Conference marvin::uk_music

Was it `this note ain't big enough for the both

    Or maybe "I'm going to beat the note"
    

    Bob,

    I looked at the original 70's Tosh note (before my time) and saw
    your plea for the chords to 'Shang-a-lang'.

    I actually witnessed the latest Rollers line up play this and all
    their other hits (yes I'm not afraid to admit it) a few weeks ago.
    Well there was nothing good on TV... excuses...etc

    Of the originals, Eric, Woody and Alan remain. Eric looks a bit tubby,
    Woody is going bald, but despite maintaining the record of being the 
    least fashionable band on our planet for the last 15 years, people 
    forget that they *can* actually play. 

    I still don't think I'll be buying any albums, mind you...

    Dave 

    Now maybe I should be buying some records by Sparks...

    Flintlock, yes them, who counted a "Tommorow People" member in
    Mike Holloway amongst their ranks, must surely be the yardstick
    to measure 70's tosh by. You knew you'd made it in dem days when
    "Look-In" ( Ed Stewpot,  style guru and main man ) ran a dedicated
    cartoon strip for your band. This lot even had customised Flintlock
    jumpers; totally fab but not as genius as Rollers' tartan or 
    Rubettes white caps and suits. 
    
    Whilst on the subject of "Look-In" picture strips, another band who
    made it cartoon wise was Slik. Oooer! Who remembers the baseball boots
    and braces look then? Never taken Midge Ure seriously since then 
    I'm afraid. How did he ever get into The Rich Kids, Thin Lizzy, and
    Ultravox after that?
    
    Barry.

    They were playing Sparks down the Subterrania last night. Another band
    who I detested at the time but later came to realise were pretty cool
    really (not that I'd really want a whole album by them).
    
    Bob
    
    p.s. Barry, I don't like your p-name. Please change it.

    Midge Ure was in Thin Lizzy ? Strange.

    Wasn't he in an early line-up of the Sex Pistols ?

    Questions, questions.

    - Tim
    

    
    
    	I think he filled in for part of a stateside tour
    	when one of the many lead (!!!) guitarists quit.

    Re -1 Correct. He replaced Gary Moore who was fired. The connection
    between Thin Lizzy and Midge Ure was the management company.
    Morrison/O'Donnell, who also looked after Ultravox.

    A friend was playing ABBA - The Album recently which brought back fond
    memories of an incredibly silly (ie almost totally pointless) film.
    Namely that awesome box-office blockbuster ABBA - The Movie. Anyone one
    out there remember this screen gen, or others such as Xanadu starring
    Olivia Newton-John ?
    
    Better still, what 70s soundtracks have folks got?
    
    Balders _who_cant_get_the_lift_scene_out_of_his_mind_

   I've got a lot of ABBA videos at home, including the Movie.

   I've also got the ARRIVAL, SUPER TROUPER and THE ALBUM on record,
   plus a special album called Gracias Por La Musica which has 10
   ABBA songs on recorded in Spanish.  Also, ABBA THE COLLECTION on 
   cassette.

   My brother and I are some of ABBA's greatest fans.

   Jane.

There's an ABBA fan club in Peron (France). Some really weird people there.

	
	Re : Base Note ...

	Bob,

	I have a couple of Sparks albums in the cupboard ...  Kimono My House
	and Propoganda I think .... 

	Maybe I'll get them onto cassette and listen to them in the car one
	morning   ....  I used to like "Kimono" a lot.


	Paul (ex_bopper)

    More 70's (maybe not such) tosh.....
    
    Does anyone remember the Doctors of Madness??
    
    Bob

    
    I remember:
    
    The Doctor Of Medics
    
    But this was one of the 80's, I think.
    
    |PETER|_needs_no_doctor
    
    

    Not quite, Peter! The DoM were around in the mid-70's - they were a bit
    too late for glam, and a bit too early for punk, so they kind of missed
    the bus in both directions so to speak.
    
    They were led by a blue-haired chap called Kid Strange, and had an
    extremely wild violinist called Urban Blitz, as I remember. I also
    remember seeing them at the Marquee, and I think they had a couple of
    lps out, but they sank without trace pretty soon after the so-called
    'new wave' broke. It's unfortunate, because I thought they had a
    certain something (mainly they were a bunch of raw and noisy fellows).
    
    Bob

    Back to Sparks. They weren't tosh. "This Town" would still sound
    strange in today's charts. IMO.

    Another good single from that period was `Rock On' by David Essex. The
    last I heard of him he was in a West End musical.

    - Tim (and Bob thinks I can't stand Abba coz it's not `cool'...it's all
           coming out now.)
	   

    Looking back on it, Tim, I have to agree about 'Rock On'; it's a
    masterpiece of pop production.
    
    I quite liked some of Steve Harley's Cocky Rabble stuff, too.
    
    Bob
    
    p.s. Cool is as cool does.

    The Doctors of Madness featured Dave Vanian for a time after Urban
    Blitz left. They broke up around '78. I saw tham at the LSE, and I
    think term "awful" summed them up quite well. Lots of hype tho'...
    
    Ken

   Dave Vanian....I remember Dave Vanian.....swoon.

   J.

    Blimey, Ken, I never knew Vanian was a member (of the DoM, that is). I
    thought they were a bit good when I saw them, but that was with the
    original lineup.
    
    At the time (75-6), they were, for me, a good antidote to all that
    Eagles/10cc/Steely Dan/ELO stuff (heresy, I hear you say) - something a 
    bit rough and raw with some edge, a definite precursor to the goings on 
    over the following couple of years.
    
    Bob

    re -1. I don't think he was with them very long. It was in the period
    between the Damned and the Doomed if I remember correctly. 
    
    There was some truly wonderous music around 75-76 - Wigan's Chosen Few,
    Johnny Wakelin, Typically Tropical, Picketywitch, Laurie Lingo... s'funny 
    how much rubbish stays in your memory.
    
    Ken
                                                                 

    Does anyone know what year Fiddlers Dram had a chart success with
    'The Day We Went To Bangor'. A truly awesome classic that ended life as
    music to a butter advert, which was more than it deserved.
    
    And does anyone remember Tery Wogan and the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass
    Band doing the 'Floral Dance'. Actually that may have come out in 1980,
    but the instrumental version was earlier.
    
    And what about 'Amazing Grace' by some Scottish Pipe Band. Truly cosmic
    the way that got into the charts.
    
    And Jasper Carrot with 'Funky Moped'. Or Roger Whittaker with 'The Last
    Farewell'. Or Little Jimmy Osmond with 'Long Haired Lover From
    Liverpool'
    
    God, to think I grew up with all this dross being played. Imagine what
    someone influenced by that lot would grow up to be. Luckily I was
    already into Tull, Genesis, ELP, etc...
    
    Still, they were all unfogettable songs. Unfortunately.
    
    Balders

    
    >God, to think I grew up with all this dross being played. Imagine what
    >someone influenced by that lot would grow up to be. Luckily I was
    >already into Tull, Genesis, ELP, etc...
    
    Over to the ponderers on this one
    
    HHHMMMM HHHMMM
    

     >>   Over to the ponderers on this one

     Isn't that "I'm the ponderer..I'm the ponderer...I'm goin' round and
     round and round and round..."

     Naaah I didn't like that much either...

     - The Third Man
     

    re-2, someone growing up through the 70's would turn out like me!  I
    have `Amazing Grace' by Band Of The Black Watch, and some other
    Bagpipes hit.  How about `Kung Fu Fighting' by Carl Whatsisface?
    
    How we ever got from liking Slade, Wizard, Gary Glitter, Alvin Stardust
    etc. to House music and the Happy Mondays I'll never know. ;-)
    
    
    matty 

    How about Ray Stevens and "The Streak".. you won't find a memory
    much more painful than that, I'll wager

    Dave

    I've bought quite a bit of 70's Tosh in recent years, that I never
    really appreciated at the time.. (well I never had money to buy 
    records then anyway) T.Rex and Alice Cooper, for example. And I'm
    even on the lookout for some old Barry White hits.

    
    I can better that. "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks was *definitely*
    the worst record of the '70s. Well, maybe.

