On This Day – Zeppelin’s Debut, Probably.

Posted on October 25th, 2009
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On this day in 1968 led Zeppelin played their first gig, probably.  There is some confusion due to the short time that the band called themselves ‘The New Yardbirds’.  Also, some internet sources quote the 15th October 1968 as being the first Zepp gig, but that appears to be an error.  Jimmy himself presented a plaque to the University of Surrey to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the first gig – on 25th October.

68 10 25 Surrey LZ ticket On This Day Zeppelins Debut, Probably.

Having completed a short Scandinavian tour as the New Yardbirds the band played a gig at The Marquee in London on 18th October and at Liverpool University on the 19th.

On the 25th the Jimmy’s  band, now called Led Zeppelin made their live debut at Surrey University.  The admission was an amazing 37.5p. Details of the set list are a bit shakey but given previous gigs it is likely that the set list included some Yardbird favourites such as Train Kept a Rollin’, Dazed and Confused, White Summer and likely For Your Love.  New Led Zepp tunes were also played and would probably included Communication Breakdown, I Can’t Quit You Baby, You Shook Me, Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, and How Many More Times.

dazed and confused from 1969 before they became the world devouring mega band that ruled the world………..

By the way, this is a rare recording of the Yardbirds (with Jimmy) playing the ‘same’ song. I know which has my vote….

And finally, Zepp just a few months after the first clip. What a band! That voice, Jimmy doing his stuff perfectly complimented by that bass and drums. Perfect!

The first magnificent album.

And the ‘difficult’ second album….

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On This Day – The High Numbers Turned Down By EMI!

Posted on October 21st, 2009
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the detours On This Day The High Numbers Turned Down By EMI!On this day in 1964 The High Numbers auditioned for EMI the UK record company, and were turned down.  One of the reasons they were turned down was that the record company wanted them to write more of their own material.

Like many of the beat groups of the time the various members had been in other bands before coming together.  A couple had played in a trad jazz band with the eventual bass player of the High Numbers playing French Horn… They also went through a few names before becoming The High Numbers released their only single “I’m the face/Zoot Suit” which failed to chart.  One of the names that the band had before being The High Numbers was The Who.  The new name did not suit and so they changed it, after the failure of the single and being turned down by EMI, back to The Who and signed to Orbit Music.

1965 saw the band moving forward, a number singles that all made the top 20 including ‘I Can’t Explain’ and ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’.  They also appeared in a number of TV and radio spots including what must have been the highest accolade  a radio appearance on ‘The Joe Loss Pop Show’ (those of you not of a certain age or not from the UK will not recognise the incongruity of Joe Loss presenting a pop show).

It is only speculation, but if you can not speculate about music what can you, what would have happened to The High Numbers if EMI had accepted them in 1964?  With no pressure to write their own stuff and evolve would they have remained that gigging pub band?  How many guitars would have been saved from what became their ritualistic destruction on stage? Would ‘I Can See For Miles’ and ‘My Generation’ (notably, and wondefully covered by the great and glorious Patti Smith) have seen the light of day?

No doubt some executive in EMI was roasted by his bosses for turning them down but perhaps we all owe him a great debt of gratitude.

The Great and Glorious Patti, the best version of this song, ever!

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Michael Jackson, That ‘New’ song, A New ‘Duet’ With Janet, and His Kids…

Posted on October 20th, 2009
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The soap opera goes on.

Janet is to release an unheard duet with Michael on her forthcoming ‘Greatest Hits’ album.  Little is known of the song other than it is called ‘Make me’ and was recorded in 2008.  Call me cynical but how can an unreleased song be part of a greatest hits album?  I suppose the answer is that if you haven’t sufficient real hits to complete an album and you can use the name of your late brother to boost your CD sales then……

Paul Anka is to get 50% royalties on MJ’s new record sales.  He had co-written the song with Michael in 1983 when it was called “I Never Heard”.  It was subsequently recorded by Sa-Fire in the 1990s.  On that version MJ and Anka are credited as co-writers.

No one is suggesting that the Jackson machine were trying to get away with not paying Anka, just that they were a bit stupid.  As Anka said  “They did the right thing,” Anka said. “I don’t think that anybody tried to do the wrong thing. It was an honest mistake.”

From the Jackson machine side they said in a statement “The song was picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael gave his tour,” the statement read. “We are thrilled to present this song in Michael’s voice for the first time, and that Michael’s fans have responded in unprecedented numbers.” – so sales are going well, then.

Apparently they forgot that Anka helped write the song and it was not until Anka heard it and was contacted by the media that he was aware of it.  However, alls well that ends well.  Anka will get the money he deserves, as well as the Jackson machine.

Finally, for now at least, will Prince, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7 appear on reality TV?  There seems to be some disagreement within the family.  There are reports that they will appear in “The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty” which may be broadcast in December on cable network A&E. Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, seems set to try to maintain their privacy, as Michael did.  However, others of the family apparently can see why they should appear.

We shall see.

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On This Day – What a Week For Elvis!

