Space:1999 actress Zienia Merton dies at 72

Admirable characteristics: Zienia Merton, who played
Sandra Benes in Space:1999, has died at 72

Zienia Merton, who played a celebrated supporting role in both seasons of the TV series Space:1999, died on Friday at 72.

Ziena's character Sandra encapsulated much of what was right and good about Space:1999 - and by extension humanity.
She was confident, controlled, and efficient; an easily relatable and intelligent character. When Sandra was around there was a sense that sensible choices would be made, or at least be aired.

The show endeavored to have diversity among its characters,  demonstrating a theme of "one people" together. Like Star Trek before it, it portrayed people from a mixture of backgrounds living and working together with shared values and goals.

Zienia was British, although also very much a world citizen. She was born in Burma. Her mother was Burmese and her father half-English, half-French. She lived in a number of countries before settling in England. 

Early days: Zienia Merton, left, in The Beatles' Help!

As an actress, Zienia did most of her work on television, including a stint in one of the first Dr Who stories. Earlier in her career she was an extra in The Beatles' Help! playing (uncredited) a high priestess.

Space:1999 was my favourite TV show as a youngster. I watched every episode during its original TV run from 1975 to 1977.

Some 20-odd years later I attended an event on the outskirts of London after hearing that one of the '1999' cast would be there - Zienia. It felt surreal coming face to face with someone who I had such familiarity with, even though we'd never met before. Zienia was polite and easy to talk to, and despite the passage of years still looked almost exactly as she did in the show - right down to her hairstyle. For a few short hours while she was around it felt like being part of an extended Moonbase Alpha crew that had somehow been transported to a conference suite in a suburban hotel.

A few years later, on the 13th of September 1999, Zienia reprised her role as Sandra Benes to record a six-minute video for a Space:1999 convention in the US, which was held to coincide with the day the moon blasted out of Earth's orbit - as imagined in the show. Her short "Final Message from Moonbase Alpha" is now regarded as the 49th and final installment of the series. As the last person on the evacuated moonbase she recorded a message for those who might find it in the future, ending with: "To you, the people of planet Earth, we say goodbye and ask but one thing - remember us."
It was a fitting epilogue. Farewell Zienia

Lake Street Dive make a splash

Lake Street Dive: An unusual musical combination that delights

When I stumbled across Lake Street Dive, I did not expect them to become my favourite music discovery of the year. Indeed, I'd only clicked onto their video because I was intrigued at the prospect of such a hodge-podge of musicians attempting A-ha's Take On Me.

Before I go on, rewind to last summer when I heard the strains of Lana Del Rey floating from a beach bar music system. I'd never heard of her and had to ask someone at the bar who the mystery singer was (as I detailed in this post). That was my introduction to Del Rey's fresh "real" music. Of course, I was many years late to the party, but Del Ray was my big personal music discovery of 2017.

So back to Lake Street Dive. I came across them not by listening to music at a beach bar, but through a more traditional route - on YouTube, the world's omnipresent portal for discovering music. 

The website uses data algorithms to suggest videos based on your history of viewing choices. For some reason, it decided that I'd enjoy Lake Street Dive's cover version of A-ha's Take On Me. I was going to ignore the offer, but the thumbnail picture on the video showed an unlikely combo on a tiny stage that I guessed was in a small town bar hosting an open-mic night.
My curiosity was piqued; what would Take On Me sound like when tackled by a nutty combination of a trumpeter, double bassist, female vocalist, and a drummer wearing a rock band-style bandana?

The video started and in the opening moments a tempo change on the drums did nothing to alter my belief this was a plucky amateur night at some bar.
But then the song took shape and my early suspicion that they were making it up as they went along, vanished. 

It was much more than a passable rendition. The soaring lead vocals of Rachael Price delivering more depth than the original. And while the band had a quirky choice of musical instruments, they all played with consummate ease and professional finesse. In this instance, they were also augmented by a guest keyboardist. The vocal harmonies were the icing on the cake. I was impressed but still thought it was simply an unusual bar band.

Music moment: Lake Street Dive perform Annie Lennox's
Walking on Broken Glass - a rendition that confirmed to me their talent

I decided to check for any other cover versions they had done and found their rendition of Annie Lennox's Walking On Broken Glass. Bridget Kearney's double bass playing was sublime, reaching notes I've never seen attempted by others on the instrument. Price added a new dimension to the song with her vocals, while the rest of the band was immaculate with harmonies and a group a cappella finale.

After hearing their version of The Kinks' Lola, I started searching the internet to see if they had an album of covers for sale. They didn't. But they had albums of original songs. The Brooklyn-based band has been enjoying growing national success in the US, particularly during the past six years, including Billboard chart action.

YouTube threw up a near two-hour songwriting masterclass the band gave to cohorts at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music, where they had met back in 2004. I hadn't intended to sit through the full two hours, but I did - drawn in by the subject matter, the clarity and articulation of their thoughts, and the truly democratic make-up of the band (they gave each other an equal share of the discussion). They explained some of the methods they use to compose and arrange songs.

In that video and in other online interviews, Lake Street Dive came alive as personalities - bold, inventive, and with a clear sense of fun. They are talented instrument players with a genuine love and deep knowledge of music styles. I took the plunge and listened to more of their originals, quickly favouring almost everything I heard. Use Me Up, Call Off Your Dogs, and this year's Good Kisser and I Can Change are now on my repeat playlist.

If you're looking for a fresh sound check out Lake Street Dive.