Wow, Christmas Eve already, the bearded weirdo arrives on his sleigh tonight led by living venison with an inflamed nose! I wanted to end the 12 Days Of, Mostly, Punky Christmas, with a song that I love by a band that back in the day were the best by far! The Ramones with “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)”, the video is rather good too 🙂
Happy Christmas to each and every one of you, thank you for sticking with this blog and let’s hope 2021 is so much better, it couldn’t be worse could it?
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The 10th birthday celebrations for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem could roll on long than Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue at this rate. Today is day 7 and I am giving you a list of the ten greatest gigs I have ever been to. This was pretty damned tough, I could have listed at least 50 or more. Obviously this is in no particular order of preference, simply chronological.
Regular readers will know that so far I have shared with you top ten most viewed posts on the blog since it began back in February 2009, the top ten countries that have given With Just A Hint Of Mayhem the most views, rock/ music related books, biographies and autobiographies, my top 10 Bowie songs, my 10 favourite bands of all time and yesterday my top ten favourite male artists. (Click here,here, here,here,here and here to view those again). Stay tuned, there are still four top tens to come after this! What will they be? Well sign up, follow or just check out this site regularly to find out! What are your favourite male singers, be they current, ancient or no longer with us? Incidentally I can tell you that the remaining top tens will be my favourite female artists, my favourite albums and my favourite singles.
So without further fuss here is the list, strangely there are no 80s gigs in there;
Jackson 5 – Wembley Empire Pool – November 1972 – My first ever gig, the J5 were phenomenal and the support acts included Junior Walker and the All Stars and the Commodores
David Bowie – Wembley Empire Pool – May 1976 – My dad wouldn’t let me see the Dame in the Ziggy years so this was my first Bowie show and the Thin White Duke smashed it. Bowie even forgot the lyrics to “Life On Mars”
Ramones – Rainbow Theatre – December 1977 – This was a New Years Eve show, the night before my 18th birthday. Da Bruddas were brilliant and support was I think from Generation X and the Rezillos.
Millie Jackson – Apollo Victoria – November 1978 – I absolutely adore Millie Jackson’s voice, her soulfulness, her playfulness and her humour. This fabulous show with an amazing band was sadly the only time I saw her live, well so far.
Earth, Wind & Fire – Wembley Empire Pool – March 1979 – This was E,W & F in their full pomp with a pyramid stage set, pyrotechnics and teleportation. On top of that they were one of the finest soul and funk bands on the planet at the time and they were supported by the Emotions.
Oasis – The Old Trout, Windsor – May 1994 – With hindsight seeing Oasis in the sweaty backroom of a pub with a capacity of no more than 120 was truly incredible. I saw that at Knebworth a few years later, but this Windsor show topped that for me.
David Bowie – Phoenix Festival, Stratford on Avon – July 1996 – The second Bowie show in the list, well I did see him ten times. If I was pushed to say which my all time favourite gig was it would be this. The subdued start with “Quicksand” was stunning.
Foo Fighters – Reading Festival – August 2005 – I have seen the Foos at festivals many times, but for me this was their finest hour. A truly perfect live band.
Jimmy Cliff – O2 Academy, Leeds – August 2014 – possibly one of the most entertaining party style gigs I have ever had the pleasure of attending. Mr Cliff seems to have perpetual motion.
Kate Bush – Hammersmith Apollo – September 2014 – I didn’t see Kate in 1978 as I couldn’t afford I assumed that there would be another tour very soon, but there wasn’t But this was definitely worth the wait.
As a part of my birthday jaunt to NYC my wonderful wife Catwoman (a.k.a Catherine) booked a rather intriguing East Village Punk ,n, Rock walking tour of New York’s East Village from Rock Junket. Our host and Rock Junket Head Honcho was Bobby Pinn (not his real name) and it was a pure delight to spend a couple of hours in his company. I pride myself on knowing an awful lot about rock music, but I bow to the vast encyclopaedic knowledge of Mr Pinn. I learnt so much on this tour.
We saw the apartment block where Joey Ramone (a.k.a. Jeffrey Ross Hyman and also a.k.a Jeff Starship!) lived. Not far from there is the spot where the iconic photo of the Bruddas that adorns the cover of their first album was taken. Take another look at that picture, in particular the subtle way in which Joey is bending his knee and Dee Dee is standing on tip toes just so that the vast gap between the pair of them does not appear so vast.
Whilst I didn’t try one until later in the week we learnt what an Egg Cream drink was. The drink is immortalised in song by Lou Reed and apparently one of the best spots to buy one is the Gem Spa, a one time haunt of the New York Dolls. Strangely enough the Egg Cream beverage contains neither egg nor cream! Go figure!
I already knew a lot about Bill Graham’s venue the Fillmore/ Fillmore West in San Francisco, but I knew next to nothing about the Fillmore East in New York. Many great acts took to the stage there from the Allman Brothers to Frank Zappa. The most appearances by any artist or band was by the Grateful Dead.
Apartments that were once home to a young Madonna and tortured jazz giant Charlie Parker were encountered. Charlie Parker even has a street named in his honour. Now that is not bad for a suicidal junkie who died aged just 34. But that was just a part of his story and it is impossible not to recognise the towering influential, pioneering genius of Mr Parker. Also who knew that Madonna’s early live appearances were as a drummer for her then boyfriend’s band? I certainly didn’t!
I I hadn’t been on this tour with Bobby Pinn I am certain that I would have walked right past the building that features on the front cover of Led Zeppelin’s 1975 double album ‘Physical Graffiti’. The building was the home of Jimmy Page’s drug supplier who lived on the fourth floor. That floor is conspicuously missing from the album cover after a real cut and paste job by artist Peter Corriston. The very same tenement block was used in the video for the Rolling Stones 1981 single “Waiting On A Friend”.
The tour ended at the site of the now defunct CBGB’s; the iconic 1970s New York punk venue. I took the obligatory pictures outside and even ventured into the ridiculously expensive and rather disappointing shop that is now on the site. That said, the Captain Fantastic pinball table was stunning!
In this post I have tried to give you a flavour of this magnificent tour of some classic rock landmarks in the East Village. I didn’t want to add much more and therefore spoilmyour enjoyment when you take it. Make sure that you go walking around New York with Bobby Pinn next time you are in the Big Apple. You will not regret it. Click here to check out the Rock Junket site and to book your tour.
Apart from the Rock Junket header all pictures were taken by yours truly, apart from those that feature me which were taken by the most wonderful person that I know, Catherine Adamson. If you were wondering which landmark birthday I was celebrating it was 18 with 42 years of experience. 😉
It is now estimated that more Ramones t-shirts have been sold worldwide than Ramones albums. Seriously? What is the world coming to? Personally I feel very lucky to have seen the band play live in London back in 1977
Have you ever thought about having a garden gnome on display at your home but then thought that you were too cool to do it? Well think again, especially if you are a fan of a Manchester band that you may have heard a little about. Yes folks you can now buy a full set of Gnome Roses who look remarkably like the Stone Roses. You could create your very own Spike Island next to your garden pond. Check out the Gnome Roses on Facebook and purchase them here at Alternative Merchandise. If you have already bought yours or received them for Christmas feel free to send me a picture and I will definitely give you a mention on this blog!
Creator of these little gems is Andrew McDermid and he has ideas to expand the range, starting with the Ra-Gnomes with the advertising strap line of ‘Hi Ho Let’s Go!’. He also plans to work on the Rolling Gnomes, Kurt Cobain and Queens Of The Gnome Age. What? No Bowie as “The Laughing Gnome“?
One of my favourite Bruce Springsteen songs is a single taken from 1980’s ‘The River‘ album, “Hungry Heart“. Did you know that originally the Boss wrote it for one of my favourite bands of all time, the Ramones? Nor did I until recently.
