It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Well, no it's not actually since it's pouring with rain out there, but inside it's warm and cosy and it's the start of Christmas.

One of my first jobs at the start of December is to hunt out all my Christmas records so they can be played over the festive season and, with the advent of the iPod, transfer them onto iPey so I can take Christmas with me. So far I have 413 songs in my Christmas playlist and I'm now adding Christmas carols. Of course, it needs some editing. How many versions of the same song do I need? For example:

'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' by Bing Crosby, Bruce Springsteen, The Jackson 5, Wayne Newton, The Beach Boys, The Crystals, Frank Sinatra, SLADE (obviously I need the SLADE version);

'Winter Wonderland' by Andy Williams, Bing Crosby, Darlene Love, Dean Martin, Eurythmics, The Funk Brothers, Macy Gray, Peggy Lee, Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennet;

All the 'standards' are represented by multiple versions.

Some of the non-standards are great to hear over the festive period. Songs like 'Wombling Merry Christmas' by The Wombles, 'Hey Mr Christmas' by Showaddywaddy, 'I Believe In Father Christmas' by Greg Lake, 'Listen The Snow Is Falling' by John and Yoko, 'Ring Out Solstice Bells' by Jethro Tull, 'Gaudete' by Steeleye Span, 'Another Rock'n'Roll Christmas' by Gary Glitter, 'Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney' by Ella Fitzgerald and, of course, that festive classic, 'There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree Mama, They're Burning Big Louie Tonight' by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

SLADE are, of course, represented in the playlist with their 'Crackers' album and Sufjan Stevens with his 'Songs For Christmas' boxset. I'll also add a sprinkling of non-Christmas but still seasonal songs, songs that I associate with Christmas, like 'Morningtown Ride' by the Seekers, 'Mr Sandman' by The Chordettes, '2 Become 1' by the Spice Girls, 'Cheery Beery Night' by PottedHeid, 'Us Amazonians' by Kirsty MacColl and 'Generation' by Buffy Sainte-Marie.

Anyway, enough of this rambling, I've got work to do!
*muttering* where did I put that 'Christmas With The Rat Pack' CD...

The Human League 'Dare'

Tonight was the long-awaited Human League gig at Hammersmith Apollo to witness them playing 'Dare' in its entirety. 'Dare' is their 1981 album that saw them go huge with the single 'Don't You Want Me'. But, of course, you know this.

I'd been fascinated by the Human League since taping 'Being Boiled' from the John Peel Show in 1978, and I'd never heard anything quite like that before. Much as I love the early stuff from 'Reproduction' and 'Travelogue', the Human League became a different entity when Phil discovered make-up and interesting hair and Susan and Joanne joined and they unleashed 'Dare' and those classic singles on the world.

And so to Hammersmith and an audience mainly of a certain age. I didn't see the support act but went in to find my seat when the stage was set and waiting, a white curtain with the iconic 'Dare' images of Phil, Susan and Joanne, and three white areas for each of them under their images. A minimalist black and white set with a white stage for the musicians behind the singers. Movable projection screens and lights, lots of lights.

There they were, striding onto the stage all dressed in black and launched into 'Dare' starting with side 1 track 1, 'The Things That Dreams Are Made Of'. And off they went, playing the album from start to finish. After 'Don't You Want Me' they went off, leaving the band to do an amusing instrumental before returning with 'The Lebanon' and going into a greatest hits spectacular, dressed more colourfully with Phil in a light grey suit and the lasses in sparkly spangly cocktail frocks, showing off a bit of leg. The band were tight and the sound quality was excellent. Throughout the show Phil strode back and forth across the stage then joined the lasses for a while before striding off again. The lasses stayed on their white oblongs most of the time (probably to avoid bumping into Phil!) and were marvelously co-ordinated.


Then back for an encore of 'Being Boiled' (wow multiplied to the power of a zillion), brooding, with dark atmospheric lighting and images of Nazi rallies on the screens, the joyful 'Together In Electric Dreams' and finishing with 'Mirror Man'. The ending was slightly marred when a yob got on stage to pick up Susan and twirl her around, with security very slow to react and pull him away from her. They were on for an hour and a half and it went surprisingly fast. But it was heaven.

Highlights for me were the opener, 'The Things That Dreams Are Made Of', a wonderfully optimistic song that, in remixed form, is their new single. I love the line in the chorus that lists some of the things that dreams are made of, 'Norman Wisdom, Johnny Joey Dee Dee, good times'. 'The Sound Of The Crowd' joining in on the backing vocals, especially the orgasmic 'Oh Oh Ooohhh's. The pounding electronic beats of 'Second' during which the last few seated people were forced to their feet. 'Don't You Want Me' was, as you'd expect, a thorough crowd pleaser and when Susan sang her verse it felt like she was singing to us, how we'd put her where she is now and, of course, we have. I was quite touched. 'Love Action' was fabulous and I surprised myself by singing along word-perfect to the rap in the middle. 'The Lebanon' is a long-time favourite and it was great to have that riff ringing out. And encoring with the magnificent 'Being Boiled' and listening to the voice of Buddha...

