Movember

It's amazing what you can come across by accident online and today I discovered Movember (and no, that's not a typo). Movember refers to a moustache in November - start the month clean shaven and grow a tache for the rest of the month so you become a walking advert for mens health issues, particularly prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Charity is the beneficiary of Movember in the UK and I quite like the strapline of 'A gentleman is, after all, still a man no matter how gentle he is'.

I grew my facial fur by accident three years ago and wouldn't be without it now so there's no way I'm shaving it off, but I'll happily let it grow and be styled appropriately to support Movember. I could always have a Salvador Dali-esque tache on my upper lip to demonstrate my support for this important work.

If you know someone taking part then please support them - if you're doing it yourself, then well done that man!

Poly Styrene - 'Black Christmas'

The wise ones already know about the new free download from Poly Styrene, her Christmas single, 'Black Christmas'. If you haven't given it a listen then scoot on over to Poly's site, sign up for her email list and get an early Christmas present from Ms Styrene in the form of the mp3 download.

"I'm dreaming of a black, black Christmas
Black smoke blows against a midnight sky..."

It's punky reggae in the best traditions of 70s punk and it's got Poly's unique take on Christmas and her great voice. Go on give it a listen - I love it!

Who Are You?

Hello, nice to meet you, but who are you?

I sometimes marvel at the number of people who look in on my blog, and the peaks and troughs of traffic (ie, you). Why do you look at some posts and not at others? You're still looking at my Jane Aire & The Belvederes post (for which, thanks) and even Jane Aire herself has commented on it, but I have no idea who you are. Of my recent posts, 'Whalesong' has been very popular but who reads poetry?

You rarely seem to read my last post, rather you read something older - I still see people are looking at my account of my hernia operation. Why is what I did last year of more interest than what I did last week? I am puzzled.

From the number of visits, I went off the boil earlier this year but have been slowly improving and I have no idea why. Would you mind giving me some feedback? Why do you like some blog posts and ignore others? I'd really like to know.

Love

PB

Poems On The Underground - 'First Contact'

I blogged a couple of weeks ago about a poem in the 'Poems On The Underground' series that I saw on the Tube ('Whalesong') that made me sit up and take notice, and I saw another one today, 'First Contact' by Hattie Grunewald. Hattie is another youngster penning interesting work.

The poem is self-explanatory really, but I like the hope that sits behind it, the aspirations and, ultimately, the let down. It reminded me of getting my first contact lenses and that the first thing I did once I started wearing them was to go out and buy a pair of sunglasses. Take a read and see what you think:

Well done, Hattie! She's 18 and is on Twitter as @madhattie so if you like the poem you should follow her. I am.

Ray Davies - 'See My Friends'

After a more-than-usual frustrating day at work I popped into HMV on the way home to get a couple of new records - 'See My Friends' by Ray Davies and friends and 'The Lady Killer' by Cee Lo Green. When I handed them over at the counter there was a momentary flicker across the face of the lad at the till almost as if he was thinking I was getting Ray because I'm old and was getting Cee Lo for my children, again, because I'm old. As Cee Lo would say, 'Fuck You' but I, of course, wouldn't be so verbal.

I think it's quite brave of Ray to release an album of cover versions of his own songs so soon after releasing a previous record of 'covers' in 'The Kinks Choral Collection'. I was rather dubious about the choral record but was won over to the new versions after a couple of listens, especially after being lucky enough to see most of them performed live last year.

Part of the risk with this album is that, with a few exceptions, we're all used to hearing Ray's voice in the lead, lending his north London accent to the songs and making them real for us. The arrangement of the music might alter or there might be a choir in the background but it's still Ray singing. This album is different in that he shares singing duties with his friends, so that top-line sound is very different and, on a first listen, I'm not sure it always works. For example, Jon Bon Jovi's contribution to 'Celluloid Heroes' is negligible and his singing style detracts from the carefully crafted words with his warbling (but I like the guitar work).

At the same time, some of the songs instantly work and add a new texture and flavour to the songs we're used to. In this category I'd pick out 'Lola' with Paloma Faith which works for me and it's nice to hear a woman singing a song about a Soho transsexual with her voice reflecting and complementing Ray's voice. I've also got a sneaking liking for 'You Really Got Me' with (and please forgive me for this) Metallica, 'Waterloo Sunset' with Jackson Browne and 'Dead End Street' with Amy MacDonald. I also like the version of 'All Day And All Of The Night/Destroyer' with Billy Corgan in which Ray does a re-telling of the story of 'Lola' in a rather fun way that you need to listen to to understand.

I think it'll take a couple more listens to firm up my opinion of the record but it's definitely in thumbs up territory. Well done Ray for taking the risk - now all you've got to do is get all your friends together at the same time for a gig! No pressure then!

I think this is one of those records with different tracklists for different releases and I vaguely think I've seen somewhere quoting slightly different songs on the European and American versions of the CD so I'll have to keep my eyes peeled on iTunes for 'bonus' tracks or whatever.

