At last work has started on cataloging the music collection of the late, great John Peel. A project called The Space at the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket is aiming to recreate his library and home studio. Details of his 25,000 strong vinyl album collection is being put on-line at the rate of 100 per week in alphabetical order. This has already begun and includes Adam and the Ants and Abba. The website does not allow you play the music but it will give links to places where you will be able to listen to it.
Along with the album covers even Peel’s index cards have been digitized for the project which benefits from Arts Council funding. I am looking forward to watching it grow on-line, although one worrying point is that Arts Council funding only runs until October. By this time it is hoped to have at least 2,600 album details on-line. Click here to check out the rather excellent site.
A few years ago I considered the idea of contacting John Peel and possibly Elton John (who also has a very large music collection) with a view to offering my services as organiser and curator of their music collections. I had a vision that this would also include building a database for the collection. So if you’re reading this Elton please feel free to get in touch. I will be in the crowd when you play the Royal Harrogate Showground next month!
what song should I choose to celebrate such a momentous piece of Peel news? Surely there is only one option right? yes John Peel’s favourite song ever; “Teenage Kicks” by the Undertones.
I posted back in January about the lack of protest songs given the precarious state of the world, you can click here to read that post. It appears that I may have been heard. Firstly there was Bruce Springsteen with the sublime “We Take Care of Our Own”. This is a song that I suspect (as with “Born In The USA”) many American politicians simply won’t understand. I can see it being misused on the campaign trail later this year by one of the bozo Republican candidates.
But perhaps more importantly for me, Plan B’s new song, “Ill Manors” is an incendiary attack on the way youth is being treated in Britain today. I totally admire and respect that he has used his position, following his success with “The Defamation Of Strickland Banks“, to release such an incredibly passionate and hard-hitting song about the plight of the young and the underprivileged people in the UK. It’s a brilliant attack on the government too and if it’s not clear what he thinks of ‘Call Me Dave’ Cameron in the lyrics, it’s very clear in the video.
The song is likely to be featured in Plan B’s new film which is due to be released later this year, it is also called ‘Ill Manors’. This is easily my favourite song of the moment and I believe it is deserving are far more radio plays than it is getting. Check out the video below, along with the Springsteen video and a rather amusing posh boy spoof of Ill Manors entitled “Posh Manor”. I have also added the lyrics to “Ill Manors” to the end of this post. I would love to hear what you think of these songs, particularly Plan B’s (aka Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew or Ben Drew) .
Let’s all go on an urban safari
we might see some illegal migrants
Oi look there’s a chav,
that means council housed and violent
He’s got a hoodie on give him a hug,
on second thoughts don’t you don’t wanna get mugged
Oh shit too late that was kinda dumb
whose idea was that…stupid…
He’s got some front, ain’t we all,
be the joker, play the fool
What’s politics, ain’t it all
smoke and mirrors, April fools
All year round, all in all
just another brick in the wall
Get away with murder in the schools
use four letter swear words coz we’re cool
We’re all drinkers, drug takers
every single one of us burns the herb
Keep on believing what you read in the papers
council estate kids, scum of the earth
Think you know how life on a council estate is,
from everything you’ve ever read about it or heard,
Well it’s all true, so stay where you’re safest
there’s no need to step foot out the burbs
Truth is here, we’re all disturbed
we cheat and lie its so absurd
Feed the fear that’s what we’ve learned
Fuel the fire,
Let it burn.
Oi! I said Oi!
What you looking at you little rich boy!
We’re poor round here, run home and lock your door
don’t come round here no more, you could get robbed for
Real (yeah) because my manors ill
My manors ill
For real
Yeah you know my manors ill, my manors ill!
You could get lost in this concrete jungle
new builds keep springing up outta nowhere
Take the wrong turn down a one way junction
find yourself in the hood nobody goes there
We got an eco friendly government,
they preserve our natural habitat
Built an entire Olympic village
around where we live without pulling down any flats
Give us free money and we don’t pay any tax
NHS healthcare, yes please many thanks
People get stabbed round here there’s many shanks
nice knowing someone’s got our backs when we get attacked
Don’t bloody give me that
I’ll lose my temper
Who closed down the community centre?
