Category: RIP 2026

The Tartan Army On Tour, A Sad Loss For The Town and Who Is Going To Topple Sam & Olivia?

Well, I was wrong. A few weeks ago I predicted that few members of the famous Tartan Army of Scotland football supporters would be able to afford the extortionate prices being charged to head to the US for the 2026 World Cup. Instead they have first wowed the people of Boston, then the people of Miami, with their ability to party en masse whatever the result of the match they are there to watch. Bars have been drunk dry, bagpipes have been played, friendships have been forged and cones put on the heads of statues.

We Have A Dream by BA Robertson, John Gordon Sinclair and The Scotland World Cup Squad:


At no point has there been any trouble as the good reputation of The Tartan Army is paramount to all involved. They are in effect self-policing and I can only imagine the “talking to” anyone who stepped out of line would get. There is even a prediction that there will be a baby boom in Boston in nine months time – lots of ginger-haired babies being born and named Angus or Hamish.

Could It Happen?

As for the World Cup itself, I was excited as I’ve watched every one since Mexico in 1970 but this time, although great that Scotland were actually there, our matches have all landed at really unsocial hours due to the time difference, so not easy to stay awake and have friends over. I even have to admit that due to coinciding with our Take That Circus Tour weekend, we ended up sleeping through the match that took place during the night we got back, as we were so tired. Anyway, the party is nearly over as it seems there is now little chance that Scotland will progress beyond the group stage due to a pretty disastrous match against Brazil. Yes, The Tartan Army partied on despite the result, but it was a tad embarrassing to watch. England have already progressed beyond the group stage so the result of tonight’s match is academic, but I will stay up to watch it anyway. Let’s see how far they get this time under the tutelage of new manager Thomas Tuchel.

In other news it’s been a sad few days for our town. I was supposed to be at a fund-raising quiz last night and a whole weekend of events had been planned by a local businessman. On Wednesday we got a call from Mr WIAA’s sister saying the quiz was now off – we weren’t too surprised as it was going to be held outdoors and the forecast was for torrential rain, but then she told us the real reason why. The local businessman, a good friend of my brother-in-law, had died suddenly that day.


We were so shocked and there has been an outpouring of grief in our town as just about everyone knew him. From the age of 20 he first ran the shop at our local park, then he added the boating pond, the crazy golf course and an outdoor coffee shop. Anyone with children, grandchildren or dogs (there was a pup menu) had interacted with him over the years as he was such a jovial, friendly and generous chap. The gates to his premises are now closed and many, many bouquets of flowers have been left on the railings. He was only 54 and had a young family. I am glad that my plan to pack as many bucket-list type things into a year has begun, as… you just never know. Going to the park will never be the same again. Cue Itchycoo Park by the Small Faces from 1967. The song’s name was apparently derived from the nickname for Little Ilford Park, near where the Small Faces’ singer and songwriter Steve Marriott grew up. The “itchycoo” nickname was attributed to the stinging nettles which grew there.


But back to the here and now. I deliberately haven’t updated my followers on what is topping the UK Singles Chart for a few weeks now as I was waiting for the Sam Fender/Olivia Dean collaboration Rein Me In to permanently drop from the No. 1 spot. As it turns out, that hasn’t happened and the new chart released yesterday at 6pm places it back at the top. That’s now 14 weeks at No. 1 and exactly a year since it entered the chart. What a success story for the pair.

In the three weeks Rein Me In dropped down the chart (by one place), two songs took up the mantle. First of all it was Ariana Grande’s, Hate That I Made You Love Me, from her latest album Petal. It feels a bit lacklustre to me but the video is certainly compelling and in the style of a 1950s horror movie.


Another pop princess made the top spot for two of those three weeks – Taylor Swift with I Knew It, I Knew You from the newly released Toy Story 5. This song I like much better. It’s an upbeat country pop ballad written by Taylor after seeing the film. Written from the perspective of Jessie, the lyrics are about the narrator’s unexpected reunion with a loved one. If you don’t know who Jessie is, or any of the Toy Story characters, why not? The first film came out a bit before DD was born but a friend loaned us a copy of the video (remember those?) when she was old enough to watch such fodder.


It was brilliant and the jealousy experienced by the old-fashioned cowboy doll named Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), for new space cadet action figure Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) leads to some hilarious exchanges. No-one wants to be replaced as a favourite toy but their owner Andy is torn. The character Jessie appears in the second film in the franchise. The best Pixar films of all time, in my humble opinion.


