This week’s Songs of the Week were all heard on vinyl only. Some were from records I had for my birthday, others I bought with birthday money.
Dozens of songs listened to, here are five that stood out:
Forget using your super smart, internet enabled portable phone as a means of playing music. And forget iPods, too – sadly the swines at Apple have decided to sacrifice their master product, in order to concentrate on their vile mutant phone. My mate Greeny has a much better music playing machine than any of those.
Greeny has a jukebox.
The jukebox is named Florence. After Florence and the Machine, as she’s a machine, obviously. Florence stands proudly in the corner of the lounge, neither dominating the room or sitting back like a wall flower. But Florence has presence: when the lights are on and the tunes are spinning, you will be drawn magnetically to this wondrous device.
He’s been collecting 7 inch singles since he were a lad, has Greeny. Now Florence is a treasure trove packed full of delightful vinyl gems. There’s a wild variety of musical genres in Florence, spanning the decades. She’s regularly re-stocked and/or has the records switched out and replaced with others, keeping the music selection fresh and entrancing.
Florence holds around 84 records. Don’t forget that there’s a song on side A and B, so that’s a generous amount of music to enjoy.
It’s a lot of fun gathering around the jukebox in Greeny’s front room, with a few beers and spinning some records. I would love one of my own, one day – though they cost a few hundred quid, so it’s unlikely. I’m collecting a few cool 7 inch singles just in case, though…
Here’s a list of the records that are currently stocked inside Florence. Remember Greeny has to rotate the records, as he has far more than this! Which songs would you choose to play?
And if you’re interested, this jukebox is a Rowe AMI RI-3.
The tracks:
Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister
24.12.1945 – 28.12.2015
A huge part of growing up is buying your first Motorhead album. For me it was the compilation album “No Remorse”, which I wanted because it had “Ace of Spades” and “Killed By Death” on it. With that purchase, I took a step into a bigger world. Motorhead were a gang, not just a band – and with buying that record I was subscribing to a whole new way of life.
The first time I encountered the rabid monster that was Motorhead was when they performed the legendary “Ace of Spades” on the Young Ones episode “Bambi”. Lemmy was there front and centre, a living icon in mirror shades, mutton chop whiskers, and thunderous bass guitar; bellowing into a mic that was stretched to the ceiling.
Motorhead’s music was a raucous, fast burst of adrenaline and I played that album every Monday morning before school. It was the best way to get into the zone and face the start of the week. Total take no prisoners, take on the world music. Of course, real life wasn’t so harsh, but Motorhead made you feel like you could do anything.
Lemmy himself was always the uncompromising rock’n’roll figurehead. His gruff demeanour and his reputation for fast living only cemented his status. And Motorhead were always cool. When I developed a taste for punk rock, Motorhead were still cool. Lemmy and Motorhead straddled the otherwise impossible crevasse between punk and metal. He had roots going back to early rock’n’roll and the classics of the 60’s with the Beatles and Hendrix. Lemmy was part of rock’s DNA.
Over the years I collected their albums, bought the t-shirt and Lemmy’s autobiography, and saw them live. I even met the guy once. One day I’ll write up the story of that night, which I was always going to call “The Greatest Night Out of My Life”. Suffice to say that I met Lemmy in a strip club in Liverpool after a Motorhead gig, totally by chance. I hung out with him all night. He was extremely gracious and funny. He was tolerant of drunk fans because he knew how much the music meant to us.
As much a gentleman as a warrior, the world has lost a real original with the passing of Lemmy Kilmister. He was a pioneer, an innovator. We knew he’d go one day, but it’s still unbelievable. I’ll miss Motorhead. Raise a glass to the great man and yell:
“You know I’m born to lose, and gambling’s for fools, but that’s the way I like it baby, I don’t wanna live forever!”
The Holy Rollers
Saturday 3rd October 2015
The White Bear, Mancot, Deeside
Now I may not know much, but I do know two things very well: the first one is ROCK and the second one is ROLL. And so I was looking forward to finally seeing The Holy Rollers play, bringing their unique brand of rock star to a local venue.
