The Spectator Guide to Henley 2016 gives an impression of what you can expect in 2017
"At the Nereus Rowing Club in Amsterdam, the younger members
inherit their jackets when older rowers leave. The oldest jacket
belonging to his club dated back to 1963."
Every blazer tells a
story: Men reveal the secrets of those amazing Henley Royal regatta jackets
(including the stains they keep as a badge of honour)
Rowers wear different
colours to show which club/country they compete for
Jackets can be passed
down through clubs and families
They don't dry clean
them as stains are part of blazer's history
By Lucy Waterlow for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 18:04 BST, 5 July 2013 | UPDATED: 18:50 BST, 5
July 2013
Forget who had the best dress or hat at the Henley Royal
Regetta, this year it was the men making a style statement with their bright
blazers.
The jackets created a rainbow of colour along the banks of
the River Thames on the regatta's third day.
The preppy blazers come in stripes and checks with an array
of different shades. But while they may make the wearer look dapper, on closer
inspection they are somewhat stained and threadbare.
According to the oarsmen, they refuse to get them dry
cleaned in order to follow the age old tradition of wearing the coffee and beer
stains of yesteryear as a 'badge of honour'.
This also explains why some appear to not quite fit as they
have been passed down the generations of a family who don't share the same
size.
'You can't wash your blazer or tie,' said James Parkin, 38,
wearing a cream jacket and tie from St Edmund Hall, Oxford University. 'Each
stain tells a story and that is why you will see guys in their 70s walking
around in tatty jackets.'
The stains, missing buttons and patches are all part of what
makes the blazers a part of the regatta's 174-year history.
Every blazer tells a story, wear and tear is kept as a badge
of honour: From left, Oliver James, Robert Lawrence and Jack Barden De Lacroix
As Mr Parkin observed of his own jacket: 'This coffee stain
is from four years ago and this is beer from last year. It does show up worse
on the light coloured jackets but it is all part of the history.'
Steve Salter, 29 years, from London Rowing Club added of his
blazer: 'I am told that each stain is supposed to tell a story and be a badge
of honour. It is something that has been passed down from the older members.
'Each member is told when they get their blazer that it is
bad luck to get it cleaned. Nobody questions it.'
At the Nereus Rowing Club in Amsterdam, the younger members
inherit their jackets when older rowers leave.
Menzo Appledoorn, 24, explained that the oldest jacket
belonging to his club dated back to 1963.
'It is all part of the tradition,' he said as he posed in
his faded red blazer that comes complete with patches. 'They are passed down to
the new members as older ones leave. It may look shabby but we wear them with
pride. Mine even has the names of the two previous owners stitched in. I think
mine is about 30-ish years old but the club has one that is 50 years old.'
Rowers wear blazers in different colours to show which club
or country they compete for. In some cases they are also a clue to the wearer's
success on the water due to the insignia, such as stripes on the cuffs.
Despite the balmy conditions the men were not allowed to
remove their jackets in the Stewards' Enclosure.
They have only been allowed to remove them twice in the
history of the event which started in 1839.
The guidelines stipulate that men must wear lounge suits,
jackets or blazers with flannels and a tie or cravat.
Women must wear dresses or skirts and would not be admitted
if their hemline was below the knee or if they were wearing divided skirts,
culottes or trousers.
The Stewards' Enclosure was founded in the nineteenth
century after a viewing stand was organised along the river bank near the
finish.
The reclusive widow of Lord Lucan is set to give her first
in depth documentary interview since her husband's disappearance 43 years ago.
The Countess of Lucan is set to speak about how her husband
tried to bludgeon her to death and murdered the family's nanny, in a
documentary exploring the mysterious peer.
It's the first time the 79-year-old has ever agreed to take
part in such a film and she is understood to be receiving a £56,000, according
to the Sunday Express.
Lady Lucan has been seen in front of cameras at various
London locations, including the church in Knightsbridge, where she first
married the 7th Earl.
The widow has also allowed the cameras into her rented flat,
near the house where she nearly died on 7 November 1974, after being repeatedly
hit over the head with lead piping.
Lady Lucan had appeared at her local pub, covered in blood,
crying for help and saying the family's nanny, Sandra Rivett, was dead. She
told police her estranged husband had attacked her and 29-year-old Ms Rivett.
The Lucans had been locked in a custody dispute over their
three children. Police concluded Lord "Lucky" Lucan, a professional
gambler, had murdered Ms Rivett in the basement of the family's townhouse,
after mistaking her for his wife.
The Lord had left a trail of debt and the mystery of his
whereabouts led to decades of speculation. Police believed Lucan, a German
speaker, had fled to Nambia, a former German colony.
But Lady Lucan, known as Veronica, believes he threw himself
off a boat in the English Channel the morning after the murder.
The couple's children, George, Camilla and Frances, who were
sleeping upstairs at the time of the murder, continued to live with their
mother after the attack.
But when Veronica suffered a breakdown, custody of the
children was passed to her sister Christina Shand Kydd. Lady Lucan has not
spoken to any of her children since.
