With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

“He’s gonna give up the booze and the one night stands” April 16, 2009

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 1:51 pm
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Hello once again dear readers, well unless of course like a few people that I know you just look at the pictures in which case you’re not reading this anyway are you? Are you? Well I’ll take that as a yes than shall I? Shall I?…. oh I give up!

Anyway let’s kick off this post with yet another shameless promotion of my son Luke’s band, they’re called Steal The Smile and they are extremely bloody good. They are headlining a gig in Abingdon, Oxfordshire on 24th April so get yourself down there. Failing that at least check them out on MySpace and tell me what you think, click on the band name to go to their MySpace page.

Steal The Smile rock Abingdon - be there or be square!

Steal The Smile rock Abingdon - be there or be square!

Someone sent me a great link earlier this week which I felt I had to share with you, it’s National Lampoon’s “Songs That Get Stuck In Your Head – Time Life”. I thought it was very funny and so true as well. Click here to check it out and let me know whether it made you laugh!

I guess that most of you have by now seen Susan Boyle’s appearance on ITV’s ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ show in the UK. (Click here if you haven’t seen it yet) I saw it at the weekend when it was initially broadcast and my initial reaction was that here comes another X Factor talentless type who says they want to be the next Whitney or Britney but in fact turn out to be Shitney! I was very pleasantly surprised when Susan began to sing “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Miserables. It’s not my type of music at all but she has certainly got a great voice. What really peeved me was the reaction of the judges after she had completed her song, particularly Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden, both in my opinion were facile, condescending and very shallow. I was reminded of this by Tanya Gold’s excellent piece in the Guardian today, click here to check it out

Dummy, Dippy and Simon

Dummy, Dippy and Simple three of the lesser known dwarves

On to the usual stuff now and today 16th April is the 62nd birthday of Mr Gerry Rafferty of Stealer’s Wheel and a talented solo performer. Did you know that he was once in a group with Billy Connolly in the 60’s called the Humblebums. His biggest solo hit was “Baker Street” and the saxophone solo on the song has been the subject of an urban myth that it was played by Bob Holness the host of the ‘Blockbuster’s’ TV game show. In fact this came about after then NME journalist Stuart Maconie wrote a spoof piece in the NME’s ‘Believe It Or Not’ column. It was subsequently adopted as fact.It was actually played by Raphael Ravenscroft. Recently Rafferty has had somewhat of a chequered existence with alleged alcohol and drug problems. He also went missing in the last few months and there have been contradictory statements from a few different ‘spokesmen’ It would appear that thankfully he is alive and well and living in either Scotland or Tuscany depending upon which ‘spokesman’ you believe. Gerry if you are unwell I wish you a speedy recovery and look forward to some new material soon.

If they were really "Stuck In The Middle" then clearly someone was missing from this picture!

If they were really "Stuck In The Middle" then clearly someone was missing from this picture!

On this day in 1969 Desmond Dekker along with the Aces was at number one in the UK charts with the fantastic song “The Israelites“. He was the first Jamaican artist to reach number one in the UK. Desmond’s real name is Desmond Adolphus Dacres. he eventually relocated to the UK and sadly died of a heart attack in May 2006 at his home in Thornton Heath. He is allegedly the source of the character name Desmond in the Beatles ska/ reggae influenced “Ob La Di Ob La Da”

Desmond with his dogs, the imaginatively named Spot, Spot, Spot, Spot, Spot and errr .........Rover???

Desmond with his dogs, the imaginatively named Spot, Spot, Spot, Spot, Spot and errr .........Rover???

On this day in 1993 David Lee Roth was arrested by an undercover policeman in New York’s Washington Square for allegedly buying a $10 bag of dope. Just $10? He wasn’t going to share that with his band was he? So just why were the police selling drugs anyway eh? We should be told! Roth found fame with Van Halen before embarking on a pretty successful solo career, although he did murder the Beach Boys “California Girls” on route!

Dave used to have a lot of balls, but not after he wore those trousers!

Dave used to have a lot of balls, but not after he wore those trousers!

And finally on this day in 1997 Mark Morrison was convicted with threatening a police officer with a 23,000 volt electric stun gun, you may not be surprised to know that this is an illegal weapon. He left Marylebone Magistrates court in London in tears after being warned that he may face a custodial sentence. I can’t believe he was surprised can you? You should have spoken to the same cop that Mr Lee Roth did Mark! Morrison is a British R & B singer who was actually born in Hanover, Germany. He does not own the Morrisons supermarket chain! His biggest hit was “Return Of The Mack” which went to the top of the UK charts in 1996.

Morrison in his 'Only God Can Judge Me' shirt, actually Mark I think you'll find that the courts judged you too!

Morrison in his 'Only God Can Judge Me' shirt, actually Mark I think you'll find that the courts judged you too!

 

“She’s really got a magical spell and it’s working so well I just can’t get away” April 14, 2009

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 3:51 pm
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Hello again good people and also to anyone not in that category! I’ll kick off with some news. Yesterday on BBC Radio 2 Rob Dryden hosted a countdown of the Top 75 songs that have been heard in public places in the UK. So that would include cafes’ restaurants, pubs and the like. The chart was compiled by PPL a music licensing company. The top 10 was as follows;

1. Procol Harum – A Whiter Shade Of Pale

2. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody

3. Everly Brothers – All I Have To Do Is Dream
4. Wet Wet Wet – Love Is All Around
5. Bryan Adams – (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
6. Robbie Williams – Angels
7. Elvis Presley – All Shook Up
8. Abba – Dancing Queen
9. Perry Como – Magic Moments
10. Bing Crosby – White Christmas
Some good songs in there, but Robbie…… give me a break! Robbie even tied with the Beatles for most entries in the top 75 with three. I really don’t like that Bryan Adams song either. But fair play to Procul Harum though, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” is a great song. Anyway if you’d like to see the whole of the Top 75 just click here
They had wanted to record Stairway To Heaven but made do with a Whiter Shade Of Pale

