October 2013

(31) Italy – As the month drew to a close, there was more exciting news from Italy where the Kindle version of Keith’s Marilyn climbed back up to n.11 in the “>Book Kindle > Arte, cinema e fotografia > Cinema e television” store on Amazon Italy.

- London, North - Another lunch-time/ early evening catch-up with Laurence, one of the country's finest property entrepreneurs.

(30) Linkedin – Thanks to good friend, and top archive film/video specialist, Richard Groothuizen for requesting Keith’s connection on the business website, Linkedin and, after accepting it, Mr Badman’s number of associates on the site had risen to an impressive 260.

(28) London, West End - BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London - An industry event organised by NBC America and hosted by Clara Fon-Sing; VP & GM, Archive Sales & Strategy, NBC News. A surprise turn-of-events came at the end of the night when Keith won the raffle to attend the Televisual Factual Festival at the BAFTAs on November 6  & 7. 

   

- Canada – Another week; another leap, up to #7 in the “Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada, and thus, the book was out of stock on the site! Meanwhile, elsewhere on there, the, as yet, unreleased softback version of Marilyn stood at #17 in the “Hot New Releases” category, and thus marked an uninterrupted 19-week run in either the Top 10 or 20 charts on the site.

(26) Canada - A surprising leap in the Amazon Canada charts. The hardback of Marilyn leapt to the No.17 position in the ‘Amazon Bestsellers’ in biographies listing, (cough, cough) one ahead (yes one place in front of) Jane Fonda’s current publication, Prime Time: Love, health, sex, fitness, friendship, spirit; Making the most of all of your life.

(24) London – Cryptic corner alert! A meeting of the great Beatle-minds! At a private get-together, organised by one of The Fab Four’s literary giants, Keith was one of the especially-invited attendees. A rather exciting, nay, tremendously exciting new Beatles project was discussed. More news soon!

(23) Leafy Berkshire – Keith completed his latest Rockin’ The Box piece, an article on Baker Gurvitz Army’s November 1975 appearance on Mike Mansfield’s ITV pop music series, Supersonic.

(21) America – Still in the Marilyn Top 10. On Amazon.com, Amazon Best Sellers Rank, the hardback version of Keith’s Marilyn climbed once again, to #9 in the “Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” section of the site. While today, on Amazon Canada, the, as yet, unreleased softback version of Marilyn stood at #10 in the “Hot New Releases” category, and thus marked an uninterrupted 18-week run in either the Top 10 or 15 charts on the site.

(20/21) London – Due to prior, unavoidable commitments, Keith was unable to attend the UK premiere of Good Ol' Freda! at the London Film Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 19-20 But thanks very much indeed to Peggy, Kathy, Ryan et all for the invite.

(9) America – On the rise again! Hardback of Marilyn climbed one spot to #8 in the “Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon.com. While on the same day, on the exact same site, advance sales of the, as-yet-unreleased softback version of the book, saw it leap to #22 in the “Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn”.

(8) America – Marilyn hardback – impressive #9 position in “Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon.com America.

(7) Canada – Marilyn stood at #8 in the “Hot New Releases” category on Amazon Canada, and thus marked an uninterrupted fourth- straight month run in either the Top 10 or 15 charts on the site.

- PM - A return trip to Windsor, the home of Her Maj, to catch-up once again with Mike Randolph.

- The latest edition of Record Collector landed on the doormats of subscribers across the country, in which, as part of his monthly, Rockin’ The Box strand, was Keith’s piece on The Beatles’ November 1963, Granada TV appearance with the comedian, Ken Dodd.

(5) Berkshire – A return appearance at one of the finest bistro’s in town; John Barratt’s for sumptuous Chicken Curry. What with non-stop conversation, the evening went like a treat! (Thanks again, John!)

(3) Windsor, Berkshire – With immense honour, Keith participated in a photo shoot on Eton High Street with the famous 60s/70s snapper Mike Randolph (as seen on this site). Session over, our Mr. Badman returned home to catch-up with his old, long-time friend, Mike Dalton.

September 2013

(30) Canada – Still riding high! The soft-back version of Marilyn, over two months prior to its official release, was at #5 in the “Hot New Releases” category on Amazon Canada, and thus marked an uninterrupted 15th straight run in either the Top 10 or 15 charts on the site.

(28) The Railway, Felixstowe – Keith was “up” at Felixstowe this weekend for a top, top performance by The Kast-Off Kinks; a tribute band which features three original members; Mick Avory, John Dalton and John Gosling. Besides singing along to every Kinks classic performed that night, Keith also presented a simultaneous video show, featuring rare and hardly-seen archive clips of the band. (A highlight, standing alongside Mick as we watched an archive, 1966 clip of the band on German TV’s Beat, Beat, Beat.)