The White Bear is a great pub; featuring live acts every Saturday in addition to all the other wonderful things they do (like the food). It’s also very close to home for me, luckily. Though I was a bit worried I might end up hosting the after gig party for The Holy Rollers, being so close to the place. Luckily that never happened – otherwise my TV would surely have been thrown out of the window…
Wrexham’s finest – The Holy Rollers – are a covers band par excellence; expertly rendering classics across various genres from different decades. I understand they’re also debauched rock’n’rollers with a penchant for chaos and partying.
Whilst anticipation mounted, the band took their places and the intro tape played the start of the A-Team. You know, “In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison for a crime they didn’t commit…” This was the first stroke of genius of the night. If ever I’m in a band, I want the A-Team intro before I go on. Awesome.
The Holy Rollers, crack commando rock stars that they are, launched into their first set of the night setting the tone nicely, with well chosen songs that skipped across styles effortlessly. There’s some Oasis (“Rock’n’Roll Star”); some Stones (“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”) and even a classy “Beat It” to get the party started. An early highlight for me was the Weezer classic “Buddy Holly”, just ‘cos I love Weezer. 
The band confidently raided the back catalogue of numerous great bands to deliver a quality set, impressing with their craft. Vocals and guitar duties are shared (and alternated) between Rob Roxx and G Bomb, adding some variety to the delivery. Both of them delivered the tunes with a cool tenacity that made it all look easy.
The first set featured a storming final run through “Should I Stay of Should I Go”, “Hard Day’s Night”, “You Really Got Me” and Primal Scream’s “Rocks”. You can’t fault that for a set list.
After a short break, the second half of the gig was back on. We get ‘Phonics classic “Local Boy in the Photograph” and a bit of Bon Jovi. The Holy Rollers version of Bad Company nugget “Feel Like Makin’ Love” was another highlight and a nice change of pace.
A mini punk rock section followed with “Teenage Kicks” (Undertones) and “Ever Fallen In Love…” (Buzzcocks). The rhythm section did a fine job of keeping everything together as the pace changed through out the gig. Bass player Maxx stalked the room like a rock’n’roll avenger with mayhem in mind. Drummer Good Boy Roy pummelled the skins as if they’d insulted his mother.
Although delivering familiar material, The Holy Rollers always have an element of surprise tucked up their sleeves. Case in point is the genius mash up of “Seven Nation Army” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” – two songs melded together to create a whole new monster. It shouldn’t work, but it does – incredible. The White Stripes and Marvin Gaye? Who knows what other Frankensteins these mad scientists can create?
The joy of The Holy Rollers gig was the fearless renditions of songs regardless of musical styles; be it “Uptown Funk”, Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” or the Smiths. They are unafraid to play great songs, whether old or new, and regardless of genre. It made a refreshing change to hear this four man mobile juke box playing songs that were well known, but given an exciting make over.
When the gig was over, The Holy Rollers dispersed. Probably off to some rock star mansion to drive a Rolls Royce into the pool. Or setting off fire works in expensive hotels. Whatever they got up to; we, the people can rest assured. Rock’n’roll is in safe hands.
Johnny’s Place, Parga, Greece
My holiday this summer was another visit to Parga in Greece. It’s a very beautiful town on the west coast; nestled snugly amongst beach and harbour. In the bay there is a small island with white church resting on top; above the town is an ancient fort – it’s real picturesque stuff.
Parga features many excellent tavernas, restaurants and bars. A bar I’ve now visited a few times is Johnny’s Place, where the cold beer is “cheap as chips” and the welcome is warm.
Situated in the middle of town, the people watching at Johnny’s Place is second to none. It’s a relaxing atmosphere with some great tunes.
Over the space of a few visits to this bar, we compiled a playlist of songs that were heard. In the spirit of reminiscing about another fabulous summer holiday, here are the songs that take me back to that time and place.
Imagine enjoying a cold Mythos (and a plate of meze, as provided gratis here!) and let the everyday stresses melt away…
If you visit Parga – and I highly recommend you do – don’t forget to pay Johnny’s Place a visit.
The website for Johnny’s Place is here.
The Facebook page is here.
Thanks to Colin for the menu board photo!
Platinum Al's Virtual Hot Tub 