With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! You’re wearing out your shoes” September 6, 2012

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 9:59 pm
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Is this the first time I have sent any kind of begging letter on my blog? Probably not. But here it is anyway. I will be running the great North Run from Newcastle to South Shields on Sunday September 16th this year, barely a week and a half away! Why am I doing this? Firstly because my boss and good friend, Mr Nick Cooper ‘press ganged’ me and three others (Stuart O’Hara, Simon Downs and David Carline) into taking part. So the St John’s Ambulance volunteers along the route could have a busy day! Secondly we will be raising money for the Save The Children charity which I’m sure you will agree is an excellent cause!

So onto the begging part now. we have a target of £1,500 to raise and so far we are at £969 or 64% of target. So any donation that you can make, whatever size, would be very much appreciated. As is usual for these things we do have a ‘Just Giving’ page to make it easier to support us. Click here to get access to it.

Of course this is a music blog so I can’t end with no music can I? So here are thirteen (one for each mile of the run) running related songs for you to listen to while you donate!

1 “Running Away” – Sly and the Family Stone

2 “Run Runaway” – Slade

3 “Keep On Runnin'” – Spencer Davis Group

4 “Run For Home” – Lindisfarne

5 “Runaway” – Del Shannon

6 “Run Run Run” – Jo Jo Gunne

7 “I’m Gonna Run Away From You” – Tami Lynn

8 “Running Away” – Roy Ayers

9 “Running Up That Hill” – Kate Bush

10 “Run To The Hills” – Iron Maiden

11 “If You See My Rooster (Please Run Him Home)” – Memphis Minnie and Black Bob

12 “Run To Him” – Bobby Vee

13 “Band On The Run” – Paul McCartney and Wings

 

“Aunty Milly, ran willy nilly when her legs they did recede” December 8, 2010

Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 6:23 am
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So here we are then ready to reveal what’s behind the cardboard door of my UK Christmas Number Ones Advent Calendar for December 8th. Where the hell does the time go? Anyway today’s choice whizzes you way back through the sands of time to the Christmas of 1968 when “Lily The Pink” was number one for the Scaffold. It held sway at the top for three weeks. There were supported by some big stars although to be fair one of them hadn’t become a star at that point. Backing vocals on the song were provided by our stars and those stars were Elton John, who was not much more than a small stone in the celebrity universe at that time and Graham Nash off of the Hollies and later Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. In fact it is thanks to Mr Nash that the line “Jennifer Eccles had terrible freckles” was added to the song. In reference to the Hollies smash “Jennifer Eccles”

The song was based on a traditional folk song “The Ballad Of Lydia Pinkham” although the band provided most of the new lyrics. The band was from Liverpool and counted Mike McGear, Paul McCartney‘s brother among their members along with Roger McGough and John Gorman. The Scaffold performed a lot of McGough’s poetry in their live shows and they also had two other top 10 UK hits with “Thank U Very Much” in 1967 and “Liverpool Lou” in 1974. The latter was recorded with Paul McCartney and Wings.

Not the Scaffold at all, just an excuse for me to show another picture of the delightful Lily Allen........ Lily In Pink!

The band broke up in the late 70s but have reformed on a few occasions, often for charity and most recently to record a special song to commemorate Liverpool’s year as UK City Of Culture in 2008. Enjoy the band performing the song below.

 

“When my baby mistreats me, I never, never, never have a place to hide” October 10, 2010

Filed under: News — justwilliam1959 @ 4:21 pm
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Solomon Burke RIP

Another random selection of music news for you in this post. Starting with the sad news of the death of soul legend Solomon Burke. He died today at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam on his way to play a gig in the city. He was only 70 and leaves behind a staggering 21 children and 90 grandchildren. He was in possession of a truly wonderful voice and will perhaps be best remembered by most people for writing and performing the now classic song, “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love“. The song has been covered by many artists and was used to great effect in the Blues Brothers movie. Click here for the BBC report on this sad news. You can view the great man’s performance on Top Of The Pops from 2003 below.

It was never one of my favourite songs, largely due to the bagpipes, but Paul McCartney and Wings million selling single from 1978; “Mull Of Kintyre” is back in the news. The 7,360 Carskiey estate which forms the Mull Of Kintyre is up for sale. So if you have £2.95 million stashed under the blanket you have a chance of getting your hands on it. The BBC report is here.

Dido is being sued by Bruce McCandless II an astronaut on the Space Shuttle Challenger. The picture on the cover of Dido’s album ‘Safe Trip Home’ features McCandless on an untethered space walk in 1984. He claims he never gave permission for it to be used. I have tried really hard to like Dido’s stuff, but to me this is the most exciting thing relating to her in ages. The NME’s take on the story can be found by clicking here. Here is the lady herself with “White Flag“, something she may have to wave against the might of NASA.

"Oi Dido, I can see your house from here!"

A sale of Michael Jackson memorabilia in Macau in China has fetched in excess of $1 million. It includes one of his many black crystal studded gloves and also a basket ball signed by Jacko and Michael Jordan which fetched $180,000 and $245,000 respectively. Amazing isn’t that stars become so much more valuable and marketable after they die. The BBC carries the story here.