Having grown up in Britain, I was (am) a huge
Thunderbirds fan. I collected the Rice-Crispies box tops and sent away for
the Thunderbirds costume. It was the little blue vest and the little blue
hat. I was in my element! I rescued everything I imagined I could rescue! I
don't know what happened to the little blue outfit. I had a couple of the
rockets too.
My favourite was Thunderbird 2 because it could carry stuff.
My, what it could carry. Little modern-looking trucks and diggers that could
rescue anything.
I think I must of been Virgil
Tracy, the Commander of Thunderbird 2!
Apparently Gerry Anderson,
creator of Thunderbirds, feels the same way! (Ignore that other marionette
behind him...)
I guess this is even where
I got my taste of English 'surf music', with Cliff Richard
and the Shadows.
They were turned into marionettes for
'Thunderbirds are GO!', the 1966 movie.
I found out in 2002 that
my Dad's cousin,
Tommy McQuater played trumpet in Barry
Gray's Orchestra. Barry Gray's Orchestra created the score for
the Thunderbirds TV series in the 60s.
Small world eh?
Speaking of Gerry Anderson, the
Royal mail came out with an entire set of stamps to commemorate the
creations of his studio.
I sent away for every thing they had...
Tommy
McQuater even
played
"Lips", the trumpet player
in the band 'The Electric Mayem' on the Muppets TV show from
1976 to 1981.
Not a bad gig! I was just starting to contact him about my
family history.
Tommy passed away on January 20, 2008.
You see Tommy also played in
'The Squadronaires'
a famous dance band in the 1940's. Another member of that band was
Cliff Townshend, the father of Pete Townshend!
So now you Won't Get Fooled Again... Tommy, Tommy, Tommy...
A person who found
this page sent me this picture.
It's Pete Townsend (left) with
David McQuater (right), son of Tommy McQuater. Pretty Awesome !
Thanks Dude !!!
Butlin's Holiday Camp! Perfect!!!
If you ever visit
London, you
have to go the 'Forbidden
Plant' shop on Shaftesbury Avenue. It is a mecca of 1950s and
1960s sci-fi TV and movies. I was there in 1988? and bought the only
full-size Thunderbirds marionette they had! I had explained my fascination
with Thunderbirds to my cousin Paul, and he told me I had to go there. He
was right!
Imagine this popping up
inside Forbidden Planet...
