1974, Car Spotting: Cologne

Left, front to back

Opel Rekord B, Volkswagen 1200/1300 (Beetle), Citroën 2CV, Ford Taunus 17M or 20M (P5), Ford Taunus XL or GXL (TC1)

 

Middle

BMW 2000 (Neue Klasse)

 

Right, front to back

Ford Taunus XL or GXL (TC1), Ford Capri MkI, Austin Mini, Ford Taunus L or XL (TC1), Ford Taunus 17M or 20M (P5)

1973, Music: Demis Roussos

In 1973 The Greek singer Demis Roussos, real name Artemios Ventouris-Roussos (15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015), scored 4 number 1 hits in the European charts: "Goodbye, my love, goodbye" (number 1 in Germany and Switzerland), "Forever and Ever" (number 1 in Belgium), "My Friend the Wind" (number 1 in Belgium and The Netherlands) and "Schönes Mädchen aus Arcadia" (English: "Lovely Lady of Arcadia") (number 1 in Belgium and The Netherlands).

Demis Roussos with "Aphrodite's Child"

Demis Roussos holding gold records for his single and album "Forever and Ever" (Paris, 1973)

"Goodbye, my love, goodbye"

"Forever and Ever"

"My Friend the Wind"

"Schönes Mädchen aus Arcadia"

Demis Roussos was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in a Greek family. His father, Yorgos Roussos, was a classical guitarist and an engineer and his mother Olga was a singer. He studied music and sang in the Greek Byzantine Church choir in Alexandria. During the Suez Crisis (1956) he moved with his parents to Greece. In Greece he met Evangelos Papathanassiou (aka Vangelis) and Loukas Sideras, together they formed the progressive rock band “Aphrodite's Child” (1967). After “Aphrodite's Child” disbanded Roussos started a solo career in 1971 with with the song "We Shall Dance" in 1971, which was a top ten hit in both The Netherlands and Belgium.

Video: "Goodbye, my love, goodbye"


Video: "Forever and ever" 


Video: "My friend the wind" 


Video: "Schönes mädchen aus Arcadia"

1972, Television: “The Adventures of Black Beauty”

17 September 1972, the British children's television series "The Adventures of Black Beauty" premieres on ITV. The series produced by "London Weekend Television" and "Talbot Television", was based on the classic novel "Black Beauty" by Anna Sewell featuring new characters created by Ted Willis. Main stars were Judi Bowker, Roderick Shaw, William Lucas and Charlotte Mitchell. The musical theme was written by Denis King. A total of 52 episodes were filmed in 2 seasons. (1972 – 1974)

Synopsis

Widower Dr. James Gordon (William Lucas) moves with his two children Vicky (Judi Bowker) and Kevin (Roderick Shaw) from Victorian London to the village of Five Oaks. A black horse escapes from a dealer and is found by Vicky. James Gordon treats the horse's illness and refuses to surrender him until he's well. Vicky, names the horse "Black Beauty". The owner, Mr. Ryder (Denis Carey) agrees to let the horse stay a few days before he takes him back to be sold. When Mr. Ryder falls ill Dr. Gordon speedly drives "Black Beauty" to save his life...

Left to right: Judi Bowker (Vicky Gordon), William Lucas (Dr. James Gordon),
Roderick Shaw (Kevin Gordon) and Charlotte Mitchell (Amy Winthrop)

William Lucas (Dr. James Gordon)

Judi Bowker (Vicky Gordon)

Judi Bowker (Vicky Gordon) and Roderick Shaw (Kevin Gordon)

"Black Beauty" and Judi Bowker (Vicky Gordon)

"Black Beauty" and Stacy Dorning (Jenny Gordon)

Main Cast

• William Lucas as Dr. James Gordon
• Charlotte Mitchell as Amy Winthrop
• Roderick Shaw as Kevin Gordon
• Michael Culver as Squire Armstrong
• Judi Bowker as Vicky Gordon (1972–1973)
• Stacy Dorning as Jenny Gordon (1973–1974) 

1972_television_black_beauty_intro

1971, Film: “Le casse”

The French-Italian film "Le casse" (English: "The Burglars") is released in France on 27 October 1971. Directed by Henri Verneuil and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Omar Sharif, Dyan Cannon and Robert Hossein, the film is based on the 1953 novel "The Burglar" by David Goodis. The music was composed by Ennio Morricone with two songs by Mireille Mathieu "Mon ami de toujours" and "Pas vu, pas pris". "Le casse" is a remake of the 1957 film "The Burglar" directed by Paul Wendkos starring Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield and Martha Vickers.

