Listen Without Prejudice: #1 in the Charts!

It was teased at the beginning of the year that a brand new remaster of the classic George Michael album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 would be released in the autumn, and would also include a unreleased live performance at MTV Unplugged in 1996. Firstly, we were treated to a Nile Rodgers remix of classic hit Fantasy at the end of September, which is brilliant! Check it out on YouTube, it's worth a listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdOSUIXlI0I

Following the release of Fantasy, the nation of George Michael fanatics finally got some good news. Listen Without Prejudice would be released at the end of October, after it was delayed numerous times. It was really nice to see my timeline that week of happy fans with their new CDs, streaming it on Spotify, etc. I promised myself, being a self-professed shopaholic, that I wouldn't tap into my student loan anymore and wait until Christmas, but I caved in to the little devil on my shoulder and downloaded it from iTunes. I'm going to admit this is the first time I've heard L.W.P, due to only having Ladies and Gentlemen (G.M.'s greatest hits) and Older in my possession until recently. After playing the first couple of tracks, I was really impressed, and sat down doing my quantitative research methods reading listening to it the whole way through. Bliss! Following that, I took time to listen to the MTV Unplugged segment of the album. My favourite track from it would be Fastlove. Loved the use of saxophones in the introduction.

Pure brilliance!

I'm really glad that it made it's way to #1 in the British charts again. Well deserved, it's a brilliant album from start to finish with a great live bonus album that gives you the real feel of actually being at one of his concerts. I would sell my soul to the devil just to go back in time and see him live just once. George would have been ecstatic, and probably proud. No predicting about it...he probably would have been!

Wherever you are in the world, I want to wish all my followers a happy Bonfire Night and if you're celebrating it, keep safe but have a great time all the same.

Thank you for reading!

Duran Duran Appreciation Day 2017

Every year, on August 10th, Duran Duran fans (or Durannies) from around the globe come together to appreciate the music of Duran Duran. Now for some bizarre reason I've missed out on today 2 years in a row so this time, I was certain to prepare myself. I definitely put it down to neglecting my Twitter account for so long. It's taken me a long time to catch up with people I used to be close to. The first people I met on there were DD fans, some I still speak to, today. I'm proud to call the majority of them my friends.

Duran Duran: Uniting generations of fans since 1981.
From left: John, Roger (both Taylor), Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor

But anyway...I've loved DD for years, five almost, I discovered them when I went into Year Nine in secondary school. I honestly think now, in retrospect, 2012 was the pinnacle year for me to get into the 80s and all the good things that came with the decade, mainly the music, the bizarre but wonderful hair and make up and the hilarity of classic British sitcoms. Some mothers do indeed 'ave em! The first Duran Duran song I listened to was Save a Prayer; it was on a compilation of '80s love songs that I'd been given by my father when he was clearing out some junk and I thought it was really good, to say it was only the 3 minute version, not the full one you find on Rio. Yesterday marked 35 years since it entered the charts as a single, fun fact. The first album I got was Seven and the Ragged Tiger, on LP,  slowly completing the collection to this date. My one regret is that I wish I'd gone to see them live on the Paper Gods tour back in 2015. My best friend went to the Cardiff event and commented how incredible they still are. Envious much! That's what I get for being broke.

I would also say I've taken much style inspiration from the group. John Taylor, whatever hair length and colour he dyed it, always suited him. He was the reason why I dyed my hair bright red at age 14. Nick Rhodes showed, being male, he could flaunt make up just as well as a female! I'm not afraid to try any colour of lipstick but I'm still hugely rusty at doing eyeliner...getting there, hopefully. One step at a time I'm getting closer to preventing people thinking that I've been punched in the face. If anyone knows where I can get a decent quality 'Change Life' tee at a good price, please let me know in the comments or tweet me at @SigourneyVox - I need one for my collection, just in case another 80s weekend happens near me. I've got plans!

So, for this year's DDAD, I'm going to be playing every single Duran Duran album that I own, and swapping my regular George Michael appreciation tweets for this group, just for one day (so don't panic, I haven't gone off him! 😉) My goal is to do more with each passing year, build on my collection and keep sharing the love, that's if I remember the day of course!

Here's what's spinning on the decks tonight!

We're living on a big thing!

My beloved LPs will be first - starting from the top that is!

I'm really glad I got a record player the Christmas before last - there were a whole trove worth of treasures sitting in a box, gathering dust, and there was nothing to unleash their forgotten sound on, now there is, blast from the past here I come.

To all the others celebrating DDAD17 alongside me, have a good one!

Yours truly,

Sigourney

A Thought For This Weekend

RE: Tony Hadley Leaves Spandau Ballet

Yesterday Tony Hadley released a statement to the press stating that he had left Spandau Ballet and would no longer be a member of the group. The official Twitter page for the group would also share this, hours later. Twitter and Facebook were full of mixed reactions, some wishing him the best of luck, some wondering if there was another underlying reason, and others were understandably upset as this was a band they had been following for many years, like myself, even though, I am considerably quite young. To be honest, it's really saddening, but sometimes, things have to come to an end. I have lots of happy memories listening to such an iconic group growing up, and feel quite fortunate to have seen them once, on the last tour. I bet you, the reader, have many too. Most of the followers on my Ultravox/Spandau Ballet Twitter fan page got to see them in their 80s prime, and have spoken about how amazing they were. I wish I was that lucky.

