Near Dark
Encyclopedia
Near Dark is an American vampire/Western horror film
, written by Eric Red
and Kathryn Bigelow
, and directed by Bigelow. The story follows a young man in a small midwestern town who becomes involved with a family of nomadic American vampires. Starring then little-known actors Adrian Pasdar
and Jenny Wright, the movie was released in 1987
, part of a revival of serious vampire movies in the late 1980s.
The film did poorly at the box office upon release, but was viewed favourably by critics subsequently and has a sizable cult following
.
), a young man in a small Oklahoma
town, meets Mae (Jenny Wright), an attractive young drifter. Just before sunrise, she bites him on the neck
then runs off. The rising sun causes Caleb's flesh to begin to burn. Mae comes with a group of roaming vampires and takes him away. The most unsociable of all the vampires, the callous and sociopathic
Severen (Bill Paxton
), wants to kill him, but Mae reveals she has turned him into a vampire. Their charismatic leader, Jesse Hooker (Lance Henriksen
), reluctantly agrees to allow Caleb to remain with them for a week to see if he can learn to hunt and become a trusted member of their group. Caleb is unwilling to kill to feed, which alienates him from the others. To protect him, Mae kills for him then has him drink from her wrist. After Caleb endangers himself to help them during a daylight police raid on their motel, Jesse and the others are temporarily mollified.
Meanwhile, Caleb's father (Tim Thomerson
) has begun searching for the group while the police are also investigating. A child vampire in the group, Homer (Joshua John Miller
), meets Caleb's sister Sarah (Marcie Leeds) and wants to transform her into his companion, but Caleb objects. While the group argues, Caleb's father arrives and holds them at gunpoint, demanding Sarah be released. Jesse taunts him into shooting, but regurgitates the bullet then wrestles the gun away. In the confusion, Sarah opens the door letting in the sunlight and forcing the vampires back. Burning, Caleb escapes with his family and suggests they try doing a blood transfusion
to attempt to cure him. The transfusion successfully reverses Caleb's transformation. That night the vampires search for Caleb because he knows their identity, and Homer still wishes to have Sarah for his mate. Mae distracts Caleb by trying to persuade him to return to her while the others kidnap Sarah.
After Mae leaves, Caleb discovers the kidnapping and gives chase on horseback after finding his tires slashed. Along the way, he commandeers a tractor-trailer and encounters Severen, whom he runs over. The injured vampire manages to get into the truck's cab, so Caleb jackknifes
the vehicle and jumps out as the truck explodes and kills Severen. Seeking revenge, Jesse and Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein
) pursue him, but are forced to flee in their car as dawn breaks.
Not wanting Sarah to become another child-like monster
, Mae breaks out of the back of the car with Sarah, getting badly burned by the sun as she runs with Sarah into Caleb's arms, taking refuge from the sun under his jacket. Homer attempts to follow but dies from exposure. Jesse and Diamondback, their sun-proofing ruined, also begin to burn. They attempt to run Caleb and Sarah over with the car but fail, also dying in the process.
Mae awakens later, her burns now healed; she has been given a transfusion and is also cured. Together, she and Caleb watch the sunrise.
and 1987's The Lost Boys
(released three months before Near Dark and grossing $32 million).
Kathryn Bigelow wanted to film a Western movie that departed from cinematic convention, which at the time was strongly identified with the films of John Wayne
and John Ford
. When she and co-writer Eric Red found financial backing for a Western difficult to obtain, it was suggested to them that they try mixing a Western with another, more popular genre. Her interest in revisionist interpretation of cinematic tradition led her and Red to combine two genres that they regarded as ripe for reinterpretation: the Western movie, and the vampire movie. The combination of these two genres had been visited at least twice before on the big screen, with 1959's Curse of the Undead
and 1966's Billy the Kid vs. Dracula
.
