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Sparky The Amazing Talking Budgerigar with a geordie accent
Image by brizzle born and bred
Sparkie Williams (1954–1962) was a talking budgie who provided the inspiration for a new opera by Michael Nyman and Carsten Nicolai. The opera was performed in Berlin in March 2009.
Sparkie had a repertoire of more than 500 words and eight nursery rhymes, becoming a national celebrity after fronting an advertising campaign for Capern’s bird seed, and making a record which sold 20,000 copies.
After he died, he was stuffed and put on show at Newcastle’s Hancock Museum.
Born and bred in North East England, Sparkie was owned by Mrs Mattie Williams, who lived in Forest Hall, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He earned his name after Mrs Williams called him ‘A bright little spark,' and she taught him to speak, recite songs and sing nursery rhymes.
Sparkie had a huge repertoire of words and sayings. By the time he was three-and-a-half, he had won the BBC International Cage Word Contest in July 1958.
He was so good, in fact, that he was disqualified from taking part again.
Sparkie was courted by bird seed sellers and fronted the advertisement campaign for Capern’s bird seed for two years. He was recorded talking with budgie expert Philip Marsden on BBC radio, and appeared on the BBC Tonight programme with Cliff Michelmore.
www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/2060532032/
When Sparkie died, he was stuffed by the best taxidermist in London and taken on a tour of Britain in an exhibition of his life and work, before coming back to the Hancock Museum in 1996.
Sparkie Williams is acclaimed as the world’s most outstanding talking bird in the Guinness Book of Records.
He is now part of the collections owned by the Natural History Society of Northumbria.
The new opera inspired by Sparkie is based on Michael Nyman’s 1977 piece Pretty Talk. The original piece used material from a record made by Capern’s bird-food company to help customers teach their pet birds to talk.
The 7-inch flexi disc played short sentences spoken by Sparkie’s owner, Mrs Williams, to encourage her pet to speak - followed by replies from Sparkie himself.
The new opera, Sparkie: Cage and Beyond, features further recordings from the ‘Sparkie’ archives of the Natural History Society of Northumbria. A CD of Sparkie talking has already been released.
Sparky The Talking Budgie - Video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcsSIP8dveE
Sparkie Williams Video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uH1zSptAGo
Information Sources
Linguistic budgie inspires opera
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7963007.stm
Talk the squawk
www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2002/apr/06/weekend7.weekend6
Tongue-twisting budgie is CD star
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4839366.stm
Budgie tops the bill as mimicry is put on CD
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article743882.ece
RealTVfilms
Image by Bob Bekian
Bob Bekian Photos
At a time when technology has become synonymous with entertainment, there is one company that brings Hollywood and New York events with candid interviews to the virtual world: RealTVfilms
Founder, Gordon Vasquez had the insight of featuring entertainment events through social media outlets... and RealTVfilms was born. Viral Video has given our access the edge as it relates to reaching the fan base of who we interview by using social networks.
Now seen as a pioneer in providing online accessibility through Viral Video, RealTV Films incorporates candid interviews and event coverage into the Social Media platform for fans and followers of Filmmakers, Actors, Celebrities and the Music Scene. Since its inception in 2008, RealTVfilms has produced over two thousand interviews at various events ranging from Press Junkets, Award Shows and After Parties to Charity Functions and Fashion Shows, as well as various Sporting and Music events. With a growing fan base, notably clear on Facebook (5,000+ friends) and Twitter (1,500+ followers) it is no surprise that RealTVfilms interviews average up to 20,000 views per day, making it a major player in entertainment event coverage and exposure.
With a bevy of skilled hosts on call, all uphold strong foundations in various fields of the entertainment industry. Each host boast's a resume as unique as the events she covers, guarantying a unique personality along with solid coverage for each interview. With over 40 years of entertainment experience under the combined RealTVfilms hosting belt, no event goes uncovered!
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