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Poetry in music: 10 of the best song lyrics

Sometimes, I hear a song I love, but I just cannot wait to get to the juicy bit in the song lyrics – that one-liner or verse that makes you nod your head and sing along at the top of your voice. Its hits you right in the solar plexus and you shout, “yes indeed!”

It can be because the lines are poetry that speak to your very soul, or it can be simple because you love the cleverness of the word-play. Some of my favourites, I love because they are realistic, down to earth and sum up a particular aspect of life so aptly.

Here, pop people, are some of my top picks.

The Beatles – Penny Lane

Behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout
The pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
And though she feels as if she’s in a play,
She is anyway

I love this, because it sums up the song so very well. Penny Lane is just one street in suburban Liverpool; apart from being immortalised in vinyl by the biggest band ever to grace the planet, it’s nothing special. I lived in the area during my early twenties – the graduate years – and apart from a nice, proper local pub called The Dovedale Towers, there is nothing else that I can clearly recall about the road.

That, though, is the point of the song. Penny Lane isn’t about anyone or anywhere special, just day-to-day human life, with all the quirks and the mundanities that entails. It’s just people going about their business in one very small part of the world, yet it is poetry in motion. Life is special – joy can be found in the smallest of daily activities and in the pokiest corners of the globe.

INXS – Never Tear Us Apart

We could live
For a thousand years
But if I hurt you
I’d make wine from your tears

From everyday suburban life to the most fanciful of notions, now. I mean, as if? Who would make wine from tears? My Grandad made wine out of some odd ingredients – most memorably, dandelions – but I don’t think even he would have considered using someone’s eye emissions as an ingredient.

No-one lives for a thousand years either, Messrs Hutchence and Farriss. Of course they don’t. It’s the romance conveyed by these lines that strikes me. He wants to live with me for a thousand years! If he hurt me, he’d actually drink my tears! It speaks of such passion, and prior to the INXS songwriters, only Heathcliff himself, surely, really embodied such strength of feeling. It was probably this very intensity that led to Hutchence’s untimely death, too.

Carly Simon – You’re So Vain

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain,
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?

It is, though isn’t it Carly? About ‘him’ – he, who is rumoured to be Warren Beatty, with whom Carly Simon had a fling some years ago? The singer has since confirmed that part of the song is indeed about Mr Beatty – but not all. On this excerpt, the chorus, she was silent. Having dated several other high-profile men, including James Taylor (to whom she was wed) and Mick Jagger, we can but wonder.

We’ve all known one, or more, though, haven’t we, girls? (To be fair, the boys probably have known some, too.) Those individuals that think everything revolves around them? Or those who are simply acutely aware of the power bestowed upon them, having been blessed with Greek God like looks. I’ve certainly known one of those. He was English, like me – but it was on holiday to a Greek Island… my lips are sealed.

Oasis – Cigarettes and Alcohol

Is it my imagination
Or have I finally found something worth living for?
I was looking for some action
But all I found was cigarettes and alcohol

Cigarettes, admittedly, are less of a part of everyday life than in decades past – simply because of a rapidly dwindling population of smokers – but for some, the enjoyment in life could pretty much be grimly summed up by the opening verse of this song by one of Britain’s superbands.

You might get through day, or the week, by the skin of your gritted teeth, but come the evening or weekend, it was playtime. Smoking and drinking, which often led to action of another kind, on the dance floor or in the bedroom. The very stuff of life, indeed; romantic the notion is not, but countless human lives have actually been created on the back of fags and booze – and many more sustained by those simple pleasures.

Pulp – Common People

You’ll never live like common people,
You’ll never do whatever common people do,
You’ll never fail like common people,
You’ll never watch your life slide out of view,
And dance and drink and screw,
Because there’s nothing else to do.

Very much leading on from the last listing, the lyrics once again reflect the grainy reality of survival for many folk. They dance, they drink, they fornicate – because where else do they find pleasure in the everyday matter of living?

I think it’s a message to the monied classes, too. If you’ll always have back-up, then you simply cannot fail in the same way that those without can and do. If they take a big business risk, for example, they might lose everything and, for example, never be able to buy their own home again, becoming reliant on others – landlords – to house them. With family money and backing, someone more fortunate can give things a go without the stakes being so very high.

