An Ode to Sosban Fach: Llanelli RFC - 5000 Matches and Still Singing

I am football before rugby. As a Welshman, this is almost slightly contentious. Having said that, as anyone who knows me will testify, I am sports mad and am a keen follower of the oval shaped ball's game as well. Life is only relative, after all.

Being from deepest west Wales, you would think that my allegiances would naturally gravitate towards the Scarlets of Stradey Park. Most West Walians have supported Llanelli RFC over Swansea RFC although there are many honourable exceptions.

I in fact, support neither. Or should that read, both? Because when it comes to rugby, my support is not as tribal as most. I simply support all of the Welsh regions and of course with a passion, the national side. When it comes to the Magners League or the Heineken Cup, as long as Welsh clubs progress, that's all I care about. It also doesn't help that of my University mates, there's a split between Scarlets and Ospreys fans.

So I'd like to think that on this matter at least, I come from a place of moderation where my views are not blinded by stringent club loyalty. So the comments that are to follow should be taken with that perspective.

The Heart of Welsh Rugby - Llanelli RFC
What does mean a lot to me in the broadest sense is history and heritage.

It is with this in mind that I salute the 5000th match played by Llanelli RFC and their modern alter-ego, the regional Scarlets side last Saturday night at the new Parc Y Scarlets.

Whatever your Welsh rugby allegiance, it would be a brave man who would not accept that the embodiment of the passion and soul of the history of Welsh rugby does not reside in the club that until November 2008 played at the legendary Stradey Park.

5000 games on from its reputed first match on January 1st 1876, the club and region can recall Welsh legends that played in the red of Llanelli. Without doubt its finest hour came in the 1970s when  the likes of Ray Gravell, Gareth Jenkins, Delme Thomas, Phil Bennett and Derek Quinnell played for a team that was coached by the best Welsh coach the national team never had the honour to play under - Carwyn James.

© Alan T Richards

In their near 140 year history, they have supplied the Welsh national side with at least 17 Captains since 1891 and have supplied the British and Irish Lions with at least 24 players since 1938.

The Day the Pubs Ran Dry
Throughout the years, Llanelli have incredibly never lost to Australia. They've played them 5 times and won in 1908, 1967, 1984 and 1992 to go alongside their 28-28 draw in 1975.

They have also defeated Canada (1903), Czechoslovakia (1957), Tonga (1974) and Fiji (1985) but there is one match and one scoreline that is and will forever, be etched on the collective memory of the Welsh nation for as long as a rugby ball is kicked.

October 31st 1972 was the day immortalised by the Welsh folk singing comedian Max Boyce as 'The day when the pubs ran dry' when Llanelli beat the mighty All Blacks by that unforgettable scoreline, 9-3.



Now I know that Swansea RFC fans will respond with the comment that they have supplied the Welsh national side with at least 20 captains since 1891 and the British and Irish Lions with at least 23 players since 1904. They will also add that they have defeated South Africa 3-0 back in 1912, it was they who first beat the All Blacks 11-3 in 1935 and it was they who beat the then World Champions Australia 21-6 in 1992.

Indeed, Cardiff RFC fans could also add their tally of at least 36 Welsh captains since 1884 and that they have supplied the British and Irish Lions with at least 40 players since 1904. They could also boast of their victories against South Africa in 1907, a 100% record against Australia with wins in 1908, 1947, 1957, 1966, 1975 and 1984 and also against the All Blacks of New Zealand in 1953 by 8-3.

But it is with the wonder of television, in that golden decade of Welsh rugby, against that most stern of international opponents, that Llanelli RFC's victory in 1972 will surpass all others in the annals of Welsh club rugby sporting history. Whether Swansea or Cardiff fans accept this is a mute point - it is a simple and unquestionable fact.

Happy Anniversary i'r Sosban Fach
Llanelli's famous ode is the song, Sosban Fach. Such is the team's interconnection with this song that catalogues the troubles of a harassed housewife, that saucepans sit proudly atop the rugby posts at the new Parc Y Scarlets.

They'll be singing Sosban Fach down in Llanelli and throughout Wales and beyond for years to come and Welsh rugby and Wales as a nation is all the better for it.

A World in Union - Welcome...to the 2011 Rugby World Cup!

Tomorrow sees the opening match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

I can't really believe how quickly the past 4 years have flown but here we are awaiting a feast of  sport - and all in the early hours of the morning!

If Wales qualify for the quarter-finals (particularly after the shambles of 1991, 1995 and particularly 2007) I'll be content. But time will tell.

I also decided to join a sweepstake for the event. Having won a handsome £28 in the football World Cup sweepstake last year when Spain came out victorious I felt it worth having another punt. But drawing Italy means my hopes are severely restricted!

But in the meantime, with thanks to Harry Hayfield on Youtube, here's a jolly message of good luck to all of the competing nations in the weeks ahead to the tune of the Rugby World Cup anthem 'The World in Union'.

