Anyone read this?

Recent article on the rise of rock biopics in Hollywood. Based on this trend, I still think that a big screen KC biopic could be a compelling story and attract audiences. And can you imagine how great that soundtrack would be?!!
Here's the article:

Queen, Elton, Bruce: Is Classic Rock the Next Great Hollywood I.P. Well?
Bringing Karen Carpenter alive on the big screen might work, it’s kind of an evolutionary step forward after several TV small screen attempts to retell her story. At the end of the day it comes down to money, you won’t find financial backers unless they are pretty sure of getting a return on their investment. Plus the use of Carpenters original music if used, won’t come cheap!
 
I know that this story has been printed on here and has probably been seen by everyone, seeing as it reportedly ‘went viral’ a couple of years ago.

However, seeing as the quotes below are from a specific interview, the details may be slightly different from what you’ve read before.

Excerpt from The Sydney Morning Herald, written by Steve Meacham, March 31, 2017.

Unlike many of today's "celebrities" struggling to match Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of world-fame" prediction, Petula Clark says: "I've always been famous, as far back as I can remember."

Now 84, and on another world tour with a new album (From Now On) adding to her phenomenal 70 million record sales, Clark has advice for B-Grade wannabes who fill our TV screens.

"It's hard work being famous. Becoming a star is one thing. Staying a star is the real challenge."

Clark has never published an autobiography. That's our loss.

No other star in history has sung for Winston Churchill; danced on screen with Fred Astaire and made films with Alec Guinness and Peter O’Toole.

She provoked her sponsors' wrath during her US TV special in 1968 by holding the arm of Harry Belafonte – the first time on American TV a black man and white woman were shown touching (despite pressure, she refused to reshoot).

The last time she saw Karen Carpenter, Clark pleaded with the younger singer to seek professional help for anorexia.

And she starred on the West End and Broadway, to acclaim, in The Sound of Music and Sunset Boulevard.

Yet you can understand Clark's reluctance to put down the definitive version of "my strange life" in print given the global publicity she received after revealing the time she met Elvis Presley in Las Vegas.

The story went viral: Elvis was itching to have a threesome with Clark and a pre-anorexic Carpenter. But Clark, married with three children, coaxed her friend out of Elvis' clutches.

Since that burst of attention, Clark has been guarded.

But when the subject is raised, she laughs. "There's really not much more to say. It was perfectly obvious Elvis was trying it on. How else can I put it politely?

"Neither Karen nor I had met Elvis before. We thought it would be fun to see his show. Afterwards we were invited back to his huge dressing room.

"There were other people there, but when Elvis appeared, everyone disappeared. So it was just Elvis, Karen and me.

"Elvis was the perfect 'Southern Gentleman'. Really charming. Karen was younger, and naive. But I knew where he was going. I'd been round the block a bit.

"I got out of there as quickly as I could, dragging Karen with me. Elvis was at the doorway, laughing with a look which said; 'I'll get you one day!' But he never did."

Petula Clark plays at Hamer Hall, Melbourne on May 13, Perth Concert Hall on May 17, Canberra Theatre on May 19, State Theatre, Sydney on May 20 and QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane on May 26.
 
^^ God bless Petula, a true friend of Karen! I will never forget as a child when she first burst onto the American pop scene with the hit Downtown. It was continually on the radio!
 
From news.com.au

Excerpts from ‘Britain's big thing is only a Rumer’
MARCH 30, 2011 3:51PM

Rumer - born Sarah Joyce in 1979 - has had an impressive 12 months. Seasons has indeed gone platinum in Britain, with more than half a million sales in four months.

Then there are the legends who have given Rumer the thumbs up.

Bacharach flew her to his house in the US to hear her sing in person, writing her a handful of songs - she released a Bacharach-themed EP last Christmas.

"He's like a young man in an older man's body," Rumer says of Bacharach. "He's still a hustling songwriter, like he's still 21. Amazing guy."

Carly Simon loved her voice so much she invited Rumer to her home. Elton John invited her to play on stage - covering the Carpenters' This Masquerade.

"He's like a warm, friendly uncle," Rumer notes of John.

The Carpenters connection is no accident - Karen Carpenter's is the voice with which Rumer is most compared. She can hear it, sometimes.

