This is the other book I bought for this holiday week, Weller is a writer I have admired throughout his phases from The Jam, through The Style Council and into his re-emergence as a solo artist.

Being a fan of The Who it would be easy to try to make comparisons between hm and Pete Townshend. There is no doubt Townshend was a major influence on Weller but so were, to a greater or lessor extent, The Beatles, Steve Marriott, Ray Davies, The Sex Pistols the music of Motown and Stax and perhaps more surprisingly Dr Feelgood.

Weller found modernism at an early age with clothes and his appearance carrying more importance than the music he was listening to and about to write and play.

The main stay of the mod life soundtrack was american jazz and R&B and Weller found it hard to replicate this soind even allowing for admiration of The Small Faces and The Kinks from where he fine tuned his lyrical influences through songs steeped in that southern English framework.

Musically he was unable to find a musical direction which went beyond 60's parody, many believe it was his attendance at a Sex Pistlos gig in 1977 that gave him he inspiration to take The Jam forward, however, his real awakening came earlier in 1975 when he first saw Dr Feelgood live.

To him Wilko Johnson was a relelation both in dress sense and guitar technique, Weller lifted both the black suite, tie and white shirt image and the agitated guitar playing, this when added to his continuing admiration of 60's Who were the factors which gave birth to what became the early Jam brought together in their debut single "In The City" which was not only named after a Who single but also lifted the chorus lyric and tune.

 

 

Weller was too good a writer to be trapped in 60's revivalism and equally he was too good and sensible to be cornered in the punk explosion, whilst the second album was one too soon by 1978's "All Mod Cons" he had musically progressed way beyond punk and whist still tipping his hat to his 60's influences and wearing his mod ethos on his sleeve he had created his first masterpiece, and for me his best ever album

 

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The Quadropenia film came out in 1979 and acted as a main stream catalyst for the mod revival scene, however, having been there already Weller moved on and "Setting Sons" provided great commercial succes and the "Going Underground" single broke all records.

 

 

By 1980 "Sound Affects" Weller was finding new strengths in his songwriting and although the lead single "Start" was "Taxman" by The Beatles it remains one of my all time favourites as the soundtrack to the Summer of '80.

 

"The Gift" album was released in 1982 and turned out to be The Jam's last studio album. Weller beieved that to progress musically he would have to break up The Jam, doing so at their peak was a brave decision but he realised that musically the other members and fan base wouldn't be able to move on up with him.

Comparisons can again be made with Pete Townshend, after Moon's death in 1978 Townshend had the option to do likewise close down The Who at the top and move on......Townshend chose not to do so showing loyalty to the remaining members of the group and the numerous other people close to him who relied on The Who for a living.

The Who carried on but Townshend's best writing emerged via his solo albums, it is only since 1999 that The Who recovered their fire as a live act and whilst their recent album "The Endless Wire" has some highlights one can't help wondering what direction Townshend would have gone if he had been totally released from the responsibities of The Who.

As for Weller The Style Council was born into the mire of mid 80's "pop" and new romantics. The new Weller image was based on the continental modernists and visually and musicall most Jam fans just didn't believe he could leave behind such a band for this.

Now for me The Style Council were lokked i that period and whilst not reaching the heights of The Jam they did produce the odd good track.

As the 80's drew to a close The Style Council audience diminished and their last album was turned down by the record company. Weller needed a break and needed to find the writer in him all over again.

His first solo album "Into Tomorrow" released in 1992 received a lukewarm reception, however a year later came "Wild Wood" and Weller was back in the limelight via great reviews and health sales.

 

"Stanley Road" followed in 1995 featuring "The Changing Man" Weller was now "The Modfather" the key influence on Brit-Pop with everyone from Oasis to Blur citing him as a main influence.

 

Several albums followed and now we have Paulo Hewitt's bography, Hewitt was a buddng music journalist when he first met Weller, a close friendship developed and Hewitt wrote a biography on The jam but in 2006 their friendship came to a bitter end after, now I have yet to read the full book so the true reason still eludes me but the circumstances echo with me in my own experiences.

