Early in 2007 Gordon Brown and his wife had dinner with Kylie Minogue in what was part of a campaign to "transform his image." Fast forward to the New Year's Honours List and the former 'rear of the year', that's Kyle of course, is rewarded with an OBE. Having said that the official word is that the award is for services to music....that is clearly an oxymoron.
On my study wall I’m lucky enough to have hanging the greatest picture in rock and roll. It’s a photograph of the greatest rock and roll band in the world taken at one of rock and roll’s greatest disasters – the Altamont concert in December 1969. This is it.
The photographer who took this picture is Ethan Russell and he sent me a signed copy. I treasure it more than most everything else I’ve collected over the years. If his name doesn’t immediately strike you his brilliant photography has probably impressed you if you’ve been a fan of rock since the sixties. He took the iconic shots on the cover of the Who’s ‘Next’, it was his photographs of the Beatles on their ‘Let it Be’ album, he took many other iconic shots of Linda Ronstadt, the Stones, James Taylor, BB King…the list goes on.
But just why is that photograph so great? There are maybe 50 fans staring up at Mick Jagger who is on a stage that was barely four feet off the ground. Those fifty people are the very tip of a huge iceberg of a crowd numbering somewhere close to 500,000 people. The Altamont free festival was the Rolling Stones idea of creating some kind of west coasts Woodstock. By the time they got back to California, after completing their coast-to-coast US tour, for the December 6 concert it had already been re-scheduled at several different locations. Twenty-four hours before the concert it was finalised at the Altamont Raceway - 50 miles east of San Francisco. It was an 80-acre plot; the biggest crowd they had ever handled was 6,500.
It was thought that something like a quarter of a million fans could show up; by early evening around 5,000 people were there. By midnight about 25,000 fans had arrived. As the gates were opened at 7am on Saturday it was a little above freezing - within half an hour the hills were packed with people arriving from all directions. Soon there was a 30-mile traffic jam, drivers abandoned their cars and walked. Doctors and psychiatrists had been hired to help with anticipated drug problems; there turned out to be numerous bad trips, many as a result of yellow pills given away as organic acid – something of a contradiction in terms.
Helicopters shuttled performers into the site, where Hell's Angels acted as security guards (probably the greatest miss-match in the whole history of rock and roll). The show was to open with Santana, followed by Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, The Grateful Dead and The Rolling Stones
Santana opened three hours late at around 1 p.m. and trouble started almost immediately. Hell’s Angels set upon a young guy; as an encore they beat up a couple of naked people and then leapt on a photographer and smashed his camera into his face, they then set about him with pool cues. Drenched in blood he collapsed and was taken care of by the Red Cross. As Santana started their third song around 40 Hell's Angels mounted the stage, carrying cases of beer. After the Angels ran across the stage to beat someone else up Carlos gave up; they managed just four numbers. After a long delay, Jefferson Airplane went onstage; they were badly out of tune. A naked spaced-out black guy clambered onto the stage only to be beaten senseless by the Angels. The Airplane's Marty Balin tried to intervene but was knocked to the ground. Jack Cassidy their bass player shouted "Will the Angels please note that when somebody's freaking out, you don't help him by kicking the shit out of him. I'd also like to announce that Marty Balin was punched unconscious in that little comic number you just saw staged and I'd like to say..." That’s all he could manage, the Angels charged into the band, and when they’d finished only Grace Slick was left untouched; the Airplane left the stage.
The Flying Burrito Brothers then played and their set went off peacefully. By the time Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young were due to play the whole stage was covered with Angels. It was doubtful whether many in the audience could see very much given the fact that it was so low. Soon after CSNY started the Angels charged the crowd, swinging pool cues at whoever was in their way. At the end of the set, stretchers were sent into the audience and bodies were passed across the stage to the Red Cross area. Next up were supposed to be the Grateful Dead, but it was decided that the Stones should go on first (In the end the Dead never got to play at all) It was around 4.30 p.m and already getting dark. Dozens of fires were lit on the hillsides, and people were packed together tighter than ever. Just when it seemed it couldn’t get any worse about a dozen Angels ploughed through the crowd on their motorbikes, and parked in front of the stage.
The Stones opened their set with 'Jumping Jack Flash', for a while things seemed almost calm. As they started playing 'Carol' there was panic as shouts of “Fire” were heard. The Angels response was to hurl themselves into the crowd and beat up a few more people. To help quieten the mood they played a slow blues instrumental before 'Stray Cat Blues', 'Love in Vain' and 'Under My Thumb', soon another fight started. Mick said: "Why are we fighting? Why are we fighting? We don't want to fight at all. Who wants to fight, who is it? Every other scene has been cool. We gotta stop right now. You know, if we can't there's no point"
The Stones restarted 'Under My Thumb' and a black guy in a green suit got involved in a scuffle with five or six Angels. Within minutes he was close to death. Menace was everywhere and Mick who was clearly frightened said. "Brothers and sisters, come on now! That means everybody just cool out! We can cool out, everybody! Everybody be cool, now. Come on…”Keith then said: "Either those cats cool it, man, or we don't play. Keep it cool! Hey, if you don't cool it, you ain't gonna hear no music!” An Angel grabbed a mike and shouted 'Fuck you!’
