With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

“Where is that moonlight trail that leads to your side?” March 12, 2013

Filed under: Film,News,Observation,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 9:40 pm
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Following the Oscar win for the Bond theme “Skyfall” Adele is being tipped to record the theme from the next James Bond movie as well. She wrote the song with Paul Epworth and she will need to record another two Bond themes to catch up with the current record holder for recording the most theme songs to this iconic film franchise. Dame Shirley Bassey has sung three Bond songs;

“Goldfinger” (1964) – written by Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley and John Barry.

“Diamonds Are Forever” – (1971) – written by John Barry and Don Black.

“Moonraker” – (1979) – written by John Barry and Hal David.

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All three were produced by John Barry. “Goldfinger” was the best chart performer of the three reaching number 21 in the UK and number 8 in the USA. Shirley was initially earmarked to record the opening credits song for the Thunderball film from 1965. The song was called “Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” but Cubby Broccoli the film’s producer decided that the song had to have the same title as the film. This resulted in  a new song called, unsurprisingly, “Thunderball” being written. It was recorded my another Welsh singing star, Tom Jones. A version of “Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” was recorded by Dionne Warwick and this version is included on the film’s soundtrack album. Incidentally Adele’s “Skyfall” is only the second Bond theme song not to appear on the accompanying soundtrack album. The first was “You Know My Name” sung by Chris Cornell for Casino Royale from 2006.

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“You never see the rainbow, you just curse the rain” March 11, 2013

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 9:36 pm
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You may have noticed that a secret selection recently took place to pick a very important figure. A person that we truly hope will be more successful than the previous occupant of the role, who frankly was a little too old for the task. I bet you think I’m talking about the selection of the new Pope don’t you? Well I’m not, I’m talking about the secretive BBC cabal that selects the artist that will represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest.

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the recent puff of smoke emanating from Broadcasting House signalled the appointment of Welsh songstress Bonnie Tyler as this years representative. A successor to Englebert Humperdinck from last year. Apparently Bonnie is still ‘very big in Europe’. I’m not sure that is an advantage for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. Bonnie’s song is called “Believe In Me” and for me it is an inoffensive ditty that will probably remain towards the bottom of the pile when the votes are cast. If the Beeb were ‘Holding Out For A Eurovision Hero’ I think they will need to hold out a lot longer.

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The song was written by an Anglo US team consisting of Desmond Child (US), Lauren Christy (UK) and Christopher Braide (UK). the contest takes place on 18th May in Malmö in Sweden. Which means at least there will be no newspaper headline puns utilising Bonnie’s first hit “Lost In France“. It may also be the first Eurovision that I fail to blog about on the night. For two reasons; first last years contest was really dull and secondly I will be on holiday 🙂tony-iommi-credit-joby-sessions-450-100-450-70

What do you think of “Believe In Me” and how do you think it compares with earlier UK entries? In more Eurovision news the composer of the Armenian entry “Lonely Planet” is none other than the great Tony Iommi off of Black Sabbath. He is expecting it to be slagged off, but what the hell, he’s in Sabbath right?

 

“It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe” February 21, 2013

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 8:56 pm
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An open ambition of mine is to undertake jury service, but I suspect that like my father who also wanted to serve as a juror it will remain an unfulfilled ambition. However I truly believe that I could do a better job than the majority of the jury in the Vicky Pryce (wife of Chris Huhne) speeding points trial. The judge has dismissed them for failing to understand their role. well that is how the press seem to have translated it. For me it just seems that some jurors in this trial are just incredibly stupid.

Vicky Pryce and Chris Huhne in 2010

After 14 hours of deliberation they apparently asked questions such as;

Can a juror come to a verdict based on reasons that were not presented in court or supported by the evidence.

What were Mrs Pryce’s religious convictions? Even though this was not a matter in the trial.

How do you plead for these jurors? Are they stupid, diligent or something else completely? Let’s be fair, Huhne and Pryce have hardly been beacons of intelligence over this speeding debacle either have they?

A retrial begins on Monday. Anyway as I have said many times before this is a music blog so I have chosen some appropriate songs, well they are in my opinion!

 

“Flying like an autumn wind, lady did you lose a friend?”

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 8:45 pm
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I first heard Kevin Ayers back in the early 70s and ‘Joy Of A Toy’ remains a favourite album of mine. So it is with sadness that I am posting about his demise. He passed away in his sleep aged 68 on February 18th at his home in France. Ayers was a pioneer of the British psychedelic scene and first found fame with Soft Machine. John Peel once said this of him; “Kevin Ayers’ talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it”. Click here to read the BBC report of Kevin’s death.

