Obituary
One of the best and, at 93, one of the longest-lived football writers of them all.
Given the number of obituaries on which his byline appears, he’ll be with us for A good few years yet
Brian Glanville
Eurovision 2025
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The show has started. If you’re watching, why not post your comments and predictions below.
Paul Durcan R.I.P
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Obituary
Well known in Ireland from radio appearances, etc. Briefly better known as the narrator on In The Days Before Rock’n’Roll by Van…
“COME SING AGAIN: Exploring Martin Carthy’s ‘new old’ album”
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Kev Boyd on the ‘new old’ Martin Carthy album.
Martin Carthy’s first entirely solo album in 21 years will be released this year on his 84th birthday. A key feature of Martin’s recent live shows has been his purposeful revisiting of several songs from his earliest recorded repertoire. I had speculated for some time that this might signal a desire to revisit some of those old songs on a new album. The announcement of TRANSFORM ME THEN INTO A FISH confirmed this. It consists of 11 songs, eight of which originally appeared on Martin’s eponymous debut album in 1965, with the remaining three having featured in his live and recorded repertoires to varying degrees in recent (and not-so-recent) years.
It’s not unusual for Martin to revisit songs from his past. He’s sung different versions of some of the songs from his debut album, and entirely rewritten and rethought others. Some have rarely left his live repertoire, while others have dipped in and out, occasionally vanishing as quickly as they seemed to have appeared. What follows is an attempt to catalogue the various versions, revisions and variations of the songs from his new album that he has been known to » Continue Reading.
Fairport / Hugh Cornwell – Tobacco Road
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I believe there are a couple of Fairport fans on there 😉
Charity single from Richard Thompson & Hugh Cornwell (I never knew they were school classmates) featured Dave Pegg and Dave Mattacks.
Bob Dylan covers The Pogues
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Rainy Night in Soho. Interesting
You know you’re at a Prog gig ….
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Prog is some way away from my home turf, but I went to see Stephen Wilson tonight at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, with a couple of regular gig buddies.
The opening part was very crisp, and the whole gig was very well executed. I do wonder about gigs where there is a video backdrop, which is in sync with the music – how much is really really live ? The drummer was great, and Nick Beggs (yes, from Kajagoogoo) was fab on bass.
One style note – it is a long time since I was at a gig where people were wearing Paiste or Zildjan t-shirts. That made it feel very prog, as did the couple in front of me – they spent most of the first half snogging as if they were in the back row of a movie theatre! Back to 1978, everyone!
This Summer Will Be Tense If You’ve Dumped A Body In A Reservoir
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Are you prepared for drought?
Potholes In My Lawn
I was visited by some sneaky and protected badgers last night. They made a right mess of the lawn so if any of you have tips on encouraging them to dig elsewhere i’d be grateful, or failing that you could cheer me up with some musical badger or garden related puns. I’ve added some De La Soul in a link below.
Something beautiful, something glorious, something magical and profound
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Venue:
St Georges, Bristol
Date: 15/05/2025
Yesterday evening, somewhat bruised and cowed by a punishing week of 21st century nonsense, we made the pilgrimage to St. Georges once again, anticipating a special evening of music from the Rheingans Sisters.
We were not disappointed. The bruising was healed. The 21st century fell away and a timeless place of intensely involving wonder filled its empty absence.
What an extraordinary treat last night at St. Georges was!
The sisters played us their newest album from start to finish, delivering a tour-de-force that surpassed even the contents of its little silver disc that’s been in constant play at home for weeks now.
The entire gig lasted around 4 minutes, as far as I can recall. I was lost in the music, and time stood still.
With great delight I started to hear faint echoes of everything that I imagined they’d taken and poured into this album, all the possible references my ears seemed to find, all the musical influences I thought we must surely share, and then I heard the truth that really mattered at the heart of this piece; the sister’s own fantastic musicality and their voices shining » Continue Reading.
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
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Venue:
Co-Op Live, Manchester
Date: 14/05/2025
Over the past few tours we’ve got used to seeing Bruce Springsteen in a reflective mood; reflecting back on times past and on lost friends. This has led to some wonderful, life affirming shows, especially that Saturday show at Hyde Park in 2023 and last year’s wonderful shows at Wembley Stadium. He became Playful Bruce; Cuddly Bruce; Uncle Bruce.
Well, last night, at the opening of his 2025 Land of Hope and Dreams European tour, we got Angry Bruce.
The chance to see The E Street Band in an indoor setting in the U.K is as rare as spotting a Cadillac on the M6 motorway, (the O2 Arena in 2007 is the most recent I can find,) so I grabbed a ticket for Manchester’s American-owned Co-Op Live Arena with both hands. The advantages over a stadium gig?
