Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 194

When Did You Last See A Movie?

I asked a friend this the other day and he admitted that the last film he saw on the big screen was ‘Earthquake’ in Sensurround. Now you’ll have to admit that this is a fairly radical answer, and I wondered if that awful film put him off for life, but no, he said he simply […]

Too Naked For The Nazis

In the days of music hall it was possible to build an entire career out of just one act, and not even a very great one. Little Tich used to walk about on elongated boots, Max Miller told lame suggestive jokes and wore a bright suit, Bob Blackman used to sing ‘Mule Train’ while hitting […]

Authors Made Visible

When I started my ‘Invisible Ink’ column in the UK’s Independent On Sunday, it seemed that I might be able to direct a few readers who showed an interest toward authors they had missed.When the column began, it seemed an intriguing idea to find out what happened to some of the popular authors whose books […]

Rediscovering A Lost London Talent

The UK has a system for dealing with its stars; we discover them and expect them to be humble and grateful, then destroy them if they get too big for their boots, or trot off to Hollywood. From the low comic to the intellectual author, we pride ourselves on turning our backs on them if […]

The Secret Histories Of Pubs

Arguably the oldest pub in Britain is in, of all places, Nottingham. ‘Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem’ is twelfth century and rather an oasis in the lawless party town. Its name clearly derives from the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, but other pubs have more obscure origins. The ability of pubs to reinvent themselves […]

London Norf & Sarf

Is London still a city of two halves? Divided traversely by the Thames, its two sides are still fundamentally different. Historically, it’s easy to see why. The South was easily flooded marshland, so was filled with factories and cheap workers’ homes. The North had hills and therefore attracted the rich, who love a vista. The […]

London’s Cinema Museum Is A Hidden Gem

Britain has always had a disparaging attitude to its cinemas and their history. After the collapse of MOMI (Museum of the Moving Image) in London’s Southbank, we were left without a cinema museum. MOMI was utterly dreadful, a dumbed-down ‘experience’ ineptly run, with very little to enjoy beneath its expensive surface gloss. So it was […]

An Alternative Christmas

Many years ago I had a friend who ran a catering company. He and I came up with a nice idea; to hire his caterers for a Christmas meal one week before Christmas. The plan was to have them come in, set up a table, decorate it, cook and take everything away after. The dinner […]

Best Books On Comics

I’ve always been a secret comic book lover, but I find many titles a struggle now because I feel like I’ve read the stories before. Too many are over-worthy or in trying to be ‘edgy’ actually lack a genuinely original edge, so anything that can guide me through the choice is good. The UK is […]

Why Jack The Ripper Sends Men Mad

Do you remember David Icke? He was a footballer, then a sports broadcaster and spokesman for the Green Party, so not a great thinker but at least relatively normal. Then one day he went mad. In 1990 a psychictold him that he was a healerwho had been placed on Earth for a purpose, and that […]