Happy birthday. Aretha Franklin - Wikipedia
Ralphadeus. Music movies comics feature in this look at life from Somerset.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
They Drive by Night - Original Theatrical Trailer
When we were teens they used to show Bogart and George Raft films on tv so you used to be quite up on films by people like Cagney and so on.
George Raft and Humphrey Bogart share a driving ambition in They Drive by Night, a feisty tale of brothers trying to make a go of their independent trucking enterprise. Ann Sheridan plays a truck-stop waitress who can dish both the daily special and the patter. And Ida Lupino is the headstrong executive who mixes business and romance with murder.
With Bogart again riding shotgun en route to leading-man stardom (a stature he would achieve the following year) and Raft handling the wheel in one of his best roles of the decade, this fine example of Warner Bros. social-conscience filmmaking (directed by Raoul Walsh) proved a sturdy vehicle for both actors. The movie proved even more fortuitous for Lupino. Her courtoom scene of babbling derangement made her a celebrated overnight sensation that resulted in a seven-year studio contract for her. 1940
The Remains "Let Me Through" on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Remains "Let Me Through" on The Ed Sullivan Show, December 26, 1965.
The Remains had a hit with Don't Look Back. The Remains (band) - Wikipedia
Me and my bro at Claverton (American Museum) mid 80s.
The Museum was later on to become quite a place of importance for me as I organized lots of events there.
On Broadway (Mono) · The Drifters 1963
On Broadway (song) - Wikipedia
This is another song I used to slip in every now and again. It is jaw droppingly brilliant in my opinion.
Miners Leaving Pendlebury Colliery (1901)
A black miner makes an intriguing addition to an already captivating film of coal workers up from their pit.
Showman Albert Sedgwick, conspicuously raffish in homburg and moustache, bestrides and controls this film. Sedgwick has 'planted' the poster board advertising the show in which it's to be screened - as well as, probably, the Afro-Caribbean man whose presence in Edwardian Lancashire so surprises us. And he is choreographing, right before our eyes, the procession of colliers for the camera.
Paul Robeson sings to Scottish miners (1949)
Our Dad was a Paul Robeson fan.
Extract from Mining Review 2nd Year No. 11 (1949)
The highlight of this 1949 issue is the visit of American actor and singer Paul Robeson to Woolmet Colliery near Edinburgh. Robeson was also a renowned (and often persecuted) left-wing political activist and he made several visits to British mining communities. On this occasion he sings "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night" for miners in the canteen, a song about an American trade unionist who was allegedly framed on a murder charge and executed in 1915. Robeson had long been something of a hero to the British mining community, ever since he starred in the film Proud Valley (d. Pen Tennyson, 1940) as an American sailor stranded in Cardiff who finds work in a Welsh colliery (the newsreel opens with a short clip from the film).
Je m’appelle Agneta | Official Trailer | Netflix
Agneta is colorful and funny - but you wouldn’t guess it at first. At 49, with her children gone and a stagnant job at the traffic office, she feels like she’s fading into the background of her own life. While her husband finds purpose in ice baths and expensive cycling gear, Agneta longs for change. She leaves Sweden to work as an au pair in France, dreaming of a fresh start - only to discover her charge, Einar, isn’t a young Swedish boy but an eccentric elderly man. What follows is a chaotic and heartwarming adventure that pushes Agneta to ask: how do you truly live your one precious life?
“Je m’appelle Agneta” is based on the best-selling novel by Emma Hamberg of the same name and is coming to Netflix on April 29, 2026.
Lazybones - Hoagy Carmichael, 1941
This video was captured from a 16mm film reel from the 1940's known as a "Soundie". Soundies were the precursor to today's music videos, and were produced between 1940 and 1947. The films were shown in a coin operated Panoram, a sort of movie jukebox.
Soundies were designed for rear projection, so you may see other versions of this video with the images reversed. This version shows the images in their proper orientation.
THE DRIFTERS - ''I'LL TAKE YOU HOME'' (1963)
They played this on Boss and both Susan and myself enjoyed it.
Monday, March 23, 2026
Fairport Convention: Matty Groves 1969
Marc Riley played this. I didn't know it. I thought it might be Steeleye Span but I was wrong.
Blur - Song 2 (Official Music Video) 1997
We didn't buy any of their records but I quite liked Blur - certainly more than Oasis anyway.
