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
How many more times is Mike Oldfield planning to re-release and rework T-Bells
Do schools still do that anymore - give albums or singles as awards or rewards? I'd be decked if they did. Perhaps a voucher at a stretch. It's a much safer bet.
Intermittently at our school assemblies, some senior teacher would call to the podium, a star pupil who'd excelled at sport, come first in a competition or reached an outstanding level of somethingorother (it's telling that I've forgotten the categories, yet have total recall of the prizes). The student would bound to the stage like a spring lamb ready to be rewarded, but slump away like a crushed gump after receiving in recognition of their glowing over- achievements and reflected credit to the school - and these were actual prizes - Tubular Bells (for someone aged 12 in 1977?!?) and a few months later Matchstalk Men & Matchstalk Cats & Dogs (and not even the picture sleeve)..
Whoever came up with this stunt shot themselves in both feet with a double no-incentive whammy - lacking any appeal for either the heavy-hitting swots and sportsmen, or the fair-to-middling 'must try harders' like myself..
There really is no other street in London quite like King's Road, it's an area so saturated with rock royalty, drama queens, designers and sites of special pop-culture interest, that you're never more than a few meters shy of some heavy-hitting historical location. I don't think it's an over-exaggeration to suggest that no other post code has shaped what we watch, wear, listen to and laugh at quite like SW3. You may not have been to King's Road, but the offspring and influences from this spawning ground of sounds and styles - will have stealthily woven it's way into your life somehow.
With a one way walk (of 1.4 miles) from Sloane Square to Edith Grove. It's possible to complete a tick-list of London undergrounders and embryonic icons including :Angry Young Men, Beatles, Bolan, Dracula, Droogs, Feminists, It Girls, proto-punks, Pythons, Rocky Horror, Stones and Ziggy Stardust.
So, starting from Sloane Square then...
The Royal Court Theatre John Osbourne's Look Back In Anger premiered at the RCT in 1956, the success of the play payrolled the production of Saturday Night Saturday Morning movie, which in turn, kick-started the 'Kitchen Sink' genre. Almost ten years on David Frost spotted Michael Palin and Terry Jones, starring in a '65 Oxford Revue and invited them to join the writing team for The Frost Report, a team that included Graham Chapman, John Cleese and Eric Idle. And in 1973The Rocky Horror Show made it's flouncy debut.
138a King's Road The site of Mary Quant's first boutique 'Bazaar' - which opened in 1955. Now a West Cornwall Pasty shop
A few doors up, at 152 you'll find The Pheasantry. A rat-run of shabby flats in the mid-to-late sixties, but home to Germaine Greer, Clive James, Eric Clapton and Martin Sharp (designer of Disraeli Gears and Oz Magazine) - A location, that a few decades before had been the Russian Dancing Academy - attended bya young Dame Margot Fonteyn Now a Pizza Express
Just across the road at 49King's Road once stood The Chelsea Drugstore. Referenced in the Stones song You Can't Always Get What You Want, and used for a several interiors in Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange. Now a McDonalds
Staying on the south side, a short hop takes you to number 85 , former home of The Great Gear Market. A dingy network of Leather Shops (the Boys Town type), Antenna hairdressers (the birthplace of extensions), Rusty Egan's Record Cage, Tik and Tok's clothing shop.. an eighties hang-out for all alt.types Now a Marks and Spencer
If you're feeling peckish, why not pop in to Picasso's at 127 for a bite? It's one of London's endangered species - an original fifties coffee bar, that's not been Starbucked. Yet.
Flood Street is next on the left, and Chelsea Manor Studios at 1 - 11, the site of the Sgt. Pepper's photo-shoot .
One more Beatles location to come Fabs fan's
153, now Ad-Hoc, but used to be punk-turned-eighties favourite BOY. Head west along King's Road and you'll soon come to Oakley Street - I would recommend looping south to Cheyne Walk and ticking off...
