First ever Knebworth Festival – The Bucolic Frolic

Allman Bros

Doobie Bros

Van Morrison

Mahavishnu Orchestra

SAHB

Tim Buckley

Admission cost the princely sum of £2.50.

Remember it as being a hot, sunny day – pretty sure main headline on that day’s papers was Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus.

Remember seeing a bit of SAHB (Next), all of the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s second incarnation – bright sunlight and an audience of – what – 80,000 people not really an optimal showcase for them.

Backed up by Peter van Hooke, Pete Wingfield and a bassist whose name I have shamefully forgotten, Van was terrific. Veedon Fleece came out a couple of months later so I remember Bulbs as being a real highlight. Other amusing aspect of Van’s set was the mouthy Aussie bloke behind us who kept insisting that Van had previously fronted the Doors and would surely finish with Light My Fire

Never been much of a Doobies’ fan, but they were the sort of mindless boogie that the festival needed. The Allman Bros were pretty good but I think me and my mates had to get back to Euston for the last train to Cov » Continue Reading.

Out 27 sept

Steven Wilson…

£24….

What’s not to like?

https://burningshed.com/store/ape?utm_source=Newsletter+18+07+2024&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter+18+07+2024

A good thing or a bad thing?

Did a great job in turning England into a truly national team rather than, as has been all too often the case in previous years, a national joke, but he lacked the tactical nous needed to take them further.

So who would you like to see next? Klopp? Howe? Tuchel? Potter?

27 CDs!

Despite the surprisingly affordable £91 price tag on AUK, I can’t see myself playing all 27 of these even once never mind giving them the AW-mandated minimum six spins

Anyone in?

https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/bob-dylan-and-the-band-the-1974-live-recordings/

Arguably the most consistently inventive show on TV this last decade – especially given the fact that, unlike apparent “competitors” like Black Mirror, it has a rigid approx 27 minute time limit and nugatory budgets from the BBC

While there are inevitably going to be peaks and troughs, they’ve knocked it out of the park many, many times – the 12 Days of Christine, the Live Halloween Special being two oft-quoted examples.

Ninth and final series has been uniformly excellent, imho.

In true RS and SP style, the contents of tonight’s final episode are tightly under wraps

So what do you reckon they’ll leave us with:

Something about hares?

The rumored but apparently impossible to do On The Buses episode they flagged up only to run the 3 x 3 quiz show (the only ep in which RS and SP do not appear)?

A showcase for Sir Ian McKellen – the one actor they famously tried but could never get onboard?

Might make sense to have him as Orangey’s roomy to save on the security costs

Anyone see that weird footage of his Dad freezing at some ceremony or other?

They really need to get shot of him and Kamala if we are to stand any chance of keeping Trump away from the nuclear football

McGuire, Maddison and Grealish fail to make the plane.

Kane and Shaw remain fitness worries.Given his scoring record and the facts that Toney’s form is poor and Watkins looks out of his depth at international level, they really need Kane to stay ffit

So how far do you think they will go?

Top their group and they should have an easy run to the semis where they’ll probably go out vs France.

Finish second and they will probably faced a resurgent Germany in the last 16.

Third place and who knows if they’ll go through or who they’ll get if they do.

For me, currently Morten Moreland of the Times followed by the same paper’s Peter Brookes.

A gorgeous late Spring morning.

Barely has the beautiful Irish scenery appeared in the compartment window of the packed 0735 Saturday train from Dublin to Roscommon than the plucked faced student opposite me pulled out a mobile phone and started y’kno like telling everyone on the carriage about her amazing course, social life and romantic entanglements at ear -splitting volume.

My much needed invention would be some kind of personal mobile phone jammer that allowed texts but no talking.

How about you?

Been thinking about doing this for ages and just noticed a guy doing a neighbours house to give us a quote. Apparently about E5K after the E2K Irish govt grant.

Anyone had them installed or got any advice pro or anti doing so

All of Sunak’s cabinet have been ordered to abandon their travel plans and head back to London for a meeting at 4.15pm

Alternatively, is Rishi going to try and mitigate the worst effects of what looks sure to be a disastrous election for his party by making way for Paula Vennells.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/may/22/labour-tories-police-prison-overcrowding-crisis-pmqs-rishi-sunak-keir-starmer-uk-politics-latest-updates

Well yesterday to be exact that The Who took to the stage at The Valley. Pretty sure the full concert (highlights of which were shown on BBC a few weeks later) was on YT at some point

In addition to Pete, Rog, Keith and John, the bill included some pretty top notch support acts

Humble Pie

Maggie Bell

Lou Reed

Bad Company

Lindisfarne

and

Montrose (who I nearly forgot)

Dave Mason was listed on the poster but didn’t appear

All for – IIRC – £2.50

You try telling that to young people today, etc

Any other AWers there? Sure I can’t have been the only one

https://www.ukrockfestivals.com/charlton-1974.html

No posts about them on search.

While I know very little about them – the odd song on Ucunt and Mojo cover CDs – they’re playing at Dublin’s 400-seat Linerty Theatre in two weeks so I thought what the heck, I’ll go.

Got their most recent album and will give it a listen over the next couple of weeks

So any HF aficionados in these here parts?

A tribute its subject would surely have loved

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68834493

Leaving aside This Town which came out a couple of weeks ago and is covered elswwhere) there have been absolutely four top notch programs out in the last week

Ripley (NF) covered elsewhere

Reenagade Nell (Disney)

Baby Reindeer (NF)

Fallout (AP)

RN is Sally Wainwright’s new show and very bingeable it is, too. More Gentleman Jack than Happy Valley, it’s also hugely good fun.

Based on a true story, BR is a bit of a leftfielder – a hybrid of an unsettling drama and black comedy about stalking by a UK stand up I’d never heard of before, Only watched its first (of eight) 30-minute episodes, but it is very, very gripping

After that. it’ll be Fallout which is also picking up great reviews

Best show I watched earlier in the year was 2022’s Aussie drama, Boy Swallows Universe – if you’ve not seen it, give it a go

Apparently this year marks 50 years since the publication of Carrie kickstarted Mr K’s career. Not bad for a book that, like several of Richard Thompson’s finest songs – his wife dug out of the waste paper bin. Not bad for a writer who once self-effacingly referred to his ouevre as being the “literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries”.

While it’s true that I’ve ever re-read one of his books, it’s equally true that I’ve never struggled to finish one either.

Given the vast number of best sellers he’s written, it’s almost impossible to pick out a favorite. From his early years, I’d probably go for the expanded version of The Stand while from his more recent work, it would probably be Billy Summers