The Beautiful South - Live At The BBC

The Beautiful South enjoyed 19 hit singles and 8 Top Ten albums. Formed at the end of the 1980s by two former members of The Housemartins, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, the duo were initially joined by Sean Welch (bass), Dave Stead (drums) and Dave Rotheray (guitar), all of whom stayed with the group for the duration of their career. Female vocalist, Briana Corrigan sang backing vocals on the band’s first album before becoming a full-time member in 1990 and thereafter featured on numerous tracks as lead vocalist.

Also important to the band’s sound was studio keyboard player, Damon Butcher who played virtually all the piano and keyboard parts on their albums, despite never becoming an official member.

In May, The Beautiful South release the 4-disc Live At The BBC. This beautifully packaged hardback book style 3-CD collection, with bonus DVD, provides an alternative view of The Beautiful South’s entire career as recorded and broadcast by the BBC.

Disc One comprises a series of BBC sessions recorded over a period spanning 1989 to 2005.

Disc Two is a live set from King George’s Hall in Blackburn, recorded during the band’s 1992 spring tour of the UK just as their third album 0898 was released.

Disc Three brings together highlights of tours undertaken in the late 1990s, featuring live dates from London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Brighton Centre, London Forum and the Fleadh Festival.

Disc 4 is a bonus DVD made up of a selection of The Beautiful South’s many live appearances on BBC Television, mainly Later With Jools Holland on which they were invited to appear on no less than five separate occasions.

The Beautiful South Live at the BBC

Disc 1
You Keep It All In
Song For Whoever
Girlfriend
I’ll Sail This Ship Alone
Mark Goodier Recorded 10/6/89

Good As Gold  (Stupid As Mud)
You Keep It All
Everybody’s Talkin’
Simon Mayo Recorded 21/2/94

Let Love Speak For Itself
Especially For You
Old Red Eyes Is Back
Everybody’s Talkin’
Emma Freud 28/3/94

The Lure Of The Sea
Table
Dumb
Live session 2/12/98

You’re the One That I Want)
Perfect 10
Jonathan Ross 04/12/05

Give Me One Last Love Song
Dermot O’Leary 15/1/05

Disc 2

Old Red Eyes Is Back
Girlfriend
From Under The Covers
When I’m 84
Bell-Bottomed Tear
I Think The Answer’s Yes
I’m Your Number One Fan
You Keep It All In
Let Love Speak Up Itself
A Little Time
Tonight I Fancy Myself
We Are Each Other
Song For Whoever
36D
Woman In The Wall
You Should Be Dancing
(Blackburn King Georges Hall show from 25.4.92.)

Disc 3 – Live

I’ll Sail This Ship Alone
Rotterdam
Have Fun
Blackbird On The Wire
Liars Bar
Look What I Found In My Beer
Pretenders To The Throne
Dumb
Big Coin
Everybody’s Talkin’
The Lure Of The Sea
The Table
Perfect 10
One Last Love Song
Good As Gold (Stupid As Mud)
Your Father And I
Java

Disc 4 DVD

Old Red Eyes is Back
Top of the Pops: 16/01/1992

Bell Bottomed Tear
We’ll Deal With You Later
The Late Show 25/03/1992

You Keep It All In
You Just Can’t Smile It Away
Let Love Speak Up Itself
Later With Jools Holland 03/12/1994

Don’t Marry Her
Blackbird on the Wire
Later With Jools Holland 16/11/1996

Perfect 10
Window Shopping for Blinds
Your Father & I
Later With Jools Holland 20/11/1998

Rotterdam
Old Red Eyes Is Back
Songwriter’s Circle 30/07/1999

Closer Than Most
The River
You Can Call Me Leisure
Later With Jools Holland 18/11/2000

You’re the One That I Want
Later With Jools Holland 12/11/2004

The Beautiful South release 4 Disc Live At The BBC on 2nd May 2011.

the charlatans - us and us only deluxe edition

The sixth album produced by The Charlatans and their first under the Island Records label, Us & Us Only marked a new chapter for the band in 1999, as well as being their first offering on the new label, it was also the first recording made without Rob Collins on keyboards, he had tragically died in a road accident in 1996.

The album was recorded at the band’s own Big Mushroom Studio’s in Cheshire with engineer and mixer Jim Spencer who had previously worked on Johnny Marr’s Electronica outfit. The album is still as popular today as it was on it’s release, debuting at No.2 in the charts, reached Gold status after a few days and went on to spend 10 weeks in the UK Top 40.