Bigelow knew (and later married) director James Cameron
, who directed Aliens
, a 1986 film that shares three cast members (Paxton, Goldstein and Henriksen) with Near Dark. A cinema seen in the background early in the film has Aliens on its marquee, and Cameron played the man who "flips off
" Severen.
The film was scored by the German electronic music
group Tangerine Dream
.
In 2009 Lions Gate Home Entertainment released the Blu-ray disc
, which includes the documentary of the film "Living in Darkness".
on 26th March 2010 in Edmonton
, Canada
.
and vampire movie genres:
In her review for the New York Times, Caryn James wrote, "Ms. Bigelow's too-studied compositions - Caleb in silhouette riding a horse toward the camera - clash with her unstudied approach to the characters' looks."
Jonathan Rosenbaum
of the Chicago Reader, conversely, was impressed by Bigelow's
first foray into big budget films with the "hillbilly vampire" movie, describing it as "beautifully shot." As well, Hal Hinson of the Washington Post said the intermixing of vampire legends, westerns and biker movies has an end result that's "both outrageous and poetic; it has extravagant, bloody thrills plus something else - something that comes close to genuine emotion."
Jay Scott
in his review for the Globe and Mail wrote, "Bill Paxton as the undead sex symbol - is exceptional, but not exceptional enough to put across the cop-out that concludes the film."
In his book, Monster Show: Cultural History of Horror, Film critic David J. Skal
highly praises the film's mix of western and horror genres, and homeless wanderings and undeath.
Richard Corliss
, of Time Magazine calls Near Dark "weird (and) beautiful" and "the all-time teenage vampire love story." Likewise, Richard Schickel (also of Time) considers the film a clever variant of the vampire film genre. Peter Travers
, of Rolling Stone concurs, calling it "gory and gorgeous."
Near Dark is ranked 34 on Rotten Tomatoes
' "Top 50 Horror Movies" list of the 50 best reviewed horror movies of all time.
from Platinum Dunes
film production company was originally planned but has since been put on hold after the release of the vampire romance film Twilight
. Producer Brad Fuller opines, “I think that Twilight was the same type of thing we were going for although Near Dark was a much darker, sexier, rated R version of that. But I’m concerned that, conceptually, Near Dark and Twilight are too similar in terms of a vampire movie. For now, that movie is on hold.”
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, written by Eric Red
Eric Red
Eric Red is an American screenwriter and director, best known for writing the horror films The Hitcher and Near Dark.-Early life:...
and Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Ann Bigelow is an American film director. Her best-known films are the cult horror film Near Dark , the surfer/bank robbery action picture Point Break , the science fiction/film noir Strange Days , the historical/mystery film The Weight of Water and the war drama The Hurt Locker...
, and directed by Bigelow. The story follows a young man in a small midwestern town who becomes involved with a family of nomadic American vampires. Starring then little-known actors Adrian Pasdar
Adrian Pasdar
Adrian Kayvan Pasdar is an American actor, voice artist, and film director. He is known for playing Jim Profit on the TV series Profit, for his roles in Near Dark, Carlito's Way, Mysterious Ways and as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes. Additionally, he directed the feature film Cement...
and Jenny Wright, the movie was released in 1987
1987 in film
-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
, part of a revival of serious vampire movies in the late 1980s.
The film did poorly at the box office upon release, but was viewed favourably by critics subsequently and has a sizable cult following
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
.
Plot
One night, Caleb Colton (Adrian PasdarAdrian Pasdar
Adrian Kayvan Pasdar is an American actor, voice artist, and film director. He is known for playing Jim Profit on the TV series Profit, for his roles in Near Dark, Carlito's Way, Mysterious Ways and as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes. Additionally, he directed the feature film Cement...
