Tag: Ella Langley

Girl Power 2026, SIX The Musical and “2 Become 1”

Well, we are now at week 42 on the 2026 calendar and it’s fair to say the UK Singles Chart has been quite unique this year. I have been updating my followers whenever there has been a change at the top, a new No. 1, but for 23 of those 42 weeks it remained the same – Sam & Olivia’s version of Rein Me In. Having just reviewed the complete list of No. 1s, something else jumps out – there were only four weeks when a solo male artist topped the chart (and one of those artists was Djo/Joe Keery whose role in the final season of Stranger Things probably helped propel his song to the No. 1 spot back in January). Dave’s song Raindance was given a hefty leg up by featuring the beautiful vocals of Tems and once Sam Fender recorded Rein Me In with Olivia Dean (who swept the board at the Brits this year) they were on course for their record-breaking run. No bands at all so far this year at No. 1 and 38 of the 42 weeks featured a woman. Is this a record I wonder or is it just that the fashion in music is leaning towards solo female artists at the moment?

The boys and girls of 2026 so far – lots of female faces there!

The Artists and Their Songs

Raye – Where Is My Husband (1 week)
Djo – End Of Beginning (2 weeks)
Dave/Tems – Raindance (2 weeks)
Harry Styles – Aperture (1 week)
Taylor Swift – Opalite (1 week)
Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – Rein Me In (23 weeks)
Harry Styles – American Girls (1 week)
Olivia Rodrigo – Drop Dead (1 week)
Ariana Grande – Hate That I Made You love Me (1 week)
Taylor Swift – I Knew It, I Knew You (2 weeks)
Ella Langley – Choosin’ Texas (1 week)
Sienna Spiro – Great Expectation (3 weeks)
Taylor Swift – Patient Zero (3 weeks)


It’s now 30 years since the Spice Girls leapt to fame and it seems “Girl Power” (not that it was ever an actual movement!) is back. Another nod to Girl Power came in the form of a musical I went to see last week at our local theatre. SIX is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII, presented in the form of a singing competition and pop concert. Last time it came to town my friend and I missed out on tickets but this time we were lucky, albeit our seats were in the 2nd Circle.


If like me you love the whole history of the Tudor period (I’m a great fan of Philippa Gregory’s historical novels), you will already know the wives’ stories but in this very colourful show, they vie with each other to determine who suffered the most at the hands of their shared husband. It was very much updated for the modern age with the artist Holbein’s portrait of Anne of Cleves going onto a dating app that presented a choice of potential brides. Henry chose Anne as we know, but soon rejected her and annulled the marriage, claiming she failed to resemble her “profile picture”. Fortunately the wives ultimately realise they are only known because of their connection to Henry, so by forming the band SIX, they reclaim their individual identities and rewrite their stories. The show started life at the Edinburgh Festival but it has now wowed audiences in the West End and on Broadway. I am really lucky to have a great theatre that hosts these kind of shows only 10 minutes from my home.

We were allowed to film footage during the last five minutes of the show – honest!

Ok, so I’ve already shared links to lots of current chart hits, but to celebrate the Spice Girls anniversary I’m going to share my favourite song by them – it’s not actually a Christmas song but as it was a hit at that time 30 years ago, it has that feel to it what with the lights and the winter coats (worn over very skimpy outfits it has to be said). Back then I was a busy mum with a baby and a responsible job so they really weren’t aimed at my demographic, but you couldn’t fail to get caught up in all their Zig-a-Zig-ah-ing back in 1996. I give you, 2 Become 1.

2 Become 1 by the Spice Girls:


So, “What’s It All About?” – Every decade has music, that looking back, was very much of its time. Popular music in the ’90s was awash with boy bands and girl bands, some of them more successful than others (I’m looking at you Take That and the Spice Girls) and if you were in your early teens back then you will really enjoy looking back at those days. There is a series on BBC Sounds at the moment documenting the career of the 5 Spices. Of course the ’90s was also the era of Britpop and Oasis shocked everyone last year by reuniting and touring (topping up the pension funds), but that was more for the blokes I think. At this point in the 2020s, it seems we are awash with female and male solo artists, but no doubt after a while that will change as the public move on to something else.

