Category: Music

Gigs · Memories · Music · Notes from West London

And just like that, they were gone: Amy Winehouse, a short-lived band, the 12 Bar Club

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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

Music · On my radio · Trivia

Pop Master: My best week ever, Part 3 (w/e 16-Apr-2020)

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There are many pieces on this Blog that mention Pop Master, the BBC Radio 2 mid-morning quiz. You can hear it live on the Ken Bruce Show Monday to Friday at 10.30am or use BBC Sounds to listen back to any shows from the previous 30 days. You can also download the last 30 days’… Continue reading Pop Master: My best week ever, Part 3 (w/e 16-Apr-2020)

Music · On my radio · Trivia

Pop Master: My best week ever, Part 2 (w/e 2-Apr-2020)

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There are many pieces on this Blog that mention Pop Master, the BBC Radio 2 mid-morning quiz. You can hear it live on the Ken Bruce Show Monday to Friday at 10.30am or use BBC Sounds to listen back to any shows from the previous 30 days. You can also download the last 30 days’… Continue reading Pop Master: My best week ever, Part 2 (w/e 2-Apr-2020)

Home life · In the news · Music · Notes from West London

“Blue Monday” and the Henry Fern Collection

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Today is known by some as Blue Monday. This piece in The Scotsman describes as “the most depressing day of the year”, for the following reasons:  “It’s the day when the financial pressure of the Christmas just passed hangs over us most, the weather is at its worst, and the extra pounds we’ve acquired over the holiday… Continue reading “Blue Monday” and the Henry Fern Collection

Music · On my radio · Trivia

Pop Master: My best week ever (w/e 6-Nov-2020)

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[Drafted November 2020, finalized several months later] There are many pieces on this Blog that mention Pop Master, the BBC Radio 2 mid-morning quiz. You can hear it live on the Ken Bruce Show Monday to Friday at 10.30am or use BBC Sounds to listen back to any shows from the previous 30 days. You… Continue reading Pop Master: My best week ever (w/e 6-Nov-2020)

At the movies · Lyrics · Music · On the box · Word of the week

Word of the week: sonofabitch

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Sonofabitch (alternatively sunuvabitch, son-of-a-bitch or even “son of a bitch”) is an old-fashioned exclamation or term of abuse that I have been hearing a lot over the last month while I work my way, very happily, through all 11 series of the sitcom “Modern Family”. (I wrote about the show in this earlier post.) I… Continue reading Word of the week: sonofabitch

Lyrics · Music · Trivia

“Up the Junction” and “Virginia Plain” revisited

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Back in 2018, in this piece, I posed the following question: What do the songs “Virginia Plain” and “Up the Junction” have in common with each other, and with no other singles that have reached the UK Top 10? It’s one of my favourite pop trivia challenges. The answer was revealed in that earlier piece,… Continue reading “Up the Junction” and “Virginia Plain” revisited