Bob Dylan - Nervous Breakdown (Live Debut - Eddie Cochran Cover) - Omaha, Nebraska - 21st March 2026
Bob Dylan performing Eddie Cochran's 'Nervous Breakdown'' for the 1st time ever during his opening show of the 2026 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' tour at the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday March 21st
Hoagy Carmichael - "Hong Kong Blues" 1944
This is an old favourite that I used to spin in the 80s. Big Hoagy fan. Well I like his music.
From the 1942 RCM Productions Soundie.
Sunday, March 22, 2026
DeFord Bailey - Pan American Blues (From "National Life Grand Ole Opry" 1967)
Some harmonica for you. DeFord Bailey - Wikipedia
DeFord Bailey Pan American Blues 1927 REMASTERED
Mike Jefferies Photography
''Between the Mendips and the Tor.
For people asking about the stones i found this....The Deer Leap Standing Stones near Ebbor Gorge are said to commemorate an amazing leap by a deer, and the names comes from the Saxon custom of low points in a boundary where deer could pass through.
The antiquity of the stones is uncertain but the location is absolutely stunning, with views to Glastonbury Tor, the Bristol Channel, the Quantocks, and even Exmoor can also be seen in the distance on a clear day.''
Grid reference ST518486
The Yardbirds - Over, Under, Sideways, Down (A Whole Scene Going On, 08/06/1966)
Classic performance of 'Over, Under, Sideways, Down', by 'The Yardbirds', restored to HD as part of the 60th anniversary of their album "Roger The Engineer", available now in a new 7" coloured vinyl box set: https://yardbirds.lnk.to/roger60
Taken from the BBC show, 'A Whole Scene Going On'.
Wild Billy Childish And The Buff Medways 'Medway Wheelers' 2005
Song about a cycling club I believe.
Doreen - have bike will travel
A belated Mother's Day post. My Mum Doreen Newman before she got married in 1955 was a keen cyclist in a local cycling club which were all the rage then. She lived Station Road Norton. She met my Dad cycling home from Purnell's. When she visited my Dad's house at Tyning Hill my Dad's sisters were fascinated by her cycling shorts. Thanks to Anne for the photos.
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Saturday, March 21, 2026
Wild Thing - Oliver Reed / The Troggs with Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins (music video)
Daturdday Night Selection. 1992. Actor Oliver Reed teams up with The Troggs to record a version of their ever-popular 1960s track 'Wild Thing', accompanied by Northern Irish snooker player (and fellow hellraiser) Alex Higgins.
Supernatural (British TV series) 1977
They have been broadcasting this series on TPTV and Susan has been really enjoying it. About an hour. They generally have a twist at the end and it is generally with the cream of acting talent in them. I am telling you this as they are on Youtube if it is the sort of thing you like.
Supernatural is a British Gothic horror anthology television series that was produced by the BBC in 1977. The series consisted of eight episodes and was broadcast on BBC1. In each episode, a prospective member of the "Club of the Damned" was required to tell a horror story, and their application for membership would be judged on how frightening the story was. Applicants who failed to tell a sufficiently frightening story would be killed.
LOULOU - de Maurice Pialat (bande-annonce) 1980
There used to be a French joke roughly 'I went to the cinema saw a film and it didn't have either Gerard Depardieu or Isabelle Huppert in it'. This film has both in. Loulou (film) - Wikipedia
Manikin Advert 1970 Caroline Munro
We watched an interview with Caroline Munro on telly and someone asked her where she gets her clothing style from and she said Charity shops. This makes me like her even more now.
Tommy - Pinball Wizard - The Who/Elton John
Pinball Wizard - Wikipedia This version was in the charts 50 years ago.
A Boy, A Girl and a Bike 1949 John McCallum, Honor Blackman, Patrick Holt, Diana Dors
I like this film. My Mum was in a cycling club around this time.
This amiable comedy romance is notable for its strong supporting cast including Diana Dors, Anthony Newley, Leslie Dwyer and Thora Hird.
Young couple Sue (Honor Blackman) and Sam (Patrick Holt) are members of a Yorkshire cycling club, the ‘Wakeford Wheelers’. Romantic complications ensue when wealthy David (John McCallum) becomes smitten with Sue, and joins the club to pursue her, much to Sam's dismay.
Priddy Fire
Huge grass fire in Somerset village devastates woodland
A huge grass fire devastated over 400m of woodland in a Somerset village on Friday night.
Devon and Somerset Police were called to Stock Hill Woods in Priddy at 5.30pm where three to four-hundred metres of grassland was set ablaze.
