What I mean by this is, who is the biggest or most successful artist that not one Afterworder has any tracks by, whether on vinyl, CD, digitally, etc. My collection, being that it includes all the rubbish that my wife and daughter likes, crosses off a whole host of artists that I can’t imagine anybody here would want to listen to, including the likes of Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. But who is the most successful artist that not one of us has in their collection?
I guess the only way to find out is for us to suggest somebody and for people to shout out if they have anything by them and, if so, suggest another name.
So to start us off, does anybody own anything by Daniel O’Donnell? He has sold a lot of records, but has he sold anything to any of us?
I’m going to say Pitbull.
No Pitbull, no party.
You might want to have a quiet word with @beany before you so confidently declare that the entire Massive is barren of any artist.
If we exclude Beany I suspect we could probably agree on the likes of Barry Manilow and Nana Mouskouri, as an opening gambit? Anyone…?
I’ve got a couple of Manilow singles, and very good they are too.
Both Nana and Barry have a certain camp factor that might have a certain appeal to some fractions of the massive. (including me).
I’ve got Bette Midler’s The Divine Miss M (a wonderful album) which features Manilow on piano.
I’ve seen Barry twice in concert. And I have a Barry fridge magnet. I just noticed the other day that it seems to have gone missing which has perturbed me slightly, a bit like the ravens leaving the Tower of London.
Anyway, I love him.
And here you are, Captain, proudly clutching your fave Manivinly:
A red baseball cap?? Heaven forbid.
It may be surprising, Hip, but in the early 70s Bette Midler’s manager took her to see the Mahavishnu Orchestra to give her pointers on stagecraft and commanding an audience.
Some of the arrangements on the early Manilow songs were incredible. He regularly used classical music sections for inspiration apparently. Too easy to diss the Manilow Magic because of the image but a seriously great musician and song writer. And anyone who doesn’t like “Copa Cabana” has no soul, I’m giving my maracas and frilly cuffs a serious shaking right now.
*Sings “but just who shot who?…..”
I was always amused that he sang ‘I Write The Songs’, but didn’t write that song.
My Aunt was a mover and shaker in the Barry fan club when he was at his peak….
I definitely I have records by Daniel O’Donnell, Nana Miskouri and Barry Manilow. Well-meaning relatives passing on their record collections to me (also dross like Val Doonican, but dotted with some gems – I have multiple mono Beatles LPs for example) and me being unable to throw out any rubbish ones just because, well, it feels wrong.
I think we’ll be hard pushed to find a single artist that fits the bill here. This will be an interesting challenge.
I say Robson and Jerome. Anyone?
hang on…Doonican…gross? get out of here
Val is great. I know “Delaney’s donkey” by heart.
As I recall Val appeared on the OGWT playing harmonica on Stone Fox Chase.
Paddy McGinty’s Goat
Walk Tall
I think we may have the beginnings of a Val re-appraisal
(perhaps not)
I had a Val EP as a nipper bought by my mum for Christmas – it had both Paddy McGintys goat and Delaneys Donkey on it and a couple more I can’t remember.
Worse than that she insisted on knitting Val Doonican style jumpers for my brother and me.
I can go one better than that. I’ve got a signed Val EP.
I don’t think we can tick off Daniel and Nana yet, Arthur. I don’t think inheriting records from relatives should count. I think the Afterworder needs to have handed over their own folding stuff in order to buy at least one record by the artist and then regularly listen to it.
I think the Afterworder has to like the artist’s music. I have a copy of Decade that I bought about 20 years ago, but I never listen to it, so I can’t call myself a Neil Young fan.
Give it a listen. It’s great
It probably is. I’m happy to admit that it’s my fault not Neil’s given how many people love his music, but he’s not yet clicked with me. OK, I’ll dig the bugger out again!
I too have a copy of Decade that I bought about 20 years ago. I can’t recall the last time I listened to it.