They had wanted to record Stairway To Heaven but made do with a Whiter Shade Of Pale

Next some bad news and some good news. First the bad news Phil Spector has been found guilty of murder and will no doubt be held behind something a little stronger than a wall of sound. I suspect that’s the end of Spector’s career now. But then he deserves the punishment if he committed the crime! The good news is that Robbie will not be rejoining Take That according to Gary Barlow. Click on their names for more information
Phil Spector's attempt to escape custody while disguised as a toilet brushed failed abysmally

Phil Spector's attempt to escape custody while disguised as a toilet brushed failed abysmally

Some even more sad news is that Sandi Thom’s cat Toots has been shot dead near her parents home in Scotland. Click here to read the story. Toots looks a little like my youngest cat Benny. What sort of person would shoot a cat?
Toots RIP

Toots RIP

On a brighter note and yes I know it’s yet more shameless promotion of my son Luke’s band, but they are looking for gigs. They will be playing in Abingdon on 24th April. Check them out on MySpace, give them a gig or go and see them and tell them I sent you! They are called Steal The Smile and they are bloody good!
Give these boys a gig............NOW! You won't be disappointed

Give these boys a gig............NOW! You won't be disappointed

On to the usual stuff for today and let’s try and cheer up after all the glum news shall we? Let’s start by wishing a very happy 67th birthday to Tony Burrows today, April 14th. Many of you probably don’t think that you know who Tony is, but if you read on I think you’ll find that you may be somewhat familiar with him. He was lead vocalist for Edison Lighthouse who topped the UK charts with “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” in 1970. He also holds the record for having the most records in the UK top ten at the same time, all under different names. In 1970 in addition to Edison Lighthouse he was also in the Top 10 with “My Baby Loves Lovin'” – White Plains, “Gimme Dat Ding” – The Pipkins and “United We Stand” – Brotherhood Of Man. On one edition of Top Of The Pops in that year he appeared three times, the only act missing that week was the Pipkins, but he did appear with them a week or two later. He was the lead vocalist for First Class in 1974 for their hit “Beach Baby” and he was also a vocalist for the Flowerpot Men on their hit “Let’s Go To San Francisco” in 1967. Here’s one for you fact fans, that group also contained Jon Lord and Nick Simper who went on to become founding members of Deep Purple. Click on the song title to see Tony singing “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” on Top Of The Pops in 1970 and introduced by Jimmy Saville
The Pipkins play human scrabble aor go to a fancy dress party as two "P"s in a pod!

The Pipkins play human scrabble aor go to a fancy dress party as two "P"s in a pod!

On this day in 1971 the Illinois Crime Commission issued a list of ‘drug-oriented’ records which included Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”, the Beatles “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and would you believe it for the second time today, Procul Harum’s “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”. I’m not sure why they issued this list, maybe they were making recommendations as to what to listen to when smoking a joint. Well whatever it was it’s good to know that the ‘powers that be’ are getting their priorities right……………..NOT! How about getting out and catching some real criminals?
Jefferson Airplane's secret giant cannabis tree would not be secret any longer, the Illinois Police had smoked them out!

Jefferson Airplane's secret giant cannabis tree would not be secret any longer, the Illinois Police had smoked them out!

On this day in 2003 a man was arrested and accused of making up a Bjork concert and then selling tickets. Alex Conate managed to persuade a San diego night club owner that Bjork had a greed to play a show there. He allegedly sold $14,000’s worth of tickets before he was rumbled. He was accused of taking the money and moving to Hawaii which is where he was arrested.
Bjork just wished that everyone would leaf her alone!

Bjork just wished that everyone would leaf her alone!

And finally for todays ‘onthisday’s in 1975 all the rumour and conjecture about who would replace Mick Taylor as the new guitarist with the Rolling Stones was put to bed. These rumours suggested that Steve Marriott, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Chris Spedding may have been considered. But we know that it was all round good bloke Ronnie Wood. Ronnie’s autobiography is one of the best rock biographies I have ever read, if you’d like to try it for yourself just click here
Ronnie was surprised at how well Keef was dressing these days

Ronnie was surprised at how well Keef was dressing these days

And now a proper and finally have you seen the new T-Mobile advert where the babies and toddlers are dancing to “Blame It On The Boogie”? It’s a real fun advert, click here to check it out! Check out the original Dancing Baby by clicking here, this is like the one that used to appear on Ally McBeal.

 

“Strap a hanging, commuting on the double A” April 13, 2009

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 8:06 pm
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Hello again folks on this fine Easter Monday 13th April, well that’s Easter over for another year. Did you over indulge in Easter Eggs? I didn’t. But whether you did or didn’t check out this great short film which explains where those gooey little critters Cadburys Creme Eggs come from. Let me know what you think of it.

So on with the usual crap starting with a birthday. Today would have been the 64th birthday of Lowell George off of Little Feat, but sadly he died from a heart attack in 1979 aged just 34. He was born in Hollywood where his father became known as ‘furrier to the stars’ his Dad raised chinchilla’s to provide Hollywood’s biggest stars with fur coats! He was also a member of Frank Zappa’ Mothers Of Invention at one time. Lowell was one of the first along with Ry Cooder to bring the slide guitar into rock music. He also played guitar on JJ Cale’s 1973 album ‘Paris 1919’ (thank you for Rocky for pointing out my error here, it was in fact John Cale and not JJ Cale. I’ll put it down to my age and imbibing a few beers whilst writing this post! Apologies to all concerned, in particular John and JJ) He found fame as a producer as well, he produced the Grateful Dead’s 1978 album ‘Shakedown Street’. Little Feat’s name arose partly because of Lowell’s short stumpy feet. Here are the wonderful Little Feat with “Dixie Chicken” live at the Rainbow in London in 1977.