Crews from Castle Cary Fire Station attended the incident using beaters and water jets from a local source to put out the fire.
Friday, March 20, 2026
The Yardbirds - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago 1966
The Yardbirds - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago. Clip from The Milton Berle Show, US TV, 1966.
Keith Relf (vocals) Jeff Beck (guitar) Jimmy Page (guitar) Chris Dreja (bass) Jim McCarty (drums).
Little Willie John - A Cottage For Sale. 1960
Just heard on Boss. A much covered song that is from 1929. A Cottage for Sale - Wikipedia
LA MAISON DES BOIS - Official Trailer
In theaters April 22nd
Epic yet intimate, sweeping yet personal, La maison des bois (The House in the Woods) stands as one of the greatest achievements in the history of television as well as legendary director Maurice Pialat’s magnum opus. Commissioned for French TV in 1971, Pialat and screenwriter René Wheeler crafted a seven-episode, nearly 400-minute miniseries about the impact of World War I on a simple French family living in the countryside. Applying a naturalistic focus to their subject, Pialat and Wheeler capture both the historical scope of the conflict and the subtle ways that a small town’s quotidian routines and rituals—church, school, tavern—are indelibly touched by it. At the center of the richly detailed narrative are the Picards, headed by Albert (Pierre Doris), a game warden for the wooded estate of a local marquis (Fernand Gravey). He and his gentle wife, Jeanne (a heartbreaking Jacqueline Dufranne), raise two teenagers—Marcel (Henri Puff), at risk of being drafted; and Marguerite (Agathe Natanson), contemplating marriage—but also shelter three abandoned boys for the duration. Most rambunctious and soulful among them is Hervé (Hervé Lévy), whose journey from boyhood to adolescence, all while becoming a surrogate child to the Picards and hoping for a reunion with his soldier father (Paul Crauchet), lends a beating heart to La maison des bois—a panoramic tale that explores the longing, loyalty, and resilience that sustain humanity amid times of earth-shattering loss.
The Troggs Wild Thing 1966
To celebrate Bos' mural here they are doing their monster hit. Bos was saying he met Reg's wife while researching the painting (see below).
Thursday, March 19, 2026
Reg Presley mural
Bos says: ''Today I had the honour of painting a mural tribute to Reg Presley, legendary singer of the Troggs , and later crop circle UFO enthusiast. It was painted at the Barge Inn Honey Street in the Vale of Pewsey, an establishment he would often frequent. Felt good timing to do this in their barn venue next to the stage, where they are hosting a lot of festivals and music events.''
GERMINAL - 1993 (Remastered US TRAILER #2)
This is my number 1 mining movie. Germinal (1993 film) - Wikipedia Germinal is a 1993 French epic film based on the 1885 novel by Émile Zola. It was directed by Claude Berri, and stars Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou and Renaud. At the time it was the most expensive movie ever produced in France. It was the fourth most attended film of the year in France.
Our son bought us the DVD in a box set including Manon des Sources and Jean de Florette as it was the best way of getting it. This year we are remembering the General Strike of 1926 which was a big deal locally. Radstock Museum is doing a small exhibition which I have made a tiny contribution about Grandad Mitchard.
COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER (1980) FULL LENGTH TRAILER
And this is a biopic and coalmining movie. Loretta Lynn chose Sissy Spacek based on photos.
How Green Was My Valley 1941 John Ford's Masterpiece
I am a big fan of John Ford and mining movies so this is fave.
How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 American drama film set in Wales, directed by John Ford. The film, based on the bestselling 1939 novel of the same name by Richard Llewellyn, was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and scripted by Philip Dunne. It stars Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp, and a very young Roddy McDowall.
It tells the story of the Morgans, a hard-working Welsh mining family, from the point of view of the youngest child Huw, who lives with his affectionate and kind parents as well as his sister and five brothers, in the South Wales Valleys during the late Victorian era. The story chronicles life in the South Wales coalfields, the loss of that way of life and its effects on the family. The fictional village in the film is based on Gilfach Goch, where Llewellyn spent many summers visiting his grandfather, and it served as the inspiration for the novel. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own personal experiences but this was found to be untrue after his death; Llewellyn was English-born and spent little time in Wales, though he was of Welsh descent. Llewellyn gathered material for the novel from conversations with local mining families in Gilfach Goch. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning five, famously beating Citizen Kane, Sergeant York and The Maltese Falcon for Best Picture, while Ford won for Best Director, Donald Crisp for Best Supporting Actor, Arthur Miller for Best Cinematography, and Richard Day, Nathan H. Juran and Thomas Little for Best Black-and-White Art Direction-Interior Decoration. In 1990, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Academy Film Archive preserved How Green Was My Valley in 1998.
