OK so I admit it. It's to do with my age I think. This morning I've played Donna Summer's "Once Upon A Time' album for the first time in years, and it reminded me of those great Disco tunes when I was a teen. For me, Disco ended around 1981 and 1982, but there was a golden era when Disco ruled and I'm so glad I loved it.
I know all about how it was music that prospered thanks to the Gay community in America, but I've been thinking about it today, and so much of the music I love comes when I grew up during that disco period.
It's hard to say when it all started, but I would suppose Disco started around 1973 and reached it's peak around 1976-77 and when 'Saturday Night Fever' came out at the end of that year, it gave it another boost that took it through to the early 80s.
At some stage soon, I think I'm going to have to do and in-depth read up and have a blast of playing some proper disco stuff from the 70s.
In fact I think I'm gonna go and have a look and listen right now......
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Friday, 14 January 2011
New liners for the radio shows
I've been very fortunate that I've made friends with a lot of people inside the radio industry and am able to be cheeky and ask a few favours. And that's what I did early in the week.
I phoned a cracking DJ and friend, Dave Simmons, who runs Retro Soul Radio, and asked him if he could do me some idents for my radio shows. In just a couple of days, he came back to me with a whole load to use, and I shall start using them on this week's Sunday Shake Up. I can't wait.
Now it's not often I plug a station that I'm not involved with, but I will today. Retro Soul Radio is a cracking station. Although it runs from a stream through the week, from Friday - Sunday, you get the chance to hear 4 massively talented DJs do their thing on this station.
Who are they?
Well for starters, there's Dave Simons himself, Neil Winters, Barrie Stone and Steve Montana.
I was lucky enough to work alongside Dave, Barrie & Steve at a former station and I can tell you, they are not only great people, but they are as good as you're gonna hear on Internet radio. I have not met Neil, but have heard his shows, and I can tell you that he's no slouch either!
If you like the sort of music I play, basicly jazz funk, soul, disco and boogie, this station will satisfy your needs.
Go check it out.... you won't be disappointed.
And listen out for the new idents and liners in this week's show!
I phoned a cracking DJ and friend, Dave Simmons, who runs Retro Soul Radio, and asked him if he could do me some idents for my radio shows. In just a couple of days, he came back to me with a whole load to use, and I shall start using them on this week's Sunday Shake Up. I can't wait.
Now it's not often I plug a station that I'm not involved with, but I will today. Retro Soul Radio is a cracking station. Although it runs from a stream through the week, from Friday - Sunday, you get the chance to hear 4 massively talented DJs do their thing on this station.
Who are they?
Well for starters, there's Dave Simons himself, Neil Winters, Barrie Stone and Steve Montana.
I was lucky enough to work alongside Dave, Barrie & Steve at a former station and I can tell you, they are not only great people, but they are as good as you're gonna hear on Internet radio. I have not met Neil, but have heard his shows, and I can tell you that he's no slouch either!
If you like the sort of music I play, basicly jazz funk, soul, disco and boogie, this station will satisfy your needs.
Go check it out.... you won't be disappointed.
And listen out for the new idents and liners in this week's show!
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Washing Machines, Facebook and my music
Well it's been a funny old day, which started out with a phone call at 7am to say they were delivering my new washing machine at 7.45 this morning. For starters, I was asleep when the phone went off and I really didn't want to get up this morning. My bed felt so lovely and comfortable.
Anyway they delivered it and I set about unpacking it and getting it ready to plumb it in. It always happens to me. I had to take a cover off of the washing machine to get to some rubber bungs that held the drum in place on the road. 3 screws. 2 came undone easily. 1 didn't want to know. Eventually, an hour later it was undone and I was ready to put it in.
Put it in, plumbed it in and filled with water for it's initial wash. And then I sat and was engrossed in watching the machine while it went through it's first cycle. How sad is that? I obviously needed something to do.
I just love Facebook. There, I've said it! I am a facebook-holic. I check it first thing in the morning and then what seems like every five minutes when I'm here.
I know I use it to post all my radio shows and any events I may be playing at, but it is a source of great entertainment too. Let me give you an example or two from today alone. I put a status on there about my washing machine experience this morning, and before you know it, I was getting comments that made me laugh.
There are definitely some facebook friends I would love to meet in person. Kim Kerry & Linda Oldfield for sure. Whenever I chat to these two ladies, I always end up laughing myself in to hysteria. And the level of integrity dives faster than a submarine! It's always fun to chat to these two and they certainly help to pass the time.
I recorded my Pure Grooves show for this week earlier this evening, and for almost all the time I was doing the show they were insulting me. In a nice way of course.
Of course, there are listeners to my shows that I'd love to meet as well and it's always a pleasure when I get to meet a new 'friend'.
And then it's great to keep up with old friends. I've re-met friends from my teens, whom I'd lost touch with over the years and it's great to see what they're up to.
The show this week, seemed to go really well and I was more than happy with the playlist. It looked fine when I put it together, and sounded great when I did the show. So hopefully you listeners will enjoy it too.
It takes me around two hours to put a two hour show together and it's pleasing when it seems to go well. Luckily it does most of the time.
I've also been converting some of my CDs and stuff to mp3 today to go on my disco computer. I don't think I'm ever gonna get finished. There still seems loads to do.
Went back to an old record I've not played in ages this evening. It's amazing how you forget about how good albums are? Mind you it's been a while since I played this, and I am getting on you know!
Anyway they delivered it and I set about unpacking it and getting it ready to plumb it in. It always happens to me. I had to take a cover off of the washing machine to get to some rubber bungs that held the drum in place on the road. 3 screws. 2 came undone easily. 1 didn't want to know. Eventually, an hour later it was undone and I was ready to put it in.
Put it in, plumbed it in and filled with water for it's initial wash. And then I sat and was engrossed in watching the machine while it went through it's first cycle. How sad is that? I obviously needed something to do.
I just love Facebook. There, I've said it! I am a facebook-holic. I check it first thing in the morning and then what seems like every five minutes when I'm here.
