With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

Play It Again Mayhem – “I Was Only Joking” – Rod Stewart May 5, 2022

Filed under: Play It Again Mayhem — justwilliam1959 @ 9:15 pm
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This is the twelfth song in the Play It Again Mayhem series which began back in 2020. Check out the previous entries along with this new one in the Play It Again Mayhem Spotify Playlist, click here to take a listen! Once again this one goes back to the 70s, which remains my favourite era for music. In fact, 75% of the Play It Again Mayhem songs are from the 1970s so far. This track is, in my opinion, one of Rod Stewart’s greatest songs. It comes from his 1977 album ‘Footloose And Fancy Free’ and reached number 5 on the UK charts when it was released as a double A-Side single (paired with “Hot Legs”) that same year. Rod wrote the song with Gary Grainger and the song really feels like some kind of autobiographical lyric. I think it was probably the lyrics that first drew me to the song and it is the Rod Stewart song that I play more than any other. I have copied the lyrics below and those lines in the gold font are the lines that summed up so many things in my own youth, particularly the second verse.

“Ever since I was a kid at school
I messed around with all the rules
Apologised then realised
I’m not different after all

Me and the boys thought we had it sussed
Valentinos all of us
My dad said we looked ridiculous
But boy, we broke some hearts

In and out of jobs, running free
Waging war with society
Dumb blank faces stare back at me
But nothing ever changed

Promises made in the heat of the night
Creeping home before it got too light
I wasted all that precious time
And blamed it on the wine

I was only joking my dear (my dear)
Looking for a way to hide my fear (my fear)
What kind of fool was I? (Was I)
I could never win (never win)

Never found a compromise
Collected lovers like butterflies
Illusions of that grand first prize
Are slowly wearing thin

Susie, baby, you were good to me
Giving love unselfishly
But you took it all too seriously
I guess it had to end

I was only joking my dear (my dear)
Looking for a way to hide my fear (my fear)
What kind of fool was I? (Was I)
I could never win (never win)

Yeah baby, whoa

Now you ask me if I’m sincere
That’s the question that I always fear
Verse seven is never clear
But I’ll tell you what you wanna hear

I try to give you all you want
But giving love is not my strongest point
If that’s the case it’s pointless going on
I’d rather be alone

‘Cause what I’m doing must be wrong
Pouring my heart out in a song
Owning up for prosperity
For the whole damn world to see

Quietly now while I turn a page
Act one is over without costume change
The principal would like to leave the stage
The crowd don’t understand”

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“They told me it’s all over now, but my life’s just begun” January 12, 2020

Filed under: Obituary — justwilliam1959 @ 3:23 pm
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Sometimes a piece of news just passes you by, doesn’t it? I was reading Record Collector magazine this week and discovered an obituary for Iain Sutherland of the Sutherland Brothers’ fame. So I am very sorry that this write up comes so long after that sad event. Many will remember this Scottish band, that Iain formed with his brother Gavin in 1968 then called New Generation, for their 1976 hit “Arms Of Mary”. They joined forces with Quiver in the early 70s and had moderate success in the USA, single “(I Don’t Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway” reached the Billboard Top 50, but failed to chart in their native UK. Gavin Sutherland also wrote another great song for the group, which sadly failed to chart, that song was “Sailing”, which was covered by Rod Stewart and went on to become one of his biggest hits. Incidentally, for many reasons, Rod Stewart’s cover of “Sailing” was my Dad’s funeral song back in 2001. But for me, my favourite song by the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver was 1973 single “Dream Kid (July 32nd)” which was also the title track of their album that same year. In fact “Dream Kid (July 32nd)” is one of my favourite songs of all time, I really can’t pinpoint exactly why, but I love it and it makes me feel happy whenever I hear it. It was played a lot on UK radio in 1973 and I was gutted that it never charted. I still have a vinyl copy of the album. Iain died in November 2019 aged just 71, which really isn’t that old these days. RIP Iain Sutherland.

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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem is ten years old! Part 3 February 2, 2019

Filed under: News,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 7:11 pm
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It’s time for part 3/ day 3 of the With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 10th birthday celebrations with another top ten. This time rock/ music related books, biographies and autobiographies. 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 and yesterday the top ten countries that have given With Just A Hint Of Mayhem the most views. (Click here and here to view those again). OK but what about your favourite tunes and stuff I hear you say? Don’t worry there will definitely be plenty of music in the coming days including things like my top ten favourite singles, albums, bands and more stuff too! There was also a lot of music on yesterday’s post and with this book post too.

