This has become a return to 'live music' week. It started at our 'local' last Sunday evening and continues tonight at the White Rock Theatre with a tribute band called Letz Zep. Then on Sunday it's the 2023 'Hastings Beatles Day'.  

Coming across this great video with its clever editing - I thought Letz have some fun. No further introduction from me, so as not to give it away completely... 

"It's been a long time since I rock and rolled"

  

A recent news item declared that Country Music was the fastest growing music genre in Britain. Reporting 'Country to Country' (C2C) – a three-day multi-venue event that has become Europe’s very own Nashville extravaganza – was the biggest festival to date, taking in such unlikely cowboy hotspots as London, Dublin and Glasgow.

I'm not a big 'achy-breaky-heart' Country fan, but I do like the rougher more rocky side of proceedings with songs about highways, trucks and tequila, beers and bust-ups. 

One of the headliners at C2C was Thomas Rhett, who it appears is huge in America, with numerous hits and awards under his belt. No, I'd never heard of him until now !

He sings "Back when Country wasn't cool" and "Everybody got a story to tell" on 'What's Your Country Song' >

Fancy a beer song or two: definitely check out 'Half of Me' and 'Beer Can't Fix' featuring Jon Pardi, 

  

I shall ignore all the recent stories about what's been said and who apparently wrote what, and putting talk of re-recordings aside, to concentrate on the original music release and for what it's worth - what it's really worth !

There also appears come confusion regarding the actual release date [link here]. Could be this is simply the album coming out in America before the UK, so whether it's the 1st or 16th of March, it is without dispute the 50th Anniversary of 'The Dark Side of the Moon' by Pink Floyd.  

I bought the album when it first came out so I have a copy of the original pressing. Full details are it's the Harvest Label release - Solid Light Blue Triangle record label with black inner sleeve, 2 posters & 2 stickers with a Gatefold album cover only one side opening, all in Good Condition, naturally. In 2016 I found a Record shop in London selling this copy of 'The Dark Side of the Moon' for £500. 

In 2019 it sold on ebay for £720. Then Record Collector magazine had it priced at £995 in 2020. While it famously sold for $3,242 [£2,664] in 2018*. So girls and boys if you have this record please take note, it's worth a few bob. 😊

Todays Star Track is 'Time' - side one, track 4 - with this compiled video [Warning: it begins with alarms bells ringing] - "ticking away the moments that make up a dull day" - some of these lyrics resonate more today than they did to my 20 year old self in 1973 !

* Link to a list of other valuable vinyl: [click] 

   

Part Two of a snowy week begins with a video called 'Ski Sunday falls' - simply 'A collection of the most dramatic falls from BBC Ski Sunday from the 1980's'. Or 'wipeouts' as we called them... "He's Gone" and "he's lost a ski" just some snippets of the commentary ... 

Click this link to view on YouTube > Ski Sunday falls + music

The footage is a bit flaky [old] and even the tape malfunctions just after the mid point, much like the downhill skiers, while the action ends with the excellent 'Ski Sunday' theme tune > ‘Pop Looks Bach’ by Sam Fonteyn. Once the ultra-compact Sony Walkman had been invented we could listen and ski along to this music as well. 

Two songs are played during this compilation and as Gerry Rafferty's ‘Get It Right Next Time’ is interrupted by commentary here's the complete song as this week's Star Track. 

1979 track from his 'Night Owl' album, also released as a single.

 

An occasional music spot - remembering places around the World

Recently I found myself in front of the TV on a Sunday teatime and on came 'Ski Sunday'. To say this took me back would be an under statement. 

My first ski holiday in Flaine immediately came to mind as did those regular Ski Sunday downhill races that bought the names of Val de Isere, Wengen and Kitzbuhel into our living rooms and then there's the memory of that fantastic run by Konrad Bartelski in Val Gardena 1981, which started it all off for us Brits: (cue David Vine click here) 

Not just Flaine came to mind but also this well known French resort that we skied without ever actually staying there. Which allows me the excuse to post this outrageous Red Bull video called 'From Avoriaz 1800 With Love' with Valentin Delluc  

Wild ride - are you humming the Ski Sunday music yet ? you will be by Friday's part 2 > my 'double bill' 

 

  

All the activity in the skies at night this week it's hardly been the dark side of the moon but more the bright side of the night !

Not only the aurora borealis [Northern Lights] putting on a light show of cinematic proportions further south than would normally be the case but we've also had 'Jupiter in the Sky with Venus' to sing about. Which we clearly saw from here in Fairlight, the two bright lights low in the sky like a scene from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. 

I've had this video cued up for ages, probably waiting for just such a moment in time. A cosmic video and Star Track from London Grammar - an indie band from Nottingham - with a song from their 2017 'Truth Is a Beautiful Thing' LP titled 'Big Picture' >

[Full Screen is best but warning of flashing images] 

The heavenly voice is Hannah Reid with Daniel Rothman: guitars and Dot Major: drums & keyboards