the cure - love cats

This came on the radio while l was in the kitchen earlier on today, cooking up a right old feast. It's a song you really can't help singing and dancing along to, and if you don't do so, you are someone l won't have a lot in common with.
The Cure - 'Love Cats'.
Me and Mr Parrot certainly had a wild old time



Here was me, dancing  earlier.
I dressed Mr Parrot the same way.

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a young keith moon

Yep - even Keith Moon was once a fresh faced sweet looking innocent youngster.
He soon changed that.

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speeding course in northallerton

As my driving can sometimes exceed the speed limits, l've been busted again, and had to attend a speed awareness course at The Golden Lion hotel in Northallerton (yesterday). This meant that l would not got three points on my licence for speeding, and the cost was £85 rather than the alternative option of £100 plus the three points.

It was four hours out of my life that l will never get back, but at least it was a lot more interesting than l imagined it would be, and nowhere near as preachy or sanctimonious as l expected. Also, l got to finish work early so l could attend, so there were other plus points.

I was caught doing 36 miles an hour in a 30 mile an hour zone in Stockport at the start of September, hence the course, but the down side is, l was caught again, also doing 36 in a 30 area about a week later in Catterick, so l am going to have to pay a fine and get three points anyway.

Damn!!!!

You know who l blame (obviously none of this is my own fault).

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the bug - london zoo - angry, plus zig and zag - them girls all love me

The Bug - London Zoo - Angry.
Infectious (and angry), and featuring Tippa Irie.
Great stuff, and an angry song that makes you want to sing and dance in a happy way.
Maybe that's why it reminds me a lot of this.
Zig and Zag - Them Girls Them Girls (They All Love Me)



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tune in - the beatles - all these years

Well, l finally got round to finishing the first of Mark lewisohn's biographies of The Beatles, which l've been reading on and off for a few weeks. 

The attention to detail, is, as expected, staggering, and although l've just ploughed through nearly 1,000 pages, the book only goes up to the end of 1962, so there's plenty more of the same to follow.

Hurrah!

I'm just the sort of sad git that loves projects like this, and relish as much information as possible (as long as it is correct).

Now it's the long wait until the second book is finished (there's going to be three).

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robert vaughn and the man from uncle

I've just learnt from the BBC website that the actor Robert Vaughn has died. As the article states, to us older folk, he will always be remembered from his role as Napoleon Solo in 'The Man From UNCLE', which is one of the first TV shows that l really loved. I remember having a plastic lighter / gun combo that was part of their marketing, which brought me much enjoyment on the mean streets of Singapore (when l wasn't setting fire to my eyebrows or local wasteland), but prefered his partner in espionage foiling, Ilya Kuryakin (played by David McCallum). However, both of the stars were heroes to me at the time. I know he's had a good innings (as had Leonard Cohen), but it's still a sad day, and adds to the gradual erasing of my (not many to start with) happy childhood memories.

I blame God.

Here's two versions of the title sequence





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excellent pub sign

Witty thinking by whoever came up with this pub sign in Clarkenwell.

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paul simon - american tune (with added bach)

I've heard this song a few times since the American election, and had forgotten how good it is (and relevant now).
Paul Simon, with 'American Tune'.
One of the few great artists of the 1960's who can still sound really great today, and his body of work is more than equal to just about anyone, although if you listen to the Bach piece, it may sound a tad familiar.
Just ignore the bad hairstyle and moustache, and listen to the song.





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brexit sgt pepper picture updated, and leonard cohen - suzanne

Damn!!
Wasn't expecting the Brexit Sgt Pepper picture to be updated so quickly, and with someone l liked so much.
Here it is again, only this time with Leonard Cohen added.

And as a tribute to the sadly departed Mr Cohen......Here's 'Suzanne'



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the chemical brothers - hey girl hey boy

Today's top tune.
The Chemical Brothers - Hey Girl, Hey Boy.
If the world is going to hell in a handcart, and being led there by the privileged few, we may as well party! (or revolt).
Where's my Ecstasy?



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donald trump wakes up

Donald Trump wakes up and realises he has to fulfill at least some of his pre election promises.

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the year so far - brexit sgt pepper

It's been one hell of a year so far, and if you haven't noticed, all of the people on this Brexit Sgt Peppers remake have died in 2016.

By Dogfacedboy.

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new yorker cartoon and uk politics

This New Yorker cartoon sums up how a lot of people in the American election would have voted, but before taking the piss out of the Americans too much, remember that a lot of people in the UK vote for the Conservatives when it is clear that they will bear the brunt of the Tory policies afterwards.

And on a related note...

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new t2 trainspotting poster

A new poster for T2 Trainspotting.

Still can't wait!

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a very happy man

From JB Barrington's twitter account.
This man is in his own world, and very, very happy.

Oi Oi @sleafordmods me Uncle Ray is on his way to Rock City, look after him won't ya....he's proper #GiddyOnTheCiggies pic.twitter.com/MHhvVZP9ic

— JB Barrington (@JB_Barrington) November 4, 2016

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todays tune - country joe and the fish - vietnam song

In commemoration of todays victory for Donald Trump and the rise of the idiots.
Country Joe and The Fish singing Vietnam Song at Woodstock.



