Following on from last week's Vinyl Motion story, I was in Brick Lane, just before Christmas, and wandered into The Tea Rooms, beneath the Truman Tower. In the distance I could here a piece of music I recognised, so walked off in search of the source. 'B-SIDE' Brick Lane's oldest Vinyl seller had just began playing Santana's 'Abraxus' album, side two track one 'Se A Cabo"….. on vinyl, exactly as I'd have heard it back in 1970. Immediately I was back there amongst the smell of incense burning and head nodding, as the unique sound of Latin, blues and rock fusion that was Santana blared from the speakers.

This video is just a still of the LP cover - a 1961 painting by Mati Klarwein. The whole of the album, including 'Black Magic Woman', 'Oye Como Va' and 'Samba Pa Ti' is available on YouTube click Abraxus

In the latest Star Wars movie the final scene has Rey landing on an island and then climbing pathways and steps surrounded by ancient stone dwellings. Film set ? Nope !
The monastery on the island of Skellig Michael off the coast of Kerry, Southern Ireland is long abandoned and the islands are now an UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to nesting Puffins.

Some bright spark in the tourist centre of nearby Killarney saw a marketing opportunity in all this and when we were in Ireland last July we saw a display selling t-shirts re-naming it 'Skellig Wars'. 

He'd created a great logo showing the puffin birds, one clearly wearing a Darth Vader helmet.

So Rey goes to find 'you know who', not on the planet 'Ahch-to', but off the coast of Ireland, Earth.

All about the Money, Money, Money

Last week Deloitte's updated the Football Money League* and the richest clubs in World Football were revealed. It contained a record number of Premiership teams - due in the main to a current three-year TV deal worth around £5.2 billion. With a new deal, estimated to be worth £8 billion, set to boost their income further.
Real Madrid remain top, with Barcelona second, followed by Manchester United in third. Man City are 6th, Arsenal 7th, Chelsea 8th and Liverpool 9th.
Tottenham lie in 12th, Newcastle 17th, Everton 18th and West Ham make the top 20. With Southampton, Aston Villa, Leicester, Sunderland, Swansea, Stoke, Crystal Palace and West Brom all in the top 30. That's every current Premiership club, bar the three teams promoted last season - Bournemouth, Norwich and Watford. No wonder teams are desperate to stay in the division.
Incredible ! The likes of Swansea and Crystal Palace as one of the top richest clubs in the world.
*The list only looks at revenues accrued and does not take into account club debts.

As we get to 15 matches remaining in the Premiership and the month of February - next games are on Feb 2nd - Leicester are still top. They don't look like they are going away and are currently 10 points clear of Man Utd, the best placed team to deny them a Champions League spot. Incredible !
Leicester's final game of the season, away to Chelsea…!

Finally today, no mention of sending offs, penalties, fouls or off-sides. Just a team shirt (right).

Look what Santa brought us.

Margaret masquerading as Santa Claus brought us a gift at Christmas. A Vinyl Record player.

My initial response was a mild concern relating to the cost and whether the product was up to speed and up to scratch. Puns intentional !
I need not have worried, the three speed turntable not only played LPs, 45s and 78 rpm records it played my records. The sound quality was very good and despite the condition of some discs they played perfectly well. No snap, crackle, pop or audible static background accompaniment, I'm glad to say.
It opened up a whole past life and enabled me to listen once again to the 350+ albums I have and 200 odd singles. This was amazingly liberating and I can also record and digitise them on my computer. Brilliant. 
So if anyone has any old records they want converting, just let me know. We have the technology. 

The whole point of this preamble is by way of an introduction to today's :

Anyone who knows me well would realise it wasn't going to be to long before Fairport Convention turned up as a  Star Track . A few days ago I had dug out one their LPs from 1986 called "Expletive Delighted" and a particular track called 'Sigh Beg Sigh Mor'. This transported me back, as music does. So I searched for it on YouTube and luckily found a version that had a connection to the Fairports and their re-recording. 
A few years before Dave Swarbrick and Simon Nicol on their album "Close To The Wind" had recorded 'Si Bheag Si Mhor' (meaning 'Small fairy, big fairy' in gaelic). Same piece of music, composed by Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan, just a different spelling. As this track also features Dave's Pegg and Mattacks from Fairport Convention it seems as close as I'd get. 
Mellow mood this week, but hooray, almost the end of January.

