Oxford 3 - The Boyfriend

I had a very sheltered upbringing: no TV until late in secondary school, no bicycle until I was 13, no pop music, no alcohol, five meetings every Sunday, very infrequent trips to the cinema or theatre, and I have always hated parties. I did not suffer, on the contrary I honour my parents because I think my upbringing kept me from excesses later in life. But not surprisingly my student days were "liberating". I discovered cider, saw films that my parents probably would not have approved of, and found that there were Christians outside of my parents' choice of denomination. I had already discovered (at school) that friendship did not have to concur with choice of faith.

One film I remember in particular was Ken Russell's rendition of "The Boyfriend" staring Twiggy. The reason I remember it in particular was that, afterwards, Neil Mapley said how wonderful Sandy Wilson's music was, which set me thinking "why?" only to discover that the music was indeed worth repeating. For a brief synopsis "Rather than film the musical The Boy Friend, Russell made the film about the making of the musical. When the star of a show breaks a leg, the newcomer, Twiggy, has to take her place. A major film director comes to look at the show as a possible new film."

The track that made the most impression was "All I want is a room in Bloomsbury". The clip starts with the song being sung "straight" on the stage. I guess what I like is the surreal jump into a fantasy portrayal of the "room in Bloomsbury"

and then the jump through the window into a deeper level of fantasy...

where they find themselves in a sort of fairy land. It is all so delightfully cheesy (intentionally, as the plot is about an amateur production).

A life of wealth does not appeal to me at all 

Do you agree at all? 

I do 

The mere idea of living in a palace is 

So full of fallacies 

That's true 

I've got a very different sort of scheme in mind 

It's just a dream designed 

For two 

Would you care to hear about it, dear? 

Would I care to? Can you doubt it, dear? 

All I want is a room 

In Bloomsbury 

Just a room that will do 

For you and me 

One room's enough for us 

Though is on the top floor 

Life may be rough for us 

But its troubles we'll ignore 

On a Wintery night 

I'll light a fire 

Everything I shall do 

As you desire 

You'll be sitting 

And you'll be knitting 

And so contented we'll be 

In our dear little room in Bloomsbury 

All I want is a room 

In Bloomsbury 

Just a room that will do 

For you and me 

I'll sew the covers for 

Two old cosy armchairs 

Neighbours will love us for 

We shall laugh at all our cares 

While I'm reading a book 

I'll cook a stew 

Then I'll bake a plum duff 

Enough for two 

In our attic 

We'll be ecstatic 

As lovebirds up in a tree 

All we want is a room in Bloomsbury