With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

“They take some brain away, then turn my face around” January 8, 2011

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 11:43 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bowie was an early adopter of the guitar string floss method

OK perhaps a tad late, but it is still just about 8th January where I am. Anyway I would like you all to join me in a quick chorus of Happy Birthday for David Robert Jones, better known as David Bowie to most of you and possibly even the Dame to longstanding NME readers. I became a Bowie fan in September 1972 after that now legendary performance of “Starman” on Top Of The Pops. Many, many people had their Bowie epiphany from this performance, understandably too, it was otherworldly and alien. Even now it is quite a striking performance, especially subtle touches, like Bowie draping his arm around Mick Ronson‘s shoulders. It might all seem quite innocuous and tame nowadays, but in 1972 it was so very far out there.

That performance was shown on a Thursday night and two days later I raided my piggy bank and purchased four Bowie albums on cassette; “Space Oddity”, “The Man Who Sold The World“, “Hunky Dory” and “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars“. After about 18 months I had worn them all out! I first saw Bowie in 1976 and have now seen him 8 times in total, although if the rumours are to be believed we may never see him in concert again. However if you’re reading this David, can we at least have another album or two?

I have another piece of very slightly related Bowie news. My good friend Nick Horslen appeared on BBC Radio Berkshire earlier this week to do an interview about his life as a business coach, small business supporter, charity volunteer and many other things. He chose a few songs to play during his slot, notably Mr Bowie’s “Heroes” alongside “Harvest For The World” from the Isley Brothers and “We Can Work It Out” by the Beatles. He interviewed really well and I would also like to thank him for the excellent shout he gave this very blog. You can still hear the interview on the BBC iPlayer for a few days at least. Click here for the link and wind it forward to around 2 hours and 4 minutes and you’ll be able to listen to Nick’s interview on BBC Radio Berkshire’s Phil Gayle Show.

Now take some time out to enjoy a couple of Bowie classics and a couple that don’t get played much. Happy 64th birthday Mr Jones!

 

“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am…..” January 4, 2011

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 10:50 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

It is with sadness that I bring you news of the death of talented Sottish singer songwriter Gerry Rafferty aged 63. He had a well documented battle with alcoholism and also supposedly ‘disappeared’ a couple of times in recent years. But even with all that 63 is still a relatively young age to go these days.

Most people will remember Gerry for the classic “Baker Street“, which reached number 3 in the UK and number 2 in the US. It’s 1978 parent album, ‘City To City‘ sold 5.5 million copies in the US and managed to top the US album chart in 1978, beating the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. He was also co responsible for another classic song “Stuck In the Middle With You” with Stealers Wheel from 1973. The two songs have achieved 5 million and 4 million radio plays respectively. In 1987 he also co produced one of my favourite songs, “Letter From America” by the Proclaimers. I am sure he will be sadly missed by his family, friends and fans. Gerry Rafferty RIP.

 

“She’s Lois Lane, but when it’s bad it’s awful” January 3, 2011

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 12:43 am
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So here we all are in a new year once again. It seems hard to believe that we are now 11 years into the current century and that I have now lived in seven different decades. But then as my Nan once said to me, old age is always 10 years older than you are. So I take this to mean that as long as it’s not my name in the Guinness Book Of Records as the oldest person on the planet then I will never be old, will I? Obviously I’m only saying all this because I turned 52 on January 1st and birthdays make you think of age, longevity, life and stuff don’t they?

Rihanna longed for a deeper bath

Anyway enough drivel about me let’s take a quick look at the best-selling UK albums and singles for 2010. Rihanna has performed amazingly well with one entry in the album top 5 and two in the singles. It was also good to see the X Factor single failing to make the top spot in the end of year sales chart.

I assume that the one in the front next to Gary is Robbie

Top UK albums of 2010

  1. Progress – Take That
  2. Crazy Love – Michael Buble
  3. The Fame – Lady Gaga
  4. Loud – Rihanna
  5. The Defamation of Strickland Banks – Plan B

Worldwide album sales have Lady Gaga at number one with ‘The Fame’, followed by Eminem with ‘Recovery’ in  the number 2 slot.

It looks like Matt is very much a thigh man

Top UK singles of 2010

  1. Love The Way You Lie – Eminem ft Rihanna
  2. When We Collide – Matt Cardle
  3. Just The Way You Are (Amazing) – Bruno Mars
  4. Only Girl (In The World) – Rihanna
  5. OMG – Usher ft Will I Am

To see the more extensive lists click here for the Official Chart Company site.

 

2010 in review January 2, 2011

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 12:32 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 490,000 times in 2010. If it were an exhibit at The Louvre Museum, it would take 21 days for that many people to see it.

In 2010, there were 143 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 245 posts. There were 402 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 45mb. That’s about 1 pictures per day.

