Tag Archives: Girlschool

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #35

Posted on by
Reply

For the first time of 2025, let’s indulge in another Singles Night. A night of spinning records, having a few drinks and enjoying the vibes.

The “singles” in the event title refers to vinyl singles: the 7 inch, 45 rpm discs that were once the pocket money swallowing masters of the weekly music chart. Now I have a massive stack of said singles, and on some nights I dig a load of ’em out, and play ’em. Both sides – A then B – and onto the next.

There are many wonders to be found amongst the hefty pile of 7″ records. And a few oddities. But the randomness and variety always an entertaining night.

Grab a drink and settle in with my latest playlist:

  1. Generation X – “King Rocker” / “Gimme Some Truth”
  2. David Bowie – “Modern Love” / “Modern Love (Live Version)”
  3. Motorhead/Girlschool – “Please Don’t Touch” / “Bomber” / “Emergency”
  4. The Alarm – “Presence of Love (Laugharne)” / “Knife Edge”
  5. Depeche Mode – “See You” / “Now, This Is Fun”
  6. Dana – “All Kinds of Everything” / “Channel Breeze”
  7. The Steve Gibbons Band – “Eddy Vortex” / “Little Suzie”
  8. Shirley Bassey – “So In Love” / “As Long As He Needs Me”
  9. Darts – “Don’t Let It Fade Away” / “Early In The Morning”
  10. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Oliver’s Army” / “My Funny Valentine”
  11. David Bowie – “Blue Jean” / “Dancing With The Big Boys”
  12. AC/DC – “Guns For Hire” / “Landslide”
  13. ABC – “The Look of Love” / “The Look of Love (Part 2)”
  14. The Jam – “Start” / “Liza Radley”
  15. Jimmy Cliff – “Reggae Night” / “Love Heights”
  16. The Sweet – “Little Willy” / “Man From Mecca”
  17. Propaganda – “Duel” / “Jewel”
  18. Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman – “Kinky Boots” / “Let’s Keep It Friendly”
  19. A-Ha – “Hunting High and Low (Remix)” / “The Blue Sky (Demo Version)”
  20. The Creatures – “Miss The Girl” / “Hot Springs in The Snow”
  21. Queen – “Somebody To Love” / “White Man”
  22. Ike & Tina Turner – “Nutbush City Limits” / “Help Him”

Twenty two records this week, and a few strange ones are still creeping in – some are the remains of a bundle of singles I bought at a car boot sale for a fiver. I kept Dana in the collection due to the Eurovision connection, but Shirley is a superstar.

Punk and New Wave genres are nicely represented in this selection, with great songs from Generation X, The Jam and Elvis Costello. A-Ha, Depeche Mode and ABC bring in some pop classics, while good old rock’n’roll is delivered by AC/DC, Motorhead and Girlschool.

Two great 1980s Bowie discs made the playlist and there’s a favourite from Queen (though it’s one of my least favourite songs of theirs). Adding to the 70s vintage is a cheeky number from Sweet, which never fails to raise a smile!

Another successful night spinning vinyl. More to come soon.

Platinum Al’s Instagram Top 9 2023

Posted on by
Reply

Yes, I’m on Instagram too. And I did that thing where you can get a snapshot of your most “liked” Insta posts of the year. To be honest, my engagement on that social media platform is plummeting, but I still decided to check out the stats. It’s a bit of a trend for me, this year, looking into the numbers.

Usually my Instagram posts are pics of vinyl from my collection, or beer (I’ve got a massive backlog of beer photos I haven’t posted yet). Other than that, you might get to see some skateboards, Star Wars toys or other action figures, comics and so on.

In the image below you’ll see the Top 9 images. 

For your information, here’s a breakdown of what those images are. Top left is most popular, bottom right is least.

  1. Glamour model and Page 3 Legend, Tracey Coleman, in a bunny girl outfit. I posted this at Easter. It was the most popular photo (though I didn’t take it, obviously).
  2. Racquel Welch: posted after she sadly passed away in 2023. One of my idols.
  3. Cliff Burton Reaction Figure: action figure of the legendary Metallica bass player.
  4. Bryn Celli Ddu: a photo of this awe inspiring, ancient burial site on Anglesey, Wales.
  5. Spud: our new cat, Spud.
  6. Me in a Barbie box, pretending to be a doll.
  7. My latest tattoo: the tiger head.
  8. Robinson’s Trooper Beer, in an appropriate glass, with a copy of Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast” LP on viinyl.
  9. Headgirl 10″ picture disc: Record Store Day reissue of the classic Motorhead/Girlschool collaboration.

