Well, last time I celebrated publishing my 500th post and also this blog’s 10th birthday, but enough of all that back patting and time to crack on with post 501 and my 11th year of blogging. Thanks to everyone who dropped by to congratulate me though.
In the early days of the blog I was often surprised by how one post led onto another, as a connection I hadn’t hitherto noticed became apparent by the time I got to the end. This happened last time. In my very first post I had shared the song Life On Mars? with the video clip of David Bowie in his pale blue suit, as he had passed away the day before on the 10th of January 2016. For the blog’s 10th birthday and anniversary of his death I decided to share it again, with another Bowie song at the end of the post, Heroes, chosen mainly because again he was wearing a pale blue suit. He was after all voted The Best-Dressed Briton in History.
So, what’s this amazing connection I hear you ask? I had also compared pouring over the new UK Singles Chart back in the ’70s, when David Bowie was at his prime, with the UK Singles Chart of today which I have just started to follow again. Because we consume our music so differently nowadays with downloads and streaming rather than purely physical copies counting towards “sales”, it can look very different. Last year the UK Top 10 was awash with hits from the smash Netflix animated film Kpop Demon Hunters, and for the last two weeks the actor/singer/songwriter Joe Keery/Djo (the handsome Steve Harrington from Netflix’s Stranger Things) has secured the top spot in the Singles Chart with his song End of Beginning.
Last week I was more fixated on my blog’s anniversary to dive deeper into the effect Stranger Things has had on music charts, but now I have, and I will share it with you. For anyone who hasn’t watched Stranger things yet, why not? It’s a drama set in the 1980s, centred on a group of young people from the fictional small town of Hawkins, Indiana. A nearby secretive government research facility experiments on children, and after a young girl called Eleven with psychokinetic powers inadvertently creates a wormhole known as the Upside Down, it connects Earth to a hostile realm. It blends investigative drama with supernatural horror, and references the popular culture of the ’80s. The final episode, of the final season, aired on New Year’s Day here in the UK and after an emotional ending where this little gang of misfits saved the world, the song used for the end credits was David Bowie’sHeroes, suggested by Joe Keery himself.
Because of it’s inclusion in this top rated show, Heroes is now back in the UK Singles Chart along with other relevant songs like Diana Ross’sUpside Down. The soundtrack contains some of the biggest hits of the 1980s and they have been propelled back to fame, the biggest success story being the Kate Bush song Running Up That Hill used to great effect in Season 4 (written about here). After 37 years she finally reached the No. 1 spot in 2022. In Season 5, one of the characters is given a cassette tape with Tiffany’sI Think We’re Alone Now and yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s back in the UK Singles Chart.
I think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany:
Other songs used on the S5 soundtrack are as follows:
When Doves Cry by Prince
Purple Rain by Prince
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac
Here Comes Your Man by Pixies
The Trooper by Iron Maiden
Sweet Jane by Cowboy Junkies
Rockin’ Robin by Michael Jackson (The Jackson 5 version also featured)
Fernando by ABBA
Pretty in Pink by The Psychedelic Furs
I have just checked and eight songs are now back in the current Singles Chart because of Stranger Things, but although I said such lists look very different nowadays because of these popular Netflix shows, maybe it’s selective memory coming into play. I seem to remember in the summer of 1978 most of the songs in the charts were either from the film Saturday Night Fever or Grease (it was a John Travolta summer). Likewise, our Saturday evening cop shows often threw up a hit or two from the stars involved – I’m looking at you David Soul and also you Telly Savalas. Even our own home grown shows could generate successful top-selling artists once Mr Cowell got his hands on them – Robson & Jerome anyone? Maybe things haven’t changed all that much after all.
I Think We’re Alone Now was written and composed by Ritchie Cordell and first recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells. The song was originally written as a romantic ballad, but when James and Cordell recorded a quick demo, they made the song faster. Tommy James later wrote: “Ritchie originally wrote the song as a mid-tempo ballad. I said no way and started speeding it up. I put on a nasally, almost juvenile-sounding lead vocal, and without realizing it, we invented “bubblegum” music.”
Until next time…
I Think We’re Alone Now Lyrics (Song by Ritchie Cordell)
Children behave That’s what they say when we’re together And watch how you play They don’t understand
And so we’re running just as fast as we can Holdin’ on to one another’s hand Tryin’ to get away into the night And then you put your arms around me And we tumble to the ground And then you say
I think we’re alone now There doesn’t seem to be anyone around I think we’re alone now The beating of our hearts is the only sound
Look at the way We gotta hide what we’re doin’ ‘Cause what would they say If they ever knew?
And so we’re running just as fast as we can Holdin’ on to one another’s hand Tryin’ to get away into the night And then you put your arms around me And we tumble to the ground And then you say
I think we’re alone now (alone now) There doesn’t seem to be anyone around I think we’re alone now (alone now) The beating of our hearts is the only sound
I think we’re alone now (alone now) There doesn’t seem to be anyone around I think we’re alone now The beating of our hearts is the only sound
Well, I didn’t know if I could do it but I have timed things to perfection and this will be my 500th post, just ahead of this blog’s 10th birthday, which is tomorrow. 500 posts in 10 years won’t seem like a lot to some of the daily bloggers, but my efforts are usually quite long, require a fair bit of research, and at times I’ve been MIA (regular followers know why), so I’m quite chuffed with myself. Of course the fact I wrote 100 posts in my first 10 months of blogging shows that I’ve really slowed down over the years, but 50 posts per year seems like a good average to me. I hope to get an achievement badge from the WordPress people once I press the publish button on this one, and a birthday badge tomorrow!
I started this blog, by coincidence, the day we heard the news that David Bowie had died, so it was inevitable my first post would feature him. I had planned to write about “music and memories” – pick a song from my past and write about what life was like back then, with a few musical anecdotes thrown in. The decade I was most invested in chart music was the 1970s, as anyone born right at the start of the ’60s will probably agree. The songs you listen to then stay with you for life, and in a Pop Quiz, I am the expert on the Top 30 for those years.
And so it came to pass, on day one of the blog, I was writing a tribute for one of the few true icons (that word is used far too loosely nowadays) this country has ever produced. It didn’t take long for me to realise this would become a pattern as if I was getting older, my pop idols of the ’70s would be getting even older. David Bowie died of cancer, on this day in 2016 at the relatively young age of 69. We didn’t ever have to watch him get really old and infirm which is a bit of a blessing, and right up until his death he was still crowned the best-dressed Briton in history. I’m sure, however, his family would have liked to have had him around for a lot longer.
