Film Archives - My First Record

My Super Seven Soundtracks

Our regular guest blogger Polly Taylor reflects on afternoons and evenings lost in the fantasy arena of the cinema / movies, aided and abetted by great soundtracks……

Lost Boys (1987)

Let’s face it, any album containing 2 INXS tracks was always going to win me over. The opening duet, ‘Good Times’, sung by Michael Hutchence and Jimmy Barnes (of Australian band Cold Chisel), is a corker. If there’s one song that I’d love to hear performed live, it’s this one. Not just anywhere, though – it would have to be at the Coogee Bay Hotel in Sydney, where both the former band and the latter artist have played in years gone by; in fact the Australian National Portrait Gallery even has a picture of Barnes, singing on that very stage.

That will never happen now, of course – barring someone inventing a time travel machine that works (DeLorean or otherwise), to transport me back to 1984 (rather then 1985) when the aforementioned photo was taken, and Hutchence was still alive.

I also love Echo and the Bunnymen’s ‘People are Strange’ and the theme tune ‘Cry little Sister’. All the tunes are good, with no sign of filler tracks whatsoever. They evoke the kitsch horror of the movie perfectly; the motion picture and accompanying soundtrack in perfect harmony.

Grease (1978)

I know, I know – from the cool as Lost Boys to the super cheesy Grease? You have a point, but hear me out. If you’ve ever been a teenage girl – and there’s fairly good odds that you might have been, at some stage – you should understand. Singing your heart out to the jolly ditties ‘Summer Nights’, ‘We go Together’, or ‘You’re the One that I Want’; the grittier (and dirtier) ‘Greased Lighting’; or the slushy, soppy song that is ‘Hopelessly Devoted’ – it’s all part and parcel of female puberty and frankly, an essential rite of passage.

Trainspotting (1996)

From Rydell High School to the grubbier parts of Edinburgh now, for what is possibly THE film soundtrack of the 1990s. Released right in the midst of the dance club and Britpop band ‘Madchester’ era, this film was huge, making massive stars of director Danny Boyle and actors including Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle. Jonny Lee Miller was even married to the mighty A-lister Angelina Jolie back then.

The track list reads like a Who’s Who of the mid-1990s – Blur, Sleeper, Primal Scream, Leftfield, New Order, Pulp, Elastica… even the ‘Godfather of Punk’ Iggy Pop has two tracks on there. Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’, used as it is in the film, is pure genius. If you think it glorifies drug-taking, just keep watching, until the very bitter end, of this groundbreaking movie.

The Beach (2000)

Phew. From the frenetic, gritty backstreets of the Scottish capital to a tropical paradise. ‘The Beach’ is set on a picture postcard Thai island, boasting the most pristine peach of a beach. Things gradually start to sour, though, until the benign ‘cancer in the corals’ of Alex Garland’s novel turn malignant. The clear blue waters become sullied by blood, and the islanders begin to lose their grip on their Utopian universe. The soundtrack fits both the film and the book beautifully, from ‘Pure Shores’ to ‘Spinning away’, ‘Brutal’ and ‘Out of Control’.

Romeo and Juliet (1996)

This modern take on Shakespeare was released the same year as Trainspotting, and despite being a love story, it also shines a light on the grimier side of life. Mostly filmed in Mexico City and Boca del Rio (also in Mexico), parts were also shot in Miami; a city almost as infamous for its seedier side, as it is renowned as a sunbaked holiday spot.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, after all. Some songs are, as you might expect, all ‘Young hearts run free’; while ‘Kissing you’ seems like something of a lament. My favourite is the Wannadies’ ‘You and Me song’, and not only because I once spent a crazy evening with one of my backpacking chums, literally jumping up and down on the floor like kids on a bed in a Sydney flat-share. We caused the manager of the block to hammer on our door and tell us to belt up. Perhaps not my finest hour, but it was one of the funniest…

The Doors (1991)

I first watched ‘The Doors’ film some months before the mad half hour in Sydney had even happened, on a farm in South Australia near the Murray river, where I spent a few happy months picking apricots, scoffing peaches and mixing (for a change) with real Australians.