So, “What’s It All About?” – Once the group stage is past, the football matches in the World Cup are at the knock-out stage. If you can stand the stress of penalty shootouts there will no doubt be a few of those. I hope England do well as it extends the excitement.

I have no idea when the facilities at the local park will reopen but it’s certainly going to make for a very different summer for schoolchildren on their holidays. Not easy to do I know, but makes you realise you can’t keep putting things off.

Who knows what will top the UK Singles Chart next Friday but not many artists have ever had such a long run as Sam and Olivia. Well done them.

Until next time…

I Knew It, I Knew You Lyrics
(Song by Taylor Swift)

I knew you
Through the daze of the blades of the grass in summer
Parachutes for the free fall of being younger

I memorized the sound of your bare footsteps running wild
It’s been a long time
Life has ways of leaving those days behind
But seeing you tonight

I remembered I loved you
Came back when it mattered
I saw you, standing there in the light of the window
Wearing that same smile
Man, it’s been a while
But I knew it, I knew you
I knew it, I knew you

I knew you, all your blues like a mood ring changing colors
You did too, there were times we could fight like brothers

I watched you drive around the bend
For what I thought would be the last time I saw my friend
But love has ways of bringing things back to life
All you said was, “Hi”

And I remembered I loved you
Came back when it mattered
I saw you, standing there in the light of the window
Wearing that same smile
Man, it’s been a while
But I knew it, I knew you
I knew it, I knew you
I knew it, I knew you

Oh, the rivers I cried when we said goodbye
Wondering if I’d made it up in my mind
But now you look me in the eye

And you told me I loved you
Came back when it mattered
I saw you, standing there in the light of the window
Wearing that same smile
Yeah, it’s been a while
Oh
Wearing that same smile
Man, it’s been a while
Wearing that same smile
Man, it’s been a while
But I knew it, I knew you

I knew it, I knew you
Wearing that same smile
I knew it, I knew youI knew it, I knew you
I knew it

Postscript:

In case you don’t know the story of why fans have been placing traffic cones on statues out in the US, this is why. Back in the 1980s, late night revellers in Glasgow had been known for playfully placing a traffic cone atop the head of the Duke of Wellington’s large equestrian statue in Queen Street. This carried on for many years, costing the City Council a lot to continually remove it. Following a massive public petition in 2013, the council relented and the cone has been allowed to remain. The monument has become a beloved symbol of Glaswegian irreverence and humour with Banksy even calling it his favourite piece of artwork in the UK.

That Long Hot Summer, “Sylvia’s Mother” and RIP Dennis Locorriere

I was saddened to hear that the primary vocalist from the band Dr Hook, Dennis Locorriere, passed away last weekend at the age of 76. Although he was an American, born in New Jersey, he had been living in East Sussex with his third wife for some time.

If like me you turned 16 during that long hot summer of 1976, you will no doubt remember the song Love You A Little Bit More by Dr Hook. It got stuck at the No. 2 spot on the UK Singles Chart throughout the whole school holidays, being kept off the top spot by Elton and Kiki’s song, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. I was cross, as I thought the Dr Hook song was the better one and impossibly romantic to the teenage me. And, Dennis’ husky voice, just so… mmm.

A Little Bit More by Dr Hook:


The joke is of course that this is obviously a song about makin’ love, but at 16 I knew little about all that malarkey let alone staying up to greet the sun. In fact until I was a teenager I had thought “making love” was finding someone really special and then launching into a dance with them. I blame this couple, Fred and Ginger, who ruined me for the real life teenage fumbles that came along down the line. They were forever “making love” to each other, but both were always fully clad (impeccably so) and the prelude to running off to get married was a beautiful song, a dance and a peck on the cheek. All down to the Hays Code of course, a rigid set of industry guidelines applied to most films released by major studios from 1934. The code spelled out unacceptable content such as drugs, profanity, and sex. Thus my confusion.

Fred and Ginger “Making Love”


But the next song is one we all probably remember, Sylvia’s Mother, from 1972. At this point the band were still known as Dr Hook & the Medicine Show, the name originally inspired by Ray Sawyer’s eyepatch, a reference to Captain Hook of Peter Pan fame. The multi-talented Shel Silverstein wrote all the songs for the band’s self-titled debut album, released in May 1972, where Dennis performed lead vocals, guitar, bass and harmonica. The album was awarded a gold disc. The single from the album, Sylvia’s Mother, based on a real life conversation the songwriter had with the mother of an ex-girlfriend, became the band’s first million-seller and reached the No. 2 spot on the UK Singles Chart. Dennis said he loved story songs as when you’re singing you have to be a bit of an actor, and “be that guy in the phone booth”. He even met up with the real life Sylvia many years later who had become a museum curator in Mexico City!

