In putting together a musical post yet to be published, on instrumental hits from the past, one of the songs I found was this:
I
If you watch that, the song itself was nice enough, quite jaunty and there's not a lot to say about the orchestra but by now, you're well aware what I'm referring to - it's the introduction and conclusion by the host which is the issue, of course with 20/20 hindsight.
Even were there nothing untoward, there's still something a bit creepy in the production and I don't mean the "naff" Noel himself, of House Party fame/infamy. I read that at the end of his last House Party, he hoped history would smile kindly upon the show.
This particular programme above went out in 1973 and the first search I made was his age, via Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Edmonds
... which makes him considerably older than some of us.
The girls crowding around him were what - mid-teens on average? Let's call those 1958 birthdates or thereabouts, making them 63 today?
Unless we wish to make something of guilt by association, which would leave teachers in an invidious position, would it not, in these sad times of Wokeness, let's move down the Wiki page and see what comes up, always assuming that Woke Wiki would defend him on most things political ...
... which turns out to be an incorrect assumption in many ways.
What I end up with on Noel Edmonds after a search of various press articles of the time is a real mix of positions and actions, some of which are listed below. Just seems to me that a man/woman is the sum of his/her behaviour, maybe his/her music and certain positions on all sorts of issues and here's the thing with Noel E - he has very mixed positions indeed, such that condemnation maybe should be suspended - see what you think.
On "Blobbygate":
A report by the District Auditor found that the council had behaved 'unlawfully' in its dealings with Edmonds, which cost £2.5m, and two former senior officers were found to have committed 'misconduct', although this was not deemed to be 'wilful'. The affair was dubbed 'Blobbygate' by the media.
That was the first sign to me that maybe "naff" Noel has been a bit harshly dealt with by posterity ... but let's move on. Three marriages, helicopter pilot, flying as G-NOEL, then:
... attempted suicide in 2005 after fraud by a group of HBOS financiers destroyed his Unique Group business ... "I attempted to end the overwhelming mental pain which had consumed my whole being."
Christians who are not CINOs would have something to say to him about that. Moving on:
Edmonds said there was a direct link between fraudulent HBOS financiers causing stress and his prostate cancer. He stated: "I don't say cancer was caused by the stress, but that my health deteriorated to such an extent I got prostate cancer. I am absolutely sure the negative forces acting on me impacted on my health. There is a wealth of information from various clinical studies of a direct link between stress and cancer."
I've no personal position on that but the cancer "authorities" certainly did, which partially redeems him in my book.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49138587
Edmonds is fond of referring to himself in the third person.
That unnecessary addition by Wiki reveals its opinion on him overall - we've already conceded "naff", no? Is that a crime?
Edmonds is a trustee of the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF), an organisation which is staunchly opposed to wind farms.
Oh ho ho - that looks considerably better for him.
"The reality is that wind power is too costly and can never meet our energy needs; but it will destroy the countryside". His view is that those who are promoting wind farms are energy companies with a vested financial interest and that wind turbines are not reliable enough as a source of sustainable energy.
Goodness me.
He coordinated the Heart of Devon campaign to provide information for farmers affected by the foot and mouth epidemic in 2001.
Heart in the right place?
Edmonds said that he had stopped payment on his TV licence in early 2008, in response to the sometimes controversial methods used to enforce collection of the TV licence fee. Edmonds said that it is wrong to "threaten" and "badger" people, in response to the collection authority's common assumption that the non-possession of a licence can mean licence evasion, as well as the large fines which can be used as enforcement for non-payment.
Goodness me again. His "spiritualism", which I'll not deal with here as such:
In August 2015, Edmonds gave an interview to the Daily Mirror in which he stated that the greatest problem facing humanity was "electrosmog" due to Wi-Fi and other "systems", causing the destruction of "our natural electro-magnetic fields". He also stated a belief that death was impossible because the body was merely a container for "a universal energy ..."
All right - what about 5G today? And what about "spirit lives on", not a long way from major religions?
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority said that it was "urgently looking into" a complaint made over the claims, because advertising any proven or unproven cancer treatment would violate the Cancer Act 1939 if payments had been made. Later, the ASA said that no rules had been broken.
In-ter-es-ting. "Authorities" of all kinds looking at punishing him for his views, eh? Redeems him even more perhaps?
He also declared speed cameras, extreme levels of political correctness, and the congestion charge as "components of what's wrong with the country".
Well well well. On the Beeb:
One commenter there:
Noel Edmonds can be annoying at times, no argument there, but I can't help but find myself agreeing with him on the future of Auntie Beeb and much of his recollections were interesting. He's actually one of the few qualified people who can lecture on broadcasting and entertainment.
On Savile and all that:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/536366/Savile-antiques-co-star-outed-paedophile
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/the-royal-family-margaret-thatcher-4641034
Shan’t mention Kamloops. And coming back to that cringeworthy opening and closing of the Simon Park song at the top of the post?
Who knows? Guilt by association? Really? Noel the annoying? Probably. Noel the naff? Probably. Member of PIE or similar? I've never seen anything on that.
Positions and behaviour surely define a person? One thing for sure - we really do need to do our homework before mouthing off.
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