Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand wearing a duffle coat.

Two front fastenings.

A duffle coat, or duffel coat, is a coat made from duffle, a coarse, thick, woollen material. The name derives from Duffel, a town in the province of Antwerp in Belgium where the material originates. Duffle bags were originally made from the same material.

There are many varying styles to the duffle coat, although the most common British style would be composed of the following features:

• Made of genuine Duffel, lined with a woolly tartan pattern.
• A hood and buttonable neck strap
• Four front wooden or horn toggle-fastenings (known as "walrus teeth") with four rope or leather loops to attach them to.
• Two large outside pockets with covering flaps.
• It should be three-quarter length.

The wooden toggle-fastenings were made to be easily fastened and unfastened while wearing gloves in cold weather at sea. Current designs have toggles made of buffalo horn, wood or plastic. The oversized hood offered enough room to wear over a Naval cap. After rain, a duffle coat has a characteristic smoky smell.

History[link]

The duffle coat owes its popularity to the British Royal Navy, who issued a camel-coloured variant of it as an item of warm clothing during World War I. The design of the coat was modified slightly and widely issued during World War II. In the Navy, it was referred to as a "convoy coat".^[1] Field Marshal Montgomery was a famous wearer of the coat,^[2] as a means of identifying himself with his troops, leading to another nickname, "Monty coat". Large stocks of post-war military surplus coats available at reasonable prices to the general public meant that these coats became a ubiquitous and popular item of clothing in the 1950s and 1960s. The British firm Gloverall purchased surplus military supply of coats after World War II and have continued to still make the Monty ever since and in 1954 started producing their own version of the Duffle coat and continue to do so today still being Made In England. Gloverall made in the 50's what is known as today's Duffle by using leather fastenings and Buffalo horn toggles with a double faced checkback fabric. Every Duffle coat you see today in that configuration is a copy of that original made by Gloverall.

They were seen in the popular press as a form of uniform for stereotyped supporters of the left wing, as characterised by Labour leader Michael Foot. Other famous duffle coat wearers include members of Scottish band Belle and Sebastian, Tim Sadler, actor Dudley Moore, television character Jonathan Creek, children's book and television character Paddington Bear and Ed Helms as Andy Bernard in the popular American comedy The Office.

External links[link]

• Duffle Coat history by Gloverall

References[link]

Capitol K is the name under which Kristian Craig Robinson works as a musician combining electronica, found sounds and indie-pop. Born in Malta and raised in Dubai, Brunei and England, and now based in London, Capitol K is best known for the single Pillow which scraped into the top 100 UK Singles Chart at 99 on the 9th of March 2002.

Robinson was first signed to the record label Planet Mu and then to V2 before he created the Faith and Industry label which has released recent Capitol K material.

His early releases combined lo-fi elements with hi-fi production and electronically reproduced sounds that went someway to establishing the folktronica genre along with fellow artists and collaborators Leafcutter John and Tunng.

In 2000 he submitted a cover of the Prince song "Dance On" for the tribute album "If I Was Prince" released by Rex Records. "Dance On" is taken from Prince's album Lovesexy (1988).

K has also worked as a producer, notably recording and releasing Patrick Wolf's first album entitled Lycanthropy which has since been re-released by Tomlab. He has gone on to recorded artists such as Serafina Steer, Shimmy Rivers and and Canal, and Bradford Cox of the bands Deerhunter and Atlas Sound.

He was a member of the Brazilian singer Cibelle's band with whom he travelled all over the world on tour. More recently they have begun performing under the name Me Tarzan, You Jane.

K's most recent release is entitled Notes From Life on The Wire With a Wrecking Ball and was released in September 2008 on Faith & Industry. Much of the music was recorded with a band consisting of himself, Vladimiro Carboni and Felipe Pagani. This trio often perform live together. The album was preceded by the 7" Libertania/Go Go Go.