A death certificate was not issued for Lord Lucan until last
year. It was only then that his son, George Bingham, 49, could inherit the
family title.
A friend of Lady Lucan told the Sunday Express her decision
to work with the filmmakers was partly motivated by money, but principally for
"revenge against her son".
The friend told the paper: "She knows George will be
angry when he sees the film."
In a 2013 ITV drama, Rory Kinnear portrayed the earl as a
reckless gambler who was prepared to stop at nothing to get custody of his
children.
Lady Lucan has said privately she has no wish for a
reconciliation with her children and has not met her grandchildren. George is
married to Anne-Sofie, the daughter of a Danish industrialist.
The couple had a daughter last year. The present Earl is
unlikely to be happy about his mother's participation in the documentary.
He is said to have burned all his father's papers and
photographs in a bid to get on with his life.
Lord Lucan’s death certificate granted after more than 40
years
Lady Lucan: I'm 'deeply sad' my marriage caused the nanny to
die
The wife of the late Lord Lucan has issued an extraordinary
apology over the murder of the family’s nanny, saying she is “deeply sad” that
her own marital problems caused her to die.
The Dowager Countess of Lucan, who was attacked on the same
night as Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death, said she is “very sorry” about
what happened, and works to compensate by ensuring she is not forgotten.
Lady Lucan is to be interviewed as part of an ITV
documentary entitled “My Husband, the Truth”, which investigates what really
happened on the now-notorious 1974 evening when both women were viciously
beaten in the family home.
Mrs Rivett, nanny to the three Lucan children, was killed in
the basement with a lead pipe. Lady Lucan was also attacked, running into a
nearby pub covered in blood screaming for help.
Lord Lucan, the 7th Earl, disappeared and has never been
seen since, with a formal death certificate allowing his son to inherit the
title finally issued last year.
His wife, now 79, will be interviewed on screen about their
dysfunctional relationship, bitter custody battle and her own depression.
“I am deeply sad that my marriage caused Mrs Sandra Rivett
to die,” she said.
“I am very sorry about that. But I cannot alter it, except
not to forget about her – and I don’t forget about her.”
Michael Waldman, the programme’s director, told the Radio
Times: “She feels that she does have an extraordinarily clear recollection of
facts and feelings...she has given her truth unabashedly.”
Lady Lucan has been estranged from her children, aged
between 46 and 52, for 35 years, admitting she “could have been better” as a
mother.
Asked what happened to her husband following the attack, she
said: “I would say he got on the ferry and jumped off in the middle of the
Channel in the way of the propellers so that his remains wouldn’t be found – I
think quite brave.”
In a bleak insight into their marriage, she claimed her
husband would beat her with a cane when she became depressed, to get the “mad
ideas out of your head”.
“He could have hit harder,” she told the programme. “They
were measured blows. He must have got pleasure out of it because he had
intercourse [with me] afterwards.”
Lord Lucan: My Husband, the Truth, will be broadcast
on Monday, June 5
“I said to him, ‘Please don’t kill me John,’ And then I
asked, ‘Where’s Sandra?’ And he said, ‘She’s dead. Don’t look.’” – Lady
Veronica Lucan
Lord Lucan's wife speaks on camera for the first time in 30
years and reveals intimate details of her marriage to the infamous aristocrat,
in a brand new ITV documentary.
The wife of the Earl, whose disappearance in 1974 remains
one of the most enduring and iconic mysteries in the public consciousness,
offers a vivid account of what happened before his flight and her theory about
what became of him.
The film, Lord Lucan: My Husband, The Truth which is
produced by Brook Lapping, includes previously unseen family archive footage,
showing Lucan with his family and friends, living the high life across Europe.
It includes the earliest known moving footage of Lord Lucan.
Despite the couple's outwardly lavish lifestyle, Lady Lucan
says their relationship was strained.
She says: “He talked to me more before our marriage than he
ever did afterwards. He said, ‘That’s the point of being married, you don’t
have to talk to the person.’”
Lady Lucan is interviewed in her mews house, close to the
former family home where she describes how their nanny, Sandra Rivett, was
brutally murdered in the basement by the Earl, having mistaken her for Lady
Lucan.
She goes into detail about how Lucan’s gambling had led to
heavy debts in the lead-up to the attack, their custody battle for their three
children which the Earl lost, and his subsequent disappearance days later.
Lady Lucan also offers her own suggestion of what became of
her husband, with no trace of him ever confirmed despite myth and speculation
building up in the aftermath, and in the decades that followed, as claimed
sightings of him were made and multiple theories about what happened to him
were put forward.
Since Lucan’s disappearance, his wife has remained largely
silent, but now she talks openly about their troubled and tempestuous marriage.
Her vivid recollections and the archive footage offer a unique and previously
unseen insight into one of the most notorious figures of the twentieth century.
Douglas Frederick Cornelius Hayward (5 October 1934 – 26
April 2008), was an English tailor, who dressed many famous people during the
1960s. The inspiration for customer Michael Caine's characterisation of his role
in the 1966 film Alfie, he was also the model for client John Le Carre's Harry
Pendel, aka The Tailor of Panama.