The last word if from Weller's latest album "22 Dreams" an ambitious double album which stretches across many styles....where he goes now only he knows.

 

 

The 7th September 1978 is still fresh in my mind, friends and I were just back from a camping holiday in Arran during which The Who's latest album "Who Are You" was in constant rotation.

I was again listening to my red vinyl import copy when my mother informed me that my friend Stevie was on the phone. Expecting the usual discussion as when to meet at Upstairs Downstairs I was taken aback by the opening remarks "he's gone and done it for real this time" who and what are you talking about I reponded "Monnie he has has gone and done it he is dead" it was like receiving bad news about a close relative I just couldn't believe it...still we met at Upstairs Downstairs a group of us all converts to The Who....we knew it could never be the same and the irony was not lost on us when we considered the sleeve to the album we had been listening to so much since it's release in the summer.

 

 Moon sitting on the chair "Not To Be Taken Away" stills sends a shiver down the spine.

 

Born Keith John Moon on August 23, 1946, to Alfred & Kathleen Moon in Wellesden, England. Moon was primarily raised in the Northwest London suburb of Wembley. Three years later, the Moons welcomed a daughter, Linda, to their family. Alf Moon earned his living as a maintenance mechanic for the Wembley council and Kathleen "Kit" Moon took on part time cleaning jobs.

As Kit Moon recalled, Keith "from the age of three, he would sit home for hours beside an old gramophone player and play 78 records of stars like Nat King Cole and Scots leader Johnny Shand."

The Moon family would listen to the BBC comedy troupe, the Goons, and Keith would then act the comedy sketches the next week at school. When Keith was 12, the Moons welcomed another daughter, Lesley, to the family. While at school, Moon received a prescient comment from his music teacher, "great ability, but most guard against tendency to show off." While in grammar school, Moon was a loner despite a hyperactive personality.

Moon joined the Sea Cadets and started playing the bugle and then, trumpet. At 13, Moon moved from the trumpet to the bass drum. Moon became a fan of the drums and would see the Movie, "Drum Crazy," about the late great Jazz drummer, Gene Krupa. In 1970 Moon stated about the picture, "That film was the only time I saw the way Krupa worked- all that juggling." Moon recounted, "Gene Krupa, Jo Jones, Buddy Rich . . . to me they were the best. I’d see a big band with a double bass drum setup, twirling the sticks, all the theatrics. They’re the people I really dug, growing up."

Autumn of 1961, Moon bought his first drum kit, a pearl blue Premier kit. Moon began practicing on his own. In 1962 Moon would gain admission to the Music Club at the Oldfield Hotel where Moon would watch various drummers and in particular, Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages' drummer, Carlo Little. Moon asked Little for drum lessons and Moon would take lessons from Little for a few months. Summer of 1962, Moon would play in a band called the Escorts. A member of the Escorts recalled, "The way he decided to play drums was outrageous. But he emulated Carlo Little and was the only person to do so. He was a real character. Madness bordering on genius."

 

 

In December 1962, Moon responded to an ad for a drummer in the band called the Beachcombers, who despite their name were not a surf band. Moon, nicknamed "Weasel," enjoyed an 18 month stint with the band. Moon was such an intense drummer that six inch nails were hammered into the stage to fasten his kit with rope.

By mid-1963, Moon became an obsessive surf music fan to the extent that Moon imported from America surf records by Dick Dale, the Chantays and the Beach Boys to England. From late 1962 to his fateful spring of 1964, Moon worked at British Gypsum where Keith answered phones and processed sales orders. In April 1964, drummer Doug Sandom left The Who. Moon auditioned for The Who and was invited to join the band. For a couple of weeks, Moon would play in both the Beachcombers and The Who. Alf Moon was very much against his son leaving the stable Beachcombers for the explosive Who.

Recalling Moon's departure from the Beachcombers, their rhythm guitarist stated, "Keith was going to go forward because he couldn’t do anything else. He was a showman drummer, that was it. I always think he was the best drummer in the world, even with us."

