Nice title perhaps but not strictly true. There’s no hate for The Smiths second LP but more disdain. I’ve never fathomed why the majority of Smiths fans (and I’ve learned this over many years on a multitude of music forums), hold such love for it.
So I wanted to jot down my reasons and go through the compilation track by track.
Perhaps the first thing to mention in relation to it is my deficiency. As I’m on the autism spectrum, I don’t like change in any shape or form. So in music, it is natural for my ears to like only whatever it was that they heard first.
This means that I like very few cover versions of songs.
There are exceptions of course. Off the top of my head I can think of Everything But The Girl’s version of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Only Living Boy In New York”.
Anyhow, on to Hatful Of Hollow.
The album kicks off with the single edit (as far as I’m aware) of William It Was Really Nothing. A great start and no complaints from me. It was the 7-inch version I had a copy of originally.
“What Difference Does It Make”
Here comes my first problem. Firstly, the song is in a higher key than the studio version. And while the guitars are more organic, to me they’re too heavy. Once I’ve treasured that original single and the, to me, bona fide version of Back To The Old House as its flip-side, there can be no substitute.
“These Things Take Time” featured on the 12-inch What Difference release and was included on Louder Than Bombs.
I do feel pleased that somewhat against the grain, I side with the David Jensen session track as my pick of the two but still it’s a close call.
“This Charming Man”
So I’m calling this one a draw! Without the intro, this alternative version is softer, mire jolly, I can understand its appeal, my go-to is always that New York mix.
One thing I think everyone can agree on is that line – “Why pamper life’s complexities when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat”.
Also a good upholstery reference later in That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore with “And on a cold weather seat, well, it finally struck me – I just might die with a smile on my face after all”.
“How Soon Is Now”
Originally the B-side of William, I soon bought the 12-inch of this which houses the marvellous “Well I Wonder”.
I’ve heard a few people say that they don’t care for How Soon Is Now because it’s quite different? Or was quite different at the time to what they were mainly doing.
I cite Wikipedia apropos Hand In Glove.
In addition, the original single version of “Hand in Glove” is included, not the remixed version that appears on The Smiths. It features a fade-intro and fade-out, louder bass, and vocals that sound very distant.
I can’t bear fade-ins generally and along with the distant vocals, I loathe this version with a passion!
“Still Ill”
Oh my, what were they thinking. This for me is the worst thing I’ve ever heard by them. That harmonica! Makes the song sound like a poor man’s Love Me Do. Just dreadful compared to the sublime debut album version.
No issues with Heaven Knows as it’s the bog standard studio-made single so on to one of Hatful’s real plus points.
“This Night Has Opened My Eyes”
Without another version to compare it to, all I can say is how magnificent this song is.
“You’ve Got Everything Now”
I can almost like this but it’s ever so slightly slower and for me lacks the drive and intensity of the original counterpart.
Just like with This Night, there are no challengers to these and you know what, I actually love all three songs very much. Thank heavens these are the only versions I’ve ever heard!
Regarding live albums I don’t care for Rank much at all but when I lived up in the north of England I can remember acquiring a couple of live Smiths bootleg cassettes from an open market outside of Bolton or somewhere and thought that they were rather good.
And thanks to something called the internet, I’ve managed to track both of them down, though I no longer have either of them.
“Back To The Old House”
So the original b-side of this made it into Louder Than Bombs and while I could just about listen to the much different version on Hatful there is only one winner here and by some distance!
“Reel Around The Fountain’
Dear me. This is like… it’s not The Smiths, it’s a different band.
I’ve heard people contend that this is actually more soulful!
Each to their own, I think this is a pile of tosh compared to the beautifully polished studio version and as Mrs. Slocombe would point out, I am unanimous in that!
The album ends with the quite pleasant Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want with its Parisian street vibe (you can imagine being in an outdoor cafe enjoying croissants while the song plays in ze background… yes, it’s fine, wouldn’t make my Smiths Top 20 songs if there were such a thing but good all the same.
To close, blog-writing is certainly healthy. I’ve learned that I haven’t ripped Hatful Of Hollow to shreds as I thought I might do.
It’s clear for any reader to understand that I have several bugbears that impair my overall enjoyment but I would struggle with ranking it as a 7/10… so I’ll stop at six and a half!
Today Emma and I enjoyed an open top bus tour of Poole and Bournemouth and then a visit to Compton Acres.
Only as a child had I been there before and flowers and gardens held no interest for me, not like now, forty years later.
Compton Acres is one of the finest privately owned gardens in the South of England. Having undergone extensive refurbishment in the past 10 years Compton Acres is now highly regarded as one of the most important historic gardens in the UK.
Comprising a series of classical themed gardens, each providing an attractive and unique variety of ornamental plants from around the world, cared for by a team of professional gardeners.
The gardens are laid out on a circular route, like clusters of jewels on a sparkling necklace, allowing the visitor to discover each garden in turn. Highlights include the Grand Italian Garden, a Rock and Water Garden, a Heather Garden and an authentic Japanese Garden which was designed and built by a Japanese architect with many ornaments imported from Japan.
I thought the tour £28 for the two of us was actually worth every penny as it lasted two hours and there was a recorded commentary and music along the way.
When we got off at Canford Cliffs we decided to visit the gardens at Compton Acres and as you can see above, we got some great photos.
For a late lunch, the first Wetherspoons we could just walk in and order but their chip maker was out of action so we left for the Slug And Lettuce.
There we had to do the track and trace which I found annoying because surely if one has that policy, surely they all should?
We didn’t stay there either because I didn’t like anything in the menu but in the third one I was happy with a beef Madras and some chicken wings with dips.
Then we decided to try the crazy golf which was great fun. The final scores were eight holes to me, five to Emma and five draws with almost one lost ball which I managed to retrieve from a flower bed or it would have been a fine of £1.50.