Born in Kensington, West London, Hayward and his brother
grew up in Hayes. His father cleaned heating boilers for the BBC and worked a
second job cleaning buses in Uxbridge; while his mother worked during World War
II in a munitions factory. Hayward won a scholarship to Southall Grammar
School. He had had a trial at inside-left for the Middlesex county football
team, but lost out to future England captain Johnny Haynes who was also a left
footer.
An unfocused rebel, Hayward left school at 15, looking for a
white-collar job:
“We didn't have a careers master, but I found a booklet
which listed possible occupations. I went down the list and when I got to T for
tailor, I thought: "I don't know any tailors. I can't ever be judged as
being a bad or a good one, so I'll be a tailor." ”
Apprenticed to a Shepherd's Bush Green tailor who visited
the flats in Cadogan Square, where his uncle was a caretaker. During this
period he worked a summer in Clacton-on-Sea as a Butlins Redcoat, and after
finishing his apprenticeship served his National Service in the Royal Navy, an
experience he later admitted got him focused.
Returning to civilian life, he continued working for his
original employer, but also started after hours work on his own creations.
Early clients like Peter Sellers, Terence Stamp and lyricist Herbert Kretzmer,
came through his excellent theatrical links at the local theatre, the BBC's
Lime Grove Studios, or through his first wife, Diana, sister-in-law of film
director Basil Dearden.
Unable to gain a cutters job on either Savile Row or even
Oxford Street due to his accent, Hayward then joined fellow showbiz specialist
tailor Dimitrio Major, based in Fulham. It was here that he developed a service
mentality, driving his Mini Countryman estate car to allow him to attend
customers wherever required, including Richard Burton at the Dorchester Hotel.
Hayward first set up on his own operating out of a small
room in London's Pall Mall, before moving to 95 Mount Street in Mayfair in 1966
where he lived above the shop which soon became a club for his famous clients.
In the rear was the cutting room overlooking the Mount Street Gardens.
His weekend home was on the Oxfordshire estate of client and
friend Lord Hambleden, near Henley on Thames); Described by many as like a
gentlemen's club, the shop acted as a hub for all of Hayward's clients when in
London. Tea or something stronger was often served and the coffee table was
littered with autographed copies of books written by writer clients including
Joseph Heller who wrote Catch 22 Doug's favourite book. There was also a
collection of teddy bears, a gift from his client Ralph Lauren, whose later
Purple Label line was inspired and advised by Hayward. but Hayward's best pal
was his Jack Russell terrier Burt who had his own made to measure suits. Client
Michael Parkinson said of the shop:
“ Hayward
ran the best salon in London. Anybody who's anybody was there. It soon became apparent
in the 1970s that everyone that was in town to do the show would visit there. I
met Alec Guinness there and Tony Bennett. He had this great ability to treat
everybody the same. ”
Hayward's client list included: actors Clint Eastwood, Sir
John Gielgud, Michael Caine, Terence Stamp, Ray Austin; film director, then
renowned stuntman and 1966 World Cup England captain Rex Harrison, Steve
McQueen and John Osborne; actor Tommy Steele; singer Tony Bennett; newsreader
Tom Brokaw; footballer and 1966 World Cup England captain Bobby Moore; Formula
1 world champion Sir Jackie Stewart; and businessmen Lord Hanson and Mark
Birley. Female clients included Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Jean Shrimpton and
Sharon Tate. His design of suits for singer Mick Jagger lead him to designing
the wedding suit for Bianca Jagger, and later many of her iconic white
jumpsuits. His film credits included Caine's suits in The Italian Job, and
Roger Moore in James Bond. Actor James Coburn called Hayward "the Rodin of
tweed". Many of his clients became close friends. An early friend was
Ralph Lauren, who met Dougie in the early 80's on one of his first visits to
London. Ralph realized that Hayward's approach to his clients, and their
corresponding support of his style and tailoring, was very similar to his own
and exactly what he envisioned for his eventual entry into the London market.
Dougie recognized Ralph's ideas and talent and became a great friend and
supporter. In his approach to his clientele as a complete source of style, Hayward
sold hand-made shoes, and his own line of watches and leather luggage. He
lectured at the Royal College of Art on tailoring, placing emphasis on cutting:
"You can't do anything unless you can cut." Pragmatic and undemanding
of his clients body, Hayward believed that any one could be made to look
sleeker:
“ People
always wanted to know who had been the tailor to Cary Grant or Fred Astaire.
But what I'd want to know is who was Sydney Greenstreet's tailor? He was a
large man in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, who always looked good. ”
Every week until her death in 1984, he visited his mother,
Winifred. Each time he would present her with a £1 note, to pay for her Meals
on Wheels. He also gave her regular sums of money, always in cash. Convinced
that her son was running either a brothel or a game of chemmy, she kept it all.
After her death, the family found it beneath her bed in 15 empty ice cream
boxes, with a note: "This money is to get Doug out of prison when they
finally get him."