Sylvia’s Mother by Dr Hook:


Dr Hook (they shortened their name in 1975) continued to have great success throughout the rest of the 1970s with soft-rock hits such as Sharing The Night Together, When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman and Better Luck Next Time, all featuring Dennis’ sexy vocals. In 1983, Ray Sawyer left the band and after a Farewell Tour in 1985, the remaining line-up split up. Dennis retained ownership of the band’s name after the split and continued to tour, despite having health issues, until 2025. At the end of last year he released a statement saying that although he was as healthy as a guy his age had the audacity to be, he was growing weary of touring and sought to enjoy retirement. Sadly he only got six months.


Until next time, RIP Dennis.

Sylvia’s Mother Lyrics
(Song by Shel Silverstein)

Sylvia’s mother says, ‘Sylvia’s busy
Too busy to come to the phone’
Sylvia’s mother says, ‘Sylvia’s tryin’
To start a new life of her own’
Sylvia’s mother says, ‘Sylvia’s happy
So why don’t you leave her alone?’

And the operator says, ’40 cents more for the next 3 minutes’
Please Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her
I’ll only keep her a while
Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell ‘er goodbye

Sylvia’s mother says, ‘Sylvia’s packin’
She’s gonna be leavin’ today’
Sylvia’s mother says, ‘Sylvia’s marryin’
A fella down Galveston way’
Sylvia’s mother says, ‘Please don’t say nothin’
To make her start cryin’ and stay’

And the operator says, ’40 cents more for the next 3 minutes’
Please Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her
I’ll only keep her a while
Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell ‘er goodbye

Sylvia’s mother says, ‘Sylvia’s hurryin’
She’s catchin’ the nine o’clock train’
Sylvia’s mother says, ‘Take your umbrella
Cause Sylvie, it’s startin’ to rain’
And Sylvia’s mother says, ‘Thank you for callin’
And, sir, won’t you call back again?’

And the operator says, ’40 cents more for the next 3 minutes’
Please Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her
I’ll only keep her a while
Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell ‘er goodbye

Tell her goodbye

Please
Tell her goodbye

Postscript:

I didn’t even know it existed but this week I was presented with one of these by the WordPress people.


It’s apparently a Perfectionist Badge which means I return to my posts often to edit, edit, edit after I’ve published them. Sounds fair but not something that’s held me in good stead throughout my life. I come from a long line of perfectionists but it’s become obvious that the people who do best in life are those who commit to being, just good enough. There is no time in the world of work nowadays for perfectionism and it frustrated my dad, my mum and myself. Oh well, at least I can be a perfectionist around here.

Maisie Peters Visits Aberdeen, Olivia Rodrigo Gets Her “Driver’s Licence” and A Sad Farewell To Máire Brennan

DD was on holiday from work this week, and one of the things she did was head through to Aberdeen to watch Maisie Peters perform in a small intimate venue. I’ve noticed her Maisie album on the shelves but can’t say I knew anything about her, until now. Turns out Maisie is a 25-year-old British singer-songwriter who has been around since 2017, and in 2021 she signed to Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records. Her two albums have done really well but so far her singles have only reached the lower reaches of the charts which is why I probably didn’t know about her. On the way home from the concert DD sent us a clip showing Maisie on stage singing her song, My Regards, which I did recognise because of this line: “He took me off the market and I took him to the moon”. I’ve definitely heard that line on the radio as I thought it was quite funny.


Maisie felt she had not ventured into her tongue-in-cheek style of writing prior to this song and was inspired by country music classics about standing by your partner. The music video for the song, starring Maisie and Benito Skinner as love interests, modernised the narrative, and rather than portraying herself as a “simpering love interest” she showed it from the perspective of a fierce woman protecting her romantic partner. She even references the 1992 Kevin Costner/Whitney Houston film The Bodyguard within the lyrics. It seems the song was released as a single in February this year but only reached the No. 98 spot for one week. Don’t understand that at all but I wish her well for the future.

Maisie Peters

For those of you following my updates on what is currently at the top of the UK Singles Chart, I am going to sound like a broken record. Yes, for the 10th non-consecutive week, the Sam Fender/Olivia Dean song Rein Me In is at the top spot. Back in the day lengthy stays at the top of the charts just didn’t happen often, but because of the way we now consume music it is becoming more common.

