With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

Ian Hunter – Harrogate Theatre Thursday 25th October 2012 October 25, 2012


I had the good fortune to accompany my good buddy John Williams to a gig in Harrogate on Thursday. Not just any gig, but an Ian Hunter gig. Someone who I have always liked but up until now had never seen play live. So I was anticipating great things. Did we get great things? Well let me talk about the support act first and then I will tell you!

Otis Gibbs all the way from Wanamaker, Missouri provided a very entertaining support set. He has some great songs, many of them well written story songs. He also engages really well with the audience between songs. Otis Gibbs; talented, humorous, good bloke and frankly bloody good at what he does!

As I said earlier I was expecting great things from Mr Hunter and I can say that categorically he didn’t let us down. He was, and I use this word sparingly these days, awesome. He started the show with two great rockers “Comfortable” from his new album and the classic “Once Bitten Twice Shy“. He played a lot of songs from the new album including the superb title track “When I’m President”, the wonderful “Black Tears” and a song that grows on me every time I hear it “Ta Shunka Witco (Crazy Horse)”

Obviously he played some classic Mott The Hoople tracks including “All The Way From Memphis” and “Roll Away The Stone“. Then there was the obligatory (well Mott played it often) cover of the Velvet Underground‘s “Sweet Jane“. But that wasn’t the end of the Mott songs. During the encore they played my two favourite Mott The Hoople songs; the sublime “Saturday Gigs” and the best song Bowie wrote and never released himself “All The Young Dudes“. A stupendous end to a great set from a brilliant artist and indeed an excellent band; the Rant Band. Ian is 73 now but he rocks better than many younger rock stars.

Mr Hunter thank you for an excellent night and keep on rockin’ dude! Let me finish with a short clip of “Saturday Gigs” from tonight which was filmed on my positively ancient Nokia as were the photographs in this post.

 

“‘Cause Chelsea girls are the best in the world for company” October 24, 2010


This post is just a collection of things I have found on the net recently or of things that have been sent to me during the past few weeks. Kicking off with a dance master class from the Godfather Of Funk Mr James Brown. Click here to see it. Check out his robot dance……… totally awesome! Then watch the video below to see him in action on the Shindig TV show in 1965 with “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag

James thought to himself "Man that was some fart!"

Next up is an animated film that accompanied “Basketball Jones” from the mighty Cheech and Chong. I first saw this on the Old Grey Whistle Test in the mid 70s and I have loved it ever since. What do you folks think of it?

The new UK charts were revealed just a few hours ago and unsurprisingly the new Kings Of Leon album tops the album chart. There are also two entries in the top ten for the Beatles with the remastered reissues of the red and blue compilations from the 70s. Meanwhile the new UK number one single is what I probably have to describe as a guilty pleasure for me. It’s not something I would usually like it’s “Just The Way You Are (Amazing)” from Hawaiian singer Bruno Mars. The video does some really clever stuff with cassette tape.

Give me a 'P' please BOB

I would like to introduce an artist that is very new to me, her name is Clarita De Quiroz, (click here for her web site). I discovered thanks to a work colleague who has a friend who has recently written some songs for her. She is definitely worth checking out. She is very gorgeous and very talented….. a bit like me then 😉

Not many people realised that Carlita had started life as a showroom dummy

And finally a clip from the Mott The Hoople reunion gigs at Hammersmith last October. I so wanted to be there, but I couldn’t get tickets. This song is probably my favourite Hoople song, “Saturday Gigs“. It was their final single and the only one they released with the late, great Mick Ronson in the band.

 

“Bless my cotton socks I’m in the news” October 17, 2010


Earlier this week I finished reading the two volumes of Julian Cope‘s autobiography; ‘Head-On‘ and ‘Reposessed’ and I enjoyed them both immensely. I was no more than a casual fan of the Teardrop Explodes, although the fact that their name originated from a Marvel comic certainly sparked some interest in me. I always felt they were far better than some of the over-produced cack that the early 80s pumped out (Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran etc)

 

Julian cope struggles to find his guitar which opted for the hide in plain sight option

 

I got into Julian’s solo output in the early 90s, which is after the period that the two books cover. ‘Head-On’ runs up to 1982 and ‘Repossessed’ from 1983 to 1989. Both books are incredibly open and honest and Julian bares both his soul and his feelings regularly. I think he comes across as a great bloke, who stays loyal to his friends, know’s his enemies and is very, very much in love with his wife Dorian. Incidentally a friend of mine (thank you Mr Hayhurst) once met Dorian at a Black Crowes gig, he said she was lovely.

