Never too old to Rock!

After reading a few newspaper reviews of The Who's performance on the 23rd March, I have become angry and upset with the feedback from this gig. As I am a massive fan of this band this review may read as very one sided but so did the newspaper articles I read. 

I will start with the complete truth of how I felt the gig went.

The Who are touring their 50th anniversary, the two original London dates were cancelled last year after Roger Daltrey became ill and was advised by his doctors to rest his voice. Now every Who fan knows that Roger gives it 110% when he sings, to bring across the brilliantly written Pete Townshend songs - Love, Reign O'er Me was in the middle of the set and it did not disappoint. Daltrey sang it like he would have done in the 70's, with sheer passion - the scream bellowed through the O2. 

Now I must admit I noticed that Daltrey did forget a few lyrics and missed a few song queue's but his only human!! I mean bloody hell, if you were still rocking at the age of 71 I think the whole stadium would let you off if you had a few slip ups a long the way. I remember being told that Richard Ashcroft had once forgot the words to Bittersweet Symphony and Liam Gallagher had to save the day by singing the rest of the song as Ashcroft's mind had just gone blank. I am sure it's every singers fear to forget the words....but it happens. 

The band is still full of energy, Pete is bouncing around and windmilling, his playing was fantastic as it always is. It made my night that A Quick One While His Away was still on the set list and that Townshend also introduced the song by mentioning their fabulous performance on The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus. I felt like not a lot of the crowd knew what that song was. Why not?! Although its one of The Who's more light hearted songs, it doesn't make it any less better than some of their other hits. Daltrey cracked out the harmonica for a few songs including Magic Bus and it was on point! His one of the artists who made the harmonica popular in the 60's and man is he good at it - he has that blues sound perfect. 

I now associate Zak Starkey as a member of The Who, so I get just excited to see him as I do about seeing Townshend and Daltrey. Last time I saw The Who it was the Quadrophenia tour and to my dismay Zak wasn't drumming on that tour! So seeing him this time round was great, his a fantastic replacement for Keith Moon. Zak has great energy when he plays and OK he doesn't fill in every gap in a song but he does bring the same power house to each song which Keith originally brought to the band. 

Without going through every song on the set list and telling you what was great about it because I shouldn't have to - The Who have been around for 50 years and this tour proves that they have some of the greatest songs in the history of British music. 

Townshend made a comment while introducing the first song of the night I Can't Explain, saying that 'This song was written before most of you were fucking born' and his right there was a lot of young people there celebrating The Who's 50th anniversary. It proves that The Who's music still makes an impact on youngsters today and that's why for me The Who will live on in music for another 50 years and longer. 

The camera on my phone was broken when I went to the gig so all the images and videos used are not my images.

Halloween playlist

As Halloween is edging ever closer, I thought I would do a Top 10 Halloween songs you should have on your playlist....more alternative ones, a bit more out of the box stuff with a couple of classic's thrown in there.

Take a look and see what you think.


1. Creedence Clearwater Revival - I put a spell on you

This footage is from their 1969 performance at Woodstock.

2. The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the devil 

This was recorded for their Rock & Roll Circus, if you haven't seen it you need to!!

3. Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft 

Sorry about the long introduction! 

4. David Bowie - Scary monsters & super creeps 

I love The Serious Moonlight tour, Bowie is wearing a great suit!

5. Stevie Wonder - Superstition

Studio recording 1973.

6. Howlin' Wolf - Evil (is going on)

7. Echo & the Bunnymen - Killing moon

Live on the Tube

8. Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams

Live on Top of the pops.

9. The Smiths - How soon is now

Reminds me of Charmed and The Craft - Footage live from Top of the pops 1985

10. The Chordettes - Mr Sandman

Live 1958 

What songs would be on your unique Halloween playlist?

Record of the month...Shuggie Otis - Hurricane

This months Record of the month is Shuggie Otis - Hurricane.

