Xylophone

Percussion instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	111.212 (Directly struck idiophone)
Developed	Antiquity

The xylophone (from the Greek words ξύλον — xylon, "wood"^[1] + φωνή —phonē, "sound, voice",^[2] meaning "wooden sound") is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden (not steel) bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African and Asian instruments, diatonic in many western children's instruments, or chromatic for orchestral use. The term may be used generally, to include all such instruments, such as the marimba and balafon or, more specifically, to refer to an orchestral instrument of somewhat higher pitch range than the chromatic marimba. It is sometimes mistakenly used of similar lithophones and metallophone instruments of the glockenspiel type such as the pixiphone.

Description[link]

Cameroon, ~1914

The modern western xylophone has bars of rosewood, padak, or various synthetic materials such as fiberglass or fiberglass-reinforced plastic which allows a louder sound.^[3] Some can be as small a range as 2½ octaves but concert xylophones are typically 3½ or 4 octaves. The xylophone is a transposing instrument: its parts are written one octave below the sounding notes. Xylophones should be played with very hard rubber, polyball, or acrylic mallets. Sometimes medium to hard rubber mallets, very hard core, or yarn mallets are used for softer effects. Lighter tones can be created on xylophones by using wooden-headed mallets made from rosewood, ebony, birch, or other hard woods.^[4]

Concert xylophones have tube resonators below the bars to enhance the tone and sustain. Frames are made of wood or cheap steel tubing: more expensive xylophones feature height adjustment and more stability in the stand. In other music cultures some versions have gourds^[3] that act as Helmholtz resonators. Others are "trough" xylophones with a single hollow body that acts as a resonator for all the bars.^[5] Old methods consisted of arranging the bars on tied bundles of straw, and, as still practiced today, placing the bars adjacent to each other in a ladder-like layout. Ancient mallets were made of willow wood with spoon-like bowls on the beaten ends.^[3]

History[link]

Kulintang a Kayo, a Philippine xylophone

The instrument has obscure, ancient origins. It is sometimes asserted that it was invented independently in both Africa and Asia.^[3] According to Nettl, however, it originated in southeast Asia and came to Africa c. 500 AD when a group of Malayo-Polynesian speaking peoples migrated to Africa. One piece of evidence for this is the similarity between East African xylophone orchestras and Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestras.^[6]

The Asian xylophone[link]

The earliest evidence of a xylophone is from the 9th Century in southeast Asia according to the Vienna Symphonic Library, and there is a model of a similar hanging wood instrument, dated to ca. 2000 BC in China.^[7] The xylophone-like ranat was used in Hindu regions (kashta tharang). Java and Bali use xylophones (called gambang) in gamelan ensembles. They still have traditional significance in Africa, Malaysia, Melanesia, Indonesia, Thailand, and regions of the Americas. The instrument was imported to South America by Africans, where it developed into the marimba.

The African xylophone[link]

The term marimba is also applied to various traditional folk instruments such as the West Africa balafon. Early forms were constructed of bars atop a gourd.^[8] The wood is first roasted around a fire before shaping the key to achieve the desired tone. The resonator is tuned to the key through careful choice of size of resonator, adjustment of the diameter of the mouth of the resonator using wasp wax and adjustment of the height of the key above the resonator. A skilled maker can produce startling amplification. The mallets used to play dibinda and mbila have heads made from natural rubber taken from a wild creeping plant.^[9] "Interlocking" or alternating rhythm features in Eastern African xylophone music such as that of the Makonde dimbila, the Yao mangolongondo or the Shirima mangwilo in which the opachera, the initial caller, is responded to by another player, the wakulela.^[10] This usually doubles an already rapid rhythmic pulse that may also co-exist with a counter-rhythm.