 

Clearly too much acid can leave your eyes fried!

 

I got a real sense from his writing that he really knows who he is, although perhaps he didn’t in the early days, and where he wants to go. I was also very pleasantly surprised to read about his interest in toy collecting, in particular toy cars. They say that all of us men revert to childhood as we get older and perhaps that’s why my comic collection appears to be growing at the same rate as Julian’s toy collection did!

The book includes some great pieces on many of the people involved in the Liverpool scene of the late 70s/ early 80s; Echo and the Bunnymen‘s Ian McCulloch and Pete DeFrietas, Pete Burns (eventually off of Dead Or Alive), Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford (eventually off of Frankie Goes To Hollywood), Pete Wylie (off of various incarnations of Wah) and Bill Drummond (eventually off of one of my favourite 90s acts; the KLF)

 

When times were hard Julian would play anywhere with anyone!

 

The stories of touring America are on a par with Ian Hunter’s fabulous ‘Diary Of A Rock N Roll Star’ which is probably my favourite biographical rock book ever! As for the stories of Mr Cope’s solo tours in Japan, well they are just bloody hilarious. So if you like a good rock music book check these out! I am an even bigger fan after reading these books and finally in the words of Julian himself ‘Awlright!’

So before you take a look at the videos and sounds below check out Julian’s excellent Head Heritage site.

 

“Billy don’t like it living here in this town” August 1, 2010


Back in the days when everyone knew me as Billy, now it’s more like Old Bill

This may seem a bit self-indulgent, but is it just me or is there anyone else out there who either loves or loathes songs that include their name? My name is William, but these days most people know me as Bill. As a boy I was known as Billy and some of my Scottish relatives called me Willie, or Wullie as it sounds in a strong Glaswegian accent. I also suffered from being called Little Billy for quite a few years as my Dad and grandfather were fellow Williams. So at the top there was my Grandad, Bill then my Dad, Billy and finally me, Little Billy. Perhaps that is one of the reasons my son is not called William.

Anyway onto the songs, I have always thought that derivations of my name feature in a hell of a lot of songs, but that is probably because I listen out for it. I’m not sure which the most common names used in songs are but I reckon possibly Johnny for the boys and perhaps Susan/ Sue/ Suzie for the girls. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this as well. I was also surprised to find that there are far more William/ Billy songs that I like than those I don’t like

Now onto those William related songs. I have put them into three categories; The Good (those that are ok), the Bad (those that I really don’t like) and the Ugly (reserved for the one William or Billy song that I really, really do not like) I have included songs where my name is included in the lyric and not necessarily in the title.

The Good

William It Was Really Nothing” – Smiths. Probably one of my most favourite William songs. This clip is the famous Top Of The Pops appearance from 1984 where Morrissey pulls open his shirt to reveal the words ‘MARRY ME’

Wedding Bell Blues” – 5th Dimension. This act featured Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Junior who went on to have a massive hit in 1976 with “You Don’t Have To Be A Star”

All The Young Dudes” – Mott The Hoople. Simply for the ‘Billy rocked all night about suicide’ line. This is the song that Bowie gave to Mott to ensure that they didn’t break up. Apparently they turned down “Suffragette City” and Drive-In Saturday”. This version is from the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert at Wembley in 1992 and features the remaining members of Queen, David Bowie, Ian Hunter and the late, great Mick Ronson

Rat Trap” – Boomtown Rats. This one is here as one of the songs main protagonists is Billy. Apparently when Bob Geldof was unsure about releasing this song. He played a demo of it to Phil Lynott off of Thin Lizzy who said that if Geldof didn’t do it he certainly would

My Girl Bill” – Jim Stafford. This song has a great twist and check out the amazing shirt collar on Mr Stafford

Bill When Are You Coming Back” – Supremes. This was a post Diana Ross B Side and I love it. I always preferred the Supremes without Diana

C’Mon Billy” P J Harvey. Great Artist, Great Song……’Nuff Said!

