John Higgs is an exciting and enthusiastic cultural historian and author who I first came across whilst reading the KLF biography, The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds. After enjoying that book immensely, I bought, read and thoroughly enjoyed Higgs' other books, 'The Future Starts Here: An Optimists Guide to What Comes Next' and also ‘Blake vs. The World.’ I think a lot of the reasons as to why I like Higgs is due to the way he brings difficult concepts to life by providing clear examples using very simple terms and understandable layman's terms.
I think Higgs is pretty much spot on with his analyses in his works as you can see it happening in the world. The fact that he provides context and a humanist approach to his subject matters make his work non-judgemental and approachable. He is skilled in finding intriguing connections between seemingly unrelated subjects and the concepts of 'reality tunnels' and the theory of a 'circumambient story,' where we as people, create a cohesive story based on what we curate from our experiences and understanding, is one that you can see happening everywhere. His insight is one of the reasons why I look forward to his books and pre-order them; you're guaranteed a thrilling journey.
With 'Love and Let Die: The Beatles, James Bond, and the British Psyche' Higgs takes us on a journey about the lives, loves and legacy of both The Beatles and James Bond. Now, they don't seem to have much in common at all, apart from the extraordinary coincidence that The Beatles’ first single 'Love Me Do' was released on the same day as the first James Bond film 'Dr. No' on Friday 5th October 1962... well, that and 60 years after release the legacy of both is still strong. However, by looking at it through the lens of their contrasting world views, Thanatos and Eros (the Freudian Death and Love Drive) we see how both were battling it out for the soul of post-war England for what it means to be 'English' and 'Masculine' in what we would now consider a culture war.
Now usually with Higgs I can see where he is going, even if I don't fully understand it but with this I wasn't so sure initially; The Beatles were all peace and love whilst Bond was the epitome of a cold hard killer, right? So, why compare these two cultural touchstones. Well, over the course of a few hundred pages we find that actually they had a lot of overlap and coincidences that made them opposites in some ways yet inextricably linked:
- Christopher Lee was related to Ian Fleming and appeared as Scaramanga in 'The Man With the Golden Gun' as well as McCartney's band Wings cover.
- Paul McCartney revived his flagging career with his Bond song 'Live and Let Die'.
- Ringo Starr married ‘The Spy Who Loved Me's Bond Girl Barbara Bach, and so much more.I suppose with them being so closely linked in time and space, some overlap was inevitable but the connections Higgs finds are fascinating.
The last few chapters of the book look at the real world and how Bond and The Beatles have both become the 'norm' with Bond representing death and The Beatles representing peace and love.
The chapter 'A Golden Thread of Purpose' is wonderfully Higgs in that he looks at how the 2012 opening ceremony of the Olympics by Danny Boyle and Frank Cottrell Boyce, used William Blake's idea of Albion to show Britain as a parochial and wonderful place, including placing God at the centre of the world but also at the periphery filled with different characters (including Albion) which have entered into our national mythology and identity. These British characteristics have deeper and hidden meanings which have been misinterpreted or misunderstood by many over the years and Boyles opening ceremony seemed like a threat to the established order. Higgs compares this with the closing ceremony which seemed to support the Norman Continuity Empire, where the Royal Family and their supporting Lords and Ladies staked their claims to the land, and separated the people from their plots forever.
The next chapter, 'What is the New Evil in the World?' is fascinating as it looks at real-world Bond-like plots like Putin's annexation of Crimea, the bots and trolls from North Korea and Russia turning the West against each other through planned culture wars and the social media shit posting. It does seem like Bond was ahead of the curve with its presience.
'Love and Let Die: The Beatles, James Bond, and the British Psyche' is a fascinating book and well worth a read. You may not always agree with Higgs connections and points but I guarantee that his 'reality tunnels' and theory of the British 'circumambient story' will stay with you long after you put the book down; it's an interesting journey well worth a look.
LINK- The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds- Book Review
LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’
LINK: Let’s All Create a ‘New Normal’.
LINK- Mario Odyssey- Video Games As Art