Atmospheric is the word that springs to mind; both for the film and for the Doors’ musical output, ‘Riders on the Storm’ being the ultimate – but not the only – case in point. ‘Light my Fire’ is of course a veritable anthem, although it is ethereal, as opposed to downright eerie, which I find ‘Riders on the Storm’ to be. Eerie isn’t a bad thing; I love a bit of gothic horror, and the Doors could deliver that in spades through their songwriting and performance. Not to mention the trance-like, hypnotic quality of much of their music.

Val Kilmer, previously known to me as ‘Iceman’ in Top Gun, was brilliant and a thoroughly convincing Jim Morrison, and his Top Gun co-star Meg Ryan nailed it, too. Great film, intriguing story and a fabulous soundtrack to boot.

Dirty Dancing (1987)

The release of this perennial girls’ film favourite coincided agreeably with my entering my teens – I was 13 when it came out. I was developing physically, and mentally, was starting to discover the power of a serious crush. All the girls, in 1987, had a crush on Patrick Swayze, but it wasn’t only his hip-swivelling that gripped our hearts (and nether regions). The movie’s music was utterly captivating, too.

I must point out, at this juncture, that the edition you want – if you so desire – is ‘Ultimate Dirty Dancing’, rather than the ‘Original motion picture soundtrack’. The latter omits Solomon Burke’s ‘Cry to Me’, for one thing – the very song to which Johnny and Baby finally get it on. A heinous crime (the omission, I mean, not the getting it on).

‘Do You Love Me’ is missing, too – the very song that plays, right there in that oversized barn-type place, where the whole love story begins and we first see some proper dirty dancing. Otis Redding is even disregarded, which is, frankly, unforgivable. ‘Ultimate Dirty Dancing’ is one of my top picks; what a shame the bigwigs saw fit to omit some of the most seminal tracks from the official version.

This article was written by our guest blogger Polly Taylor @ BloggerByTheSea.com

A favourite romantic film, framed and mounted, makes a unique wedding gift for the bride and groom or alternatively an original birthday present for your girlfriend / wife. You can personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque……

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By Simon|2018-05-09T09:43:55+01:00May 9, 2018|Film, Framed DVDs, Movies, Music, Nostalgia|0 Comments

Musicians I Miss the Most: Polly Taylor raves about heroes in their graves!!

I’ve already waxed lyrical on the loss of George Michael, but he’s far from alone in being taken from us far too soon. In fact, in the same year alone, David Bowie and Prince departed many months before Mr Michael slipped away on Christmas Day 2016.

I didn’t really feel a huge sense of loss when any of the above left us, to be honest. For me, it’s been more of a slow burner. I hear a song on the radio, or select a song from my extensive and eclectic CD collection, and suddenly I’ll feel a genuine, deep-seated sadness right in the pit of my belly, that makes me almost have to catch my breath. It is the same feeling that I get when I suddenly miss my mother. It can be just as strong, and it almost always takes me completely by surprise.

My mother died at 57, the same age as another of the deceased that I miss dearly. I think it might be pushing it to call him a musician; nevertheless he was a major feature of my teenage life – and fantasies. I’m talking about old swizzle-hips himself, the one and only Patrick Swayze, the guy who could pin me into a corner any time he chose.

Patrick Swayze did, in fact, record one of the songs for the soundtrack of ‘Dirty Dancing’. (See one of our happy customers below with her framed “Dirty Dancing” film DVD which we created as a birthday gift for her from her family. For more info go to the MyFirstRecord.co.uk website……. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/framed-dvds/framed-dvd-and-cover ). As far as I was previously aware that was his only flirtation with singing. I was wrong. He is described, in fact, on the ubiquitous Wikipedia as an ‘actor, dancer and singer-songwriter’. I’m not here to praise his musical talent – of lack thereof – though. I recall his connection to music in his dancing to it rather than his singing of it. He could certainly dance. Mmm…

Patrick Swayze isn’t top of my list. He lies somewhere beneath an Australian rocker (that I’d love to have lain beneath) who is probably the artist I miss the most of all. INXS are my all-time favourite band, and I loved everything about Michael Hutchence. Yep, even that whole tortured-soul thing he had going on, that was almost definitely the cause of his demise in one way or another. It almost certainly played a large part in causing my crush on him, too.