The film was a French box office hit, it was Verneuils third biggest success after "La Vache et le Prisonnier" with Fernandel (1959) and "Le Clan des Siciliens" with Jean Gabin, Alain Delon and Lino Ventura (1969). "Le casse" was the fifth time Verneuil worked with his favorite leading actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. The first four films were "La française et l'amour" (1960), "Un singe en hiver" (1962), "Cent mille dollars au soleil" (1964) and "Week-end à Zuydcoote" (1964).

Left to right: Renato Salvatori, Jean-Paul Belmondo,
Henri Verneuil, Omar Sharif and Robert Hossein

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Omar Sharif

Trivia

• The movie was shot in French and English by the same cast.
• The film is known for the famous car chase through Athens with a red Fiat 124 Special T driven by Jean-Paul Belmondo (doubled by Rémy Julienne) and a black Opel Rekord A driven by Omar Sharif (doubled by Remo Mosconi).

Dyan Cannon and Jean-Paul Belmondo

Dyan Cannon and Omar Sharif

Synopsis

In Athens a group of professional burglars led by Azad (Jean-Paul Belmondo) rob a suitcase of emeralds from a rich Greek citizen, M.Tasco (José Luis de Vilallonga). When Athenian police chief Abel Zacharia (Omar Sharif) spots Azad's car in front of Tasco's house on the night of the robbery, he decides to let Azad and his team go, hoping he could retrieve the emeralds for himself...

Omar Sharif and Opel Rekord A

Main cast

• Jean-Paul Belmondo as Azad
• Omar Sharif as Abel Zacharia
• Robert Hossein as Ralph
• Dyan Cannon as Lena
• Renato Salvatori as Renzi
• Nicole Calfan as Helene
• José-Luis de Villalonga as Tasco
• Myriam Colombi as Madame Tasco

"Le casse" intro (1971)

"Le casse" car chase (1971)

1970, Car Spotting: Paris

 

Left to right, front to back:

First row
Unidentified coach (probably Setra, type ?), Citroën 2CV, Peugeot 304, Peugeot 403, Renault 4, coach Setra (type ?), unidentified car, unidentified Van (probably Renault Estafette), Volkswagen 1200/1300 (Beetle), Peugeot 404, Mercedes-Benz (probably W120/W121), behind the Mercedes it's getting very blurry.

Second row
Simca 1000, Opel Rekord P2, Peugeot 204, Peugeot 304, Peugeot 504, Peugeot 204, Peugeot 204, Simca Aronde P60 with boat, Peugeot 304, Citroën ID/DS, Peugeot 404, unidentified car probably Fiat 500, unidentified car probably Austin/Morris Mini, unidentified coach probably VanHool (type ?), unidentified car probably Peugeot 304, unidentified car probably Renault 4, unidentified car probably Renault Dauphine.

Third row
Citroën DS, Simca 1300/1500, Peugeot J7, Peugeot 304 coupé, Renault 16, Renault 4, Simca 1000, Renault 4, Renault 8, unidentified car.

Fourth row
Unidentified Van, Austin/Morris Mini, Simca 1000, Renault 4, Renault 8 Peugeot 204 coupé, Citroën 2CV, Renault 16, Ford Taunus 12M/15M P6, Peugeot 404, unidentified car probably Volkswagen 1500/1600 Variant (type 3), Simca 1300/1500, unidentified car probably Austin/ Morris 1800/2200 (ADO17), Peugeot 404, unidentified car, unidentified convertible probably Peugeot 403 (yes the Columbo car), Renault 4, Peugeot 204, Austin/Morris Mini.

Fifth row
Unidentified car probably Ford Cortina Mk II, Renault 4, Fiat 850, Austin/Morris Mini, Citroën DS, Simca 1100, Fiat 125, NSU Ro80, Peugeot 404, Austin/Morris Mini, Citroën Ami 6, Peugeot 403.

Sixth row
Unidentified car, Peugeot 404, Peugeot 404 Familiale, Citroën DS, unidentified car, unidentified car probably Maserati Mexico, Simca 1200S, unidentified car probably Peugeot 204 estate, unidentified car, unidentified car probably BMW 02 series.

Seventh row (side street)
Renault Dauphine.

1969, Cars: NSU (VW) K70, the NSU that became a Volkswagen (NSU Typ 86, VW Typ 48)

German car maker NSU ("Neckarsulm Strickmaschinen Union", founded in 1873, first car in 1905) originally intended to present their new NSU K70 in March 1969 at the Geneva Motor Show. At the last minute, the K70 was removed from the NSU show stand, probably by the new owner Volkswagen. Volkswagen acquired NSU Motorenwerke in 1969 and merged it with Auto Union (acquired in 1964), creating Audi NSU Auto Union AG, in 1985 renamed as Audi AG.