After being told by someone at work to buy an Shuggie Otis greatest hits, I have been in love with this track! Its a great up beat soul song, a good song to dance to. 

The other stand out tracks on the 69-74 greatest hits are; Strawberry Letter 23 (you may remember it from an advert), One room country shack & me and my woman. 

'HEY! Baby don't you know, your looking good and I love you so'

Please do let me know what you think of this track, I personally think it's a gooden! 

Record of the month...Moanin' & Screamin'

As some of you know I have become slightly obsessed with this record lately! 

Listening to this record actually gives me goose bumps, the soul and sadness in his voice is just incredible. It almost hurts to listen to this song, there is so much pain that is conveyed in a 5 mins 46 sec track.

My baby left me, she didn't even say Goodbye
My baby left me, all I could do was cry
When that little girl left me, I had to hang my head in shame
.....
My baby left me, I got me something that I want to moan about 




Another track to check out by Diamond Joe is Gossip Gossip, it's a fantastic track for all you funk fans out there! 

Most under rated band of the 60's

I love a lot of music from the 60's from rock too blues, soul and even a bit of pop! I'm a sucker for a British band, the usual such as; The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who (weirdly loads of bands with The in front of the name) but I do love a band called The Pretty things. 

Unfortunately for them they were around in an era where there was some of the best music ever, that influenced the bands we have around today. The Pretty Things are probably the most under rated band of this era, sounding a little like early Rolling Stones after being fully influenced by Rhythm & Blues and black American music. Although not as well non as other British bands in the 60's, other artists were aware of their talents, David Bowie covered two of their songs on his pin up album. The Pretty Things most successful period was in the mid 60's where they had three singles in the UK singles chart but they never had a hit in the US.
Once the 60's were over The Pretty Things, like every band expanded on their music sound and their early 70's music is your more psychedelic and rockier stuff, which is good if your a fan of Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin. By the late 70's the group had gone their separate ways due to commercial failures.

If you are a fan of 60's British bands then I highly recommend taking the time to listen to this band and spending your pennies on purchasing a CD or Vinyl of theirs.

The album below is the one I purchased, it has 2 discs of their fantastic early Rhythm & Blues years - If you are looking at purchasing a studio album then I would suggest getting yourself a copy of S.F Sorrow, their most popular and recognised album of their career.  

Return of the Rude Boy

Somerset House recently had a photography exhibition on the 'Return of the Rude Boy', the pictures in the exhibition looked amazing and made me think about Rude boy fashion now....there are still Rude Boy's out there, they are just few and far between. 

Jamaicans introduced rude boy music and fashion to the UK in the 60's, which influence the Mod and Skinhead scene. Rudy's were generally working class (like most subcultures at this time) and big followers of the Ska and Rock-steady scene. Once the scene reached the 70's and 80's it influenced bands like The 2 Tones, The Specials and Madness, the more popular Rudy's you know and love today. 

Like everything this scene is starting to make a come back, get suited and booted and join the Return of the Rude Boy!!

Images used are from the exhibition by Dean Chalkley & Harris Elliott

What to do next month...?

So like I said I will try and keep this going every month, I have been busy searching the internet looking for exciting and interesting things to do...I managed to come up with a few ideas for you all to have a look at. Some I wish I could go to but I'm sadly doing other things (everything happens in the same weekend!) 

Walk down the Boardwalk -

A big fan on Boardwalk Empire or just love 20' and 30's Art Deco? Well this fair is right up your street! 13th-14th September at Eltham Palace £10.20 for entry but by the sounds of it, it's well worth the entry fee. 

http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/art-deco-fair-5

Get your dancing shoes on -

This sounds amazing to me, but what do you think? If you like 60's R&B, Soul, Gospel, R'nR and Ska then this is going to be heaven for you! On it's 3rd month and only £5 entry fee, it's worth a try...5th September it's your chance to WOW the dance floor. For a list of DJ's see the link below. 