Since 2009 Capitol K has been playing synths and bongos with the Archie Bronson Outfit.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles/EPs[link]

References[link]

• Capitol K official homepage

This article on an electronic musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Frederick John Perry

Country	Great Britain
Born	(1909-05-18)18 May 1909 Stockport, Cheshire, England
Died	2 February 1995(1995-02-02) (aged 85) Melbourne, Australia
Turned pro	1937
Retired	1956
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HOF	1975 (member page)
Singles
Career record	106–12
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1934)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1934)
French Open	W (1935)
Wimbledon	W (1934, 1935, 1936)
US Open	W (1933, 1934, 1936)
Doubles
Career record	18-4
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1934)
French Open	W (1933)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	W (1932)
Wimbledon	W (1935, 1936)
US Open	W (1932)
Last updated on: 25 September 2010.

Fred Perry
Full name	PERRY Frederick John
Nationality	England
Medal record Men's table tennis Competitor for  England World Championships Gold 1929 Budapest Singles Bronze 1929 Budapest Doubles Bronze 1929 Budapest Team Silver 1928 Stockholm Doubles Bronze 1928 Stockholm Mixed Doubles Bronze 1928 Stockholm Team

Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row. Perry also became the last British player to win the men's Wimbledon championship in 1936.^[1]

Perry was the first player to win all four Grand Slam singles titles (though not all in the same year) and completed this "Career Grand Slam" at the age of 26.^[2] Although Perry began his tennis career aged 18, he was also a Table Tennis World Champion in 1929.^[3]

In 1933, Perry helped lead the Great Britain team to victory over France in the Davis Cup; the team's first success since 1912, followed by wins over the United States in 1934, 1935, and a fourth consecutive title with victory over Australia in 1936.^[2]

Perry was acclaimed across the tennis world, but was not universally admired in his homeland, and was widely ostracised by the tennis establishment for turning professional after completing a hat-trick of Wimbledon singles triumphs.^[1][4] After becoming disillusioned with the class-conscious nature of the Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain, the working-class Perry moved to the United States before becoming a naturalised US citizen in 1938. In 1942, he was drafted into the US Air Force during the Second World War.^[5]

Despite his unprecedented contribution to British tennis, Perry was not accorded full recognition by tennis authorities until his twilight years.^[1] In 1984, a statue of Perry was unveiled at Wimbledon, and in the same year Perry became the only tennis player listed in a survey of 2,000 Britons to find the ‘Best of the Best’ British sportsmen of the 20th century.^[4]

It's not well known, but Fred Perry was also the Tennis Table World Champion in 1929^[6], being the only player in history to have won at least one Major tournament in both tennis and ping-pong.

Early life[link]

The house where Fred Perry was born in Stockport, Cheshire.

Perry was born in Stockport, Cheshire in 1909 where his father, Samuel Perry (1877–1954), was a cotton spinner. For the first decade of his life, he also lived in Bolton and Wallasey because his father was involved in local politics. Perry moved to Ealing in London aged nine when his father became the national secretary of the Co-operative Party after World War I. His father became the Co-operative Party Member of Parliament for Kettering in 1929.

Perry first began to play tennis on the public courts near his family's housing estate. He was educated at Ealing Grammar School for Boys.

Amateur status[link]

In 1928-29, Perry won several medals in the single, double, and team events in the World Table Tennis Championships.^[7] He had exceptional speed and played with the Shakehand style, attacking the ball low and on the rise.

Along with the US, French and Australian Open, Perry won the Wimbledon men's title three times in succession between 1934 and 1936. His final triumph was a 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 victory over the German Baron Gottfried von Cramm which lasted less less than 45 minutes. It became the quickest final in the 20th century and the second shortest of all time.

Perry's success attracted the adoration of the crowds at Wimbledon particularly as he contrasted sharply from the privileged background of most patrons and players associated with the All England Club at that time.

