I’m going to quickly pop my head above the parapet just in case people think I’m unwell again. Anything but actually, just not had as much time for blogging because of all the socialising I’ve been doing, plus, I’ve got myself a job in a charity shop. Not had time yet, but I intend to have a good look through the vinyl and CDs in the shop to seek out any gems that have accidentally found themselves being donated. As for all the socialising, I thought I would lose touch again with most of the people who came to see me in hospital, but not at all – I’m fully booked up for walks, coffees and cinema trips on a weekly basis and my good friend from student days came all the way up from Harrogate to see me last week. A fun time was had by all.
But what else have I been doing other than donning my charity shop apron and socialising? I’ve been doing a fair bit of reading (5pm in our house is now “Reading Hour”) and I’ve just finished this book by Will Hodgkinson, where he revisits the singalong pop of the 1970s. Most of this music has been forgotten about and doesn’t get played on the radio any more, but as Will points out, the hits of Slade, the Sweet and Suzi Quatro were there to brighten up people’s lives at a particularly difficult time in Britain’s history. No-one has ever written a critical essay about the song Son Of My Father by Chicory Tip, but as Will postulates, isn’t a radio hit that appealed to millions back in 1972 socially significant? The decade had begun with the song Grandad by Clive Dunn and ended with There’s No One Quite Like Grandma by the St Winifred’s School Choir, but in between those two singalong horrors there was much to lift the spirits at a time of three-day weeks, rampant inflation and power cuts.
Son Of My Father by Chicory Tip:
I think I’m going to revisit several of the artists and songs in Will’s book (a new mini-series perhaps), but as I’ve already mentioned them, here is Chicory Tip with their catchy singalong hit. It was apparently the first hit single to feature a Moog synthesiser as a lead instrument, overlapping the lines of melody to create a catchy song.
Chicory Tip
I think everyone who was around at the time would remember this group from TOTP and the lead singer had a fine example of a feather cut hairstyle, cropped at the top with longer hair at the back and sides. The band were from Kent and were still working as printers and engineers when they found chart success. Fun fact – the song was written by Giorgio Moroder who would go on to become the father of Euro disco and it was a hit all over Europe in 1972. Not all Europeans were happy about this however as they thought too much British music was infiltrating their charts, and although it might have been accidental, a missing apostrophe and unfortunate tight spacing on the cover of the Swedish single certainly packed a punch – ENGLANDSHIT.
So, “What’s It All About?” – I love reading books about the history of pop and Will’s book should appeal to anyone who was born in the early ’60s and loved the mainstream pop music of the ’70s. In the coming months we shall revisit some of the other songs that have all but been forgotten but will forever hog a place amongst the rest of the “tracks of our years”.
Until next time…
Son Of My Father Lyrics (Song by Giorgio Moroder/Michael Holm/Peter Bellotte)
Mama said to me we gotta have your life run right Off you go to school where you can learn the rules they write Be just like your dad lad Follow in the same tradition Never go astray and stay an honest lovin’ son
Son of my father Moulded, I was folded, I was free from draft Son of my father Commanded, I was branded in a plastic vac’ Surrounded and confounded by statistic facts
Tried to let me in but I jumped out of my skin in time I saw through the lies and read the alibi signs So I left my home I’m really on my own at last Left the trodden path and separated from the past
Son of my father Changing, rearranging into someone new Son of my father Collecting and selecting independent views Knowing and I’m showing that a change is due
Son of my father Moulded, I was folded, I was free from draft Son of my father Commanded, I was branded in a plastic vac’ Surrounded and confounded by statistic facts
WIAA: Did you watch the Brit Awards on Saturday night Alyson?
ALYSON: I did indeed WIAA and thanks for prompting me, as I usually drop by with a rundown of what happened on the night. Nothing shocking or calamitous this year as the Brits have become very corporate and rehearsed, with the fans seated so far from the stage in the O2 arena that they can barely be heard. Made for a few uncomfortable exchanges with the celebs announcing and handing out the awards.
WIAA: Who were the big winners this year?
ALYSON: Well, you’ll be glad to hear I took notes but it would have been impossible to forget that there was one big winner this year, the artist known as Raye. She received six statuettes on the night which is apparently a record. She reminds me very much of a young Amy Winehouse which may well be intentional, and despite having been dropped by her record label three years ago she seems to have independently risen to the dizzy heights already. Here is her performance from the show (like another songstress from many years ago – Sandie Shaw – she appears to favour the barefoot look).
Brits Medley by Raye
ALYSON: She looks like a superstar already what with the dress, the band and the Brit School choir backing her. Someone who is likely to be around for some time methinks.
WIAA: Who else won awards Alyson?
The 2024 statuette
ALYSON: It was very much a year when the girls cleaned up WIAA, unlike last year when most of the nominees were male. All ties in with the cycle of releasing new albums apparently. As well as Raye’s haul of prizes, Dua Lipa was voted Best Pop Act and Miley Cyrus got the award for Best International Song. A special Global Icon award went to Kylie who has well and truly done her apprenticeship now having been around since the late ’80s.
There was a bit of confusion for us when the award for Best Producer was announced as we didn’t know that Jason Statham had moved over to the music industry. Turned out it was the talented duo called Chase and Status. Ok, so that was a little joke, but it sums up how little I know about the current movers and shakers in the world of music and why I feel compelled to watch the Brits every year – I learn a lot.
WIAA: Which performance did you enjoy most on the night?
ALYSON: That’s an easy one WIAA. There were performances from Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding, Becky Hill and Kylie but our favourite by far was from Jungle who were voted Best Group. Here is what they gave us on the night:
Back On 74 by Jungle
I think you will work out why I like them so much and why I’ve been listening to them ever since the show. I see they are classed a neo soul, funk, electronic music project but whatever they are, their late ’60s vibe is totally up my street. The dancers who joined them on stage on the night are very much an integral part of the group and all their videos feature them, and not the actual musicians. Here is another song from an earlier 2018 album. Just look at that guy dance – he’s very malleable indeed.
Casio by Jungle
I don’t think many in my little corner of the blogosphere watch the Brits so hope I’ve given you a flavour of how it went down this year. I am mindful of Jez’s statement from a couple of years ago, “Alyson, she watches the Brits so we don’t have to.” I hope I’ve upheld my side of the bargain?
