Today In History with The Retrospectors

A View To A Kill by Duran Duran was released on 6th May, 1985. It remains the only James Bond theme to reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100. 

To get the gig, bassist John Taylor reportedly approached Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli at a party and bluntly asked him why the series had not enlisted a “decent band” for a theme. At the time, Duran Duran were at the height of their fame, and Simon Le Bon’s ‘Dance! Into the Fire’ vocal performance certainly embraced the assignment with appropriate theatrical commitment.

The film it accompanied, however - Roger Moore’s last expedition as Bond, A View to a Kill - received a more mixed reception, critics frequently remarking on Moore’s age: at 57, he was the oldest actor to portray Bond in an official movie. But the song endured beyond the film’s reputation. Its accompanying music video, featuring the band members separately filmed atop the Eiffel Tower (as the band had just split!), became emblematic of the MTV era.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the song’s place in the James Bond canon; reveal which Bond film was the first to avoid its title song lyrically echoing the actual title of the film; and marvel at the delights of Duran Duran’s detonating Walkman… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The ten best Bond songs: https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/the-ten-best-bond-songs-gz9x56wxdzx

• ‘Why 'A View to a Kill' Remains a Perfect James Bond Song’ (Men's Journal, 2025): https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/a-view-to-a-kill-james-bond-song-movie

• ‘Duran Duran - A View To A Kill’ (Capitol Records, 1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp4CR2HcHLQ

#Music #80s #Film #UK

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

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The Magna Carta would not have become law unless a group of Barons had first renounced their allegiance to King John on 5th May, 1215. Primarily protecting their own interests, they were keen to prevent John burdening them with ever-higher taxes to fund his seemingly endless Wars. 

Even once agreed, the now-revered document contained some surprising clauses: for example a law preventing members of a particular family ever serving as a Royal officer; and another stating that, ‘no one should be arrested or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman, for the death of any person except her husband.’

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the legal loopholes John had previously exploited to enforce his tax hikes; consider the tricky business of trying to get a rapid response from the Pope; and reveal the Magna Carta’s original title… 

Further Reading:

• ‘King John and the Magna Carta - The Magna Carta’ (BBC Bitesize): https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zcyx2v4/articles/zcg66g8

• ‘Magna Carta - The True Story Behind the Charter - By David Starkey’ (Hodder & Stoughton, 2015): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Magna_Carta/JtCVBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=article+of+the+barons&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Horrible Histories Song - Magna Carta 800 Years’ (CBBC, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTWQzF1027I

Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it.

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. 

Edit producer: Ollie Peart.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

This episode originally aired in 2023.

#1200s #Royals #UK
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Eleven year-old Johnny Clem formally became part of the Union Army on 1st May, 1863 - though he had already been participating as a Drummer Boy for the 22nd Michigan Infantry in the American Civil War for two years.

Clem's youthful determination and bravery propelled him into the spotlight of national fame - but he was far from the only child soldier in this tumultuous American era.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly peruse Clem’s memoir, ‘From Nursery To Battlefield’; reveal how President Ulysses S. Grant personally intervened to assist Clem’s further career; and consider how Clem’s image was used for powerful propagandistic purposes… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The Boys of War’ (The New York Times, 2011): https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-boys-of-war/?searchResultPosition=3

• ‘Why the Union Army Had So Many Boy Soldiers’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2023): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-the-union-army-had-so-many-boy-soldiers-180981458/

• ‘Early Accounts of Drummer Boy Johnny Clem’ (Life on the Civil War Research Trail, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k2dDVnSO2U

We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

This episode originally aired in 2024.
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The Day the Clown Cried, Jerry Lewis’s notorious, unreleased Holocaust movie, faced a crisis on 30th April, 1972, when the American actor-director found himself in an extraordinary predicament: the financing for his deeply personal film project had collapsed mid-shoot.

Faced with abandoning the production or funding it himself, Lewis chose to press on, investing his own money despite mounting practical and artistic difficulties, and the risky undertaking of the film’s subject matter itself: a Holocaust drama centred on a disgraced clown. 

The project had been years in the making. The script, originally written by Joan O’Brien and Charles Denton, had circulated in Hollywood since the early 1960s without being produced.  Lewis substantially rewrote the script, softening the central character and reshaping the tone into a blend of pathos and sentiment that many later viewed as ill-judged.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine what survives of this never-seen film; consider the near-mythical status Lewis’s rough cut achieved; and consider whether it could REALLY be as bad as everyone assumes… 

Further Reading:

• ‘‘The Day the Clown Cried’: Why Jerry Lewis’s Lost Holocaust Film Is Still Lost’ (The New York Times, 2018): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/movies/jerry-lewis-day-the-clown-cried.html

• ‘‘Ashamed. Embarrassed’: Jerry Lewis’s infamous Holocaust clown film that never was | Film’ (The Guardian, 2024): https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/aug/30/ashamed-embarrassed-jerry-lewis-infamous-holocaust-clown-film-that-never-was

• ‘The Story Of The Day The Clown Cried’ (BBC South Today, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbZIyXNRxos

#Film #Jewish #Mistakes #70s #Sweden

Love the show? Support us! 

Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

… Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content. 

Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

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Peter Mark Roget waited until retirement to compile his personal collection of synonyms into a book for publication: the first edition of Roget’s Thesaurus, released on 29th April, 1852. 

Despite initial scepticism from critics, who couldn't grasp its practical brilliance, the public embraced the new format - despite its unconventional organisation, in which synonyms were categorised by conceptual threads, rather than in alphabetical order.

In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explain how Roget drew inspiration from the systematic brilliance of Carl Linnaeus; discover literary references to the book in J.M. Barrie and Sylvia Plath; and question whether Roget’s work was an entirely positive development for journalism…

Further Reading:

• ‘Roget and His Thesaurus’ (The Saturday Evening Post, 2023): https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/01/roget-and-his-thesaurus/

• ‘Peter Mark Roget, the Keeper (See: Steward, Caretaker) of Synonyms’ (The New York Times, 2008): https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/books/18book.html

• ’Eulogy at a Roget's Thesaurus Funeral - Johnny Carson’ (NBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYzLJiSZzM

Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it.

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Edit producer: Ollie Peart.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

This episode originally aired in 2024.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices