I think this city gent enjoyed it more than he let on...
Hotter than Cairo?!! That's mad...
As happens every time there's a heatwave in the UK, however, my thoughts drift away to that idyllic long, hot summer of '76...
The heatwave hadn't even started yet in May 1976 - we had another month to go before the UK began to bake. The fashions, as I recall, veered towards gypsy skirts and maxi-dresses for women, cheesecloth shirts, corduroys and high-buttoned flared denims for men [before all that was cast off for the rest of the summer in favour of swimming costumes, of course], and everyone had centre-partings and flicks!
In the headlines at the time were "Gentleman" Jim Callaghan, our new Prime Minister, already facing falling Labour Party ratings; his predecessor Harold Wilson's controversial Resignation Honours list ("the Lavender List") was published, with a number of dodgy businessmen given peerages; we were celebrating the inaugural flight of Concorde to New York; former "millionaire's playground" the Lebanon was in flames in a bloody civil war; all eyes were on British tennis champion Sue Barker for Wimbledon; and "Elsie Tanner" (Pat Phoenix) returned to Coronation Street after three years.
And in our charts this week (gulp) half a century ago? Abba's Fernando was at #1, and JJ Barrie, The Wurzels, Sutherland Brothers & Quiver, Wings, Rolling Stones, Robin Sarstedt, Bellamy Brothers and Miss Ross were all present and correct...
...but still hovering around in the Top Ten was this all-time classic Disco number [and it's not even Friday!] - probably the very first [only?] time an actual porn star became an international hit-maker!
It's still a fab song, even 50 years later!
I'm not looking forward to the office today, in this heat - "air-con, what air-con?!"
Oh I remember that! Enough with the half century talk!
ReplyDeleteGood luck at the office today - maybe they'll send you home? Too hot to work, even at 8.20 in the morning.
Sx
Time flies, Ms Scarlet.
DeleteWe'll see just how unbearable the office is today... Jx
PS There is no maximum temperature for workplaces, only a minimum whereby you may be sent home.
I was in Amsterdam during a heat wave in the ’70s. No AC, not even fans. It was oppressive. (But I still had a good time.) I’d never seen More, More, More performed before today. I’m grateful. Her little butt thrusts on the More, More, More are... awkward.
ReplyDeleteAmsterdam can be stifling in the heat - we experienced similar back in 2020 [in the "bit in-between lockdowns", when we were (briefly) able to travel], and it was quite uncomfortable.
DeleteAs for Ms True's thrusting - once a porn star, always a porn star, I guess... Jx
I just spit out my tea! I had no idea. Those moves make sense.
DeleteThe lyrics:
DeleteBut if you want to know
How I really feel
Get the cameras rolling
Get the action going
...are a bit of a giveaway! Jx
Yes, there were some high temps in the 70s! I recall coming back to London from an Italian (hot) holiday and turning 'round and taking off to Amsterdam...which was no cooler! Fab city though
ReplyDeleteThe reason, I believe, that the heatwave of 1976 is looked upon with such fond memories - if not awe - is that we experienced 15 consecutive days when temperatures reached 32.2 °C/90 °F! It probably hit Europe as well, but I doubt it was as prolonged - and I also doubt many other countries had water shortages and standpipes in the street!
DeleteCulturally, too, it's often been referred to "the year Britain discovered sex", which I suppose is apt, given that everyone was in skimpy clothing and so many "X-rated cinemas" were prevalent all over the place. Amsterdam had discovered it a bit earlier, methinks 😜. Jx
Oh...Amsterdam was waaay ahead of UK in such matters
DeleteStill is. Jx
DeleteI'm visiting Texas where it's around 32 celsius (90 freedom fahrenheit degrees)
ReplyDeleteIt's not very often that London's hotter than Texas!
DeleteIt's forecast to be a bit cooler today... Jx
OMG summer of '76...
ReplyDeleteSun, cheesecloth shirts, sun, centre-partings and flicks! sun, high-buttoned flares, sun, being young, being thin and Diana Ross.
Happy Days indeed.
"...being young, being thin and Diana Ross" just about sums it up, really! I turned teenage that year. It is, scarily, such a long time ago... Jx
Delete