 

 

At this time The Who were going through numerous management changes. The Who met Pete Meaden, a Mod. Under Meaden, the band's name was The High Numbers. The band dressed like Mods and appealed to Mods even though they were not Mods. The Mods were amphetamine takers who wore tab collars and Italian shoes and drove Lambretta scooters. The Mod credo was "clean living under difficult circumstances."

During their summer 1964 residency at the Railway, Pete Townshend broke his guitar against the Railway's low ceiling. A week later Moon started smashing his drumkit when the audience was disappointed when Townshend didn’t smash his guitar. Moon stated generally, "When I smashed my drums it’s because I was pissed off . . . [W]hen you’ve worked your balls off and you’ve given the audience everything you can give and they don’t give anything back, that’s when the *bleep* instruments go."

In August 1964, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp took over management of the band. In October 1964 The Who again became the band's name. Soon after, The Who began a Tuesday residency at the Marquee Club with the poster of Pete Townshend in full arm swing declaring "Maximum R & B."

The Who signed a record deal which forced them to write their own material. In January 1965, Townshend composed "I Can’t Explain" with Moon playing the drums as if the fate of the free world depended on his performance. The next single was "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" with Moon's drumming holding together the innovative feedback from Townshend's guitar.

 

 

In December 1965, The Who released the My Generation album with Moon co-writing the surf influenced instrumental "The Ox." Moon's performance on the record is still one of the greatest drum performances ever let alone on a debut record. The drum solo at the bridge of "The Kids Are Alright" was so far ahead of its time that it was edited out of the American release and wasn't released in America until 1994's Box Set, 30 Years of Maximum R & B.

Spring 1966 saw the release of the Townshend composed "Substitute," with manic Moon drumming that Keith later didn't recall playing at the session. About this time, Moon moved from a single bass seven piece drum set to a double bass nine piece drum kit.

In May, 1966, Moon and Who bassist John Entwistle were late to the gig that night because they were entertaining Beach Boy, Bruce Johnston. Townshend and Who singer, Roger Daltrey were extremely angry at Moon and Entwistle as they started the concert with a different rhythm section. During the finale of "My Generation," Townshend accidentally hit Moon in the head with his guitar and bruised Moon's face in addition to giving Moon a black eye. Moon and Entwistle for 24 hours quit the band. Pete Townshend profusely apologized to Moon who while accepting the apologies was looking to work with other bands including The Animals

Fall 1966, The Who released the single "I'm a Boy" with the B-side, "In The City," a Moon-Entwistle composition. The Who performed on the British television show "Ready, Steady, Who" with Moon singing "Barbara Ann" and Jan & Dean's "Bucket T," which went #1 in Sweden on the Ready, Steady, Who EP. Winter 1966, The Who released the album A Quick One (Happy Jack in the U.S.) with two Moon songs, one an instrumental “Cobwebs and Strange” and with Keith singing "I Need You." "Happy Jack," the single, featured Moon as the lead instrument propelling the song as well as carrying the melody. At the end of "Happy Jack," Townshend can be heard saying, "I saw ya," after Moon was spotted sneaking into the control room from which he was banned due to his distracting vocals.

By 1967, Moon had established himself as one of the premier drummers in popular music. Guitarist Jeff Beck recruited Moon for his nascent band, Jeff Beck Group. Moon screamed and thundered on "Beck's Bolero" on the Truth album. Summer 1967,

 

 

Moon unveiled his infamous "Pictures of Lily" Premier drum kit with the lettering "Keith Moon, patent British exploding drummer" amid pictures of naked women. The Who played the Monterey Pop Festival where at the conclusion of their set Moon destroyed his drum kit.

On August 23, 1967, Keith Moon's infamous 21st Birthday party that would become the stuff of legend. Moon recalling the party in 1972 in Rolling Stone magazine came up with a fanciful tale about driving a car in the swimming pool, escaping by waiting for the physics to be right and earning The Who a lifetime ban from the Holiday Inn for eternity. Neither the car in the pool nor the lifetime ban from the Holiday Inn happened. Moon while running away from the party because he was de-pants, tripped, fell and knocked out a front tooth. Moon spent the most of the rest of the night at the dentist's office getting his tooth fixed. Winter 1967, The Who released the album The Who Sell Out a tribute to pirate radio and its ad jingles. Sell Out featured Entwistle-Moon advertisement jingles among Pete Townshend's songs. Moon's "Girl's Eyes" was released on the Sell Out re-issue. Moon's drumming is transcendent on "I Can See For Miles."