The prime difference here is that it is by Duran Duran
I have Nana’s Christmas album. It’s boss and she’s a honey.
I used to have it, but it got chazza’d for being distinctly un-boss. Agree on the honey, though. It’s those specs!
Both their albums are in ‘our’ library. “She forced me to do it, guv, honest. Please don’t hurt me|”
We actually met Mr Green on a Caribbean island soon after the first one had sold a zillion, or whatever. He was thrilled at how much he was going to make, but horrified at how much went to Simon Cowell – yes, even then, it was he behind it all.
Robson and Jerome, Zig and Zag…. Mr Cowell was a true musical visionary in the nineties, wasn’t he?
“Well-meaning relatives passing on their record collections …”
That’s my excuse too
I have NEVER bought a DO’D record, but I have purchased a Barry Manilow CD (no idea why?)
I’m still saying Pitbull.
That’s how Trump sees himself, isn’t it?
Chris Brown.
I’ve got you covered, above.
Nice! The dynamic duo.
I’ve downloaded singles by both to put on CDs for my kids in the car.
Damn yoooou.
Skrewdriver. Or perhaps I am wrong, Who will pop up and say they are a big fan ?
My arm just shot up into the air involuntarily!
By no means a big fan, or even a fan at all, but I bought their single on Chiswick. I bought everything on Chiswick in those days because it’s my home town and I had been exiled to Cirencester at the time.
And Chiswick did release some crackers (The 101ers “Keys To Your Heart” for example).
No to Pitbull and Chris Brown I’m afraid. My wife buys all the Now chart CDs when they come out, for playing in the car. We’ve got the last five years worth or so, so I’m pretty sure I would find both of those gentlemen on there somewhere.
I’m still saying Robson and Jerome. I can’t see they would appeal to anyone, and if by chance anyone bought their single in 1995 they would have long since chucked it out.
Surely an exemption for the Now Chart CDs! They probably rule out most pop artists of the last 30 years.
Och, these rules are getting complicated.
Nickelback ? And if anyone puts their hand up I’ll be having a word to Admin.
Raises hand. I like The Darkness too.
Jamiroquai.
Alanis Morisette.
Burl Ives.
Ken Dodd
Frankie Vaughan.
I have tracks by all of these.
Me too…
When I saw the title I immediately thought Celine Dion and there it was in the OP
Yes, sadly my daughter loves the theme from Titanic.
I have a french language LP that isn’t too bad.
There’s a singer appearing here soon called Rose Marie. According to Wikipedia….
While Rose-Marie enjoyed success as a local and national television personality in the United Kingdom, she has also released nineteen albums, all of which have gone either gold or platinum in the UK.
At the International Music Awards, she was voted ‘Most Popular Singer’, and has sold out at the London Palladium on more than one occasion.
I’ve vaguely heard of her – is she big enough to count?
If I remember correctly she was a fine figure of a woman.
And handsome too.
Er… any mention of a pork sword yet?
You and your pork sword! Put it away man, before we all die of laughter.
Until yesterday I’d have said Renee & Renato, eh @salwarpe?
I have a framed copy of “Save Your Love.” It was a Christmas present from a friend. Under the single itself is the caption “The World’s Worst Record.”
Yep – not a song I choose to listen to every day, or indeed ever. But it was on my Google Play song list, so I heard it just for @dai. Didn’t make me die, but it won’t be coming out again soon.
We seemed to sell a lot of Deanna Durbin on the Boots record counter years ago. I still wonder who was buying it. Possibly not Afterworders.
Andre Rieu – Hugely popular among my Ma’s demographic to the extent that one of his recent concerts was a ticketed event in a Dublin cinema. He’s an Austrian violinist!
Same demographic: there’s a German guy called Max Raabe who sings cheesy old songs with his orchestra, and old-timey arrangements for contemporary hits and own songs as well.
Swedish TV seems to show his gigs on a weekly basis (slight exaggeration, maybe) and my old mum is a big fan; never misses a show and makes sure to catch the rerun as well.