Mbila[link]

The Mbila (plural "Timbila") is associated with the Chopi people of the Inhambane Province, in southern Mozambique.^[9] It is not to be confused with the mbira. The style of music played with it "is believed to be the most sophisticated method of composition yet found among preliterate peoples."^[11] The gourd-resonated, equal-ratio heptatonic-tuned mbila of Mozambique is typically played in large ensembles in a choreographed dance, perhaps depicting a historical drama. Ensembles consist of around ten xylophones of three or four sizes. A full orchestra would have two bass instruments called gulu with three or four wooden keys played standing up using heavy mallets with solid rubber heads, three tenor dibinda, with ten keys and played seated, and the mbila itself, which has up to nineteen keys of which up to eight may be played simultaneously. The gulu uses gourds and the mbila and dibinda Masala apple shells as resonators. They accompany the dance with long compositions called ngomi or mgodo and consist of about 10 pieces of music grouped into 4 separate movements, with an overture, in different tempos and styles. The ensemble leader serves as poet, composer, conductor and performer, creating a text, improvising a melody partially based on the features of the Chopi tone language and composing a second countrapuntal line. The musicians of the ensemble partially improvise their parts. The composer then consults with the choreographer of the ceremony and adjustments are made.^[12] The longest and most important of these is the "Mzeno" which will include a song telling of an issue of local importance or even making fun of a prominent figure in the community.^[9] Performers include Eduardo Durão and Venancio Mbande.^[9][13]

Gyil[link]

The gyil (English pronunciation: /ˈdʒɪlə/ or /ˈdʒiːl/) is a pentatonic instrument common to the Gur-speaking populations in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire. The Gyil is the primary traditional instrument of the Dagara people of northern Ghana and Burkina Faso, and of the Lobi of Ghana, southern Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. The gyil is usually played in pairs, accompanied by a calabash gourd drum called a kuor. It can also be played by one person with the drum and the stick part as accompaniment, or by a soloist. Gyil duets are the traditional music of Dagara funerals. The instrument is generally played by men, who learn to play while young, however, there is no restriction on gender.

The Gyil's design is similar to the Balaba or Balafon used by the Mande-speaking Bambara, Dyula and Sosso peoples further west in southern Mali and western Burkina Faso, a region that shares many musical traditions with those of northern Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. It is made with 14 wooden keys of an African hardwood called liga attached to a wooden frame, below which hang calabash gourds.^[14] Spider web silk covers small holes in the gourds to produce a buzzing sound and antelope sinew and leather are used for the fastenings.^[14] The instrument is played with rubber-headed wooden mallets.

Silimba[link]

A silimba in a Zambian market

The silimba is a xylophone developed by the Lozi people in Barotseland, western Zambia.^[15] The tuned keys are tied atop resonating gourds.^[16] The silimba, or shinjimba, is used by the Nkoya people of Western Zambia at traditional royal ceremonies like the Kazanga Nkoya. The shilimba is now used in most parts of Zambia.

Akadinda and amadinda[link]

The akadinda and the amadinda are xylophone-like instruments originating in Buganda, in modern-day Uganda.^[17] The amadinda is made of twelve logs which are tuned in a pentatonic scale. It is played by three players. Two players sit opposite of each other and play the same logs in an interlocking technique in a fast tempo. It has no gourd resonators or buzzing tone, two characteristics of many other African xylophones.^[18]

The amadinda was an important instrument at the royal court in Buganda, the kingdom which gave Uganda its name. A special type of notation is now used for this xylophone, consisting of numbers and periods.^[19] as is also the case with the embaire, a type of xylophone originating in southern Uganda.^[19]

Balo[link]

The balo (balenjeh, behlanjeh) is used among the Mandinka people of West Africa. Its keys are mounted on gourds, and struck with mallets with rubber tips. The players typically wear iron cylinders and rings attached to their hands so that they jingle as they play.^[20]

The western xylophone[link]

