1970s songs – Page 19 – What's It All About?

Roberta Flack, Clint Eastwood and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”

Anyone who visits these pages will know that I am often earworm-afflicted, but thankfully most of these earworms are of the pleasurable variety. Last week it was The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack which had popped up on on the car radio on my way home from work. I hadn’t heard it in years and was struck by just how beautiful it was. Such a slow pace to it which contrasted markedly to everything else I had heard during the same journey. It was actually written back in 1957 by Ewan MacColl, the multi-talented British folk singer, songwriter, activist and more importantly, dad to Kirsty, but was subsequently covered by many other artists.

ewan-mccoll — The young Ewan MacColl – Is it me or is there a passing resemblance here to a certain Mr Shane MacGowan?

Ewan made no bones about the fact that he didn’t like these cover versions, but despite that, Roberta’s version from 1972 became a major international hit, winning a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Her rendition, at over five minutes long was much slower than the original which ran to only two and a half minutes but the success of this more sensual version was no doubt because it was used by Clint Eastwood for his 1971 film Play Misty for Me, where he made his directorial debut. Yes, although the song was originally written as a love song for Ewan’s long-distance American lover Peggy Seeger, whom he subsequently married, the Roberta Flack version, once in the hands of Mr Eastwood became a song all about “makin’ love” – All very smooth in the make-believe world of the movie and not at all like in the real world where I’m sure there would have probably been nettle stings, ants and mussed-up hair.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack:

Play Misty for Me is a really great psychological thriller and one which I do remember watching on television as a teenager, back in the ’70s. Of course in those days families generally only had one television set which resided in what we called The Living Room (although I am aware that depending on your class and geographical location it could have been called something else). We also had no central heating but a very fine looking 2 bar electric fire to keep us cosy during the long winter months. My point is that the whole family sat in the living room watching television together and whenever “scenes of a sexual nature” as they are called nowadays were transmitted, it was a cue for everyone to get very embarrassed. My dad would suddenly pick up his Aberdeen Press and Journal (Scotland’s oldest daily newspaper) to hide behind, and my mum would find something very important to do in the kitchen. I was left red-faced, willing the “scene of a sexual nature” to be over as soon as possible so that we could all get back to the business in hand, which was hoping that the dashing Carmel-by-the-Sea radio jockey Mr Eastwood, would manage to thwart the unwanted attentions of his stalker, Jessica Walter.

And here is where the law of freaky coincidences strikes again. After purchasing the song at the weekend I decided to write about it on Sunday night. I got side-tracked however by a spot of boxset binging – Mad Men, the final season. Anyone who has watched Mad Men will know that it is an American period drama set primarily in the 1960s at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue. We were now right at the end of the final season however and had reached the early 1970s. At the end of each episode they chose a song from the era to accompany the closing credits and what did Sunday night’s turn out to be? Yes, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack!

The Cast of Mad Men – We’ve reached the 1970s!

But of course I can’t leave it there as this would just be too schmaltzy a post. No, instead I will leave you with Will from the Inbetweeners movie, who thought that a spot of Roberta Flack would help him capture the heart of Katie, a girl he had met on holiday – Needless to say it didn’t, and she led him a merry dance on the way to finding that out, but all very funny nonetheless. Until next time, I give you Will…..

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
(Song by Ewan MacColl)

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the endless skies my love
To the dark and the endless skies

The first time ever I kissed your mouth
I felt the earth move in my hand
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command my love
That was there at my command my love

And the first time ever I lay with you
I felt your heart so close to mine
And I knew our joy would fill the earth
And last ’till the end of time my love
And it would last ’till the end of time

The first time ever I saw your face
Your face, your face

Greg Lake, Seasonal Tunes and “I Believe In Father Christmas”

Well, I’m just back from a work “do”, part Christmas and part farewell for someone who is retiring, and realise that if I don’t post something Christmassy soon, the big day will be upon us. I had until last weekend felt distinctly un-Christmassy, but darling daughter (who is back at home with us) wanted the tree up a week earlier than is usual, so we obliged. What with that, and the fact I have been busy writing cards and playing festive music, I have at last been imbued with the Christmas spirit. (The cocktails I have just consumed this afternoon were of course also imbued with spirit, but of a very different, tasty kind.)

But what on earth of all the many Christmas songs should I feature? I think it is a given that Fairytale of New York by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl is the best Christmas song ever – A bittersweet folk ballad that really has stood the test of time. Instead however I have been thinking back to the mid-1970s when just about all the mainstream artists of the day released a seasonal ditty. Ironically they are, on the whole, the songs we still hear today on the radio and on compilation CDs. Why is this I wonder? First of all we consumed our music in a very different way back in the ’70s with whole families sitting down to watch Top Of The Pops every week – A few slots on TOTP pretty much guaranteed you the coveted Christmas No. 1 position and boy must those royalties still be rolling in for Slade and Wizzard, who between them assumed blanket coverage of December 1973’s airwaves with both Merry Xmas Everybody and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.

But no, I am going to roll forward to Christmas 1975 when an artist I had not really taken much heed of until that point released a very satisfying seasonal record called I Believe In Father Christmas. His name was Greg Lake, first of King Crimson and then of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I only discovered last weekend that Greg had passed away a few days previously, yet again (like Bowie and Rickman) at the age of 69, and yet again of cancer.

I Believe In Father Christmas by Greg Lake:

Greg wrote this song as an objection to the commercialisation of Christmas which in the intervening 40 years just seems to have got worse. Back in 1975 it reached No 2. in the UK Singles Chart but unlike some other Christmas songs from that era I feel it has stood the test of time. Something that I wouldn’t have known then was that the instrumental section between verses comes from a Suite by Prokofiev. If I had been a fan of prog rock back then this might have made sense, but being a teenage girl I really wasn’t. Those of us who had older brothers were a bit more au fait with artists such as Emerson, Lake and Palmer who were attached to that sub-genre, but I didn’t, so was far more interested in my teen idols at that time, who often went by the name of David.