The very first song I shared around here was therefore Life On Mars? and I have pretty much shared a Bowie song every year since on this date. The film for Life On Mars? (we didn’t yet call them videos) still looks pretty avant-garde today, 53 years on. This leads me to believe I was born at just the right time for a life-long fascination with the theatre, frills and falderals of pop music. In the 1960s we watched our favourite pop stars in black and white, and in the main, especially on UK prime time telly, they were dressed fairly conservatively – men in suits and women in those evening dresses that looked a bit like nighties. It was starting to change at the tail end of the decade but once we started to watch them in colour at the start of the 1970s, glam rock had really taken hold in Britain, and boy were we in for a treat. David Bowie was definitely the most flamboyant but we also had T. Rex, Sweet, Slade and Roxy Music. What a great time to be entering our teenage years and I know many of my blogging pals still hold those years very dear indeed.
Life On Mars? by David Bowie:
Here is something I haven’t mentioned before – last summer I started following the Official UK Charts again, and I get an email every Friday at 6pm telling me what’s changed since the week before. As the months have gone by I’ve become familiar with the runners and riders, but because we consume our music so differently nowadays, via streaming mainly, the charts are nothing like the ones my friends and I used to follow with avid interest in our teens. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the Top 10 was hogged by only three artists, Taylor Swift (with three songs from her The Life of a Showgirl album), Olivia Dean (with three songs from her The Art of Loving album) and three songs from the stars of the animated film, KPop Demon Hunters (the most watched film in Netflix history). The song Golden stayed at the top spot for weeks in the autumn of last year, performed by the fictional, animated, K-pop girl group Huntrix (the first time this had happened since the Archies achieved the same feat in 1969 with Sugar, Sugar).
I don’t think K-pop is really for my generation (you don’t say!) but for the youngsters of today, it seems all pervasive. During the month of December the Top 10 stayed pretty much the same with Wham!’s song at the top spot, Mariah Carey as runner-up and the usual suspects filling the other slots (all songs from 40-60 years ago). Now we are into the new year we’ve had a song that’s been sitting around the Top 10 for quite a while finally reach the top spot (Raye’sWhere Is My Husband!), and yesterday I got an email telling me that it had been replaced by someone called Djo. Who the heck is that I thought, and blow me down, if it isn’t the musical moniker of Stranger Things actor Joe Keery, aka the handsome Steve Harrington. His song End of Beginning was originally released in 2022 and has hovered around the lower rungs of the chart since then, but with Season 5 just having ended his fan base have taken to streaming his song in big numbers. Another Netflix show that has influenced our UK Singles Chart. Here is Joe/Djo with his song.
Well I don’t know about you, but I think the Top 10 of my teenage years was far more innovative and interesting, with big change happening every week. In the interests of research however I will keep tabs on things and give all of you who would rather poke your eye out with a sharp stick than listen to the current Top 10, an update!
I didn’t really expect my 500th post to go this way but I often don’t know what I’m going to write about until I sit down at my computer. The really great thing that’s happened since I started this game 10 years ago, is that I’ve made an awful lot of new like-minded friends, both virtual and in the real world, which I certainly didn’t expect. There are regular features I join in with, like Rol’s Saturday Snapshots, John’s Photo Challenge and Ernie’s Pun Fun. We’ve had four quite big BlogCons in cities all over the UK and a fair few mini meetups with two or three bloggers. It’s not how we made new friends in the old days, but it’s how things happen nowadays, so maybe I shouldn’t be so dismissive of how the teens of today operate.
I’m definitely going to keep going, and if I’m spared I’ll aim for another 500 posts in 10 years. Whether blogging and WordPress will still be around at that point is anyone’s guess, but I hope it survives in some form.
To end, I really think I should share something else by David Bowie on this, the anniversary of his death. Here he is singing 1977’s Heroes [starts at 1:00] at Live Aid in 1985. There is no bright blue eye-shadow this time, but just like in the film above, his hair is tinged with red and he is sporting a well-cut pale blue suit – an homage I suspect. I still have my copy of Words magazine from when the song Heroes was released and back then they wrote, “Of all our current top rock stars, David Bowie is the one most likely to remain a major musical force decades hence… .” And they continue, “Listening to this [Heroes], you realise that Bowie’s strength and durability lies in the fact he refuses to fit neatly into any specific category. He will constantly surprise even his most dedicated followers, while maintaining an unvarying high quality of performance.” They weren’t wrong.
Heroes by David Bowie:
Until next time…
Heroes Lyrics (Song by David Bowie/Brian Eno)
I, I will be king And you, you will be queen Though nothing, will drive them away We can beat them, just for one day We can be heroes, just for one day
And you, you can be mean And I, I’ll drink all the time ‘Cause we’re lovers, and that is a fact Yes, we’re lovers, and that is that
Though nothing, will keep us together We could steal time, just for one day We can be heroes, forever and ever What’d you say?
I, I wish you could swim Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim Though nothing, nothing will keep us together We can beat them, forever and ever Oh, we can be heroes, just for one day
I, I will be king And you, you will be queen Though nothing will drive them away We can be heroes, just for one day We can be us, just for one day
I, I can remember (I remember) Standing, by the wall (by the wall) And the guns, shot above our heads (over our heads) And we kissed, as though nothing could fall (nothing could fall) And the shame, was on the other side
Oh, we can beat them, forever and ever Then we could be heroes, just for one day We can be heroes We can be heroes We can be heroes Just for one day
We can be heroes We’re nothing, and nothing will help us Maybe we’re lying, then you better not stay But we could be safer, just for one day Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Postscript
I did get my achievement badge for publishing 500 posts so have edited it in above. Yeah me.
Welcome to this occasional series where I am attempting a virtual journey around the 50 States of America in song. For anyone new to this place, I have a continuous route map where I enter and leave each state only once. Suggestions for the next leg always welcome!
Well, I’ve been stuck in Delaware since the summer of 2024, but now I’m ready to pick up my route and the next state I’m heading into is Maryland.
Maryland was founded by the 1st Baron Baltimore and it’s most populous city was named after him. Looking at a map of Maryland, it’s a markedly “watery” state, with Chesapeake Bay cutting right through its middle. Its western section contains stretches of the Appalachians and the central part of the state is mainly farmland. National Geographic once dubbed Maryland, “America in Miniature,” due to the fact that nearly every kind of terrain can be found there.
In 1790, the national capital was moved from Philadelphia to land in Maryland selected by the first President George Washington for the creation of the federal government. The land donated was along the north shore of the Potomac River and became Washington DC. The majority of Maryland’s population is concentrated in the cities and suburbs surrounding Washington DC, and in and around Baltimore. Maryland has the highest median household income of any state, owing mainly to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, retail services, public administration, real estate, higher education, information technology, defense contracting, health care, and biotechnology.
There are still strong maritime traditions in the Chesapeake Bay area and the state food is the serving up of blue crabs with Old Bay Seasoning. Maryland has a very distinctive state flag with the Calvert (black/gold) and Crossland (red/white) family coats of arms. The Baltimore Oriole is the state bird, inspiring the name of the baseball team. Johns Hopkins University, the world famous research institution is in Baltimore.