I'm so pleased I went to see them.

"HA HA you look like a girl..."

Brian Viglione is one half of The Dresden Dolls and therefore automatically a great hero. My opinion of Brian has increased after reading his thoughtful piece on the Matthew Shepard Foundation website for young lesbian and gay people, and those not sure about their sexuality.

Brian's short essay tells of his love for wearing women's clothing and how he used to trade clothes with his girlfriends. I like the story he tells of when he was aged 10...

The story I always tell people is I was about ten years old, swimming at my grandmother's house. My cousin and I were in front of a mirror and he had a buzz cut hairdo, I had a little kid mullet. All of a sudden, he bursts out laughing and pointing at me and the bit of wet hair that was kind of curled around my neck and says,"HA HA, you look like a girl! You look like a girl!" I did look like a girl. I had very soft features for a boy and with my hair a bit longer, it wasn't a hard sell. But his teasing didn't make me feel bad. I thought I looked kind of...cool. I was intrigued by my androgyny and felt almost empowered by it. So I grew up thinking that since I certainly wasn't born to look like some gruff, muscled out, Dude-Guy, that I might as well work with what the good lord gave me, which happened to be a good, sassy, pout and a sweet ass. So, off I went.

Having had the honour of meeting Brian a few weeks ago I can report that he doesn't look like a girl and that he does have a great pout. I can't comment on his ass, though.

He looks good in a frock. One of my favourite Dolls videos is 'Backstabber' with Amanda in man-drag and Brian in woman-drag exploring each other's tattoos of the names of previous lovers. It's marvelous fun!

I'm actually quite proud of Brian for writing that piece for the website. Not just writing it, but then promoting it and the site through the Dolls' MySpace list. As Brian says, "Don't ever give up on yourself."

More lights

I was walking along the Strand this evening and I accidentally glanced towards Covent Garden, saw an array of lights and somehow found myself wandering round the halls of Covent Garden gazing like a rabbit trapped in headlights at the Christmas lights.

What do you think?

Beardies of the world unite!

"Four police officers in Texas have filed a lawsuit arguing that a ban on wearing beards is discriminatory." source: BBC News

Equal rights for Beardies! We'll fight em in the streets and in the barbers! Right on!

What am I wittering on about? Read this and be disgusted and outraged at such base discrimination. I am shocked, I tell you, shocked. Us beardies need to stick together.

Good grief!

Lights... camera...

It's always a bit of a shock when the clocks go back and the nights draw in, getting darker sooner, but it also means we're heading into the festive season and that means lights.

I like inspecting the Christmas lights and displays around town. Generally, we're not very inventive when it comes to Christmas lights and more doesn't always equal better. Sometimes it's the simple ideas that work best.

Carnaby Street usually puts on an interesting display and this year is no different. It's gone for paper chains, except they're not made of paper and they're huge. They work in daylight as well as night so should provide a consistent display.

The lights on Regent Street have been boring over the last few years, usually tied in to the latest cartoon film which is too commercial for my liking. Regent Street is one of the grand crescents of London and should be treated with respect when it comes to lights. This year is a bit different and it's gone all avant guarde with these motion-sensitive globes that change colour randomly (needless to say, they're white in all my photos but they do change colour). I'm not sure what they're meant to represent (if anything) but they're better that the heavy advertising of the last few years.

My local lights are, of course, lovely. Well, they're actually the same ones we've had up for the last few years but I like them, simple and cheerful. I got the bus home tonight and seeing them ahead of me on the road on Streatham Hill was like a warm welcome home.

If I find any other interesting light displays over the next few weeks I'll be sure to report them so watch this space.

The Queens of Lovers Rock at the Jazz Cafe

A shocking two days after the event and I finally have time to blog about being in the presence of the great Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson at the Jazz Cafe on Saturday night. Both operate under the title of 'Queen of Lovers Rock' (a gentle form of reggae for the uninitiated) so it's nice to see them share a stage.

I first saw them back in January at the Barbican and was impressed (and a little awestruck). Janet's been around forever, having her first hit in 1978 with the lovely 'Silly Games'. I wasn't that enamoured back then - I prefered my reggae to have balls and bite, more Linton Kwesi Johnson than Janet Kay. I've learned to appreciate other forms of reggae since then, particularly the great Jimmy Cliff and John Holt (John is playing the Jazz Cafe this week but he's sold out so no chance of my seeing him) and, of course, Desmond Dekker. I indulged a bit in the Trojan boxsets over the summer so have been exposed to loads of other singers and bands from the '60s and '70s I'd never heard of. I don't hear much reggae these days - at least outside my house - which I don't quite understand since there's so much good old stuff, or maybe the newer stuff doesn't cut it?

Janet and Carroll have their stage act down to a tee, sharing the stage and the band, showcasing someone else mid-set and leaving their hits till the end. They were on for over one and half hours and only left when they were rushed off due to a 'club night' starting after their set. They were great fun, chatting away to the audience, reminiscing and hardly ever still, too busy moving to the music and those reggae beats.