The first doctor to reach Meredith Hunter, the guy in the green suit, said: "It was obvious he wasn't going to make it. He had very serious wounds. There was no equipment there to treat him. He needed to be operated on immediately" Onstage Mick was getting increasingly edgy, and his voice showed it. "We're splitting; we're splitting if those cats don't stop. I want them out of the way!" The Angels onstage crowded round him, and were extremely menacing. Many in front of the stage began the start up their engines. Mick said: "Please relax and sit down. If you move back and sit down, we can continue and we will continue"
The Stones finally managed to finish 'Under My Thumb' before playing 'Brown Sugar' for the first time ever on stage. After four or five more numbers they did ‘Satisfaction’ and as it ended a helicopter pilot came onstage and told them that his was the last helicopter, and he was leaving, with or without them in ten minutes. They played 'Honky Tonk Woman', and ended the show with 'Street Fighting Man', (not their greatest ever song selection!). They piled into the helicopter with their women and friends, in all there were about twenty of them. It was a miracle that he even got the ‘copter off the ground and the Stones back to San Francisco.
Altamont was as complete a disaster. It was the day the Sixties ended.
Ethan Russell has just published a brilliant book entitled ‘Let It Bleed’ chronicling not just Altamont but the whole of the Stones 1969 tour of America. It is without question one of the best books not just about the Stones but also about rock and roll. His photography is sensational; his research meticulous, and the sheer size of the book grabs you and envelops you in its grand sweep. You can read Ethan’s foreword HERE and you can buy the book HERE.
Ethan I salute you, you’re one of rock music’s true originals. I’m also bloody jealous that you were there, but most important of all is the fact that you survived to tell us all the tale of when rock music mattered
1.Frankie Goes to Hollywood – The headline in Variety when Frank Sinatra moved out to California in 1943 to seek his fortune in the movies.
2.What links Robert Mitchum, Bob Dylan and Rod Stewart? All have tried and failed to have their wicked way with Marianne Faithful.
3. Leafing through an August 1967 copy of Rave magazine a news item jumped out at me. I quote in its entirety. "The Jonathan King - Sandie Shaw romance still blossoms."
4. Proving his sense of humour held up to the end Peter Sellers had Glenn Miller’s ‘In The Mood’ playing as he was cremated.
5. Robert Plant turned down the chance to sing on the original album of Jesus Christ Superstar and the role went to Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan.
6. The first Lennon & McCartney song to make the Billboard charts was Del Shannon’s From Me To You (it made No.77) on 29 June 1963. It was 18 January 1964 when the Beatles, I Want To Hold You Hand first charted in the US.
7. Proper annunciation is something that troubles many a DJ. Many live in mortal fear should one of country music’s leading ladies ever release Dolly Parton’s Greatest Hits
8 Brain Salad Surgery, the title of ELP’s 1973 album was inspired by New Orleans slang for a sex act favoured by at least one President of the USA.
9. “Take a small Bible with you, and read it!” – Producer, Norman Petty’s instruction to the Crickets, including Buddy Holly, on their first tour away from Texas.
10.“I wanted to be like Bowie and Jagger. Do I regret it? No. But looking back, did I look a prat? Yes.” Elton John. He's of course dwight
This is what the great Brian Peter St John Le Baptiste de la Salle Eno had to say about his helping the Liberals and his view of them as a party.
"I think they [the Lib Dems] are the only opposition we have. The Lib Dems are the effective opposition and I hope that, the election after next, they will be the opposition and maybe the one after that they will be the government."
David Cameron clearly needs someone who's had more chart hits to battle against the Lib Dems musical heavyweight. Still this is a lot better than David Steele's attempt at mixing pop and politics. In 1983 well before Tony Blair even contemplated getting his guitar out for a jam in Downing Street, David Steele had pop pretensions of his own. He cut an utterly awful record called 'I Feel Liberal – Alright' in an effort to appeal to the younger voters. The song was actually written and produced by Jesse Rae the kilted rocker who lives near David Steel in the Scottish Borders. Rae had a minor hit in 1985 with 'Over the Sea'. The cover of the Steel record illustrated the dance steps to the dance but somehow you can’t imagine anyone, even at a Lib-Dem disco, getting suitably moved to get down and par-tee.
The Liberals really are a daft bunch. Their new leader, wimpy 'Norman' Clegg, has hired Brian Eno, rock musician (of sorts -Ed) to act as an adviser on 'youth issues' and to help him fix Britain's "broken politics". Apparently this move is 'part of his mission to engage people "beyond Westminster" in politics.'
Is he stark raving mad? Brian Eno is fifty nine years old - so quite what he knows about youth issues I know not. Apart from being a member of Roxy Music and working with Bowie on his Berlin Trilogy of albums, Mr E. has been called the father of ambient music. There's no doubting Brian Eno's intelligence and his commitment, especially as an anti Iraq war figure but what's Cleggy up to getting him involved? It's our 'celebrity culture' mixed with a view that seems common in politics that people who have become famous in their field can somehow magically fix things in other fields. 'Government' and 'Opposition of all the talents'? What about the people we vote for and the Civil service?
