Attention jiving scum! This is one is straight from the fridge dad.
It doesn't get more Soho than Beat Girl (1960) - coffee shops, beatniks, strip clubs, The 2 i's.... it's got the lot.
Gillian Hills leads the cast of Beat Girl, which also stars Adam Faith, Christopher Lee, Shirley Ann Field and, in a very small role, a young Oliver Reed.
We met novelist, Des Burkinshaw in the bar of the Soho Theatre to talk about Beat Girl which is the closest we could find to a bohemian coffee bar.
Des is a huge fan of John Barry, who wrote the music for Beat Girl and he recently concluded a two year stint as the presenter of the Museum of Soho Show on Soho Radio.
You can stream Beat Girl right now on TPTV Encore.
Also on TPTV Encore is this 2016 BFI interview with the star of Beat Girl, Gillian Hills, about the making of the film. It's well worth a watch.
Back in the day, Des actually met one of the stars of Beat Girl and grabbed this selfie.
Gillian Hills released a four part podcast about her life in December 2021.
Follow Gillian on Facebook.
Our other guest for this episode is Paris based journalist Hanna Steinkopf-Frank. Paris is some distance from Soho - the connection is that Gillian Hills became a Yé-yé singer and Hannah came on to talk about this genre.
What's Yé-yé? Find out in this article by Hannah.
Follow Hannah on Twitter and check out her website.
You can also follow Des on Twitter.
There' s a LOT of music in this episode. Here's a track list:
Eiko Shuri - Yé-Yé
France Gall - Poupée de cire, poupée de son
Françoise Hardy - Comment te dire adieu
J Girls - Kiiro no sekai
Brigitte Bardot - Moi Je Joue
France Gall - Les Sucettes
Gillian Hills - Tut Tut Tut Tut
Gillian Hills - Zou Bisou Bisou
Françoise Hardy - Tous les garçons et les filles
Sylvie Vartan - La Plus Belle Pour Aller Danser
Nancy Holloway - T'en va pas comme ça
France Gall - Laisse tomber les filles
John Barry Seven - Beat Girl Theme
In one scene in Beat Girl, the youths all go off to a gig / party in Chislehurst Caves. Did you know about Chislehurst Caves? I didn't!
The voice of the person recommending we do Beat Girl on Soho Bites was provided by Murder Mile Mike.
If you want to keep up to date the efforts to bring the Kino Cinema back from the dead, follow Kino Quickies.
The originator of Soho Bites, Dr Jingan Young, has a new book out all about.... guess what? Films set in Soho! Get your copy at Foyles.
Thank you for listening.
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Check out our spin-off series Mural Morsels
Soho Bites 28: Value for Money (1955)
Soho Bites 27: Saturday Night Revue (1937)
Soho Bites 26: Too Hot to Handle (1960)
Soho Bites 25: The Golden Disc (1958)
Soho Bites 24: Something in the City (1950)
Soho Bites 23: The Boys (1962)
Soho Bites 22: A Touch of Class (1973)
Soho Bites 21: The Night Caller (1965)
Soho Bites 20: The Shakedown (1960)
Soho Bites 19: Smashing Time (1967)
Soho Bites 18: Peeping Tom (1960)
Soho Bites 17: Cover Girl Killer (1959)
Soho Bites 16: Soho Conspiracy (1950)
Soho Bites 15: Tonight & Every Night (1945)
Soho Bites 14: Murder at the Windmill (1949)
Soho Bites 13: Mrs Henderson Presents (2005)
Soho Bites 12: Das Phantom von Soho (1964)
Soho Bites 11: Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? (1964)
Soho Bites 10: Cocaine (1922)
Soho Bites 9: Night & The City (1950)
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