Malcolm Wells

So on Sunday we lost Sue's father Malcolm. Today we found out it was coronavirus. He was 87 and in a care home with Alzheimer's. Apparently there is the virus in the home. Funeral will be a muted affair.

Alfred the Great (1969) | Full Movie | w/ David Hemmings, Michael York, Prunella Ransome, Ian McKellen

https://ok.ru/video/343296183032
I am happy as I have found an online site for the film Alfred the Great (1969) starting David Hemmings. It's great. I saw it at the flicks when about 10 years old and the Vikings scared me to death. I remember the feeling that this took place here in the West Country and enjoying that but it's filmed in Ireland. Also stars Michael York.

Lord Bath dies

From Conronavirus. BBC News item. A real shame. He was quite a character as you know. Website

The Best (And The Rest) Of The Bad Detectives 2CD Album

This double album is coming out soon. Check out the tracklisting for this here

40 years ago Animals and men supporting Essential Bop at Corsham Art College.

Strange Days the Doors

Appropriate verses.
Strange days have found us
Strange days have tracked us down
They're going to destroy
Our casual joys
We shall go on playing
Or find a new town

Radstock museum

So the museum is temporarily closed. Shame as I have recently been accepted as a volunteer and was going to learn the stewarding ropes soon. Hopefully not too long before it reopens.

Clip from Lion of the Desert (1980)

This is a great movie. Watch the whole thing here.
Wiki

De Gaulle (2020) - Trailer (English Subs)

May 1940. France is facing a disastrous military situation against the German army. Charles de Gaulle, newly appointed General, joins the Government in Paris while Yvonne, his wife, and their three children stay in the East. Facing the defeatist attitude of Pétain ready to negotiate with Hitler, de Gaulle has one purpose: continue fighting. Alongside thousands of French families, Yvonne and the children are soon forced to flee the advancing German troops. Without contact from one another, the doubt arises: will the de Gaulle family be sacrificed for the sake of France? An outstanding destiny that will change the course of World War II and French History.

Animals & men support Toyah 7/3/80

So our next date on our 40 years ago cycle is March 7. Supporting Toyah at Bath pavilion. Our biggest gig with about 3000 people. Sue got us the gig. Didn't start too well - Toyah told us we would have to pay them £50 or we wouldn't be able to use their PA. We were being paid £40 for the gig. So we coughed up. I wondered whether to wear my spectacles and decided to wear them and when we walked onstage someone shouted Joe 90! We went down pretty well although the sound was pretty bad. First gig with Puddle. Geoff was in the audience and came backstage after. It was a bit like a party in the dressing room. Toyah went and did her set but midway through the performance the electricity went out - no sound or lights. They blamed us. It wasn't any of us but it kind of ruined the joy of doing the gig. Well that was it. Covered by Bath fanzine Spuno

McDonald and Dodds trailer

Watched this detective programme last night. Don't usually watch TV but this was set in Bath so made an effort. We liked it. It was quite novel being set in Bath with all the BBC Somerset accents. Have a look on the catch up if you like whodunnits and local themes. It even had a scene at an allotment!

Families of Fairley Terrace

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Families-Fairley-Terrace-Book/dp/B076KPFPY4
This series of romantic fiction books by local author Janet Tanner/Jennie Felton are set in a fictionalised version of Radstock. She also is famous for the Black Mountains the first in the Hillsbridge saga. 

Gone: Jack Caffery series 5 Mo Hayder

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gone-Jack-Caffery-Mo-Hayder/dp/0553824333
Apparently this thriller is set in Radstock Midsomer-Norton and Frome. Haven't read it but looks OK.

The Reaping

My son has been reading this 80s horror novel but was very taken aback by the fact it's set near Clandown.

Radstock Reminisces

Read about it here

West Side Stop Frome

I only went here a few times. It was the yobs hangout of choice in the 70s.