It was a great day out and with an improvement in the weather the next two days especially tomorrow we are going to the beach at the Purbecks.
You’ve only ever had one choice, fact Twitter polls dictate that but now we’re down to the final sixteen debut albums, the four choice format hereon in will make for closer consideration.
The four groups will run from today until Friday with the winner of each appearing in Saturday’s grand final with the voting open for seven days.
Have fun! 🤔 🤭
TUESDAY
The Specials – The Specials Nowhere – Ride Kilimanjaro – Teardrop Explodes George Best – Wedding Present
WEDNESDAY
Never Mind The Bollocks – The Sex Pistols Marquee Moon – Television Boy – U2 Murmur – R.E.M
THURSDAY
Blondie – Blondie The Clash – The Clash Unknown Pleasures – Joy Division Roxy Music – Roxy Music
FRIDAY
In The City – The Jam Beautiful Freak – Eels One Step Beyond – Madness The Velvet Underground and Nico – The Velvet Underground
Murmur – R.E.M – 56.5% beat Searching For The Young Soul Rebels – Dexy’s Midnight Runners 43.5%
269 votes
SATURDAY 7TH AUGUST
Inflammable Material – Stiff Little Fingers (53.5%) surprisingly lost out to Kilimanjaro – Teardrop Explodes (46.5%) – 256 voters attended.
Licensed To Ill – Beastie Boys lost out to The Clash – The Clash 70.7% in a tie that drew 409 votes.
SUNDAY 8TH AUGUST
The Ramones – The Ramones vs Unknown Pleasures – Joy Division 68.9%
453 votes
Elastica – Elastica vs Blondie – Blondie 72%
372 votes
MONDAY 9TH AUGUST
Life’s A Riot With Spy vs Spy – Billy Bragg lost to One Step Beyond – Madness 58.5%
306 votes
Rattus Norvegicus – The Stranglers lost out to The Velvet Underground and Nico – The Velvet Underground 65.9%
320 votes
TUESDAY 10TH AUGUST
Dire Straits – Dire Straits Roxy Music – Roxy Music 61.8%
318 votes
The Specials – The Specials 51.2% The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
518 votes
WEDNESDAY 11TH AUGUST
George Best – Wedding Present 41.5%
Dry – PJ Harvey
Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole and The Commotions
461 votes
Marquee Moon – Television 55.8% Psychocandy The Jesus And Mary Chain
396 votes
THURSDAY 12TH AUGUST
Turn On The Bright Lights – Interpol lost to Boy – U2 – 53.8%
316 votes
In The City – The Jam 59.7% defeated Slanted And Enchanted – Pavement
345 votes
FRIDAY 13TH AUGUST
Nowhere – Ride 51% defeated Entertainment! – Gang Of Four
243 votes
Never Mind The Bollocks – The Sex Pistols 55.8% defeated The Smiths – The Smiths
511 votes
SECOND ROUND
The second round sees 32 head to head ties and two will be posted each day.
The draw is seeded this time based on the first round performance in percentages.
The Clash (70.4%) and 14 Iced Bears (61%) were the highest and so play each other, similarly the lowest voted for, The Cars (18.8%) and Beautiful Freak (14.3%) are adversaries this time.
The second round begins tomorrow, Monday 19th July and the full draw is as follows:
MONDAY 19TH JULY
In a close-fought contest, The Cars – The Cars (48.9%) lost out to Beautiful Freak -by Eels (51.1%). 229 votes were recorded.
307 voters turned out to ensure Slanted And Enchanted – Pavement (61.6%) made the third round, defeating The New York Dolls – The New York Dolls (38.4%)
TUESDAY 20TH JULY
204 votes saw a landslide victory for Licensed To Ill – Beastie Boys (92.2%) versus Almost Here – Unbelievable Truth (7.8%)
In a similar one-sided affair, 166 votes saw Rattus Norvegicus – The Stranglers (80.7%) defeat I Am A Wallet – McCarthy (19.3%)
WEDNESDAY 21ST JULY
288 votes saw The Specials – The Specials (71.2%) defeat The Hurting – Tears For Fears while Entertainment! – Gang Of Four (57.9%) saw off Isn’t Anything – My Bloody Valentine in a tie that drew 259 votes
THURSDAY 22ND JULY
240 voters saw Fever to Tell – Yeah Yeah Yeahs lose out to Life’s A Riot With Spy vs Spy – Billy Bragg (55%) while Turn On The Bright Lights – Interpol (59.7%) easily saw off Signing Off – UB40 in a tie that drew in 211 votes.
FRIDAY 23RD JULY
A low turnout of just 202 votes Friday on #BestDebutAlbum saw Dire Straits debut (57.4%) incredibly prove to be too strong for Script Of The Bridge while in the other tie, The Pretenders were slain by the magnificent Stiff Little Fingers debut Inflammable Material (52.6%) with 228 voters taking part.
SATURDAY 24TH JULY
Saturday on #BestDebutAlbum and 227 votes saw Searching For The Young Soul Rebels – Dexy’s Midnight Runners (81.1%) win hands down against Hopes And Fears – Keane while Dry – PJ Harvey (56.1%) defeated The Kick Inside – Kate Bush. 285 votes recorded in that tie.
SUNDAY 25TH JULY
A lower than average turnout of 189 votes saw Kilimanjaro – Teardrop Explodes (52.4%) defeat Welcome To The Pleasuredome while in a surprise development, Ride’s Nowhere (58.4%) saw off Big Country’s The Crossing in a tie of 249 recorded votes
MONDAY 26TH JULY
Blondie – Blondie (55.3%) comfortably defeated Pink Flag Monday on #BestDebutAlbum from 264 recorded votes while the Roxy Music debut survived the challenge of Live At The Witch Trials, amassing 56.5% from the 237 votes.
TUESDAY 27TH JULY
In the end, Boy – U2 (58.6%) saw off the Icelandic challenge of Bjork in a tie that drew 447 voters.