http://www.trapezebar.com/basement-club/event/chain-gang1


Spitalfields Market - 

The vintage market at Spitalfields is on every week but it's a good idea to pencil it into your diary to go and visit at some point. Selling Vintage clothes starting from 20's and going all the way to the 80's, you are bound to find some hidden treasures! From hats to furniture, they have it all. With events happening every week of the month, you will always find something to do while your there other than shopping.

http://www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/events 


Look like Elvis - 

Now although having your hair cut at a Rockabilly hairdressers isn't actually classed as an 'event', you should make the trip to this London hairdressers who do some fabulous do's! I follow them on Instagram and they upload some fantastic pictures of their clients before and after hair and it WOW's me to see the transformation. 

http://www.rockalily.com/blog/rockabilly-hairdressers-in-london.html


If you attend any suggested events, would be great if you send me some images for me to upload. Have a great weekend! 

Record of the month!

After going to the 100 club last Saturday, my first all nighter in months!! I decided I'm going to do a regular post of my favourite record each month, to introduce my readers too the kind of music I like to listen to. 

This record is close to my heart, it played at the first all nighter I went to - again the 100 club! It reminds me of my lovely soul family, every time I listen to it!

Oh baby don't you weep - Luther Ingram

Above are images I took of some of the soul family, at Rugby in February.

What was the first record you remember from a Northern Soul all nighter?  

British Music....making a come back!

So one of my favourite British bands, scratch that one of my favourite bands of all time has a new album out!! It's the best album out this year (so far), James La Petite Mort, for true fans of James this is their best album since Hey Ma. For all the people who are thinking 'James who?' or 'the band that sung Sit Down', then I don't think this post is going to be for you!

I have been listening to this album everyday since I bought it and I can't find anything bad to say about it. I will be sharing with you my top 10 James songs with you as well as my favourite track from the new album La Petite Mort. This was a hard task for me, I was originally going to pick my top 5 but there are too many songs I would like to share with you all, so I picked my top 10. I have added a nice combination of James' slower songs with their more up beat anthems, so enjoy!



1. Runaground

 

2. Getting away with it

3. Out to get you

4. Ring the bells

5. Johnny Yen

6. Waterfall

7. Stutter

8. Of Monsters and Heroes and Men

9. Quicken the dead

10. Lullaby

I apologise for some of the rubbish quality, I tried to keep most of them live but some were hard to find unless you want rubbish audience recordings so most of these are from TV. 

I think everyone should see James at least once in their life, you won't be disappointed!!

Best British Frontmen

I'm a big fan of British bands and while watching a few live videos on youtube I was thinking to myself, who's my favourite British Frontman. Well putting these in order of favourite is going to be very hard but I am going to try my best, I'm sure I will change it multiple times before I publish the final one.
What do you look for in a Frontman?? Vocal? Sexiness? Fashion? Character?

1. David Bowie

Bowie is the king of personas, with every album is another character; Ziggy Star Dust, Thin White Duke, etc. David has everything a frontman needs, especially when through out most of his career no one was sure of his sexual orientation and therefore was desirable to both male and females.  With his great vocals, raw sexuality, fabulous fashion that was constantly being re invented  and fantastic on stage character with both the audience, his band and backing dancers.

2. Roger Daltrey

Frontman of The Who, his in my top five because he is one of the only Frontmen who convey someone else's songs with such perfection. Pete Townsend has always said that he could never sing his own songs the way Roger sings them for him, I think he is one of the most emotional singers out there. Though he may not always hit every note to perfection the pure emotion he puts into his performance makes up for that. Roger has the whole package and more with, great vocal, pure sexiness (I mean that body and its still pretty good today!), the tough boy fashion and a always smiling character.