Roger over at Celtic Lion has alerted me to some brilliant work by 'the Donald' and his people - those brave and daring souls that we've come to know as 'Team Trump'. Trump Golf Scotland is the place. The opening photos show just how lovely the dunes on the Aberdeenshire coast, where the Donald plans to build the two best courses in the world, can look on a sunny day. When the opening sequence ends there's a letter from the Donald, at least I think it's a letter because it's signed by none other than the great man himself. It opens with this paragraph
"Donald J. Trump is the ultimate definition of the American success story, with his interests in real estate, gaming, entertainment and sports, where he has built a number of world-class golf facilities. His newest golf-related project takes him to Scotland, the home of golf and the country where his mother was born."
It's litle wonder that Ivana (the former Mrs. Trump) referred to the great man as 'The Donald'. He clearly sees himself in the third person too.
It goes onto say.
"The project will only strengthen Mr. Trump’s connection to Scotland, where his mother grew up in a simple croft (a small agricultural land unit found in northern Scotland) on the Island of Lewis in Stornoway."
Excuse me for being cynical but that's pure tosh. The 'letter' goes on to talk about all the developments that DJT has around the world, you'd be forgiven for thinking he owns Manhattan after you read it. Strangely there's no mention anywhere on this web site of the houses that he plans to build in Aberdeenshire.
The letter finishes with a flourish.
"An accomplished author, Mr. Trump’s fifth book, How to Get Rich: Big Deals from the Star of The Apprentice, became an immediate bestseller on all lists."
It's currently at 538,543 on Amazon UK
This picture will soon be a rarity as Rosslyn Chapel have decided that cameras will no longer be allowed inside the building. Not, as you might think, because there is an issue with damaging the building in some way. Colin Glynne-Percy, Rosslyn Chapel director, said he had taken the decision on health and safety grounds. "We have had reports on a regular basis of people falling as they walk through the chapel while looking at the screens on their cameras so we have decided to ban them. We have taken the decision because we are trying to pre-empt further accidents as the floor is very uneven and badly cracked. We also have to be aware of flash photography in such a small enclosed space causing epilepsy"
The H & S Taliban strike again. They are taking over the world. It is of course an extension of the HR culture that is creating an economy that will soon be in crisis as the non-productives take control. Soon we shall be asked not to leave home in case we are involved in some avoidable 'situation'.
This just in from our China correspondent. "The havering on blog is blocked in china! Congratulations, you're up there with the BBC news site and Wiki. The Chinese net police must have an issue with your politics or something... Cheerio from an equally frosty village somewhere near the top of Sichuan province."
Jamie's the son of a friend who was at the Rudsambee concert n the kirk. I'd sent him the link to the blog so he could look at the video. Luckilly the Chinese don't block YouTube - obviously much less subversive.
According to the BBC web site. "The Trump Organisation is dismayed at the political attacks. These attacks are more than misguided, they are malicious, inaccurate and potentially destructive and they threaten to once again endanger a £1bn project which has the overwhelming backing of the north east of Scotland. The politician responsible should cease and desist before real and permanent damage is done."
It's great isn't it? A foreign commercial organization telling democratically elected members of parliament of another country to 'cease and desist'. Can you imagine if it were a British company telling American senators to do the same?
Back in June I posted Netherlands as my record of the week. I'm going to do it again as I've just heard that yesterday Dan Fogelberg has lost his battle with cancer and died at his home in Maine. As I said in the earlier post Dan is almost an unknown in Britain and it's a shame. Besides this album he made maybe twenty or so in a career that began back in 1968. He is for me one of the great American singer songwriters. More so because he captures the essence of rural America better than most all of his contemporaries. There's a brilliant song of his called 'Tucson, Arizona (Gazette). It ought to be a movie...
It was our coldest morning so far of the winter - minus 9. But with a clear blue sky, everywhere looked beautiful and everything was covered with a frost.
We live at over 700 feet and so flooding is never likely to be a problem for us. Even the River Whiteadder (pronounced whit-adder) that runs into the Tweed is 50 to 70 feet below us. And yes there’s also a River Blackadder that’s also a tributary of the Tweed, but I digress. Sir Michael Pitt, the man asked to look into the floods of the summer by the government has said on the BBC, "We're trying to raise the priority of flooding, putting it on a level somewhat similar to terrorism."
Among 87 recommendations, the review suggests the public should act more responsibly (that’s a laugh – Ed), there should be more flood-resilient buildings, and greater leadership from local authorities.
He says that there is, no national flood emergency plan, no clear responsibility for dealing with urban flooding and no systematic stockpiling of emergency equipment, such as boats.
Of course this is all well and good and I cannot begin to imagine how awful it is to be flooded but it’s al a little bit too late and probably unattainable. The fact is local authorities have allowed building on flood plains on a massive scale and this cannot be undone. Furthermore the idea that somehow we can really plan for this is just setting up a massive what if scenario that is more than likely never to come into play. We need to accept that the price of progress (?) is that sometimes things will go wrong. There never can be a total solution to these type of situations.
