by on

 I went to see Stevie Wonder in concert a couple of years ago at the O2 in London. I was not expecting to cry all the way through it. He came on late, we were very crochety by then. Our seats were in the back row. It is a bit of a schlep to get to  the O2 and a pretty crappy to get home from, as you have to get on the tube with thousands of other people and just be prepared to wait in line, and ignore any feeling of claustrophobia, or leave before the encore.

Stevie came on and I kid you not, the whole arena just lit up, he  completely filled it with love. His voice was magnificent. He sung every song I asked for, and in the right order too. I sang all the way through it…really loud so he could hear me ( ha ha ha 70 rows back..I don’t think so, I did wonder the next day why I could not speak).

The reason I mention all this was that the death of his dear mother inspired him to go on tour again, and I am so glad I can now say I was in the same building as Stevie Wonder.

Today is the 5th Anniversary of her death.  Her name was Lula Mae Hardaway and was born in 1930.  Lula co-wrote many of her son’s songs during his teenage years including the hit singles “I Was Made to Love Her” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”. For co-writing the latter song, she was nominated for the 1970 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and was also the subject of a 2002 biography entitled, “Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder’s Mother” which I think I am going to read, as she was a remarkable woman, and I had no idea she co-wrote some of those remarkable songs….I have arranged and the choir have sung Signed Sealed Delivered. So many good songs. 

SONG OF THE DAY –For Once in My Life -Stevie Wonder -THIS IS SUCH A GREAT CURRENT LIVE VERSION.  Written by Miller and Murden.  This is Miller’s most famous hit song and  was written the night his daughter Angel was born. It is one of the most covered songs in pop history with more than 270 recorded versions.

Bless you Mr Wonder. x x x 

by on

I can’t believe that  most people will  have forgotten about this  ancient and rather unusual festival of ours.  The 30th  of May is National Megaphone Day. A long forgotten festival dating back to  the late 17th century, when it had a different name, to do with commoners and noise. The festival was introduced to ‘give the plebs a voice’ just for one day, mind. For many years in market towns around Britain, the plebs and servants  where allowed to  walk round the towns with megaphones and anything they could bang, making as much of a bally hoo as they wanted with absolutely no danger of lock up or  prosecution. All the big wigs went undercover for a day and hid away from the noise. The law has not been repealed so if you want…get out there with your leather or papier mache megaphone, find a market town and make an awful din and quote the Royal charter of 1685 passed  by  Jolly old King Charles the II just before his death (feb 1685). The custom  was quickly quashed by the puritans, who did not like the idea of anyone doing anything that might make them feel better about themselves. It had a bit of a resurgence around the 19th century in some  smaller market towns around Leicestershire like Ashby-de-la Zouch. A few Morris dancing packs  and their prancers keeping going, but it is just not well known enough yet. Now is the time  to bring it back, with a bang, take a friend( or friends) and  a picnic….and your finest shouty voice. Long live the megaphone- shout!

 SONG OF THE DAY  The Wedding Song -Anias Mitchell

from Hadestown, an album that has moved me more than anything I have heard for an age album. I have been listening to it all afternoon and have not got to the end as I have to keep replaying the tracks. So into this at the moment and the whole thing of lots of musicians getting together and collaborating. I miss this.  Here is a  live version.  Different male vocalist on album, Justin Vernon. Such a beautiful song and a great album.

by on

 ‘This Town ‘ain’t  Big Enough for the Both of Us’ by Sparks

My Mate CM and her pal J. do a blinking cracking version of this song with voice and Mandoline, which reminded me of what a brilliant song it is, and how it was so ‘out of the box’ at the time it was released. I am today including the words as I have to say I have heard this song so many times and have no idea what any the lyrics are apart from ‘heart beat increasing heart beat’ and ‘this town aint big enough for the both of us’

Zoo time is she and you time
The mammals are your favourite type, and you want her tonight
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
You hear the thunder of stampeding rhinos, elephants and tacky tigers
This town ain’t big enough for both of us
And it ain’t me who’s gonna leave

Flying domestic flying
And when the stewardess is near do not show any fear
Heartbeat increasing heartbeat
You are a khaki-coloured bombadier it’s Hiroshima that you’re nearing
This town ain’t big enough for both of us
And it ain’t me who’s gonna leave

Daily, except for Sunday
You dawdle in to the cafe where you meet her each day
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
As twenty cannibals have hold of you, they need their protein just like you do
This town ain’t big enough for both of us
And it ain’t me who’s gonna leave

Shower, another shower
You’ve got to look your best for her and be clean everywhere
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
The rain is pouring on the foreign town, the bullets cannot cut you down
This town ain’t big enough for both of us
And it ain’t me who’s gonna leave

Census, the latest census
There’ll be more girls who live in town though not enough to go round
Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat
You know that:
This town isn’t big enough,
not big enough for both of us
This town isn’t big enough,
not big enough for both of us
And I ain’t gonna leave

by on

Song of the Day- Killer Queen -Queen

 I bought 2 singles for my best friends party, when I was about 14. This song and ‘You ‘aint seen nothing yet’ by Bachman, Turner, Overdrive….disco had not quite arrived…..thank god it did.

Some bastard nicked them both…but we did play them many many times through the evening. The boy I was going out with, who ended up becoming a policeman, went off with another girl and I cried almost the whole evening. I was wearing a dress I had made myself….I may not have made another one since!

I still am in shock at the fact that I have blogged every day but one, since Jan 1st of this year, but one day I did two seperate posts by mistake, so I am even. 148 days, my word. That is one big commitment. I know its not like taking a child to school every day, or putting the cat out every night, but it has taken up a huge amount of my time. If I say I averaged, 40 mins a post ( it usually takes me that long to correct the spelling mistakes) that is nearly one hundred hours that  I have spent writing and compiling this year,  so far, which is 3 times more time than I have spent watching Neighbours So it is all good. think I may be having a bit of a dull patch but it is all about the ebbs and flow, the high and low, the silence and the noise…blah blah blah