"But there's only four of us" said Reginald Dwight to his pay masters at Hallmark Records when they asked him to cover the England 1970 Mexico World Cup tub thumping anthem Back Home. That's right, the future Elton John and his then band couldn't even muster a 5-a-side team, let alone the 22 man squad who sang (mostly in tune) the football anthem to end all football anthems.
All things considered, I think Elton makes a decent fist of it. Oo-er missus.
Not since the days of Barry Norman have I paid a great deal of attention to film critics; oh, don't get me wrong, many of them can (and do) steer us away from turkeys, but, at the end of the day, a movie is only ever as good as *you* think it is. Nobody else's opinion counts. Nobody's. Far too many scribes walk into movie theatres with so much baggage you'll often be wading through their 2,000 word review and not start reading about the actual film till you're two thirds of the way into it.
I went to see The Gentlemen on Saturday. For those of you who don't know The Gentlemen, it's a modern day British gangster movie, and it's written & directed by Guy Ritchie. So, contained in that last sentence alone is enough information to alienate at least 50% of broadcasters, journos, hacks and bloggers who will probably dismiss this frenetic 113 minute caper with not so much as a backward glance. Critics, eh?
For what it's worth, I absolutely adored it. The script was fizzing, the storyline both clever and compelling, and the casting of Hugh Grant as a grubby tabloid reporter was a masterstroke. Consign to the rubbish bin all your bungling Grant preconceptions and be in no doubt - he steals the film; right from under the nose of its star Matthew McConaughey.
Let's wrap this up then - the language is eye watering, the gags are punchy and the pace is nothing short of high speed. And it's very funny. What more do you need? It's a masterpiece. ***** (Put that on the side of a bus.)
Today's offering, in true Sesame Street style, is brought to you by the colour yellow. Three photographs - two shot in Nottingham during the recent Christmas break, and the third of my daughter-in- law's footwear taken in Manchester sometime last year. The idea to show them together is kind of obvious and I think (well, I would say this wouldn't I?) pleasing to the eye. Unless, heaven forbid, you suffer from Xanthophobia.
NG - ONE
YELLOW LINES
I came very close to choosing The Race by Yello to sign off today, but thought it a tad obvious; though, ironically, Behind the Wheel by Depeche Mode (seen here in yellow vinyl), I think, more than tips its hat to Yello's Vicious Games. It's a small world. And yellow. Depeche Mode - Behind the Wheel (1987)
We've all done it. Hell, John Peel practically made a living out of it; however, playing vinyl at the wrong speed isn't always a bad thing. Check this out, for instance. I found it on Twitter (where else?) and it works. No, I mean it really works. Jolene sung at 33 rpm.
Dolly Parton - Jolene (1974)
Am I right, or am I right? How to turn a good song into a brilliant song - even her guitar picking sounds wondrous. And if you like that you may or may not want to check out Billy Jean. Slow down!
I'd like to think that the opening words of my first blog of a new year set the tone for the remaining 360 odd days to come. But as last year ended on an all time low (for all sorts of reasons - some obvious, some not so), the bar is currently set pretty low. However, as this blog approaches its 10th anniversary I'm afraid I can't make any promises for 2020. To quote Doris Day, what will be, will be. A Happy New Year to you all.
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Ispent much of the holidays re-watching Budgie - Keith Waterhouse's finest creation (surpassing even the brilliance of Billy Liar). I've name-checked Waterhouse and Budgie Bird in previous blogs so I'll concentrate, instead, on the theme music.
Only two series were made by LWT - in 1971 & 1972. The first deployed a haunting instrumental, The Loner, credited to the Milton Hunter Orchestra. Budgie, played by Adam Faith, is seen chasing (always out of reach) pound notes - the programmes's overriding premise encapsulated in just 45 seconds.
For the second series we see the same footage, only this time to the backdrop of a beautiful song written by Ray Davies: Nobody's Fool is - to the untrained ear, the Kinks at the top of their game. Only it isn't. Well, it's Ray Davies singing, that much we do know, but according to the label on the accompanying Pye single, the artist is Cold Turkey. Go figure.
Cold Turkey - Nobody's Fool (1972)
From the bright busy streets off the Charing Cross Road