Carroll came on first for three songs, then Janet for three songs and then swapped back and forth in that pattern. Gentle, happy music. They've got complementary voices so work well together, but we didn't get any duets. It was nice to see them sitting at the side of the stage when the other one took the mic, singing along with the backing singers, obviously familiar with each others songs but they also seemed to like them.

The highlight of Carroll's part of the set is 'Hopelessly In Love' and Janet's is (obviously) 'Silly Games' (and yes, Janet can still hit the high notes). Janet also took over the drums to play the first half of 'Silly Games', which she seemed to relish. Other songs of note included Carroll's great version of 'Breakfast in Bed' (which I'd never dreamed of with a reggae beat) and Janet's 'You Made Me So Very Happy' (that was a thrill if only because it's the first time I've heard Brenda Holloway's great song live). It was also great to hear the band play some reverb-erb-erb-erb in a couple of Janet's songs - not heard that in an age! They've got great stage presence, not in a starry way, but they're professional and know how to work a crowd (and it was packed out for them on Saturday). All in all, it was a great night with some fun and funky music and lovely voices and songs. Why aren't they bigger?

After the show we headed over to the merch stall where I bought a copy of all the available CDs (five in total) - for some reason neither of their records are easy to get in this country which I don't understand at all. Janet's signed to Sony Japan and is big out there but just try to get any of her records over here! They've got a new joint record out, 'Side by Side', which has some great tunes. They did a signing afterwards so I happily queued for the chance of an autograph and I was rewarded with big smiles, hand shakes and the great Queens allowed me to take a photograph.

If you get the chance go and see them - you won't regret it.

Is This How Rumours Start?

Imagine my excitement when one of my Google alerts included the statement that X-Ray Spex were getting back together for a reunion gig at the Roundhouse on 6 September 2008 (yes, it was that specific).

Now, I love Poly and the Spex and this blog is named in honour of one of their songs. I was talking with Chris following the Pistols gigs about which other 'impossible' gig I'd like to go to and X-Ray Spex were name-checked. 'Impossible' in the sense of not even dreaming it might happen, just like the Pistols gigs came out of the blue.

'Germfree Adolescents' is 30 years old next year, so wouldn't a reunion be fab? I've still got my copy of the original vinyl as well as on CD. It's been re-released on CD several times, both as a stand-alone album and as the basis of a compilation, and it's been re-released again as a digi-pack edition. I was a big fan back in the day and still am - Poly was ahead of her time in her songs about consumerism and the environment.

I also love 'Conscious Consumer', the reunion album from the '90s that I only discovered a couple of years ago. It's not the raw Spex of the '70s (and why on earth would it be?) but there are some great songs on there, with Poly's words and Lora's sax wailing away. 'Party', the closing track on the album, is one of my favourites, a simple little song that does it for me everytime, putting a smile on my face and making my feet twitch.

Poly's solo work is few and far between but well worth tracking down, 'Transluscence' and the 'Gods and Goddesses' EP. She still sings occasionally - most recently on a duet with Brian James on his latest record - and turns up around the place whether it's on Don Lett's 'Punk' DVD a couple of years ago or backstage at the Pistols gigs at Brixton a couple of weeks ago.

Not sure I've ever mentioned it on here, but I also tracked down a Lora Logic compilation CD from Canada. I bought Lora's 'Essential Logic' EP back in the day and it was great hearing that again on the CD.

Hhmmm... a Spex reunion.... now, wouldn't that be a fab thing?

God Save The Sex Pistols

According to God Save The Sex Pistols the Brixton gigs were filmed by Julien Temple along with scenes of the Pistols around London. Sounds like the DVD will be a documentary rather than a 'live' show. Release is planned for 'spring/summer 2008'. The site also includes a reference to the London Paper interviewing Paul Cook and him saying that the Pistols will play the O2 next year. Hhmmmm >strokes beard< a gig to launch the DVD maybe?

Watch this space...

My New Lamp

This evening Chris took me to Cressida Bell's 'open studio' out in the wilds of Hackney for her pre-Christmas show with wine and sweets and a little Christmas tree and her goods on display. I like Cressida's stuff and it's nice to walk in and see the printing tables covered in scarves and cushions in all colours and designs, a mass of colour that pulls me in (I do like a bit of colour).

One of my favourite bits n bobs at home is a lampshade I bought from Cressida two or three years ago that I think of as my 'garden' lampshade with trees of different shapes and colours painted round the shade. When I went over to look at the lampshades this evening my eyes kept swivelling over to a shade with a more geometric pattern and a matching base. My eyes kept finding it amongst all the other lamps and shades which can only mean that I like and need it.

I also got a lovely woollen scarf in reds and blues in the 'Indian stripes' design (same design, different colours to the photo on Cressida's website). I was surprised that she remembered that I'd bought the same scarf last year, but that time in greens and purples and in silk. What a memory! I like the design.

Here's a photo of my lovely new lamp with my 'garden' lampshade in the background. Oh, and the picture of the parrot is actually painted on a feather and is from Canadaford.