Saturday 22 February 2014

Mac and the Micro - memories of Ian McNaught-Davis

Was saddened to hear the news about the recent passing of Ian McNaught-Davis this week and decided to do a write up on him (as I was going to feature the BBC Micro Computer in a future feature).

As a child who was brought in the 80s and the introduction of "modern technology" and computing into the family home, I was somewhat of a geek and was fascinated with Computers (in fact I spent most of my adult life within an IT profession). The BBC was very important to me, as we used them in school and I was nominated the IT prefect in my primary school (I had to go in early to set up the computers and load the daily programs).

My father introduced me to the show, The Computer Programme, as he was starting to use computers in the workplace and found the programme to be very interesting and well presented.

However, whilst I recall watching this programme, I didn't have enough detail for this entry. Therefore thanks to the internet and google (how times have changed), I found this great article about Ian and the programme and I cannot think of a better way to do a write up. The article was written by Rory Cellan-Jones.

Please enjoy!

The article can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26278902, but I have cut and pasted the text below...

Ian McNaught Davis

How do you make the subject of computing accessible to a wide audience?
A very topical question, with arguments raging about the Year of Code. But maybe we need to go back and look at the work of a man who was a brilliant communicator about computers, without ever talking down to his audience.
I'm talking about Ian McNaught-Davis, the computing expert, broadcaster, and mountaineer whose death was announced this week. For many who first got to grips with computers in the 1980s it was the BBC's The Computer Programme which was the inspiration.
McNaught-Davis, or "Mac", as he was known, was the co-presenter of the programme which was part of the BBC Computer Literacy Project. At its heart was the specially commissioned BBC Micro, one of the most successful and influential computers Britain has produced.
Week by week, Mac and fellow presenter Chris Serle took viewers through the basics of computing, presenting more and more complex topics in an entertaining and accessible manner. It is hard to remember now, but in 1982 a computer was for many a large, expensive and frightening machine kept in a laboratory, and only to be approached by someone wearing a white coat.
So The Computer Programme and the BBC Micro arrived at the dawn of the personal computing era. They helped create a generation of bedroom programmers who went on to work in the IT industry - and some of them have been in touch with me this week via Twitter to express their gratitude to Ian McNaught-Davis.
The Computer Programme, with Ian McNaught-Davis and Chris Serle (left)
"He gave a generation of fledging programmers a credible programme and voice at a time when video games were the main headline. No exaggeration to say he was instrumental in me studying a computer science degree, working start-ups and now to teaching kids," says Dan Bridge.
Russell Davis tweets, "Although i'd been into computers before it was prog & Mac... that got me into it as a career & also into the hacker culture."
And David Clifford writes to me at length to express his gratitude to The Computer Programme and its star. He tells me he was a "spotty geeky teenager" in the 1980s, but one who was delighted at last to find some television aimed at him.
"There was this guy with funny hair and big glasses talking about stuff that I liked, information that was targeted at me, on topics that interested me and subjects I was learning about and could understand. This was unusual in the days when there were only three channels on TV and most of the output was directed at others - sport, variety, drama etc. Here was something for me and Ian McNaught-Davis will always be that man who brought it to me."
But it is to McNaught-Davis's co-presenter that I turn for an intimate portrait of the man. "He had immense charm and bonhomie," says Chris Serle, recalling their first meeting. "A big bloke, and a great big grin and an embracing smile all over his face. You just knew immediately you were going to be in comfortable company.
Mac, he explained, learned his broadcasting skills as a mountaineer: "What made him ideal for this work was that he had done pioneering work as an outside broadcast commentator on his climbs."
His career in computing had included working for a US firm selling space on mainframe computers. "But even he was fishing around when it came to this new phenomenon which had been brought about by the invention of the microchip and the discovery that you could make computers much smaller, you could get a whole computer on a desk."
Chris Serle admits that he himself was "in the enviable position of knowing absolutely nothing" and so was entitled to ask "all the stupid questions on behalf of our audience". Then Mac would work his magic:
"He did have this extraordinary gift for putting dense material into easily understood terms. He could always find a little analogy or twist of language to make you understand things that in those days were completely alien to people... Nobody knew about inputs and outputs, and binary code. This was all amazingly radically new."
Nowadays, of course, most of us are carrying tiny computers with many times the processing power of the BBC Micro - they are called smartphones. But do we have any better understanding of computing than the audiences who switched on to watch Ian McNaught-Davis in the 1980s? I somehow doubt it.




Saturday 15 February 2014

Motley Crue And Their Decade Of Decadence

Some would say that they were more famous for their offstage antics rather than their music and live shows. However for a band who's personal lifestyles made it onto the headlines more than their music, they still managed to sell over 80 million records whilst continuing to sell out Arenas & Stadiums everywhere they go.



Formed in 1981, Motley Crue was on a quest to conquer the Heavy Metal market and take as many drugs, sleep with as many women and to cause merry mayhem along the way.

Nikki Sixx, the band's bass player, songwriter and the leader of the band wanted to put together a great rock 'n roll band after his time with bands such as London. He met drummer, Tommy Lee and guitarist Mick Mars who formed the nucleus of the band. However they needed a singer, Tommy suggested his old high school friend - Vince Neil. The line-up was complete.



As a four piece they started to play the local bars & clubs on the Sunset Strip. Creating an outrageous image and putting on a huge show with very little or no budget. This included their need to wear makeup and light Nikki's boots on fire. Music lovers loved them, whilst the girls liked to indulge with them.

During the 80s there was no stopping the band. Releasing classic album after classic album, which included Shout At The Devil, Girls, Girls, Girls & their biggest selling album Dr. Feelgood (sold over 6 million copies in the USA alone). With each new album came a tour bigger and more spectacular than the last, just look at the adventurous drum kits that Tommy used on those tours.



However not everything was rosy in the Motley Camp. Singer Vince got arrested for drink driving whilst killing his friend, former Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle, in a car crash. Nikki Sixx "died" of a heroin overdose, but thanks to an adrenaline shot to the heart (inspired their song, Kickstart My Heart) he was quickly revived. Tommy constant string of women and his abusive behaviour lead to stints in jail.

In the early 90s Vince left or fired (depends on who you ask) and with the Grunge era closing in, the band failed to match their 80s heyday success. However the original four reformed the band in 2004 and have enjoyed a renewed success that not only matches the 80s, but surpasses it.

Recently the band have announced their retirement from touring and the end of the band. Unlike other bands the four members have said that they will never tour again and have signed a formal agreement which will see them being sued if they do tour again. They plan to mark this by playing one final tour that will take them into 2015 and then go their separate ways. However, we will finally see the film that's based on their New York's best selling book The Dirt. The film is currently in production.



Whatever you say about the band, you cannot deny their legendary status and influence on the 80s Hair Metal / Glam scene. Many bands tried to follow, but none succeeded - they is only one Motley Crue :)