While Sean Connery had the consistency of being dressed by
Anthony Sinclair for all six of his James Bond films, Roger Moore was fitted by
three different tailors over his seven Bond films. Cyril Castle, Roger Moore’s
tailor throughout The Saint and The Persuaders, dressed Moore for his first two
Bond films, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun. Italian tailor
Angelo Vitucci of Angelo Roma dressed Moore for The Spy Who Loved Me and
Moonraker. The famous Douglas Hayward came in to dress Moore for his three
1980s Bond films: For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and A View to a Kill, and
Hayward went on to dress Moore until the former passed away in 2008. Moore’s
three tailors each gave him a unique look, from the ultimate in fashion to
understated elegance. Vote at the end of the article for who you think dressed
Moore best.
Cyril Castle was a neighbour of Connery’s tailor Anthony
Sinclair on Conduit Street, though his cut was more flamboyant and focused on
fashion trends. Building on the first major* foray into fashion Bond took in On
Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Castle dressed Moore in tailored clothes that
took hints from the fashions of the early 1970s. He introduced Bond to flared
suit trousers, though they are more of a subtle bootcut than a bold flared leg.
The lapels are of a classic width in Live and Let Die but widened to a trendier
width in The Man with the Golden Gun. Castle also introduced the
double-breasted suit to Bond, though George Lazenby previously wore a
double-breasted blazer.
Though Castle cut a jacket in the English tradition for
Moore with soft shoulders and a full chest, the small details also fascinated
Castle. The cuffs of most of the jackets are notable for their flared shape
with a kissing link fastening. The silk ivory jacket in The Man with the Golden
Gun dispensed with the link cuffs for gauntlet (turnback) cuffs, a classic
Edwardian detail that also featured on Connery’s early dinner jackets. The
English details were important to Castle, and they also included deep double
vents and slanted hip pockets.
Castle mostly made clothes for Moore in the classic Bondian
blues and greys but also included brown, black and olive suits. Connery had
previously worn the first two of those three. Castle more prominently used some
of the flashier fabrics that Connery wore on occasion in his Bond films, such
as mohair and silk.
Angelo Roma is the tailor Roger Moore is more usually
associated with due to the bold 1970s look he gave Moore. Angelo Vitucci’s
suits are beautifully cut in the Roman style with straight shoulders and an
elegant clean cut. For The Spy Who Loved Me, Vitucci widened the already wide
lapels that Moore previously wore in The Man with the Golden Gun, and he also
widened the flared trouser legs for an update look.
The details of Vitucci’s clothes included flapped breast
pockets on some of the sportier jackets and front-pocket-less trousers. But he
normalised the jackets an ordinary four-button cuff and used a regular width
for the pocket flaps so not to overwhelm the front beyond the oversized lapels.
Vitucci dressed Moore in one blue suit and one grey suit in
Moonraker, but his most infamous suit for Moore is a rich brown silk suit in
The Spy Who Loved Me. Though the colour could not be more flattering to Moore’s
warm complexion, and it’s worn appropriately in the Mediterranean, the shade of
brown is unfortunately most associated with 1970s fashions. Vitucci also
modernised Moore’s blazers with four-hole metal buttons rather than the more
traditional shanked style. Following Bond tradition, Vitucci used silver-toned
metal rather than yellow-toned metal, except on the double-breasted blazer in
Moonraker.
Though Vitucci’s look was only featured in two films, Moore
will forever be notoriously remembered for wearing these fashionable 1970s
clothes, despite the many positive traits of these clothes.
Douglas Hayward is the most famous of Roger Moore’s three
Bond tailors for his work on many films beyond the Bond series and celebrity
clients such as Michael Caine and Terence Stamp. Of Moore’s three tailors,
Hayward gave Moore the most classic style appropriate for the 1980s without
worrying too much about 1980s fashions. Hayward brought back a more traditional
English air to Bond, with soft shoulders punctuated by roped sleeve heads.
Hayward narrowed the lapels for For Your Eyes Only, and then even more for
Octopussy so they were back down to a balanced, timeless width. The trousers no
longer were flared but featured a straight leg, which also got narrower from
For Your Eyes Only to Octopussy.
Whilst Hayward was not into gimmicks, his jackets feature a
very low button stance that was a hallmark of 1980s and early 1990s tailoring.
Apart from this, the suits would not look at all dated today.
Hayward tailored suits mostly in blue and grey flannel
solids and chalk stripes for city wear along with an appropriate tan or light
brown gabardine suit for the sunnier locales in each film. For evening wear,
Hayward tailored beautiful dinner jackets in black and midnight blue wool and ivory
linen, with either peaked or notched lapels. He also gave Moore a variety of
navy blazers and understated tweed sports coats for more informal occasions.
Each of Moore’s three tailors offered the Bond films
something special. Cyril Castle brought a unique creativity to Bond’s tailored
wardrobe. Angelo Roma made Bond look current, and despite the clothes being
some of the most dated in the series, they still look fantastic on Moore.
Douglas Hayward returned Bond’s wardrobe to the classic elegance that defined
Sean Connery’s Bond wardrobe, but he did it in a way that was appropriate for
an older Moore. Which approach do you like best?