I know I use it to post all my radio shows and any events I may be playing at, but it is a source of great entertainment too. Let me give you an example or two from today alone. I put a status on there about my washing machine experience this morning, and before you know it, I was getting comments that made me laugh.
There are definitely some facebook friends I would love to meet in person. Kim Kerry & Linda Oldfield for sure. Whenever I chat to these two ladies, I always end up laughing myself in to hysteria. And the level of integrity dives faster than a submarine! It's always fun to chat to these two and they certainly help to pass the time.
I recorded my Pure Grooves show for this week earlier this evening, and for almost all the time I was doing the show they were insulting me. In a nice way of course.
Of course, there are listeners to my shows that I'd love to meet as well and it's always a pleasure when I get to meet a new 'friend'.
And then it's great to keep up with old friends. I've re-met friends from my teens, whom I'd lost touch with over the years and it's great to see what they're up to.
The show this week, seemed to go really well and I was more than happy with the playlist. It looked fine when I put it together, and sounded great when I did the show. So hopefully you listeners will enjoy it too.
It takes me around two hours to put a two hour show together and it's pleasing when it seems to go well. Luckily it does most of the time.
I've also been converting some of my CDs and stuff to mp3 today to go on my disco computer. I don't think I'm ever gonna get finished. There still seems loads to do.
Went back to an old record I've not played in ages this evening. It's amazing how you forget about how good albums are? Mind you it's been a while since I played this, and I am getting on you know!
The singles, 'What Can I Say', 'Lowdown' and 'Lido Shuffle' are worth the price of the album alone. I was 17 or 18 when this album came out and listening to it tonight took me back to a time when I was footloose and fancy free. This album has class stamped all over it.
I've also done a bit to the web mag today and the new-look to it is taking place. I think it's going improve the look of it no end. You'll be able to find out next Monday.
Right I'm off to make a cuppa.......
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
What's on?
I decided that I want to make the web mag even better for the new year and am adding new sections to it. However, I obviously hadn't done the research I needed to, because when I started to lay it out differently and add some of the extra things into it, it took me ages to even find what I wanted to add. I ended up spending 5-6 hours last night working to find what I needed and then only managed to find enough material to fill 3 pages. Hopefully though, now that I've started to find what I needed, it should be easier to find the sources for the information I want next time.
As I said before Christmas, I was starting a college course to get an NVQ in computing. Well I have to say today I really struggled over a couple of things and by the time I came home my brain felt like it had turned to mush. I think I let my attitude get the better of me and I mentally felt like I'd got everything wrong. Having been in this position before, I can safely say that I know when it#s time for me to take a break, so I called it a day and came home. Usually, when I go back to it, I can see it with new eyes, and then can move on.
I was rifling through some of my old albums this afternoon and picked out one to play. It was Earth Wind & Fire's "Faces" album. It's been ages since I played it last, and I forgot how good it is. With a couple of hit singles and some great album tracks, it showed that Earth Wind & Fire were on top of their game. Their brass section was the stuff of legend.
As I said before Christmas, I was starting a college course to get an NVQ in computing. Well I have to say today I really struggled over a couple of things and by the time I came home my brain felt like it had turned to mush. I think I let my attitude get the better of me and I mentally felt like I'd got everything wrong. Having been in this position before, I can safely say that I know when it#s time for me to take a break, so I called it a day and came home. Usually, when I go back to it, I can see it with new eyes, and then can move on.
I was rifling through some of my old albums this afternoon and picked out one to play. It was Earth Wind & Fire's "Faces" album. It's been ages since I played it last, and I forgot how good it is. With a couple of hit singles and some great album tracks, it showed that Earth Wind & Fire were on top of their game. Their brass section was the stuff of legend.
It's funny how a band can drift from your consciousness. I haven't played anything by Earth Wind and Fire in ages, and yet from about 1978 to 1983 they were one of my favourite bands, who's records I used to love to play. Who knows perhaps I'll have a bit of a resurgence of their tunes now.
Monday, 10 January 2011
New Week, New Magazine Issue
Well the week's are flying by at the moment and once again it's a Monday. And a brand new issue of the Pure Grooves web mag is now online, and it's a bumper 30 page issue for the first one of the year.
There's A lot of info in the web mag this week. There are links to 8 recent shows along with the play lists. There are also the regular features and also some coming events.
However, as from next week, we're hoping to change the look of the web mag and improve it even more. I won't tell you what we have in store for you, you'll just have to wait and see. One thing won't change though, and that's the fee. It will still be free to read.
Please pass the link to your friends and also feel free to tell them about this blog and don't forget to subscribe as well.
Till next time.......
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Motown & More
Well it was the first one of the year, and although the turnout wasn't fantastic, there were a lot of new people attended and we all had a great night.
The only fly in the ointment was when the trip went in the room and all the wall sockets went off, resulting in everything shutting down. Basically we lost 5 minutes or so while the located the problem in the pub, sorted it and we got everything up and running again.
Luckily, it didn't cause too much of a problem.