Until next time…
Back On 74 Lyrics (Song by Josh Lloyd/Thomas McFarland/Lydia Kitto)
Keep it rockin’, doin’ the same thing And we get high in the nighttime And we’ll just watch it from the same thing But that don’t change what I think now And we were talking ’bout the same crap No, we don’t have [?] now I learned my lesson at the same time Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh why did it
Oh, back on 74 (74 street) Call this place my home (My home) Never gonna cry anymore (Cry anymore) Where did it all (Ooh, oh, oh-oh) (Ooh, oh, oh-oh) (Ooh, oh, oh-oh) Ooh, oh, oh-oh
Keep it rockin’, doin’ the same thing And we get high in the daytime And we’ll just watch it from the same thing But that don’t change what I think now And we were talking ’bout the same crap No, we don’t have [?] now I learned my lesson at the same time Ooh-ooh-ooh-oh why did it
Oh, back on 74 (74 street) Call this place my home (My home) Never gonna cry anymore Where did it all Go, let ’em know Uh, let ’em know Let ’em know Let ’em know
Yeah me, I’ve finally reached the end of this series albeit six months later than I intended. As I’ve said before it’s not been my favourite themed series as nearly all the months are named after Roman gods, festivals or numbers so not as interesting as I thought it would be, but I didn’t want to give up on something that’s nearly complete, so here we are at August, 12 calendar months on from the September 2022 post that got this series going (but 18 months in real time of course).
Although the month of August started off being called Sextilis in the original Roman calendar, named for its status as the sixth month, in 8 BC the month was renamed in honour of the Emperor Augustus. According to legend, he chose this month as his namesake because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt.
Emperor Augustus
Something I did find interesting when researching our calendar year, however, was that it doesn’t quite tie in with the solar calendar which is 365.2422 days in length. As well as an extra day being added every four years to keep things in line there has to be another adjustment made every hundred years, but even then not exactly every hundred years, which is why we didn’t have one in the year 2000 which would have happened during my lifetime. Should I ever find the secret to everlasting life I will see that adjustment being made in the year 2100… but I’m not holding out much hope.
But enough about calendars and onto the songs. As ever I’ve had to depend on suggestions put forward by my lovely followers and despite me not knowing any August songs, there still seem to be plenty out there. First up we have Ernie Goggins with his contributions. Here are his own words:
A couple of suggestions for August. The first, appropriately, is First of August by Joan Shelley, a singer-songwriter from Kentucky whose voice I like a lot. This version was recorded at the US Embassy in London. The second is some reggae from Duane Stephenson. August Town is actually about the district in Kingston of that name and nothing to do with the month, but after letting some outrageous rule-bending pass last month, I assume you’ll be alright with that.
First of August by Joan Shelly
August Town by Duane Stephenson
Well, two very different genres there Ernie but both beautiful songs in their own right. As for the rule-bending, it kind of had to happen with this series to keep the song count up per edition! This post a case in point as we proceed.
Next up we have Martin from New Amusements with his song suggestions. Here is what he said about them, which doesn’t sound very positive but we all have different tastes so maybe the rest of us will like them:
Struggling to think of any August songs I can recommend. Of those I can find, the ones I dislike least include The First Day In August by Carole King, August Hair by Robyn Hitchcock and August Was A Heavy Month by Bob Geldof. Oh, and Taylor Swift has a song called August, doesn’t she?
As for Ms Swift, whatever Martin thinks of her and her song (he doesn’t specifically say), she has certainly taken the world by storm, and because of her new boyfriend, was credited for making the recent Super Bowl final the most watched event since the first lunar moon landing in 1969. The power of pop eh?
The First Day In August by Carole King
August Hair by Robyn Hitchcock
August Was A Heavy Month by Bob Geldof
… and finally we have Swifty with this song from her folklore album written and recorded during the 2020 lockdown.
august by Taylor Swift
Khayem usually pops up in the comment boxes with a suggestion or two and he didn’t let me down for this month. Here are his own words:
For August, I immediately thought of August & September by The The (covered by Elbow) but I suggested that for your September round up. So, my offering for this month is August Day Song by Bebel Gilberto.Originally a single in 2006, this is a live version performed in Rio circa 2013. All I will say is, if I saw that Bebel Gilberto was performing live on an open air stage, I would be right there at the front, not paddling in the sea…!
Thanks for that Khayem, a lovely Latin American vibe, perfect for a cold February morning here in Scotland.
And here is where a bit of rule-bending is an absolute must. Until Khayem mentioned it, I had totally forgotten that the real name of that man in a Zoot Suit, who along with his Coconuts, also brought much Latin-infused joy to cold and dreich Scotland. Yes I’m talking about August Darnell whose stage name was Kid Creole.
I’ve never had the opportunity to includeKid Creole and the Coconuts around here before, which is bizarre, as whenever I’m asked what my favourite ever concert was back in the day, their flamboyant show at Aberdeen’s Capitol Theatre in the mid ’80s comes a close second to the 2 Tone Tour gig which still sits at No. 1. Here is one of their hit songs, Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy, taken from the album Tropical Gangsters. The band fused a particular a mix of disco and Latin American, Caribbean, and Cab Calloway styles, conceptually inspired by the big band era. To watch them on stage was a riot of colour complete with a jungle stage set for the Coconuts to perform on, and I think I smiled throughout the whole thing. Thanks Khayem for reminding me of it.
Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy by Kid Creole and the Coconuts:
Well, here we come to the end of this series. For a while there last year it didn’t look as if I would ever return to it but against all the odds here we are. It’s not been my favourite series I must admit, but I have enjoyed getting all the contributions from followers. I’ve discovered a lot of hitherto unheard of songs and of course, like the one above, I’ve been reminded of ones long forgotten.
I’ll have to get my thinking cap on now and come up with another idea for a new series. Some stall after a couple of posts but others like my Full Moon in Song series can last for years. As I say, thinking cap needed.
Before I go here’s an example of a Mondegreen. Until I went off in search of the lyrics to Annie…, I always thought the eight lines of, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a, at the end of the song were actually eight lines of, ono ono onomatopoeia. What can I say, every day’s a school day.
Until next time.
Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy Lyrics (Song by August Darnell)
They say that all is fair in love and war and child, believe it When mama stayed in St. Tropez, she had a fall or two And I’m telling it to you straight So you don’t have to hear it in another way
Oh Annie I’m not your daddy Oh Annie I’m not your daddy
They say that out of sight is out of mind and child, believe it Your mama was in search of love, but all she got was used And I’m telling it to your face So you don’t have to hear it in another place Bring it to me gently now Don’t forget, I’m just a child
Oh Annie I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby) Oh Annie I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)
See, if I was in your blood then you wouldn’t be so ugly Oh!
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
Yes, I’m telling it to you straight So you don’t have to hear it in another way Bring it to me gently now Don’t forget, I’m just a child
Oh Annie I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby) Oh Annie I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)
I’m afraid this post is six months too late, but before I became unwell I had almost completed my Months of the Year in Song series (as I started it in September ’22), so despite the songs being entirely inappropriate for cold January, in the Northern Hemisphere anyway, I’m determined to see it through until the end.