I kill time there used to be a member,
what will I do now until September?
Schools out, rules out, get your bloody tools out
London’s burning, I predict a riot
Fall in fall out
who knows what it’s all about
What did that chief say? Something bout the kaisers
Kids on the street no they never miss a beat, never miss a cheap
thrill when it comes their way
Lets go looting
no not Luton,
the high street’s closer cover your face
And if we see any rich kids on the way we’ll make ’em wish they stayed inside
here’s a charge for congestion, everybody’s gotta pay
do what Boris does… rob them blind
Oi! I said Oi!
What you looking at you little rich boy?
We’re poor round here, run home and lock your door!
Don’t come round here no more, you could get robbed for
real (yeah) because my manors ill
My manors ill
for real
yeah you know my manors ill , my manors ill!
It is with great sadness that I must convey the news of the passing of the Lord Of Loud, Jim Marshall creator of the guitar amp of choice for rock gods and guitar icons. Acton born James Charles Marshall had been a singer and drummer during the war years as his health kept him out of the armed forces. I would go so far as to say that he was one of the most influential Englishmen in the history of rock.
In his drumming and singing days he had built an amplifier that enabled his vocals to be heard above his drums. Later, from around 1960 he opened a music store in Hanwell, West London. The shop initially sold drums and then he expanded his stock to guitars. Ritchie Blackmore and Pete Townshend were among his early customers, both were seeking a much bigger amplifier that would enable them to significantly crank up the volume on their instruments. That is when Marshall had the idea for what became probably the most famous and iconic brand of amplifiers in music. Marshall Amplification was born in 1962.
For me the guitarist most associate with Marshall was Jimi Hendrix, he evene had some of his road crew trained by Marshall at the west London shop. Jim Marshall had many claims to fame, another of these was his time as a drum teacher, his pupils included Mitch Mitchell drummer with the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Mickey Waller who played drums for Little Richard.
My thoughts go to Jim’s family, friends and countless fans and users throughout the world. RIP Jim Marshall.
So in memory of the wonderfully talented man how about some music from Hendrix himself, ably supported by one of Jim Marshall’s drum students!
XFM listeners recently took part in a poll to name the greatest front man of all time. So many great blokes to choose from and they went for Liam Gallagher. Now don’t get me wrong Liam has been very good in the past, particularly in the early days of Oasis, but the greatest front man of all time? I don’t think so. The full top 20 was;
I agree with many of these, but I am surprised Robert Plant and John Lydon didn’t make the cut. Who do you think should have been included? Click here to read the report on nme.com.
I have yet more sad news to report, Jimmy Ellis the iconic voice of Disco and Soul outfit the Trammps has died at a nursing home in South Carolina aged 74. His family has said that he had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. He still sang live with the band as recently as 2010.
Ellis was the band’s stalwart against a backdrop of quite a few personnel changes. The last time the original members sang together was when they performed the classic “Disco Inferno” during their induction into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Many of you probably know them for that song alone, which benefited from its appearance on the soundtrack of the ‘Saturday Night Fever‘ movie. But they had many more great hits; including some classics that you can enjoy at the end of this post.
Incidentally their Dance Music Hall of fame took place on September 19th 2005 which would have been my Dad’s 74th birthday, but sadly he died in 2001.I often used to joke with my Dad before he died that we would play “Disco Inferno” at his cremation. In the end that didn’t happen, but we did laugh about it a lot. “Disco Inferno” was the band’s biggest US hit reaching number 11 on the Billboard chart and number 9 on the US R & B charts. Their biggest UK hit was “Hold Back The Night” which reached number 5 in 1976.
The extra ‘m’ in the band’s name allegedly came from the days when they used to sing on street corners. The police called them tramps and Jimmy Ellis said that he would prefer that they were high-class tramps and so added that extra ‘m’. Jimmy whose real name was James Thomas Ellis II began his singing career in a church gospel choir like many of his contemporaries. He went on to sing in a few bands including the Volcanoes and the Exceptions.
