Musings on the byways of popular culture
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Obituary
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/dec/26/perry-bamonte-guitarist-the-cure-dies
Long-serving band member, who was sometimes roadie, sometimes sideman, sometimes full band member, sometimes not. Was a part of the most recent lineup. 65 is no age, very sad for us fans.
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If you take a peek at the album cover for Prince’s masterpiece Sign O’ The Times, you’ll see the word NOOKER. It’s on the neon sign on the right, obviously a cropped ‘SNOOKER’, but still funny. I find that impossible to ignore.
Are there any other ‘nookers’ out there? Strange, funny words on covers…?
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I know that ELO are not everyone’s taste, but I like them. The keyboardist and guitarist Richard Tandy (who also played with The Move) died a couple of years ago, and his wife Shiela has worked with the Birmingham Conservatoire to set up a scholarship for students of piano and/or guitar. There is a tribute concert on November 7th in the conservatoire itself – this is bound to sell out fast.
https://www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/events-calendar/face-the-music-with-rbc-orchestra-and-choir-featuring-big-horizon-a-tribute-to-elos-richard-tandy
Big Horizon are the core of JL’s ELO that has been touring until recently. They have a great album out which you can stream in the usual places. They will be playing with the orchestra using Richard Tandy and Louis Clark’s original scores.
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The Thom Yorke 5 have released (digitally) a compilation of live recordings of the songs from their most underrated album. Physical release due in October, but very limited.
It’s a hummer! Have a listen if you’re a fan, especially one who got off the train when they went all weird (as people say).
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Good day to you all. I have been made aware of a project to try and create an archive of Birmingham Town Hall’s history. Hot on the heels of the sudden awakening of interest in Birmingham, I remembered that I had a few things.
So, readers – do any of you have anything interesting? Actual memorabilia, photos, digital stuff, stories…?
If so… go here: https://bmusic.co.uk/news/amplify-town-hall-past-present-and-future
Also feel free to post a reply here and I will alert the relevant people.
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Obituary
Maybe not everyone’s favourite band, but one that I love. Jim Prime, keyboard player and architect of many of the band’s best songs, has died rather suddenly of cancer.
Deacon Blue keyboard player James Prime dies aged 64 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl9p193d5o
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What does it sound like?:
It’s hard to explain it. I am a huge fan of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, who is a kind of conceptual artist with a landscape of 100+ albums under various guises, collaborations, self-directed movies, books of photos… and all the pieces of what he does recur throughout his career. The Mars Volta were sort of post-hardcore prog, with lyrics that defy explanation most of the time from Cedric Bixler-Zavala. The band went through tumultuous lineup changes, and imploded when Cedric got involved in Scientology. The reformation a few years ago, with yet another lineup (members of previous ones died, got involved in bad stuff, fell out, had accidents…) – that was a surprise. Also a disappointment – the self-titled album and the subsequent acoustic rework were, to be honest, a bit boring. But now I understand those ones more with this new one being made up really of all the things that weren’t there.
So it sounds like this: ethereal jazz, latin rhythms and percussion, vocals that are heavily re-sampled and made into atmospheres, hardly any guitar, some very EDM-influenced synths. The vocals are actually rather beautiful, Cedric is reining it in a bit and REALLY singing, » Continue Reading.
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It appears that the Beta Band, one of my favourite bands ever, has reformed. There is a tour scheduled, which I suspect will sell out in seconds.
September 25 Glasgow Barrowland 27 Leeds O2 Academy 29 Bristol O2 Academy 30 Nottingham Rock City
October 2 London Roundhouse 4 Manchester Albert Hall
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Obituary
I got the news today that Jamie Muir, who made an unbeatable creative racket with King Crimson, has died. You can read more here… https://www.dgmlive.com/news/jamie-muir-1942-2025
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No words for this https://youtu.be/45XruL17D90
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Very simply, what has been your favourite post this year.
Mine was, hands down, Bingo Little’s post on the hard rubbish thread. Specifically about Rhashak Malviv. Please read here: https://theafterword.co.uk/list-the-top-3-hard-rubbish-items-in-your-patch – the Afterword’s premiere skengman really delivered the goods here.
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This is one of two albums I made during the lockdown. It’s available on all the major streaming services. Digital Blues by Blue Grey. The second one is out on Friday 19th November. https://linktr.ee/bluegreymusic
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I feel that the world is becoming sillier, but maybe has reached a limit. For example band/act names. We had Pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs on here a couple of days ago. Then there’s the rapper Pooh Shiesty. Let’s hope he doesn’t release his own range of fragrances soon. Hard to imagine what his ‘turn’ is.
It’s not just band names, I’m sure there are plenty of other examples of peak silly..?
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This thread is a compendium of niche and obscure facts about the fab world of pop music that are not widely known. It may get you out of trouble in a pub quiz one day.
My staggering fact is that the only Pink Floyd album that only has members of Pink Floyd playing on it is Animals. There are either uncredited or credited guests. Meddle almost qualified, but Seamus the Dog is on it.
(I fully expect lots of ‘Thelonius Monk lived in a 13-dimensional house’, ‘Vardis invented Yarg cheese’, and all the usual ones)
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One of the hardest things to do is admit you’re sick. Not just feeling a bit ‘off’, but properly sick, in a life-threatening way. We hear so much about ‘man flu’ and we live in a culture of presenteeism and hustle, where the only way out is through. Keep pushing, and your determination will see you through.
It’s over three years since I started to get properly sick, and I’m still dealing with it, and actually it seems that I might have had an underlying condition for a while longer that wasn’t spotted. Looking back, I just didn’t know how to say how I was feeling, not really, and it’s hard when you have a reputation for resilience and reliability.
If I go right back, somewhere in about 2007-2008 something started to go wrong. I suddenly got arthritis in both hips, reducing my mobility almost overnight. X-rays confirmed that it was significant, but I got advised that I was too young for a hip replacement and got physio that managed to overcome some of the worst aspects of it. Other things started to go wrong too; whilst on a vacation in The country I rolled out of bed, and ‘something’ » Continue Reading.
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A simple idea for a thread. Post a song that is connected to the one before it. Explain how it’s connected. I will start.