New Pint on the block

Recently spotted in a pub near me and then pictured on draft at the Rose & Crown in Wimbledon Village (and probably other places I've yet to find) Common Pale Ale from the Wimbledon Brewery.
More info at: http://www.wimbledonbrewery.com 

Another music legend checks out.

More sad news this morning of the death of Eagles founder member Glenn Frey. 
No point in waiting for my Friday Music Spot to recognise the passing of another rock music legend. And of all the great songs he left us, for me, there's just one that'll do.
One of the Eagles finest songs and one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that shaped Rock and Roll. And anyone who's driven America will know why. Written with Jackson Browne and released in 1972 - "Take It Easy"

To paraphrase and put another way the lines from 'Hotel California' - You can check-out anytime you like, but you will never leave US !  Glenn Frey.

This YouTube video is a live performance from 1977, with a kick-arse guitar solo from Joe Walsh.

It was a crazy 2nd half at the Bridge on Saturday and there's no denying it Chelsea were fortunate to come away with a draw.
Manager Guus Hiddink said "I cannot deny it, I saw it, to be honest it was off-side. Sometimes decisions go in your favour, sometimes it's damaging." This of course refers to John Terry's, 8th minute of time added on, equaliser in a 3-3 match verses Everton. On the other talking point of why so much added time, the facts were the additional minutes were because Everton had celebrated their 3rd goal for something like 1 minute and 30 seconds. So the extra extra-time was their own fault.
In fact the whole game would have had a sense of deja vu for Everton and their fans, as going 2 goals up, drawing back to 2-2, then over celebrating a goal before conceding in the very last minute, was exactly what happened against Bournemouth in another 3-3 scoreline back in November. 

No real prizes then for the 'Lucky Strike' award of the weekend, except that all three Chelsea goals had something about them to qualify. Jagielka and Howard confusing each other to allow Diego Costa to score the first goal, Cesc Fabregas' shot deflected off a defender for the 2nd and finally John Terry's late late off-side back heel, for the lucky hat-trick. 
There were many other deflected shots this weekend that ended up in the net, but I think a clean sweep at the Bridge is only fair.

David Bowie - remembered

Original RCA single, 1974

Genius, chameleon, a unique artist with a vision that changed the face of popular music, a one-off pushing the boundaries of music, art, fashion and society, a true original, a hero! 
Just a few of the tributes paid to David Bowie, who died earlier this week. 
His ever changing music meant there was an entry point for virtually everyone's taste. No doubt we all have our own favourite track. 
Mine is off the album 'Hunky Dory' a track that later showed up on the 'B' side of the UK 'Rebel, Rebel' single. 'Queen Bitch' sounds very like Velvet Underground. 
STARMAN: "Let all the children boogie". My humble tribute is this week's music spot. 

There are also a couple of 'live' versions on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljv8xCt4Bq8 (with Mick Ronson, who died in 1993) and with Lou Reed (who died just over a year ago in 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbxp1hC8vts

R.I.P. – but turn the volume UP !

Sports Desk

Ballon d'Or Winner

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the World's best player award for the 5th time.
Remember when the Premier League had the world's best players? Not any more.
Five players from the English league were eligible for votes. Eden Hazard scored 59 points, Alexis Sanchez (53), Yaya Toure (40), Sergio Aguero (39) and Kevin de Bruyne (21).
To put into context, Messi received 1,666 points.

2015 Africa Nations Cup

Player of the Tournament was Ghana's Christian Atsu. He also took the Goal of the Tournament award too. Yet last week, Africa's Finest XI of 2015 was announced and he was nowhere to be seen. Not even on the subs bench!
He started this season on loan at Bournemouth, only played twice, got injured, recovered and has now returned to Chelsea. 
We await his next move… to see if he can forfil his potential?

Finally, the long wait… out of 32 balls, Chelsea were the last ball out in yesterday's FA Cup draw !!!