1/30/2017

Michael Fagan And The Bollock Brothers - God Save The Queen - Charly Records - CYX 7-205 - 1983

In June 1982 Michael Fagan snuck into Buckinham palace. Wikipedia says "he shimmied up the drainpipe, startling a housemaid, who called security. When guards reached the scene, Fagan had disappeared, leading them to believe the housemaid was mistaken. Fagan claims he entered the palace through an unlocked window on the roof and spent the next half-hour eating cheddar cheese and crackers and wandering around. He tripped several alarms, but they were faulty. He claims to have viewed royal portraits and rested for a while on the throne. He also speaks of entering the postroom, where Diana, Princess of Wales had hidden presents for her first son, William. Fagan said he drank half a bottle of white wine before becoming tired and leaving."

A month later he did it again. "At around 7:00am on that morning Fagan scaled Buckingham Palace's 14-foot-high perimeter wall – topped with revolving spikes and barbed wire – and shimmied up a drainpipe before wandering into the Queen's bedroom at about 7:15am. An alarm sensor had detected his prior movements inside the palace but police thought the alarm was faulty and silenced it. Fagan wandered the palace corridors for several minutes before reaching the section where the royal apartments were located. In an anteroom Fagan broke a glass ashtray, cutting his hand. He was still carrying a fragment of the glass when he entered the Queen's bedroom. The Queen woke when he disturbed a curtain, and initial reports said Fagan sat on the edge of her bed. But in a 2012 interview, he said she left the room immediately to seek security. She had phoned the palace switchboard twice for police but none had arrived. Fagan then asked for some cigarettes, which were brought by a maid, who had been cleaning a neighbouring room. The duty footman, Paul Whybrew, who had been walking the Queen's dogs, then appeared, followed by two policemen on palace duty who removed Fagan. The incident had happened as the armed police officer outside the royal bedroom came off duty before his replacement arrived.

Since it was then a civil wrong rather than a criminal offence, Fagan was not charged for trespassing in the Queen's bedroom. He was charged with theft (of the wine), but the charges were dropped when he was committed for psychiatric evaluation. He spent the next six months in a psychiatric hospital before being released on 21 January 1983. Fagan's mother later said, "He thinks so much of the Queen. I can imagine him just wanting to simply talk and say hello and discuss his problems.""

This electronic new wave version of God Save the Queen has slightly friendlier lyrics confirming Fagan's mother's sentiment as he says things like, "I mean it kids, I love the Queen."

 

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