Better sound, (I could hear the immaculate bass playing of Garry W Tallent last night, for the first time in years,) and a more intimate setting; I hardly looked at a screen last night, whereas you rely on them in a stadium setting.
On the stroke of the advertised 7.45pm start time, the lights went down » Continue Reading.
Suzanne Vega – Flying With Angels
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What does it sound like?:
It’s 11 years since Suzanne Vega’s last album of self-penned original material (2014’s snappily titled Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles). In the meantime there have been live retrospectives and a jazz-tinged album of songs about novelist Carson McCullers written in collaboration with others. The new album is therefore both welcome and unexpected. It’s also extremely good, recognisably Suzanne Vega in style and delivery but with strongly accessible tunes and plenty of modern musical flourishes. At 37 minutes and 10 songs it’s also brief, but none the less punchy and eclectic for that. Vega manages to cram in a variety of styles from Vega-esque ‘Flying With Angels’ and ‘Last Train From Mariupol’ to soulful ‘Love Thief’ and tribute to Lucinda Williams, ‘Lucinda’. Best of the lot are the tongue in cheek Dylan tribute ‘Chambermaid’ which pretty much nicks the tune from ‘I Want You’ while professing that “I took nothing he would miss”, and the driving ‘Alley’ which positively rocks along. What all the songs have in common is a consistent pop sensibility and accessibility that previous Suzanne Vega sometimes lacked. As such it might just be the most fully realised » Continue Reading.
The Who – Album by Album: Listening To You
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Author:Dante DiCarlo
London based musician and member of the tribute band ‘Who’s Next’ Dante DiCarlo has put together this comprehensive look at the studio albums released by The Who. He’s taken the reasonable decision to exclude the numerous compilations and live recordings, which unfortunately excludes one of their most seminal albums, Live at Leeds, and one wonders if the rules couldn’t have been a bit more flexible in that instance but there you go. He precedes each album by giving some detailed background on the creation and recording of the music, before giving his thoughts on each individual song, focussing in the main on the albums as they originally appeared rather than getting into bonus tracks added to subsequent reissues and box sets. He also includes the Odd and Sods album in his chronology as that comprised previously unreleased material. He’s a good entertaining writer, although as a non-musician myself the detail on chords, tunings, keys etc was a bit lost on me, but of course others may find that sort of information enlightening! He does offer some perceptive thoughts though on the songs, and isn’t afraid to give his opinion and call out material that wasn’t quite up to » Continue Reading.
PSA: Thunderbirds / Stingray
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We are mostly all old enough to remember these when they were on TV. Just came across an ITV YouTube channel that has remastered (in HD) episodes of Thunderbirds and Stingray (so far).
Seems to be fairly recent (about a month) and as at time of writing there are the first 11 episodes of Thunderbirds and first 4 of Stingray.
Whilst the link is to a channel rather than a video, I’ll still put in the first comment just in case.
Beth Gibbons / Tiny Desk Concert
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Many of us put Beth Gibbons “Lives Outgrown” high in our albums of 2024. If you haven’t heard it, do yourself a favour and go listen. If you have and loved it, do yourself a favour and go and spend 20 mins watching the just dropped Tiny Desk Concert…..
What is Keir Starmer playing at?
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The care sector is 130,000 short of staff, employers have to pay more NI on them and, now, they have to recruit from a smaller pool of unenthusiastic people who would be better paid in Tesco’s.
The choice of language is worse than Farage’s.
Remind me: how big is the government’s majority?
Justin Currie – The Tremolo Diaries
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Author:Justin Currie
Working as I do in community transport I encounter the gradual or in some cases instant deterioration in humans on a daily basis. People approach their individual circumstances in a myriad of ways from defeatism to extreme optimism and hope. The guy with cerebral palsy who still insists on playing golf and going swimming. The retired pilot struck down with paralysis after suffering from Gullain-Barré Syndrome just as he and his relentlessly upbeat wife were about to embark on the adventures they’d planned their whole working lives. The dementia sufferers who break your heart unaware as they are of their situation while the family are the ones whose lives really change. Those who just get old and slow down as their bodies physically give up. If I’ve heard “I never thought I’d end up like this Dave” once I have literally heard it hundreds of times. We all think we’re invincible. We all believe old age, illness or becoming infirm happens to other people. Until it doesn’t. It’s coming for all of us. Even our heroes.
Justin Currie’s Parkinson’s diagnosis came as a massive shock to me. I no longer have to imagine how big a shock it » Continue Reading.
20 Days in Mariupol
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Year: 2023 Director: Mustyslav Chernov
I’ve only just got round to watching this and I’m not sure if it’s been reviewed already. As the name suggests it covers the first 20 days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is a work of outstanding and brave journalism, truly exceptional. It’s the first film to make me cry for many years. It’s a must watch for anyone even though it’s hard if not impossible at times. The most moving film I’ve ever seen.