Here's what I played:
1 Jimmy Ruffin - It's Wonderful To Be Loved By You
2 Barbara McNair - It Happens Everytime
3 Elgins - Put Yourself In My Place
4 Brief Encounter - What About Love
5 Buddy Miles - I'm Just A Kiss Away
6 Chi-Lites - Stoned Out Of My Mind
7 Eddie Holland - Candy To Me
8 Carstairs - It Really Hurts Me Girl
9 Jimmy Holiday & Clyde King - Ready Willing & Able
10 Four Tops - Where Did You Go
11 Otis Leavill - Nobody But You
12 Rufus Thomas - Do The Funky Chicken
13 George Lemons - Fascinating Girl
14 Soul Bros Inc - Pyramid
15 Booker T & The MGs - Soul Limbo
16 R Dean Taylor - Let's Go Somewhere
17 Detroit Spinners - It's A Shame
18 Marvin Gaye - How Sweet It Is
19 Kim Weston - I'm Still Loving You
20 Tammi Terrell - This Old Heart Of Mine
21 Marvelettes - Too Many Fish In The Sea
22 Collins & Collins - At The Top Of The Stairs
23 Stevie Wonder - Blowin In The Wind
24 Spiral Staircase - More Today Than Yesterday
25 Jay Traynor - Up & Over
26 Epitome Of Sound - You Don't Love Me
27 Willie Tee - Teasin' You
28 David Ruffin - Rode By The Place (Where We Used To Stay)
29 Supremes - There's No Stopping Us Now
30 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
31 Jimmy Ruffin - Lucky Lucky Me
32 Temptations - My Baby
33 Barbara Mills - Queen Of Fools
34 Sam Fletcher - I'd Think It Over Twice
35 Kurt Harris - Emperor Of My Baby's Heart
36 Barbara Randolph - I Got A Feeling
37 Contours - Just A Little Misunderstanding
38 Isley Brothers - Tell Me It's Just A Rumour
39 Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself
40 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas - Jimmy Mack
41 Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - Going To A Go Go
42 Velvelettes - He Was Really Saying Something
43 Marvin Gaye - You're A Wonderful One
44 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - I'm Ready For Love
45 Jnr Walker & The All Stars - Road Runner
46 Lou Johnson - Magic Potion
47 Drifters - Baby What I Mean
48 Billy Arnell & The Sparkles - Tough Girl
49 Originals - Don't Stop Now
50 Marvin Gaye - Little Darling (I Need You)
51 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Love Is Like A Heatwave
52 Al Wilson - The Snake
53 Dobie Gray - Out On The Floor
54 R Dean Taylor - There's A Ghost In My House
55 Barry White - Don't Make Me Wait Too Long
56 Tony Etoria - I Can Prove It
57 Trammps - Hold Back The Night
58 Billy Ocean - Red Light Spells Danger
59 Isley Brothers - I Guess I'll Always Love You
60 Detroit Spinners - I'll Always Love You
61 Ruby Andrews - Just Lovin' You
62 Darrell Banks - Open The Door To Your Heart
63 Bobby Paris - I Walked Away
64 Roy Hamilton - Crackin' Up Over You
65 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Two Can Have A Party
66 Edwin Starr - SOS (Stop Her On Sight)
67 Supremes - The Happening
68 Four Tops - I'll Turn To Stone
69 Brenda Holloway - When I'm Gone
70 Sam Cooke - That's It - I Quit - I'm Movin' On
71 Jackie Ross - Selfish One
72 Garland Green - Ain't That Good Enough
73 Otis Redding - Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay
74 Jimmy Ruffin - I've Passed This Way Before
75 Barbara Lewis - Pushin' A Good Thing Too Far
76 Kim Weston - Another Train Coming
77 Soloman Burke - Cry To Me
78 Willie Tee - Walking Up A One Way Street
79 Timi Yuro - It'll Never Be Over For Me
80 Dean Parrish - Bricks Broken Bottles & Sticks
81 Trini Lopez - Sinner Not A Saint
82 Gloria Scott - Too Much Lovemaking
83 Impressions - It's Alright
84 Blackbyrds - Walkin' In Rhythm
85 Leroy Hutson - They Got Love
The only fly in the ointment was when the trip went in the room and all the wall sockets went off, resulting in everything shutting down. Basically we lost 5 minutes or so while the located the problem in the pub, sorted it and we got everything up and running again.
Luckily, it didn't cause too much of a problem.
Here's what I played:
1 Jimmy Ruffin - It's Wonderful To Be Loved By You
2 Barbara McNair - It Happens Everytime
3 Elgins - Put Yourself In My Place
4 Brief Encounter - What About Love
5 Buddy Miles - I'm Just A Kiss Away
6 Chi-Lites - Stoned Out Of My Mind
7 Eddie Holland - Candy To Me
8 Carstairs - It Really Hurts Me Girl
9 Jimmy Holiday & Clyde King - Ready Willing & Able
10 Four Tops - Where Did You Go
11 Otis Leavill - Nobody But You
12 Rufus Thomas - Do The Funky Chicken
13 George Lemons - Fascinating Girl
14 Soul Bros Inc - Pyramid
15 Booker T & The MGs - Soul Limbo
16 R Dean Taylor - Let's Go Somewhere
17 Detroit Spinners - It's A Shame
18 Marvin Gaye - How Sweet It Is
19 Kim Weston - I'm Still Loving You
20 Tammi Terrell - This Old Heart Of Mine
21 Marvelettes - Too Many Fish In The Sea
22 Collins & Collins - At The Top Of The Stairs
23 Stevie Wonder - Blowin In The Wind
24 Spiral Staircase - More Today Than Yesterday
25 Jay Traynor - Up & Over
26 Epitome Of Sound - You Don't Love Me
27 Willie Tee - Teasin' You
28 David Ruffin - Rode By The Place (Where We Used To Stay)
29 Supremes - There's No Stopping Us Now
30 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
31 Jimmy Ruffin - Lucky Lucky Me
32 Temptations - My Baby
33 Barbara Mills - Queen Of Fools
34 Sam Fletcher - I'd Think It Over Twice
35 Kurt Harris - Emperor Of My Baby's Heart
36 Barbara Randolph - I Got A Feeling
37 Contours - Just A Little Misunderstanding
38 Isley Brothers - Tell Me It's Just A Rumour
39 Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself
40 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas - Jimmy Mack
41 Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - Going To A Go Go
42 Velvelettes - He Was Really Saying Something
43 Marvin Gaye - You're A Wonderful One
44 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - I'm Ready For Love
45 Jnr Walker & The All Stars - Road Runner
46 Lou Johnson - Magic Potion
47 Drifters - Baby What I Mean
48 Billy Arnell & The Sparkles - Tough Girl
49 Originals - Don't Stop Now
50 Marvin Gaye - Little Darling (I Need You)
51 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Love Is Like A Heatwave
52 Al Wilson - The Snake
53 Dobie Gray - Out On The Floor
54 R Dean Taylor - There's A Ghost In My House
55 Barry White - Don't Make Me Wait Too Long
56 Tony Etoria - I Can Prove It
57 Trammps - Hold Back The Night
58 Billy Ocean - Red Light Spells Danger
59 Isley Brothers - I Guess I'll Always Love You
60 Detroit Spinners - I'll Always Love You
61 Ruby Andrews - Just Lovin' You
62 Darrell Banks - Open The Door To Your Heart
63 Bobby Paris - I Walked Away
64 Roy Hamilton - Crackin' Up Over You
65 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Two Can Have A Party
66 Edwin Starr - SOS (Stop Her On Sight)
67 Supremes - The Happening
68 Four Tops - I'll Turn To Stone
69 Brenda Holloway - When I'm Gone
70 Sam Cooke - That's It - I Quit - I'm Movin' On
71 Jackie Ross - Selfish One
72 Garland Green - Ain't That Good Enough
73 Otis Redding - Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay
74 Jimmy Ruffin - I've Passed This Way Before
75 Barbara Lewis - Pushin' A Good Thing Too Far
76 Kim Weston - Another Train Coming
77 Soloman Burke - Cry To Me
78 Willie Tee - Walking Up A One Way Street
79 Timi Yuro - It'll Never Be Over For Me
80 Dean Parrish - Bricks Broken Bottles & Sticks
81 Trini Lopez - Sinner Not A Saint
82 Gloria Scott - Too Much Lovemaking
83 Impressions - It's Alright
84 Blackbyrds - Walkin' In Rhythm
85 Leroy Hutson - They Got Love
Hopefully, next month's one will be back to normal and with a bit of luck we'll have more new people to.
