A compendium of musical delights by Alan and Margaret Ashworth
Anyone who listened to Radio Caroline in the late 60s will remember this relentlessly plugged song. Despite all the plays, it never did anything, but it is a memory for … Continue readingDavid McWilliams: Days of Pearly Spencer
Withers wrote this and released it as a single from his album Still Bill in April 1972. It reached No 1 in America and No 18 in Britain. I have to say … Continue readingBill Withers: Lean on Me
LAST week I wrote about horsetail, possibly the hardest weed to eradicate on the planet. To me it looks evil. But pests can sometimes look very cute, and an example is the edible … Continue readingAn unwelcome house guest
With more than a passing resemblance to Stand By Me (1961), this was written by Ahmet Ertegun and King’s wife Betty Nelson. It was the title track on his third album Don’t Play … Continue readingBen E King: Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)
This was written by Mort Garson and Earl Shuman. It was recorded on January 28, 1961 and released the next month, on February 24. The rather cheesy chorus is performed … Continue readingCliff Richard and the Shadows: Theme For a Dream
I know everyone calls this the stalker’s anthem, but I think it is a good tune and performance. It was written by Gordon Sumner, aka Sting, for the 1983 Police … Continue readingThe Police: Every Breath You Take
WALKING by a stream this week, minding my own business, I suddenly saw something that made my blood run cold. (You might think Jaws music here.) This is the scene: The villains … Continue readingThe candle-shaped vandal
In around 1980 I was a researcher at London Weekend TV when I was assigned to a pilot for a possible series starring Billy Connolly. It was a pretty lame … Continue readingBilly Connolly’s signalman joke
ABOUT this time last year I was disappointed to come across a newly laid hedge and find I had missed seeing it done by a couple of weeks. My luck … Continue readingThe taming of a hawthorn hedge
This was written for Dionne Warwick by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It was released in April 1968 and reached No 10 in the States and No 8 in Britain. … Continue readingDionne Warwick: Do You Know the Way to San Jose