Oakley Street 89 - Bowies seventies house of residence 87 - Lady Wilde, mother of Oscar Wilde. And Later, George Best
Cheyne Walk 48 - Mick Jagger's house '68-75 27 - Bram Stoker 3 - Keith Richards until '78
Back on King's Road, keep heading west and take a left into Old Church Street looking for 46a and Sound Techniques Studios - it's no longer used for recording, but while active produced a pitch perfect pedigree of - Floyd's 'Syd' period singles, and classic albums like : Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left, Bryter Later, John Martyn - Bless The Weather, Solid Air, Fairport -Liege and Leaf.
A jump to the north side of the street takes you to The Vale, and another The Beatles site - Robert Whitakers Studio at 1A being the site of the 'butcher' sleeve photo shoot..
Stay on this side for 380, where in the seventies Marc Bolan was a regular at Alkasura (closed long ago) for most of his swishy bits and satin jackets..
Marc Bolan in his Alkasura jacket
Round the bend, and into the World's End stretch of the street. Where nestling next to the Chelsea Conservative Club, like a neighbour from a hell, is 430 King's Road - the birthing pool of Punk. McLaren and Westwood moved in 1972, setting up shop as Let It Rock and selling fifties collectables and creepers to Teddy Boys. But it was the shops refitting and reformatting as SEX that pulled punk's earliest groovers and shakers - the art-school Bowie/Roxy crowd and safety pinned estate urchins - into it's orbit of Hate-Couture Still Vivienne Westwood - Hurrah!
Finally the sixties 'scene' shop Granny Takes A Trip was sited at 488, and just around the corner you'll findtheyoung Rolling Stones notoriously sqalid lodgings at 102 Edith Grove.
I could cram in James Bond's unamed square, Duke Ellington's earliest recordings, Judy Garland's death, George Melly and Quentin Crisp, The Killing of Sister Georgie, Don Letts and Acme Attractions, The Who, John Barry, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mozart, James Whistler, Edith Sitwell and the invention of cotton but, perhaps I'll save that lot for later..
Partly because of it's inclusiveness - the way it's an open forum to phone in, get involved and become an on air have-a-go-hero - although I never understand the dreary Deidre and constipated callers that have to be prodded and pocked to draw out a weary 'yes' or 'no' - I was on a couple of weekends back, growling about dangerous dogs and have previous form for jabberings about my Starsky trainers and seventies fashions..
However the real highlight is a Sunday morning show 'The BBC Essex Years'. A show that indulges the listener with a full two hour rundown of the top twenty from one random year - padded with ad's and local news from the time. The fifties and sixties can lean towards a lumpy listen, but the seventies are solid gold - and somewhere I've picked up on these pieces of pure pop magic - Sail On Sailor, T.S.O.P and this peachy treat from last Sunday's 1972 show....
In case you're interested that full February 15th chart rundown looked like this - a cross-section of quality pop, that proves they really don't make 'em like they used to.... 01 - Chicory Tip - Son Of My Father 02 - T.Rex - Telegram Sam 03 - The Chi-Lites - Have You Seen Her 04 - Slade - Look Wot You Dun 05 - Neil Reid - Mother Of Mine 06 - Don McLean - American Pie 07 - The New Seekers - I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) 08- Sonny And Cher - All I Ever Need Is You 09 - Fortunes - Storm In A Teacup 10 - Al Green - Let's Stay Together 11 - America - Horse With No Name 12 - Greyhound - Moon River 13 - Badfinger - Day After Day 14 - Melanie - Brand New Key 15 - Bread - Baby I'm A Want You 16 - Nilsson - Without You 17 - The Bee Gees - My World 18 - Sly And The Family Stone - Family Affair 19 - Donnie Elbert - Where Did Our Love Go 20 - Stevie Wonder - If You Really Love Me
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...
What with Christmas just around the corner, and it being my birthday today, I'm allowing myself a repost of something that gets the anonobods and browsers dropping in almost all year long.. it was originally posted on the other side anyway, so it's not like a complete cop-out is it?