3. Mick Jagger

Being the Frontman of The Rolling Stones needs a lot of energy and Mick Jagger certainly has that, with his Little Richard like stage performance and constant dancing makes for great watching. His vocal can sometimes be a bit off but that doesn't stop you enjoying the fantastic performance he gives, even now in his 70s his still has it! A lot women have fallen at his feet and after his film Performance I'm sure that was still the case maybe even more so, after seeing his more artistic side. After all these years, his fashion has been a bit up and down but most of the time his nailed it. Younger Jagger with the all in ones and his even younger self with jumpers and suits were probably his best fashion moments. Jagger comes across as a fabulous character both on and off the stage.

4. Robert Plant

The lungs of Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant has the best vocal of all the Frontmen I've chosen with an incredible vocal range he can mesmerise you with just that. Being a Frontman and having great vocal isn't enough but luckily he ticks all the boxes, with all that hair, a constant open shirt and the tightest jeans ever seen, its almost like his having a who's sexier fight with Roger Daltrey! The Rock n Roll fashion is all there too and he comes across as a very generous and a bit of a quiet character, sometimes being sweet is better than being loud and in this case I think its true.

5. Freddie Mercury

I really nearly forgot to put Freddie into my list, I mean how could I have forgotten him!! With a fantastic vocal and maybe the more unusual of all the Frontmen, he still has everything you want. The perfect body (look at that picture) he looks like a ballerina, fashion for the time was good looking back at it now maybe not as good as some of the other Frontmen but we can let him off. His character was fantastic, Freddie owned the stage when he was on it, all eyes were on him.

6. John Lennon & Paul McCartney

Being part of a group where both of you sing and write as much as each other means that the band like The Beatles doesn't have one Frontman but two. John and Paul both bring great talent to the table and I think together they made The Beatles without each I don't think the band would have been anything like the band we know and love today. Both cheeky chaps with a great sense of humour, which makes their characters so attractive. With thousands of girls screaming their names and wetting themselves over their presents means that they had sexiness down as well, while to look at them you would say they were both attractive but maybe not sexy (I'm still going to include it). John and Paul in the early years had great fashion sense with their suits and jumpers combo and even as they got older they still had the hippy look down too.

 

7. Roger Waters & David Gilmore

 

Another double entry with Waters and Gilmore from Pink Floyd,  both have great vocal and writing talent sharing this kind of talent proves difficult for shared Frontmen like these and John and Paul. I would say Roger probably has the most attractiveness to fan's of the band and David is the more quiet one. Fashion wise they both wear casual clothes in later performances but at the beginning it was more of a hippy look which the whole band contributed to. Roger and David both share a lot of character and that's why most of the time sharing the lime light is difficult if you both have a lot of personality you tend to clash.

8. Morrissey

The lead singer of The Smiths has great stage presents, with a hint of colour and flowers always hanging around. His a superb writer all his songs are written perfectly (My favourite is Asleep), his character may sometimes come across as a bit stuck up and mean but I don't think his really like it might just be part of his showmanship. With great fashion style (considering its the 80s), a lovely voice almost like his reciting poetry.

9. Richard Ashcroft

The singer of The Verve and now a solo singer Richard Ashcroft has great vocal, as a big part of Brit Pop Richard has great fashion style always seems to be wearing a leather jacket and sun glasses. He was a pretty big pin up boy due in the 90s with his cute innocent look, he always comes across as a nice person not cocky like Liam Gallagher. 

  

10. Tim Booth

 

 

Tim Booth is the Frontman for the band James, the confident singer has been part of James since the early 80s, what makes him the perfect Frontman for me is he does the most hypnotising dancing called tantric dance. This is where he looks like his having a fit but he says it gives him a better high than being on drugs, he also has a fabulous voice. I must admit I don't admire his fashion style, it could be improved but I guess that isn't everything as long as the voice and the stage persona is good that's all that matters.  

These are my top 10 British Frontmen, I'm sure I've missed out loads of singers but unfortunately I cant fit them all into my top 10. This took me so long to finish so I hope you like it, leave your comments on who your favourite Frontman is.