), a young man in a small Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
town, meets Mae (Jenny Wright), an attractive young drifter. Just before sunrise, she bites him on the neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
then runs off. The rising sun causes Caleb's flesh to begin to burn. Mae comes with a group of roaming vampires and takes him away. The most unsociable of all the vampires, the callous and sociopathic
Psychopathy
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
Severen (Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
), wants to kill him, but Mae reveals she has turned him into a vampire. Their charismatic leader, Jesse Hooker (Lance Henriksen
Lance Henriksen
Lance James Henriksen is an American actor and artist best known to film and television audiences for his roles in science fiction, action, and horror films such as the Alien film franchise, and on television shows such as Millennium....
), reluctantly agrees to allow Caleb to remain with them for a week to see if he can learn to hunt and become a trusted member of their group. Caleb is unwilling to kill to feed, which alienates him from the others. To protect him, Mae kills for him then has him drink from her wrist. After Caleb endangers himself to help them during a daylight police raid on their motel, Jesse and the others are temporarily mollified.
Meanwhile, Caleb's father (Tim Thomerson
Tim Thomerson
Joseph Timothy “Tim” Thomerson is an American actor and comedian.Thomerson is most famous for his role as Jack Deth in the Trancers film series and is renowned for his work in numerous low-budget movies and his comedic television roles.-Early life:Tim Thomerson was born in Coronado, California. He...
) has begun searching for the group while the police are also investigating. A child vampire in the group, Homer (Joshua John Miller
Joshua John Miller
Joshua John Miller is an American actor, writer, screenwriter, novelist, and filmmaker.As a child actor, Miller was best known for his role as Homer, the pre-teen vampire in the film Near Dark, Richtie Miller, the annoying brother in Teen Witch, and his gripping role as Tim in River's Edge...
), meets Caleb's sister Sarah (Marcie Leeds) and wants to transform her into his companion, but Caleb objects. While the group argues, Caleb's father arrives and holds them at gunpoint, demanding Sarah be released. Jesse taunts him into shooting, but regurgitates the bullet then wrestles the gun away. In the confusion, Sarah opens the door letting in the sunlight and forcing the vampires back. Burning, Caleb escapes with his family and suggests they try doing a blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
to attempt to cure him. The transfusion successfully reverses Caleb's transformation. That night the vampires search for Caleb because he knows their identity, and Homer still wishes to have Sarah for his mate. Mae distracts Caleb by trying to persuade him to return to her while the others kidnap Sarah.
After Mae leaves, Caleb discovers the kidnapping and gives chase on horseback after finding his tires slashed. Along the way, he commandeers a tractor-trailer and encounters Severen, whom he runs over. The injured vampire manages to get into the truck's cab, so Caleb jackknifes
Jackknifing
Jackknifing means the folding of an articulated vehicle such that it resembles the acute angle of a folding pocket knife. If a vehicle towing a trailer skids, the trailer can push it from behind until it spins round and faces backwards. This may be caused by equipment failure, improper braking, or...
the vehicle and jumps out as the truck explodes and kills Severen. Seeking revenge, Jesse and Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein
Jenette Goldstein
Jenette Elise Goldstein is an American actress.- Life and career :Goldstein was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Beverly Hills. Her first film role was in James Cameron's Aliens , playing the Hispanic character PFC Jenette Vasquez...
) pursue him, but are forced to flee in their car as dawn breaks.
Not wanting Sarah to become another child-like monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
, Mae breaks out of the back of the car with Sarah, getting badly burned by the sun as she runs with Sarah into Caleb's arms, taking refuge from the sun under his jacket. Homer attempts to follow but dies from exposure. Jesse and Diamondback, their sun-proofing ruined, also begin to burn. They attempt to run Caleb and Sarah over with the car but fail, also dying in the process.
Mae awakens later, her burns now healed; she has been given a transfusion and is also cured. Together, she and Caleb watch the sunrise.