Sheffield Arena March 6th 2015

With all that being said, best of luck in whatever you decide to do next, Tone.

- S

P.S. A very happy Independence Day to all of my American readers!

Review of Soul Boys of the Western World (Blog Mirror)

(Mirrored from an old blog dated 12/10/14)

As most of you know, the UK premiere for the all new Spandau Ballet documentary "Soul Boys of the Western World" premiered in cinemas all across the country last Tuesday, with a special live performance following that. When I was sitting watching the film with my friend, I was very surprised that there was only roughly 20 people dotted around the cinema, not many at all! I guess Yorkshire isn't home to, if any, Spandau fans. It took forever to come on, and when it did, first impressions did last! The opening part where each member discussed how they took interest to music, where they grew up in the Swingin' Sixties was really good. They were all quite cute as little boys, especially Steve Norman, where my friend was literally drooling! I liked where they all had a chance to speak, their own personal opinion about the band. The best bit, in my eye, was when they were discussing the making of the True album in the Bahamas. Definitely plenty of eye candy there, ladies! I noticed that their fan base had a higher proportion of women. Maybe because there's (at the time), five good looking men on stage, flaunting themselves in skin tight leather and luxury Anthony Price suits. Towards the middle of the film, when it flashes back to 1979 when Gary says "We don't want to lose each other" - who could possibly think he was foreshadowing the band's demise! This is the first time I've heard this - but Gary Kemp? A bully? I can't believe he picked on Tony Hadley like he did! But take it from personal experience, not everyone gets on with him. Enjoyed the bit about The Krays and Spandau living their separate lives in the 1990s, but when it got to the court case in 1999, from what I've read in "I Know This Much", it was a very stressful period in the band's history. Ten years later when they reformed, I breath a huge sigh of relief. I haven't even discovered Spandau Ballet yet (I was 10 in 2009) but a band as good as this by certain needs an excellent comeback and oh boy they sure did! What a fantastic film and a cracking good way to end it!

I was very disappointed that they only got the chance to answer only 3 questions, it would have been better if they could have answered more. 

I think the highlight of the whole night was the actual live performance at the end. TCALSS and Chant No.1 have been given a brand new, upbeat, 21st century punk sound - it was great!! It sounded just as good as the original eighties version! True and Only When You Leave were good as well!! I wish I was there in front of them!

Overall, it was a really good night and I highly recommend the film to new and old Spandau Ballet fans. 5/5!!! 

Six Months On...The Legacy Continues...

On Sunday it would have been George Michael's 54th birthday. It also marked six months since his tragic passing from heart and liver failure on Christmas Day. I would have made a post then, but I'm still quite emotional from the event, and other things came up at the very last minute so that was a bit of a push back for me but I promised myself I would get on the computer and write something.

It was very enlightening to see people flock to Highgate and Goring to pay their tributes, oh I wish I had some cash and a big toe that wasn't broken so I could go down there and show my personal respect to a man I found truly inspiring. It's nice to know his beloved dogs are okay too and are receiving the best care. However a few weeks ago I did make my own advance tribute video dedicated to him, which I don't doubt that some of you have seen already. Others have made brilliant ones too. I suggest you check out the one created by Twitter user Lady Sunshine here.

Sorry it's been a short post today, but stay tuned for the next one.

- S

Happy Birthday John Taylor!

A very happy birthday to the legendary Duran Duran bass player John Taylor, who celebrates his 57th birthday today. Duran Duran was one of the first 80s bands that I listened to alongside Spandau Ballet from the get go and John certainly had enabled me to have big dreams about my hair. First brown, then red, and then hopefully black at the end of next month. Might add a little blonde too.

All the best on your special day!

Time to crack out the Duran Duran records and partayy!

- S

Discovering... Level 42

I discovered the band Level 42 on YouTube recently. One of their videos was in my recommended feed and I decided to check them out. The song was Lessons in Love, and after I watched it, I was really impressed with them. I found one of their records in the loft, and gave it a blast the same night. By the end of the week I had played Running in the Family from side to side and was more than eager to delve into their anthology to see what other music they had produced! My best friend had been a fan of their work for many years and was more than happy to suggest tracks for me to listen to. He said that the frontman/bass player, Mark King, was truly iconic and his bass skills were out of this world, I agree!.

So, for those of you who don't know who they are, Level 42 are an English band, who had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s, So far I've only listened to the early eighties stuff and have yet to enter the realms of their '90s content. Here's a pic if you're new to them.

Top: Boon Gould, Phil Gould
Bottom: Mike Lindup, Mark King

In the space of a few short months I've really gotten to like their music and would recommend them to any newcomer to the 1980s, if you're looking for a blast for the past, or if you simply just fancy a change from what you normally listen to. Here are my favourite tracks so far. I'll provide their YT links so you can give them a whirl, if you desire.

1. Lessons in Love (1987) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt7mtdLha-c

2. Leaving Me Now (1985) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqvM0hneovs

3. Something About You (1985) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpdQQoc-gkk

4. It's Over (1987) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD1Yuev8xYw

Four tracks seems like a sparse amount to recommend, but like I said earlier, I'm still a newbie to the band and my list, in time, will surely expand, so watch this space! There's just something about them I really like. See what I did there? Pun intended, sorry not sorry!

- S

Review of Adam Ant at Leeds First Direct Arena 27/5/17

From being very young I have always wanted to see musicians that I idolised live in concert, despite not being around at the time when they were at their peak. I would listen in awe to my folks' anecdotes about their experience seeing Queen, Wham!, Electric Light Orchestra, Status Quo, Big Country etc live back in the 1980s and part of me really wanted to find the blueprints for the Tardis so I could go back in time and live the dream, but I wasn't that lucky. I saw Spandau Ballet at Sheffield Arena two years ago on the Soul Boys tour, and they were totally phenomenal. Manic Street Preachers last year at Leeds was exceptionally brilliant. I'm waffling, better get right into this...

I first knew that I wanted to go and see Adam Ant live because of the positive reviews he was getting for his Kings of the Wild Frontier anniversary UK tour prior to the Anthems one. Sadly, he had not come anywhere near West Yorkshire so I lived in hope that one day he would do another tour local to me. My prayers were about to be answered. Last September he announced the tour dates and I knew right away when I saw that he was going to Leeds I was going to be batting my eyelashes to go. I could use the excuse that it was a birthday present, after all, it was the day before my birthday. Dad let me book the tickets and the rest was history. 

We got in fairly early, provided that there was added security on the night due to the recent events in Manchester, but that was expected. It was really easy to find our seats and we got sat down fairly quickly. There wasn't much of a wait for Adam to come on the stage, and the opening to the concert I found rather amusing, the theme tune for the Grand National. The only downfall was that I'd forgot to pick up a powerbank so I couldn't take many photos and videos. Here's one of them:

Performing Prince Charming 

For 62 years old, Adam has still got the moves, and the groove that he had back in the 80s. We were treated to all the classics, Antmusic, Stand and Deliver, Prince Charming, Goody Two Shoes, Apollo 9 and Strip, but at the same time it was good to hear some of the B sides and little gems that had almost faded to grey in my mind, such as Young Parisiennes, Room at the Top, Greta X, Desperate But Not Serious, Puss in Boots. I also loved the addition of some Dirk Wears White Sox tracks too such as Car Trouble. This gave my dear old mum a long awaited blast from the past! His energy was outstanding and really engaged with the crowd, getting everyone to join in with Stand and Deliver and Prince Charming. It was nice to see people doing the old dance from the original video too. But I bet you, I wasn't the only young gun there that night that had the time of her life. Best 18th birthday ever! 

I loved that he kept the tradition of two drummers, it really gave the music that authentic feel, especially on Kings of the Wild Frontier and Antmusic. No Marco, Merrick, Terry Lee, Gary Tibbs, and Yours Truly, but still, it was like walking into a time machine and being there in the 1980s.

Definitely a 10 from me! 

VIVE LE ROCK!

- S

Where Have I Been?

Hello everyone,

I apologise for being quiet during the past couple of weeks, a lot of things have happened during that time and I don't really want to go into details about what went down. For one, I deactivated my Twitter. The drama involving George Michael's passing is still reigning supreme after his death on Christmas last year and for it to still be happening six months on is really ridiculous. And here's me thinking that I'd written enough posts about the topic. I haven't been closely involved in it, but people have been involving me in this, and when trolls attack, they attack anybody. It's got to the point where I didn't even enjoy logging on to the site anymore. I stopped accepting direct messages and outsourced conversations onto Google Hangouts. Most people said that they felt solitary behind a protected account but I didn't really have that much of a complaint, it kept most of the trolls out. What drove me to delete my page was simply that I had enough. I could return with a fresh account one day, but I have other things to concentrate on right now. Still, watch this space.

I've also had a lot of personal problems too, again, I don't want to get into them on here as I like to keep things like that private. It's put me off from going on social media as a whole and I feel really bad for not updating things here because I had a whole lot of things planned and they didn't get done, but now that college is officially over, I have quite a lot of time on my hands so I'm hoping posting will be more regular than what it has been lately. I'm hoping to do a review of the recent Adam Ant concert I attended a fortnight ago in Leeds - it was one heck of a show and certainly one of the best nights of my life. It was just like going to one of his concerts in the early eighties. At 62 years old, he has still got the groove!

But with all that being said, it's certainly good to be back!

- S

Gigs 2017

Two weeks from now I'll be celebrating my 18th birthday. It really is exciting, old enough to drink, vote, heading into higher education this September and have the right to call myself an adult - a whole boat load of things to be looking forward to. However, I wasn't just eager for this year to roll around because of this special birthday and university on the cards, I'm going to be going to a couple of gigs this year. I feel like my passion for the 1980s will be ignited further.