It was good to meet new people, especially those that are facebook friends of mine that I hadn't met face to face before last night.
Friday, 7 January 2011
Last night's Requestfest
Once again it was 'Requestfest' last night, and as usual a load of different songs requested. There's a trend that one or two get asked for each time by the same person, but they;re mostly different.
As well as that, you can be sure you're going to get one or two silly requests. Last night was no exception. That's the problem when you say 'fi we got it, we'll play it'. Last night we had that gem from the 80's,' The Birdie Song' and also 'Barbie Girl'. While 'Barbie Girl' was playing, someone came up to me and asked, 'Why does this get requested so often?' I replied that I wasn't surprised as it had been a number one and sold loads. He answered, 'Yes but only to kids'. I then pointed out that the kids that were 7-8 when Barbie Girl came out were now 20 & 21 year old adults. I also believe that if it was a favourite when you were a kid, it's always going to have fond memories for you. That's why I think 'Barbie Girl' gets requested so often.
There were a few more in for the requestfest last night, and so I had a whole load more requests. I have to say it's been a while since I had a request for Eartha Kitt & Shirley Bassey. But to me that's what makes these nights enjoyable. I get to dig out some songs that haven't seen the light of day for a while.
So what did I play last night? Here's the play list
1 Association - Spooky
2 Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought The Law
3 Clash - London Calling
4 Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing
5 Eartha Kitt - C'est Magnifique
6 Mick Hucknall - Farther On Up The Road
7 JLS - Club Is Alive
8 Olly Murs - Thinking Of Me
9 Haddaway - What Is Love
10 Eminem - Business
11 Tweets - Birdie Song
12 Melanie C - I Turn To You
13 Black Eyed Peas - Time (Dirty Bit)
14 Abba - Chiquitita
15 Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out For A Hero
16 Shirley Bassey - Big Spender
17 Madness - Our House
18 Blur - Parklife
19 Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
20 Nat 'King' Cole - Let There Be Love
21 Hall & Oates - Maneater
22 Blue & Elton John - Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
23 Berlin - Take My Breath Away
24 Roy Orbison - You Got It
25 Barry White - You're The First The Last My Everything
26 N-Dubz - Best Behaviour
27 Robbie Williams - Road To Mandalay
28 Aerosmith - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
29 Rod Stewart - Tonight's The Night
30 James Blunt - High
31 Alexandra Burke ft Laza Morgan - Start Without You
32 Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere
33 Rihanna ft Drake - What's My Name
34 Village People - YMCA
35 Bruno Mars - Just the Way You Are
36 Santana & Rob Thomas - Smooth
37 Nelly - Just A Dream
38 Scritti Politti - The Word Girl
39 Eminem ft Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie
40 DJ Ironik - Stay With Me
41 Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me
42 Cheryl Cole - Promise This
43 Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much
44 Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude
45 Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand
46 Snoop Dogg ft Justin Timberlake - Signs
47 Aqua - Barbie Girl
48 Chris Brown - Forever
49 Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway
50 Rob Thomas - Lonely No More
51 Gyptian - Hold You
52 Sting - Englishman In New York
53 Style Council - Walls Come Tumbling Down
54 Freda Payne - Band Of Gold
55 Rihanna - Rude Boy
56 Charles Sheffield - Its Your Voodoo Working
57 Bee Gees - Spirits (Having Flown)
58 Chris Rea - Fool (If You Think It's Over)
59 Brenda & The Tabulations - One Girl Too Late
60 Black Eyed Peas - Pump It
61 Lionel Richie - Say You Say Me
This evening it's my monthly 'Motown & More' night which I always look forward to. I'll let you know how that went down tomorrow.
I've had a few ideas for new features for the 'Pure Grooves' magazine that I'm going to work on, and a few that I could add to the blog which may make it a bit more interesting, so watch this space.......
As well as that, you can be sure you're going to get one or two silly requests. Last night was no exception. That's the problem when you say 'fi we got it, we'll play it'. Last night we had that gem from the 80's,' The Birdie Song' and also 'Barbie Girl'. While 'Barbie Girl' was playing, someone came up to me and asked, 'Why does this get requested so often?' I replied that I wasn't surprised as it had been a number one and sold loads. He answered, 'Yes but only to kids'. I then pointed out that the kids that were 7-8 when Barbie Girl came out were now 20 & 21 year old adults. I also believe that if it was a favourite when you were a kid, it's always going to have fond memories for you. That's why I think 'Barbie Girl' gets requested so often.
