This is the fourth part of a fiction serial, in 809 words. Enjoying his walk around the unfamiliar city, George got to see the castle and the cathedral just as he had hoped, stopping for lunch in between. It was a nice day, so he decided to head east to the coast, and the seaside … | Continue reading
Fifty years ago, an American tourist went on a trip to London and took lots of photos. In 2016,those photos were discovered, and put in an online article. Sadly, the photographer was not named. Denmark Street. This is known as ‘Tin Pan Alley’ and was the home of many record compa … | Continue reading
More from Tamla Motown, this time from The Miracles, with their front man Smokey Robinson. Released in 1965, this was a considerable hit in Britain, and I bought it at the age of 13. The album it came from also included ‘Tracks Of My Tears’ and ‘Ooh Baby Baby’. Co-written by Smok … | Continue reading
Originally posted on Nicholas C. Rossis: So, you’ve completed your first book. After pouring your heart and soul into your first masterpiece, the rest of the world surely needs to appreciate your accomplishment as much as you do. This landmark moment in your life needs to be shar … | Continue reading
This is the third part of a fiction serial, in 784 words. When George woke up late the next morning, Eileen was already busy in the living room. The crochet club had a new project, and she was occupied with the squares that were her contribution. So he cooked his own breakfast of … | Continue reading
Beginning in 1908, the police force in Birmingham began to take ‘mugshots’ of women arrested for prostitution in that city. They would be taken to a commercial photography studio, and their image taken to accompany the charge sheet. This helped with repeat offenders who could now … | Continue reading
I was 18 in 1970, and rarely showed any interest in what could be called ‘Rock Music’. However, I heard a record on my car radio and decided I just had to buy the single. I think it still sounds very fresh, over 50 years later. The British Band Free had been around for a … Contin … | Continue reading
More Motown, and another song from the dream team of Holland, Dozier, Holland. This time from 1966, released on the VIP label, part of The Motown group of companies, and performed by The Elgins. This was a top favourite song of mine, and remains so to this day. This song was reis … | Continue reading
I was only 12 years old in 1964, but I knew a good singer and a good song when I heard it. Sam Cooke is one of the finest vocalists of his generation, and most of his songs have been covered by other singers, but almost never bettered. The same year that I bought this … Continue … | Continue reading
This is the second part of a fiction serial, in 815 words. Eileen woke up with George on top of her. He was definitely amorous, and she struggled to remember the last time he had done anything like that. It had to have been at least five years earlier, after too many whiskies on … | Continue reading
Originally posted on toritto: Who is “Sur.ly”? Recently I went to log onto my wordpress blog (toritto.wordpress.com) and encountered a page evaluating my blog for various offensive themes. There aren’t any but the sur.ly page blocks access to my blog. I am currently accessing th … | Continue reading
This is all 26 parts of my recent fiction serial, compiled into one complete story. It is a long read, at 21,471 words. We had all read the novel at school. The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas. But there were four of us, so we called ourselves the four musketeers. Childhood … | Continue reading
Aretha Franklin is often called ‘The Queen Of Soul’, and with good reason. Her huge hit ‘Respect’ generated many covers, and still sounds relevant today. However, it was another of her hits that first drew me to her, and it is that song I am featuring in this series. This was rel … | Continue reading
This is the first part of a fiction serial, in 843 words. George hadn’t been sleeping that well since retiring. Losing the routine of working all day had upset his body clock, and left him restless at night. And being around Eileen all day felt strange too. He had realised that y … | Continue reading
Tamla-Motown had a big impact on my life as a teenager, and quite a few of the songs released by that company will feature here. Written by Smokey Robinson, and recorded by The Marvelettes in 1967, this was a classic song for radio or juke boxes; under three minutes long, and wit … | Continue reading
Back in 1966, The Who were a ‘Mod’ group, wearing the fashions and sporting the hairstyles of that youth cult. Long before their move into long-winded pop, and the eventual transition to Rock Opera with ‘Tommy’, they released a single that I played to death when I was 14 years ol … | Continue reading