Orchestral xylophone (left) and marimba

The first use of the term is comparatively recent: it came into use in Europe in the 1860s.^[21] The first use of a European orchestral xylophone was in Camille Saint-Saëns' "Danse Macabre", in 1874.^[3] The instrument had already been popularized to some extent by Michael Josef Gusikov,^[22] whose instrument was the five-row xylophone made of 28 crude wooden bars arranged in semitones in the form of a trapezoid and resting on straw supports. There were no resonators and it was played with spoon-shaped sticks. According to the musicologist Curt Sachs Gusikov performed in garden concerts, variety shows, and as a novelty at symphony concerts. The instrument was associated largely with the folk music of Eastern Europe, notably Poland and eastern Germany. An early version appeared in Slovakia^[23] and the earliest reference to a similar instrument came in the 14th century.^[24] German organist Arnold Schlick's 16th-century Spiegel der Orgelmacher und Organisten also mentions one.^[7]

The xylophone was used by early jazz bands and in vaudeville. Its bright, lively sound worked well the syncopated dance music of the 1920s and 1930s. Red Norvo, George Cary, George Hamilton Green, and Harry Breuer were well-known users. As time passed, the xylophone was exceeded in popularity by the vibraphone. The xylophone is a precursor to the vibraphone, which was developed in the 1920s. A xylophone with a range extending downwards into the marimba range is called a xylorimba.

Shostakovich was particularly fond of the instrument; it has prominent roles in much of his work, including most of his symphonies and his Cello Concerto No. 2. Modern xylophone players include Bob Becker, Evelyn Glennie and Ian Finkel.

In the U.S., there are Zimbabwean marimba bands in particularly high concentration in the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, and New Mexico, but bands exist from the East Coast through California and even to Hawaii and Alaska. The main event for this community is ZimFest, the annual Zimbabwean Music Festival. The bands are composed of instruments from high sopranos, through to lower soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass. Resonators are usually made with holes covered by thin cellophane (similar to the balafon) to achieve the characteristic buzzing sound. As of 2006, the repertoires of U. S. bands tends to have a great overlap, due to the common source of the Zimbabwean musician Dumisani Maraire, who was the key person who first brought Zimbawean music to the West, coming to the University of Washington in 1968.

Use in elementary education[link]

Three xylophones.

Many music educators use xylophones as a classroom resource to assist children's musical development. One method noted for its use of xylophones is Orff-Schulwerk, which combines the use of instruments, movement, singing and speech to develop children's musical abilities.^[25] Xylophones used in American general music classrooms are smaller, at about 1½ octaves, than the 2½ or more octave range of performance xylophones. The bass xylophone ranges are written from middle C to A an octave higher but sound one octave lower than written. The alto ranges are written from middle C to A an octave higher and sound as written. The soprano ranges are written from middle C to A an octave higher but sound one octave higher than written.^[26]

According to Professor Andrew Tracey, marimbas were introduced to Zimbabwe in 1960.^[27] Zimbabwean marimba based upon Shona music has also become popular in the West, which adopted the original use of these instruments to play transcriptions of mbira dzavadzimu (as well as nyunga nyunga and matepe) music. The first of these transcriptions had originally been used for music education in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean instruments are often in a diatonic C major scale, which allows them to be played with a 'western-tuned' mbira (G nyamaropa), sometimes with an added F# key placed inline.

See also[link]

• Balafon
• Timpani
• Glockenspiel
• Kolintang
• Lamellophone
• Lithophone
• Marimba
• Metallophone
• Musical Stones of Skiddaw
• Thongophone
• Vibraphone
• Music of Mozambique
• Music of Zambia

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• Nettl, Bruno (1956). Music in Primitive Culture. Harvard University Press.
• Paco, Celso. "A Luta Continua". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 579–584. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
• Tracey, Hugh. (1948, reprinted 1970). Chopi Musicians: their Music, Poetry, and Instruments. London: International African Institute and Oxford University Press. SBN 19 724182 4.
• Hallis, Ron and Hallis, Ophera. (1987). Chopi Music of Mozambique. 28 minutes. 16 mm Video.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: xylophone

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article xylophone.