Oh, to have been Paula Yates, on that bed on the “Big Breakfast” with him in 1994!! To have seen INXS play live at the Coogee Bay hotel, a Sydney boozer in which I spent far too much time and money, for a few brief months in 1996. Furthermore, imagine bumping into the man himself in that crowded, raucous joint… I think I’d better stop right there, this is a public place.

There’s a big connection building here, isn’t there? The artists I miss the most, seem to be those I lusted after the most. Which takes me right back to George Michael, the subject of my earliest teenage stirrings. He was the first musician I can remember who awakened those feelings in me, but I think it’s more than just physical. With music, I’d argue that there’s a mental connection too. Through melodies, lyrics, harmonies and poetry, the artists speak to something deep in the soul, and I think that’s why they become so very much admired – and later, when they pass – very much missed.

After all, crushes in our early adult life are supposedly practice for the real thing; a rehearsal for out later years when we might fall in love, commit and in many cases, reproduce. It’s said that the first cut is the deepest, referring, I presume, to our first real-life love; but surely that depth of feeling for our musical idols – the practice run – would mean that their loss would leave, at least, a deep scratch?

I’d say, yes, indeed, the first cut is indeed the deepest and leaves the biggest scar, like the cut below my knee from a minor car crash in the 1980s. The nasty scratches I got when taking a cross-country shortcut through brambles during my school days may now be invisible, but they took years to disappear, and surely there might be some permanent damage to the skin beneath? It can no longer be seen, granted – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

I wish Prince and Bowie were still around, but I can say that without intensity of feeling. It’s a real shame they’re not around to make wonderful music any more, but that’s where it ends. I don’t feel that connection with them, as I did – and do to this day – with George Michael, Patrick Swayze and Michael Hutchence. I do feel that they were part of my life. My mood changes, in a more serious way, when I hear ‘Praying for Time’, ‘Cry to Me’ (by Solomon Burke, from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack), or ‘Never Tear us Apart’ (See the framed vinyl copy of INXS “Never Tear Us Apart” below; a wedding first dance gift we created recently. For more info go to MyFirstRecord.co.uk). I experience a profound sense of loss, in a way that just doesn’t happen with other late greats, who I miss purely for their musical output. Prince’s ‘1999’ will always make me want to get out and party, while Bowie’s ’Changes’ will make me feel a little sad – but not gut-wrenchingly so.

There’s an artist, though, who for me lies somewhere between the two extremes, and that is Michael Jackson. His music featured hugely during my schooldays, and I have very fond memories of my sister and I singing (or rather, yelling) along to the ‘Thriller’ video, trying (and failing miserably) to copy Jackson’s signature dance moves. There’s another one who could move, for sure – but could not move me, in the way that Patrick Swayze could. I look back upon Michael Jackson’s life and work with affection, and a measure of palpable emotion, but I suspect that’s down to my connection with my sister and what we shared, than down to any emotional relationship with the man himself.

I grew up with George Michael, Patrick Swayze and Michael Hutchence, and they will always be very dear – and feel very familiar – to me. Therefore I will always regret their loss, just like I will always yearn for my mother and grandmother. When you grow up with people, they leave a lasting impression on your life and things will never be quite the same again when they’re dead and gone. Even if you never met them.

This article was written by our guest blogger Polly Taylor @ BloggerByTheSea.com

Check out Polly’s blog……There are some very entertaining and informative articles on a diverse range of subjects & topics. For instance her home made recipes are mouth watering and delicious!!

By Simon|2018-03-14T10:45:33+00:00March 14, 2018|Film, Framed DVDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, Nostalgia, Retro Music|0 Comments

Saturday Night Fever was a better disco jukebox than film

Is it really 40 years since Saturday Night Fever was released on an unsuspecting cinema audience?

I say unsuspecting because Saturday Night Fever introduced a mass audience to the phenomenon of disco and John Travolta ( making his film debut ). As the film opened to Tony Manero aka John Travolta strutting down a sidewalk in New York carrying a pot of paint, there was little to suggest that John Travolta would paint the “Big Apple” red on the dance floors of New York night spots. In fairness he looked more like a lothario than a “DIY Dad”, but nevertheless nothing prepared us for his moves on the dancefloor!!

