“But I can put a tennis racket up against my face and pretend that I am Kendo Nagasaki”
So… what do we know about Kendo Nagasaki?
The A to Z of HMHB
The A to Z of HMHB
“But I can put a tennis racket up against my face and pretend that I am Kendo Nagasaki”
So… what do we know about Kendo Nagasaki?
warden Hodges
Friday night at the Liverpool Stadium, them were the days.
1 August 2015
Dave Wiggins
My grandad and I waiting patiently for Kent Walton to shut up, and return us to Dickie Davies for the announcement of a full classified check.
1 August 2015
Bobby SVARC
Have a good week till next week.
1 August 2015
Dr Desperate
Since (as things stand) KW won’t be getting his own A to Z page, this might be a good point at which to mention that he was born in Cairo, served in Bomber Command during the war as a front gunner, was a Radio Luxembourg DJ, and co-produced the sexploitation film ‘Virgin Witch’ (aka ‘Lesbian Twins’) with Hazel Adair, creator of Crossroads.
1 August 2015
Dr Desperate
Co-produced it with her, that is. She wasn’t in it.
1 August 2015
Neilthechimp
Famously unmasked at Wolverhampton Civic Hall
2 August 2015
Jeff Dreadnought
The unmasking of Kendo Nagasaki provided the inspiration for Luke Haines’ 13 1/2 Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s & Early 80s.
2 August 2015
Alice van der meer
Piccy of him in this week’s Big Issue…
10 March 2018
Cream cheese and chives
A brilliant collection of photos from the heyday of wrestling in the Guardian yesterday. Obligatory Kendo pic is there of course. As ever my Luddite ways prevent me providing the link (Here it is – Ed). I would recommend the pic of Mick McManus especially. Is he getting undressed or dressed? Wrestling boots on before he takes off his kecks or did he travel to the venue in them?
28 March 2018
The harbinger of nothing
Also now a band, playing on 6 Music as I type this! A rather excellent instrumental called “Darley Dale, Measham and Droitwich”, apparently named after the first three locations of a certain supposedly-cheap-but-actually-really-expensive furniture shop… http://www.halfmanhalfbiscuit.uk/a-to-z-dfs/
Two for the price of one – and Gideon didn’t even mention HMHB. I thought he might have taken the opportunity to play “something of a Kendo Nagasaki double”, but he didn’t. Although last week he did announce on air that the Cambridge gig was off.
8 April 2019
CHARLES EXFORD
Named after the first three locations shown on the advert (sometimes the locations were voice-overed but in this case just listed on the screen).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ2BAPVAF9o
Kendo Nagasaki were one of a hat-trick of HMHB references (of sorts) on last night’s Coe programme, with a band called Sea Cadets and an outfit called Echo and the Bunny. Men.
He’s such a HMHB fan that he was bound to read out my email from Hughes Lane on Thursday about the gig being off (and did so at least twice before I turned him off at 10.30), but maybe not so much that he risks ‘undue prominence’, having played them a lot recently.
9 April 2019
EXXO
Oh and the three DFS locations are also the pseudonyms of the three members of the band. Which cannot mask the fact that if ever a band was in dire need of a vocalist and some lyrics it surely had to be Kendo Nagasaki.
Oh and it was of course a split single with Der Die Das label mates whotstheirname.
9 April 2019
paul f
For some reason I can also remember that a used car selling company (still in existence) who used to advertise on Granada in the 70s did the same – BOC (Bolton, Oldham and Cleveleys).
10 April 2019
dr desperate
Blackburn originally, I think (though they did eventually move to Bolton). Bernard Manning used to appear on their adverts wearing a crown.
“BOC, better people to buy from,
BOC, it’s the Earls Court of the North.”
10 April 2019
Paul f
Thanks for the ear worm! Yes I do remember that jingle, but it was definitely always Bolton.
10 April 2019
Cream cheese and chives
On the subject of 70s adverts in the north west , three stick in my mind…
1. Join the JWT set . I recall that their catchphrase revolved around the fact that they went where we “wanna” go. I am sure I do not want to go down the swanee.
2. Williams.Where else?
3. Someone-it could have been JWT- with an advert finishing with a thumbs up from a suited man .His thumbwobbled as if he wasn’t sure whether he was still on camera .
10 April 2019
Pirx the purist
Wasn’t that last one Fred Pontin, telling us to “book early!”?
10 April 2019
dr desperate
@Paul Scroll down to historical titbit Number Two here.
http://wyrearchaeology.blogspot.com/2009/04/historical-titbits.html
Wasn’t there a bloke who used to ask about “HP?” at the end of one of their ads?
11 April 2019
dr desperate
Anyway, getting back to Kendo Nagasaki: after Peter Thornley retired for the first time in 1978 the character was taken over by Japanese Canadian wrestler Kazuo Sakurada, who died on Sunday (the same day as my dad).
14 January 2020
CARRIE ANNE
Which reminds me, without wishing to become the Ents Sec, grapple fans might be interested in this, spotted on Facebook.
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
We are pleased to announce An Audience with Peter Thornley (The Man Behind the Mask) at Moorcourt Hall.
This will be a One Day Event on Saturday 28th March 2020. There are limited places.
The cost of this event is £30.00 which includes Lunch….Plus there will be Tea. Coffee and Biscuits throughout the day.
To apply for a place for this event or to make further inquiries.
Please send an email to:
events@kendonagasaki.org.
(SIC)
15 January 2020
cream cheese and chives
If I have to use public transport, would a Kendo Nagasaki mask work?
12 May 2020
cream cheese and chives
I mean a full face one, obviously. Not like in the song.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/09/08/article-2035287-0DC5E78300000578-931_634x656.jpg
12 May 2020
EXXO
Well I suppose if there’s a massive new spike (not improbable the way things are heading), and whoever is doing the triage is a 1970’s wrestling fan – or even a HMHB fan – it might well give a considerable advantage. Good luck everyone!
12 May 2020
transit full of keith
Fans of the man In the mask (and Ian Dury’s old art teacher Peter Blake) might want to have a look at this on the iPlayer before it slips back into the BBC vaults: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0370w28/arena-masters-of-the-canvas
9 May 2021
Alice van der meer
Blake spent WW2 as an evacuee two villages away from where my Dad was groeing up in Essex. Totally random and pointless peice of info for you there.
9 May 2021
Alice van der meer
…and you lot are going to punish me for those typos for years now!
That’s not how I would type…
9 May 2021
Lord leominster
Who cares about a few tyops? Its the misuse of apostrophe’s that bothers’ me.
9 May 2021
Transit full of keith
Well I settled down to watch that Kendo documentary after posting that yesterday & it’s one of the most bonkers things I’ve seen on telly in a while. Seriously recommended!
10 May 2021
EXXO
Thanks Keith will give it a go. I can see from the first broadcast date that I was at Lake Titicaca when that was first on! So many fascinating-looking other programmes get listed below it too, like a series on blues artists from 1985 (that’s sure to be good) or a 2007 programme on tribute bands in Macclesfield.
10 May 2021
Lord leominstEr
Van der Meer, van der Meer
It’s just a spelling mistake
Nobody cares.
(I had to put that into writing as that little ditty has been rattling around in my head for over a fortnight now.)
26 May 2021