He’s recorded at least a dozen albums, but who buys them? My mum would perhaps like to, but she never buys music, probably wouldn’t know where to find any…
“Cheesy old songs”? Max covers classics from the German swing jazz and ragtime tradition, songs made famous by the likes of Marlene Dietrich and the Comedian Harmonists, with brilliant witty lyrics. And he’s massive in Germany, regularly has double sell-out shows at venues like the Berlin Waldbühne (usually reserved for Springsteen, Depeche Mode and the like).
Don’t diss the Max.
I would happily pay to see Max Raabe but he’s a bit costly. It’s probably Locust’s mum and her pals pushing the prices up, so that ordinary AWers like me can’t afford to go.
Witty, stylish, charming, great musicianship and even a political message. He makes a point of honouring the Jewish songwriters of the Weimar Republic.
What’s not to like?
Musical archaeologist, so to be considered in a line with Leon Redbone and Ry Cooder. High profile here in Germany.
OK. He still gives me the creeps! 🙂
It’s the ludicrous stiffness and stylised rolling R, isn’t it? I imagine he’s trying to be as authentic as possible to the spirit of 20s and 30s songs.
He looks like a ventriloquist dummy come to life, and we all know how those movies end…and the oompah-oompah really doesn’t help either!
Rieu…… yeieuch.
That horrible Rieu guy is Dutch actually. Not as if that’s an excuse.
Rieu actually started off recording as a standard classical musician, and I once heard one such performance on Radio 3.
He may therefore have crept into someone’s collection unannounced. It could even be mine, as I have a couple of massive boxed sets on the Brilliant label, and these tend to use source recordings from other Dutch labels. Not that I can be bothered to check the performer credits for 325 different CDs.
Bieber?
Again, I’m afraid several of his albums sit in my iTunes thanks to my daughter.
But they are not yours! Or is your daughter on Afterword?
Several Afterworders like Taylor Swift and Beyonce. To my ears their music sounds exactly the same as Bieber’s and One Direction’s.
Beyoncé sounds like One Direction? Whut
Doesn’t she? I don’t know either of them’s music much, but I’d bung them in the same group. Didn’t she do a collaboration thingy with them?
They’re entirely different genres of music. It’s like saying Pink Floyd sound like Guns N Roses. And I don’t think she’s collaborated with them, though Taylor Swift has done a single with Zayn Malik which is quite good.
Just for reference!
Ah it was the Taylor Swift Zane Malik thing I was thinking off. Listened to the above Beyonce. Awful. Still can’t see how it’s a different genre to Beiber or Zayn out of One Direction. Sounds the same to me.
OK, well, that’s interesting. 🙂
I’d put Jedward in that group too.
Jedward in the same group as Taylor Swift. Good god. Are you on a wind up?!
Again , nope. Sounds like same thing to me. Put Beiber’s name on this, or Beyonce’s, it’s all the same bland programmed beats and lush production. Only things I’ve heard by Swift are the Zayn out of 1D collab and Shake It Off. Both as awful as Jedward.
Ok, well, like I say – interesting POV 😐
I’m with @Gary
@gary, I love Swifto but think Shake It Off is pants. Try Blank Space:
Or even better, Love Story:
Sorry @minibreakfast, I just don’t get it. I listened to both those TS songs and they’re not for me. Which is fair enough, but more than that, I honestly don’t understand why someone would like them but not the Jedward song above. Or one of Bieber’s songs. It remains a mystery to me. Never have my ears felt more gnarled.
Bieber is a tool, but his management have synched him up with some really good producers in the last year or two (namely Diplo), which means that – annoyingly – his voice has featured on some records I’ve enjoyed a lot.
It’s alright gramps, I mean @gary – I still love you.
Indeed. Swifty is brilliant. Fearless is a pretty much flawless album. And has Ryan Adams ever covered a Jedward album?
Almost certainly.
Yeah, I realised that he probably has as soon as I posted.