Regarded by fans and critics alike as The Charlatans most definitive work, Us & Us Only references everyone from Bob Dylan, through the Stones to Morricone and John Barry, through its original eleven tracks which find Tim Burgess at the top of his game as a songwriter.

Lyrically and musically this album is possibly the most enduring collection of songs that The Charlatans have ever produced and the Deluxe Edition comes complete with B sides and rare live music and radio sessions.

As well as the B-sides to Forever, My Beautiful Friend and Impossible, the bonus tracks on CD 2 include hard to find remixes by Lionrock and Jagz Kooner plus radio sessions from Mark Radcliffe and The Evening Session, a Later With Jools Holland version of A House Is Not A Home and a potent performance from 1999’s Reading Festival headlining show – the group opened up with a rousing version of Forever.

What this album and its extras reveal is a band, that despite having made music for 11 years, had lost none of their fire and drive, were very much in control and still at the top of their game. “We have a common goal,” said Tim Burgess that year. “We want to make music, music is everything to us, we live it, we love it, it’s what we do.”

CD One

1  Forever                                               Original Album
2  Good Witch, Bad Witch 1                               Original Album
3  Impossible                                            Original Album
4  The Blonde Waltz                                      Original Album
5  A House Is Not A Home                                 Original Album
6  Senses                                                Original Album
7  My Beautiful Friend                                   Original Album
8  I Don’t Care Where You Live                           Original Album
9  The Blind Stagger                                     Original Album
10 Good Witch, Bad Witch 2                               Original Album
11 Watching You                                          Original Album
12 Good Witch/Bad Witch 3                                Japanese Version
13 My Beautiful Friend (Jagz Kooner Remix)               B-side to My Beautiful Friend
14 My Beautiful Friend (Lionrock Mix)                    B-side to My Beautiful Friend
15 My Beautiful Friend (Lionrock Instrumental Mix)       B-side to My Beautiful Friend

CD 2 (Bonus Tracks)

1  Forever                                                      A-Side Single Edit
2  A Great Place To Leave                                       B-Side to Forever
3  When Your Ship Comes In                                      B-Side to Forev
4  Sleepy Little Sunshine Boy                                   B-Side to Forever
5  Scorched                                                     B-side to My Beautiful Friend
6  Your Precious Love                                           B-side to My Beautiful Friend
7  Don’t Go Giving It Up                                        B-Side to Impossible
8  You Got It, I Want It                                        B-Side to Impossible
9  Impossible                                                   Mark Radcliffe 15/10/99
10 Senses                                                       Evening Session Oct 99
11 My Beautiful Friend                                          Evening Session Oct 99
12 The Blind Stagger                                            Evening Session Oct 99
13 Forever                                                      Live Reading Festival 28/8/99
14 Senses                                                       Live Reading Festival 28/8/99
15 A House Is Not A Home                                        Later With Jools Holland 23/10/99

The Charlatans re issue the album Us & Us Only in Deluxe Edition on March 28th

the farm-charity single

It is the 20th anniversary of the release of the brilliant anthem Altogether Now recorded by The Farm at the height of the Madchester craze and the band will re-release the single on December 1st to commemorate the date, but moreover to send the proceeds from its sale to troops in Afghanistan.

For the month of December, the proceeds will go towards helping the Operation Shoebox appeal fulfill its role in making the lives of our overseas servicemen and women in Afghanistan a bit more tolerable this Christmas. The charity delivers shoeboxes filled with popular items like razors, magazines and toothpaste.

Ian Whiteway one of the organisers of the appeal which is endorsed by the Ministry of Defence said;

“I’m sure lots of people will be keen to help our troops and personnel at a time when they are far from home and engaged in difficult tasks abroad.  It is the little things that we all take for granted that makes life out there more tolerable, items like razors, underwear, toothpaste and magazines.  It would be nice if as many people as possible filled a shoe box to help bring a little cheer to our troops and importantly, let them know that back home in Britain we are thinking of them. A big thank you to all those who have helped with Operation Shoebox and especially The Farm who have agreed to let us use their song!”

Peter Hooton lead singer of The Farm commented “We had already arranged to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the song with a concert in Liverpool on Dec 4th but when the Shoebox Appeal asked us to consider re-releasing the track we thought it was the right thing to do. The song is about a ‘spirit stronger than war’ and the Shoebox Appeal fits into that sentiment. This appeal is about giving and that’s surely what Christmas is all about.”