In the other Tuesday tie, The Ramones – The Ramones (78.7%) defeated Parachutes – Coldplay and could potentially face Rattus Norvegicus (The Stranglers) in round three.
WEDNESDAY 28TH JULY
In a round that attracted 276 votes, Killing Joke – Killing Joke (38.7%) lost out to In The City – The Jam – (66.7%).
And Orbital – Orbital lost out by a hefty margin to Psychocandy – The Jesus And Mary Chain (73.5%) in a round that drew 287 votes.
THURSDAY 29TH JULY
George Best – Wedding Present (56.5%) defeat Three Imaginary Boys – The Cure – 331 votes.
The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses (70%) defeat Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A.- 353 votes.
FRIDAY 30TH JULY
The Velvet Underground and Nico – The Velvet Underground (41.6%)
Pablo Honey – Radiohead (40.6%)
Look Sharp! – Joe Jackson (43.9%)
Marquee Moon – Television (43.8%)
SATURDAY 31ST JULY
Hot Fuss – The Killers (44.5%) versus Elastica – Elastica (43%)
One Step Beyond – Madness (42.5%) versus Lexicon Of Love – ABC (42.5%)
SUNDAY 1ST AUGUST
Never Mind the Bollocks – The Sex Pistols (69.1%)
404 votes
Murmur – R.E.M. (84.7%)
255 votes
MONDAY 2ND AUGUST
The Clash – The Clash (70.4%)
14 Iced Bears – 14 Iced Bears (61%)
The Smiths – The Smiths (59.4%)
The Psychedelic Furs – The Psychedelic Furs (53.8%)
ORIGINAL POST
They say that you never forget your first.
So most of us will have a favourite debut album.
I’ve selected my favourites for this tourno, 128 of them in fact.
Your mission will be to use your judgement and skill in voting these albums down until we have an ultimate winner.
Notable omissions apropos big artists include Genesis and Pink Floyd.
But The Velvet Underground are here, also David Bowie and others that are considered classics and could not be excluded.
In the first round of voting #BestDebutAlbum there are four titles per group.
You have only one selection but the top two most voted will go through to round two and from thereon in it will be head to head battles until the grand final.
There will be no semi-finals. Instead the four albums will appear in a grand final with the voting being open for seven days.
Here’s the complete draw compiled by RANDOMLIST.
Saturday 19 June
The Clash – The Clash
Wa Do Dem – Eek A Mouse
New York Dolls – New York Dolls
Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind
A total of 318 votes saw The Clash (70.4%) and New York Dolls (18.9%) progress to round two.
Sunday 20 June
A total of 283 votes saw The Fall (34.6%) and Dire Straits (29.7%) progress to round two.
Monday 21 June
A total of 315 votes saw Killing Joke (38.7%) and Pink Flag (34.9%) progress to round two.
Tuesday 22 June
In a thrilling, close-knit affair, a total of 307 votes saw Inflammable Material – Stiff Little Fingers (29.3%) and Entertainment! – Gang Of Four (24.4%) reach round two with Outlandos d’Amour – The Police missing out by just 0.3%.
Wednesday 23 June
In the highest turnout so far, 381 voters decided that Placebo’s magnificent debut didn’t cut it and so Nowhere – Ride drawing 32.8% and Dry – PJ Harvey (31%) went through to round two.
Thursday 24 June
Parachutes – Coldplay with 35.8% and Big Country’s The Crossing (33%) progressed to the second round in a total of 349 votes.
Friday 25 June
I was a little surprised at how popular Hot Fuss – The Killers album still is. And it chewed up 44.5% of the 218 votes (lowest turnout so far) with Script Of The Bridge – The Chameleons in second spot with 29.4%.
Saturday 26 June
In what quickly became a two-horse race, Three Imaginary Boys – The Cure won through with 39.2% of the 385 votes with The Hurting – Tears For Fears finishing in second spot with 24.7%.
Sunday 27 June
The Durannies were quickly disappointed as a new record number of voters (476) saw Roxy Music’s debut (34.2%) finish second behind the aptly-named Debut by Bjork(36.8%).
In another round that threatened the 500 vote count, Boy – U2 ran out the winner drawing 36.3% with Isn’t Anything – My Bloody Valentine (25.7%) securing second spot.
Monday 28 June
Monday’s round saw One Step Beyond – Madness prove really popular drawing 42.5% with the eighties epic, Welcome To The Pleasuredome – Frankie Goes To Hollywood in second place (33.8%).
Tuesday 29 June
350 voters said that Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A.(38.9%) was the best with The Pretenders – The Pretenders the runner-up (29.4%). Leaving the building were Tori Amos and Verve.
Wednesday 30 June
In a record number of 519 votes, Wednesday’s winners were The Velvet Underground and Nico – The Velvet Underground drawing 41.6% of the pie and Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True surprisingly succumbed to Licensed To Ill – Beastie Boys (20.6%).
Thursday 1 July
The Psychedelic Furs debut ran out strong winners with the highest majority so far, pulling 53.8% of the 247 votes. Signing Off – UB40 (28.7%) was second with Th’ Faith Healers and (unsurprisingly) Johnny Hates Jazz missing out.
Friday 2 July
It was tricky for Run-DMC as Lexicon Of Love – ABC ran out a clear winner with 42.5% of the 365 votes. Turn On The Bright Lights, the Interpol debut took second spot with 28.2%.
Saturday 3 July
In an expected lower turnout of voters (262) Hopes And Fears – Keane made it through to the second round pulling 32.1% while Look Sharp! – Joe Jackson ran out the winner with 43.9%.
Sunday 4 July
As expected, Unknown Pleasures – Joy Division ran off into the hills with 75.5% of the 355 votes with Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes (14.9%) taking second place. As things stand, Joy Division will face The Clash in round two.