Any of those C and W artists you see on some awards ceremony from Nashville. ‘You love him, we love him, he’s the biggest selling male artist of the millenium…’ Who are you???
Toby Keith’s 17 albums have sold 40 million copies but until he was mentioned as playing at Big Chief Little Hands inauguration I had never heard of him.
I think you’ll find that Tim Tunes is rather up to speed on a lot of those Nashville cats and kittens.
I know the answer – and the answer is The Lighthouse Family.
I’ve got that in a box somewhere, bought upon my best man’s advice. He moved to Australia shortly afterwards. And I saw them live – it was awful.
Personally speaking, the big ones missing from our house are Adele, One Direction, Pink Floyd,
Dire Straits(GLW has Brothers in Arms on cassette in the glovebox).A former regular poster here, H & R Puffnstuff, is a big Lighthouse Family fan. Always going on about them.
I like some of the Lighthouse family. Lightweight, but great vocalist
Two LF albums in Type Towers…
Westlife.
Ditto for fellow Granny-botherers Boyzone. Sure to get on our collective goat.
Can I just say I have stood in the mosh pit at a Boyzone gig.
You certainly can but you shouldn’t!
Multiple albums by both ensconced snugly in my wife’s section of the collection…which of course has been banished upstairs, out of the way of prying eyes.
UP ! I no longer have more than a few actual CDs (mainly of the box set / reissue type and proudly sitting on a couple of bookshelves) but, when I did, my wife’s few CDs were carefully manoeuvred to the very bottom of the CD shelves so as not to be visible and certainly not to give any inckling that they could be anything to do with me. Digital solves this problem, of course
As my CD purchasing went a bit crazy last year, my wife’s bottom shelf collection of rubbish has been relocated to a cupboard. She never plays them anyway.
Mr @gatz awoke me from my slumber this morning. I should exclude myself from this conversation as I specialise in such, er, delightful collections. Daniel, Nana, Val & Max you say? I have signed copies of their “work”.
I am possibly the only Afterworder who is proud to own a copy of Dame Barbara Cartland’s Love Songs Album. It was on my wish list for many years and finally discovered at a car boot sale for 50p. It is also signed.
Can I go back to sleep now?
Susan Boyle? Has anyone bought anything by her and played it and thought “that’s good”.
I like her version of Wild Horses. I heard it without knowing it was her a few years back, and was a brought up short when I had to face my own prejudices about her.
I included her version of I Believe In Father Christmas on my Green Christmas 2015 CD. In 2012 I included a version by Joe McElderry. I own both CDs from which they were taken. RAWK N ROLL!
David Bowie? Not heard much from him in years, I certainly don’t own any of his work and I can’t imagine anyone here does?
Ah come on though – the Laughing Gnome was all right.
I own a CD of the 2005 follow up to Barry ‘n’ Babs’ Guilty album; Guilty Too. Am I alone?
Nope. My beloved is guilty of owning this, too. SWIDT?
Insane Clown Posse
Juggalo Pride.
Not really, I don’t own an ICP record.
I think we’re falling into two camps here: old naff crooners that the Afterword know and understand and reject, and newer acts that five people here have heard of which are more young person friendly?
How about old acts that nobody here has heard of. I bought an LP by the band Box Of Frogs within the last 2 weeks just because it looked interesting. Band members are John Fiddler, Jim McCarty, Chris Dreja & Paul Samwell-Smith. Additional musicians on the album include Jeff Beck & Rory Gallagher. I’ve no idea what it sounds like as it is in the room of stuff yet to play. I shall listen online instead – very promising.
Sorry, Beanster – I bought that one back in the 80s. It’s a 60s band trying to sound like an 80s band (so not very good). It happened to virtually all 60s/70s bands in the 80s – some never recovered, others did.
Same here – bought it on release, based on the Yardbirds connection…disappointed overall…
Had it on vinly since back in the day. Less than the sum of its parts.
