Thursday 28 August 2008

Blog in isolation

The Chameleons - Splitting in Two

The Chameleons used to cover ATV's 'Splitting in Two' for an encore. Reg (guitar) played the drums and John (drums) played bass. Mark Burgess threw himself into the crowd and chaos ensued.

Burgess also used to improvise snippets of The Fall's 'Rowche Rumble' and occaisionally Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart and some Beatles tune.

8 minutes of pure, manic, unsurpassed joy.

I once asked Mark Perry of ATV (via email) what he thought of the cover. He replied that he loved it and had even guested with The Chameleons for an encore at a gig at The Lesser Free Trade Hall.

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May 29, 2008 | Filed under and | Comments (View)

30 second guide to musical taste

Since I started blogging, three intelligent friends have complimented me on my musical taste and 123 people have accused me of being stuck in an 'manic depressive, 80's time warp'.

Obviously, this is preferable to being told you have abysmal taste in music and started me thinking.

So here is another in the very occasional and popular '30 second' series:

  • 'Superlative' - You love everything I love. You despise everything I despise and I have actually discovered new bands from your recommendation engine.
  • 'Unexpectedly good' - You love 'The Chameleons' who broke up before you were even born.
  • 'Excellent' - ...

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May 19, 2008 | Filed under | Comments (View)

The Story of The Who

Thoroughly enjoyed 2 hours of 'The Story of The Who' last night on BBC4. What a story it was. The ultimate rock'n'roll band. A Rolls Royce driven into a swimming pool, copious amounts of drugs, lots of girls and the premature death of two band members. During one gig, Moon was carried off stage - completely comatose. 30 years on, Pete Townshend looked visibly choked when talking about the (not wholly unexpected) death of Keith Moon and Roger Daltrey remarked 'Keith seemed to think he was invincible. He thought I am "Keith Moon of The Who".' Townshend's and Daltrey's ... Read more
April 19, 2008 | Filed under , and | Comments (View)

top 10 concerts of all time

  1. The Fall - Hazel Grove Youth Club (1979) - 'We are The Fall. Rule One: no-one gets on stage. Rule Two: no spitting. Rule Three: no requests.'
  2. The Chameleons - Salford University (1984) - The Manchester gigs just seemed so much more manic.
  3. The Fall - Stockport College (1979) - Not so much a stage as a large step. Standing three feet away from a snarling Mark E. Smith and his carrier bag.
  4. The Chameleons - Gallery (1982) - Notable for a gigantic leap by skinhead from the gallery onto the dance floor. When we left, we found him lying ...
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March 6, 2008 | Filed under and | Comments (View)

review of 'Control'

I went to see 'Control' last night which is a film directed by Anton Corbijn about the life of Ian Curtis, lead singer with Joy Division. The film is based on the book 'Touching From A Distance' by Curtis' wife, Debbie and is as much about the disintegration of Curtis' marriage when he embarks on an affair with a music journalist, Anikk Honore, as the story of Joy Division. The film was brilliant and, in particular, Sam Riley's performance as Ian Curtis was exceptional. The visual likeness was uncanny, the butterfly dancing, the eyes, the clothes, even the ... Read more
October 6, 2007 | Filed under and | Comments (View)
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