A Piece of My Childhood Just Died: Gerry Anderson Passes

I was one of those nerdy kids who grew up on the sci-fi of Gerry Anderson.  Thunderbirds. Joe 90. Stingray.  Captain Scarlet. UFO.  Space: 1999.  And if it weren't for him and his Supermarionation, the South Park guys would have never made Team America.

Gerry died yesterday at the age of 83.  So what does this have to do with music (besides all the groovy theme songs heard in the above links)?

In 1991, Mark Knopfler--a big fan of these same TV shows--commissioned Anderson to create this video for "Calling Elvis" from the Dire Straits album, On Every Street.  Thunderbirds fans appreciated it.

Dire Straits - Calling Elvis from Michele Senatore on Vimeo.

Once you're done with that, enjoy this Bomb the Bass classic featuring Thunderbirds samples.

Comments

[JC]

I'm just old enough to barely remember Supercar, which had the creepiest monkey puppet ever. His earliest work tended to have more exaggerated styles, closer to Punch and Judy than human. The opening to Stingray is one of the most dynamic title sequences ever done, both in music, audio design and visuals. He really did assemble great teams of artists.

RIP Gerry