphrey Bogart captured the cinemagoers imagination while our own James Mason was a true heartthrob. Even Chico and Harpo Marx visited these shores and Groucho, somewhat reluctantly apparently, came over in July 1954 when it was reported, 'everyone was keener to meet him than he was to meet them'.
The third period was designated 'Sex, TV and Rock 'n' Roll' when unreachable American idols such as Elvis Presley and James Dean were played off against such as the home grown Tony Hancock; Alfred Hitchcock, pictured on the steps of the British Museum, straddled both camps. The crooners were to the fore as were American glamour girls; in the latter category, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell caused quite a stir with the film 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' while Jayne Mansfield was over in 1957 (when I saw her as a young boy as she switched on Blackpool illuminations). The British were represented by a young Joan Collins. who returned from Hollywood for a time, Diana Dors Yana and Blackpool-born Sabrina.
In the early to mid-1950s jazz enjoyed a heyday with Louis Armstrong provoking 'a frenzied acclamation' at the Empress Hall in May 1956, his first visit to these shores for 25 years. And speaking of long absences, Stan Kenton and his Orchestra were reportedly in the Post the first American band to tour Britain since 1934 (what about Glenn Miller I wonder?).
Marlon Brando was prominent in 1954's 'The Wild One' and, although it was featured in the making in the Post, it was not seen in British cinemas until 1968 due to being banned at the time. Marilyn Monroe was again heavily featured with pieces on 'Niagara' and, unsurprisingly, 'The Seven Year Itch' while a young Elizabeth Taylor was photographed splendidly by Baron in 1954 at a time when she had made over 20 films. And mention of Elizabeth Taylor brings us to Richard Burton, who was making a name for himself and who, in one of the best photographs in this particular book, is pictured walking in Wales with his father in 1953, 10 years before he began his first liaison with Elizabeth Taylor.
Skiffle made its appearance and there are features on Lonnie Donegan 'skiffling' while 'The Comets are Coming' features Bill Haley rocking around the clock. And to counter balance Haley, the Bermondsey boy himself is noted as being 'the Prince of Rock' and was described as 'a home boy really'. That was Tommy Steele, whose 'Rock with the Caveman' rivalled the songs of Elvis and the rest.
It was also the time of the flowering of British comedy as Stanley Baxter, Max Wall, Morecambe and Wise, Arthur Askey ('Hello Playmates') and Frankie Howerd had their followings and their own pieces in the Post. And finally there was 'Britain's favourite American comedian' - Danny Kaye of whom the Post said, 'an astonishing success, who constantly, suddenly and unplanned, does the unexpected'. Well, I can confirm that, for my Dad worked backstage at Blackpool's Opera House and was on duty when Danny came to Blackpool and he said that he was the best performer he had ever seen and that, when there was a delay in the audience leaving due to transport difficulties, he sat on the edge of the stage and entertained everyone with a succession of anecdotes for over an hour.
It was a sad time when 'Picture Post' called it a day in 1957, but times were changing and the end was inevitable. However, books such as this one are a timely reminder and a delightful record of the excellent features that they reported of times long gone.
15 January 2023
This somehow surfaced in a pile of books and I was so fascinated by flicking through the magnificent illustrations that I thought I ought to refresh my memory with a complete read, which I have now done!
The thing that struck me most was the number of anecdotes I have about some of the people featured for with my Dad being stage manager for the Blackpool Tower Company he worked with a number of the stars who crop up in the book.
I think I might have been a little harsh with my four stars first time round so this time I will give it five stars for it was compulsive reading for me to see how the austerity period following the Second World War developed into so-called juvenile delinquency, austerity and then the rock 'n; roll era. And I caught the back end of the rock 'n' roll period which was good!
Frank Sinatra did come to Blackpool but I was too young to realise it, Johnny Ray did and my Dad said the ladies went wild and I saw Arthur Askey bring the FA Cup onto the stage after Blackpool had won it in 1953. There were plenty of other stars that brought back happy memories but the overall impact of the book as that it was a fun time to be around and that Picture Post had captured those days to perfection. It was well worth a second read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review