With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas 2024 – Day 5 “Five Gold Rings” December 17, 2024

Filed under: Christmas — justwilliam1959 @ 8:48 pm
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Day 5 of Mayhem’s 12 Days Of Christmas is here and the Bearded Weirdo in the red costume will be here soon too. Regular readers will know that this year, once again, the theme is the classic cumulative song “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”. What gift was presented on the fifth day of Christmas? It was of course Five Gold Rings. Presumably this had nothing to do with the Olympics. Todays song is another rather tenuously linked tune, although maybe a fraction less so. It is Freda Payne with “Band Of Gold”. I am happy to say that as a mobile DJ for many, many years I never played this at a wedding!

“Band Of Gold” is the title track of her 1970 album of the same name. The song was a huge hit (number 1 in the UK, number 3 in the USA and top 5 in Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. The song was written by former Motown stalwarts Holland Dozier Holland (under the pseudonym Edythe Wayne) and Ron Dunbar. HDH had to use a false name as they were in the middle of a contractual lawsuit with Motown. Initially Payne turned the song down, before eventually relenting and making it something very special. The bass is worth the listening journey alone, that was played by Bob Babbit. Freda’s younger sister, Scherrie Payne, who went on to sing with the Supremes sang backing vocals and the lead guitar was played by Ray Parker Jr. To be fair if you need great lead guitar, who you gonna call?

There will be a playlist of all twelve songs when we get to the final one? In fact that playlist is under the streaming Christmas tree already. I will unwrap it soon for you! What do you think tomorrows song will be?

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“some revolution is going to happen today I’m gonna chase the dark clouds away” a.k.a. 11 pipers piping December 23, 2012

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:01 am
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11 Pipers

Oh my God when will these bloody gifts stop arriving. I mean I love my true love to bits but where in the hell am I supposed to put 11 bloody pipers piping. I’ve never like the cat strangling sound of bagpipes anyway. Enough of my woes, I’m sure that you have worked out that it is now day 11 of my 12 days of Christmas series of posts, hence the 11 pipers piping. Will there be many pipers left after all the proposed UK defence cuts? Military personnel in the UK Armed Forces are expected to fall from 102,00 to 82,000 by 2018 and it is expected that a number of regimental bands may not survive the proposed mergers of residents.

Chairman+Of+The+Board

But on to some happier thoughts, I have picked two piper related songs for you today, albeit rather tenuous in the case of the second one. but the first song comes from one of my favourite bands from my early teenage years. It’s Chairmen Of The Board with “Pay To The Piper”. Most of the band’s biggest hits were Holland Dozier Holland compositions which may well have been recorded by the Four Tops had HDH remained at Motown rather than leaving to form the Invictus label. The song reached number 13 in the US Hot 100 and only managed a lowly number 34 in the UK in 1971. “Pay To The Piper” was the band’s fourth single. Their first single “Give Me Just A Little More Time” is their best chart performer on both sides of the Atlantic peaking at number 3 in both countries. I am amazed that the band didn’t do better from a chart perspective, they recorded some classic songs. Big kudos too for recording the excellently titled “Shaggin’ The Night Away”.

Billie_Piper

The second song for today is a little more tenuous as I mentioned earlier, it’s “Because We want To” by Billie Piper (geddit?). More people probably remember Billie more for her acting these days than for her time as a pop star. I loved her as Rose Tyler in Doctor Who, didn’t you? “Because We Want To” from 1998 was Billie’s first hit single and the first of her three UK number ones. It also made the top 10 in Ireland, Sweden and New Zealand. It was also the official song of the Women’s World Cup in 1999. That tournament was held in the USA and was won by the host nation who beat China on penalties after a nil nil draw. England sadly failed to qualify.

Billie-Piper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL02bdj1DF4

And finally another Billy Bonus with Laurel and Hardy dancing to Chairmen Of The Board’s “Shaggin’ The Night Away”

 

“I’m no longer just another face in a crowd” December 9, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:05 am
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Here we are at day 9 and therefore December 9th of my Christmas Advent Calendar. Today marks the second appearance of the fabulous Four Tops in my ABC Of Motown themed calendar for 2011. The song is “I’m In A Different World” and was written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and R Dean Taylor. Holland Dozier Holland had written most of the Four Tops biggest hits. This was the last Four Tops song that any of the HDH team had anything to do with.

It was recorded in 1968 shortly before Holland Dozier Holland left Motown over a dispute about royalties. They went on to form the Invictus label and had many hits with artists such as Freda Payne and Chairmen Of The Board. It only made number 51 in the US and just 27 in the UK charts.

The Four Tops were allegedly scheduled to board the Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988. However they had a late recording session the night before and overslept. The flight was later brought down by a terrorist bomb over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Strangely enough John Lydon and his wife Norah were also meant to be on that flight. They were delayed because Norah took a long while to pack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iglYttY02DE