Take A Little Walk with Me - The Aces 1977 (Live video)
My favurite blues druer Fred Below. Fred Below - Wikipedia This year is his centenary.
Bos in the Frome Times
New wildlife mural brightens Vallis Road
A new mural is taking shape on hoardings at the top of Vallis Road.
Commissioned by Frome Town Council and created by local artist Paul Mutartis Boswell, the mural depicts birds and other wildlife, plants and industrial buildings, reflecting the surrounding area and its history.
The mural, near the junction with Wallington Way, is a response to requests from residents of Wallington Way and the surrounding streets to improve the hoardings’ appearance and the view people see when they arrive in Frome from the north west.
In 2025, Paul Mutartis Boswell and Shared Earth Learning led workshops with young people to create a collage of images on the residential side of the hoardings; the new mural faces the road, with the remaining section to be painted in in a plain colour sympathetic to the mural.
Read more here: https://buff.ly/0NW9BPv
Gene Vincent and the Shouts You Are My Sunshine 1964
I love this. My first Gene Vincent album had this on it. I used to have trouble getting the original hits so I would often end up with 60s and 70s recordings. This album was worth having.
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Randy Alvey And The Green Fuz - Green Fuz US 1969
This one off single group was formed in Bridgeport, Texas. The members were Randy Alvey (vocals), Mike Pearce (drums), Jimmy Mercer (rhythm guitar), Les Dale (lead guitar), and R.E. "Buck" Houchins (bass). Alvey and Pearce formed their first group, the Psychedelic Reactions, in 1967; after some personnel changes, they became the Green Fuz, named for Dale's green fuzz box. Alvey, Pearce and Houchins were later involved in another group, Natchez.
The Green Fuz played at dances and clubs, gaining enough local popularity to persuade the co-owner of Wash-Tex Records, Shorty Hendrix, to record their self-written theme song. The recording took place at The Cross Roads Cafe, a deserted roadside cafe chosen for its acoustics, which was owned by Dale's mother. The single was issued locally in 1969 on the Big Tex Records label. It was not a success, largely because the primitive recording techniques led to a muffled sound, which subsequently contributed to its cult appeal. On the single, the band was identified as Randy Alvey and the Green Fuz; while the B-side, "There Is a Land", was attributed to R. E. Houchins and the Green Fuz. Dale and Alvey both stated that these were errors by the record company and that both should have been simply listed as the Green Fuz. The record resurfaced in the late 1970s on a prominent garage rock compilation album, Pebbles, Volume 2, and subsequently appeared on many similar compilation albums. One of those albums, Acid Dreams Epitaph, was subtitled 75 Minutes of Green Fuz. The band gained additional fans when "Green Fuz" was covered by the Cramps on their 1981 album Psychedelic Jungle.
Adam & The Ants - 'Lou' (BBC Session 1978)
A little tribute to the recently departed Jordan,
aka Pamela Rooke/Jordan Mooney. From the first Ants John Peel session. Recorded 23 January 1978. First broadcast 30 January. The band line-up is ; Jordan - (Vocals), Adam, Johnny Bivouac (Guitar), plus world's best rhythm section Dave & Andy.
I'm Knitting a singlet for Cecil
So I'm Knitting a singlet for Cecil, a nice wooly singlet for Cecil. It will keep him as snug as a bug in a rug. As in its embrace he will nestle,
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
A Symphony Of Sound - The Velvet Underground & Nico Live! Jan. 1966
I was wondering if there was anything of the Velvets in 1966 and found this. Maybe you have seen it already but either way I am happy to post it.
The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound - Wikipedia
Aretha Franklin Singing Never Loved A Man (Live 1967)
This is one I have come to like after hearing it on Boss Radio 66.
Michael Collins 1996
We watched this earlier. Very enjoyable and Susan enjoyed it too. Her Granny was from those times and Ireland. She used to mention Michael Collins. Sue also spotted her favourite, Jonathan Rhys-Myers in an early role. This clip contains spoilers. Michael Collins (film) - Wikipedia
THE FALL an older lover 1981
I waaasn't mad on the Fall in 1981 - I got to like them later but I bought this album later in time.
sinead o'connor - she moved through the fair [live 1997]
She Moved Through the Fair - Wikipedia In the film Michael Collins which is good and worth a watch. Sinéad O'Connor - Wikipedia
The Wind That Shakes The Barley - Official Film Trailer
Loved this film from 2006. I think it was the film that introduced Cillian Murphy to the world - well to us at least.