In the early 90's I was afflicted by a buzz for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, brought on by tracks like 'Spanish Flea', 'Tijuana taxi', 'A Taste of Honey' and 'Bean Bag'(used as the theme from It's a knockout) - each one a piece of polite but punchy trumpet pop. The snappy arrangements, the swishy album artwork and being cheap as chips at charity shops made these dusty Mexican nuggets perfect for collecting. But it was almost impossible to find the Holy Grail of Herb albums 'The Christmas Album'*(with H looking bored in his beard and as convincing as as in store Santa) amongst the Stereo Impact, James Last and TV Theme Tune vinyl - how many versions of Onedin Line - Theme from Spartacus and Owen MD (whatever that was) can you possibly need?
*The Herb Christmas album was eventually released on CD, but didn't live up to the expectation.
As an interim I decided to make do with the CD of 'Tijuana Christmas' by the Torero Band/Sound of Brass being sold at Woolworths. What an absolute winner it turned out to be, with the Toreros coming across as the most swingingest Salvation Army band EVER and starring the hardest working bass man at EMI. Using the textbook formula of cheeky key change after every verse, the uptempo thumpers could be themes for Carry On Christmas Specials, the mellow moments are like seasonal instrumental beds for Generation Game 'Potters wheel' sequences and as tight and sprightly as anything by Ronnie hazlehust.
Even now, every Christmas this is the first CD out of the Santa sack and onto the stereo at Cloudbase Mondo - 'Tijuana Christmas' is now deleted, so why not treat yourself to some of these Mexi-Christmas classics.
Milk Floats Lovely, quaint ol' cosymobiles from the days when anything was deliverable by a specialist van or lorry ? Corona drinks, coal, eggs and potatoes - not only are they still with us - but space age style iFloats are doing the rounds. Literally..
Launderettes Radio Rentals, Granada and other goods-for-hire outfits all folded with the availabilty of affordable electrical items So why are these rent-a-rinses still with us, and still doing brisk business? My local Launderettes are perma-populated with lonely looking basket holders - shouldn't these sud-u-like's have gone out with char ladies in floral print pinnies, tea trolleys, milk carton machines and wall mounted can-openers?
Iceland Selling Fridge Freezers Has anyone ever shopping at Iceland really, stopped, snapped their fingers and shouted, "Yes. I will have me one of those fancy freezers". At £400 a shout white goods are rarely an impulse purchase, and on my last visit to the Kingdom of Katona (for Yorkshire Pudd's) it was all young credit-crunch couples scraping by on own brand econo-burgers, so who in the name of prawn rings buys these things?
Rag and Bone Men Still a'clanging and a'crawling Steptoe style around the suburbs. Like 'taking it to the tip' and recycling never happened
Ceefax A bottomless barrel of available browsing to be had, although only ever useful for cheapo holidays, TV and weather. But amazingly, like the Queen and Christmas Cards remains unchanged or untroubled by the internet or digital age - who are the mysterious anono-boffins still working this ZX Spectrum style aggregator
I’ve been doing a spot of loft bothering lately. Digging through boxfuls of vintage goodies and golden oldies – annuals, sticker books, scrapbooks - but more importantly a mighty stash of music mags Smash Hits, Flexipop and assorted oddities like Zig Zag (with a fab feature on Soft Cell’s pervy ol’ Sex Dwarf video) and Noise. It’s an almost sequential run that starts around ’79 and fizzles out around ’84 ish…
The issue below contains a cracker of a nugget – a guide to the Sheffield scene written by Martyn Ware of The Human League, at the time of publication the League have recently signed to Virgin, ABC are still known as Vice Versa and Def Leppard have just been picked up by Phonogram.
I'll scan it in at some point, but until then, any ideas about the incomplete crossword ? No hurry I’m only 29 years past the deadline to win that fab cassette recorder…
Cashing in on the cinematic splash made by Jaws (which I became obsessed with and saw at least five times at the pictures) filmmakers chunked out a mad amount of 'When Animals Attack' movies at the tail end of the seventies, pointing a potentially-hostile-to-humans finger at such unlikely aggressors as bats, worms and whales.
