You wait five years, when along comes…

Posted on January 11, 2021 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

this…

What could it be, vintage mates? Hm, a piece of small red plastic; some component to match with other pieces, to complete a set?

A little clue…

Another clue…

Still no idea? Okay, another clue…

Easy peasy lemon squeezy?

If anyone guessed correctly that it is the stage platform for the 1991 Playmobil Romani Circus Jazz Band – then award yourself a mighty 3,000 vintage points!

Below is the band from my old picture gallery, naked of a stage (every band needs a stage, right?)

And below, here is the band onstage at last…

The drummer jazz dude with his little blue drum kit is my fave. He’s missing a cymbal and an extra pair of drumsticks (one can never have enough drumsticks) so the set is still not 100% complete, but I can source these parts another time. For now, having that stage finally turn up at a decent price makes all the difference.

Below is a picture (courtesy of eBay) showing the jazz band in the Romani Circus play set…

Thanks for looking 🙂

And, while we’re on about music… (and apologies for leaping from Playmobil to politics) …

F#@k you Brexit!

I’m pissed off to learn that the UK Conservative government has just shafted British and European touring artists by not agreeing to waiver performance visas in light of the recent Brexit trade agreements. The EU said they made an offer to allow continued frictionless travel between countries for performers, and that the UK rejected it. The UK are of course blaming the EU. I know who I’d rather believe.

As a drummer who once played live around Europe in numerous bands, the joy of performing to a wide and diverse audience is a pure high; but for bands and artists who earn a regular living from performing – this is also a cruel and unecessary blow to their livelihoods, which have already been savaged by Covid-19 restrictions.

Links: Musicians’ Union and The Gurdian and The Independent

The British music industry in 2019 contributed an estimated £5.8bn to the UK economy. The UK government – in restricting the freedom of travel for musicians – is causing a major self-harm with its shallow and spiteful gesture made to those who work in the arts. But then, what else would you expect from the government who produced Brexit Britain.

“For the first time, he heard something that he knew to be music. He heard people singing. Behind him, across vast distances of space and time, from the place he had left, he thought he heard music too. But perhaps, it was only an echo.” ― Lois Lowry

or…

“Welcome to the Brexit, sir. I’m sorry.” – Netherlands Border Control

😂🤣😂

1991 Rock Cards by Brokum

Posted on April 16, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Here be rockers!

Iron Maiden

Mötley Crüe

Anthrax

Megadeth

Bon Jovi

Alice Cooper

And a Marvel Alice diversion… why not!

Marvel 50th Premiere. Alice Cooper. Sutton and Austin. 1979.

About Rock Cards

In 1991, the Brokum Trading Card company marketed a collectable set of heavy metal and rock band trading cards and unleashed it to the headbanging public. Cards came in random packs of 13 and featured many famous bands of the 1980s along with some class acts from the 70s. The front of each card showed a full colour photograph of the band or band member, while the back showed an additional photo along with information and stats.

Big thanks to my Canadian mate and fellow WP blogger, Resa, over at Graffiti Lux Art & More who sent me these awesome trading cards. Resa, you rock! \m/

Coming next in our Rock Cards series:

Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Exodus, Testament, Skid Row, Posion, and more!

1991 Rock Cards by Brokum – Having a big bad hair day!

Posted on March 15, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Rock Cards collectable trading cards by Brokum, 1991.

Rock Cards by Brokum. 1991. Rikki Rockett.

Rock Cards by Brokum. 1991. Winger.

Rock Cards by Brokum. 1991. Bon Jovi.

Big, bad, beautiful hair!

In the 1980s, it was not just movie stars and TV personalities sporting audacious big hair – it was rock and heavy metal musicians too! From Poison to Cinderella to Bon Jovi to Mötley Crüe to The Cure to even Metallica at one point in their career.

This post takes a light-hearted look at some of the boys who weren’t afraid to look like girls. In short, I have nothing but admiration for them. I, too, sported various versions of big hair during my stints with bands throughout the 80s and 90s. Being in a band helped glamorise the glam I was aiming for. It was cool to go shopping for clothes you knew you were going to wear on stage at the weekend. Did I wear makeup? Eyeliner a couple of times – depended what band I was in at the time. Black nail varnish? Hell, yeah, often!