Monday 5 July
488 votes saw The Smiths – The Smiths (59.4%) run out comfortable winners and in a tense finish, just 0.4% separated Beautiful Freak – Eels (14.3% ) from Young Team – Mogwai. The Smiths could face The Psychedelic Furs in round two.
Tuesday 6 July
Never Mind the Bollocks – The Sex Pistols, hailed as the greatest album ever made by one voter, drew 57.8% of the 429 votes with Slanted and Enchanted – Pavement also heading to round two with 19.8%.
Wednesday 7 July
A new record of 584 votes saw The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses (39%) run out comfortable winners but incredibly just 0.1% meant that The Specials – The Specials prevailed over Dummy – Portishead.
Thursday 8 July
Morrissey’s Viva Hate made an early exit as In The City – The Jam with 38.2% ran out the winner with The Kick Inside – Kate Bush (30.9%) taking second spot.
Friday 9 July
Though showing much early promise, the Boston debut album finished last with Life’s A Riot With Spy vs Spy – Billy Bragg fetching 26% of the 327 votes and Kilimanjaro – Teardrop Explodes winning the round with 33.9%.
Saturday 10 July
Elastica – Elastica drew a healthy 43% of the 342 votes in which Fever to Tell – Yeah Yeah Yeahs took second spot with 27.2% – that album could face Life’s A Riot or Turn On The Bright Lights in the second round.
How can Ash outscore The Ruts said a few. And some may have raised an eyebrow as George Best – Wedding Present (40.2%) outscored The Ramones – The Ramones (36.1%) in a round that attracted 435 votes. A possibility now that George Best could face Three Imaginary Boys in round two.
Sunday 11 July
The lowest turnout of voting so far saw just 141 nominate I Could Live In Hope – Low (45.4%) and I Am A Wallet – McCarthy (22%) go through to the second round.
In part two of Sunday’s double-header, Orbital – Orbital (37.3%) finished runner-up to Pablo Honey – Radiohead (40.6%) in a low turnout poll of just 276 voters.
Monday 12 July
It was tough on Tracy Chapman, missing out by just 0.8% but in a tough battle for second spot, The Cars – The Cars won through with 18.8% of the 383 votes.
The La’s – The La’s (51.4%) proved to be the clear people’s favourite and could face Low’s I Could Live In Hope in round two, depending on other scores.
Tuesday 13 July
In an incredibly low turnout of 59 punters, 14 Iced Bears – 14 Iced Bears (61%) and Almost Here – Unbelievable Truth (20.3%( won through to round two.
Wednesday 14 July
Patti Smith’s Horses was edged out in a group that saw 434 voters decide that Marquee Moon – Television (43.8%) and Psychocandy – The Jesus And Mary Chain (37.1%) made it through to round two.
Thursday 15 July
511 voters turned out to help push Murmur – R.E.M. (48.7%) over the line and Rattus Norvegicus – The Stranglers finished second with 23.3%.
At the moment Murmur is set to play I Could Live In Hope while Rattus Norvegicus could face I Am A Wallet in the second round head to heads that begin Monday.
Friday 16 July
Blondie – Blondie with 35.1% narrowly outscored Searching For The Young Soul Rebels – Dexy’s Midnight Runners (32.3%) in the last group of the first round in which 493 voters took part.
In another stroll down Memory Lane, perhaps better named as Mammory Lane on this occasion, it’s a fond and retrospective nod to those old slapstick softcore movies that were on a par in the seventies with the Carry On films, though the Confessions quadcore had more revelations, full nudity for one thing (in the case of the ladies) but the success of these productions was built on that same saucy seaside, titter titter, “No sex please, we’re British!” vogue and of course a natural wide-eyed curiosity for these ‘all rather adult’ flicks.
A few years back I managed to download all four of them for free and here I’ve produced a thirty minute montage of those softcore scenes, the naughty bits, the funniest bits – knickers and knockers galore, which I hope will please the viewer.
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Across the four movies the staple actors and actresses were Anthony Booth, Bill Maynard, Peter Cleall, Windsor Davies and Doris Hare, in fact Confessions From A Holiday Camp is rather like a remake of Holiday On The Buses.
I’ve not watched all of these films in entirety though Ive probably seen enough. Just surprised I’ve never come across Sally Thomsett or Paula Wilcox – if they weren’t in these movies then maybe they were busy doing other things.
Words now from Nigel Burton at the Northern Echo on Robin Askwith and there are quite a few of them so grab a cuppa!
Forty years ago Robin Askwith’s career had become a pretty good metaphor for the entire British film industry taking in, as it did, horror, sex and television sit-com spin-offs. Confessions of a Window Cleaner was the most successful film in UK cinemas in 1974 – and the critics hated it. Askwith, who took the job to keep paying the bills, came to be defined by the Confessions series. He appeared in four – although it seems like more due to the number of cheap, er, knock-offs with similar names – and spent the next decade trying to live them down.
Forty years later the Confessions series, and a handful other sexploitation films, have undergone a critical reappraisal. The same newspapers whose contemptuous critics once dismissed them as tawdry tat, now hail them as important ‘social documents’ of public tastes in the 1970s.
Kicking back with a coffee, Askwith seems to have had the last laugh: “The critics hated them, but we were packing the audiences in at a time when nothing else did. People were queuing round the block to get into the Sheppard’s Bush Odeon.”
Askwith started out with high hopes. After being expelled from school for running down his headmaster with a motorcycle, a chance meeting with film director Lindsay Anderson led to a role in ‘If’, a critically acclaimed satire of public schools.
Acting seemed like the perfect career choice: “I was earning 49 quid a week, driving a Triumph Herald and picking up the girls. There was no way I was going back to learning about Karl Marx.”
His timing was lousy. After a productive period when American studios poured cash into UK pictures, the British film industry was about to enter a dark period. Struggling with their own financial problems, Hollywood producers scaled back their investment and, almost overnight, money for new films dried up.
