With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

“If there’s a cloud above, if it should rain we’ll let it” July 6, 2016

Filed under: Obituary — justwilliam1959 @ 9:45 pm
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It doesn’t seem to have been widely reported, well I certainly missed it anyway. But Jamaican ska singer Lord Tanamo died in Canada in April this year. He had suffered a debilitating stroke in 2008 which left him unable to speak. The former Joseph Abraham Gordon was 81 when he passed away.

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His classic “I’m In The Mood For Ska” finally became a UK hit in 1990 when it reached number 58 following its use as the soundtrack to a Paxo stuffing advert. The song was a ska update of a song that became a standard, “I’m In The Mood For Love”. ng had a hit with it in 1935. Another top Tanamo cut was his reggae cover of Tony Joe White‘s “Rainy Night In Georgia” which went to number one in the Jamaican charts in 1970.

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RIP Lord Tanamo

 

“I’m gonna make you the talk of town, no use wearing a frown” October 20, 2014

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 7:51 pm
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I just heard the sad news that reggae legend John Holt has died. His manager confirmed that he passed away in a London hospital on Sunday night. He was just 67. He started out as the lead singer of the Paragons and wrote many of their songs; including “Wear You To The Ball” and “The Tide Is High“. The latter went on to become an international hit for Blondie in the 80s and later for Atomic Kitten. I always preferred the Paragons original version. He also recorded as a solo artist while he was with the Paragons cutting tracks like the original of “OK Fred” in 1979. This was later a UK hit for Errol Dunkley in 1979. He recorded tracks with legendary reggae figures such as Duke Reid, Leslie Kong, Bunny Lee, Prince Buster and Alton Ellis.

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He recorded and released many albums and singles and was a superstar in Jamaica. Sadly in the UK he was never as popular. His 1974 cover of Kris Kristofferson‘s “Help Me Make It Through The Night” reached number 6 in the UK chart. He released his last solo album, ‘Peacemaker’ in 1993. I still have a copy of the fabulous ‘1,000 Volts Of Holt’ album from 1973, only the CD version though. My vinyl copy wore out years ago.

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My thoughts go to his family, friends and fans. John Holt RIP.

 

“From Genesis to Revelation, yeah, the next generation will be, hear me” January 10, 2014

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 9:15 pm
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Junior+Murvin+1I can’t believe that I missed the news that Junior Murvin a very talented reggae star passed away in early December aged 67. Thank you to Record Collector magazine for including a suitable tribute in their ‘Not Forgotten’ section. The song which brought him to my attention was “Police And Thieves” from 1976. The song remains one of my all time favourites. I still have the CD version of the album of the same name. The song was written by Murvin with some lyrical tweaks from Lee Perry about the Yardie turf wars in Jamaica. But it also resonated strongly with British youth, particularly punks in 1976-77 against a backdrop of riots at the Notting Hill Carnival which for me was largely sparked by ridiculously hard-line and provocative policing from the Metropolitan Police. The Clash also recorded a rather excellent cover of the song, but the original, produced by Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry remains the best. I used to have Junior’s ‘Muggers On The Streets’ album from 1984 on vinyl. My thoughts go out to Junior’s family friends and fans. RIP Junior Murvin.

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“Still I’ll be always laughing like a clown, won’t someone help me?” May 7, 2012

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 9:20 pm
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According to the UK tabloid the Sun Prince Harry has aspirations to become a reggae DJ. This apparently all stemmed from what has been described as an inspirational meeting with Bob Marley’s widow Rita on his recent visit to Jamaica. He has supplemented his House music vinyl collection with some heavy reggae on vinyl and has taken mixing lessons.

What the bloody hell is Barlow doing in the picture?

Someone needs to sign him up for a club gig, for a Royal he seems to have a good attitude. Coming from me that is high praise indeed. I wished that I hadn’t retired as a mobile DJ, otherwise I’d have offered my help. In fact maybe my life long buddy Glen and I (formerly Bill & Glen the Disco Men) should reform and let Harry join the team. How does Harry, Bill & Glen the Royal Disco Men sound?