(26) Windsor, Berkshire – Opening of the Mike Randolph pictures presentation in Windsor, in advance of the Ricky Tick Club Retrospective evening.

(23) Germany – Lost for words… Another country cracked. On Amazon Germany, Keith’s Marilyn climbed to the Nr. 2 position in the “eBooks > Fremdsprachige eBooks > Englische eBooks > Unterhaltung & Kultur > Filme > Geschichte & Kritik” Kindle shop and in the Nr. 14 slot in the “Englische Bücher > Unterhaltung  Kultur > Filme > Geschichte & Kritik” section in Kindle sales.
- Canada – Still there! Amazon Canada. The paperback version of Marilyn, not due out for another 3 months was at #2 in the “Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” books section and in the same position, #2, in the “Hot New Releases” category. So, on the same day, Keith’s Marilyn, in two varying formats was at No.2 in three completely different charts!

- Berkshire – Keith set to work on his latest Rockin’ The Box piece for Record Collector magazine. Under the spotlight today, Peter Gabriel’s rarely-seen appearance on a May 1977 edition of London Weekend Television’s Supersonic Saturday Scene.

(21) Canada – Simply incredible! Simply, simply incredible! The impressive run on Amazon Canada continued when the upcoming softback version of Marilyn returned to the #1 position in the “Hot New Releases” category…yep, #1…again! Incredible! While on the same site, on the very same day, the book was to be found at the #2 slot in the “Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” section and at #18 the actress’s Kindle versions chart PLUS at #9 in the “Books > Humour > Entertainment > Movies > Biographies” listings… As the saying goes, “You couldn’t make it up.”

(18) Canada – An interesting aside on Amazon Canada. The hardback edition of Keith’s Marilyn was at #26 in the “Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” section of the site and (get this) #74 in the “Kindle eBooks > Humour & Entertainment > Movies > History & Criticism” listings.

(16) Canada – Over at Amazon Canada, the paperback version of Marilyn stood at No.15 and thus marked a consecutive, uninterrupted run of 13 straight weeks in either the Top 10 or 15 of the “Hot New Releases” in biographies chart.

(13) Italy – Still in the Top 10! Today on Amazon Italy, Marilyn was at n.4 in the “eBook Kindle > Arte, cinema e fotografia > Cinema e television” Kindle store and at n.11 in the “Arte, musica e cinema > Cinema e television” Libri (book) charts.

(11) America – A quick glance at Amazon.com saw Marilyn at #9 in the “Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” book chart on the site.

(10) London – sad news. A truly lovely bloke, fellow 60s aficionado, and a top boxing man, Dean Powell committed suicide in London this day. Keith had known him since 1997 and was proud to do so. “R.I.P., Dean, mate. It was a great pleasure knowing you.”

- Italy – A rise of 5 places to n.2 for Marilyn in Amazon Italy’s “eBook Kindle > Arte, cinema e fotografia > Cinema e television” Kindle Store chart.

(9) Canada – The (soon-to-be-released) US paperback edition of Marilyn stood at No.11 in the “Hot New Releases” in biographies section, and thus marked an un-interrupted run of 12 consecutive weeks in either the Top 10 or 15 of that chart.

- Italy – Latest news from Italy saw the Kindle version of Marilyn at n.7 in the “eBook Kindle > Arte, cinema e fotografia > Cinema e television” section of Amazon Italy and at n.15 in the “Libri > Arte, musica e cinema > Cinema e television” area of the same site.

(7) Berkshire, PM – A return appearance to the mighty-fine bistro of Keith’s great, most trusted friend, John Barratt. Besides the riveting, most enlightening conversation, the chicken offered this evening was, once more, truly exquisite. (“Thanks, John mate!”)

(4) Italy – Marilyn reached the n.6 position in the “Kindle Store > eBook Kindle > Arte, cinema e fotografia > Cinema e television” section on Amazon Italy. Furthermore, the publication was to be found at n.24 in the “Libri > Arte, musica e cinema > Cinema e television” and at n.63 in the “> eBook Kindle > Biografie, diari e memorie > Biografie e autobiografie” section of the site.

- While in Canada, the amazing run continues, with the paperback edition of Marilyn (some three months before its release) still sitting in the #8 position on Amazon Canada in the “Hot New Releases” in biographies section. While, on the same day, the Kindle version of the publication was to be found in the #59 slot in the site’s “Best Sellers in Biographies” listing.

(3) South London – In a typical, South London boozer, Keith was seen as an extra, credited as “Man at bar” in the new, highly amusing, Danny Dyer sit-com, Power To The People. (Currently still in production, but expect a TV screening in the – hopefully - not too distant future.)