The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill” – Beatles. A classic track from my favourite Beatles album, the one known as ‘The White Album’ but is actually called ‘The Beatles’

The Bad

Billy” – James Blunt. I never have liked James Blunt, I just don’t like his voice, so I guess there was no chance for this song with me

Little Willy” – Sweet. I have grown to like this a bit more over the years. But to have a song like this out when you’re going through adolescence is no fun. A great opportunity for other kids to diss the size of one’s budding manhood!

Which Way You Going Billy?” – Poppy Family. A Canadian act with what for me ranks as one of the most insipid songs of the sixties

The Ugly

“Billy Don’t Be A Hero” – Paper Lace. What can I say? I really, really, really, really dislike this song. It was a UK number one in 1974 for Paper Lace, but the US hit was by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods

 

“And when that rainbow’s shining over you, that’s when your dreams will all come true” April 29, 2009


Hello everyone, I’m back with a normal(ish) post, you know the type, a birthday and some ‘onthisdays’. Long time no post I know but I’ve been a bit busy. But right now I have a bit of time so here goes!

Catwoman has posted another excellent blog including some music, now I wonder where that bit came from! But seriously if you’re looking for a great VA (that’s Virtual Assistant if you didn’t know) then get in touch with her. Click on Virtual Assistant to visit her Kaleidoscope Business Services site and click on  Virtual Assistant again to read that excellent blog. The brighter ones among you may have figured that Catwoman is not her real name, it’s…….. her secret identity!

Catwoman, probably not the best seamstress in the world judging by this outfit!

Catwoman, probably not the best seamstress in the world judging by this outfit!

Today the 29th April 2009 is the 30th birthday of Jo O’Meara off of S Club 7, or to give her full name, Joanne Velda O’Meara. Jo was joined in S Club 7 by Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Rachel Stevens and Jon Lee. The group was put together by Simon Fuller one time manager of the Spice Girls. Wait a minute so the Spice Girls and S Club 7 are manufactured bands? Surely not! 😉 Apparently Rachel Stevens was the only member who didn’t have to audition, I wonder if she was the only member who could sing too? What do you think? The group scored 11 UK top 5 hits from 1999 to 2003 including 4 number ones. I still play “Reach” quite often at my mobile DJ gigs and I have to grudgingly admit that it is a good party song, very grudgingly though of course! Here are the ‘Club (it doesn’t have the same ring as the ‘Dead does it?) with “S Club Party“. Jo was embroiled in the racial bullying row on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007 along with Jade Goody for their alleged racial comments to Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty. To me the whole concept of a show like Big Brother (celebrity or otherwise) is bloody awful. Anyway Jo is planning to release a new solo album later this year, somehow I can’t see that one being added to my Christmas list! But if it was it would certainly be just ahead of anything by Robbie W or Westlife! (oh come on I haven’t had a dig at Robbie for ages, give me a break!)

Jo meets the newest member of S Club (that's Jo on the left by the way!)

Jo meets the newest member of S Club (that's Jo on the left by the way!)

On this day in 1976 after playing a gig in Memphis Bruce Springsteen took a cab to Gracelands, Elvis’ home and climbed over the wall. A guard stopped him assuming that he was just another crank fan. Wait a minute he tried to climb the wall into Elvis Presley’s home, that surely makes him a crank fan! I wonder if Mr Presley was at home that night?

Bruce sits on the edge of Elvis' bathtub, well it was during the King's Fat Elvis period!

Bruce sits on the edge of Elvis' bathtub, well it was during the King's Fat Elvis period!

On this day in 1981 Sir Elton John paid £14,000 for 232 Goon Show BBC Radio scripts at Christies Auction House in London. The Goons was also a favourite of Prince Charles, which goes to prove that Charles does at least have some taste!

for someone so generous Elton looks as tight as a ducks arse here!

for someone so generous Elton looks as tight as a ducks arse here!

