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Stackridge: The Final Bow

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Venue:

The Fiddlers Club, Bristol

Date: 19/12/2015

Stackridge are a band you may have heard me mention in passing. They have been going, on and off, for 45 years. This was their final tour. The Final Bow tour in fact, so named after a song on the 2005 CD Sex And Flags. This was their last ever show.

As you can imagine this was a gig that all Stackridge fans, or Rhubarb Thrashers, wanted to be at and it sold out quickly. I travelled down from Bolton for the weekend but during the evening I spoke to others who had travelled from Spain, the USA and Japan to witness this night. I managed to mistake Jonathan Coe for some other Stackridge fan and failed to recognise David Quantick with him. The support act was appropriately The Mutter Slater Band, bringing back the original Stackridge back for the evening and much of the filming of the occasion was carried out by original drummer William Blake, or Billy Sparkle to his chums.

A rapturous audience welcomed all 21 songs from the band’s back catalogue over the 2-hour set. Starting with the only song not recorded or released by the band, the » Continue Reading.

The Freddie Laker of sex

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Dear Cynthia passed away last month and this rare clip appeared shortly after. Amazing to see how everything was so beige back in 1982.

It must have been quite enjoyable seeing her as an after-dinner speaker as, naturally, I would have been too young and unimportant to have attended one of her parties. I think I need to revisit the film Personal Services released in 1987 and starring Julie Walters as “Christine Painter”.

Sad to see her website is still unaltered and taking bookings for future engagements. One of the favourite quotes from Madame Cyn was “when the testicles are full, the brain is empty”.

http://www.cynthia-payne.co.uk/

I’m running a little late

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Two weeks to go and no sign of Christmas cheer at the Beany Arena, apart from the now completed Green Christmas CD and a few cards. I blame those good folks at the Glossop Record Club for getting me side-tracked and sending me home last night with more records than I took. Bear with me while I catch up (baaaa!) and the spirit of Christmas records past catches up with me. In the meantime have some Pan’s People to keep you warm.

Star Trek Quiz

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Just for fun. Can you name the rock star who plays the Antedean dignitary in the photo? That’s him on the right in the purple doodad. I expect a correct answer by the time I awake in the morning. No cheating or googling and have a cup of tea ready. Thank you.

https://flic.kr/p/BtMH7T

Hank Wangford Band

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How have managed to get this far without a single mention of the Hank Wangford Band on the AW blog?

Well here he is performing on TV. I first saw him supporting Billy Bragg and the Frank Chickens at Salford University many moons ago. That’s thingy from the Fabulous Poodles on fiddle too. Another much under-rated band. Where are they now? Who am I? What time do the pubs open?

Something for everyone

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This forthcoming release was highlighted in a mailing from Universal Music Catalogue. Oh goody! The sound of darts hitting the board for a treble top. But nay, it is 18 tracks of the music used at the tournaments.

From The Proclaimers to Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs then back to Kiss and Thin Lizzy with a slight detour over to Tony Christie and way out to The Fratellis. What a crazy world this darts scene really is. I did once venture into a darts extravaganza at the Manchester Arena when giving someone a lift. It was towards the end so I was able to simply saunter into the venue and observe what hell must really look like on a Saturday night. Thousands of grown men in fancy dress fighting and throwing beer, while on a stage even bigger men were throwing darts at a distant target. Marvellous.

https://flic.kr/p/zA1RJL http://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Sound-Darts-Various-Artists/dp/B015S70O1Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1446370809&sr=1-1&keywords=Game+On+%21+The+Sound+of+Darts

How do you co-write a song?

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Here is an example of a song from Greg lake’s first solo LP, co-written with someone you would not expect to be associated with the Prog warbler. They did not actually sit in a room together to write the song. Here is what Greg says.

“I wanted to do a ???????? song on an album because I respect him a lot as a writer and as a performer, and I had a friend who used to be his tour manager. I didn’t want to do one of the regular songs of his that people cover. I wanted to see if I could get something unusual to sing, maybe something that he had not released. He gave me a half-finished song, and he said, ‘If you can finish it, then that might be the best solution,’ so that’s what happened.”

Guess the ???????? No cheating. The prize for the first correct answer is a copy of my forthcoming Green Christmas CD. Second prize? 2 copies….

Trick Or Treat Tunes

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Can you suggest any tunes for scaring away the anti-social vandals, I mean trick or treaters, tomorrow night? I fancy keeping this full tub of Swizzels assortment to myself, washed down with Hobgoblin’s Black Wych Porter. Yummy!

Darn. She made me fall in love with her again.

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I somehow missed this song/video when it was released last year. Tori Amos performs this song with her daughter Natashya. I have also just discovered that the author Neil Gaiman is Natashya’s godfather.

I shall stay behind after school and try and catch up. Anything else I missed?

Diatessaron: Not Bad

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This landed in my inbox within the last hour. Being at a loose end I slapped it on my virtual turntable. It’s not half bad considering it’s not from 1971…

“Diatessaron have streamed their second album Sunshine exclusively with Prog – hear all 11 tracks below. It’s released on September 11 and follows the launch of lead track All The Way in July. The Canadian outfit describe their work as classic prog, influenced by Genesis, Rush, King Crimson and others.”

http://prog.teamrock.com/news/2015-09-09/diatessaron-2nd-album-sunshine-in-full

Swingling

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I bought another job lot of LPs today which featured a marvellous looking release from 1975 by Swingle II. I never realised they were named after the producer and group leader Ward Swingle.

I seem to remember snippets of black and white imagery from my youth of the group and indeed these were the original French version, The Swingle Singers, formed in 1962. They disbanded in 1973 and Ward moved to London to form Swingle II. The group has changed members over the years and used various names, such as The Swingles and The New Swingle Singers. They still perform around the world but sadly Ward Swingle died in January of this year at the age of 87.

http://www.theswingles.co.uk/

Congratulations! I think we have a winner…

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The award for the biggest load of marketing tosh in 2015 involving Take That must go to whoever in O2 came up with this idea.

“An evening of entertainment with The England Rugby Team and a full live performance from Take That plus special guests

A unique celebration of both England and rugby, Wear the Rose Live will offer fans from across the country a once in a lifetime opportunity to wave off the England team in style and show how the power of support can give the squad a huge boost, ahead of the biggest tournament in English rugby history.”

Tickets will range from £20.15 to £85. Why they don’t just get on the flipping plane and flip off to wherever the tournament is taking place is beyond me (It’s in the UK – Ed.)

https://flic.kr/p/wEtxcc http://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/wear-the-rose-live

Summertime Is Great

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This could become my new favourite song. It’s like the Shaggs never went away.

If only it was true. Cold and wet is the order of the day. The beach will have to wait.

#PleaseNotThem

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Clever? Witty? New ad campaign from the National Lottery featuring people you really would like to slap with a rather large mallet. See also Katie Price and Laurence Lilliput-Bullock.