Cast
- Adrian PasdarAdrian PasdarAdrian Kayvan Pasdar is an American actor, voice artist, and film director. He is known for playing Jim Profit on the TV series Profit, for his roles in Near Dark, Carlito's Way, Mysterious Ways and as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes. Additionally, he directed the feature film Cement...
as Caleb Colton - Jenny Wright as Mae
- Lance HenriksenLance HenriksenLance James Henriksen is an American actor and artist best known to film and television audiences for his roles in science fiction, action, and horror films such as the Alien film franchise, and on television shows such as Millennium....
as Jesse Hooker - Bill PaxtonBill PaxtonWilliam "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
as Severen - Jenette GoldsteinJenette GoldsteinJenette Elise Goldstein is an American actress.- Life and career :Goldstein was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Beverly Hills. Her first film role was in James Cameron's Aliens , playing the Hispanic character PFC Jenette Vasquez...
as Diamondback - Tim ThomersonTim ThomersonJoseph Timothy “Tim” Thomerson is an American actor and comedian.Thomerson is most famous for his role as Jack Deth in the Trancers film series and is renowned for his work in numerous low-budget movies and his comedic television roles.-Early life:Tim Thomerson was born in Coronado, California. He...
as Loy Colton - Joshua John MillerJoshua John MillerJoshua John Miller is an American actor, writer, screenwriter, novelist, and filmmaker.As a child actor, Miller was best known for his role as Homer, the pre-teen vampire in the film Near Dark, Richtie Miller, the annoying brother in Teen Witch, and his gripping role as Tim in River's Edge...
as Homer (as Joshua Miller) - Marcie Leeds as Sarah Colton
Production notes
Vampire films had become "trendy" by the time of Near Darks production, with the success of 1985's Fright NightFright Night
# "Fright Night" – 3:45# "You Can't Hide from the Beast Inside" – 4:14# "Good Man in a Bad Time" – 3:41# "Rock Myself to Sleep" – 2:57# "Let's Talk" – 2:52# "Armies of the Night" – 4:34...
and 1987's The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....
(released three months before Near Dark and grossing $32 million).
Kathryn Bigelow wanted to film a Western movie that departed from cinematic convention, which at the time was strongly identified with the films of John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
. When she and co-writer Eric Red found financial backing for a Western difficult to obtain, it was suggested to them that they try mixing a Western with another, more popular genre. Her interest in revisionist interpretation of cinematic tradition led her and Red to combine two genres that they regarded as ripe for reinterpretation: the Western movie, and the vampire movie. The combination of these two genres had been visited at least twice before on the big screen, with 1959's Curse of the Undead
Curse of the Undead
Curse of the Undead is a 1959 American vampire/Western film directed by Edward Dein and starring Eric Fleming, Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley, John Hoyt, Bruce Gordon, and Jimmy Murphy.-Plot:...
and 1966's Billy the Kid vs. Dracula
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula is a 1966 American low-budget horror/western film directed by William Beaudine. It was released theatrically as part of a double bill, along with Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter...
.
Bigelow knew (and later married) director James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, who directed Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
, a 1986 film that shares three cast members (Paxton, Goldstein and Henriksen) with Near Dark. A cinema seen in the background early in the film has Aliens on its marquee, and Cameron played the man who "flips off
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
" Severen.
The film was scored by the German electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
.
Release
Near Dark was released on October 2, 1987 in 262 theaters, grossing USD $635,789 on its opening weekend. It went on to make $3.4 million, below its $5 million budget.In 2009 Lions Gate Home Entertainment released the Blu-ray disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, which includes the documentary of the film "Living in Darkness".
Subsequent screenings
The film was screened on 35mm35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
on 26th March 2010 in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Critical reception
Part of a late 1980s revival of serious (as opposed to comedic) vampire depictions on the big screen, it received mostly positive reviews for its mix of the Western, bikerOutlaw biker film
The outlaw biker film is a film genre that portrays its characters as motorcycle riding rebels. The characters are usually members of an outlaw motorcycle club.-History:...
and vampire movie genres:
In her review for the New York Times, Caryn James wrote, "Ms. Bigelow's too-studied compositions - Caleb in silhouette riding a horse toward the camera - clash with her unstudied approach to the characters' looks."