And finally on this day in 1993 the supremely talented Mick Ronson died of liver cancer aged just 46. In my opinion he remains the best guitarist ever to work with David Bowie, and there have been some excellent players since. There is a great quote from Def Leppard’s Joe Elliot at the time of Ronson’s death. “If there’s a god up there why does he do this? It can only be because he’s trying to put together the ultimate band” Mick came from Hull in Yorkshire which is not too far from where I live now! He first played guitar with Bowie on a John Peel session on 5th February 1970 after John Cambridge another Bowie musician persuaded him to leave his job with the Hull Parks Department. He went on to play on four of Bowie’s albums; ‘The Man Who Sold The World’, ‘Hunky Dory’, ‘Ziggy Stardust’ ‘Pin Ups’ and ‘Alladin Sane’ I wonder if Bowie’s 80’s output would have been as crap if Ronson had been involved? What do you think? Mick also produced and did the string arrangements for Bowie and the pair famously produced Lou Reed’s ‘Transformer’ with Mick also playing guitar on the album (and also piano on “Perfect Day”) After the Ziggy years Ronson went on to work with many other excellent bands and musicians. He appeared on Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue in the mid 70s. It is said that it was Ronson who persuaded Dylan to wear make-up on that tour, which seems a little surprising as Mick was apparently dead against the make-up and stage clothes for the Ziggy tour at first. He also produced the Rich Kids, Slaughter And The Dogs, Suede and Morrissey among others. He also famously became a member of Mott The Hoople for a short period in 1975, he was a long time friend of Ian Hunter. Click here to visit the official Mick Ronson website and sign the on line petition to have Mick inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame. Let’s get him in there guys, I know I can count on you! It’s a great website too. Click here to watch Mick perform an excellent live version of “Slaughter On Tenth Avenue” from his first solo album

Mick Ronson - gone but never forgotten

Mick Ronson - gone but never forgotten

 

“did you see the suits and the platform boots?” March 1, 2009


I’m back again and it’s a brand new month, time Marches on doesn’t it? Anyway there have been some excellent comments in response to the current banking farce and also about the Chris Allen naked story, we still don’t know who he/ she is although Tom has owned up to searching for naked pictures of the elusive Chris. No one has found us yet via the Lily Allen naked route though, I’m beginning to think that’s a good thing.

I have also received a couple of e mails relating to my comments about that splendid airline company Ryanair who as you know offer some very cheap headline fares and then charge for everything else on top. The UK press today says they are floating an idea to put coin op slots on the aircraft toilets. You’ll need to spend a pound to ‘spend a penny’. On a similar note I reckon you’ll love the link sent to us by Nick H, just click on Ryanair. Maybe it’s actually true!

The new cheaper Ryanair fleet had just been delivered

The new cheaper Ryanair fleet had just been delivered

Larry sent this one to the Dead Zone Yahoo Group, which is where I borrowed it from. It’s an excellent link to a site showing Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” video but doctored so that it has him singing about what is actually in the video. Trust me this one is very funny!

Billy held out his arms ready to fly, he figured it would be so much cheaper than Ryanair

Billy held out his arms ready to fly, he figured it would be so much cheaper than Ryanair

Feel free to send me things that you think the other readers may enjoy, mostly music related but hey there’ll always be the occasional rant about things like Banking and Ryanair 🙂

So onto todays ton of trivia, well maybe not a ton, but quite a lot! Starting with a couple of birthdays. Firstly 1st March 2009 is Roger Daltrey’s 65th birthday. Does that mean he’ll be getting a “Magic Bus” pass? Roger is one of the two surviving members of the Who along with Pete Townshend. In 1972 Roger took the starring role in a fully orchestrated version of the Who’s “Tommy” at the Rainbow Theatre in London. According to Pete Townshend, who was in the audience, this was the moment when he realised just how good Daltrey was. He spent the next few years worried that Daltrey would leave the band, thankfully for us that didn’t happen. In 1973 Daltrey released his first solo album called, very imaginatively, ‘Daltrey’. Most (or maybe all) the songs for it were written by none other than Leo Sayer with his co writer Dave Courtney. Leo went on to record some of the songs for his own albums in the future, notably “One Man Band”. My favourite track from that album and yes it’s also one of the 50 songs in my top 10, was “Giving It All Away” This clip is from a 1973 edition of the Beebs excellent “Old Grey Whistle Test” it also features Russ Ballard from Argent on guitar.