I am late to the blog today, as we went out early to deliver gifts to my step-children and grandchildren. Because we were both ill with Covid over Christmas, this served as a substitute ‘Christmas Day’ for all of us. While we were over there, a thunderstorm started, and we drove … | Continue reading
David Hoffman was interested in the area around Roman Road Street Market, in East London. Originally born and raised nearby, his parents had moved to the suburbs. In his twenties, David returned to the area to take photos of life at the time, in pubs, cafes, social clubs in East … | Continue reading
When Otis Redding died in a plane crash in 1967, I was 15 years old, and already a huge fan of the singer. I had even managed to see him live in London earlier that year, as part of the legendary Stax/Volt Tour. I was very upset when he died that December. He had many … Continue … | Continue reading
In 1966, I was 14 years old. I had already heard of James Brown, but that year he released a song that sounded amazing to me. He co-wrote and produced the song, and I soon had a copy on a vinyl single. Fifty-six years later, I still think it is an amazing song. This is … Continue … | Continue reading
Photographers of the time were keen to record the various characters on the streets of London and other towns and cities. They also took a lot of interest in the Police Force, which had only come into being in 1829, and hade been modernised in the Victorian era. A Young girl livi … | Continue reading
Long before the term ‘Teenagers’ was coined in the 1940s, Victorian teenagers were beginning to get noticed for their adoption of fashion, or their working lives. Various photographers of the era set out to capture the youth of the time. Two teenage girls in a countryside setting … | Continue reading
In 1973, I heard a song called ‘She’s Gone’, by an American duo, Hall and Oates. I liked it enough to buy the album it featured on, and became an instant fan of the vocal talents of Daryl Hall. (Though to be honest, I never saw the point of John Oates.) I bought any album … Conti … | Continue reading
In 1972, I heard a record on the radio by a singer I didn’t know. I liked it enough to go out the next day and buy the single, which I played over and over. Fifty years later, I still enjoy listening to it just as much as I did then. It was late last … Continue reading Retro Musi … | Continue reading
This is the final part of a fiction serial, in 843 words. There were times when I started to question my own sanity. After all, Keith had solid alibis for both of the incidents that I had attributed to him, and would he really have the clout to get some kind of black-ops organisa … | Continue reading
I am now starting to think I may have seen the last of the bad bout of Covid-19 I endured recently. There are quite a few positives to report. *I am able to sleep all night, as long as I make sure to stay propped up on extra pillows. *The sore throat has gone, and … Continue read … | Continue reading
I have long been a fan of Van Morrison. I even went to see him live once, at the Albert Hall. He didn’t seem to be a very nice person, to be honest. He rushed his set, cut short the gig, and hardly looked at the audience. But you don’t have to like a person … Continue reading Ret … | Continue reading
In 1969, I bought an album by The Band. They had been known for backing Bob Dylan on his various tours, but I had heard a song from this album, ‘Up On Cripple Creek’, that made me want to hear more. On the same album was the wonderful song ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie … Contin … | Continue reading
The career of the Beach Boys speaks for itself. And the genius of Brian Wilson shines through that time too. I don’t believe any other vocal group has ever achieved such excellence in harmonies, and the legacy of their numerous hits will outlive them all. I am choosing one of the … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-fifth part of a fiction serial, in 778 words. Susan and Stephen were very shaken up, but the car had saved them from any injury. A nice piece of solid engineering. It had been taken away for examination by the police, and Susan had been cautioned that she might … | Continue reading
Gary Moore was from Northern Ireland, and is probably best known now for being the guitarist in Thin Lizzy. But he was a Blues man of long-standing, and also had a solo career. In 1990 he released the wonderful album, ‘Still Got The Blues’; his biggest personal hit, and a career- … | Continue reading