Come on Wales...and Italy!

That Freddie Mercury Google Doodle!

This is just amazing.

I blogged this morning on Freddie's 65th birthday and chose 'Don't Stop Me Now' in tribute not realising at the time that those crazy, cool guys at Google had made their own wonderful tribute to the same song.

Here is their Google Doodle for September 5th 2011 (September 6th in America)...



This Guardian article asks what would Freddie have been doing today if he was still with us. It gives a link to an interview with Brian May on this anniversary.

He says:

I was first introduced to Freddie Mercury—a paradoxically shy yet flamboyant young man—at the side of the stage at one of our early gigs as the group “SMILE.” He told me he was excited by how we played, he had some ideas—and he could sing! I'm not sure we took him very seriously, but he did have the air of someone who knew he was right. He was a frail but energised dandy, with seemingly impossible dreams and a wicked twinkle in his eye. A while later we had the opportunity to actually see him sing ... and it was scary! He was wild and untutored, but massively charismatic. Soon, he began his evolution into a world-class vocal talent, right in front of our eyes.

Freddie was fully focused, never allowing anything or anyone to get in the way of his vision for the future. He was truly a free spirit. There are not many of these in the world. To achieve this, you have to be, like Freddie, fearless—unafraid of upsetting anyone's apple cart.

Some people imagine Freddie as the fiery, difficult diva who required everyone around him to compromise. No. In our world, as four artists attempting to paint on the same canvas, Freddie was always the one who could find the compromise—the way to pull it through. If he found himself at odds with any one of us, he would quickly dispel the cloud with a generous gesture, a wisecrack or an impromptu present. I remember one morning after a particularly tense discussion he presented me with a cassette. He had been up most of the night compiling a collage of my guitar solos. "I wanted you to hear them as I hear them, dear," he said. "They're all fab, so I made them into a symphony!

To create with Freddie was always stimulating to the max. He was daring, always sensing a way to get outside the box. Sometimes he was too far out ... and he'd usually be the first to realise it. With a conspiratorial smile he would say "Oh ... did I lose it, dears?!" But usually there was sense in his nonsense—art in his madness. It was liberating. I think he encouraged us all in his way, to believe in our own madness, and the collective mad power of the group Queen.

Freddie would have been 65 this year, and even though physically he is not here, his presence seems more potent than ever. Freddie made the last person at the back of the furthest stand in a stadium feel that he was connected. He gave people proof that a man could achieve his dreams—made them feel that through him they were overcoming their own shyness, and becoming the powerful figure of their ambitions. And he lived life to the full. He devoured life. He celebrated every minute. And, like a great comet, he left a luminous trail which will sparkle for many a generation to come.

Happy birthday Freddie!

Posted by Dr. Brian May, CBE. Guitarist.

I can't top that final luminous sentence and I can't top the Google doodle either.

Happy 65th birthday Freddie - the world still loves you!

Happy 65th Birthday Freddie Mercury

Today is Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday. If he'd have been alive now to witness it in person, it would've been a riot!

Incredibly, it will be the 20th anniversary of his passing this coming November. Time really does fly. But for die-hard Queen fans like myself, Freddie hasn't left us. He remains, through the wonderful musical legacy that will echo down the ages as I mentioned in this blog post of their lesser known hits back in December.

Wherever you are now Freddie, you'll be having a right old knees-up I'm sure!

So in tribute to Freddie on this day, a song that is still being regularly played in clubs, pubs and discos througout the land and which summed up his way of life. It has brought the music of Queen to a whole new generation of music lovers and will ensure that his and Queen's names will live on forever.

Happy birthday Freddie! Keep rockin'!

It's all just a little bit of history repeating (not)

No, I don't mean the London Mayoral election that will see Boris Vs Ken Vs Brian next year as it was in 2008.

No, I'm talking about tonight's Welsh football result.

A year tomorrow, Wales lost their opening Euro '12 qualifier away in Montenegro. It was the catalyst that brought be back to blogging a day later. That first blog post here lamented a lifetime of frustration in following the Welsh football team.

It didn't get better either as they went on to lose their next 3 qualification matches. The ignominy of being cast in the same qualifying pot for the 2014 World Cup draw as the likes of the Faroe Islands, Andorra and San Marino as a result, really is the lowest of the low.

But the talent is there and tonight, a year on, we managed to inflict on an impressive Montenegran side, their first defeat of the campaign in a worthy 2-1 win. The hope for Wales must now be that we can go on and overcome Bulgaria and Switzerland in the group to finish a respectable 3rd to give us momentum going into the World Cup qualifiers next September.

So, to cheer what was a rare but much welcome result for the Welsh football team, a tribute from one of our own.

From 1997, it's Shirley Bassey and the Propellerheads.



It's all just a little bit of history repeating (not).