• The Gyil
• Bernard Woma, noted gyil player and teacher
• KOGIRI CLUB
• The 1973 Mgodo wa Mbanguzi A complete performance of traditional music and dance composed by a Chopi village in southern Mozambique. Produced by Gei Zantzinger and Andrew Tracey.
• Timbila Ta Venancio Venancio Mbande album at Amazon
• Timbila Eduardo Durão album at Amazon.
• Center for Traditional Music and Dance
• Representations of the mbila in Mukondeni Art Gallery, South Africa

Sir Patrick Moore CBE, FRS, FRAS
Born	Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore (1923-03-04) 4 March 1923 (age 89)[1] Pinner, Middlesex, England
Occupation	Writer, broadcaster and astronomer
Television	The Sky at Night
Political party	United Country Party (dissolved 1980)
Website
sirpatrickmoore.com/biography/

Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS (born 4 March 1923) is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of astronomy among the British general public.^{[citation needed]}

He is a former president of the British Astronomical Association, co-founder and former president of the Society for Popular Astronomy (SPA), author of over 70 books on astronomy, and presenter of the world's longest-running television series with the same original presenter, The Sky at Night on the BBC. As an amateur astronomer, he became known as a specialist on observing the Moon and creating the Caldwell catalogue. Idiosyncrasies such as his rapid diction and monocle have made him a popular and instantly recognisable figure on British television.

Moore is also a self-taught xylophone and piano player and an accomplished composer, and a former amateur cricketer, golfer, and chess player. In addition to his many popular science books, he has written numerous works of fiction, and was the presenter of the 1990s TV series GamesMaster. An opponent of fox hunting, he is an outspoken critic of the European Union, and served as chairman of the short-lived anti-immigration United Country Party. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II; his fiancée was killed during the war and he has never married or had children.

Early life[link]

Moore was born in Pinner in Middlesex on 4 March 1923 to Captain Charles Trachsel Caldwell-Moore MC (died 1947^[2]) and Gertrude, née White (died 1981^[2]) and moved to Bognor Regis, and later East Grinstead (both in Sussex), where he spent his childhood.^[1] His youth was marked by heart problems, which left him in poor health, and as a result he was educated at home by private tutors.^[1] He developed an interest in astronomy at the age of six^[3] and joined the British Astronomical Association at the age of eleven.^[4] He was invited to run a small observatory in East Grinstead at the age of fourteen, after his mentor – the man who ran the observatory – was killed in a road accident.^[5] At the age of sixteen he began wearing a monocle – an unusual step for a young man even in 1939 – after an oculist told him his right eye was weaker than his left eye.^[6] Three years later, he began wearing a full set of dentures.^[7]

Moore lied about his age in order to join the RAF and fight in World War II at the age of sixteen,^[8] and from 1940 until 1945 he served as a navigator in RAF Bomber Command, reaching the rank of Flight lieutenant. He first received his flying training in Canada, during which time he met Albert Einstein and Orville Wright while on leave in New York.^[9] The war had a significant influence on his life: his only romance ended when his fiancée, a nurse called Lorna, was killed by a bomb which struck her ambulance. Moore subsequently remarked that he never married because "there was no one else for me...second best is no good for me...I would have liked a wife and family, but it was not to be."^[10] In his autobiography he stated that after sixty years he still thought about her, and that because of her death "if I saw the entire German nation sinking into the sea, I could be relied upon to help push it down."^[11]

Moore stated that he was "exceptionally close" to his mother Gertrude,^[2] a talented artist who lived with him at his Selsey home, which is still adorned with her paintings of "bogeys" – little friendly aliens – which she regularly produced and which were sent out annually as Moore's Christmas cards.^[12] Moore wrote the foreword for Gertrude's 1974 book Mrs Moore In Space.^[13]

