Almanac Memoir: Swish Agonistes – A 70s Tribute to Sandy Stone
Countdown…
Humdrum…
Drumstick…
Golden Gaytime…
Sunny Boy…
Mad Max…
Max Gillies…
Stork…
Great McCarthy…
Peter Crimmins…
Frank Thring…
Little Lucifer…
TV Licences…
Colour Tele…
Telly Savalas…
Hey Charger…
P76…
Chiko Roll…
KFC…
Yumbo…
National…
Rank Arena…
Tina Arena…
YTT…
Waverley…
Barassi…
Chappelli…
Centenary Test…
Rick’s Jaw…
Footy Park…
Jezza’s Mark…
Twiggy’s Mark…
ThommoandLillee…
Cowdrey…
Wilbur Wilson…
It’s Academic…
Rale Rasic…
74 – Chile draw…
NSL…
Sherbet…
Shirley…
Skyhooks…
Skyways…
Matlock…
Goosebumps…
Heart Thumps…
Stevie…
Evie…
Ripper…
Bumper…
Scorcher…
Ripsnorter…
ABBA…
Norman Gunston…
Don Dunstan…
John Kerr…
Van Der Hum…
Prisoner…
The Freak…
Streakers…
Don Lane…
Coffee Tables…
Jeanne Little…
Boney…
Boney Maronie…
Ossie…
Young Doctors…
Dave Sullivan…
Ugly Dave…
Ugly Australians…
Big M Girls…
Golden Breed…
Radio Birdman…
Birdman Rally…
Lumber Jackets…
Sunbury…
WSC…
ACB…
The Don…
Don Finlayson…
Herb…
Dorrie…
Durrie…
Winfield…
Hoges…
Strop…
Delvene…
Karen Pini…
John Cornell…
Austin Robertson…
Kerry Packer…
Delilah…
Tracy…
Bill and Boyd…
Life Be In It…
Norm…
Bewdy Newk…
Mark Edmondson…
Evonne Goolagong…
Shane Gould…
2JJ…
3XY…
4IP…
5KA…
Top 40…
Countdown
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About Mark 'Swish' Schwerdt
Saw my first SANFL game in 1967 - Dogs v Peckers. Have only ever seen the Dogs win 1 final in the flesh (1972 1st Semi) Mediocre forward pocket for the AUFC Blacks (1982-89) Life member - Ormond Netball Club -That's me on the right
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Brilliant Swish. Memories are like lost keys. They were always there, but someone needs to shine a light in a dark corner to help you find them.
So many beauties there but “goosebumps………heart thumps” triggered a “song” reaction in me. Big hair; loud guitars and drama. But who??? Any hints.
I think JTH’s Karen Pini reference must have triggered something in your brain, whereas for me it didn’t get above the beltline.
Sandy Stone – Edna’s sunset home companion or Bandstand singer??
Now if we can just get Dave Warner to write some music to this I am sure Swish and the Knackerettes could rival Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire”.
Fantastic Swish. You’ve covered it brilliantly. Peter- Goosebumps is by Christie Allen. It was often on Countdown, and I reckon Molly liked it. I’m sure he said, “Do yourself a favour and get it.”
Classic
For a taster of the Barry Humphries/Sandy Stone original that I have plundered for this (the full version dirges on for over 20 minutes):
http://www.pandora.com/#/barry-humphries/moonee-ponds-muse-1/sandy-stone-suite-sandy-agonistes
Great list. A few more off the top of my head. Apologies if I’ve doubled up.
The Captain and the Major
Robbo at the Park
3KZ IS football
Penthouse Club
Harry Beitzel
Tommy Lahiff (down in the rooms)
Mission Brown
20k mortgages
Long hair (sigh)
Sideburns
Fondue nights
Macrame (esp owls) decorating the lounge
Marching bands at VFL finals
Orange benchtops
Duchess of Duke Street
Power Without Glory
Hookseys five fours
Muppets
Statler and Waldorf
Number 96 explosion
Evans the wireless
Tattslotto begins
David Johnson and Lucy Kiraly
Moonface
The Box
Peak touchball
Incredible Hulk
Cork tiles
Shag-pile carpet
String curtains
Home bottlings
Elton
Daddy Cool
Sesame Street
Bert, Ernie et al
Book ’em Danno
Jack O”Toole’s countdown for the WOS woodchop
Alan Teasdale’s Brownlow suit
The Whale
Cheers, Burkie
Well done those men.