The first one I'll be going to see is Adam Ant, on his Anthems: The Singles Tour, in just 13 days at the First Direct Arena in Leeds. I've been a big fan of his for quite a while now and I always dreamed of having the opportunity to see him live, because I've heard a lot of good things about his recent Kings of the Wild Frontier anniversary tour and his 2012/3 Blueblack Hussar tour; he's still got the moves at the tender age of 62 years young. Crazy to think that he's that old, I always thought he was a similar age to that of my folks (who are in their mid 50s), but there you go! In September last year he announced that he would be doing another UK tour in 2017, and when he released the dates, I knew I would be working on my dad to let me go and see him in Leeds. The tickets were reasonably priced, so he said he was going to book for me and my mum (who admired him in the 1980s) to go see him on 27/5. Boy, I wasn't half a happy camper that day! I'll definitely be sharing my experiences and a few photos (if I can) after the show! So far I've heard some glowing reviews so I know for sure that I'm in for a treat.

In June, I'll be seeing Jeff Lynne's ELO at Sheffield Arena. They have been really good live so far on their Alone in the Universe tour. Originally, we were going to travel to London to see them at Wembley Stadium, but they must have gotten a couple complaints, they added extra dates in Sheffield, Glasgow, and I think there's some more. They can't forger Birmingham, that's where they hail from! Again, should be another good show!

Lastly, in November, I'll be seeing popular 1980s group Big Country at Sheffield O2 Academy on The Seer 30th Anniversary Tour. The original frontman passed away in 2001, and there's only two of the original members left, but I saw them on the same tour last September at the Holmfirth Picturedrome, and it was a good show! I've definitely got the same expectations again this time.

So with all that being said, these will certainly be good highlights of the year, and I'll definitely share my experiences and photos with you (if I take any).

See you in the next post


- S

University is nigh...

Hello everyone,

This is just a quick post to reassure you that no, I haven't disappeared off of the face of the earth, I'm still here and I most certainly haven't forgotten about this blog. I just haven't had the time to update it. Recently, I have come under a lot of pressure lately to get everything that I need to get done for college, such as tending to any assignment re-submissions that need doing, getting all my work together to be independently and externally verified, applying for student finance (which I seriously need to hurry up and sort out), a whole manner of things really. All of it has become very time consuming and I've only just found time to update things here, so sorry I've been silent for a couple of weeks whilst I've sorted out my soap opera of a life.

University is almost around the corner and I want to make sure that I achieve the best now to ensure that I keep my place and get in in September. I'm honestly glad you no longer have to do A Levels to get in, you can still get in with a set number of UCAS points from a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (which I'm doing right now). There probably won't be anymore posts for a bit until I get signed off from college the second week in June, and I know I promised a whole boat load of things a couple of months ago that I still haven't done but one day or another, I'll get round to them. Right now I want to focus on securing my future in the long run, otherwise I'm going to regret it for the rest of all eternity. All I know is this; I've got quite a long summer holiday so there will be definitely be more posting going on then.

That's all folks,

- S

My Top 10 Disney Films

Hello everyone

Recently it seems that for the last couple of weeks all I've spoke about is just negative stuff that's been kicking off in my life and online. To be honest, I'm not going to move forward if all I keep doing is cling on to the past. So from now on, I promise you guys I'm gonna keep ll of that to the bare minimum if I can. And so far, I've mentioned old television shows (briefly), and mainly music. Today I'm going to be doing something a little differently.

I'm going to be counting down my top 10 favourite Walt Disney films, even now as I enter adulthood they still have a special place in my heart. No matter what people say, you are never too old for Disney, whether you binge watch the films or collect cute little charm bracelets with timeless and classic characters on. When I was six or seven, I collected a complete set of porcelain figurines consisting of all the favourites from the movies, including Belle, Aurora, all of the Seven Dwarfs, etc. These would come out every fortnight with a magazine describing the striking features of all the dolls, little cartoon strips from the movies, puzzles and recipes so you could hold your own little Princess tea parties with cakes and tartlets.

Ah, memories! I still have all of the dolls, still in their original presentation boxes, and all 90 supplementary magazines (this was a while ago, I don't know if the figure is correct), all tucked safely in their binders. One day, if I do decide to have children, and have a little girl, I intend to pass them down to her to love just as much as I did. No matter how much people ask for them - they are not for sale! Period.

Anyway, back to the main topic, I'm harping on a bit. There were lots of different films by Disney I loved growing up, and still play them to this day. We've began converting our ageing VHS collection to DVD, and now own over 20. Stores recently have had offers on such as 2 for £12, 3 for £12 and more, so I've been definitely taking advantage of that!.

So without further delay, here are my top 10 favourite Disney movies!

10. The Fox and the Hound (1981)

9. Dumbo (1941)

8. Alice in Wonderland (1951)

7. 101 Dalmatians (1961)

6. Basil the Great Mouse Detective (1986)

5. Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1970)


























4. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

3. Cinderella (1951)


























2. The Little Mermaid (1989)

1. Bambi (1942)

And that's my list! Honestly, I could put all of them on here if I hadn't regimented myself to choosing just 10. I love them all. Admittedly, there's only a small number of them I haven't watched yet, such as Pete's Dragon and The Sword in the Stone, but watch this space, I may need to update this list one day in the near future. I don't know what I would have done with my life if I hadn't been brought up with it.