Nor was there any hint that Saturday Night Fever would become a cultural and music phenomenon that would ingratiate it’s way into the hearts and souls of my generation and generations to come. The film plot / storyline is thin at best but where the movie excelled was in John Travolta’s dancing and athleticism, but most of all the musical score / soundtrack, spearheaded by the Bee Gees.

So let’s celebrate the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever, with this top 5 best songs from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack –

Top 5 Best Songs from Saturday Night Fever

1) Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive

2) Bee Gees – How deep is your love?

3) Trammps – Disco Inferno

4) Yvonne Elliman – If I can’t have you

5) Tavares – More than a woman

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever by ordering your favourite Saturday Night Fever song as a framed vinyl single. If intended as a gift, you can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… ORDER NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Framed vinyl records and CDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration i.e. a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENTS! MAKING THE PAST THE PRESENT…… ORDER HERE www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

By Simon|2017-06-06T14:07:26+01:00June 6, 2017|Film, Framed Vinyl & CDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, Nostalgia, Retro Music, Vinyl Records|0 Comments

Beatles Sgt Pepper 50th anniversary launches with a film

It was 50 years ago that Sgt Pepper taught the band to play; the band in question being the Beatles.

As part of the Sgt Pepper 50th anniversary celebrations there’s a new documentary film celebrating the landmark event in popular music history.

It Was 50 Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt Pepper & Beyond is due for release in UK cinemas on 26th May. The documentary film focuses on the 12 months of recording of what is widely debated as the most iconic album ever produced. Director Alan G Parker utilises rare archive footage to tell his story, along with a series of interviews with subjects including original drummer Pete Best, John Lennon’s sister Julia and Hunter Davies.

It Was 50 Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt Pepper & Beyond examines the Beatles disillusionment with touring and the controversies that dogged the Beatles from drugs to blasphemy. The film give several first-hand accounts of what would become the world’s first concept album.

It Was Fifty Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt Pepper & Beyond is in cinemas from 26th May, including special Q&A previews. It will be released on digital on 1st June and DVD on 3rd July. In the meantime, here’s a taster…… https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/apr/05/sgt-pepper-is-50-new-documentary-beatles-alan-g-parker

Celebrate your love of The Beatles by ordering your favourite Beatles song as a framed vinyl single or CD single. If intended as a gift, you can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… ORDER NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Framed vinyl records and CDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration i.e. a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENTS! MAKING THE PAST THE PRESENT…… ORDER HERE www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

By Simon|2017-04-07T11:31:03+01:00April 7, 2017|Film, Framed Vinyl & CDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, Nostalgia, Retro Music, Vinyl Records|0 Comments

John Lennon and Yoko Ono love story movie to be made

The relationship of John Lennon and Yoko Ono will form the basis of a new film from the writer of the Stephen Hawking movie, The Theory of Everything.

“The story will focus on ripe and relevant themes of love, courage and activism in the US – with the intention of inspiring today’s youth to stand up for and have a clear vision for the world they want,” said producer Michael De Luca, whose previous credits include The Social Network, Captain Phillips and Moneyball.

It is thought that the film script is likely to depict John Lennon and Yoko Ono as a celebrity couple throughout the 1970s, Lennon’s drifting away from the Beatles, the couple’s music together ( which began with the anti Vietnam War anthem Give Peace A Chance ) and John Lennon’s murder in 1980.

In 2009, the life of John Lennon as a youth growing up in Liverpool was brought to the screen by Sam Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy, where he was played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Yoko Ono was supportive of the finished product and was “flabbergasted” at how good it was, as was the Record Press author. If you haven’t seen it, I would definitely recommend Nowhere Boy.

Celebrate your love of John Lennon by ordering your favourite John Lennon song as a framed vinyl single. If intended as a gift, you can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… ORDER NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Framed vinyl records and CDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration i.e. a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENTS! MAKING THE PAST THE PRESENT……

By Simon|2017-02-02T11:34:51+00:00February 2, 2017|Film, Framed Vinyl & CDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, Music Memorabilia, Nostalgia, Retro Music, Vinyl Records|0 Comments

Ian Dury was so much more than Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Andy Serkis absolutely nailed Ian Dury in the 2010 biopic film, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.