This is yet another sad loss for music and my thoughts go to Jimmy’s family, friends and fans. RIP Jimmy Ellis.
All of you loyal UK subjects who pledge allegiance to Queen Elizabeth are obviously now very busy preparing your street parties and other events aren’t you? Well did you know that she shares her Diamond Jubilee with another British institution that is celebrating a 60 year anniversary? Today, 7th March 2012, is the 60th birthday of the New Musical Express, better known these days as the NME.
Now the last remaining weekly news magazine in the UK the NME has moved on considerably since 1952 when it replaced the ‘Accordion Times and Musical Express’. The nme.com website was launched way back in 1996 and is now the biggest stand-alone music site in the world with more than seven million users every month.
So whilst the old mag might not be as influential as she was, she is still very popular. I am now a subscriber who has bought it from when it was a newspaper style ‘inkie’ back in 1971. I have seen some great writers come and go; Nick Kent, Charles Shaar Murray, Danny Baker, Tony Parsons, Julie Burchill and Barbara Ellen to name but a few.
So happy 60th birthday to the NME and all of those who write for it and read it. Many years ago I had a name check in the NME when I sent a copy of an advert for the Sylvanian Family toys. One of the characters was called Roger Waters, which made me think it was both appropriate and amusing. Now celebrate with a couple of NME related songs. One that mentions the NME and two from the excellent C81 cassette issued by the NME in 1981.
This is a record-breaking but sad kind of story. One of the largest foxes ever found in the UK was shot on a farm in Aberdeen. It wasn’t killed because it was large, but simply because it was allegedly attacking lambs on a farm. At least it was killed by a working farmer and not some bunch of red jacketed toff twats supported by a cast of hundreds and packs of vicious dogs. Click here to read the story on the BBC site.
Anyway what is this story doing on my music blog? Well it gives me a chance to share some of my favourite fox related songs 🙂 Feel free to submit your own fox songs.
Sorry bunnies, my aim is better now, next time the farmer gets it
Fox On The Run – Manfred Mann – A UK number 5 hit from 1968. The lyrics were from English writer Tony Hazzard who wrote quite a few hits, including another smash from the Manfreds in “Ha Ha Said The Clown”
Fox On The Run – The Sweet – The same title as the Manfred Mann song, but definitely not the same song. This reached number 2 in the UK chart in 1974. It also hit number 5 in the US and was an Australian number one. The song is about groupies as in the women were foxy ladies.
Foxy Lady – Jimi Hendrix – Talking of foxy ladies, this is taken from the Jimi Hendrix Experience album ‘Are You Experienced’ which was released in 1967. The US and Canadian version of the album had the titled incorrectly spelled as “Foxey Lady”
Foxy Foxy – Mott The Hoople – This is one of my favourite songs from this fabulous British band. It reached number 33 in the UK charts in 1974 and never featured on a Mott The Hoople album, other than compilations. It ended a run of 5 top 20 hits in the UK for the band. The group took their name from a Willard Manus novel about someone who worked in a circus freak show.
Reynard The Fox – Julian Cope – This was the opening track from Julian’s 1984 album ‘Fried’. It is apparently a mix of an English folk tale and an incident where Cope had slashed his stomach on stage back in 1983.
Girls Aloud will be reforming for a tour in 2013, to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Reforming? I wasn’t aware that they had broken up. I can’t say I am particularly excited by the prospect of the girls treading the boards again, are you? Well at least it is moderately better than those talentless morons Westlife. Clearly none of the girls off of Girls Aloud have set the world alight with their solo careers, so I think we can assume the ‘reunion’ is for money.
Nadine Coyle broke the news a couple of days ago. I suppose it will enable the nation’s sweetheart Cheryl to restart her career after the atrocious output from her solo albums and the X Factor US judging debacle. Hopefully Sarah Harding will be out of rehab too. Personally I reckon Nicola Roberts should stay away. Her first solo album was excellent, surely she doesn’t need the rest of them. So what do you think of the Girls Aloud reunion?
The girls as they might appear on their 40th anniversary tour.
Is it me or does Mr Humperdinck look a little 'plastic'?