As for Girl Power, DD has had a very different life to the one I had lived up to age 30, mainly in her relationships with others I think. I love how she always had as many boy “friends” as girl friends which I didn’t have (we were all very awkward with the opposite sex as teens), and she has way more emotional intelligence than I had at the same age. Opportunities for her have been very equal to those for men which was still not the case for me back in the day. Did this have anything to do with the Spice Girls and their Girl Power I wonder? Probably not, but fun to look back.

Until next time…

2 Become 1 Lyrics
(Song by Richard Frederick Stannard/Melanie Chisholm/Geri Halliwell/Emma Lee Bunton/Victoria Caroline Beckham/Melanie Janine Brown)

Candlelight and soul forever
A dream of you and me together
Say you believe it
Say you believe it

Free your mind of doubt and danger
Be for real, don’t be a stranger
We can achieve it
We can achieve it

Come a little bit closer, baby
Get it on, get it on
‘Cause tonight is the night
When two become one

I need some love
Like I’ve never needed love before (wanna make love to ya, baby)
I had a little love
Now I’m back for more (wanna make love to ya, baby)
Set your spirit free
It’s the only way to be

Silly games that you were playin’
Empty words we both were sayin’
Let’s work it out, boy
Let’s work it out, boy

Once again if we endeavour
Love will bring us back together
Take it or leave it
Take it or leave it

Are you as good as I remember, baby?
Get it on, get it on
‘Cause tonight is the night
When two become one

I need some love
Like I’ve never needed love before (wanna make love to ya, baby)
I had a little love
Now I’m back for more (wanna make love to ya, baby)
Set your spirit free
It’s the only way to be

Be a little bit wiser, baby
Put it on, put it on
‘Cause tonight is the night
When two become one

I need some love
Like I’ve never needed love before (aann make love to ya, baby)
I had a little love
Now I’m back for more (wanna make love to ya, baby)

I need some love
Like I’ve never needed love before (wanna make love to ya, baby)
I had a little love
Now I’m back for more (wanna make love to ya, baby)
Set your spirit free
It’s the only way to be
It’s the only way to be
It’s the only way to be

A Significant Non-Birthday, The “Dolly Effect” and The Dulcet Tones Of Matt Monro

Today is quite a big day for me and one I am strangely excited about. It’s not often that you celebrate getting older but when it comes with a monthly remuneration attached, not quite so bad. To be clear, it’s not my birthday, it’s just that anyone born after the 6th of April 1960 is part of the generation that will now miss getting their monthly remuneration at age 66. By 6th April 2028 everyone will have to be 67, but they’re doing it incrementally until then. To celebrate we’re going out for lunch with DD and Mr DD. She will no doubt be telling me all about the new album she purchased yesterday, Like A Virgin, by Madonna. It came out 10 years before she was born but she has a really good knowledge of older (to her) music, so much so that whilst on holiday recently she and Mr DD won the music quiz held one night in their hotel. They were up against teams of up to seven people of all ages. I was very proud!


But what else has been happening this week? We’re getting ready to go on our first big adventure post-“remuneration” (I can’t bring myself to say what it’s really called). Going on holiday used to be simple – just pack the kind of clothes you think you’ll need, some toiletries, money, your passport and you were set. Now everything is booked online so you need many, many apps, but you also need a photoshot of what’s on the app in case you can’t get a signal, and ideally a hard copy in case you run out of charge. Talking of which you need to make sure your phone will work abroad with the correct roaming settings and source an extra powerpack with connectors for the charge issue. Special front-facing, anti-theft bags have to be acquired to thwart sneaky pickpockets and multiple credit cards taken in case the one you usually use doesn’t work! Whatever happened to traveller’s cheques? Where am I going I hear you ask. Well here is a clue featuring one of Mr WIAA’s favourite songs and by the end of this post I’ll fill you in.

