With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

On This Day The Pistols Get Spots, Phil Gets Bronze And Kate Gets No Pictures! August 19, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 3:35 pm
Tags: , , ,

On August 19th, 1977, the Sex Pistols started a six-date undercover UK tour as “The S.P.O.T.S.” (Sex Pistols On Tour Secretly). Their reputation meant they would be unlikely to be booked into venues that would be shut down by the police, so, they assumed a different name in each venue (including “Tax Exiles” and “A Mystery Band of International Repute”)

In 2005 also on August 19th, a life-size bronze statue of Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott was erected in his home city of Dublin, Ireland. Lynott, who died in 1986 at 36, was celebrated during an unveiling ceremony, that was attended by his former Thin Lizzy bandmates, including Gary Moore, Brian Robertson, and Scott Gorham.

19 Aug 2014
On 19th August 2014 Kate Bush requested that fans did not take any photographs or record footage using mobile devices at her upcoming 22-date residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The then 56-year-old star said on her website: “I very much want to have contact with you as an audience, not with iPhones, iPads or cameras. It would mean “a great deal to me, although I know it is a lot to ask”.

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

On This Day Nick Got Stiff, George Got Swept Away, And The Who Couldn’t Take The Piss! August 14, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 10:42 pm
Tags: , , , ,

On 14th August in 1976 ‘So It Goes’ by Nick Lowe became the first record released on Stiff Records. The label was set up off the back of a £400 loan. Their marketing and advertising was often very witty describing itself as “The World’s Most Flexible Record Label”. Other slogans were “We came. We saw. We left”, and, my favourite, “If It Ain’t Stiff, It Ain’t Worth a Fuck”.

In 2006, also on 14th August Boy George was sweeping streets in New York as part of a five-day community service sentence. He was moved into a fenced-off area after a short while as the media tried to mob him. The singer had been found guilty of wasting police time earlier that year and was threatened with jail if he failed to complete the court-imposed sentence.

In 1971, on August 14th, the Who released their fifth studio album ‘Who’s Next’. The cover shows a photo of the band apparently having just taken a leak on a large concrete pillar, but according to photographer Ethan Russell, most of the band members were unable to pee, so rainwater was tipped from an empty film canister to achieve the desired effect.

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

On This Day The Mop Tops Are Burned in South Africa, They Reply With A Revolver And The Co-Op Sells Songs For The Dead! August 8, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 9:45 pm
Tags: , ,

In 1966 on 8th August, the South African Broadcasting Corporation banned all Beatles records, in response to John Lennon’s remark about the band being “bigger than Jesus.” To be fair I think Lennon was correct. On the same day, the Beatles’ seventh studio album, Revolver, was released in the USA.


On 8th August 2002, The UK’s biggest undertakers Co-Op funeral services reported that bereaved families preferred pop songs to hymns at funerals. Top of the list was “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler. Other songs included “Angels” by Robbie Williams and “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion. They also reported some unusual choices including “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham! I bet that many of those are still very popular at a celebration of someone popping their clogs! My Dad wanted “Disco Inferno” at his cremation, but my Mum forbade it. My ultimate funeral song is “No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley and the Wailers, but it has to be the live version from the ‘Live At The Lyceum’ album from 1975.

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

On This Day Berry Signs Wacko And His Bros And Top Of The Pops Ends! July 26, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 1:41 pm
Tags: , , , , , , ,

On 26th July 1968, The Jackson 5 signed a one-year contract with Motown Records after label executive Hank Cosby was blown away by their audition, in which the five brothers played and sang James Brown’s “I Got the Feeling.” among other classic tunes. The group broke US chart records soon after when their first four singles; “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There” all reached number 1 on the Billboard chart. The group appeared on the UK BBC Top Of The Pops show many times, if you include the moments when their song was featured as a dance section by in-house dancers Pan’s People it was 23 times. The first was in February 1970.

While we are talking about Top Of The Pops on July 26, 2006, the final edition of the iconic British music TV show was recorded at London’s BBC Television Centre in front of a studio audience of just 200 lucky punters. It was first broadcast on New Year’s Day 1964 (my fifth birthday!), the series ran to 2,260 episodes, making it the world’s longest-running music show. Sadly, with hindsight, it was co-hosted by Jimmy Saville. But there were plenty of other hosts; Janice Long, Mike Read, Dave Lee Travis, Tony Blackburn, Pat Sharp, Sarah Cawood, Rufus Hound and Reggie Yates. There were no acts in the studio for the final episode but plenty of classic clips including; The Rolling Stones (they kicked the show off with, rather appropriately, “The Last Time”), Spice Girls, Sonny and Cher, Wham!, Madonna, Take That, Beyonce, David Bowie, Gnarls Barkley, Michael Jackson and Coldplay. The show ended with a video of Shakira and Wyclef Jean performing that week’s number one song, “Hips Don’t Lie”. I miss Top Of The Pops, but I don’t miss Saville, he can rot in hell!

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.


 

On This Day Mick Held Them Back In The USA And Disco Sucked Explosively! July 12, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 10:35 pm
Tags: , , , , , ,

On 12th July 1986 Simply Red scored their first US No.1 single with ‘Holding Back The Years’. Singer Mick Hucknall wrote the song when he was just seventeen while living at his father’s house. The song’s writing credits were shared between Hucknall and Neil Moss, a friend and member of Hucknall’s first group, the Frantic Elevators. But, according to Hucknall, Moss did not co-write the song but was given the credit “to remember the great times we had” as the pair had written so many other songs together. The song was first performed by the Frantic Elevators. But the song’s “I’ll keep holding on” chorus was not added until many years later, after the band had split and Hucknall had formed Simply Red.

In 1979, also on 12th July, the Disco Demolition Night took place at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The organisers of the event asked people to bring along disco records for them to be blown up. The event was not the success that the Disco Sucks movement hoped it would be as a riot ensued as fires broke out, six people were injured and 39 were arrested!

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

On This Day The Fabs Went White, Bowie Went Arachnid And Mick Jagger Went Mr. Whippy! May 30, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 9:32 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

On May 30th, 1968, The Beatles began work on their 30-track self-titled double album (popularly referred to as The White Album, due to its all-white sleeve design). Nineteen of the songs that ended up on the record were written while the band was on a Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. It took more than six months to record and the first track to be laid down was “Revolution.” In my opinion, this is one of the best Beatles albums.

In 1987, also on 30th May, David Bowie kicked off his Glass Spider tour. It was believed to be the largest touring set ever at the time, the stage was designed to resemble a giant spider. The tour was in support of one of his poorest albums, ‘Never Let Me Down’. 43 trucks transported the set to each of the tour’s 87 shows. I was at one of those shows, Wembley Stadium in June. I recall that Big Country was one of the support acts the day I went.

May 30th, 2009 saw Mick Jagger offer to buy an ice cream van but his offer was turned down by its owner, Guiseppe Della Camera. Guisseppe had spent ten years restoring the rusting van to perfection after he saw it on a farm being used as a chicken coop. Jagger offered to buy the van when he saw it at a show on Wandsworth Common. Guisseppe said, “Jagger told me he’d really fallen in love with my van and asked me if I would consider selling it. I was stunned when he offered me £100,000“. One reason that Guisseppe turned down such a generous offer was that he had promised his daughter he would drive her to her wedding in it. Maybe Jagger just wanted Forty Licks!

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

On This Day Bobby Z Released His First Recording And The Fabs Rejected The Dame! April 24, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 10:12 pm
Tags: , , , ,

On April 24th 1961 Bob Dylan made his first officially released recording, he earned $50 for playing harmonica on the title track of Harry Belafonte’s LP, ‘The Midnight Special’. Bob made his debut recording five months previously on a record by folk singer Carolyn Hester, but this wasn’t released until after the Harry Belafonte album.

In 1968, also on 24th April, the Beatles’ new Apple record label turned down an opportunity to sign David Bowie, who had just left Deram Records. Bowie’s manager at the time, Kenneth Pitt submitted a demo tape, only to receive a letter from the company’s A&R chief, Peter Asher, stating that “Apple Records is not interested in signing David Bowie. The reason is that we don’t feel he’s what we’re looking for at the moment.” I wonder how Bowie’s career might have gone had he signed to Apple?

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

On This Day Kurt Gets Burned, Gary Does A Video, Creedence Do Albert, The Dame Laughs, And Drug-Oriented Records Are Banned! April 14, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 10:12 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

On 14th April 1994, Kurt Cobain was cremated at the Bleitz Funeral Home, in Seattle. The death certificate listed Cobain’s occupation as Poet/Musician and his type of business as Punk Rock.

On that same date in 1980 Gary Numan issued ‘The Touring Principle’, which was apparently the first long-form rock video to be made commercially available in the UK.

In 1970, also on April 14th, Creedence Clearwater Revival played their first UK shows. Nothing low key though, just two nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Back in 1967 on 14th April David Bowie released one of his best-loved (maybe not) singles, “The Laughing Gnome”!

On 14th April the Illinois Crime Commission (BOO, HISS!!!) issued a list of ‘drug-oriented records’ which included “White Rabbit'” by Jefferson Airplane, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” by Procol Harum, and The Beatles’ “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.” Apparently David Bowie’s “The Laughing Gnome” was not included!

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

On This Day The Moptops Conquer America, A Fizzy Beverage Conquers Europe, And The Brinsleys Paid A Fortune For Some Crap Reviews! April 4, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 10:05 pm
Tags: , ,

43 years ago on 4th April 1981 Bucks Fizz won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin for the UK with “Making Your Mind Up”. It was a great pop song and the skirt-pulling part of the performance was quite a sensation at the time

On 4th April 1964, the Beatles took over the US Billboard singles chart thanks to The USA hugely taking to Beatlemania. They held the top 5 places with “Please Please Me” (5), “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (4), “Roll Over Beethoven” (3), “Love Me Do” (2), and at number1 “Can’t Buy Me Love.” They also had another nine singles on the chart, bringing their total to fourteen on the Hot 100.

Back in 1970, also on 4th April, British Pub Rock stalwarts Brinsley Schwarz were earmarked for Stateside success, to achieve that their PR company flew 133 UK journalists to New York to see the band support Van Morrison at the Fillmore East, at the cost of £120,000. The event turned into a disaster. The group planned to leave a few days before the show to rehearse but were denied visas on a technicality, not drug convictions as some online stories suggest. They were finally given visas on the morning of the show and arrived just hours before the concert. The plane carrying the journalists was delayed after a mechanical fault, delaying the flight and when the journalists arrived In New York 18 hours later, they were all hung over. I can only assume that the PR company also paid the journalists’ bar tab. Brinsley Schwarz, according to most sources gave an underwhelming live performance, resulting in several poor reviews. Nick Lowe was perhaps the most successful member after the band’s eventual demise.

I had forgotten just how wonderful this song is 🙂

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

On This Day Coldplay Proved That Mainstream Music Was In Need Of Defibrillation! April 2, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 10:10 pm
Tags: , , , , ,

On 2nd April 2013 BBC Radio 2 closed a series called The Golden Age Of The Album with a show that ran down the top 100 albums of all time as voted for by their listeners. Having read through the top 100 it looks like only one album per artist was allowed. But for me Coldplay coming top with ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ shows how bland music had become, I am not a huge Coldplay fan, but in my opinion that isn’t even their best album. Keane’s ‘Hopes And Fears’ has some good songs but it is very middle of the road. As for Duran Duran’s ‘Rio’. where did that come from? It is an OK 80s album but by no means a classic. The usual suspects in these lists are all there Pink Floyd (4), Rolling Stones (6), The Beatles (8), Kate Bush (24), David Bowie (61) and many more. I suspect that the list probably said more about the age profile of Radio 2 listeners at the time. But David Bowie is included for ‘Let’s Dance’, come on the 80s was his artistic nadir wasn’t it? Dido’s ‘No Angel’ number 4, that is such a dull record, as is David Gray’s entry at number 67 with ‘White Ladder’. I know that many of these sold loads of copies, but do sales make a great record? Anyway, you might not agree with my thoughts and opinions, but I would love to hear yours. The full list is shown below.