The development of the NSU K70 began in 1964. Designed by NSU engineer Ewald Praxl and styled by Claus Luthe as a four-door saloon (and three-door estate) it was intended to complement the NSU range between the NSU 1000/1200 and the NSU Ro80. The name of the car finds its origin in German, with K denoting the German word “Kolben” (piston) and 70 designating an engine output of 70 PS (51 kW). The Ro80 name meaning “Rotationskolben” typ 80. The K70 featured front wheel drive, strong road holding, a very roomy interior, and a large luggage compartment. The car also had, for that period, high standard safety features such as a fuel tank mounted directly ahead of the rear axle, and a steering column angled in order to reduce the risk of its being pushed too far back into the passenger cabin. 23 NSU K70's were produced.

NSU K70 promo

NSU K70 advert

NSU K70 Estate prototype

NSU K70 Estate prototype

The NSU K70 would ultimately become the first Volkswagen with a front-mounted engine, water cooling and front wheel drive in August 1970. It competed with Volkswagen brand cars like the Volkswagen 411 (1968) and the Audi 100 (C1) (1968). The estate version, which would have competed directly against the Volkswagen 411 estate, was never produced. The Volkswagen K70 was launched with a 1605 cc four-cylinder water-cooled engine, developed from the four-cylinder engine mounted in the rear of the NSU 1200. In 1973 the 1807 cc version (K70 LS) was introduced with 100 PS (74 kW).

Volkswagen K70 (1970)

Volkswagen K70 L (1970)

Volkswagen K70 with competitors Audi 100 (C1) and Volkswagen 411

Volkswagen K70 L (1973)

Volkswagen K70 LS 100 PS (1973)

The Volkswagen K70 was replaced in 1973 by the Volkswagen Passat, although production continued until February 1975 with a minor facelift in 1973. A total of 211,127 K70's were manufactured from 1970 until 1975.

Volkswagen K70 Bundesarchiv (1970)

Brochure Volkswagen K70 (Germany, 1971)

Brochure Volkswagen K70 (Belgium, 1972)

1968, Belgian comics: “Sophie”

In 1968 the first two "Sophie" albums, "Het ei van Karapolie" (Original title: "L'Œuf de Karamazout") and "De bel der stilte" (Original title: "La Bulle du silence", are published by Dupuis. The series was created by Jidéhem (Jean De Mesmaeker) (drawings) sometimes assisted by Vicq (Antoine Raymond) (stories). The stories were pre-published in the Belgian comics magazine Spirou/Robbedoes.

The series features Sophie, an eleven year old dark-haired girl, created by her father Mr. Karapolie (French: Karamazout) after the famous English saying where girls are made of: “Sugar and spice and everything nice”. She wears her long hair in two pigtails and she has an extensive wardrobe. Unlike many comic characters Sophie almost never wears the same outfit. Other characters are Mr. Karapolie, the father of Sophie and electrical engineer by profession. Starter a mechanic, he also tests vehicles for Spirou/Robbedoes. Pieters (French: Pipette), the best friend of Starter, is also working for Spirou/Robbedoes as a tester. Jozef (French: Joseph) is the butler of Sophie and her father, he cooks and maintains the house. Bertje (French: petit Bernard) is Sophies best friend. Zoef (French: Zoë), a black old-timer equipped with an electronic brain by its creator Mr. Buis.

In 1957 Jidéhem was given the car section of Spirou/Robbedoes so he created Starter. Starter was also the main character of Jidéhems first own comic series with two short stories, "La révolte des autos" (1959) and "Histoire de l'automobile" (1960) in Spirou/Robbedoes. The first full story "Starter contre les casseurs" was published in Spirou/Robbedoes in 1961. This was followed by "La maison d'en face" published in Spirou/Robbedoes in 1963.

Jidéhem wanted to introduce a female main character in Spirou/Robbedoes, his first sketches of a sexy 17- to 18-year-old girl were not accepted by publisher Dupuis. Dupuis was convinced that a female protagonist would not appeal to the Spirou/Robbedoes readers. Jidéhem did get permission to draw a little girl to play as a secondary role in his stories. He called the girl Sophie Karapolie (French: Sophie Karamazoet). Her first name he borrowed from the French actress Sophie Desmarets. The original French name Karamazout is referring to The Brothers Karamazov by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Jidéhems own newborn daughter was also named Sophie. Sophie would initially play only in one story, "Het ei van Karapolie" (Original title: "L'Œuf de Karamazout") (1964), but the character became far more popular than Starter.