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trump and putin - the romance begins

The love that dare not speak it's name.

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status quo at cardiff in 1976 and their live ep, plus richie malone meeting rick parfitt.

A short interview with Rick Parfitt and the non speaking John Coghlan of Status Quo before they played Cardiff Castle in 1976.
It's funny to hear the interviewer make such a big thing of the fact Quo had been together for 14 years, which, as he says, "Is quite unusual", and wondering how they have managed to stay together for so long. The year before, Quo had even issued a live EP featuring 'Roll Over Lay Down', 'Gerdundula', and 'Junior's Wailing' to celebrate their 13th year together.
Obviously l took the day off school to go and buy it on the day of release, as l was wont to do with bands l liked.
How times have changed. That is like looking as far back as 2002 from now. There are absolutely loads of bands who have been together since then, and many, many more who have been together a lot longer.



Here's the EP



And here's Richie Malone, Rick's replacement (due to Rick's recent heart issues), meeting him at a soundcheck in 2008, and now living the dream.




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ministry - jesus built my hotrod and pastor tl barrett and the youth for christ choir - like a ship (without a sail)

Today, l'll start with something rowdy and probably sacrilegious.
Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod.



But to head to the other side, here's Pastor T.L Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir -  Like a Ship (Without a Sail). A righteous bit of gospel that could easily be a Primal Scream song.



Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition.

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jacket at halloween

Halloween may be over, but l can't erase this image of Jacket (a lad from Catterick) out of my tiny little mind.
It's like it's been lasered into my eyeballs for eternity!

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my right wing fascist hitler collection

You always feel as though you are backing yourself into a corner if you start of a sentence with "I'm not a right wing Hitler supporting fascist", but......
As a collector / hoarder of all things interesting, l seem to have accumulated a fair amount of Hitler / pre World War 11 German stamps, plus a couple of postcards that have been checked by the Nazi censorship department.
None of it is really worth anything, and l am as left wing as you can possibly get, but l may have to keep tabs on some of the stuff l bid for in the future, or l will start to get a reputation that l don't want (the one l have already is bad enough).
Haven't got a clue what has been written in the postcards, but they are to and from the same people in Amsterdam and Zurich.

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the new strand shopping centre in bootle

Here's an old postcard of what was dubbed The New Strand in Bootle. I remember it opening in 1968, seeing Ken Dodd there,  being tickled with his tickling stick (Oeerr!), and lurking around the area when l was a little nipper, when l wasn't playing football in North Park.

Sadly it's now known as the place from where Jamie Bulger was taken from in 1993. 

Although l support Manchester United (it's a long story), l'm proud to be from Liverpool, and love going back there. There's been an awful lot of bad stuff that's happened to the place over the years, and the regeneration of the city centre and riverside has been staggering, but it's about time some more of the regeneration money spread to the outer parts of town, where there is still a lot of poverty and the associated problems that go with that. I know money has been spent in Bootle, but there's no pride in being known as 'Only the tenth worst area for unemployment in Britain'. 

Still, lots of happy memories from my time there, and the roads are now a lot busier.

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bob gruen and his rock and roll history

Bob Gruen is a photographer from New York who has taken many, many iconic rock photographs, some you may well be familiar with already, such as the John Lennon 'I love New York' shot.
He was friends with The Lennons, and was access to many pivotal moments in rock history, documenting them with his camera and his skill as an artist himself. Oh to have been his assistant at that time........
Gruen also has some short programmes about the photographs and their history repeated on a regular basis on Sky Arts.
His website is here, plus l owe a great debt to Anthony Luke and his site, from where l nabbed these photographs, rather than searching the web myself (I'm a busy man). There are many examples to be found there.
Here's some of which l speak. If you don't know ho the people are in the photographs, you need to educate yourself.

And here's the (Now world famous) John Lennon shoot.

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terence trent d'arby and sananda maitreya

It's a year old now (l like to try and keep up with what's happening), but there's an interesting interview with Terence Trent D'Arby by Kate Mossman in The New Statesman (to be found here), talking about his fame, and how it affected him. Plus a few thoughts on Lenny Kravitz.
In 1987, D'Arby was a superb looking black rock/pop superstar, with infectious hit singles and a magnificent crossover album (Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby).
Then it was downhill sales wise, and hello to Sananda Francesco Maitreya.
Still, he may well be a lot happier now, and if l had the money, l'd certainly do whatever l wanted, and sod everyone else.
Here's when he was red hot and sexy.

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strange yale university library book

There's a strange old book in the library at Yale University from the mid 1880's that was donated by Hans P Kraus. It has many drawings of fauna, but lots of weird text and other illustrations that cannot be fathomed out. 

Obviously the work of a dedicated madman (or genius).

I wish l had half of his (or her) drive to create. I've certainly got the rambling thoughts in my head, although, maybe with some of my thoughts, it's best they were kept where they are. 

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the waterboys - fishermans blues and savage earth heart, plus the retreat - come alive

After the last post, here's some clips by The Retreat and The Waterboys








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