Do you have a similar list?

With all that being said, that's all for the blog today, hope you have an excellent Easter weekend, and I will see you in the near future!

- S

Story Time: My Stalker

Hi guys, hope you’re all well,

Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a long time, college may be out now for the Easter holidays, but there’s a big push to get work done now as university is looming. At least now I’ve got some time on my hands to actually post here. When I first opened this blog I talked about this being solely about my love for music, movies and everything 80s, but also, to chat about experiences I’ve had in the past online, and in real life. This is one of them. Your discretion is advised as this is a very sensitive topic and some readers may relate to this.

In April 2012 I rejoined Twitter for the second time after being hacked and locked out of my first account. As you know by now my sole purpose for joining social media around that time was to find friends and connect with fellow fans of the eighties. This edition of Story Time is a real account of when one of these 'friendships' went sour.

I received a follower request in October of the same year by a woman who claimed to be a big fan of the band Spandau Ballet, the proof was in her username really so I thought 'why not?' I followed her just to see where things would go. About five minutes later she contacts me and is very grateful for me following her back, and goes on to say that she is 27 years old, 28 years old in the morning, Italian and she has loved Spandau Ballet and other eighties groups from being very small, like me! I thought 'geez, we have a lot in common, she has an excellent taste in music! I'll carry on talking to her". At this time I could not fault her one bit, there was a bit of a language barrier and it was hard to make out what she was trying to say, but credit to her she tried her best. We would talk almost everyday about music, and eventually she went and created a private Facebook account, added me there and we would talk regularly on Messenger too, but more about general things like family, weather and pets. In a few short weeks I felt I had really got to know her quite well. She spoke very candidly about personal things, such as being brought up in a dysfunctional family environment, her father dying of lung cancer when she was a teenager etc. I felt sympathy for her and protected her when trolls struck her page. Little did I know, she was one of the biggest trolls I would ever associate with.

Eventually we would talk everyday. She got me to create an account on the popular messaging app Kik as she claimed the conversations were completely private and nobody else would see them. She was always concerned about privacy and even blackmailed me to change my profile picture on Kik to myself, using the excuse that her mother wanted to know that all of her ‘cyber friends’ were not scam artists. Things got rather desperate. She said if I didn’t do it within the next hour her mother would take a sledgehammer to her computer, broadband router and electronics. I complied, but I wasn’t going to use a personal photo of myself as I knew all the dangers that would arise. I went on Google and uploaded a photo of a model that looked like me. She bought it, thank goodness. I felt after so long that I was being suffocated by this person. She always wanted to talk, no matter what time in the day it was and if I was busy or not. I deliberately left my phone at home whilst I was at school to avoid her because there was no way I was going to let her get in the way of my education. There would be several messages demanding to know where I was and she didn’t buy for a second that I was at school. She even went public on her Twitter account talking about me, even if she wasn’t mentioning my name, I knew she was talking about me. “If she is not on by 11 o’clock Italian time I’m going to sleep”. This woman was very controlling, and expected me to believe the unrealistic lies she began to spurt. A funny one I remember is that she said that she wasn’t going to be online that night because she was going to a restaurant with her family. Four hours later she messaged me saying she was still at the restaurant, and she hadn’t been served yet! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. There was no way somebody would wait 4 hours to be served and not get any food. If I was faced with a delay that was even three quarters of an hour long I would refuse to pay and walk out.

It went on for a while and eventually I confronted her about her lies, saying I didn’t believe her for a second. She didn’t take well to this, argued with me for about an hour, and cursed me out, becoming very abusive, calling me names such as narcissistic, ugly, fat, (bearing in mind she only had the photo of the model and not me), rude and other things I do not want to repeat, in very poor grammar so it honestly became quite laughable. My mother saw the emotional distress this was causing me, seized my phone and very politely told this woman to cease and desist. I ignored her after that and at least twenty messages came through where she was trying to still provoke me. She was so desperate! Eventually I had enough of her and straight out blocked her on everything. This is where things got worse.

She stalked me and several of my best friends on Twitter, retweeting everything she assumed was about her, even if it wasn’t. But the sneaky thing was, she did not use her own Twitter account as I had her blocked. She created many fake accounts, used photos of the reality star Amanda Bynes and said it was herself, despite many sceptic followers. Soon accounts posing as her ‘friends’ would attack me, saying I was a bitch for bullying someone I didn’t really know, I didn’t know what she was going through, and that she was self-harming because of me. Now, I didn’t aim any abuse at this woman, I did call her clingy and asked her to back off on several occasions, and any insults that I threw at her, were in my own defence. Every time I blocked and reported an account, a new one would crop up. A pattern was soon forming, they all had similar grammar, so it all boiled down to one person. The excuse was someone else was attacking her, which was not true.