It was Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau who advised him against giving the song away. Having seen Patti Smith and the Pointers Sisters have hits with Springsteen giveaways “Because The Night” and “Fire” respectively. But I think ‘Da Brudders’ would have made a spectacular job of it. A bit of Spectoresque production and the uniqueness that the Ramones had would have made it a mega hit.
The song’s title is a reference to a line from ‘Ulysses’ a poem by Tennyson. The line reads ‘For always roaming with a hungry heart’.
This was a night I had looked forward to for some time. Catwoman and I had booked the tickets to see Imelda May months ago and the day finally arrived last Friday. This incredibly talented woman was certainly no disappointment, but more of her later. I need to tell you about the superb support act; Big Boy Bloater. I have heard a few of his songs on-line before but they simply hadn’t prepared me for just how good he is in a live setting. The best support act I have seen in years and remember I do have a lot of years! Mr Bloater (I don’t know his real name yet, but I know it isn’t Duncan!) has retro blues style with a splash of contemporary sounds.
Catwoman felt that his music wouldn’t be out-of-place on the True Blood soundtrack next to Jace Everett. He has some great songs. I particularly liked “That Ain’t My Name” and “Big Fat Trap”. He also did a great version of the Platters “My Prayer” in a modern ska style. I met the man himself after the gig and got him to sign the two CDs I bought from the Merchandising stand; one for me and one for Catwoman (aka Catherine). If you’ve not heard him yet you really need to check him out, you will not be disappointed.
After a short break the wait was finally over as the Irish dynamo that is Imelda Mary Higham better known as Imelda May took the stage with her supremely talented band. Every song was a winner; “Love Tattoo“, “Sneaky Freak”, “Psycho”, “Mayhem” and “Johnny Got A Boom Boom” to name just a few. Boom Boom is currently my favourite Imelda May song. Catwoman and I also love “Inside Out” and had that one played after we signed the register at our wedding in September. Who would have thought that a song mentioning wobbly bits would work, but bloody hell it does!
She had the audience eating out of her hands, including us. If she told us to sing along we did, if she told us to clap we did. It’s pretty difficult to ignore an instruction from someone who is not just talented but clearly seems to love what she is doing. The audience participation probably peaked during “Proud And Humble” which she sang largely a capella with help from her audience. To do it all in those killer heels just adds to the admiration! The band was amazing, truly fuelled by rockabilly rocket power. But believe me if you see Imelda and her band as just rockabilly then listen again, you’re wrong. She played a beautiful new song “Gypsy” which I think will be massive. I could also imagine Elvis Presley covering it had he still been around.
The encore was pretty special too; three perfectly executed and well-chosen cover versions. First up was a sparse acoustic cover of “Baby I Love You” (originally by the Ronettes and well covered by the Ramones) accompanied by Al Gare on the ukulele. The whole band returned for their storming version of “Tainted Love” (originally written and recorded by Gloria Jones and made famous by Soft Cell). You can find the studio version on Imelda’s ‘Mayhem’ album. I would love to say that the title of this blog is drawn from that album, but I’m afraid it’s not. The closing number was one that she said she had been singing for years, it was one of Elvis Presley’s biggest hits, “My Baby Left Me“. A great way to close a stonking gig. We left the Barbican with massive smiles as we walked through the rain back to the car. In fact I reckon everyone who was there left in a happy mood!
Would I go and see Imelda again? Absolutely, positively, definitely yes! The same for the Big Boy too!
I have been a big fan of comic books and superheroes for many, many years and obviously people like the Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Iron Man, the X Men and many others are real aren’t they? OK you might be laughing now but click here and you will see that I could be right!
Phoenix Jones is a Seattlesuperhero crime fighter. He is the leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement. He recently appeared in court charged with attacking some people outside a nightclub using pepper spray. Somehow I can’t imagine that Batman kept pepper spray in his utility belt. The judge made him unmask and reveal his secret identity as Benjamin Fodor. I am not sure whether he was bitten by a radioactive spider, was exposed to gamma radiation, is a mutant or is indeed slightly mad. But he certainly seems to be for real. He is married to another superhero/ vigilante known as Purple Reign, she sounds like some kind of Prince protegé to me! I wonder if they drive around in the Phoenixmobile or the Jonesmobile?