For once I did have an inkling as to where the name July came from, and yet again it is of Roman origin. In 44BC the Roman Senate renamed the month in honour of the general Julius Caesar. Before then it was called Quintilis, being the fifth month of the original calendar that started with March.
Statue of Julius Caesar – He made a nice salad
For children like me who grew up in Scotland, the beginning of July always marked the start of our long school summer holidays, when we would enjoy all that brilliant sunshine and balmy weather… NOT. Invariably it rained, and we ended up having beach holidays dressed in our cagoules, but I’m sure in amongst all that rain we did have a few sunny days too! Some of my best memories are from those beach holidays along the Moray Coast. The North Sea got its name for a reason but we regularly donned our swimming costumes and braved the elements. Nowadays it’s called wildswimming but back then it was just called swimming.
But this is a music blog and I’m pleased to say this next bit will almost write itself as despite not being able to come up with any July songs myself, the rest of you certainly did, and looking back at last June’s comment boxes there are plenty to share.
We’ll start off with one of the most well known July songs from Neil. He said:
To me, this Springsteen song is very great. It’s one of my favourites: 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).
I had thought he was describing the New Jersey beaches when I first saw the word Sandy, but no, Sandy is a girl and this ballad has been described as “the perfect musical study of the Jersey Shore boardwalk culture”. Thanks Neil.
4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) by Bruce Springsteen
Next up we have Ernie Goggins who has been a regular contributor to this series. Here are his own words:
If you liked the mellow stuff last time then July by BOY might appeal. Theyare a Swiss-German duo and this track is from their 2012 album Mutual Friends (it did nothing here but rocketed to #6 in the Swiss album charts). This link is to a live acoustic version.
That is very beautiful Ernie, and as you say, very mellow.
July by BOY
He’s not done yet though as we have another two July songs from Ernie. The first he describes as being slightly more rambunctious: Low July by JT And The Clouds. Here again are his own words:
JT went on to be one half of Birds of Chicago who had a bit of success in the 2010s. The album this comes from is called Caledonia which has to be a sign of some sort.
Low July by JT And The Clouds
Finally from Ernie:
Last suggestion is the very specific July 12, 1939 by Larry Jon Wilson (CharlieRich did a decent version as well). It is one of those Southern US story songs you associate with the likes of Bobbie Gentry and Tony Joe White.
You are right there Ernie – very Tony Joe White.
July 12, 1939 by Larry Jon Wilson
Here’s a song suggestion now from Lynchie. He said:
Dave Alvin4th of July is a favourite of mine, especially the acoustic version.
I’m afraid this isn’t the acoustic version but I’m sure you will be able to seek it out. Very nice Lynchie.
4th Of July by Dave Alvin
Next we have a July suggestion from my good friend C from Sun Dried Sparrows. She has bent the rules a little but that’s never stopped me including anything before. Here are her own words:
As for July, the first thing I thought of was the band called July….if you won’t mind me bending the rules yet again! (I think Ernie will know too of this psychy band from the late ’60s.) A very dreamy Summery number of theirs that springs to mind is Dandelion Seeds, which was also later covered (very nicely) by the Lemonheads.
Lovely stuff C, and it could only come from the late ’60s!
Dandelion Seeds by July:
Martin from New Amusements usually pipes up with something and this time he came up with three suggestions. This is what he said:
At the risk of inundating you with songs that all have the same title, Aimee Mann also has a lovely song entitled 4th of July, which has some great lyrics.
4th of July by Aimee Mann
Here are his other suggestions.
Gordon Lightfoot had Black Day in July, which was very downbeat. Scritti Politti had Here Come July, which wasn’t.
Thanks Martin, I really liked Scritti Politti back in the day but I’d never heard that song of theirs before.
Black Day In July by Gordon Lightfoot
Here Come July by Scritti Politti
CC from Charity Chic Music dropped by with this contribution. Like C he is bending the rules a little but I’m fine with that. Here are his own words:
Can I offer Little Bird from Goldfrapp’s ethereal album Seventh Tree with it’s chorus of July-ly-ly, July-ly-ly, July-ly-ly.
Of course you can CC.
Little Bird by Goldfrapp
Next up we have Rol’s suggestions. Knowing Rol’s vast knowledge of all kinds of music, I could probably write a blog post just made up of his suggestions alone, but he always goes easy on me. Although he says here that he is inundating me with them, four suggestions is doable and here they all are. Of the four I think I like the Cisco Houston and John Stewart songs best. Here are Rol’s words:
Bruce, Aimee and Larry Jon are all excellent suggestions that would have beenon my list. I’m afraid I’m going to rather inundate you with suggestions this month, but I’ll leave it to you to choose the one you like best…
July Jones by Cisco Houston
July July July July by Billy Paul
July You’re A Woman by John Stewart
July Tree by Nina Simone
Last but most definitely not least are Khayhem’s suggestions for July. Here is what he said:
For July, Martin’s been there with my default go-to, Scritti Politti’s Here Come July, so here’s a couple more.
First up, Bomb The Bass with their 1991 hit Winter In July, featuring the wonderful words and music of Loretta Heywood.
Winter In July by Bomb The Bass
Secondly, When I Call A Name by Michael Andrews from the soundtrack to the 2005 film Me And You And Everyone We Know, written, directed and starringMiranda July. The tenuous link being that it’s her voice you can hear in this song. The vocal effects are lifted directly from the film and make sense in the context of the scene. A great film, if you haven’t seen it.
Another case of bending the rules Khayem but why not, especially as it’s linked to a film I think I’d like to seek out at some point.
When I Call A Name by Michael Andrews
So, that’s your lot for this month, except it’s not this month is it, it’s a month from half a year ago but by now most regular visitors to this place know why I had to go on hiatus last year.
I usually end with a picture of someone who shares their name with the month but I’m a bit stumped so it’ll have to be Khayhem’s Miranda July who is a very striking lady with a penchant for fine knitwear it seems.
Miranda July
Next time it’ll be the final instalment of this series, so if anyone knows of any songs about the month of August please do share them with me, as at the moment I’m stumped with that challenge too.
Thanks as ever for everyone’s contributions to this series – I couldn’t do it without you.
Until next time…
4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) Lyrics (Song by Bruce Springsteen)
Sandy The fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight Forcin’ a light into all those stony faces Left stranded on this warm July
Down in the town, the circuit’s full of switchblade lovers So fast, so shiny and so sharp As the wizards play down on Pinball Way On the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino Dance with their shirts open Like Latin lovers on the shore Chasin’ all them silly New York virgins by the score
And, Sandy, the aurora is risin’ behind us These pier lights, our carnival life forever Oh, love me tonight for I may never see you again Hey, Sandy, girl My, my baby
Now the greasers, ah, they tramp the streets Or get busted for sleeping on the beach all night Them boys in their high heels Ah, Sandy, their skins are so white
And me, I just got tired of hangin’ in them dusty arcades Bangin’ them pleasure machines Chasin’ the factory girls underneath the boardwalk Where they all promise to unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl Down on the South Beach drag? I got on it last night and my shirt got caught And they kept me spinnin’, babe Didn’t think I’d ever get off
Oh, Sandy, the aurora is risin’ behind us This pier lights, our carnival life on the water Runnin’, laughin’ ‘neath the boardwalk Ah, with the boss’s daughter Ah, remember, Sandy, girl My, my, my, my, my baby
Sandy That waitress I was seein’ lost her desire for me I spoke with her last night She said she won’t set herself on fire for me anymore
She worked that joint under the boardwalk She was always the girl you saw Boppin’ down the beach with the radio The kids say last night she was dressed like a star In one of them cheap little seaside bars And I saw her parked with lover boy out on the Kokomo
Did you hear the cops finally busted Madame Marie For tellin’ fortunes better than they do? For me, this boardwalk life’s through, babe You ought to quit this scene, too
Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us This pier lights, our carnival life forever Oh, love me tonight and I promise I’ll love you forever Oh, I mean it, Sandy, girl My, my, my, my, my baby
Yeah, I promise, Sandy, girl Sha-la-la-la-la, baby
It was this blog’s 8th birthday yesterday and I got one of these anniversary badges from the WordPress people. Considering my long enforced absence for much of last year, the popping up of that badge was extra special, as at times I had thought my blogging days were over.
I always know when the anniversary is approaching as my blogging career started the day we found out about the death of David Bowie so it was inevitable I would write about him. He was only 69 when he died so we felt a bit cheated as he had become quite prolific over the last few years of his life producing new albums and creating a musical, Lazarus, which opened Off-Broadway in the December of 2015 when he made his last public appearance. Lazarus is a jukebox musical that was inspired by the 1963 novel The Man Who Fell To Earth which in turn was made into a film starring David in 1976. Lazarus continues the story of Thomas Newton, a humanoid alien who is stuck on Earth, unable to die or return to his home planet.
David as Thomas Newton in The Man Who Fell To Earth
Of late, whenever I write about David Bowie I can’t help remarking on his incredibly good hair. Some of us in life are blessed with “good hair” (as my mum would have called it), and I am very jealous of them, as my fine baby soft hair has always been tricky to deal with and the fashionable styles of the day have usually had to pass me by. Bowie on the other hand changed his hair’s style and colour every time he invented a new persona. Who could forget his Ziggy Stardust “do” and the Thin White Duke’s (above), as well as his long locks of earlier years and the blond bouffant of the Let’s Dance years. Even at his death he still had a fine head of hair which is quite unusual for men approaching 70.
I mention all this as I have my final story to tell that relates to my stay in hospital last year. Before my blogging hiatus I had mentioned that my life in the sun (without a hat at any rate), had come to an end as the troublesome “sore” on my scalp where my parting fell, turned out to be a carcinoma, or BCC as they are called. I had ignored it for a long time and the waiting list to have such things removed is equally as long.
At last the date for the procedure at our local General Hospital came round, however, I was still an inpatient at the other large hospital in our town (see previous posts for which one). It took a bit of coordination, but I was transferred across very early in the morning, wheeled down to theatre and put under general anaesthetic, after which the offending bit of scalp was removed. It took me a bit of time to come round, after which I was given some lunch and transferred back to “my hospital”. All very efficient and seamless I hear you say, which is true as the procedure went well, except I now had a set of stitches across my scalp smeared in a Vaseline-like substance that couldn’t be washed out for seven days. My hair was also caked in blood at the back where it had trickled down during the surgery. I didn’t quite look like Frankenstein’s monster but in my mind’s eye I did, because there were no mirrors in the hospital. Every meal time I had to explain to whoever sat next to me what had happened, but I still got many odd looks that week. Finally we got to hair washing day. Andrea the nurse helped with that, and also gave me a bit of a blow dry which was good of her. They don’t shave your head any more thankfully when having such procedures but it’s definitely a bit thinner than it was, so the parting has had to move west a little and a mini combover has to be hair-sprayed into place. Even now, a few months on, I still have to apply chemotherapy cream (who knew that was a thing?) onto the offending bit of scalp every day. Thankfully Mr WIAA, with the help of a cotton bud, does that for me as I don’t have eyes on the back of my head, although we all know people who do!
Anyway, back to the music and the follicly blessed David Bowie. As I’ve written about his time playing the character Thomas Newton in the film he made in 1976, I’m going to choose something from the album he released that same year, Station ToStation, where he played the character The Thin White Duke. I give you Golden Years.
Golden Years by David Bowie
Golden Years is apparently a funk and disco song reminiscent of the music on David’s previous album, Young Americans. The song also utilises elements of several ’50s doo-wop tracks in its arrangement. Lyrically, the narrator offers a companion the hope of entering a limousine, and being isolated from the outside world. He assures his companion that she will always be protected by him, and promises her a brighter future. Well, now we know, and I wouldn’t have worked that one out back in the day.
So, “What’s It All About?” – Who would have thought eight years ago I would still be tapping away on my keyboard all this time later. We had a bit of a scare last year when it looked as if I might not make a return, but happy to say I am just as enthused about blogging as a hobby as ever (or again, could it be the drugs!?).
As for having good hair like David Bowie, I think that ship has well and truly sailed, although I paid a visit to my hairdresser earlier on this afternoon and she did report back that there are short hairs growing in the general area of the surgery, so that’s a relief.
David Bowie was the first person I ever wrote about on this blog and I have revisited his body of work many times since, usually around the time of the blog’s anniversary. I think I was too young to truly appreciate him during the height of his fame in the early ’70s, but in later life I have come to realise he was the consummate artist, who could sing, act, write songs, create art… the list goes on. I also remember reading this week that he has been voted the Best Dressed Man In History. Not sure if some of his wacky Ziggy Stardust outfits helped or hindered in the receiving of that accolade, but he certainly was one cool dude. On that note I shall finish for today. Have a good weekend everyone.
Until next time…
Golden Years Lyrics (Song by David Bowie)
Golden years, gold whop whop whop Golden years, gold whop whop whop Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Don’t let me hear you say life’s taking you nowhere Angel Come get up, my baby Look at that sky, life’s begun Nights are warm and the days are young Come get up, my baby
There’s my baby, lost that’s all Once I’m begging you save her little soul Golden years, gold whop whop whop Come get up, my baby
Last night they loved you Opening doors and pulling some strings Angel Come get up, my baby In walked luck and you looked in time Never look back, walk tall, act fine Come get up, my baby
I’ll stick with you, baby, for a thousand years Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years Gold Golden years, gold whop whop whop Come get up, my baby
Some of these days, and it won’t be long Gonna drive back down where you once belonged In the back of a dream car twenty foot long Don’t cry, my sweet, don’t break my heart Doing all right, but you gotta get smart Wish upon, wish upon, day upon day, I believe, oh Lord I believe all the way Come get up, my baby Run for the shadows, run for the shadows Run for the shadows in these golden years
There’s my baby, lost that’s all Once I’m begging you save her little soul Golden years, gold whop whop whop Come get up, my baby
Don’t let me hear you say life’s taking you nowhere Angel Come get up, my baby Run for the shadows, run for the shadows Run for the shadows in these golden years
I’ll stick with you, baby, for a thousand years Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years Gold
Golden years, gold whop whop whop Golden years, gold whop whop whop Golden years, gold whop whop whop Golden years, gold whop whop whop Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Last time I told the story of what’s been happening in my world over the last five months, when I’ve been absent from these pages. That’s been done now and glad I went there rather than leave it a mystery. What I didn’t say however was that my only child, a daughter known around here as DD, had planned her wedding for the beginning of October… and I missed it. It had been on the calendar for some time before I became unwell and the decision was made that it had to go ahead even if I was still in hospital come the day, which I was, and to be honest I was so ill at that time there was no way I could even have had “a pass” from the ward just to witness the ceremony.
What did happen on the wedding day however was that my support worker, who took me out for walks from the ward, managed to co-ordinate with my nephew to stream the ceremony live via his mobile phone. On the trial run everything worked fine, but once inside the very thick walled country house hotel where the wedding was to take place, that idea failed as we just couldn’t get a signal. What did happen however was that my lovely nephew filmed the entire ceremony then sent it across as a file via WhatsApp to Lindsay the support worker. And so it came to pass that 15 minutes after my daughter became a wife, I was sitting in a strange man’s car in a secluded spot overlooking our local duckpond watching it all on a bit of a battered smart phone. I was fine with it though as I knew I was too ill to attend and my outfit wouldn’t have fitted anyway as I had lost so much weight, so anything we could glean from the day was a bonus really. The humanist celebrant was excellent (should have been renamed a humourist as he was so entertaining and funny) and my daughter and other half smiled and laughed throughout the whole thing.
She had particularly wanted an autumn wedding as it’s her favourite time of the year. As a fair-skinned Scot like myself, who isn’t good with hot weather and blazing sunshine, she likes nothing more than to pack away her summer wardrobe and get the winter woollies and overcoats back into service. She loves the colours of autumn too and the wedding venue had been decorated with dried flower displays and around 40 pumpkins, some real, some ceramic! Everywhere you looked there was a pumpkin – at the end of the rows of chairs, at the entrance, and part of the table centrepieces. Everyone was encouraged to take a pumpkin home with them and most of the guests did, to their credit, although I doubt if many made soup or a pie with them. I have now seen the wedding video and most of the photos taken by the photographer so although I wasn’t there in person I almost feel as if I was. Not bitter at all about the timing. Couldn’t be helped. I felt bad at not having been able to help with the organisation, and I felt bad about seeing Mr WIAA sitting on his own in the front row during the ceremony, but most of all I felt proud of DD and the new Mr DD at having pulled it off despite having been distracted all summer with my illness.
But what is it I usually say at around this point? This is a music blog so where is the song. It’s an easy peasy choice, it’s the song that accompanied DD’s walk down the aisle on the arm of her dad, ready to meet her groom. The song they picked is one I have known for most of my life, but not the version they went for. Their version was by a singer called Haley Reinhart and it goes something like this:
Can’t Help Falling In Love by Haley Reinhart
As I said I am really familiar with this song because I was a big Elvis Presley fan in my youth and one of my favourite Elvis films is Blue Hawaii which is where the song first appeared. It used to be a ritual of mine to watch Blue Hawaii on Boxing Day as it gave me a bit of a pick-me-up watching Elvis sing and dance his way through warm and sunny locations whilst sitting here in cold and dreich Scotland. Over the last few years I’ve not kept up that tradition but maybe time to dust off the DVD and give it another whirl.
The song Can’t Help Falling in Love was written in 1961 and the melody was apparently based on Plaisir d’amour, a popular French love song composed in 1784. The song was initially written from the perspective of a woman as “Can’t Help Falling in Love with Him”, which explains the first and third line ending on “in” and “sin” rather than words rhyming with “you”. Whatever its provenance, it was a great choice for the wedding sung by a graduate of American Idol, Haley. But I can’t leave it there. Time for a bit of a compare and contrast. Here is my favourite version from Blue Hawaii when Elvis, who has returned home from the army to set up a tourism business with girlfriend Maile, sings the song at their lavish outdoor wedding.
Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley
While we’re in the business of comparing and contrasting, I can’t end this post without also sharing the version by reggae band UB40 who had a really big hit with it in 1993 after it was used in the film Sliver. The song climbed to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying there for seven weeks. It also topped the charts of 11 other countries, including Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the UK, where it spent two weeks at No. 1. Time to visit the video clip I think.
Can’t Help Falling In Love by UB40
Not much more to say really except to share another picture of the happy couple outside their wedding venue just as a touch of drizzle was falling. Made for a very atmospheric shot. Also, I have just seen the clock, and in less than three hours we are going to be heading into 2024. It’s been a year of highs and lows for us as a family, the high being DD getting married but the low being my illness and how it affected us all. Happy New Year for when it comes – see you on the other side.
Until next time…
Can’t Help Falling In Love Lyrics (Song by Hugo Peretti/Luigi Creatore/George David Weiss)
Wise men say Only fools, only fools rush in Oh, but I, but I, I can’t help falling in love with you
Shall I stay? Would it be, would it be a sin? If I can’t help falling in love with you
Like a river flows Surely to the sea Darling, so it goes Some things, you know, are meant to be
Take my hand Take my whole life too For I can”t help falling in love with you For I can”t help falling in love with you
Well, it’s been some time since I bothered these pages with any writing and looking back at the posts I put together back in June/July, regulars to this place would have detected that all was not going well in my life. The upshot was that in late July I had what used to be called a nervous breakdown (agitated depression to use modern parlance). More and more things were going wrong in my life (the holiday hideaway is no more) and we reached a crisis situation on the last day of the month. The people who came to whisk me off to hospital were not men in white coats however they were two very nice Community Psychiatric Nurses dressed in civvies, who will be in my life for some time to come. I was officially discharged from hospital only two and a half weeks ago and I’m happy to report that all is going really well. I know that it’s mostly down to the particular combination of drugs I’m on, but I am the happiest I’ve been in years, yet had things tipped the other way, I might not even be here. A sobering thought which makes me so grateful the doctors kept pursuing new avenues in terms of medication. I was a only a week away from being put on a course of ECT (12 sessions where you are under general anaesthetic every time) when I magically turned a corner and started to feel much, much better, so thankfully that plan was abandoned.
I ended up being a hospital inpatient for nearly four months. I was discharged twice during that time but always ended up back in after a few days. The irony is that our local Mental Health Hospital is only a 10 minute walk from my house and despite having passed it hundreds, or even thousands of times in the 24 years we’ve lived here, I had never been inside. I now know every nook and cranny. For a middle-aged, middle-class suburbanite like myself it is a scary place to find yourself in and there were some very challenging patients admitted during my stay. Thankfully we could lock our doors from the inside so if anything ever kicked off I could hide myself away. There were also a few nice people admitted whom I made friends with, but most patients only stay for a short time then either get discharged, or get moved to a different facility. Whatever, it is a place I will now never forget.
The great thing about the hospital being local to my home was that I had lots and lots of visits from my friends who also live in our area of town – neighbours, school mums, etc. I was really spoiled with some of them coming every week bringing me food treats, puzzle books and magazines. I was not the best of company however and looked awful (I lost three quarters of a stone) but thankfully they didn’t give up on me and persevered. I’m sure it all aided in my recovery. One friend in particular, whom I used to work with 30 years ago and who hasn’t been in my life for a long time, heard about my situation and identified that if some of my worries could be taken away from me I would get better. Being a hot shot accountant she took the time to help Mr WIAA with the sorting out of our finances. Until then I thought I was the only sane one and that everyone else was not recognising the reality of our situation, however, having someone I trusted take stock, really helped. As for Mr WIAA and DD, they found it really hard to deal with me as I had turned into someone they no longer recognised. At one point it didn’t look as if we’d ever get back on track in terms of my relationship with Mr WIAA, but now that I’m home and even a better version of the old me, I can happily report that all is now well on that front.
My final thank you is to all those blogging buddies (they know who they are) who also found out about my situation and sent cards, books and messages of support. Special thanks goes to C from Sun Dried Sparrows who did an excellent job of collating all those messages and sending them on. The new improved me is now looking ahead to the future and I can see another Bloggers Summit on the horizon, where this time I won’t be worried and distracted, but in fine fettle.
But hey, this is supposed to be a music blog and although I fully intend to get back to that soon, I just wanted to address the elephant in the room – my very long absence. When I was younger, one of the most exciting things about Christmas was finding out what the No. 1 single would be over the festive period. Those of us in the UK know that hasn’t been a thing for decades as the Christmas chart was always hijacked by either the winners of reality karaoke singing shows or songs about sausage rolls (although the latter did earn an awful lot of money for food banks). This year there has been an honest to goodness race which I did follow. Because of how we consume our music nowadays where the number of songs streamed and downloaded contribute to record sales, we have the situation where it’s the old favourites we return to every year. It was no surprise therefore to find out that Wham’sLast Christmas took the crown. I’m not complaining as it’s still a great sounding song, and I’ve written about George Michael more than anyone else around here. Such an irony therefore that the man who wrote one of Pop’s most enduring Christmas songs himself died on the big day. As ever I will raise a glass (of non-alcoholic beverage) to him.
Last Christmas by Wham!
So, What’s It All About? I think it’s safe to say I’m back… and the writing is flowing (I had worried the inability to string a sentence together might stay with me even if I got better). If you are a subscriber or regular follower I apologise for having given you only half a year’s worth of posts. but that changes as of today. I’m pretty sure I’ll get back to weekly blogging at the very least, and I might even sneak in a mid-week offering too.
For now, I’d just like to wish all my followers A Very Merry Christmas. Hope you have a fabulous one.
Last Christmas Lyrics (Song by George Michael)
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, you gave it away This year, to save me from tears I’ll give it to someone special
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, you gave it away (you gave it away) This year, to save me from tears I’ll give it to someone special (special)
Once bitten and twice shy I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye Tell me, baby, do you recognize me? Well, it’s been a year, it doesn’t surprise me
“Happy Christmas,” I wrapped it up and sent it With a note saying “I love you,” I meant it Now I know what a fool I’ve been But if you kissed me now, I know you’d fool me again
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, you gave it away (you gave it away) This year, to save me from tears I’ll give it to someone special (special)
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, you gave it away This year, to save me from tears I’ll give it to someone special (special)
A crowded room, friends with tired eyes I’m hiding from you and your soul of ice My God, I thought you were someone to rely on Me? I guess I was a shoulder to cry on
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart A man under cover, but you tore me apart Ooh, ooh Now I’ve found a real love, you’ll never fool me again
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, you gave it away (you gave it away) This year, to save me from tears I’ll give it to someone special (special)
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, (you gave me away) you gave it away This year, (oh) to save me from tears I’ll give it to someone special (special)
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart (I gave you my heart) A man under cover, but you tore him apart Maybe next year, I’ll give it to someone I’ll give it to someone special (special) Someone
ALYSON: Yep, still here WIAA, just not in the right headspace for blogging at the moment. Being a bit of a worrywart (understatement) I’m not sleeping very well. All down to what you would call First World problems, but try telling your head that at 3am.
WIAA: Sorry to hear that Alyson. Maybe a bit of light blogging would help.
ALYSON: You know what WIAA, I was just thinking that myself, so good on you for giving me a nudge. Maybe better to do a bit of blogging during the night, than fail miserably in getting some shut-eye (whoever devised counting sheep as an effective technique obviously wasn’t a worrywart). Also, the blogging community is always really supportive, so don’t think my lovely followers will judge me too harshly on whatever I come up with.
WIAA: Damn straight Alyson. Go for it.
ALYSON: Something I’ve been doing to while away the wee small hours, is read books on rock and pop nostalgia, and I have three by my bedside at the moment. I’ve discovered so many new bits and pieces hitherto unknown to me, so maybe worth sharing them with you WIAA, and whoever else drops by here.
Some recommended reading from Mark Radcliffe, Dylan Jones and David Hepworth
WIAA: Ah, I see another David Hepworth book there and I know you’ve shared some of his other works here before, so you must enjoy what he does.
ALYSON: I certainly do and as a writer I think he is exceptional. More words have been added to my “new words notebook” from his books than from any others of late. He doesn’t set out to be pretentiously clever, so when he uses a phrase like “a phalanx of fruggers” it describes a scene perfectly. (Essentially people dancing in formation, but soooo much more.)
WIAA: That’s a good title for his book Alyson, a fine play on words, and of course the subtitle says it all: How a Few Skinny Brits with Bad Teeth Rocked America.
ALYSON: It’s a great summing up of just what happened, starting with the British Invasion of 1964, led by the Beatles, and ending with the events of 1983 when a second British Invasion took place spearheaded by bands like Culture Club. Did you know WIAA, that in July 1983, there were 18 British-originated singles in the American Top 40? That was even more than the 14 back in June 1965 after Beatlemania had taken hold. All because of MTV apparently, where British music videos reigned supreme. For the record, here is a clip of that first live performance by the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, followed by Culture Club with their Karma Chameleon video. How things changed in just under a couple of decades. Such times.
I Want To Hold Your Hand by the Beatles:
That’s all for this time folks – just wanted to dip my toe back in the water and my blog usually does a good job of chivvying me up. I will return to my three favourite new books next time and pick something a bit more meaty to write about. Amazed considering my lack of sleep I got this far really but had to be done. Please bear with me.
Until next time…
I Want To Hold Your Hand Lyrics (Song by John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
Oh yeah, I’ll tell you something I think you’ll understand When I say that something I wanna hold your hand I wanna hold your hand I wanna hold your hand
Oh please, say to me You’ll let me be your man And please, say to me You’ll let me hold your hand You’ll let me hold your hand I wanna hold your hand
And when I touch you I feel happy Inside It’s such a feeling that my love I can’t hide I can’t hide I can’t hide
Yeah, you got that something I think you’ll understand When I say that something I wanna hold your hand I wanna hold your hand I wanna hold your hand
And when I touch you I feel happy Inside It’s such a feeling that my love I can’t hide I can’t hide I can’t hide
Yeah, you got that something I think you’ll understand When I feel that something I wanna hold your hand I wanna hold your hand I wanna hold your hand I wanna hold your hand
Today is the longest day, and up here in the North of Scotland it will never get truly dark, only dusk at best. It’s usually my favourite month but this year it’s been challenging because of all the hot weather. I mentioned last time I’d had a skin issue because of too much sun exposure over the years, and rather than just leave it dangling there, the update is I have now had a diagnosis and fortunately it is something that can be dealt with. Still going to be a tricky procedure though and from now on I’m going to be “hat woman” so excuse me if I’m a bit off my game at the moment. Health worries will do that to a person. I have managed to write nine of these editions already though and I’m determined to see this series through to the end, so here comes the one for the month of June.
Last month I got a surprise in that May was named after a Greek goddess, which was a first for this series. True to form we’re back to the Roman goddesses this month, Juno to be exact, the goddess of marriage and the wife of the “supreme deity Jupiter”. Wow, no pressure being married to him then!
I usually say these posts almost write themselves as I’m lucky enough to have people drop by with song suggestions. This time there was very little overlap in terms of suggestions so without further ado let’s see what this month has to offer.
First up we had Neil, who came up with Rainy Day in June by the Kinks. Not a song I had ever heard before so thanks for sharing it – quite spectacular rainstorm sound effects at the beginning and throughout. It was on their 1966 album Face To Face which also featured the song Sunny Afternoon. So far this month we’ve had plenty of sunny afternoons but also many thunderstorms, so very apt for 2023 too as it turns out.
The next contributor was Lynchie who remembered about Van Morrison’s song Evening In June. No mistaking, based on the sound, that it’s a Van song, and it seems he had fun with some of the rhymes in his lyrics. Oh yes, there is both a moon and a lagoon in the first verse, but because I love it, I’ll let that go!
By the light of the moon When the night holds the secrets Of the sleepy lagoon I’m contemplating moonlight On the water When I’m walking with you On an evening in June
Ernie Goggins has been a faithful contributor to this series and he didn’t let me down for this month’s edition either. This time he simply said:
I have a couple of mellow, vaguely countryish suggestions for June.
You’re not wrong Ernie, mellow and countryish. Regulars to this place will already know that I am a big fan of singers in the mould of Karen Carpenter and I have yet to hear anyone come closer in terms of singing style than Rumer. Probably a bit rubbish for Rumer being continually compared in that way but there could be worse comparisons. Here is June It’s Gonna Happen from her, and also June Bug from Erin Rae.
C from Sun Dried Sparrows is another regular contributor to this series and again she didn’t disappoint. Here are her own words:
I have a suggestion for June which I hope you like, it’s gorgeous and mellow; case/lang/veirs with Greens of June.
I do like it C, I like a lot, and as I mentioned in my reply, their song Supermoon was my favourite inclusion in my Full Moon in Song series.
Khayem has been yet another regular contributor (thanks guys) and although there was a bit of an overlap with one of Ernie’s suggestions in terms of the song title, he did have another one up his sleeve. These are his own words:
Like Ernie, the title Junebug immediately popped into my head when thinking of the coming month, but a different song and a different artist. This Junebug is by the ever wonderful The B-52’s. It appeared on their 1989 album Cosmic Thing but here’s a live version from 1990.
Now we have a suggestion from a new contributor to this series. Rich Kamerman dropped by with the following:
I was coming up empty regarding “June” songs, which is a shame since it’s my birthday month, but then a song I loved miraculously popped into my head: June by Spock’s Beard. They are a modern progressive rock band that started in the mid-’90s and I’ve been a huge fan since I first heard them around ’96 or ’97. Their music is super-melodic even when they go full-on “prog”. This particular song is mostly acoustic with great harmonies. I hope you like it.
I do like it Rich, so thanks for remembering about it. The band’s name of course intrigued me and it seems that it came from an episode from the original Star Trek series. According to band member Alan Morse: Spock’s Beard was sort of a phrase that we’d say to each other – my brother and I – when something weird would happen. We’d say, “Wow, that’s like Spock’s Beard,” meaning, “that only happens in a parallel universe, right?” Anyway, Spock only has that beard in the one episode, and it’s when he’s in the parallel universe in “Mirror, Mirror“. I put Spock’s Beard on the list sort of as a joke. Everybody seemed to like it the best, and so we picked that one.
Last up we have Rol’s suggestion. I know he could come up with many, many song suggestions, but as someone who has embarked on several series like this himself, he is kindly holding back I suspect so as not to overwhelm me. Thanks Rol! Here are his own words:
The Kinks have Rainy Day In June, and Melba Montgomery sang that June Is As Cold As December… but I prefer to hope for better weather, so my suggestion is…Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo feat. Frank Turner – Fields Of June.
A fine song to end with, and a really great video clip too. Bet they had fun making it.
Well, that’s it for this month, so thanks again everyone for helping me out. If I’m not mistaken, we are now heading toward winter as the days will be getting shorter from now on (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere of course). It’ll probably take a good while to notice though, and from what I hear there will be more record temperatures in the UK this summer before we reach that point, which is more than a tad worrying. The sun is no longer my friend for obvious reasons but if things go on as they are, with each summer hotter than the last, the sun is rapidly becoming nobody’s friend.