This is fundamentally all about ‘politics’. Governments need to be seen to be doing things and so they set up reviews. We should be concentrating on the causes not looking for solutions once its all gone wrong.
This evening it's our second annual Rudsambee Christmas concert in the lovely Cranshaws Kirk here in the Lammermuir Hills. Afterwards it’s mince pies and mulled wine in our tiny village hall - Cranshaws is hardly a village as it consists of less than a dozen houses. After that there will probably be malt whisky supped sat around Dave's log fire. Life doesn't get any better.
Rudsambee sing a cappella (probably my favourite kind of singing). Their material includes mediaeval motets, renaissance songs from Scotland and elsewhere, and wonderful pieces from Africa, Asia, the Americas and all corners of Europe from Bosnia to Finland. Original settings of Scots and English poetry are a feature of their repertoire.
A recent survey by Microsoft of 500 top businessmen deemed these to be the skills required to succeed in the workplace. Clearly they don't apply to the role of Prime Minister.
Call yourself a Prime Minister? As I've said often on this blog and even more often in real life, Gordon Brown's abilities to be a leader are sadly lacking. They were on display yesterday over the Lisbon signing of the EU Treaty. First he goes to the House of Commons where he put on a petulant and moody display in front of the MP's Committee. Then he turns up late in Lisbon because the sixth-former’s club that surround him in Downing Street obviously decided this was the way to show he wasn't really a party to the treaty. The fact is he signed it, we as a country have signed up to it and that's that. All Gordon Brown has succeeded as doing is to further undermine his leadership credentials, while at the same time embarrassing Britain. In the long run this is another nail in his coffin and a severe dent for Britain within the EU. Whether you agree with being a member or not, we are, and we should be showing a whole lot more class. We're either a world player or a bit part player. Brown is doomed.
And in response to the question the answer is clearly NO! But then again who did? No one voted for him as PM, it was just a case of no one stood against him. He knows that, he realises that he's unloved and unliked and that's a big part of his undoing. Like him or loath him Tony Blair had the confidence of a winner. Gordon Brown has the smell of defeat clinging to him.
Mention Ike Turner's name an most people will immediately think, wife beater and the probably the untalented one out of Ike and Tina Turner. Yesterday Ike died at his home in San Diego aged 76 and while I'm not for one second condoning what he did to Tina it's sad that is what he will chiefly be remembered for. The fact is he should be remembered for his music and none more so that Rocket 88 the song he recorded at Sun Studios with Jackie Brenston in 1951. While it is Jackie's name that appeared on the record it is Ike's song - he conceived t and played on it. For many people this is the first rock and roll record.
It was Sam Phillip’s first hit and Brenston was a member of Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm band and Ike told me when I interviewed him in Memphis , “It was my record, they just didn't put my name on it”. Howlin' Wolf also got his break through Ike Turner in 1951. Ike was Sun’s part time scout and he took the big man to Sun where he recorded ‘Moanin’ At Midnight’ and ‘How Many More Years’, which became his first single.
Ike's fantastic records with Tina - and none better than ‘Nutbush City Limits’ with his amazing guitar chops - have a special place in the history of pop. As is all too often the case the personal life of some of our musical heroes gets in the way of just loving the music.
Donald J Trump - reality TV star, real estate developer, entertainment mogul, casino owner, the hairdresser’s friend, and son of a Scottish woman from the Isle of Lewis. He’s also a man who, as almost everyone in Scotland knows, is planning to build the best golf course in the world right here in Scotland. Move over St Andrews; move over Loch Lomond, and all you other jumped up Scottish, so called, golf courses, ‘the Donald’, as his former wife used to call him, is, much like Santa Claus, coming to town. A man who is not so much eye-candy and candy floss hair.
Trump is a brand, why even the BBC news is referring to ‘his people’ as Team Trump. Have you ever heard anything so daft? Every time his name is mentioned it’s preceded by the word – billionaire, in order to make us all believe that here is a man who can do no wrong. Of course that’s not quite true. Back in the early 1990s he almost went to the wall when his Atlantic City casino, it too cost a billion (do all his developments cost a billion?) and was built with money from high-interest junk bonds ran into trouble. Such was the level of debt servicing that was required that it ate through most of his companies cash and almost finished him. Trump had to file for bankruptcy protection.
Since then it’s true that his building projects, many of which are called ‘The Trump International Hotel and Tower’, followed by the name of the place where they’ve been built, seem to be successful. However, that too is not entirely true. Several in the USA are struggling and may not make money. On another there are a number of lawsuits pending. Now of course these are the everyday occurrences in the world of mega business where it’s not all about profit, there’s always a cost line and no such thing as a certainty.
The trouble here in Scotland is the way most everyone is behaving; from, Alex (no I met him in my capacity as a constituency MSP) Salmond to ordinary folk the BBC doorstep for a comment. You’d think that Trump only has to say he’s going to build something and it will just be a runaway success. How many of them know that it’s not all the Donald’s money that finances these projects, it’s done with borrowings and investors. Trump is a risk taker – yes, but he’s also a salesman first and foremost.
Trump has a number of golf resorts around the USA and at least one in the Caribbean. One of his US developments in Westchester County, New York took four years to get under way due to local opposition; another one didn’t even get off the ground. The fact is the Aberdeenshire development is a big departure for the Trumpies. It’s a long way from home and the rules of engagement are different here. So far he’s managed to wow just about everyone. Not though Mr Ford, who was the councillor whose casting vote carried the planning group’s objection to the project. Ford has now been voted off that committee by 26 votes to 10, although it should be pointed out that 29 councillors didn’t vote. It makes you wonder what they really think? How are they feeling today?
The plan to build all these houses and the huge hotel and the two best golf courses in the world may look great on paper but there’s a big question mark against it working in Scotland. The whole mentality of the market here in Britain is different from the USA. And just who is going to buy those 500 homes? And are any of the houses going to be ‘affordable homes’ in his gated community?
Donald Trump may be able to walk on the water, but does he blow-dry his own hair? We may well know the answer to the first question in due course, the second probably never. But whatever way you look at the Trumptown saga, whichever side of the argument you’re on, there’s little doubt that it damages the credibility of the local planning mechanism. Add to this the fact that the whole sorry mess is one built on ego and greed. John Swinney is going to have to think long and hard about all this, at least you’d like to think he will, because he’s not only the Minister for Finance he’s also Minister for Sustainable Growth.
I wonder if, once the housing development is finished and the golf course too, locals and tourists will be able to wander freely across the area. The right to roam is something that cowboys understand; let’s hope the Donald does too.
In the comments about the British Invasion story Neil Sedaka's name came up and it reminded me of what is my favourite song about John Lennon. Sedaka's parents were Turkish (father's side) and Polish/Russian (mother's side) so he felt strongly about the whole concept of being an immigrant. Sedaka was inspired to write the song to contrast the U.S. government's refusal to grant Lennon resident alien status. The lyrics are brilliant.
Harbours opened their arms to the young searching foreigner
Come to live in the light of the beacon of liberty,
Planes and open skies, billboards would advertise.
Was it anything like that when you arrived?
Dreamboats carry the future to the heart of America.
People were waiting in line for a place by the river
It was a time when strangers were welcome here.
Music would play, they tell me the days were sweet and clear.
It was a sweeter tune and there was so much room that people could come from everywhere.
Now he arrives with his hopes and his heart set on miracles.
Come to marry his fortune with a hand full of promises to find they've closed the door, they don't want him anymore isn't anymore to go around.
Turning away he remembers he once heard a legend that spoke of a mystical magical land called America.
There was a time when strangers were welcome here
‘The Immigrant’ was written in the 70s during Sedaka's comeback years. His song writing talent has often gone over looked as he writes pop songs - not something that warrants much attention as an art form. In actual fact it is probably the most appreciated art form in the world. Sedaka’s ‘The Hungry Years’ dates from this purple patch of creativity, as does ‘Laughter in the Rain’, ‘Should have never let you go’ (one of the most romantic songs about lost love that I know) and ‘Solitaire’. All were written with Phil Cody, for more on Phil click HERE.
There's a straw poll, the early 19th century attempt at an opinion poll. Then there's a straw vote, one that's taken at a meeting to see 'unofficially' how things are standing. There's the drowning man who clutches at straw, the last straw and a man of straw. Then of course there's Jack Straw, the man who was executed during the Peasant's Revolt in 1381 for murdering some Flemish people. He was so infamous that even Chaucer wrote about him, albeit only six years later, in the Nun's Priest's Tale.
There's an interview in today's Daily Telegraph with David Cameron. In it he says, "As the first Tory leader to have done a walkabout in Sauchiehall Street without being headbutted, I think it's a great badge of honour." I think this is the second time he's cracked this gag and it's bloody stupid. Has he any idea how out of touch it makes him sound? How patronizing, despite his carping on about how in touch with Scotland he is. Hearing things like this makes me believe that old Etonians really do live in some kind of rarefied, aspic-clad, atmosphere. Despite his protestations of 'ordinaryness' he should perhaps get a few people around him who understand a little bit more about real life, ask their advice and then take heed.
Oh and by the by, no Tory leader has ever been headbutted in Sauchiehall Street - making him an even bigger twirp (an under used word for my money!)
There's a fascinating article in yesterday's Guardian by Mather d'Ancona entitled 'Rallying Opinion Online'. It's subtitled, 'Bloggers are transforming the way opposition politics works - soon the web may create and put forward its own election candidates.' A friend emailed me to ask, "Does anyone else see parallels between the rise and rise of the blog and the widespread distribution of the political pamphlet, which seventeenth century governments tried impotently to control?"
Of course the short answer is yes, but it got me searching through my library to read whatever I could about political pamphlets and to see what other parallels could be drawn. I soon came across something Mr Johnson said back in 1760 or so. "Most schemes of political improvement are very laughable things." Some things it seems never change. Elsewhere I found some interesting comments about how people in the 1760s 'knew the ruling society was inevitably corrupt in some of its dealings." In particular 'the buying and selling of votes and seats was commonly practiced.'