Lowell had decided to change his image with the aid of a Rasta wig

Lowell had decided to change his image with the aid of a Rasta wig

On this day in 1956 the UK Top 20 became a Top 30, how things have moved on since those days of 78rpm shellac discs when rock ‘n’ roll was still in nappies (or diapers if you’re reading this in the North American colonies across the big pond!)

Londonbeat reached the top of the US charts with “I’ve Been Thinking About You” which also hit number 2 in the UK. The band’s lead singer was Jimmy Helms who had a solo hit in the early 70’s with “Gonna Make You An Offer You Can’t Refuse” At various times the band or it’s members provided backing vocals for Paul Young, Godley and Creme, Shakespears Sister, Dead Or Alive and Deacon Blue. At one time they were also signed to Dave Stewart’s Anxious Records. My favourite Londonbeat song is “9 A.M. (The Comfort Zone)” click the title to hear it.

After Londonbeat's new spectacles arrived they realised what a spectacle they had made of themselves with their ridiculous headgear

After Londonbeat's new spectacles arrived they realised what a spectacle they had made of themselves with their ridiculous headgear

And finally on this day in 2002 burglars broke into a house in Bexhill, Sussex, in England where they stole a hi fi system and a number of CDs. They left behind albums by Madonna, Robbie Williams (good taste then!) and Oasis (well as long as it wasn’t either of the first two albums that’s ok). However, this is the strange part, they did steal the owner’s entire collection of Showaddywaddy CD’s. Very strange indeed but let’s be honest Showaddywaddy are significantly more talented than Robbie! Here are those Showaddywaddy boys with their first UK hit “Hey Rock ‘N’ Roll” OK fact fans did you know that the first Showaddywaddy single was originally going to be “Sugar Baby Love” which was eventually taken to number one by the Rubettes. It still has the ‘bop showaddy, bop showaddywaddy’ refrain in the chorus

In spite of his innocent look the rest of the band could tell by the smell who had just farted!

In spite of his innocent look the rest of the band could tell by the smell who had just farted!

A very good Kiwi friend of mine (hello Fraser) also had the misfortune to have been burgled a few years ago and his hi fi, TV and the like were all stolen. Along with most of his CD’s, whilst he had no Showaddywaddy CDs, well none that he was prepared to admit to anyway, the thieves left all his Joe Satriani CDs in his flat. I do like to listen to Mr Satriani occasionally, however we did tease Fraser mercilessly about this for a while. So Fraser if you’re reading this I’m sorry mate and here is Mr Satriani especially for you! (just click his name)

Joe was very proud of his acheivement of knitting himself a new guitar with those magic invisible knitting needles

Joe was very proud of his acheivement of knitting himself a new guitar with those magic invisible knitting needles

 

The Boat That Rocked April 12, 2009

Filed under: Film — justwilliam1959 @ 10:29 am
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How many of you have seen the new Richard Curtis movie “The Boat That Rocked”? Isn’t it excellent? If you haven’t seen it I’ll forgive you for just a short while as it has only just been released, but report to the headmasters office if you still haven’t seen it by the end of the month.

Nick Frost

It’s a comedy set aboard a pirate radio ship in the North Sea in the 60’s. I don’t know about you but I am old enough to remember the heyday of pirate radio stations. Indeed I remember listening to both Radio London and Radio Caroline as a child at home. The film’s station Radio Rock sounds authentic to me. At the time the BBC’s pop music output was tiny at no more than two hours a week. The British government were keen to shut down the pirates, presumably as this would give them more control. At it’s peak it was estimated that more than 20 million people were listening to pirate stations.The government eventually succeeded with introduction of the Marine Offences Act but they clearly understood the value of pirate stations as the BBC launched Radio 1 on 30th September 1967. In fact many of the Radio 1 DJs had previously worked on pirate stations, including Tony Blackburn and my favourite DJ’s Johnnie Walker and John Peel.

Anyway back to the movie. The script is hilarious and the casting is first class. Bill Nighy is truly wonderful as the stations owner. Thick Kevin is a very funny character too. Some of the funniest characters are Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Count, Nick Frost as Doctor Dave and Rhys Ifans as Gavin. Watch out for the ‘chicken’ contest between Doctor Dave and Gavin it’s hilarious. So is the truth or dare scene about flatulence follow through! A special mention certainly goes to Kenneth Brannagh as a government minister too. My favourite character though was probably Angus ‘The Nut’ Nutsford played by Darby Rhys. You may have seen him before as Murray the Manager in ‘Flight Of The Conchords’

The soundtrack is bloody good too. Some excellent 60’s sounds including Procul Harum’s “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”, Martha and the Vandella’s “Dancing In The Street” There is an excellent cover of Lorraine Ellison’s “Stay With Me Baby” (which is one of the 50 songs in my top 10) from Duffy. perhaps the oddest choice of music though is the use of David Bowie’s 1983 number one “Let’s Dance” to close a sixties movie. In a nutshell that is the only thing I didn’t like about the film.

The Boat That Rocked is definitely a feel good movie and has some great laugh out loud moments. Failure to see it is not an option! Check out the film’s official website here.

Radio Rock really does rock!