It was getting to the point where I didn’t feel safe on social media anymore, it was like she was constantly trawling my profiles to find what juicy gossip about me to use for her own personal gain and then when I least expected it, launch an attack on me. I had blocked her so many times it was getting ridiculous. I stopped using my real surname on Facebook and opted for something different, but something simple so my loyal friends and family could still find and interact with me. I neglected to go on Twitter for quite a while, but when I did eventually return, I locked it so people who I approved could view my tweets and talk to me. Twitter was a godsend. Eventually in November 2016, after four years of hell and dragging me through pointless drama, getting blocked by celebrities for no reason, and endless trolling, all her accounts, including two supposed Toto fan pages vanished overnight without a trace. To this day, some of her ex followers believe that she got tired of Twitter and just deactivated her pages, but I have a different opinion. I believe that she was reported a lot to Twitter for abusive language, cyber bullying and targeted harassment towards me and others, they disabled all her accounts and possibly blocked her IP address from making anymore accounts. One old page still exists today, but has not been active since October 2015. I felt a sense of relief knowing that her reign of terror was finally over. I returned to Twitter and picked up from where I’d left off from 2 years prior. I wasn’t afraid to go on Facebook again as I made sure beforehand to block all of her known accounts.

If this experience has taught me something, it’s to be more sceptical of what you read on the internet. Giving people the benefit of the doubt is completely harmless, but there’s times when things can sound too good to be true. Looking back, I was completely clueless and naïve and did not spot the warning signs until it was too late. One thing’s for sure now, I’ll know to be warier around who I add as friends on social media, and get rid of them at the first sign of trouble to be able to let go of the past more easier and for my own sanity. Thankfully, the woman, has not attempted to return to Twitter since, but still posts on Facebook from time to time. I couldn’t care less though. Only people I truly care about, whether in the cyber world or in reality, can hurt my feelings

Thank you for listening,

- S

Peace at Last for George Michael

Hello everybody,

This is only going to be a short post today.

If you didn't catch the news for any reason whatsoever yesterday, it has finally happened. George Michael was laid to rest yesterday in a private family service, attended by his partner that found him deceased, Kenny Goss, and his other nearest and dearest.

I cannot really say that I am glad he has finally been buried, but what I can say is that I am relieved that it has finally happened. It has taken a long time to happen, specially on account of the fact that it has been 3 months since he died. Hopefully now the healing process can begin for some. I know it has for me.

Rest in peace, George. I hope you're reunited with your beloved mother up there.

- S

My Favourite Eighties Albums of All Time

Hello everybody, 

I haven't posted in a couple of days, due to handling some important personal business and wading my way through a stack of assignments that are due in just before we break up for Easter. But I've got some spare time on my hands right now so I thought I'd give you guys what you wanted and do another 'Favourites' post. I was really surprised at the high number of pageviews on my recent response to all the George Michael drama that's been kicking off recently and the background of how I came to be fascinated on this subject, if you like. So thank you! You guys are awesome! ❤

For today's post I'm going to be sharing with you my favourite 80s albums of all time. My inspiration came from a good Twitter buddy of mine who recently made a video montage of her top 5 favourite albums. So I'm going to take the inspiration I got from that and apply it to this post. I'm no expert when it comes to videos, so there won't be one - sorry! 

When it comes to music, I'll listen to everything at least one, and that includes every genre, and *cough* every artist. But my main passion for it centers around the late 70s and early 80s. I don't ask for recommendations and then never follow up on them, that would totally defeat the object of asking for them in the first place. Normally it's just one track, or their greatest hits album, and if I like what I've heard, I'll listen to more. Also, I'm discovering more bands every day so, I'd safely say, watch this space, I may need to make an updated version of this post this time next month!

So with all that being said, here are my favourite 80s albums of all time, and I'll even recommend a few tracks from each one, too!

5. Duran Duran - Rio

Recommended tracks: Save a Prayer, Rio, Last Chance on the Stairway, Hold Back the Rain

4. Wham! - Fantastic (1983)

Recommended tracks: Young Guns (Go For It), Nothing Looks the Same in the Light, Club Tropicana, A Ray of Sunshine

3. Adam and the Ants - Prince Charming (1981)

Recommended tracks: Stand and Deliver, Prince Charming, Ant Rap, Mowhok

2. Ultravox - Vienna (1980)

Recommended tracks: Mr X, All Stood Still, Passing Strangers, Vienna, Western Promise 

1. George Michael - Faith (1987)

Recommended tracks: I Want Your Sex, Faith, Father Figure

And that's my top 5 favourite albums of all time! Do you have a similar list?

- S

A Thought for this Tuesday

Hi everyone,

Hope you're all well this rather fine Tuesday afternoon. For the first time in a while I'm actually quite optimistic that some good weather is forecast. I wasn't expecting to do two posts today but a lot of people have expressed great curiosity in how I began my passion for the 1980s and music. I've just posted it, so I hope you guys like it.

If you follow me on Twitter I'm not going to be posting for the next couple of days, I just really want to dedicate some time to focus on what outstanding coursework that I have and getting it right so I get the grades I need to get into university this year. So don't worry, I am coming back. It's not one of those crazy moments where I decide to leave permanently and then rock up a week later completely regretting my actions. It's just that I really now need to get my priorities straight and focus on what I want to get out of life the most. So with all that being said, Tweeps, I'll see you when I get back! A while ago, I discovered an app called Buffer in which you can schedule tweets to be posted at any date and time that you want, so this week's tweets will be coming from that source and not me. I'll also be taking time out of my studies to keep this blog updated too.