George Michael – A Different Corner

Take me back in time, maybe I can forget
Turn a different corner and we never would have met

I love this, because it has real resonance for me and how my life has turned out so far. I literally turned a different corner – took another trip – earlier than planned when travelling in Australia. That led me to a hostel in Adelaide, where I almost immediately met my husband. It took us some years to figure it out, but here we are now, homeowners on the sunny south coast of England, with an elderly cat and a daughter soon due to start school.

I know for many there will not be such an extreme example, but I bet you there are some. Who hasn’t gone to a party or even business event and met an important person or contact, that has somehow had an impact – huge or otherwise – on their life? Which leads me neatly onto the next one…

Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

Oh there ain’t no love no, Montagues or Capulets
Just banging tunes ‘n’ DJ sets ‘n’
Dirty dance floors and dreams of naughtiness!

I love loads of lines from this song, but I the clever nod to Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers is my favourite. The cleverness of these lyrics belies the age of Alex Turner – who penned the ditty – when he wrote it. He was only 20 when the album from which it came, ‘Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not’, was released. He is the son of two teachers though, which possibly explains the shrewd nod to Romeo and Juliet.

Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights

Out on the wiley, windy moors
We’d roll and fall in green
You had a temper like my jealousy
Too hot, too greedy
How could you leave me
When I needed to possess you?
I hated you, I loved you, too

This song always sends shivers up my spine. I’m not really a Kate Bush fan, so this song bypassed me when I read Emily Bronte’s masterpiece in my late teens. When I heard it, one day later in life, I was suddenly blown away by how well Bush had reflected the novel so completely in her lyrics and the music.

Cathy and Heathcliff are the absolute embodiment of the often cited fine line between love and hate, their relationship the very definition of tempestuous. As for the passion – wow. Just wow.

ELO – Mr Blue Sky

Hey there mister blue
We’re so pleased to be with you
Look around see what you do
Everybody smiles at you

As I write, we’re in the midst of that rarest of events in Britain – a heatwave. The sun is constantly shining, parks and beaches are crammed with unusually scantily clad bodies, desperate to soak up a few of those feel-good rays during a rushed lunch break or precious, sun-soaked day off.

The lyrics of this song just sum it up perfectly – look how happy we are to see the sun! A blue sky, too! No wonder people used to worship the sun; why these days a lack of sunshine is even recognised as the cause of a specific kind of mood disorder – SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
Mr Blue – we are indeed very pleased to be with you.

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

Check out Polly’s very eclectic 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!!

What are your favourite song lyrics? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

You can order a favourite song as a framed and mounted vinyl single or CD single. If it’s intended as a gift, it can be personalised further with an inscribed / engraved plaque. ORDER NOW….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk

Framed 7″ records / framed vinyl singles and framed CDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration / special occasion 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 Birthday ( How about the No1 song on the day of birth? ), a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day.

THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT @ www.myfirstrecord.co.uk

By Simon|2018-06-28T09:02:45+01:00June 28, 2018|Music, Retro Music|0 Comments

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……

ORDER NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

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

Kenny Rogers’ international appeal & storytelling transcends his Country & Western roots

Recently the Record Press author posted a BBC article on social media announcing that Kenny Rogers had sadly been forced to cancel the remaining dates on his Farewell Tour due to ill health and then I thought little more of it……

A few hours later I returned to Twitter and Facebook, to be inundated by over a thousand responses to the sad news that Kenny Rogers had been forced to prematurely bow out of his final encore on the road. The fact that people on both sides of the “Big Pond” ( aka the Atlantic Ocean ) felt compelled to comment & convey not only shock and sadness but good wishes, demonstrates the love, affection and high esteem with which Kenny Rogers is held in throughout the world.

This in turn made me re-examine my relationship with Kenny Rogers. Like many in the UK, we were first introduced in the early summer of 1977 through a mutual friend, Lucille. The song “Lucille” stayed in the charts having peaked at No1 for many weeks, but the resonance of the sad story of the father and “four hungry children” she abandoned, lived on much longer in our hearts and minds. What Kenny Rogers proved in that moment and on that 7″ vinyl single was that not only was he a great vocalist, but also a great story-teller and raconteur.

My love of Kenny Rogers was cemented in 1979 and 1980 when he released the beautiful, poignant and moving ballads “She Believes in Me” and “Lady”, the latter a No1 in the USA. He also reached No1 in the USA in 1983 when he teamed up with good friend Dolly Parton with the classic duet “Islands in the Stream”.

