John Dankworth

U.K. jazz legend Sir John Dankworth, who scored the 1966 Modesty Blaise film, passed away at age 82. You can read the BBC online article and watch the news clip here.


Sir John scored over twenty films; you can read an interview with him from the Journal of British Film and Television here.

You can find a number of versions of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise theme on YouTube, including the Jonathan and David film version, and also the great Virginia Vee rendition. On iTunes, there is a wonderful version performed by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (I'm not sure if they're playing to an arrangement of Gorillaz's creation, or if Gorillaz sampled this arrangement and then transposed it, but the two sound remakably alike) -- if you've never heard the NYJO one, it's well worth a listen.

The film version:


and the jazz orchestra version:


A discography of John Dankworth's music can be found on Discogs.

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Gorillaz's 'Rock the House'

Yet another 'how did I not know this...?'
Gorillaz's 2001 track 'Rock the House' is built around a sample from John Dankworth's 'Modesty Blaise' theme song.

You can listen to both (and see the Gorillaz video) here.

Amazing how much good music has been inspired by Modesty, but so few films...
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Virginia Vee Scopitone

There is a Scopitone movie on YouTube of Virginia Vee singing the theme song to the 1966 Modesty Blaise movie.




From scopitone.com: ‘The Scopitone was a "Film Jukebox" invented in France in the early 1960's (from surplus World War II airplane parts!) and also the films (the precursors of todays music videos) which played on it.’

I’d love to find out who created and directed this Scopitone – parts of it are very 1960s, and other parts look quite modern (especially the graffiti background).

There are many more Scopitones up on YouTube if you want to check them out!
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Modesty Blaise Compilation CD

I happened to stumble across this... a compilation CD, to be released this July, entitled 'Modesty Blaise vol. 1: Cheesy Pop for the Connoisseur'

No indication of how it relates to Modesty Blaise -- possibly just that the music is from that era, and/or that the 'cheesy' refers to the 1966 movie! Too bad the graphic isn't of Modesty (is that Twiggy?)


From the CD information:
Killer Mod/freak beat pounding compilation with 14 dance floor tracks from the ’60s. Includes Chris Farlowe's Air Travel, VIPs Straight Down To The Bottom, Eyes of Blue's Don't ask me to Mend Your Broken Heart, Plastic Penny's Your Way To Feel Me Go and many more hundred dollar tracks...

The first seven tracks of this super ‘60s comp are Mod and R&B movers and the remaining seven are out and out freak beat pounders.

1. Erma Franklin - I Don’t Want No Mamas Boy
2. Dusty Wilson - Can’t Do Without You
3. Varetta Dillard - That’s Why I Cry
4. Larry Trider - Carbon Copy
5. Malcolm Hayes - Searchin’ For My Baby
6. Esnew Reader - Undivided Love
7. Azie Mortimer - Put Yourself In My Place
8. Chris Farlowe - Air Travel (Special Version)
9. Eyes Of Blue - Don’t Ask Me to Mend Your Broken Heart
10. VIP’s - Straight Down To The Bottom
11. Howard Carpendale - Du Hast Mich
12. Trubadurzy - Osiewcsyna I Pejsas
13. Snappers – Upside Down Inside Out
14. Plastic Penny – Your Way To Tell me go

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Spy Music Collection

Synchronicity is a strange thing...
the day after I posted the piece Dalida's 'Modesty Blaise' song, The Purple Zombie DJ posted a downloadable CD of spy-themed music... which includes the Dalida track!
You can download the whole CD from his blog (it's zipped as a .rar file; if you need a rar extractor, a good free one is 7zip.)
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Norwegian Rock Group 'Modesty Blaise'

Yet more Modesty Blaise music...

Most MB fans have heard of the British pop group Modesty Blaise... however, I didn't realize there was a Norwegian rock group by the same name. I haven't been able to find any information on them apart from this brief mention on YouTube:

"MODESTY BLAISE were one of the most successful rock bands of Norway. Take some parts of U2, Roxy Music and Curved Air and mix them with a big part of originality - ready is MODESTY BLAISE. They were very popular in their homeland (TV shows, extensive tours etc.). Their album 'Face Of The Sun' is available on CD (contains two extra tracks), vinyl and cassette."

Given the reference to cassettes, the album must be quite old. If any Norwegian readers out there know more, please let me know!
You can listen to them on YouTube (and I agree, they do sound rather like U2).