    Re - a few
    
    No the Ponderers are characters on Vic Reeves Big Night Out

    Re .32: I'll second that. For revolting sentimentality combined with an
    irritatingly memorable hook, "Seasons in the Sun" is the song I most
    wish to forget but cannot. Worse even than Joe Dolce's "Shaddap you
    face" (which might just be 80s tosh).
    
    
    Rod

No mention of Sally James? ( unless in 70's tosh MKI ) The undisputed 
Queen of Saturday Morning T.V.in the 70's and a figure which would
cause a million lads to eat their cornflakes with trembling hands
(God! where's the Bromide?) Looking back on it our Sal seemed to
take on the appearence of a rather gorgeous Biker-Bird, ( well motor-
cycling female does'nt have the same ring does it? ) what with those
denim waistcoats and heavy metal T-shirts ( A very tight fitting
Judas Priest one comes to mind ). I wonder what she's doing now?
Probably owns a farm in Wales and listens to Keith Jarrett L.P.'s
in the evening.

Barry.

p.s Bob, the p-name goes next week as last respects to the greatest T.V.
show of all time.
 

    
    Does anybody remember The Sweet?
    
    A Top Ten Hit Band from the 70's.
    
    The last thing I've heard about them was, that they did some new songs.
    But this was a couple of month (or years) ago!
    
    So are Andy Scott and Mick Tucker are still playing together?
    Is Brian Connolly still always drunken?
    The last information, I've heard about him was, that he was in France
    doing a holiday for tasting all the French Cognac. At least he was seen
    lying drunken in a barrel of those alcoholic fluid.
    Was he able to swim? Or is he drowned?
    And what's about Steve Priest? He left the band a lot of years ago,
    and was never seen again, till this time.
    
    Is anybody able to tell some news?
    
    |PETER|_the_70's_in_his_minds
    

	I have some friends who played for them a while ago... apparently
	there are TWO versions of the Sweet, one is Brian Connelly plus
	whatever musicians he can get to put up with his drunken tantrums,
	the other is the rest of the original band plus whichever singer
	they have this month... apparently both refuse to give up claim
	on the name, both do all the old numbers, and Connelly wont talk
	to the rest and vice-versa... very rock'n'roll eh?

	JJ.

    Really can't give anything new on this band. I do however remember that
    I got the shock of my life when I bought a second-hand copy of 
    "Strung Up" a few years back. Apart from the pop classics there's
    some really good stuff there, "Burn on the Flame" etc. And they 
    were a pretty good live band too from what's on the in-concert sides,
    especially "Someone-Else Will" complete with rather dodgy lyrics for
    a so called pop band. 
    
    Barry.
     

    STOP THIS!
    
    I hate you all for reminding me of those awful songs that dominated
    the airwaves in my elementary/jr. high school days!  You clicked on
    that annoying little radio in my head that replays only the worst
    music of all time!  eeeeeeekkk!
    
    re: what happened to the kids who grew up on this stuff
    
    I've notice an enormous increase in the murder-for-no-reason (not
    gang related either) rate in the last year amongst people this age 
    group.
    
    -Vicki_born_in_the_60s  
    

    Vicki, does you intolerance have anything to do with Julian Cope
    really being an old hippie ? -;)

    - Tim
    

    re: - Tim
    
    Oh, Tosh to you too!

    Actually Vicki I've heard the first two sides of J.C.'s "Peggy Suicide"
    and it went down okay. I wouldn't want to rubbish an artist before
    hearing his stuff...very poor practice that.

    - Tim

    P.S. Here comes the weekend!
    

   Re: Brian Connolly

   I saw a sober Brian being interviewed on TV a short while ago, he was
   a real mess. He was shivering all over. Either he's got Parkinsons
   disease, or he's really messed up with drink/drugs. 

   I think that Sweet were much bigger in Germany than in the UK for some
   reason, which is why they've been there so long.

   Dave

   Under all the Glitter and make-up, Sweet were a pretty heavy rock and
   roll outfit, check out almost any Sweet album after 1973. Only REAL
   Sweet fans know this, of course....

   Dave

    
    I know all about the heavy Sweet stuff, and have to say, that
    those music was better for them as the ChinChap stuff.
    I was a big fan for years and have got all their albums.
    I think the best ablum was "Give Us A Wink" which is really pretty
    heavy. And "Off The Record" is also a very good album, but more
    poppy than "Give Us A Wink".
    
    They did a heavy stuff, years ago. Today I hear heavy bands, which
    will ever get the power and drive, which Sweet always had have.
    All in all, I'm still missing them.
    
    |PETER|
    

    
    
    Ahh Ah! Vicki. That that rings a bell!
    
    How about 'White Horses' by Vicki! Theme to kids program of same
    name.
    
    Richard

    How about Clive Dunn singing "Grandad" was that in the 70's.
    
    Barry

    Unfortunately (for a memory I thought was long since dead and buried)
    you are correct, Barry. Thanks for reminding me.
    
    Bob

    And then there was Barry White. Maybe we should start a Late Night Tosh
    note. 

    Hey?  Barry White (hey baby, lets make sweet music) was brilliant.
    None of this tosh stuff with Bazza.
    
    julia

    
    My wife came up with another truly terrible song.
    
    "Billy don't be a hero", by Paper Lace. I still think T. Jacks gets my
    vote though..

   Seasons in the Sun was, and still is, a brilliant record.  I've got
   the record at home....anyone want to borrow it!!!

   Jane.

    re .52
    
    Didn't Paper Lace also do that other atrocious song The Night Chicago
    Died, or something similar.
    
    I haven't seen any mention of the Wurzels yet. Has everyone forgotten
    their classic; I've Got A Brand New Combine Harvester (I'll Give You The
    Key). Or the one about the blackbird. Mega stars or what...
    
    More to come later.
    
    Balders

    Am I in the right decade to mention 'One Day At A Time', by, errrm, 
    whoever?
    
    Bob

    Re .55
    
    Lena Martel (sp?) is the name you're looking for. The song charted in
    the late 70s. A bit of a christian song from what I remember. Was the
    refrain something like 'One Day At A Time, Sweet Jesus...'
    
    Balders                                                   

   And not forgetting....Grandma, We Love You, by the St Winifred's
   School Choir, or summat like that.

   Bart.

   ...making good use of the things that we find... - Wombles

   Nananananananana  - Cozy Powell
   Coo-ca-choo - Alvin Stardust
   Uptown Uptempo Woman - this wasn't Barry Manilow but it sounded even
                          worse. Yeuccccch!
   Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton  (everyone's a target)
   Silly love songs - Wings
   Everything by a band called America - this band made `seasons in the
   sun' sound like early Iggy.

   More on `the decade that style forgot' later...

   - Tim
   

    
    I do like to waste a few more words about The Sweet.
    
    Does anybody know, what they're currently doing? I haven't heard
    anything on Steve Priest for a couple of years.
    I've seen both Sweet live. One Band was together with a totaly drunken
    Brian Connolly. The other Band cointained Mick Tucker and Andy Scott.
    Pretty good gig. But no word on Steve.
    
    Anyone?
    
    |PETER|

    That were Randy Edelman, Tim.
    
    Bob

    Can't remember her full name, Sheila something, from France I think,
    and she had a minor hit with "I lost my heart to a Starship Trooper".
    Almost recall the video being some sort of romp through some futuristic 
    set in a tight tinsel-foil space suit. Very tacky, very Boystown-ish 
    and the sort of thing Amanda Lear would have been proud of. 
    
    And there's another one from that period, could've been early eighties
    mind you. Again the full name escapes me but his first name was Patrick
    and was another one of those Euro-Disco-Pop criminals. The song was
    called "Born to be Alive", remember the chorus? "Cause we were born...
    born... born to be alive." Born to be buried alive more like. His TOTP
    appearances usually had him jaunting around in a suit holding a walking
    cane. I remember at the time thinking that Joan Collins and crowd would
    be boogy-ing the night away at Stringfellows loving this sort of
    garbage. 
    
    . 

    Wasn't there a guy from Belgium called Plastique Betram (I probably
    got the name completely wrong) who had a hit called something like Cest
    Pan Pour Moi (again, sorry about the spelling ). Truly trash.
    
    And let's not forget that busty Euro wench who had a hit with Do It, Do
    It Again (?). Correct artist and title anyone.
    
    Actually, you could probably devote an entire note to Euro Tosh.
    