Kenny Rogers has also had two No1s in the UK – the aforementioned “Lucille” in 1977 and “Coward of the County” two years later in 1979. Interestingly the two songs are great examples of storytelling as is “The Gambler”.

The news that Kenny Rogers’ health may be failing, possibly heralding the end of his active musical career, focussed my mind sufficiently for me to realise how much of a significant part Kenny has played in my life and the soundtrack of that life. So much so, that I have compiled this Record Press Top 5 Best Kenny Rogers Songs –

Top 5 Best Kenny Rogers Songs

1) Lady ( No12 1980 )

2) She Believes in Me ( No42 1979 )

3) Islands in the Stream ( No7 1983 )

4) Lucille ( No1 1977 )

5) The Gambler ( No22 2007 )

What are your favourite Kenny Rogers songs? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Fans of Kenny Rogers can order your favourite song as a framed and mounted vinyl single like this one ( to the left ). If it’s intended as a gift, it can be personalised further with an inscribed / engraved plaque. ORDER NOW….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk

THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT @ www.myfirstrecord.co.uk

By Simon|2018-04-25T14:56:42+01:00April 25, 2018|Framed Vinyl & CDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, Music Memorabilia, Nostalgia, Retro Music|0 Comments

Robert Smith marks 40th anniversary of The Cure as Meltdown Festival Cure-ator

Robert Smith has revealed to the NME that he’ll be performing at his own curated Meltdown Festival this summer, which has also inspired him to write new material for The Cure.

Following in the well-trodden footsteps of distinguished figures like David Bowie, Patti Smith, David Byrne, Nick Cave and Jarvis Cocker, Robert Smith has hand selected the acts heading to the Meltdown Festival at London’s Southbank Centre this June. Last month the initial line up was revealed, including Deftones, The Libertines, Manic Street Preachers, My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails, Placebo, The Psychedelic Furs, 65daysofstatic, Alcest, The Anchoress, Kristin Hersh, Kathryn Joseph, MONO, and The Notwist all announced for the 25th edition of the iconic Meltdown Festival.

Recently the reclusive Robert Smith gave a rare interview to Matt Everitt on BBC 6 Music, where he discussed the Meltdown Festival, and what the future holds for The Cure: “It might just be a reaction to the fact that in the modern world, people talk endlessly about nothing,” Robert Smith said to explain his media silence in recent years. He said that he was simply waiting for a “focal point to a new project”, claiming that without that “the whole notion of doing an interview becomes redundant” without new material to discuss.

Robert Smith’s research into acts to play the Meltdown Festival has inspired him to go back into the studio. The process of curation has “reinvigorated his creativity and made him want to do something new.” Robert Smith explained: “I’ve listened to more new music in the last six months than I ever have. I’ve suddenly fallen in love with the idea of writing new songs, so it’s had a really good effect on me. I booked some time to do some demos next month. Some of it’s really good, some of it not so good.”

Robert Smith will be performing on the closing Sunday of the Meltdown Festival with a selection of collaborators. He elaborated: “It will be me and four other people that I know really well, and some others,” he said, adding that they’d be playing “primarily Cure songs” and interpretations of tracks by the band with “different instrumentation”, with a set “completely different to the Hyde Park show” and “a little bit more weird.”

The Record Press author can’t believe that it is 40 years since Robert Smith and The Cure released their first single.

My introduction to Robert Smith and The Cure was their 1980 single “A Forest”, which was one of the few songs guaranteed to get me on the dancefloor in the early 1980s, along with “Sanctuary” by The Cult and New Order’s “Blue Monday”. For me Robert Smith and The Cure were two sides of the same coin with Siouxsie Sioux and The Banshees. I’m sure Robert Smith and Siouxsie Sioux were separated at birth.

