At #10: John Player Superkings! A night at the bingo wasn't complete without eight cards, a bottle of Double Maxim and a JPS Super on the go. Quiet now, they're doing the link-up...
At #9: House of Commons Straight Cut! These unfiltered beauties - now sadly discontinued - simply reek of Hansard, balance of payments deficits and the three day week. Surely the mother of all parliamentary smokes...
At #8: Lambert and Butler! These fancy fags in their brushed aluminium packet were always popular with teachers and people who drove Volvos. They probably watched BBC2 as well...
At #7: Capstan Full Strength! The fat cousin of the Wills Wild Woodbine, the Capstan stood for a time when cigarettes were meant to make you cough. My aunties loved 'em...
At #6: the John Player Special! The oily rag of Formula 1: yes it made your lungs bleed, but just look how pretty that car is! Broom vroom...
At #5: Consulate Menthol! Why goths loved this over-minty baccy is beyond me, but no night at the Batcave in Dean Street was complete without it...
At #4: John Player No.6! They were good enough for the Queen Mum, so they're good enough for me...
At #3: Sobraine Cocktail Cigarettes! The coolest smoke for the most sophisticated ladies...
At #2: Sullivan Powell No.1! Far superior to their Turkish Ovals this was a true taste of the Orient, made in the heart of Piccadilly...
And at #1: it's a tie! Embassy Filter is the true taste of snooker, but Regal King Size is basically the coat of arms of Northern England. Don't make me choose!!
More pulp countdowns another day. Let's leave the last word on the noble tab to Viz comic...
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"The gun is GOOD! The Penis is EVIL!" bellows a huge stone head floating over the Irish countryside. It's quite a strange start to any film, but it's about to get even stranger.
This is the story of John Boorman's 1974 sci-fi spectacular Zardoz...
In 1970 director John Boorman began work on a Lord Of The Rings film for United Artists. It would be an unusual adaption; The Beatles would be the Hobbits and Kabuki theatre would open the movie. Alas the studio said 'No', but the idea of making a fantasy film stuck with Boorman.
So in 1972, following the commercial success of Deliverance, John Boorman started work on Zardoz - a fantasy film into which he would cram many unorthodox ideas. Initially Burt Reynolds was to play the lead role of Zed, but pulled out citing other filming commitments.
"Fear is the mind-killer," but movie production is a close second. As Denis Villeneuve's epic movie adaptations of Dune pull in audiences worldwide, I look back at an earlier struggle to bring that story to the silver screen.
This is the story of David Lynch's Dune...
Dune is an epic story: conceived by Frank Herbert after studying the Oregon Dunes in 1957 he spent five years researching, writing, and revising it before publication. He would go on to write a further five sequels.
Dune is a multi-layered story and a hugely immersive novel. It's about a future where the mind rather the computer is king, aided by the mysterious spice melange. It also has more feuding houses than Game of Thrones.
Detective stories have always been a staple of young adult fiction. I guess every young person wants to be a crime fighter at heart.
The Hardy Boys (Frank and Joe Hardy) are possibly the longest-serving teenage detectives. Their first adventures began in 1927, published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and they've been in print pretty much ever since.