The BBC news this morning is giving a BIG push to Dame Vera Lynn and the re-orchestrated album of her most famous songs now turned into duets, to be released to coincide with her 100th birthday.
Apparently she pushed Arctic Monkeys off top of the album charts a few years ago with a similarly reengineered work.
Anyone owning up to owning records by the forces’ sweetheart?
Yep, I’ve got mp3s of Vera, I have a DVD’s worth of hits from the ’40s
Wot, no Kenny G ?
Trust you to lower the tone of the discussion. Now if Jo comes in and says Jimmy Nail I’m flouncing.
The Nailmeister has made some canny records, whereas if there is a Hell it will have Kenny G on a loop for all eternity.
Kenny G is apparently the biggest selling jazz instrumentalist ever.
Though I suspect not among Continuity Afterword, I suspect. That would be Pharaoh Sanders, obvs. Ahem.
Great voice, Jimmy Nail, and Paddy McAloon doesn’t write for just anyone. I was involved in promoting a club night at the Bird’s Nest pub in Hartlepool in the late 70’s and we booked a band called The King Crabs – lead singer one J.Nail although I didn’t know it until years later when I came across a photo on the internet. Can’t remember what they were like, mind you.
In a word…Dido
I know there might be an element of pretending to eclectic/amusing by liking the unlikeable but I genuinely don’t mind Dido at all.
Rubbish video, but I’ve always quite liked this tune:
I too own a couple of Dido albums. It was that cover on Word that damned her in our eyes.
Hunter is wonderful:
With regard to another thread, I reckon we should drop dildo’s AND dido cd’s on Isis. That’ll sort them. Or confuse them.
I think she’s ace, have all her albums – and ‘Life For Rent’ in particular is a brilliant album.
I find young Dildo eminently listenable when the mood takes me.
Both albums seem to be becoming Charity Shop Perennials – I noted about 3 copies of each in my local Chaz-outlet recently
I continue to be haunted by the preternatural sparseness of her eyebrows. Although that’s probably preferable to the Denis Healey tributes that are now fashionable.
My favourite Dido song. Picks apart a typical male schtick rather well, I think:
Checked out her first album after hearing Phil Brown, the producer, talking about it on a podcast. Sounded fine to me.
Back to Andre Rieu. He really is shite and until @mini-breakfast does a james Last on him, that’s how he should ever remain.
Beg pardon?
(rubbish tagging, btw 🙂 )
Michael Bolton, MIchael Buble, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Katherine Jenkins, Charlotte Church?
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it
“Hello, hello, hello, hello-oh-oh.”
Someone’s always telling you how to behave
The GLW section of our music shelves is groaning with Michael Ball albums, and representative appearances from the others apart from La Church – who, interestingly, has carved a very idiosyncratic and adventurous post-Angel, post-CrazyChick musical path.
Mme Stoke has a CD or two by The Buble….and I myself have downloads of Charlotte Church’s four numbered EPs….very good they are, too ( see Black Type’s comment above…).
Not mentioned yet, any of these faceless EDM types like Tiesto, Hardwell, Aviici etcetera.
When I first read that sentence, I thought it said “these faceless ECM types”.
I thought you meant Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Charlie Haden, John Abercrombie, Eberhard Weber, Egberto Gismonti, Dave Holland, Jan Garbarek, Steve Tibbetts and Anouar Brahem!
Bound to be someone here with kids who likes at least a few of their songs….
Little Mix, Charlie XCX, Sia?
There are certainly some fans of Ver Mix here at the Afterword, me included.
Like all of them. Charlie XCX is great.
I particularly like the way she no longer wants to go to school aged 27. To me she encapsulates so much that’s wrong in music.
Wrong? Like… wrong how? There’s a “wrong”?
She’s a terrible example for mature students.
Unlike Toni Basil who was a high school cheerleader well into her 30s.
Toni Basil was nearly 40 when she did Mickey on TotP. She’s older than anyone in the Who – how great is that?
