Vintage Everyday

Summer in the 1980s exemplified resilience and adaptability, proving she was more than just the “Queen of Disco” but a true music legend.

Anthony Hopkins made his first professional stage appearance in the Palace Theatre, Swansea, in 1960 with Swansea Little Theatre’s production of Have a Cigarette. In 1965, after several years in repertory, he was spotted by Laurence Olivier, who invited him to join the Royal National Theatre in London. Hopkins became Olivier’s understudy, and filled in when Olivier was struck with appendicitis during a 1967 production of August Strindberg’s The Dance of Death. Olivier later noted in his memoir, Confessions of an Actor, that, “A new young actor in the company of exceptional promise named Anthony Hopkins was understudying me and walked away with the part of Edgar like a cat with a mouse between its teeth.” Up until that night, Hopkins was always nervous prior to going on stage. This has since changed, and Hopkins quoted his mentor as saying: “He [Olivier] said: ‘Remember: “nerves” is vanity – you’re wondering what people think of you; to hell with them, just jump off the edge’. It was great advice.”

He made his small-screen debut in a 1967 BBC broadcast of A Flea in Her Ear. His first starring role in a film came in 1964 in Changes, a short directed by Drewe Henley, written and produced by James Scott and co-starring Jacqueline Pearce. In 1968, Hopkins got his break in The Lion in Winter playing Richard the Lionheart, a performance which saw him nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

By the time of the album’s recording, Richard Carpenter’s addiction to sleeping pills had begun to affect him professionally, and he blames this for the album being, in his opinion, sub-par. All three excerpted singles became hits. “There’s a Kind of Hush (All Over the World),” a cover of a 1960s song by Herman’s Hermits, broke both the UK Top 30 and US Top 20, as well as topping the adult contemporary chart. “I Need to Be in Love” hit number 25 in the US and number 36 in the UK. “Goofus” was only a minor success, stalling at number 56 on the Billboard chart, though it did crack the adult contemporary top 10.

John Bettis called “I Need to Be in Love” the favorite lyrics he ever wrote for Karen Carpenter. “If there was ever anything that came out of my heart straight to Karen’s I would say that was it. I was very proud of it for that.” Richard Carpenter recalled that the song “became Karen’s favorite Carpenters song.” The album was also the first not to have Karen playing drums on any tracks, which were performed by Los Angeles session drummer Jim Gordon (except two, “Goofus” and “Sandy,” by Cubby O'Brien).

Despite being certified Gold, the album was a relative commercial disappointment in the US, where its chart peak was outside the Top 30. Like its predecessor Horizon, it performed better in the UK, reaching number three in the UK Albums Chart.