Thinking back to Christmas 1975, this song coincided with a very busy time for me school-wise as it would have been the year I sat my important Scottish “O” Grade Prelims (all 8 of them), in the build up to the holidays. Listening to a bit of festive music on our little kitchen transistor radio, whilst having breakfast before yet another big exam, would probably have been a bit of a tonic that set you up for the day. Also, thinking back, the ’70s were a bit of a grim time in Britain, so maybe the public took to buying seasonal tunes in their millions to make life just that little bit cheerier. Other big-selling records from that time were by Mud, Johnny Mathis, Paul McCartney, Mike Oldfield, Boney M and even The Wombles. Sadly, other than something by Jamie Cullum (who I think would make a really great Hobbit), I haven’t heard anything else new being released this year and somehow I can’t imagine Kanye West “Wishing It Could Be Christmas Everyday”.

So, “What’s It All About?” – I think I’ve just made myself sad and that was not the intention of this post at all. Sad because I think the heyday of the Christmas single is behind us; sad because I am reminded of the people I would have listened to this song with back in 1975, and most are either no longer with us or are no longer part of my life and finally; sad that all these years later Christmas still seems to be primarily all about “stuff”. Time to head off for a strong coffee I think to counteract the comedown from the afternoon cocktails, and perhaps time for another listen to Fairytale of New York, as for some bizarre reason that song always cheers me up!

RIP Greg – He will be looking down, “Wishing us a hopeful Christmas and a brave New Year”.

I Believe In Father Christmas Lyrics
(Song by Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield)

They said there’ll be snow at Christmas
They said there’ll be peace on Earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the Virgin birth
I remember one Christmas morning
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas Tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire

They sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a Silent Night
And they told me a fairy story
‘Till I believed in the Israelite
And I believed in Father Christmas
And I looked TO the sky with excited eyes
‘Till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise

I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave New Year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there’ll be snow at Christmas
They said there’ll be peace on Earth
Hallelujah Noel be it Heaven or Hell
The Christmas we get we deserve

Ewan McGregor, Elton John and “Your Song”

Before I got side-tracked by other things, like writing my landmark 100th post (still basking in the afterglow of having reached that momentous number), I had revisited the Randy Crawford song One Day I’ll Fly Away which is featured in this year’s John Lewis Christmas ad. It led me to share the version performed by Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann’s lavish movie Moulin Rouge!. Her male co-star and love interest in that movie was Ewan McGregor, my favourite Scottish actor. In fact no, my favourite actor full stop. I am currently eagerly awaiting the sequel to the 1996 film Trainspotting which is due to come out early next year where he very memorably played the character Renton, a young man caught up in a world of addiction and squalor in, ironically, “culturally rich” Edinburgh – Harrowing scenes but also scenes of great humour and on some lists, it is ranked Best Scottish Film of all time.

His role in Moulin Rouge! could not have been more different as in this one he plays a writer/poet who has come to live amongst the Bohemians of Montmartre during the period of La Belle Époque. It is not long before he falls in love with Satine, the star courtesan of the Moulin Rouge nightclub played by Nicole Kidman and for me, the whole film was an absolute spectacle, with fantastic music throughout.

mr2 — Ewan and Nicole sing their Love Medley

I hadn’t realised until going to see that film in 2001 that both Nicole and Ewan were such great singers, but they were, and one of their very memorable duets, Elephant Love Medley, was compiled from 13 different Love Songs – If you are around my age, you will recognise all of them. They came just too thick and fast when I watched this song being performed first time around but once home, and with the newly purchased CD in the player (it was 15 years ago now), it was easier to identify and remember all of them. Here is the clip followed by the list, in the correct running order, of all 13 songs from which snippets were plucked. Very aptly for this year, I think my favourite segment is when they sang a few lines from the David Bowie song Heroes.

Elephant Love Medley by Ewan MacGregor and Nicole Kidman:

Medley compiled from:
Love Is Like Oxygen – Sweet
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing – The Four Aces
Up Where We Belong – Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
All You Need Is Love – The Beatles
Lover’s Game – Chris Isaak
I Was Made For Lovin’ You – Kiss
One More Night – Phil Collins
Pride (In The Name Of Love) – U2
Don’t Leave Me This Way – Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
Silly Love Songs – Paul McCartney and Wings
(Repeated) Up Where We Belong – Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
Heroes – David Bowie
I Will Always Love You – Dolly Parton
Your Song – Elton John

The final song used for the medley was Your Song by Elton John. It was originally released back in 1970 and although I knew it well, I had been too young back then to really appreciate those great lyrics by Elton’s long-time collaborator, Bernie Taupin. By the time I was a teenager in 1973, Elton John was one of the biggest singer/composer/musicians on the planet, his albums “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” receiving massive critical acclaim. But, at that time my focus was very much on my oh so good-looking teen idols, the Donnys and the Davids. Elton by this time had embraced the full glam-rock persona with ever more outrageous outfits, glasses and footwear, but not someone I saw as a potential teen idol.