Two pictures to end with. For those of us who like me have heard of June Bugs, but didn’t know what they look like, now you do. A kind of flying beetle with a beautiful green hue.
Also, I always try and include someone with a name that matches the month and no-one could be more appropriate for this blog than the actress, June Allyson, whose movies I loved watching when I was a youngster. I don’t know how easy it would be to find nowadays but if you like a weepy (no spoiler really), and like big band music, they don’t come much better than The Glenn Miller Story. And of course, Glenn’s signature song Moonlight Serenade (written about here before) also very relevant to this post.
I stand at your gate and the song that I sing is of moonlight I stand and I wait for the touch of your hand in the June night
The actress June Allyson
Only two months left to go in this series so if anyone has any July songs up their sleeve, please do share.
Until next time…
Rainy Day In June Lyrics (Song by Ray Davies)
A misty shadow spread its wings And covered all the ground And even though the sun was out The rain came pouring down
And all the light had disappeared And faded in the gloom There was no hope, no reasoning This rainy day in June
The eagle spread its mighty wings And pounced upon its pray And all the skies, so brilliant blue Turned suddenly to grey
The cherished things are perishing And buried in their tomb There is no hope, no reasoning This rainy day in June
And everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain
The demon stretched its crinkled hand And snatched a butterfly The elves and gnomes were hunched in fear Too terrified to cry
The reckoning was beckoning They’re living to their doom There was no hope, no reasoning This rainy day in June
And everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain Everybody felt the rain
I had a birthday last week, which was nice. I also had another trip to the skin clinic, which wasn’t so nice. Yes, my fair Scottish skin has yet again let me down and whilst many people (other than fair-skinned Scots) have been enjoying the current heatwave, I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that a life in the sun is not for me. It’s a sobering thought, as come summer so much of what we do is outdoors, but from now on I’ll be the person in trousers, long sleeves and a hat – probably sitting under a canopy. I blame those boys from Wham! as my younger self ignored all the sage advice, and I suffered for those suntans which went well with my white clothes and bleached blonde hair. ‘Twas the times.
Club Tropicana by Wham!:
Club Tropicana was a bit of a departure from Wham!’s previous singles, but it was never meant to be taken seriously. It was seen as a swipe at the hedonistic Club 18-30 package holidays which had become really popular with young people in the early ’80s. I didn’t ever go on one of those holidays, and wouldn’t have wanted to, but as soon as you hear the opening 30 seconds, what with the cicadas, the car door, the footsteps and the funky club sounds, you are immediately transported to warmer Mediterranean climes.
This clip has been doing the rounds of late, so I’m sure many of you will have seen it already, but another fair skinned Scot who should never have been exposed to the Mediterranean sun (hope you had your Factor 50 on Lewis Capaldi) decided to remake the Club Tropicana video to accompany his song Forget Me. I was mighty impressed at how they managed to recreate each scene so perfectly, and got the timings spot on (a compare and contrast below). No, he’s not averse to poking fun at himself is Lewis, but I do hope he is lucky in love soon as his songs are all just so heartsick.
But back to the birthday, by the time you to get to my age (I’ve stopped counting) they really are no big deal and I had almost forgotten all about it until a few days before. I did get a surprising amount of cards for someone so ancient however and my social media pages were full of good wishes which was nice. DD was on holiday (yes, on the Mediterranean) but a lovely bouquet of flowers arrived via a local florist which again was nice. Mr WIAA and I don’t do big presents any more as we best know what we want ourselves, but a little outing was definitely on the cards. In view of my inability to be outdoors in the sun, it was decided a trip to the cinema was in order. Thankfully a film I had wanted to watch on the big screen – rather than on the small screen down the line – was still showing at our local multiplex. And so it came to pass that we spent my birthday afternoon sitting alone in a very cold cinema (the air conditioning was working just a little too well) watching the latest offering from those intrepid Guardians of the Galaxy.
Rocket, Nebula, Gamora, Peter, Mantis and Drax – Guardians of the Galaxy
No-one was more surprised than I at how much I enjoyed the first GOTG film when DD introduced us to it back in 2015, just after it came out. I’m not usually a fan of superhero movies but this bunch are just a little bit different, and special I think. The scripts are genuinely funny, local girl Karen Gillan (we used to watch her in school shows) plays blue-skinned Nebula, and best of all, the music used for the soundtrack is right up my alley. I have a whole category on my sidebar (link here) dedicated to songs from the series which up until now were generally lesser-known, soft rock songs from the 1970s. The lead character’s old Walkman, a link to his dead mother and home in Missouri, was one of the stars of the first two movies but it sadly bit the dust at the end of GOTG2 and has now been replaced by a new digital device. The songs this time were from bands like Radiohead and Florence and the Machine but some old favourites from the previous outings still put in an appearance, such as this song from American band Redbone. Come And Get Your Love was originally a hit for them back in 1974, but whenever I hear it now I will always think of Peter Quill, Rocket, Nebula, Drax and the rest of the GOTG gang.
Come and Get Your Love by Redbone:
So, “What’s It All About?” – I am well aware this blog needs a little reinvention but as you might suspect I’ve been somewhat distracted of late. All being well I’ll get onto that over the summer (as let’s face it I’m going to be spending a lot of time indoors). Thank goodness for birthdays though, as however old you get they do make for a bit of a special day. The cards and flowers were unexpected, as was the last minute trip to the cinema. As we seem to have caught up with all our telly series at the moment I may well seek out those earlier GOTG films, just to remind myself what drew me to them in the first place. My shiny new Netflix account (yes, we fell foul of password sharing with DD) will hopefully provide them.
Until next time…
Club Tropicana Lyrics (Song by George Michael/Andrew Ridgeley)
Let me take you to the place Where membership’s a smiling face, Brush shoulders with the stars. Where strangers take you by the hand, And welcome you to wonderland – From beneath their panamas…
Club Tropicana, drinks are free, Fun and sunshine – there’s enough for everyone. All that’s missing is the sea, But don’t worry, you can suntan!
Castaways and Lovers meet, Then kiss in Tropicana’s heat, Watch the waves break on the bay. Soft white sands, a blue lagoon, Cocktail time, a summer’s tune, A whole night’s holiday!
Pack your bags, And leave tonight. Don’t take your time, Gotta move your feet, don’t you miss the flight! Cool, cool, cool, cool
Cool, cool, cool, cool
Postscript:
Why the Redbone song is so important to the whole series – it was played during the closing credits of the latest film but was also the song that featured during the opening credits of the very first film. I give you… the Star-Lord dance (song kicks in at 0:30).
What's It All About? 