Following on from @Black_Celebration’s splendid Spangles and White Dog Poo thread, how about a discussion of the UK comics of our childhoods?

Nothing against the DC and Marvel titles, but once kids of our generation started reading more adolescent-focused titles like Spiderman, Batman, etc, the Beanos and Dandies tended to go the way of Puff the Magic Dragon when little Jackie Paper first “woke up sticky”.

Like probably everyone else here, I started out with those old DC Thomson warhorses the Beano and the Dandy, eventually working my way through Victor, briefly the Hotspur (too much bloody writing and not enough pictures), and later Valiant and Tiger. If my reading habits taught me one useful skill set it’s a rudimentary knowledge of German (Kamerad! Donner und Blitzen!, etc)

Always used to amuse me how aside from the big two (the Beano and Dandy) all the other titles generally ended up merging.

Presumably competing for the same share of our pocket money, fairly lightweight titles like Topper were simply krill for larger selling titles such as first Beezer and then the Beano.

Come the inevitable Saturday you’d head down to the newsagent only to find Topper’s masthead now only existed as » Continue Reading.

I get the impression there are a few Afterworders doing radio shows or have done one in the past. I’d like to hear about your experiences. I started out with a tea chest of African records I brought back from living and travelling in Africa. It was the World music boom of the mid eighties- Gracelands, WOMAD etc. After being interviewed on Triple R ,the hippest and biggest community radio station in Melbourne.One interview ended up being 3 X 2hours of tales and music afterwhich I was offered a show. I tried to meld African with reggae, gospel, soul, funk etc – black music basically. After about 8 years I ran out of puff – work, family and the burn out of finding new stuff and researching the music pre internet saw an end to the show.I had no idea how many listeners there were, though years later I heard of bands who listened and of kids passing round tapes of some shows. Fast forward to 2024 and I am retired living in South Gippsland – the southernmost tip of the Australian mainland and I am back in the saddle. This time on a very small radio station, now housed » Continue Reading.

Can EVERYONE  please stop putting videos in posts. We’ve asked this time and time again. We’ve now removed the video box from the posts form but please don’t paste them in as text links either. Just make your post and then immediately after, add your video as the first comment. It’s not hard.

We can’t figure out why this happens but every now and again video links break the site and either remove a number of posts until we catch up with it or, like today, they remove every post!

Surprised no one here has reviewed this.

Usual collection of beautifully written, played and sung songs from Mr L with the added attraction of some wonderfully Dick Daleish guitar stylings from long-time live collaborators, Los Straitjackets

Only minor quibble is that it’s such a sunny upbeat record that he really should have released it earlier in the summer

MODS – Pls feel free to delete if someone wishes to post a more detailed review

It’s nine weeks since ‘the incident’, as it is always known on the railway. It is also the first weekend since then, where I have had the whole weekend to myself, sleeping in my own bed. My phased return to work means I don’t have to set the alarm until Wednesday. That has presented the opportunity of a little home cooking, so off to market I did go on Friday morning to buy the wherewithal for some comfort food. I am glad and grateful to have grown up with the habit of Sunday lunch and, on this damp day, I can think of few things better. Only, I have indulged my taste buds every day of this long long weekend. When I get the chance to catch the lads from Fleetwood on a Friday morning, I make the most of it; so it was tuna on Friday and salmon yesterday. My choice of Sunday lunch may surprise, but one of my weekend treats is liver and onions, mash, garnished with some streaky, a ring of black pudding, gravy of course, ‘shrooms and there are few times when I don’t think that broccoli enhances a main course. Delicious! I’ll still have » Continue Reading.

Michael Schenker has released an album celebrating his 50 years since joining UFO with guest vocalists.

Axl Rose sings Love To Love.