The Boat That Rocked

 

“You wave your hand and they scatter like crows” April 10, 2009

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 5:09 pm
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Hello once again dear readers. I don’t know what religious persuasion you are, I’m an atheist, but the UK kind of shuts down a little for Easter. Right now I’m not sure whether that means I’ll post more or less this weekend. But anyway here is one for today, Friday 10th April.

let me kick off with some random stuff from a couple of days back. As the regular readers know I went to Whitby (aka Goth Central) for the day. Well while I was there I saw a van for a joinery company. Now I thought the name was quite amusing, but if you have very strong religious beliefs you might wish to stop reading now. OK I warned you, anyway the company was called JC Joinery and I thought that maybe that awful book the ‘Da Vinci Code’ held a degree of truth and maybe Jesus lived and his descendants continued with the family carpentry business. I wish that I had taken a picture of the van, because when I tried to find the company on Google I found loads of JC Joinery companies. Is there a deep seated and ancient conspiracy theory going on here? We should be told!

Back onto the music stuff now. Have you seen the rather excellent video for Eminem’s new single “We Made You“? If not just click on the title. It features appearances by Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, Blake Civil-Fielder, Elvis Presley and Sarah Palin, but none of these are the real people. It also features appearances from the real Dr Dre and the real 50 Cent. On top of all that there’s a great Star Trek spoof . There is also a rather worrying line in the song where Mr Mathers says “If you think this is bad wait until you hear my album” well something like that anyway. I like the song and I reckon he’s back on form. “Crack A Bottle” never really did it for me. Let me know what you think of the new song.

Whilst his women thought he was dynamite in bed Mr Mathers did have quite a short fuse!

Whilst his women thought he was dynamite in bed Mr Mathers did have quite a short fuse!

Check out this great article from the UK’s Guardian newspaper this week. It has an extract from Frank Zappa’s 1989 autobiography which suggests he had and understood the concept of file sharing long before anyone else. Certainly a long while before the music industry as most major labels still don’t have a clue! Click here to read it.

We are celebrating a birthday today as usual. Today is the 62nd birthday of Karl Russell. Who the hell is Karl Russell I hear you shout. Well he is Karl Russell the lead singer off of the Hues Corporation who hit the top of the US charts in 1974 with the wonderful single “Rock The Boat” The song also made it to number 6 in the UK and I still occasionally play it at my mobile disco gigs. In fact it’s seen by many as being on of the very first disco songs. The group’s name was a pun on the Hughes Corporation, with Hue being the colour of their skin. They had also suggested The Children Of Howard Hughes as a name but their label turned it down.

The Hues Corporation........."sofa so good!"

The Hues Corporation........."sofa so good!"

On this day in 1964 UK acts started a phenomenal run of seven weeks at the top of the US singles chart. Starting with “I’m Telling You Now” from Freddie and the Dreamers and followed by “Game Of Love” by Wayne Fontana, “Mrs Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” from Herman’s Hermits and finishing with “Ticket To Ride” by the Beatles.

On this day in 1970 at a gig in Boston Jim Morrison off of the Doors asked the audience if “anyone wants to see my genitals?” The management of the venue switched off the power and the gig was cut short. Jim was lucky Ms Bobbit wasn’t in the audience otherwise it wouldn’t have just been the gig that was cut short! Here are the Doors with “The End” live at the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970. And for all you fact fans did you know where the Doors took their name from? It was from the Aldous Huxley book ‘The Doors Of Perception

The police really didn't believe Jim when he tried to explain that his dog was indeed called 'Genitalia'

The police really didn't believe Jim when he tried to explain that his dog was indeed called 'Genitals'

And finally on this day in 1990 Tom Waits was awarded $2.475m in punitive damages after taking Dorito Chips to court following a radio advert in which the company had used a Waits soundalike. After the case was finished Waits remarked “now by law I have what I always felt I had…… a distinctive voice!” I wonder if Tom’s win led to the Credit Crunch for Doritos? (geddit?)

Here are a couple of songs from Tom Waits who is one of my favourite singers. Firstly and also in keeping with the fact that it’s Easter here is “Chocolate Jesus“. Second up is the wonderful “Downtown Train” some of you may recall Rod Stewart’s cover of this song which I thought was very good but not a patch on the original by Mr Waits

Tom holds up a giant tortilla chip to celebrate his victory

Tom holds up a giant tortilla chip to celebrate his victory

 

“Out of self respect I’m out of bread, I’m under loved I’m under fed” April 9, 2009

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 2:55 pm
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We took a day out to Whitby in North Yorkshire yesterday which is only about an hours drive from where I live in York. Many of you may know that Whitby is where much of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is set and much of the fabulously imposing structure of Whitby Abbey still remains. I think I will have to read the book again soon. Catwoman tells me that Whitby is supposed to be Goth Central, well apart from a couple of pre-teen girls with My Chemical Romance hoodies there was nothing even remotely close, maybe they just come out at night. By the way I know that MCR would not be considered goth, but really that is the closest thing I saw. But if the Daily Mail is to be believed, and I really don’t think it is, then these two kids were off to do some self harm and plan for suicide!

Whitby Abbey, it'll look good when it's finished won't it?

Whitby Abbey, it'll look good when it's finished won't it?

I did find a small independent music store though, as usual! I bought a copy of the supremely talented Julian Cope’s album ‘Black Sheep’ I got into Cope quite late really but I love his stuff now, especially his solo albums, I’m not so keen on the Teardrop Explodes. Incidentally did you know that the band got their name from issue 77 of Marvel Comics Daredevil from 1971 (which also featured Spiderman and Prince Namor)? Well they did and did you know that whilst I like Daredevil and Spidey the Silver Surfer is probably my favourite Marvel character? Well he is, but is followed in a very close second place by the Fantastic Four!