There were a few more in for the requestfest last night, and so I had a whole load more requests. I have to say it's been a while since I had a request for Eartha Kitt & Shirley Bassey. But to me that's what makes these nights enjoyable. I get to dig out some songs that haven't seen the light of day for a while.
So what did I play last night? Here's the play list
1 Association - Spooky
2 Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought The Law
3 Clash - London Calling
4 Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing
5 Eartha Kitt - C'est Magnifique
6 Mick Hucknall - Farther On Up The Road
7 JLS - Club Is Alive
8 Olly Murs - Thinking Of Me
9 Haddaway - What Is Love
10 Eminem - Business
11 Tweets - Birdie Song
12 Melanie C - I Turn To You
13 Black Eyed Peas - Time (Dirty Bit)
14 Abba - Chiquitita
15 Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out For A Hero
16 Shirley Bassey - Big Spender
17 Madness - Our House
18 Blur - Parklife
19 Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
20 Nat 'King' Cole - Let There Be Love
21 Hall & Oates - Maneater
22 Blue & Elton John - Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
23 Berlin - Take My Breath Away
24 Roy Orbison - You Got It
25 Barry White - You're The First The Last My Everything
26 N-Dubz - Best Behaviour
27 Robbie Williams - Road To Mandalay
28 Aerosmith - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
29 Rod Stewart - Tonight's The Night
30 James Blunt - High
31 Alexandra Burke ft Laza Morgan - Start Without You
32 Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere
33 Rihanna ft Drake - What's My Name
34 Village People - YMCA
35 Bruno Mars - Just the Way You Are
36 Santana & Rob Thomas - Smooth
37 Nelly - Just A Dream
38 Scritti Politti - The Word Girl
39 Eminem ft Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie
40 DJ Ironik - Stay With Me
41 Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me
42 Cheryl Cole - Promise This
43 Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much
44 Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude
45 Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand
46 Snoop Dogg ft Justin Timberlake - Signs
47 Aqua - Barbie Girl
48 Chris Brown - Forever
49 Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway
50 Rob Thomas - Lonely No More
51 Gyptian - Hold You
52 Sting - Englishman In New York
53 Style Council - Walls Come Tumbling Down
54 Freda Payne - Band Of Gold
55 Rihanna - Rude Boy
56 Charles Sheffield - Its Your Voodoo Working
57 Bee Gees - Spirits (Having Flown)
58 Chris Rea - Fool (If You Think It's Over)
59 Brenda & The Tabulations - One Girl Too Late
60 Black Eyed Peas - Pump It
61 Lionel Richie - Say You Say Me
This evening it's my monthly 'Motown & More' night which I always look forward to. I'll let you know how that went down tomorrow.
I've had a few ideas for new features for the 'Pure Grooves' magazine that I'm going to work on, and a few that I could add to the blog which may make it a bit more interesting, so watch this space.......
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Croaking
That's me today. My voice has got worse. I'm sounding like a frog. If you don't believe me check out tomorrow's "Flashback" show which I recorded tonight.
I've been working on next week's Pure Grooves magazine today and it seems like 'Obituary Weekly.' So far there are obits for Teena Marie, Bobby Farrell of Boney M and today we can add Gerry Rafferty to the list. Fortunately there is a lot of good stuff as well. This week's issue will be the biggest so far. All the radio shows over the Christmas and New Year period are there, and all the usual features are there as well. There's a photo gallery from a New Year's Eve event too.
Don't forget, the magazine is online only and FREE to read, so you'd be crazy not to, don't you think? The next issue is out on Monday. Don't forget to tell your friends about it as well.
I've also been working on the play list for the forthcoming "Pure Grooves" radio show. As usual lots of great tunes, some of which I've not played in ages.
I've been working on next week's Pure Grooves magazine today and it seems like 'Obituary Weekly.' So far there are obits for Teena Marie, Bobby Farrell of Boney M and today we can add Gerry Rafferty to the list. Fortunately there is a lot of good stuff as well. This week's issue will be the biggest so far. All the radio shows over the Christmas and New Year period are there, and all the usual features are there as well. There's a photo gallery from a New Year's Eve event too.
Don't forget, the magazine is online only and FREE to read, so you'd be crazy not to, don't you think? The next issue is out on Monday. Don't forget to tell your friends about it as well.
I've also been working on the play list for the forthcoming "Pure Grooves" radio show. As usual lots of great tunes, some of which I've not played in ages.
Monday, 3 January 2011
Vinyl Junkies
Over Christmas, I've been reading a book about the world of vinyl collecting, and I never realised the extent that some people go to get the vinyl they want. Obsessive is the only word I can think of. It's a great read and it makes me feel like I'm sane lol
Here are a few reviews from other readers:
Meet your fellow sufferers
If you think your vinyl addition is bad then read this book and know you are not alone! There is some comfort in that and as Milano talks to many vinyl junkies (some famous like Peter Buck of REM, and others not) you will easily recognize yourself having at least one, if not quite a few of the same compulsions. I have to confess, when I read about guys living with 10,000 LP's etc, the thought did cross my mind " There but for the grace..." etc, but I only have to look at my room crowded out by LP's to know I've easily got it just as bad (and I only have maybe 600! and growing). This book is a fun easy read, and it stays off the frivilous 'lists' and so on and keeps to its base covering all the types of collectors and types of collections you probably knew existed but never would have guessed the depths and passions of ...
Hi Fidelity - and then some!!
This book will probably be enjoyed mostly by those who have a vinyl collection of disproportionate size/value and which consequently demands similarly disproportionate attention. I am one of those people - 'disproportionate' is my wife's description. However, anyone who has a penchant for collecting should find it interesting.
The obsessive behaviour attributed to Rob Fleming in Nick Hornby's excellent Hi Fidelity is as nothing compared to some of the case studies in this book. The hunter-gatherer gene sometimes works in mysterious ways - society would be much the poorer if it didn't.
Obsessive about obsessives.