'Company' at The Queen's Theatre

Last Sunday it was 'Merrily We Roll Along' and today it was another production in the Sondheim at 80 series, 'Company'. Again, it was a staged concert version of the musical with the Donmar cast reunited and staring the excellent Adrian Lester and Sophie Thompson. It was the same format as last week, with a production of the whole show without sets or costumes, the cast sitting in a large semi-circle on stage throughout just getting up and moving to lecterns for their lines and songs.

I haven't seen 'Company' before and was a bit surprised to find it all about marriage, the good, the bad and the accidental, set in a knowing New York. It strings together different scenes with various married couples who all know our hero, Bobby (Adrian Lester) who is the only single person in the show and who keeps saying he's ready for marriage yet somehow isn't married.

I'm sure there are people out there who will know the exact number of words in each Sondheim play but this one seemed very wordy to me, more words and fewer songs than usual. It also seemed to have a cast of actors who can sing rather than singers who can act. Adrian Lester is a fine actor and a charismatic centre for the production but he's not a singer ... or so I thought until the final song of the production, his song where he can let rip and let rip he did most excellently. And Sophie Thompson is a fine actress who did herself proud with 'I'm Not Getting Married' at breakneck speed. I also liked Haydn Gwynne's drunken 'Ladies Who Lunch', even spilling her drink with some expansive arm movements. There were some nice comic performances in what was otherwise a rather serious production but the audience loved it and awarded it a standing ovation at the end.

So, that's another Sondheim musical I can cross off the list. There are still more to come but that's four in the last few months: 'Into The Woods', 'Passion', 'Merrily We Roll Along' and 'Company'. Wonder what will be next?

SLADE Reunion

I've kept this a secret for far longer than I thought I'd be able to, but I must spill the beans before I burst - SLADE are getting back together next year! O yes they are, Sir Noddy Holder, Jim Lea, Dave Hill and Don Powell will stride across the stage again in 2011. I've decided it will be so and so it will be. I have faith.

SLADE's first hit was 'Get Down And Get With It' in June 1971 and their first Number 1 was 'Coz I Luv You' in October 1971 so, to celebrate their 40th anniversary, I predict a SLADE reunion in the second half of 2011. And I will, of course, be in the second row of the audience for the reunion gig.

Now, SLADE don't actually know it yet, but I've been planning their setlist and stage show. Much as I'm tempted for it to be old school with just the lads on stage giving it some heavy rock guitar and drums, I think I need to update the set with more modern lights and stuff. The banks of amps will still be at either side of the stage for Jim and Dave to climb up onto, but they will be glitter-encrusted and have a bank of lights focused on them to generate the right effects. Sir Noddy will, of course, use his mirrored top hat to manage the light show.

The show will be in two halves and the first half will include the current line-up of SLADE as well as Sir Nod and Jim. They've kept the band alive all these years and deserve some credit so will have a role to play in the reunion gig. Then it'll just be original SLADE in all their glory playing the big songs of yesteryear but including some of the 'B' sides they never did live back in the day. I'm so looking forward to hearing 'Take Me Bak 'Ome' and 'Mama Weer All Crazy Now' again.

And, of course, it will recorded for a live CD and a DVD that will be out in time for Christmas 2011 (so guess what will be in my letter to Santa?). It'll probably be broadcast on BBC2 at some point over Christmas (I haven't negotiated that bit yet) and be followed by a rare screening of 'SLADE in Flame' and a 'SLADE at the BBC' programme. Clearly my work schedule is going to be pretty busy if I'm going to have all this ready for next year. Still, it's got to be done.

Of course, work has already begun to get the spotlight onto the Lords of Noize with a Facebook campaign to get SLADE to the Christmas Number 1 again rather than an X-Factor dirge. You can show your support by clicking here and doing the right thing by joining the group.

Right. I'd better get back to my planning and wait for the phone to ring with the commission from SLADE's management.

'When We Are Married' at The Garrick Theatre

Roll up, roll up! It's old pros season at the Garrick and what old pros they are! Rosemary Ashe, Lynda Baron, Susie Blake, Michele Dotrice, David Horovitch, Roy Hudd, Sam Kelly, Maureen Lipman and Simon Rouse - if you live in the UK you know at least half of these people, if not by name then by the characters they've played on telly, and what great fun it is to see them all on the same stage!

I actually didn't notice the cast when I booked the tickets a while ago - after seeing 'Time And The Conways' at the National Theatre a year or two back I decided I wanted to see some more plays by JB Priestly so I booked tickets to 'When We Are Married' when it was announced. And I'm very pleased I did.

It's a big daft farce about hypocrisy and class set in Yorkshire with three couples who were married together at the same time 25 years earlier and are now celebrating their anniversary when it turns out that the vicar who married them wasn't qualified to do so. So it's major shock horror in the Edwardian living room with the middle aged worthies who have to face some truths about themselves. I sat through the second half with the biggest smile all over my face as the play moved from problem to resolution.