In the Davis Cup, Perry led the Great Britain team to four consecutive victories between 1933-1936, with wins over France in 1933, the United States in 1934 and 1935, and Australia in 1936. Perry competed in a total of 20 Davis Cup matches, winning 34 of his 38 rubbers in singles, and 11 out of 14 in doubles.^[2]

Professional career[link]

After three years as the world No. 1 tennis amateur player, Perry turned professional in 1937. This led to him being virtually ostracised by the British tennis establishment. For the next two years he played lengthy tours against the powerful American player Elly Vines. In 1937 they played 61 matches in the United States, with Vines winning 32 and Perry 29. They then sailed to England, where they played a brief tour. Perry won six matches out of nine, so they finished the year tied at 35 victories each. Most observers at the time considered Perry to be the world No. 1 for the fourth year in a row, sharing the title, however, with both Vines and the amateur Don Budge. The following year, 1938, the tour was even longer, and this time Vines beat Perry 49 matches to 35. Budge, winner of the amateur Grand Slam, was clearly the World No. 1 player. In 1939 Budge turned professional and played a series of matches against both Vines and Perry, beating Vines 22 times to 17 and Perry by 28 victories to 8.^[8][9][10]

Personal life[link]

Perry opened the Riddlesdown Lawn Tennis Club in 1935 with an exhibition match.

Perry was one of the leading bachelors of the 1930s and his off-court romances were sensationalised in the world press. Perry had a romantic relationship with the actress Marlene Dietrich and in 1934 he announced his engagement to the British actress Mary Lawson, but the relationship fell apart after Perry relocated to America. In 1935 he married an American film star Helen Vinson, but their marriage ended in divorce in 1940. In the meanwhile, Perry had abandoned his British nationality and become an American citizen. In 1941 he was briefly married to a model, Sandra Breaux, but then, in 1945, he married Lorraine Walsh, but the marriage ended quickly. Perry's final marriage to Barbara Riese in 1952 lasted forty years, until his death.^[11] They had two children Penny and David. The sister of Barbara (Bobby) Riese was the actress Patricia Roc.

Perry had one sister, Sylvia, and has a great-nephew and great-niece, Daniel and Laura Nightingale.^[12] Perry died in hospital in Melbourne, Australia after breaking ribs following a fall in a hotel bathroom.

Sporting legacy[link]

Perry is considered by some to have been one of the greatest male players to have ever played the game. In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, called Perry one of the six greatest players of all time.^[13]

Kings of the Court, a video-tape documentary made in 1997 in conjunction with the International Tennis Hall of Fame, named Perry one of the ten greatest players of all time. But this documentary only considered those players who played before the Open era of tennis that began in 1968, with the exception of Rod Laver, who spanned both eras, so that all of the more recent great players are missing.

Kramer, however, had several caveats about Perry. He says that Bill Tilden once called Perry "the world's worst good player". Kramer says that Perry was "extremely fast; he had a hard body with sharp reflexes, and he could hit a forehand with a snap, slamming it on the rise—and even on the fastest grass. That shot was nearly as good as Segura's two-handed forehand." His only real weakness, says Kramer, "was his backhand. Perry hit underslice off that wing about 90 percent of the time, and eventually at the very top levels—against Vines and Budge—that was what did him in. Whenever an opponent would make an especially good shot, Perry would cry out 'Very clevah.' I never played Fred competitively, but I heard enough from other guys that 'Very clevah' drove a lot of opponents crazy."

Kramer also says that in spite of his many victories, both as an amateur and as a professional, Perry was an "opportunist, a selfish and egotistical person, and he never gave a damn about professional tennis. He was through as a player the instant he turned pro. He was a great champion, and he could have helped tennis, but it wasn't in his interest so he didn't bother." Kramer then recounts several instances in which it was clear to him that Perry was losing matches in which he had given up because he "wanted to make sure that the crowd understood that this was all beneath him."

Perry, however, recalled his days on the professional tour differently. He maintained that "there was never any easing up in his tour matches with Ellsworth Vines and Bill Tilden since there was the title of World Pro Champion at stake." He said "I must have played Vines in something like 350 matches, yet there was never any fixing as most people thought. There were always people willing to believe that our pro matches weren't strictly on the level, that they were just exhibitions. But as far as we were concerned, we always gave everything we had."^[14]

A final comment from Kramer is that Perry unwittingly "screwed up men's tennis in England, although this wasn't his fault. The way he could hit a forehand—snap it off like a ping-pong shot—Perry was a physical freak. Nobody else could be taught to hit a shot that way. But the kids over there copied Perry's style, and it ruined them. Even after Perry faded out of the picture, the coaches there must have kept using him as a model."

