Sat 6th Feb. 2016 The Good the Bad, The Ugly

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Google+Life Quotes by Great-Quotes.com “You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’” George Bernard Shaw

 1981, Composer Hugo Montenegro died in California. Had the 1968 UK No.1; US No.2 single ‘The Good The Bad And The Ugly’ from the soundtrack to the Clint Eastwood spaghetti western film. Worked for RCA records, producing a series of albums and soundtracks and television themes, including two volumes of Music From The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

 The weather was nice but just a little cold as I set off to meet my friend Roberto. We were going to walk and talk in our two languages for the best part of three hours and we both get a lot in terms of language and exercise. I got back home around 12.30 am and had a nice coffee before getting changed to go on a trip to Guadalest with Anne. We were going to visit Spanish friends Alicia and Jose in their restaurante Can Pinet.
  Today is the day I make my podcast with Don Woods and here is today's content set by Don.........

...The song I’ve sent you this week is one I wrote for David Alexander back in the day….it’s close to the anniversary of his sad passing…and I know he was very popular in Spain.  It is called “Let’s Keep It Simple” which he recorded and put it on his album celebrating his marriage to Penny Page…..I wrote a pot of stuff for them both…including the title track of the album…great guy..I miss him.

 It’s been a busy week….top of the range songwriter Barry Mason is coming to do a show at our weekly Cheshirecats rock and roll nights which we put on every Wednesday.  I’ve put a band together to back him consisting of Derek Green on bass (ex Del Renas)….Tony Cavanagh on drums…myself on guitar and a young genius called Paul Rowbottom on keyboards…because Barry sings in some very strange keys and we are working with songs arranged by the great Les Reed it is a major challenge to say the least …so we have been rehearsing and we’re getting there….should be a great show and a feather in the cap of our organisation.

And this week it was nice to see Lee Curtis who brought his band along and Brian “Griff” Griffiths of The Big Three turned up (he’s on holiday from the States) and did a spot…so it’s all happening at the moment.

 Also on the music scene I read in the paper that Van Morrison has been knighted…I know the guy is a great musician and has a big following but…knighted?   I like his music but he’s got no stage personality….so you may as well sit at home and listen to one of his CDs…..I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again …when is Ken Dodd going to receive his knighthood?...he has to be the greatest entertainer in history…and has given so much to show business….I don’t know how they come up with the names….(I wont mention Sir Jimmy Savile…and Sir Rolph Harris)

 There’s been a lot of complaints about parents parking outside schools when dropping their children off…it has been suggested by some empy headed politician that the teachers should be given the power to slap a parking ticket on offending cars….oh!...that’s a good idea…that will go a long way to help teacher parent relations….most people are fine but you’ll always get the odd one who doesn’t consider anyone but their stupid selves…that’s a given…not to mention the aggression which the teachers are not paid to endure.  On top of all this a head teacher was interviewed on breakfast TV by the unbearable Piers Morgan who was asking really intelligent questions like “Are you happy to make disabled people have to park some distance away and have to struggle to get their kids into school”…which is about the level of Mr.Morgan’s intelligence….the whole point is to prevent the loss of life of a youngster….it only takes some fool in a hurry to back over a kid then everyone will jump on that bandwagon. A possible answer would be to have a proper contract drawn up with the rules and regulations of the school which the parents must sign….if parents break the rules they are in breach of contract.

 I had to laugh at a documentary on BBC4 about the rock band Uriah Heap….two of the original members were reminiscing about the old days…so funny.  They said they were travelling first class everywhere and throwing big parties and didn’t realise that it was coming out of THEIR money….they made an album called “High and Mighty and decided to promote it with a photo session in the revolving restaurant at the top of a mountain in Switzerland (the one in the James Bond film) and invited the press to come along and enjoy the “free” travel and booze…when they got to the photo session a fight broke out amongst the band members so there was no photo session….now THIS is rock and roll. That’s what these young hopefuls don’t realise….the record companies give you nothing…it’s YOUR money you are blowing.
   