I heard a Sia record the other day that seemingly had no consonants pronounced in it.
I think you’ll find it’s pronounced “ia”.
I have a couple of early Sia albums from before she became the chart machine she is today. I went skip diving for one of them.
She’s been around for absolutely ages. Wasn’t Taken for Granted like 1998 or something?
It’ll be 20 years this year, apparently.
I have an early (c.2000) CD single given to me by [attention – name drop alert!] Boo Hewerdine, as he co-wrote one of the B-sides. It didn’t inspre me to buy anything else of hers.
Jack Johnson. Though we’ve got the first three of his records, so failing the OP’s criteria. Excellent summer plays.
C.W Stoneking. Saw through you, matey. . .
Hear, hear!
Great Miles album too!
Lostprophets, anyone?
Ahem. I own a copy of Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja. Bought on release a very long time ago, I hasten to add.
Ha, I have a copy of that one as well!
Billy Ray Cyrus sold millions in the 90s. Did any of his records find their way into anyone’s collection?
I have exactly one Billy Ray Cyrus track – on the Country Joe McDonald-approved 13-CD set “Next Stop Is Vietnam” (songs about the Vietnam war).
Julio Iglesias. 120 Million records sold worldwide. Anyone?
I know there’s not much love for Limp Bizkit around here.
Is anyone brave enough to own up to owning any of their stuff?
Are you, like, kidding me?
Limp What? Never heard of them.
Sound like a late night sort of band that would go well with Hot Chocolate.
What’s that sound? @bingo-little ‘s backwards-baseball cap has shot vertically into the air.
After my Bowie “gag” went down so well a serious suggestion could be The Thompson Twins. I don’t actually own “Into The Gap” any more and it never made it onto my Ipod so if I don’t own any Thompson Twins surely no one else here does?
A quick peruse of the database reveals copies of Quick Step and Sidekick and Into The Gap.
I also have The Best Of The Thompson Twins on CD – never knew that!
They were defective, they are defunct
(the band, not the albums)
Well there you go, I’m sure we’ll get there in the end, we are detective after all….
The New Seekers. Where do I collect my five pounds?
Your answer’s in the video…
I have a copy of their Live Album in the record library.
Though they did record R Thompson’s ‘ No Man’s Land’ I believe thommo was a friend of one of them.
According to wikipedia, she has sold “between 200 million to 249 million records”, but I have never bought anything by her, and I don’t htink I know anyone who has either
Rhianna
Nope. Got one album and three singles by her. The singles in question are deathless bangers. (And it’s Rihanna.)
Downloaded all her albums and went to see her live to impress the new girlfriend. It worked but she is as awful “live” as she is on record.
Anyone else got an actual Steps album?
I think I win
Yes – Steps Gold. One For Sorrow, Last Thing On My Mind & Stomp all good tunes.
Bugger
I found a copy of “THE DARK HISTORY OF THE BAY CITY ROLLERS” by simon spence on a car boot last summer…..
a great read which prompted me to shell out 3.99 for a best of at my local asda. the look on the cashiers face made it worth it.
I since played it a few times on drink fuelled darts nights and “shang a lang” gets us all bopping….
slightly better than I thought!!!
FISH.
My first favourite band. I wish I still had my little white suit with the tartan trim I used to sport as a 6 year old! Only have 3 or 4 of their tracks on the iPod, but when they pop up on the 70s mix or the car mix we always sing along.
Re Mariah Carey. I can forgive her anything because she is responsible for the brightest, jolliest, happiest, bestest Christmas song ever, even more Christmassy than I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day. She didn’t just perform it, she wrote it too.
All I Want For a Christmas Is You
Totally agree.
In February? You monster!!
Anyone going to admit to owning some Black Lace? Apart from Beany, that is.
Shit, yes…I have some party cd compilations and I’m bloody sure they’re on them…sorry….I’ll get my coat….