Since 1980 I have always adored the tortured, melancholic and morose vocals of Robert Smith and for this reason I can forgive him for accidentally smudging his red lipstick every morning!! Lest we forget the brilliance of Robert Smith and The Cure, here is our Record Press Top 5 Best The Cure Songs –

Top 5 Best The Cure Songs

1) A Forest ( No31 1980 )

2) The Love Cats ( No7 1983 )

3) Friday I’m In Love ( No6 1992 )

4) Fascination Street ( Non hit 1989 )

5) In Between Days ( No15 1885 )

6) A Strange Day ( Non hit 1982 )

7) Boys Don’t Cry ( No22 1986 )

8) Killing An Arab ( Non hit 1978 )

9) Let’s Go To Bed ( No44 1982 )

10) Close To Me ( No24 1985 )

What are your favourite The Cure songs? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Fans of Robert Smith and The Cure can order your favourite song as a framed and mounted vinyl single like this one. If it’s intended as a gift, it can be personalised further with an inscribed / engraved plaque. ORDER NOW….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk

By Simon|2018-04-18T14:03:25+01:00April 18, 2018|Framed Vinyl & CDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, Music Festivals, Retro Music, Vinyl Records|0 Comments

Steve Ellis of the Love Affair to release new album on 50th anniversary of Everlasting Love

Steve Ellis, formerly lead vocalist with 1960s band Love Affair has collaborated with Paul Weller on a new album “Boom! Bang! Twang!”, to be released on vinyl and CD on the 20th April 2018.

The album is released 50 years after Steve Ellis had a huge hit with the classic “Everlasting Love” with his band Love Affair and sees a return to the label behind that single, CBS (via Sony).

The album has been co-produced by long-time fan and friend Paul Weller, with the album also featuring Paul Weller and Andy Crofts and Ben Gordelier (The Moons) and numerous other alumni of the rock and pop hall of fame.

The finished product will be a combination of new songs and covers, with the first single off the album, Lonely No More, co-written with Paul Weller, described as a ‘glorious Northern Soul-esque shaker’. As for the covers, they take on tunes from William Bell, Gerry Marsden, Jimmy Cliff and Tim Hardin.

For the Record Press editor, Steve Ellis has one of the great white British soul voices of the 1960s, only matched by Steve Winwood ( Spencer Davis Group & Traffic ) and Steve Marriott ( Small Faces ). A holy trinity of “Sixties Steves”! To prove the point check out this Top 5 Best Love Affair / Steve Ellis Songs –

Top 5 Best Love Affair Songs

1) Bringing On Back The Good Times ( No9 1969 )

2) Everlasting Love ( No1 1968 )

3) Rainbow Valley ( No5 1968 )

4) A Day Without Love ( No6 1968 )

5) One Road ( No16 1969 )

Framed vinyl singles and framed CDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration / special occasion 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 Birthday ( How about the No1 song on the day of birth? ), 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

By Simon|2018-04-05T10:03:29+01:00April 5, 2018|Framed Vinyl & CDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, New Music, Nostalgia, Retro Music|0 Comments

The wedding first dance song is de rigueur but is it absolutely necessary?

Inspired by Record Press author Simon’s recent post on funeral songs ( albeit a sombre subject ), I thought a post on the wedding first dance song might uplift things a little. Such a joyous occasion, a wedding; with all the fabulous flowers, divine dresses, delicious food and, usually (sometimes regrettably) more than a little fizz!!

Mister and I didn’t have a wedding first dance song as such. We had a Ceilidh first, before the DJ did his disco set. We chose to have traditional country dancing to start things off, as we’d seen previously what a great ice-breaker it could be, and as many of our families and friends had not met before, that seemed ideal.

So the “wedding first dance song” was a Gay Gordon’s or Strip the Willow – something like that, I can’t quite remember – and everyone joined in. We didn’t really want to smooch around on the dance floor, dozens of pairs of eyes boring into our backs, so we gladly forsake the first dance in favour of a structured group fling.

We’re not really traditionalists. We had the speeches before the wedding breakfast, too – simply to calm my Dad’s nerves. I knew he wouldn’t enjoy his food if his stomach was churning at the thought of making a speech, and he breathed a huge sigh of relief when we suggested switching things around.

The other factor is Mister and his musical tastes. My musical taste is very eclectic; I’m not a huge fan of ballads in general and I draw the line at thrash metal, but the latter cannot be said about Mister. To me, Napalm Death sound like someone vomiting; for him they deserve a place in music history, if not quite in his music collection. (Although he does have a couple of White Zombie CDs.)

It takes two to have a wedding and therefore a wedding first dance song, but for the purposes of this piece it’s mainly my views I’m sharing, though there is of course more than a nod to Mister’s musical tastes here. The thing is, we do share a dislike of sugary sweet, fluffy ballads, and both prefer something with a bit more grit, a little edgier.