Career in astronomy[link]

After the war, Moore rejected a government grant to study at Cambridge University, citing a wish to "stand on my own two feet".^[4] He wrote his first book in 1952, Guide to the Moon (later retitled Patrick Moore on the Moon), which was published a year later.^[4] He wrote it on a 1908 Woodstock typewriter, which he continued to use in writing every book of his career.^[11] He also began teaching, first in Woking and then at Holmewood House School in Langton Green.^[14] His second book was a translation of a work of French astronomer Gérard de Vaucouleurs (Moore speaks fluent French).^[15] After writing his second original science book, Guide to the Planets, he penned his first work of fiction, entitled The Master of the Moon.^[16] This was the first of numerous young-adult fiction books based on space adventures (including the late 1970s series the Scott Saunders Space Adventure); he did write a more adult novel as well as a farce novel titled Ancient Lights, though he did not wish to find a publisher for either work.^[17]

During his time as a teacher at Holmewood he set up at his home a 12 ½ inch reflector telescope, which he kept with him into his old age.^[5] He developed a particular interest in the Moon, particularly the far side, a small part of which is visible from Earth as a result of the Moon's libration; the Moon has remained his specialist subject all through his life.^[5] He named the Mare Orientale (Eastern Sea) in 1946,^[18] along with H P Wilkins, though German astronomer Julius Heinrich Franz has also been credited with the discovery.^[19] Moore was also credited with the discovery of the transient lunar phenomenon, describing the short-lived glowing areas on the lunar surface in 1968.^[18]

He made his first television appearance in a debate over the existence of flying saucers following a spate of sightings in the 1950s; Moore argued against Lord Dowding and a few other UFO proponents.^[20] Following this, he was invited to present a live astronomy programme; he later noted that the greatest difficulty was in settling on an appropriate theme tune, Jean Sibelius' Pelléas et Mélisande was eventually chosen, and remained a key part of the show throughout its existence.^[21] The name of the show was originally planned to be Star Map, before The Sky at Night was thought of as a better enticement in the Radio Times.^[21] On 26 April 1957, at 10:30 pm, Moore presented the first episode of The Sky at Night, which was about the Comet Arend–Roland.^[21] The show was pitched to casual viewers up to professional astronomers, in a format which has remained consistent since its inception.^[22] Moore has presented every episode each month, except July 2004, when he was replaced by Chris Lintott because Moore suffered a near-fatal bout of food poisoning caused by eating a contaminated goose egg.^[23] Moore appears in the Guinness World Records book as the world's longest-serving TV presenter, by virtue of having presented the show since 1957. Since 2004, the programme has been presented from Moore's home, as he is no longer able to travel to the studios, owing to arthritis. Over the years he received many more financially lucrative offers to take his programme onto other networks, but has rejected them because he holds a 'gentlemen's agreement' with the BBC.^[24]

One of the highlights of the series came in 1959, when as a reward for his assistance in mapping the Lunar surface the Russians allowed Moore to be the first Westerner to see the photographic results of the Luna 3 probe, and to show them live on air.^[25] Less successful was the transmission of the Luna 4 probe, which ran into technical difficulties – it was also around this time that Moore famously swallowed a large fly that flew into his mouth; both episodes were live and so Moore had to continue on regardless.^[26] He was later invited to visit the Soviet Union, where he met Yuri Gagarin, the first man to journey into outer space.^[27] For the fiftieth episode of Sky at Night, broadcast September 1961, Moore became the first person ever to show a live broadcast of a direct telescope view of a planet; the result was another unintended 'comedy episode', as cloud obscured all view of outer space.^[28]