Great iniator of some fun times and memories Swish
Brilliant Swish,
One major omission
GTK
2 Karen Pini references, only days apart. Her odds are shortening as the 2014 Almanac cover.
Love it. The 1970s also means:
Spectrum.
and…
“Well I remember when I was young, the world had just begun and I was happy” – Matt Taylor and Chain.
Humphries would be proud…. really enjoyed that tip of the hat. I even read it Sandy’s monotone voice
Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs.
Glen!
Thanks JB, what kept you?
Glen! – Billy T…….
When I was at uni I went out with a girl who drove a LEYLAND MARINA.
Glen!
Sunbury
Myponga
Valiant Charger
Datsun 180B
Statesman Caprice
Ford LTD
Holden Sandman
Probably South Australia only, but…..John Vincent.
Ahh, Delvene !!!
Supernaut
Mother Goose
Hush
Promises
In the Flesh
S-S-S-Single Bed
The Victims
Great post Swish. And thanks to others as well for additions.
I can’t add anything much else here so I’ll sit back and read them all again.
If anyone can find the spaceship, book me a ticket too and I’ll settle later at an Almanac lunch if I make it back.
RDL
As Dave Graney suggested:
A black Statesman, ’73
Caprice
Leaded.
Thanks again, Swish.
Even better the second and third time. May there be a fourth and fifth. Like the Gospels.
As for Sandy Stone…a brilliant Humphries character. So many of his characters are anti-heroes. Easy targets. Sandy is different I suspect.
I went to ‘An Evening’s Intercourse’ in Adelaide in 1985. It was actually the world premiere. Barry made the most of that too – about choosing Adelaide. A superb show. The first half included Sandy Stone in his armchair, wearing pyjamas and a dressing gown. The apotheosis of wistfulness. Then Edna took over.
I must dig out an old piece I wrote, lamenting that Barry’s problem was that he didn’t mow enough as a child.
A Souvlaki from ‘Twins’ in Carlton.
Philip Adams was interviewing the daughter of the late John Clarke recently and disclosed that he went to Barry’s show and was shocked to find it incredibly cruel. This from a man who worked closely with Humphries on many film projects over the years. Sandy was the exception to this cruelty, his was a much gentler humour, with eg Christmas trees from the Silvan Dam.
Thanks all – glad to see this still hits the mark ten years down the track.
I reckon Sandy Stone is Humphries’ best character. I recall reading that his original intention was to create the most boring man possible and then see how long he could get away with it; see how much an audience would endure before they protested. To BH’s surprise they loved SS. His mention of a Fowler’s Vacouler remains one of the great cultural references! I also enjoyed the TV series which, I think, aired on the ABC in the early 90’s. The final episode is posthumous, and SS begins with the unforgettable line, ‘I am deceased.’
From my $5 op-shop purchase The Life and Death of Sandy Stone.
I AM DECEASED
With the resultant consequence that there has been a considerable change in my life style. I’ve never had a day’s illness in my life so this little setback came as much as a surprise to me as it did Beryl, my good wife.
Beryl’s always had her heart set on the Women’s Weekly World Discovery Tour but she kept putting it off: I think deep down she must have known a tragedy like this was on the cards. She was always on at me to tag along with her but I never had the lust to wander. I could never see much percentage in dragging myself up and down the Leaning tower of Eiffel. I always felt I’d seen as much of the world as I wanted after a little run down to rosebud or a spin up to the Dandies on a Sunday afternoon to pick up a couple of shrubs…
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Eventually she made up her mind – sprang it on me. I was giving the silver birch a drink at the time and she jumped me from a rhododendron, waving a Women’s Weekly and saying ‘Sandy, I’m going, I’m actually going’ And she went …
76 Eclipse
John Nash and the Tidal Wave
… they were … Happy Days
PS. Onya Swish