See, this is how bad I am. I thought this was a great book, but it would have been even better if it had colour photographs of all the record collections. Not each album cover, just all the spines and the shelves they were on. In fact, if somebody published a book that was just photographs of the rooms people kept their records in, I'd buy it. If you understand that, (and some people will) you'll like this book, an examination of various obsessive record oollectors, some famous and some not. it's a brief but informative and rewarding read. I'd have liked it more if it was 4 times as long, bigger being better. (As every record collector knows).
Here are a few reviews from other readers:
Meet your fellow sufferers
If you think your vinyl addition is bad then read this book and know you are not alone! There is some comfort in that and as Milano talks to many vinyl junkies (some famous like Peter Buck of REM, and others not) you will easily recognize yourself having at least one, if not quite a few of the same compulsions. I have to confess, when I read about guys living with 10,000 LP's etc, the thought did cross my mind " There but for the grace..." etc, but I only have to look at my room crowded out by LP's to know I've easily got it just as bad (and I only have maybe 600! and growing). This book is a fun easy read, and it stays off the frivilous 'lists' and so on and keeps to its base covering all the types of collectors and types of collections you probably knew existed but never would have guessed the depths and passions of ...
Hi Fidelity - and then some!!
This book will probably be enjoyed mostly by those who have a vinyl collection of disproportionate size/value and which consequently demands similarly disproportionate attention. I am one of those people - 'disproportionate' is my wife's description. However, anyone who has a penchant for collecting should find it interesting.
The obsessive behaviour attributed to Rob Fleming in Nick Hornby's excellent Hi Fidelity is as nothing compared to some of the case studies in this book. The hunter-gatherer gene sometimes works in mysterious ways - society would be much the poorer if it didn't.
Obsessive about obsessives.
See, this is how bad I am. I thought this was a great book, but it would have been even better if it had colour photographs of all the record collections. Not each album cover, just all the spines and the shelves they were on. In fact, if somebody published a book that was just photographs of the rooms people kept their records in, I'd buy it. If you understand that, (and some people will) you'll like this book, an examination of various obsessive record oollectors, some famous and some not. it's a brief but informative and rewarding read. I'd have liked it more if it was 4 times as long, bigger being better. (As every record collector knows).
You can get it here
I really enjoyed it!
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Happy New Year!
Well hello everyone! Happy New Year to you all. As you may know I've not been around for a few days so I'll update you on the goings on.
I was booked to DJ at a private party in a hotel not far from Heathrow Airport on New Year's Eve, and I looked forward to it as I knew that there were going to be a lot of my friends there. However going inside the M25 these days is a pain in the bum for me, as my van is not allowed inside the Low Emission Zone that the bods in the London Councils put in place a little over a year ago. Well let me correct that. I can go inside the LEZ if I pay them £100 per day!!! So going past midnight means that it counts as 2 days , so they would want £200.
Luckily for me my cousin lives at Chertsey which wasn't too far away, and he loaned me his van, which being newer, is allowed inside the LEZ. However he was going away for NYE so I needed to go down a day early to see him and arrange when I could pick it up. As well as that my sister lives in Farnborough, Hants, which is only about 25 minutes away from Chertsey, so it meant that I could do some visiting.
New Years Eve, worked like this. I went from Farnborough to Chertsey, emptied my van and put it into my cousin's van. The I drove to the hotel and loaded the disco in, set it up and tried it out. This was finished by around 4pm. I was also working with a swing singer during the evening who goes by the name of Joe Swing. He was going to run his backing music and microphone through my mixer, so when he arrived we set his equipment up, wired it into my system, and did a sound check.
After that I had chance to sit down and get ready for the evening, along with Joe Swing and I have to say he's a really nice guy and even though he was suffering with a cold, his singing voice was really good. If you're ever looking for a 'Rat Pack' style singer for an event, I can thoroughly recommend him. Please check out his web site by clicking on the link above.
So when it came to the night's festivities Joe Swing started the evening with a 45 minute set, I followed him for a short while playing music that followed his style, and then he came back and did his second 45 minute slot. After that I played for the rest of the evening.
My brief was to play requests and anthems that everyone would know and to go across lots of different genres, so as to play something for everyone. Well there were around 250 guests, aged between 16 - 75, so there was a wide range of people, but the majority were in their late 30s to mid 50s, so that gave me an idea of what to play.
Knowing a lot of the guests also made it easier as I knew a lot of the types of music they would like. And with requests coming in, that also helped. The great thing about New Year's Eve is that people are always up for a boogie, and this year was no exception. There were people on the floor for the whole time I played and I'm pleased to say that I had some lovely comments.
Funnily enough, I find that doing events for people you know is a two edged sword, as although it's really friendly, you sure do get some stick from them.
