The Lucksmiths Albums . Candle compilations . Miscellaneous
Discography EPs & Singles . Other compilations . Songlist
Song References

The Tichborne Claimant : Up : Victor Trumper : The Sandringham Line : Requiem For The Punters Club : William And Mary : Clever Hans : Detective Agency : Danielle Steel : The Shipwreck Coast : Run Spot Run : Weatherboard : I Can't Believe It's Not Better : The Golden Age Of Aviation : Jennifer Jason : World Encyclopedia of 20th Century Murder : Thomas and Martha : Transpontine

The Tichborne Claimant
As oldest son, Sir Roger Tichborne was heir to a large country estate in Hampshire, England. In 1854, he sailed on a ship which left Rio de Janerio and was never seen again, presumably sunk at sea. Fast forward to 1865 when a butcher living under the name of Arthur Orton in Wagga Wagga, Australia, claims to be Sir Roger, and returns to England as the Claimant to the Tichborne estate. Sir Roger's mother accepts the Claimant as her son, but most of the family believe him an imposter.

Two lengthy court cases occur in 1871 and 1874 around the Claimant's identity. The Claimant becomes a folk hero for taking on the Establishment, but loses both cases. Confined to prison for ten years, he eventually dies in poverty in 1898.

Having read a 400 page book on the Claimant, I can confidently say I still can't decide whether Arthur Orton was Sir Roger Tichborne.

Further reading

Up
Los Angeles, 1982: a man called Larry Walters decided to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming an airline pilot. He straps 42 helium balloons to his lawnchair and reaches his desired height of 30 feet above his yard. Unfortunately the chair keeps rising, eventually levelling out at 16,000 feet. 14 hours later and having popped a few balloons with his altitude control device (a pellet gun), he descends, hits a power line and blacks out a neighbourhood.

As he was lead away by police, a reporter asks him why he did it, to which he replies "A man can't sit round all day." Up, up and away.

Larry Walters committed suicide in 1993.

Further reading

Victor Trumper
Famous Australian cricketer, born 1877, died 1915. Scored a heroic century against England on the first day of a Test, all before lunch.
The Sandringham Line
Melbourne train line running from the city centre to Sandringham, taking 27 minutes.
Requiem For The Punters Club
One of the band's favourite pub / live music venues in Melbourne, at 376 Brunswick Street. Closed down in early 2002.
William And Mary
The name of a short story by Roald Dahl, about a domineering husband who arranges for his brain and one eye to be kept alive after his death. In his will, he warns Mary not to waste money, smoke cigarettes or drink cocktails when he's dead. On seeing her husband's brain/eyeball, Mary lights up, blows cigarette smoke in his eye and looks forward to a life of tormenting him.
The Shipwreck Coast
Name given to part of the coastline in southern Australia, between Melbourne and Adelaide. If you're looking for Lorne, it's a town on this stretch of coast.
Run Spot Run
Command most likely originating from that giant series of literature, 'Fun With Dick And Jane'.
Weatherboard
Also known as clapboard - overlapping planks of wood used for walls of houses, giving them a wonderful rustic look, or run-down look, depending on how you look at it.
I Can't Believe It's Not Better
A play on words on a product containing Canola and/or Soya Oils, Hydrogenated Soya Oil, Water, Salt, Buttermilk Powder, Soy Lecithin, Vegetable Monoglycerides, Potassium Sorbate, Artificial Flavour, Vegetable Colour, Citric Acid, Vitamin A Palmitate and Vitamin D3 - otherwise known as 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!®'.
The Golden Age of Aviation
I think the audio clip at the beginning of this song is Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, in 1930. She died lost at sea, never to be found, in the Thames River, London, 1941.
Jennifer Jason
The sometimes amazingly beautiful Jennifer Jason Leigh, an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the psycho roommate in the film 'Single White Female'.
Clever Hans
The name of a horse owned by Russian aristocrat Wilheim Von-Osten, in the 1880s. Osten was convinced he had trained Hans to perform simple arithmetic, with the horse tapping out the correct answers with his hoof. A closer investigation by scientists, however, revealed the horse was picking up on body language from Osten, and 'hoofing' the ground at the correct moment
World Encyclopedia of 20th Century Murder
An actual book, written by Robert Jay Nash, published in 1992 (in London, by Headline Book Publishing). A number of infamous people are mentioned in the song, including:

Jack Henry Abbott - killed one inmate and a waiter, New York, 1970s 80s. Famous for writing books on his time in prison, and his correspondence with author Norman Mailer.

The Red Light Bandit - aka Caryl Chessman, arrested on seventeen counts (but no murders) in LA in 1948. He used to flash a red light, pretending to be a policeman, and rob and kidnap people carparking in parks.

Dr Crippen - Dr Peter Crippen, of Camden, London arrested and hanged for the murder of his wife in 1910.

Yorkshire Ripper - aka Peter Sutcliffe, murderer of 13 women in Yorkshire in the 1970s.

The Button and Badge Murder - David Greenwood was convicted of the murder of Nellie Trew, in London, 1918. A military badge and overcoat button were found at the crime scene, and were recognised by the killer's workmate.

The Brides in the Bath Murders - aka George Smith, responsible for murdering 3 women in England in the 1910s. He would marry each woman and soon after drown them in the bath, claming they had suffered a fainting fit.

Ten Rillington Place - An address in Notting Hill, London, where 8 people were killed by John Christie, in the 1940s and 1950s. Another man, Timothy Evans, was found guilty and hanged for one of Christie's crimes.

The Green Bicycle Case - The murder of Bella Wright, in Leicestershire in 1920. A man on a green bicycle, Ronald Light, had cycled with Bella earlier in the day, but was acquited of her murder.

Detective Agency
Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck star as the victim and femme fatale in the classic film noir 'Double Indemnity (1944).
Thomas and Martha
Author Thomas Hardy was 16 when he watched the public hanging of Martha Brown, in Dorchester, August 1856. Martha had been found guilty of the murder of her husband in a fight. The incident was the inspiration for Hardy's book 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'.
Danielle Steel
Popular American author Danielle Steel has published over 60 romance novels. Note also reference to American actress Sharon Stone.
Transpontine
An old, rarely-used English word meaning 'situated on the other side of a bridge'. Victorians first used the word to refer to populist melodramas that used to appear in theatres south of the Thames, London.
Return to Lucksmiths Discography
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1