The page of the comic from which the Teardrop Explodes got their name

The page of the comic from which the Teardrop Explodes got their name

Whilst in Whitby we simply had to visit it’s most famous Fish and Chip restaurant, The Magpie and trust me it was well worth it! Click on the name to check it out. Speaking of fish,have any of you seen the new TV advert for Birds Eye Salmon Fish Fingers? I’m not sure if it is being shown outside the UK yet. Either way and just in case click here to see it. I think it is bloody hilarious and the best TV ad I’ve seen for ages.

I’ll cover just one birthday today 9th April. It’s the 29th birthday of Albert Hammond Jr off of the Strokes who has also produced a couple of solo albums in recent years too. He is the son of US singer songwriter Albert Hammond, I could make a joke here about his parents lacking creativity by giving him the same name as his Dad, but I won’t because that’s exactly what my parents did. no they didn’t name me Albert Hammond, he wasn’t my Dad ok, that’s just a “Big Stripey Lie” (you like the secret Kate reference Mickelodeon?). No my Dad, and therefore me too, were and are William Adamson, although no one ever calls me William anymore. Nowadays it’s Bill, Will, baldbloke or git. Anyway back to Mr Hammond Jr, I bought the Strokes’ first album ‘Is This It’ while I was on holiday in Canada in late August 2001. My copy contains the track “New York City Cops” which was removed from the US and some other territories releases after the terrible events of September 11th 2001. It was deemed disrespectful to the many public servants who risked and in many cases lost their lives on that day. I do understand that, but clearly it was written and recorded some time before those horrific murders so maybe now is a good time to reclaim it! Click here to see the band performing it live. Albert met Julian Casablancas, also off of the Strokes whilst at Boarding School in Switzerland. Albert’s dad had a massive hit in the early 70s with what I suppose would be termed one of my guilty pleasures these days, “It Never Rains In Southern California“. well maybe it does but surely it rains much, much less there than it does here in the UK.

Once again the Strokes fail to win at Giant Scrabble, spelling c;early wasn't their strong point!

Once again the Strokes fail to win at Giant Scrabble, spelling clearly wasn't their strong point!

It has been pointed out to me that Queen have not yet featured in my blog so far, well it’s nothing personal I do like them quite a lot. So here they are! On this day in 1973 Queen played a showcase gig for their new record label, EMI, at the Marquee Club in London. The late great (those l’s & g’s are getting very regular now, it must be all the Bran Flakes!) Freddie Mercury came up with the band’s name and claims he never even thought of it’s gay connotations, here is what he said about it; “I thought up the name Queen. It’s just a name, but it’s very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid, It’s a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it.” For me Queen was more than just Freddie, it was a combination of him, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor. That is why I really don’t get stuff like the newish Paul Rodgers and Queen album. I think Paul Rodgers has one of the great rock voices but he’s not a part of Queen is he? I’m sure that some of you will disagree but that’s my opinion. Anyway let’s end this Queen piece on a fun note with another excellent Freddie quote. Queen and the Sex Pistols were recording in the same London studio complex in 1977 when Sid Vicious went into the wrong room and saw Freddie Mercury sitting at the piano alone. Sid allegedly said something like “Freddie Mercury, still bringing ballet to the masses are you?” Freddie’s excellent reply was allegedly something similar to “Oh yes Mr Ferocious dear, we are doing our best” Here are the mighty Queen with my favourite of all their songs “Seven Seas Of Rhye“

Freddie loved to lord it over all those who were shorter than he was, which was basically..........everybody!

Freddie loved to lord it over all those who were shorter than he was, which was basically..........everybody!

And finally this day in 1991 saw the death of record producer Martin Hannett. He was born in Manchester and had produced many Manchester bands including; the Smiths, New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays and Magazine. He also worked with U2 and the Psychedelic Furs. He was credited as Martin zero for his first production job which was the “Spiral Scratch EP” by the Buzzcocks. He died of heart failure in 1991 after years of heavy drinking and drug addiction, which included heroin. Many people have a real misconception of the nature of addiction, myself included until recently. I have learned a lot from an Australian blog which now features on my BlogRoll, it’s called ‘The Australian Heroin Diaries‘ and you really should check it out. As far as Martin goes I had to finish with Joy Division’ fantastic “Love Will Tear Us Apart”

Martin was constantly being followed by two small UFOs that no one else could see

Martin was constantly being followed by two small UFOs that no one else could see

 

“I think I’m done with the kitchen table, baby” April 8, 2009

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 1:33 am
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Welcome back my friends to the blog that never ends…….. well ok it does take the odd sabbatical, anyway enough dithering and on with the show as they say! Well Queen and Leo Sayer say it as they both had hits about the show going on!

Some important news for you to start with, apparently Lady GaGa refuses to have sweaty cheese in her dressing room. Her current rider states that it must be odourless and served on ice. She also requires a whole roasted chicken in her dressing room. Thank you to those nice folks at ‘The Smoking Gun‘ for that information. So did you know that the Lady’s real name is Stefani Germanotta? No? well you do now!

Lady GaGa's Cheesy Rider

Lady GaGa's Cheesy Rider

It’s April 8th and it would have been the 80th birthday of Jacques Brel the Belgian born singer/ songwriter who died of cancer in October 1978. In the English speaking world Brel is better known for the English translations of his songs which many artists have recorded. Including such luminaries as Nina Simone, Scott Walker, Marc Almond, Dusty Springfield, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie (yep him again!) and Terry Jacks. “Seasons In The Sun” an English translation of a Brel song was recorded by Canadian singer Terry Jacks and was a big hit around the world in 1974.. Bowie recorded Brel’s “Port Of Amsterdam” and often played “My Death” live during the Ziggy days (click the song title to see the Dame doing the song more recently). Marc Almond often played Brel songs live and in 1989 he recorded a whole album of Brel songs called ‘Jacques’. Click here for a very comprehensive list of Brel covers on Wiki

Did he really write "Jumping Jacques Flash"? He's sure got a lot of sole!