This is a roundabout way of saying that it was not until going to see Moulin Rouge! in 2001 that I truly appreciated the sentiment of Your Song, and actually dug out a really old cassette tape from the loft that, amongst others, contained my new favourite song. Again maybe it’s the old romantic in me, but what a wonderful thing I thought, to have a song written specially for you which includes the line: “How wonderful life is, while you’re in the world”. Unlike Pattie Boyd, who seems to have had oh so many songs written about how wonderful it was to have her in the world, I am pretty sure no-one has ever written a song for me. At best there may have been a limerick or rhyme (of the non-smutty nature) in a Valentine card at some point, but still perhaps time if Mr WIAA decides to take up the art of song-writing in later life. The really ironic thing is that hubby’s real-life profession is actually mentioned in the song, but in a bit of a derogatory fashion. Yes it is a great source of mirth in our house that one of the lines from Your Song goes as follows: “If I were a sculptor (bit of aside laughter at the ridiculousness of the suggestion), but then again, no”. It turns out that Bernie Taupin decided that it would be preferable being “a man who makes potions in a travelling show” than to be a sculptor although I beg to differ!

Your Song by Elton John:

So, “What’s It All About?” – It’s good in later life to revisit songs you may not have truly appreciated first time around because you were just far too busy swooning over your latest teen idol, who happened to have great hair, teeth, waistcoats and headwear. (That would be Donny Osmond in his trademark purple cap then!) I sadly did not appreciate Your Song first time around so was glad to rediscover it properly after watching Baz Luhrmann’s lavish film. Yet again, the subject matter for both the above songs is that old chestnut love but as I have mentioned here before (just a few times), that is indeed what it’s all about. We seem to be living in a bit of a troubled world at the moment but I will remain positive and hope that love will win out in the end.

Until next time here is the Moulin Rouge! version of the song, Baz Luhrmann style. Both have their merits but it’s the simple pared down version by Elton for me now – Unlike Pattie Boyd I may never have any songs written for me, or about me, but in the meantime a nice piece of sculptural jewellery will do nicely. The man who makes potions in a travelling show is not the one for me!

Your Song Lyrics
(Song by Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

It’s a little bit funny this feeling inside
I’m not one of those who can easily hide
I don’t have much money but boy if I did
I’d buy a big house where we both could live

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no
Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show
I know it’s not much but it’s the best I can do
My gift is my song and this one’s for you

And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it’s done
I hope you don’t mind
I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words
How wonderful life is while you’re in the world

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss
Well a few of the verses well they’ve got me quite cross
But the sun’s been quite kind while I wrote this song
It’s for people like you that keep it turned on

So excuse me forgetting but these things I do
You see I’ve forgotten if they’re green or they’re blue
Anyway the thing is what I really mean
Yours are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen

Post 101, The Dave Clark Five and “Glad All Over”

Well this is embarrassing. After basking in the glory of having just reached the momentous target of publishing 100 posts; after being incredibly grateful to my band of blogging buddies for leaving such great comments and finally; after telling everyone I would carry on for another 100 posts – I now have writer’s (or should it be blogger’s) block!

thvk0cdelk

To be fair it’s not really blogger’s block, it’s just that the list of ideas for “songs and stories” I have jotted down over the months for future posts, now seem a bit dull and boring. I always thought that writing about songs would be easy as I could never, ever run out of material, so could it be that my best stories are behind me? I do hope not. Also as a self-confessed anorak when it comes to listings, cataloguing and alphabetisation, that magical number 100 against “No. of Posts Published” on my WordPress Summary page, is a really tidy one, and when I next press the “publish” tab, it will turn into a bit of an untidy number 101.

Lots of significance however to the number 101 – There is of course the torture room in the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which has in turn been the inspiration for the Radio then TV show Room 101 where celebrity guests are invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to that fictional room. Works well and hosted by the affable Frank Skinner whom I am warming to more and more as both he and I get older. His Saturday morning show on Absolute Radio is one of my favourites.

1984 Film Poster

Frank Skinner

Although there have been many albums inspired by the aforementioned novel, the only one I remember personally is The Eurythmics’ soundtrack album for the film Nineteen Eighty-Four which contains the song Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four), but not something I have in my collection nor would I want to (too intense for my liking). Having lived in Aberdeen for the best part of the ’80s I do feel disloyal to Annie Lennox for having said that, especially as about half the locals I worked with claimed they’d been to school with her (must have been a very big school), but not one of my favourites from that era. Nonetheless Ms Lennox always gave 110 percent as they tend to say on those reality/singing/karaoke shows (or should that be 101%) and also gave us some very striking and androgynous looks over the years.

But back to the number 101 – It does of course also look very much like a “binary number” and if I remember correctly (ok I cheated and looked it up), it equates in decimal to the number 5. There have indeed been many bands and songs with the number 5 in their name – The Jackson 5, Maroon 5, The Dave Clark 5, Five and of course those personable Pearsons from Reading, 5 Star! As for songs, I recently featured that upbeat ditty from McFly called 5 Colours in Her Hair (although not sure if my readership appreciated that one too much).

Final thoughts on the number 101 – Since starting this blog I have found myself in the company of some serious music buffs whose knowledge way surpasses my own and the first time I joined in with The Chain Gang, the link was to a song by the 101ers whom I hadn’t heard of until that point. They were the band that a young Joe Strummer (whose name has cropped up on these pages) left to join The Clash. The band’s name apparently came from the number of the squat they lived in at 101 Walterton Road, Maida Vale. I saw it as a “palindrome number” so came up with the suggestion Pacific State, the 1989 electronic chill-out track by that other palindromic outfit 808 State. Looking back, this choice was probably met with raised eyebrows as not the kind of thing you often see appearing over on The Chain. It was a favourite of an ex-colleague of mine, or rather I kept thinking it was whereas the one he actually did like was called Pacific Highway by someone else. It has become a great source of mirth however that I always got the two mixed up but ended up getting to like the wrong one better anyway. Oh yes, we know how to keep ourselves amused up here in Scotland during the long, dark, winter nights. (And, I only mentioned that because he is one of my very few real-life friends who know about this place.)