"I love her so much that I love that I remind people of her, remind them to go and listen to her or remember her."

Her family history is also interesting. Rumer found out her birth father was actually a Pakistani cook with whom her mother had an affair; her mother didn't tell her until she was 11. Her parents were original "10-pound Poms", who moved to Albany and Tasmania, Australia.

"Three of my brothers and one of my sisters were all born in Australia," Rumer says.

"I've got one sibling living in Melbourne, two in Brisbane, and my dad lives there, too."

An Australian visit is mooted, but Rumer is struggling with the international launch of her career.
 
I just remembered that I’ve got a video somewhere on which John Lydon, of the Sex Pistols, speaks about his respect for and enjoyment of the voice of Karen Carpenter. He says, “Rainy days and Mondays always get ME down!”

Who would ever have thought, back in the late 70s when the Sex Pistols were scowling and banging away and pretending to rebel against everything that the music industry stood for, that at least one of them liked The Carpenters?

John Lyndon has always come across as a very decent human being, in anything I’ve seen him on in the last 30 years.
 
John Lyndon has always come across as a very decent human being, in anything I’ve seen him on in the last 30 years.

Though the Sex Pistols is as far away from my musical taste as I can imagine, John Lydon has always come across as a thoroughly nice human being in all the documentaries I’ve seen that feature him. I think he even appeared in an ABBA documentary and was really complimentary about them. I don’t think Sid Vicious would have approved :laugh:
 
This is more a case of ‘anyone seen this?’ but I wasn’t sure where else to post it.

Someone put this up on one of the Carpenters Facebook groups I’m part of and I’d never heard it before, so I thought I’d share it on here in case anyone else had missed it, too.

 
I believe that’s from the live medley in Australia, on both of the Japanese Anthology collections, vinyl and CD. There was a picture of the second cover at the start of the video. Definitely worth getting if you don’t have them already. Harry explained the differences between the 2 editions back in February or March.
 
I believe that’s from the live medley in Australia, on both of the Japanese Anthology collections, vinyl and CD. There was a picture of the second cover at the start of the video. Definitely worth getting if you don’t have them already. Harry explained the differences between the 2 editions back in February or March.

Thanks for the info. I’ll have to try and get hold of a copy :)
 
The original one has the red cover with the silhouette picture from Only Yesterday/Horizon era in blue, in the center of the cover. That one is available in vinyl and cd. There are different mixes of some of the tracks on the reissue cd collection. Welcome!!!!
 
Original from 85 (vinyl) and 89 (CD):


Re-issue with newer remixes from 97 (CD only):
 
I believe that’s from the live medley in Australia, on both of the Japanese Anthology collections, vinyl and CD. There was a picture of the second cover at the start of the video. Definitely worth getting if you don’t have them already. Harry explained the differences between the 2 editions back in February or March.
I believe that the live version of ANY DAY NOW that is heard on the Japanese Anthology Collection (and the Readers Digest Their Greatest Hits & Finest Performances Collection) comes from a 1974 Las Vegas concert rather than their Australia concert.
 
Sorry, wrote before dbl. checking. It was indeed recorded at the Riviera Hotel in 1974. Thank you for the correction.
 
Here’s a pretty good video of the song (some nice shots of Karen drumming). This one’s from 1972, according to the YouTube info, so I’m presuming a different recording to the one that ended up on the Japanese release.

Edited to add - someone on Facebook gave the following information: ‘The clip is from "The Carpenter's In Australia" TV special(1972) with a different audio of the song. In the original, the orchestra was apparently a little out of time and Richard can be seen to be turning his head to the right and pointing his finger(for Karen's benefit).’

 
someone on Facebook gave the following information: ‘The clip is from "The Carpenter's In Australia" TV special(1972) with a different audio of the song. In the original, the orchestra was apparently a little out of time and Richard can be seen to be turning his head to the right and pointing his finger(for Karen's benefit).’


Yes, the clip was filmed in Melbourne, Australia, on the 24th or 25th of May 1972, during Carpenters’ three-week tour of this country in that month. The concert was filmed and screened by Channel 7, (The Seven Network), which sponsored the tour, with Carpenters flying exclusively by Ansett. During the tour, K&R were victims of a hoax, whereby somebody arranged for them to go to the wrong venue for an interview, while the interviewer waited at their hotel, with no subjects to interview.

