Last Call for Elevenses

A final selection of eleven posts from the archive to mark eleven years of this blog. Click directly on the image beside each description, rather than the title, to read the piece.

1: Gnome Thoughts from a Foreign Country is the first in a series about David Bowie's musical inspirations. It was prompted by the purchase of the pictured songbook from Bowie's early years but one thought soon led to another, taking in Anthony Newley, Alan Klein, and much else. The thread leading back to Bowie was put under a bit of strain during these labyrinthine wanderings but I'd like to think it didn't actually snap.

  

2. Up the Swanee tells the story of the dispute between father and son puppeteers Harry and Matthew Corbett; a more faithful account may be found in Geoff Tibballs' biography of Sooty.

 

3: Hubert Gregg's radio show Thanks for the Memory filled many of the gaps in my musical education. His presentation was mannered, the links obviously scripted, but that careful preparation felt like a courtesy, not a barrier. As he said of various idols: I call it style.

 

 

 4: A reassessment of American Hot Wax, a film about Alan Freed. Screenwriter John Kaye later explained why, despite his and the director's periodic petitioning of the film company, it still hasn't received an official DVD release: the increased cost in music rights. Another Freed biopic is out there but although the latter may be based on John A. Jackson's comprehensive biography there is precious little evidence on the screen.

 

5: Beached Boy: this breathless item it is a record of my one and only involvment in a pop video; the artist, not mentioned in the piece, was Kirsty MacColl.

6: I'm slightly embarrassed about the attention this post about Peter Skellern has received - it's been left in a permanently unfinished form. At one point I castigated myself in the comments section for not at least tidying the thing up until an anonymous reader advised me to leave it as it was: "a piece of Mr Skellern also must have had scratches." I did eventually reuse some of this material in a more formally structured piece ... doesn't read as well, somehow. 

 7 & 8: Floating Boaters and Off-Kilter for Company are related pieces which are funny (I hope) and personal. Blogging encourages second thoughts, hence the more reflective tone which followed a few days later. 

 9: This was prompted by learning of a new musical about Deborah Chessler and the Orioles. It relies heavily on a Rolling Stone article by Greil Marcus so I'm not claiming any kudos for myself but the story of Deborah Chessler ought to be known more widely. It's to be hoped that the show, entitled Soul Harmony, may be staged again in America in due course. 

10: Another extensive post about Donovan, concentrating this time on a single event: the 1972 benefit concert for Upper Clyde Shipbuilders.

 

11: To conclude, my first response to Alan Klein's Well At Least Its British [sic], when I was still trying to work out what he was all about.

And now, as the last few hours of the old year tick away, time must be called on these roundups of resurrected writings, these posts from the past, if you will. A Happy New Year, if you're still wasting time with me.