Lionel Bart - "Bart For Bart's Sake" Vinyl 10" Album, 1959 (Decca)

My obsession with London pop culture before The Beatles hit the scene goes overdrive in certain periods in my life.  Reading Andrew Loog Oldham's memoirs as well as others, one name comes up again and again, and that's Lionel Bart (1930-1999).   Bart was the ultimate insider of the British music and theater world.  He also was a painter, so he had a foot in the visual art world as well as in the theater in West End of London and beyond.  And of course, he's famous for his musical "Oliver."

Bart, who never learned to read or write music, wrote "Living Doll" for Cliff Richard, as well as writing "From Russia With Love," the central theme of the Bond film.  One of the interesting aspects of Bart's work is the use of the Cockney language or accent in his lyrics.  Apparently used in his first  'solo' album "Bart For Bart's Sake."  Released in 1959, this is Bart right in the middle of the Rock n' Roll presence in the U.K.  Artists like Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard becoming the British wave, due to Elvis not touring the U.K.  This is not a rock n' roll album, but a set of songs from the Theater, but all from the source that's Lionel Bart. 

"Bart For Bart's Sake" is a superb snapshot of London showbiz, but with the presence of satire, and again, the use of Cockney rhymes and accent. Also noted, is his awareness of the album format, which he gives every song here an introduction of sorts, even commenting to the listener you're on side two of the record.  Most of the songs on this 10" album come from an obscure Bart musical - but clearly, makes commentary on the sexual landscape of that culture.  It borders on the "Carry On..." films of the late 50s and 60s.  It's a total performance piece, with a strong presence of Laurie Johnson's arrangement, who is famous for the (British) Avengers TV series soundtrack.   This is very much the root of the swinging 60s, which Bart fully participated in with great force, but with some destructive side-effects on his mental and physical health.  

Bart knew everyone from Larry Parnes (the ultimate music manager of his time) to David Bowie.  He had his finger on the pulse of London music culture, and now, sort of a cloudy individual of that world - especially in the United States.   I suspect that if someone wrote a full biography on Bart, it would be one of the great showbiz biographies of them all.