So, what to choose? This is a tricky one, and I’ve had to peruse our music collection at length in pursuit of some answers. Age comes into it, too, of course; we wed in 2002, so any music released after that date is out. The music of the 1980s and 1990s was what we grew up with, so that’s what I have to draw upon. Stock, Aitken and Waterman excluded, of course. Kylie and Jason’s ‘Especially for you’ is out, then, darn it.

Much of the music of those decades is out, in fact, because much of it is upbeat pop that just wouldn’t suit a slow, lingering dance. Anything too frisky is no good, either, frankly, as it’s highly likely that, after a verse or so, an Uncle will drag a bridesmaid onto the dance floor. Granny might even join in at some point. I can’t see her swaying her creaking hips to anything too sultry.

There’s an element, then, of one size fits all. The wedding first dance song should mean something to, and/or be loved by, the couple, but be suitable for all who share the occasion. It’s not easy, is it? I can see why – with a zillion other things to organise, working full-time and living over 350 miles away from our wedding venue – we opted out of picking a smoochy little number.

Then there’s the wording. Many ballads might sound right, in terms of tune, but once you listen to the words they’re simply not at all suitable. The lament of a jilted lover is totally at odds with lifelong promise made during the wedding ceremony. Think Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’. You see what I mean? Not to mention that it was released long after 2002 – Adele was only 13 when we wed.

INXS are one of the obvious contenders. They’re my all-time top band, and Mister is also a fan. They’re Australian, too, which is relevant because we met down under – even though we’re both British. Obviously we’re not looking at ‘Devil Inside’ or ‘Suicide Blonde’; I’m thinking more along the lines of ‘Never Tear us Apart’. Coincidentally, this was one the songs Record Press Editor Simon chose to see him out in his aforementioned funeral songs article.

It’s definitely a contender for a wedding first dance song, but is it suitably joyous and uplifting? It is all about love, but there’s an allusion to future hurt in there. ‘If I hurt you, I‘d make wine from your tears’ is one of my very favourite song lyrics ever, but it sits there in the middle of the song, like a slightly shadowy warning. Maybe not the number one choice, then.

I love George Michael, and he is King of the ballad. Boy, could that man’s voice make a ballad utterly searing and soulful, while sounding completely effortless. ‘Careless Whisper’, though, is once again essentially an effigy to a lost love. ‘Jesus to a Child’ is, too – as well as painfully raw and far too personal to George. ‘I Want Your Sex’ is out, obviously – that’s more of a one for the private, than the public, domain – and ‘Father Figure’ is not right, either, for obvious reasons. Which leaves ‘A Different Corner’, but like ‘Careless Whisper’ and Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’, the words are mournful. Not only that, but that song forever reminds me of the Brits 2017 and Andrew Ridgeley, Pepsi and Shirlie lamenting their lost friend. Besides, Mister isn’t anywhere near as big a fan as me.

Which takes me right back to the very first wedding first dance song I thought of. It’s not one that you might typically associate with weddings – but it’s absolutely perfect. For us, anyway. It opens with the lines: “I’ll protect you from the hooded claw. Keep the vampires from your door”.

Gothic, admittedly, but there’s also a romantic undertone. It’s a tender sentiment, really, wanting to protect the one you love, even if the mention of vampires is a little fanciful. ‘Sparkling love, flowers and pearls and pretty girls’ couldn’t (frankly, Frankie) be more appropriate for a wedding. The song speaks of love as a ‘force from above’, proclaiming ‘undying, death defying love’. What could be more pertinent than lyrics that proclaim ‘I’m so in love with you’? Yet the most fitting line, for me, is ‘make love your goal’. What’s heading into the future together, to embark upon married life about, if not that very premise from Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘The Power of Love’?…..

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

In a recent poll, these were the most popular Wedding First Dance Songs…….

http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/recordpress/retro-music/framed-vinyl-copy-of-wedding-first-dance-song-makes-great-wedding-gift/

So if you have got a Wedding coming up and you are struggling to think of a unique wedding gift / original wedding present, then order the Bride & Groom’s Wedding First Dance Song in a vinyl single / CD single format; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir of the “Big Day”. You can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque……

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By Simon|2018-03-27T14:49:48+01:00March 27, 2018|Framed Vinyl & CDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, Retro Music|0 Comments

Call me morbid, but I’ve already selected my funeral songs and here they are……

Recently my 78 year old mother organised her funeral with the local undertakers or funeral directors as they are commonly called these days. The only thing she did not determine or specify is her funeral songs / soundtrack.

