The voice of L J K Setright
Discussion
If you have ever wondered what L J K Setright (pictured below) sounded like, you can find out here:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_7O6FIUJgY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_7O6FIUJgY
I used to love his writing! I used to buy CAR magazine every month, mainly for LJKS. Although there were a number of good writers in CAR at the time, LJKS was by far the best. Whether in the latest exotica, or explaining his latest escapade in some unreliable heap (a situation with which I was, and still am, better familiar), his prose was captivating.
I have never heard his voice before, hadn't even imagined what he might sound like - but now that I hear, I ask - how could he possibly have sounded differently? Every syllable, every letter, perfectly enunciated.
I can't remember the last time I bought CAR - many many years ago though.
Thanks BV, excellent find.
I have never heard his voice before, hadn't even imagined what he might sound like - but now that I hear, I ask - how could he possibly have sounded differently? Every syllable, every letter, perfectly enunciated.
I can't remember the last time I bought CAR - many many years ago though.
Thanks BV, excellent find.
I am collecting many of Setright's writings. For example, I tracked down a copy of an article he wrote in 1974 called "Lotus, The Golden Mean" on Amazon the other day.
I am not sufficiently enamoured of Bristols [insert standard Frankie Howerd/Sid James gag here] to pay the high prices sought for copies of Setright's book on that subject. I am an oik who bought my own furniture, so I could never have a Bristol anyway.
Setright's motorbike writing was fun. He railed against disc brakes on motorbikes when they first became a thing.
I am not sufficiently enamoured of Bristols [insert standard Frankie Howerd/Sid James gag here] to pay the high prices sought for copies of Setright's book on that subject. I am an oik who bought my own furniture, so I could never have a Bristol anyway.
Setright's motorbike writing was fun. He railed against disc brakes on motorbikes when they first became a thing.
Breadvan72 said:
I am collecting many of Setright's writings. For example, I tracked down a copy of an article he wrote in 1974 called "Lotus, The Golden Mean" on Amazon the other day.
I am not sufficiently enamoured of Bristols [insert standard Frankie Howerd/Sid James gag here] to pay the high prices sought for copies of Setright's book on that subject. I am an oik who bought my own furniture, so I could never have a Bristol anyway.
Setright's motorbike writing was fun. He railed against disc brakes on motorbikes when they first became a thing.
Funny, it is the drums brakes on my motorbike that I like the least about it! I am not sufficiently enamoured of Bristols [insert standard Frankie Howerd/Sid James gag here] to pay the high prices sought for copies of Setright's book on that subject. I am an oik who bought my own furniture, so I could never have a Bristol anyway.
Setright's motorbike writing was fun. He railed against disc brakes on motorbikes when they first became a thing.
tvrgit said:
I have never heard his voice before, hadn't even imagined what he might sound like - but now that I hear, I ask - how could he possibly have sounded differently? Every syllable, every letter, perfectly enunciated.
That's just what I thought. Great to hear, thanks for finding it.
"w-hims"
I loved reading Setright too in the glory days of CAR.
He made engineering and design very real, and I have fond memories of his essays on the 6-cylinder Honda motorcycle engine as well as pretty mundane machinery such as the Honda Prelude.
Reading his prose was always more of a challenge than his colleagues on the magazine, but very satisfying, and deeply memorable.
He made engineering and design very real, and I have fond memories of his essays on the 6-cylinder Honda motorcycle engine as well as pretty mundane machinery such as the Honda Prelude.
Reading his prose was always more of a challenge than his colleagues on the magazine, but very satisfying, and deeply memorable.
Breadvan72 said:
Setright thought that it was a faff to get the discs to the right temperature on a bike. The discs at that time were a bit solid and heavy, rather than the skinny holey ones they use these days.
His opinion was always grounded in reason and pragmatism, probably why his writing has endured so well. Nowadays car magazines are pretty naff, because the products are so much more homogeneous than they once were, and so often the hack considers himself to be the centrepiece of his article.
55palfers said:
It's the Home Service isn't it? I like the way he sounds the aitch in "when"
+1 pronounced correctly 
I often see folk raise an eyebrow to me when I say vegetable, as it does has four syllables......none of this half-cocked, near uninterpretable 'piss-pronunciation' that people seem to perceive as good English today. Yes, piss-pronunciation, the remarkable joys of the Two Ronnies, Ronnie Barker really was a phonetically witty chap. I'll leave these for your afternoon pleasure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ0nFQgRApY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf6FRtmZewg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwLFYH-lJVQ
I was an avid Car reader back in the time of Setright, Ronald Barker and Phil Llewellyn.
I have spoken to Leonard Setright by phone. At that time I owned his beloved VW Scirocco, and wanted to clarify something that he had written about using some experimental synthetic brake fluid in it.
He was a charming man, blessed with an immense intellect. When I put the phone down I felt privileged to have made his acquaintance. He told me that he was pleased that the car had passed into the hands of somebody who would appreciate it.
That was before I wrote it off.
I have spoken to Leonard Setright by phone. At that time I owned his beloved VW Scirocco, and wanted to clarify something that he had written about using some experimental synthetic brake fluid in it.
He was a charming man, blessed with an immense intellect. When I put the phone down I felt privileged to have made his acquaintance. He told me that he was pleased that the car had passed into the hands of somebody who would appreciate it.
That was before I wrote it off.
I've just listened to that all the way through, a fascinating insight into a man I admired so much as I was growing up - CAR was a highlight every month from when I was aged ten onwards.
Dermot O'Logical said:
That was before I wrote it off.
Oops! I always did wonder what happened to that car...
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