It's all about the Vinyl Revival (or 'revinyl', if I'm being clever and someone hadn't already coined that 'portmanteau' buzzword !)
As tomorrow is the UK Record Store Day and new outlets for records seem to be springing up all over the place, time to browse into that world from our past. 30 years ago most homes had a record turntable to play music on. Then the CD revolution consigned these decks to the loft and then the record collection was sadly shown the exit door too. 

I have gone on about the value of vinyl on a few occasions, so I will say no more. But the return of vinyl music is here, yet 'How is it that a media format as clunky, costly and fragile as vinyl would become so popular in an age of ubiquitous digital content?'. And a study last year found that 50% of vinyl buyers in the US don’t have a record player ! So this revival is full of questions. I'll add a few links to articles at the end for any curious listeners. 

Need to re-purchase a record turntable ? Today's video features a very sexy vertical turntable, defying gravity (if you have the money - go here). 

Great track from Tracy Chapman 'She's Got Her Ticket' from her debut album in 1988, which at the time was probably the last vinyl LP I bought before CDs took over. Enjoy some very tasty guitar from Jack Holder who was in the band Black Oak Arkansas for two years in the late 70s. > 

A few vinyl articles of interest:

- Record Shops >>  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-68483084.amp

- Study >>  https://www.nme.com/news/music/study-finds-50-per-cent-of-vinyl-buyers-in-us-dont-have-a-record-player-3437301

- Vintage is back >>  https://theconversation.com/the-triumph-of-vinyl-vintage-is-back-as-lp-sales-continue-to-skyrocket-225662

- Retro 'Revinyl' >>  https://www.retrotogo.com/2016/11/budget-turntables-revinyl-briefcase-record-player-at-amazon.html

   

Last weekend I saw the Small Fakers. No this is not a spelling error it's the UK's only tribute to one of my favourite 60s bands the Small Faces. 

Now today could be a bit of a 'link fest' as there are plenty of videos around, but I will try to not get carried away. 

First up the Small Fakers were excellent as they rattled their way through some 25 songs on the night. Many I wasn't familiar with, so it's good there's a recent setlist on the web, which even has accompanying videos (link here). Some of these videos are not great but I can recommend 'Get Yourself Together', which is pretty much as we saw performed and 'Tin Soldier' which they also nailed. (Simply click the circled arrow, beside the song). 

Given that the original Small Faces (1965-69) only released 3 studio albums and a dozen singles it's probably no surprise I was hearing some album tracks for the first time: i.e. 'Sorry She’s Mine'* (off the 1st album, 1966) and (the 2nd album, 67) 'Happy Boys Happy'. There were also 3 compilation LPs and a couple of late 70s records from a reformed Small Faces without Ronnie Laine, but that was it. 

Anyway I came across this recently. A curious 'street corner' video of 'All Or Nothing' - the band's only UK chart topping single  

Extras:
* 'Sorry She’s Mine' - just found a great YouTube vintage video of this song (click here)  - 
All this black and white stuff, it's time for some colour as the Small Faces were featured in 1968 on the BBC's 'Colour Me Pop' programme - do you remember this ? (great video) 

Finally - The Faker's: Matt Bond was a great Steve Marriott lookalike and had his mannerisms and sideways shuffle off to a tee. Which prompted me to review Steve Marriott's tragic death > 

Quite a story: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/tragic-death-small-faces-steve-marriott/

Postscript to this was discovering Steve's daughter Molly is a singer and currently vocalist in Rick Wakeman's English Rock Ensemble Band.

 

  

-  In the headlines, this week 60 years ago  -

The Billboard Hot 100 this week in 1964: The Beatles occupied the top 5 positions. 

No.1: “Can’t Buy Me Love”
No.2: “Twist and Shout”
No.3: “She Loves You”
No.4: “I Want To Hold Your Hand”

No.5: "Please Please Me"

Never before had this happened and followed 2 months of American chart success. From February 1st, 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' stayed 7 weeks at No.1 and then 'She Loves You' for 2 weeks, before on April 4th 'Can't Buy Me Love' was top - and would remain there for another 5 weeks. 

Some music from The Beatles then, and a song new to me called ‘Long, Long, Long’. Before all you Fab Four fans and owners of the 'White Album' start berating me, and in my defense, this track is tucked away on the outer reaches of side 3 of the album, in the shadow of 'Helter Skelter' and I really had never heard it until last year. A George Harrison composition and vocal with Ringo playing his part.  