I posted dozens of other images in 2023, but those ones were the most popular from the thirty or so people who bother to interact with me on there.

Thanks for sharing these moments with me. If you like, you can follow me on Instagram: platinum_al.official.

Toyah – Album Review

Posted on by
Reply

Toyah – Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! (2021 Remaster)

Cherry Red Records

Release date: 13/05/2022

Running time: 61 mins

Review by: Alun Jones

8.5/10

Now, your first question may well be: “How did Platinum Al manage to slip a Toyah review onto a Rock/Metal website?”  Well, dear reader, let me tell you a story.  The first time I ever saw Toyah live was at a local club, where the dynamic lady herself was backed by the mighty Girlschool.  All of these fearsome females put on an explosive show, comprising of ultra-rocked-up originals from both artists and classic rock covers.  So yes, Toyah is more rock’n’roll than you (or I) will ever be.

To be fair, despite her pop pedigree, Toyah Willcox has always been more Bowie than Kylie.  And on this reissue of the 1980 live album, Cherry Red have presented us with a vibrant – even, dare I say it, rocking – bunch of post punk songs that show Toyah and her band in full flight.  The expanded deluxe CD set is packaged with a DVD featuring a contemporary documentary.  For this review though, we’re focussing purely on the music.

Happily, the production is top notch.  Remastered by Nick Watson from the original master tapes, the sound is formidable.  The instruments come through crisp and clear, and the vocals are excellent, as shown on ‘Victims of the Riddle’ where keyboards maintain a steady melody while lead guitar erupts with energy.  Likewise, bass and drums shine on ‘Love Me’ – it’s particularly impressive considering we’re dealing with a 40-year-old live album.

Highlights on “Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!” include ‘Bird in Flight’, ‘Danced’ (which reminded me of the Skids) and the occult war chant of ‘Ieya’.  Never truly dark enough to be goth, the songs here are more “Scary Monsters” with a generous helping of Hawkwind space rock, especially on ‘Race Through Space’.

Through it all, Toyah’s one-of-a-kind voice soars.  Toyah has never stopped writing and performing music, acting, presenting and so on; these days she’s famous for her lockdown YouTube videos performing kitchen-based rock covers with husband, King Crimson legend, Robert Fripp.  It’s great to hear “Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!” remastered and in pristine condition.  Even speaking as a vinyl purist, it looks like my ancient vinyl copy has had its day.

Check out Toyah on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or her own website thingy.

You can also investigate the many wonders offered by Cherry Red Records on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bandcamp and their own webalicious site.

This review has been presented to you by Platinum Al and Ever Metal.

Toyah – Live Review

Posted on by
Reply

Toyah

Saturday 27th August 2014

The Tivoli, Buckley

It was Saturday night, live music on at the Tiv from alternative 80’s legend Toyah – where was everybody?  The place was mostly empty!

Yes, it’s another live music review at Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub – and this time we’re back to that old favourite, The Tivoli in Buckley.

I remember seeing Toyah Wilcox on Tiswas one Saturday morning, when I was about eight.  I thought she was cool (and a bit cute).  I’ve also seen Toyah live before at the Tiv, in the early 90’s when she appeared there with Girlschool.  So I got to hear a few of Toyah’s hits in a rocked up style, along with some Girlschool tunes and some covers (I remember a bit of Zeppelin in the set).

And many of my Virtual Hot Tub pals will also be aware of the time last year at Birmingham NEC Memorabilia, where I met the star in question.  She signed my old Official Toyah Annual and I grabbed a sneaky photo.

You can probably imagine that I was quite stoked to hear that Toyah would be performing just up the road in Buckley.

The date for the gig had been changed previously, so maybe this re-scheduling was to blame for the low turn out.  The Tiv was about a quarter full, prompting Toyah herself to declare “It’s like playing a private party!” – she was far from disheartened.  Toyah was in fine voice and full of energy, bouncing around on the stage.  Between songs, there’s a brief introduction which really does make the whole gig a very intimate experience.

Meeting Toyah at NEC Memorabilia Nov 13
Toyah annual – autographed!

Obviously we get the established songs: “It’s a Mystery”, “I Want to be Free”, “Be Proud Be Loud Be Heard” and many more.  Plus there are some welcome covers such as “Rebel Yell” and “These Boots Are Made for Walking”, which fit in really well with the more expected numbers.  The band are also very impressive and the whole performance is professional, but down to earth.

It’s over far too soon.  Despite a small audience, it was a great gig with a relaxed atmosphere.