D.F. Rogers and I have a saying we use sometimes. “I’m having a better day than Chuck”.
We knew Chuck in college. After graduation I met Carol, and by chance she became friends with Chuck’s future wife. Carol, Dennis and I went their wedding, 30 years ago. Yesterday was the fourteenth anniversary of Chuck’s death, in a plane he was piloting. God bless, Chuck.
One of my favorite TV shows when I was a wee lad was the highly-successful spy series, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. For Christmas, 1965(?) I got an U.N.C.L.E agent kit with convertible pistol-turned-rifle and a triangle badge, along with one or two U.N.C.L.E. paperback books. Later, I bought U.N.C.L.E. comic books. I’d have to dig through some boxes to find them, and if I do I’ll scan some pages.
Twenty years later, in ’87, U.N.C.L.E. comics were published under license by none other than Paul Howley. Paul even co-wrote a book about U.N.C.L.E. collectibles, called The Toys from U.N.C.L.E. Memorabilia and Collectors Guide.
The complete The Man From U.N.C.L.E. series is being released today on DVD. Season 1, episode 9, is memorable, not only for featuring Werner “Colonel Klink” Klemperer, but for the pairing of two actors who would later work together on another show.
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Petula Clark will be appearing in the Netherlands — K3 country!
12-14 December, 2008
MAX-Proms 2008
Jaarbeurs Convention Centre,
Utrecht, THE NETHERLANDS
What a double-bill show that would make.
Debbie isn’t Ethan’s niece, she’s his daughter.
Kristel Verbeke, Kathleen Aerts, Karen Damen
More with the best pop music group in the world today — K3. Here’s a good write-up on the group, written and not translated, in English. But it neglects to highlight how K3’s image was changed after they were picked up by Studio 100 in 2002.
Flemish vocal pop group K3 were brought together by producer Niels William, a former Belgian recording artist himself. Having auditioned and assembled Kathleen Aerts, Kristel Verbeke, and Karen Damen, choosing the band name K3 was the easy part.
With all three trio members having cut their teeth either in television or recording, it was not long before the ladies took to the studio. Their first single, “Wat Ik Wil” (What I Want), was well received, but did not turn the group into an overnight sensation as had been hoped. K3’s follow-up single, “Heya Mama,” fell short of the mark yet again, mocked by judges in pre-qualification for Eurosong in 1999, prior to its release. The group decided to release the track anyway, and scored a major hit. “Heya Mama” spent 30 weeks at the top of national charts, achieving gold record status.
K3’s debut album, entitled Parels (Pearls), featured the group’s previously published singles and went gold in presales alone. The band’s next record, Alle Kleuren, hit shelves in September of 2000, landing even more impressive sales than its predecessor. A merchandising frenzy ensued, including plans for a movie, TV series, clothing, and even K3 dolls. The band’s 2001 release, Tele-Romeo, and hit single by the same name reached new teen sugar pop heights, hitting double platinum in presales.
Though skeptics claimed that the market could never sustain the meteoric trajectory of the adolescent bubblegum trio, K3’s steady rise to international stardom continued with “Popstarr”, followed by “Kuma He”, which landed on Billboard’s European Top 100. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, All Music Guide
Against the odds, K3 have gone from survivors to thrivers. Like the Eurovision judges, I’m not crazy about “Heya Mama”, but it was their big break-out hit. Let’s go back nearly ten years and see young K3 before they had their style figured out.
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The next video is after Studio 100 had gotten hold of them. The costumes match, but they’re still a bit young and not quite how I think of K3.
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Now this is K3! An amateur video from this past May.
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I think Stephen Colbert’s got the right idea. I’d love to see a DVD of the best tosses from The Daily Show to The Colbert Report. Unfortunately, these days they’re doing only two per week.
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