Mister 8

In case you haven’t heard the news from multiple sources, Patrick McGoohan, aka John Drake, aka Number Six, has passed away at the age of 80. He was a source of inspiration to us here at Mister 8, and we wish him well in whatever afterlife might exist. Here’s hoping it’s not the Village.

Here are a series of enlightening interviews with McGoohan on the subject of The Prisoner:

This was the second John Drake comic published in the United States, after Dell Four Color #1231, which featured a Danger Man story. Though I own them both, I’ve chosen to highlight the Secret Agent issue because…well, because it seems the artist of this comic had photo reference so the images actually look like Patrick McGoohan. The Dell issue occasionally resembles McGoohan, but more than often looks like a generic Irishman, and a chubby one at that.

Art is listed on several websites as being by Bill Ligante. Writer unknown. Published in 1966.

Gold Key Secret Agent #1 Cover

Gold Key Secret Agent #1 Inside Cover

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Gold Key Secret Agent #1 Inside Back Cover

Gold Key Secret Agent #1 Back Cover

There’s a second issue that followed this one, but I don’t have a copy. I’ll see if I can eBay one on the cheap in coming weeks.

Secret Agent Soundtrack

The song “High Wire” was actually not the original theme to Danger Man, which originally featured a voiceover with John Drake explaining his position with NATO over top of some fairly generic big band jazz. The second season aired two years later, and with quite a bit of reworking. John Drake was now a British agent, episodes were now an hour in length, and there was a new, hip theme song: “High Wire” by Edwin Astley.

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[See full tablature]

Astley, composer of other themes like The Saint and The Baron, and one-time father-in-law to Who guitarist Pete Townsend, took on the Danger Man theme with a playful harpischord and a hard-driving horn section. I consider the song far superior to the theme used in the American version, “Secret Agent Man,” written by Barri/Sloan and sung by Johnny Rivers (which, nonetheless, we’ll be featuring as our tab-of-the week seven days from now).

In 2001, Jools Holland produced a TV documentary on Astley’s life and work, called Astley’s Way, which I’d love to see, if anyone has a copy sitting around.

Here’s a video tribute to Danger Man featuring the .45 single version of the song. Play along at home!

Secret Agent Man 7" single

As I said on Friday, I’ve got a project that’s taking up most of my time this week, and so today’s tablature is nowhere near what I’d planned for today.

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[See full tablature]

For one, I’d hoped to tab out both the Johnny Rivers (vocal) and Ventures (instrumental) versions of “Secret Agent Man”, the former of which was used as the theme song for the U.S. version of Danger Man, called Secret Agent. Well, I haven’t yet finished the Ventures version, and the tab for the Rivers song is not my own. Rather, it’s the work of Ron “R.A.” Martorella, and is posted all over the internet. I’ve given it a look through, and, aside from correcting the opening riff (Transcribed on the wrong string. I do this myself all the time), it seems to be the most correct tablature for the song that I’ve seen. I tried to contact Ron, but his email no longer works. Ron, if you’re out there: I hope you don’t mind!

The song was written by the team of Phillip “P.F.” Sloan and Steve Barri specifically for the show, though Barri relates in Jon Burlingame’s 1996 book TV’s Biggest Hits, that they hadn’t actually seen the show at the time:

Basically, we were thinking that we were writing a James Bond theme. We just wanted to come up with a guitar hook for the beginning since the Bond theme had a guitar hook.

On his website, Sloan describes his memories of the composition process:

A hit T.V. show from England by the name of Dangerman was coming to America the following year (1966). CBS asked a number of publishers probably to come up with a 15-second theme to replace the British theme song. I wrote the guitar lick and the first few lines. My writing partner Steve Barri helped here and there on the chorus. Went to the demo studios. And I thought that was that. No, it wasn’t. Somebody thought I should do a full length instrumental of the song. So I did. Meanwhile the song was picked by CBS and Johnny Rivers recorded the quick 15-second song for the TV show. The Ventures, the genius guitar instrumental group, heard the demo and recorded and released the song way before Rivers even had a finished song. The Publishers asked me to finish the song, Rivers recorded it, not one of his favorite songs back then, but he’s happier with it now. I was honored when Hank Williams Jr. recorded it, and blown away when Devo did it at a time when I really needed it. I really wish to thank all the artists who have recorded it, including Blues Traveler. It’s a wonderful feeling to meet a younger person who knows and likes that song of mine. God Bless.

And Rivers himself completes the account in a 1998 interview with Vintage Guitar Magazine:

There was a television show called Danger Man, starring Patrick McGoohan. We were in London and my producer, Lou Adler, met the producers of that show. At that time it was a big show in Europe and they were getting ready to bring it over to the States, but they only had an instrumental theme to it.

One thing led to another and they asked if we would consider trying to come up with a theme song. I was really hot at the time. I was working with P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, a writing team that worked with Trousdale Music. So we came back and we told them the concept. You know, it’s a spy kind of thing; Danger Man. They came up with this song, “Secret Agent Man.” We worked out that guitar riff, which is a play off the James Bond theme, submitted it, and they really liked it. We only had one verse and one chorus. They wanted to use it to open the television show and so we worked out that deal. The show was an instant success here and people started calling radio stations to see if it was a record. Then the radio stations started calling the record company. We said, “It’s not a song, it’s only a verse and a chorus.” They said, “You ought to finish it and make it longer.”

We decided to record it because everybody was calling. Everybody thought it was a hit. So I went back to Sloan and Barri and said, “You’ve got to write some more verses.” They did and we went in and recorded it. I think I cut it live at the Whisky. After that initial success, every chance we got we’d hire that remote recording truck and just record stuff at the Whisky because it was so inexpensive. It was cheaper than going into a recording studio. We cut it at the Whisky and then we took it into the studio and added stuff to it. We redid my lead guitar part, doubled the riff and added hand clapping and all that stuff. And that became the record. We released it and it was a smash.

The song, once it was a full song, went to number 3 on the Billboard charts! Here’s a 1966 performance by Johnny Rivers, which might be familiar if you’re a reader of Permission to Kill. And if you’re not a reader of Permission to Kill, you’d better have a damned good excuse.

I must apologize for my lack of posting as of late. This week has been busy, and I spent much of the time I’d allotted to the half-done redesign of the site, and not developing my content for the week. For this, I apologize! I’ve also had a conference paper due, a nasty fall down the steps that I’m still dealing with pains from, and my wife leaving town and then returning….

Still, no excuses. I’ve let you down, all six of you, and I hope to make it up by tossing a bunch of new content at you this weekend. Hopefully. Time allowing.

First up is a continuation of the theme of the month, which you’ve probably forgotten by now, which is spy-surf music, guitar instrumentals with twangy, machine gun firing low E strings and clap-clap…clap drum patterns. In our first installment, we presented surf songs that took on James Bond themes…this time out, we’ll be presenting surf covers of classic 60s spy television! Like last time, clicking the album covers will take you to Amazon, where a portion (usually some pennies) of your purchase, I must admit, goes to me. I promise to spend it on something awesome.

Because it’s I Spy week (you may have forgotten that too, considering it started two weeks ago), we’ll start with a version of I Spy — this one by the Clee-Shays, whom we covered last time. Available on the collected album Dynamic Guitar Sounds of the Clee-Shays:

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Next up is a track that’s not really a spy theme, so much as a detective theme…except I just remembered that it was the theme for the video game Spy Hunter, so take that! In any case, the track is Peter Gunn, the classic Mancini song, as done by the master, some say the inventor, of surf guitar: Dick Dale! You know Dale, as thanks to Pulp Fiction, it’s impossible not to — he wrote and recorded the song “Miserlou” that’s often thought of as the theme for the film. He’s also seen in a few 60s-era surf movies, dressed as a gypsy and, if I recall correctly, singing. This particular rip comes from his Greatest Hits, 1961-1976, but I think it was originally recorded for Rock out with Dick Dale and his Del-Tones. This is truly one of the best songs ever recorded by one of the greatest guitar players ever, and I hope you enjoy it!

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We’ll stick with another classic surf band, the Challengers, with their version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The Challengers were formed from the disbanded Bel-Airs, a young Los Angeles band who are now best known for their song, “Mr. Moto” (they also did a version of Peter Gunn, but it doesn’t compare to Dale’s, and is missing that reverb surf sound). The Challengers were drummer Richard Delvy, Jim Roberts on keyboards, bassist Randy Nauert, and guitarists Glenn Grey and Don Landis, and they, alongside Dale and the Beach Boys, were responsible for kick-starting surf music as we know it today. This cut was originally recorded for the vinyl album Man From U.N.C.L.E., which also featured a version of “Secret Agent Man,” but was ripped from Killer Surf: The Best Of The Challengers.

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Speaking of “Secret Agent Man,” that’s what we have up next. There are probably hundreds of covers of this song in the world, all feeding off the original instrumental version by the Ventures. I’ve listened to many of them, and I think this is one of the best, while still retaining the feel of the Ventures’ version. It’s by a band called Cosmonauti, an Italian band from Rome, who also do amazing covers of Ennio Morricone songs. It’s a bit difficult to find actual information on the band, but here’s what I could dig up: the band consists of Stefano “Justo” Giustiniani and Andrea “Joseph” Lauri on guitar, Massimo “Jr.” Petrozzi on bass, and Alessandro “Petrosh” Petrozzi on drums. Also, they are amazing. Aren’t those the essentials?