Did he really write "Jumping Jacques Flash"? He's sure got a lot of sole!

On this day in 1967 a live soul revue at the Hammersmith Odeon in London included sets by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Arthur Conley and Booker T & the MGs. Now that is one fantastic package, it’s just a pity I was only 8 years old at the time. Well that and the fact that my parents preferred country music. So I suppose it could have been worse! Here is Arthur Conley with the classic and still one of my all time favourites and yes it is one of the 50 songs in my Top 10, “Sweet Soul Music”

Arthur was well known for his skill in playing the invisible trombone

Arthur was well known for his skill in playing the invisible trombone

Also on this day in 1967 Sandie Shaw became the first UK female artist to win the Eurovision Song Contest with the appalling song “Puppet On A String” She worked at the Ford Motor Plant in Dagenham, Essex, England when she left school. A very high proportion of Dagenham’s working class population worked there too. Unlike many of her contemporaries she also recorded many of her songs in French, German, Italian and Spanish. This clearly helped to popularise her more outside the UK. She also became the first artist to cover a Led Zeppelin song. Here is Sandie with a more recent update of “Puppet On A String” called “Puppet On A Brand New String”

Sandie had clearly been selling Mozzer short!

Sandie had clearly been selling Mozzer short or perhaps they were going to a Fancy Dress Party as Tom Cruise and his wife!

On this day in 1994, Gary Smith an electrician who was working at Kurt Cobain’s house in Seattle discovered Kurt’s body lying on the greenhouse floor. A shotgun was found next to the body. Seattle Radio Station KXRX broke the news at 9.40am that morning that the late great Cobain was dead, he was just 27. Conspiracy theories about Cobain’s death still abound, personally I don’t buy them at all, clearly he had considered and attempted suicide before so in some ways his death by his own hand, whilst very, very sad was not too much of a surprise. Cobain was given a guitar for his 14th birthday and soon learnt to play, apparently to covers he mastered early on were “Back In Black” (AC/DC) and “My Best Friends Girl” (The Cars). Here are Nirvana from the rehearsal of their ‘Unplugged’ show with Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World“. Nirvana were actually on the bill at the Reading Festival in the UK in August 1991 the same month my son Luke was born. Yes you guessed it here is yet another shameless plug for Luke’s band ‘Steal The Smile‘ They are currently recording an EP. To check out their MySpace page just click on the band name.

Freddy Krueger does grunge horror in 'Nightmare On Nirvana Street'

Freddy Krueger does grunge horror in 'Nightmare On Nirvana Street'

And finally on this day in 1998 George Michael was arrested by an undercover policeman at the Will Rogers Memorial Park in LA for committing a sex act in a public toilet. George Michael was quoted as saying “I was followed into the restroom and this cop, well I didn’t know that he was a cop at the time obviously, started playing a game. I think it’s called ‘I’ll show you mine, you show me yours and then when you show me yours I’m gonna nick you” Michael was later fined $810 and ordered to complete 80 hours community service for committing a lewd act. He later lampooned the arresting officer, Marcelo Rodriguez in the video for “Outside“. the cop later sued George for $10m for his apparent portrayal in the video and the emotional stress it had caused him, he lost the case, in fact it was thrown out by the courts. The UK tabloids had a lot of fun reporting George’s arrest. Whilst I really dislike what the UK tabloid press has become (cheap, nasty, invasive and greed driven) it’s clear that their headline writers do indeed have talent. The main headline from the Sun was ‘ZIP ME UP BEFORE YOU GO GO’

George gets ready to 'Whip It Out Before He Go Go's' he's such a 'Bad Boy' especially if you believe those 'Careless Whispers'

George gets ready to 'Whip It Out Before He Go Go's' he's such a 'Bad Boy' especially if you believe those 'Careless Whispers'

 

“My schemes, it seems, are merely dreams, fading with each morning” April 7, 2009

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 2:55 pm
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Hello everyone and welcome to this wonderful April 7th. I may not be posting every day in the future, but I’ll do my best! Today will be pretty much the usual format too. You’re probably all aware of the upcoming Faces reunion, apparently rehearsals are going on at the moment with four original members; Rod Stewart (vocals), Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Wood (guitar) and Kenney Jones (Drums). The current news seems to be that the late great (l’s and g’s back in the frame!) Ronnie Lane’s place will be taken by none other than Flea off of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Here are the Faces in their heyday with “Stay With Me” live from the rainbow in London in 1972.

Flea was so desperate to play with the Faces that he sold his clothes to raise the money to join Rod, Ronnie, Ian and Kenney

Flea was so desperate to play with the Faces that he sold his clothes to raise the money to join Rod, Ronnie, Ian and Kenney

I’m covering just one birthday today, the 62nd birthday of Florian Schneider-Esleben off of Kraftwerk. Although he left the band last year after an association with fellow band member Ralph Hutter that stretches back to the 60s. Florian also had a David Bowie (yes it’s been a little while but here’s another Mr B reference!) tune named after him. It was the largely instrumental “V2-Schneider” from the ‘Heroes’ album in 1977. Schneider was often seen as a perfectionist with Hutter once describing him as a ‘sound fetishist’. And for you fact fans Kraftwerk apparently means ‘Power Plant’ or ‘Power Station’ in German. Here are Kraftwerk with “The Robots”

Kraftwerk often used dummies on stage whereas Robbie Williams.......... well you can probably guess the answer to that one!