Not only did Andy Serkis look like Ian Dury, but he captured his abrasive, mercurial and tortured soul, borne out the bitterness and frustration that the artist understandably felt as a result of contracting polio as a boy. All those frustrations with being a cripple bubbled up to the surface in Ian Dury and the The Blockheads’ first hit single “What a Waste” and set the tone for all the music that was to come.

What Andy Serkis’ portrayal of Ian Dury succeeded in doing, was to remind us not only of the man’s great talent as a songwriter and charismatic frontman, but also what a flawed, complex character he was as a father and a lover. As much as he was angst ridden, belligerent, abrasive and anarchical; he was also kind, caring, compassionate, sensitive and vulnerable. In truth the latter attributes were generally well concealed in Ian Dury’s songs, but what was never concealed was his innate ability as a storyteller. At the end of the 1970s, Ian Dury was almost peerless when it came to being a raconteur and storyteller in the music world – probably only equalled by the Jam’s Paul Weller and Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze.

Ian Dury was a tempestuous tour de force, who burned brightly, but sadly for too short a time. The Record Press author considers himself privileged to have seen Ian Dury & The Blockheads live………I can even remember the date and place………It was Sunday 9^th August 1992 at Finsbury Park, North London…….Ian Dury and the band were supporting Madness at the first ”Madstock” concert. I wouldn’t say that Ian Dury & The Blockheads stole the show, but they certainly were not eclipsed by headliners Madness!!

Lest we forget Ian Dury & The Blockheads’ anarchical brilliance and wit, here is the Record Press Top 10 Best Ian Dury & The Blockheads songs –

Top 10 Best Ian Dury & The Blockheads songs

1) What a Waste ( No9 1978 )

2) Reasons to be Cheerful Part 3 ( No3 1979 )

3) Hit me with your Rhythm Stick ( No1 1979 )

4) Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll ( Non hit 1977 )

5) There ain’t half been some Clever Bastards ( Non hit 1978 )

6) Billericay Dickie (Non hit 1977 )

7) Profoundly in Love with Pandora ( No45 1985 )

8) Crippled with Nerves (Non hit 1975 )

9) New Boots & Panties (Non hit 1977 )

10) Spasticus ( Autisticus ) ( Non hit 1981 )

You can celebrate your love of Ian Dury, by ordering your favourite Ian Dury song in a vinyl single format; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. If it’s intended as a gift, you can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… ORDER NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

By Simon|2016-06-06T08:10:37+01:00June 6, 2016|Film, Framed DVDs, Framed Vinyl & CDs, Music, Music Memorabilia, Retro Music, Vinyl Records|0 Comments

Ban Sam Smith Bond song, not Paloma Rugby World Cup song

Thousands of sports fans have signed a petition asking ITV to stop playing Paloma Faith’s Rugby World Cup song.

The Paloma Faith cover of “World in Union” has been pilloried online, with people branding it “excruciating”. The campaign was spearheaded and initiated by Jonathan Wilson from Worcester, who launched the petition a week ago on campaign website Change.org. Since then it has attracted nearly seven thousand signatures.

The IT worker told the Press Association: “The petition isn’t taking issue with Paloma herself – in fact, I’d never even heard any of her music before last week. I don’t like her rendition of World in Union, but she’s interpreted the song in her own unique way and sung it in her style, and it would be wrong of her to have approached it in a different way. What we’re petitioning against is ITV’s decision to use the song in their coverage, and the regularity with which it is forced upon our gentle ears.”

The Record Press author would respectfully suggest and argue that if we are going to ban the Paloma Faith cover of “World in Union”, then equally the Sam Smith Bond film theme should also be banned. Sam Smith’s theme song “Writing’s on the Wall” for the latest James Bond theme “Spectre” is dull, dull, dull……

Arguably it’s the worst James Bond film theme ever and yet it appears to be on course to make history, by becoming the first Bond theme to reach No1 in the UK charts. Out of 23 Bond themes, Adele’s “Skyfall” and Duran Duran’s “A View To A Kill” have performed best, both peaking at No2 in the charts.