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“Secret Agent Man” was the American theme song to the British show Danger Man. In the U.K., viewers of the show heard the following theme, “High Wire” The following version was recorded by Man Or Astroman?, whom we also discussed last time. This version has some thunderous keyboards and some crazy thereminesque sounds, and it’s also the only cover of “High Wire” that I know of to be in existence (silly me…the Clee-Shays have one on the album that I took the other songs from!). The song comes from the 7″ UFOs and the Men Who Fly Them…good luck finding that one. I got this one from an online compilation of rare and unfindable Astroman? songs.

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And we’ll pick up next time with covers of Get Smart, Mission Impossible, The Avengers, and The Persuaders!

This is sort of another follow-up post to our look at Ennio Morricone’s “Deep Deep Down” from Danger! Diabolik earlier in the week, continuing to spotlight musicians who have Italo-espionage influence in their music.

First, in the comments section of our last post, Nick of DVDTrash pointed out another Diabolik themed video, this one made semi-official by the acting presence of John Philip Law and direction from Mario Bava’s son, Lamberto Bava. Nick writes at his site:

Lamberto Bava has directed a music video for Italian pop group Tiromancino very much in the style of Diabolik, so much so that Diabolik himself John Philip Law is in the video with a small cameo. Also stars Dan McVicar as Diabolik and the lovely Claudia Gerini as Eva Kant.

Next, our new pal Simon from the band Kriminal Hammond Inferno emailed to tell us about his other band, The Lunar Tikis. He writes:

The Lunar Tiki’s began as instrumental surf trio (Luc on drums, Flupke on bass, Roland on guitar) in 2003. When Simon came in 2004 with his Hammond organ, the band slightly changed their direction and covered more 60’s music, including some spy themes like “Man from UNCLE,” “The Persuaders,” “High Wire” (from Danger Man) and “The Money Spyder” (James Taylor Quartet) but also 60’s classics like “She’s Not There” and “Green Onions.”

In 2006, they became “Leo & the Lunar Tiki’s” with a young girl singer, Léonor. They stopped with spy music then.

You can learn more about the Lunar Tikis at their website.

Simon sent along some MP3s from the Lunar Tikis’ early days as an instrumental band. Enjoy!

The Man From UNCLE

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The Money Spyder

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High Wire / Danger Man:

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The Persuaders:

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Simon was kind enough to tell us the chord progression to the last of these songs, and so we’ll soon be featuring the tablature to the Persuaders here at Mister 8!

But that’s not all. Simon also tells us more about his other band, Kriminal Hammond Inferno:

In 2006 Simon had the opportunity to make a side project with Kriminal Hammond Inferno with Daniel Wang on drums, and they included Lunar Tiki’s cover songs plus 2 new scores from Danger:Diabolik , “The Bubble Theme” and “Deep Deep Down.” They played in 2007 in Italy and Belgium with as guest Sarah Bogart for those 2 songs and performed in 2007-2008 in UK , Netherlands and Belgium .

Here is the group, with singer Sarah Bogart, singing the other theme from Danger: Diabolik!:

And here’s the end of a concert in Rome where they do a different version of “Deep Deep Down,” this time with some Italian lyrics (also includes a rocking version of Green Onions):

Another day, another epic battle of the secret agents that we call Mister 8 May Madness!

John Drake

There’s a man who leads a life of danger. To everyone he meets, he stays a stranger. And every move he makes, another chance he takes. Odds are he won’t live to see tomorrow. Secret Agent / Danger Man! Drake was a NATO agent who later worked for the British M9, fighting international crime with his wits, not a gun or Bondesque gadgets. He didn’t bed a bunch of women, didn’t live the fanciest of lifestyles, but he did his job and he did it well. Played by Patrick McGoohan, there are some who believe that when Drake left M9, he went to live in a small retirement village in Portmeirion. We can neither confirm nor deny.

George Smiley

Working for the bureaucratic world of John le Carré’s version of MI6, aka “the Circus,” George Smiley investigates spy rings, country murders, double agents and moles, going up against his arch enemy Soviet intelligence agent “Karla” in one of the greatest literary trilogies ever written. Smiley is short and pudgy with thick-rimmed glasses, an average looking man who weaves in and out of crowds with ease. He’s also a shrewd operator, sometimes the Circus’ only defense against the dangers posed by German and Soviet intelligence. It is impossible for me to think of Smiley without imagining the face of Alec Guinness, but he was played equally well in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by Rupert Davies.

Voting will be open until May 23, circa 1PM EST.

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Let’s get this thing back on track, shall we? Note some revelations in the bracket above — we have two entrants in what looks to be an epic final four, and, I’m calling it now, this pair will have what it takes to reach the final match: Tara Chace (of Queen & Country) and Napoleon Solo & Ilya Kuryakin (of UNCLE).

The remaining two contests to determine the final four have yet to be decided. Voting in the battle between Nick Fury and the IMF ends just before the stroke of midnight tonight (May 26, EST), and voting in the final “elite eight” matchup starts today (and ends 11:59:59 on May 28)!

John Drake

Harry Palmer

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