The busiest day of the year was September 13th with 6,362 views. The most popular post that day was Janie Jones.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were alphainventions.com, search.aol.com, 74.125.67.100, facebook.com, and en.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for lady gaga, eminem, pink floyd, kate bush, and pink.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

“We are starlight, we are golden” February 2009
9 comments

2

“You wave your hand and they scatter like crows” April 2009

3

“If you’re 555, then I’m 666” March 2009
21 comments

4

“I wanna say, I wanna tell you, about the young ideas, but you turn them into fears” February 2009
2 comments

 

“Then one night some men of higher standing set a trap, they’re not to blame” December 31, 2010

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 8:44 am
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bobby Farrell RIP

Some interesting news and a strange coincidence for you on this last day of 2010. Amy Winehouse recently pocketed £1 million for a private gig in Moscow for a Russian tycoon, not bad for someone who hasn’t played a gig in ages. There were two other acts on the bill; Boney M and Ke$ha, quite a strange combination in my opinion. What do you think? A few days after that gig singer and dancer Bobby Farrell off of Boney M died in a St Petersburg hotel room after a gig in the city. It is understood that he had a history of heart trouble. The strange coincidence is that Bobby died in the same city as Rasputin and on exactly the same date. Now that is the strange coincidence given that one of Bobby’s big hits with Boney M was “Rasputin” Click here to read the story of Bobby’s death on the BBC. Regular readers will know that Boney M were never my favourite band, in fact they were a long way from it, but it is always sad when someone dies so young, so RIP Bobby. Here he is with Boney M and that very song (followed by songs from Amy and Ke$ha:

Amy looks for a safe place to hide her million quid

Meanwhile in the New Years honours list Annie Lennox wins an OBE while Trevor Horn godlike producer wins a CBE, congratulations to them both. Although I am unlikely ever to be offered a Royal honour I have made it very clear to my family and friends that I would turn it down, I cannot support an institution like the Royal Family. I find it strange that there are now a number of Knights of the Realm among the rock and pop aristocracy; Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and Sir Mick Jagger. Keith Richards has made it clear that he would never accept such and honour and David Bowie has already turned down the offer of royal honours a couple of times in the past. Watch Annie with the Eurythmics below along with a couple of classic videos for Trevor Horn productions.

Due to government budget cuts OBE winners were now awarded a cuddly toy rather than a medal

 

“It’s been a long, long time since I’ve got you on my mind” December 29, 2010

Filed under: News,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:44 am
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This will be quite a short post, but one I simply had to post. Regular readers will know that I am a big Johnny Nash fan and also not a small fan of Bob Marley. I have a Google Alert set up for Johnny Nash and today it pointed me towards a real gem of a blog post from the Transpontine Blog. It is a South East London Blogzine and todays post was about a story that appeared in the Southwark News from early November. If you thought Peckham was only famous for Del Boy and Rodney then prepare to think again, for it may have reignited the career of Johnny Nash and sparked the career of Bob Marley in 1972.

Keith Baugh, the Art Teacher at Peckham Manor School in the early 70s met Johnny and Bob in a London club in 1972 where they bemoaned the fact that they simply couldn’t get their songs played on the radio. So Keith suggested that they do a bit more promo work, perhaps with a gig at his school. So they took him at his word and played two sets, they also found time to play a bit of football with some of the pupils.

I really loved the Transpontine post, so thanks to them, the Southwark News and Keith Baugh for providing the photos and the story. Transpontine has also been added to my Blogroll. Obviously this also gives me a chance to indulge in a few songs from a couple of my most favourite artists. Did I ever tell you that Johnny Nash was the first person to have a UK chart hit with a Bob Marley song? Well he was and that song was “Stir It Up”

 

“We can make your wildest dreams come true” December 27, 2010

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 8:21 am
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

It is with sadness that I report the death of Teena Marie aged just 54. According to some news reports she died in her sleep and was found by her daughter. Read the news here on Yahoo. Teena was one of Motown‘s most successful white artists and a protegé of funk legend Rick James. Motown were worried that the fact she was white might have a detrimental effect on sales so they kept her image from the cover of her first album. A bit like the way they released some albums by their black artists in the 60s, I recall one Isley Brothers album, where the cover was a picture of a lot of beautiful young white people on a beach! It’s all wrong surely.

Teena also won a landmark legal case against Motown before she joined Epic. It broke the way record companies were allowed to hold artists on contract without them being able to release anything. Although she went on to further success with Epic in the 80s Teena for me will always be remembered for two classic funk songs from her Motown days; “Behind The Groove” and “I’m Just A Sucker For Your Love”. You can listen to them below and also watch an excellent clip of her singing “Casanova Brown” live

She will be sadly missed, my thoughts go out to her family and fans around the world.