In 1965, he was appointed Director of the newly constructed Armagh Planetarium in Northern Ireland, a post he held until 1968.^[29] His stay outside England would be short partly because of the beginning of the The Troubles, a dispute Moore wanted no part of.^[30] He was appointed Armagh County secretary for the Scout movement, but resigned after he was told not to allow Catholics.^[31] In developing the Planetarium, Moore travelled to Japan to secure a Goto Mars projector.^[32] He also helped with the redevelopment of the Birr Telescope south of the border.^[33] Later on he was also a key figure in the development of the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath.^[34]

In June 1968 he returned to England, settling in his current home in Selsey after resigning his post in Armagh.^[35] During the Apollo programme, Moore was a presenter of the Apollo 8 mission, stating that "this is one of the great moments of human history", only to have his broadcast interrupted by a showing of Jackanory.^[36] He was also a presenter of the Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 mission, and was co-presenter along with James Burke, of the BBC's television's coverage of the Moon landing missions.^[36] Moore does not remember his words at "The Eagle Has Landed" moment, and the BBC lost all the tapes of the broadcast.^[37] He continued to present Apollo missions 12 through 17.^[38]

He was elected as a member of the International Astronomical Union in 1966;^[39][40] having twice edited the Union's General Assembly newsletters he remains the only amateur astronomer to be a member of the IAU.^[41] He attempted to establish an International Union of Amateur Astronomers, though this venture failed due to lack of interest.^[42] During the 1970s and 80s, he reported on the Voyager and Pioneer programes, often from NASA headquarters.^[43] During this time he became increasingly annoyed by conspiracy theorists asking ludicrous questions, as well as by reporters who often asked him questions such as "Why waste money on space research when there is so much to be done here?"; he later said then when asked these type of questions "I know that I'm dealing with an idiot."^[44] Another question that annoys him is "what is the difference between astronomy and astrology?"^[45] Despite this he always made a point of responding to all letters delivered to his house, and he sent a variety of standard replies to all letters asking basic questions, as well as those from conspiracy theorists, proponents of hunting and 'cranks'.^[46] Despite his fame, as of 2003 his phone number was listed in the telephone directory and he was happy to show members of the public round his observatory.^[47]

He compiled the Caldwell catalogue of astronomical objects and in 1982, asteroid 2602 Moore was named in his honour.^[48] In February 1986 he presented a special Sky at Night episode on the approach of Halley's Comet, though he later stated that the BBC's better-funded Horizon team "made a complete hash of the programme."^[49] In January 1998, part of Moore's observatory in his garden was destroyed by a tornado, which passed through the area; the observatory was subsequently rebuilt.^[50] Moore campaigned unsuccessfully against the closure of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in 1998.^[51] One of Moore's favourite type of The Sky at Night episodes have been those that focus on an eclipse, and he has stated that "there is nothing in nature to match the glory of a total eclipse of the Sun."^[52] Moore was the BBC's presenter for the total eclipse in England in 1999 (the next such event will occur in 2090), though the view he and his team had from Cornwall was completely obscured by cloud.^[53] Moore was the patron for the South Downs Planetarium & Science Centre, which was opened in 2001.^[54]

On 1 April 2007, a 50th anniversary semi-spoof edition of the programme was broadcast on BBC One, with Moore depicted as a Time Lord and featuring, as special guests, amateur astronomers Jon Culshaw (impersonating Moore presenting the very first The Sky at Night) and Brian May. On 6 May 2007, a special edition of The Sky at Night was broadcast on BBC One, to commemorate the programme's 50th anniversary, with a party in Moore's garden at Selsey, attended by amateur and professional astronomers. Moore celebrated the record breaking 700th episode of The Sky at Night at his home in Sussex on 6 March 2011. He presented with the help of special guests Professor Brian Cox, Jon Culshaw and Lord Rees, the Astronomer Royal.