On Days Like These by Matt Monro:


Last time I wrote a tribute to Dolly Parton who very sadly passed away at the end of August. There was an awful lot of news coverage about her life and legacy in the days afterwards and it must have had an effect on the great British public as it was looking for a while as if she might finally make it to the No. 1 spot on the UK Singles Chart. But no, that was not to be, although she did reach the No. 5 and the No. 6 spots with 9 To 5 and Jolene respectively. Unbelievably the highest chart positions she ever reached.

So if Dolly isn’t No. 1, what is? After 23 weeks at the top spot, it is no longer Rein Me In by Sam and Olivia, it is this song, Choosin’ Texas, by Ella Langley. I wasn’t surprised as it’s been gradually creeping up the chart since January, but now, perhaps because so many of us have enjoyed hearing an abundance of country music courtesy of Dolly’s sad demise, it’s top dog. The song was written by Ella with help from Miranda Lambert amongst others, and is about the sting of watching someone choose the open road and the Lone Star State, over the relationship. Maybe I’m wrong but it feels like quite a while since someone who performs country music has topped the UK chart. It must have something to do with Dolly as not many of us on this side of the pond will ever have had to drink “jack” all on our own because our Texan, cowboy boyfriend just can’t cope with living in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee.


But back to my forthcoming trip. As you will probably have guessed, I’m not going to Tennessee or Texas, but somewhere a lot closer to home, relatively speaking. Later on this week I’m heading to Rome for a few days after which we head down to Naples and then on to Sorrento for a more relaxing holiday. Troublingly, the weather there has been at heatwave levels for quite some time but it seems as soon as we arrive, the temperature is going to drop and it will rain for the following 10 days. In some ways that’s great for my fair Scottish skin but I get plenty of rain at home so I did hope for some blue skies. Long-range weather forecasts are notoriously inaccurate though, so cross-fingers we’ll get both the lower temperatures and less rain.

Rome
Sorrento

If anyone has been to either of these places, do let me know. You may have some hints and tips we’ve not discovered yet. Our trips to the Vatican and to Pompeii have already been booked and our attempts at picking up basic Italian phrases are going well (although Mr WIAA keeps mixing up his Italian with his Spanish). All being well I shall return here in two weeks with tales of our trip. As I’m not an expert in the pop music of Italy, I’m going to finish off with a clip of a band I had all but forgotten about. Way back in 1983, Roman Holiday had a hit with the song Don’t Try To Stop It. Very upbeat and jaunty – just the thing to listen to whilst getting the suitcases packed.


Until next time…

Choosin’ Texas Lyrics
(Song by Ella Langley/Joybeth Taylor/Luke Dick/Miranda Lambert)

Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee
I shoulda known better than to take him back to Abilene
I put him right back into her arms
I wasn’t a match for that kinda spark

She’s from Texas, I can tell by the way
He’s two steppin’ ’round the room
And judgin’ by the smile that’s written on his face
There’s nothin’ I can do
It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see
A cowboy always finds a way to leave
Drinkin’ Jack all by myself
He’s choosin’ Texas, I can tell

Well, I guess he forgot about the Smoky Mountain rain
Them old Hank tunes, the Memphis blues we used to sing
He always loved Amarillo By Morning
I shoulda taken that as a warning

She’s from Texas, I can tell by the way
He’s two steppin’ ’round the room
And judgin’ by the smile that’s written on his face
There’s nothin’ I can do
It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see
A cowboy always finds a way to leave
Drinkin’ Jack all by myself
He’s choosin’ Texas, I can tell

When I’m eastbound and down and I can’t help but cry
‘Cause I-40 gets lonelier with every mile
I’ll know that his mind wasn’t ever gonna change
‘Cause his heart still belongs to the Lone Star State

She’s from Texas, I can tell by the way
He’s two steppin’ ’round the room
And judgin’ by the smile that’s written on his face
There’s nothin’ I can do, nah, yeah
It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see
A cowboy always finds a way to leave
Drinkin’ Jack all by myself
He’s choosing Texas, I can tell, no
Drinkin’ Jack all by myself
He’s choosin’ Texas, I can tell

Come on, baby
Oh, yeah
Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee