Friday 7 September 2018

Even Burt Reynolds in that Black Trans-Am ......



We lost Burt Reynolds yesterday to a heart attack. Very sad as most of his films were great fun and he had a wonderful sense of humour as well as great comin timing, and on obvious model for actors such as Tom Selleck (also excellent and fun, brilliant in "Runaway" which featured Gene Simmons of Kiss and an excellent villain).

Anyway when Bruce Springsteen released "The River" it contained a plethora of amazing songs, one of which was "Cadillac Ranch" which is a public art installation in Amarillo Texas, created by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels,members of the band Ant Farm, full details here.

Cadillac, Cadillac, Long and dark, shiny and black
 Anyway one of the verses in the song ran like this:

"James Dean in that mercury '49
Junior Johnson runnin' through the woods of Carolina
Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans Am
All gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch"


Reference to one of the many cars that Burt trashed in his movies, I'll let you find out which one and you can let me know. I also found a great Cadillac slideshow soundtracked by the song sto share with you and remember a wonderful actor by.

Thursday 6 September 2018

Nothing Succeeds Like A Toothless Budgie


A favourite line of a decent maths teacher of man "Pop" Moulding but also the sort of line you would expect to hear in a Half Man Half Biscuit somg. I do find it interesting how when you listen to one album by a band you want to follow it with another by them. I was listening to "And Some Fell On Stony Ground", a collection of odds and sods which is still hugely entertaining with gems like "Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes", "Hair Like Brian May Blues", "Blood on the Quad" and culminating in the hilarious thirty seconds that is "Vatican Broadside".

This made me think , how do radio stations check songs for offensiveness, does someone have to listen to them and check the lyrics or do they have software to do it. I once got banned from Yahoo for sharing "Vatican Broadside" because Slipknot fans complained about it!

Listening to that made me follow it up with "Achtung Bono" which must be up there with their best, every song is funny and brilliant. "Bogus Official" doesnt start promisingly but soon picks up and it contains the wonderful "Joy Division Oven Gloves". I could list every song on here as being brilliant but I seriously suggest you get yourself a copy of the album. Also including "Vatican Broadside probably includes this in the #SongsYouveNeverHeard sequence.

You will have  abig smile on your face and who can ask for more than that from the Bards of Birkenhead.

Tuesday 4 September 2018

Old Posts


Well this week has been a little successful at work and managing not to do that much walking then I realised that it's only Tuesday. I was looking through past posts and found that I had recorded the fact that Anthony Newley co wrote "Feelin' Good" and recorded a decent version of it himself which you can listen to here

This is one of the reasons that I keep blogging, reading that post makes me think I can write something that is useful, perhaps not tonight, but every now and then I can, and that thought will keep me writing.

Although I am almost embarrassed by the brevity of some of my old posts, although if it's just a diary entry then you may not have to write all that much, just that something happened or caught your eye or ear, and maybe post a picture or some video.

I wasn't actually going to write anything tonight, but it is quite early, so I though maybe just share a few lines with you.

I am still enjoying "The Fourteenth Letter" but am now on the home straight and it has been far more enjoyable than I expected, but I am quite a slow reader, but am now eyeing up my text book to read.

So as I am going back I'll share my slideshow from when I took part in lighting Hadrian's Wall soundtracked by Ash's "Shining Light".


Sunday 2 September 2018

Jah Live


This shows just how easily I am distracted. I switched on the radio this morning and Mary Ann Hobbs was playing Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier". This threw my mind back to the mid seventies, when after getting into Bob Marley and The Wailers through seeing their performances of "Stir It Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff" on The Old Grey Whistle Test and buying the absolutely sublime live single "No Woman, No Cry" I must have heard on John Peel, there were few other music sources at the time though Johnny Walker and Alan Freeman played good stuff, put he played "Jah Live" which I had to have.

The 'B' side was "Concrete" , "Jah Live" in Dub so I've included that as well.

