When the centenary of John Betjeman's birth is celebrated this August, it will be a very English affair. Radio 4 will have a Betjeman Day, and Joanna Lumley, Ronnie Corbett and Judi Dench will gather to recite his work at a gala performance in the West End. There will be a Cornish Birthday Party, with donkey rides and cream teas by the sea at Polzeath. Also in Betjeman's beloved Cornwall, at Trebetherick, there will be the John Betjeman Centenary Golf Trophy.
England's DJs, however, are saluting a less familiar side of the former poet laureate. Recently, rare Betjeman vinyl LPs have been selling on auction site eBay - categorised as "funk/soul/R&B" and recommended for their "dope bass action", "exotic grooviness" and "fat, funky basslines". The time, it seems, has come to boogie with Betjeman.
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Thursday, April 27, 2006
John Betjeman and fat funky baselines
There is an article by Roy Wilkinson in today's Guardian that is just too wonderful to be true:
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