Beaucoups Of Blues

This month marks the 40th anniversary of Ringo's Beaucoups of Blues; after All Things Must Pass and Band On The Run, probably the best solo album by an ex-Beatle. Recorded in Nashville with Pete Drake on pedal steel, The Jordanaires on backing vocals and D J Fontana on drums, it had pedigree right from the get go.

Ringo Starr: Beaucoups Of Blues



The boy from Dingle has come in for a lot of stick down the years but, as the venerable Mr Starkey MBE enters his eighth decade, isn't it about time we all came clean and admitted it: Ringo was everyone's favourite Beatle. Wasn't he? Think about it; he had all the best lines in Hard Day's Night ('You want to stop looking so scornful, it'll twist your face') and Help! ('Two lagers and lime and two lagers and lime please'). He wrote Don't Pass Me By and Back Off Boogaloo, directed Born To Boogie, starred in That'll Be The Day and compliled Postcards From The Boys. And The All Starr Band continue to wipe the floor with The Bootleg Beatles.

Why did The Beatles cross the road?

Now that there's a permanent live webcam (with sound?) filming that zebra crossing, just watch how often the tourists try to recreate the album cover. It must drive local residents and motorists crazy.

In the days before digital technology, however, do we think this is what really happened on that August morning in 1969?



Interestingly, it wasn't the first time the lads had been snapped crossing the road together. In their pre-moptop incarnation a local toggy followed them around Liverpool for the day and, unwittingly, predated the iconic album sleeve by nearly a decade.

Brazilia Friday

Here's a delicious tune composed by Bossa supremo Antonio Carlos Jobim. He wrote it for Brazilian singer Sylvia Telles (aka Dindi). Telles was killed in a road accident in Rio de Janeiro shortly after recording the song in 1966.

If you can, take five minutes out of your day and lose yourself; and if you have cats it'll drive them crazy.

Quigley: Dindi

Brassed Off

I was hoping to get down to the Word Magazine blog meet in London this Friday, but circumstances have prevented me from seeing the bright lights and hooking up with Mondo et al; which is a shame as, not only was I looking forward to breaking bread with like-minded coves, I was planning to slope off after a couple of hours and check out the Hackney Colliery Band's set at Camden's Jazz Cafe. To those of you not familiar with the HCB, they're a bunch of young horn players (and a couple of drummers) putting a new spin on the brass band/New Orleans marching band format. Incorporating lethal injections of jazz, funk and ska it's no wonder they've already appeared on the radar screens of both Gilles Peterson and Craig Charles.

This is their new single - it's got to be worth 79p of anybody's money. Available from those good people at iTunes:

Second-hand

Although better known as Steptoe and Macca's grandfather (he's very clean), Wilfrid Brambell was also a recording artist in the 60s. This is from 1963 on the prestigious Parlophone label. He plays it with a straight bat and you get the impression he'd like to have done a few more.