This was fairly difficult to track down though my DJ friend John Allan who had a record shop at Lane Ends, Preston managed to source me a copy. He was an absolutely top man but I believe died in a road accident. Any I used to often exasperate him with hard to get singles that I'd heard and maybe I might try and get a copy on vinyl as reggae and ska do lend themselves to playing on vinyl.

I know this is a short post, and if Mary Ann hand't played that song I wouldn't have written it, but it is a chance to hear a Bob Marley song that you have probably never heard.

I have a walk to Wylam to do, you enjoy your Sunday my good friends.


Saturday 1 September 2018

I Was Going To Write A Poem Today


Of course I'm not exactly a writer, not even close but several lines came to mind and this is a snippet

Fat bloke on a mobility scooter
Wheezing as he lights a second tab
Moaning and coughing 
As he tries to hail a cab
The "Sorry Not in Services Bus" 
That almost mows you down
These are everyday things
You see when you hit the Town

I'm surprised I remembered that much, but I've written it down now, and these are the dangers of wandering around the Clayton Street / Newgate Street area on a Saturday morning.

I've been quite amazed how hot it was this afternoon almost like Summer had invaded Autumn like when Winter invaded Spring and Summer. As I say to people , Weather is Complicated.

Darkness is falling and the nights are drawing in though I'm not sure what tomorrow might bring, probably more good weather, which is always a good thing.

I'll leave you with "The Aubergine That Ate Rangoon"  from Hawkwind's "Astounding Sounds,Amazing Music" album, a bit of laid back mental music that actually fits with the #SongsYouveNeverHeard sequence.

The title is a steal from "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago" a title that I knew and thought it was a book or play, but is actually another song by Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band and was actually penned by Norman Greenbaum of "Spirit In The Sky" fame. So that's a song that I have never heard and may be sharing it with you tomorrow.

Just had a quick listen on Amazon preview and it's about an Alien Invasion and fairly close to a jug band versionSheb Wooley's "Purple People Eater" so I won't be sharing it with you tomorrow.

Sleep well my friends.




I Know


We're now into September and I won't be posting as much as I was for #August50, I actually posted 54 times last month, almost two a day, but for some reason the song "I Know" by Gary Wright's Wonderwheel came to mind when I was making coffee this morning. This is a song that has stuck with me since 1972 when it came out though for some reason I didn't buy it at the time.

Gary Wright was a member of Spooky Tooth and at some point parted ways to form Wonerwheel, and later found solo success with the excellent "Dream Weaver" which you will have heard unless you musical diet is X-Factor, Local Radio and Britain's Got Talent.

I found a live take of this which looks VERY 1970s but it is still a fine song for inclusion in #SongsYouveNeverHeard.  Although as I'm writing this the title track of the Arctic Monkeys' album "Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino" is drawing to a close and when I first heard it I wasn't too sure but now I think it is. The benefits of listening to Mary Ann Hobbs on 6Music. Recently I was surprised to find out her age and the fact that she is married to Miles Hunt of The Wonderstuff!

The spell checker has just suggested Tranquility should be spelt Tranquillity, that is strange or maybe not.

It's the first day of September, Autumn starts here, and the grey skies are clearing so the weekend is looking good.


Friday 31 August 2018

Fire On High


I first heard this as the 'B' Side of "Livin' Thing" . It is the opening track to the great Electric Light Orchestra album "Face the Music". I remember being impressed by the Electric chair cover, although the album was anything but grim.

It's actually quite a monstrous sound and shows fun, ingenuity and brilliance that seemed to desert the band in later years producing insipid pap such as "Mr Blue Sky" and "Xanadu".

ELO did produce my second favourite album ever "Eldorado"  and this song was the opener from the follow up "Face The Music" which contained some excellent blue eyed soul as well as this over the top sound storm. It is another one for the #SongsYouveNeverHeard sequence although it may one that you have forgotten.

The ELO were formed to continue where the Beatles finished with "Strawberry Fields" but when Roy Wood left it did become Jeff Lynne's vehicle.

So this is my last post for August 2018, and it is time to hit my bed now.

Enjoy this.