Designing 007: James Bond's style
celebrated in Barbican exhibition
Barbican showcases costumes and props from the films'
50-year history, from suits and swimwear to gadgets and diamonds
James Bond exhibition
Thursday 5 July 2012 15.39 BST First published on Thursday 5
July 2012 15.39 BST
The Chesterfield coat and hat Sean Connery wears in Dr No
for his first meeting with M; Roger Moore's yellow ski suit and red backpack
seen on the slopes in The Spy Who Loved Me; George Lazenby's kilt donned in On
Her Majesty's Secret Service; the Brioni suit Pierce Brosnan wore to drive a tank
in Goldeneye; and Daniel Craig's infamously snug baby-blue swim trunks of
Casino Royale fame. All are featured in the Barbican's blockbuster summer show
Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style, which opens on Friday
Every aspect of this extensive retrospective of the Bond
films has been carefully thought through. It is as camp and fun as it is
nerdishly packed with facts, production sketches, storyboards and costume
drawings. Film screens playing classic clips are dotted throughout, with scenes
relating to the paraphernalia, from clothing to props, gadgets to 25-carat
diamonds.
The opening scene of Dr No, the first Bond film, featured a
close-up of a turned-back silk cuff on a tuxedo jacket designed by Anthony
Sinclair for Sean Connery. The tailor's involvement in shaping the look of Bond
is integral to the character's image. A three-piece grey-check suit by Sinclair
is worn by a Connery-lookalike mannequin leaning on a DB5 Aston Martin in this
show.
Bronwyn Cosgrave, fashion historian and co-curator of the
exhibition, says Sinclair's designs are the male equivalent of a Chanel suit.
Its athletic cut, she says, inspired designers such as Hedi Slimane, Tom Ford
and Thom Browne.
Ford's mohair and cashmere tuxedo, worn by Craig in 2008's
Quantum of Solace, also puts in an appearance in a section of the exhibition
dedicated to Bond casino moments.
As well as Craig's trunks, there is a recreation of
Connery's Thunderball shorts, which Bond costume designer and Oscar-winner
Lindy Hemming – the exhibition's other key curator – asked British brand
Sunspel to recreate. Such is the power of Bond – Cosgrave says many fashion
trends have been inspired by the fashions of this franchise – that Sunspel, who
also created clothes for Craig's Casino Royale wardrobe, has launched a new
swimwear line.
Designed to take visitors on a Bond-style narrative journey
– there are rooms dedicated to M, ski slopes and foreign locations. Cosgrave
says the show aims to reflect all 23 films. Visitors walk through a
bullet-shaped entrance covered with stills from the films, before arriving in
the Gold Room, which features a revolving circular bed complete with white
sheets and a gold-painted female body – a nod to the classic scene from
Goldfinger.
Pussy Galore's gold waistcoat and Scaramanga's golden gun
are displayed in glass cases alongside black-and-white footage of Connery
arriving at the premiere of Goldfinger and being mobbed by fans. "The film
Goldfinger made Bond a pop-culture phenomenon rivalled only by the
Beatles," says Cosgrave.
Other costume highlights in the exhibition include Ursula Andress's
Dr No bikini, which was created from the actor's bra and some bottoms found
locally during filming, alongside designs by Prada, Gucci and Versace.
In 2002's Die Another Day, Halle Berry's Jinx Johnson paid
homage to Andress by emerging from the sea in a similar bikini. But it is
Berry's Versace evening dress that is one of the exhibition's standouts. It is
a typically flesh-revealing gown in a pinkish purple and featuring glittering
jewels across the top section. Alongside the dress are the original sketches by
the designer Donatella Versace.
Similarly eye catching is a canary yellow Roberto Cavalli
affair which is slashed in the front and splattered with Swarovski crystals
around the bust. This was worn by Ivana Milicevic to play Valenka, the girlfriend
of Casino Royale's villian Le Chiffre. There is also the red silk georgette,
one-shouldered dress worn by Eunice Gayson to play Bond's girlfriend Sylvia
Trench in Dr No. This dress was apparently bought by the actor herself from an
inexpensive shop near Pinewood studios following the film director Terence
Young vetoing costume designer Julie Harris's original choice.
In a section dedicated to Bond villains and enigmas,
Madonna's fencing ensemble from Die Another Day and Jaws' metal teeth also feature.
"It's the longest running and most successful film
franchise of all time – and the most glamorously made," says Cosgrove.
"Nothing can touch it. That is why Bond and his sidekicks are
inspirational to people all over the world and to all ages."
Doug Hayward's distinctive sense of style came out of his
working-class childhood, a world where men like his dad, who had laboured all
week in mucky boiler suits, went out of a Friday night scrubbed, shining and
metamorphosed by their best - their only - suits, pressed to perfection. He
shared the satisfaction of the better persona that a man puts on with proper
tailoring, and for almost 50 years, until his death at the age of 73, he suited
blokes like himself, only with more money - movie stars and footballers and
snappers and hacks and even Americans. He upheld the centuries old British
tradition in which male style ascends, and transcends, classes.
