Lord Kitchener's Little Drummer Boys

Last updated

Lord Kitchener's Little Drummer Boys is an unmade feature film that was meant to star the Bee Gees.

The film's script, originally by Mike Pratt, was commissioned by the group's management, NEMS. The movie was the story of five young men who enlist in the Army as musicians and are pressed into service in the Boer War. It was originally suggested that Colin Petersen, who had starred in a number of films as a child, would play the lead role. [1]

Later on the script was rewritten by Spike Milligan then Johnny Speight [2] [3]

The film was announced in June 1967. [4] [5]

The plan was to film the movie in Kenya [6] [7] although Spain was also discussed. Eventually the film collapsed when Barry Gibb pulled out in March 1969 a month before filming was to start in South Africa with a reported budget of £1,500,000. Gibbs said "I thought it would be a catastrophe... I,know I shouldn't say it because I've never been in a film before but I wasn’t keen on the story for a start. It was a much too colourful film and reminded me too much of The Beatles’ Help!" [8] It was a turbulent time for the group - Vince Mouneton had recently left the band and Robin Gibb left shortly afterwards. [9]

The Bee Gees did make a TV special Cucumber Castle (1970) with Frankie Howerd, Vincent Price and Spike Milligan. During filming, the band sacked Colin Petersen.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bee Gees</span> Music group (1958–2012)

The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in the mid-to-late 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight harmonies: Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s. The group wrote all their own original material, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists, and are regarded as one of the most important and influential acts in pop-music history. They have been referred to in the media as The Disco Kings, Britain's First Family of Harmony, and The Kings of Dance Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Gibb</span> British musician (1949–2003)

Maurice Ernest Gibb was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved worldwide fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lead singers, most of their albums included at least one or two songs featuring Maurice's lead vocals, including "Lay It on Me", "Country Woman" and "On Time". The Bee Gees are one of the most successful pop-rock groups of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Gibb</span> British-American musician (born 1946)

Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger twin brothers, Robin and Maurice, he rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popular music. Gibb is well known for his wide vocal range including a far-reaching high-pitched falsetto. Gibb's career has spanned over 60 years.

<i>Cucumber Castle</i> 1970 studio album by the Bee Gees

Cucumber Castle is the seventh studio album by the Bee Gees, released in April 1970. It was produced by Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and Robert Stigwood. It consists of songs from their television special of the same name, which was named after a song on their 1967 album Bee Gees' 1st. Cucumber Castle is the only Bee Gees album not to feature any recorded contributions from Robin Gibb, as he had left the group before the album was recorded.

<i>Best of Bee Gees</i> 1969 compilation album by Bee Gees

Best of Bee Gees is a 1969 compilation album by the English-Australian rock band Bee Gees. It was their first international greatest hits album. It featured their singles from 1966–1969 with the exception of the band's 1968 single "Jumbo".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vince Melouney</span> Australian musician (born 1945)

Vincent Melouney is an Australian musician. He is best known as an official member of the Bee Gees from 1967 to 1969 during the group's initial period of worldwide success.

<i>Horizontal</i> (album) 1968 studio album by the Bee Gees

Horizontal is the fourth studio album by the Bee Gees, and their second album to receive an international release. The LP was released in early 1968, and included the international hit singles "Massachusetts" and "World". On 5 February 2007, Reprise Records reissued Horizontal with both stereo and mono mixes on one disc and a bonus disc of unreleased songs, non-album tracks, and alternate takes. The album was released in Polydor in many countries and on Atco only in the US and Canada. "And the Sun Will Shine" was released as a single only in France. The influences displayed on the album range from the Beatles to baroque pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Started a Joke</span> 1968 single by Bee Gees

"I Started a Joke" is a song by the Bee Gees from their 1968 album Idea, which was released as a single in December of that year. It was not released as a single in the United Kingdom, where buyers who could not afford the album had to content themselves with a Polydor version by Heath Hampstead. This is the last Bee Gees single to feature Vince Melouney's guitar work, as he left the band in early December after this song was released as a single.

<i>Idea</i> (album) 1968 studio album by the Bee Gees

Idea is the fifth album by the Bee Gees. Released in August 1968, the album sold over a million copies worldwide. The album was issued in both mono and stereo pressings in the UK. The artwork on the Polydor release designed by Wolfgang Heilemann featured a "beehive" neon lightbulb with a group photo in its base, while the North American ATCO release designed by Klaus Voormann featured a composite head made from each band member. It was their third internationally released album – the first two albums being released only in the Australian market.

