Every piece on this Blog is drafted in a document that also contains hundreds of thousands of words that will never be made available for anyone else to read. Every year I start a new one of these documents, with the word “Snippets” and the year somewhere in the filename. These words are being typed… Continue reading Word of the week: gamechanger
In a couple of recent posts on this Blog I have been revisiting some of the first gigs that I attended. As mentioned in this one (“More about 1970s gigs, and a correction”), I have created a list of the first 38 that I went to, from November 1974 to late December 1977. It appears at the end of this piece, along with photos… Continue reading My first 38 gigs listed (1974-77)
My recent memories of a gig by Cado Belle at the Music Machine, recorded here, have prompted me to make a list of the first 30 gigs that I attended. The first dozen or so are as fixed in my memory as my 8 Times Table. They’ve been there for 40 years and haven’t gone anywhere yet. I could recall them, in order, without any difficulty, but I… Continue reading More about 1970s gigs, and a correction
In addition to its daily Obituaries page, the Guardian publishes a series called “Other Lives” two or three times a week. It is introduced online as follows: “Obituaries pages traditionally describe and celebrate the lives of the great and good, the famous and infamous. There is another type of life that deserves noticing: people less in the… Continue reading Colin Tully RIP and Cado Belle at the Music Machine
Rest in peace Amy Winehouse. As you probably know, she died 10 years ago yesterday, Saturday 23 July 2011, aged 27. The anniversary has been marked by a documentary featuring new interviews with her parents, and plenty of tributes which continue throughout this weekend. I remember the day of her death well. That night I played… Continue reading And just like that, they were gone: Amy Winehouse, a short-lived band, the 12 Bar Club
After a gap of three weeks, for reasons explained in this piece, I have chosen another Album of the week. It was the title that appealed to me: “One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This”, by the New York Dolls. The album passed me by on its release in 2006. I came… Continue reading Album of the week: #7 “One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This” (New York Dolls)
Last week’s trip to see “The Two Noble Kinsmen” at Shakespeare’s Globe prompted some familiar thoughts about venues and performances. There are certain theatres that I have been to many times over the years and whenever I return to them my mind is always taken back to previous visits. The Shepherds Bush Empire is one… Continue reading More thoughts about Shakespeare’s Globe (23 down, 15 to go) and other venues
There are years when I go to plenty of gigs, at least one per month. Some years, like last year, I go to hardly any. In 2017 there were planned shows that had sold out before I could get tickets, like Tony Visconti and the remaining Spider from Mars playing the whole of the Ziggy… Continue reading Andy White, and “50 quid man”
Last Saturday I drove to Oxford and back, from here in West London, to see legendary punk-poet John Cooper Clarke. He played at the O2 Academy on Cowley Road. I travelled with a couple of friends and my 13-year-old son, none of whom had seen him on stage before. I first saw him perform in… Continue reading 40 years of John Cooper Clarke
Ari Up, singer in punk band The Slits, died seven years ago today. May she rest in peace. She and the band had been on my mind in recent weeks, and when starting to draft this piece yesterday I discovered that the anniversary was upon us. Back in 2010 I read the news of her… Continue reading Ari Up and The Slits
The Compartments 