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Unusual Rock Trivia?

Stonehenge: Brian May finds oldest family photo

An image thought to be the oldest family photo taken at Stonehenge, is going on display after being discovered in the collection of a music legend.

The 3D stereoview image, dating back to the 1860s, was found in Queen guitarist Brian May's archive.

Taken by photographer Henry Brooks, the image depicts Brooks' family enjoying a day out at the ancient Wiltshire monument.

It can be viewed through a digital stereoscope at Stonehenge visitor centre until the end of September.

The image forms part of an exhibit allowing visitors to enjoy a short film of historic and contemporary Stonehenge stereoviews, accompanied by a piano soundtrack of Who Wants To Live Forever, played by Mr. May.

Stereographs involve two images of the same scene taken from slightly different perspectives to correlate with the human eyes and create a single 3D image. They were popular during the 1850s and 1860s.


It was discovered by the curators of the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy following a public appeal by English Heritage to find the earliest family photo taken at the stones.

"I've been fascinated by stereo cards since I was a boy and got one in a cereal packet," said the Queen guitarist.

"This is a fantastic early example and exciting because it's one of the oldest family snaps taken at Stonehenge.

"It feels even more evocative when set to music - a bit like a silent movie and we thought it would be great fun to recreate the image as a stereo view at Stonehenge and breathe new life into an old photo," he added.

English Heritage is now putting out a call to find descendants of photographer Henry Brooks, in order to invite them to Stonehenge to re-create the photo as a new stereo card.

Historian at English Heritage, Susan Greaney, said: "The stones play such an important role in our collective memory and this can be seen so clearly in the long tradition of family and group photos taken at the stones.


"These sorts of Victorian 3D images have a real vividness and depth in themselves, and this one provides a further dimension still because we know who took it."


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Brian May is also an astrophysicist!
I have an old collection of Stereographs from the early 1900’s of Mount Rushmore being built, Grand Canyon and many American landmarks. Some are hand painted and look really awesome. Stereographs are cool.
My mom had a 60mm stereo camera made in 50's. She didn't use it a lot, but still there were some stereographs around our home.
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Stonehenge: Brian May finds oldest family photo

An image thought to be the oldest family photo taken at Stonehenge, is going on display after being discovered in the collection of a music legend.

The 3D stereoview image, dating back to the 1860s, was found in Queen guitarist Brian May's archive.

Taken by photographer Henry Brooks, the image depicts Brooks' family enjoying a day out at the ancient Wiltshire monument.

It can be viewed through a digital stereoscope at Stonehenge visitor centre until the end of September.

The image forms part of an exhibit allowing visitors to enjoy a short film of historic and contemporary Stonehenge stereoviews, accompanied by a piano soundtrack of Who Wants To Live Forever, played by Mr. May.

Stereographs involve two images of the same scene taken from slightly different perspectives to correlate with the human eyes and create a single 3D image. They were popular during the 1850s and 1860s.


It was discovered by the curators of the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy following a public appeal by English Heritage to find the earliest family photo taken at the stones.

"I've been fascinated by stereo cards since I was a boy and got one in a cereal packet," said the Queen guitarist.

"This is a fantastic early example and exciting because it's one of the oldest family snaps taken at Stonehenge.

"It feels even more evocative when set to music - a bit like a silent movie and we thought it would be great fun to recreate the image as a stereo view at Stonehenge and breathe new life into an old photo," he added.

English Heritage is now putting out a call to find descendants of photographer Henry Brooks, in order to invite them to Stonehenge to re-create the photo as a new stereo card.

Historian at English Heritage, Susan Greaney, said: "The stones play such an important role in our collective memory and this can be seen so clearly in the long tradition of family and group photos taken at the stones.


"These sorts of Victorian 3D images have a real vividness and depth in themselves, and this one provides a further dimension still because we know who took it."


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“No one knows who they where, and what they were doing….”
 
Don Dannemann and Tom Dawes of the 1960s group The Cyrkle who had hits with "Red Rubber Ball" and "Turn Down Day" became professional jingle writers and record producers after the Cyrkle disbanded. Dawes wrote the famous "plop plop fizz fizz" jingle for Alka-Seltzer. Sammy Davis, Jr. appeared in Alka-Seltzer commercials singing the song and recorded an album that included a rock version of the song and a big band version of the song. Dawes also produced two albums for the band Foghat, Rock & Roll (1973) and Energized (1974), and co-wrote the song "Wild Cherry" on the latter. Dannemann wrote jingles for Continental Airlines and Swanson Foods. He penned the original 7Up "Uncola" song.













