Another week and fast forward 10 years, a lot has happened and the world in 2003 feels a different place. Summed up by the single from Black Eyed Peas ‘Where Is the Love’ that captures the new millennium in a different mood. 

This was the biggest selling UK single of the year, spending six weeks at No.1. Lyrically it could easily have been written yesterday - "One World"  

   

'The Fool' - 1964 Gibson SC Guitar

'Deal of the Week'. Did you see the news story about Eric Clapton's Gibson guitar (pictured) that he played while in Cream, that the Dutch Art Collective known as 'The Fool' painted? It sold last week for just over £1 million in Nashville, Tennessee ! 

The story behind it is recalled here. The article contains two YouTube videos - both well worth a look. 

   

Moving on from last week to 1993 and another song that topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and also 10 other countries. Namely UB40 and '(I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You' and their reggae/dance-pop version of the Elvis Presley original from the 1961 movie 'Blue Hawaii'.

The Elvis song has been adopted by several football teams including AFC Wimbledon - I'm just warming up by thinking about the Caribbean with some rocksteady calypso laid-back vibes: 

Cue lots of echo and singing in a corridor > 

  

As we steadily approach the four hundredth Friday Star Track I had this idea to pick some artists somehow not previously featured on the Music Spot in those 8 years - with tracks you’ll know I’m sure:- jumping ten years at a time in 'Decade Time Steps'.

1973 has been covered sufficiently I feel, so starting today in 1983 with The Police ‘Every Breath You Take' and the video from MTV. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 8 weeks and was No.1 in the UK for 4 weeks. It was also rated 'Song of the Year' in many polls. 

   

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). 

Now I consider myself a big fan of the guitar so this headline easily caught my attention:-

  "Rolling Stone 250 Greatest Guitarists of all time" !

A previous Rolling Stone list of "Greatest vocalists" of all time, caused an upset. Well the same applies here. There's a lot of guitarists missing and many questions marks though ultimately it just boils down to opinion - one guy's reaction on YouTube was to simply add 50 of those missing (while addressing some of my concerns) and Rick Beato just called it a Sh*t List ! 

I have diligently gone through the full 250 list [see here], checking each time I think of someone, to determine if they are there or not - there are lots of names I simply don’t know - and not wanting to add to the controversy - but there's no Gary Moore! How can that be ? He'd be in my Top 5 !

No Leo Kottke or Joe Bonamassa or Paul Kossoff [who was actually No.51 in a 2010 list by Rolling Stone's David Fricke in his 100 Greatest Guitarists]. No Tom Scholz from Boston. No George Benson or Earl Kluge either. 

Interestingly the 250 list contains a few twin guitar players like at # 194 there's Thin Lizzy guitarists: Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham, but then again there's no Steve Hunter / Dick Wagner. Or duos like Andy Powell & Ted Turner and Hughie Thomasson & Billy Jones OR these guys and their 2006 single "Through The Fire And Flames" that became one of those legendary songs in Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock*. Namely Herman Li & Sam Totman from the band Dragonforce. Pretty outrageous stuff and if you play this in your car you might ending getting a speeding ticket. Lots of hair flying... and towards the end there is a close up of the playing, if you fancy giving it a go 😁  Hit full screen [  ]  

*It was easily one of the more popular songs in the game. Though according to guitarist Herman Li, the band only got paid around $3,000 for the use of the track… and that's before splitting the money between band members and management. 

   

One of our favourite TV series has just reached its finale. 

Since 2016 over 7 series 'Billions' starring Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti has been a convincing fable of greed, power and competition, rivalries and big stakes. We're going to miss it and all the great songs used during this series and the constant references to rock 'n' roll and song lyrics that kept cropping up, concealed in the sharp full throttle dialogue.  

The penultimate song in the last episode was by Josh Ritter a single entitled 'Homecoming' from a 2015 album. Appropriate enough as he sings "I feel a change in the weather" and this great video is also enjoyable. Bet you watch it through a second time... I did 

   

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). 

A busy music week this: Hot Rocs last Sunday at the local (who really were hot), ELO Again tribute band tonight in Hastings and tomorrow I'm away up to London to King's Place for Scottish band Breabach. Never heard of them ? Well without further ado here they are:

BBC ALBA 'Scots Trad Music Awards 2022' - FOLK BAND OF THE YEAR

Breabach are; Megan Henderson (Fiddle/Vocals), James Lindsay (Double Bass/Moog/Vocals), Calum MacCrimmon (Highland Bagpipe/Whistle/Bouzouki/Vocals), Conal McDonagh (Highland Bagpipe/Uilleann pipes/Whistle/Vocals) and Ewan Robertson (Guitar/Cajon/Vocals).
With a nice video [a cycle ride through the Hebrides] to 'Knees Up in Hanoi' - actually two tunes:
'Knees Up' (by Calum MacCrimmon) and 'Dòchas Glan Na Fàire' (by Ewen Henderson & Calum MacCrimmon) - on yer bike - 'slainte'

If you fancy more then try this 30 minute live set - right here [NB: set of tunes @ 17:45] > the excellent 'Les Pieds Joyeux' [joyful feet] 😀

Interesting no one on YouTube has clicked the 'dislike' button for this video !! 

  

See previous post (below) photo of 'The Wall'. Because today's track ties in to one of the bands who appeared at the Hastings Pier on Saturday 1st September, 1973 - tickets 99p !  

The band with bassist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister on vocals are 'In Search of Space' psychedelic rock outfit Hawkwind. Anyone ever see them live ?

Their best known number is 'Silver Machine' - joss sticks lit, then away we go >

Science fiction author Michael Moorcock and dancer Stacia (Blake) also contributed to the band.  

  

-  T H E   W A L L  - 

The Wall in The Piper* pub, St. Leonards-on-Sea.

Covered in various posters and adverts for concerts taking place in the local area. Roughly mid sixties to late 70s. Hastings Pier is featuring a lot and many bands of legendary status. Some of the smaller print maybe illegible but no mistaking Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Kinks, Pretty Things, The Who, The Stones, Procol Harum & Hawkwind.... and someone called Dave Bowie !

* Previously called The Norman Arms (in Norman Road) the pub was renovated and reopened in 2019 as The Piper. The new name was inspired by Pink Floyd's album 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' and is a tribute to some of the great bands and musicians who once performed on Hastings Pier.

  

Grand piano; reed and pipe organ; glockenspiel; bass guitar; double speed guitar; two slightly distorted guitars; mandolin; spanish guitar and introducing acoustic guitar; plus tubular bells ! As announced by Vivian Stanshall as Master of Ceremonies on 'Tubular Bells' by Mike Oldfield. 

This innovative album was released 50 years ago in May 1973. But far from stories that suggest it was an instant success and the making of Richard Branson and his fledgling Virgin Records label the reality was it took time to become the successful LP we now know. 

A more accurate timeline would be: July before it entered the UK album chart, rising to No.7 in August before dropping back down the chart again. June had seen a 'Live' performance with a cast of players gathered together with Oldfield a reluctant participant. October the album was released in America. But remarkably it was the use of a mere one minute segment in the movie 'The Exorcist', released in December, that saw it take off in 1974. A BBC tv recording broadcast in early January and then from February '74 to March '75 the LP was only out of the UK Top 10 for 4 weeks, reaching No.1 in October 1974, 16 months after it's initial release. 

Mike Oldfield, who was only 19 when it was recorded, had played the majority of the instruments as a series of overdubs, reportedly 274 of them with 15 different instruments credited to him. 

Certainly unconventional John Peel played a whole side of ‘Tubular Bells’ on his show 'Top Gear', while I suspect Capital Radio (see previous post) with their commercial obligations only played parts of it on DJ Nicky Horne's evening show ‘Your Mother Wouldn’t Like It’.    

Given this introduction you'd expect today's Star Track to be the afore mention record... however > 

On leaving Virgin Records Mike Oldfield composed a Tubular Bells II, using elements of the original it was released on August 30th 1992, followed by a 'Live' performance at Edinburgh Castle on 4th September (with - Gregory: John Gordon Sinclair as master of ceremonies). I've selected Part 3 - with the instrument introductions [though different] and fading out to a beautiful Spanish guitar, like the original. The whole show looks quite amazing, so that's my reason for choosing it. All parts are on YouTube (see below). 

Mike Oldfield jumping around the stage switching between instruments > No dancing to this, more meditating 

There are six parts and I can only encourage you to watch them. There are a few ad interruptions during the whole 62 minute show - Part 5 has Scottish pipers, then goes a bit weird - Part 6 has a hoedown rather than a hornpipe. Expect the unexpected. [Link]