The first of two appearances by Peter Gabriel as a vocalist. This is from his career after leaving Genesis. From prog rock he moved in a far more political direction and championed world music. It is hard to choose between three of his solo tracks. Biko is about South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. InContinue reading “Wind was blowing, time stood still”
Tag Archives: 70s
We Stood and Stared
Where did heavy metal start? Well for me it was with Clive Hook who was doing the music for Scott House assemblies at Meridian. In the fourth form Mr Newbury was our head of house and he wanted Clive to play some loud music for an assembly. Clive asked if I could help him andContinue reading “We Stood and Stared”
We Build a Tower of Stone
I learnt about Rainbow backwards. The first songs I heard were singles in 1981 from Difficult to Cure like I Surrender. I earned income babysitting in that last year in Royston and one of my clients was the Greening family – John Greening had their previous album Down To Earth (most famously featuring Since YouContinue reading “We Build a Tower of Stone”
Who’s the cat that won’t cop out when there’s danger all about?
A lot of crap is talked about how The Sopranos revolutionised television – mainly from TV channels that show it. It is great television, but it did not change things. The major changes for American television came from a far less likely place. Steven Bochco is different to the other TV auteurs that I likeContinue reading “Who’s the cat that won’t cop out when there’s danger all about?”
Matter of fact it’s all dark
Pink Floyd are three, if not four different groups. Like many young people of my age I first heard them with their number one single Another Brick in the Wall. It topped the charts at Christmas – a welcome change from the novelty, schmaltzy Christmas records that surround it – There’s No One Quite LikeContinue reading “Matter of fact it’s all dark”
No Verdict Was Returned
I had three childhood heroes – The Doctor, Spock and Perry Rhodan. This is The Star Trek one. My first memory of Star Trek is Operation: Annihilate! when I was about 6. A jellyfish falls on Spock’s back and blinds him. I was horrified; at that age I did not realise that we still hadContinue reading “No Verdict Was Returned”
Young Blokes Sitting on the Benches
Scout summer camp. Little did I know that the 1978 camp was the best one I would ever go on and it was downhill from there. Being the youngest in my year at school had never really proved to be a problem to me (though statistics do show that, on average, it reduces life chances)Continue reading “Young Blokes Sitting on the Benches”
We Are All Just Prisoners Here of Our Own Device
They were yacht rock. Not that anyone called it that at the time, it was named that retrospectively and I only found out when I watched a Katie Puckrik documentary about the soft rock/ country crossover music of that period. The Eagles were the sound of the summer for several years in the mid-1970s. ThatContinue reading “We Are All Just Prisoners Here of Our Own Device”
This is not a situation for a nervous boy
The first of many mentions for Clive Hook. At the end of the fourth form (year 10) Clive had been put in charge of music for House assemblies (Scott, Rutherford, Kennedy and Churchill – so no over representation of white men there). For some reason I was in Scott when most of my friends wereContinue reading “This is not a situation for a nervous boy”
Here’s something you’re never gonna forget
People who know me, or read this, know that I like Doctor Who. My knowledge of it is encyclopaedic and my collection of books on it is frighteningly huge (over 600 at a guess) and it is hard to say why. I would not say that it was one of the best programs ever andContinue reading “Here’s something you’re never gonna forget”
Five Miles Out 