New Photos

There are three new photographs on the photos page. Just click the link at the top of the page.

August 2013

(30) America – The month concluded with even more impressive chart action. On Amazon.com, Marilyn was at #6 in the “Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” and at #44 in the “Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > Biographies” sections.                          
- Canada – While on Amazon Canada, it was at #7 in the “Hot New Releases” in biographies listing

 (24 – 27) Liverpool – Keith, once more took control of the video show at Liverpool’s annual Beatles Convention, easily the biggest and best in the Fab Four-loving world! Many thanks to each and every one (long-time friends, loved-ones etc.) who was there to share the brilliance of this great weekend and to everyone at Cavern City Tours for making it all happen. 

- The CCT sanctioned, CD-Rom, History Of Beatleweek, by author and good friend, Neville Stannard (and friends) and featuring a foreword by Keith, was released at the Convention... and every single copy was soon snapped up! (Best check eBay I reckon for a copy now.)  

  (21) Canada / America – STILL hanging in there! The paperback Marilyn was at No.7 in the “Hot New Releases” in biographies section on Amazon Canada. While on Amazon.com, that version of the book made a surprise leap to the #42 position in the “Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” section of the site. 

(20) Berkshire – Due to logistical problems, Keith was unable to fulfil a request to appear on BBC Radio’s The Anne Diamond Show.

(19) Berkshire – With the Bank Holiday fast approaching, Record Collector’s deadline was moved forward meaning Keith’s spent most of today researching/ typing his next Rockin’ column, which just happened to be The Beatles’ highly amusing, November 1963 Granada TV appearance with the comedian, Ken Dodd.  

- Berkshire – Further work was also undertaken on the treatment for Keith’s new Marilyn Monroe-related proposal. 

- Italy – The Kindle version of Keith’s Marilyn climbed back up to the N.9 position in the “eBook Kindle > Arte, cinema e fotografia > Cinema e television” section on Amazon Italy. While on Amazon Canada, the forthcoming paperback version of Marilyn was still to be found at the No.6 spot in the “Hot New Releases” in biographies chart. 

(16) Canada – A rise of two places (from 8 to 6) for Marilyn in the “Hot New Releases” in biographies section on Amazon Canada.

- A small piece of urgent, last-minute fine-tuning and Keith’s article on the 1972 ATV/ ITV documentary, Whatever Happened to Tin Pan Alley for Record Collector magazine was finally ready for publication.

(14) Canada – Book chart news! The paperback edition of Marilyn stood at No.7 in the “Hot New Releases” in biographies section on Amazon Canada. The feat also marked the fact the, as-yet unpublished, softback edition has had an uninterrupted run of two straight months in the Top 10 of that listing.

(12) West End, London – Keith paid a visit to his agent, Robert Kirby at United Agents to discuss further their long-mooted Marilyn idea. More news soon. 

(10) Berkshire – The latest edition of Record Collector, featuring Keith’s feature on What’s On from 1978, dropped through the letter-boxes of homes across the UK.

- A return visit to the fine bistro of John Barratt. Sumptuous chicken was (once again) finely served, alongside top conversation. Sheer delight! 

(9) Canada – It’s all go there! In the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” section today on Amazon Canada, Keith had two placings; the kindle version of The Final Years of Marilyn Monroe: The Shocking True Story was at No.5, while the paperback (USA/ Canadian) version of the as yet unreleased Marilyn Monroe: The Final Years stood at the No.10 position.

(7) South London – Keith caught up with old, long-time friend, Tel. Fine wine and conversations flowed effortlessly throughout the late afternoon/ early evening.

- While over on Amazon Canada, our Mr Badman added another number one to his belt when Marilyn climbed one place to the top position in the “Hot New Releases” in biographies section. (For the record, The Richard Burton Diaries was at No.2 while My Lunches With Orson (Welles) was at No.3.) At the same time, in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” listings, Keith’s book on the actress stood at the No.7 position. 

(6) Canada – Well, you couldn’t make it up! Keith’s Marilyn’s sped-up the Amazon Canada book charts to the No.2 position in the “Hot New Releases” section. (“Thank you Canadians; you’ve obviously got great taste!”) Keeping it from the top spot was The Richard Burton Diaries. And it didn’t end there. Marilyn was also to be found in the No.8 spot in the Amazon Bestsellers “Best Sellers in Biographies” Chart (on Amazon Canada) that day and in the No. 4 position in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” category.  

- While over in Italy, I kid you not, the Italian version of Keith’s Marilyn raced back to the n.1 position in the “eBook Kindle > Arte, cinema e fotografia > Cinema e television” Kindle Store and the n.5 spot in the “Arte, musica e cinema > Cinema e television” listings in the Libri (book) section. 