 
It was 61 years ago tonight (August 17th, 1960) that the Beatles began their first stint in Hamburg, Germany’s Indra Club. At that time the group consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison — all on guitars — along with Lennon’s art college buddy Stuart Sutcliffe on bass and drummer Pete Best, who had joined the group only five days earlier.
 
From Burton Cummings.

The oldest, earliest photo ever of the Deverons. This was taken at the Cellar in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, January 1964. On the wall behind us, you can see the letters "LES DEVERONS"...Edd Smith and I had gone to see Summer Holiday with Cliff Richard and the Shadows a year earlier, and in the movie, when the red bus got to Paris, Cliff and some of the cast went to a club where the Shadows were performing. Behind them on the wall were the letters "LES SHADOWS"...I got my Mother to cut the letters "LES DEVERONS" out of a white shoe box we had and we taped the letters onto the wall behind us. This photo is so early, we hadn't even gotten Bruce Decker into the band yet. A priceless memory for many of us...it's 57 years ago now.

That is Burton Cummings on saxophone.

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Eleven Things You May Not Know About The Rolling Stones Drummer Charlie Watts

1. Watts didn’t have a driver’s license and he didn’t drive.

Charlie Watts had a collection of vintage cars he didn’t drive. In fact, Watts didn’t have a driver’s license and he didn’t drive. He liked how cars were made, how they looked and how they sounded.

2. Watts was a graphic designer prior to joining the Rolling Stones.

Watts worked as a graphic designer in Denmark and then at the British advertising agency Charles, Hobson and Grey before joining the Rolling Stones. He used those skills to help design the sets for several of the Stones' tours, as well as a few of their early album sleeves.

3. He played in the group Blues Incorporated, which featured a cast of future rock legends.

Watts was earlier part of an outfit called Blues Incorporated, led by influential musician Alexis Korner. He played alongside future Cream bassist Jack Bruce, and was replaced by future Cream drummer Ginger Baker when he joined the Stones.

4. Watts had been married to the same woman since 1964.

Watts married Shirley Ann Shepherd in 1964, and they had one daughter, Serafina. While his bandmates partied on the road, Watts remained faithful to Shirley. However, he had trouble sleeping in hotel rooms without the comfort of her being next to him.

5. He consistently sketched each hotel room he stayed in while on tour.

Watts once told an interviewer that he has a habit of sketching each hotel room in which he stayed. Watts didn't give a reason for the compulsive behavior, but apparently he held on to all of the renderings. Perhaps, they'll make a good coffee-table book someday.

6. Sure, he's rock royalty, but Watts' true passion is jazz and big band music.

Watts always professed his love for jazz music, even penning an illustrated tribute to Charlie Parker. He formed a number of jazz, boogie-woogie and big band outfits, including Rocket 88, the Charlie Watts Quintet and the Charlie Watts Tentet.

7. A 'midlife crisis' led Watts to a bout with drugs and alcohol in the '80s.

Despite living a relatively clean life, Watts did have a period in the '80s when he had a serious drug and alcohol problem. He attributed the spell to a midlife crisis that resulted from a feeling of panic. Watts went cold turkey after he broke his ankle in a drunken stupor.

8. He chose the Rolling Stones' new bass player after Bill Wyman left.

The Rolling Stones were forced to hold auditions for a new bassist after Bill Wyman left the group in 1993. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards left the decision up to Watts, who ultimately chose Darryl Jones to replace Wyman. Jones had played with such acts as Miles Davis and Sting.

9. He and his wife owned a horse-breeding farm.

Watts and his wife, Shirley, owned a farm on which they bred Arabian horses in Devonshire, England. One reason that Watts wasn't always thrilled with touring is that he did not like leaving the farm for long periods of time. The couple also took in a number of rescued greyhound dogs over the years.

10. He battled throat cancer in 2004.

Watts revealed a bout with throat cancer in 2004. He'd quit smoking when he gave up drugs and alcohol in the '80s, but nevertheless underwent a course of radiotherapy. The cancer later went into remission.

11. Watts punched Mick Jagger in the face for calling him 'my drummer.'

Richards told Esquire magazine that Jagger once pushed the mild-mannered Watts over the edge. Jagger, after a few drinks in a hotel, phoned Watts and asked, "Is my drummer there?" Watts, dressed in a full suit, knocked on Jagger's door, told him "Don't ever call me your drummer," and decked him in the face.
 
Three Dog Night's “Black And White” was written in 1954 in reaction to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, which banned racial segregation of public schools.

"Black And White" was first recorded by Pete Seger and followed by the song's co-writer Earl Robinson and then Sammy Davis, Jr. and after that, The Maytones and Greyhound. Three Dog Night covered the song based on the Greyhound version for a #1 U.S. hit. :thumbsup: