Month: April 2026

Lindisfarne, “Meet Me On The Corner” and Another Weird Blogging Coincidence

Well, another freaky coincidence happened this week in relation to this blog. If you dropped by last weekend you may have noticed that I’d written about the Geordie genius Sam Fender, whose song Rein Me In has now been at the top of the UK Singles Chart for eight of the last nine weeks. Various comments came in afterwards and C, from Sun Dried Sparrows, mentioned that she’d recently watched a excellent documentary, presented by Sam Fender, where he delves deep into the story of his fellow Geordies who formed the band Lindisfarne back in the late 1960s. As a songwriter himself, Sam especially focusses on the band’s own genius songwriter and lead singer, Alan Hull. Sam is often dubbed the British Bruce Springsteen but back in the day, Lindisfarne’s Alan Hull was dubbed the Geordie Bob Dylan, his songwriting held in such high esteem. The documentary is no longer on the iPlayer but luckily I found it on YouTube and watched the whole thing right there and then. I was fascinated, and Mr WIAA who along with his brother used to be a fan, was happily singing along to all the songs.

Lindisfarne’s Geordie Genius: The Alan Hull Story


I have written about Lindisfarne around here before but that post was more about my late father-in-law, who was also a Geordie, which by default makes Mr WIAA half-Geordie (link here). I must have done a little research though as I came up with the following description for them: Lindisfarne were a folk-rock hybrid formed in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne of 1969 and were named after the historic Holy Island of Lindisfarne off the Northumbrian coast. The lyrics to their songs blended “wistful sensitivity, social sentiments and boozy revelry”. Fog on the Tyne was the biggest selling album by a British band in 1971.

Lindisfarne in the early 1970s

One of the songs people most associate with Lindisfarne is Lady Eleanor, written by Alan Hull. The song is a beauty and was apparently inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories Eleonora, and The Fall of the House of Usher. No lazy “I love you, you love me” pop lyrics for Alan. The song also features the band’s characteristic combination of mandolin playing and close harmony singing.


But what is this freaky coincidence I referred to at the top of the post? At the start of the week I checked the calendar and saw that we were meeting up with my friend and her husband on Thursday. They live about 50 miles along the coast, but were coming through for the night as they’d been gifted tickets for a show at our local theatre. I got in touch and we planned an early evening supper together ahead of their show, and looked forward to having a catch-up. The following day I realised I’d forgotten to ask what they were going to see, so I hopped onto the theatre’s website and discovered it was none other than… Lindisfarne! At first I thought it must be a tribute band but no, it was the current line-up of Lindisfarne. Having spent the last few days listening to their music and thinking about the musical genius Alan Hull, I immediately thought we’ll have to go too and thankfully I managed to book two of the few remaining tickets.

The current Lindisfarne

And so it came to pass that we spent a joyous two hours listening to the Lindisfarne songbook on Thursday night. Alan Hull sadly died back in 1995 at the very young age of 50 but Rod Clements from the classic line-up is still there and sat front and centre. At age 78 his guitar playing was exceptional and he was able to tell a few anecdotes from back in the day. He was the one who actually wrote their first hit, Meet Me On The Corner, and he said it was very special to him as it was all about “standing under a lamp post waiting for his future ex-wife to appear”. Lead singer duties are now undertaken by Alan Hull’s son-in-law Dave Hull-Denholm who worked with Alan on his last solo album. He makes the songs sound truly authentic. The other members of the band were not from the original line-up but are long-standing replacements, of 30 years and counting. I even managed to take a sneaky picture of them on stage which we were allowed to do as long as we didn’t use a flash. In my efforts to be extra stealthy however, and not annoy those round about me, I accidentally hit the torch button on my phone and had to quickly sit on it as I couldn’t work out in the dark how to switch it off. Such is life.

The Eden Court Theatre stage on Thursday night – Lindisfarne


Released as a single in 1972, Meet Me On The Corner reached the No. 5 spot on the UK Singles Chart. The song was sung by Ray Jackson and appears as the opening track on their album Fog on the Tyne.

Meet Me On The Corner by Lindisfarne:


Until next time…

Meet Me On The Corner Lyrics
(Song by Rod Clements)

Hey, Mr Dreamseller, where have you been?
Tell me, have you dreams I can see?
I came along, just to bring you this song
Can you spare one dream for me?

You won’t have met me, and you’ll soon forget
So don’t mind me tugging at your sleeve
I’m asking you if I can fix a rendezvous
For your dreams are all I believe

Meet me on the corner when the lights are coming on
And I’ll be there, I promise I’ll be there
Down the empty streets we’ll disappear until the dawn
If you have dreams enough to share

Lay down your bundles of rags and reminders
And spread your wares on the ground
Well, I’ve got time, if you deal in rhyme
I’m just hanging around

Meet me on the corner when the lights are coming on
And I’ll be there, I promise I’ll be there
Down the empty streets we’ll disappear until the dawn
If you have dreams enough to share

Hey, Mr Dreamseller, where have you been?
Tell me, have you dreams I can see?
I came along, just to bring you this song
Can you spare one dream for me?

Postscript:

In case you missed the first weird blogging coincidence around here, it happened three weeks ago when I featured the band Runrig. I had visited an exhibition that told their story, showed memorabilia and screened footage of the band live, so I planned to write about them the following day after Rol’s Saturday Snapshots. Who should pop up on Snapshots that morning but a photo of Runrig as the theme that day was songs about large bodies of water (Loch Lomond). That was the first time I’d seen them appear on Rol’s blog so it was quite the coincidence and I went on to spend a lovely few hours listening to their songs and watching them on YouTube clips whilst writing the post.

A couple of days later we had to return to the flooring shop in town where we were organising a revamp of our house. As we sat at the desk paying the bill, who should we spot sitting next to us, also arranging the fitting of new floors for his house on Skye, but Donnie Munro, long-time lead singer with Runrig. I had never bumped into him in town before, and had only seen him perform at big live concerts, so I had to do a double take. Now in his early 70s, he still looked quite the (Gaelic) rock star with his lush dark hair, stylish coat and shades. I went home reeling from the coincidence. What will be next I wonder?

Donnie Munro of Runrig

A New Appreciation For Sam Fender and “Seventeen Going Under”

For those of you following my updates as to what is currently at the top of the UK Singles Chart, I haven’t had to do that for a while as the Sam Fender / Olivia Dean collaboration, Rein Me In, has reigned supreme (pun intended) for seven of the last eight weeks. It only slipped to the No. 2 spot in mid-March, the week Harry Styles’ new album came out, when his song, American Girls, (very similar to his previous No. 1, Aperture) made the top spot before promptly dropping down the chart again.


Rein Me In is Sam’s first chart topper, maybe made possible because of his collaboration with Olivia, the lady of the moment. The song blends indie rock with modern soul influences; Sam’s signature anthemic guitar sound and Olivia’s smooth, expressive vocals. I was pleased to hear DD recently chose it as the sign-off song, for her work Friday “Teams Meeting”.

Talking of Harry Styles and Olivia Dean, I had intended today’s post to be about how modern day pop stars don’t seem to have to put in the graft nowadays, as artists used to in days gone by, but can become an instant success via – reality tv shows (Harry), graduating from the Brit School (Olivia), being YouTube/TikTok sensations or having rich parents willing to subsidise their efforts. I suspected Sam Fender must have had a similar leg-up but once I looked into his backstory a bit more I realised I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Sam Fender

He has been dubbed the British Bruce Springsteen and I can see why. Born and raised in a small terraced house in North Shields, Sam says the first 10 years of his life were comfortable being part of a musical family. His dad Alan is also a singer-songwriter and guitarist, whilst his brother Liam plays the drums. Both musicians performed locally. His late childhood and adolescence were tumultuous however. His mother left when he was eight years old, although he later reconnected with her at age 17, when he was forced out of his house by his stepmother.

From the age of 13, all Sam wanted to do was become a professional musician and at age 14 he started to write his own songs. His brother introduced him to Bruce Springsteen’s album, Born to Run, at age 15, when he also began playing at his brother’s open mic nights. By the age of 17 however, he and his mother were poor and living in a small, crumbling flat on the outskirts of North Shields. Whilst studying, and playing with his new band, Sam also held down two jobs. He had to abandon his A Levels to earn money to help his mother, who had developed a mental illness in addition to her existing fibromyalgia. Eventually, at age 18, Sam began performing paid gigs at pubs and restaurants which is how his manager discovered him and took him on as a client.

So, unlike many others in today’s music industry, no leg-up (although music was probably in his genes via his dad). Sam started off trying to write songs he thought would be popular, as he was desperate to get himself and his mother out of their financial and living situation. However, after a major health scare and facing the possibility of death, he changed his outlook on life. His recovery refocused his songwriting efforts, and he started writing songs for himself. It was from this period he wrote a number of the songs he went on to release. I have found a new appreciation for this one, Seventeen Going Under, as at that time, he really was.

Seventeen Going Under by Sam Fender:


In 2018 Sam was named the BBC’s “Sound of 2018”, and signed to Polydor Records. He won the Critics’ Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards and released his debut album, Hypersonic Missiles, which entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1. His second album, Seventeen Going Under, was released in 2021 and also topped the UK Albums Chart and received a nomination for the 2022 Mercury Prize. In 2022, 2025, and 2026, he won the Brit Award for British Rock/Alternative Act and in October 2025, he was awarded the Mercury Prize for his third studio album, People Watching.

Sam Fender I salute you (and your Geordie accent).

Until next time…

17 Going Under Lyrics
(Song by Sam Fender)

I remember the sickness was forever
I remember snuff videos
Cold Septembers, the distances we covered
The fist fights on the beach, the bizzies round us up
Do it all again next week
An embryonic love
The first time that it scarred
Embarrass yourself for someone
Crying like a child
And the boy who kicked Tom’s head in
Still bugs me now
That’s the thing, it lingers
And claws you when you’re down

I was far too scared to hit him
But I would hit him in a heartbeat now
That’s the thing with anger
It begs to stick around
So it can fleece you of your beauty
And leave you spent with nowt to offer
Makes you hurt the ones who love you

You hurt them like they’re nothing
(Oh, oh)
You hurt them like they’re nothing
(Oh, oh)
You hurt them like they’re nothing
(Oh, oh)

See I spent my teens enraged
Spiralin’ in silence
And I armed myself with a grin
‘Cause I was always the fuckin’ joker
Buried in their humor
Amongst the white noise and boys’ boys
Locker-room talkin’ lads’ lads
Drenched in cheap drink and snide fags
A mirrored picture of my old man
Oh God, the kid’s a dab hand
Canny chanter, but he looks sad

God, the kid looks so sad
God, the kid looks so sad

She said the debt, the debt, the debt
So I thought about shifting gear
And how she wept and wept and wept
Well, luck came and died ’round here
I see my mother
The DWP see a number
She cries on the floor encumbered
I’m seventeen going under

I’m seventeen going under
(Oh, oh)
I’m seventeen going under (oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
I’m seventeen going under (oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
I’m seventeen going under (oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
(Oh)

Easter Discombobulation, Doppelgängers and “Space Oddity”

If anyone ever tells you that a cost effective way of having your floors replaced is to do them all at the same time, ignore that bit of sage advice. It might be good for the pocket, but really not good for your head, your back or your living conditions, especially if it’s happening around Eastertime.

Apologies for the rant but I had planned a nice Easter Sunday lunch for DD and her other half but that’s had to be cancelled as for a week now we’ve been living like this (see below), and another few days to go. The first two floors have now been laid after a bit of a delay because mysterious hatches / lumps & bumps appear when you lift the carpet and underlay in a 50-year-old house. Also, the best time to decorate a room is when it’s empty so in-between humping furniture around we’ve been furiously painting walls and skirting boards. I think Mr WIAA still thinks of me as a spring chicken (apt for this weekend), which is nice, but my arms and back tell a different story.


I’m going to have to write quickly this morning as the room I’m sitting in is about to be dismantled, ahead of its rejuvenation on Monday. Sadly there is nothing more likely to cause marital strife in our house than a spot of DIY, so needless to say tempers are frayed but if punctuated by frequent stops for a cuppa, it’s all bearable. Cue Bernard Cribbins and his ditty from the early ’60s, Right Said Fred.

Right Said Fred by Bernard Cribbens:


In other news there is a rumour fast spreading around our town that the actress Wendy Craig has been putting in shifts at the charity shop where I volunteer. Now that we’ve moved to the centre of town, footfall is far higher and older ladies love to come in for a browse and a chat with the staff. I love these little exchanges and you soon find out never to judge a book by its cover as all sorts of stories pour out.

The actress Wendy Craig, or is it?

The nickname I got from some of the other volunteers when I started working at the shop was indeed Wendy, as they all thought I looked a lot like the famous actress from our youth. The fact that she is now aged 90 worried me a bit, but I expect they were thinking of her from her younger days. Well it seems some of our customers are now thinking the same thing, as volunteers have been stopped in the street and asked if she was helping us out. Personally I don’t know what they’re talking about!

Wendy in Butterflies at age 43 and my good self at age 43

I watched the sit-com Butterflies back in the day but here is another that Wendy starred in that I don’t remember at all. It was called Not In Front Of The Children and just as with her character in Butterflies, Wendy played a bit of a scatter-brained stay at home housewife. I’d like to think I’m not that scatter-brained but I have for a time been a stay at home mum, so maybe more similarities than I admit to. The theme tune for Not In Front Of The Children was certainly of its era – classic 1967 telly.

Not In Front Of The Children by Wendy Craig:


Amongst all the big scary news stories going around at the moment (I’ve been avoiding talking about the ones initiated by the orange man-baby) there is also a big feelgood news story. The first lunar travellers since Apollo 17 in 1972 have taken off successfully and are on their way to the “dark side” of the moon. There was such excitement back in 1969 when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon but this time it’s not such a big deal and I don’t think children will be as fully invested as we were back then. I’m not entirely sure what their motives are but it’s probably to find out what the Chinese did on the dark side of the moon when they sent robots up there in 2024. Either that or those in the know suspect our planet is on its last legs, so a permanent moon base will have to be set up to save the great and the good (but not the orange man-baby). Whatever their real motives, it will be interesting to see pictures from the side of the moon that never faces us.


Of course back in the 1960s, the music industry became totally influenced by these space missions and many songs were recorded about rockets, spacemen and even aliens. The most famous of them all was probably this one by a young David Bowie, Space Oddity. Although the song was really about a fictional astronaut named Major Tom, and its title and subject matter were inspired by the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, it was rush-released as a single to capitalise on the Apollo 11 Moon landing and was used by the BBC as background music during its coverage of the event. It initially sold poorly but soon reached the No. 5 spot in the UK Singles Chart, becoming David’s first and only chart hit for another three years. He revisited the Major Tom character in later singles, notably the sequel song Ashes to Ashes.

Space Oddity by David Bowie:


So, “What’s It All About?” – By this time next week my back will hopefully have recovered and we will have some very smart refloored and redecorated rooms. To be fair I did exaggerate, as it’s not the whole house it’s only four rooms but as one of those rooms is the hall it’s been very disruptive. As I said, don’t do it if you’re still living in the house – there may be a divorce afterwards!

As for my life as a doppelgänger, I think I might have some fun with it. I could wear my cardigan with the butterflies on it and answer only to Wendy. Our customers would probably enjoy that.

Again, by this time next week we’ll have seen pictures of the dark side of the moon. Who knows, it might even look like this.


Until next time…

Space Oddity Lyrics
(Song by David Bowie)

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

(Ten)
Ground Control
(Nine)
To Major Tom
(Eight, seven, six)
Commencing countdown
(Five)
Engines on
(Four, three, two)
Check ignition
(One)
And may God’s love
(Lift-off)
Be with you

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You’ve really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare

This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I’m stepping through the door
And I’m floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

For here am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do

Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles
I’m feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much
She knows

Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you he—

Here am I floating ’round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do