I'll Have to Say I Love You with a Song - Jim Croce

Ever heard of Jim Croce? Me neither. But on being a rather avid listener to Magic FM at home when there's nothing worth watching on the TV, I've come to hear his voice with a growing regularity.

Magic FM does have a tendency to play the same playlist of songs on what feels like a loop but then I like the songs that come up so I shouldn't really compain.

Jim Croce
One of those that pops up keenly and which I've really grown to like is Jim Croce's 'I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song'.

For a keen musical connoisseur, his was a name that had never crossed my path before. Indeed when I first heard the song, it's regularity on the radio station made me think that it may have been a modern release but the sound just didn't sound 'current'. No, it was more of a 70s sound which was always pleasing on my ear.

On investigation, it turned out to be so. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released six studio albums and 11 singles. His singles "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time in a Bottle" were both number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Indeed, the former is a hit that I'm well versed with, but through the voice of Frank Sinatra who covered it. I hadn't realised that it was sung originally by Jim Croce.

But it's his 'I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song' which I've taken too. It was actually released posthumously on December 1st 1973 after Croce and 5 others were killed in a commercial plane crash on September 20th. The song reached No.9 in the US Singles Chart.

Here it is...

Jesus was Jamaican?!

Well, kind of...almost!

The link was made recently when I was told of the connection between Cool Runnings and Madonna. Having blogged about Hans Zimmer and Cool Runnings in recent weeks, it jogged my memory of this revelation that I learned about.

As a fan of the big screen, but an even bigger fan of music, I could not believe that I had never made the link between Madonna's (in) famous 'Like a Prayer' music video and the cast of Cool Runnings.

Leon Robinson
Because yes, the actor who played the controversial 'Black Jesus' in Madonna's hit video in 1989 was the same man who played the fictional lead character Derice Bannock in the hit 1993 film Cool Runnings, based loosely on the unlikely bid by Jamaica to run a bobsled team at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

But it must be said that whilst Leon Robinson was seen by many to have been portraying a 'Black Jesus' in the Madonna video, he was apparently (or so Wikipedia tells me at least) in fact portraying the role of a saint that was supposedly inspired by Saint Martin de Porres, the patron saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony.

As well as not playing Jesus, Leon Robinson it must be said, was not Jamaican! He was in fact born in New York.

So in this case at least, Jesus was not Jamaican.

But I had to share the link because as a particular fan of this hit Madonna song and video and also of Cool Runnings, it bemuses me how I could've gone the best part of 15 or so years and never made the clear link between the two.

So, there you have it!

Ketty Lester Vs Elvis Presley Vs Alison Moyet

Well loved songs will find that they are covered time after time after time by artistes down through the ages. I gather that the most copied song of all-time could well be Yesterday by the Beatles.

One song that I've always adored is Love Letters which was originally written in 1945. As with any song, the connection will be made by the listener to a particular artiste who has made the song his or her own. But Love Letters is one of the few with which I can't claim that that is the case. This list states that the song has been covered on at least 27 different occasions.

For me, there are a number of stand-out versions which I can't honestly seperate from each other.

Ketty Lester
This version of the popular song was performed by Ketty in 1962 but found a new lease of life when it was used on the soundtrack of David Lynch's iconic 1986 film Blue Velvet.



Elvis Presley
I adore the male take on this song and there's no better exponent of it than the King himself in 1966. It's certainly the one version that I heard more than any other.



Alison Moyet
But it was on hearing this 1987 version by the under-rated Moyet on radio recently that made me decide to blog on this never out-of-fashion song.



Personally, I could give reasons for preferring any of the above 3 versions but that really isn't the point of this post. The point is to demonstrate that a pure sound will echo down through the ages. Artistes come and artistes go but some songs are so iconic and yet so simple in their structure that they will be covered by contemporary singers the world over.

This is one of those soulful sounds that will never be lost because of the voices through the years that have given it the air from which it has breathed.

Glorious - A 60s Sound Perfected for the 21st Century, Pierces' Style

I'm an oldie at heart when it comes to music as anyone who knows me will testify.

There aren't many modern songs that 'grab' me. Those that do may have a 21st century sound but as long as it has a good rhythmn, beat and lyrics then I'm open minded to anything.

But in recent months, I've heard a song that I have just presumed was from the 1960s but which I hadn't heard before. But no, The Pierces' Glorious is very much a 21st century effort but it's one that takes me back (not that I was alive at the time!) to that hippy-ish American sound of the late 60s.



The vibe for me that it chimes with is the one that goes with Scott McKenzie's San Francisco and Joan Baez' Blowin' in the Wind.

It's a cool new sound from a couple of New York sisters which in itself in my mind embraces that cool sound of old. For me at least, it's a winning combination.

Hans Zimmer: Trending on Twitter?!

It did strike me as slightly odd when I saw that Hans Zimmer was trending on Twitter today. I must admit that it brought about a mild amount of panic as I considered that this may have been the result of an early and untimely death but on investigation, was relieved to find out that it was probably in fact linked to an appearance on BBC Breakfast News this morning.