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Kevin has worked with many people, including Syd Barrett, Brian Eno, Mike Oldfield and John Cale. He was there for the formation of Soft Machine in the mid 60s. The band was named after the William S Burroughs novel ‘The Soft Machine’. Kevin once sold his Fender jazz bass to Noel Redding from Jimi Hendrix’ band. This was after an extensive US tour. He grew up in Canterbury and lived for some time in Ibiza and France.

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Interestingly he wasn’t the only one in the family with such a pioneering spirit. His father Rowan Ayers was a BBC Producer and was responsible for kicking off the classic BBC music show ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test‘. If you have never listened to Kevin Ayers then I suggest you rectify that right now! I have included a few of my favourite Ayers songs at the end of this post. My thoughts go to Kevin’s family, friends and fans. RIP Kevin Ayers – a true British Rock legend!

 

“I got no car and it’s breaking my heart, but I’ve found a driver and that’s a start”

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 8:37 pm
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The Beatles have been involved in many things in their time and since their time. But have they ever been a part of a road safety campaign before? well they are now as the Indian city of Kolkata is using the cover image from the ‘Abbey Road‘ album to drive their latest road safety campaign. With the catch phrase ‘if they can do it so can you’.  Click here to read the story on the BBCNews site.

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It kind of fits with the group’s interest in the eastern philosophies in a very loose kind of way don’t you think? I wonder if the Kolkata version of the Green Cross Code man might be the Maharishi Roadjunction? Do you know of any other rock and pop stars that have been used in safety campaigns of any kind?

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The Brit Awards 2013 (February 20th) February 20, 2013

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 11:28 pm
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It’s Brits time again and I will be typing live ready to publish later in the evening. It is opened spectacularly by Muse with an incredibly large orchestra and pyrotechnics. Although they were a long way from being Catwoman’s favourite I thought they were superb. It appears that James Corden is over the worst of the tonsilitis and back to present the Brits for the fourth time.

Damien Hirst has designed this years trophies. The first one presented this evening is for the best British female solo artist. It was given by Taylor Swift to the delightful Scot Emilie Sande. A very gracious speech too. Sadly we then switched to an at table interview of One Direction by Mr Corden. I really don’t like Boy Bands. Then to make matters worse Robbie Williams was the next live act. Regular readers will know how little I like him. Whilst “Candy” is not a bad song I dislike Robbie immensely. But the monochrome set and costumes of the dancers was very effective.

Next up it’s Best British group presented by Simon Pegg and a Bond Girl.The winners unsurprisingly were Mumford and Sons. At least it wasn’t One Direction. Some great British pride from the Mumfords too. It was the Best British Breakthrough prize next presented by Grimmy. I was expecting this to go to Jake Bugg Does anyone agree with me that James Corden is not particularly funny? A world exclusive by none other than Justin Timberlake was next to appear. It’s an ok song and whilst he wasn’t bringing sexy back his jacket was bringing shiny back!

Ed Sheerhan presented the best British male award to Ben Howard. Why no nomination for Jake Bugg when that Muppet Olly Murs was in the nominees? Now it’s time for the critics choice award and it goes to Tom O’Dell. Dermot O’Leary and Sharon Osbourne were introduced as man and wife (what a horrible thought) to give the Best International female statuette to Lana Del Ray. One Direction are on stage, will someone please kill me. How flat were some of those notes? A dreadful performance. Do this lot have any personality and stage presence? On this showing I think not. Bring back Blondie.

Coldplay won the Best British live act, strangely they are a band that I’ve not seen live, well not yet anyway. That is their 8th Brit award since they began. Tom Daley and Jonathan Ross (what a strange combination) gave out the best single prize to Adele for “Skyfall”. Sadly she wasn’t there as she is rehearsing for the Oscars. Thank god James Arthur or Olly Murs didn’t win!

Taylor Swift dressed as a wedding cake to perform between two braziers. Unlike Wand Erection though she can really sing. Losing that dress for the hot pants was a good move. Best International group was presented by a true rock god Dave Grohl. The award went to the fabulous Black Keys who sadly weren’t there, very worthy winners in my opinion. After winning two prizes so far Ben Howard was on stage to perform “It’s Only Love” which let’s be fair is a beautiful if somewhat sleep inducing song.

A brief interview with Mercury Prize winners Alt J by Mr Corden came up next. Now we have the best International male. Frank Ocean won it, what a damned good choice! The War Child charity won a new special recognition award. This is truly a great charity, a well deserved prize. Collected by Ben Knowles from Warchild and Damon Albarn. Mumford took to the stage for “I Will Wait” I saw them at the Reading Festival in 2011. They were bloody good, but I feel they peaked very early and that their second album was nowhere near as good as the first. I’m sure I won’t be the first to say that Mumford have become a bit dull will I?