Doo-doo-dooo, come on and join the conga,
Choo-choo-chooo, let’s train across the floor.”
Train across the floor? Carpet burns beckon.
Um, Black Lace appear on some Chumbawamba stuff I have, covering this:
As I listen again I realise it is something I should have kept quiet about……
Any more of your insinuations and “that” cassette is in the post to you, toot sweet,
I know you have Party Party vols one AND two.
Shush. Don’t alert the burglars.
3 singles and an album
(hangs head in shame)
We had Party Party on cassette at home when I was a kid. Mainly based on a shared fondness for Agadoo.
Chris de Burgh? Kenny G? Spandau Ballet? Tracey Chapman? All god-awful IMHO.
I’m sure there’ll be someone prepared to defend the Spands’ early tablecloth-wearing records.
Spandau Ballet? I’ve got 2 singles. Godawfully overbearing singer though. Came to hate them, natch.
I have a Spands single in my box of dusty 7″ vinyl. “Paint Me Down”. Also 1 other track on the computer. From an ’80s compilation.
I also have Tracy Chapman’s first album on the computer. Fast Car and Baby Can I Hold You are fine songs, well-delivered. Talkin’ ‘Bout A Revolution is a bit crap. Can’t remember how any of the other 8 songs go, so they’re probably not that great.
Saw C D B in concert (would have wished it was concrete) in 74 which until now I thought was support for Barclay James Harvest but now find out on t’internet it was Supertramp.
Did he come on before Gallagher and Lyle and then Supertramp? I saw this A&M package at Brighton Dome. It was my first gig and seemed unbelievably loud and exciting (more so when the headliners were playing). I reckon that was early 1975.
I didn’t buy his album. It didn’t seem to hold him back.
Can’t remember Gallagher and Lyle, as until yesterday I thought he was support for Barclay J H and not Supertramp. Memory.
He did indeed. I saw that tour when it stopped off in Manchester. I have a whole lump of CdeB records in my collection. Of course.
I was that gig, and it was my second concert (the first was steeleye span in december 1974). Might we have known each other in Brighton? PM me if you want to investigate further.
I bought The Freeze and Musclebound and Instinction by Spandau. I liked them at the time.
I have all the early singles and albums from Spandau Ballet – great stuff and surprisingly funky in that slightly mechanical early 80s way. The second album (“Diamond” – which initially came out as a box of 12″ singles) is especially great.
The first album is worth having for the Robert Elms sleevenote alone.
I have a soft spot for some of C de B’s early, more balladeer style songs though I haven’t played any for years, and Tracy Chapman wrote some decent songs made unlistenable by over familiarity. Spandau? I think I still have the 7″ of To Cut a Long Story Short somewhere. To the best of my knowledge Kenny G is without merit (to quote Richard Thompson ‘I agree with Pat Metheny / Kenny’s talents are too teeny’).
I think I have identified the group no one here will have: The Mike Sammes Singers .
From time to time opprobrium is poured upon them with abandon, as the misery of Sunday evening and Sing Something Simple is dredged up.
I don’t recall anyone ever saying “Now hold on, I happen to love the SSS song abortionists. Listen to their…”.
Or is there some fool, a brave one but a fool nonetheless, who is going to own up to Mr Sammes’ troupe as part of their collection?
Me. I inherited a MSS record, but it counts because I play and enjoy it often. I even uploaded my fave track to youtube:
Sorry 🙂
Isn’t it fab ‘n’ groovy? I can imagine Austin Powers listening to this on the Dansette in his crash pad, gurning at the camera from his revolving circular bed.
Given their backing vocals for the HJH and Gerry Anderson (among others), I’d have thought they’d get a special pass.
Oompah , ompah, stick it up your – hey!
The Swingle Singers, on the other hand….
I prefer the Swingalongs (‘thanks’ to Beany).
Don’t try and lay the blame on me missus…
This CD is fab and groovy.