Phoenix appears to be getting a bit of a caning from a woman here 🙂
Obviously we need a few hero related songs to accompany this post don’t we?
Thanks to my good friend Nick Horslen for directing me to this rather amusing story on the BBC recently. Apparently the latest movie in the Resident Evil franchise is being filmed in Toronto and when a number of actors in Zombie guise were moving from one stage to another there was an accident. There were no major injuries, just cuts and bruises. However the best part of the story is the surprise of the emergency services when they arrived. Can you imagine turning up to an emergency only to find that the victims were covered in blood; mostly fake blood as it turns out!
You can click here to read the story on the BBC. Obviously given the music nature of this blog I simply had to include some Zombie related
songs. Maybe you should consider including some of these on your Halloween party soundtrack later this month! Keeping up that Zombie theme, how many of you are fans of “The Walking Dead”? I think it’s a superb horror series, enjoy the trailer for series two by clicking here.
“Zombie” – Cranberries – Not really a Zombie song as it relates to the troubles in Ireland.
“Pet Sematary” – Ramones – This is also not strictly a Zombie song but the classic Stephen King story centres around how things that are buried in an ancient native American burial ground come back to life. This song is the theme to the movie version. As I believe the strapline on the film poster and trailer said…….. ‘Sometimes dead is better’
“Call of the Zombie” – Rob Zombie – No Zombie song list would be complete without Mr Zombie himself would it. He recently made an appearance on the new Alice Cooper album “Welcome 2 My Nightmare” which is a sequel to, can you guess the title………… “Welcome To My Nightmare”. It’s rather a good album in my opinion.
“Zombie” – Fela Kuti & Africa ’70 – More of a tub thumping funky criticism of the Nigerian army than about zombies themselves. But an excellent song nonetheless.
“Thriller” – Michael Jackson – I guess this must be the Zombie song that everyone knows, especially the Zombie dance section. Did you
know that Vincent Price and Paul and Linda McCartney all appear as Zombies in the Zombie formation dancing section of the video.
I bet you can't guess who this fine looking Zombie is can you?
A random selection of news for you in this post dear readers. In a follow-up to one of my earlier posts about a number of music stars playing some very rich gigs at private parties for the Gaddafi family it has been reported that Nelly Furtado will be given the money she by playing for the Gaddafi’s in 2007 to charity. Top marks to Nelly in my opinion. Click here to read the story.
It was announced recently that the 100 Club has a saviour so it won’t have to close. That saviour, who is now the venues sponsor is Converse. Personally I think that is a great move, I have possessed a pair of Converse All Stars for most of the last thirty or so years. As a teenager I went through a white pair, a blue pair and a red pair. I have now settled on a very safe black pair, which I replace annually. I feel I’m in good company as the All Star was worn by such luminaries as Kurt Cobain and the Ramones.
Lady Gaga meets and eats Baby Gaga
I recently discovered a great clip collection of 101 bad covers of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance“. Click here to see it. In other Gaga news a London company has started to produce ice cream made from human breast milk. Click here to read the story. It has been named Baby Gaga. How many of you Little Britain fans just said or thought ‘bitty’?
Syd's psychedelic Baby Gaga 99 with flake caused his feet to grow incredibly large
Just how big a fan of Syd Barrett are you? Big enough to own the Syd Barrett Colouring Book perhaps? Well they are already extremely rare along with the first in the series which was the Joy Division Colouring Book. Click here to see the Syd book.
First a haunting, now levitation. What next? Exorcist style head spinning and green vomit?
Apparently Pete Townshend off of the Who has had a ghostly visit comparable with Dickens ghosts in ‘A Christmas Carol’. He claims that Les Paul appeared to him in a hotel recently telling him to rethink his guitar smashing which showed he had no respect for the instrument. The ghost of Les told him that if he didn’t do this he would suffer for the remainder of his life. Click here to read the story.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 