It’s the last day of 2021 and like many of us I’ve just looked back to see what I wrote on this same day last year. As expected it was all about what an awful year it had been, but I did add, “At least there is hope on the horizon, as vaccines are now coming on stream faster than you can say Jack Robinson (god bless the scientists). Hopefully by Spring, life will have started to get a bit easier for all of us.”
Each person’s pandemic experience has been different, but personally I’ve not felt this year has been any easier at all. In fact it’s been a whole load worse in some ways as I’m fairly sure my old life has gone for good, never to return. I am aware some families have had a far worse experience, so not the time to moan about it, but my goodness, lets hope 2022 is indeed a better year. If my old life has gone, I need to set about creating a new one.
In 2020 I was more prolific with my blogging than I’ve been this year – We had this momentous new situation to deal with and there was much to write about. There were rants, posts written purely to entertain, reviews and diary entries (all accompanied by an appropriate song). This year I’m aware my posts have been a bit more downbeat, as I think I’m suffering pandemic fatigue. Apologies for that, but hope you’ve noticed I’ve tried to end the year a bit more joyfully, kickstarted by sharing a few words of wisdom from her Dollyness, Ms Parton.
Revisiting favourite old songs makes me happy, as does finding out so much more about them than was ever possible back in the day. Tears sometimes prick my eyes when I’m out and about battling whatever restrictions are currently in place (visiting my mum in her care home has been a challenge, as has earning my living and meeting up with friends), but making a ‘new’ old song discovery, always raises the spirits. This year, as happened last year, my favourite new discovery was from the late 1960s. What can I say, I was born too late.
Windy by The Association:
Because The Association were never that well-known over here in the UK, when their song Never My Love appeared on the soundtrack to one of the dramas we watched on telly this year, it was new to me, and I was immediately smitten by their sunshine pop sound. Unbelievably, that song turned out to be one of the most listened to of the 20th century, but over in North America and not here. Of course I ended up writing about it and in the comments boxes mention was made of other hit records by The Association. One of those hits was this song, Windy, which I can’t help thinking sounds like the theme tune to a kids telly show from my childhood, but I’m not having much luck finding out if that was actually the case. Maybe someone out there could help? Whatever, maybe because of that perceived association with my childhood, it makes me smile whenever I hear it.
It wasn’t about this Windy
The song was written by Ruthann Friedman about a man, but in the version by The Association they changed the lyrics to make Windy a girl. It’s a long time since anyone called me a girl, but after another shitty year, there is nothing I would love more than to: Trip down the streets of the city, Smilin’ at everybody I see (whilst not wearing a mask). Who knows, maybe in 2022?
Until next time… A very Happy New Year to everyone who drops by this place.
Windy Lyrics (Song by Ruthann Friedman)
Who’s peeking out from under a stairway Calling a name that’s lighter than air? Who’s bending down to give me a rainbow? Everyone knows it’s Windy
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city Smiling at everybody she sees? Who’s reaching out to capture a moment? Everyone knows it’s Windy
And Windy has stormy eyes That flash at the sound of lies And Windy has wings to fly Above the clouds (Above the clouds) Above the clouds (Above the clouds)
And Windy has stormy eyes That flash at the sound of lies And Windy has wings to fly Above the clouds (Above the clouds) Above the clouds (Above the clouds)
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city Smiling at everybody she sees? Who’s reaching out to capture a moment? Everyone knows it’s Windy
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city Smiling at everybody she sees? Who’s reaching out to capture a moment? Everyone knows it’s Windy
Well, I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas festivities. Although I said we would be home alone this year, that didn’t turn out to be the case, as we were actually invited out in the end and didn’t have to do any cooking on the day at all. It was also quite reassuring to see my sister-in-law getting in a bit of a flap over the serving up of the turkey and trimmings, as I thought that only happened to me. Even the best home cooks find it a challenge to coordinate the roasting, heating, boiling and stirring of so many dishes at the same time it seems.
DD had a lovely time at her boyfriend’s parents, but of course we are now teasing them that next year it will be their turn, so we can all be together. Watch this space. Problem is the bar has been raised in terms of what is served up nowadays. Back in the day my granny made Christmas dinner for 15 of us, and it was delicious, but that was before the era of the ‘celebrity chef’ Christmas Cookbook and of: three types of stuffing; red cabbage; sprouts with chestnuts; and gluten-free/vegan options. It’s all got a bit more complicated.
100 years ago many of us could only afford root vegetables for Christmas dinner – Now some of us choose them.
The good thing about eating early-ish elsewhere, is that you still have a fair chunk of evening when you get home and our Christmas presents beckoned. As ever there were a few ‘makes’ in our stockings so I started work on my new jigsaw and Mr WIAA got down to creating the Black Pearl, courtesy of his traditional gift of an Airfix kit. Down at the other end of the country DD was putting together a scene from her latest Lego set (yes, Lego for adults is now a big thing apparently, as well as Airfix kits). Three days later and two of us have finished their ‘make’. One of us still has a fair way to go…
My barely begun jigsawQueer Eye, Lego styleThe Black Pearl, completed by Mr WIAA
But this is a music blog, and although I had no idea what the featured song might be when I started out with this one, as often happens, it has fallen into my lap. Anyone who has watched the Pirates of the Caribbean film series will know the Black Pearl is a ship, and that actor Johnny Depp plays Captain Jack Sparrow, an eccentric pirate characterised by his slightly drunken swagger, slurred speech and flailing hand gestures. Initially Sparrow was just supposed to act a bit cocky, but after researching 18th century pirates, Johnny compared them to modern rock stars and decided to base his performance on Keith Richards.
Keith has even appeared in the film franchise with Johnny, playing his father.
The song that fell into my lap was this one, Paint It Black, by the Rolling Stones. I’m not often quite so literal when it comes to song choice, but Mr WIAA did paint his model black and it was the ship captained by a character inspired by the song’s co-writer, Keith Richards.
I’ve said around here before that I’ve never really been a fan of the Rolling Stones which will probably come as no surprise to regular visitors to this place, but I can’t help but be impressed by their longevity as a band. I was saddened to hear of the death of Charlie Watts earlier on this year but in true Stones’ fashion, after a short break, their tour carried on without him. I am fond of some of their songs though, and this is one of them. It reached the top of the UK Singles Chart in 1966 and it was the first time they made use of the Indian sitar. Some critics thought they were trying to copy their rivals the Beatles, but Brian Jones had a background with the instrument, after studying with Ravi Shankar, so it was only a matter of time before it happened. As ever with Stones’ songs, there doesn’t seem to be a definitive explanation as to the meaning behind the lyrics, but it does seem to be about grief and loss of sorts.
Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones:
Here we are at the end of 2021 and looking at his DOB, it seems Keith has just turned 78. I’m fairly sure no-one back in 1966 would have thought the Stones would still be going strong over 55 years later. Like the 18th century pirate however, they are other-worldly. They are the stuff of legend, and certainly don’t look like any of the grandads (great-grandads?) I know. We’re entering totally new territory where some of the ‘pop stars’ of the 1960s might well keep going as energetic octogenarians. Whatever their secret is, I wish they would share it.
Until next time.
Paint It Black Lyrics (Song by Mick Jagger/Keith Richards)
I see a red door and I want it painted black No colours anymore, I want them to turn black I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black With flowers and my love both never to come back I see people turn their heads and quickly look away Like a newborn baby, it just happens every day
I look inside myself and see my heart is black I see my red door, I must have it painted black Maybe then I’ll fade away and not have to face the facts It’s not easy facing up when your whole world is black
No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue I could not foresee this thing happening to you If I look hard enough into the setting sun My love will laugh with me before the morning comes
I see a red door and I want it painted black No colours anymore, I want them to turn black I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
Hmm, hmm, hmm…
I wanna see it painted, painted black Black as night, black as coal I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black
Yeah!
Hmm, hmm, hmm…
Postscript:
For the record, I did complete my jigsaw a few days later and here is my Christmas 2021 effort.
ALYSON: Hi WIAA, I am here, it’s just that I’m feeling a bit discombobulated by all the uncertainly that’s crept in over the last week so don’t know where to go with this one. Last year I wrote a (hopefully humorous) blog post about the planned five day Christmas Bubbles, but then at the 11th hour, the rules all changed. It’s looking like that might happen again, and for the second year in a row, many of us will find ourselves…
WIAA: Do you have any Christmas songs to share with your lovely followers?
ALYSON: To be honest WIAA, as this is my fifth Christmas as a music blogger I fear I may have revisited all my favourites already (link here), and despite the fact many well-known artists have recorded something new this year, none of their songs have really resonated with me. Here’s something to kick off with though – I mentioned at the end of 2020 that my favourite ‘new song discovery’ of that year was José Feliciano‘s version of California Dreamin’. As the whole world still seems to be going through a topsy-turvey time, it doesn’t feel that unusual for a music blogger from the Highlands of Scotland to be drawn to a Christmas song by a Puerto Rican singer/songwriter from 1970. I give you Feliz Navidad (don’t think you’ll need a translation).
Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano:
WIAA: Good one Alyson. What have you been doing in the build up to Christmas this year?
ALYSON: Well, it’s a bit of a weird one, as we’re now having to lie low to keep ourselves virus-free in advance of guests arriving at the holiday hideaway. Personally I think both sets will now cancel, which will be a bit of a blow, but before the whole lying low thing happened, I had tentatively returned to my regular cinema-going ways.
WIAA: What have you been to see?
ALYSON: It didn’t occur to me until now but maybe the reason I thought of José’s song is that I went to see Stephen Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story last week, all about the rivalry between two New York gangs, the Jets, and the Puerto Rican Sharks.
WIAA: Did you enjoy it?
ALYSON: I think I’m still processing it. The 1961 film won 10 Academy Awards, and when I first watched it as a teenager, I was blown away by it – Although some of the musical numbers were outstanding in the new film, as were the two female leads, there was something about it that felt a bit ‘silly’ for 2021. Our viewing habits have become a lot more sophisticated and I don’t think the younger generation would see it as a period drama. The clothes and themes could almost be contemporary, but the language used by the gangs and their balletic style of dance is most definitely not contemporary. Again, I was discombobulated and wondered if it really needed to be remade.
WIAA: Did you cry at the end?
ALYSON: Oh WIAA, you know me well. I did indeed despite knowing how it ended having watched the original many times. The love story was inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, but a story that never dates it seems, and just as relevant today. Stephen Sondheim, the musical’s lyricist, died aged 91 at the end of November, just at the time of the film’s release. As a bit of a tribute to him, here is the Tonight Quintet from the original film, an incredible piece of ‘opera’ based on the duet between Maria and Tony from earlier on in the musical. The five parts of the quintet are sung by the Jets, the Sharks, Tony, Maria, and Anita.
Tonight Quintet by the West Side Story Cast:
WIAA: Well, you really got into your stride there despite me feeling a bit unloved earlier on – A blank page sitting on a blogging platform with only five days to go until Christmas.
ALYSON: Yes I can always rely on you to get me back on track. Can you believe that when I press the publish button on this one, we’ll have racked up a total of 400 blog posts together. It’s been a journey, and we’re not finished yet are we? I think I can fly solo now WIAA, so happy to let you head off and do whatever blogs have to do behind the scenes, fixing broken links and the like. Merry Christmas to you.
WIAA: Merry Christmas Alyson.
Five years ago, in my first year of blogging, I bemoaned the fact I was one of the sandwich generation, someone who worked full-time but also had adult offspring still living at home and an elderly parent to look out for. As regulars around here will know, none of these things now apply – I waved goodbye to my old workplace four years ago, my mum moved into her care home three years ago and DD headed out into the world two years ago. It’s happened gradually, but it turns out you kinda miss being the squished filler in a sandwich, especially around Christmastime.
It’s become traditional at this time of year that I share some songs relevant to each generation of my family, and Mr WIAA and I have had some fun this week watching old clips on YouTube when we probably should have been engaged in something more productive, by hey, I’m a loose filler who has lost her bread, so it’s allowed.
2 Become 1 by the Spice Girls:
Can you believe it’s 25 years since Girl Power became ‘a thing’ courtesy of those larger than life Spice Girls. Back then I was a busy mum with a baby and a responsible job so they really weren’t aimed at my demographic, but you couldn’t fail to get caught up in all their Zig-a-Zig-ah-ing back in 1996. They’d already had two No. 1 hits that year and at Christmastime they did it again with this one, 2 Become 1. I just loved the video for it set in New York, and it reminded me that Mr WIAA and I had become an item just before Christmas a few years earlier – A great time of year to be all loved up. I was shocked therefore to learn it was all filmed in a studio on Old Compton Street, London, using a ‘green screen’. Anyway, this one’s for DD, as although I know what the song is really all about, the romantic in me just wants to acknowledge the fact it’s also about two individuals forming a relationship and perhaps welcoming a new little person into the world one day.
Yesterday I went to visit my mum at the care home. I had to wear full PPE and the visit was heavily supervised as her care home has yet again been forced into lockdown and all their Christmas activites were cancelled. I did however manage to play her a few Christmas songs on my phone from the only festive album that resided in our house when I was growing up. Yes, yet again it’s going to be that Texan Jim Reeves, with one of the songs from his best-selling album, Twelve Songs of Christmas. My mum was my age 25 years ago when the Spice Girls were at No.1 with their song, and a big help to me when I was a busy mum myself. How things change with the passage of time, and food for thought indeed. Think she enjoyed hearing Jim though, and hopefully it did bring back memories from the distant past.
As for us, I’m going to defer to Mr WIAA who seems to find good clips to watch. Another person we lost from the world of music recently was John Miles. As 1976 seems to have been my favourite year to revisit these last 12 months, here is an epic 2001 Proms performance of his song, Music, which reached the No. 3 spot on our UK Singles Chart back in ’76. It’s not a Christmas song, but the audience certainly make it look festive with all those lights. He was only aged 72 when he died. RIP John.
Music by John Miles:
One final indulgence, and yet again not a Christmas song, but one that is set to clips from the Emma Thompson film Last Christmas. In terms of plot, if you are using the lyrics from the song Last Christmas as inspiration, it really can’t get any more literal than this, and a bit ridiculous really. If however you are a fan of the songs of GeorgeMichael, as I am, it was a no-brainer you would go and see it at the cinema when it came out two years ago.
Five years ago George Michael died on Christmas Day, and his passing affected me more than any other person we’ve lost since I started this blog. My sidebar has a couple of categories dedicated to him. The song used is Praying for Time from 1990, and it still gives me goose-bumps when I listen to it. The song deals with, “the many social injustices faced by so many, and questions the conditioning society has created and why it can be so hard to be kind to one another.” He was a good egg George, and many of his random acts of kindness were only discovered after his death. Around this time of year we should all try and take a leaf out of his book, as over 30 years on, those social injustices are still around and have become compounded by the pandemic.
Praying for Time by George Michael:
Another final, final, indulgence (nearly done now I promise) – If you scroll forward to 0:22 in the clip above you’ll find the logo for an established London restaurant. Mr WIAA is commissioned by third parties to make miniature sculptures for their various clients. Sometimes we have samples left over, and I liked this chap, so he sits on my desk. Watching that video clip, we just found out who he was for!
Anyway, it’s a very wordy one this, but as it’s my 400th post and my 5th Christmas as a music blogger I really did want to get something published before the big day. Thankfully, with my blog’s encouragement, I got there in the end.
If you celebrate it, hope you have a lovely Christmas Day with no last minute changes to your plans. Unlike 25 years ago, or indeed 5 years ago, we’ll be having a very quiet time indeed but that’s just how life rolls. As ever I’ll raise a glass to George on the day – He is missed, but never forgotten.
Until next time…
Praying For Time Lyrics (Song by George Michael)
These are the days of the open hand They will not be the last Look around now These are the days of the beggars and the choosers
This is the year of the hungry man Whose place is in the past Hand in hand with ignorance And legitimate excuses
The rich declare themselves poor And most of us are not sure If we have too much But we’ll take our chances ‘Cause God’s stopped keeping score
I guess somewhere along the way He must have let us all out to play Turned his back and all God’s children Crept out the back door
And it’s hard to love, there’s so much to hate Hanging on to hope When there is no hope to speak of And the wounded skies above say it’s much much too late Well maybe we should all be praying for time
These are the days of the empty hand Oh, you hold on to what you can And charity is a coat you wear twice a year
This is the year of the guilty man Your television takes a stand And you find that what was over there is over here
So you scream from behind your door Say, “What’s mine is mine and not yours” I may have too much but I’ll take my chances ‘Cause God’s stopped keeping score
And you cling to the things they sold you Did you cover your eyes when they told you That he can’t come back ‘Cause he has no children to come back for
It’s hard to love, there’s so much to hate Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of And the wounded skies above say it’s much too late So maybe we should all be praying for time
That was to be the theme of today’s post as it’s something many of us feel acutely at this time of year. When I started this retrospective music blog nearly six years ago, I hadn’t yet realised that writing about old Christmas songs can really pull at the heart strings. You remember happy Christmases with your family as a child, you remember happy Christmases with your friends as a young adult, and then happy Christmases with your own children when they came along. (Link to previous festive posts here.)
From this end of the conveyor belt of life it’s all a bit different – Many of the people in those memories are no longer with us and this year DD will be with her boyfriend’s parents on the big day, which seems only fair after having bagsied them for two years in a row because of last year’s sudden change in ‘the rules’. I am still hopeful we might have grandchildren some day, which would really perk things up around here, but of course a grandchild is not just for Christmas so I’ll have to be patient on that front.
But back to nostalgia, defined as, “thepleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could experience it again”. Looking at various examples of its use in a sentence, nostalgia can be either a good thing or be somewhat crippling, as in reality we can’t go back in time. Best to just remember it all as it was and enjoy the memories.
It soon became apparent that my first musical memories were from 1966 when I was aged six. I was already aware of the Beatles, and of many of the singers who appeared on the prime time shows my parents watched, but when the Monkees television show (also called The Monkees) hit our screens that year, I was immediately smitten. Their scheduled slot in the UK was teatime on a Saturday, so perfect for family viewing. I was therefore saddened to hear of the death of Mike Nesmith last night before going to bed, the third Monkee to leave us.
(Theme From) The Monkees by the Monkees:
I have written about both Davy Jonesand Peter Torkaround here before, and now it’s going to be Mike Nesmith. Let’s hope it’s a while before Micky Dolenz puts in an appearance.
Anyone who remembers those days will know that Mike was the tall Monkee with the woolly hat and the Texan drawl (although at age six I wouldn’t have known what a drawl was). He was one of the older Monkees and was primarily a musician rather than an actor. The show ran for two seasons, between 1966 and 1968, and followed the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as a band. Ironically, because of the success of the show, they became one of the most popular bands of the 1960s, but got increasingly frustrated at the control exerted over them by the show’s creator. They were acting out their roles and were never expected to actually play their own instruments or write their own songs. In time that changed however and some of their own songs, many written by Mike Nesmith, proved to be the most popular of all.
Mike Nesmith 1942 – 2021
It sounds as if Mike hadn’t been well for some time but he had been well enough to head out on one last Farewell Tour which ended only last month. He was no longer the young man in the woolly hat, and had to stay seated for the first few shows of the tour, but made it through to the bitter end. A fitting conclusion perhaps to his life.
My favourite fun fact about Mike Nesmith is that his mother invented Liquid Paper (known to others perhaps as Tippex or correction fluid). She went from being a ‘single mom’ to being the owner of a multi-million dollar company. As someone who went through a lot of Liquid Paper working in offices over the years, I thank her for helping us keep our paperwork looking tidy. I’m guessing in these days of paperless offices, it is no longer needed.
Since starting this blog I’ve made a lot of new song discoveries and one of my favourites is Different Drum by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys. It was written by Mike Nesmith back in 1964, long before his years with the Monkees so thank you Mike for that amazing song. Time to hear what it sounded like in your hands.
Different Drum by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys:
So, ‘What’s It All About?’ – I suppose it was inevitable that if I started to revisit the music of my youth, there was a fair chance many of the associated artists would already be no longer be with us, and many more tributes have been written around here over the last few years. The upside however is that you get a chance to revisit their back catalogue of songs and enjoy listening to them all over again. Keeping nostalgia in check is a tough ask at this time of year for those of us no longer in the first flush of youth, but there is definitely a pleasurable side to it too.
Until next time… RIP Mike Nesmith
Different Drum Lyrics (Song by Mike Nesmith)
You and I travel to the beat of a diff’rent drum Oh, can’t you tell by the way I run Every time you make eyes at me Wo oh You cry and you moan and say it will work out But honey child I’ve got my doubts You can’t see the forest for the trees
So, don’t get me wrong it’s not that I’m knockin’ It’s just that I’m not in the market For a boy who wants to love only me Yes, and I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty All I’m sayin’s I’m not ready for any person Place or thing to try and pull the reins in on me So Goodbye, I’ll be leavin’ I see no sense in the cryin’ and grievin’ We’ll both live a lot longer if you live without me
Oh, don’t get me wrong it’s not that I’m knockin’ It’s just that I’m not in the market For a boy who wants to love only me Yes, and I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty All I’m sayin’s I’m not ready for any person Place or thing to try and pull the reins in on me So Goodbye, I’ll be leavin’ I see no sense in the cryin’ and grievin’ We’ll both live a lot longer if you live without me
Another Saturday and another blog post from me. I’ve suddenly become quite prolific after a bit of a fallow period. We’ve all had our ups and downs over the last couple of years but thankfully my downs seem to be temporary. I feel for those whose mental health has really been affected however, as there just doesn’t seem to be enough help out there for the increased demand. This week’s news headlines won’t have helped – Could Christmas be cancelled yet again?
Something Mr WIAA and I have actively tried to cut back on over the last fortnight, is rolling news. Being home-based, we never wanted to fall into the trap of watching daytime telly, so always kept the screen in the kitchen tuned to a news channel. Problem is, in 2021 the stories have been bleak indeed, and not just down to the pandemic. Best to simply catch the radio news first thing in the morning then stay well away from it all for the rest of the day – Turns out a bit of property porn, or touching base with the heir-hunters when having a break, is far less depressing.
Kay Burley from the world of rolling news
Forgive me this indulgence, but over the years, whenever something quite big happened in our family, we didn’t just rush home to tell each other. Oh no, we also burst into song, the first lines from this song to be specific. One of DD’s favourite films as a young child was Summer Holiday and it was watched many, many times. Near the end of the film, Don (Cliff Richard) puts the world’s press right, via the medium of song. Here he is singing Big News from 1963. (Starts at 0:33.)
Big News by Cliff Richard:
Sticking with a 1960s theme, my Saturday morning starts well nowadays. Not just because of Rol’sSaturday Snapshots, but also because of the radio show Sounds of the Sixties. The current presenter Tony Blackburn is now aged 78, but his enthusiasm for the songs he plays is infectious, and in a 15 minute period he can fit in around five classic songs, punctuated with his short and snappy, so bad they’re good, dad jokes.
Couldn’t get to sleep so went to buya new mattress – Salesman said if you lie near the edge you’ll soon drop off.
Tony started out in pirate radio and of course was the first DJ to be heard on BBC Radio 1 when it launched in 1967. The first record he played was The Move’sFlowers in the Rain, a useful fact for pop quizzes. He’s had a long career and even provided the inspiration for many a comedy sketch about aging, ‘not-so-cool’ DJs. Think Tony has had the last laugh though, as here he is still doing a job he adores all these years later – How many of us can say that nowadays. His first love was soul music and he always includes a floor-filler from the days of Northern Soul on his show. This morning’s pick was this gem from 1968, What by Judy Street.
What by Judy Street:
I’ve become fascinated by Northern Soul over the last few years and have written a fair few posts about the phenomenon that hit the North of England in the mid 1970s. I love to watch those dancers in action and live in hope I’ll master their moves whilst still fit enough to do so. The music usually drives the dance style, but because I wasn’t there at the time, tricky to pick it up in later life it seems. Maybe I’ll have to get one of those big circular skirts and put some talc on my laminate floor.
The song What was originally recorded by Melinda Marx, daughter of Groucho, and released in 1965. Judy recorded it in 1968 as the B-side to her single You Turn Me On. After being exported to England, it was picked up by DJs at Wigan Casino and became a big hit on the Northern Soul circuit.
So, ‘What’s It All About?’ – I used to be shocked when people I worked with said they didn’t really watch the news, as I always like to be well-informed about what’s going on in the world. It does start to wear you down however, when everything is negative, worrying and doesn’t give you much hope for the future. I will no doubt return to my old ways in due course, but for the moment, nice to have a bit of a break from it all.
It was a real delight to listen to back to back songs from the 1960s earlier on this morning – In a short space of time we were treated to Oh, Happy Day, Waterloo Sunset, Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing, Do You Know The Way To San Jose and I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love, as well as the song written about above. As for Tony Blackburn, just like Kay Burley in the world of television news, he’s not for everyone, but when interviewed he’s like the cat that got the cream, as he still can’t quite believe he gets paid for playing all these songs he loves. He is apolitical and never offers up his opinions, so his show makes for a nice relaxed start to the weekend. His predecessor Brian Matthews was more a connoisseur of ’60s music I think, often playing lesser known tracks, but Tony is a people pleaser and sticks to the ones we all know and love.
Right, time to dust off my plimsoles and get working on my spins and shuffles. If you want to find out more about Northern Soul, this episode of The Culture Show does well in explaining it all.
Until next time…
What Lyrics (Song by H.B. Barnum)
Do you want me to get down on my knees Beg you baby please cry a million tears Do you want me to call you on the phone Beg you to come home think of all the years
When I once lived in paradise When the love light showed in your eyes
Oh tell me what What (what) can I do when I still love you What (what) can I say when I still want you What can I do what can I say You’ll never know this way
Do you want me to follow you around everywhere in town do you want a clown Why do you treat me mean and cruel breaking every rule can’t I be your fool We could make this a happy home So come back where you belong
Oh tell me what (what) can I do when I still love you What (what) can I say when I still want you What can I do what can I say You’ll never know this way
Please forgive me come back and then We can fall in love Over and over and over and over again
Oh tell me what (what) can I do What (what) can I say Say you’ll come back don’t stay away What (what) can I do now baby
Postscript:
After pressing the publish button I made a bit of an interesting discovery. At the start of last week, my first post back after a break of a few weeks featured a song by Soft Cell. I of course mentioned that their first big hit in 1981 was a cover of Tainted Love, a Northern Soul favourite originally recorded by Gloria Jones.
In 1982 they also recorded What, and it got to the No. 3 spot on the UK Singles Chart. For some bizarre reason I don’t remember it at all, so can only put that down to the fact my life as a student had just come to an end and the world of paid work had begun – Different priorities. Anyway, here are Soft Cell with a very different version of today’s featured song. They obviously had an affinity for Northern Soul.
What's It All About? 