Anyway, here's the playlist:
Set 1
1 Bobby Darin - Lazy River
2 Dinah Washington - September In The Rain
3 Ella Fitzgerald - Desafinado
4 Nat 'King' Cole - Let's Face The Music & Dance
5 Tony Bennett - Rags To Riches
6 Robbie Williams - Have You Met Miss Jones
7 Frank Sinatra - Come Dance With Me
8 Dean Martin - Volare
9 Louis Prima & Keely Smith - On The Sunny Side Of The Street
10 Sarah Vaughan & Billy Eckstine - Cheek To Cheek
11 Louis Prima - Just a Gigolo - I Ain't Got Nobody
Set 2
12 Tymes - Ms Grace
13 Hues Corporation - Rock The Boat
14 George McCrae - Rock Your Baby
15 Trammps - Hold Back The Night
16 Amy Winehouse & Mark Ronson - Valerie
17 Duffy - Mercy
18 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas - Dancing In The Street
19 Supremes - Baby Love
20 Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
21 Freda Payne - Band Of Gold
22 Chairman Of The Board - Give Me Just A Little More Time
23 Lionel Richie - All Night Long (All Night)
24 Michael Jackson - Beat It
25 Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
26 Shalamar - A Night To Remember
27 Temptations - Treat Her Like A Lady
28 Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing
29 Barry White - You're The First The Last My Everything
30 Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free
31 Tavares - Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel
32 Alexander O'Neal - Criticize
33 Drifters - Saturday Night At The Movies
34 Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs - Wooly Bully
35 Millie - My Boy Lollipop
36 Little Eva - Locomotion
37 Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You
38 Isley Brothers - This Old Heart Of Mine
39 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Tears Of A Clown
40 James Brown - Sex Machine
41 Fatback Band - Do The Bus Stop
42 Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
43 Cheryl Lynn - Got To Be Real
44 Sharon Redd - Can You Handle It
45 Robin S - Show Me Love
46 Mousse T vs Hot N Juicy - Horny
47 Ultra Nate - Free
48 Dan Hartman - Instant Replay
49 O'Jays - I Love Music
50 Taste Of Honey (A) - Boogie Oogie Oogie
51 Shalamar - Take That To The Bank
52 Rose Royce - Car Wash
53 Earth Wind & Fire - September
54 Michael Jackson - PYT (Pretty Young Thing)
55 Various ft Queen - New Year Chimes - Auld Lang Syne - Don't Stop Me Now
56 David Essex - Gonna Make You A Star
57 Jeff Beck - Hi Ho Silver Lining
58 Roy Orbison - Oh Pretty Woman
59 Elvis Presley - Return To Sender
60 Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There
61 Chris Montez - Let's Dance
62 Chubby Checker - The Twist
63 Elvis Presley - His Latest Flame
64 Chuck Berry - You Never Can Tell
65 Ray Charles - Hit The Road Jack
66 Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody
67 Bobby Thurston - Checkout The Groove
68 Fatback Band - I Found Lovin'
69 UB40 - Red Red Wine
70 Bob & Marcia - Young Gifted & Black
71 Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking
72 Temptations - Get Ready
73 Supremes - The Happening
74 Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself
75 Edwin Starr - SOS (Stop Her On Sight)
76 Stevie Wonder - Uptight (Everything's Alright)
77 Bill Haley & The Comets - Rock Around The Clock
78 Chuck Berry - Johnny B Goode
79 Fats Domino - Be My Guest
80 Buddy Holly - Rave On
81 Eddie Cochran - C'mon Everybody
82 M People - Movin' On Up
83 Ce Ce Peniston - Finally
84 Incognito - Always There
85 Pussycat Dolls ft Busta Rhymes - Don't Cha
86 Rihanna - Rude Boy
87 Jocelyn Brown - Somebody Else's Guy
88 Michael Jackson - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
89 Carl Carlton - She's A Bad Mama Jama
90 Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
91 Marvin Gaye - Come Get To This
92 Al Green - Let's Stay Together
93 Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire
94 Stevie Wonder - My Cherie Amour
95 Temptations - My Girl
96 Barry White - Just The Way You Are
Anyway, I finished DJing at 2.15am and was chatting to friends until about 3.15 when I packed the disco up. I left it in the hotel overnight and went up to bed around 4am.
After a few hours sleep, I got up at 7.30am, loaded the disco into the van, and headed for Chertsey, where I reloaded it all into my van again. I then headed down to Weymouth.
I arrived at Weymouth at around 11.15am, to find my two sons in bed, one of them with a girly cuddled up to him. They eventually got up around 4pm, and my youngest son and I went to get something to eat. After coming back I chilled for the rest of the evening watching Morcambe and Wise on TV.
One of the things with moving to Cambridge was that I left a van in Weymouth full of equipment, and I also have a portakabin there. The van hasn't moved for around 2 years and had gradually deteriorated and during that time I've been paying rent for the van and portakabin. So this morning, I went and unloaded everything from the van into the portakabin. No big deal until you realise it was a big van with a luton body on it and it was packed. It took me from around 9.30am to 1.15 to unload it with the help of one of my sons. The van is being scrapped so that meant I don't have to worry about selling it and it will be picked up and taken away. It also means less expense.
I left Weymouth just before 2pm and arrived back home just after 6pm. I came in packed my clothes and stuff away and put my disco computer away, made a cup of tea, some honey and lemon for my dodgy throat, and sat down to do this blog.
That brings us up to date, so now I'm gonna put my feet up and chill. It's been a hectic few days and I have to say I'm glad they're over and I'm now home.
Speak soon
I was booked to DJ at a private party in a hotel not far from Heathrow Airport on New Year's Eve, and I looked forward to it as I knew that there were going to be a lot of my friends there. However going inside the M25 these days is a pain in the bum for me, as my van is not allowed inside the Low Emission Zone that the bods in the London Councils put in place a little over a year ago. Well let me correct that. I can go inside the LEZ if I pay them £100 per day!!! So going past midnight means that it counts as 2 days , so they would want £200.
Luckily for me my cousin lives at Chertsey which wasn't too far away, and he loaned me his van, which being newer, is allowed inside the LEZ. However he was going away for NYE so I needed to go down a day early to see him and arrange when I could pick it up. As well as that my sister lives in Farnborough, Hants, which is only about 25 minutes away from Chertsey, so it meant that I could do some visiting.
New Years Eve, worked like this. I went from Farnborough to Chertsey, emptied my van and put it into my cousin's van. The I drove to the hotel and loaded the disco in, set it up and tried it out. This was finished by around 4pm. I was also working with a swing singer during the evening who goes by the name of Joe Swing. He was going to run his backing music and microphone through my mixer, so when he arrived we set his equipment up, wired it into my system, and did a sound check.
After that I had chance to sit down and get ready for the evening, along with Joe Swing and I have to say he's a really nice guy and even though he was suffering with a cold, his singing voice was really good. If you're ever looking for a 'Rat Pack' style singer for an event, I can thoroughly recommend him. Please check out his web site by clicking on the link above.
So when it came to the night's festivities Joe Swing started the evening with a 45 minute set, I followed him for a short while playing music that followed his style, and then he came back and did his second 45 minute slot. After that I played for the rest of the evening.
My brief was to play requests and anthems that everyone would know and to go across lots of different genres, so as to play something for everyone. Well there were around 250 guests, aged between 16 - 75, so there was a wide range of people, but the majority were in their late 30s to mid 50s, so that gave me an idea of what to play.