Please take a minute or two to watch this video of a lesser known part of the 9/11 attacks in America. This shows something I had not seen and just shows how many wonderful people exist in this world. This is almost the American equivalent of the D-Day landings in Europe and I wonder why we haven’t seen this video before. These guys were heroes. Here’s the video.

  World Events 6 February

 1778 – The United States gained official recognition from France as the two nations signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris. The French could see the US had potential

 1843 – “The Virginia Minstrels” opened at the Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City. It was the first minstrel show in America. UK had a fabulous Black and White Minstrel Show

 1899 – The U.S. Senate ratified a peace treaty between the U.S. and Spain. I think Spain also spotted the US potential

 1900 – The Holland Senate ratified the 1899 peace conference decree that created in international arbitration court at The Hague. It is needed

 1932 – Dog sled racing happened for the first time in Olympic competition. Can you believe this…was the final Greenland v Iceland by any chance?

 1937 – K. Elizabeth Ohi became the first Japanese woman lawyer when she received her degree from John Marshall Law School in Chicago, IL. What an achievement

 1952 – Britain’s King George VI died. His daughter, Elizabeth II, succeeded him. Sorry butI don’t believe in such succession ….nothing to do with gender but just ask why does it happen and is it fair?

 1971 – NASA Astronaut Alan B. Shepard used a six-iron that he had brought inside his spacecraft and swung at three golf balls on the surface of the moon. Which was nearest the pin?

 1985 – The French mineral water company, Perrier, debuted its first new product in 123 years. The new items were water with a twist of lemon, lime or orange. I’ve read a lot about water….kidology is involved

 1987 – President Ronald Reagan turned 76 years old this day and became the oldest U.S. President in history. I don’t think enough respect is given for his achievements

 1999 – King Hussein of Jordan transferred full political power to his oldest son the Crown Prince Abdullah.  …….keep it in the family

 1999 – Excerpts of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky’s videotaped testimony were shown at President Clinton’s impeachment trial.

 1999 – Heavy fighting resumed along the common border between Ethiopia and Eritrea.Always an area of contention

 2000 – Russia’s acting President Vladimir Putin announced that Russian forces had captured Grozny, Chechnya. The capital city had been under the control of Chechen rebels.It was weird the way the USSR broke up

 2000 – In Finland, Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen became the first woman to be elected president. Well done

 2000 – U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton formally declared that she was a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat from the state of New York. She has proved to be terrific… 2001 – Ariel Sharon was elected Israeli prime minister.

  The Day’s Music Events 6 February

 1958, George Harrison joined Liverpool group The Quarrymen. The group who were named after Lennon’s school featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Len Garry, Eric Griffiths and John Lowe.This was not the Beatles but the embryo of the group

 1965, The Righteous Brothers started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Phil Spector produced ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’. The song was also No.1 in the UK for the duo who were not related in any way. It didn’t make any odds to anyone.

 1965, The Rolling Stones second album ‘Rolling Stones No.2′ started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK charts.  I’m Stones fan

 1981, Composer Hugo Montenegro died in California. Had the 1968 UK No.1 & US No.2 single ‘The Good The Bad And The Ugly’ from the soundtrack to the Clint Eastwood spaghetti western film. Worked for RCA records, producing a series of albums and soundtracks and television themes, including two volumes of Music From The Man From U.N.C.L.E.  I loved the single and the Man from Uncle was one of those series with very 70s sounding music and I visited his grave in Palm Springs cemetery.

 1982, Kraftwerk were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Model / Computer Love’, the first German act to score a UK No.1 single. A great track and I bought the 12″ version

1982, The J Geils Band started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Centrefold’, the bands only US No.1. A No.3 hit in the UK. Another brilliant track by a successful group with an album which I didn’t listen to.