Bothy Band, The Morning Star set 1977
A set of Irish Reels beginning with The Morning Star, live - The Bothy Band. Paddy Keenan pipes, Matt Molloy flute, Kevin Burke fiddle, Triona Ni Dhomhnaill keyboard, Micheal O'Domhnaill guitar & Donal Lunny bouzouki - 1977 - First track on their Out of the wind and into the sun album. The Bothy Band - Wikipedia
VAN MORRISON-THE CHIEFTAINS - Celtic ray 1987
This album Irish Heartbeat is well worth checking out.
Monday, March 16, 2026
The influence of Charley Patton (BBC Arena: American Epic)
Arena: American Epic – Episode 2, Blood and Soil takes a look at the stories of those early music pioneers whose names have largely been forgotten.
Sinners | I Lied To You Song | Movie Clip | Warner Bros. Entertainment
I read Sinners got an Oscar or two. I haven't seen it but our son has and enjoyed it. This clip is interesting. Sinners (2025 film) - Wikipedia
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Today's Charity shop purchases
Midsomer Norton has 7 charity shops. The best one is near to us - just around the corner but it doesn't sell DVDs. I asked Susan to see if there was a DVD of the Italian Job and she was chuffed to find it for me. Result. We also picked up three books. The Frome Unzipped one I am in so I already have a copy but I couldn't leave it there.
Sunday, March 15, 2026
The Mission (1986) - Trailer HD 1080p
This is a film that we went to the pictures to see. Great soundtrack and very good movie.
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - Hold Tight (1966)
Quentin Tarantino made this song hip again in the movie Death-proof. We used to have a poster of that film in our front room.
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The Moments & The Whatnauts - Girls - TOTP - 20 March 1975
This song popped in my head and found it going on a song finder that you tap in the lyrics you remember. It worked.
Saturday, March 14, 2026
1966 HITS ARCHIVE: Whispers (Gettin’ Louder) - Jackie Wilson (mono 45)
Love this. Jackie Wilson is the best.
Jackie was backed instrumentally by The Funk Brothers and vocally by The Andantes on this pop & R&B hit.
45 single issued on Brunswick 55300 - Whispers (Gettin’ Louder) (Barbara Acklin-David Scott) by Jackie Wilson, orchestra & chorus conducted by Gerald Sims, produced by Carl Davis
The Italian Job (1969) OFFICIAL TRAILER
For Michael Caine's birthday. My parents saw this at the pictures and loved it. They made me and my sister go see it the next day. The Italian Job - Wikipedia
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Like this photo session. Steve Peregrine Took was a useful musician and something was lost when he was replaced. Stacey Grove - The Home Of Tyrannosaurus Rex | Facebook
Mickey Lee Lane - "Shaggy Dog" American Bandstand 1964
For all dog lovers. I understand this was popular with both Mods and Rockers.
Hey Sah-Lo-Ney · Mickey Lee Lane 1965
Saturday Night Selection. A brilliant record with beautiful pumping bass. Mickey Lee Lane - Wikipedia
Dexys On Wogan: "Listen To This"
This is another song played by Mickey Bradley last night.
On 13th September 1985 to celebrate the release of their new album "Don't Stand Me Down", Dexys Midnight Runners appeared on BBC's "Wogan" show, giving a rousing performance of "Listen To This".
Madness - (My Name Is) Michael Caine (Official Video)
Happy birthday Michael Caine. Mickey Bradley played this last night. I am not a Madness fan but I enjoyed it and I thought I would find the video.
Taken from their fifth studio album, Keep Moving, British band Madness released Michael Caine in February 1984 when it spent eight weeks in the UK chart, peaking at number 11. It is unusual for the fact that lead vocals are sung not by Suggs, but by Chas Smash, who wrote the song with drummer Woody.
More serious than most other Madness videos up to that point, the promo for Michael Caine was based on the actor's film The Ipcress File and the song tackles the subject of an IRA informer during the troubles in Northern Ireland. The 'my name is Michael Caine' sample was recorded by Caine himself, who was persuaded to do it by his daughter.
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