So, “What’s It All About?” – I think it’s just about having a bit of a crisis of confidence when sometimes you feel it’s best to quit whilst you’re ahead, but don’t really want to. Having revisited my list of “song and story” ideas however, there are definitely still quite a few in the tank, so you’re stuck with me for a while yet. I will quickly therefore get this post out of the way, as once onto number 102 it won’t seem quite so daunting and will simply be back to business as usual.

Glad All Over Lyrics
(Song by Mike Smith/Dave Clark)

You say that you love (Say you love me)
All of the time (All of the time)
You say that you need me (Say you need me)
You’ll always be mine (Always be mine)

I’m feelin’ glad all over
Yes, I’m a-glad all over
Baby, I’m glad all over
So glad you’re mine

I’ll make you happy (Make you happy)
You’ll never be blue (Never be blue)
You’ll have no sorrow (Have no sorrow)
‘Cause I’ll always be true (Always be true)

And I’m feelin’ glad all over
Yes, I’m a-glad all over
Baby, I’m glad all over
So glad you’re mine

Other girls may try to take me away (Take me away)
But you know, it’s by your side I will stay
I-I’ll stay

Our love will last, now (Our love will last)
‘Til the end of time (End of time)
Because this love, now (Because this love)
Is only yours and mine (Yours and mine)

And I’m feelin’ glad all over
Yes, I’m a-glad all over
Oh, baby, I’m glad all over
So glad you’re mine

Other girls may try to take me away (Take me away)
But you know, it’s by your side I will stay
I-I’ll stay

Our love will last, now (Our love will last)
‘Til the end of time (End of time)
Because this love, now (Because this love)
Is only yours and mine (Yours and mine)

And I’m feelin’ glad all over
Yes, I’m a-glad all over
Baby, I’m a-glad all over
So glad you’re mine

So glad you’re mine, now
(Mi-i-i-i-i-i-ine)
I said I’m so glad you’re mine
(Mi-i-i-i-i-i-ine)
So glad you’re mine, now
(Mi-i-i-i-i-i-ine)
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
(Mi-i-i-i-ine)

The Arctic Monkeys, Bob Marley and “Come Together”

Wasn’t going to mention the outcome of Tuesday’s presidential election in America as have tried to stay away from controversial topics since starting the blog. I seem to be one of the few in my little circle who hasn’t however, so here goes. (The caveat of course being that the following is just my opinion.)

I was not in the slightest surprised that the election went Trump’s way, just as I was not surprised in June, with our referendum on whether to leave or remain in the EU, that the Leave camp won.

First of all polls don’t work – Too many people are not keen to share what they know could be construed as unpopular views, albeit ones they hold, thus we end up with the Shy Tory, the Shy Brexiteer and now it seems the Shy Trump-Supporter. Yet how campaigns are run is dictated by polls so here’s an idea for future elections and referendums – Forget what the pollsters say and LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE.

Talking of the people, here in the UK it became clear after our referendum just how divided we were as a nation and now it appears the US has gone the same way. The urban areas appear in one colour whereas the mainly rural and traditionally industrial areas appear in another colour (Scotland and N. Ireland being the exceptions but then we have our own devolved parliament/assembly). Whoever has been in charge for the last couple of decades hasn’t been LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE. Just as in the UK after Brexit, I don’t believe for a minute that the vast number of Trump voters in the US agree with his very extreme views but if they would rather go down that route than vote for the alternative, there seems to be a very big problem.

So here we are in a state of limbo in the UK awaiting the outcome of the machinations that will decide whether we go down the hard or soft Brexit route. In the US they will find out what kind of President Donald J will become – The businessman-cum-reality television star will set up home in The White House! In an era of 24-hour Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reality TV, Netflix, X-Box, iPhones, iTunes, Soundbites, Drive-through McDonalds, Zero-hour contracts, Temporary contracts, Student loans, Crippling house prices, Aging populations, Sink Estates, Clothing at throwaway prices – none of it surprises me. As for Mr Trump, I am trusting there are enough checks and balances built into the constitution of the United States to save anything truly dire happening.

But this is supposed to be a music blog and these are the two songs that have come to mind to compliment this post. The first is One Love by Bob Marley & the Wailers. Marley wrote this song during the turmoil of the Jamaican elections of December 1976. Marley had supported Michael Manley when he won the election in 1972 and became Prime Minister of Jamaica, but four years later, although Marley was by far the most popular person in Jamaica, he refused to take a political stance as the country was divided between Manley’s People’s National Party and the Jamaican Labour Party. It was very violent time in the country, and Marley tried to stay politically neutral while offering peace and shelter however he could – His home was kind of a safehouse for people with nowhere to go.

One Love by Bob Marley & the Wailers:

This second one is Come Together, a song written by John Lennon but performed here by the Arctic Monkeys for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. It was ironically inspired by a political campaign, when Timothy Leary stood against Ronald Reagan for Governor of California. Although Lennon freely admitted that the lyrics are gobbledygook, I love this performance, and the sentiment of “coming together”.

So, “What’s It All About?” – I get that there are a lot of forgotten people out there who feel as if they have been hung out to dry by successive governments, but the challenges are just so insurmountable that we seem to be reaching a tipping point whereby life in the western world will just carry on getting a little harder every year.

I do fear for my daughter and her generation who were sold the dream of going to University in order to get a good job, but in reality, for the majority, the only jobs they get are in retail or hospitality (we have the most highly qualified army of baristas in history). They are generally heavily in debt due to student loans and if they ever do manage to buy property, they will just make it onto the first rung of the ladder, the only rung they will ever be able to afford. We have middle-aged parents in large houses with offspring raising a family in converted basements for goodness sake. We will of course try our best to help, and those little cartoons you see showing recent retirees “spending the kids inheritance” don’t amuse me – The majority will need you, and your cash, for some time to come.