The front row at this gig soon became aware just how many baked beans Roger had eaten before the show

The front row at this gig soon became aware just how many baked beans Roger had eaten before the show

Today is also the 36th birthday of Ryan Peake guitarist with the band Nickleback. For some strange reason my mate Dave always calls them Stickleback, but then his better half calls him Nobby, so perhaps we shouldn’t go there eh? Nickleback got their name from something Mike Kroeger, also a band member, used to say every day when he worked at Starbucks. After a sale if a customer paid cash he often asked “would you like your Nickel back?” I presume that if Gareth Gates formed a band now it might be called ‘Doyouwantfrieswiththat’ what do you think? Anyway here are the Nickleback boys with “How You Remind Me

The band much preferred fans to wave their phones and not their flame throwers during the slow songs

The band much preferred fans to wave their phones and not their flame throwers during the slow songs

On this day in 1970 Mott the Hoople appeared at the Northcote Arms in Middlesex (I think I’ve had a pint or two in there in my much younger days) They were supported by none other than Genesis in the days before they had a singing drummer! Mott have reformed for a London gig later this year are any of you guys going? If you ever read Rock books you must read Ian Hunter’s ‘Diary Of A Rock n Roll Star’ Ian was Mott’s front man and the book is about the bands early 70s days touring in the US. It is truly an excellent book. In 1972 after a show in Zurich the band decided to split up. After hearing this news one of their biggest fans, none other than David Bowie (another Bowie reference at last!) offered them one of his new songs to persuade them to carry on. The band rejected “Suffragette City” but went on to record “All The Young Dudes”. The rest as they say is history. Here’s one for you fact fans, Mick Jones of the Clash was also a big fan of Mott too. My favourite Mott the Hoople song is “Saturday Gigs” which is about the band’s history and also features the late great (another l & g comeback) Mick Ronson who was a member of the band for just a short while in the mid 70s

It was clear that Ian Hunter had the Austin Powers look even before Austin existed

It was clear that Ian Hunter had the Austin Powers look even before Austin existed

On this day in 1977 Iggy Pop appeared at Friars in Aylesbury and his keyboard player was none other than David Bowie. (Whaddya know, no Bowie references for a while and then two arrive at once, a bit like Mr Daltrey’s Magic Bus perhaps?) Iggy with Ziggy now that’s cool! The support band that night was the Vibrators. I wonder if they’ve changed their name and now tour as the ‘Rampant Rabbits’? 😉 Well if the Stones Roses (see yesterdays post) considered ‘Angry Young Teddy Bears’ as a name it’s not beyond the realms of possibility is it? Anyway let’s get back to the Igster, if you haven’t heard his original version of “China Girl” click the title to check it out, it really does blow Bowie’s version away!

Iggy had to sell his shirts to pay for his RyanAir extras

Iggy had to sell his shirts to pay for his RyanAir extras

And finally I’ve included this as I used the word motley the other day and didn’t mention the crue at all. On this day in 1997 a Motley Crue fan who claimed his hearing had been irreparably damaged after a show in New Jersey had his lawsuit thrown out of court. The judge told Clifford Goldberg (aka Chris Allen? Well you never know!) ,who was sat near the front of the stage that he knew what risk he was taking. Presumably Clifford said “Wot?” In the meantime here are the boys with “Smoking In The Boys Room” Is that headmaster scary or what? “Wot?” oh shut up Clifford I’m not talking to you!

The boys had looked forward to Halloween all year long. "Wot?" said Clifford

The boys had looked forward to Halloween all year long. "Wot?" said Clifford