    God help us in 1992
    
    Balders
    

    Starship Trooper - wasn't that by Sarah Brightman, of Lloyd Webber
    fame?  I saw a clip on tv recently.  very funny.
    
    Ca Plan pour Moi - classic trash.  loved it.  Not as good as Jilted
    John - Gordon is a moron.
    
    Mikef

    Jilted is not tosh in any decade. That one's a minor classic.
    
    Bob

    How can anyone knock Jilted, we had an art teacher called Mr Gordon at
    the time, that song caused some mirth and several hours detention for
    some people.
    
    Tim
    ---

    Euro trash: "Ding Ding A Dong" - a winner in '74 I think. Denmark was the
    country responsible.



    "When you're not feeling alright,
    Everthing is uptight, (!)
    Try to sing a song that goes
    `ding, ding a dong'...
    Sing a song you can sing it,
    Maybe you can dig it, (!)
    Even when your lover is gone, gone ,gone...
    ...sing ding ding dong!"  (!!!)

    classic euro_trash. 

    - Tim
    

    - Tim 
    
    you certainly seem to be an expert =8*)
    
    Tim
    ---

    not '74, Tim. That was the year of 'Waterloo' by Bjorn Again
    
    Bob

    You're right. They weren't winners. It was just a `memorable' song.

    - Tim  (classes at 6.30!)

    They also took part in 73(?) when Agnetha was pregnant. I know this 
    because I've got that Harry Edgington book at home. 
    
    ABBA's biggest fan (6ft 5").
    
    

    
    I do remember a Band which members were dressed up like animals, with
    masks and costumes. I think they have had a very short peroid of
    success. Does anybody know, what I'm talking about?
    
    `think it was around `73-`75.
    
    |PETER|

    surely not the wombles of wimbledon common ?

    Can anyone remember that `Deck of Cards' song ? Extreme rubbish.

   A friend of mine actually collects "dud" records such as these. His
   collection is really awesome. Its a great hobby really, most of his
   singles cost 10p in a bargain bin. He has them all - St Winifreds
   School Choir, Lena Martell, Joe Dolce... Rupert and the Frog Song...

   There's no hope from him really, these are all the records he actually
   owns... really!

   The real 'gem' in the collection is the "Action Man" theme tune record.
   Hands up all those who had an Action Man.....!!

   Dave

    "Saturday Night Beneath the Plastic Palm Trees" by The Leighton
    Buzzards. Viewed by aficionados of decent New (old) Wave with the
    same warm respect Sonia commands from a Extreme Noise Terror fan. 
    
    Gawd!                                                            
    
    Barry.  

    OK, who were that bunch of dodos who did such 'classics' of tosh as
    'Aye Aye Aye Aye Moosey'? Am I in the right decade here...?
    
    Bob

    Mentioned earlier.. but 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep had the the worst
    single of the decade. The problem was it was quite catchy, and you
    could always hear people humming or whistling it ...much as I hated it
    I sometimes caught myself humming a few bars......aaaaaargh.
    
    I also felt that 'Jilted John' was a minor classic..as was 'Whole Wide
    World' by Wreckless Eric which had a great line about a Pacamac
    (remember them ???
    
    Paul

    Yes indeed Paul! I have a vid of Wreckless Eric doing 'Whole Wide
    World'. What a corker, too. It must have been from the Stiff tour of
    the time, as Ian Dury is playing drums, and Davey Payne is in there
    too.
    
    Bob

   Jilted John recorded a whole album.. the single is just one Episode
   in a story that starts with a "pre-pubescent" John and ends with him
   getting over the loss of a girlfriend. 

   Its called "True Love Stories". Buy it (if you can find it)!

   Dave

    I've read the entire file and cn find no mention of the birdy song or
    viva espana
    
    Thank god
    
    
    andy

    How about 'The Birdy Song', or 'Viva Espana'? Or, for that matter, 'Una
    Paloma Blanca'?
    
    Bob

    "Agadoo" by Black Lace. Need I say more.
    
    Barry.

    No please don't =8*)

    Shurely shome mishtake ref.
    
    "Agado, do, do, push pineapple, shake the tree.."
    
    Yours sincerely,
    
    Echo.
    
    (Bringing you the truth the way it is.)	8^P

    Re last few
    
    were they all 70's toons ??
     It doent seem that long ago, flares, oxford bags, platform sole
    'Simon' shirts, tank tops.
    
    I remember the Who doing various football grounds supported by Alex
    Harvey, Streetwalkers, Ozark Mountain Daredevils to mention a few...a
    great day out, in 74 (?) I think.
    Paul
    

    
    RE:.80 
    	They were called Modern Romance.

    What is a Simon shirt?
    
    Bob 'Loon Pants' Green.

    
    Surely Agadoo was an 80s 'song'?
    
    Mark

was the one that went: "the guy in the chip shop thinks he's Elvis"
from the 70's?


...Art

    
    No.
    
    Mark
    
    

    Just remembered another classic:
    
    Whispering Grasss - Don Estelle and Windsor Davies
    
    Just appaling, especially Windsor Davies doing his Sargent Major bit
    all the way through.
    
    What I want to know is, who the hell bought enough of this trash for it
    to make it into the charts. Don't tell me there were that many 'It Aint
    Alf Hot Mum' fans around.
    
    Balders
    

    What about "On the trail of the lonesome pine"  or whatever it was
    called by Laurel & Hardy
    
    Tim
    ---

    20s tosh Tim.

 Remember all those Judge Dread records.. I think Jim Davidson's dad must
 have done them.

 Didn't Arthur Mullard and Hylda Baker do version of a song from "Grease"..
 Mind you the original wasn't much better.

 Then there were the wombles. 

 Loop-Di-Love by Shag. 

 Benny Hill driving the fastest milk cart in the west.

 Juke Box Jive by the Rubettes. An all-time-low that one.

 Disco Tex and his Sex-O-Lettes

 "Convoy". What was all that "rubber duck" business about?

    Whoops seem to offended a few people, sorry

    But what about all those marvellous "videos" they used to show on
    TOTP ???   Remember, those were the days when 10 bob was a big budget
    production.
    
    I seem to recall Slade and Gudbye t'Jane (even remembered the spelling,
    good eh?) being filmed in a hospital because Dave Hill had broken his
    ankle.   And how about Barry White with his only (mercifully) number
    one, being filmed on a Townsend Thoresen car ferry between Dover and
    Calais ?   Or Rod Stewart's Sailing which involved him wandering up
    and down a quayside in East London ?   Or the Stylistics' You Make
    Me Feel Brand New (I think - it was no.1 too) filmed on a roof top
    somewhere in America ?   Or any Abba video ?
    
    I'm sure there are some more ...
    
    Ray
    

    Re back a few..
    
    A 'Simon' shirt was a casual shirt, usally pullover type, but with a
    collar anf a few (quite large) buttons. It was made out of T-shirt type
    cotton, short sleeved, and had a button or two on the sleeve. They were
    actually made by a company called Simon, and as they became popular,the
    company started putting the simon label in visible areas eg on the
    breast pocket or on the, by now, quite full-up sleeves. I think they
    were popular in the summer of 74 ??...as it was after the Ben Sherman
    Ox blood DM's and moonstomping era for me...a nice, comfy,casual wear
    shirt did not match the Slade classics of the time, and all the buttons
    got in the way of the braces.
    Also very popular in Glasgow was Arthur Black shirts...made to measure,
    made to your own design/colour scheme/material...very expensive, so you
    had to get a few mates to go with you to pick it up as there were
    always a few razor boys hanging outside trying to convince you that you
    should donate the shirts to their favourite charity ie them.
    
    Still back to music..remember all those Slade hits with misspelt titles
    like Mama weer all crazee now, and others wot i cant remember
     
    Ah nostalgia he sighs, feeling the stab scar on his wrist..those were
    the days ?????
    Paul

>> Juke Box Jive by the Rubettes. An all-time-low that one.


Away with you, you heathen! This was the Rubettes finest 3 minutes. 
Actually I heard this in a pub last week and had to restrain myself 
from launching into the seventies dance which sent a million Oxford
Bags flapping on youth club dance-floors across the country. Does
anybody remember it? God knows what it was called but you basically
put your left foot forward, crossed over with your right, stepped back
and repeated the process for eternity. I remember Mud used to do
this one a lot. Technically, not as difficult as the Footsie :-)
but then to do that it helped considerably if you were a member of
the Olympic Gymnastic floor exercise team. 