 

“Got to be a joker he just do what he please”

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 12:12 am
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Well I trust that you all had a good Christmas and that your turkey is all used up. Myself and Catwoman certainly ate too much as usual! Anyway I’m back with a couple of snippets of news for you.

Even Simon Cowell can't stand to listen to most contestants

Firstly I am saddened to report that the X Factor was the most watched show of 2010 on UK TV. Some 17.7 million viewers watched Matt Cardle crowned champion on the final show of the series whilst England versus Germany in the World Cup could only muster 17.4 million. But it would be fair to say that the England team showed as much talent as some of the no talent losers that populate the first few weeks of the X Factor. Eastenders and Coronation Street were 3rd and 4th. You can read the story here on the BBC. Matt Cardle has also managed to stay for a second week at the top of the UK charts. The top ten also features Rihanna, Black Eyed Peas, Take That and Katy Perry who have all had major guest slots on the show. Olly Murs, X Factor Finalists and JLS, all former contestants are in the top 40. In addition part-time X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger has a top 40 place and there are two for X Factor judge and the Nations Sweetheart Cheryl Cole. So many places taken up by X Factor related stuff, how bad is that?

So onto some better news, the zebra crossing outside the Abbey Road studios which was featured on the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road album has been given listed status. This must be the most famous crossing in the world. How many of you have been there and had your picture taken on it? Send them to me and I’d be happy to post them on the blog! The BBC reports the story here. To celebrate listen to the Fab Four below with “Come Together” from that very album. Below that you can also see two other famous crossings, the Simpsons and the Red Hot Chili Peppers

 

“Pretty lights on the tree I’m watching them shine” December 25, 2010

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:02 am
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As a special Billy Christmas bonus for those of you who have stuck with me through each and every one of the 25 posts on my UK Christmas Number Ones Advent Calendar. Here are the 21 UK Christmas number ones that did not get seen or heard on any of the original posts. Enjoy them as you digest your turkey and enjoy a nice glass of wine 🙂

And finally at the end of the post I couldn’t resist adding another bonus, the final song is my favourite Christmas song ever, it’s Darlene Love with “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”

1953       Frankie Laine     “Answer Me”

1954       Winifred Atwell  “Let’s Have Another Party”

1956       Johnnie Ray        “Just Walkin’ in the Rain”

1959       Emile Ford & The Checkmates    “What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?”

1969       Rolf Harris           “Two Little Boys”

1976       Johnny Mathis “When A Child Is Born (Soleado)”

1977       Wings    “Mull of Kintyre”

1980       St Winifred’s School Choir “There’s No-one Quite Like Grandma”

1982       Renée and Renato          “Save Your Love”

1985       Shakin’ Stevens                “Merry Christmas Everyone”

1992       Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You”

1993       Mr Blobby “Mr Blobby”

1994       East 17 “Stay Another Day”

1995       Michael Jackson “Earth Song”

1997       Spice Girls           “Too Much”

2000       Bob The Builder                “Can We Fix It?”

2001       Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman              “Somethin’ Stupid”

2005       Shayne Ward     “That’s My Goal”

2006       Leona Lewis       “A Moment Like This”

2007       Leon Jackson     “When You Believe”

2008       Alexandra Burke              “Hallelujah”

 

“Does your granny always tell ya that the old songs are the best”

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:00 am
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Christmas everyone and thank you so very much for reading my blog, especially for those of you who have hung in their for all of my UK Christmas Number Ones Advent Calendar posts. With today being December 25th that as they say is that. But I am signing off the Advent Calendar with a real Christmas classic. It still gets played regularly these days as well. It’s from 1973 and it’s Slade with “Merry Xmas Everybody”. It was number one for 5 weeks in 1973/1974.

It was the bands 6th and final UK number one, following “Coz I Luv You” (1971), “Take Me Bak ‘Ome” (1972), “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” (1972), “Cum On Feel The Noize” (1973) and “Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me” (1973). The song was the third of Slade’s UK number ones to enter the charts at the top. Noddy Holder expressed amused surprise when the song remained at number one until mid January asking “who is still buying a Christmas single after Christmas?”

All very amusing indeed, but Rudolph would like his nose back!

Unlike contemporaries like Mud and the Sweet Noddy and the boys wrote their own songs and this one was written by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. In 2007 “Merry Xmas Everybody” was voted the UKs favourite Christmas song. The song was recorded at the Record Plant in New York during a small summer US tour for the band. Apparently it was a very hot day in an August heat wave. The echo sound you can hear on the chorus was achieved by recording it in the studio corridor.

So that’s it for this years Advent Calendar, any ideas or suggestions for next years advent calendar theme would be welcomed. In the meantime I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and a fabulous New Year.