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Life of Stanley

by the arthur park

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about

This track was originally released as a limited edition (60) lathe cut 7" by Fruits de Mer as Friends Of The Fish 43 (video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=icKixvWk7PQ)

Born in South Africa in 1911 and moving to the UK when he was 4, Stanley Unwin was in his 40s before some inspired mucking about took him away from his sound engineering career at the BBC and thrust him firmly on the other side of the microphone. Or microphobia, as he used to call it.

His unique way of word mangling – Unwinese – became a staple on radio, TV and film from the 1950s onwards. It came about by trying to confuse commissionaires and jobsworths when they overstepped their authority and got in the way of letting Stanley do his job.

An ad-libbed commentary on a made up sport with broadcaster FR Buckley was overheard by a BBC producer and led to radio appearances in hugely popular shows like The Spice Of Life, Beyond Our Ken and Just A Minute. Then the big screen beckoned with roles in Carry On Regardless, Press For Time and Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang.

On TV, he was probably most famous for the cult – and frankly bizarre – Gerry Anderson series The Secret Service where he voiced and scripted his own mini-me puppet, Father Unwin.

But his defining moment will almost certainly be his narration on the Small Faces’ Happiness Stan, which took up a whole side of Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake. And yes, he did do all that straight off the top of his head. As Ronnie Lane wrote in a note to Stanley after the recording: “We are knocked out. Thanks very much for being such a groove!”.

He was working right up until he left us in 2002. At his funeral, a few of his jazz musician friends got together and played Bye Bye Blackbird as a nod to the family of blackbirds that used to regularly troop into Stanley’s kitchen for a warm and a ‘chat’.

What you’re hearing is from a couple of interviews I did around 20 years ago. He was always welcoming, always friendly and always generous with his time.

And, of course, very, very funny.

credits

released December 1, 2020
For the purposes of this recording, the arthur park is:
Stanley Unwin - voice
Pete Bowman - guitars, synths etc
Jane Smith - alto and tenor sax
Rob C Cross - trumpet
Mixed by Martin Whiteman, Brickwork Studios, Market Harborough

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