O'H  

 

> God knows what it was called but you basically
> put your left foot forward, crossed over with your right, stepped back
> and repeated the process for eternity.
    
    Sounds like (one of) the "Shadows Walk", invented by the group of the
    same name.
    
    Dave Hazel

    Good note this.
    
    Some of these horrors are not as shameful as you may think.
    
    I remember his Godship, Elvis Costello, doing a cover version of Abba's
    "Knowing me, knowing you" on one of his mid-80's tours. Such hommage
    from the deity must mean that Abba were in fact a fine group.
    
    And that Belgian clown Plastic Bertrand's "Ca plane pour moi" was also
    covered by the emminently respectible Captain Sensible under the title
    "Jet Boy, Jet Girl", when he was part of a group called the Chron Jets
    - I think.
    
    "Seasons in the Sun" was truly terrible, but the original French
    version was penned by the immortal, but dead, Jacques Brel - much liked
    by Scott Walker and Julian Cope - under the title "Les Moribonds".
    
    "No Charge" was pretty awful, tho' I can't remember who sang it or
    when.
    
    And as for the Rubettes...What was the name of the blow-dried face
    geyser who did all the high singing and had a hit on his own but was
    never part of the group?
    
    Ed. 
                                           

   Re last re Rubettes

   Can't remember his name, but I went to school with a girl whose Dad's
   best friend was in the Rubettes!

   A claim to fame to be ashamed of!

   Jane.

    re: 107  Jet Boy, Jet Girl was by The Softies, which featured
             Capt Sensible and was released by Chiswick
    
    Ken 

    Who did that appalling song 'Beach Baby'? True tosh of a type that only
    the 70's could produce.
    
    Bob

    "Beach baby, beach baby, lying there on the sand, give me something
    that I can remember ..." -- haven't a clue ...
    
    From the famous summer (1974) when Terry Jacks and Charles Aznavour
    were number one.   The summer too when TOTP was on strike for four
    or five weeks (while C.Az. was at no.1).
    
    Ray

"No charge" was by J J Barrie.
I thought First Class were a German band???

seventies pop consulant

    I think a number of the First Class personnel also were members of
    White Plains and Edison Lighthouse etc. etc.
    
    Rich
    

    Oh yeah, all that 'Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes' and 'Julie Julie
    Julie Do Ya Love Me?' tosh. None finer.
    
    Bob
    

    Further wonderous videos:
    
    Rolling Stones, It's only Rock'n'Roll which featured the band playing
    in a tent that slowly filled up with soap bubbles (vaguely Kenny
    Everett-ish that one);
    
    Police, Walking on the Moon which had the lads playing in front of
    (you've guessed it) a Saturn V rocket;
    
    Gilbert O'Sullivan, Claire in which Gilb rolled about in a field
    with a three year old girl (his manager's daughter as I recall);
    
    Wow!   I need the weekend to think of more ...
    
    Ray

    
    
    
    re.107  'Jet boy,jet girl' was a song covered by a band called Chron
            Gen,but I can't remeber Captain Sensible being in the line up.
    
    
                                    

    No mention of Kenny yet? Something called "Do the Bump"(?). The band
    that gave us Keith Chegwin and then sank without trace, what a damn
    shame eh? Oh, and here's another reason why children should'nt
    be allowed to make records...Our Kid. Makes you want to go and fetch
    that axe from the garden shed does'nt it?
    
    Lest we forget...Leif Garrett, from the other side of the pond. Lovely
    chap, from the West Coast 'n all, would've looked even better through 
    a telescopic rifle lens. 
    
    O'H.
                                  
    
     

    All true. But then look at the cars we had then (remember the DAF
    varidrive?), the clothes we wore and - dare I say it - the computers we
    had.
    
    It's called progress, and a lot of it, whilst not brilliant, wasn't so
    bad at the time.
    
    K.

Re: a few back

Elton Motello did the original version of "Jet Boy" in 1978...but not too
original since he just put the words over Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour
Moi"...Chron Gen may have done it but much later...Ed

   I heard a brilliant song last night: The Martian Hop, but I can't
   remember who it was by.

   Jane.

    re-1,  I heard that!  It was great.  
    
    They also played this record that I thought was The Orb.  I was jumping
    up and down shouting "They're playing The Orb, they're playing The Orb".
    Then when the music went different - "It's a remix, it's a remix". 
    Then Freddie Mercury started singing and realised it was `Flash' by
    Queen.  The Orb had sampled about 2 minutes of Queen.
    
    
    matty

    Thats a *big* confession Matty, liking a Queen record, you'll be buying
    Richard Marx and Michael Bolton records next =8*)
    
    Tim
    ---

    I'm not saying that it was 'tosh' - more like a 'novelty' job - but,
    who had a hit in the 70's with "Nice Legs (Shame About The Face)"?
    
    - Dougie

    Was it 'The Monks'?
    
    Eck.

    
    This might be a feverish delusion brought on by too much sun(!!!),
    but I thought this was by Madness.
    
    Leonie.
    

    naahhh, not Madness, definitely The someone or other.  Could have been
    the Monks, or Jags.
    
    Mikef

    Definitely the monks

    Here's a fine slab of novelty for you. Hands up who remembers "Telephone
    Man". "You can put it in the bathroom, you can put in the hall"...etc
    etc. Sung by a sort of female Finbarr Saunders in her best 0898
    sugary telephone voice ( ahmm and that's a guess ;-) ). 
    
    Did'nt Paul Young make a record about toast? Possibly 80's to(a)sh(t)?
    
    O'H
    
     

    re .131 
    
    Sorry Sir,
    
    That should've been "to(a)s(t)h." Whilst in the vicinity of Sirs,
    hands up who remembers "Yes Sir, I can Boogie"? Performed by a
    couple of Spanish (?) ladies who'd obviously graduated from the
    Jane Birkin school of the heavy breathing judging by the intro.
    Tosh supreme.
    
    Judge Dredd (spot the connection)
    

    Ah Baccara... "Yes Sir I can Boogie"
    
    Pure unadulterated sludge. I even hated then - and I was only 7!
    
    R|tch^d

    re .133
    >> Jane Birkin

    Just this weekend I heard the original of "Je T'Aime" which was
    (over)done by Brigitte Bardot. It's a masterpiece of heavy breathing.
    Very funny.

    - Tim
    

    
    RE:.130
    	The lady in question was called Sue Wilkinson.

    "Yes sir, I can boogie, boogie voogie .."

    
    	Re:-1
    		Yes you're right.I got a bit mixed up.
    							

    
    The first record I ever got was Sugar Sugar by the Archies, a bunch of
    Cartoon animals, tosh to the nth degree.  Luckily I retain my
    credibility a it was bought for me by my parents a I was about 3 at the
    time =8*)
    
    Tim
    ---

    How dare you say Sugar Sugar was tosh!!!:-):-)
    
    This was the first record I ever bought with my own hard earned
    pocket money!! and therefore holds a special place in my record
    collection - bottom of the pile I think!!:-):-)
    
    Mazzer
     
    
    

    
    My first step into music was by The Sweet. I've bought all their tapes,
    as I haven't a record player at that time.
    
    After getting one I left The Sweet and went out to get my first self
    bought album: Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. What a musical change
    at the age of 13 Years.
    But I still like this great album.
    
    |PETER|

I'm sure there's a first single/album topic...but what the hell! I think
the first single single I bought was "In the Summertime" or "Lady Rose"
by sideburn kings, Mungo Jerry. However this is not tosh...

...anything by David Soul is."Silver Lady" and "Don't give up on us baby";
songs to cry into your three-stars tank top to. 

O'H.

    Tosh of the Seventies: Bay City Rollers, whose music was really made by
    session musicians.
    
    Dave Hazel

>>    Tosh of the Seventies: Bay City Rollers, whose music was really made by
>>    session musicians.
  
  I beg to differ.. the Rollers played all their own stuff.

  Dave

    Re. .145:
    
    Yes, I am sure. There was a programme on one of the BBC Radio stations
    a year or two back (Radio 2 or Radio 4, can't remember which), in which
    this phenomenon was discussed. The program talked about more than one
    band, but the Rollers was the one I remembered most clearly. There was
    one of their hits on which they insisted on playing their own music,
    but most of it was done by session men.
    