Kraftwerk often used dummies on stage whereas Robbie Williams.......... well you can probably guess the answer to that one!

On this day in 1956 The CBS Radio Network broadcast the first regularly scheduled rock ‘n’ roll radio show with the premiere of Alan Freed’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party. Freed saw himself as the father of Rock ‘n’ Roll and although he wasn’t the first to play it on the radio he is credited with coming up with the phrase ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ to describe it. Actually I read many years ago that the phrase was actually black slang words for sex. Does anyone know the correct answer to that one? Freed did an awful lot for race relations too bringing black and white folks together in what was still a heavily segregated country. Many stars including Little Richard have given him due credit for this. However at one point his TV show was canceled after Frankie Lymon was seen to dance with a white girl during the broadcast. You can’t get much more small minded than that, can you? Ultimately Alan Freed’s career was wrecked by the payola scandal. Payola was the name given to a form of bribery where DJs were paid money to broadcast specific records and in some cases even get themselves a writing credit on the song to boost their income. Freed allegedly did this with Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline” Click here for a sound clip of Alan Freed interviewing the late great (twice in a day now huh l’s & g’s?) Buddy Holly

Alan Freed tells his lawyer that perhaps he should have gone to Specsavers!

Alan Freed tells his lawyer that perhaps he should have gone to Specsavers!

And finally on this day in 1962 at the Ealing Jazz Club, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met Brian Jones for the first time. At the time Brian was calling himself Elmo Lewis and playing guitar with Paul Jones (no relation) who also went on to bigger things as a vocalist for Manfred Mann amongst others

Mick once again easily wins the annual campest member of the Stones contest

Mick once again easily wins the annual campest member of the Stones contest

 

“Just cause she dance a go-go, don’t mean she’s a ho – no!” April 5, 2009

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 8:42 pm
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Hello once again peeps, no post yesterday as I was very busy stripping! Yes you heard me correctly. So why was I stripping you might well ask and who the hell would want to see me with my kit off anyway? If you have asked those questions or something similar then all I can say is….. how rude! I’ve been stripping paint from the windowsills and as the house was built in the 1880’s it seems like there is more than 100 years of accumulated paint on there, or at least there was. The amount of different colours has surprised me too; red, brown, yellow, green, black, cream and white were all spotted. It took an absolute age to get the old stuff off too, thank you to those nice people at Nitromors for their wonderful product ‘All Strip Mousse‘ I really don’t like DIY, but this stuff is great.

But enough of that, it’s not why we’re here after all is it? we’re here for music right? Well while I was stripping this weekend I was thinking of stripper songs, not songs to strip to, although you could to some of these. But songs that are or indeed could be loosely related to stripping. So here they are in no particular order;

“The Stripper“- The David Rose Orchestra

“Stripped” – Depeche Mode

“Patricia The Stripper” – Chris De Burgh

“I’m In Love With A Stripper” – T Pain

“The Stripper Song” – Wyclef Jean featuring Hope

So before I give just a few trivia tidbits about these artists let me apologise to anyone who has arrived at this post looking for pictures of strippers, but stay and read a while, give your right arm a rest!

David Rose is probably most famous for his tune “The Stripper”, you know it I’m sure… da na na na, da na na na etc. Anyway he also wrote music for ‘Bonanza’ and ‘The Little House On The Prairie’ Also from 1941 to 1944 he was married to Judy Garland. Rose composed and recorded the tune in 1958, but it didn’t become a big hit until it was used in the film ‘Gypsy’ in 1962. Click here to see the wonderfully funny sketch of the late great (l’s and g’s reporting for strip duty!) Morecambe and Wise making breakfast to it, go on you’ll love it!

That's a bit risque for 1962. Still it might help the visitors to the blog who are currently resting their right hands ;-)

That's a bit risque for 1962. Still it might help the visitors to the blog who are currently resting their right hands 😉

Depeche Mode hail from Basildon in Essex in the UK and Vince Clarke was an original member before he went on to great success with Yazoo and Erasure amongst others. The remaining ‘Mode’ boys were pretty successful to, particularly in the US. Girl band the Saturdays took their version of Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough” into the charts earlier this year in aid of Comic Relief. There will be a new Depeche Mode album, ‘Sounds Of The Universe’ available in just a few weeks.

The Depeche boys swore that the first thing they would buy when this months royalty cheque arrived would be a new car

The Depeche boys swore that the first thing they would buy when this months royalty cheque arrived would be a new car

It would be fair to say that Chris De Burgh’s “Lady In Red” is one of my least favourite songs, perhaps because I’ve played it so many times as a mobile DJ. So I won’t talk about it here! As for “Patricia The Stripper” that was on Chris’ 1975 album “Spanish Trains And Other Stories”. There is also a song of the same title, but not the same song, on the Wombats album ‘The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide To Love, Loss And Desperation’

He looks a bit cross doesn't he?

He looks a bit cross doesn't he?

T-Pain or Faheem Rasheed Najm as he is known to his folks started his rap career in the group the Nappy Headz. He currently resides on Akon’s label Konvict Muzik. He was injured in a Golf Cart accident last month and had to have emergency dental work after losing four teeth. “I’m In Love With A Stripper” also features Mike Jones.

T-Pain nearly strangled himself trying to complete the Bling version of Cat's Cradle

T-Pain nearly strangled himself trying to complete the Bling version of Cat's Cradle

Wyclef Jean is Haitian and is also a Rastafarian. He continues to do an awful lot to support the less privileged in Haiti, setting up a trust fund after the devastation caused by Hurricane Jeanne in 2005. He first came to fame as a member of the rather excellent Fugees, who remain one of my favourite bands and one I’d certainly like to see reform too.