When The Zombies released their first single in 1964, I was only 12 years old. But I bought it immediately. This was something really different, with the song and music by Rod Argent, and the great vocals of Colin Blunstone, it was destined to remain one of my favourites for life … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-fifth part of a fiction serial, in 843 words. As soon as I saw the news report, I immediately knew that Keith had been involved somehow. I said as much to Susan, but she didn’t agree. “Danny, he is not the nicest person, but I don’t think he would ever do anyth … | Continue reading
This is a cover version of a Bob Dylan song, released by the British band Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger and the Trinity in 1968. The amazing voice of Julie, her distinctive look, and the musicianship of Brian Auger made me prefer this version to the Dylan original. Even now, I … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-third part of a fiction serial, in 840 words. After the conversation with Keith at his new house, I was getting very worried about Terry. There were so many ways that Keith could affect his life, I started to imagine what he might do. Perhaps invent some corrup … | Continue reading
Before the evolution into The Faces, the band fronted by Rod Stewart, we had The Small Faces, with the lead singer Steve Marriott. In the pop music scene of 1968, it was refreshing to hear a song sung in a completely English accent, and a London accent into the bargain. This was … | Continue reading
Using some rare moving film images from as long ago as 1890, this 11-minute film contrasts the history of the city with images filmed in 2016 at the same spots. | Continue reading
I should have known better than to suggest I might stay up until 00:01 to see in the New Year. After a long day punctuated by coughing fits, the best I could do last night was to reluctantly munch a pizza at 18:30, then sit coughing until I just had to go to bed and … Continue re … | Continue reading
We have no plans to celebrate tonight. Both still feeling flat after Covid, and not in the mood to venture out or invite anyone into the house, it will be all I can do to try to stay awake until one second past midnight. ————————————————————————————— Tomorrow, we are having our C … | Continue reading
Steely Dan has been one of my lifelong favourite bands since I first heard their music in 1972. Fifty years later, I still listen to their back catalogue as much as I ever did. Last night, I was watching a new documentary film on the BBC. This film. (It is very good.) https://www … | Continue reading
I confess I am not feeling very festive or excited about New Year’s Eve. But I would still like to wish eveyone a very happy and peaceful 2023. | Continue reading
As you can tell from my past few posts, I have been listening to some music recently. Whilst not completely recovered from Covid, I have been getting some sleep at night, and that has made me feel so much better. Where blogging is concerned, I have decided to wait until the new y … | Continue reading
When most people hear the name Fleetwood Mac, they tend to think of the vocals of Stevie Nicks, and the guitar of Lindsay Buckingham. And the songs from the album ‘Rumours’, one of the best-selling records of all-time. But I think of Peter Green, and Fleetwood Mac as primarily a … | Continue reading
It is not often that a flute features heavily on a hit record. In 1969, the British ‘Progressive Rock’ band, Jethro Tull, combined folk and modern styles with a very unusual song that captured the imagination of record buyers, and got to number two in the charts here. I was 17, a … | Continue reading
Many years ago, I heard this song from Tim Hardin. Like most of his songs, it is very short. But no less powerful for that. If you have ever experienced an emotional break up, this simple song will resonate with you. It might even make you cry. James Timothy Hardin was an America … | Continue reading
I decided to watch a film on Netflix to take my mind off of feeling ill. It is a new version of ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’. I have read that book, watched the 1930 film adaptation, and the later 1979 remake. This new version is a German language film, starrring mainly Germa … | Continue reading
On the 21st of December, I tested positive for Covid-19 and wrote off Christmas 2022 as a non-event. The next few days became a blur of constant coughing, hardly getting any sleep, and not being able to lie down and rest. ————————————————————————————— Between us, we tried our bes … | Continue reading
I am still not feeling well enough to comment on posts and reply to comments on mine. I will have to start from scratch once I feel able to sit at the PC and write something coherent. Meanwhile, I would like to thank everyone who commented on my recent posts, and apologise for no … | Continue reading