In 1763 John Wilkes wrote in his North Briton newspaper that ministers were 'the tools of despotism and corruption.' Six years later Wilkes won election against a government opponent at a by-election. The government declared the it null and void after bonfires were set light in London in celebration; Wilkes was arrested. While he was in prison his losing opponent was declared the winner. Of course this is where the comparisons end as something like that would never happen. Would it?
Ed 'Go' Balls has just been on Channel 4 news. It was utterly bizarre. He talked in political riddles. He even announced how much education standards had risen in the last ten years. So why all the changes if it's doing so well? Still it's only the English that are in trouble as education is devolved. ( Hang on - A study of primary-age children in 45 countries and provinces saw Scotland fall from 14th place in 2001 to 26th position in 2006 in the international league table of literacy.)
See what a little complaining will do. A few weeks ago I got on my hobby horse and complained about VisitScotland's shameful under-treatment of Duns on their web site. Well lo and behold the Duns entry has been rewritten and is now substantially bigger than most every one of the other Border towns. Sadly they haven't added it to their map on the web site, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.
Unfortunately they've taken some of the information from I know not where as they claim Duns is near to Greenknowe tower. In actual fact it's 12 miles away and nearer to Melrose than Duns. VisitScotland also claim that the "small kirk at Ellemford" is nearby to Duns. The kirk at Ellemford was destroyed a hundred years ago and now all that remains are a few grave stones. I'm being picky I know but you'd think they could get it right.
For those unable to wait for New Year's Day to watch Tony Palmer's Vaughan Wiliams film on Channel 5 then just go HERE where you can order it. There are lots of other treats there too, including his film on Maria Callas.
In the letter from the BBC to Tony Palmer it speaks of 'findability', not a real word. I watched Question Time on BBC News 24 yesterday and James Rubin, the former Assistant Secretary of State, used the word 'Weaponize' - it was said in the context of 'arming' a nuclear weapon. Oscar Wilde wrote in 1887 that `We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language'. The BBC is doing the best to ensure that even that difference is eradicated. It was George Bernard Shaw who said, "England and America are two countries divided by a common language."
There is no composer, pop or classical, that I revere more than Ralph Vaughan Williams. His, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, is probably my favourite piece of music . I saw it performed in Texas by the Houston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Alexander Gibson in 1985 and it moved me to tears. All RVW's symphonies are brilliant, but his Sea Symphony (No.1) and A London Symphony (No.2) are my most played. Next year is the 50th anniversary of this quintessentially English composer's death. To celebrate it Channel 5 are showing a two and a half hour film at midday on New Year's Day. The film, made by the brilliant Tony Palmer, is, you might think, an unusual thing to find on the fifth channel, surely BBC2 or BBC 4 would be the natural place for such a programme.
Apparently Tony Palmer offered the programme to the BBC but they rejected it with this letter.
Dear Mr Palmer, Thank you for your enquiry about the composer Mr V Williams. Having looked at our own activity via the lens of find, play & share, we came to the conclusion that a film about Mr Williams would not be appropriate at this time. This is essentially because we are... reconstructing the architecture of bbc.co.uk, and to do that, we need to maximise the routes to content. 'We must establish the tools that allow shared behaviours, and so harness the power of the audience and our network to make our content more findable. We have decided to take a radically new approach... and therefore free resources for projects of real ambition... So, given that this is the new vision for Vision, you will understand why a film about Mr V Williams such as you have proposed does not fit our remit. But good luck with the project, and do let me know if Mr V Williams has an important premiere in the future as this findability might allow us to reconsider.'
The BBC claim to have no knowledge of the letter having been sent and say they are planning their own programme about Vaughan Williams. There is a great article in the Observer today with more on the story of why the BBC seems to have an alterative cultural agenda to the rest of the country. It appears in the same week that the BBC we hear are BBC are making a new version of the Nativity, with Joseph and Mary as asylum seekers turned away by Britain - read more in the Spectator. You really couldn't make it up.
I’ve been a jazz fan for just about as long as I’ve been a music fan. Amongst the many 78s my Dad and I bought at jumble sales were big band jazz, as well as trad jazz records. I’ve also loved the sound of great piano playing. Both my maternal grandparents played piano, my grandad was a piano tuner - it’s the one instrument that I’ve always wanted to play. Sometime in the late 1960s I read about Errol Garner’s ‘Concert By The Sea’ and immediately added it to my list of ‘must have’ LPs. I bought it from another jumble sale, probably in 1968 or 9 – it turned out to be a revelation.
I knew nothing other than what I’d read of Errol Garner and one of the things I recall learning, early on, was that he was unable to read a single note of music – neither could my piano tuning grandad, he did it all by ear. Garner was born in Pittsburgh in 1921 and began working in a New York nightclub in 1944. He started out subbing for Art Tatum in a trio that became the Slam Stewart Trio in 1945 – the three-piece remained Garner’s chosen musical vehicle for the rest of his career.
Garner’s first notable success was when he composed what has become a standard – ‘Misty’. While he made numerous records nothing compares to his ‘Concert By The Sea’ that was recorded on 19 September 1955 in a converted church in Carmel, California. Even with the problems of a slightly out of tune piano (my grandad would have fixed it) and some dubious acoustics, it is just the perfect piano trio recording.
The Garner style is one that is totally self taught, with no formal training or limitations and of the tunes on this album ‘They Can’t take That Away From me’, ‘Teach Me Tonight’ and ‘Autumn Leaves’ are my favourites. His style was very different from his contemporaries in that his left hand was a ‘rhythm hand’, just listen to the opening of ‘l’ll Remember April.’
‘Concert By The Sea’ has been called flawed, and it is, but it remains one of the greatest testaments to the art of piano playing that I know.
In the Scotsman today there's a report on Jim Mather and the SNP wanting to fast track decisions on wind farms shows how the SNP's attitude has changed since they came to power. Back in January 2007 Alex Salmond said. "There is a real difficulty with public acceptance of onshore wind. There should be a cap on future developments. We should concentrate the development of onshore wind into suitable areas." He also said that financial support for onshore wind farms should be looked at again as he believed there was a danger onshore wind developers were getting too much financial support.
Now I'm sure that our First Minister and the SNP will argue that there's no contradiction here, but has anyone heard them mention a cap on wind farm development or a cut in subsidies since they were elected? The SNP should be ashamed as all they are doing is encouraging the on shore renewables industry. We are fast approaching the tipping point where the effect of wind farms on people's homes and lives; our tourism and our environment is irreversible. This isn't about saving the planet, it's about big business, and landowners, making millions out of the destruction of our natural heritage.
A 62 year old woman who admitted drinking at least 14 vodkas (she says she lost count after 14) as she celebrated the new millennium has been awarded £7,000 in damages after she fell into a stream while first-footing. She sued Aberdeenshire Council for damages after she tripped over a dilapidated fence bordering the stream, fracturing her spine. Her lawyer had agreed with Aberdeenshire Council that £35,000 was a reasonable estimate for the loss and injury but Sheriff Kiernan McLernan ruled that Mrs Trueman was 80 per cent responsible for the accident and reduced her damages award to £7,000. According to the woman. "I deserve a lot more money. The past few years have been hell, and it's the council's fault." It’s yet another example of a world where personal responsibility is being taken out of the equation. The daft drunk should not have got a penny.
Aberdeen City Council is to allow the public another chance to vote on the design of a statue to commemorate Robert the Bruce following claims that the previous round of voting was "flawed". Meanwhile Aberdeenshire Council has rejected Trumparama by 8 votes to 7. What's interesting in all this is the fact that there are 40 councillors. Now it seems to me that something so significant should be decided upon by the whole council.
Meanwhile the Scotsman is running the headline 'Rejecting Trump's golf resort 'would deter global investment in Scotland' after a number of MSPs have branded the council as loony (or words to that effect). I have no doubt that it will be a blip on the graph of inward investment if it is rejected, but there seems little chance that it will be. More to the point is will it be a success. methinks Trump is bringing a US style golf resort and hosing complex to the UK and I'm not so sure the model will prove effective. Still it is his money....
The Scotsman printed most of what follows in their letter's column this morning.
The poisoning of three red kites in Perthshire has rightly been condemned by everyone from the RSPB to game keepers. But where do we draw the line? Apparently Scottish Natural Heritage think it's acceptable for wind turbines to kill these magnificent birds. Why do I say this? Because they have withdrawn their objection to a wind farm at Fairburn in Ross-shire because. According to SNH, "(the) loss of an additional one bird every one or two years, whilst not trivial, is going to be small in comparison with the likely loss of birds to the combined effects of persecution and natural mortality."
SNH admits mortality is already high enough to limit the northern population of red kites, so why support something that is going to make things worse? Simple, you introduce "appropriate mitigation" to reduce the killing. This amounts to "the bagging and removal of gralloch (deer offal) from the site." Their second 'act of mitigation' is even more bizarre. "Post construction monitoring of red kite use of the wind farm area during its operation and associated mortality." Now excuse me for being cynical but once the turbines are up it's all going to be a bit late. What do SNH propose doing, having a quiet word with the red kites? This is what Quangos do, cover their posteriors while the rest of us foot the bill.
This amazing photograph was taken on
16th October 1939, the Second World War arrived in Britain by way of Scotland and more precisely Edinburgh when nine Junkers Ju-88 attacked the Rosyth Naval Dockyard, on the north shore of the Firth of Forth; it was the first attack on Britain by the Luftwaffe.
Around 2.30 p.m. the German aircraft were sighted, and Spitfires of 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force, were scrambled from RAF Turnhouse (the site of modern day Edinburgh airport) to intercept the raiders. Additionally Spitfires from 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron, based at RAF Drem located to the east of Edinburgh, in East Lothian, were on patrol at 20,000 feet.
At around 14.35 hours, the Luftwaffe bombers began their attack and were met with anti-aircraft fire. The Spitfires of 603 Squadron that had taken off from Turnhouse were the first to engage the Junkers and soon shot down one of the bombers. The Spitfires from 602 Squadron were then ordered into the attack and they shot down another. During the action the Royal Navy suffered 3 officers and 13 ratings killed and a further 44 wounded on board the light cruisers, HMS Southampton and Edinburgh, and the destroyer HMS Mohawk. There were also two people injured on the ground in Edinburgh by falling shell cases.
