Old singles and cooking...

Playlist

Just can't sleep anymore once I'm awake, so, up stupidly early again but, as is almost always the case, with "stuff" to do...

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Some work done pre breakfast and, post which, Anne was off to an enjoyable session of Pickleball - 4 wins out of six and a coffee with the group afterwards...

I had a coffee too...

...and opened up box 5 of 5 of my remaining 7" singles collection for #SinglesWeekend...

I picked 25 discs to spin...

1/25 “I Will Return” by Springwater (1971), supposedly written by Phil Cordell, but really it’s just “Abide With Me”. A favourite from school discos back in the day…

2/25 “Run with the Fox” by Chris Squire and Alan White (1981). Recorded when it seemed, yes, were no more, the first of a few Christmassy singles in today’s selection…

3/25 “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (has made a loser out of me)” By Rod Stewart. A double “A” side with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Angel”, bought around Christmas 1972…

4/25 The Stranglers “Something Better Change” (1977) from this coloured vinyl US import 4 track EP which plays at 33rpm.  A staple at parties at Xmas & New Year 1977…

5/25 Another purchase from late 1972 and also a Xmas hit that year. “Lay Down” by Strawbs (1972) - the single edit, with a tune based on another tune. Any ideas.  Love this one…

6/25 “Soul Train” by Swansway. A top notch one hit wonder from 1984…

7/25 Sylvian/Sakamoto’s 1982 follow-up to “Forbidden Colours”, “Bamboo Houses”, came in to gatefold sleeve, with one artist on the front and one on the back. Steve Jansen’s unmistakable drumming on this one…

Break time…

Anne was home by now and had made some of her top notch soup for lunch...

Back to it while Anne wrapped her Xmas presents...

8/25 Next up is Sakamoto's Yellow Magic Orchestra bandmate, Yukihiro Takahashi, who released a number of tasty singles in the early eighties.  This is "Disposable Love" from 1982...

9/25 Not as famous as their "Once in a Lifetime" of course but Talking Heads' "Houses in Motion", the 2nd single from "Remain in Light, received a special remix for its 7" release in May 1981, but still only reached No 50 on the UK chart...

10/25 this was a "number 1" for me, in my own weekly charts back in 1984 - The Technos (formerly the Techno Twins) and "Spirit of the Thing".  A few years later, I visited the lion statue featured on the cover - it's "The Lion of Lucerne"...

11/25 I have no recollection of purchasing this 1960's 7" of works by Telemann on the Archiv label. But it plays fine and the music is "delightful"...  Very nice indeed!

12/25 Almost half way through and it's the Temptations' classic, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" - but the instrumental B side, for a wee change.  Norman Whitfield was a genius...

13/25 Another Xmas related item, the b side of T Rex's "Solid Gold Easy Action" was "Born to Boogie", which opens with a rendition of "Jingle Bells" together with a "Have a Happy Xmas and Superfunk New Year" message from Mr Bolan...

14/25 TV21, who had a rehearsal room in the old Regent Cinema in Edinburgh, next door to our band, Capital Models.  This was their debut single and they went on to make one LP for a label. To be fair, they are less punky and a more tuneful than we were.  But, hey ho...

15/25 The single 3 ahead of this is just finishing as I type, hence the quick follow up posts. This is a rare trio recording by the 2nd iteration of Eddie Jobson/John Wetton's UK. It was only ever released on the B side of the single "Nothing to Lose", from their 2nd LP, in 1979...

16/25 Love the original Ultravox! (complete with exclamation mark - although this was the last release to have that with the name) even though the Midge Ure led version was more commercially successful. This 33RPM, 4 track live EP, from February 1978 captures them at the top of their early game. Played "The Man Who Dies Every Day" - always a fave

17/25 Uriah Heep's "The Wizard" from "Demons and Wizards" from early 1972, although I bought this, with the 7" edit of "Gypsy" on the B side, in late '72, post having delved into their work with "The Magician's Birthday". One of my all time fave bands despite being reviled by many...

18/25 Bought both this and The Valves' 2nd single, at Bruces in Rose St in Edinburgh - both fully signed by the band. "Robot Love" and "For Adolfs Only" were popular punky tracks at the time. A coffee spill a couple of years back did for the cover, which was annoying...

19/25 A four song bootleg EP by "The Heat" but, actually, The Velvet underground - these songs eventually appeared on the two mid 80s collections on Polydor, "VU" and "Another View". I played the A Side, the almost 7 minute vamp, "Foggy Notion"...  Yowsah!

20/25 Searched high and low to find this on its release as it was "banned" for its political content, which prompted Mr McCartney to issue a nursery rhyme next! "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" from 1972... Home made picture sleeve and defaced label - it's what 13 year olds did...

21/25 Superb single, I am often caught singing this tune to myself to this day. The 7" edit is the one with which I'm most familiar, although there is a sterling video of a performance on the OGWT, including Ed on timbales. "Frankenstein" from May 1973 (the LP was released in '72)...

22/25 Can't be Xmas without playing this -undoubtedly the best Xmas single EVER. Another coffee incident did for the cover, this time by my clumsy brother-in-law, an accident which, if I'm honest, will never be forgiven. But, the music's the thing and this is a stone cold classic...

23/25 A US import on Ralph Records, taken from Yello's Debut LP from 1980, "Solid Pleasure", when Carlos Peron was the other member of the then trio.  "Bimbo" leads off the LP and really ought to have been a hit...

24/25 In the early 70's, Yes didn't release singles in the UK but their US record company did. Got this excerpt from "Close to The Edge" 2nd hand, with a great big hole in the middle...  Sadly the one I picked up didn't come with a picture sleeve. "Total Mass Retain" from 1972...

25/25 Last one for today. It's the only record I've ever heard with acceptable use of pan pipes. this was a hit in late 1976 and has been a fave since then.  Gheorghe Zamfir's "Doine de Jale" aka "The Light of Experience"... Superb...

That's it, till the next time...

Also this afternoon, the compilation of tomorrow's podcast was commenced...

Meanwhile, Anne was feeling a little under the weather and was blaming the lentils in her soup (despite their having had no effect on me)...

So, solo cooking by your correspondent this evening...

Quorn and veg macaroni...

Very tasty indeed...

I fell asleep during the "Strictly" results show, while listening to an Ultravox! box set - but was awake later for the next to episodes of "The War Between the Land and the Sea", which is, of course, a load of absolute tosh - but just one episode to go - I wonder if Dr Who, in a new regeneration, will appear to save the day - or an old regeneration - he is a time traveler of course so, technically, any one of his many selves could turn up...

Anyway, then, the Hearts highlights, their having beaten Falkirk away this afternoon, while rivals Celtic lost the League Cup Final, 3-1, to my home town team St Mirren...

Well played the Buddies...

Bed around midnight as usual having added a load of Krautrock from one Jorg's hard-drives to my library late on...

Highlight of the Day: Old singles and cooking...

Today's New Music: