Vinyl Countdown

It's pink vinyl and on Chrysalis - any ideas?

So how's your summer been going? Mine's been spent rediscovering the joys of vinyl. Thanks to a few sipping and spinning sessions in Coops garden, I've been inspired to pick up a portable turntable with built in speaker and handy USB connection for ripping to MP3. So the singles box has been collected from the loft, the cobwebbed albums dusted off and fired up at 33 rpm. Jazz sounds fab, George Melly's Nuts has been on almost perma-play, as has Sergio Mendes & The New Brazil 77 LP. Seven inch singles are the perfect pop format, with ideas and inventiveness at every level, and colored vinyl looks better than ever..

There really is simply nothing as soothing as some garden based sitting and spinning on a summers evening. I'd forgotten how pleasing the ritual of putting on a seven inch single is - combine it with 'lucky dipping': take a box of singles and what gets pulled is what gets played, and you've got perfect evening's entertainment.

Bargains bagged have been the Les Humphries Singers - Mexico for 50p, and this little haul from Spitalfields Market - a reggae cover of How Deep Is Your Love on 7", Pete Townshend's first solo album and three latin funk comps. Thirteen nuggets the lot - 'mazing.

So what's on the shopping list..George Melly Son Of Nuts, Head Hands and Feet Warming Up The Band (featuring an early doors Albert Lee and Chas & Dave). The Faces Maybe I'm Amazed (the studio version was a single only release).

Oh - and can anyone suggest a 'violet' 7" single to complete my vinyl rainbow (didn't Squeeze have one)

Red - The Damned - Love Song
Orange - UK Subs - Party In Paris
Yellow - The Dickies - Banana Splits
Green - UK Subs - She's Not There
Blue - UK Subs - Tomorrow's Girls
Indigo - ELO - Sweet Talking Woman

Last night's listening

Clocking Off For Christmas..

Well that's it from me for this year - I'm putting the holiday handbrake on, and my clogs up for Christmas..A big thank you goes out to all all those on the blogroll, the stoppers off, chippers in and commenters on my cyberspace scrapbook (and those shy, silent types too)

So I'll leave you with a couple of seasonal scraps before I pop off..

'Jingle Bell Beat' - a tune that has bleary-eyed, sore-headed memories for me. After going to a neighbours cocktail party a couple of years back, which kicked off with homemade cocktails at fourish, followed by a non-stop medley of mixed drinks. The last thing I remember from this shinding, is double-focus, wobble-vision while waffling at some random stranger, but, have absolutely no recall of getting home or into bed...On coming round the next morning, my brain's internal audio device repeat played the 12 second intro motif of 'Jingle Bell Beat' over,over, and over again - looping all morning, like a gaggle of giddy-eyed tweety birds circling all around my hat head ...

Up With The People - Jingle Bell Beat



(Jingle Bell Beat is featured as part of my winter mixture here if you fancy a festive earful)

And the truly magical production of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer from Rankin and Bass - a pure joy and gem from start to finish...

Rudolph Trailer...


Or for Grown Ups only

Joan Collins in Tales From The Crypt's - All Through The House


So - have yourselves a very merry Rexmas, and see you in 2009...

eBay listings

eBay now cobblers - it's official (well according to the comments in the last 'bay related post) - but when the online auction house was worth pitching in and listing on, real deals could be easily had, and without tooting my own bugle too much - I managed a quite lively run on the 'bay.Here's a few of my greatest hits and some bits still waiting in the wings...

Best sales

A set of 11 Guns 'n' Roses records
I deliberately listed these on the very same weekend that G n'R's Greatest Hits album was released. All that free publicity, promotion and renewed interest sent the sale price sky high - including £250 for one import that cost me £5.99.

BOY 1981 Catalogue
Even now almost anything interesting from the original punk period will get you top price (it wasn't merchandised like other youth cults, the gear wasn't made/expected to last and the best of it is now locked away in private collections) - paid (I think a fiver in '81), and sold for £150 in 2004. - you can see a few pics here.



Too Many Remixes volumes 1 - 8
When bootleg remixes first exploded onto the scene in 2002, I collected and compiled the best booties from the net (pre-broadband too), burnt them to CD and listed them eBay as 'Too Many Remixes' - riding on the back of Soulwax's 'Too Many DJ's' album title. Caused a fuss on a few forums, but stayed a regular seller for some months.

David Bowie - Midnight Special 1980 Floor Show
A still unreleased Bowie show from 1974 and the final Ziggy appearance with the Spiders, I downloaded a copy via WINMX for myself, but soon realised if I wanted a copy - other Bowie fans probably would - made it a double VCD with other rare TV appearances and included period pic's on the sleeve. A bread a butter 'buy now' seller which shifted a healthy amount copies every week.

On the sub's bench - bits to be sold

Starlust - Fred and Judy Vermorel (1st edition)
For some unexplained reason this collection of genuine fan letters to Bowie, Robert Plant and I think Shakin Stevens, edited by the Vermorels (who a have a Pistols/McLaren connection) and has become highly desirable. I bought my copy (first edition) for 50p back in the eighties from a Charing Cross Road overstocks shop.

Up They Rise - Jamie Reid (1st edition)
Another Charing Cross bargain book shop bonus, paid 99p for it in the early ninties and goes for over £100 now.

John Lennon Ltd Edt print
Framed extremely limited edition print approved by the Lennon estate and signed by Yoko with COA (only available in the US, but I had it shipped over).

Burns Flyte bass guitar
Only a handful of these concorde inspired guitars are in circulation Gaye Advert played one and Marc Bolan had a 6 string version - I picked it up for a snip at the Bass Centre, but doubt that I'd actually ever sell this piece of rocking retromania....



Marc Bolan - London Boys, Marc and his Burns Flyte(I find it eye-watering to watch the moment at 02:05 where he launches the guitar from the podium)

Where Have All Good Themes Gone?

Can you whistle or mentally cue up any recent TV theme tunes? I can do Eastenders and Have I Got News For You, but wouldn't know a post millenium motif or TV tune if I tripped over it (apart from QI, which is possibly the weediest opening anthem ever).

So what happened to big brassy small screen themes packed with action and splash - is it to do with budgets? It usually is. And where are the new names to replace Laurie Johnson, Ronnie Hazlehurst, John Barry or Barry Gray (the fun size John Barry). All of the above and and a handful of others wrote compositions so strong they were regularly released as singles or bundled up into budget compilations.

One often overlooked and underplayed obscurity is John Barry's theme to The Orson Welles Mysteries, which makes a perfect companion piece to his Persuaders theme.

You can download The Orson Welles Mysteries here

Or grab Geoff Love playing Your Top TV Themes here

But, if you fancy something cinematic why not try out this team up from Roman Empress and myself.