So with all that being said, here's this Tuesday's motivational quote. Hope it motivates you, even just a teeny tiny bit!

Sigourney

How Everything Started...

A lot of people have asked me how I came like and have such an obsession with the 1980s. This is my story.

As you know, I am quite young and was indeed born in the wrong generation. I would do anything just to go back to that time period for a week and get to experience it just like my folks did. However it's virtually impossible, so I'm gonna have to like or lump the fact it was never meant to be. In a previous post I said that I had my first encounter with 80s singer George Michael in 2009, when I was still, quite young. We were in the process of getting broadband for the very first time so my YouTube was basically the television and VH1 classic, since MTV is now laughably a hub for reality shows. I can remember watching the video for Last Christmas and thinking how brilliant it was, from the video right down to the vocals, and indeed, the person singing them.

The first 80s group that I started listening to properly was Spandau Ballet. My dad had a couple of 80s compilation albums lying about the house and let me borrow them. It wasn't long before I was going on to YouTube to see what other hits that they had. That Christmas I knew I was asking for the True album on CD. I feel that my passion was ignited solely about 5 years ago when my mum brought her old LP collection down from my grandmother's loft for me to look at. It was a complete treasure trove, albums from Level 42, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, Cutting Crew, you name it! Pity that I didn't ask for a record player sooner! Certainly, it wasn't long before my fairly sparse CD collection began to grow. Whenever I came into some money, or whenever we went on an outing to a place that had a music shop I would certainly come out with, on average, 3 at a time. I was running out of space, fast, that's for sure. I created a Twitter account almost 5 years ago now to share my love for Queen and music, and honestly, met some really really nice people, some that I'm still in contact with today! Yeah there's been a fair share of trolls and drama, but I know how to handle them, by simply pressing 'block'. The following Summer I introduced myself to the world of blogging and attempted to write one based on my passions for Spandau Ballet. It went on for a while and I felt that it was easy connected to a similar fan page that I was running on Facebook and Twitter, but it was a total flop out and I gave it up. I tried other blogs that also failed, and ones that admittedly, I either forgot about or simply lost interest in. However, I pledged from the get go that I would never give up on this one. I got a lot of backing from people and motivation from a very good friend of mine.

Eventually I branched off from just the music and started to develop a liking of EVERYTHING 80s, from concerts such as Live Aid, the fashion and style of the New Romantics, blue mascara, hairstyles including the famous mullet and especially the television of the 80s. My parents always used to watch the classic British sitcom Only Fools and Horses starring Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, it was so hilarious and even is today. It wasn't too long ago that I decided to invest in the complete collection boxset. The Jolly Boys' Outing will also be my favourite episode to this day. It was also the first one that I watched all the way through without skipping channels. Below is one of the best clips. Del Boy (Jason) falls through the bar and Trigger's (Roger Lloyd-Pack) reaction is hilarious!

So that's my story so far. And of course, I'm discovering new things every day so as Limahl would say, it's a never-ending story! If you're a young gun, do you have a similar story?

See you in the next post, but till then, I bid you farewell!

Sigourney

My Top 10 Ultravox & Midge Ure Songs

Hey everybody,

I'm finally back after what seemed to be the internet doomsday in our house. So following on from what I promised what was going to happen, here are my top 10 Ultravox & Midge Ure songs as of today. Honestly, the list keeps on changing all the time folks. I only just began listening to the Brilliant album that was released in 2012 and Midge's Breathe this week, so that'll be my excuse if they're at the bottom of the list at the moment, but watch this space, things might change in the near future. As well as the songs I'll provide a YouTube or Dailymotion link to them so if you're new to 'Vox you can check them out. So here we go!

1. Vienna (1980) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37w42Bfsv3E

2. If I Was (Midge Ure, 1985) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix1W065XA0k

3. Reap the Wild Wind (1982) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwMLFXaeZvE&t=2s

4. Visions in Blue (1982) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR1pGF2XOMw

5. Brilliant (2012) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxqZKyqmvKE

6. Lament (1984) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crCBoh_6IN4

7. No Regrets (Midge Ure, 1981) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NdRLYi862Y

8. The Voice (1981) - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10k3u_ultravox-the-voice_music

9. All Fall Down (1986) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yjmPSjNK1g

10. One Small Day (1984) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydywCOCr46k

Do you have a similar list to what I have right now? I know I've stated in the past I've had different preferences of what Ultravox songs that I listen to, and still like them, but my list is always changing, just like my music taste. Ultravox was one of the very first synthpop groups that I listened to, and they had such a good lasting impression on me.

Anyway with all that being said, hope you have a happy Friday, and I'll see you again soon!

Sigourney

A Thought for Thursday...

Update (15/3/17)

 Hi guys,

I apologise I haven't been here in a while. It's not been entirely drama related for like the first time in ever. There has been no broadband or WiFi at home, and computers at college now block Blogger for some reason; I've had to wait until the situation at home has improved to get back online and get posting. But with all that said, I'm back! 