Might appeal to people who enjoyed:
Truth
Fripp lives to fight another day
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Just 8 lives left now apparently….
Pink Floyd At Pompeii MCMLXXII
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What does it sound like?:
This is the first standalone release of the soundtrack to the 1972 film, available on double cd and double vinyl. Although you don’t get the excerpts from DSOTM, this being purely a document of the audienceless concert itself, you do get two extra tracks that don’t appear on the bluray or dvd versions, an alrternate take of Careful With That Axe Eugene and an unedited performance of A Saucerful of Secrets which runs for a couple of minutes longer. The show in the ancient amphitheatre was shot in October 1971, although this only produced footage of Echoes, A Saucerful of Secrets and One of These Days, the latter being shot at dusk – the lighting meant that only the footage of Nick Mason was useable, so it comes across as something of a solo performance! The remaining pieces, Careful With That Axe, Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun and the forgettable and mercifully brief Mademoiselle Nobs, were added later in the year at an indoor location in Paris, the clue being Rick Wright’s disappearing beard. The new stereo mix created by Steven Wilson is very impressive (you’ll need the bluray if » Continue Reading.
Bjork’s Cornucopia
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Year: 2025 Director: Ísold Uggadóttir
Well, it’s not often that I see a film, let alone see it the day after its release. Fair play to the Curzon in little old Knutsford for putting it on so soon.
Baldly, this is a film of a 2023 gig in Lisbon, part of the Björk Orchestral Tour, which spanned several years, following release from worldwide touring restrictions. The opening credits give a statement of intent, of the desire to create an immersive experience within (relatively) small venues. Dive in! For that immersion is there from the off. Literally spectacular projections envelop with colour rich, your body resonating with the sound. This is a film for seeing on the big screen. Indeed, it takes a while before the realisation comes that this really was before a live audience.
Welcome to Björkworld, for it is a unique habitat. Forms morph; humanoid, flesh, fish, fungi. The imagery of the cover of her ’22 album, Fossora, provides the starting point for the projections, and this is a Sensual World. Hearing this particular sequence of her songs, brings home the sensuality, delivery lingering on key words; it had never struck me before just how many body » Continue Reading.
Watch Mick Karn glide
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Because it’s Sunday and you can still just about see things, why not watch the most interesting bass player who ever lived glide across the stage and arrive back at the mic perfectly on time for his singing bit?
Will Varley | Home Before The World Ends
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Will Varley is a consummate songwriter from the South of England who has put out 6 records of beautiful, bruised but ultimately uplifting folk leaning music over the last few years. He’s flirted with success whilst gaining a devoted army of fans and admirers. Not least Billy Bragg, who appears on the new record. That new record is out at the end of this month and has upped the ante somewhat. The songs are a little more widescreen, the melodies seem to reach a little closer to, I’d not the mainstream, then the canon of the classic singer songwriters. Whether it’s the one that puts him up a level or not, his work will continue to grow and he’ll share his wisdom and warm ruminations on life and it’s travails with those who are already listening. There’s much here that I would commend to you. If you like Israel Nash then I think you’ll hear echoes of his music here, albeit a more English version of that sensibility. It’s very Afterword adjacent, I’d say, He’s a prolific touring act and will be out on the road later this year in support of this record in venues that are respectably sized » Continue Reading.
“New” R.E.M. Release
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With the Trump administration defunding public radio and TV as part of their fight against a free press, R.E.M. are releasing a limited vinyl edition of Radio Free Europe with proceeds towards those affected. Good to know there are still good people with principles in the USA
Go West
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Venue:
London Palladium
Date: 08/05/2025
This was the third of three Go West gigs with the Sinfonia Smith Square orchestra to celebrate 40 years since the band’s debut album. The build up to the short tour was marred by an illness to Richard Drummie which meant that singer, Peter Cox was flying solo, albeit with the help of the regular GW band, three backing singers and the orchestra.
The first night at the beautiful Bridgewater Hall in Manchester was a terrific gig. Peter was a little nervous at the start, understandably so, especially when he had to announce that his wingman was unable to be there, but the audience lifted the mood. The setlist was a strong mix of those 80’s/90’s classics mixed in with some of their more recent tracks. The arrangements by Rob Taggert were wonderful, giving plenty of space for the brass section to stretch out.
The second gig, at Birmingham’s wonderful Symphony Hall, was even better than Manchester. Everyone on stage had relaxed into their roles and Peter seemed more at ease with the fact that he was carrying the show. His voice is still one of the best around, as it has been for » Continue Reading.