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Interview with John Dankworth in The Jazz Baroness

The BBC is making a documentary film about jazz legend Nica de Koenigswarter, entitled "The Jazz Baroness", which is scheduled for release sometime in 2009. The film features interviews with jazz musicians, artists, music critics, and others. Among the interviewees is John Dankworth, who scored the 1966 Modesty Blaise film.
You can view a clip of the interview at the Jazz Baroness site.

There is also an in-depth interview (2006) with John Dankworth on the subject of his film scores, from the Journal of British Cinema and Television, at Britmovie.co.uk. It is an interesting piece -- previous to Modesty Blaise, Dankworth had worked with Joseph Losey on The Criminal, and his list of film and TV score credits is extensive.

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Dalida - Modesty Blaise song

Modesty Blaise Music seems to be the theme of this year! I came across another Modesty Blaise song, this one even older than the others. Egyptian/French singer Dalida (1933-1987) released a Modesty Blaise song in 1964 -- quite amazing considering the character only came into being in 1963! There is a good, concise biography of Dalida at RFI Music, and there is also a website dedicated to her (with a fan group reunion this May!). Below are the lyrics to the song; and you can listen to it here.


Dalida - Modesty Blaise lyrics
Album: La Danse De Zorba
Year: 1964

Elle fait du judo et du karaté
Et court sa vie avec passion
C'est dans le genre de la féminité de la dynamite en jupon
Modesty, Modesty

C'est la beauté mêlée à l'aventure
Que tous les hommes rêves d'aimer
Et c'est une ombre qui passe les murs
Et que l'on ne peut attraper
Modesty, Modesty

C'est une femme qui aime couramment le danger
C'est une femme qui sait pourtant se faire aimer
Elle est sincère quand elle est amoureuse
Et donne tout sans discuter

Mais attention elle est très dangereuse
Avec tous ceux qui veulent tricher
Modesty, Modesty
Modesty, Modesty

C'est une femme aussi belle que la fleur du jour
C'est une femme qui ne peut vivre sans amour
Tous ceux qui l'ont approchée vous diront
Cet ange cache le démon
Mais tous ceux qui l'ont aimée avoueront
Ne jamais oublier ce nom
Modesty, Modesty
Modesty, Modesty
Modesty, Modesty
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Closterkeller - Modesty Blaise song

Another Modesty Blaise song came across my radar this week, although it's from the early 90s. Polish goth/rock group Closterkeller have a track on their 1992 album, Blue, called Modesty Blaise. Most of their songs are in Polish, but there are also many in English, including this one. I haven't been able to listen to the track yet; there are many sites offering it for download, but I've yet to find one that works successfully. The blog I stumbled across it on is here -- perhaps one of you can get the track to download successfully?
Anyway, here are the lyrics, quite good I thought:

The secret service man
Is on the phone again
Somebody disappeared
I go where madmen dare
Another foreign affair
Adventures waiting for me

I am the lady
You can rely on
I fight the villains
I am revenge
I'm always ready
Remember my name
I am the Princess
Modesty Blaise

Once there was a time
I was the mistress of crime
The menace number one
And then I changed my ways
Though going straight these days
I didn't lay down my gun

Modesty Blaise

My phone is ringing again
A warning from my friend
I know assassins are near
It's my idea of fun
I never miss with my gun
Destroying danger and fear

I am the lady
You can rely on
I am the Princess
Modesty Blaise
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Direct Hits - Modesty Blaise song

Only a few weeks after stumbling across the Montt Mardie song 'Modesty Blaise', I came across another track I'd never heard of, yet is decades old!

This snippet on The Word Magazine directed me to Modesty Blaise by The Direct Hits. I don't know how I missed this band in their time, given how much I loved mod bands! - but the song is absolutely great. You can read more about the band here, and can also download the track.

From 'The Songs That People Sing' blog:
"Blow Up came out in 1984. It is, like a lot of their material, very 1966 influenced. Groovy pop that leans into the psychedelic. Touchstones would be The Beatles Rubber Soul, The Who A Quick One and The Jam All Mod Cons."

If you give it a listen, I'd love to hear what you think...

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Modesty Blaise Music

Swedish musician Montt Mardié's latest album, Introducing... the Best Of, has a track named 'Modesty Blaise.' You can read a review of the album here, and you can listen to the Modesty Blaise track at Montt Mardié's MySpace page.