I do try to keep my posts light and amusing and realise that this one hasn’t been at all. Felt it needed to be said however as this is primarily a web-log (with music thrown in). Hopefully back to business as usual soon!

One Love Lyrics
(Song by Bob Marley)

One Love!
One Heart!
Let’s get together and feel all right.
Hear the children cryin’
(One Love! );
Hear the children cryin’
(One Heart! ),
Sayin’: give thanks and praise
To the Lord and I will feel all right;
Sayin’: let’s get together
And feel all right.
Wo wo-wo wo-wo!

Let them all pass all their dirty
Remarks (One Love! );
There is one question
I’d really love to ask (One Heart! ):
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner,
Who has hurt all mankind just
To save his own beliefs?

One Love! What about the one heart?
One Heart!
What about?
Let’s get together and feel all right
As it was in the beginning
(One Love! );
So shall it be in the end
(One Heart! ),
All right!
Give thanks and praise to the Lord
And I will feel all right;
Let’s get together
And feel all right.
One more thing!

Let’s get together to fight
This Holy Armagiddyon (One Love! ),
So when the Man comes there will be no,
No doom (One Song! ).
Have pity on those whose
Chances grows t’inner;
There ain’t no hiding place
From the Father of Creation.

Sayin’: One Love!
What about the One Heart?
(One Heart! )
What about the?
Let’s get together and feel all right.
I’m pleadin’ to mankind!
(One Love! );
Oh, Lord!
(One Heart)
Wo-ooh!

Give thanks and praise to the Lord
And I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.
Give thanks and praise to the Lord
And I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.

Elvis Costello, “Alison” and Punk Comes To Scotland

During my recent hiatus when I took a fortnight off to catch up with other things, a long list developed of all the stories/songs I thought would make for a good post when I got back to business as usual. Since last Sunday, when I took to a bit of “tipsy blogging” (it’s a thing), I have published four new posts so I think I’m back into my groove again. Time therefore to refer to this long list, and the first item noted is: Punk, Dance Competitions and Bubble Bath. Hmm… cryptic indeed.

Now whenever I touch on new wave, punk or ska, I see a marked spike in the number of views I get but I realise most of these people will have stumbled upon this place by accident and might be sorely disappointed when they find my twee little ramblings. If you are one of those people please don’t be deterred – My thinking is that anyone who lived through the punk explosion of the late ’70s will, at best, be middle-aged now and any stories of those days have a nostalgia factor, and are part of social history.

A couple of months ago I wrote about how the mainstream musical landscape of Britain changed in the autumn of 1977 (Punk, Late ’70s Fashion and The Wrong Trousers). Tony Parsons wrote a great book about those times called Stories We Could Tell but also associated with this change was the shape of our trousers! I’m sorry to keep coming back to stories about trousers (I have another waiting in the wings about leather trousers as it happens) but I cannot emphasise enough how important it was in those days to look the part. We’d already had the infamous television interview with the Sex Pistols where Bill Grundy foolishly goaded them into uttering those childish profanities – The upshot however was that Bill lost his job and single-handedly elevated punk rock into the mainstream. Mr Rotten on the other hand is still making lots of money starring in adverts for butter, so who ended up looking silliest in the end (ok so it’s still Johnny but he apparently does them to finance PiL tours so fair do’s)?

But back to the autumn of 1977. Although punk had been around for a while by then, the music played on most radio stations still tended to be a mixture of soft rock, soul and disco. When we went back to school however to start 6th Year, things were definitely a-changin’. I had completed those important life-changing exams needed to get into University so 6th Year was going to be a bit of a blast to be honest where we took a few subjects for “interest”, did good works for the community and represented the school at various events. Best of all however was that we had our own common room where for the first time, boys and girls hung out together between classes. We were practically adults by this time so instead of the silliness that goes on between the sexes in the lower years (the more insults a boy throws your way the more he likes you etc), we all got on really well and needless to say quite a few romances were kindled, some of which have even stood the test of time. My romance did not stand the test of time, but no matter, life was good and instead of hanging out with our girlfriends we spent all our time with our new boyfriends, who only of course wanted to listen to punk rock. By default therefore, so did we!

51z09cph8jl

This very spartan 6th Year common room (complete with an urn for coffee-making no less) was the centre of our universe and when a record player was taken in, a lot of vinyl-swapping went on. (Yes it was the 1970s but we weren’t married yet so it wasn’t wife-swapping.) One of the albums of choice was Elvis Costello‘s “My Aim Is True” and of course one of the songs on it was (still is) called Alison so very apt for my good self – Indeed life just couldn’t get any better. My best friend at the time was a girl called Sheena and lo and behold we also had The Ramones with Sheena Is A Punk Rocker – Anyone who knew Sheena could not in all seriousness have called her a punk rocker, she was Head Girl, but we all loved this music, partly because the boys loved it but also because it was new and exciting.

Alison by Elvis Costello:

In the November of that year there was to be a big dance in our local Community Centre for all the kids aged 17 and under. Just like now there were plenty of adults and community leaders who wanted to supervise such an event – Oh that’s right, no-one for over 20 years has even contemplated supervising such a thing. Very sad for the youngsters of today and my daughter must have got fed up of me telling her how much was laid on for us as teenagers, when she had nothing.

Anyway, this dance was going to have the local band play for us – Lets call them Pyramid (because that was their name). I had seen Pyramid play often as they were usually the band of choice for such events and did a pretty good job of playing cover versions of songs by The Eagles, Ace (remember them), Smokie and so on. We pretty much knew what we were turning up for so the new-fangled straight legged trousers were left at home and the 36 inch flares, wedge-heeled shoes and big-collared, checked shirts were the outfits of choice for that night – A last harrah for them before being relegated to the….. Was going to say charity shop but we didn’t really have them in those days, I think we just wore our clothes until they fell apart. Imagine our surprise therefore after arriving at the venue, to discover that Pyramid had turned into a punk band overnight! Yes, for the next three hours we were treated to the music of The Stranglers, the Sex Pistols, Elvis and his Attractions, Tom Robinson and The Clash. Looking back I think they must have repeated the same songs over and over again but whatever they did, the new boyfriend and I discovered pogoing that night. Certain styles of music make you want to dance in a certain way, and with punk, it definitely made you want to jump up and down.

The bizarre thing of course was that we were pogoing in full American country rock uniform, so it was a real anachronism – Also with all that denim flapping about we got really, really hot so after a few hours of jumping up and down, the time came for us to head off for a (non-alcoholic) beverage. We were casually rehydrating when a call went out that we were needed on stage, as we had won the prize for “Best Pogoing”. Now we certainly didn’t know there was any competition going on and we didn’t know there was going to be a prize but the Community Centre management in their wisdom had planned such a thing, and we were the winners.

So, aged 17, dressed in wide flares, the new boyfriend and I headed up onto a stage in a large draughty sports hall in the North of Scotland, to be presented with prizes for “Pogoing”. Pyramid (ex soft rock turned punk rock band) did the honours and what did the prizes turn out to be? A “His & Hers” gift set – Cufflinks and a Pen for him and Bubble Bath and Smellies for her. Even at that age I found this hilarious – The punk attitude obviously hadn’t quite reached our neck of the woods yet.

As for this song, it still gives me goosebumps as I remember those times. A couple of the friends are no longer even with us, so this one’s for them – If there is an internet in heaven, you are not forgotten.

Alison Lyrics
(Song by Declan Patrick MacManus)

Oh it’s so funny to be seeing you after so long, girl.
And with the way you look I understand
that you are not impressed.
But I heard you let that little friend of mine
take off your party dress.
I’m not going to get too sentimental
like those other sticky valentines,
’cause I don’t know if you’ve been loving somebody.
I only know it isn’t mine.
Alison, I know this world is killing you.
Oh, Alison, my aim is true.

Well I see you’ve got a husband now.
Did he leave your pretty fingers lying
in the wedding cake?
You used to hold him right in your hand.
I’ll bet he took all he could take.
Sometimes I wish that I could stop you from talking
when I hear the silly things that you say.
I think somebody better put out the big light,
cause I can’t stand to see you this way.

Alison, I know this world is killing you.
Oh, Alison, my aim is true.
My aim is true.

Alessi, “Oh Lori” and The Summer of 1977

There has been a lot of talk in my little corner of the blogosphere about what is, and what is not, a guilty pleasure when it comes to songs. Well, to quote my Canadian blogging friend Marie, “PAH to guilty pleasures” and this being the case I am going to share the soft rock, mid ’70s delight that is Oh Lori.

Identical twins Billy and Bobby (you couldn’t make it up) Alessi must have been aged 24 when Oh Lori made it to Number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1977. I on the other hand was just 17 and still at school, but smitten. They had the good looks and more importantly the haircuts of those times, and I will always associate this song with wide denim flares, cheesecloth shirts and that last summer of long school holidays, before life started getting that little bit more serious. We’d had all the festivities relating to the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, our Scottish Higher Grade exams were over and the SS Uganda was waiting to whisk myself and my friends off on a very educational (well maybe not so much) school cruise – Anyone else of my generation spend time on that stalwart vessel?

Of course those were pre-YouTube days and I don’t really think I ever saw Alessi perform the song on television back in 1977, it just always popped on the radio that summer – With this in mind I am now realising that the dreamboat Billy (or was it Bobby) who did the singing, was actually a bit effete and “uncool”. Nothing wrong with that at all, but it seems that my rose-coloured spectacles are yet again flawed when it comes to my memories of those days. Despite his uncool demeanour in this clip however, and his slight lisp, the song is still a firm favourite with most people of my generation – whether they admit it or not!

Oh Lori by Alessi:

Sadly I have discovered that the clip originally included in this post no longer exists and has had to be replaced – The original however had one of my favourite ever scenes from a movie.

I’d like to ride my bicycle with you
On the handlebars
You’d laugh and run away
And I’d chase you through the meadow

Yes, Paul Newman and Katharine Ross made an appearance, ridin’ along in the dappled sunlight on that bicycle in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Totally appropriate for the lyrics to the song and just makes me love it that little bit more.

So, “What’s It All About?” – For me, maybe it’s about getting on my bike (as per Paul and Katherine) out into the real world a bit more, and spending less time in front of a computer. Think I’ve perhaps got my balance a bit out of kilter of late. Until next time however, don’t even think about feeling guilty about enjoying this song – I know I won’t.

Oh Lori Lyrics
(Song by Billy Alessi/Bobby Alessi)

I’d like to stay in love with you
All summer and after fall
I’ll keep you warm through the winter
Because I’ve noticed one thing
This ain’t no summer fling

I’d like to ride my bicycle with you
On the handlebars
You’d laugh and run away
And I’d chase you through the meadow
Without you I’d die
Let’s never say good-bye

Oh, Lori
You bring the spring, the summer, fall
Ooo and winter
By the season
Oh, Lori (oh, Lori)
You make me feel as though I’ve been born again
Born again

You danced for me in your bare feet
That mellow afternoon
When we made love to each other
And I’m loving you
That’s all I want to do

The Eagles, Relationship Trouble and “I Can’t Tell You Why”

I always wondered how I would fit this song into the blog but today seems to be the day. Without giving too much away, someone very close to us is going through heavy duty relationship stuff at the moment and of course it ends up affecting us all.

Until we uploaded all our CDs onto the computer a few years ago I don’t think I would have remembered this song by The Eagles from their 1979 album “The Long Run”, but after rediscovering it, I think it has become the one I gravitate to most from their vast back catalogue – I Can’t Tell You Why is about a broken relationship, and what is to be done about it. Those opening few bars of music followed by the first few lines of lyric, still sends shivers up my spine every time I hear it.

Look at us baby
Up all night
Tearin’ our love apart
Aren’t we the same two people
Who lived through years in the dark
Every time I try to walk away
Somethin’ makes me turn and stay
I can’t tell you why

I Can’t Tell You Why by The Eagles:

Unless you have been really lucky in love you will no doubt recognise what the couple in the song are going through. When all is not going well in a relationship, and the two of you have reached breaking point, there can be these emotional “all-nighters” of discussion and argument which invariably never lead to a satisfactory conclusion. Of course staying up all night to “tear your love apart” is not the wisest choice – As Mama Cass sang, “The darkest hour is just before dawn” and not the time to make life-changing decisions.

The song itself ends up having no real conclusion and leaves the listener with an intentional melancholy (it certainly has that effect on me). The couple in the song are neither reconciled nor torn apart, and the song fades out on this point of uncertainty.

As someone who shared a flat with five other girls as a student, then with three other girls in my twenties, we had our fair share of “relationship-trouble” and there were many emotional all-night sessions like the one in the song. Wouldn’t change any of it however as I think it is a necessary part of the journey to finding “the one” (as per Bridget Jones). Doesn’t mean to say it makes it any easier however to watch your young people suffer as you did in your younger days – Cross fingers all will sort itself out soon as I don’t have the constitution for all this any more, even vicariously.

I have written about The Eagles before and of how their albums were a staple of my high school years, often listened to whilst hanging out at friends’ houses. Their line-up changed several times over the years but in 1977 bass player Timothy B. Schmit replaced Randy Meisner. When he joined the band, he brought a portion of the song I Can’t Tell You Why with him (loosely based on his own experiences). He then worked on it with Don Henley and Glenn Frey who were credited as co-writers. Timothy, he of the enviably long, dark locks, performed lead vocals on it and Glenn Frey (RIP) was once quoted as saying that “I Can’t Tell You Why” and “One Of These Nights” were the two Eagles songs he would put into a time capsule to represent their best work. Sounds fair to me.

So, “What’s It All About?” – This love stuff ain’t always easy and even at my age, I still can’t tell you why…..

I Can’t Tell You Why Lyrics
(Song by Don Henley/Timothy B Schmit/Glenn Frey)

Look at us baby
Up all night
Tearin’ our love apart
Aren’t we the same two people
Who lived through years in the dark

Every time I try to walk away
Somethin’ makes me turn and stay

I can’t tell you why

When we get crazy
It just ain’t right
(Try to keep your head on, girl)
‘Cause girl I get lonely too
You don’t have to worry
Just hold on tight
(Don’t get caught in your little world)
‘Cause I love you

Nothin’s wrong as far as I can see
We make it harder than it has to be

I can’t tell you why
No, baby, I can’t tell you why
I can’t tell you why

Every time I try to walk away
Somethin’ makes me turn around and stay

I can’t tell you why
No, baby, I can’t tell you why
I can’t tell you why
I can’t tell you why, yeah

No, baby
Ooooh, I can’t tell you why

Earth, Wind & Fire, “September” and The Autumnal Equinox

A bit of an unusual post last time, so now for something a bit more conventional. What song would have come to mind in the course of today? Why September by Earth, Wind & Fire of course.

Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away…..

ewf

This song tends to make people happy and it certainly has that effect on me. It was actually a hit for them, not in September, but in the December of 1978 and although Maurice White (who sadly died earlier this year) denied that the date had any other significance than it “sang really well” and was “phonetically fantastic” (not a phrase you hear every day), I find that really hard to believe. He was however a man who put great emphasis into the groove and feel of a song so it could have been the case….. but now we’ll never know.

September by Earth, Wind and Fire:

Having read quite a bit about Maurice White after he died (he essentially was EWF as he wrote the songs, sang the songs and produced the songs), I learnt that the name of the band came from his star sign, Sagittarius, which has the elemental quality of Fire and the seasonal qualities of Earth and Air. Earth, Air & Fire quite rightly didn’t sound right, so Air became Wind (no schoolboy jokes please) and the rest as they say, is history. Maurice had a great interest in astrology and Egyptology and their costumes, and album cover designs, certainly bore that out.

Because of Mr White’s strong spiritual nature, it is entirely appropriate therefore that today’s song should relate to the autumnal equinox. I had a really interesting talk today with a woman at work, who every year celebrates these important dates in nature’s calendar with her sisters. This is the time of year when there is an equal amount of day and night and its Pagan name was Mabon – The harvests are now over and the crops have been stored for the coming winter so it is time to give thanks for the things we have, whether it be abundant crops or other blessings. Well I’m afraid I haven’t contributed to bringing in the crops personally but I am mighty glad that there are others out there who have. A lot of dark nights to look forward to now in Scotland, so traditionally a time to get together with friends and give thanks for the grains needed to conjure up a spot of the old “water of life” or “uisge beatha” (whisky to you and I).

pagan-wheel-of-the-year

But back to the song September, it turns out that Barack Obama is a fan of Earth, Wind & Fire and in 2009 the group became one of the first musical acts to play at the White House after he took office. Being probably the “coolest” president there has ever been, I can just imagine him and Michelle “getting down” on the dancefloor to the sounds of EWF after one of those Presidential Dinners. Tricky Dicky or Dubya he ain’t, and come the new year I’m going to really miss some of his cool Obamaisms.

barack-obama-dancing

Until next time – Happy Mabon!

September Lyrics
(Song by Maurice White/Alee Willis/Al McKay)

Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away

Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing.
As we danced in the night,
Remember how the stars stole the night away

Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day

Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya
Ba de ya de ya de ya de ya

My thoughts are with you
Holding hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love,
Remember how we knew love was here to stay

Now December found the love that we shared in September.
Only blue talk and love,
Remember the true love we share today

Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, never was a cloudy day

Ba de ya, say do you remember
Ba de ya, dancing in September
Ba de ya, golden dreams were shinny days

Love bells was ringing
Our souls were singing
Do you remember, never a cloudy day

Punk, Late ’70s Fashion and The Wrong Trousers

Wrote a very serious post last time so a bit of a change is called for I think. If like me you were aged around seventeen in 1977, you will remember that not only did the musical landscape change quite dramatically that year, so did the trousers!

As we had entered the ’70s, trousers still had a hint of the ’60s about them. They could even be ordered from the music papers and were called “loon pants”. As the decade progressed we often copied the fashion sense of our favourite pop stars and wore flared velvet or satin trousers, as worn by Marc Bolan and Rod Stewart. When Scotland became responsible for the latest teen “mania” by producing those boys-next-door The Bay City Rollers, some of us even took to having a stripe of tartan down the side of our trousers (but not me just to be clear).

loon-pants

Marc Bolan

The Bay City Rollers

In 1976, a stroke of marketing genius by the Brutus Clothing Company made their jeans the must-have brand. David Dundas sang the song for their advert, then had a hit with it later on that year reaching No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was simply called Jeans On and the lyric was changed from “Pull my Brutus jeans on” in the advert to “Pull my old blue jeans on” for the single. Of course I had to have a pair and the must-have top to go with them that year was a cropped, cheesecloth shirt that tied at the midriff. Of course this was not the kind of outfit that parents were too keen on seeing their daughters head off into the night wearing (those were more demure days), so a long jacket was always worn until you made it to the end of your street, after which the jacket came off and went into the (coincidentally very large) handbag.

By this time, jeans were the only type of trouser any self-respecting teen would wear and of course they had to have wide flares. The music of the moment was very much American country rock, and the more we looked like dudes who would hang out on dark desert highways drinking in those tequila sunrises, the better. If like me you were a girl, your shoes would also have sported massive soles and wedge heels – All the better for that swathe of flared trouser fabric to drape across. Cleverly worn, you could add a good few inches to your height, like those circus-type performers who look really, really tall but are simply walking on stilts.

Denim….stilt legs

And more denim….of the double variety

Charlie’s Angels

But of course this is a music blog (or is it a fashion blog tonight?) so what song comes to mind when writing about all of this. Well first of all it was actually a book that came to mind, by Tony Parsons, called Stories We Could Tell. I read it a few years ago but have just downloaded another copy in order to read it again. The story all takes place on one night in August 1977 when a group of diverse, music-loving young people, each have life-changing experiences. It really highlighted how that was a time of real cultural change in the UK and if you were young, like me, you will remember it well. The music of the moment was no longer that of The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, it was punk and new wave. All of a sudden the very American, western-style clothing we wore looked ridiculous, and in order to be part of this brave new world it was imperative you get a pair of tight-fitting, straight-legged trousers, pretty damned quickly.

Always keen to be at the forefront of fashion, I prided myself on being the first of my group to acquire a pair of these new revolutionary trousers – They weren’t even denim, but a very fetching brown corduroy (of the elephant variety). The first time I wore them out, they were the talking point of the night – Everyone wanted to know where I’d bought them and what they cost. Sounds ridiculous now but after years of wearing acres of denim and checked shirts, this new pared down look was definitely something just a bit different.

Debbie Harry

Blondie 1977

Of course we were now used to the new style of music that was sweeping the country but it wasn’t all contrived or out to shock. My favourite punk/new wave band from that period was The Stranglers and in 1977, just after the night at the centre of the book I am about to revisit, they gave us the classic No More Heroes. Their sound (having just looked it up) was driven by Jean-Jacques Burnel’s melodic bass but also gave prominence to Dave Greenfield’s keyboards (every day’s a school day). Hugh Cornwell was the lead singer and quite rightly he didn’t look like a teen idol but his gruff vocals were perfect for the band. Over time, they grew more refined and sophisticated and managed, quite amazingly, to have a record in the UK Singles Chart every year between 1977 and 1992. Summing up their contribution to popular music, critic Dave Thompson wrote, “From bad-mannered yobs to purveyors of supreme pop delicacies, the group was responsible for music that may have been ugly and might have been crude – but it was never, ever boring.” Amen to that.

No More Heroes by The Stranglers:

No More Heroes Lyrics
(Song by Hugh Cornwell/Jean Jacques Burnel/Dave Greenfield/Jet Black)

Whatever happened to Leon Trotsky?
He got an ice pick
That made his ears burn

Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?
The great Elmyra,
And Sancho Panza?

Whatever happened to the heroes?
Whatever happened to the heroes?

Whatever happened to all the heroes?
All the Shakespearoes?
They watched their Rome burn

Whatever happened to the heroes?
Whatever happened to the heroes?
No more heroes any more
No more heroes any more

Whatever happened to all the heroes?
All the Shakespearoes?
They watched their Rome burn

Whatever happened to the heroes?
Whatever happened to the heroes?
No more heroes any more
No more heroes any more
No more heroes any more
No more heroes any more

Postscript:

And if it seems somewhat bizarre to have leapt from writing about Burt Bacharach songs to writing about The Stranglers in one post, the astute amongst you will remember that in 1978 the wonderful Bacharach and David song Walk On By was indeed recorded by The Stranglers (there’s the link). Dionne Warwick it wasn’t but somehow it just worked and was right for the times – Wonder what Burt thought?

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