Anyway, the reason Sam’s song dropped to the No. 2 spot twice in the last 12 weeks was first because of a Harry Styles release, and secondly because Olivia Rodrigo’s new song Drop Dead got to No. 1. Unlike with Maisie, I am fully aware of Olivia Rodrigo and fell in love with her song drivers licence (all lower case) after she performed it at the Brit Awards a few years ago. It is a pop power-ballad containing poignant lyrics detailing heartache. It has also been described as coming from the bedroom pop camp, which is a new one on me but a term I totally get. The narrator is young, probably still school age, and as we all know first loves at that stage in life can be terribly intense. You hold nothing back as you really do think it will last forever, only to find yourself broken-hearted down the line (not that I know of anyone who has had that happen to them of course). It was one of 2021’s most successful songs, and launched Olivia’s career. I would urge you to listen to the lyrics – pretty heart-breaking, whatever your age.

drivers licence by Olivia Rodrigo:


Drivers license broke a string of records, including the record for the most first-week streams for a song on Spotify and Amazon Music. It also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and made Olivia the youngest artist ever to debut atop the chart. It spent eight consecutive weeks at number one.

Olivia Rodrigo

The last lady I want to feature today is Irish singer Máire Brennan (latterly Moya Brennan), best known as the lead singer of Grammy and Bafta-winning group Clannad. She sadly passed away recently at the relatively young age (from my perspective anyway) of 73.

The Celtic folk singer, songwriter and harpist from the Irish-speaking Donegal area of the Republic, recorded 25 albums and sold millions of records worldwide, coming to prominence as part of her family’s band which formed in 1970, and later included Máire’s younger sister, Enya. The group became one of the world’s most popular traditional Irish acts after finding mainstream success with the theme tunes for the TV series, Harry’s Game, as well as Robin of Sherwood. I recently wrote about our own Scottish Celtic band Runrig, who were the first to perform on Top Of The Pops in Gaelic. Clannad became the first band to sing in Irish when they performed the Theme from Harry’s Game in 1982.


The late 1980s and the 1990s were a fertile period for Celtic music with many Scottish and Irish bands finding success. It was also the period when Ireland always seem to win the Eurovision Song Contest, and we were all hopping across The Irish Sea to Dublin for city breaks. Then there was the phenomenon that was Riverdance which started out as a seven-minute bit of interval entertainment at Eurovision, but wowed the audience more than the actual songs. Wonder if all that had anything to do with Clannad?

Máire Brennan

Until next time, RIP Máire/Moya Brennan

drivers license Lyrics
(Song by Olivia Rodrigo/Dan Nigro)

I got my driver’s license last week
Just like we always talked about
‘Cause you were so excited for me
To finally drive up to your house
But today I drove through the suburbs
Crying ’cause you weren’t around

And you’re probably with that blonde girl
Who always made me doubt
She’s so much older than me
She’s everything I’m insecure about
Yeah, today I drove through the suburbs
‘Cause how could I ever love someone else?

And I know we weren’t perfect but I’ve never felt this way for no one
And I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay now that I’m gone
Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me
‘Cause you said forever now I drive alone past your street

And all my friends are tired
Of hearing how much I miss you but
I kinda feel sorry for them
‘Cause they’ll never know you the way that I do
Yeah, today I drove through the suburbs
And pictured I was driving home to you

And I know we weren’t perfect but I’ve never felt this way for no one
Oh, and I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay now that I’m gone
I guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me
‘Cause you said forever now I drive alone past your street

Red lights
Stop signs
I still see your face
In the white cars
Front yards
Can’t drive past the places
We used to
Go to
‘Cause I still fucking love you, babe

Sidewalks
We crossed
I still hear your voice
In the traffic
We’re laughing
Over all the noise
God, I’m so blue
Know we’re through
But I still fucking love you, babe

I know we weren’t perfect but I’ve never felt this way for no one
And I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay now that I’m gone
Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me
‘Cause you said forever now I drive alone past your street
Yeah, you said forever now I drive alone past your street

He Was Brill and Heard “Laughter In The Rain”: RIP Neil Sedaka

I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about when I woke up this morning but then I heard the news that the singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka had passed away at the age of 86, so it became obvious. I thought I had written about him a fair few times around here but not as often as I’d thought once I looked back, so maybe it’s just that many of his songs were radio staples when I was growing up, both the ones from the early ’60s and then the ones during his successful second career in the ’70s. I didn’t know it back then but he had also written many hits for other artists, first of all with his childhood neighbour Howard Greenfield and then later on with Phil Cody.

Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield were one of the many successful songwriting partnerships who took up residence in the Brill Building on Manhattan’s 49th Street in the late ’50s (written about here). Along with Gerry Goffin / Carole King and many other pairs, they churned out hit after hit for people like Connie Francis, Jimmy Clanton and the big Girl Groups of the day. Neil’s first big international hit was in fact Oh! Carol, written about his old high school sweetheart Carole King (she added the ‘e’ later).


A little family anecdote now. We always used to find a song for DD’s birthday so that when she came into the living room to see the balloons, banners and pile of presents there was an appropriate track playing in the background. Obvious I know, but when she turned 16 we chose Neil’s 1959 song Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen. Now that I’ve listened to the lyrics properly it possibly wasn’t appropriate coming from a parent as it’s written from the perspective of a love interest, but hey, it did fit the birthday. I look back at those times and wish I could have bottled them, as time passes so quickly. In the blink of an eye they have grown up and flown the nest (but often come back again, as happened to us).

Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen by Neil Sedaka:


Neil had more hits as an artist in the early 60s, Stairway to Heaven, Calendar Girl and Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, but everything changed after the British Invasion and suddenly the Bobbys (Darin, Vee and Vinton), the Frankies (Avalon and Valli) and the songwriters of the Brill Building became unfashionable and were left out in the cold. Neil carried on songwriting but he didn’t have any more hits until he moved to the UK in the early ’70s and hooked up with the future 10cc at their Strawberry Studios in Stockport. He started writing with Phil Cody and made two albums there one of which featured the song Solitaire made successful by the Carpenters, and the other featured the song Love Will Keep Us Together made successful by Captain & Tennille. Neil’s partnership with Howard Greenfield was now over but his next purple patch was just round the corner.

If like me you were a teenager in the early 1970s, you would have been glued to the TV screen on a Thursday night to watch Top Of The Pops. In amongst all the glam rock artists with their outrageous outfits, we often used to have this middle-aged guy (he was only in his mid 30s at the time) sitting at a piano singing pleasing pop tunes. This song, Laughter in the Rain, reached the No. 15 spot on the UK Singles Chart in 1974 but reached the top spot on the US Billboard Chart. Neil was back.


And here is yet another little anecdote involving DD. A couple of years ago we gave her a turntable for her birthday as the young people seem to have fallen in love with vinyl, as we did back in the day. She has built up a collection of contemporary albums but in amongst these she has also acquired some classic albums by the likes of Sinatra and the Carpenters (we have obviously had an influence on her). I went round to visit recently and she showed me her new purchase, it was the Laughter in the Rain album. “Have you heard of Neil Sedaka?” she asked. I was taken aback but I think she has good taste in music so he has clearly stood the test of time.

Neil followed the success of Laughter in the Rain with a more politically motivated song, The Immigrant, which was inspired by his parents and by John Lennon, then facing immigration issues. The Immigrant reached No. 22 on the Billboard Chart.

The Immigrant by Neil Sedaka:


All these years later, a very apt song for the times we live in. Think it would be banned by “the administration” today.

Neil continued to write songs and perform over the next few decades. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2020, Neil launched a series of free mini-concerts, released through his social media channels, as a method of entertaining his fans during the pandemic. Despite having been nominated for five Grammy awards, he sadly never won the coveted trophy.


Until next time… RIP Neil Sedaka.

The Immigrant Lyrics
(Song by Neil Sedaka / Phil Cody)

Harbours open their arms to the young searching foreigner
Come to live in the light of the beacon of liberty
Plains and open skies billboards would advertise
Was it anything like that when you arrived
Dream boats carried the future to the heart of America
People were waiting in line for a place by the river

It was a time when strangers were welcome here
Music would play they tell me the days were sweet and clear
It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room
That people could come from everywhere

Now he arrives with his hopes and his heart set on miracles
Come to marry his fortune with a hand full of promises
To find they’ve closed the door they don’t want him anymore
There isn’t any more to go around
Turning away he remembers he once heard a legend
That spoke of a mystical magical land called America

There was a time when strangers were welcome here
Music would play they tell me the days were sweet and clear
It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room
That people could come from everywhere

There was a time when strangers were welcome here
Music would play they tell me the days were sweet and clear
It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room
That people could come from everywhere