(5) Berkshire – Keith completed his latest instalment of Rockin’ The Box for Record Collector magazine. Under the spotlight today, the wonderful, star-studded 1972 ATV/ ITV documentary, Whatever Happened to Tin Pan Alley. 

(4) Canada – Amazon Canada update. Keith’s Marilyn was STILL in the Top 20, at No.15 in the “Hot New Releases” section. (It didn’t stay there for long, though!) 

July 2013

(31) Canada – It’s still hanging in there, y’ know. Over a month since it first troubled the charts, the paperback edition of Keith’s Marilyn climbed one place to the no.14 position in the “Hot New Releases” in Biographies section on Amazon Canada, beating hands-down forthcoming publications on (cough, cough), Michael Douglas and Jack Nicholson. (“As Frank Sinatra once said to me, never name-drop.”)

(28) Yet another “KB” credit could be seen on TV tonight when BBC Four re-screened the well-respected, 1999 documentary programme, It’s Slade.
(25) Berkshire – With the 2013 Liverpool Beatles Convection fast approaching, Keith set to work researching/ compiling this year’s video show.

(22) Berkshire – Keith compiled the foreword for a rather exciting, new Beatles CD-rom, which celebrates 30 years of the Liverpool Beatles Convention. It should be released next month. (Watch this space for more news shortly.)

(19) Windsor, Berkshire – Another afternoon meet and catch-up with the iconic, rock, 1960s/70s photographer, Mike Randolph. The reason? To plan/ publicise his forthcoming exhibition, Randolph’s Rock Icons, which runs at the Windsor Library in Windsor, Berkshire between the 3rd and 29th September this year.

- Another Keith Badman credited programme hit the airwaves when BBC Four repeated (two times this evening) the “Director’s Cut” version of the 2012 documentary, Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender.

(18) Canada – Well I never. Marilyn made a surprise leap up to the No.4 position in the “Hot New Releases” in Biographies section on Amazon Canada, even beating the highly-anticipated new book, The Richard Burton Diaries, which stood at No.7. Get this. On the same day, Keith’s book was at No.8 in the “Amazon Bestsellers”, a chart based on the site’s “most popular products based on sales.” But what makes the feat so noticeable was that every other publication in the chart that day was available for sale at that very moment! Keith’s Marilyn was not scheduled to appear in the softback format until December 10 this year, still over 5 months away!

(15) Italy – No holding it back, it seems. The Kindle edition of Keith’s Marilyn book climbed back up to the n.11 position in the “eBook Kindle > Arte, cinema e fotografia > Cinema e television” section on Amazon Italy. While on the same day, on Amazon Canada, the paperback edition, a little under 5 months before its release, was still seen in the No.8 position in the “Hot New Releases in Biographies” category.
- The latest edition of Record Collector, featuring Keith’s ‘Doors Special’ reached the UK shops today.

(13) Berkshire – A return visit for Keith to the home of the famed bistro belonging to Mr John Barratt, one of the country’s chefs, for another top night of chatting, philosophizing, socialising and (of course) eating. “His cooking is still not on prescription, sadly!” Keith was heard to remark afterwards.

- Canada – Well I never. It’s still hanging in there. Keith’s Marilyn climbed one place to No.8 in the “Hot New Releases in Biographies” section on Amazon Canada.

(12) Windsor – Another meeting with the famed photographer, Mike Randolph. Expect an announcement about this shortly.

(5) Canada – It’s still there! Keith’s Marilyn was seen at the No.9 position in the “Hot New Releases in Biographies” section on Amazon Canada.

(3) Berkshire – Keith completed his latest Rockin’ The Box for Record Collector magazine. Under the spotlight today was the January 1978 Granada show, What’s On hosted by the late, great Tony Wilson and featuring, amongst many others, Glen Matlock, Georgie Fame and The Buzzcocks.
- Canada – Still on the up. The amazing run continues! Keith’s Marilyn climbed one place to 7 in the “Hot New Releases in Biographies” on Amazon Canada. And get this! The as-yet-unreleased paperback edition of the book was also seen in the No.88 position on the site’s “Amazon Most Wished For” category.

(2) Windsor, Berkshire – With a multitude of ideas in mind, Keith met-up with his old friend, the legendary 60s/70s photographer, Mike Randolph, best-known for his ground-breaking shots of rock icons such as John Lennon, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.

(1) Canada – A new month…with more of the excellent same. The paperback edition of Keith’s Marilyn climbed one position to No.8 in Amazon Canada’s “Hot New Releases in Biographies” chart.