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Post by Portland Road on Sept 25, 2023 7:41:15 GMT
The You Tube clip of 'Wimoweh' posted above by Arch hints at the musical depth of Roger.
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Post by Portland Road on Sept 20, 2023 6:28:12 GMT
Yes, my parents liked him, he could sing in several languages and had the ability to whistle the tune throughout a song.
We forget just how big easy-listening music was in the late-60s, amidst the emergence of prog & heavy rock, and Roger had top twenty hits alongside such as Free, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.
Two of Roger's best singles were 'Durham Town' (1969) and 'New World In The Morning' (1970).
In 1971 he had his own BBC TV show, with guests from across the popular music spectrum.
R.I.P. Roger Whittaker.
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Post by Portland Road on Sept 20, 2023 6:20:21 GMT
I think initially, new impressionists like Phil Cool were a threat to Mike, and then 'Spitting Image' came along and satirised everyone and more that Mike used to impersonate.
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Post by Portland Road on Sept 11, 2023 8:10:09 GMT
Mike got his own ITV show in the late-60s, before moving to BBC for a long successful run throughout the 1970s. He was one of those, alongside Morecambe & Wise, Bruce Forsyth and Eric Sykes, who were recruited by ITV as the 80s dawned, and they kept us entertained in their established style for a few more years.
Though in the later 80s, much of this era of comedy stars, e.g., Benny Hill, Terry & June, The Two Ronnies and indeed Mike, were phased-out by the terrestrial TV companies.
We forget how popular Mike was, and it is rather sad that his career did not pick up any old threads, or new strands, to give him TV presence in e.g., the 90s & 00s. I am sure he would be suited to 'Have I got News For You', 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks' and similar.
R.I.P. Mike Yarwood.
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Post by Portland Road on Sept 11, 2023 8:00:25 GMT
Surprised he was aged 83 Beyond his songs for AWP, his career is a bit obscure. R.I.P. Joe Fagin.
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Post by Portland Road on Sept 4, 2023 21:34:20 GMT
Very good points jjmolloy - people with dementia could be dismissed as a 'nuisance' at that time.
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Post by Portland Road on Aug 25, 2023 8:57:33 GMT
During the tribute programmes, it was noticeable that on the original run of shows (1971-82) the guest was allowed to talk without interruption.
On the later run of shows (1998-2007) there was still an element of this, and Michael still gave the interviewee much space, however it was evident that the chats were more likely to be interrupted by the audience clapping, whooping and cheering, as they were probably encouraged to do. This is a trait of TV from probably the mid-80s.
R.I.P. Michael Parkinson, probably the greatest TV interviewer.
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Post by Portland Road on Jul 5, 2023 4:50:16 GMT
Suzi had played the bass-player in the band in several episodes of 'Happy Days' (1977-79) - the 'Minder' part was for a singer and Suzi, based in the Uk with a run of top forty hits over the preceding decade, was a ready choice.
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Post by Portland Road on Jun 26, 2023 5:36:00 GMT
'Minder' moved more towards being a comedy drama as the 80s progressed - maybe Trevor Preston's screenplays could not embrace the lighter-hearted aspect of this.
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Post by Portland Road on May 26, 2023 22:49:32 GMT
Like many mainstream artists, Tina had great singles, and others less appealing, in equal measure.
I actually prefer the upbeat Tamla Motown version of 'River Deep Mountain High' by The Supremes & The Four Tops (1970, a UK hit in 1971), as I am not overkeen on the Spector 'Wall Of Sound'.
Favourite Tina singles of mine are 'Nutbush City Limits' (1973) which has stood the test of time, 'We Don't Need Another Hero' (1985) and 'I Don't Wanna Fight' (1993) co-written by Lulu.
'The Best' and its parent album 'Foreign Affair' kind of epitomise the AOR of the late-80s and as others have suggested, were everywhere on radio and jukeboxes, to become irritating - I prefer 'I Don't Wanna Lose You' or 'Steamy Windows' from that album.
R.I.P. Tina Turner.
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Post by Portland Road on May 6, 2023 22:11:54 GMT
'If You Could Read My Mind' was my favorite, of the ones that I know.
R.I.P. Gordon Lightfoot.
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Post by Portland Road on Apr 13, 2023 7:49:14 GMT
He was a staple more or less throughout the Margaret Thatcher period, and due to his 1960s-70s hairstyle, seemed 15-20 years younger than he was.
R.I.P. Nigel Lawson.
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Post by Portland Road on Apr 3, 2023 8:13:16 GMT
I seem to remember the Lily Savage character being on late-night shows in the late-1980s, alongside e.g., the early Enfield & Whitehouse characters.
Drag characters can be cliched and irritating, but Paul took Lily Savage beyond this, and it was a good characterisation of a certain kind of bitchy, ear-to-the-ground female.
Paul O'Grady later became known in his own right, as an entertainer and person of several facets, and an all-round 'good egg'.
R.I.P. Paul O'Grady.
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Post by Portland Road on Apr 3, 2023 8:11:19 GMT
Yes, I remember the Yellow Magic Orchestra getting some evening/weekend Radio One airplay, at a time when a pop-rock musical act from Japan was very unusual in the UK.
R.I.P. Ryuichi Sakamoto.
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Post by Portland Road on Mar 27, 2023 6:27:54 GMT
Although different from the TV series theme, the theme music for the two Sweeney films was good and fitted with the respective films.
However, the music for 'Regan' (1974), the Sweeney pilot, didn't really fit the subject and sounded like an ITC series theme.
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Post by Portland Road on Feb 27, 2023 8:17:07 GMT
Yes, the passing of Dickie Davies and John Motson in recent days is very sad. Along with e.g., Brian Moore, they brought an everymans appeal to sports presentation, after the rather pompous overtones of e.g., Kenneth Wolstenholme and David Coleman.
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Post by Portland Road on Feb 18, 2023 9:01:51 GMT
Yes, the random rail strikes are making it difficult to commit to buying tickets for shows in London.
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Post by Portland Road on Feb 11, 2023 0:40:49 GMT
Another friend of mine has also just seen Colin on this tour, and gives an equally good review.
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Post by Portland Road on Feb 11, 2023 0:39:41 GMT
Yes, a great songwriter indeed, and he reached a younger audience with the easy listening revival of the mid-90s onwards.
He did the great songs with Dionne Warwicke and other USA lady singers, which tended to be recorded by Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black in the UK.
Two of my particular favourites of his are 'I'll Never Fall In love Again' and 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head'.
R.I.P. Burt Bacharach.
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Post by Portland Road on Jan 12, 2023 9:37:34 GMT
I remember the show - IIRC it was on BBC2 midweek evenings. I found it funny at the time, though for some reason he didn't seem to progress his TV career afterwards.
I didn't know about his death and I am sorry to hear about it.
R.I.P. Kelly Monteith.
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Post by Portland Road on Jan 12, 2023 9:33:22 GMT
He was nearly a great rock star but his career was more modest after the 60s. Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood left his group and joined The Faces, sustaining greater success. 'Barabajagal' with Donovan (1969) was a great single, inspiring the baggy-rave period in the early-90s R.I.P. Jeff Beck.
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Post by Portland Road on Jan 12, 2023 9:28:03 GMT
'The Meaning Of Life' seems to be overlooked now. I think it is kept off the radar because IIRC it was a rather crude film, made at a time (1983) when 'smut' was at its peak.
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Post by Portland Road on Dec 28, 2022 8:57:34 GMT
The 80s hits were very popular at the time, but have been rarely played since. The mindset seems to be that Slade were a "70s band", and the fact that they had top ten hits in other periods is overlooked.
Maybe it is because they were a bit of a throwback - 'My Oh My' (1983) and 'We All Join Hands' (1984) sound very akin to the 'Slade In Flame' hits of ten years prior.
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Post by Portland Road on Dec 21, 2022 23:18:41 GMT
'Rat Race' and 'Ghost Town' probably my two favourite Specials singles.
It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it - Terry certainly did it well, and will be sorely missed.
R.I.P. Terry Hall.
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Post by Portland Road on Dec 15, 2022 23:05:51 GMT
They were very potent during their United Artists period (1977-81), and like e.g. Julian Cope or Echo & The Bunnymen, stayed 'New Wave' even in the musically insipid later-80s. By this time they were, like UB40, inclined to do cover versions for new singles, as they approached the end of their chart run. I did, and do, like them, and they didn't end early like The Boomtown Rats, The Jam, the Specials or The Police. I didn't realise until much later that Jet Black was considerably older than the others - we thought that Bill Wyman was 'old' in relation to the Stones, but Jet was off the scale R.I.P. Jet Black.
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Post by Portland Road on Nov 30, 2022 8:53:17 GMT
A character indeed, and surprising that he left Dr Feelgood before their greatest chart success, and joined Ian Dury & The Blockheads after theirs Jarvis Cocker jumped on stage at The Brits 1996 to mock Michael Jackson's fake 'messiah' imagery, and this gained some hostility from corporate aspects of the music industry. Wilko as a fellow maverick musician sent a strong message of support to Jarvis. R.I.P. Wilko Johnson. P.S. yes, the 'Oil City Confidential' documentary is a great watch.
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Post by Portland Road on Nov 30, 2022 8:47:35 GMT
Sorry to hear of Tim's death - there is a lot of passion in the pursuit of cult TV.
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Post by Portland Road on Nov 30, 2022 8:46:47 GMT
I did like the 'Fame' single, one of the last great blasts from the original disco era.
R.I.P. Irene Cara
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Post by Portland Road on Nov 30, 2022 8:40:15 GMT
Yes, we are going a bit OT here, but I always prefer the hits towards the end of Slade's original top ten run (1974-75) than the out & out glam rockers of 1972-73.
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Post by Portland Road on Nov 19, 2022 9:17:19 GMT
Yes, the 'Top Of The Pops' cover versions were often a good alternative interpretation of the original song.
Regarding Christmas songs, the Slade & Wizzard ones get the recognition, as do those by Mud, Greg Lake and Johnny Mathis.
Though from that same mid-70s period, the Christmas songs by The Wombles and Showaddywaddy are overlooked, the latter particularly so - it is one of the greatest singles of their catalogue.
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