Mum opted for a natural burial and a secular ( non religious ) service in keeping with her atheist beliefs. Logistics organised ( I know that makes her sound like a pallet of goods!! ), the only gaps in the service appear to be the music, which will be left to my siblings and myself. And because it will be a secular affair, the occasion will afford us the opportunity to intersperse the service with pop music rather than hymns.

Selecting Mum’s favourite songs will be “easy peasy” as her favourite songs from the 1960s & 1970s stand out like beacons on the landscape of my childhood memories. The funeral soundtrack would comprise of Procol Harum “Whiter Shade of Pale” ( 1967 ), Noel Harrison “Windmills of your Mind” ( 1968 ), Al Martino “Spanish Eyes” ( 1973 ), Charles Aznavour “She” ( 1974 ), “Loving You” by Minnie Riperton ( 1975 ) and “Begin the Beguine” by Julio Iglesias ( 1981 ).

As you may have noted Mum’s favourite songs / 7″ vinyl singles from the 1970s tended to have a ballad bias, when perhaps she was going through a more pensive, philosophical phase in her thirties. Her vinyl record collection from the 1960s reflected the energy and vitality of someone in their twenties, but I think we might get away with one raunchy song within her funeral service. “Delilah” by Tom Jones ( 1968 ) is a possibility although my choice would be Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made For Walking” ( 1966 ) as the coffin and cortege process down the aisle and out of the church into the graveyard ( That would amuse Mum!! ).

There is one glaring omission from my Mum’s funeral songs / soundtrack and that’s a Shirley Bassey number. Although there was no Shirley Bassey singles in her record collection; there were a number of Shirley Bassey albums. As kids there was many a night that my sister and I drifted off to sleep, with the smell of cigar smoke and the sounds of Dame Shirley wafting up the stairs to our bedroom as Mum and Dad entertained friends downstairs in the lounge.

The designated Shirley Bassey song would be one of three: her cover of the Beatles / George Harrison’s “Something” ( 1970 ), the James Bond theme “Diamonds Are Forever” ( 1972 ) or the tormented “Never Never, Never” ( 1973 ). Now that will be a difficult choice when the time comes.

Of course whilst planning Mum’s funeral songs / soundtrack, inevitably I started musing on the options for my own funeral service soundtrack. It didn’t take me long to collate the list and here they are –

My Funeral Songs / Soundtrack

1) Terry Jacks – Seasons In The Sun ( 1974 )

2) Guns ‘N’ Roses – November Rain ( 1992 )

3) Genesis – Snowbound ( 1978 )

4) INXS – Never Tear Us Apart ( 1988 )

5) Pink Floyd – Time ( 1973 )

6) Hubert Parry – Jerusalem ( 1916 )

7) Pink Floyd – Shine On You Crazy Diamond / Great Gig In The Sky ( 1973 )

8) Sinead O’Connor – Troy ( 1987 )

9) Genesis – Many Too Many ( 1978 )

10) Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb ( 1979 )

11) Paloma Faith & Ty Taylor – I would rather go Blind ( 2014 )

12) John Miles – Music ( 1976 )

Which funeral songs would you opt for and why? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

On a happier note, framed vinyl singles ( like my Mum’s favourite “She” by Charles Aznavour – adjacent image ) with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration / special occasion 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 Birthday ( How about the No1 song on the day of birth? ), 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

By Simon|2026-05-14T12:23:11+01:00March 21, 2018|Framed Vinyl & CDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, Retro Music|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

Nick Drake induction into the Radio 2 folk hall of fame is so richly deserved

During his tragically short life, Nick Drake recorded some of the most influential music ever to come out of the British folk scene.

To mark and celebrate what would have been his 70th birthday, Radio 2 has announced Nick Drake will be inducted to its Folk Hall of Fame. Nick Drake’s sister, actress Gabrielle Drake, will accept the award in April. She commented: “I think Nick would have been quietly amazed, amused but above all, honoured. And, indeed, grateful. As I am on his behalf.”

The honour will be bestowed at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.