Forty five years ago today in 1962 it was also a Tuesday. A young drummer from south east London had been playing with a group of blues fanatics led by a young lad from Cheltenham called Brian Jones. The drummer's name was Tony Chapman and the group he'd been in before joining Brian's band were called the Cliftons and their bass player was called Bill Perks, although he was already calling himself Bill Wyman 'on stage'. Tony went round to Bill's house and played him some tapes of what The Rollin' Stones were playing; it was mostly Jimmy Reed songs. Tony and the Rollin' Stones needed a regular bass player and he suggested Bill went to The Red Lion in Sutton to meet one of the members.
And so on Tuesday 4th December Tony and Bill went to Sutton where a reasonable crowd was listening to Glyn Johns and The Presidents (Glyn would go on to produce the Stones, the Who and Led Zeppelin to name but a few). In the interval Bill was introduced to Ian Stewart, who suggested he went along to their rehearsal on Friday (7th December).
Bill went with Tony to the Wetherby Arms pub in Chelsea where they entered through a side door into the back room. According to Bill, "I met Stu again, and then Mick, 
who was quite friendly. I was then introduced to Brian and Keith, who were at the bar. They all had hair well over their ears and looked very scruffy, all bohemian and arty. They were very cool and distant, showing little interest in knowing me. We brought in my equipment in and set it up, suddenly everyone was interested. I had my old homemade bass, my wardrobe size bass cabinet and a spare Vox AC30 Amp that I’d bought on hire purchase in August. I was dressed in a suit and tie, as I thought a band should dress, it did not impress them but my equipment did!" And the rest is history....
Wendy Alexander would probably deny that she's clinging to the wreckage but that's certainly what it feels like. Her ability to hang on in is in reality no ability at all. Laying low and not facing either her colleagues in Holyrood or a full on press conference means that it's no great feat. The fact is she can do little else as she must be 'under orders' from Westminster because, as almost every commentator has pointed out, if she goes so does Harriet Harmen. Sir Alistair Graham, the former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life has said it is surprising that somebody of WA's experience had run foul of the regulations and "clearly wasn't aware of the detailed rules". Meanwhile the press in Scotland have, I think, given her a relatively soft ride. Is it because they fear the alternatives? The fact is it seems that WA is the best the Labour have to offer, the one most likely to give the SNP a run for their money. However, if this goes on very much longer even with the public's short memories it could send Scottish Labour into the dark ages. With no effective Tory or Lib Dem opposition Scotland seems doomed to an SNP hell bent on independence.
If you are wondering why the sporran was created, wonder no more. It’s simple; it’s an iPhone holder. Off to meet our friends who were arriving at Edinburgh airport I decided to wear my kilt (Deidre was born in Glasgow, but has lived most of her life down south so I wanted to welcome her home appropriately dressed)
Are the big-beards in ZZ Top the same two guys that were there when the band started or have they been replaced?
A few ideas to get started....
Mercurial – an artist who sometimes good, sometimes crap and probably difficult too
Near legendary – old, trying to make a comeback
Musical differences – We hate each other’s guts…. and music
Semi legendary – Hardly heard of
Classic album – One that everyone has in an older format that record companies now want us to buy, in the new industry standard format (with bonus tracks).
Stage presence – Anyone whose playing is acceptable, though not outstanding, but on the other hand is great to watch.
Eponymous – Lacking in wit and imagination. Is it only the music press that uses this word? Has anyone ever seen it used elsewhere?
New Age – When added to the word music it normally means a dearth of melody and a surfeit of tinkley bits.
Angel Dust – A street name for the drug PCP, but also a term oft used by musicians to describe what they would like the producer to sprinkle on the track to turn it into a great big hit. And in some cases to merely make it passable.
Cult Classic(s) – A track or band that hardly anyone remembers but the marketing people needed something to put in the press release to give it or them some gravias (or even reason to exist)
Certain bands or singers wil always be associated with particular groups of people or jobs, for starters.....
Road rage sufferers - That Petrol Emotion
DHSS employees - UB40
Latin scholars - Ultravox
Architects - Kraftwerk
Barrel makers - Alice Cooper
Poets - Alison Limerick
Detectives - The Thompson Twins
Xenophobes - Foreigner
Foreign office diplomats - China Crisis
Greenkeepers - Supergrass
London’s Environmental Health Department - Boomtown Rats
Captain's of industry - Chairmen of the Board
Ice-Cream Makers - Heatwave
Marxists - Scritti Politti
The RNLI - Lighthouse Family
So we have Wee Wendy accepting illegal campaign donations and thanking the guy in a personal letter while for a while saying she knew nothing about it. Add to that our beloved first minister calling Tony Blair's family "revolting." And these are the people who want to lead us? They expect our respect when truth is they are no better than some of the worst of the contestants on Dragon's Den. It's popular to say that the electorate gets the politicians it deserves, but surely we are not that bad?