His anecdotage and attitude were the source for the
character Harry Pendel in John Le Carré's The Tailor of Panama; his charming
manner, though not his emotional history, was the model for his mate Michael
Caine's 1966 performance as Alfie.
That remembered childhood had been in Hayes, on the edge of
London: his Cockney father stoked boilers at the BBC, his mother was recruited
into wartime bullet manufacture, and Hayward was bright enough to win a grammar
school scholarship, which was followed by an apprenticeship to a Shepherd's
Bush Green tailor since he did not have the accent to crack Savile Row. The
social ease began with a holiday gig as a Butlin's redcoat and national service
in the Royal Navy, another environment where working-class men appreciated cut
and finish of kit, and technical expertise outranked background.
Hayward's early clients, including Peter Sellers and Terence
Stamp, were acting at the local theatre or the BBC at Lime Grove, or came
through his first wife, Diana, sister-in-law to the film director Basil
Dearden. Then he joined Dimitrio Major in Fulham, also a specialist in showbiz.
Hayward was, and stayed, so driven that he attended customers wherever wanted,
arriving by secondhand Mini for fittings with Richard Burton in a suite at the
Dorchester.
His own first premises were a niche in Pall Mall (10 fearful
days passed before a single customer called), and then business was sound
enough for him to move in 1967 not to Savile Row - wrong, Victorian, vibes, too
many portraits of the Queen Mum - but to a house at 95 Mount Street, Mayfair.
He lived upstairs during the week; his cutting room overlooked the back garden;
in the front room, with its grey flannel walls, were sofas and armchairs.
Nobody glared at potential customers; they were poured tea or champagne, and so
were their girlfriends ("I get a lot of birds in"). Attendees felt it
was like a gentleman's club, but it was more liberal, never silent, closer to
an 18th-century coffee house, liquor welcome and parties liable to break out.
Hayward's services cost a fortune, but his patient ear for clients' troubles,
his advice, his contacts, and the therapeutic effect of a visit were thrown in
for free. The photographer Terry O'Neill, a regular on the sofa, especially
after a long mutual lunch at Langham's Brasserie, called him "the Buddha
of Mount Street". The premises got tatty with wear, and their suavity was
not improved by Hayward's Jack Russell terrier molesting the besuited teddy
bears supplied by customer Ralph Lauren, whose Purple Label line is homage to,
and was advised by, Hayward. They were still just right, though.
The clothes were just right too, even if Hayward was heretic
over details of Savile Row dogma - he did not disapprove of machine-sewn
buttonholes - shock, horror. He was pragmatic, undemanding of a body beautiful
beneath - any man could be made to look sleeker; he said people always wanted
to know who had been the tailor to Cary Grant or Fred Astaire but "What
I'd want to know is who was Sydney Greenstreet's tailor? He was a large man [in
The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca] who always looked good." Hayward was a
careful observer of hands shoved in pockets, shoulders braced or slumped, legs
hitched or crossed, and he structured to allow for the way that the repertoire
of Anglo-American gesture became more expansive and relaxed in the 1960s. He
didn't do tight - a female client who demanded a constricted elbow complained
that he tried to get her to swing her arms up as if she were about to shoot a
grouse to test the roominess of the armholes. The Hayward cut flattered stage
and screen: Caine, Roger Moore in his final, non-Austin Powers, James Bond
mode, Sir John Gielgud, John Osborne, Tom Brokaw, Tony Bennett, Clint Eastwood,
even the Zen cowboy James Coburn, who called him "the Rodin of
tweed". Rex Harrison gave him the ultimate establishment nod of approval.
He tailored sportsmen, too, including Bobby Moore, thought
him a classic neat dresser, same as his football. The game was Hayward's real
love (he had a trial as an inside-left for the Middlesex county team, but the
follow-up letter never arrived), and he easily persuaded his pal Steve McQueen
to stand in the London rain watching footie of a Saturday afternoon. His eye
was for the movement of a match rather than a particular team, although he was
fond, if not a fan, of Fulham and Arsenal. He had his own team, the Mount
Street Marchers and Social Club, fielding Richard Harris and Tom Courtenay.
Kickabout venue Hyde Park, Sunday mornings.
His second wife was the journalist Glenys Roberts, with whom
he had a daughter Polly (she took over the business in 2006); that ended in
divorce in 1978. None of his flings lasted, though Janet Street-Porter kept the
full length double cashmere coat he had made for her back in 1973: she had to -
despite their tendresse, she had only wheedled a small discount. His mother was
his definitive woman; she had suspected when the money rolled in that he was
running either a brothel or a chemmy game, and kept the hard cash he gave her;
one of his stories was that after her death the family found it all stashed
beneath her bed with a note: "This money is to get Doug out of prison when
they finally get him." He didn't intend to end in the nick, although he'd
have done something sharp yet casual with the uniforms if he had; but he always
anticipated that the party would be over soon.
· Douglas Frederick Cornelius Hayward, tailor, born October
5 1934; died April 26 2008
The Volvo P1800 received prominence in the early 60's when a
white 1962 Volvo P1800 with number plate ST1 was driven by the character Simon
Templar (Roger Moore) in the hit TV series The Saint (1962–69). When asked to
name his favorite "movie car" many years later, Moore said it was the
Volvo P1800, commenting: "I have a great affection for the Volvo P1800,
as, of course, I owned one, as well as used one in the series. It’s a beautiful
car and I still drive a Volvo to this day."
Two new cars had been introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in
1961, a Jaguar E-Type and the Volvo P1800. Jaguar was first offered the
opportunity to provide an E-Type for the TV series but declined. Volvo accepted
and offered a P1800, leading to increased sales. Initially, Volvo lent two cars
for the series, one for static studio shots and the other for moving shots.
When the P1800S came along, one of the earlier cars was cut up to allow better interior
shots. When the series Return of the Saint was created in the 1970s, Jaguar
offered the then-new XJ-S for the series.
The Volvo P1800 is a two-passenger, front-engine, rear-drive
sports car manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars as a coupe (1961–73) and
shooting-brake (1972–73).
While the P1800 was more of a stylish touring car rather
than a sports car when it came to its speed capabilities, the P1800 first
became popular when it was featured as the main car driven by Roger Moore in
the hit television series The Saint which aired from 1962-1969. The P1800
featured styling by Pietro Frua and mechanicals derived from Volvo's Amazon/122
series.
The car was marketed as the Volvo P1800, 1800S, 1800E and
1800ES.
In 1998, an 1800S was certified as the highest mileage
private vehicle driven by the original owner in non-commercial service — having
exceeded three million miles (over 4.8 million km) as of 2013.
The project was originally started in 1957 because Volvo
wanted a sports car to compete in the US & European markets, despite the
fact that their previous attempt, the P1900, had failed to take off with only
68 cars sold. The man behind the project was an engineering consultant to
Volvo, Helmer Petterson, who in the 1940s was responsible for the Volvo PV444.
The design work was done by Helmer's son Pelle Petterson, who worked at Pietro
Frua at that time. Volvo insisted it was an Italian design by Frua and only in
2009 officially recognized that Pelle Petterson designed it.[9] The Italian
Carrozzeria Pietro Frua design firm (then a recently acquired subsidiary of
Ghia) built the first three prototypes between September 1957 and early 1958,
later designated by Volvo in September 1958: P958-X1, P958-X2 and P958-X3
(P:Project, 9:September, 58:Year 1958 = P958, X: eXperimental.).
1957 Prototype P958-X1
In December 1957 Helmer Petterson drove X1, (the first
hand-built P1800 prototype) to Osnabrück, West Germany, headquarters of
Karmann. Petterson hoped that Karmann would be able to take on the tooling and
building of the P1800. Karmann's engineers had already been preparing working
drawings from the wooden styling buck at Frua. Petterson and Volvo chief
engineer Thor Berthelius met there, tested the car and discussed the
construction with Karmann. They were ready to build it and this meant that the
first cars could hit the market as early as December 1958. But in February,
Karmann's most important customer, Volkswagen VAG, forbade Karmann to take on
the job.[citation needed] They feared that the P1800 would compete with the
sales of their own cars, and threatened to cancel all their contracts with
Karmann if they took on this car. This setback almost caused the project to be
abandoned.
Other German firms, NSU, Drautz and Hanomag, were contacted
but none was chosen because Volvo did not believe they met Volvo's
manufacturing quality-control standards.
It began to appear that Volvo might never produce the P1800.
This motivated Helmer Petterson to obtain financial backing from two financial
firms with the intention of buying the components directly from Volvo and
marketing the car himself. At this point Volvo had made no mention of the P1800
and the factory would not comment. Then a press release surfaced with a photo
of the car, putting Volvo in a position where they had to acknowledge its
existence. These events influenced the company to renew its efforts: the car
was presented to the public for the first time at the Brussels Motor Show in
January 1960 and Volvo turned to Jensen Motors, whose production lines were
under-utilised, and they agreed a contract for 10,000 cars.[citation needed]
The Linwood, Scotland, body plant of manufacturer Pressed Steel was in turn
sub-contracted by Jensen to create the unibody shells, which were then taken by
rail to be assembled at Jensen in West Bromwich, England. In September 1960,
the first production P1800 (for the 1961 model year) left Jensen for an eager
public.
P1800
1963 Volvo P1800
The engine was the B18 (B for the Swedish word for gasoline:
Bensin; 18 for 1800 cc displacement) with dual SU carburettors, producing 118
hp (75 kW). This variant (named B18B) had a higher compression ratio than the
slightly less powerful twin-carb B18D used in the contemporary Amazon 122S, as
well as a different camshaft. The 'new' B18 was actually developed from the
existing B36 V8 engine used in Volvo trucks at the time. This cut production
costs, as well as furnishing the P1800 with a strong engine boasting five main
crankshaft bearings. The B18 was matched with the new and more robust M40
manual gearbox through 1963. From 1963 to 1972 the M41 gearbox with
electrically actuated overdrive was a popular option. Two overdrive types were
used, the D-Type through 1969, and the J-type through 1973. The J-type had a
slightly shorter ratio of 0.797:1 as opposed to 0.756:1 for the D-type. The
overdrive effectively gave the 1800 series a fifth gear, for improved fuel
efficiency and decreased drivetrain wear. Cars without overdrive had a
numerically lower-ratio differential, which had the interesting effect of
giving them a somewhat higher top speed (just under 120 mph (193 km/h)) than
the more popular overdrive models. This was because the non-overdrive cars could
reach the engine's redline in top gear, while the overdrive-equipped cars could
not, giving them a top speed of roughly 110 mph (177 km/h).