    Cliff Hall, who now plays keyboards for The Shadows, was one of the
    session men involved in the Bay City Rollers records. This fact is
    documented in, among other places, The Shadows' biography, written by
    Mike Read.
    
    Dave Hazel

    Having read through the whole note, someone has just mentioned one bit
    of tosh I was going to nominate - "In the Summertime".
    
    Others missed so far are Bobby Goldsboro"s "Summer the First Time" and
    "Honey" and Althea and Donna's "Uptown Top Ranking".
    
    I notice everyone is being very restrained about the Osmonds (en masse)
    and David Cassidy - speak for themselves I suppose.

    Martian Hop (mentioned earlier) was a classic bit of 60's tosh by the
    Ran-Dells.
    
    Bob

    How about The Floral Dance by some psychopathic orchestra? I haven't
    seen this one mentioned, but it must rate high on the lists of tosh.
    Judging by the amount of notes here it seems that the 70s generated
    more tosh than 60s or 80s. Who bought all this stuff? Maybe tosh
    was fashionable and I missed it completely :-(
    
    Also, what about Chas n Dave? Cockney tosh!
    
    Barry.

    
    Don't you STILL buy it Barry? :^)
    
    Mark

    
>>    Also, what about Chas n Dave? Cockney tosh!
    
>>    Barry.


I once saw Chas and Dave live at the Dominion ( Please, don't ask how )
and the best thing about it was their drummer, the bloke that looks as
if he's Jimmy White's dad and wears  a pork-pie hat, who launched into 
drum solo with accompanying special-effects lighting. Honest, I do
not jest. This went on for a few minutes and beleive me this chap knew
his way round a drum-kit; impressed I was. After that the whole thing
turned into a GWAR/TUBES/VENOM type routine. Chas returned to the stage
in his 25" stack heels and leather cod-piece with protruding six inch nails
whilst Dave stormed on wearing nothing but a Ted Nugent style loin-cloth,
a pentagle daubed in blood across his chest. They then played their latest
single backwards and it went something like "Oh Satan, market trader from
Hell, lead us into your infernal kingdom of Clacton".

O'H.

p.s some of the above may not be true.

    Re -1
    
    I LIKE OHAGANB's sense of humour:-)
    
    The British answer to Alice Cooper eh?
    

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
>>    The British answer to Alice Cooper eh?
  
Egad! Must admit the old eyes are looking similar to Alice's this 
morning. Must frighten the wife first thing, poor soul. Must go, 
I can feel one of those baby skewering moods coming on.

O'H ( Alice to you )

	Come on you lot....the worst piece of tosh ever, must be...

	"Grocer Jack" by (not a clue - but weren't they the same lot that 
			  did "I'm only a poor little sparrow" ??)

		p1

    "Grocer Jack" was actually called "Excerpt from a teenage opera", and
    it was by Keith West.
    
    I'm pretty damn sure it was in the sixties too, not the seventies.....
    
    Keith

    It was indeed a true bit of 60's something, although I'd prefer to
    think of it as 'kitsch' rather than 'tosh'.
    
    SmithP1, nil point.
    
    Bob

	60's eh !! Amazing ! I obviously never heard it first time
	around. It was always being played in the Golden Lion opposite
	the Crescent, made everyone (well me anyway!) scream with annoyance.

		p1	

    Re .147

    >> "Honey"

    The reason that "Honey" isn't mentioned in this note is that it's 60's
    tosh. Maybe we should have a 60's re-releases tosh note.

    Kate Tudor nul point.

    - Tim

   .149 is a brave man.

   Actually the guy that share's a house with me has truckloads of it.

   He's got "Rollin'" (BCR), Rubettes "Where It's 'at" and about 15 Marc
   Bolan albums (not ALL good shoorely) among other memoribilia. He's got a
   glitter-pop video and as well as this he's got Gary Glitter posters in
   the kichen and Roy Wood on the cistern. Really.

   - Tim
   

    whooops! that should read .159 is a brave man.

    I don't know how this man made it into my thoughts but here goes,
    Barry Blue. 
    
    

Flintlock.

    don't say that word.

   The Tomorrow people.. that brings it all back. 

   I've just been browsing through an old copy of "Supersonic".
   Here's an extract...

   In '74 it was Donny, in '75 it was the Rollers. In 1976 its gonna be....
   WHO? 

   (there then follows a page of bands full of spotty 15 year olds, 
    recognise any of these..?)

   Moone Brothers, Frenzy, Bilbo Baggins, Flintlock, Flame, Slik, Glyder, Gang.

   The Top Pops News Stories from March 1976..

   Gary Glitter has a sunken octagonal marble bath installed in his new home.
   The marble is imported specially from Italy.

   Elton Johns' hair transplant operation is a flop.

   Leo Sayers' Wisdom teeth removal operation is a success!

   David Paton denies rumours that he's about to leave 'Pilot'.

   Donny is definitely NOT engaged.

   John Rossal leaves the Glitter band to pursue a solo career. (John who?)

   Slik's first record has been written by the same team that wrote Kenny's 
   "Fancy Pants".. 

   (this is considered to be a good omen which means obvious fame and fortune 
   lies ahead. Theres even a picture of Midge Ure before he even needed to 
   start shaving)

   Competition: Win Woody's Shorts.

   Next Issue: Win a Kenny Bump Suit! Meet the Rollers in America!

    Thank you Tim - it must have been a re-release.
    
    Since I was of an age to remember "Andy Pandy" but not "Muffin the
    Mule" I was probably too young to remember it the first time round.
    
    Still think its tosh/kitsh/naff, and definitely un-groovy.

    
    Who can forget Mike (Cue Supersonic) Mansfield?
    
    O'H.
    
    I'm off to start a 70's tosh T.V note on UK_TV.

    Didn't somebody "famous" used to play in Bilbo Baggins ???
    
    Ray

>>    Didn't somebody "famous" used to play in Bilbo Baggins ???
    
Well.. do any of these names ring a bell..?

Fid Liddle, Colin Chisolm, Jimmy Devlin, Tosh McIntosh, Brian Spence.

They came from Edinburgh, and once toured with Mud. Same management as the
Bay City Rollers.

Dave

    `tosh macintosh' you say...

Some tosh trivia for you...

We all know what happened to Midge Ure, but two other members of Slik
went on to form a band called the Zones. One of them also played on
Simple Minds' first Album.

The Bay City Rollers original name was The Saxons.

Dave

    Elton John Wrote Good Songs Shock!

    I listened to "Honky Cat" (1972) by Elton John and it still sounds
    really good. It's ripe for a cover (by someone) methinks. Good ole-time
    honky-tonk piano and lopsided melody. It could chart again. (honest
    kidz -;)

    - Tim
    

    I don't know how many of these contaminants made it across the Atlantic
    to poison your eels, but since someone was disgusting enough to remind
    me of "Beach Baby"....
    
    - "Midnight at the Oasis" by Maria Muldaur. One of the few American
    songs to really attempt a sympathetic treatment of Arabic culture.
    
    - That pellet of circus horse manure by Leo Sayers, the street mime of
    pop music.
    
    - "Behind Blue Eyes" by the Who. Making Roger Daltrey sensitive was the
    worst mistake Townshend ever made.
    
    - "My Girl Bill". To confirm everyone's fears about the Heartland of
    America, my Missouri compatriots actually had long arguments over the
    supposed ambiguity of this song.
    
    - The solo career of Ringo Starr. He was supposed to be the least
    talented OF THE BEATLES. Think about it.
    
    - Linda Ronstadt's flatclubfooted renditions of songs originally done
    by people who knew how to sing.
    
    - "Shaving Cream". If they had to re-release a '40s song, couldn't they
    have made it Charlie Parker?
    
    - "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando (the
    only man who ever wanted to be the next Sonny Bono) and Dawn.
    
    - Chicago, Kansas, Boston, Journey, Rush, Yes, gawd, if a band doesn't
    even merit a definite article how can they merit radio airtime?
    
    - "Mandy" and "I Write the Songs" by the King himself.
    
    - Eric Clapton's "I Shot the Sheriff". He probably couldn't even wake
    the sheriff up.
    
    - "Uneasy Rider" by the Charlie Daniels Band.
    
