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Thread: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

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    Default Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    I happened to see some clips this morning from the 1961 British film "A Taste of Honey". In these scenes a mandolin is prominent in the soundtrack, playing along with other types of instruments.. I have two questions that perhaps someone (or everyone ) here knows the answer to. Who is the mandolinist? And is the mandolin deliberately slightly out-of-tune? One of the double courses is not quite right. There's a slight difference between the two strings. As we all know, mandolin can be a beast to tune, so it may have been a case of thinking no one would notice or care, or maybe it was deliberate to create a bit of tension. To be clear I'm not talking about the tune and song called "A Taste of Honey". I'm talking about ambient soundtrack music that is composed and scored for various scenes in the first film in which Rita Tushingham appeared (as a teenager).
    Thanks in advance!

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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    Eighty-two views
    And no reply
    We're all watching the news
    Maybe that's why.

    Anyway it's an unusual soundtrack with mandolin amongst horns and woodwinds.

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    Mandolin tragic Graham McDonald's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    The first name that would come to mind would be Hugo D'Alton, who was, I think, the preeminent English mandolin player of that period. Copies of the British BMG magazine from that period are available at https://classic-banjo.ning.com/page/bmg-magazines and the film soundtrack may well have been mentioned in one of the editions from around 1961, especially if there was a mandolin featured. D'Alton played a high-end Emberger (a 5bis?) and so it would have that distinctive bowlback tonality, if indeed it was him.

    As a matter of curiosity, where did you find the clips?

    Cheers

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    Registered User Jill McAuley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    I've seen that film umpteen times going back to the '80's when I got really into all those old "kitchen sink" dramas like it and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning etc. and I'm shocked to realise that I never noticed there was mandolin on the soundtrack of a Taste of Honey! I need to watch it again now!
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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    Quote Originally Posted by Jody Stecher View Post
    Eighty-two views
    And no reply
    We're all watching the news
    Maybe that's why.
    To be fair, there's not much to go on, with what you've provided. Searching for videos produced very little for me, once songs by Herb Alpert and The Beatles, and the band A Taste Of Honey ("Boogie Oogie Oogie"), were eliminated. All I got from imdb.com was that music on the soundtrack was performed by "Virtuoso Ensemble." Perhaps if you would share where you found the clips you saw it would help.

    There's a tiny bit of mandolin at the start of this clip, and again at :50. As I said, not much to go on.

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    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    This channel is operated by someone who rather likes this genre, with several clips from several movies. Still not a whole lot of mandolin in the few clips there. And no information whatsoever other than plot synopses.

    I'm a bit surprised at how little information I've been able to find about this film. Especially since a lot of people say they love it.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

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    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    I looked up the film on IMDB, which often lists musicians and sometimes non-creditied ones.

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055506/fullcredits

    All it says if music by "Virtuoso Ensemble"

    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7218626/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr31

    and it does not list the musicians!

    They also did "The Petrified Princess".

    Still no luck on the mandolinist.

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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    Fascinating stuff, David. There’s a young child, “Hazel Blears” playing an, un-named, “street urchin”. She went on to be a Member of Parliament and government minister - and her husband is an ex-coleague of mine! I also have connections with a number of the filming locations. Must find some way of watching it.

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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    Quote Originally Posted by Graham McDonald View Post

    As a matter of curiosity, where did you find the clips?

    Cheers
    The clips were part of a weekly on-line film history class. Hugo D'Alton is real possibility. Whoever it was would have to be a very able sight reader as the music was rhythmically fragmented. I suppose it's possible that the musicians were improvising but I don't think they were.

    Thanks everyone for your replies. I had hoped the answers to my questions might be common knowledge to amateur mandolin historians.

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    Registered User Jairo Ramos's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    In the credits at the beginning of the film John Addison (on wikipedia are all his data) appears as composer and director of the music, performed by the "Virtuoso Ensemble"; at the end of the film there are no additional credits. Here's a sound clip from the last few seconds of the film, it's definitely a bowlback:

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/wfg78bq6dqnodhu/clip1.mp3?dl=0


    Last edited by Jairo Ramos; Feb-28-2022 at 8:08pm.
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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    Quote Originally Posted by Jairo Ramos Parra View Post
    Here's a sound clip from the last few seconds of the film, it's definitely a bowlback:

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/wfg78bq6dq...clip1.mp3?dl=0
    I'm betting that bowlback was as perfectly in tune as it was ever going to be....
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    Registered User Jairo Ramos's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mandolin in soundtrack of 1961 film "A Taste Of Honey"

    Quote Originally Posted by Fretbear View Post
    I'm betting that bowlback was as perfectly in tune as it was ever going to be....

    Yes sir...
    Music washes away from the soul the dust of every-day life. Auerbach.
    The rejection of 'the others' is a tragedy of the human being; If it comes from emigrants, an added horror!

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