Here is a version of the song which was released for the 2004 Euro Football Championships;

The legal stuff:

“The Operation Shoebox single will be available from 1st December until the 31st December 2010 and record company royalties will all go to the appeal from the digital sales of the EP and the individual tracks downloaded from the “Operation Shoebox EP”, UPC No. 5032698620944 (previously “The Farm – Alltogethernow Digital Single”) at iTunes over those dates. From 1st Jan 2011, the original Farm EP release will be reuploaded to iTunes and the cover art will revert and record company payments will cease to Operation Shoebox.”

Nick Heyward - North Of A Miracle

His first solo album was released in 1983, North Of A Miracle contained three Top 20 UK singles – Whistle Down The Wind, Take That Situation and Blue Hat For A Blue Sunday.  The following year Warning Sign gave Heyward his only other UK Top 30 hit to date.  Though his commercial success had peaked Nick Heyward continued to release albums throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s including The Apple Bed released on Alan McGee’s Creation Records label.

This month Cherry Red Records re-issue two of Nick Heyward’s solo albums, North Of A Miracle & From Monday To Sunday.

Originally released 23 years ago, North Of A Miracle was a sultry album that offered a more serious songwriting side to Nick Heyward’s talent.  He wasn’t about to lose his teenage fan club but in some quarters he was taken more seriously for writing, what was deemed at the time to be deeper more sophisticated pop songs like Blue Hat For A Blue Day and Whistle Down The Wind.  But with Take That Situation he showed he wasn’t afraid to return to the happy pop content of early Haircut 100 days.

The Cherry Red re-issue comes complete with the original ten album tracks plus an extra CD including nine tracks including both solo and Haircut 100 songs from a previously unreleased concert recorded for Capital Radio on 7th November 1983 at London’s Dominion Theatre. CD2 also includes b-sides and different mixes from the original singles.

From Monday To Sunday was Nick Heyward’s fourth solo studio album, originally released in 1993, by which time he had matured both personally and musically.  By now he was more or less being completely ignored by the music press as they busied themselves with Brit Pop nonsense while waiting for lad culture and the arrival of Oasis. With little or no record label pressure, this allowed Nick Heyward to record his music without prejudice.

Nick Heyward - From Monday To Sunday

From Monday To Sunday includes 12 songs showcasing a full roster of his influences.  He Doesn’t Love You Like I Do and Into Your Life display a 1960’s pop sensibility which was  popular with other British artists in the early 1990’s, while songs like Caravan, January Man and How Do You Live Without Sunshine, I believe are among his best solo songs.

Maybe Nick Heyward was free to record the songs of his fancy with less pressure from chasing commercial success.  Either way, From Monday To Sunday is a great pop album.

The Cherry Red re-issue of From Monday To Sunday includes the original album plus 10 additional tracks including previously unreleased demo tracks from 1991 and 1992.

Nick Heyward continues to play live solo shows and in 2006 released The Mermaid & The Lighthouse Keeper with India Dupre.

Status Quo BBC CD Box cover

The assocaition between the BBC and Status Quo stretches back almost 45 years beginning with some recordings of The Spectres in 1966 before the band changed their name to Status Quo.

It was two years later when Status Quo peformed their psychedelic inspired Pictures Of Matchstick Men at the beeb in 1968 for The Dave Symonds Show, that the band tasted their first taste of success.

Status Quo Live At The BBC is a collection of live recordings made by the band between the years of 1966 and 2005, collated from all of the BBC owned recordings that still exist.

The BBC were famous for saving money by wiping and re-using tapes during the sixties and some of the recordings have been lost forever, but thanks to ‘home recordings’ by fans a couple of gems have been unearthed for this set.

Sessions for shows by DJs David Symonds, Dave Lee Travis, Steve Wright and Ken Bruce are all included and there is even some recordings from the John Peel sessions of the early seventies.

Status Quo Live At The BBC comes in a choice of packages, the 2CD ‘Best Of ‘Collection a DVD/4CD boxed set and the complete works as a limited edition 8 disc complete boxed set.

The double CD collection contains the basic highlights from the full boxed sets and kicks off with two recordings as The Spectres, performing covers of the hit songs Gloria and perversely I (Who Have Nothing) from 1966.

In the guise of Traffic Jam the band return in 1967 to play the song Almost But Not Quite There on the Saturday Club. Perhaps a prophecy as the next time the band arrive at the BBC in 1968 they have changed their name to Status Quo and they perform first Judy In Disguise for Saturday Club followed by Pictures of Matchstick Men for the David Symonds show.

Their follow up single Black Veils of Melancholy, an almost exact replica of Matchstick Men with different lyrics was also performed at this time, with Ice In The Sun being performed in 1969 on the same show.

Down the Dustpipe (1970) and Paper Plane (1972)  are the standout tracks on the first CD, while there are recordings from 2005 on the Ken Bruce Show of Caroline, Whatever You Want and Rockin’ All Over The World.

While catching the band in jocular mood jamming, the snippets taken from the Steve Wright Show in 1989, From A Jack To A King and Railroad hardly seem relevant and are a surprising addition on this set.

Disc Two is given over to Status Quo doing what they are best at, playing live in concert, with recordings from four such shows making up the entire content of the second disc.

The celebrated often boot legged BBC in Concert from Paris Theatre in 1973 catches the band at their best with five tracks that include fans favourite Juniors Wailing, In My Chair, Don’t Waste My Time, Paper Plane and Bye Bye Johnny.

There are further concert excerpts from Wembley Arena in 1988, Party In The Park 1992 and Brighton Centre 1996.

While older music fans like me will remember Status Quo looking uncomfortably dressed as mods on TOTP playing Pictures Of Matchstick Men in 1968 it was when they relaunched themselves in the early seventies as an out and out rock band that they were at their best.

Status Quo managed to create their own genre at this time uniting pop and rock fans with those of heavy metal tastes, creating a riotous following who would ensure their rise to fame throughout the decade.

I was  fortunate enough to see Status Quo in a small Victorian theatre in Southampton around 1976 when the band were at their peak of their power and the memory of the the huge noise from both band and fans causing the whole building to shake around me will last forever.

Their best work was produced during this time and although they would go on to sell out stadiums around the world, they would never manage to capture the magic of that decade again.

It is fair to say that most of the ‘hits’ are included on the double CD in one way or another, but I doubt that this is the package of choice for die-hard Quo fans and collectors. The double CD serves more as a taster of whats included on the other packages and isn’t fulfilling enough in my opinion, it will suffice but you will probably be wishing you had paid out a bit more and bought the full collection.

After all if you are that big a Quo fan you will want the whole package, seven audio CDs and video’s of the Quo performing on Top of the Pops and the like  in a limited edition boxed set.

Make a wish for Christmas.

Status Quo Live At The BBC is released today, October 25th in the following formats:

2CD ‘best of’ collection (Reviewed)

DVD/4CD box set

Limited Edition collectors 8 Disc Complete set

Barbra – The Ultimate Collection

Following powerful sales of Barbra Streisand’s most recent album, “Love Is The Answer” a number one hit in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom and with high rankings in virtually all other countries, Sony Records will release “Barbra – The Ultimate Collection” for international release 25th October.

The new CD will comprise 18 of the artist’s greatest recordings. The selections are drawn from hits that over half  a century have become classics transcending all borders.

Barbra Streisand’s career has been marked by bold creative achievements and highlighted by a series of firsts. An unparalleled talent, Streisand is the only artist ever to receive Oscar®, Tony®, Emmy®, GRAMMY, Directors Guild of America, Golden Globe®, National Medal of Arts, and Peabody awards, as well as France’s Legion d’Honneur and the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She is also the first female film director to receive the Kennedy Center Honors and next February will be honoured with the MusiCares Person Of The Year award.

Streisand is the only performer to have a No. 1 album in five consecutive decades.   She earned 51 gold, 30 platinum and 18 multi-platinum albums, each of which exceeds all other female singers, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The RIAA also notes that her 71.5 million album sales top the RIAA list of album sales by a female singer. With the debut of Love Is The Answer at No. 1 in 2009, the time span between her first and most recent No. 1 albums is 46 years — exceeding that of any other performer.

Barbra – The Ultimate Collection Tracklisting:

1. Woman In Love
2. Evergreen
3. The Way We Were
4. You Don’t Bring Me Flowers
5. Guilty
6. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)
7. Don’t Rain On My Parade
8. Memory
9. Papa, Can you Hear Me?
10. As If We Never Said Goodbye
11. Tell Him
12. Stranger In A Strange Land
13. I’ve Dreamed Of You
14. Send In The Clowns
15. People
16. Smile
17. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
18. Somewhere

In the 1950s Cliff Richard was promoted as Britain’s answer to Elvis Presley, and his first single Move It in 1958 was according to John Lennon ‘the first British rock ‘n’ roll record’.  An appearance on Jack Goode’s Oh Boy TV show propelled Cliff Richard to overnight stardom; and between 1958 and 1963 Cliff dominated the music charts as well as the box office.

Cliff’s early success included number 1 hits Living Doll (1959), The Young Ones (1962), Bachelor Boy (1962), Summer Holiday (1963) and The Minute You’re Gone (1965).  But with the changing face of pop music, and the arrival of The Beatles, Cliff’s popularity dropped off, and his only other number 1 in the 1960s was his Eurovision Song Contest winning song, Congratulations.

Like Elvis, Cliff Richard’s chart success carried over into musical films that were written specifically for him.  The films helped to spawn hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In the 1970s, Cliff Richard continued to release records; and though his popularity had waned like other pop stars of his generations, he still managed two UK Top 10 hits with Power To All Our Friends (1973) and Devil Woman (1976).  And in 1979 he had another number 1 hit single with We Don’t Talk Anymore.

Further number 1 hits include Mistletoe & Wine (1988), Saviour’s Day (1990), and The Millennium Prayer (1999); and in 1986 a remake of Living Doll with members of the TV show, The Young Ones, for Comic Relief.

In all, Cliff Richard has made over 100 singles and sold 150 million worldwide in a career that, so far, has spanned 52 years.

Cliff Richard & The Shadows will play six concerts in London.

Monday 11th October
Royal Albert Hall

Tuesday 12th October
Royal Albert Hall

Wednesday 13th October
Royal Albert Hall

Friday 15th October
Royal Albert Hall

Saturday 16th October
Royal Albert Hall

Sunday 17th October
Royal Albert Hall

Cliff Richard Tickets
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Pearl Jam, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney headline the Main Stage on Friday 25th, Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th June respectively. While the more intimate Pepsi Max Stage has headline performances from The Hives, Melissa Etheridge and Joshua Radin.

Even with so many summer music festivals in the UK it is still difficult to get concert tickets, especially when artists are only playing a select few shows.

Friday is certainly going to be the loudest ‘hard rock’ of the three days as Pearl Jam return to the UK for what promises to be a special show.  Hailing from Seattle and part of grunge movement of the early 1990’s along with bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden. Last year they released their ninth studio album, Backspacer.  They will be supported by the likes of Wolfmother, Gaslight Anthem and Ben Harper.

Supporting Stevie Wonder for a much more of a soulful line up will be the original space cowboy Jamiroquai, James Morrison and Corrie Bailey Rae.

Following an appearance at the Isle Of Wight Festival, Paul McCartney will no doubt be playing a selection of festival crowd pleasers including songs from The Beatles, Wings and his solo career; and will be ably supported by Elvis Costello, Crosby Stills & Nash, and Crowded House.

Hard Rock Calling @ Hyde Park Tickets

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The Christians

The Christians had a string of soul-inspired pop hits in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s including Forgotten Town, Born Again,When the Fingers Point, Ideal World, Father, Perfect Moment, What’s in a Word and cover versions of Harvest for the World and The Bottle.

Next month, The Christians release their brand new single Where Do the Children Play.

The name ‘Christians’ refers to the brother’s surname (the original line up included Roger, Russell and Garry Christian as well as Henry Priestman). During their rise to fame the Liverpool based band developed a reputation for being ’socially aware’ and unsurprisingly comparisons were drawn to The Temptations due to the depth and range of the brother’s magical vocal harmonies.

Fast forward a few years and The Christians have a new line up which includes Stewart Boyle, Joey Ankrah, Lionel Duke and Cliff Watson.  The vibe is relaxed … unplugged and acoustic but the voice is still incredible as is the sultry smile behind the Raybans!

The band are to release a new single in February via Island records to celebrate almost a quarter of a century of making music and can be seen live at the following dates later this month:

The Christians UK Tour Dates:

Jan 21 – Huntingdon Hall, Worcester
Jan 22 – The Bush Hall, London
Jan 29 – Whelans, Dublin
Jan 30 – Spring & Airbrake, Belfast
Jan 31 – Portrush Playhouse

For more information visit www.thechristianslive.co.uk