Here’s a question from Radio 2’s mid-morning quiz Pop Master from last week: In 1984 the song Feels Like Heaven became the only Top 40 hit for which group? The answer didn’t come to me in time, though I’m sure that there have been times when it would have, not least in 1984 itself. You… Continue reading A Confusion of 80s Bands
I return to the subject of pronouns, something I wrote about in this post back in 2016. In case you need a reminder of what pronouns are, there are explanations in that earlier piece. You might receive emails these days from people who specify their preferred use of pronouns, typically he/him, she/her or they/their. I… Continue reading UK #1s that contain multiple pronouns in their titles
“Stuck at 2” is a recurring theme on this Blog: there are posts and menu items here which list all the songs that made it to #2 in the UK chart but did not make it to #1. As far as I can tell, this Blog is the only place on the web where you… Continue reading Stuck at 2: reflections on 2020 and 2021 so far
Rest in peace Don Everly, one half of musical duo The Everly Brothers. He died this weekend, seven years after his brother Phil. You will know plenty of their recordings: “All I Have To Is Dream”, “Cathy’s Clown”, “Wake Up Little Susie”. In this 2014 Guardian obituary for Phil Everly, Graham Nash (of The Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) is quoted about the effect of hearing… Continue reading Don Everly RIP, Guns ’n Roses and stories behind the songs
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
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-2021)
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-2021)
Our listening habits have remained the same for many years. Our DAB Digital Radio is set to BBC Radio 2 most of the time. Occasionally it will be retuned to Radio 4 for “Desert Island Discs” or to 5 Live Sports Extra for some cricket commentary, but we return it to Preset 2 immediately afterwards. Much of Radio 2’s programming consists of old hits. Every Saturday afternoon “Pick of the Pops” features the charts from… Continue reading “Glee”, “Strictly” and chart data
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
Happy New Year to you. Last month, in this piece, I wrote about Mariah Carey rewriting UK chart history when her seasonal hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You” reached #1, 26 years after its original release. It had previously reached #2 on four separate occasions, a unique feat for any song. As noted… Continue reading Stuck at 2: now Wham! rewrite chart history
The Compartments 