Posted on October 19th, 2009
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1956court72 On This Day What a Week For Elvis!On this day in 1956 Elvis was involved in a fist fight.  He had stopped at a petrol station in Memphis to get some petrol and was mobbed by teenagers.  The petrol station manager wanted him to go away so that he could start selling petrol again.  Tempers became frayed and the owner, Ed Hopper, hit Elvis on the head (You should not mess with a rock star’s hair!).  Elvis, in turn, hit him in the eye.  Hopper’s assistant, Aubrey Brown, went to help his boss and got much the same.

Ed Hopper brought charges but they were thrown out of court 4 days later as all the fans confirmed that Elvis did not start the fight.  Hopper and his 6’4″ assistant were fined, and promptly sacked by the petrol station owner.

Three days after the petrol station episode Elvis went to the movies.  Surprise, surprise, he was mobbed, again.  This time the only damage was to Elvis’ car.

Perhaps Elvis should have realised that he could not just go out in public without attracting a crowd….  Only a month later Elvis was attacked again.  This time by Louis Balint.  His beef with Elvis was that his wife carried a photo of Elvis in her purse.  Balint was fined for assault but as he was destitute he was sent to jail instead.

All in all, quite an eventful week for Elvis.   Towards the end of the week Elvis got a his first letter from the draft board……………

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Derek Acorah’s Michael Jackson Seance

Posted on October 18th, 2009
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MJ Derek Acorah’s Michael Jackson SeanceI honestly do not know what to say about this story.

Derek Acorah, a TV medium (he says that he contacts the spirits of the the departed) is to hold a seance and contact Michael Jackson’s spirit.

My position on spiritualism is quite simple. I believe that when you are gone you are gone. No heaven, no hell, reincarnation would be nice but I do not buy that either. So in the spirit (sorry about the pun) of objectivity I watched one of Ocarah’s programmes last night, well, part of one to be exact.

This is what happened. There was a small audience of people who had suffered losses. They had all brought objects connected to their departed and Acorah picked them up in turn to tune into the vibes from the dead. One woman had brought a set of darts. This is what Acorah deduced.

1. The departed was a man (few women play darts).
2. The departed liked to win (how many dart players play to lose)
3. The departed’s first name began with a ‘S’. (to be fair, it was the surname that began with an S. Unless I miss my guess ‘S’ is one of the most common letters with which names begin in the UK – Smith, Singh, Steven etc.)

The woman was interviewed later and was very impressed with Acorah. She wanted to hear from her son. She believes that her son could be contacted. She was obviously desperate for comfort.

So, was I convinced by this performance? Of course not.

Now, what is it with this seance? Is it an honest attempt to contact MJ? Well, it might be but bearing in mind that Acorah was attacked in the national press in 2005 over the editing and some would say dishonesty of his programme ‘Britain’s Most haunted’ I doubt it. Surely, it is only just about the money, just like the new record, the release of a film of his rehearsals, etc.

Derren Brown who is a mentalist that performs on UK TV said in his blog. “Can you honestly imagine anything – anything – more anus-invertingly unpalatable than this?” Derren wrote. “I hate myself for drawing attention to it.”

To say that TV in the UK has plumbed new depths would be wrong, there have been many, many depths. But this is up there (or down there) with the best (or worse) of them.

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On This day – Great Balls Of Fire

Posted on October 8th, 2009
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On this day in 1957 Jerry lee lewis recorded “Great Balls of Fire” his follow up to “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going’ On”.

As you might have guessed if you have read previous posts I am a great fan of Sam Phillips and Sun Records. Not so much for the individual tracks as such more the effect of Sun Records. Sun changed music. What was essentially black music played for and by black people became music for both black and white. Sun owner Sam Phillips ran no colour bar all he heard was the music (with more than a nod towards his profit of course).

Anyway, Jerry Lee Lewis, often billed as the wild man of rock ‘n’ roll was pioneer of the new popular music that we all love. Someone once said that we build on the shoulders of giants, one of those giants is Lewis.

It is hard to imagine today the hysteria that rock ‘n’ roll caused among responsible adults. They feared subversion, anarchy, revolution, promiscuity, and that the status quo could be challenged. Well, the world certainly changed. A great song and well worth celebrating.



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A New One From Jacko, Old Ones From The Beatles

Posted on September 27th, 2009
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A new single from Michael Jackson will be released on 12th October. Whether it would have been released if he was still alive I do not know.

In the last week the Beatles sold 2.5 million (remastered) albums in the US, UK, and Japan. A spokes person for EMI said “Beatlemania has returned, with fans new and old embracing these beautiful albums in their re-mastered and re-packaged forms. By putting the needs and desires of consumers first, the band are breaking new records around the world more than four decades after they first started recording. All of us at EMI Music are very proud to have been a part of this exciting project and to have delivered an insightful and globally executed marketing plan.”

So what it boils down to is this. MJ will have a song released that may not have seen the light of day if he was alive and the Beatles are topping the charts after 40 years. What does that say about the state of modern pop music?

BTW, don’t you just love the way that EMI were acting altruistically in releasing the remastered albums. They were “putting the needs and desires of consumers first”. If only the rest of the music business shared the same selfless motivation……

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Someone, Please Stop Kelly Rowland!