It was great fun to see some of the actors in the flesh for the first time, with Sam Kelly getting the first great rise out of the audience and almost an ovation for simply breathing out after taking a swig of whisky - a marvellous comic moment. It was also a delight to watch Michele Dotrice in action. I'd always viewed her as the 'straight man' in 'Some Mothers Do Have 'Em' but her comic timing was spot on tonight with every little gesture and sigh timed to a tee, a great comic performance and she's gone way up in my estimation. And Roy Hudd, a grand old man of comedy, was excellent as a drunken photographer in full flow on the stage. Susie Blake almost turned into Maggie Smith every now and then with her shrill put downs and Maureen Lipman was, well, Maureen Lipman and well worth watching. Lynda Baron will always be Nurse Gladys Emanuel to me so seeing her playing a Yorkshire woman of firm views was spot on.

It was a great way to spend a couple of hours on a dreary November night and it sent me away with a smile on my face - what more can you ask? The women (particularly Michele) outshone the men and had the best lines. Go and see it and put a smile on your face. Cheers!

Mary J Blige at the O2 Arena

Last night we went to see Mary J Blige at the O2 and, after seeing her on her last tour I knew to expect my soul to be wrung dry of all emotion and spilled on the stage in front of her in homage. Mary gives good show and, just to be sure we all heard our favourite songs, she sung approximately 273 songs in the 1:40 hours she was on stage, an exhausting repertoire dragging us into her world of pride, self-confidence and righteousness.

She opened with 'MJB da MVP', her own tale of empowerment and then segued into song after song after song, one extended medley of her songs after another while she prowled the stage, never still, walking back and forth, crouching, springing, a wild creature whose mission is to set us free from ourselves and the crowd loved her. She was backed by a powerful band and singers, all on a raised set in the back half of the stage, leaving the front of the stage empty and clean for MJB to prowl. She was joined a couple of times by two hip hop dancing lads but only for a minute or so each time which meant she was, effectively, alone on the front half of the stage for the majority of the time. Such power has she, that I hardly noticed, eyes riveted on the woman commanding this vast arena with her own personality, voice and songs, a very impressive performance. And the time flew by, no sooner had she started than it seemed the show was nearly over with the big songs towards the end of her well constructed set.

She wore a skin-tight navy blue sparkly cat-suit, like a blond Catwoman in razor-sharp sequins as she prowled the stage before changing into a gold sparkly tunic for the second half of the show, that also included a short acoustic set - yes, MJB goes acoustic. There were two minor disappointments, very minor. Firstly, that she let the crowd sing most of 'I'm Going Down' - I want to hear her sing it - and the second was that she didn't sing 'Whole Lotta Love' from the latest album. I love her version of that song and if you're going to sing it anywhere it's in London at the O2 where Led Zep got together their reunion gig a few years back. I'd already imagined the pyrotechnics and light show as she screamed out the words... but not, as the case was.

The highlights for me were the biggies, as you'd expect. 'Not Gon' Cry', the joyous 'Just Fine' and the heart-wrenching 'No More Drama'. How on earth can Mary crouch down on the stage and still manage to jump up from the stage in that position? Is it humanly possible to jump and maintain that position? She's a very fit woman, obviously. And, suddenly, the show was over and the band was playing an outro as hoards of people streamed away to the exits. Feel free to come back any time, MJB.

MJB has a strange demographic going on with her audience - well, I was there for a start. The couple next to me must've been in their mid-50s and they were boogieing on with the best of them (I did my own trademarked shuffle). It was nice to finally meet David whose path we keep crossing but never actually meeting and, finally, we did as we discovered the oddness of the 'Blue Room' (or whatever it's called), an empty bar while the bars in the Arena have huge queues. I'll remember that for the next time.

Of course, as with virtually every trip to the O2 it's a problem getting home. The Tube strike didn't affect trains as far as Waterloo so we could've got the tube but I'd booked a cab, thinking I'd be clever for a change. Of course, the damn thing was 20 minutes late and then took the strangest route across south London, using every narrow, car-lined street the driver could find on the way home. Either I never learn or the O2 is cursed... probably both!

Obsessions and Addictions

I seem to go from one obsession to another at the drop of a hat these days. It must be something to do with the weather, putting the clocks back to GMT or, perhaps, there's just a lot of good news around at the moment?

No sooner do I hear about a new Christmas album from Fred Schneider and the Superions than I hear that Poly Styrene is giving away a new Christmas single with an album to follow in March next year with the excellent name of 'Generation Indigo'.

That's on top of the marvellous Dresden Dolls getting back together and touring in America - I obviously hope for a gig in London and a new record and I refuse to give up hope.

Of course, in the flurry of news about the above events I totally forget there's going to be a new Human League album - the album has been pushed back until next year but the new single, 'Night People' is released in 20 days. How do I know? Because Mr Oakey tells anyone who clicks in their new website here. Is it OK if I say 'wow' now?

All I need is another new Buffy Sainte-Marie record and an original SLADE reunion and my cup would well and truly make the place damp.

You see, I have a theory, especially after seeing Sir Noddy on telly the other night, that 2011 will be the year for the great SLADE reunion. It'll be 40 years since their first hit single and first No 1, the perfect time for a reunion. I predict late summer or autumn for the reunion gig that will be recorded for CD and DVD. By the way, watch out for me in the second or third row in front of the stage in the DVD, since that's where I'll be. Do you want me to predict the set list?

I *believe*.