Nick Drake was inspired by Bob Dylan to take up the guitar and started gigging in London while studying English at Cambridge.

One of his performances, at Camden’s Roundhouse in 1967, was attended by Ashley Hutchings, bass player with English folk-rock group Fairport Convention, who introduced him to the band’s acclaimed producer Joe Boyd.

Joe Boyd, along with engineer John Wood, were to prove instrumental in the short life of Nick Drake, producing his first two albums on Island Records – his 1969 debut, Five Leaves Left, and Bryter Layter, released the following year.

Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter showcased Nick Drake’s “gentle, plaintive meditations on love and longing, pairing his ethereal voice and melancholic vision with sweeping strings and jazzy orchestrations.” ( BBC )

Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter were well-received by critics but didn’t sell well, allegedly sending Drake into a bout of depression which worsened when Boyd left for the US. In late 1971, Nick Drake recorded what was to become his final album – Pink Moon. A darker collection of songs, they stripped away Boyd’s production, leaving Drake’s delicate voice alone with his acoustic guitar, almost symbolic of the artist’s increasing isolation.

As the Pink Moon album sales stuttered to little more than a few thousand copies, Nick Drake retreated to his parents’ home in Tanworth-in-Arden. Sadly it was there, in his childhood bedroom, that he died on the 25th November 1974, aged 26, after taking an overdose of prescribed anti-depressants.

I love Nick Drake’s hauntingly beautiful & deeply sensitive vocals and lyrics……The ephemeral and fragile nature of his lyrics and vocal style mirrored his tragically short life, which ended with his suicide at the age of 26 in 1974. This is why this accolade is so richly deserved.

If you are not familiar with Nick Drake, you should retreat to a darkened room and listen to Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter and I defy this experience not to enrich and change you in some way……..Unlike poor Nick, you will be able to turn the lights on again and continue your life, the richer for this man’s artistic sensibilities and sacrifice….. R.I.P Nick Drake ( 1948 – 1974 )

By Simon|2018-03-07T12:51:45+00:00March 7, 2018|Music, Nostalgia, Retro Music|0 Comments

To cover or not to indulge in cover versions: that is the question?

Can you imagine the music business without cover versions? Yes, many new releases are fresh, original songs, but many are also reworked versions of someone else’s former hit – or miss. Some are fresh and original covers, that do something new with the tune; sometimes so much so that it becomes almost unrecognisable. Others are just a rehash, and barely indistinguishable from the original.

A typical example of the latter is ‘Uptown Girl’, first recorded in 1983. It is something of an anthem of my youth and the uplifting melody and simple premise are very appealing. It was a big hit, making the top 20 bestselling singles list – of the entire decade. To date, well over a million copies have been sold worldwide.

‘Uptown Girl’ was covered by Westlife, who released it in 2001. Now, I can see why Westlife would want to record it, it’s a great tune. But why we would want to buy it, I have no idea. The song is sung in the same way as Joel’s original, but the vocals, and backing music, seem to me to be lacking in a certain something that made the Joel version sing with quality.

Why cover a song, if you’re not going to do anything new with it? What’s the point? For Westlife, the point, presumably, was money. Maybe, they’d also lay claim to attempting to bring a great song to a younger audience. Fair enough, I guess. That doesn’t quite cut it for me, but perhaps that’s my problem, not theirs.

We all seem to claim that the music we grew up with was the best – well, my parents certainly did, singing the praises, in particular, of the Beatles and Deep Purple – among many others – all of whom came from the swinging sixties and glaring, flare-clad seventies. Apparently, my Dad saw Jimi Hendrix perform in Newcastle in the early 1970s. Really? He barely mentions it…

I favour the eighties and nineties, no doubt because I grew up with the music of those decades. Florence and the Machine’s 2009 cover of ‘You Got the Love’ annoyed me intensely; from the get-go I much preferred Candi Staton’s first version from 1986. I was 12 in 1986; by 2009 I was 35. Too old for very much new music perhaps, by then, let alone for substandard (as I saw it) new versions of the tunes that accompanied me, like old friends, through puberty, school, exams and university and into the grown-up worlds of work, travel, relationships and flat sharing.