Knowing a lot of the guests also made it easier as I knew a lot of the types of music they would like. And with requests coming in, that also helped. The great thing about New Year's Eve is that people are always up for a boogie, and this year was no exception. There were people on the floor for the whole time I played and I'm pleased to say that I had some lovely comments.
Funnily enough, I find that doing events for people you know is a two edged sword, as although it's really friendly, you sure do get some stick from them.
Anyway, here's the playlist:
Set 1
1 Bobby Darin - Lazy River
2 Dinah Washington - September In The Rain
3 Ella Fitzgerald - Desafinado
4 Nat 'King' Cole - Let's Face The Music & Dance
5 Tony Bennett - Rags To Riches
6 Robbie Williams - Have You Met Miss Jones
7 Frank Sinatra - Come Dance With Me
8 Dean Martin - Volare
9 Louis Prima & Keely Smith - On The Sunny Side Of The Street
10 Sarah Vaughan & Billy Eckstine - Cheek To Cheek
11 Louis Prima - Just a Gigolo - I Ain't Got Nobody
Set 2
12 Tymes - Ms Grace
13 Hues Corporation - Rock The Boat
14 George McCrae - Rock Your Baby
15 Trammps - Hold Back The Night
16 Amy Winehouse & Mark Ronson - Valerie
17 Duffy - Mercy
18 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas - Dancing In The Street
19 Supremes - Baby Love
20 Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
21 Freda Payne - Band Of Gold
22 Chairman Of The Board - Give Me Just A Little More Time
23 Lionel Richie - All Night Long (All Night)
24 Michael Jackson - Beat It
25 Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
26 Shalamar - A Night To Remember
27 Temptations - Treat Her Like A Lady
28 Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing
29 Barry White - You're The First The Last My Everything
30 Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free
31 Tavares - Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel
32 Alexander O'Neal - Criticize
33 Drifters - Saturday Night At The Movies
34 Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs - Wooly Bully
35 Millie - My Boy Lollipop
36 Little Eva - Locomotion
37 Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You
38 Isley Brothers - This Old Heart Of Mine
39 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Tears Of A Clown
40 James Brown - Sex Machine
41 Fatback Band - Do The Bus Stop
42 Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
43 Cheryl Lynn - Got To Be Real
44 Sharon Redd - Can You Handle It
45 Robin S - Show Me Love
46 Mousse T vs Hot N Juicy - Horny
47 Ultra Nate - Free
48 Dan Hartman - Instant Replay
49 O'Jays - I Love Music
50 Taste Of Honey (A) - Boogie Oogie Oogie
51 Shalamar - Take That To The Bank
52 Rose Royce - Car Wash
53 Earth Wind & Fire - September
54 Michael Jackson - PYT (Pretty Young Thing)
55 Various ft Queen - New Year Chimes - Auld Lang Syne - Don't Stop Me Now
56 David Essex - Gonna Make You A Star
57 Jeff Beck - Hi Ho Silver Lining
58 Roy Orbison - Oh Pretty Woman
59 Elvis Presley - Return To Sender
60 Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There
61 Chris Montez - Let's Dance
62 Chubby Checker - The Twist
63 Elvis Presley - His Latest Flame
64 Chuck Berry - You Never Can Tell
65 Ray Charles - Hit The Road Jack
66 Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody
67 Bobby Thurston - Checkout The Groove
68 Fatback Band - I Found Lovin'
69 UB40 - Red Red Wine
70 Bob & Marcia - Young Gifted & Black
71 Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking
72 Temptations - Get Ready
73 Supremes - The Happening
74 Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself
75 Edwin Starr - SOS (Stop Her On Sight)
76 Stevie Wonder - Uptight (Everything's Alright)
77 Bill Haley & The Comets - Rock Around The Clock
78 Chuck Berry - Johnny B Goode
79 Fats Domino - Be My Guest
80 Buddy Holly - Rave On
81 Eddie Cochran - C'mon Everybody
82 M People - Movin' On Up
83 Ce Ce Peniston - Finally
84 Incognito - Always There
85 Pussycat Dolls ft Busta Rhymes - Don't Cha
86 Rihanna - Rude Boy
87 Jocelyn Brown - Somebody Else's Guy
88 Michael Jackson - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
89 Carl Carlton - She's A Bad Mama Jama
90 Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
91 Marvin Gaye - Come Get To This
92 Al Green - Let's Stay Together
93 Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire
94 Stevie Wonder - My Cherie Amour
95 Temptations - My Girl
96 Barry White - Just The Way You Are
Anyway, I finished DJing at 2.15am and was chatting to friends until about 3.15 when I packed the disco up. I left it in the hotel overnight and went up to bed around 4am.
After a few hours sleep, I got up at 7.30am, loaded the disco into the van, and headed for Chertsey, where I reloaded it all into my van again. I then headed down to Weymouth.
I arrived at Weymouth at around 11.15am, to find my two sons in bed, one of them with a girly cuddled up to him. They eventually got up around 4pm, and my youngest son and I went to get something to eat. After coming back I chilled for the rest of the evening watching Morcambe and Wise on TV.
One of the things with moving to Cambridge was that I left a van in Weymouth full of equipment, and I also have a portakabin there. The van hasn't moved for around 2 years and had gradually deteriorated and during that time I've been paying rent for the van and portakabin. So this morning, I went and unloaded everything from the van into the portakabin. No big deal until you realise it was a big van with a luton body on it and it was packed. It took me from around 9.30am to 1.15 to unload it with the help of one of my sons. The van is being scrapped so that meant I don't have to worry about selling it and it will be picked up and taken away. It also means less expense.
I left Weymouth just before 2pm and arrived back home just after 6pm. I came in packed my clothes and stuff away and put my disco computer away, made a cup of tea, some honey and lemon for my dodgy throat, and sat down to do this blog.
That brings us up to date, so now I'm gonna put my feet up and chill. It's been a hectic few days and I have to say I'm glad they're over and I'm now home.
Speak soon
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