 1982, Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey was hospitalised after being attacked after a gig in Belfast. Bad news

 1986, Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey’s mother and sister were held at gunpoint by terrorists in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.Terrifying

 1988, Tiffany started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Could’ve Been’, a No.4 hit in the UK. Tiffany had recorded the song 5 years ago when she was 13. Sorry but this was just too predictable 

1990, over 200 women filed court actions against Chuck Berry after it was alleged that he had been secretly filming them in the toilets of the restaurant he owned. This was an absolutely weird event

 1998, American singer and guitarist Carl Wilson from The Beach Boys died aged 51 after a long battle with lung cancer. He sang lead vocal on ‘God Only Knows’, ‘Good Vibrations,’ and ‘I Can Hear Music.’ Wilson sang backing vocals on Elton John’s ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.’ I loved the Beach Boys and they wouldn’t have been the same group without him

 1998, Austrian singer Falco (Johann Holzel) was killed in a road accident after his car collided with a bus. He scored the 1986 UK & US No.1 single ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ making him the first-ever Austrian act to score a UK and US No.1 hit single. I’d forgotten about this tragic happening.

 2001, Guitarist Don Felder was fired from The Eagles. He would later launch a $50 million law suit against drummer Don Henley and guitarist Glen Frey, alleging wrongful termination and breach of implied-in-fact contract. Henley and Frey then countersued Felder for breach of contract, alleging that Felder had written and attempted to sell the rights to a “tell-all” book. Both parties settled out-of-court for an undisclosed amount. 2005, Eminem was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Like Toy Soldiers’, the rappers 6th No.1, taken from the album Encore. The track featured samples from ‘Toy Soldiers’ by Martika and ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ by Paul Simon. It’s ingenious at times but sometimes difficult to understand how the original talent gets changed

2007, An exhibition of Kylie Minogue’s stage costumes, awards and accessories was launched in central London. The display at the Victoria and Albert Museum showed her changing image from 1987 onwards, from the dungarees she wore as Charlene in the Australian soap Neighbours and the gold hot pants she wore in her Spinning Around video.I have to admit that I have been a fan of her music but some of her stuff lately has become very mundane.

 2008, a Los Angeles judge issued a restraining order against Britney Spears’ manager, after her mother made the request to the court. I found this all too weird



  Birthday Boys and Girls
 1941, Dave Berry, singer, 1964 UK No.5 single ‘The Crying Game’.

1942, John London, session bass player. He worked with The Monkees, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. London died on February 12th 2000.

 1945,  Bob Marley, singer/songwriter and guitarist who had a 1981 UK No.8 single with ‘No Woman No Cry’, plus over ten other UK Top 40 singles and the 1976 US No.8 & UK No. 15 album ‘Rastaman Vibration’. Marley died of cancer on May 11th 1981. The 1984 ‘Best Of’ album spent 330 weeks on the UK chart. In 1990, February 6th was proclaimed a national holiday in Jamaica to commemorate his birth. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

 1946,  Canadian folk singer Kate McGarrigle. Once married to folk singer Loudon Wainwright lll, Kate is the mother of singers Rufus and Martha Wainwright. She rose to prominence with sister Anna when they recorded together in the 1970s. Died of cancer on 18th Jan 2010. 

1950, Mike Batt, songwriter, The Wombles, (1974 UK No.3 single ‘Remember You’re A Womble’) composer of ‘Bright Eyes’ 1979 UK No.1 single for Art Garfunkel. Discovered UK singer, songwriter Katie Melua.

1950, Natalie Cole, US singer, (1989 UK No.2 single ‘Miss You Like Crazy’), Natalie is the daughter of Nat ‘King’ Cole.

 1962, , Axl Rose, vocals, Guns N’ Roses, (1987 US No.1 album ‘Appetite For Destruction’ spent 158 week’s o the UK chart. 1988 US No.1 & 1989 UK No.6 single ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’).