    - "Signs", "One Tin Soldier", "Louie Louie" (no, not THAT "Louie
    Louie"), and a dozen more truly pewling "political" numbers.
    
    - The Steve Miller Band. "The Joker" is bad enough, but if you've ever
    heard him cover Robert Johnson, you'll know why some people think Mick
    Jagger sounds authentic.
    
    - Name your favorite Crosby Stills & Nash tune.
    
    I can't go on.  This is why we listened to "Raw Power"...
    
    But I must say that Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright for
    Fighting" is better than anything Paul McCartney did.
    
    Rage, 32 and showing it

    Thank you, Rage. Indeed, most of that stuff made it over here, and I
    feel culturally enriched for it.
    
    Bob 

re< Note 852.173 by ESGWST::RDAVIS "Why, THANK you, Thing!" 
>
>    - "Shaving Cream". If they had to re-release a '40s song, couldn't they
>    have made it Charlie Parker?


   Who recorded this then? because Caesar the Boogieman, an obnouxious
   git on our local radio station, plays this song about three or four
   times a night.

   Jane.

    >- "Midnight at the Oasis" by Maria Muldaur. One of the few American
    >songs to really attempt a sympathetic treatment of Arabic culture.
     
    I had the dubious honor of attending elementary school w/ Maria
    Muldaur's daughter; I think her name was Jenny.  We were 10 or 11
    when this song was popular.  The main thing I remember about Jenny
    was that she always had the coolest clothes and the latest whatever.
    She was the first (and probably only) in our school to own platform
    tennis shoes.  I thought she was so *cool*.  And needless to say,
    everyone was envious of her wardrobe.
    
    -Vicki
    

	Kenny's "The Bump" has been re-released in a sort of n-n-n-n-nineteen
        remix, and is soaring up the dancefloor charts (it says here).

	If it works, the Bay City Rollers must be next.....
	....you have been warned.

    "Shaft" 
    
    Right On. We all got shaf*** with that one, eh?
    
    c, martin

    	 I guess this is the right topic for this...
    
    	 I saw an ad on TV last night for a new compilation LP -
    	 "Nicey and Smashee's Poptabulous Collection". 
    
    	 All the best tosh, including, of course, "2-4-6-8 Motorway",
         and my all time favourite of all time "You 'aint seen nothin yet".
    
    	 Can't wait to get it, mate.
    
    	 Ian.

    Yeah, absolutely tobaccotastic mate!

    So what about Sounds of the 70's on BBC2 on Saturday night ??
    
    Ray

    Excellent entertainment.

    Quote from the Radio Times: If you can remember the 60s you weren't
    really there; if you can remember the 70s you should have been 
    somewhere else.

    For those of you who missed it, the following songs were featured on the
    first part of this ten part series - most of the clips from TOTP:
    
    T.Rex		Hot Love
    Sweet		Blockbuster
    Slade		Mama Weer All Crazee Now
    Gary Glitter	I love you love me love
    Suzi Quatro		Devil Gate Drive
    Donny Osmond	Puppy Love
    David Cassidy	the other side of I Am A Clown (it was a double'A')
    Mott The Hoople	Roll away the stone
    Alvin Stardust	Jealous Mind
    Bay City Rollers	Bye Bye Baby
    Mud			Tiger Feet
    
    It was worth it just to see The Goodies sequence - how to be a perfect
    pop star - Gary Glitter's chest, Alvin Stardut's glove, Rubettes' cap,
    Lyndsey de Paul's dress - and all on Tim Brooke-Taylor - wonderful ..
    
    Ray                           

This was a real nostalgia trip for all us
late-twenty-and-early-thirtysomethings. Watching it brought back a lot of
memories. With the benefit of hindsight, I found the following things
interesting:

- A lot of of the "pop groups" of the time seemed to have one notably
outrageously dressed and/or effeminate guitarist (e.g., Mud, Slade, The
Sweet). The bloke from Mud was particularly resplendent in a kind of giant
flared white dressing gown, with large silver baubel earrings.

- The Osmonds, David Cassidy and the BCR really were crap, I was right at
the time.

- I thought the song that has survived the best was Roll away the stone, by
Mott the Hoople. Tiger Feet by Mud also went down well. Their dancers were
clearly an early inspiration for Bez.

- Nicey and Smashie are rather understated, compared with some of the early
'70s Radio 1 DJs.

Next week there are more of the dangerous rock'n'roll outfits - David Bowie
etc.

Trevor

    
    Well, I was only 3 in 1973 and I remembered most of the bands and
    songs.  I must admit the early '70's weren't really my favourite bit,
    but there was some good kitsch to watch.
    
    Anybody spot Lloyd Grossman?
    
    Paul

    
    Pure Dead Brilliant! - I'd forgotten how GOOD The Bay City 
    Rollers were!!!..I felt quite patriotic!..or is that Idiotic ??!
                    
    Sandie.../ 

    >    >> Anybody spot Lloyd Grossman?
    
    >    No - which bit was he in? I know he performed as "Jet Bronx and
    >	The Forbidden", but I didn't see them on Saturday's show.
    
    He was on for about 10 seconds after one group saying something along
    the lines of "Now that's what I call rock music, Loud, raucous and
    so, David, whose house is this?".  He had hair then, lot's of it.
    
    Paul       

    Watching Donny walk down front for a mauling by the girlies was
    just too much for me. There was one such gal sporting a dreadful
    Seventies hairdo, now ressurected by assorted media and pop darlings,
    and wearing the ultimate in chic seventies fashion, the tweed overcoat
    with leather (usually PVC) lapels. I almost fainted. 
    
    barry.
    
    p.s. Pity they did'nt play the brilliant "Crazy Horses".  

    Whoever it was earlier who said the BCR were crap was dead right. so
    was blummen Cassidy and Donny. The rest of the stuff was dead good,
    though, even if I didn't think so at the time (I was 16 in '72, I
    liked, erm, serious music, like).
    
    What typified the good stuff for me was the use of the overly cranked
    up guitar sound (Mud, Slade, Mott, Suzi Q, T.Rex etc etc). Surely punk
    rock owes more to this stuff than maybe it realises.
    
    Bob

    Although not strictly "musical" I think Pans People from TOTP deserves
    a mention here. 
    
    What was the name of the "dancers" that they were replaced with?
    

    I think they were replaced by  "Hot Gossip"   along with Sara
    Brightman....
    
    
    I still can't forget that group "Kenny"  they had a song called
    "Do the Bump"   They were the Flair wear Kings..!!!

    Not quite. "Hot Gossip" were the dancers on the Kenny Everet Show.
    "Legs and Co." were the TOTP replacement for "Pan's People".
    
    ~sam.

    Oh yeah, Pans People.  I remember writing to the Dail Mail Junior
    Readers page when I was about 10 complaining that they couldn't 
    dance and that my gran could probably do a better rendition with 
    the aid of her zimmer frame.
    
    It got published and I got a couple of quid out of it.
    
    Ahhhhh, fame and fortune at such an early age.
    
    julia (autographs at a price)

    
    I always used to enjoy the Daily Mail junior letters on Saturdays. The
    rabidity of the right-wing sentiments expressed would have made Mrs
    Thatcher blush.

   Who remembers this 70's 'anthem' ...

   'Put yourself in our hands .... and together we will take on all 
    the world' - Judas Priest

   No thanks, I'd rather listen to the Osmonds.

    Where did 'Ruby Flipper' fit into all this?
    
    Bob

>   Who remembers this 70's 'anthem' ...

>   'Put yourself in our hands .... and together we will take on all 
>    the world' - Judas Priest

    Yeah, I remember the video for that one. Rob Halford kitted out,
    it appeared, by World of Leather and being all dominant with that
    bull-whip. If that was'nt bad enough they went and did it all again
    in the form of "United". 
    
    Great band though (says without a morsel of shame). Twin guitars, 
    Halford camping it up astride a Harley Davidson, songs with titles 
    like Beyond The Realms of Death, Exciter, Grinder, Tyrant, Metal Gods, 
    Hell Bent For Leather (indeed); Heavy Metal panto at it's best. You
    shoulda been there.
    
    barry. 
          

    Careful Barry, make sure you don't play the Priests' backwards as they
    could seriously damage your health. Something along the lines of...
    ...burble..burble..Kill yourself with a chainsaw...burble ..burble..
    or so claim some of our more eccentric friends from across the
    Atlantic.
    