Animals & men 40 years ago today

So 24 February 40 years ago Puddle joined as drummer. He lived in Warminster which was about 8 miles away but he had friends who had cars. He used to be in a band called Stalag 44 I think. His real name was Paul. He liked the Ants and Punilux. Worked on an army base. He didn't own his own drum kit but our acting manager owned one from Moskow so we used that. He was a proficient drummer and easy going. When he left us in September he said he was giving up music to do marionette puppets which we believed but in reality he went off to join the Silent Guests on the TW label. Discogs

Me and Susan mid 90s by David Wilton

MR. JONES Trailer (2020)

Based on a true story of the Holodomor

26 January Buddy Holly on the Ed Sullivan show

from http://performingsongwriter.com/buddy-holly-ed-sullivan/
On January 26, 1958, Buddy Holly and the Crickets made their second and final appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show—this time earning the well-known wrath of the host. They were scheduled to perform their hit “Oh, Boy!,” but Sullivan told them to substitute it because he felt it was too raucous. You can imagine how that went over, though, and Holly told him he’d already told his hometown friends that was the song he was going to be performing. And that was that. Sullivan summoned the Crickets to a last-minute rehearsal the afternoon of the show, but when he got to their dressing room only Holly was there. When asked where the others were, Holly said, “I don’t know. No telling.” Sullivan said, “Well, I guess The Crickets are not too excited to be on The Ed Sullivan Show,” to which Holly replied, “I hope they’re damn more excited than I am.” By that time Ed was completely steamed. He cut the Crickets’ act from two songs to one, and he mispronounced Holly’s name when he introduced them as “Buddy Hollet and his Crickets.” In addition, the line feed for Holly’s electric guitar was turned off, and he tried to compensate by singing as loudly as he could and repeatedly trying to turn up the volume on his guitar. He finally let loose with a dramatic solo during the instrumental break so the audience would know the technical fault wasn’t his. In the end Buddy Holly and the Crickets were so well received that Sullivan invited them back for a third time, but Holly’s response was that Sullivan didn’t have enough money for that. Ah, showbiz.

26 January 1980 Animals and men are 14 in the alternative charts

Two years since Mark E. Smith died

Yes it's that sad anniversary today. Time to play some records by the Fall I think.

A HIDDEN LIFE Official Trailer (2019) Terrence Malick Movie

Looks good.

A day in Frome musical history

Today the 8th of January 40 years ago was the day Frome band Animals & Men had their first John Peel play. Called 'Don't misbehave in the New age' the record was recorded at Paulton on a label from Trowbridge. I believe it was the first record out by a Frome band but you may know differently. It is what is called these days Post punk but then it was just punk. It got in the newly invented Independent charts and was on a couple of juke boxes in local pubs much to our embarrassment. All of the band were from Frome though the bassist came from near Nunney. We sent Peel a tape and he suggested we got a record out and so he was ambushed at Broadcasting House on the day and he played it first record on the show. He played it quite a bit and the follow up 45 and eventually offered us a session but we were sadly broken up by then. We only lasted a year but we headlined at the Hexagon suite which was a big deal then. Supported by the Bad Detectives. We were young I was only 19. When we had triumphant news we would go to the Mendip Motel and have cigars. You can hear it at
https://animalsandmen.bandcamp.com

All the best

Dingwalls

Who remembers this venue? There was a time when there was a chain of them in places like Bristol, Hull Sheffield and the main one in Camden London. Saw some great artists there in Bristol including Bo Diddley and Screaming Jay Hawkins. No Diddley was my brother's first ever gig (March 1983) and he was 17! Saw Link Wray at Camden Dingwalls about then too.

Visiting a British pub

Both Frome and Midsomer Norton had a large contingent of GIs. This film shows them how to behave. In 1943, the American OWI helped create a film that they showed to all those who were to be stationed in Great Britain. This is an excerpt from the US Military Training film "How to Behave in Britain." Burgess Meredith, of later fame as the Penguin in the Batman series (he did a great deal of other stuff as well and much of it quite good), takes the American GI through the ins and outs of the British pub as it existed in wartime Britain. Perhaps Donald Trump should have been shown this film before his first trip abroad as President of the US. Since this film was produced by the US government during the Second World War it is considered to be in the public domain.

New Bad Detectives cd

Up on Spotify if you want to hear it before buying.

RIP Anna Karina

News here

Christmas in Wellington's Peninsular Army

Here

Jacques Tati - Trafic (1971)

Some great visual comedy. Not his best film but it's still funny. Wiki

Moggwatch

Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday in Midsomer Norton. There was a live debate last night on Somer Valley FM in the town hall and Mogg turned up with a tv crew in tow. They weren't allowed in.

Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil (Live Altamont, 1969)

50 years ago today was this famous free festival that symbolically ended the 60s. Wiki
"rock and roll's all-time worst day, December 6th, a day when everything went perfectly wrong."^[10]

Quick Joey Small The Mud dogs (2006)

In our old garden 13 years ago. Totally unpremeditated - Sue had a new camera and then bosh.  Over 5k hits. It was so long ago that when I uploaded it it was the only version of this song on YouTube. Of course the original is by the Kasenetz Kats orchestral circus if you didn't know.

New Bad Detectives cd

Their 6th album. Fourteen tracks. Available now!  The expanded CD version of the  '..are in Mild Peril' mini album.

14 songs - 5 brand new, 8 from the original, and a re-worked version of Strangest Dream.

1. I Saw A Dilton Martian
2. What Happened To Buster Crabb
3. Vambo Man
4. Pepper Put The Cuffs On Me
5. Drinking In The Whammy Bar
6. The Hypnotist Twist
7. There's A Love Guru In The Village Barn
8. (I Had The) Strangest Dream
9. Orson's Comet
19. Junkshop Guitar
11. Petrol & Beer
12. Straitjacket Stroll
13. Looks Like I Gotta Split Town
14. Shepton Prison Blues

Just in time for Christmas
 Get it here

The Undertones are coming to Frome!

5th June. Cheese and Grain. Support Hugh Cornwell.

My German exchange

This is me (on the right) with my German exchange 'friend' from Hannover. We spent a month in each other's country and I got to really dislike him. It all came to a head at Hanover zoo in the trampolines - we had a fight and I finished up breaking my wrist pummeling him in the head. It was a big deal. I was going to be sent back home - had to have a cast on my arm. Happy Days. Dierck his name was. His parents were very nice. His Dad had been a P.O.W. in the the UK. I managed to pick up this record at Hanover fleamarket. I also got mugged by some blokes on bikes while I was out wandering around.

Stones poster sells for £15,000

This poster was in the news when it fetched 15,000 at auction. First Stones tour. Quite a package. Keith Richards wrote in his autobiography about this tour and the romance he had with Ronnie to be Spector.

A rare poster promoting one of the Rolling Stones' earliest concerts that was found in a loft has sold for £15,000.

The original poster advertised a show at Bristol's Colston Hall in 1964 during the group's first UK tour.

It was found when the sellers of the poster moved into a house in the Knowle area of the city in the 1980s.

Maxwell street Chicago 1964

'And This Is Free' is the fascinating personal vision of life around Chicago's Maxwell Street open air market shot by award winning photographer Mike Shea [capturing] the gritty urban landscape that nurtured Chicago blues...Shot with a handheld camera in the cinema verite style... the film crew spent every weekend on Maxwell Street over a six month period... The flow of everyday details - overheard conversation, faces in the crowd, items strewn in a vendor's stall - captivates the viewer with the power of authenticity." The film uses the footage to illustrate a Sunday afternoon on Maxwell Street in 1964.

Cliff Richard & The Shadows - On The Beach (Sing A Long Version)

Watched this movie Wonderful Life (1964) the other day. It's as you know part of a trilogy of colourful youthful movies that represented an attempt to create a commercial British musical. Other films include the Young Ones(1961) and Summer Holiday (1963). 

Elvis Presley Beach Shack

From the movie Spinout 1966. I woke up this morning with this song in my head. 

The Who May 31 1976

 Another early on gig I went to was the Who at Charlton athletic ground in 1976. Travelled by car with schoolfriends. It rained and my burgundy waistcoat ran all over my Grandad shirt. Support was the Sensational Alex Harvey band as well as others. Who setlist

U

When Dave Clark Five 1965

Did you watch this the other day? (Catch us if you can 1965) I loved it. Hadn't seen it for about 30 years and it didn't disappoint. This scene is on the Mendips apparently - near Charterhouse on the Mendips. This song is great. John Boorman directs. 

Gary Rhodes RIP

My kids were big fans. Here they are plus one at Waterstones Bath for a signing. BBC obituary 

Howlin' Wolf 'Don't Laugh at me'

Captures the intertwining of the Wolf and Hubert Sumlin, playing his Bartolini guitar. Looks like this model. Don't know much about them I used to think it was Japanese.

