Saturday, September 30, 2023

Bow Wow Wow - Giant Sized Baby Thing 1980

 Saturday night selection. My favourite Bow Wow Wow song. This was the song they opened with when we first saw them in Bristol. They exploded onstage in a hail of fireworks, dancers, and virtuoso musicianship. I was gobsmacked. 



Friday, September 29, 2023

Me at Tucker's a while back

 Hound Dog Taylor tee Shirt



Thursday, September 28, 2023

Lee Dorsey - Working In The Coal Mine

 The best song about mining. To celebrate 50 years since Radstock's pits closed. From a documentary on New Orleans music. 

Tucker's Inn by Janet Tanner

 Got this from our local library. Set in the late 18th century. Based on the pub Tucker's Grave which I would recommend as a cider house of distinction. You can camp there too. 


Me at Tucker's earlier this year
A gripping novel of romantic suspense, from a bestselling author The shocking murder of Flora's father, landlord of Tucker's Grave Inn, leaves her bereft but for her distant cousins, Louis and Gavin Fletcher, but Flora senses that they understand more than she about her father's death. Soon she is caught up in a web of intrigue which links Flora and her handsome cousins to the terrifying events taking place across the Channel, in Revolutionary France . . .

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

20 years ago today.

 20 years ago. The last time we saw the Cramps. At least Bea got to see them. Thanks for driving Andy. Watch the concert here. I kept this cutting. From when we used to buy the NME.


Trad Jazz at the Three Swans tonight (Frome)

 These musicians have been playing in the Frome environs for simply ages. Norman Leater used to be an art teacher during my time at school. Susan's Dad Malcolm Wells  used to play with them when he taught in Frome. Free entry .

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The Who Pictures of Lily (1967) Beat Club

 This is one of my favourite Who songs. Read about it on the Wiki.



Tuesday, September 26, 2023

The return of an old local

 My Uncle Terry worked on this when he worked at Kilmersdon colliery.  

AN OLD FRIEND RETURNS TO SOMERSET RAILWAY.

By kind permission of our friends at The Watercress Line and the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust, we are delighted to announce that the locomotive ’KILMERSDON’ will be steaming at the upcoming Halloween and Santa events in October and December

This R3 class locomotive was built in 1929 by Peckett & Sons and was delivered new to work at Kilmersdon Colliery where the loco worked there for the majority of its life.

When the colliery closed the NCB placed the locomotive in the care of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Museum Trust and it was moved by road to Radstock in 1973. In 1983 the Trust moved to Washford on the West Somerset Railway where Kilmersdon gave regular shunting displays and the occasional journey along the full length of the line.

In 2021 the Trust moved the loco to the Mid Hants Railway where Kilmersdon underwent a complete overhaul at their Ropley facilities and became a family favourite at the railway.

To ride behind this iconic locomotive, you can now book on-line for both the Halloween and Santa events at the Station visit  www.sdjr.co.uk Tickets are selling fast – so don’t leave it too late!


Violent Playground (1958)

 Full movie here. Posted in tribute to David McCallum. Wiki on the film



Monday, September 25, 2023

50 years ago this week

 This week saw the last load from Writhlington and Kilmersdan colliers in Radstock. Apparently the Daily Mirror is going to feature it on Thursday. I will share it if it is.


The Spades You're Gonna Miss Me 1965

 Before the 13th Floor Elevators. I actually prefer this version.

Sunday, September 24, 2023

Sugar Bee Cleveland Crochet

 Just heard on Boss Radio 66. Cajun rocker. If you like it there's a compilation called Swampland Jewels which is on Spotify.

My favourite Bow wow wow tracks

 I put together 30 minutes of their best in my opinion. I started with Giant sized baby thing as it was the first song they did when I saw them live and it blew me away. 

Interview with Leigh Gorman

 In depth on Bow wow wow etc. I found this really interesting dealing with the industry reaction to C0 C60 C90 Go! Fills in a few gaps in my knowledge of what happened. 

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Raveonettes Love in a Trashcan 2005

 Saw them a couple of times - very good - from Denmark. Wiki

Chuck Berry County Line

 Good song.. Session details here

Friday, September 22, 2023

Green Manalishi Fleetwood Mac 1970

The last bit of this version of Fleetwood Mac. It's excellent. Just played on Mickey Bradley.

Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Stool Pigeon (1982) [videoclip]

 Mickey Bradley just played this.. Didn't like it at the time but now appreciate it.

The Boys Brickfield Nights 1978

 Some power pop or punk. Great single. I saw the Boys in Bristol. On the way back we broke down and had to spend the night parked on the side of the road. Was freezing. 