Don’t forget that you can also find us on Twitter  and FaceBook .

The book list is in no particular order, other than Ian Hunter being number one!

  • Diary Of A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star – Ian Hunter – an honest and very funny stroll through Ian Hunter’s early 70s diary
  • My Thoughts Exactly – Lily Allen – Lily opens her soul in this very honest and hard-hitting autobiography
  • Rod – Rod Stewart – probably the funniest autobiography that I have ever read
  • Life – Keith Richards – Keef proves how great a raconteur he is and that he remains a fan boy when it comes to the blues greats
  • Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. : A Memoir – Viv Albertine – Easily among the best music related autobiographies ever written. Viv is sharp open and full of confidence
  • England’s Dreaming – Jon Savage – a detailed and colourful perspective on how the UK punk scene arose and its wider impact on social norms and social history
  • Scar Tissue – Anthony Kiedis – Kiedis tackles relationships, drugs and success. His description of an encounter with the Dalai Lama is proper laugh out loud
  • Last Train To Memphis: The Rise Of Elvis Presley – Peter Guralnick – this shows the human side of a young man from Tupelo who met with unprecedented success at supersonic speed. Almost scary at times
  • Hammer Of The Gods – Stephen Davis – if even half of these anecdotes are true then Led Zep are still truly legendary
  • Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties – Ian MacDonald – an in-depth analysis of the Fab Four and their impact on pretty much everything in the 60s and beyond

 

 

 

Lily Allen – ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ January 10, 2019

Filed under: Book,Review — justwilliam1959 @ 11:36 pm
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I have read many music related biographies and autobiographies and I believe that a lot of them never live up to expectations. However Lilly Allen’s is easily up there with the best. It is incredibly honest, brutally so at times. She is not afraid of exposing her own demons and insecurities in any form and this is most certainly not a salaciously delivered tell all gossip style work.

Lily comes across as a very strong feminist with a barbed sharpness for exposing the manipulative, cynical and misogynistic behaviour of a lot of men in the music industry. Some of these men clearly and blatantly abuse their position and prey on women, particularly younger women. She talks of her battles with drugs and mental health. The stories of the paparazzi and tabloid treatment of Lily’s private life sickens me. But it is no less than any genuine person would expect from the scum that work in the vile, gutter press.

Ms. Allen describes her family at great length. The strange and often strained relationship she has with her parents, particularly her father. There are some lighter moments, notably the tale of Lily and her brother Alfie meeting Princess Diana when they were kids. That was laugh out loud until you choke kind of funny.  This book is for me one of the best music related autobiographies that I have ever read and easily fits into my top five. In case you were interested the other four, in no particular order, are;

  • Diary Of A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star – Ian Hunter
  • Rod – Rod Stewart
  • Life – Keith Richards
  • Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. : A Memoir – Viv Albertine

Public Service Announcement: Photos and videos were all found via Google and YouTube. If any of them are yours and you would like a credit or for me to take them down please let me know.

 

“tough is the leather thats strapped to my skin” October 23, 2016

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 10:43 pm
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Hello good people of the blogosphere. This is a somewhat gratuitous post from me as it involves my late, great father with whom I shared the same name; Bill Adamson if you were unaware.

HMS BELFAST DURING THE KOREAN WAR 1950-1952 (A 31985) The Korean War 1950-1952: An American S.51 helicopter flies over HMS BELFAST in the Yellow Sea, 1951. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205187744

Anyway here’s a little question for you. What did my Dad have in common with arch new romantics Spandau Ballet? Did he play in a band? No. Did he wear a kilt as a part of early new romantic fashion? No he didn’t, although as a Scot he was probably more entitled to than they were. Did he play in a band? No he didn’t, although after a couple of pints he could turn out a mean version of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” or “Sailing”.

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OK I’ll put you out of your misery. HMS Belfast is what they have in common. That was the ship that my Dad served on during the Korean war in the early 1950s and it was on the HMS Belfast that Spandau Ballet played one of their early gigs back in 1980. Incidentally it is an even more tenuous link but my Dad served in Korea at exactly the same time as first man on the moon Neil Armstrong. Have you got any tenuous links to share? Feel free to let me know what they are!