A great band who popified Chimurenga music. Their main guy Biggie Tembo was mentally ill and then hung himself and then so many of the band died of AIDS as it ravaged Zimbabwe. I recall some Scot fell in love with the band that became their base. I remember interviewing Rise and Shakey Kangwena the keyboard player, Lovely people. Elvis Costello has donated 1200 quid. If you are a fan and can spare some dosh, it’s a worthy cause.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/getting-rise-kagona-home?fbclid=IwY2xjawFbfSZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRTFMeojO0Wvl2cKFsNPD7PTGcX2k5BKXqarRUm7cFdrNOXYO6p6gJ9V-w_aem_fFPKE5Ur5UclWkacNW_VlQ

I just came across this album and at first thought it was a spoof. Im still not sure as there is precious little about it on-line. Assuming it is the Cave the question remains as to why and as for the tasteless as fuck artwork – WHY!! I’m an avowed Drake fanatic and am broadly indifferent to NC (although love Red Right Hand) but just don’t see the point of this project (the world is awash with ND covers) and certainly not from a guy who’s style simply sucks the life and lightness of touch from these songs IMHO.

Other views are of course welcomed.

https://nickdrakeandthesadbeads.bandcamp.com/album/nick-drake-and-the-sad-beads

This morning, the car bluetooth randomly threw on “Twisty Bass” from Neil Finn’s very good (but overlong) Try Whistling This album.

This then reminded me of Suede’s “Indian Strings”. By this stage, the red mist had descended.

Is there anything more annoying* than songs which have obviously retained their working title through to their finished place on the LP?

Gentlemen – and ladies – you have not finished writing the song.

Are there any songs that, like me, and even at a subconscious level, you hold in slightly lower esteem because of what appears to be the use of their working title?

Also, are there other songs whose excellence transcends the mental image of the singer chewing on his pencil and saying “Y’know lads, I really do think ‘New One’ really nails the song’s lyrical and thematic brilliance” and render this crime acceptable and, indeed, become part of the song’s appeal?**

*your annoyances may differ **Most pieces on The Church’s Priest=Aura were reportedly given one word vibe-based titles by MWP which SK then tried to write ‘toward’. This method doesn’t count in terms of the OP.

I like a comedy gig and a few years a ago, I saw Micky Flanagan at the Reading Concert Hall – I think at the start of what became his Out Out tour. I laughed a lot – nearly fell of my chair at one point and a very good time was had.

We haven’t seen him since – to be honest, I am of the opinion that we saw him at the peak of his powers. But, an email from Reading Arts gave me, a humble member, news of a gig at the Reading Hexagon and the ability to get some tickets on a pre-sale. Mrs LB suggested buying tickets would be a very good idea.

Reminder set for this morning at 10:00, I dutifully refreshed a few times, became part of a queue (I was number 3 – either I was on fire with the timing or demand levels were slightly off Oasis levels.

Shortly, I had the option to pick some seats, I selected the fron of the balcony and let out a little noise of shock as I appeared to have picked top of the range tickets. £65 each plus booking fees (slightly less for me » Continue Reading.

Utterly baffling to me but they’ve pulled off an incredible feat. Evidently (which means there’s no evidence except my mate Mike) mossad sent out disinformation that hezbollahs phones were compromised. So they did what anyone would do and ordered a job lot from Thailand which mossad then tampered with. But surely many pagers must be in a store so why hasn’t some warehouse blown sky high? And how did all the explosives get through customs? They’ve just killed their ambassador! And how does the supply chain work? Were they distributed in a day or so? Because given the number of devices surely some would have gone in for repair?

I came across this advert from 1996 for M&M’s which have a voice over by Alexis Sayle, but more interestingly the music is by none other than Steven Wilson. This would have been when he was in the early days of Porcupine Tree.

I know that especially in the early days of their careers, musicians will take on any jingle / TV / etc etc work to supplement their income. I guess some will keep it quiet, some will embrace.,

So what other example of your favourite rock ‘n’ rollers extracurricular activities do you have…….

Sometimes you wonder how a song that ticks so many of your boxes manages to evade you for 21 years. Heard this for the first time (I think at least) this weekend and its wonderful piece of jangly, harmonic pop. Greg Gilbert’s voice is the star of the show (although it is a fantastic ensemble show). The album it is from (the wonderfully named Faded Seaside Glamour is also fantastic. The other albums seem very highly regarded so I ma looking forward to delving deeper.

Video in the comments.

This is very funny. Apologies for the French subtitles.