Hidden Charms Charles Clark 1958

 Charles Clark - Hidden Charms. Written by Willie Dixon and backed by his band, released on Artistic. Otish Rush (gt), Louis Myers (gt), Harold Burrage (p), Sonny Boy Williamson (hca), Willie Dixon (b) and Billy Stepney (d).

This one is on my pop blues playlist.

Boudica Queen of War (2023)

 


Trailer which is brand new  I like the look of this. Boudica is a perfect subject for a movie and Olga Kurylenko is the actor to play her. 

Pompeii (2014)


 Susan likes disaster movies and chose this one. Trailer here. It was pretty good, lots of special effects, lots of sword fights and baddies to boo. She enjoyed it. Worth a watch if you like that type of film. I think it was originally in 3D. Wiki

Modesty Blaise (1966) poster by Bob Peak

 This film is worth a look. Dirk Bogarde being quite camp. Based on a comic strip. Wiki


Vivre sa Vie (1962)

 Wiki. I saw this film on telly when I was a teen.


Batman film poster

 We had a copy of this framed in our front room.


Girl on a Motorcycle (1968)

 This is a good movie and poster. I call it 'a sound down movie' in that you can play some rock and roll music and half watch it. We did think of doing a series of songs to play to a projection but it seems lots of people had that idea.


Alphaville (1965)

 This movie rocked our world in about 1980. Going to Bristol to see it as it was before VHS. 


Film posters of the 60s

 This book I picked up. Has some classic posters. Will post some of them.




Conker

 First conker of the season. When I was a kid we drilled a hole in them and threaded it with laces and fought battles with them 


Jack Scott and the Chantones The Way I Walk 1959

 Classic rockabilly covered by the Cramps and more.

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

T. Rex Cadillac 1972

 This song was a b-side but is good quality. 

Slim Harpo Gibson "Lovell" ES-330

Gibson is proud to introduce the "Lovell" ES-330 hollow body guitar; a tribute to Slim Harpo and his wife Lovell, a creative tandem that developed a unique sound and produced chart-topping hits during the 50s and early 60s. The new Gibson Slim Harpo “Lovell” ES-330 hollow body guitar is part tribute, part historical artifact that celebrates the influential, albeit short career of James H. Moore aka Slim Harpo. Slim was a working man’s blues man from Lobdell, Louisiana; holding down 9 to 5 gigs as a longshoreman, and iron scrap hauler in addition to his side hustle as an artist. His wife and collaborator; Lovell, for whom the guitar is named was a huge influence and contributor to Slim’s evolution as performer and song writer. Together they forged a creative partnership that yielded pop-crossover success in the late 50’s and 60s, an era that was less than kind to black artists. Despite this, it didn’t take long for others to recognize and be inspired by Harpo’s talent and unique take on the Blues; a subgenre he unwittingly created appropriately called Louisiana Swamp Blues. Slim’s most popular tune “I’m a King Bee” achieved cross-over success at a time when that was far from the norm. Other artists also achieved chart successes with their covers of “King Bee” including the Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, Lou Rawls, and Muddy Waters among others. While Slim’s time on the planet was short, his impact and influence are and will continue to inspire for generations to come.

The Fall Pinball Machine 1989

 The Fall doing a song about pinball albeit a cover. Written by Lonnie Irving. Pretty good eh? Album

Slim Harpo book

 I haven't read this but I should think it's good. 

Slim Harpo established Baton Rouge as a base for the blues. In the only complete biography of this internationally renowned blues singer and musician, Martin Hawkins traces Harpo’s rural upbringing near Louisiana’s capital, his professional development fostered by the local music scene, and his national success with R&B hits like Rainin’ in My Heart, Baby Scratch My Back, and I’m A King Bee, among others. Hawkins follows Harpo’s global musical impact from the early 1960s to today and offers a detailed look at the nature of the independent recording business that enabled his remarkable legacy.

With new research and interviews, Hawkins fills in previous biographical gaps and redresses misinformation about Harpo’s life. In addition to weaving the musician’s career into the lives of other Louisiana blues players—including Lightnin’ Slim, Lazy Lester, and Silas Hogan—the author discusses the pioneering role of Crowley, Louisiana, record producer J. D. Miller and illustrates how Excello Records in Nashville brought national attention to Harpo’s music recorded in Louisiana.

This engaging narrative examines Harpo’s various recording sessions and provides a detailed discography, as well as a list of blues-related records by fellow Baton Rouge artists. 
Slim Harpo: Blues King Bee of Baton Rouge will stand as the ultimate resource on the musician’s life and the rich history of Baton Rouge’s blues heritage.