Wyclef thought that no-one was watching when he let one rip

Wyclef thought that no-one was watching when he let one rip

And finally the first stripper I ever saw as a relatively innocent 17 year old danced to a brilliant reggae version of the Curtis Mayfield song “Gypsy Woman” by Milton Henry. In your view what is the ideal stripper song?

 

“They told us tales, they told us lies, don’t they know they shouldn’t have told us at all” April 3, 2009

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:23 pm
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Hello again everyone how are well all then? I hope that you’re all ok because I have some very sad, bad, bleak news to impart. You really should be sitting down when you read this. Trust me it is the worst music news I’ve had to deliver since I started blogging, I know that’s only six weeks ago but this is really dreadful. So are you sitting comfortably? This is a bit like ‘Watch With Mother’ now isn’t it? Right I’ve been putting it off for long enough, now I have to tell you, stay in your seats. “Agadoo” by Black Lace is going to be reissued soon. See I told you it was awful news. It will be a 2009 remix and the video has been directed by Kevin Kennedy who used to play Curly Watts in Coronation Street, he also appears in it. He must need the money because this is a crime against music. The song was originally released in 1984 and made it to number 2 in the UK charts, held off the top spot by George Michael’s “Careless Whisper”. Click here to see just how bad it is, but be warned click at your own peril!

They should be arrested for those haircuts alone never mind that bloody song!

They should be arrested for those haircuts alone never mind that bloody song!

I have some other news too, not as bad as the first piece though. Apparently Ozzy Osbourne has had a premonition of his death. This is the quoted comment from Ozzy, “Some bird with some very rare virus is going to fly over my head. It’s going to shit on me and I’m going to melt on the floor” I presume he means a bird of the feathered variety. Can we also assume that it has nothing to do with drumming up publicity for the new series of ‘The Osbournes’ which will be called “The Osbournes Reloaded”. Reviews so far have completely panned it. perhaps he could do a deal with Satan and get that bird to shit on Black Lace instead?

Will it be the lesser spotted Sharin Bird that shits on Ozzy's head?

Will it be the lesser spotted Sharon Bird that shits on Ozzy's head?

Have you been following the coverage of the G20 summit? There is actually a music link here too, not the fact that Bob Geldof was pontificating as usual either. the Queen usually gives visiting world leaders and dignitaries a signed framed photograph of her and Prince Phillip, she receives a wide range of gifts in return. This week she received a video iPod from the Obama’s. It was preloaded with photos of the Queen’s state visits to the US in 1957 and 2007, some video and audio of Barack Obama’s speeches including the inauguration and 40 great show tunes. The Queen loves musicals apparently and the gift also came with a rare songbook which was signed by Rodgers off of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

And finally on the news front the two remaining Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will be taking part in a live public webcast later today, April 3rd (12 noon EST). The pair will be helping promote the David Lynch Foundation’s initiative to teach at least one million ‘at-risk’ youths to meditate. perhaps they’re seeking “Instant Karma” The pair along with many other rock luminaries have been practising Transcendental meditation for years. To take part in the conference visit davidlynchfoundation.org Later this evening McCartney and Starr will be joined by a cast of many at new York’s Radio City for a benefit concert to raise money for the David Lynch Foundation. Performers include Eddie Vedder (off of Pearl Jam), Moby, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper, Paul Horn, Bettye La Vette, Mike Love (off of the Beach Boys) and Jim James (off of My Morning Jacket).

David is ready to release his chicken over Ozzy's head

David is ready to release his chicken over Ozzy's head

Have any of you seen the BBC documentary ‘The Queens Of British Pop’? I saw part 1 this week and it was rather good. It featured Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Suzi Quatro, Siouxse Sioux and the mighty Kate Bush. Click here for the link. yes I know Suzi is American but she did have her biggest success in the UK. As for Kate well on this day in 1979 she made her live debut at the Liverpool Empire. Kate is also the number one search term used which arrived at this very blog. More than 700 searches for Kate have found their way here. The next two are Pink Floyd with over 600 and Lily Allen with nearly 200 plus another 10 for Lily Allen Naked!

Kate has just released a Falcon towards Ozzy, perhaps it would have been easier to unleash the Hounds Of Love!

Kate has just released a Falcon towards Ozzy, perhaps it would have been easier to unleash the Hounds Of Love!

Here comes another blatantly shameless plug for my son Luke’s band Steal The Smile. They are playing at the Face Bar in Reading this evening so go and check them out. If you can’t make it get yourself over to their MySpace page by clicking here and let me know what you think of them.

I’ll end todays post with a couple of ‘onthisdays’ and the birthdays will return another time! Firstly on this day in 1975 Steve Miller was charged with setting fire to the clothes of a friend, Benita Diorio. Presumably not a close friend or perhaps he had the hots for her! Police arrived at Miller’s house to find Benita trying to put out the flames. Miller began fighting with some of the policemen and was eventually charged with resisting arrest.

Steve plays on despite the fact that his friend's wardrobe is on fire behind him

Steve plays on despite the fact that his friend's wardrobe is on fire behind him

And finally on this day in 1993 the Bluebells were at number one in the UK with “Young At Heart” The song had originally been released some ten years earlier. But this time around it was the beneficiary of a Volkswagen TV advertising campaign. Here’s one for you fact fans too, the song was co written by Siobhan Fahey off of Shakespears Sister and Bananarama!

The Bluebells contemplate drowning themselves after hearing that Agadoo is about to be released again!

The Bluebells contemplate drowning themselves after hearing that Agadoo is about to be released again!