Rock Cards by Brokum. 1991. Alice Cooper.

Rock Cards by Brokum. 1991. Jani Lane.

Rock Cards by Brokum. 1991. Mick Mars + Queen’s Royal Guard.

Rock Cards by Brokum. 1991. Jon Bon Jovi.

Damage to the environment caused by hair, 80s style

In the 1980s, scientists were making it known about the damage being caused to the ozone layer, attributed in part by harmful chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) found in aerosol cans like deodorant, hairspray, spray paint, and even Silly String.

I think the band I was in at the time got through enough cans of Silvikrin and Harmony hairspray we likely contributed to at least half of that hole.

It wasn’t always big hair for me though…

Here we can chart the approximate ‘style’ and ‘bigness’ of my hair throughout the 80s and 90s by comparing it to musicians from Rock Cards!

: 1981. Spotty, skinny, pale schoolboy loving his Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. My hair was an unruly mess and I simply didn’t care!

: Mid 80s. Perm. Don’t know which was worse… that, or the ‘Bono’ mullet I briefly wore when the perm fell out. Ahem… quickly moving on…

: Late 80s – early 90s. Ah, that’s better! It was at this point in my hair journey I began to take more care in its cultivation. These were the ‘hairspray and hair straighteners’ years for me; when I’d spend more time in the bathroom than my girlfriend. As for the cool shirt Eric Brittingham of Cinderella is wearing in the pic… I owned four like that back then.

: Mid 90s. This was my Goth phase… dyed black hair and vampire-approved pale face. I totally loved having this look and owned two black felt hats to go with my dark clothes and black boots.

: In the late 90s I sported braids. These were cool to decorate with different hair colours and beads and lucky charms (not the breakfast cereal! But then, why not?).

: Early 2000s. Fed up with all that time I was wasting in the bathroom when all I wanted to do was get wasted, I chopped off my locks and went for the shaved head look. A bit cold about the ears at first, but no more hair hassles in the bathroom each day!

: Then, fed up having no hair, I decided to grow it back, but it looked stupid, so I wore a hat to hide my shame.

: After I removed my hat to annnounce to the world my new hair, I figured I still looked kind of stupid.

: So I shaved it all off again!

: And it was back to the hat while my hair grew back. Hey… what is a 12 year old pic of the editor of TVTA doing finding its way onto a Rock Card?!? Another of life’s little time-travel mysteries 🙂

As for now… I still have hair, luckily, even though there are a fair few patches of grey. Most times it’s cut short at the sides with a spikey mop on top – a bit punky. Bathroom hair days now are only ever short compared to the best part of an hour in older days. Some gel. Wax. Easy. And if it’s a bad hair day… there’s always a hat 🙂

That’s all for now, mates! Join us again soon for more Rock Cards fun, and thank you for doing your hair with us 🙂

About Rock Cards

Big thanks to my Canadian mate and fellow WP blogger, Resa, over at Graffiti Lux Art & More who sent me these awesome trading cards. Resa, you rock! \m/

The art of children’s storybooks and vinyl records, 1960s -1980s

Posted on August 23, 2019 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Agathe Tran Quang My and Biosca art for Anne Sylvestre – “Fabulettes” 1969.

The storybook and vinyl record was an opportunity for children to fully immerse themselves in their favourite fairy tale, nursery ryhme, song or film. As Disney proclaimed: children can “see the pictures” “hear the record” and “read the book”. Disney Records and its Buena Vista label, along with Peter Pan Records and its derivative Power Records, were among the first companies to explore this multi-media approach to entertaining children by releasing storybooks with a vinyl record. Later would come cassettes – adding a new dimension of ‘mobility’ to the experience, when children could listen on a Walkman and be free to move from room to room or even go outside.

In today’s post we take a look at some French storybooks and vinyl records aimed at the younger children’s market, featuring fairy tales, nursery rhymes and traditional songs. Especially, we take the opportunity to look at some of the artwork involved, and here we see wonderful illustrations from the likes of Biosca, Denise Chabot, Agathe Tran Quang My, Annette Moch and JP Huster who each contributed delightful art for many record sleeves and booklets aimed at children throughout 1960s and 1980s France.