Old and new

 Continuing to read through a random pile of old Beano comics, I was struck by how one issue (No. 2170 - Feb 18th, 1984) highlights the problems of making up-to-date pop culture references in comics. It's an unusually reference-heavy issue, this one, starting on the centre pages with the Bash Street Kids.

Toots opens the story by recounting the latest news from Coronation Street - "And then Albert Tatlock said..."

Albert Tatlock, the grumpy old man played by Jack Howarth, had been appearing in the soap opera ever since its first episode in December 1960, and by the 1980s he was an iconic figure and a universally recognised name in Britain. But we weren't seeing very much of him on TV lately because of Jack Howarth's declining health (apparently his speech had got so indistinct that the episodes were written to have other characters repeat back what Albert said, to help the viewers understand) and in fact by the time this comic was published Albert Tatlock had already made his final appearance on the show, on January 23rd. Jack Howarth died, aged 88, on 31st March and the Coronation Street residents and viewers heard in May that Albert had died off-screen while away visiting his daughter.

So it seems Toots isn't quite keeping up to the minute with her TV-watching. On the other hand, Grandpa seems to be more in touch with the latest buzz!

Karma Chameleon, the big hit for Culture Club and their lead singer Boy George, came out in September 1983 and had spent six weeks at number one. It wasn't topping the charts any more by the time this comic was released, but it was definitely still current - at the 1984 Brit Awards, on the 21st of February, Karma Chameleon won the Song of the Year! So, probably accidentally, this Beano is very much citing a song that was constantly on the radios of the nation at the moment it was published!

Of course, Grandpa's whole thing is that he's in touch with what the kids like. It's a bit surprising to see that the same seems to apply to Pa Bear...

(You've got to love those "French tourists" who've really gone out of their way to display every single French stereotype but still aren't carrying around a set of French windows when Ted needs them)

Pa isn't generally aware of the latest pop music - he's very much the daft dad who can embarrass Ted by not understanding modern trends - but in this one he likes "listening to the new Boy George single." Two mentions in one week for Boy George! Maybe it was a deliberate push to get the kids talking about him, although the Brit Award must have been long since decided on by this time.

And it gets better - The Three Bears is supposedly set in America, and Culture Club took a bit longer to catch on over there. Karma Chameleon didn't come out until 1984, and in fact when this issue of the Beano came out, Karma Chameleon was number one in the Billboard Hot 100! Pa Bear, uncharacteristically enough, is astonishingly up-to-the-minute in defiance of the Beano's production timescales!

So in summary, Toots the young, happening Bash Street Kid is very behind the times; Grandpa the old man who likes kid stuff is much more with-it, but stupid old Pa Bear is the one who's really got his finger on the pulse of what's hot! Who woulda thunk it?