Incidentally, Channel 7, Australia, filmed and screened local concerts by a whole host of international stars around that time, including The Jackson Five. (I can’t remember who else, at the moment). Channel 2 was also into the same practice, screening concerts by such performers as The Everly Brothers and segments of performances by Creedence Clearwater Revival in the early 70s.

In case you’re wondering why the show is in Black and White, colour TV didn’t make an appearance in Australia until early 1975. Karen was quoted as bemoaning the availability of only b&w in a Carpenters newsletter after the tour.

It does, indeed, sound as if the audio for this particular clip, above, is taken from one of the Japanese anthologies, recorded in Vegas. It’s not from the original TV broadcast.
 
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Thanks for the article Rachel. Have been to New Haven many times which included visiting the Hall Street home and the Nathan Hale School with their childhood friend Debbie Vaiuso. It's sad that there is no marker, statue or street/park named to honor the Carpenters in their hometown. There was a small plaque in the school's hallway dedicated to the Carpenters with their career highlights. Though not on same the level of achievement as the Carpenters in my opinion, there isn't any tribute to Michael Bolton yet who is also from New Haven.
 
Reading the story below by Donnie Demers made me wish that I had joined Carpenters’ fan club as a kid. (Actually, as a young boy, I wished I was a member, but, coming from a different country, I thought it would be impossible to join). I did become a member as a young adult. Better late than never, but I should have done it 15 years earlier.

See “How The Carpenters Fan Club Changed My Life”

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_2589661
 
I joined after my first Carpenters concert in June of 1973. The fan club merchandise was so cool to a die hard fan, even through the jokes made by others or family members. It was okay by me, to have all those posters line the walls of my bedroom was heaven. Ev was really good about answering questions when I wrote in. She denied the Magic Lamp single and Karen dating Gene Simmons, as he alluded to in an interview. Which I found scary. She was the employee and protector of their image and fans, and actually answered letters when she could. I didn’t renew after about 5 or 6 years, much to my regret. I missed out on the wonderful 10 year anniversary book and many other items along the way. I thought I had outgrown the need to belong any longer. Well anyway I learned from that mistake and still am grateful for the years I did, being a bit closer to my musical idols. Thank you for sharing that article.
 
Yes, the clip was filmed in Melbourne, Australia, on the 24th or 25th of May 1972, during Carpenters’ three-week tour of this country in that month. The concert was filmed and screened by Channel 7, (The Seven Network), which sponsored the tour, with Carpenters flying exclusively by Ansett. During the tour, K&R were victims of a hoax, whereby somebody arranged for them to go to the wrong venue for an interview, while the interviewer waited at their hotel, with no subjects to interview.

Incidentally, Channel 7, Australia, filmed and screened local concerts by a whole host of international stars around that time, including The Jackson Five. (I can’t remember who else, at the moment). Channel 2 was also into the same practice, screening concerts by such performers as The Everly Brothers and segments of performances by Creedence Clearwater Revival in the early 70s.

In case you’re wondering why the show is in Black and White, colour TV didn’t make an appearance in Australia until early 1975. Karen was quoted as bemoaning the availability of only b&w in a Carpenters newsletter after the tour.

It does, indeed, sound as if the audio for this particular clip, above, is taken from one of the Japanese anthologies, recorded in Vegas. It’s not from the original TV broadcast.

Thanks for the info. Brian :)
 
Nice find, thank you for posting.

Concerning a Karen big screen biopic actually happening, I don't think it's a matter of "if" but "when".
A big part of that "when" is "when is Richard going to allow it," and the answer for that is probably never. I can't really blame him. Of course I'd like to see one because it would help the Carpenters see the kind of revival Queen is seeing right now.
 
And the Elton John biopic opens soon. I hope it’s not cheesy. I’ve seen him perform 20 times since 1974 and am a huge fan. A Carpenters or Karen Carpenter big screen movie could be good if they dub Karen’s voice in and take time to get it right. Using Richard's input would be the key to it’s success or failure, depending on what he lets a director do. I’m skeptical that it will ever happen, but I can dream can’t I?
 
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