It did remind me however of how much of a fan I am of Herr Zimmer. His musical scores filter their way throughout my childhood with a resonance that will stay with me for as long as I live.

In an interview with the German TV station ZDF in 2005, he said: "My father died when I was just a child, and I escaped somehow into the music and music and has been my best friend". As someone who also counts my love of music as one of my best friends, I found this to be an endearing quote and whilst it must have been a tremendous loss for one so young, Hans built himself up to join the ranks of John Williams as one of the 20th century's greatest film score composers.

He has composed and produced over one hundred soundtracks and film scores. Of them, about 50 soundtracks and songs have been nominated for awards.

My Hans Zimmer Top 5
At this unlikliest of junctures, I feel compelled all of a sudden, to pay my own homage to this most talented of men but please don't see this as my opinion on his whole repertoire - no, this is merely a personal recollection of my favourite moments from my childhood that happen to have been created by this fine gentleman.

No.5 - Gladiator
This isn't a film that I have seen and yet the score is well known to all.



No.4 - Pirates of the Caribbean
Oddly enough, I also haven't seen any of the Pirates of the Caribbean films but the stirring score is one that is often played on classical radio and is one that suited the films that it was set too perfectly.



No.3 - The Lion King
I would happily state that The Lion Ling is the best Disney film ever made.

It's haunting score, along with the moving story-telling, has a force that could move me to tears. There's a very basic story of good vs bad which is at the heart of all great Disney films here and with loveable characters that the viewer warms too.

Hans Zimmer's score is the icing on the cake of what is a truly magnificent film and the score itself won Zimmer his first and to date, only Oscar.



No.2 - Going for Gold
I know, I know, I know.

But please forgive me this indiscretion but you see, it's my age. As a 28 year old, Going for Gold was a staple part of my lunchtime viewing during the late 1980s and early 1990s on those days when I was absent from school (on average throughout my time in school, about once every fortnight).

I hadn't realised until years later that the famous theme was actually a Hans Zimmer concoction and if possible, it made me love it even more than I already did!



Here is the full theme which was almost but never quite, released as a single.



No.1 - Cool Runnings
I make no bones about it. I love Cool Runnings. I own the DVD and have watched the film countless times.

The fact that it was based (albeit loosely) on the real-life story of the 1988 Winter Olympics immediately drew me towards it and then of course, there is the legendary John Candy. This it would turn out would be his final completed film before his tragically early death.

I absolutely adore the sound track and even own it on CD also.

For me, when I think Hans Zimmer I think and will always think first and foremost above all else that he has composed and achieved, Cool Runnings. It is therefore only apt that it is my No.1.

I have therefore indulged myself in two pieces by Zimmer from the film. The first is the absolutely wonderful Countrylypso which has within it, every emotion imaginable. I bought the CD for this alone. I love that Jamaican sound which Zimmer brought to the fore and it has since I first heard it, made me want to visit that island nation. One day hopefully, it will be a dream achieved.

Finally, the climax to the film with the actual film footage which saw the dream achieved for our four unlikely heroes, is made that much more dramatic by the score in the background. No matter how many times I've seen it, the final scenes always reduce me to tears.

It's what an enduring film score should be about - that ability to take you in and make you feel a part of the story.

Thank you Hans Zimmer for the music. Trending on Twitter? Deservedly so.

Philadelphia Freedom - Happy Birthday America!

It's the 235th anniversary of the signing of America's Declaration of Independence in 1776.


A younger, leaner looking author
with Liberty Bell in 2005

 It's a day of great celebration for our cousins on the other side of the pond and I for one am happy to pass on my very best wishes to them on this day.

Philadelphia Freedom
When I holidayed along the east coast of America in 2005, I visited Boston which was of course the home of the Famous Tea Party which galvanised local feeling against the colonial repressors.

I've also been to Philadelphia and I must admit that I greatly underestimated the city before my arrival. On a whirlwind 2 week tour that took in Toronto in Canada before Boston and New York, Philadelphia was to be our final stop and it wasn't one that filled me with great excitement.

For a historian, this was a near sacrilegious underestimation of a city that lies at the very heart of what it is that America are celebrating today.

For Philadelphia was at the heart of the actions and ideas that fuelled the American Revolution and led to its Independence. It was there in Independence Hall that the declaration of Independence was signed after the Second Continental Congress voted for independence and for the first decade, the city served as the American capital between 1790-1800 before Washington took over the reins of power.

Having quickly grappled with the historic significance of this final city of my holiday, I lapped it all up. I visited Independence Hall, the venue of that famous declaration and also the adjacent Congress Hall which housed the initial meetings of Congress during this period - both the Senate and House of Representatives.


A Philadelphia Montage with
Independence Hall in the bottom right.