Askwith segued from critically acclaimed dramas like ‘If’ into TV sit-coms such as The Fenn Street Gang, Bless This House and Please Sir!, and indie horror hits Tower of Evil, The Flesh and Blood Show and the bonkers hit Horror Hospital (now a cult classic). “I had bills to pay,” he says matter-of-factly, “and the films made lots of money. That was the British film industry back then.”
Ironically, the Confessions films were actually made with American money (from Columbia) which gave them bigger budgets – and better casts – than the thematically similar Adventures rip-offs made by Stanley Long.Askwith says he originally turned the role down (“I read the script and couldn’t understand it. I thought ‘What’s all this about bubbles coming out of my arse’?
It sounded ridiculous.”) but took the role when offered a multi-picture deal. In fact, he signed up for six Confessions films (based on the books written under a pseudonym by Christopher Wood) – a remarkable deal for a young actor at the time – and when Confessions of a Window Cleaner succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations that looked like a canny move. Today, the success on that scale would set an actor up for life but in 1974 he says: “I had fame – but no fortune. My 20ft high face was on the side of buses, but I was still getting on the same buses.”
Even by 1974 standards the Confessions were pretty tame stuff. They had more in common with saucy seaside postcards than the hardcore bump ‘n grind stuff being filmed in Europe and America. The ‘dirty raincoat’ brigade were disappointed by the sex scenes which were played for laughs and filmed in the best possible taste.
Askwith says: “I’d done conventional sex scenes before in films like Tower of Evil but the Confessions movies were nothing like them. My character usually ended up buried under bubbles, covered in paint or hiding under the bed.” That didn’t prevent Window Cleaner being banned in Colombia and Spain, and Pop Performer in South Africa, however.
The series ran out of steam after four movies – Columbia’s financial troubles meant it couldn’t afford the fifth, Confessions in a Haunted House – but Askwith says he found it hard to get work afterwards. “I lost a role in a TV sit-com because I’d done X-rated films, so I went on a world tour called Further Confessions of a Window Cleaner that was very successful.”
Askwith went on to star in the TV sitcom Benidorm later on. I never had a window cleaning job, or was a pop star, or even a driving instructor so clearly missed out on a lot of bonking. Fair to say that the Confessions movies were harmless fun and British sauciness at its best – or worst, depending on your palette,
So my cat who is some kind of psychotic serial killer chased a small Chaffinch into the lounge last Friday.
At first I thought the bird noises were her playing with one of the toy birds I had bought for Duchess.
VILLAIN OF THE PEACE
When I realised what it was she was tormenting, it got itself behind all the TV and stuff so I had to use a measuring jug to get it in there and to examine it.
The way its eyes looked up at me told me that it knew, if this makes any sense at all, that I was doing my best to help it. That it knew it was in safe hands.
My immediate neighbour Laura took it to keep an eye on it in her garden because she wasn’t sure it was able to fly.
At one point she told me it had gone but then it was back and wasn’t moving. Maybe the rains last night were the killing blow and this morning she had it in her hand, telling me that it had just passed on.
It upset me immensely. I couldn’t begin to tell you how much I love and care for animals but another neighbour Tim told me he saw Duchess on that day carrying the bird looking as pleased as punch.
It’s in their nature, I understand that but I don’t like the idea of death and seeing it close at hand was horrible. The hardest thing I’ve had to do today is bury this poor creature.
No way could I just put it in the trash. I used this vape box as a makeshift coffin, put kitchen towel in top and bottom for dignity.
Then Tim offered it to bury it and used some twine for the cross you see.
And then with the windows open I thought of a funeral song. I’d play my favourite right now, Transatlanticism (Death Cab For Cutie) but as beautiful as that is, it’s too maudlin in melody.
Then it hit me, Eels! I Like Birds is just perfect, buoyant and easy on the ear.
Tim was outside and laughed when he heard it start up, realising the poignancy. Trust you to think of that, he said.
Goonight little angel. I am so sorry for what my cat did and for your premature end.
Rest in please and I’ll tweet this to let the bird world know about you. ❤️
I grew up with LBC. I can go back a far as the days of Monty Modlyn! I never really liked listening to music at night. So spoken word in the form of phone-in shows were for me, far more entertaining. When talkRADIO and the subsequent talkSPORT came into being, I discovered a new world of amusing presenters. Some were known as shock jocks; Brian Hayes for example on R2 is sorely missed because we really don’t have anyone of their like as a replacement.
talkRADIO had the likes of Jon Gaunt and James Whale for the controversy club while I preferred the more MOR Ian Collins; he’s to be found I think, but don’t quote me on it, at Radio London or 5Live these days.
Brian Hayes could be as obnoxious as he was refreshing, depending on your preferences in audio entertainment. I found this online and post it here in tribute although I;m fairly sure, given my appalling maths, that he is still with us at the age of 83.
Among the sadly departed of course is Mike Dickin. His untimely death was a huge loss to broadcasting, at least, so say I. When he came along on talkRADIO with his gruff voice and the ongoing debate and conjecture that he had often had a few before taking to the airwaves, the irony was that he often told callers to “take more water with it”.
As a logophile and defender of the English language, I was pleased at Dickins’ ban of the word “basically” or the term “at the end of the day”/ Callers who transgressed in this way more often than not had their call curtailed.
Stiff Little Fingers said that you can’t say crap on the radio – but Dickin did, as you will, hear now in this relatively short montage I’ve put together using some of the very few clips that are available on Youtube.
One clip that used to be there but has sadly been deleted was of a time when Mike recounted a time when he’d been on a train and had to suffer (and we’ve all been there) a person with one of these smartphones (at the time not so prevalent as they are today), where this chap was constantly calling on his phone: “this is (so and so) – could you put me through to” repeatedly, a real pain to listen to for other passengers.
Anyway, the chap got up at one point to use the loo, leaving his phone at the table whereby some brave soul got up… “I kid you not” (said Mike), took the phone, slid open a window and calmly let go of the wretched thing.
So what of today’s presenters by comparison? I’m drawing a contrast here between morning and evening listening on LBC. In the small hours there exists (and he will insist on this being true) a phenomenon by the name of Steve Allen.
Now there are times when I despair and there are times when he makes me laugh. It would be so easy to write disparagingly about Steve who probably is the queen (and I use the term loosely of course) of morning airtime.
His photo (they all seem to have him looking forty-something although he insists that he is of an elderly persuasion) doesn’t add up when while listening he sounds so much younger.
You can call him the biggest egotist, the campest DJ.. he really couldn’t care less!
He has a set-list for topics of conversation. I was jotting down a top ten and got as far as seven but ostensibly he will bang on mostly about the spike. The spike is when he comes on air and the listening figures for LBC rise from three to five. He will insist that actually this is four figures territory.
Type 2 diabetes which he has; hard to criticise on a health condition but boy does he mention it a lot!
Costco, that’s another one, Twickenham and surrounding areas of course, of which let’s see him in the raw, well not literally of course) in this video clip that’s almost a decade old now.
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Pants. Can’t forget pants. All well and good that Steve prefers M&S and whether it’s Y-fronts or shorts is not the issue, it’s the amount of airtime he spends talking about his undies or pants in general which some may find odd.
But let’s have it right, Steve Allen is important for his vernal assassination of…. Z-listers!
In the wee small hours, major, sorry, minor celebs such as Peter Andre and Gemma Collins are regularly put down, it’s really great to hear and often has me in stitches.
As I say, he is Marmite. Love him or hate him, he does what he does and will hopefully be doing it for years to come yet. Here in full is his, at the time of this going to press, latest catch up.
And on LBC in the late evenings (but only on Fridays and Saturdays) you can find this guy. I only discovered the show recently and became an instant fan.
Nick Abbot muses on the current topics in his own style with hilarious in-house sound effects and his imitations of most people and things in general are fantastic, none better than his verbal take on “Donny” aka Donald Trump and “fake news”.
Don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself. Here’s last Friday’s show in full which includes regular caller Ranjit from Birmingham.
So there it is, Quality broadcasting does still exist. You may have to search long and hard to find it, given the plethora of choice that there is via DAB radio, podcasts and streaming.
I just wish that there were more clips available of the old school guys though; they really were something else.
Circa late eighties and the hip things on the box for alternative music fans were Eurotrash, Rapido and,,, Snub,
Snub TV was an alternative culture television program that aired from 1987 to 1989 as a segment on the Night Flight overnight programming on the USA Network and subsequently for three seasons on the BBC.
So if like me you’d grown up under the aural guidance of John Peel’s radio programmes, suddenly many of those bands could be seen raw on Snub, rather than just the odd *and some of them were) appearance on TOTP.
The original US program was developed by executive producer Fran Duffy and aired as part of Night Flight on a fortnightly basis. The first 2 seasons were produced in the UK by Pete Fowler and Brenda Kelly. A third season was produced in the US by Duffy with help from Giorgio Gomelsky.
In 1989-1991 a UK version, produced by Fowler & Kelly, aired for three seasons on the BBC and was syndicated to the pan-European TV channel Super Channel and in other countries in Europe, such as Russia, Portugal, Denmark and Greece,
Snub’s early focus on emphasis on the indie and underground music scene in the UK was very much informed by Kelly’s position as editor of The Catalogue, house magazine of The Cartel record distribution group, plus Fowler’s work producing videos for bands. As the BBC show developed the program covered the rise of Madchesyer documenting such bands as Stone Roses.
Snub TV was created by Pete “Pinko” Fowler and Brenda Kelly, who met working at Rough Trade records. Kelly was a budding music journalist and Fowler was a cameraman filming live gigs and promos for Rough Trade bands such as the Smiths and the Go-Betweens, before moving on to video work at Southern Studios.
The pair combined their talents for a new cable show in the US put together by anglophile Fran Duffy, which first aired 30 years ago, in 1987. Snub TV was shot in the UK for about £700 per episode, edited at ITN and Fed-Exed to the US each week, where it ran for 14 episodes.
It featured artists such as My Bloody Valentine, the JAMMS (later KLF) and Björk (in her first TV appearance, with the Sugarcubes). Britain took note, and it was soon acquired by Janet Street-Porter, then head of youth television at the BBC, where it ran for three seasons from 1989 until its demise in 1991.
Despite a healthy chunk of Snub footage being posted on YouTube, the show is not officially available anywhere and huge parts of it – including almost all of the American strand of the series – cannot be viewed at all. Pinko hoped for a release last year, but interest didn’t equate to money. “We were close to putting a DVD out of all the American and English series. I wanted to do it well, to use up outtakes and do fresh interviews with bands that are still pertinent, but nobody was willing to give us the budget to do it properly,” he says. “I want people to see stuff they’ve never seen, it just needs a few thousand quid and we can make something special. I’d love to do an eight-hour box set.”
Snub was where I first saw that Ultra Scene video for Mercy Seat and that’s as good for you today as it’s always been.
The 84-minute compilation video I’ve produced here is a best-of in essence; selected songs and interviews from the three series.
In making it, I was reunited with a few long-lost forgotten loves, notably AC Marias “Just Look” – I was quite excited when I saw that,
I’ve also tweaked, jazzed up, however you’d like to call it, the picture quality and sound where possible as the footage from th shows is via VHS standard,
I trust you’ll enjoy these memories as much as I have in knitting them together.
IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
House Of Love – Destroy The Heart Ultra Vivid Scene – Mercy Seat Fugazi – Suggestion AC Marias – Just Talk Sonic Youth – Teen Age Riot Pixies – I Bleed We Are Going To Eat You – Heart In The Hand The Sundays – Can’t Be Sure Spacemen 3 – Revolution The Telescopes – Celeste Catherine Wheel – She’s My Friend The Fall – Bill Is Dead A Certain Ratio – Tribeca Loop – From Centre To Wave Blue Aeroplanes – …..and Stones Ride – Drive Blind The Wedding Present – Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now? Jesus Jones – Info Freak Dub Sex – Swerve Pale Saints – Insubstantial Inspiral Carpets – Commercial Rain The Mekons – Ghosts Of American Astronauts
Oh boy, arcade games oughta be fun. Okay, we all know a lot of games are scripted but this one really takes the cookie.
First off, take a look at the booklet, Tells you everything except explaining how the gameplay actually works, notably the revolving yellow diamond. There she is, on the green, showing you where your ball will land.
The video below demonstrates just how poorly this has been written apropos where your shot will more ofteen than not, end up. Scientifically impossible in a lot of instances.
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I’d been playing this for months, having played EG2 on the PS4 which also contains some very questionable flaws, however, nowhere near on a par with this.
Then there’s the wind factor. Ever been to the beach when the wind is 5mph? It wouldn’t even disturb your towel. Yet here, 7mph is like some kind of a hurricane.
But the one thing I noticed above all else is how, once you;re doing great, let’s say you’re five under after the front nine, suddenly your ball will be finding bunkers or water hazards or practically anything will happen that will rob your of all your hard work.
Just an occasional blip? Sadly not, this happens over and over, so clearly scripted against you it’s beyond belief.
Then there’s your CPU players. Now I’ve made just two eagles in this time, which actually is a plus point in the game, We all like a challenge and the harder the game is, the more realistic it is and makes for a far better challenge.
So when these CPU’s are pulling off five or six eagles in a round, in all conditions, how realistic or fair is that? Sometimes it’s asking you to shoot a 61 just to be in with a chance in a tourno,
Notice also how as soon as you do well, other CPU’s will suddenly be producing unbelievable results. One that springs to mind is on Aloha Beach, a par 4 where I’ve only birdied it once, Justin (who thinks he’s Rose or Westwood) reckons he can eagle it!
The one aspect this ‘game’ is decent for is chip-ins. Get your ball on the fringe, give it a bit over the red flag on your power bar and eight times out of ten, in she goes.
Apparently people gush about this ‘game’ and have “never encountered the issues you have” but seemingly then I must have a faulty disc. But no wait – the last one was just the same.
Maybe the most scripted video game I have ever played and if people like to sit there and accept the poorly coded shennanigans then they must be very easily pleased. Or they are just happy to be fucked over.
In essence, this is a poor show and is only fit for one thing.
As if any more evidence were needed, I decided to road test this boring piece of bollocks by choosing one of the easiest courses, Fujizakura CC, where I had previously scored a 61.
I got a pen and notepad handy to record just what these CPU fantasists were about.
I played a couple of rounds, noting the usual suspects, namely Jeffrey and Maile, resetting the console at the 17th hole where, predictably Maile was already thirteen under. 😂
In the third round I birdied the first five holes and finished twelve under which I let go onto the memory card as I had at least gone a hole better than my previous.
Here’s what the ‘game’ decides had happened despite playing in tornadoes and rain.
MAILE – 59 including seven birdies and three imaginary eagles
JEFFREY – Four eagles and six birdies, fuck me, he’s some kind of robot!
MIKEY – A more than improbable three eagles and six birdies
HERSHA – Four eagles, six birdies
HASHIMOTO – TEN birdies, oh fucking BRAVO!
So there you have it, a ‘game’ that is scripted to death and about enjoyable as cancer.
A golf game that asks you to score a 59 or better just to scrape through a tournament when achieving an Eagle is about as rare as a decent British prime minister is not only an insult to an average person’s intelligence but just taking the piss.
Some ten days later I tried Mount Sakura CC and noted down all the usual suspects.
I quit after the front nine when it imagined that the ball went out of bounds causing a double bogey and one of the classics where the ball would have landed on the green according to their math but amazingly landed half a mile from it.
In that front nine, there were twelve fantasy eagles recorded by these characters! Do you ever see proof of it, any evidence?
Fuck off ClapHanz, your ‘game’ wins the prize fir the worst PlayStation game ever Hanz down.
The early seventies were a fertile period for progressively inclined musicians, with music being pushed into new frontiers, not just with new technology and production techniques, but with a mind-set about how that equipment could be used to create new sound.
The music scene in Berlin was no exception, with the development of “Krautrock”, or more respectfully, “Kosmische Musik”. This was a genre that drew on sources such as psychedelic rock, minimalism, the avant-garde, and electronically created music, blending it all in one melting pot and seeing what the results produced.
It was out of this scene that the fledgling Tangerine Dream was created by founder member Edgar Froese, a musician fascinated by technology and inspired to create his own custom-made instruments and merge the sounds with tape recordings and loops. It might sound primitive now but this was the beginning of sequencer technology which has now become the bedrock of electronic and dance music.
Froese quickly entered into collaborations like-minded musicians, and within the space of four years created four remarkable albums, which are collectively known as “The Pink Years”. (A word play on the record label Ohr, which displayed a pink ear as its logo.)
A quick scan of the credits across these four albums reveals the wealth of creative talent with early contributions from the likes of Klaus Schulze, Florian Fricke (Popol Vuh), both of whom who went on to create their own impressive musical legacies, along with sound engineer Dieter Dierks (who later had success producing the Scorpions).
The debut album Electronic Meditation was released in 1970, and is very much a collection of improvised and spontaneous pieces, based around traditional instruments like guitars and drums, with the organ almost relegated to the background to provide ambience and atmosphere. The results are not so far removed from the sort of music that Pink Floyd was experimenting with on their Ummagumma album, but the arrangements are less structured and melodic.