The UK is taking a rather novel approach to this years Eurovision Song Contest. They have selected septuagenarian crooner Arnold George Dorsey aka Gerry Dorsey but better known as Engelbert Humperdinck. After years of poor results in the contest with the nadir arriving in 2003 with a first UK nul points score from the hapless Jemini. Last year boy band Blue were our entry with the song “I Can”. They could only muster and 11th place finish which suggests that the song would have been more appropriate if it were called ‘I Can’t’
Engelbert will be 76 when the contest takes place in Azerbaijan on 26th May this year. he was born in Madras, India in 1936 to a British father and an Indian mother. The song is apparently not written yet but will be composed, at least in part, by Sacha Skarbek, a Novello award winner who cowrote James Blunt‘s bloody awful dirge “You’re Beautiful”. Not a great omen then! Hump had his first major success in 1967 when his UK number one managed to prevent the Beatles from achieving another chart topper with the double ‘A’ side “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane“. His song “Release me” was also the best-selling UK single in 1967. All that at the height of the hippy movement and in the summer of love.
Vote for me and I'll make your economy this big (The Hump addresses the Greeks)
Some Eurovision experts (yes there are plenty) have suggested that with so many countries in the competition the ‘youth vote’ is split. However experts believe that the choice of the Hump to warble for Britain will pick up the pan European pensioners votes. He also took his name from the German composer who wrote an opera called ‘Hansel and Gretel’, so that’s the German vote in the bag as well. He has had four number one songs in Ireland and release me was number one in the Netherlands so that’s two countries that’ll vote for him as well, so it’s certainly shaping up not to be another nul points year.
Personally I think he may pick up a few votes from the hip community, as opposed to the hip replacement community, this would result from his appearance on the ‘Beavis And Butthead Do America‘ movie soundtrack. The song was not a big hit, but it was for many, including me, a classic. That song was “Lesbian Seagull”. On the subject of Beavis and Butthead, Jedward have been selected to represent Ireland in the contest for the second year in a row. I have a degree of admiration for their management for extend their 15 minutes of fame so far beyond their sell-by date. They did do better than Blue last year though! Anyway let me finish by showcasing a few Humperdinck classics.
I have watched the ticker of the NME Radar Awards on the NME website this evening and I’m really looking forward to seeing it on the TV this weekend. But just to bring you the news of the winners this is a quick post with all those who got themselves some solid recognition from the NME.
Best British Band – Kasabian
Best International Band – Foo Fighters
Best New Band – The Vaccines
Best Solo Artist – Florence and the Machine
Best Live Band – Arctic Monkeys
Best Album – ‘Skying’ – Horrors
Best Track – Florence And The Machine – “Shake It Out”
Best Video – “Sunday” – Hurts
Best Festival – Glastonbury
Dancefloor Anthem – “Broken Record” – Katy B
Best TV Show – Fresh Meat
Best Film – Submarine
Hero Of The Year – Matt Bellamy
Villain Of The Year – Justin Bieber
Worst Album – ‘ Under The Mistletoe’ – Justin Bieber
Worst Band – One Direction
Hottest Male – Jared Leto off of 30 Seconds To Mars
Hottest Female – Hayley Williams off of Paramore
Best Album Artwork – ‘Pala’ – Friendly Fires
Best Band Blog or Twitter – Lady Gaga, @ladygaga
Best Book – Noel Fielding, The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton
Best Small Festival – Rockness
Most Dedicated Fans – Muse
Best Music Film – Foo Fighters, Back and Forth
Greatest Music Moment – Stone Roses re-unite
Best Re-issue – The Smiths, Complete re-issues
Philip Hall Radar Award – Azealia Banks
So for the statisticians among you the biggest winners, each with two awards were; Foo Fighters, Muse, Florence And The Machine and Justin Bieber. What the fuck is Bieber doing there I can here you ask; well don’t panic, he won ‘Worst Album’ and ‘Villain Of The Year’. Both thoroughly deserved in my opinion! I was very pleased to see that One Direction picked up the ‘Worst Band award’ too.
Quite surprising too for being the first award ceremony for ages that Adele didn’t win anything!
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 