A lot of things have happened over the past week it's incredible. Not only have I finally got that feeling of satisfaction because I'm finally up to speed with and getting the right grades on my coursework, I'm now officially a Miniature Schnauzer mom to Alfie, age 9 weeks on Friday. (FYI he has come from a KC registered responsible and assured breeder) Pictures to come in a later post. It's honestly a good feeling because it's been 8 years since my first dog, George passed away, and there's been a huge void in my life ever since. Now it's finally complete again! 

Also, I've finally decided on what university to go to and what subject I want to study. As of September, I'll be a 1st year Psychology student at the University of Huddersfield. It's really exciting and empowering to think that I've come this far already in my life. Crazy to believe that it's six months away! In May I'll be 18, and I'll be attending four gigs this year too. Definitely be reporting back on them ☺️☺️

As for what I promised I'd be posting this month, relax, I'm still going to do it. Fingers crossed the internet doesn't go down again any time soon! 

I just wanted to give you a little update, to assure you that I haven't given up on this blog, and that I haven't flown to the moon! As for the Fadi bashing "Lovelies" - well, they're not worth any of my time. Karma will be sought out any time soon!

See you in the near future,

Sigourney x

Today we got closure...

Hello everyone,

It's only a short post today, sorry.

But today is the day we finally got closure over the tragic and untimely death of legend George Michael. He died of natural causes, and this news is in the top 5 trending items on Twitter currently. I didn't find out until somebody had retweeted it on to my timeline. I can't say I'm relieved, but I can say I'm glad we finally know what happened. A lot of people had composed their own theories as to what happened on that fateful night. Some thought that his past had caught up with him. And now the coroner has spoken, hopefully now the body will be released back to the family and he can be laid to rest at last. At least we know alcohol or drugs wasn't involved in his death, and there was no foul play! Some of this drama was totally unnecessary.

It's been a long time awaited, and now at last hopefully some of the drama and accusations can die down now. Maybe I will return back to my Twitter account eventually. The reason I left was because the drama was getting out of hand, fans attacking, fans getting hurt, Twitter suspending the WRONG people for nothing, the list goes on. It also involved other things, but I don't wanna go into details here. Hopefully now people have got the answers that they wanted for so long, maybe, just maybe, calm may ensue. 

That's all folks,

Sigourney 

My CD Haul (Part 2)

Hello everyone!

Hope you've had a good weekend, I know mine has been pretty so-so, but that's me getting my head around a lot of things that's gone on lately, I'll save that shit for another post.

Did you like the first part of my CD haul that I posted yesterday? Well, regardless, I'm back with another one to end the week on a good note. I've got a few more planned, but knowing the size of my collection, and ones that are still currently pending, there will be at least 10 more, but I'll just see how that goes.

So let's get right into it!

1. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell (1980)

2. Duran Duran - Greatest (1998)

3. Wham! - The Final (1986) 

4. Soft Cell - Non Stop Erotic Cabaret (1981, 1996 Remastered Edition)

5. Ultravox - Lament (1984, 2009 Definitive Remastered Edition)

6. Spandau Ballet - Diamond (1982, 2010 Remastered Special Edition)

7. U2 - War (1983)

8. Journeys to Glory (1981, 2013 Remastered Edition)

And that's all for now, folks! Are some of these gathering dust on your shelves or are they on your wishlist?

Till next time,

Sigourney

My CD Haul (Part 1)

CDs have always been the pinnacle for me when it comes to gradually becoming a full on 80s collector. I've been buying them for over 5 years now, whether they were new or well loved before I purchased them (second hand). In the beginning, I had most of them passed down by parents or family members, who didn't see any need for them anymore or thought I would like them if I ever expressed interest when they were around.

They all came from a variety of places, HMV, Amazon, MusicMagpie, Ebay, everywhere. Never would I ever buy from Discogs, only in the direst of straits, they're far too expensive! The cheapest one I got so far was 1p, (with the catch of £2.80 delivery) and the dearest I got was Black Sabbath's Headless Cross (1989) for £20, but understandably it was quite rare and failed to chart, so it was worth every penny when it arrived. Some excellent tracks on there!

In storage right now I probably have over 100, but there's absolutely loads lurking in every corner of the house, and maybe some that I forgot about too! Most of them are indeed from the 1980's period, some 70s, some 90s, some post 2000, and the tiny little remainder are from the 1960s. A variety of genres too: electronica, rock, metal, alternative, pop, synthpop, Indie, you name it! My recent post explaining what was coming this month stated that I was gonna be doing some more haul posts, and this was just going to be one of them! As I've got so many recently, I'll be splitting it up into multiple posts, I've planned to do 3, but I'll see how it goes.

So with all that being said, here's part one of my CD haul!

1. Duran Duran - Arena (1984)

2. Adam and the Ants - Prince Charming (1981)

3. Spandau Ballet - Heart Like a Sky (1989)

4. U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)
















5. Duran Duran - Rio (1982)

6. Ultravox - Systems of Romance (1978)

7. Peter Gabriel - So (1986)

8. Duran Duran - Big Thing (1988)

9. Wham! - Make it Big (1984)

`10. Visage - Visage (1980)

And there's plenty more where that came from! Hope you liked the first of many of my CD hauls to come. Do you have some of these?

Sigourney