The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 71

obbih' around Teena with Bob Rogers ourislies Htish stars on ji seas! 7 i ET'S forget for a moment all the discussions about whether the Beatles are on the wane or not. top By LANA WELLS (NE of the most siv'nging parlies Vve ever been to happened recently on a ship as she steamed through the black night to Sydney. It was a coke-tail party and I was the guest with the most hosts in fact, I was the only guest and there were 22 hosts. It wasn't a mistake. That's how it was planned, because my young friends, the junior ratings of S.S.

Himalaya, had a story to tell. To the suck of straws and munch of peanuts, they unwound a tale of fun and rivalry on' the high seas. Fun, because they've started a club that is unique in the seafarirg world, and rivalry because there's nothing else like it on anv of the othe-- and Orient Line ships. Duties For although the cosseted and protected passeneers may never be aware of it, there is tremendous competition between the ships. And the junior ratings, who dash about with messages, operate the lifts, help with catering and in the purser's office, are the cause of an envious whisper heard in both hemispheres.

Their title alone is enough to antagonise teenage colleagues known simply as "bellboys" on the other ships. Behind the. club and the bellboy uprising to junior rating is young Irishman Barry Walsh, the welfare leading hand, who "cracks the whip." In landlubber language, Barry is resoonsible for the crew's wcl'are, sports and social activities. He is also responsible for starling the controversial club. Aim Under cover of "background" music from a portable record player and( the Rolling Stones, Barry 'told me the club was originally formed with the same aim as many other teenage clubs to keep its members occupied and "off the streets." Although the boys work eight hours a day.

and attend special lectures and classes as a part of their normal training, they have plenty of time off. Before the advent of the club, thev spent idle hours if on reading, writing, sketching and listening to records in their dormitory-style cabins (which they call Now they devote most of their time to decorating the peaks these are inspected each week and awarded points and to raising money for shore outings. With extraordinary enthusiasm they organise competitions, fun fairs and guessing games. They also act in pantomimes, plays and revues which they write, produce and direct themselves. Their audience so far has been restricted to officers and senior crew members, but they're hoping to produce a play, "Sinbad the Sailor," for the ship's: passengers.

Although the boys run the club themselves, Barry who is considered a sort of "hero" along with the Rolling Stones and James Bond is the dynamo behind it. Adventure I asked him what makes a boy leave home and go to sea. "Some leave school and don't know what they 'want to do, so they decide to look around the world first, others join because they think it will be an adventurous life, and many. more come, from broken and unhappy homes," told me. "Very few join with the intention of making it their career.

"Before thev join a ship, they spend eight weeks at a training school. They learn every aspect of their work from keeping the pantry clean to coping with the possibility of a fire at sea." After the coke-tail party, my 22 hosts took me on a tour of the freshly painted recreation room where they hold their theatrical productions and their peaks. Peak of the week, which had won the most points, had colourful chintz spreads on the bunks, paintings and pictures on the walls, and was remarkably cleanj Another- peak had wall-to-wall carpet, a special wall I for sure, British pop stars are still as popular as ever. Proof? Well, last week British records occupied 10 of the spots in the U.S. Top 20.

Which is not bad going. Herman's Hermits held three of the places. Seventeen-year-old Herman could end up as big as the Beatles. At the moment he has more hits than they have. Top British pop over there was Wayne Fon-tana's "Game of Love" in No.

3 spot. Herman's Hermits smashed straight into No. snnf with "Mrs 'i Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" and up above that they had (Jan tou Hear My Heart Beat" in No. 6 spot. And their "Silhouettes" was in No.

19 position. Petula Clark's "I Know A Place" was No. 4. the Kinks' "Tired Of I Waiting For You" was i mr iNO. ana me rvioouv Blues' "Go Now" was No.

10. The Australian group, The Seekers, were No. 14. with "111 Never Find Another You." The Rolling Stones' "Last Time" had climbed from No. 31 to No.

16 and the Beatles' were in No. 17 place with "Eight Days A Week." THE new Beatle film is simply going to be called "Help." It's had a variety of names. It started out as Beatles 2" until a better name was chosen. Then Ringo came up with the title "Eight Arms To Hold You" and that's what it was for a while. It was changed again after John Lennon and Paul McCartney announced that they hadn't been able to come up with a good song of that name.

They are writing the music for the film. At one stage the film's producer came up with the title "The Day The Clowns Collapsed," but that didn't make it either. rPHE Beatles admitted a little defeat in another field this week, too. They admitted they had not been able to make one of John and Paul's new songs sound any good. The song is "That Means A Lot" and it's going to be P.

J. Proby's next single in England. He'll probably record it next Friday. Said John this "We wrote it for the new film but we found we couldn't sing it. We made a hash of it.

"So we decided we'd give it to someone who could sing it well and we decided on P. J. Proby." NOT that the Beatles have really got anything to worry about. Tickets were offered a few days ago for a Beatle concert at the Shea Stadium in New York on August 15. The "stadium holds 55,000 people, but within a few days advance orders were twice that number.

'THINGS are really swinging for our own, group now enjoying the big time in England The Seekers. They have an Australian tour and an American tour lined up and they arc solidly booked for the rest of this year. They have just got another single out. It's called "A World Of Our Own" and according to Athol Guy it's not a copy of "I'll Never Find Another which topped the English charts recently. They don't expect it to go right to the top a place in the top JO will make them more than happy.

Athol Guy said this week: "The scene is changing so quickly these days that just to hit the top with "I'll Never Find Another You" was ample reward for us. "We're prettv con fident about the new one, the next biggest advance orders after the Beatles." Despite the fact that they are labelled folk they don't go for that label themselves. Judy Durham, the girl in the group, stated this week: "I wouldn't say we were pure folk singers by a long way. "In fact, we all have pretty varied tastes in music." QUOTE from John Steel of the Animals: "We haven't seen a barber shop in two years. We cut our own nair.

as careers our countrymen make good bricklayers. Anyone can open a shop in England. All you need is a pair of shears." fixture for a record player, curtains and matching spreads on the bunks. All interior decoration was done by the boys and, I was told, was "better than they have on other ships." Staff Captain A. Dallas, who officially approves the club's activities, said, "We'ic very pleased with the results achieved by the junior ratings and their club.

"After all, these boys aren't children. They're young men and they like to be treated as such. "That's one of the reasons why we call them junior ratings and not bellboys it sounds more dignified." The junior ratings would like to arrange meetings with teenage sports and social clubs. If you want to write to them, address your letters to: The Secretary, Junior Ratings Club, S.S. Himalaya, and Orient Lines, 14 Cockspur Street, London, SW1.

by JAN V-THATfe 0 vA ffli TOP: Members of Himalaya's Junior Ratings' Club check entries in one of their fund-raising competitions. With them is Barry Walsh (far right) who started the club. ABOVE: The Junior ratings spend hours decorating their dormi-tory style cabins. The one pictured here even has wall-to-wall carpet. HEY SWJNGY Jr, jf, "HERE COMES 70 THE SUN-HERALD, APR.

25, 1965 70.