Tentacles I actually paid good coin to see this Flop-O-Matic movie. Have a peep at the trailer, you will not believe the Hollywood heavy-hitters that got on board on for this titanic wet fish of a film.
Pirhana The novelisation of Pirhana was the first adult fiction book I read (aged 12). Published by New English Library, with, I think those oddly yellow edged pages - saw this one with Carrie (so much better) as the B-movie.
The Incredible Melting Man was another horrorshow seen around this period, although I seem to be the only person that remembers it.
I’ve always enjoyed the classic seventies run of Dr Who (John Pertwee/Tom Baker), but I’m not an anorak by any stretch of the space time continuum
So surprising then really, that the band of baddies who prompted the most frightmares and stealthy footed sprints to the door are a lower league outfit of dark menacers known as The Ogrons
Yes, the Daleks were scary in a screechy neurotic Nazi-livery-talking-mobility-scooter way, the Sea Devils lumbering around in string vests/fisherman’s nets were politely frightening – but The Ogrons, a morbid mash-up of the Planet of The Apes Gorilla soldiers, cross bred with The Klingons were the most blood chilling of all the intergalactic bad guys.
I only saw them in just one series (where I think they lived under a bridge, by a canal) – but their fang baring, cadaverous leathery faces, twisted psycho-killer grin and sly eyed silence have stayed with me ever since.
When shooting for the new series of Dr Who gets underway (and why not have Jim Dale as a new Doctor), hopefully The Ogrons will be high on the list of re-animated enemies.
And if you fancy putting the self-inflicted frighteners on yourself why not have a day trip to Chislehurst Caves ( used as a location for a Pertwee period Dr Who series) over 20 miles of man made caverns and passageways, dug over a period of 8000 years. Used as a former WW2 air raid shelter and sixties music venue, but with no electric light after the entrance and large looming tunnels around every corner - you can be sure of short night's sleep after your visit..
The Haunted Chamber at Chislehurst Caves - could you take up the long running challenge to spend a night here?
I'm a terror for a Public Information Film, and this seasonally shadowy short film applies the classic codes and conventions of any Hammer or Amicus production....
A Donald Pleasance voice over.
Set dressed with convincing contemporary costumes (for the time) and locations.
An other-worldy, wraith-in-rags visitor - death in the form of 'The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water' (a proto Dark Rider) tempting you to tumble.
A fist-shaking 'I'll be back' coda.
They really don't make 'em like this anymore.
Dark And Lonely Water
Also well worth a watch are almost any of Brian Clemens 'Thriller' series (with it's spooky tooting flute theme), almost all episodes have the intimacy of a radio play or theatrical performance - with the close crop shots and stripping out of any unnecessary incidental music all adding to the in-the-room experience
And I think my MP3 player may be psychic. Literally, as soon as I'd thought I really must find some spooky tunes this, this and Marsh Hunt's - '(Oh, No! Not) The Beast Day' popped into play.
As the shadow of Halloween starts to creep towards us, it's time to log in the blog, some seasonal scaries..
First up is Kendo Nagasaki - yes him of the blood red dead eyes, tattooed head, lumbering Leatherface gait, and startled little piggy squeaks and squeals. The man-mass of Giant Haystacks menaced like a silent film foe, Cyanide Sid Cooper was just a caveman stooge - but Kendo, Kendo really was genuinley terrifying wasn't he?
Magic FM (105.4) isn't Magic anymore. It's never been the same since rebranding as a rolling guest list of mediocre mish-mash and lightweight wishy-washies. Hopelessly devoted to dopes and as soft and soulless as a scatter cushion.