It was reported in January 2012 that because of arthritis and the effects of an old spinal injury he was no longer able to operate a telescope. However he was still able to present The Sky at Night from his home.^[55]

Activism and political beliefs[link]

Moore is noted for his conservative political views. In the 1970s, he was Chairman of the anti-immigration United Country Party, a position he held until the party was absorbed by the New Britain Party in 1980. He campaigned for Edmund Iremonger in 1979, as both men agreed that the French and Germans were not to be trusted.^[56] Iremonger and Moore gave up political campaigning after deciding that they were Thatcherites.^[56] Moore later campaigned on behalf of Douglas Denny (UKIP) for the Chichester constituency in 2001.^[57] A Tory voter for many years, he now remains a supporter and patron of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party.^[58] He briefly supported the Liberal Party in the 1950s, though condemned the Liberal Democrats, stating that he believed they could alter their position radically and "would happily join up with the BNP or the Socialist Workers Party... if [by doing so] they could win a few extra votes."^[57] He has also stated his admiration for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party,^[59] and wrote in his autobiography that Liechtenstein had the best political system in the world.^[60] Moore was a critic of George W. Bush's Iraq War,^[61] and has stated that "the world was a safer place when Ronald Reagan was in the White House".^[62]

Proudly declaring himself to be English (rather than British) with "not the slightest wish to integrate with anybody".^[59] Moore denies being ultra-right despite asking "can anyone please tell me where he [Enoch Powell] went wrong?",^[63] citing his opposition to blood sports and capital punishment.^[59] He devoted an entire chapter ("The Weak Arm of the Law") of his autobiography to denouncing modern British society, particularly "motorist-hunting" policemen, sentencing policy, as well as the Race Relations Act, Sex Discrimination Act and the "Thought Police / Politically Correct Brigade".^[64] He later wrote that "homosexuals are mainly responsible for the spreading of AIDS (the Garden of Eden is home of Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve)".^[65]

In an interview with Radio Times, he provocatively asserted that the BBC was being "ruined by women", commenting that: "The trouble is that the BBC now is run by women and it shows: soap operas, cooking, quizzes, kitchen-sink plays. You wouldn’t have had that in the golden days." In response, a BBC spokeswoman described Moore as being one of TV's best-loved figures and remarked that his "forthright" views were "what we all love about him".^[66] In his June 2002 appearance on Room 101 he banished female news readers into Room 101.^[67]

"I may be accused of being a dinosaur, but I would remind you that dinosaurs ruled the Earth for a very long time."

—Moore responds to those who criticise his Euro-sceptic and right-wing beliefs.^[68]

He is an opponent of fox hunting and blood sports.^[69] Though not a vegetarian, he has stated that he holds "a deep contempt for people who go out to kill merely to amuse themselves."^[70] He has been a lifelong animal lover, actively supporting many animal welfare charities (particularly Cats Protection). He has a particular affinity for cats and has stated that "a catless house is a soulless house".^[71]

Other interests and popular culture[link]

Because of his long-running television career and eccentric demeanour, Moore is widely recognised and has become a popular public figure. In 1976, this was used to good effect for an April Fool's spoof on BBC Radio 2, when Moore announced that at 9.47 am, a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that meant that if listeners could jump at the exact moment of an imminent celestial event they would experience a temporary floating sensation.^[72] The BBC received many telephone calls from listeners alleging that they actually experienced the sensation.^[72] He also was a key figure in the establishment of the International Birdman event in Bognor Regis, which was initially held in Selsey.^[73]

Aside from presenting The Sky at Night, Moore has appeared in a number of other television and radio shows, including Just a Minute and, from 1992 until 1998, playing the role of GamesMaster in the television show of the same name: a character who professed to know everything there is to know about video gaming.^[74] He would issue video game challenges and answer questions on cheats and tips presented in the Consoletation Zone.

