A panther that is positively pink

If I was to say Pink Panther what's the first thing that comes into your mind? A priceless diamond? A bumbling French detective? Peter Sellers? Henry Mancini? A panther pink from head to toe? Or maybe all of the above? 

The Pink Panther film and animation franchise begat by Blake Edwards in 1963 threw up (courtesy of the aforementioned Mr. Mancini) one of the most memorable film scores ever. We can all recognise the iconic tune after hearing just the first four notes; that's because it's hard wired into our brains. Another name you could have thrown into the mix is Tubby Hayes. Legendary UK jazzer Edward Brian Hayes, whilst not present on the original recording (the lead sax part you hear in the film was played by the American musician Plas Johnson), did play it live on UK TV in 1964 with the Henry Mancini Orchestra and, as they say, made it his own. The whole performance (all three minutes, ten seconds of it) is, I hope you'll agree, a thing of  beauty.

Henry Mancini (1924-1994)

Peter Sellers (1925-1980)

Tubby Hayes (1935-1973)

That's What You Are

It takes a worried man to sing a worried song

In 1974 Peter Sellers gave a very rare television interview to Michael Parkinson. Sellers was a troubled man - and it showed. Parkinson gently cajoled him and with the help of a few props, including his beloved ukulele, and maybe a livener or two beforehand in the Green Room, Sellers soon loosened up and within minutes the pair were getting on like the proverbial house on fire.

Sellers had been a struggling musician before the smell of the greasepaint took him over and among the many stories he told was one that, of course, had happened to a good friend of his. At one of their gigs a smartly dressed chap comes up to the bandstand with a young lady on his arm and asks them if the band can play That's What You Are. The pianist cum band leader, having never heard of it, looks through his book in a vain attempt to find it. 'I'm afraid I don't know it' he confessed. 'What?!' says the man incredulously. 'I'll tell you something, what's the world coming to when a band leader can't play That's What You Are?'

'Maybe if you sing the first couple of bars' said the band leader, 'we may be able to improvise.'

'Very well'' the man says, clearing his throat. 'Unforgettable - that's what you are.'