Elsewhere in Rock’n’Roll London…
Playwright Joe Orton’s plaque can be found
at 25 Noel Road, Islington…
The award-winning playwright, infamously
murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell in, ahem, the Summer of Love 1967, was
commissioned in 1966 to re-write a script for The Beatles’ third movie.
The resulting tale, Up Against It, was
rejected by Brian Epstein without comment. It is speculated that the script’s themes
of sexual profligacy, polygamy and the group sex scene at the denouement all
conspired to make the piece unsuitable for The Beatles’ audience.
Orton’s dead body – and that of Halliwell,
who took his own life with an overdose after bludgeoning Orton to death with a
hammer – was found by a chauffeur who was due to take the playwright to a
meeting with director Richard Lester at Twickenham Studios to discuss the
possibility of shooting the movie with Mick Jagger and Ian McKellan instead.
The piece finally made it to performance,
as a play, staged off-Broadway in 1989 with music by Todd Rundgren. A BBC Radio
version in 1997 starred Damon Albarn of Blur.
And here’s our own Rock’n’Roll London video…
Join the Rock’n'Roll London Walk on
Friday at 2pm, meeting at Tottenham Court Road Station (Exit 3) –
to book a Private Walk call 020 7642 3978 or email london@walks.com
CREDIT CARD PRE-BOOKING IS NOW AVAILABLE
FOR THE ROCK’N’ROLL LONDON WALK EVERY FRIDAY VIA THE LONDON BOOKSTORE. CLICK HERE TO BOOK AND PREPAY.
A London Walk costs £9 – £7 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
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