Posted on September 15th, 2009
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There are wonderful songs, there are good songs, there are OK songs, there are bad songs, there are dreadful songs.

And then there is ‘When Love Takes Over’

Dreadful song, dreadful voice, and amazingly annoying.

When I looked up the lyrics (below) I was really surprised to find that there were any, other than the one hook line “When love takes over”. In fact, they are just there to allow whats-her-name sing the chorus. This is an increasing trend in pop songs. The purpose of a pop song is not to entertain and to inform it is to sell a CD, download, whatever.

Look at this song. Two verses (the bit where the songwriter is meant to tell the story and the chorus is sung (badly) 3 times. Oh yes the line “When love takes over” is also repeated until my eyes want to bleed.

The lyrics

Its complicated, it always is
That’s just the way it goes
Feels like the way it is so long for this
I wonder if it shows
And under water now i can breath
It never felt so good
Cause i can feel it coming over me
I wouldn’t stop it if i could

[Chorus]
When love takes over yeaaah
You know you can’t deny
When love takes over yeaaah
‘Cause something’s here tonight

Give me a reason I gotta know
Do you feel it too?
Cant you see me here on overload
And this time I blame you
Hmm looking out for you to hold my hand
It feels like I could fall
Now love me right, like I know you can
We could lose it all

[Chorus]
When love takes over yeaaah
You know you can’t deny
When love takes over yeaaah
Cause something’s here tonight

(tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight ….)

I’ll be loving all the time, it’s true
Cause I want to make it right with you

When love takes over, when love takes over
When love takes over, when love takes over …
Over, over, over ….

[Chorus]
When love takes over yeaaah
You know you can’t deny
When love takes over yeaaah
‘Cause something’s here tonight

I have been known to take a virulent dislike to songs ( I could cheerfully strangle Kid Rock) but there is something uniquely horrible about this brain worm.

She has to be stopped and someone must take David Guetta’s crayons away before he writes another formulaic song like this.

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The Mercury Prize 2009

Posted on September 10th, 2009
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Well, once again the wrong artist won the Mercury prize.

Not that I have anything against Speech Debelle it is just that Led Bib are wonderful. Here’s the list of Nominations. What do you think?

The Nominees were;

SPEECH DEBELLE – SPEECH THERAPY
BAT FOR LASHES – TWO SUNS
FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE – LUNGS
FRIENDLY FIRES – FRIENDLY FIRES
GLASVEGAS – GLASVEGAS
THE HORRORS – PRIMARY COLOURS
THE INVISIBLE – THE INVISIBLE
KASABIAN – WEST RYDER PAUPER LUNATIC ASYLUM
LA ROUX – LA ROUX
LED BIB – SENSIBLE SHOES
LISA HANNIGAN – SEA SEW
SWEET BILLY PILGRIM – TWICE BORN MEN

I am not convinced about Florence, can’t stand Kasabian, and do not like the idea of Lisa Hannigan (Irish folk……). But apart from that quite a strong bunch. The Horrors are good, and I like Twice Born Men (even after a review in the Sunday Times that was suitable for Pseuds Corner).

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Beatlemania to Sweep The World! (again)

Posted on September 9th, 2009
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beatles1 Beatlemania to Sweep The World! (again)There is going to be a worldwide growth in fabness. Mop tops will be back in fashion and lovable Liverpudlian accents everywhere. At least according to the media including a simpering Sunday Times this week, the reason?

The Beatles’ albums have been remastered and reissued together with a magnificent box set. The box set contains all the albums and costs a paltry (!) £169 while the albums cost about £11 each making the box set the most cost effective choice if you want to replace all your existing CDs and vinyl.

Now, most remastered CDs are less than impressive, more of a marketing opportunity than a valuable addition to your collection. From everything that I have read these reissues are different. From the fawning Sunday Times to an anonymous commenter on Yahoo Answers the verdict is that the reissues are like new records.

The original dynamics have been retained (original from the master tapes, not the bland CDs of the past). The trend has been to make the softer bits louder and the louder bits softer to make the overall sound more even. That may sound good on radio but does lose the original attack of the recording.

Overall, these reissues are well worth the money. I will be replacing Revolver (the only Beatles album that I own currently) as well as investing in Sgt. Peppers, Rubber Soul, and Past Masters. Past masters is an interesting album. It contains all those singles that never appeared in albums – seems strange these days that anyone would not issue all their singles on albums – but that is what happened way back when. As well as She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand (so innocent) etc. there are some rarities. Well worth the money even for those of use who are Beatles completists (and I am certainly not one of those). What CDs should you avoid? Yellow Submarine has to be at the top of this list, absolutley useless more Monkees than Beatles….. Also avoid Beatles For Sale. The 4th album in 2 years, whoever thought that would be a good idea?

I was never a huge Beatles fan, (my mother liked them, hated those dirty and loutish Rolling Stones so guess which band I favoured?) but it is true that they were a good band and did change a lot of things for those that came later. I do have some quibble (quite a lot of a quibble, in fact) with John’s statement that they were the best rock band in the world, at least when they were playing in Hamburg. As virtually no one saw them in Hamburg it is hard to argue with him though.

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