I also visited the nearby Liberty Bell Center to see the famous cracked bell that was one of many that reputedly rang in the news when the Declaration was publicly read on July 8, 1776. I also visited the wonderful National Constitution Center which tells you anything and everything that you could ever want to know about America's constitution which though far from perfect (particularly when dealing with the Native Americans), remains in my book, one of the purest expressions of democracy that has ever been written - and in the 18th century!

I have my copy of the Declaration of Independence which I bought then with me now. As it famously stated:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that amongst these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".

In tribute to my American friends and this day of pride in their nation and on a belief that at its core was as near perfect as could be expected now, let alone then, this apt Elton John composition with a visual montage of Philadelphia by a native of the city.

Happy Birthday America!

JPR Williams, Heavenly Singing & Mindless Vandalism

Go back to 1176 and you will find that the first ever Welsh Eisteddfod was held in Cardigan Castle under the auspices of the Lord Rhys.

It is quite apt then that one of the biggest of the modern Eisteddfods in the west Wales region is Cardigan's Gwyl Fawr Aberteifi which has a long and proud 59 year tradition which helps make it so.

Heavenly Singing
Last night I had a very enjoyable time at the final evening of Gwyl Fawr Aberteifi 2011 where I could endulge myself in my love of Welsh music and in particular, Welsh choral music.

Because I am without hesitation, first and foremost, a Choir man. I adore listening to the Choir competitions more than I do the recitations or the solo singing performances (although I do greatly enjoy these as well). In the Gwyl Fawr, there are 4 choir competitions - for the youth, for women, for men and for a mixed choir. The winner of each then go toe-to-toe for the 'Choir of the Festival' trophy which is the one they all want to win.

Give me a choice and I will always go for the Male Voice Choir. There is something that calls out to my Welsh soul when I hear one in full flow and last night, it was a pleasure to listen to the 4 Male Voice Choirs that had come to compete and indeed had travelled some distance to do so.

JPR in his Welsh 70's pomp

Côr Meibion Y Machlud had travelled up from south Wales and amongst its ranks on stage last night was 1970s Welsh rugby wizard, JPR Williams giving it his all as was his way on the rubgy pitch. However, on this occasion, he and they came last!

In third were Côr Meibion Clwb Rygbi Treforys (Morriston RFC Male Voice Choir) who brought a staggering 60 members all the way up from Swansea to compete.

Côr Meibion Taf from Cardiff came a very respectable second but the clear and straightforward winners last night for me were our very own Côr Ar Ol Tri who were a good distance better than their south Walian rivals. Their win proved very popular in the hall as can be expected but unfortunately however, the overall Festival Choir award was given to the Ladies Choir Côr Merched Canna from Cardiff - never mind, better luck next year Côr Ar Ol Tri!

Mindless Vandalism
The evening certainly perked me up after the great anger and frustration that swept over me the evening before when I received a 'phone call from our CAB Bureau Manager at 10.15pm on Friday evening notifying me that there had been an act of mindless vandalism at the Bureau for the second time this year.

I broke off from watching The Kennedys and made my way down to the Bureau as Trustee Board Co-Chair to find that a brick had been thrown at one of the paines of glass at the front of the building. One of the local residents who always keeps an eye out for us, spotted this damage on his way back from the Gwyl Fawr on that evening and called our Bureau Manager.

We waited for the police to arrive and once they were gone, we cleaned up and made our ways home at about 11.30pm.

What greatly frustrates me is that someone decided to target the CAB - an organisation that exists to help people and to do good in society. Why, of all places in the world, target the Citizens Advice Bureau? I find it incredulous. As I've said, this is the second such incident in recent months - the last time a large plank of wood was forced through re-inforced windows and made a much greater mess than what we witnessed this Friday evening.

But whilst that original act was perpetrated in the early hours of the morning, this most recent mindless act occurred sometime between 6.30pm and 9.30pm - in summer time daylight hours. I just can't fathom and undestand the mentality here in doing what was done and at a time when they could so easily have been seen. Do these people have no shame? Well, they certainly are shameful in their actions.

So over the course of the weekend, I've seen to some degrees both the worst and the best of our area but I'm glad that it was the former that was followed by the latter because it at least means that I move into a new week in better heart than would've been the case had it have been the other way around.

No One But You (Only The Good Die Young)

It's been a tough few days. Indeed, as June closes, I look back at what has been a distressing month.

I've already commented about the sad and premature death of Andrew Reeves at only 43 of a heart attack and of my journey to his funeral in Edinburgh. The following week I attended the funeral of a well respected elder statesman of the Cardigan community who passed away in his early 90s.

Over the course of the past week I've done my best to support Alyson as her family have prepared their farewells to her grandmother who also passed away, aged 94. On leaving the funeral yesterday and coming back north from Llanboidy to Cardigan, I heard the heart-breaking news of the premature death of a lovely lady who though is only related to me through marriage, has along with her husband and children, always felt a part of my wider family. She was only in her 60s and it just made me despair again at how, as the old saying goes, 'only the good die young'. It very much brought to the fore the memories of my father's early death back in 2003 at the age of 66. Last night I broke down in tears for the first time in a number of years and I'm thankful that I had Alyson there to console me.

So as a tribute to all of those who have passed before their time, one of the most under-rated of songs from the best band of all-time.

No One But You
The impetus for this Queen production was the death, at the age of just 36, of Princess Diana in August 1997. It is however, largely a eulogy to Freddie Mercury who passed away aged just 45 in 1991.

The song features the three remaining members of Queen and was the last new recording to feature John Deacon, who subsequently retired from public life.


Queen - No One But You (Only The Good Die Young)... by M_Ouyhey

It is a truly moving piece of music and the video for me adds to the poigniancy of the lyrics, sang so well by Brian May and Roger Taylor.

Kennedy & Sinatra - High Hopes

I enjoyed an absorbing 'Kennedys evening' of TV on BBC2 last night. Between family archive film footage, the second in the controversial 8-part Kennedys mini-series and an intelligent discussion on it and JFK's Presidency, I was glued to my sofa all evening.

I found The Kennedys fascinating. Though it plays in much part on historic licence and in some places has to be taken with a great heft of a pinch of salt, I found it compulsive viewing simply down to the excellent casting and acting (particularly Tom Wilkinson as the patriarchal Joe Kennedy Snr). It must be said that from what I have seen, the mini-series does seem set to play up on all of the personal negatives of the Kennedy clan of which of course there were plenty but doesn't seem destined to go into as great a depth with the actual politics of the era to which JFK would get more credit.

But despite these misgivings, it is because of the acting, a must watch mini-series.

What particularly struck me was the sound of Frank Sinatra's wonderfully upbeat and optimistic 1959 hit High Hopes. I hadn't heard the song in years so I decided to find it on-line and found both the original which he sang with school children which made it an even more infectiously catchy tune, and his 1960 adapted recording for JFK's Presidential election campaign.

Here are those two contrasting productions...

NOW 29 - That's What I Call Music!

I'll bore anyone when it comes to my taste in music. As the various musical blog posts on this site will testify, it's nothing if not eclectic.

So I may as well add to them with this call out for what in my mind is the finest of the NOW (That's What I Call Music) CD collections. At my last count, the series has now reached No.78 - the first being released back in November 1983.

Of all of those to date, there's one that stands out for me - NOW 29.

Why? Well, it's a mixture of the songs on it and the fact that it encapsulates in one compilation a feeling for a wonderful period of my childhood that no other complilation touches. It was released on 21st November 1994 at which time I would have been 12 years old. The music on the CD would presumably have been high up in the charts in the proceeding months following on from the release on NOW 28 in the August.

They're a sound of my youth but also, an unmistakeable sound of the early-to-mid '90s. At present, we have many 'Flares' clubs for those who enjoy their 70s music and 'Reflex' for those who like their 80s (I like both I must admit) but the whole concept of the 90s club hasn't really taken off yet but I expect that in the years to come it will and when it does, it will play some of the hits that I have selected from NOW 29 right here...

Baby Come Back (Pato Banton with Robin & Ali Campbell)
With lyrics such as "I must admit I was a clown to be, messin' around, but that dosen't mean that you 'ave to leave town, come back, yes and give me one more try, 'cos a love like this shoulda never ever die, come back, yes wi' me colour TV, and me CD collection of Bob Marley, come back".

Brilliant!



Baby I Love Your Way (Big Mountain)
Originally written and performed by Peter Frampton in 1975, it is this version of 19 years hence that stays with me. It's upbeat, positive and optimistic sound is one that I absolutely adore to this day...a further 17 years hence...



Saturday Night (Whigfield)
A song that probably encapsulates the 90s more than virtually all others, it just screams 1994 and for those young enough to be alive and aware of music in that year, it just burst out of nowhere and into your face.



Rhythm of the Night (Corona)
Not necessarily my vibe of music ordinarily, it still has to be said that this is a classic of the era and well deserving of a special mention here...



MMM MMM MMM MMM (Crash Test Dummies)
It's just an 'out-there' tune. It's instantly recognisable and is pretty chilled out in my book.



We Have All The Time In The World (Louis Armstrong)
Do I really need to explain why? It's a timeless classic.

Originally made famous as a James Bond theme from On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969, it came back to public attention 25 years later as part of a Guinness beer commercial after My Bloody Valentine chose to cover it for charity. Armstrong's version was then re-released and reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.



Midnight at the Oasis (Brand New Heavies)
It's another chilled out tune from an oft forgotten band - again with the 90s hallmark sound stamped all over it.



Trouble (Shampoo)
It may have been their only real hit but I'll defy anyone to say that they don't know the hook!