    Andy

    re-1
    Errr...Not Judas Priest...
    
    Mikef 

    Those dance troupes were dreadful. My everlasting memory of them
    was of one Travolta lookalike who had a penchant for string vests, 
    perspiration and inane toothy grins when the camera was nearby.
    The use of a whistle was standard around that time too. See
    COBBLERS::JAZZ_FUNK/ESSEX_SOUL for more on that. 
    
    barry.  
     

    I meant to say - did anyone see the black-music "Sounds of the 70s"?
    First up they had Aretha Franklin and Bill Withers - suitably brilliant 
    and much like you'd expect to see them now - then some predictably 
    berserk disco acts, and eventually ...
    
    The Jacksons, on Top of the Pops.  Out the window went any idea that 
    they used to be sane!  Michael jiggled around like a battery hen trying 
    to lay an egg while the rest did their idiotic "Rockin' Robin" formation 
    dancing like there was someone out the back with a cattle prod... 
    
    The guitar sounded suspiciously unplugged-in; the small audience looked 
    bored and tired and under-dressed, and they kept glancing at the monitors.

Another excellent edition of Sounds of the Seventies on Saturday. After Glam,
Disco, Soul, Dinosaurs came..... Punk Rock !

It was surprising to see how little the bands actually went in for the
safety-pins and bondage gear image. The Buzzcocks in particular looked like
their Mums had dressed them, and as for Feargal Sharkey's parka...

Several of the bands were shown playing on the TV show "Something Else", one
of those "yoof" style programmes with embarrassed teenage presenters making
laughable attempts at reading autocues. The Jam tried very hard to generate
some enthusiasm amongst the audience, which seemed to consist mainly of
sixth-formers wishing they were at home listening to Yes.

The Damned played "Smash it Up" like they'd consumed several months worth of
speed in one evening. The Stranglers were very old. Their song was "Hanging
Around" recorded live at Surrey University, and ended with Hugh Cornwell
shouting at the students to "fuck off, because they'd never represented the
*true* voice of Guildford". Well, that really told THEM, didn't it.

However, Joy Division topped (ha) the lot with an electrifying version of
"Transmission". There was some other punk retrospective film on TV last year
in which Joy Division also did far and away the best performance. I think
maybe knowing that Curtis killed himself a few months later adds a certain
poignancy to it.

Clash		-	Tommy Gun
Buzzcocks	-	Sixteen again
Damned		-	Smash it Up
X-Ray Spex	-	(can't remember)
Stranglers	-	Hanging Around
Siouxsie & B's	-	Love in a Void
Magazine	-	(can't remember, but not Shot by Both Sides,
			since that was the only decent song they ever
			recorded)
Jam		-	Eton Rifles
Undertones	-	Jimmy Jimmy
Joy Division	-	Transmission

> Magazine	-	(can't remember, but not Shot by Both Sides,
>			since that was the only decent song they ever
>			recorded)

Ha! That's *your* credibility blown, Warwick.


Rod

    re .205/6
    
    The Magazine track was Definitive Gaze from the excellent "Real Life"
    LP...and I think the X-Ray Spex tune was "Identity".
    
    H

    Correct on all counts.
    
    Piers

    Was it Magazine,which I think it is,or the Buzzcocks that did the
    excellent Spiral Scratch E.P.?
    The only track name I can remember is Boredom - anyone remember the
    rest of the tracks 'cause the whole E.P. was excellent - I'm sure.

    Was Billy Currie (of Ultravox) in Magazine?

    re .209
    
    It was the Buzzcocks who did "Spiral Scratch"..I'm now trying to
    remember the other tracks...nope..its gone!!!
    
    H

    re .209
    
    No it was the Buzzcocks who released "Spiral Scratch". 
    
    

    re .209 
    
    ..okay...Its filtering back....
    
    "Breakdown" was one track along with "Boredom".
    
    Any other takers?
    
    H

    Ummm, was there a track on Spiral Scratch called 'Time's Up'? It's hard
    to remember, as I had the ep nicked at a party many years ago.
    
    Bob

    
> Ha! That's *your* credibility blown, Warwick.
    
    Never knew I had any, Rod. 
    
    If I remember, I'll dig out my copy of Spiral Scratch tonight. I know
    there are four tracks on it. I think this was the only thing they ever
    released while Howard Devoto was still in the band. If I've got it
    right, the next single was the immaculately titled "Orgasm Addict", and
    he'd buggered off by then.
    
    Trevor

    RE.214 - Funny I also had my Spiral Scratch stolen - along with all my
    other punk records.

I've got plenty of copies of 'Spiral Scratch", anyone want to buy one?

    Rare records of that time I had were - Something Else with Silly Thing
    on the Bside before Silly Thing came out - ironic that - the silly
    things made a mistake and you got something else on the bside.
    Also I was told that David Watts and Suspect Device were also rare on
    paper labels as these were the first 500 pressings - can't think of any
    others.

    
    Boredom, Time's Up, Breakdown, Friends of Mine.

    I also seem to remember each track is listed as being 'First take, no
    overdubs', or 'Second take, guitar overdub' etc. Marvellous.
    
    Bob

    I have the first 47 7" Rough Trade singles.
    
    Just thought I'd share that with you.
    
    Piers

    
    It was the turn of the Americans on Sounds of the '70s this week. Alice
    Cooper, New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Tom Petty, The Ramones,
    Blondie, Talking Heads, Bruce Springsteen. Perhaps not surprisingly,
    Bruce was *not* playing in the OGWT studio. And The Ramones sure were
    ugly, weren't they ?
    
    Next week it's the UK post-punks. Boomtown Rats, Elvis Costello, Simple
    Minds etc. I can't wait.
    
    Trevor

    Did anyone by any chance happen to tape -.1?

Sounds of the Seventies went out with a bang on Saturday night. As I mentioned
in .-something, this was the post-punk/New Wave edition.

Ian Dury	- (Missed the start of the programme)
Police		- Message in a Bottle (live)
Boomtown Rats	- Rat Trap (TOTP)
Elvis Costello	- Oliver's Army
Simple Minds	- Chelsea Girl (OGWT)
Kraftwerk	- Autobahn (TOMORROW'S WORLD!!!!!!!!)
Human League	- Path of Least Resistance
Special AKA	- Too Much Too Young (OGWT)
Madness		- Night Boat to Cairo (OGWT)

Interspersed between the tracks were the usual cuts from bizarre TV, such as
Ask the Family. There was a bit from a very strange drama programme where a
very young Robert Powell and a couple of other people were being very
unconvincingly attacked by intelligent rats in a kitchen. Anyone know what
that was ?
    
Prize for the strangest haircut would have to go to Jim Kerr. Or was it a wig ?

Kraftwerk really were featured on Tomorrow's World in 1975, presumably because
of their high-tech electronic instruments. The voice-over said that next they
wanted to replace their keyboards by "jackets with electronic lapels that can
be played by touch". Now that, I would have liked to see.

    The young Robert Powell featured in a 70s series called Doomwatch, a
    near-future science fiction series. Can't remember much more than that,
    but it could be what you describe.
    
    regards
    john

    Doomwatch was about a group of scientists who investigated ecological
    disasters, which I suppose is as topical as ever. The usual episode
    went something like :-
    
    large petro-chemical firm is secretly dumping waste into the water
    supply of a small welsh village community, who are starting to grow
    second heads. Powell and the boys come in and sort everything out.
    Special effects strictly of the Dr Who/Blakes 7 variety. there was a
    film about mutations in the orkneys or something. I think the series
    ended when Robert powells character was killed off.

    Fans of 70s tosh who have cable or satellite should know that UK Gold
    is currently replaying 70s editions of Top of the Flops. I accidentally
    saw a bit of one yesterday, wasn't real interested but left it on in
    the background, and next thing I noticed, OTWAY and BARRETT were on the
    telly, with a truly live performance of "Cor baby that's really free".
    
    One of these days I must get to see Otway and Attila.
    
    regards
    john

    
    re:- Otway & Atilla
    
    John, you certainly should go and see them, they've been one of the
    star attractions at Glastonbury for the last few years, and last years
    "Cheryl the rock opera" was truly amazing!
    