Sadly the Sam Smith Bond theme song “Writing’s on the Wall” has heralded the return to a trend in recent years for inferior Bond film themes, that fall short of the majestic standards set between 1963 and 1995. Most of the James Bond film themes in the past 20 years have been grossly inadequate, notably those performed by Chris Cornell, Jack White / Alicia Keys and Garbage ( the latter aptly summing them all up!! )

The exception was Adele’s “Skyfall” in 2012 which bucked the trend with the power and performance standard set by Shirley Bassey. Since 1995 and Tina Turner’s “Goldeneye”, the rest have fallen well short of the standards expected and associated with the classic James Bond film themes of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

If Sam Smith reaches No1, he will undeservedly head this Top 20 Best Selling James Bond Film Theme Songs, based on their UK Chart positions –

Top 20 Best Selling James Bond Film Theme Songs ( with chart position & year of release )

1= Adele – Skyfall ( Chart position No2 / 2012 )

1= Duran Duran – A View To A Kill ( CP No2 / 1985 )

3 Madonna – Die Another Day (CP No3 / 2002 )

4 A-ha – The Living Daylights ( CP No5 / 1987 )

5 Gladys Knight – Licence To Kill ( CP No6 / 1989 )

6= Paul McCartney & Wings – Live & Let Die ( CP No7 / 1973 )

6= Carly Simon – Nobody Does it Better ( Spy Who Loved Me CP No7 / 1977 )

6= Chris Cornell – You Know My Name ( Casino Royale CP No7 / 2006 )

9 Sheena Easton – For Your Eyes Only ( CP No8 / 1981 )

10 Jack White / Alicia Keys – Another Way To Die ( Quantum of Solace CP No9 / 2008 )

11 Tina Turner – Golden Eye ( CP No10 / 1995 )

12= Nancy Sinatra – You Only Live Twice ( CP No11 / 1967 )

12= Garbage – The World Is Not Enough ( CP No11 / 1999 )

14 Matt Monro – From Russia With Love ( CP No20 / 1963 )

15 Shirley Bassey – Goldfinger ( CP No21 / 1964 )

16 Tom Jones – Thunderball ( CP No35 / 1965 )

17 Shirley Bassey – Diamonds Are Forever ( CP No38 / 1971 )

18 Rita Coolidge – All Time High ( Octopussy CP No75 / 1983 )

19= Lulu – The Man With The Golden Gun ( CP Non Hit / 1974 )

19= Shirley Bassey – Moonraker ( CP Non Hit / 1979 )

Which are your favourite James Bond film theme songs? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

A framed 7″ vinyl single of a favourite Bond film theme song or a framed DVD of a favourite Bond film, with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration / special occasion i.e. a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday, a Diamond Wedding Anniversary ( Diamonds Are Forever ), a Golden Wedding Anniversary ( Goldfinger ), Father’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

ORDER NOW…… www.myfirstrecord.co.uk

By Simon|2015-10-01T12:51:21+01:00October 1, 2015|Film, Framed DVDs, Framed Vinyl & CDs, Music, Music Memorabilia, Nostalgia, Retro Music|0 Comments

Patrick MacNee, who played John Steed in The Avengers, dies

Six months after Brian Clemens, the scriptwriter and producer behind the iconic cult TV series The Avengers passed away, Patrick Macnee who played the star of the show John Steed, has also died.

Patrick Macnee, as the suave, urbane & debonair John Steed in The Avengers, with his trademark bowler hat & umbrella, was my first hero…..

In the past four years the Record Press author has written extensively and often referenced the character of John Steed in The Avengers as the object of my first hero worship at the age of five. Patrick Macnee shared this dubious status with Roger Moore, who played Simon Templar in The Saint. Both were cult TV series in the 1960s and both heroes captured the imagination of the infant Simon Sterland. They were dashing and debonair, but John Steed edged it with his superior sartorial elegance epitomised by his Pierre Cardin tailored three piece suits, bowler hat and umbrella.

John Steed was the quintessential Englishman as was Simon Templar and Patrick Macnee and Roger Moore came together on the big screen in the 1985 Bond film, A View To A Kill. In a way it was fitting that they should come together in celluloid having been great rivals in competing cult TV series two decades earlier.