Parklife (Blur)
What better way to finish my selection than with one of the 90s finest? It was with the death of Britpop after 1996 and the end of the great battle between Oasis/Blur and Pulp that my interest in modern music began to wane. So here, along with Eastenders' very own Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels) at the wheel, it's one of the best musical videos of the decade...



They are only 9 of the 38 tracks on the double CD that is NOW 29 but it gives you a flavour of the music of my era.

It's not as if every other of the 29 songs are hits. With compilation CDs, you've always got to sift through the chaf to find the wheat but as the NOW series goes, there are some serious hits on No.29!

I Guess That's Why They Call It The (Birmingham City) Blues!

What a Relegation Sunday!

I've been glued to Radio 5 Live and Final Score on the Red Button as the biggest last day Premier League rollercoaster ride in years came to a disbelieving conclusion!

During the course of the afternoon, Blackpool, Wigan, Wolves and Birmingham fans all saw the sword of damocles hang over their heads.

But at the final whistle, it is brave and plucky Blackpool who have been releagted along with Carling Cup winners Birmingham City!

I'm an Aston Villa fan and how, after the season that we've had did we ever finish as high up as 9th I'll never know! Indeed, I blogged here earlier this season of my worries for Villa's place in the top flight of English football.

It was compounded by Birmingham's victory in the Carling Cup at Wembley with the European competition that comes with it next year. But now, how I bet the Blues in England's second city would swap that trophy for safety and a place in the Premier League next season!

So, as an Aston Villa fan, an ode to those poor Birmingham City fans who are now looking at Championship football next season.

From that Watford fan Elton John, 'I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues'.

Goodbye Birningham City! Enjoy your run in Europe next year as you travel to the likes of Doncaster, Barnsley and Brighton in the Championship!

Stevie Wonder & Paul Mc Cartney - Ebony & Ivory

I'm having a 'Stevie Wonder Sunday'.

Amidst my work of going through Council paperwork today, I'm in need of a soundtrack for my day. It's usually the 'mellow sounds' of Magic FM that sees me through but thanks to a blog post by Jonathan Calder here earlier today, I'm turned my attention to the boy Wonder.

I've got a very eclectic range of music here at home as anyone who knows me will testify but to my continuing shame, not one of my many CDs is dedicated entirely to the legend that is Stevie Wonder.

So, inspired by Jonathan this morning, I've been searching out some of his many, many hits and was particularly taken by his soulful (when aren't they?!), meaningful duet with Paul McCartney.



It's a simple message of humanity sang by two of the greatest musicians of the last century. How have I never fallen upon it before?!

An Azerbaijan Victory but Moldova the Moral Winners!

It was an amusing European Song Contest and thanks to my friends on Facebook who made it an on-line 'community' event!

I must admit that having been underwhelmed by the opening few entries, I suddently found my home with the absolute randomness that was the Moldovian effort!

It reminded me of Madness in the early 1980s. It was over-the-top, wholly irreverant and 110% ridiculous which for me, made it brilliant!

Here they are in the semi-final...

Congratulations to the winners Azerbaijan but for me, with unicycles, monocles, pointy hats and trumpets, there was only one real winner for me tonight - Moldova!

A Tribute to Eurovision (Part II) - The Greatest Hits (1956-2011)

It's that time of year again.

The Eurovision Song Contest is here to bring us its annual dose of hillarity, incredulity and sheer randomness that manages to infuriate and illuminate us all at the same time.

I don't watch it as much as I used too as the shine has been taken off the contest in recent years in my mind. Is it because the UK have fallen back to regular also-rans since the turn of the millennium? Quite probably yes. Also, the loss of the talismanic (and indeed manic) commentating style of Terry Wogan has meant that to me the competition in these isles have lost that mavaric, irreverant care-free voice that made it a 'must-watch' every May.

But whilst I may just tune in to see if Blue manage to improve the UK's lot this year, I can still look back in my own memory and in the memory of the televisual archives to some stand-out moments in Eurovision history.

So here is my run-down of the 20 greatest songs from Eurovision's 55 year history to date since it began in 1956...

No.20 - Rock Bottom (Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran) UK - 1977

It may be rock bottom of my top 20, but this playful melody brought the UK one of many 2nd places in the competition over the years. I love the mix of having two pianos being played along with an orchestra. A catchy sound.



No.19 - La Det Swinge (Bobbysocks) Norway - 1985

Norway's first Eurovision winner was an old-fashioned homage to the rock'n roll era of a generation earlier. Its retro sound struck a chord as it won the 1985 contest for the double act Bobbysocks!



No.18 - Ding-a-Dong (Teach-In) Holland - 1975

The 1975 Eurovision winners followed in the footsteps of their illustrious predecessors from 1974 by becoming the second entry to win having not sung in their native tounge.

No.17 - Puppet on a String (Sandie Shaw) UK - 1967

The UK's first win at Eurovision by Sandie Shaw was with a song that she didn't even like! She was also nearly dropped before the competition by the BBC because she was the 'other woman' in a divorce case! But she did sing and made a a piece of history by winning by a then record margin.