Moore also was a keen amateur actor, appearing regularly in local plays.^[75] He also appeared in self-parodying roles, in several episodes of The Goodies and on the Morecambe and Wise show, and also broadcast with Kenneth Horne only a few days before Horne's death.^[76] He had a minor role in the fourth radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and a lead role in the Radio 1 sci-fi BBC/20th Century Fox radio play, Independence Day UK in which amongst other things, Moore fills in as a Navigator. He also appeared in It's a Celebrity Knockout, Blankety Blank and Face the Music. He has appeared on television at least once in a film prop space suit. He has also appeared as himself in the Doctor Who story The Eleventh Hour.

A keen amateur chess player, Moore often carries a pocket set around with him and has been honoured with the title of Vice President of Sussex Junior Chess Association.^[77] In 2003, he presented Sussex Junior David Howell with the best young chess player award on Carlton Television's Britain's Brilliant Prodigies show. Moore himself had represented Sussex in his youth.^[27]

Moore was also an enthusiastic amateur cricketer, playing for the Selsey Cricket Club well into his seventies.^[78] He also played for the Lord's Taverners, a cricketing charity team, as a bowler with an unorthodox action. Though an accomplished leg spin bowler, he was an 11th order batter and a poor fielder.^[79] The jacket notes to his 1960s book "Suns, Myths and Men" state that his hobbies include "chess, which he plays with a peculiar leg-spin, and cricket." He also played golf, and won a Pro-Am competition in Southampton in 1975.^[80]

Until being forced to give up owing to arthritis, Moore was a keen musician and accomplished xylophone player, having first played the instrument at the age of thirteen.^[81] He has composed a substantial corpus of works, including two operettas.^[82] Moore has also had a ballet entitled 'Lyra's Dream' written to his music. He once performed at a Royal Command Performance, and has also performed a duet with Evelyn Glennie.^[83] In 1998, as a guest on Have I Got News For You, he accompanied the show's closing theme tune on the xylophone and as a pianist, he once accompanied Albert Einstein playing The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns on the violin (of which no recording was made).^[84] In 1981 he performed a solo xylophone rendition of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." in a Royal Variety Performance.^[85]

On 7 March 2006 he was hospitalised and fitted with a pacemaker because of a cardiac abnormality.^[86] Before such health problems he was an extensive traveller, and has set foot on all seven continents, (including Antarctica); he has stated that his favourite two countries were Iceland and Norway.^[87]

He is a friend of Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May, who is an occasional guest on The Sky at Night.^[88] The pair have co-authored a book with Chris Lintott, entitled Bang! The Complete History of the Universe. In February 2011, Moore completed (with Robin Rees and Iain Nicolson) his comprehensive Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy for Cambridge University Press. In addition he wrote Bureaucrats: How to Annoy Them under the pseudonym R. T. Fishall, which was published by Sidgwick & Jackson in 1981.^[89] In 1986 he was identified as the co-author of a book published in 1954 called Flying Saucer from Mars, attributed to Cedric Allingham, which was intended as a practical joke on UFO believers;^[90] Moore has never admitted his involvement. He once joined the Flat Earth Society as an ironic joke.^[91]

Honours and appointments[link]

In 1945, Moore was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1968, he was appointed OBE and promoted to CBE in 1988. In 1999 Moore became the Honorary President of the East Sussex Astronomical Society, a position which he still holds. In 2001, he was knighted for "services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting".^[92] In the same year, he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society, allowing him to use the letters FRS after his name.^[93] In June 2002, he was appointed as Hon. Vice President of the Society for the History of Astronomy. Also in 2002, Buzz Aldrin presented Moore a BAFTA for services to television.^[94]

Bibliography[link]

Moore has written a large number of popular books. The website Astronomy Now Online estimates that Moore has published over a thousand books on popular science, including all known editions and reprints.^[95] The list below is therefore not exhaustive:

See also[link]

• Jack Horkheimer (American counterpart)

References[link]

Specific

General

• Moore, Patrick (2003), The Autobiography, Sutton Publishing, ISBN 0-7472-6427-9 

External links[link]

• Biography at the BBC website
• Bang! The Complete History of the Universe by Brian May, Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott