London Blues
Encyclopedia
London Blues is a novel by Anthony Frewin first published in 1997
about Soho
in the late 1950s and early 1960s and in particular about the early days of pornographic movie
production in Britain. London Blues is a mystery novel in that it describes not just the dangerous life but also the disappearance of a young photographer in the wake of the Profumo affair
.
ish coast as the illegitimate son of a young woman who dies in her early forties. After her death in 1959, Purdom decides to move to London
as he does not have any sense of belonging to his home town any more. He finds cheap accommodation in Bayswater
and work in a snack bar in Soho. Purdom is not only a jazz
fanatic (his favourite musician is Thelonious Monk
) but also an intellectual who reads books and who is interested in what is going on in the world, both politically and culturally. His intellectual pursuits do not go together with his lifestyle or his job. However, without any formal education or money, he is reduced to the kind of life he is leading; but, unambitious by nature, he is quite content with it for the time being.
Very early during his stay in London Purdom is confronted with petty crime
through his contact with guests and workmates. When he is offered some extra money by one of the older regulars he tags along with him and suddenly finds himself in a place where "dirty pictures"—which were illegal at the time—are taken. He is then approached by the owner of some adult bookshops and encouraged to become a pornographic photographer himself. The customers like his pictures, which are sold under the counter, and Purdom makes some good money.
He is initiated into the world of private parties where old blue movies of foreign origin are shown to middle-aged upper middle class
men in the company of young, attractively made up women. At one of those parties, where he works as the projectionist
, he meets a man who later turns out to be Stephen Ward
, one of the key figures in what will later be referred to as the Profumo affair. Ward supplies Purdom with a good many "models
" for his photographic sessions. Eventually Purdom buys an 8 mm
amateur movie camera and starts shooting pornographic movie shorts
himself.
His short-lived career is already over in early 1963 when he is told by his employer that the industry has moved on and that cheap Scandinavia
n imports are now in demand, which are also in colour rather than black and white. Purdom keeps on working at the snack bar and in addition is commissioned to do some serious photography about London for foreign magazines. He has become a respectable citizen with a new girlfriend who does not know anything about the shady business he has left behind. It is then that he feels he is being haunted by his past.
for London Blues, his first novel: "Simon & Schuster were going to go with it but they got cold feet. Nobody really understood it, and I almost gave up trying to get it published. I think the feeling was that it wasn't in a clearly defined genre—it had too many literary pretensions for a sexy thriller, and for a literary novel it was too thrillerish. They felt it was neither fish nor fowl. Most publishers are into genre
publishing and they're very conservative."
London Blues was eventually published in 1997 by No Exit Press.
1997 in literature
The year 1997 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Clancy signs a book deal with Pearson Custom Publishing and Penguin Putnam Inc. , giving him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books . A second agreement gives him another US$25 million for a...
about Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
in the late 1950s and early 1960s and in particular about the early days of pornographic movie
Pornographic movie
Pornographic films are motion pictures with the purpose of promoting sexual arousal in the viewer, often featuring depictions of sexual activity. They are sold and rented out on DVD, shown through Internet and special channels and pay-per-view on cable and satellite, and in adult...
production in Britain. London Blues is a mystery novel in that it describes not just the dangerous life but also the disappearance of a young photographer in the wake of the Profumo affair
Profumo Affair
The Profumo Affair was a 1963 British political scandal named after John Profumo, Secretary of State for War. His affair with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy, followed by lying in the House of Commons when he was questioned about it, forced the resignation of...
.
Plot summary
Tim Purdom is born in 1937 in a small village on the KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
ish coast as the illegitimate son of a young woman who dies in her early forties. After her death in 1959, Purdom decides to move to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as he does not have any sense of belonging to his home town any more. He finds cheap accommodation in Bayswater
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...
and work in a snack bar in Soho. Purdom is not only a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
fanatic (his favourite musician is Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
) but also an intellectual who reads books and who is interested in what is going on in the world, both politically and culturally. His intellectual pursuits do not go together with his lifestyle or his job. However, without any formal education or money, he is reduced to the kind of life he is leading; but, unambitious by nature, he is quite content with it for the time being.
Very early during his stay in London Purdom is confronted with petty crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
through his contact with guests and workmates. When he is offered some extra money by one of the older regulars he tags along with him and suddenly finds himself in a place where "dirty pictures"—which were illegal at the time—are taken. He is then approached by the owner of some adult bookshops and encouraged to become a pornographic photographer himself. The customers like his pictures, which are sold under the counter, and Purdom makes some good money.
He is initiated into the world of private parties where old blue movies of foreign origin are shown to middle-aged upper middle class
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
men in the company of young, attractively made up women. At one of those parties, where he works as the projectionist
Movie projector
A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...
, he meets a man who later turns out to be Stephen Ward
Stephen Ward
Stephen Thomas Ward was an osteopath and artist who became notorious as one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British public scandal which profoundly affected the ruling Conservative Party government...
, one of the key figures in what will later be referred to as the Profumo affair. Ward supplies Purdom with a good many "models
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
" for his photographic sessions. Eventually Purdom buys an 8 mm
8 mm film
8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimeters wide. It exists in two main versions: the original standard 8mm film, also known as regular 8 mm or Double 8 mm, and Super 8...
amateur movie camera and starts shooting pornographic movie shorts
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
himself.
His short-lived career is already over in early 1963 when he is told by his employer that the industry has moved on and that cheap Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n imports are now in demand, which are also in colour rather than black and white. Purdom keeps on working at the snack bar and in addition is commissioned to do some serious photography about London for foreign magazines. He has become a respectable citizen with a new girlfriend who does not know anything about the shady business he has left behind. It is then that he feels he is being haunted by his past.
Publication
In an interview, Frewin said about finding a publisherPublishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
for London Blues, his first novel: "Simon & Schuster were going to go with it but they got cold feet. Nobody really understood it, and I almost gave up trying to get it published. I think the feeling was that it wasn't in a clearly defined genre—it had too many literary pretensions for a sexy thriller, and for a literary novel it was too thrillerish. They felt it was neither fish nor fowl. Most publishers are into genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
publishing and they're very conservative."
London Blues was eventually published in 1997 by No Exit Press.