Cover No 1 "Het ei van Karapolie"

No 1 "Het ei van Karapolie"

• full-colour
• never published in English
• story and drawings by Jidéhem (Jean De Mesmaeker)
• Original French title: "L'Œuf de Karamazout"
• pre-publication in Spirou/Robbedoes no 1345 – 1365 (1964)
• contains the short story “De Jan-allemachtig” (story by Vicq (Antoine Raymond)) (Original French title: “La Pelle mécanique”) (pre-publication in Spirou/Robbedoes no 1476 (1966))

Synopsis "Het ei van Karapolie" ("L'Œuf de Karamazout")

On a quiet day Starter and Pieters (Pipette) are on a trip in Zoef (Zoë), passing at the car junkyard they are almost hit by a red Fiat. At the junk yard they find the beaten owner. After gaining consciousness he tells Starter and Pieters the thugs were looking for a little girl. It turns out that the little girl, called Sophie, was hiding in a closet. The thugs wanted to kidnap Sophie to blackmail her father, Mr. Karapolie, to force him to hand over his latest invention...

Main characters in this story are Sophie, Starter, Pieters (Pipette), Mr. Karapolie (Mr. Karamazout), Zoef (Zoë), Jozef (Joseph) and Zjuul.

Sophie, Mr. Karapolie and Jozef

Sophie, Starter and Pieters

Starter and Pieters

Zjuul

Cars:

• Zoef (Zoë) probably based on the Guust Flater (Gaston Lagaffe) car a Fiat 509
• Fiat 1800/2100
• Citroën DS (4x)
• Citroën 2CV
• Citroën probably B12
• Alfa Romeo 2600 Berlina
• Renault 4
• Renault 8
• Truck Berliet type ?
• Renault Goélette
• Peugeot 403
• Peugeot 404

Zoef and Fiat 1800/2100

Citroën DS

Alfa Romeo 2600 Berlina

Truck Berliet type ?

Citroën DS, Citroën B12 (?) and Citroën 2CV

Peugeot 403 and Zoef

Peugeot 404

Renault 4, Renault 8, Citroën B12 (?) and Citroën DS

Zoef and Renault Goélette

Synopsis “De Jan-allemachtig” (“La Pelle mécanique”) 

Sophie and Bertje (petit Bernard ) are on holiday at the seaside. Sophie proudly displays the latest invention of her father, a mini-excavator that radio can be controlled. Suddenly a number of banknotes arrive, carried by the wind. All the ten dollar bills have the same number...

Bertje and Sophie

Doris and Fred

Main characters in this story are Sophie, Bertje (petit Bernard), Doris and Fred.

Cover No 2 "De bel der stilte"

No 2 "De bel der stilte"

• full-colour
• never published in English
• story by Vicq (Antoine Raymond) and drawings by Jidéhem (Jean De Mesmaeker)
• Original French title: "La Bulle du silence"
• pre-publication in Spirou/Robbedoes no 1433 – 1458 (1965)
• contains the short story “De toverput” (story by Vicq (Antoine Raymond)) (Original French title: “Le Puits magique”) (pre-publication in Spirou/Robbedoes no 1444 (1965))

Synopsis "De bel der stilte" ("La Bulle du silence") 

Starter and Pieters (Pipette) visit the Karapolie (Karamazout) family. Sophie is playing with her new toy the "super jokari", and Sophie's father is happy to present his newest invention, a bubble that can silence all sound within a certain radius...

Main characters in this story are Sophie, Starter, Pieters (Pipette), Mr. Karapolie (Mr. Karamazout), Jozef (Joseph), John Minzwijnoff, Bob, the captain of the Giganticus and head of police

Bob

Captain, Sophie, Pieters and Starter

Mr. Karapolie, Jozef, John Minzwijnoff, Starter and Pieters

Pieters, Starter and Mr. Karapolie

Sophie

Sophie and the head of police

Cars:

• Ferrari type ?
• Peugeot 204
• Willys Jeep
• Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud
• Austin Mini
• Renault 4
• Citroën Traction Avant
• Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe
• Citroën DS
• Peugeot 403
• Renault Dauphine
• Citroën H
• Truck Daf type ?

Citroën DS

Citroën Traction Avant and Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe

Ferrari type ? and Peugeot 204

Peugeot 403

Renault 4

Renault Dauphine, Citroën H and Truck Daf (type ?)

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Austin Mini

Willys Jeep

Synopsis “De toverput” (“Le Puits magique”)

At Christmas time Sophie walks through the snowy streets. She sees happy people but suddenly she hears a cry, its Harrie (Bertje, petit Bernard). She tries to comfort him and asks why he is so sad. He tells her he lost his coin. Sophie gives him one of her own coins...

Main characters in this story are Sophie, Bertje (here called Harrie), Pieters (Pipette), Mr. Grijpstuiver and Hein.

Hein and Sophie

Pieters and Sophie

Sophie and Bertje (here Harrie)

Sophie and Mr. Grijpstuiver

Cars:

• Austin Mini
• Citroën DS

Austin Mini

Citroën DS