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.