Clothing label[link]

A statue of Fred Perry at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon.

In the late 1940s, Perry was approached by Tibby Wegner, an Austrian footballer who had invented an anti-perspirant device worn around the wrist. Perry made a few changes to create the first sweatband.

Wegner's next idea was to produce a sports shirt, which was to be made from white knitted cotton pique with short sleeves and a buttoned placket like René Lacoste's shirts. Launched at Wimbledon in 1952, the Fred Perry tennis shirt was an immediate success.

The white polo shirt was only supplemented in the late 50s when mods began demanding more varied colour palettes. The Fred Perry shirt became the garment-of-choice for diverse groups of teenagers throughout the 1960s and 70s, ranging from the skinheads to the Northern soul scene.

The brand's logo is a laurel wreath. It was based on the original symbol for Wimbledon. The logo, which appears on the left breast of a garment, is stitched into the fabric of the shirt.^[15]

The brand is now owned by a Japanese corporation,^[16] The brand was previously the clothing sponsor of British tennis player Andy Murray.

Memorials[link]

Wimbledon[link]

A bronze statue of Fred Perry was erected at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London in 1984 to mark the 50th anniversary of his first singles championship. It is located at the Church Road gate.

Fred Perry Way[link]

The Fred Perry Way is a designated walking route through the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport which opened in September 2002. The 14 miles (23 km) route from Woodford in the south to Reddish in the north, combines rural footpaths, quiet lanes and river valleys with urban landscapes and parklands. Features along the route include Houldsworth Mill and Square, the start of the River Mersey at the confluence of the River Tame and River Goyt, Stockport Town Centre, Vernon and Woodbank Parks and the Happy Valley. The route also passes through Woodbank Park where Perry played some exhibition tennis matches.

Fred Perry House[link]

A Blue Plaque at the house where Fred Perry was born in Stockport, Cheshire.

The Fred Perry House in Stockport was opened by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and John Perry, Fred Perry's grandson in November 2010. The building, which is the borough's new civic headquarters, will be used by various local government agencies.^[17]

World[link]

Perry was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1975. Perry also has a street named after him in El Paso, Texas.

World Table Tennis Championships[link]

Gold:1; Silver 1; Bronze 4

• 1928 Stockholm: Silver Doubles; Bronze Mixed Doubles; Bronze Team.
• 1929 Budapest: Gold Singles; Bronze Doubles; Bronze Team.

Tennis Grand Slams[link]

Singles[link]

Finals:8 titles

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1933	U.S. Championships	Jack Crawford	6–3, 11–13, 4–6, 6–0, 6–1
1934	Australian Championships	Jack Crawford	6–3, 7–5, 6–1
1934	Wimbledon Championships	Jack Crawford	6–3, 6–0, 7–5
1934	U.S. Championships (2)	Wilmer Allison	6–4, 6–3, 3–6, 1–6, 8–6
1935	French Championships	Gottfried von Cramm	6–3, 3–6, 6–1, 6–3
1935	Wimbledon Championships (2)	Gottfried von Cramm	6–2, 6–4, 6–4
1936	Wimbledon Championships (3)	Gottfried von Cramm	6–1, 6–1, 6–0
1936	U.S. Championships (3)	Don Budge	2–6, 6–2, 8–6, 1–6, 10–8

Finals:2 runners up

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1935	Australian Championships	Jack Crawford	6–2, 4–6, 4–6, 4–6
1936	French Championships	Gottfried von Cramm	0–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–2, 0–6

Doubles[link]

• Australian Open (1934)
• French Open (1936)

Mixed doubles[link]

• French Open (1932)
• Wimbledon (1935, 1936)
• US Open (1932)

Pro Slam Singles[link]

• US Pro Championships (1938, 1941)

Performance timeline[link]

Fred Perry joined professional tennis in 1937 and was unable to compete in the Grand Slams tournaments.

See also[link]

• List of male tennis players
• List of World Table Tennis Champions
• Fred Perry Grand Slam record

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• The History of Professional Tennis (2003), Joe McCauley

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fred Perry

• International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Official Wimbledon website profile
• Fred Perry Official website
• Fred Perry Way route map
• Fred Perry record