1 Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head
2 Keane – Hopes & Fears
3 Duran Duran – Rio
4 Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon
5 Dido – No Angel
6 The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
7 Pet Shop Boys – Actually
8 The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
9 U2 – The Joshua Tree
10 Queen – A Night At The Opera
11 Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
12 Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV
13 The Police – Synchronicity
14 Madonna – True Blue
15 James Blunt – Back To Bedlam
16 Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run
17 Adele – 21
18 Oasis – Definitely Maybe
19 Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
20 George Michael – Faith
21 Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms
22 Electric Light Orchestra – Out Of The Blue
23 Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell
24 Kate Bush – The Kick Inside
25 Kylie Minogue – Fever
26 Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde
27 Michael Jackson – Thriller
28 Paul Simon – Graceland
29 Billy Joel – An Innocent Man
30 Kinks – The Kinks
31 Guns N Roses – Appetite For Destruction
32 Pulp – Different Class
33 The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
34 Stevie Wonder – Songs In The Key of Life
35 Take That – Beautiful World
36 Blondie – Parallel Lines
37 ABBA – Arrival
38 Prince – Purple Rain
39 The Eagles – Hotel California
40 The Human League – Dare
41 Supertramp – Breakfast In America
42 R.E.M. – Automatic For The People
43 Wings – Band On The Run
44 Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
45 Joni Mitchell – Blue
46 Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet
47 Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
48 Robbie Williams – I’ve Been Expecting You
49 Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
50 Neil Young – Harvest
51 Carole King – Tapestry
52 The Verve – Urban Hymns
53 Celine Dion – Falling Into You
54 The Who – Tommy
55 Donna Summer – Bad Girls
56 George Harrison – All Things Must Pass
57 Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane
58 Bob Marley & The Wailers – Exodus
59 Donald Fagen – The Nightfly
60 Gerry Rafferty – City To City
61 David Bowie – Let’s Dance
62 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Déjà Vu
63 Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True
64 Roxy Music – Flesh and Blood
65 Steely Dan – Can’t Buy A Thrill
66 Culture Club – Colour By Numbers
67 David Gray – White Ladder
68 Bryan Adams – Reckless
69 Neil Diamond – Beautiful Noise
70 Phil Collins – Face Value
71 Genesis – Invisible Touch
72 Barbra Streisand – Guilty
73 Frank Sinatra – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!
74 Simply Red – Stars
75 Van Morrison – Avalon Sunset
76 Rod Stewart – Atlantic Crossing
77 Sade – Diamond Life
78 Buddy Holly & The Crickets – The Chirping Crickets
79 Whitney Houston – Whitney Houston
80 Michael Bublé – Crazy Love
81 Shania Twain – Come On Over
82 Emeli Sandé – Our Version Of Events
83 Elvis Presley – Moody Blue
84 Bee Gees – Spirits Having Flown
85 Eric Clapton – Slowhand
86 The Pretenders – The Pretenders
87 Eurythmics – Be Yourself Tonight
88 The Carpenters – A Song For You
89 John Lennon – Double Fantasy
90 Don McLean – American Pie
91 Chic – C’est Chic
92 Aretha Franklin – Lady Soul
93 Daryl Hall & John Oates – Private Eyes
94 Earth, Wind & Fire – I Am
95 The Doobie Brothers – Minute by Minute
96 Lionel Richie – Can’t Slow Down
97 Diana Ross – Diana
98 Paul McCartney – Pipes Of Peace
99 Dionne Warwick – Heartbreaker
100 Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.