http://www.foreveryoungcds.de/pics/greenpeace85.jpg
As we travelled around Europe on mid-80s Summer holidays, the Greenpeace album was an omnipresent soundtrack. As happened too often with cassettes, the tape was last heard emitting an unpleasant screech, almost certainly not helped by being left in a searing hot car.

It appears that the CD of this album can now be bought for €50. Fortunately, I have managed to find most of the tracks for rather less. Indeed, only the George Harrison track (which was never the highlight of the compilation, even in it's rerecorded form) remains to be found.

1 Shock the monkey
2 Is…

Shadows? On my lungs? Dear God in Heaven help me!

Of course, London's a big place. It's a very big place Mr. Shadrach… You could lose yourself… lose yourself… lose yourself in London

You asked me to make a record of my voice. Well here it is. What you want me to say is "I love you." Here's the truth. I hate you, you little slut. You make me sick!…

In 2001, Kate and I made a big mistake: we bought tickets to see Depeche Mode at what was then the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester. It's not that we dislike them, it's just that we consequently did not have enough money to see James perform one week later at the same venue.

Ordinarily this would not be an issue. After all, James would perform in their home town again.

Wouldn't they?

Watching BBC NorthWest Tonight on the evening of 7th December 2001, a week after we had seen Depeche Mode, we saw the flaw in our plan. Tim Booth was…

There's an interesting article about this road, the A13, Trunk Road to the Sea, which passes just a two or three hundred yards from the house where I grew up, on V&A website.

(AKA A13 Trunk Road to the Sea

Four years ago, the Teatr imeni Mossoveta in Moscow became famous for altogether terrible reasons.
I visited that theatre about a dozen times in 1993 and 1994 to watch Иисус Христос - Суперзвезда (aka Иисус Христос Суперзвезда, aka Russkie Vokalisty). Many of my 'colleagues' in Russia saw this irregular entertainment as a means to stay sane. A constitutional crisis, which saw snipers on the rooftops and truly looked like the beginnings of civil war, had welcomed us to Russia. A curfew limited our movements at night, leading to a memorable offer by the patron of Jack's Bar at…

I downloaded the MusicIP mixer last week and, now that this aged G3 iMac has analysed most of my music library, I've decided to give it a whirl..

The idea is that I should pick one track and use that as a 'seed' for a mix. So, I have picked Belgium's 1986 Eurovision Song Contest winner J'aime la vie and told the software to create a one hour mix.

It's interesting and… strangely effective.

There must be an angel (Playing with my heart)
Ein bisschen Frieden
If She Knew What She Wants
Next lover
Heavens
Motorway to Roswell
Run For…

Around four years ago I was given a Marantz DV4100 Original SE for my birthday. It's a DVD player which also does a fine job of playing CDs.
Except that it does not.

Listening yesterday to New Order's Waiting for the Sirens Call, the player gave up at track four. It had been erratic for some time, frequently having issues just as a film was about to reach its climax or as a track was about to reach its crescendo. My parents have already started asking what I should like for Christmas (this is September, isn't it?) so…