As for film and television, the musical Hairspray follows Baltimore teenager Tracy Turnblad’s dream to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance programme. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show’s integration.
The crime drama The Wire is one of the best things we ever watched on television. The idea for the show started out as a police drama loosely based on the experiences of a former homicide detective and public school teacher. Set and produced in Baltimore, The Wire introduced a different institution of the city and its relationship to law enforcement in each season.
As for celebrities who hail from Maryland, the swimmer Michael Phelps is one as is the actress Goldie Hawn. In the world of music we have the great Billie Holiday as well as Tori Amos, David Byrne and Toni Braxton.
But what song can I share that refers to the state of Maryland? As it turns out the song Moonlight Feels Right by Starbuck has been shared around here before as part of another series, but it does mention Chesapeake Bay so it’s a perfect candidate. It was never a hit in the UK, so although I know the song well it must be from hearing it on the radio over the years. It was however a big hit in the US, Canada and Australia, so I wonder why it didn’t strike a cord over here. To me it just screams 1976 America (as we called it back then), and reminds me of another song from across the pond I also like from that year. Yes, one of the very first songs I ever wrote about around here was I’d Really Love To See You Tonight by England Dan & John Ford Coley. In Scotland, even during a heatwave, it is never warm after dark, so back in 1976 I just loved the idea of those “warm winds blowin’ the stars around”. Likewise, in Moonlight…, we are painted a picture of warm summer evenings by the coast, with the moon and stars shining brightly in the night sky.
I’ll take you on a trip beside the ocean And drop the top at Chesapeake Bay Ain’t nothin’ like the sky to dose a potion The moon’ll send you on your way
You say you came to Baltimore from Ole Miss Class of seven-four, gold ring The eastern moon looks ready for a wet kiss To make the tide rise again
Moonlight Feels Right by Starbuck:
It’s from a long time ago now, but when I wrote about Delaware and mentioned I’d be heading into Maryland next, I did get one song suggestion from Khayem. He wrote:
Try searching The Divine Comedy and Maryland on YouTube and you should find it easily…
I did search and the song he refers to is this one, Maryland Electric Rainstorm, from their 1998 album End Of The Century/Fin de Siècle.
A new road, when on an old man’s bad advice He left to cross the woods, but just Got totally lost, and then The Maryland electric rainstorm broke Over his head, making him wet, upset, then The Maryland electric rainstorm broke everything Soaked through his skin, into his heart and soul
So there we have it, a whistle stop tour of Maryland and not many songs shared. Next time I’ll be heading into West Virginia and I already know that state will throw up a fair few tunes. Please do add your suggestions to the comments boxes if you have any.
Until next time…
Moonlight Feels Right Lyrics (Song by Bruce Blackman)
The wind blew some luck in my direction I caught it in my hands today I finally made a tricky French connection You winked and gave me your O.K. I’ll take you on a trip beside the ocean And drop the top at Chesapeake Bay Ain’t nothing like the sky to dose a potion The moon’ll send you on your way
Moonlight feels right Moonlight feels right
We’ll lay back and observe the constellations And watch the moon smilin’ bright I’ll play the radio on southern stations ‘Cause southern belles are hell at night You say you came to Baltimore from Ole Miss Class of seven-four, gold ring The eastern moon looks ready for a wet kiss To make the tide rise again
Moonlight feels right Moonlight feels right
We’ll see the sun come up on Sunday morning And watch it fade the moon away I guess you know I’m giving you a warning ‘Cause me and moon are itching to play I’ll take you on a trip beside the ocean And drop the top at Chesapeake Bay Ain’t nothin’ like the sky to dose a potion The moon’ll send you on your way
I was saddened to hear of the death Chris Rea just before Christmas. He was just 74 but once you read about the various ailments he had suffered over the years it seems he did well to live that long. In 1995 he got peritonitis and nearly died. Pancreatic cancer came along in 2001 which led to diabetes, and then he had a stroke in 2016. Some people are very unlucky when it comes to health issues whereas others, against all the odds, seem to live a very long and charmed life (I’m looking at some octogenarian band members here).
Most of us know that Chris was a Middlesbrough lad, and his accent confirmed that, but I have just found out that his father was an Italian who had come over to Britain and set up an ice-cream factory. The unusual surname, ending in a vowel, should have given a clue but in the world of music you don’t question such things. Chris apparently started dating his wife Joan when he was just 17 so they were together a very long time – she will be bereft.
Chris Rea blended blues, pop, soul and soft rock and made 25 studio albums, featuring chart hits which included The Road to Hell, Driving Home for Christmas, and tracks such as On the Beach and Josephine that earned popularity in the Balearic dance scene.
The one I’m going to share however is On The Beach from 1986. I had a particularly nice summer that year as I went with the flatmates of the time to Zakynthos in Greece for my first ever all-girls holiday. Two of those flatmates I am going to have a Zoom call with tonight as we have a weekend away to plan. Since the kids have grown up and people have started to retire there is much more time for such adventures, and other than my biological family and the family I created with Mr WIAA, it’s the only other family I’ve ever been part of, the urban family we had for nine years in the Aberdeen of the ’70s and ’80s. Not sure if we’ll be planning a weekend in Zakynthos however.
On The Beach by Chris Rea:
But my beach holiday is not necessarily why I chose to feature this lovely song. I’m going to bore regular readers with a story that I know I’ve mentioned before, but worth retelling I think. One of the flatmates I went on that holiday with ended up moving south in 1987, the same year I moved north to the Highlands (yes, our little urban family had broken up). After moving around a bit over the years she ended up in a lovely house in Berkshire, which had been a gardener’s cottage, but not like any gardener’s cottage I’ve seen. She was too late but it was next door to the house Chris Rea used to own and from which he had recorded the song about the “road to hell” (driving home to Berkshire from London). His recording studio in the garden had shared a party wall with the home office my friend set up there and I often wondered when we went to visit whether On The Beach had actually been made there.
One more story before I go, Chris Rea also had himself a nice summer in 1986 as On the Beach was inspired by a trip to the Spanish island of Formentera off the coast of Ibiza. Chris is quoted as saying, ‘That’s where me and my wife, became me and my wife. That’s what it’s about. Yeah, I was ‘between the eyes of love.’ It’s a lovely island’. In the summer of 1986 I had just come out of a very long relationship which obviously wasn’t going anywhere and is why I was having my first “girls holiday”. We all had a little holiday romance which was exciting indeed but upon my return, looking all tanned and dressed in summery clothes, I met a chap in a local nightspot and instantly fell in love! He worked for a local oil company which was the norm back in the Aberdeen of the 1980s but we spent the next six weeks practically joined at the hip and one of the first things he did was give me the On The Beach album, which I still have. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was, as we just seemed to click so perfectly.
But these chaps who worked for oil companies were slippery characters and as the weeks went by I started to question him about his past and like me he’d had a long-term relationship, but unlike me, he was still in it! I was devastated and felt such a fool. I was out of practice with the rules of dating and had only ever gone out with people whose past I was fully aware of. I had given my ex an ultimatum and accepted that the relationship had to end. My new chap had also been given an ultimatum but was weak, and had a new job lined up in our Scottish capital so they could finally get married (against his will so he said?!). I still believe we had something special that On The Beach summer, and we did speak on the phone a few times after he moved away, but who knows, maybe I was just a massive Fool who was tricked into thinking that. I’ll never know the answer, but I do know he didn’t stay married for long, which is not surprising.
One more song before I go. The version of On The Beach I shared above was the one released as a single, however the original version from the album was a much slower, more contemplative affair. It seems most people now prefer the original, but in case you want to compare and contrast for yourself, here is a clip.
Until next time, RIP Chris Rea, and remember to watch out for slippery characters who work for oil companies.
On The Beach Lyrics (Song by Chris Rea)
Between the eyes of love I call your name Behind the guarded walls I used to go Upon a summer wind there’s a certain melody Takes me back to the place that I know Down on the beach
The secrets of the summer I will keep The sands of time will blow a mystery No-one but you and I Underneath that moonlit sky Take me back to the place that I know On the beach
Forever in my dreams my heart will be Hanging on to this sweet memory A day of strange desire And a night that burned like fire Take me back to the place that I know On the beach
This is my 10th Christmas as a blogger, and boy, how things have changed in those 10 years. Regular followers around here will perhaps know what I am talking about, and I expect most people’s lives will have similarly changed, but to sum up my own situation here are how things were back in 2016. As well as dealing with all the admin attached to Mr WIAA’s business, I was still turning up at work every day to a traditional office where we still used paper, pens and folders. I had work colleagues I sat next to and we had Christmas lunches and nights out. I also however had to look after my mum who lived in a retirement flat nearby, and had an adult DD back living with us after a period of independence. I felt like the squeezed filling in a sandwich. How on earth did I find the time to take up this new hobby called blogging?
The Sandwich Generation: 2016
The first big change happened in 2017 after the walls came down (literally) at my workplace, and the adoption of LEAN working (working from home, hotdesking and no paper at all). I didn’t last long, and threw in the towel later on that year. Time to try new things I thought. That plan however was severely tested as my mum’s health deteriorated and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in early 2018. After struggling on myself for nearly a year, we eventually found a lovely care home for her and she was there for over seven years, only passing away last month. As for DD, she met Mr Right in 2017, moved in with him in 2018 and got married in 2023. They are now happily ensconced in their new house with Alfie the puppy. Strangely enough, despite having more time on my hands now, my blogging output has very much diminished over the years, but what can I say, that first year I was a very keen blogger!
Empty Nesters: 2025
But this time I’m going to look back at a Christmas from much longer ago, 50 years ago, as the 1970s seems to be the decade I return to time and time again around here – the decade when I listened to and consumed the most music. Also I spotted this meme on social media recently and fully agreed with the sentiment (where did all those years go?).
How I feel all the time!
All the mainstream artists of the day released a seasonal ditty back in the ’70s and ironically they are songs we still hear on the radio and on compilations today. Why is this? Well we did consume 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 bothMerry Xmas Everybody and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.
By Christmas 1975, 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. Sadly, Greg was yet another casualty of 2016, my first year of blogging and the year when so many music legends passed away (George Michael, David Bowie, Prince…).
I Believe In Father Christmas by Greg Lake:
Greg wrote this song as an objection to the commercialisation of Christmas which in the intervening 50 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 prog rock fan 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 education-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 me 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, very few contemporary artists have released anything recently that I think will be remembered in 50 years time. Even this year’s festive No. 1 by Kylie, called Xmas, has very little going for it and it seems she is bargaining on inspiring a new dance craze with the four letter title, like the YMCA boys did with their song. I have my doubts.
The Christmas flowers from DD’s in-laws that arrived when I was writing this!
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it from all of us here at WIAA Towers – only myself and Mr WIAA now, but we will be seeing DD and Mr DD on Christmas Eve (they want to spend the big day on their own this year as “it was just so stressful hosting last year” – wish I’d tried that one back in the day!). Have a good one.
Until next time…
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
I feel under pressure. My objective was to have pressed the publish button on 500 posts before this blog reaches its 10th birthday at the beginning of January, but I am now way behind schedule with seven still to write. As regular followers will know, there is a good reason for that, but as I still plan to reach my goal, I’d better get a wiggle on. Time for a web-diary type post.
It’s only 12 days ’til Christmas but I’ve not started thinking about it yet so no festive songs this time. Instead I’ll write about the other big things that have being going on around here over the last three weeks, starting with the trip to London we were advised to still go ahead with despite my mum’s passing. It had been planned for ages and it would be a while until her funeral service so it was a nice respite.
Just about every one of my friends had already seen the ABBA VOYAGE show in their purpose built arena in Stratford, but one who hadn’t, asked me a while back if I wanted to go. Then it turned out her husband wanted to join us so Mr WIAA decided to come too. This was the same couple who came to Eurovision with us 10 years ago, when we dressed up as Bucks Fizz, but this time we decided the outfits were just a little too outlandish (especially the mens’) for people of our vintage so I left my bright blue knickerbockers at home!
The hologrammed ABBA on stage!
As for the show, it certainly was an experience. You are in awe of the technology that allows them to be there on stage…, without them actually being there on stage, and the big wraparound screens showing them up close and personal were spectacular. I thought it would feel as if I was back in 1975 again, but I didn’t, as the arena is far more state of the art with fancy light shows than the small theatres I went to see bands in back then, and of course the audience is generally made up of people of a certain age. In the hour and a half running time however, there were only three songs we didn’t know with the rest all being crowd-pleasers, everyone singing along and dancing to the music. Would I go again? Probably not as I’ve done it now, but I’m glad I did.
Money, Money, Money by ABBA:
The ABBA show was on the Sunday night of our three day trip to London which left plenty of time to do other things. We split up with our friends on the Saturday which was fine as I had got in touch with our blogging pal Ernie Goggins of 27 Leggies to ask if would be willing to show us round his ‘hood? He was going to be available and was happy to do so, which led me to sending out a last-minute invitation to C from Sun Dried Sparrows to ask if she would be able to come through from Suffolk. I thought I had left it too late, but hurrah, she was free too, so we planned to meet up at Liverpool Street Station mid morning.
