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Sentinel_NZ Group: Members Posts: 219 Joined: June 2021 Posted: April 26 2023, 20:12 Don't know if anyone else has posted about it but we have to talk about Brian Blessed's terrible MC job on the 50th anniversary Tubular Bells recording with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 1. What on earth was he thinking?  Seems like he thought he was still playing King Richard IV.  Or, that is his only mode of expression...in which case 2.  Why was he hired for the job?  And finally... 3. Why was there nobody at all involved in the production to point out what a dreadful job he was doing? Somehow he managed to be far worse than even John Cleese in 2003. Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: April 26 2023, 22:46 Perhaps it was a WC job instead of an MC job (you seem to be inviting puns ("Brain Blessed" rather than "Brian Blessed") and alternative timelines (there was no Richard IV except in Blackadder). Back to top

Sentinel_NZ Group: Members Posts: 219 Joined: June 2021 Posted: April 27 2023, 00:27 Quote (nightspore @ April 26 2023, 22:46) Perhaps it was a WC job instead of an MC job (you seem to be inviting puns ("Brain Blessed" rather than "Brian Blessed") and alternative timelines (there was no Richard IV except in Blackadder). Perhaps there is something in what you say, but what on earth was the thought behind doing the instrument announcements like that, it ruins the whole performance, it's staggeringly ill-conceived.  Sadly of course the two who did the best job (VS and AR) are both no more. Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1767 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: April 27 2023, 16:02 We have to talk about how seriously some fans seem to take this "MC" thing these days, on all the endless TB renditions and re-makes. It was made for a laugh to begin with. Relax. -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: April 27 2023, 22:12 "MC", apart from being 1100 in Roman numerals (K00), would seem to be a fractured form of "MO". No doubt I'm missing other resonances.... KOO? The chorus in TB2 says "K HO HO", so maybe there's something there too. Back to top

shenry Group: Members Posts: 131 Joined: Oct. 2018 Posted: April 28 2023, 12:28 Quote (Sentinel_NZ @ April 26 2023, 20:12) Don't know if anyone else has posted about it but we have to talk about Brian Blessed's terrible MC job on the 50th anniversary Tubular Bells recording with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. 1. What on earth was he thinking?  Seems like he thought he was still playing King Richard IV.  Or, that is his only mode of expression...in which case 2.  Why was he hired for the job?  And finally... 3. Why was there nobody at all involved in the production to point out what a dreadful job he was doing? Somehow he managed to be far worse than even John Cleese in 2003. Yes I agree, it was a bit embarrassing. I thought the Caveman bit was far worse though. Back to top

Sentinel_NZ Group: Members Posts: 219 Joined: June 2021 Posted: April 29 2023, 17:28 Quote (larstangmark @ April 27 2023, 16:02) We have to talk about how seriously some fans seem to take this "MC" thing these days, on all the endless TB renditions and re-makes. It was made for a laugh to begin with. Relax. Seriously, there is nothing funny about this latest version.  It pretty much ruins the entire production and is so plain wrong, I for one can't understand how it could have possibly come to be.  And there is no comparison between it and any other version that I know of - be it the very first, or Alan Rickman's smooth and elegant rendition, of Vivian Stanshall's lovely, understated, pitch-perfect visual and vocal performance in the 1992 music video version of "The Bell", or even John Cleese's which is not great (especially his "mandolin"), or even the version at the Tubular Bells II premiere by John Gordon Sinclair which not everyone loves, and which Mr. Blessed may have possibly been partially inspired by. Billy Connolly's is a restrained and genial (for him), perfectly pleasant affair.  Finally, Otto Walkes' version is nondescript almost to a fault, the diametric opposite of Blessed's. Back to top

Sentinel_NZ Group: Members Posts: 219 Joined: June 2021 Posted: April 29 2023, 18:45 Quote (shenry @ April 28 2023, 12:28) Yes I agree, it was a bit embarrassing. I thought the Caveman bit was far worse though. Yes, the caveman section was even worse, if that's possible.  Embarrassing is the only word for it...apart from "yikes".  What a shame for Brian Blessed to more or less end his distinguished career (he's 86 now and can't have many more gigs left) in such an inglorious fashion. Back to top

oldnutinfield Group: Members Posts: 4 Joined: Oct. 2022 Posted: May 12 2023, 11:11 Dear people this 50th performance album is really just a great keepsake for those of us who went to RAH and saw the performance where dear old Brian added a bit of OTT humour. Being sad I like this version and wish they made a full Incantations and Windchimes similar album. Now if you really want to hear a crap MC try the US Premier album of TB that is really TB2+ bits. OK nothing beats the original one, but John Cleese was not bad on 2003 version. Smile it's only a joke. Back to top

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