Fly me

Mandy Rice-Davies (1944-2014)

In 1960, and barely sixteen, model Mandy Rice-Davies was draped over car bonnets at Earls Court Motor Show. A couple of years later, with fellow showgirl Christine Keeler, she would rock Harold MacMillan's Tory Government to its very foundations amid tales of sex, sex and more sex. No wonder the tabloids loved her. They'd never seen the like before; words like mistress, lurid, scandal and of course, sex, could now be strung together in the same sentence and increase readership faster than you could say Profumo.

Rice-Davies summed it up perfectly many years later: 'In a world full of deference, I had none.' Well, she would say that wouldn't she?

Twenty Flight Rock

Birmingham has never been pretty. In the late sixties they were pulling down their slums and erecting shiny new skyscrapers. And it wasn't just Birmingham, it was happening in every other major city in the UK. But no matter how hard you tried to polish it, Birmingham never sparkled.

There was a cross over period when they hadn't quite finished knocking down the old and they hadn't yet finished building the new. John Bonham would have been able to tell you all about it if he was still with us: in 1968 when Wimpey built Butterfield Court in Dudley, he was one of the first to move in.
In fact a lot of Led Zeppelin fans think it was the drummer's tower block that appears on the inside sleeve of Led Zep 4. It is in fact Salisbury Tower in the Ladywood district of Birmingham; both equally ugly. They've knocked a lot of these eye sores down now. People, it would appear, given the choice, prefer not to live up in the air.

Robin Who?

My good friend Mark and his bin lids went to see The Who in Nottingham last Friday night - and I'm grateful to him for letting me use these fabulous photographs.


That Townshend and Daltrey are still dragging their caravan around the country in 2014 barking out lines like ‘Hope I die before I get old' is nothing short of amazing. But are they still The Who? It's Pete and Rog playing classic Who numbers, that's for sure. But, for me, the band finally died when John Entwistle pegged it in 2002.

I’ve seen them live. Twice. The first time was in 1976 with Keith Moon, the second with Kenney Jones not long after Moony bought the farm. Were they any good? Of course they were. At Charlton they were spellbinding. Next time around they didn’t really do it for me; despite a laser light show that lit up half the night sky. But The Who have always been a live band - they never could bottle what they did in a live situation and capture it on vinyl; even Live at Leeds falls under the ‘you had to be there’ category.

But I mustn't carp. Anyone who still hasn't seen them and gets the chance to witness a couple of real rock legends (even in their dotage) really should go along and see what all the fuss is about. The Number One Son caught them at Glastonbury in 2007 (he spent the entire gig leaning on the barrier down the front with 250,000 people leaning on him) and said they were definitely worth getting trench foot for.  

Kashmir

   It doesn't matter where you live in the developed world, if you turn to the What's On guide of your local paper this evening the chances are you'll see a listing for a Led Zeppelin tribute act playing just up the road from your house.

   You've just had a look haven't you? And was I right or was I right? It seems there are as many tributes to Led Zep as there are to The Beatles - scary stuff.
   Now, go back to those local listings and check if the band in question are one of the following. Even if they aren't I'll wager it'll be a derivation or some equally contrived Zeppelin type pun. (I may have dropped a couple of my own in there.)

No Quarter

Houses of the Holy

Whole Lotta Led

Fred Zeppelin
Ramble On
Led-Hed

Get the Led Out

Zoso

Turn the Page

Prezence

Heartbreaker

Letz Zep

John, Paul Jones, Robert & Titch
UnLEDded
Swan Song

The Rubber Plants

Mr. Jimmy

Led Zep Again

Hats Off to Led Zeppelin

Bled Zeppelin

Planted

   And, of course, Kashmir. This isn't them, but it's probably the best cover version of Kashmir you'll hear this weekend. And there's not a bare chest or Gibson Les Paul in sight. The song remains the same? Only just.

Till the wheels come off

Guy Garvey made me laugh on Desert Island Discs the other day. After painstakingly choosing eight favourite records he was asked what luxury item he would like to take to the island. Quick as a flash he replied: 'A radio.' Garvey's total missing of the point of the programme was soon glossed over by the lovely Kirsty and a pair of nail clippers or somesuch was hastily requested instead.

7/8 of Mr. Elbow's selections, however, all paled into insignificance compared to this beautiful song from Tom Waits. The line 'I'm gonna love you till the wheels come off' is, quite simply, perfect.