Ernie took his role as guide very seriously and had planned out a route that took in Brick Lane, Spitalfields Market, Graffiti Alley, The Huguenot Quarter, Shoreditch and The Dissenters Cemetery. The weather was a tad inclement but luckily we managed to fit all that in before the rain really started to pour down, after which we headed to the Barbican where Ernie had worked in his youth so he knew all the nooks, crannies and shortcuts! There we found a great photography exhibition featuring the icon that is Debbie Harry, back in her heyday. A great day was had by all and I now feel familiar with a part of London I had never visited before.
As for the rest of the trip we became very familiar with the Westfield Shopping Centre as our hotel was attached to it, but also The Olympic Park, the Docklands Light Railway and Canary Wharf. There, the tall glass towers housing financial institutions skirted the south side of the old East India Dock, but on the north side there was still Warehouse No. 1 and 2, which had been spared in The Blitz and was now a Museum, celebrating how the docks and wharfs of The Isle Of Dogs had at one point been the busiest in the world.
Crikey, my trip to London has fairly used up a lot of my words so I’ll be brief with the other things that have been going on around here of late. Even if you’re not a football fan it would be impossible to miss that we are now building up to the next FIFA World Cup to be held in North America next year. Scottish fans have not been privileged to watch their national side play in that competition for 28 years, but in a spectacular match against Denmark, where we scored two goals in extra time, we suddenly topped our group so are now definitely going to be taking part. For anyone aged 35 years or less, it will be a first-time experience so excitement is running high although I see the cost of tickets, flights and accommodation is going to be prohibitively high for all but the fans with the most Money, Money, Money. A great shame. Such was the spectacular nature of the goals scored in that last match, the merchandisers have been hard at work, and prints of those goals have been selling fast.
The hero of the night was Scott McTominay who seemed to defy the laws of gravity with his goal. Scott is also namechecked often in this song, already shared around here last year for the Euros, No Scotland No Party. It is true that until the Tartan Army arrive at a tournament, the party has not really begun, so I hope a fair number of them have enough money in their bankies to make the big trip across the pond to Boston and Miami.
No Scotland No Party by Nick Morgan:
We had a birthday in the family yesterday. Yes, Alfie the puppy turned one-year-of-age. We look after him a few times a week so despite not having chosen to own a dog ourselves, he is most definitely now shared by all of us. Needless to say he got a fair few presents and DD baked him some “pupcakes”, so he certainly was a pampered pooch.
Alfie in his new ball-pit with his birthday treat-holder!
What’s It All About, Alfie?by Cilla Black:
The final thing I wanted to share is that last week the charity shop I volunteer in moved to new premises in the centre of town. It’s big and shiny, like a “real shop” but maybe not the kind of place octogenarians are going to be able to help out in. An empty unit became available when quite a large chain clothes shop closed down, so those who plan the shop side of fund-raising quickly snapped it up. I think they had forgotten however that charity shops, in order to make money, rely on volunteers of a certain age to run them and even I was pretty tired after a four hour shift, what with a steady stream of customers queued up at the till, stock to price and replenish, shelves to tidy, and trips up two flights of stairs to fetch things. It feels at the moment like hard graft with no time to chat to your fellow volunteers or engage with customers, which was the fun part. The initial flood of business might tail off, but if it does the shop won’t make Money, Money, Money so a bit of a catch-22.
Although I said we no longer have time to engage with the customers, I did manage a quick chat with a 50-something year old chap with a hipster haircut who bought a clutch of singles, all from the 1980s. In fact it could have been a Who’s Who of people who appeared at Live Aid. I love catching people off guard as I don’t think they expect the volunteers to have much knowledge of the records we sell. I still don’t know why he liked the look of these particular singles so much but one of them was this, The Riddle, by Nik Kershaw. I ended up with an earworm that lasted several days, and I still don’t know what it’s all about!
Until next time…
Money, Money, Money Lyrics (Song by Benny Andersson Bjoern Ulvaeus)
I work all night, I work all day To pay the bills I have to pay Ain’t it sad? And still there never seems to be A single penny left for me That’s too bad
In my dreams I have a plan If I got me a wealthy man I wouldn’t have to work at all I’d fool around and have a ball
Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man’s world Money, money, money Always sunny In the rich man’s world
Aha-aha All the things I could do If I had a little money It’s a rich man’s world It’s a rich man’s world
A man like that is hard to find But I can’t get him off my mind Ain’t it sad? And if he happens to be free I bet he wouldn’t fancy me That’s too bad
So I must leave, I’ll have to go To Las Vegas or Monaco And win a fortune in a game My life will never be the same
Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man’s world Money, money, money Always sunny In the rich man’s world
Aha-aha All the things I could do If I had a little money It’s a rich man’s world
I am time poor this week, as for the first time in my life I’ve had to do jury duty. Also, it looks as if I might be tied up for a while, so to keep up my new regime of posting something weekly, I’m going to borrow from a post I wrote right at the start of my blogging career and doesn’t seem to have ever been read. The reason I’ve chosen to revisit this particular post and song is because I save things I find funny on social media, and I did recently find this little cartoon funny. Probably for those of us of a certain age.
First published 9th April 2016
Most people will have heard the song A Horse With No Name by America at some point in their lives. It was a hit in the UK for them in 1971 but it turns out they were actually from Ruislip outside London. Would seem a bit bizarre if not for the fact all three band members had US Airforce Officer fathers who were based over here, and that is how they met. There is no escaping the fact their music is very much in the style of Neil Young, and Crosby, Stills and Nash, but that was exactly what they intended so it worked well for them. I have written before about how kids like myself who came from rural Scotland, found this kind of music very exotic and otherworldly. We had no dark desert highways or tequila sunrises, we certainly didn’t have warm winds blowing the stars around, and we wouldn’t have dreamt of crossing a desert on a horse with no name. Oh no, plenty of cows and sheep where I came from and lots of lush grass, but the whole desert imagery thing was something well beyond our ken.
A Horse With No Name by America:
The amusing thing for me about this “desert” song, is that it was actually recorded in the UK, at a studio in Puddletown, Dorset (you couldn’t make it up). It was released here first and it was not until the following year that it was a hit in the US.
But back to the song. For me, it will always be associated with my school days. In Primary School I always wore my long hair tied back in a ponytail so it was inevitable that the joker of the class would assign me an “equine” nickname. Too embarrassing to spill the beans here but suffice to say it was all done in jest and never caused upset. When we moved up to Secondary School I found myself in the same class for most subjects as the joker from my junior school days. The ponytail had long gone, but of course the song A Horse With No Name had well and truly become a part of our musical memories, so for the next six years I often found myself sitting in class, concentrating on a tricky maths or physics problem, suddenly realising that this song was being quietly hummed in the background for my benefit. Sadly we have now lost touch, but I swear that if our middle-aged selves met up again today, I would get a big smile, would be greeted with my old nickname, and given a few bars of A Horse With No Name. Funny how some things stick.
Until next time…
A Horse With No Name Lyrics (Song by Dewey Bunnell)
On the first part of the journey I was looking at all the life There were plants and birds and rocks and things There was sand and hills and rings The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz And the sky with no clouds The heat was hot and the ground was dry But the air was full of sound
I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name ‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain La, la …
After two days in the desert sun My skin began to turn red After three days in the desert fun I was looking at a river bed And the story it told of a river that flowed Made me sad to think it was dead
You see I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name ‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain La, la …
After nine days I let the horse run free ‘Cause the desert had turned to sea There were plants and birds and rocks and things there was sand and hills and rings The ocean is a desert with it’s life underground And a perfect disguise above Under the cities lies a heart made of ground But the humans will give no love
You see I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name ‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain La, la …
Last time I wrote about the death of Robert Redford and of how I had been a big fan during my late teenage years. I even shared an old photo of the large poster I had of him on my bedroom wall. The time before that, I wrote about having spent a lot of time this summer reconnecting with very old friends, and of how it had been such a joy reminiscing about those things that made us friends in the first place. This week I discovered the sequel series to one of my favourite ever shows on telly, Sex and the City, featuring Carrie Bradshaw and her pals, and all three subjects have somehow converged to create this post.
The day I heard Robert Redford had died I was due to visit a friend for the evening as her husband was away and she had the house to herself. A film, a few snacks and a couple of supermarket cocktails is how we usually roll (we’re cheap dates), but this time I made the special request to watch The Way We Were, my favourite Robert Redford weepie. It also starred Barbra Streisand and covered the period from when their characters, Hubbell Gardiner and Katie Morosky, first met at college right through to the years they lived together in a beach house in Malibu, him writing for the Hollywood film industry and her primarily a housewife, albeit one with very strong political views.
Barbra Streisand doesn’t sing in that one but she did record the theme song of the same name, The Way We Were, where the lyrics detail the troubled relationship her character had with with the aforementioned Hubbell Gardiner.
The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand:
The very final scene of the film, however, jumps forward many years to New York [spoiler alert: they are no longer together] where Katie and Hubbell meet by chance in front of the Plaza Hotel – Katie is campaigning to Ban the Bomb. It’s a difficult encounter (“Your girl is lovely, Hubbell.”) as they have so much history and still probably love each other, but they both have new lives and partners, and have to ultimately part with a tender, bittersweet farewell. This scene always makes me break down in tears but because of the meds I’ve been on since being ill, I have lost the ability to cry – I had to make do with just being really sad instead. Here is a clip of that scene:
That emotional final scene
Ironically I had never watched The Way We Were all the way through until it was referenced in an episode from the original series of Sex and the City. It became one of my favourite scenes when Carrie finally realises that her failed relationship with Big (the nickname her ex-boyfriend was given because he was supposed to be The Big One, the one she married) was down to the same reason that it didn’t work out for Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were. The world is made up of “complicated girls” with wild curly hair (Carrie and Barbra) and “simple girls”, the ones with tame straight hair. Big and Hubbell chose the simple girls.
The HubbellMoment
Even before Redford’s death, I had already been thinking about Hubbell Relationships ahead of my recent trip to The Granite City, my old stomping ground. My trip was purely to meet up with as many old friends as I could and it was really successful – even after more than 45 years apart, the meet-ups I had with old school friends were joyous affairs, with so much to reminisce about.
One person I would have loved to meet up with is mentioned around here often as he is kind of “My Hubbell”. We shared a love for ’70s/’80s music so he pops up in my posts as the s/bf (school boyfriend), again as the s/bf (student boyfriend) and sometimes the BOTT (the boyfriend of the time), when we were in our 20s. Many of us have a Hubbell, and there is no-one from those days I would have more to reminisce about with, but it just isn’t possible. We didn’t particularly part on bad terms, but it became obvious, again like with Hubbell and Katie, that we weren’t “going to make it”. I’m not particularly complicated and certainly don’t have wild curly hair like Carrie Bradshaw but the situation at the end was quite complicated, so there has been very little communication in nearly 40 years. I know Mr WIAA would get on well with him, as they are very alike, but bar bumping into each other outside the New York Plaza, probably not going to happen.
Do you have a Hubbell or a Katie, someone you shared so much with but then never saw again, or did you stay “friends”? I would love to hear about it in the comments boxes.
There have been lots of film clips in this post and not much music, but just the way it’s turned out. I feel I have to add the lyrics to The Way We Were despite them being a tad oversentimental (you don’t say!). The song was written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, and Marvin Hamlisch, and it won two Academy Awards. The single was also a commercial success becoming 1974’s most successful recording in the United States placed at number one on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100. In the UK we are probably all more familiar with the Gladys Knight & The Pips version, also from 1974, where she did a bit of a mash-up with the song Try To Remember.
Try To Remember/The Way We Were by Gladys Knight& The Pips
Until next time…
The Way We Were Lyrics (Song by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman/Marvin Hamlisch)
Mem’ries light the corners of my mind Misty water-colored memories of the way we were Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then Or has time re-written every line? If we had the chance to do it all again Tell me, would we? Could we?
Mem’ries may be beautiful and yet What’s too painful to remember We simply choose to forget
So it’s the laughter we will remember Whenever we remember the way we were The way we were
I wish this anniversary had fallen on a Saturday as it would have felt more in keeping somehow, but no, the 40th anniversary of Live Aid day has fallen on a Sunday and like back then, the weather on the 13th of July in the North of Scotland is sweltering. Yes, the heatwave that had so far passed us by has finally arrived.
I finally got round to writing down my memories of that day five years ago on the 35th anniversary, and pretty much all of it still holds true, so a bit of lazy blogging from me today that I hope some new followers of the blog will enjoy (just substitute the number 35 for 40). I noticed that I made no mention of how we donated to the cause back then and to be honest I can’t remember – I used only cash and cheques in 1985, not plastic, so no phone-in for me – but everywhere we went there were buckets being passed around collecting money so we must have done it that way.
In the run up to the anniversary a BBC doc has been aired called Live Aid at 40: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took on the World and last night I watched the sequel which is the concert itself, shown in two parts. There was much about the politics of it all that really didn’t register with me at age 25, but back then it just felt good that through our favourite pop and rock stars we were able to do our bit to help the famine in Africa. 40 years on there is still famine around the world and again mainly down to politics – when will it ever end? A takeaway from rewatching the concert again last night was that compared to how it would be today, it was very male, very white and there were an awful lot of too tight pale blue jeans. Anyway, here is my post from five years ago, and yes, my flatmate of the day is still one of my best friends despite having lived at the opposite end of the country for most of the intervening years. Some things change a lot, but others thankfully never do.
First posted 13th July 2020:
‘It’s twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it’s time for Live Aid’
Those were the words that kicked off probably the most memorable fund-raising event in rock and pop history, and this week was its 35th anniversary. On Monday morning, after being reminded of the date, I decided to revisit my DVD boxset of the event and over the course of the week I’ve watched it all, and taken notes. Sadly these notes fill 12 pages of my shorthand notebook, so I have absolutely no chance of condensing my thoughts into a format suitable for a blog post. I do however remember how I spent the day, so before my aging memory lets me down, I think I’ll approach it that way.
You have to be of a certain age to remember Live Aid at all, mid 40s or older I suspect, but if you do, you’ll probably remember it was held on a glorious, hot summer’s day, the like of which doesn’t often fall on a Saturday in Scotland. I was a big music fan, but the concert would go on all day, so what did my flatmate and I do just before 12 noon on Saturday, the 13th July, 1985? We went to the local park of course!
Aberdeen’s Duthie Park
I was prepared however and had brought a small transistor radio with me, so although we weren’t watching the action live on telly we did hear the opening act,Status Quo, Rockin’ All Over The World. Had I been watching on telly, I would have known that Paul Weller, who was next up with his Style Council, was looking very summery and dare I say healthy that day in his white trousers, but we only had this crackly radio. By 1 pm it was obvious we should head back to our cool, granite, second floor flat. The day had become just too hot and we were missing out on all the action.
Over the next few hours we watched the following artists perform on stage at Wembley in front of an audience of 72,000. Everyone that day was hot and bothered, there is no doubt, but also having the time of their lives.
The Boomtown Rats, Adam Ant, Ultravox, Spandau Ballet, Elvis Costello, Nick Kershaw, Sade, Sting, Phil Collins, Howard Jones, Brian Ferry and Paul Young.
Watching this segment of the concert now, 35 years on, it was a veritable Who’s Who of mid ’80s chart toppers (with organiser Bob Geldof included of course). The dress code of the day seemed to be either black leather or baggy white clothing depending on your musical leanings, but those who opted for white definitely suffered less in the baking heat. There were mullets of all persuasions too, even amongst those who were thinning on top (Phil Collins). The quality of the singing was less than perfect, but hey, there had been little time to rehearse or prepare for this massive event so hats off to them for committing, as some did not and later regretted it. Final observation – so many saxophones! The instrument of choice for the mid ’80s it seems.
And here is where the day was punctuated with another break from the telly, as the oil company I worked for at the time was hosting a barbeque for its staff that very evening. The flatmate and I duly got ready to head along Queen’s Road to the spot overlooking Rubislaw Quarry (from which Aberdeen was built) where many of these corporate HQs were based. Before we left however we caught the performance by U2 which is often cited as having elevated them to superstardom. Bono was tiptoeing around in his tight black leather trousers and long boots, but after spotting a girl in the crowd, jumped down into the mud at the front of the stage and helped save her from being crushed. They missed out on playing their third song but it was a sign of things to come from him, for sure.
My workplace at top left
So, we arrived at my workplace in the early evening, but bowing down to pressure from their staff, it had been decided to install a big screen in the underground carpark so we could watch the concert whilst eating the fine barbequed food only an American company could serve up. My workmate was there with her new boyfriend, so was on a bit of a high. As was often the case however with these office romances in Aberdeen, it later transpired he had a wife who lived elsewhere whom he’d conveniently omitted to tell her about. They were slippery characters some of these chaps we worked with who often broke our hearts.
But back to the concert, we were now lined up on chairs watching scenes coming live from Wembley on the big screen. I’m not going to describe the Philadelphia concert here as would get far too bogged down, and anyway, it just wasn’t a patch on our set-up. Wembley, with its enclosed stadium, twin towers and greenery all around, looked beautiful on that hot summer’s day whereas the JFK Stadium in Philadelphia looked like a makeshift set of scaffolding surrounded by carparks and interstate highways.
As the day wore on the stakes were raised and artists of more legendary status started to appear on stage. First up we had Dire Straits but then we had the band who is generally thought to have stolen the show that day, Queen. I have written about their Live Aid performance around here before and it’s my second most visited post ever (link here) so won’t repeat myself, but Freddie was on especially fine form that day and owned the stage, encouraging the crowd to sing along in unison. His sustained “Aaaaaay-o” during the a cappella section came to be known as the note heard round the world. The last time I wrote about their set on Live Aid day I shared Radio Gaga, but having watched them again this week, the song they finished with was We Are The Champions which was almost as perfect. They certainly were champions that day.
We Are The Champions by Queen
It’s obvious watching this footage that Queen’s set took place just as the sun had gone down, but it wasn’t yet dark. This is my favourite time of the day for any outdoor event as there’s a certain magic about it. No harsh sunlight but not a total absence of light either. In Scotland it’s called The Gloaming and a very special time of the day. Up in Aberdeen it wouldn’t be gloaming for a while yet, so we sat tight and carried on watching the big screen.
Next up was David Bowie, looking very dapper in a powder blue suit and pointy black patent shoes. Another great performance and quoted as being “his last triumph of the 1980s”. He was followed by The Who who hadn’t played together for three years. No powder blue suit for Roger Daltrey, oh no indeed. As ever he had his shirt open showing off his hairless, suntanned torso. Roger must be doing something right in terms of looking after himself, as at the grand old age of 76 he still looks pretty good today, and I imagine the bare-chested look is something he still favours.
But this was Saturday night in the big city and one by one people were drifting off. The hostelry of choice for 20-somethings in 1985 was the Dutch Mill on Queen’s Road, so leaving the concert behind for a while, my flatmate and I headed in that direction. In those pre-mobile phone days, it was highly likely you would bump into most of your friends on a weekend evening, but when we got there on the evening of the 13th July, it was dead, as everyone was at home watching Live Aid. We had a quick drink then walked the short distance back to our flat in the city centre.
The Dutch Mill, Aberdeen
Once home we settled back into our large beige and brown sofa (it was the ’80s) and turned on our Radio Rentals telly. I can’t be sure, and I would be lying if I said I was, but the artist following on from The Who was Elton John so if we did get back in time for his set that’s who we would have watched next. Having viewed the boxset this week, Elton performed a couple of duets, first with his old mucker Kiki Dee, and then joy of joys, with the person I have written about most around here, George Michael.
I have mentioned the making of the Band Aid single before, and how the Wham! boys George and Andrew weren’t treated with much respect that day by the other artists, being proponents at the time of feel-good pop tunes. But here we were just six months on and Elton John saw fit to ask George to sing Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me with him. He said he was “a great admirer of his musical talent” when introducing him, and I have to say he gives an impeccable performance here. Also, unlike many others that day, he was dressed simply in jeans, white T-shirt and black leather jacket which is kind of timeless (we’ll ignore the fact it was dark and he’s wearing shades). His Live Aid appearance has stood the test of time and he went on to great things whereas those who had laughed at him are perhaps long forgotten.
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me by George Michael and Elton John:
The Wembley concert finished off with a set by Paul McCartney who had been persuaded out of retirement for the event. Sadly he was the only artist on the night to experience microphone failure, so the audience missed out totally on one of his songs. It was fixed quite quickly but typical it had to happen to him. Once finished, he and Bowie raised Bob Geldof up on their shoulders, and then, along with the rest of the performers from the day (and a few others it seems) they launched into a version of Do They Know It’s Christmas?, the charity single that started the whole thing off. The first two lines were a bit ropey, sung by Bowie and Bob, but then they wisely handed the mic over to a safe pair of hands in the form of George Michael, who very confidently took over.
I think we spent a good few hours in front of the telly that night as we then watched the rest of the Philadelphia Live Aid concert, which would go on for a fair while yet due to time differences. The programmers also revisited ‘the best bits’ of the day, so by the time I went to bed in the early hours, I’d pretty much seen everything.
So, ‘What’s It All About?’ – I’m not going to get into the whole criticisms and controversy aspect of Live Aid. All the money may not have got to the right places, at the right time, but around 1.9 billion people watched the concerts that day and over £150 million was raised. There is no denying, the publicity generated meant that western governments could no longer ignore humanitarian crises. Through rock ‘n’ roll, the common language of the planet, an issue that was not hitherto on the political agenda, became so.
As for this post, it was for my own benefit really, as I have never documented My Live Aid Day and always wanted to. The flatmate I spent it with FaceTimed me the other day and is coming up to visit next month (as long as that pesky virus is kept under control) and the workmate with the broken heart soon got over it, and we still keep in touch via Christmas cards. The boyfriend of the time chose to spend that summer travelling round France with a work colleague, so missed out on Live Aid totally. Needless to say he soon became the ex-boyfriend upon his return, and we are definitely no longer in touch.
How did you spend your Live Aid day? I have met a few people over the years who were actually at Wembley for the concert and I love hearing their stories. If you have any, I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time…
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me Lyrics (Song by Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
I can’t light no more of your darkness All my pictures seem to fade to black and white I’m growing tired and time stands still before me Frozen here on the ladder of my life
It’s much too late to save myself from falling I took a chance and changed your way of life But you misread my meaning when i met you Closed the door and left me blinded by the light
Don’t let the sun go down on me Although I search myself, it’s always someone else I see I’d just allow a fragment of your life to wander free But losing everything is like the sun going down on me
I can’t find the right romantic line But see me once and see the way feel Don’t discard me just because you think I mean you harm But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal
Oh, don’t let the sun go down on me Although I search myself, it’s always someone else I see I’d just allow a fragment of your life to wander free Cause’ losing everything is like the sun going down on me
Don’t let the sun go down on me Although I search myself, it’s always someone else I that see, yeah I’d just allow a fragment of your life to wander free baby, oh Cause’ losing everything is like the sun going down on me
WIAA: Alyson, like Nathan Jones, you’ve been gone too long. What’s happened?
ALYSON: I know WIAA, it’s been far too long and I have no legitimate excuse either. I never wanted to be one of those bloggers who was “no longer in the field” but I can see how it happens. Only another 7 months until my blog’s tenth birthday though, and I really want to make it to that date.
WIAA: You can do it Alyson, I have every faith in you.
ALYSON: Despite saying I have no legitimate excuse for my absence, I kind of do. DD has hijacked my blog’s title and set up one of her own – all because she has a new puppy in her life called, wait for it…, ALFIE!
Alfie by Cilla Black:
WIAA: Well, he certainly is a cute bundle but I’ll bet he’s keeping you on your toes.
ALYSON: He certainly is. We kept pointing out that it would be really difficult owning a dog when she and her other half work full-time, but of course that “minor” stumbling block was ignored, as I think she knew, come the hour, we would step in and help out with him. To be fair, DD does work from home a lot so it’s not been too full on yet, but we are roped in for puppy-sitting a few times a week. Mr WIAA is very fond of Alfie but I’m already totally smitten.
He likes slippers! Wait until the end to see his cute face.
So, what’s the obvious song to feature for someone like me who was aged 12 in 1972? Why that would be Donny Osmond’s massive No. 1 hit called Puppy Love. As regular visitors to this place might already suspect, I was a big fan of this boy from Utah who had a gorgeous smile and an awful lot of brothers. Although I’ve already shared around here the first album I ever bought with my own money (an Elvis one), I have never admitted to the second one. That would be because it was indeed a Donny Osmond one, Portrait Of Donny. It came with signed photos and I very naughtily told my friends I had written to Donny and he had sent them back to me. A lie to be sure, and I don’t think anyone believed me when they scrutinised the pictures, but hey, I was a pre-teen with a big crush who had a Donny transfer ironed onto her pillowcase and a pair of brushed denim flares with his name embroidered on the patch pocket (in chain stitch done by my own fair hand).
But of course it is no longer 1972 and I am no longer a pre-teen, and once their early ’70s heyday was over, it became really quite uncool to be a fan of any Osmond family member. What I thought would be interesting would be to see a clip of the song’s writer, Paul Anka, performing it in 1960. Not a song about a canine at all, but about teenage love, and how no-one understands it’s intensity – although we’ve all been there.
Paul Anka was a Canadian, who like Donny, was a bit of a teen idol. Unlike Donny he self-penned most of the songs he recorded and is famed for having written the English lyrics to the song My Way, Frank Sinatra’s signature song. Paul had a bit of a career resurgence in the 1970s and I do remember his song from 1974, (You’re) Having My Baby. My dad did a bit of a double-take when he heard me listening to that one, probably hoping it would be quite some time until I would be having anyone’s baby (it took another 20 years actually!).
The last word should go to the real puppy though, Alfie. He came along just before St Valentine’s Day so of course he had to arrange a card for his new owner/mum. Very apt I think.
Thanks to my blog for prompting me to get blogging again.
Until next time…
Puppy Love Lyrics (Song by Paul Anka)
And they called it puppy love Oh, I guess they’ll never know How a young heart really feels And why I love her so
And they called it puppy love Just because we’re, we’re 17 Tell them all it-, please, tell them, isn’t fair To take away my only dream
I cry each night my tears for you My tears are all in vain I hope and I pray that may, maybe someday You’ll be back (you’ll be back) in my arms (in my arms) once again (You’ll be back in my arms once again)
Someone, help me, help me, help me, please Is the answer up above? How could I, oh, how could I tell them This is not a puppy love? (This is not a puppy love)
Someone, help me, help me, help me, please Is the answer up above? How could I ever tell them This is not a puppy love? (This is not a puppy love)
Postscript:
As I’ve had such a positive feedback to this one I shall cast my embarrassment aside and also share the clip of Donny singing his song, with his brothers doing a bit of backup singing. They all had their individual costume colour and Donny’s was purple. It therefore became the favourite colour of many a preteen girl around then!
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