Key Change!



No.16 - Nocturne (Secret Garden) Norway - 1995

Norway's second winner was another classic but this time for a different reason from its rocky attempt of a decade earlier.

Secret Garden's performance consisted of only 24 words with a violin solo at the heart of the piece. It reminds me of the music used years later in the popular Shrek movies.



No.15 - Boom-Bang-A-Bang (Lulu) UK - 1969

The UK's second Eurovision winner actually tied for the honour with 3 other entrants in an era when shared victories were permitted.

Like with any Eurovsision hit, it had a catchy hook that is rememebred 40 years on.

No.14 - Poupée de cire, poupée de son (France Gall) Luxembourg - 1965

This catchy song composed by Serge Gainsbourg and sang in French by France Gall was the first non-ballad winner of Eurovision.

No.13 - What’s Another Year? (Johnny Logan) Ireland - 1980

Johnny Logan gave Ireland its second Eurovision win in 1980 with this ballad. He would return 7 years later to win the Eurovision for a second time. He also composed the winning Irish entry by Linda Martin in 1992.

No.12 - Tu te reconnaîtras (Ann-Marie David) Luxembourg - 1973

In 1973, Luxembourg became only the second country to win back-to-back contests after Spain in 1968 & 1969 (indeed, only Israel in 1978 & 1979 and Ireland in 1992, 1993 & 1994 have matched that feat).

Big band time!

No.11 - Save Your Kisses for Me (Brotherhood of Man) UK - 1976

A classic Eurovision hit, it just misses out on my Top 10.

Before we break into the Top.10, it's time for an interval.

What better way of taking a break than with the greatest interval act in Eurovision history? In 1994 in Dublin, the Irish event organisers gave us what would become a world-wide sensational hit - Riverdance.

No.10 - Fly on the Wings of Love (Olsen Brothers) Denmark - 2000

It's a simple but catchy number that begins my Top 10. This rather old-fashioned love ballad was sang by the oldest performers to enter the contest and became the first song since 1974 to lead the competition from start to finish.



No.9 - Congratulations (Cliff Richard) UK - 1968

This perennial Eurovision hit was the favourite to win the contest in 1968 but was pipped by a single point by Spain. It reached No.1 in the UK charts.



No.8 - Diva (Dana International) Israel - 1998

This was and remains, a huge Eurovision success story, being sang as it was by one of the most well known transexuals in the world.

I remember it clearly and it took the world by storm.

No.7 - Take Me To Your Heaven (Charlotte Nilsson) Sweden - 1999

This is a fantastic, up-beat Eurovision favourite which celebrated the 25th anniversary of a certain Swedish band's win in 1974 in style.

No.6 - Love Shine a Light (Katrina and the Waves) UK - 1997

It remains the last British victory at Eurovision to date and is a beautiful anthemic hit. With 227 out of a possible 288 points, it created an Eurovision record which stood until 2004.

No.5 - Making Your Mind Up (Bucks Fizz) UK - 1981

Katrina and the Waves' win was Britain's first in 16 years since this hit from 1981.

The immortal Eurovision 'key change' was noticeable here in a song that epitomised the Eurovision sound with a strong beat and catchy lyrics. It will always be remembered of course for the legendary whipping off of the girls' skirts to reveal even shorter skirts by the boys.

No.4 - Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare) (Domenico Modugno) Italy - 1958

A surprise entry at No.4? Certainly not.

Although it only placed 3rd for Italy in the 1958 competition, it has become famous the world over with over 100 covers of the song over the past 50 years - most famously being made its own by Dean Martin.

No.3 - Ein bißchen Frieden (A Little Peace) (Nicole) Germany - 1982

The winning song in the year of my birth, this is a simple but gentle ballad describing a wish for world peace, with the lyrics sung in first person, and also describes the beauty of the natural world.

Nicole was only 17 when she performed what would become Germany's first ever Eurovision winner.

Key Change!

No.2 - All Kinds of Everything (Dana) Ireland - 1970

Another easy on the ear ballad (noticing a trend here?!), 18 year old Dana won Ireland the first of a record 7 Eurovision titles.

She proved that she was capable of all kinds of everything as she moved from the entertainment arena to politics. In 1997, she stood as an Independent candidate or the Irish Presidency and though she failed in that endeavour, she was elected to the European Parliament for a single 5 year term in 1999 - again as an Independent.

It all began with that appearance on the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970!

No.1 - Waterloo (ABBA) Sweden - 1974

It has to be really, hasn't it?

They had released singles before this appearance but it was winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest that brought ABBA to world-wide attention and would eventually lead to their fame and fortune.

So I thank Eurovision for giving us ABBA and their music but also, all of this weird and wonderful music which we have had to put up with over the years!

There are online bargains available for songs from the '60's & '70's.