I’m not going to labour my hero worship of Patrick Macnee and John Steed as I have paid many tributes to actor and alter ego on the Record Press blog in recent years, but suffice it to say I’m very sad at the passing of Patrick Macnee. Let’s hope Roger Moore keeps the British flag flying for a few more years yet. In the meantime, Patrick Macnee – thanks for the memories……

What’s your favourite episode of The Avengers? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Framed DVDs of a favourite TV show with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration / special occasion ie a wedding, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!! ORDER NOW…… www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/framed-dvds

By Simon|2015-06-26T13:17:39+01:00June 26, 2015|Film, Framed DVDs, Nostalgia, Retro, Retro TV, TV|0 Comments

Christopher Lee, unlike Dracula, will not be rising from the grave

Film actor Christopher Lee has died aged 93. His film career began in 1947 with a role in gothic romance Corridor of Mirrors but it wasn’t until the late 1950s, when Christopher Lee started working with Hammer Horror Films, that he became a household name.

Christopher Lee’s first role with Hammer Horror Films was The Curse of Frankenstein and it was the first of twenty films that he made with Peter Cushing: the pair seemed inseparable on Hammer Films celluloid . Christopher Lee’s most famous role for Hammer was playing Dracula. In the 1970s he continued to gain fame in the horror genre with a role in The Wicker Man, a film which he and the Record Press author considered to be his best film. Christopher Lee described it as a “Wonderful film… had a hell of a time getting it made. Its power lies in the fact that you never expect what eventually happens, because everyone is so nice.”

Christopher Lee also played the Bond villain, Scaramanga, in 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun, another favourite film of mine and certainly in a top five best Bond films. However there were some career miscalculations and mistakes: Christopher Lee declined a role in Halloween, which he later admitted was one of his biggest career regrets. He also turned down a role in Airplane!, something he also regretted. His anxiety over being typecast in horror films led him to Hollywood and roles in Airport ‘77 and Steven Spielberg’s 1941. Christopher Lee’s career saw a reprise in 2001 with a role as Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and then as Count Dooku in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Christopher Lee also became a regular collaborator with Tim Burton, who cast him in Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows. Burton went on to award him with a Bafta fellowship.

Christopher Lee also indulged a love of music throughout much of his career, including a song on The Wicker Man soundtrack. He released his first full-length album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010. It was well-received by the heavy metal community and won him the spirit of metal award at the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden Gods ceremony. His 2013 single Jingle Hell entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 22, which made him the oldest living artist to ever enter the charts.

What’s your favourite Christopher Lee film? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

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By Simon|2015-06-11T18:05:25+01:00June 11, 2015|Film, Framed DVDs, Nostalgia, Retro, Retro TV|0 Comments

Very few grey songs in the Fifty Shades of Grey film soundtrack

The Guardian poses the question…….”The Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack – will it take you to the heights of erotic ecstasy?”

The Record Press author thinks probably not……..However undoubtedly the flagship of Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, has to be Annie Lennox’s rendition of Nina Simone’s “I Put a Spell on You”. There are certain songs that were so good in their original form that it takes a brave man or woman to cover them. Well Annie Lennox is Scottish and therefore inherently a “Brave heart” and she manages to capture the haunting, obsessive atmosphere of the original song by Nina Simone, whilst putting her own idiosyncratic spin on it. Clearly the theme of this song dovetails well with Christian Grey’s manipulation of Anastasia in Fifty Shades of Grey.

In fairness the the Fifty Shades of Grey director has avoided the temptation of deploying songs with grey in the title, if you don’t include “I know You” by Skylar Grey. When researching songs with grey in the title for this blog article, surprisingly I found very few examples.

Some of the songs that could have peppered the soundtrack of Fifty Shades of Grey were “Grey Day” by Madness, “Touch of Grey” by The Grateful Dead ( or should that be Grey-ful Dead? ), Tom Robinson’s “Grey Cortina” ( although the iconic British car from the 1970s probably wouldn’t work in contemporary USA!! ), or my favourites Visage’s “Fade to Grey” or Joni Mitchell’s “Two Grey Rooms” ( these two would be perfect ). Finally the pick of the bunch would have to be “Shades of Grey” by quintessential New Yorker Billy Joel.

For the Guardian’s take on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, here’s a link to a very entertaining and amusing article……. www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/feb/16/fifty-shades-of-grey-soundtrack-erotic

By Simon|2015-02-16T16:19:12+00:00February 16, 2015|Film, Music, Nostalgia, Retro Music|0 Comments

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