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The boys from Spandau Ballet were delighted when they discovered that they were able to smuggle their budgies on the HMS Belfast

The boys from Spandau Ballet were delighted when they discovered that they were able to smuggle their budgies on the HMS Belfast

 

“You remind me of the babe” September 20, 2016

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 11:59 pm
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I have always been a very big fan of David Bowie as regular readers of this blog know. However I have never been overly enamoured with his performance in ‘Labyrinth‘. But given that this film introduced a whole new generation to the former Mr Jones then I can’t complain. It also introduced the world to the acclaimed ‘Bowieage’ a.k.a. the cod piece like moose hoof that made an appearance in the groin area of the Dame‘s costume.

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So, why is ‘Labyrinth’ suddenly of interest? Well it has come to light that Mr Bowie may not have been first choice for the part of Jareth the Goblin King. Another two British rock stars were also considered for the role before David Bowie. Yes I can confirm that both Rod Stewart and Freddie Mercury were also thought about as potential Goblin Kings! Personally I still believe that Bowie was the better choice from those three. What do you think?

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“The trial was a pig circus, he never had a chance” February 3, 2016

Filed under: Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 11:18 am
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The other day I decided to take a quick count of all the artists in my album collection where I have at least 10 albums by a single artist. I included CDs, LPs and cassettes (although the only non compilation cassettes that I have are David Bowie bootlegs). Oh and while I’m on bootleg recordings obviously I have included them whether they are live, studio outtakes or simply unreleased stuff. I have not included digital recordings. I was surprised to find that there are 4o artists where I have at least ten releases by them. The list is below, (artist followed by the number of albums) there are no real surprises for me, are you surprised at any on this list? Have you ever done anything similar? I have also added a song from each of the top ten artists 🙂

David Bowie 141
Bob Dylan 30
Johnny Nash 26
Bruce Springsteen 26
Beatles 25
Neil Young 25
Elton John 19
Bob Marley 19
U2 19
Rod Stewart 18
Pink Floyd 17
REM 17
Elvis Costello 15
The Eels 15
Prince 15
Paul Weller 15
Ryan Adams 14
Led Zeppelin 14
Madonna 14
The Clash 13
Elvis Presley 13
Radiohead 13
Kate Bush 12
Oasis 12
Lou Reed 12
Stevie Wonder 12
Morrissey 11
Tom Waits 11
ZZ Top 11
Jeff Buckley 10
Julian Cope 10
Johnny Cash 10
Michael Jackson 10
John Lennon 10
Manic Street Preachers 10
Kylie Minogue 10
Iggy Pop 10
Rolling Stones 10
Frank Turner 10
The Who 10

 

“Leave the rent with the gent up in the penthouse” March 3, 2015

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 11:16 pm
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The life of the late great Ian McLagan of Small Faces, Faces and Rolling Stones fame might have turned out very differently if he had followed in his father’s footsteps. Ian’s Dad was crowned British Roller Skating Champion in 1928!

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So now enjoy a couple of Mac’s finest moments while you lace up your roller skates. “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones on which McLagan played some excellent piano and keyboards along with the Faces’ “Cindy Incidentally” which he co-wrote with Rod Stewart.

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“There’s nothing left to talk about unless it’s horizontally” January 24, 2015

Filed under: Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 11:27 am
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What do you think of Olivia Newton-John‘s “Physical“? For me it was one of the tracks that perhaps summed up the 1980’s and I’m still not sure whether I like the song or not. That 80s gym fashion in the video looks so dated now. But despite that the song was voted the sexiest song of all time in a Billboard poll in 2012. Really?

OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN ROD STEWART

The song was written by Steve Kipner and did you know that it was originally offered to Rod Stewart? Presumably because of its similarities to Rod’s awful (in my opinion) “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy“. My personal choices for sexiest song ever would be Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and “Juicy Fruit” from Mtume. What is the sexiest song for you?

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“Turn your music so loud let’s attract a big crowd We’ll drink a round to this town and bid goodbye” December 4, 2014

Filed under: News,Obituary — justwilliam1959 @ 11:44 pm
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Ian McLagan Green Circles 87444

It was with great sadness that I heard of the death of keyboard supremo Ian McLagan today aged just 69. His death was caused by complications from a stroke that he suffered earlier this week. Ian or Mac was keyboard player for the Small Faces and the Faces. He also played sessions for the Rolling Stones among others.

lw-ian-mclagan

His playing of the Hammond Organ was a major part of the Small Faces sound. He also received co-writing credits for some excellent songs. The Faces “Cindy Incidentally” was my favourite of his cowrites. He wrote that song with Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart. He also played on one of my favourite Rolling Stones songs, “Miss You“.

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My thoughts are with Ian’s family, friends and fans. RIP Ian McLagan

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