My first real gig - Wings Bristol Hippodrome May 11 1973

Setlist here
James Paul McCartney a TV special from 1973.
I wish I could remember more about this but I was only 12. Support was Brinsley Schwartz but I can't say I particularly dug them. I was wearing a purple corduroy trouser suit with home made Wings badge made by my sister. I went with my big sister and her friend who was known as Splosh. Her mum drove us there in a Morris minor. They debuted the song 'Live and Let Die' with strobe lighting. Highlight for me was the encore Long Tall Sally. It was a big deal as it was the first gig in McCartney 's first real tour and it was all new. We waited after the gig with some die hard fans and got a glimpse of Paul and Linda peeking out at us peeking in at them. 1973 tour wiki
The below clip is from 74 but they started with this one. 

Somer Valley Rockin'

Hi everyone,

After a small break we are back and raring to go with some great gigs coming up in the next year.

You will see that we have revamped ourselves, starting with a new name, logo, and committee of like minded friends.

Our next gig is The Crawlin' Kingsnakes on Saturday 08/02/2020, with the brilliant Trevor Rock Ape Stewart spinning the tunes. This will be at our usual venue of Radstock Working Men's Club in the centre of Radstock (BA3 3PR). It's a great hall with a large dance floor.

Tickets will shortly be available through PayPal via our newly created website, priced at £6.50 online/in advance or £8.00 on the door.

Many thanks to you for your continuing support,

Marc, Elaine, Meg, Paul and Keith

Norman Cornish centenary (with thanks to the Durham miners gala)

 Norman Cornish - internationally acclaimed artist and Durham miner - was born 100 years ago today.

Born in Spennymoor on 18 November 1919, he worked at Dean & Chapter Colliery for 33 years from the age of 14.

Famous around the world for his depictions of work and life on the Durham coalfield, he was the last surviving artist of the Pitman's Academy at The Spennymoor Settlement, established to give mining communities access to the arts.

He continued to paint until his death at the age of 94 in August 2014.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/gallery/norman-cornish-paintings-county-durham-3957212

50th anniversary of Sesame Street

From 1969, "Jazzy Spies #3", written by Denny Zeitlin, vocals by Grace Slick (yes, that one, of Jefferson Airplane).

Purnells

Picked this up from a charity shop. It's the story of the Printing firm for around here. My mother and father were working there when they met whilst cycling home. 

Somer valley rocknroll club nights for 2020

These are the rocknroll gigs at the working men's club Radstock for 2020 - see the webpage where you can buy tickets

Please note the following dates in your diary:

Sat 08/02/2020 The Crawlin’ Kingsnakes with DJ Rock Ape

Sat 04/04/2020 The Authentics with DJ Tony Toye

Sat 13/06/2020 The Rhythm Slicks with DJ Tony Toye

Sat 08/08/2020 The Sonny Richards Trio with DJ Tony Toye

Grand March in honor of the 78th anniversary of the military parade November 7, 1941

Van Morrison - Wavelength - 2/1/1979 - Belfast (OFFICIAL)

40 years ago. I wasn't a Van fan 40 years ago. I had some Them records but my younger brother got me into Van's solo stuff initially with the l.p. he made with the Chieftains 'Irish heartbeat' and then this which is from the Van Morrison in Ireland VHS. This version rocks better than the lp version give it a spin. By the way we have a new bass player and he has Van Morrison's old BMW. 

A real life Midsomer murder?

Except it was in Radstock. BBC sounds programme of the Wellsway pit disaster.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p02k4d3g

Hamburg62 at Tucker's Grave 26 September 26 2020

This 4 piece band recreating the apprenticeship years of the Beatles and others from 1962 are playing at the lovely cider house in Faulkland near Radstock. You can camp there if you wish for about a fiver. I am going.
https://www.tuckersgraveinn.co.uk/

Radstock rail accident

Read about it here

Britains zoo animals

I think I had all of these

Magpie vintage

New shop for Midsomer Norton High street.

Get Out of Denver - Eddie and the Hot Rods

Sorry to see Barrie Masters has died.  Here's one of his earliest moments on French tv I believe.

French in camp Ralph Mitchard

Napoleon's Line infantry and artillery

Bought this book the other day. It's from 1996 so it's after my time but it still is an enjoyable read. 

260th of 1759

1999 photo by John Norris for Skirmish magazine

Today is the 260th of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. So to commemorate it why not check out the pages of photos of my French and Indian war reenactment years. All in subjects.