 

While you’re listening (as there's no video to watch) here’s another short story: 

This unparalleled chart success would have pleased Murray the K no end. 

Murray Kaufman (1922 – 1982), professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential New York City rock 'n' roll impresario and disc jockey in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. 

When the band arrived in New York, Murray was invited by Brian Epstein to spend time with the group, and Murray persuaded his New York radio station (WINS) to let him broadcast his prime time show from the Beatles' Plaza Hotel suite. During the early days of Beatlemania he frequently referred to himself as the 'Fifth Beatle'.
The radio station WINS picked up on the name and billed Murray the K as the Fifth Beatle. 

He wouldn't be the last to be called this: there was George Martin, Billy Preston and a German car ! 

 

See previous Spotlight post (Part 1) below. 

On to part two and the Gigspanner Band which appear to come in different sizes ! 

Firstly there's the trio with fiddle player Peter Knight being joined by percussionist Sacha Trochet and guitarist Roger Flack. The line-up then expands to form the Gigspanner Big Band, with acclaimed multi-instrumental duo Edgelarks (Phillip Henry: dobro & harmonica and Hannah Martin: fiddle, banjo, tenor guitar) along with melodeon player John Spiers.

Only 5 members were around for today's track an excellent recording of the song 'Awake Awake'. John Spiers writes "This song is taken from Cecil Sharp’s English Folk Songs From The Southern Appalachians. The tune at the end, 'Ellen Smith', was found in unpublished extra notes from the collection, in the archive at Cecil Sharp House, London." 

What I particularly like is the approving glances the members give each other, which the video captures brilliantly - Gigspanner Big Band >

Extras:

You will have gathered I've spent quite a lot of time listening to Gigspanner of late: 

The group have collaborated with author Raynor Winn in a show called 'Saltlines' about her book 'The Salt Path' (which I am currently reading). Here is a 2 minute video about the walk - click here. 

Now take an aerial drone flight along the coast (on a slightly out-of-date video). Full screen is best, so you can read the captions ! Take off here. 

‘Found/The Salt Song’ from 'Saltlines' written by vocalist/fiddle player, Hannah Martin, with a great dobro solo from Phillip Henry.

   

An alternative (and occasional) music posting highlighting something out of the ordinary. Perhaps of limited appeal, unconventional, experimental or just far-out ! Call it what you like (or switch it off, if you don't like). 

The timing of this Spot will become apparent when you see the title of the tunes.

I was fortunate enough to see these artists in concert a month ago down in Hastings. 

Peter Knight (formerly Steeleye Span: 1971-2013) on fiddle.

and John Spiers (formerly Bellowhead: 2004-2016) on melodeon. 

Both now play in the Gigspanner band. More on that this coming Friday. 

With Peter Knight it's not just folk, there's classical and jazz elements in his playing and I think the first piece is very classical while the second is a Triple Hornpipe and a merry old dance. 

So we have 'Easter Thursday / Three Case Knives' - and one of those lockdown videos we became so familiar with - (Morris dancing at Easter time) > 

As mentioned above this is part 1 of a two part theme. Back Friday ... 

  

> Newspaper headlines read "POP PIRATES JAM THE WAVES" 

On the morning of March 26th 1964 the 'M.V. Frederica' a former Danish ferry now renamed 'Caroline' left Greenore, Ireland, after being refitted for broadcasting. She reached her anchorage five miles off the coast near Harwich at 6pm the next day. Her first test signals were put out at 9pm and then at noon on March 28th a new era began in British radio history as Radio Caroline broadcast 'Can't Buy Me Love' to the South-East of England. The official launch was the next day, Easter Sunday March 29th. As DJ Simon Dee announced "Radio Caroline on 199, your all day music station".   

Early broadcasts were very much 'middle of the road' but when another pirate station Radio London took most of their audience away with their more 'pop' music approach Radio Caroline adopted a similar style and format. 

UK RADIO - 1964-1967: 'Pirates off our shores' Story to be continued... 

One of the station's early theme tunes was a single by The Fortunes called 'Caroline' - it wasn't a hit record you'll not be surprised to hear but this neat video has some great pictures that capture those days. WATCH HERE. 