Whereas Melody, Melody, was a post pan pipe, pre chill out grab-bag of easy eared obscurities, soft rock oddities and one off wonders. Mellow melodies - but in minor key with a shadowy spooky mood and the ambiance of broadcasting from some deeply buried bunker. Like punk never happened, it would plod and waft stoically at all hours with a choice of tunes as soothing as a church bell - Midnight At The Oasis, Oh Lori, Delta Lady, Burt Bacharach, Strum Something Simple by Guitars Unlimited or somesuch. Now that's magic
I've only ever belonged to one fan club - Marc Bolan/ T Rex (circa 1987). I lasted about a year, but bailed when an ugly ‘Judean People’s Front/People’s Front of Judea’ style civil war exploded between several militant Marc splinter groups - but at least I’d had a few free photos and a Merry Rexmas card from the Bramleys who ran it.
It's almost impossible (and a disservice to the others ) to put all your Rex in one basket by qualifying a single favourite album - I love the on the cusp, crispness and crackle of Electric Warrior, the chuga-bug boogaloo of The Slider, and the unrelenting Glam anthems of Tanx.
But, today I'm in the mood for the title track from The Slider.
And how about few words from Marc ‘ a pervy little twerp’ as he refers to himself in an interview recorded just a few weeks before that fatal car crash.Marc Bolan Interview
US TV Ad' for The Slider album..
Meanwhile on the other side, you can find who connects Marc Bolan and Paul Weller. Incidentally 20th Century Boy is a great riff to roll with if you're a guitar beginner.
Are you a practicing musician, wannabe singer or am-dramatist at any level? Pro/semi pro, occasional gigger, or perhaps a 'have a go hero' kicking some riffs around at home or even a bedroom or PC/virtual DJ? If so - was there an album, artist or song that made you go from bewitched listener to befuddled learner?
Mine was the Sex Pistols NMTB. This riff heavy album with it's 'guitar soup' sound, kick started a teenage daydream of becoming a guitar hero and kept me playing through the early stages of calluses, chord combo fatigue and reef knot fingers.
Over thirty years on from its release and twenty five years since I started strumming, I still get the tingles when I Play-along-a Pistols, and I'm off to see them in concert at Hammersmith tonight.*goes cross eyed and faints from the excitement*
I had a very similar zip up to matey's on the right, but in cream with black and red stripes - made by Lord Anthony, also a blue 'velvet look' one with a red "27" on the front, from M & S...
If disco or dayglo weren't your thing - and a quick scan of the chart rundown for week ending 6th August '77 shows for most record buyers they weren't - a diet of light bites and polite pop was the alternative, so how about a handful of songs from the softer side of '77, including a couple of nuggets from the mighty 'Disco fever' ...
Stick with this this clip as The Jacksons make a TOTP appearance once Joy wraps up - she's a sunny Southender you know, one of my mates was a neighbour of Joy's. (And her intonation on "Oh no you don't" still gives me little ripples.)
If you fancy filling your vintage boots with more sounds of the seventies this is a retro belter
During some recent cyberspace-hopping I've stumbled across a fistful of mighty sites, all of which are just too good to keep hush about - so, I'm logging them in the blog with one pic' from each, to give a taste and flavour of the treats instore.. The Cobwebbed Room The best of British horror from compendium paperbacks and ghouly mags to Horror Bag crisps and Haunted House ice lollies - but no sign of the terrifying hardback, large format, New English Library Dracula/Vampirella style comic which I swapped for something silly years ago.
Peter Gray's Cartoons and Comics If you were ever a Whizzer and Chips, Whoopee or Shiver and Shake fan this blogfull of comic covers, stories and features should be right up your Fleetway Street.
George & Lynne Fancy getting your hands on a Sun loving swinger - there's original 'George and Lynne' artwork for sale right here.
Following on from the last post's theme of themes it seems appropriate to post this - a monster mashup of Space 1999/Destiny's Child/Stevie Wonder/The Flying Lizards - neatly clonked together by the King of cut and paste Pop Mark Vidler (Go Home Productions).
I've still got my original pair of Dinky Eagles and both are in great nick you know.* Snaps fingers and thinks - what a great name for a blog or mystery session musician 'Dinky Eagles'!!!*
This post is dedicated to Reg Varney who's 92 today.
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.
It's pink vinyl and on Chrysalis - any ideas?
