Last Man Standing

I said last time I'd join the dots between my friend Tom Wardle and the mighty Monophonics. Since Tom left Nottingham and moved his life to New York he's found himself writing and recording with many, many musicians all over the states - east coast and west. Not bad for a young lad who used to play for pin money in some pretty crumby dive bars in Nottingham. With a voice often compared to Rod Stewart, Tom's written some great songs; always finding that unforgettable chorus you'll be singing days later having only heard it the once. A recent tweet from Tom however had me intrigued: joining forces with acclaimed producer and DJ, Villem, on a drum and bass track? Surely some mistake! And then the penny dropped; it was a cover of Last One Standing (the song I featured last time) which is absolutely made for Tom's soulful pipes. I'd love this to get some serious radio play - it deserves to be a massive hit

Villem (feat. Tom Wardle) - Last One Standing (2022)

Bang Bang

Despite my advancing years I still like  to latch onto new bands (new to me, I mean), take them to my heart and call them my all time favourite band ever; before 10 minutes later jettisoning them with nary a backwards glance, as I go in search of my next new shiny thing. 

This week I have mostly been listening to the Monophonics. They are, to borrow a quote from Craig Charles, two pounds of funk in a one pound bag. They sound like this. See what I mean? Btw, remind me to tell you about my friend Tom Wardle and his connection with the band. Next time.

But it was whilst listening to them in the car this week, and their spellbinding version of a Sonny Bono penned classic from 1966, I remembered just how good Nancy Sinatra's version was. Yes, better than Cher's (Sonny's ex) and yes, even better than Frank's - Nancy's dad. You don't believe me...

Nancy Sinatra: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) - 1966

Anyway, back to those Monophonic boys. Here they are tearing up a little club in Athens in December, 2015. Enjoy...

The Monophonics: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

Brother from another mother

Apparently, when Angus Young of AC/DC heard Sad Café's My Oh My he said it was the best record the Stones had ever made. I know what he means; I came to it late (and by late I mean within the last few weeks) and was convinced - when I first heard the vocals kick in - it was Karl Wallinger and World Party. And anyone who knows Wallinger will attest that his Goodbye Jumbo album contains (at least) three Stones cast-offs. File under 'what goes around comes around'. Judge for yerself.

Sad Café - My Oh My (1980)

Ten years later; can you tell them apart?

World Party - Way Down Now (1990)

Paul Young (1947-2000)

Bloody Hell Fire!

WhatsApp is a very instant medium - something often done on the hoof - so brevity is prmnt. Sorry, paramount. Any shortcuts or abrvtns, though not always grammatically pleasing, often find their way into my text lexicon; don't get me wrong, I love language and punctuation more than most, but sometimes one punchy acronym can paint a thousand (real) words. When I told my friend Riggsby during my American trip that James and I will often exchange a particular three letter rejoinder when, say, Notts County are 3-nil down at half time or some other unpleasant news reaches one or both of us, he nodded sagely. In fact, I went on, I'm always on the look out for cars with the number plate bearing said three letters. They act as a perfect meme to the aforementioned bad news. If you see any on your travels, I think I may have said, he could humour me and email them to me! 

Anyway, I thought no more about our conversation; that is until the postman arrived last week. Here's an extract from Riggsby's letter...

Pretty neat, huh? So, I gave James the choice - Ohio or Kentucky? 'I'll have the birthplace of aviation please, dad!'

Which leaves me with the bluegrass state.

If you see any BHF plates whilst you're out and about, you know what to do...

Everybody had a wet dream

Hype; the next big thing. The music industry has been inextricably linked with hype and the next big thing ever since Elvis first gyrated his hips on American TV in 1956.

66 years later and not much has changed. The music industry still wants to push new acts and the music listening public will always want to think they're ahead of the curve. Thankfully I am no longer part of a demographic whereby I am in any way influenced by anything other than a catchy tune.

Cue Wet Leg. I like them. And I like the sound they make.

Wet Leg - Wet Dream (2022)