Substitute

With everyone's life currently on hold (parked up), and staying in becomes the new going out, we now have to embrace a whole new world of substitutes. Depending on how lavish your lifestyle was BC will dictate how adversely this new regime will affect you PC; if and when when normality (normalcy) ever returns it will of course all centre around freedom of movement - the taboo subject (elephant in the room) linking Coronavirus (Covid-19) with Brexit (the UK's slow and painful suicide).

But that's a debate for another day; a debate which will be, I'm sure (be in no doubt), front and centre - pushing its way up both the political and cultural agenda for a long, long time to come. Substitute your lies for fact.

Today's musical selection is not, as you may have been expecting, from the 'Oo. (They're no longer young, but still backdated.) No, it is instead a song written by Willie H. Nelson released nearly a decade on from the single Pete Townshend famously called 'our first number four.'

The Righteous Brothers - Substitute (1975)

A couple of years later it would go on to be a number one smash in South Africa for a female five piece from Johannesberg. However, I've substituted the lip gloss and spandex of Clout for a bunch of ageing London mods whose front man has got that don't fuck with me look about him. A look you often see in lead singers.

Smashing Time - Substitute (2008)

!

Quite by chance, at a recent vinyl evening (in those dim and distant pre-self isolating days when I quite really did get out more), two tracks were played back-to-back that both had exclamation marks in the title; a point (literally) not picked up at the time (why would it?). But as they were both from my collection it was only when I was putting them away that I clocked the fact.

As something of a musical pedant I'm pretty big on musical punctuation and generally getting song titles right - therefore, Sweet's 1973 Number 1 hit is not Blockbuster, it's Block Buster! And the song that followed it on the night in question was Mél Torme's Right Now! Although a B side, it's every bit as special as the lounge/mod classic you'll find when you flip it over.

Mel Tormé - Comin' Home Baby (1962)

A recent discovery of mine from a freakbeat collection titled Sugar Lumps comes courtesy of a band calling themselves Smashing Time. To my shame I know vey little about Smashing Time (an out of date Facebook page would lead you to believe they came from London and called it a day c.2015/16). It's a belter and although it doesn't have an exclamation mark it does have a question mark.

Smashing Time - Is it Her? (2005) 

I'm playing it on heavy rotation here at Medd Towers; it's got under my skin well and truly. Not least, I think, as it tips the wink to Comin' Home Baby. Yes, no? Its other influence, IMHO, is this beauty written by Rod Argent. Again, see what you think.

The Zombies - She's not There (1964)