Cover versions certainly don’t have to be good to be successful. Robson and Jerome’s version of ‘Unchained Melody’ had some sort of appeal that is invisible to the naked, suspecting eyes of many people, yet it was the top-selling single of 1995. ‘Good’ is clearly in the ear of the beholder. No offence Robson, who’s from my own stomping ground – I do love your ‘Tales from Northumberland’, but that hit was just altogether too cheesy for my tastes. But give me pudding over a cheese-fest any day; each to their own. Either way the 1990 re-release of the Righteous Brothers’ far superior 1960s rendition of ‘Unchained Melody’ ( as part of the movie soundtrack from “Ghost” ), made the version by Robson and Jerome redundant.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate all cover versions. I am fond of Alien Ant Farm’s 2001 cover of Michael Jackson’s 1988 hit ‘Smooth Criminal’. It’s a far rockier, grungier version, and I like both more-or-less equally. Both have their own merits, and Alien Ant Farm made the song their own by covering it from a whole new angle.

Only relatively recently, did I discover that The Communards’ chart-topping hit, ‘Don’t Leave me this Way’ was not an original. The song was in fact first recorded in 1975, and was a hit both then and shortly after, in 1997. Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ version, the original, reached the top 10 in both the UK and America, peaking at numbers 5 and 3 respectively. Thelma Houston’s rendition was far more popular across the pond than here in Britain; it failed to reach our top 10, peaking at number 13 here, while in America it made number 1. I’m not familiar with the earlier versions, but The Communards’ cover is an absolute triumph. Praise be to the Reverend Coles and Mr Somerville.

The late, great George Michael even experimented with cover versions. He sang ‘Killer’, which had previously been a huge hit for Adams and Seal, in 1991 at Wembley, and it was later released as part of the ‘Five Live’ EP, along with Michael’s rendition of ‘Papa was a Rollin’ Stone’ and two duets – ‘Somebody to Love’ with Queen, and ‘These are the Days of our Lives’ again with Queen and also featuring Lisa Stansfield. All but the latter appeared on ‘Ladies and Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael’, as well as ‘Don’t Let the Sun go Down on Me’, another duet, this time with Elton John. Michael also, of course, could be said to have covered one of his own songs, when he recorded ‘Freedom ’90’, following Wham’s ‘Freedom’ in 1984. Though the 2 songs are very different, both in terms of tune, lyrics and subject matter, the ’90 in the second title was added to differentiate between them.

Not a lot of time separates The Zutons’ ‘Valerie’ and Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson’s version, but the renditions are very different indeed. I’m a fan of both the 2006 original and the 2007 cover, so perhaps all is not lost. I didn’t stop liking all new music after the 1990s ended, and in fact I liked the cover very much, too. It would be very hard to pick a favourite: both The Zutons and Ms Winehouse’s renditions feature in my personal music collection.

As for a song that sounds like it must be the original, I can’t think of a better example than The Mike Flowers Pops cover of ‘Wonderwall’. Even Noel Gallagher was reportedly asked by the media whether he had indeed penned the ditty. The cover is in the easy listening genre and, although I grew up during the 1990s indie, ‘Madchester’ and Britpop years, I do respect the Flowers version, simply because he dared to put his own spin on a veritable pop classic from one of the UK’s biggest bands ever.

Not all cover versions are released as singles, or make it into the charts, of course. Many covers have a place in popular culture, and our lives, though other means. One of the very best covers I’ve ever heard was an uptempo, swing rendition of Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’, which featured on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, performed by Dave Arch’s orchestra. ‘Wonderful!’, as Brucie himself would have proclaimed.

In the press recently, I read an interview with a semi-professional heavy metal guitarist, who claimed that one of his band’s stock covers was Britney Spears’ ‘(Hit me) Baby One more time’. The mind boggles.

Are cover versions a good or a bad thing? It very much depends on the rendition – and the listener. If I really like the artist, then I’ll probably like the cover. I was never going to dislike George Michael singing any decent song, for example. The best covers, I think, are those that do something fresh and new with the original material. After all, isn’t that what being an artist is all about?

Check out this BBC4 documentary on the best cover versions – “Better than the Original: the Joy of the Cover Version” https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06n9q8y/better-than-the-original-the-joy-of-the-cover-version?suggid=b06n9q8y

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

By Simon|2018-02-21T14:41:40+00:00February 21, 2018|Framed Vinyl & CDs, Framed vinyl singles, Music, Nostalgia, Retro Music, Vinyl Records|0 Comments

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