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum is an American film critic. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for the Chicago Reader from 1987 until 2008, when he retired at the age of 65...
of the Chicago Reader, conversely, was impressed by Bigelow's
Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Ann Bigelow is an American film director. Her best-known films are the cult horror film Near Dark , the surfer/bank robbery action picture Point Break , the science fiction/film noir Strange Days , the historical/mystery film The Weight of Water and the war drama The Hurt Locker...
first foray into big budget films with the "hillbilly vampire" movie, describing it as "beautifully shot." As well, Hal Hinson of the Washington Post said the intermixing of vampire legends, westerns and biker movies has an end result that's "both outrageous and poetic; it has extravagant, bloody thrills plus something else - something that comes close to genuine emotion."
Jay Scott
Jay Scott
Jay Scott was the pen name of Jeffrey Scott Beaven , a Canadian film critic.Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Scott fled to Canada in 1969 as a draft dodger. He settled in Calgary, and began writing film reviews for the Calgary Albertan a few years later...
in his review for the Globe and Mail wrote, "Bill Paxton as the undead sex symbol - is exceptional, but not exceptional enough to put across the cop-out that concludes the film."
In his book, Monster Show: Cultural History of Horror, Film critic David J. Skal
David J. Skal
David J. Skal is an American cultural historian known for his writings on horror films and horror literature.-Early life:...
highly praises the film's mix of western and horror genres, and homeless wanderings and undeath.
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
, of Time Magazine calls Near Dark "weird (and) beautiful" and "the all-time teenage vampire love story." Likewise, Richard Schickel (also of Time) considers the film a clever variant of the vampire film genre. Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
, of Rolling Stone concurs, calling it "gory and gorgeous."
Near Dark is ranked 34 on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
' "Top 50 Horror Movies" list of the 50 best reviewed horror movies of all time.
Remake
A remakeNear Dark (2008)
Near Dark is an unfinished American Vampire horror film, directed by Ryan Zeller and written by Matt Craven and Kathryn Bigelow. It is a remake of the 1987 cult vampire-Western horror film directed by Kathryn Bigelow...
from Platinum Dunes
Platinum Dunes
Platinum Dunes is a production company created in 2001 by filmmakers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form. The company specializes in horror films, particularly remakes.Their website is part of Bloody Disgusting's site....
film production company was originally planned but has since been put on hold after the release of the vampire romance film Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
. Producer Brad Fuller opines, “I think that Twilight was the same type of thing we were going for although Near Dark was a much darker, sexier, rated R version of that. But I’m concerned that, conceptually, Near Dark and Twilight are too similar in terms of a vampire movie. For now, that movie is on hold.”
Further reading
- Auerbach, NinaNina AuerbachNina Auerbach is the John Welsh Centennial Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. Her special area of concentration is nineteenth-century England...
. Our Vampires, Ourselves. University of Chicago Press, 1995. p. 137. ISBN 0226032019
See also
- Curse of the UndeadCurse of the UndeadCurse of the Undead is a 1959 American vampire/Western film directed by Edward Dein and starring Eric Fleming, Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley, John Hoyt, Bruce Gordon, and Jimmy Murphy.-Plot:...
, a 1959 vampire Western - Billy the Kid vs. DraculaBilly the Kid vs. DraculaBilly the Kid vs. Dracula is a 1966 American low-budget horror/western film directed by William Beaudine. It was released theatrically as part of a double bill, along with Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter...
, a 1966 vampire Western - Near Dark (soundtrack)Near Dark (soundtrack)-Other songs:The movie also included several songs not released on the soundtrack:* "Fever" – performed by The Cramps* "Naughty Naughty"– performed by John Parr* "Morse Code" – performed by Jools Holland...