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
Thursday, 29 June 2017
Tuesday, 20 June 2017
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
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.
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| 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
Saturday, 10 June 2017
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:
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| 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
Wednesday, 7 June 2017
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
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
Sunday, 14 May 2017
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
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
Wednesday, 3 May 2017
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
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
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