Back to the Dark Ages
DID you enjoy your extra hour of sleep last night? Or, like me, did you wake at 6 instead of 7 and have an extra hour to wait for the … Continue readingBack to the Dark Ages
Author: Margaret Ashworth
Square
The Box Tops: The Letter
This was written by Wayne Carson and released by the Box Tops in 1967. Lead singer Alex Chilton was 16. It got to No 1 in America and No 5 … Continue readingThe Box Tops: The Letter
The Platters: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
This classic was written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach for the 1933 Broadway musical Roberta. Here is the first hit version of it, by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra with … Continue readingThe Platters: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Elton John: Your Song
I recently watched the film Rocketman and much enjoyed it, though something tells me it may not be quite the full story. Elton and Bernie Taupin produced some great numbers, and when … Continue readingElton John: Your Song
The Tokens: He’s in Town
This (to me) underrated song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was released in 1964 by The Tokens, who took it to No 43 in the US. … Continue readingThe Tokens: He’s in Town
The collared dove coup
THIS week I am writing about something I don’t see often in the sticks, the collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto), strictly speaking the Eurasian collared dove. This is presumably because it … Continue readingThe collared dove coup
Boomtown Rats: I Don’t Like Mondays
This was written by the group’s co-founders Bob Geldof and Johnnie Fingers and refers to the 1979 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego, when 16-year-old Brenda Spencer killed two … Continue readingBoomtown Rats: I Don’t Like Mondays
Everly Brothers: Arms of Mary
This great song was written by Iain Sutherland of the Sutherland Brothers duo and recorded with the band Quiver as Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. It was released in March 1976 … Continue readingEverly Brothers: Arms of Mary
Burundi Steiphenson Black: Burundi Black
This was released in 1971 and reached No 31 in Britain. It features drumming by 25 members of the Ingoma people in Burundi recorded in 1967, with a guitar and … Continue readingBurundi Steiphenson Black: Burundi Black
Johnson’s McGonagall moment
READERS sometimes comment that this column is a welcome relief from the insanity of the modern world, so I apologise in advance that today’s article is not light-hearted. I start … Continue readingJohnson’s McGonagall moment