The only reason for this post is that one of my connections on LinkedIn posted the picture above. Therefore I thought let’s have a bit of Blondie shall we? Also it might help us erase any nightmares of Wand Erection singing it! These are three of my favourite Blondie tracks, what are yours?
Blondie at International center, Toronto 1978 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
American rock band Kiss are tailor-made for appearing in comics and they have on many occasions. But did you know that their first ever appearance in a comic was in a 1977 issue of ‘Howard The Duck‘? Has anyone got a copy of that comic? As well as appearing in their own comic book series the band have also appeared on the Simpsons as themselves.
Elvis was the King and to many he still is, but I thought that maybe his crown might have amounted to more than just a tooth. a crown that was made for Presley’s teeth by former Memphis dentist Henry J Weiss. The crown was recently bought for $11,000 by Michael Zuk, a collector of celebrity teeth. Are there any more weird collectors than that? He also recently bought one of John Lennon‘s teeth and is planning to clone Lennon from that tooth!
Anyway if you are desperate to see Elvis’ crown it will be making a tour of 12 UK dentists to feature in their Elvis Days. This is to promote awareness of mouth/ oral cancer. As well as seeing the crown there will be music, costumes and a model of Elvis’ teeth. I don’t think I’ll be going. It’s hardly Bowie at the V & A is it? Click here to read the full story on the NME website.
Imagine how different music history might have been if Brian May had left Queen in 1974 just a short while before things really began to take off for them. It might have happened, during 1974 Queen were supporting Sparks in London and Ron Mael took the opportunity to ask Brian to become guitarist for Sparks. I wonder what direction each band would have taken had Mr May said yes? What do you think?
Now that the dust has settled on the excitement of the sale of tickets to see Kate Bush on stage after all these years (who’d have guessed that was going to happen?) I thought that it would be appropriate to entertain you with my top 10 Kate songs. As for those profiteers who have bought tickets with no intention of using them; may the fleas of a thousand camels infest in your arse and raise generations of flea families there. I also hope that said fleas make the arses of anyone associated with Viagogo and other so-called ticket exchange sites an urgent infestment priority. This is not the rant of a disgruntled punter without a ticket, I have mine. This is the rant of a music lover who believes that there should be no room in the world for ‘ticket exchange’ organisations who are in fact nothing better than licensed touts. They are the pay-day loan companies of the entertainment industry. Demand for these tickets was always going to exceed supply but for companies to be selling these tickets at such a massive premium sucks Satan’s cock in my opinion.
OK take your mind off of that whole issue and listen to Billy’s top 10 Kate Bush songs.
1 “Moments Of Pleasure”
2 “This Woman’s Work”
3 “Wuthering Heights”
4 “Cloudbusting”
5 “Why Should I love You?”
6 “The Man With The Child In His Eyes”
7 “Blow Away (For Bill)”
8 “And So Is Love”
9 “Running Up That Hill (Deal With God)”
10 “King Of The Mountain”
The Tuts are headlining their own exclusive UK tour in some excellent and intimate venues. I had the opportunity to see them play live again last night. The last time I saw them they were supporting Kate Nash at Fibbers in York back in early 2013. Things have gone well for them since then. They have another EP out next month and an album next year. I can hardly wait! On top of that they met the great Billy Bragg at Glasto last year and he has bagged them a slot on the left field stage for this years Glasto. If you’re there in June DO NOT MISS THEM! THAT IS AN ORDER!
Anyway more of the Tuts later, because they also had some great support. Unfortunately I only caught the last song from Elopes but they did sound pretty feisty. Sorry folks I’ll blame the train for missing your set. The other support band won me over with their name before they had even played a note. They are called Jesus And His Judgemental Father. How good is that name? Often when seeing a band for the first time, especially if I’ve not heard them before, I look for influences. I did that with Jesus And His Judgemental Father (I just felt like repeating that excellent name! For me there were shades of the Beat, Blink 182, 80s metal, the Pogues and I could probably come up with more. But for every small trace of influences they show they have stacks more originality. Harriet from the Tuts said that they sounded like the type of band that might appear at the High School dance in an 80s or 90s teen horror flick. That works for me. They are a really tight and very together band with a fabulously talented guitarist. The drummer showed support for Pussy Riot with the bright red balaclava. Given the chance I will definitely pay to see this band again and I bought their album last night too. It’s bloody good!
It was fantastic to see the Tuts headlining at last. They are well worth that top slot. Fun, funky, punky and different they are the Tuts and there is no one quite like them. Their cover of the Clash’s “Rudie Can’t Fail” would make Joe Strummer proud. They were even joined on stage by Jen Doveton, Harriet’s sister from Colour Me Wednesday for one song. Their own songs top tunes. I was still singing “Tut Tut Tut” in my head when I woke up this morning and “Dump Your Boyfriend” has probably been number one in the charts for weeks in a parallel universe where there is no shit like the X Factor on TV. These girls ooze talent and charisma and if they don’t make it to even bigger stages and audiences soon then there is no justice. Harriet, Bev and Nadia good luck with the rest of the tour, Glastonbury and York in October. I need more details about the latter obviously! If the Tuts are playing in a venue near you just get off your lazy arse and go and see them. You will not regret it!
They might look like angels but they rock like fuck when they’re on stage!
Now the North Korean authorities have decreed that everyone must get a hair cut exactly like their supreme leader Kim Jong-Un, (Actually just male undergradutes to begin with). Really? I know it might sound a little rich coming from a bald bloke like me, but Mr Jong-Un has a shit haircut doesn’t he? Will North Korean women also have to have the same haircut too?
Imagine if every country had that rule I would have worn a wig for years, including a Thatcher syrup (that’s cockney rhyming slang for the benefit of my overseas readers). Nowadays I’d have to seek out a nondescript Cameron cut.
Anyway let’s celebrate this ridiculous news with a haircut themed post. While you are listening click here to read the story on the BBC site.
Elton’s got balls!
Don’t you just love Elton John’s “Bennie And The Jets” from his 1973 double album ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road‘? I certainly do. I knew that it wasn’t a live recording but the applause included on the track makes it sound as though it is. Did you know that the applause wasn’t even recorded at an Elton gig? In fact it is drawn from recordings of the audience clapping and shouting at Jimi Hendrix’s Isle Of Wight festival set in 1970.
I know of another occasion where that kind of thing has happened too. The sound of the crowd used on the title track of David Bowie’s ‘Diamond Dogs‘ album is actually the applause taken from a live album by the Faces! Can any of you offer any similar gems?
The synthesiser intro to Elton John’s magnificent (in my opinion) “Funeral For A Friend”, the opening track on the ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road‘ album, was recorded by David Hentschel an engineer and, obviously, a synthesiser player. Apparently Elton only heard it for the first time after it was finished.
I might be a little late with this but today is the United Nations second International Day of Happiness. So let me help you celebrate with a few Happy and Happiness songs. Enjoy them and feel free to contribute some of your own.
