RE: JIMMY PAGE'S INSPIRATION FOR HOUSES OF THE HOLY ALBUM COVER?
From: "Steve A. Jones"
To: chofgren
Subject: Jimmy's Inspiration for HOTH Album Cover Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2005
01:57:09 +0000
Chris -
Sorry, it's 3am here and my brain is getting fuzzy. This is what I meant to pass along concerning where Jimmy got the concept for the HOTH album cover. I have his specific comments confirming this as a matter of fact from a 1970's era interview I recently had transferred to cdr from the original audiotape.
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The Midwich Cuckoos
"If you were wishful to challenge the supremacy of a society that was
fairly stable, and quite well weaponed, what would you do? Would you meet
it on its' own terms by launching a probably costly, and certainly
destructive, assault? Or, if time were no great importance, would you
prefer to employ a version of a more subtle tactic? Would you, in fact,
try somehow to introduce a fifth column, to attack it from within?"
First published in 1957, The Midwich Cuckoos was a return to familiar
territory for John Wyndham after the more fantasy-themed Chrysalids. In
many ways this is the archetypal Wyndham novel, containing all his
classic themes and techniques, written in the classic style. It is also
quite possibly his best-known work, with the possible exception of The
Day of the Triffids. This is mainly due to the well-known film
adaptation, Village of the Damned(196X), which led to a sequel, Children
of the Damned, and a 1995 remake.
Synopsis
The quiet Winshire village of Midwich is disturbed for the first time in
decades when, late one night, the entire population lapses into an
inexplicable trance-like sleep. The army quickly cordons off the area and
establishes that the effect influences a dome-shaped space - centred on a
strange metallic object that has appeared at the centre of the village.
Nearly thirty-six hours later, the sleep-induction field vanishes, along
with the object. Apart from a few residents who have died in accidents or
of exposure, the villagers seem unaffected. But Colonel Westcott, an
officer in military intelligence, recruits Richard Gayford, a newcomer to
the village, to monitor the situation. Sure enough, some weeks later a
remarkable fact becomes apparent - all the women in Midwich of
child-bearing age present during the phenomenon are pregnant - over sixty
in all.
Panic is narrowly avoided, but local eminence Gordon Zellaby is well
aware of the full implications - the women have been implanted by some
other intelligence present during the 'Dayout'. When the babies are
eventually born, however, they seem wholly human, but for their golden
eyes and hair. As time goes by, though, odd events occur - it seems the
Children can exert a compulsive influence over those around them and are
even capable of forcing self-harm. Zellaby also discovers the Children
possess a strange linked intelligence - anything taught to one of the
boys is instantly known by all of them, and the same applies to the
girls.
The story moves forward seven years. The Children are now nine, but
physically resemble adolescents. A local man has been killed in a road
accident. The verdict is one of misadventure, but Zellaby and others know
better - the dead man accidentally injured a Child and was compelled to
kill himself by the others - a deliberate act of murder, but beyond the
cognisance of the law. The dead man's brother attacks the Children with a
shotgun but again is forced to commit 'suicide'.
Events escalate and an angry mob marches on the special school the
Children attend. The Children make the villagers attack each other and
several deaths ensue. Shortly afterwards they impose a restriction zone
around Midwich - outsiders are allowed through, but not villagers, thus
creating a human shield against any attack on them.
Westcott reveals that Midwich was not the only, or even first place to
have a Dayout. In several places the Children were stillborn or killed,
but a Soviet group survived and were raised in secrecy - hence military
intelligence's interest in the Midwich colony. A few days ago, the
Russians grew alarmed by their Children's burgeoning power and
obliterated the whole town without warning, and have urged the other
nations of the world to do the same with any other Children that may
exist.
The Midwich Children demand transport out of the village to a place where
they may mature in peace. Clearly, if allowed to survive, they will
replace normal civilisation - but the morality of that very civilisation
refuses to contemplate the necessary extermination of children, even ones
as potentially lethal as these are. The Children seem in the ascendant
until Zellaby - who, it is revealed, is already terminally ill - destroys
himself, them, and their school with a bomb. His last letter is warning
that, in order to survive, one must be prepared to take whatever measures
are required...
"This is not a civilised matter... it is a very primitive matter. If
we exist, we shall dominate you - that is clear and inevitable. Will you
agree to be superceded, and start on your way to extinction without a
struggle?"
From: "Chris Hofgren"
To: Steve A. Jones
Subject: RE: Jimmy's Inspiration for HOTH Album Cover
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2005 21:53:23 -0500
RE: The Midwich Cuckoos, I never read that book (although had read
Wyndham's 'Day Of The Triffids' as a schoolkid) but was aware that Village
of the Damned (1960) - which I haven't seen for many years - was based on it.
what were Page's transcripted comments from that audio interview? I have
the 1976 audio interview as bonus Disc 3 of a 1997 'BBC Sessions' CD
limited edition......there Jimmy talked a lot about the English school
system, society generally and detrimental influence on kids, shows he
would have been influenced by Wyndham-style gritty scifi stories of that
'50s-early'60s era. Please let me know if the interview you're referring
to is different.
Was it the movie, or story which inspired the album imagery concept?
Direct reference to a scene in movie (I can see, the blond wigs....) or
book? or something less specific, indirectly implied by the released HOTH
artwork?
best,
Chris H.
From: "Steve A. Jones"
To: chofgren
Subject: RE: Jimmy's Inspiration for HOTH Album Cover
Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2005 03:10:16 +0000
I'll have to get back to you in the next week or so with a confirmation of
his exact comments.
I seem to recall he said this to Dave Schulps in his hotel room during the
'77 tour and was referring to the film, but I could be mistaken about that. I've
reviewed about 20 interviews recently transferred from audio to cdr over the past
few weeks so I can't speak with any degree of precision at the moment --they all
start to run together in my mind after a while!
Bare in mind Storm Thorgersen, amongst others at Hipgnosis, was chiefly
responsible for actually bringing several of Jimmy's album cover concepts into reality. Robert & Jimmy enjoyed a similar relationship with Aubrey Powell at Atlantic when
their 80's-era solo careers required promotional videos. They would speak
to Po in gerneral terms of what they wanted and he'd come up with
the "script". You probably already knew this or are aware of it.
Regards,
Steve A. Jones
From: Chris H.
Sent:Thu 12/29/05 3:22 AM
To: Steve A. Jones
Steve,
thanks again and please let me know whenever you get around to it. Knew
about Thorgersen's role but not Powell/Plant/Page in '80s..... yes it would
be interesting to hear more about HOTH artwork concept development (there's
several interview comments around about how difficult the colour
printing/execution of the jacket was).
maybe I'll just have to track down that VOTD DVD (it's on a 2-for-1 disc in
the U.S. which also includes the later sequel
best,
Chris H.
Edited by SteveAJones, 24 November 2007 - 05:51 AM.
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