Loving that – noticed the orchestra was conducted by Johnny Scott, whose Scottmen Plus did one of my all-time favourite tunes, Mr Big Cha Cha. You’ll have to take my word for it about the quality though – not on Youtube or iTunes. Last turned up on the Girl In A Suitcase Upgraded CD, long deleted.
Question – wasn’t Sing Something Simple the Cliff Adams Singers?
It could have been. I may stand to be corrected.
It was a long time ago. Both would have been regulars on the Radio2 playlists
Should you not therefore propose The Cliff Adam Singers as the epitome of Afterword loathing?
I LIKE the Cliff Adams Singers. fromage de luxe.
Andrew Ridgeley as a solo artiste?
To be fair, I get the impression that he’s a very decent chap. His album (there was only one, wasn’t there?) probably seemed like a good idea at the time and he may not have been well advised.
I have that on CD – it was 49p in the bargain bin on the day of release.
I imagine his A&R man was taken outside and shot.
Respect!
I have it on CD and vinly. I have always been cool…
Nice version!
His cover of Chic’s Hangin’ is OK.
Joe Longthorne anyone?
Yep! Several copies of Christmas LP.
My suggestion: Imagine Dragons. Huge in the US and – based on an unwise visit to see them at the O2 – popular with the kind of kids who always do their homework / don’t drink / are suspiciously clean. And Japanese adolescents. So not the AW demographic by a wide margin.
Maybe the ones who seem to induce the worst AW responses;
U2
Mumford & Sons
….and what about James Blu…….
I’m not one of the US haters.
I have U2 on vinyl, but nothing after The Joshua Tree
As do I, except mine stops at Pop.
Mine too. Pop is great and much underrated.
Very underrated. U2 themselves don’t rate it at all which has always perplexed me. Maybe because Eno and Lanois weren’t involved?
I own the first Mumfords album. It’s awful.
I hated them first. I hate the whole Hootenanny banjo bollocks. I hate the fact that they’re all called Nige, Tristan and Will.
as an afterwrd to Spandau ballet…..about 1991/2, a workfriend of mine won a couple of tickets to see them live.
as he had NO interest in them he left the tickets on a table in the works canteen….free for anyone to pick up.
in a canteen that served over 70 people…..the tickets were still there the morning after the show!!
FISH
oh I also own a black lace track too.
but as its “having a gang bang” from the RITA, SUE AND BOB TOO dvd….i’m gunna claim a dispensation.
FISH
The Black Eyed Peas.
Bear in mind that liking a song isn’t enough. You need to own it.
New Kids On The Block?
I bought the NKOTB Christmas album. It was shit, obviously.
Johnny hates Jazz?
First album (of three….three!)
It wasn’t mine. Borrowed it. Off a gurl.
I have a couple of Johnny Hates Jazz tracks. Me And My Foolish Heart and Shattered Dreams. A record shop in Barnsley in the 80s used to sell bundles of 7″ singles, I think it was 10 for 50p, or you could get 5 12″ singles for a quid. Harry Tuffnell of these parts will know the shop I’m talking about. You could only see the two at either end, so the other 10 were pot luck and could be any old rubbish. So we used to look through to try to find bundles where you liked the two singles you could see and then take a punt.
I got some great singles this way that I probably would never have heard of otherwise. Things like Into The Fire by Hitlist, Kiss Me Now by Fruits Of Passion, The Rattler by Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, One Day by Vince Clarke and Paul Quinn, Southern Cross by The Snakes Of Shake, Slide by The Big Dish, Stay With Me Now by Fire Next Time and Me And My Foolish Heart by Johnny Hates Jazz. In fact, I also got Shattered Dreams this way and used to bang on to everybody about how good it was until it got re-released and climbed the charts. Of course, when everybody else started buying it I went off it, probably for that reason. One of the wife’s favourite songs though.
Vibes Records in Bury did a similar thing. They were a chart return shop so most of them were freebies anyway. That’s probably where I got my signed copy of the Johnny Hates Jazz record.