<i>High Civilization</i> 1991 studio album by the Bee Gees

High Civilization is the nineteenth studio album by British-Australian pop group the Bee Gees, released on 25 March 1991 in the United Kingdom and 14 May 1991 in the United States. It was their third and final album Warner Bros. Records, following the release of the successful comeback albums E.S.P. (1987) and One (1989), and was self-produced by the group in their Miami studio.

Humpy Bong were an English folk rock band formed in London in 1970, by former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen and Irish folk rock singer Jonathan Kelly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Mining Disaster 1941</span> 1967 single by the Bee Gees

"New York Mining Disaster 1941" is the debut American single by the Bee Gees, released on 14 April 1967. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Aside from a moderately successful reissue of their Australian single "Spicks and Specks," it was the first single release of the group's international career and their first song to hit the charts in both the UK and the US. It was produced by Ossie Byrne with their manager Robert Stigwood as executive producer. The song was the first track of side two on the group's international debut album, Bee Gees' 1st. This was the first single with Australian drummer Colin Petersen as an official member of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomorrow Tomorrow (Bee Gees song)</span> 1969 single by Bee Gees

"Tomorrow Tomorrow" is a song by the Bee Gees written by Barry and Maurice Gibb. The song was originally intended to be recorded by Joe Cocker. It was the first Bee Gees single released after Robin Gibb had quit the group which was now down to a trio featuring Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and drummer Colin Petersen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I.O.I.O.</span> 1970 single by Bee Gees

"I.O.I.O." is a song by the Bee Gees, released on the album Cucumber Castle. It was written by Barry and Maurice Gibb. The song was released as a single in March 1970, and was also one of the highlights of the album. The single was a relative success mainly on European charts. Its music video is taken from the film Cucumber Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Petersen</span> Australian drummer, record producer and actor (1946–2024)

Frederick Colin Petersen was an Australian drummer, record producer and child actor. He played as a member of the bands Steve and the Board, the Bee Gees and Humpy Bong. In August 1969, he left the Bee Gees and he was replaced by Pentangle drummer Terry Cox to record the songs for their 1970 album Cucumber Castle. His scenes from the film of the same name were cut, and he is not credited on the accompanying album soundtrack, even though he does play on some songs.

<i>Bee Gees 1st</i> 1967 studio album by the Bee Gees

Bee Gees' 1st is the third studio album by the Bee Gees, and their first international full-length recording after two albums distributed only in Australia and New Zealand. Bee Gees' 1st was the group's debut album for the UK Polydor label, and for the US Atco label. Bee Gees 1st was released on 14 July 1967 in the UK. On 9 August it entered the UK charts; on that same day, the album was released in the US, and it entered the US charts on 26 August.

"I Can't See Nobody" is a song by the Bee Gees, released first as the B-side of "New York Mining Disaster 1941". With "New York Mining Disaster 1941", this song was issued as a double A in Germany and Japan, and included on the group's third LP, Bee Gees' 1st. "I Can't See Nobody" charted for one week at number 128 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 in July 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You</span> 1967 single by the Bee Gees

"Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You" is a song written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb released by the Bee Gees in 1967 on their album Bee Gees' 1st. It was released as the B-side to "Holiday" in the US, Australia and Canada.

<i>Cucumber Castle</i> (film) 1970 British comedy film by Hugh Gladwish

Cucumber Castle is a British comedy film made for television directed by Hugh Gladwish and starring the Bee Gees, Eleanor Bron and Frankie Howerd. It aired on BBC2 on 26 December 1970.

The 1967–68 Tours are a series of concerts held in 1967 and 1968 by the Bee Gees. The tours promoted their third, fourth and fifth studio albums: Bee Gees' 1st (1967), Horizontal (1968) and Idea (1968). The band's line-up at that time was the Gibb brothers with Colin Petersen and Vince Melouney. Before the tours began, the group were the opening act for Fats Domino in London and Manchester.

References

  1. ↑ Bilyeu p 138
  2. ↑ The swinging sixties : an iconic decade in pictures. Ammonite. 2012. p. 227. ISBN   978-1-907708-72-5.
  3. ↑ Bilyeu p 156
  4. ↑ "Bee Gees in America". Detroit Free Press. 21 July 1967. p. 40.
  5. ↑ "Film for the Bee Gees". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 July 1967. p. 77.
  6. ↑ "Bee Gees trio here on brief holiday". The Canberra Times . Vol. 42, no. 11, 881. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 December 1967. p. 18. Retrieved 24 November 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "Bee Gees going in army on film". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 March 1968. p. 19.
  8. ↑ Bilyeu p 238
  9. ↑ "Barry Gibb backs out of Bee Gees first film". Daily Mirror. 15 March 1969. p. 9.

Notes

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.