     I bought this on CD at the festival this year, and the theatre group
    ('Cross Eyed Theatre') which I do Tech/lights etc for is hoping to do
    it later this year.
    
    Also, Otways 2000th gig is sometime in November - the 6th?? - at the
    Astoria in London.
    
    Graham  

    I thought the Darts were Funny on TOTP last night.... especially
    the Big Psycho one who looks like the Mad Man from TAXI..!!!

    I of course could not contain myself when "The Floral Dance" came
    on at the End credits...!!!!

> the Big Psycho one

Den Heggerty?

    Pure 70's tosh:

    Tonight, BBC1, 9.30pm, a documentary about ABBA.  Followed by the French
    & Saunders (not funny) episode with their ABBA spoof, then about 12.10am
    tonight/tomorrow morning on BBC1, ABBA in concert (Wembley 1979).

    Set your videos and get your flares and platforms out!!!!!!

I saw it and it was great!  Now where can I get some of those silver
platform boots...

Chris.

    Oh memories.  Most of the clips shown I remember seeing when they were
    broadcast!  15-20 years later their music is still good fun to listen 
    to, especially the early stuff (Bang-a-Boomerang, That's Me, When I Kissed
    the Teacher, Tiger) and a lot of "classics" recorded in Spanish for the
    South American market such as Chiquitita, Mamma Mia, Reina Danzante (Dancing
    Queen).

    I've *never* been ashamed to say I like ABBA!

    However, I must dispute Lowri Turner's assertion that ABBA needed to be
    paid millions to wear those clothes!  It *was* the fashion back then
    and lots of singers/groups were wearing the same sort of thing.  Some
    people were worse than ABBA, although I've never got over Agnetha's 
    outfit for the 74 Eurovision when they won Waterloo - the silver platform
    boots and flared blue trousers that only went as far as the knee.
    But Lowri Turner was right when she said that nobody wanted to be Annifrid,
    all the girls wanted to be Agnetha, and my father still fancies her to this
    day.

    But in the interview at the end with Bjorn and Benny, it was shocking to
    see how old they're looking, especially Benny who's 46, Bjorn is 48.  Come
    to that, Annifrid is also 47 and Agnetha is 43.  Shows how long ago 
    it all was.

    Aaah, long live ABBA!

    Goldy.

    Which one was Annifrid and which one was Agnetha?
    
    Phil Gill.

    Agnetha was the one with long blond hair.  Annifrid was the one whose 
    hair varied between dark brown, burgundy and red.  She had a different
    hairstyle in almost every photograph/video.

    OK, I'll come out of the closet - I really enjoyed the nostalgic trip
    last night.  So much so, it might have to be a trip to the shops soon
    to buy their Greatest Hits.  What a shame the girls have not done so 
    well now (Agnetha lives on a farm counting ex-husbands, and the other 
    is heavily into "Environmental issues").
    
    Can anyone remember who did the cover version of the song, The Day 
    Before You Came.  I think Erasure did it recently but there was 
    another group/singer who did it a couple of years back.
    
    Any ideas?
    
    julia
    
    
    

    Blancmage (Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscome) covered "The Day Before You
    Came" sometime in the mid-eighties.

    Well I'm not ashamed to say I like Abba, and I liked them even more
    then, in fact I was there, at Wembley in 1979 with my Mum and sister!  
    Mmm, wonder if the program's worth anything now... ?!
    
    Debs.
    

 >> But Lowri Turner was right when she said that nobody wanted to be Annifrid,
 >> all the girls wanted to be Agnetha
    
    `s funny that, `cos I always fancied Annifrid more. Did anybody go and
    see the movie? I remember queuing in the rain outside Birmingham ABC
    for it. They showed it on TV last year. The songs were great, but what
    a crap story.
    
    Phil Gill.
              

    ABBA The Movie, shot in Australia, with a not very good story interspersed
    about a wimpy journalist who has to secure an exclusive interview with
    ABBA before they leave Australia and he always manages to get to each
    location late.  But eventually "bumps" into them in a lift and Bob's
    your Auntie's live-in lover.

    Excellent film, I saw it when it was released at the Southend ABC in 
    1977/78 and "acquired" a copy a few years ago.  I still watch it now
    and again.

  As I watched the program, I couldn't believe the animosity and mickey-
  taking from Lowri Turner ... who is she ?   

  The proof of the ABBA popularity is the number of songs/tunes to which 
  everyone can 'humm along' with no problem .... Dancing Queen, Mama Mia, 
  Waterloo, The name of the game  etc etc 

  I would not have counted myself a fan until I watched that program ... now 
  there is no doubt .... I am.


		Paul  (an Annifrid lecher)


   PS: Julia -- "what a shame the girls have not done so well" ... I think you
       will find Annifrid is married to a seriously rich financier which could
       be how she finds the time to be 'heavily into environmental issues'

    Paul
    
    Re "married a seriously rich financier which may be how she can.."
    
    I think you'll find they're all (still) multi-millionaires so Annifrid
    probably uses her own money.  So there.
        
    Debs.

    That's interesting, cos I got the impression from the programme 
    that they all lost their millions ploughing the money into dodgy 
    ventures.  The only reason the chaps have got some dosh is because
    they continued writing/recording.  
    
    Maybe Annifrid wasn't so daft as she looked.
    
    julia
    

 >>   Maybe Annifrid wasn't so daft as she looked.
    
    Yes, much as I fancy her, as I watched the tape of the concert I
    couldn't help thinking STOP SMILING YOU DAFT COW!
    
    Phil Gill.	

    Bono to Benny and Bjorn live on stage at the end of "Dancing Queen";
    
    "We are not worthy"
    
    How true.
    
    barry

    UK News Electronic Telegraph Tuesday 11 February 1997 Issue 627

    Sweet singer Connolly dies aged 52
    
    By Alison Boshoff, Media Correspondent 

    BRIAN Connolly, 52, the leader of Sweet, the "glam-rock" band that
    outraged 1970s parents by appearing decked in glitter and caked in
    heavy make-up, died yesterday from kidney failure.

    The half-brother of the late actor Mark McManus, who played Taggart in
    the television detective series, Connolly enjoyed the excessive
    lifestyle of a 1970s rock star. At the height of his success he had
    eight cars, a yacht and a mansion, but was most recently living in a
    council house and drawing unemployment benefit.

    He made no secret of the rock-and-roll lifestyle he had enjoyed,
    saying: "They were wild, crazy days and nights, but booze was my
    downfall rather than drugs."

    Sweet sold 50 million records worldwide, with a No 1 in England,
    Blockbuster, and a No 3 in America, Little Willy. They had other hits
    with Wig Wam Bam and Ballroom Blitz. In 1974 the band ended their
    association with the RCA songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and
    the hits dried up. Connolly left Sweet in 1979, but did not enjoy solo
    success.

    He renounced alcohol after two heart attacks. While recovering from the
    second, his heart stopped six times. Doctors said it was miraculous he
    had survived. Connolly was planning to revive the band for a stage show
    next year, but he had another heart attack in January. He died in
    hospital in Slough, Berks.

    The singer Suzi Quatro said: "They were great days, when music was fun.
    But Brian did live the rock-and-roll lifestyle. Some people didn't know
    how to separate that and real life. But I admired the way he went out
    there. He wasn't in good condition, and he had the shakes, but he still
    wanted to do it."

    Sweet's guitarist Andy Scott said: "Everybody's image of Sweet was
    Brian. It was what he was put on this earth for."
    

    Poor, sad, bastard.  I saw him on Ch4 recently. Poor, sad, bastard.

    The article implies that he's not been performing recently, however,
    he toured the year before last.  I saw him at the Anvil.  The bass
    player used to work in Modern Music in Basingstoke.
    
    It was sad to see the state he was in, but he could still sing well.
    
    Blockbuster was the first single I bought.
    
    /tmp

    This all brings back memories of childhood TOTP viewings. Very sad
    indeed.
    
    
    			Stretch.

    
    Same here, I still have the singles.... sad indeed.
    
    G.

    I think "Fox on the Run" was the best. That was Sweet, wasn't it?
    
    Goldy.

    >>I think "Fox on the Run" was the best. That was Sweet, wasn't it?
    
    I believe that's correct. I'm more of a "Ballroom Blitz" kinda guy.
    
    
    
    
    			Stretch.