A far better 'Caroline' song (and there's been a few down the years) is by Status Quo released in 1973. 

Break out your denim and faded jeans it's air-guitar time 

You may have spotted in The Fortunes video, DJ Tony Blackburn, who worked for Radio Caroline until 1966 when he switched to Radio London. He picked up his OBE this week. From Pirate to a British Empire Award. How times change !

  

Comic Relief - 'Red Nose Day' today. 'You're 'avin' a larf' - and we are 😀

And there's nothing quite as funny as the British weather !!

Michael Flanders and Donald Swann during the years 1956-1967 via their two-man revue 'At the Drop of a Hat' performed their comic songs along with monologues that would provide the background to my growing up as they were always on radio request shows. 

With Swann on piano and Flanders in his wheelchair, who had contracted polio while serving in the Navy, they cut an entertaining and much loved seated sight.  

So many funny songs by Flanders and Swann - this is ‘A Song of the Weather’

😀 

Another charity venture happening today sees the release of Mark Knopfler's Guitar Heroes 9-minute version of 'Going Home' > listen here and buy there.  

   

Given that I have piles of notes for potential Star Tracks, somehow almost weekly I jot down new artists and songs that add to the list.

Because as John Peel once said “There’s always the possibility that you’re going to come across a record that transforms your life“

Music is compelling, all consuming and continually diverting! There’s a continual quest for the new. 

A high percentage of what I list on the Friday Music Spot is because it is something I have recently discovered. And I’m passing on the excitement of that new feeling ! 

Preamble over, this band falls firmly into this category because until a few weeks ago I had not heard of the American indie rock band from Philadelphia called The War on Drugs.

Paste magazine (see link below) described them as follows: 

Bonafide purveyors of shoegaze and staples of dad rock, The War on Drugs are a walking kush coma(*), cut on atmospheric echoes, roaring synths and guitars cracked out of their minds. When Adam Granduciel and Kurt Vile formed the band in Philadelphia in 2005, it was after they’d come into each other’s orbits and bonded over Bob Dylan. 

Now I knew Kurt Vile (see FMS #243 - who in fact left the band in 2008) and while The War on Drugs are not a new band everything else was news and ever since I've been constantly finding more 'new' tracks I like. 'Red Eyes' from 2014 was the first song I heard, so I'm going with that as today's Star Track, with a long list of others from down the years for you to check out. Easiest way to present this is to refer again to Paste magazine and their 'List of Best 10 songs' link - which has videos to those songs on their list. Personally I would add ‘Harmonia’s Dream’, a 9 minute hypnotic track nominated as 'Best Rock Song' in the 2023 Grammy's. Here 

The first thing that hit me was the great blistering 'fuzz' guitar from Adam Granduciel and his vocals often sounding just like Dylan. 

The band have a London gig this July at the Royal Albert Hall, already sold out !  

Video is Live on KEXP - can't make out the words, me neither - I love it !  

(*) A 'kush coma' is suppose to be a relaxing experience. Your brain will go on a vacation in the sense of you becoming calm and at peace. 

Some of today's info and quotes come as a result of my having just finished reading a book called 'iPod, Therefore I Am' by Dylan Jones - no doubt this will come up again fairly soon. 

  

Today is the 80th birthday of Roger Daltrey. 60 of those years he's been lead singer with the Who ! 

As a celebration here are old friends Rockin'1000 with a mass rendition of ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ - from 2019 at Linate regional airport in Milan.  

I'll wager that by the mid-point of the video you'll be waiting expectantly for the famous scream that comes at the end of this song. Prepare for landing - "pick up your guitar and play"

? Remember Rockin'1000 and this post from October 2021 > revisit here 

    

 

United Stoats of America. 'Live' in St. Leonard's.

After last week's Music Spot that spoke of "'Fat Tuesday' (Mardi Gras) in St. Leonard's, taking place in small bars that squeezed musicians into limited spaces that in one instance blocked the way to the toilet." - I thought this statement may benefit from some photographic evidence.

So above we have the six-piece band United Stoats of America (plus their instruments - one being a double bass) performing in the Craft Beer bar 'Collected Fictions' in St. Leonard's on Saturday 10th February 2024. The toilet in question is to the left of the photo and completely inaccessible.