Alpha Centauri, which followed in 1971, saw the arrival of Chris Franke, who would become part of the seminal line-up of TD, with the organ and embryonic synthesisers becoming more prominent in the sound. The arrangements sound a little more structured, but are still full of improvisation and experimentation, and this album might be considered a bridge between the original Kosmische Musik sound and the more ambient music that would follow.
Zeit is very much the definition of “cosmic music”, spread across four lengthy pieces, each running for around 20 minutes. It feels like a lot to absorb, but in fact as soon as the opening cello notes strike up, the listener is drawn into a zone where time becomes meaningless and motionless. The emphasis is on atmosphere and ambience, with little or no rhythm, and no discernible melody, and yet it’s an incredibly absorbing listening experience. Crudely put, it’s like experiencing a space odyssey in your own mind.
The album that followed, Atem, often feels sidelined by comparison, as the music moved towards more recognisable melodies and sequenced patterns. However, for me it’s as rewarding as the previous albums, as it shows the band continuing to progress and redefine their sound. The spacey “out there” feel of Zeit is still present, but you can feel the sound moving closer to the tempos and rhythmic oscillations that would define the following year’s landmark album Phaedra – their first for the Virgin label, and the beginning of a golden period for the trio’s creativity.
The Pink Years set has been exhaustively issued and reissued over the years, but the current record label Esoteric has seen fit to reissue the set again, in a clamshell box with LP style replica cardboard covers for each cd. In terms of packaging it’s disappointingly bare-bones, with no inner sleeves or liner notes, and merely a fold-out poster.
The chief narrative above is credited to fellow WP blog Moments In Transition and author johnstout64
You would need to have pretty much an entire afternoon at your disposal to absorb this mix in its entirety, At just a few seconds over two and three quarter hours it showcases the seventies output and of the mixing, made using Virtual DJ, I think that it does represent a complete journey; Zeit into Atem and Rubycon into Stratosfear worked particularly well. Here is the set menu:
Alpha Centauri
Zeit
Atem
Phaedra
Ricochet (Part 2)
Rubycon (Part 1)
Stratosfear
Madrigal Meridian
Cloudburst Flight
Tangram (Set 1)
20p a play, five plays for a quid as I remember but jukeboxes were really more of a seventies thing. Hard to imagine finding “Cab It Up!” in the late eighties when the pop world was all Stock, Aitken and Waterman.
Coincidentally, the flipside to”Cab It Up!” was Deadbdeat Decendent, actually one of my very early Fall listens upon buying (on vinyl of course) the Seminal Live! LP.
The Fall originally formed in Manchester, England in late 1976, making its live debut in May 1977. For over 40 years, the group continued with founder and sole constant Mark E Smith at the helm, until his untimely death in January 2018.
Around 50 core members have passed through the group’s ranks, bolstered on various occasions by additional guests. To 2018, there have been 32 studio albums, more than 50 singles and approaching 100 live albums, compilations and box sets.
My adoration and loyalty to the band’s music has never waned though I was surprised at their longevity and output. Clearly MES always felt he had more to do rather than prove and wanted to satiate an old fanbase that was still attracting new blood way into the noughties.
If we were to use the millenium as a divide then me, I’m certainly old school in preferring the very early period so in doing this wee project, you won’t be surprised that my ten selections are all from that era.
My introduction to the band was, like so many, because of John Peel’s radio programmes. He loved The Fall. He played a lot of The Fall. And his festive fifties were full of The Fall.
I think the first song I heard was “Container Drivers”, a screeching, rockabilly-like blast that just grabbed you by the short ‘n’ curlies. After that I remember buying their debut LP, Live At The Witch Trials, oh and Totally Wired on a single.
Geotesque remains my favourite Fall album and it was a tough call leaving out English Scheme and Impression Of J. Temperance but something had to give.
Preparing a favourite ten songs by The Fall for me was a lot easier to do than say, ten favourites by REM. Both have extensive album discographies but The Fall are just different gravy. There’s usually a killer song on an album in comparison to REM having three or four ‘hits’, given their more mainstream appeal.
01. Surmount All Obstacles (Middle Class Revolt)
02. Australians In Europe (B-side of Hit The North)
03. Leave The Capitol (Slates)
04. Gramme Friday (Grotesque)
05. Fantastic Life (Room To Live)
06. No Bulbs (The Wonderful And Frightening World)
07. High Tension Line (Shiftwork)
08. Hexen Definitive / Strife Knot (Perverted By Language)
09. Guest Informant (The Frenz Experiment)
10. Jawbone And The Air Rifle (Hex Enduction Hour)
And I guess that my top ten may come as a surprise to Fall fans who know much better than I. For example, from Extricate, I really like Bill Is Dead. It’s just stands out to me from the other songs, not sure what it is about it but for me it even tops Telephone Thing!
High Tension Line gets in by virtue of it being one of the very few Fall items I bought on 12″!
Along with a few of others in Wrong Place, Right Time, Free Range and the aforementioned Deadbeat Descendent, Bill just fails to make the cut here.
10. Jawbone And The Air Rifle (Hex Enduction Hour)
09. Guest Informant (The Frenz Experiment)
08. Hexen Definitive / Strife Knot (Perverted By Language)
07. High Tension Line (Shiftwork)
06. No Bulbs (The Wonderful And Frightening World)
05. Fantastic Life (Room To Live)
04. Gramme Friday (Grotesque)
03. Leave The Capitol (Slates)
02. Australians In Europe (B-side of Hit The North)
01. Surmount All Obstacles (Middle Class Revolt)
This selection I like to play in this order as am album in its own right too – I think it flows without the contraflow. If you like, why not use the LEAVE A REPLY box and tell us your ten fave Fall numbers.
The Fall are still going today so far as I’m aware and perhaps back then against the back drop of regular chart music, they were really out on there own and truly this nation’s saving grace.
CREDITATION
Eoin Murray, Vinyl Factory The Fall Online The Great Rock Bible
Acid Mouse Music 