In the course of researching my current book I have been looking through old copies of Varsity, the main student newspaper at Cambridge University, published every Saturday during termtime. For the eight issues of 1967's Christmas term, Rick Hopper - an undergraduate at Jesus College - contributed a pop column.
Rick had been a prefect at Eltham College, a private school in southeast London, where he was friends with Mick Jagger's brother Chris. Upon leaving they travelled around Europe together, and Rick's interests tilted towards the emerging counter-culture. He began at Cambridge in October 1966 and was closely involved with underground music there, singing with the Pineapple Truck, one of the university's two psychedelic bands, the other being 117. Sponsored to an extent by Mick Jagger, both groups spent the summer of 1967 in London, where Rick developed trenchant views on the pop scene that are reflected in his columns.
On February 23rd 1968 he compèred Under The Influence, a 'happening' in Cambridge at which Nick Drake made his formal live debut. He went on to work as an A&R man at Transatlantic Records, and perhaps his most lasting contribution to the musical world was his early championing of Kate Bush, whom he apparently introduced to his friend David Gilmour. He subsequently managed Sandpiper Books in Brighton, and is no longer among us.
I hope you'll enjoy his columns, which provide a candid and immediate insight into a lot of music that is now regarded reverentially. (As ever, click to enlarge them.) And if any of you have a copy of the two tracks the Pineapple Truck recorded in 1967 (Blow Your Mind Away and Whiskey Man), I'd love to hear them...
I’ve long wondered about Ricky who I knew in NYC 70s-I have letters and poetry-do you know if anyone is archiving his writings. So sorry to read that he is no longer with us.
ReplyDeleteHi there, I am Richard Hoppers niece and found this all very interesting! I haven’t seen any of this before. I was interested to find out that you have letters and poetry of his, would be nice to be in touch?
DeleteLovely man…. Such a gentle soul, very special….
ReplyDeleteHe was my uncle and totally agree
DeleteI went up to Trinity Hall in 1966, and knew Ricky, not closely, but we went around with a similar crowd - I was involved with Mono Productions, who used to arrange bookings for groups at universties and colleges across the country. I always think of him as 'Teeny Bopper, Rick Hopper' - a melodious phrase that still resonates in my brain after nearly 60 years. Mind you, Varsity once labelled me Wee Stevie Brickell, Go-go girl extraordinaire, after a group of dancers at the time I was briefly linked with, so who am I to judge...
ReplyDeleteTai gera žinia visiems, skaitantiems šį gerą liudijimą. Ieškojau sprendimo savo santuokos problemoms išspręsti, todėl sutikau moterį vardu Alexandra Popp. Ji pasidalijo puikiu liudijimu apie vyrą, vardu dr. Reethesh. Kaip dr. Reethesh padėjo jai išgelbėti jos santykius. SKAITYKITE Alexandros Popp liudijimą žemiau. Mano santykiai byrėjo dėl prasto ir nesveiko bendravimo. Sąžiningai maniau, kad mums nebėra jokios vilties, nes mes taip nutolome vienas nuo kito ir tarp mūsų tvyrojo daug neapykantos. Kreipiantis patarimo į dr. Reethesh, viskas pradėjo keistis. Mus mokė, kaip kantriai bendrauti, atkurti pasitikėjimą ir sveikiau spręsti konfliktus. Patarimai buvo praktiški, sąžiningi ir lengvai pritaikomi kasdieniame gyvenime. Tai nebuvo per naktį įvykę pokyčiai, bet su įsipareigojimu mūsų santykiai pamažu tapo stipresni nei bet kada. Šiandien mes geriau suprantame vienas kitą, taikiai sprendžiame nesutarimus ir atgavome meilę bei laimę, kurią kažkada manėme praradę. Esu tikrai dėkinga už teigiamą dr. Reethesh poveikį mūsų santykiams ir mielai rekomenduočiau šias rekomendacijas visiems, susiduriantiems su panašiais iššūkiais. Perskaičiusi Alexandros Popp liudijimą, susisiekiau su dr. Reetheshu ir pasidalijau su juo savo rūpesčiais. Dr. Reetheshas patikino mane, kad susigrąžinsiu savo vyrą. Po to, kai viskas buvo padaryta, mano vyras, kuris prieš keturis mėnesius paliko mane ir vaikus, mums iš jo negirdint ir nebendraujant, pats man skambino, maldaudamas pasigailėti jo dėl visų skausmų ir rūpesčių, kuriuos jis privertė mane patirti. Šiandien jis grįžo namo ir dabar gerai elgiasi su manimi ir vaikais. Galite susisiekti su dr. Reetheshu, kad jis galėtų atnešti į jūsų santuoką ramybę, meilę ir supratimą. Susisiekite su dr. Reetheshu per „WhatsApp“: +2349012999010 ARBA el. paštu: reethesh60@gmail.com
ReplyDelete