February 16, 2014

Jon English Sings "A Fortunate Life" from The Mini-Series About A.B.Facey


                                                             


The story of A.B Facey is both inspiring and remarkable. 

Separated from his mother at an early age he spends his time living in different places, and doing many different things.

Most of us would be hard-pressed to endure such a life of instability which includes emotional and physical abuse, working very hard at a very young age and beyond, serving at Gallipoli, and then finally finding stability when he marries.

More details about his life can be found here.

This article is well worth a read as is watching the mini-series and reading the book.

Nowadays there are no survivors of Gallipoli left, and there is a lot of ignorance about it. 

From The Australian an excerpt:

FEWER than half the Britons questioned in a poll had any idea that US and Canadian troops fought in the First World War. Barely more than a third knew that Australia and New Zealand were involved. 

[.....]



Only 38 per cent of British respondents knew that North America was involved in the war, despite the fact that Canada - as a dominion - declared war on Germany in August 1914, and the US joined the war in April 1917. About 67,000 Canadian troops and 114,000 from the US were killed.

Even though the involvement of Australian and New Zealand troops in the Gallipoli campaign is ingrained on their national consciousness, only 35 per cent of British people were aware that they took part. More than 61,000 Australians were killed in the war and 18,000 New Zealanders.(
156,000 Australians were wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner.)

ANZAC Day is a big part of our culture.

                                                                    

I trust it is still being taught in our schools, just as much as this book, "A Fortunate Life", which has been on the English curriculum  many times since it was published.
It certainly was a big part of my schooling many years ago.

There are other things that interest me about this compelling story.

Firstly, the song from the original soundtrack was written by Mario Millo. 
Jon English sings the title song.

This is not their only collaboration.

The soundtrack from "Against The Wind" is probably the best known.

                                                                     

And Mario Millo has written many very well-known soundtracks as listed here, with many thanks.

                                                                     


The cast is also of interest to me. Here is a list of some from IMDB:
It's a bit of a who's who of Australian actors in the 1980's.

 Bill Kerr     ...    
 Narrator (4 episodes, 1985)

 Dorothy Alison     ...    
 Grandma Carr (3 episodes, 1985)

 Anthony Richards     ...    
 Bert (9 years) (2 episodes, 1985)

Benedict Sweeney         ...    
 Bert (14 years) (2 episodes, 1985)

Dominic Sweeney     ...  
 Bert / ... (2 episodes, 1985)

 Val Lehman     ...    
 Bert's Mother (1 episode, 1985)
 

Martin Vaughan    ...
Frank Phillips (1 episode, 1985)
 

Bill Hunter     ...    
 Charlie Bibby (1 episode, 1985)


 Ray Meagher     ...    
 Bad Bob (1 episode, 1985)

 Frank Gallacher     ...    
 Bill Oliver (1 episode, 1985) (also in "Against The Wind")


Val Lehman was in one episode as A.B. Facey's mother. 

By coincidence we both attended the same school in the 1950's.

It says on her 'blog:
                        
                                                                 


                                                                                                                           


Enjoy this hard-to-get song, the book and the mini-series if you haven't already.


I would like to thank the following for information and help :


Mario Millo.

Rate Your Music.

IMDB

George for the pictures of the album.

Terry for the audio and the bonus clip below - Jon English sings "We'll Be There" live on "Hey, Hey It's Saturday".

Chris for the ANZAC Day video clip.

Please note: 
I like to acknowledge picture credits where possible. Sometimes they are emailed to me and thus I am unable to do so all the time.

                                                                       

                                                                  






Other songs by Jon English on this blog:
Jon English: Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress...And A Bonus Track From "Laid"



















Jon English Sings "Waterloo".
Jon English Sings "Behind Blue Eyes".
Jon English : "Dark Horses" 
Countdown Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary: Prince Charles Recreates The Interview With Molly Meldrum


♥♥Remembering Jon English♥♥

                                                                



Related:
Neil Oliver -The Memorial: Beyond The Anzac Legend And Now The Renovated WWI Gallery Re-Opens

Sir John Monash: Grantlee Kieza’s Biography

 Copyright Issues With "Prisoner Theme" Written by Allan Caswell

Biopics Now Focus On Key Moments Rather Than A Whole Life


Russell Crowe's "The Water Diviner" Is Not Complete Fiction

Televison 2016: Some Shows We Can Expect To See


Anzac Day - 2015
 
ANZAC Day - 2016

Some Mini-Series featured on this blog:
Versaille Palace Treasures Come To National Gallery Of Australia 


Downton Abbey Producers In Talks To Make A 1930s-set Feature-length Movie
Cilla Black's Biography On TV  
Downton Abbey: Ending After Its Sixth Season?
The Real Downton Abbey
‘Downton Abbey’ and History: A Look Back
Texas Rising
Banished
Against The Wind 
The Musketeers
The Borgias and Pillars of the Earth
Downton Abbey Becomes Downturn Abbey: Secrets Of Series 6 Revealed
Pride and Prejudice at 20: The Scene That Changed Everything
'Vinyl' Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese's Mini-series
Caitriona Balfe: A Role Model After Outlander And Money Monster