I wanna hold your specs!
QUESTION Why is there a life-sized bronze statue of John Lennon in Havana?
THE Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963 sparked a global phenomenon.
Only communist Cuba resisted Beatlemania. Believing the Fab Four were the epitome of consumerism, ‘ideological diversionism’ and decadent American influence during a time of Revolution, Fidel Castro banned their music in 1964. A black market trade in Beatles records quickly sprang up.
Years later, Castro made a complete volte-face. The assassinated John Lennon was re-imagined as a political dissident hounded by the US government and a revolutionary dedicated to emancipating the working class.
In honour of this, his statue was unveiled on December 8, 2000, the 20th anniversary of his murder, in Parque John Lennon in the Vedado district in Havana. The unveiling was celebrated with an open-air concert of Beatles and Lennon songs by various acts.
The statue, by Jose Villa Soberon, captures Lennon in his long-haired, anti-war activism years, reclining on a park bench. On a marble tile at the foot of the bench, there is a inscription in Spanish, which translates as ‘You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one’ – lyrics from Lennon’s song Imagine.
Lennon’s famous circular rimmed glasses have been stolen so often that an attendant now stands nearby holding them, poised to place them on the statue’s face whenever tourists want to take a photo. Hillary Dutton, Leeds.
QUESTION Is there a poem about two shipwrecked gentlemen who ignore each other because they haven’t been formally introduced?
THE poem Etiquette was written by WS Gilbert, the lyrical genius of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. He wrote humorous poems for Fun magazine under the name Bab.
Etiquette appeared in Fifty ‘Bab’ Ballads, a collection of his poems in the 1880s. The opening lines give a flavour of the humour: The Ballyshannon foundered off the coast of Cariboo, And down in fathoms many went the captain and the crew . . . The passengers were also drowned, excepting only two: Young Peter Gray, who tasted teas for Baker, Croop & Co. And Somers, who from Eastern shores, imported indigo. These passengers, by reason of their clinging to a mast Upon a desert island were eventually cast. They hunted for their meals, as Alexander Selkirk used, But they couldn’t chat together – they had not been introduced. For Peter Gray, and Somers, too, though certainly in trade, Were properly particular about the friends they made; And somehow thus they settled it without a word of mouth — That Gray should take the northern half, while Somers took the South. On Peter’s portion oysters grew – a delicacy rare, But oysters were a delicacy Peter couldn’t bear, On Somers’ side was turtle, on the shingle lying thick, Which Somers couldn’t eat, because it always made him sick. Gray gnashed his teeth with envy as he saw a mighty store, Of turtle unmolested on his fellow creature’s shore. The oysters at his feet aside impatiently he shoved, For turtle and his mother were the only things he loved. Jeff Gibbs, Greatstone-on-Sea, Kent.
QUESTION What is the process by which musical acts are elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? And have any Irish bands or artists achieved this honour?
THE Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland has a complicated induction system, under which artists or bands are nominated.
Ireland has two entries: Van Morrison, who was inducted in 1993, and U2, in 2005, out of a total of over 1,000 inductees to date.
The institution was the brainchild of Atlantic Records founder and chairman, the late Ahmet Ertegun, who wanted a means of preserving the archives of the rock and roll industry as well as honouring its leading performers.
As a result, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame came into being in 1983.
Ever since, the Hall of Fame has been preserving a vast amount of archival material – everything from records, recordings and labels to material on historic venues, rare recordings, handwritten lyrics, personal notes and papers from music journalists.
The process of choosing inductees began in 1986.
These are chosen by an international voting body of more than 1,000 existing inductees. Music historians and members of the industry are also eligible to vote, and added to the aggregate result of an online fan vote.
There’s also a category for nonperformers, such as songwriters and producers, while last year, a singles category was introduced.
However, there has been criticism of a lack of transparency in the voting process and the lack of female inductees. To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording 25 years prior to the induction. Eric Collins, Galway city.
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