Slim Harpo Got Love if you want it 1957

 


One of the greatest songs ever. Here

Here is the Slim Harpo wiki

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

We used to have a copy of this painting in our bedroom


Richard Bergh (1858–1919), Nordisk sommarkväll 1899–1900. Oil on canvas, 170 × 223.5 cm. © Gothenburg Art Museum


Lilley's cider

 Frome's cider provider with their new orchard.



Monday, September 18, 2023

New Vague fanzine book out soon

 This looks good. We were in Vague fanzine and met Tom. Here is what he says about the book. 

"More details about the Vague book release: The book will be available on presale from September 25 - a link to the shop will be shared here, the book will also be available at the launch on the September 23 and other launches later this year and early next in Brighton, Manchester, Bristol and Bath. Books will be shipped when orders are made from September 25. The book will be officially published on November 22 2023 when it will be available in retail outlets and shops. Here is a look at the front cover, back cover and spine, all the best from PC-Press"

Launch with Dave Barbarossa's new project




Sunday, September 17, 2023

I'm Movin' On Gene Vincent and the Houseshakers

 


Rocking up a storm. I used to have this as a youth on an l.p. I no longer have it but I think it was a 1971 record called Battle of the Bands but I am not certain. It is an utterly brilliant song that reminds me of the late Jake Stratton-Kent as he liked this too. Houseshakers wiki

Ross Poldark

 Bought this today for 50p. Poldark novels wiki. I enjoyed the 70s tv series and thought as it's the first one I might read it. Late 18th century Cornwall with its tin mines and so forth I liked. It was first published  in 1945



Jo Ann Campbell - (I'm The Girl) From Wolverton Mountain 1962 (Country Music Greats)

 We heard  this on the new Country a go go station. Susan remembers it and thinks they might even had a copy of it. 

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Great Crested Newt

 My favourite amphibian. They are so great. Wiki


The Beatles - Rock and roll music Live HQ

. Probably my earliest exposure to rock'n'roll. Had the Beatles for Sale album for my birthday. My first long player. Gate told sleeve which was a novelty. 

Tyrannosaurus Rex

In the days before the internet special interest clubs used to keep you informed about ghings. We used to be in the Tyrannosaurus Rex Appreciation Society which used to produce vinyl and facsimile books and programmes. It was very good. 


Tyrannosaurus Rex Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles

Marc Bolan's death day today. Keep a little Marc in your heart.

Friday, September 15, 2023

Tucker's Inn Janet Tanner

 I love libraries. I just went on to order a book by Reverend John Skinner who was rector of Camerton and I thought I would see what Janet Tanner books they had and this one was there. Promptly ordered. Tucker's is a local cider house which is one of the best pubs in the area. Janet Tanner is a local fiction author who writes about Radstock and thereabouts. Very successful. 

Flora is left distraught after the shocking murder of her father, the landlord of Tucker’s Grave Inn. She also senses her distant cousins, Louis and Gavin Fletcher, know more about her father’s death than they are letting on. With little choice but to move into Belvedere House with Louis and his daughter, she finds comfort in Gavin’s company, but still yearns to know the truth behind her tragic loss.

As Flora continues to look for answers, she soon finds herself drawn into a complex tale that spans from Cornwall to the terrifying events in Revolutionary France—in danger, and uncertain about whom she can trust . . .

Animals & Men To Live and Die in the West Country e.p.

 10 years ago our first sale of our e.p. in the U.S. Hit me up if you want one.



Mickey and Sylvia Since I Fell for you 1962

 I really like this - the flow, the harmonies it just seems so good. What do you think?  Released on their own Willow label. Mickey and Sylvia wiki

Teenage Beatnik Louis Nye

 Just heard on Boss Radio 66.

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Two For the Road (trailer) 1967

 


. I once saw a DVD of this Audrey Hepburn film in a Charity shop and didn't buy it. I regret that now. Lovely film. Wiki

A Life On The Farm - Trailer | In Select Cinemas and On Digital HD 8 September

 


Here. My brother is going to see this and sent me this. It's filmed in Somerset.

Wolverine Bristol Zoo Project

 Such a handsome animal. 


LMR 57 The Lion

 While in Liverpool they saw the Lion. One of my favourite locos, famous for its role in the Titfield Thunderbolt an Ealing comedy filmed near here.


Billy Fury - You're Swell, in colour! (1962) [HD]

After posting a pic of Billy Fury I thought I would post a clip of him.

Billy Fury statue Liverpool

 Another pic from my daughter.