Scalextric Catalogue Cover

 

Two Adverts for Tri-ang Toys

 

Meccano Advert

 

Estadio Nacional disaster

The Estadio Nacional disaster took place on 24 May 1964 at the Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru, during a match between Peru and Argentina. An unpopular decision by the referee outraged the Peruvian fans, who invaded the pitch. Police fired tear gas into the crowd, causing a mass exodus. Many fans were cruched against the steel shutters that led down to the street. The incident is considered the worst disaster in the history of association football.

The game, in the qualifying round for the Tokyo Olympics' football tournament, was seen as vital for Peru, then holding the second qualifying place in the CONMEBOL table, who would face a tough match against Brazil in their final game. The match attracted a crowd of 53,000 to the stadium.

With Argentina leading 1–0 and six minutes of normal time remaining, a would-be equalising goal by Peru was disallowed by Uruguayan referee Ángel Eduardo Pazos. This decision infuriated the home fans and triggered a pitch invasion. Peruvian police fired tear gas canisters into the northern grandstand to prevent further fans from invading the field of play. This caused panic and an attempt at a mass exodus to avoid the gas.

Rather than standard gates, the stadium had solid corrugated steel shutters at the bottom of tunnels that connected the street level, via several flights of steps, to the seating areas above. These shutters were closed as they normally were at every game. Panicked spectators moving down the enclosed stairways pressed those in the lead against the closed shutters, but this was not visible to the crowd pushing down the stairwells from behind. The shutters finally burst outward as a result of pressure from the crush of bodies inside. All of those that died were killed in the stairwells down to the street level, most from internal haemorrhaging or asphyxia. No one who stayed inside the stadium died. In the street, the crowd caused destruction to private property around the stadium.

The official death toll is 328, but this may be an underestimate since deaths by gunshot were not counted in the official estimates. Even this total is higher than those killed in the Hillsborough disaster, the Bradford fire, the Heysel disaster, the 1971 Ibrox disaster, the 1902 Ibrox disaster, and the Burnden Park disaster combined.

Jerrie Mock

Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock (1925-2014) was an American pilot and the first woman to fly solo around the world. She flew a single engine Cessna 180 christened the Spirit of Columbus and nicknamed "Charlie." The trip began March 19, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio. It took 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes, with 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles (36,790 km). The flight was part of a "race" that developed between Mock and Joan Merriam Smith who had flown from a field near San Francisco, CA on March 17, 1964; Smith's departure date and flight path was the same as the aviator Amelia Earhart's last flight.

Great Britain Olympic Golds

 

The picture shows Welshman Lynn Davies (long jump), Ann Packer (800), Mary Rand (long jump) and Ken Matthews (20 k walk) all British gold medal winners in Tokyo.

Forth Road Bridge

On September 4 in the UK, the Forth Road Bridge opened over the Firth of Forth, linking Fife and Edinburgh. The final bill for construction amounted to £19.5 million. The bridge was opened by Her Majesty Queen Ekizabeth II. At the time, it was the first bridge of its kind in the UK, the longest outside the USA, and the fourth longest in the world.

Oh Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison

"Oh, Pretty Woman" or simply "Pretty Woman" is a song recorded by Roy Orbison, written by Orbison and Bill Dees, released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records. It spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 from September 26, the second and final single by Orbison to top the US charts and the third single to top the UK Singles Chart (for a total of three weeks).

The single version (in mono) and the LP version (in stereo on the Orbisongs LP) have slightly differing lyrics. The LP version with the intended lyric: "come with me baby" was changed for the single to "come to me baby" as the former was considered too risque. The record ultimately sold 7 million copies and marked the high point in Orbison's career. Within months of its release, the single was certified gold by the RIAA. At the year's end, Billboard ranked it the number four song of 1964.

The title was inspired by Orbison's wife, Claudette, interrupting a conversation to announce she was going out. When Orbison asked if she had enough cash, his co-writer Bill Dees interjected, "A pretty woman never needs any money."

Orbison's recording of the song was produced by Fred Foster on August 1, 1964. There were four guitar players at the session: Roy Orbison, Billy Sanford, Jerry Kennedy, and Wayne Moss. Sanford, who later played on sessions for Elvis Presley, Don Williams, etc, played the intro guitar. Other musicians on the record included Floyd Cramer (piano), Henry Strzelecki (upright bass), Boots Randolph and Charlie McCoy (saxophones), Buddy Harman (drums) Paul Garrison (percussion). Co-writer Dees sung high harmony, as he did on many Orbison songs. Bill Porter served as recording engineer. Billboard described the song as having a "great dance beat coupled with fine arrangement." Cash Box described it as "a catchy, quick-beat salute with a number of ear-catching rockin' ingredients."

A music video was filmed on October 19, 1964, in the rooftop garden of London's Kensington-based Derry and Toms department store, to air on Top of the Pops on October 22 as a visual accompaniment to Orbison's song as he was unable to attend the live taping. It subsequently aired on October 29, November 12, and November 19. It was directed by Stanley Dorfman.

Death of Alan Ladd

Alan Ladd the American actor and producer was born in 1913 and died on January 29, 1964. He found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in films noir such as This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942) and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Whispering Smith (1948) was his first Western and colour film and Shane (1953) was noted for its contributions to the genre. He also appeared in ten films with William Bendix. Other notable credits include Two Years Before the Mast (1946) and The Great Gatsby (1949). His popularity diminished in the mid-1950s, though he continued to appear in numerous films, including his first supporting role since This Gun for Hire in the smash hit The Carpetbaggers released in 1964. He died of an accidental combination of alcohol, a barbiturate and two tranquilisers.

Death of Mabel Lucie Attwell

Mabel Lucie Attwell (1879-1964) was a British illustrator and comics artist known for her cute, nostalgic drawings of children. Her drawings are featured on many postcards, advertisements, posters, books and figurines.

She was born in Mile End, London, in 1879, the sixth child of butcher Augustus and his wife Emily Ann. She was educated privately, at the Coopers' Company School and at the Regent Street school. She studied at Heatherley's and St Martin's School of Art but left to develop her own interest in imaginary subjects, disliking the emphasis on still-life drawing and classical subjects.

After she sold work to the Tatler and Bystander, she was taken on by the agents Francis and Mills, leading to a long and consistently successful career. In 1908, she married painter and illustrator Harold Cecil Earnshaw (d 1937) with whom she had a daughter, Marjorie, and two sons. She died at her home in Fowey, Cornwall, on 5 November 1964, after which her business was carried on by her daughter, Marjorie.