None other than Byron Ferrari was on hand to present the Best British album gong to Emilie Sande for ‘Our Version Of Events’. Personally I love her voice, but I imagine she is a bit Marmite in that you either love her or hate her. Yet another Global Success Award was presented by Robbie Williams to One Direction; oh joy, two of my least favourite acts ever! What the fuck? Was this award invented just so that Wand Erection didn’t sob all over their school books? I bet that arsehole Simon Cowell was behind that! Emilie Sande closed the show  and yes she was good. But that Global Success award to One Direction has left a bad taste in my mouth. In fact it has turned a relatively dull Brits into something quite shit! Can we have some proper rock n roll edgeiness back next year please? Preferably a bit more edgy than Sharon Osbourne mentioning Harry Styles’ willy!

 

“I wanna take a ride on your disco stick” February 16, 2013

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 9:24 am
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Lady Gaga has had to cancel the remaining 22 dates of her North American tour as she now requires surgery for a labral tear on her right hip. This cancellation is likely to cost around £16m.

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I wish her well with the operation and recovery; but I can’t help thinking that she really believes a hip operation will make her as hip as she clearly wants to be, but in my opinion she isn’t!

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“Some specials and rat food, get lost in the crowd”

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 8:52 am
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I think I am seriously ill, I must be, otherwise why would I like this years official single recorded for Comic Relief? It’s a great cover version of Blondie’s “One Way Or Another” with a few lines of the Undertones‘ “Teenage Kicks” thrown in for free. Why would liking this make me think I am seriously ill I can hear you shout. “WHY DOES LIKING THIS COVER OF BLONDIE’S ONE WAY OR ANOTHER MAKE YOU THINK YOU’RE SERIOUSLY ILL?” (that was you shouting by the way).

Good advice from Debbie for when you have a Wand Erection

Good advice from Debbie for when you have a Wand Erection

Well I am sad to say that the act that has covered it is none other than those X Factor Pop Muppets One Direction or Wand Erection as I now prefer to call them. Their version doesn’t come close to surpassing the original, but it is far better than I would have expected and more importantly it is for a good cause. Click here to make your donation for Red Nose Day 2013. It is released on Sunday 17th February and they will be performing it at the Brits this Wednesday. Enjoy both versions of the song while I go and lie down for a restful nap and hopefully to recover from this abominable blight on my previously great music taste!

 

“You should see my, my little sis” February 15, 2013

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 11:41 pm
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Apparently there is now an App you can use to measure penis size. It comes from Hewlett-Packard and it’s called Chubby Checker. Unsurprisingly the real Chubby Checker is a little upset and he is suing them for $500m for causing irreparable damage to his reputation. Click here to read the story on the BBC website. Personally I can’t see why a tape measure isn’t good enough can you?

Wow has Chubby checked the Checker Pecker? If so then wow, it's either huge or he is a real braggart!

Wow has Chubby checked the Checker Pecker? If so then wow, it’s either huge or he is a real braggart!

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“If it made you feel angry go ahead and write a letter” February 13, 2013

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 12:12 am
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So the big news for the year so far would seem to be that the Pope is retiring. It’s only a surprise because it hasn’t happened in nearly 600 years, but frankly isn’t he a bit of an old duffer to be holding such a big role? I mean he was 78 when he took the job on in 2005. I wonder why he chose to go now and did he pontificate much (did you see what I did there)? But clearly the world economy must be in a bad state when even God starts laying people off. Anyway if you are likely to be offended by an opinion of religion which may not be in support of the Pope or the Catholic Church I suggest you stop reading now. You have been warned!

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the conspiracy theorists are probably going into overdrive as I type this; does it relate to unpaid subscriptions for his Hitler Youth membership. is he about to admit to kiddie fiddling with a choir boy or two? If so did he use a condom? The latter would probably be a bigger sin wouldn’t it? Does he feel guilty for the Vatican giving Scumbag Saville a papal knighthood? Is he in fact the Anti Christ or even worse a transvestite; the Aunty Christ anyone? Or is he about to give us the headline the world has waited for and never thought possible? I’m talking ‘POPE ELOPES’ folks.

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I am also really surprised at the length of his notice period. He resigns on 11th February and his last day is 28th February. 17 days? My notice period is 4 weeks and I barely lead one and a half people let alone 1.2 billion. Will the new Pope Bloke be a radical reformer or just another old duffer in a funny hat? I’d like to think reformer, but it’ll be a duffer won’t it? But before I get to the music I’d like to float my conspiracy theory. I believe that Benedict is resigning because the end days of the Book of Revelations are upon us. The four Horseman of the Apocalypse have in fact arrived but somewhere the translation was incorrectly carried out. The Horsemen are in fact the four Horse Meat products; Ladies and gentlemen I give you Bad Burger, Bloody Evil Bolognese, Sinful Sausage and Lousy Lasagna. These are the true heralds of the apocalypse. As for the Anti Christ, that must be Sinead O’Connor right? If it is then she has my full support!

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