1800S
1964 Volvo 1800S
As time progressed, Jensen had problems with quality
control, so the contract was ended early after 6,000 cars had been built. In
1963 production was moved to Volvo's Lundby Plant in Gothenburg and the car's
name was changed to 1800S (S standing for Sverige, or in English : Sweden). The
engine was improved with an additional 8 hp (6 kW). In 1966 the four-cylinder
engine was updated to 115 PS (85 kW). Top speed was 175 km/h (109 mph). In 1969
the B18 engine was replaced with the 2-litre B20B variant of the B20 giving 118
bhp (89 kW), though it kept the designation 1800S.
1800E
1970 Volvo 1800E
For 1970 numerous changes came with the fuel-injected 1800E,
which had the B20E engine with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection and a revised
camshaft, and produced 130 bhp (97 kW) without sacrificing fuel economy. Top
speed was around 190 km/h (118 mph) and acceleration from 0–100 km/h (0–62.1
mph) took 9.5 seconds. In addition, the 1970 model was the first 1800 with
four-wheel disc brakes; until then the 1800 series had front discs and rear
drums.
1800ES
Volvo introduced its final P1800 variant, the 1800ES, in
1972 as a two-door station wagon with a frameless, all-glass tailgate. The
final design was chosen after two prototypes had been built by Sergio Coggiola
and Pietro Frua. Frua's prototype, Raketen ("the Rocket", on the right),
is located in the Volvo Museum. Both Italian prototypes were considered too
futuristic, and instead in-house designer Jan Wilsgaard's proposal, the Beach
Car, was accepted.The ES engine was downgraded to 125 bhp (92 kW) by reducing
the compression ratio with a thicker head gasket (engine variant B20F);
although maximum power was slightly down the engine was less "peaky"
and the car's on-the-road performance was actually improved.
Back on the road, the 1962 Volvo
driven by Roger Moore in The Saint which was found rotting away on a farm 22
years ago
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 01:57 BST, 23 September 2013 | UPDATED: 15:57
BST, 23 September 2013
It was found rotting away 22 years ago with the engine on
the back seat. Today it looks as good as when The Saint last stepped out of it.
The iconic original Volvo P1800 coupe driven by Roger Moore
as Simon Templar in the 1960s TV series has been fully restored by car
enthusiast Kevin Price.
It went on public display at the weekend for the first time
since he finished the labour of love.
Mr Price found the car on a farm in North Wales in 1991 and
persuaded the owner to sell it to him in 1997. He spent ten years collecting
parts and another six on the restoration.
In The Saint, which featured Moore as a suave modern-day
Robin Hood-style adventurer and was screened by ITV between 1962 and 1969, the
car bore the number plate ST1.
Although four more P1800s, one of which was used by Sir Roger personally, were later supplied by Volvo, Mr Price’s vehicle –
registered as 71 DXC – is the original.
It was displayed at the Footman James Manchester Classic Car
Show.
Mr Price, 57, who founded the Volvo Enthusiasts Club, drove
it there from his home in Bewdley, Worcestershire.
He said: 'I fell in love with the shape of the car and it
became a quest to find one.
'After I’d set up the club I was approached by a guy from North
Wales who said he had the original car from the The Saint.
'I went to have a look and it was just sat next to the barn
covered in brambles and nettles with the engine on the back seat.
'But when he finally agreed to sell and I got it home it was
in surprisingly good shape considering it had been there so long.
'As much of the original car was retained as possible and it
drives beautifully. You wouldn’t think it was a 1962 car.'
Show organiser Andy
Rouse said: 'The Saint car is a project we’ve been aware of over the years and
it’ll be great to see the final results of Kevin’s incredible hard work and
dedication.'
The car needed extensive rust removal to its panels, wheels and
front axle and it’s body shell had to be rebuilt.
Further work to the gear box, rear axle and engine, which
included a conversion for unleaded fuel, was also undertaken to make it
roadworthy.
Once asked to name his favourite movie cars, Sir Roger said:
'I have a great affection for the Volvo P1800, as, of course, I owned one as
well as used one in the series. It’s a beautiful car and I still drive a Volvo
to this day.'
But Sir Roger and The Saint producers had initially wanted
to feature a Jaguar E-type.
But Jag were inundated with offers and declined to take part
so the P1800, which was first-built at the Jensen Motors factory in the West
Midlands before production was switched to Sweden, was used instead.
Sir Roger’s performances as Templar pre-dated his role as
James Bond as he was reportedly asked to play 007 at least twice during the
series but had to turn the role down both times due to his television
commitments.