 

 

May 1969, The Who released the double album Tommy. Moon came up with the idea of the holiday camp that was used in the song cycle with Keith singing "Tommy's Holiday Camp," a Townshend song based on Moon's holiday camp idea. Tommy is a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who becomes a Messiah and later is forsaken by his followers. "Amazing Journey/Sparks" "Underture" and "Smash the Mirror," are Moon’s notable performances. "Pinball Wizard" released as a single from Tommy had the b-side of "Dogs Part 2," a Moon composition that featured a drum break throughout the song with dogs barking the lead vocal. Moon also sang on "Cousin Kevin Model Child" which was released on the re-issue of Odds & Sods.

August 1969, The Who played Woodstock that has been described as their worst gig ever, yet, Moon gave an outstanding performance particularly on "Sparks," "Acid Queen" and "I'm Free."

 

 

January 1970, Neil Boland, Moon's driver, was accidentally killed in a melee with Skinheads. While Boland was outside of Moon's Bentley trying to clear an exit from the Skinheads, Moon took the wheel and stepped on the accelerator. Moon accidentally ran over Boland and killed him. Subsequently, Moon was depressed and some say he was never the same. Moon stated, "I'll always have his death on my conscience."

February 1970, The Who played at Leeds University for a live album. Live at Leeds is considered live rock & roll at its finest particularly "Summertime Blues" and "My Generation."

In January 1971, Moon made his acting debut in the Frank Zappa conceived, 200 Motels, a film about a musician's life on the road. Moon wanted to be an actor after his involvement in this film.

Summer 1971, The Who released the album Who’s Next . The original cover idea was to have Moon dressed in woman's undergarments. Moon produced the violin solo at the end of "Baba O’Riley." Moon's drumming is superlative particularly on "Bargain," "Going Mobile" and "Won’t Get Fooled Again." The press party for the release of Who’s Next was held at Moon's recently purchased Tara estate in Chertsey, England.

In 1972, "Relay" was released as a single with the Moon composition "Wasp Man" as the B-side. Moon acted in the motion picture, That'll Be The Day, as drummer J.D. Clover. Moon played Uncle Ernie in the stage production of Tommy. Summer of 1973, Moon would do a series of music radio shows for the British Broadcasting Corporation including "Life with the Moons," a series of skits, routines and send-ups while Keith would play some of his favorite music.

 

 

Fall 1973, The Who released the double album Quadrophenia composed by Pete Townshend with Moon singing "Bell Boy." Quadrophenia is about the four-faceted Jimmy, a Mod from 1964-1965, who climbs on The Rock to examine his life. Each member of The Who had a theme. Moon's theme was "a bloody lunatic, I'll even carry your bags," needing the attention of others while keeping up a front of self-containment at the same time. "The Real Me," "Bell Boy" and "Love Reign O'er Me" are the significant tracks. Moon also sang on "We Close Tonight" which was released on the re-issue of Odds & Sods

 

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November 1973, Moon passed out during the San Francisco stop on the Quadrophenia tour. Video of this event can be found on the 30 Years of Maximum R & B video release.

In 1974, Moon completed acting roles in two movies, Uncle Ernie in Tommy

 

 

 and J.D. Clover in in Stardust, the sequel to That'll Be The Day. Moon visited Los Angeles and stayed in a rented Santa Monica beach house with John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and Harry Nilsson. Moon had such a good time that he would soon move to Los Angeles for the partying and an attempt at an acting career. While in Los Angeles, Moon hosted the popular American Television show, In Concert, which featured Keith playing a drum solo with goldfish swimming in his drum kit. The Who released Odds & Sods, a collection of Who B-sides and rejected album songs that included Moon singing a bit on "Now I'm A Farmer."

 In March 1975, Moon released his only solo album, Two Sides of the Moon, with Keith singing on all of the tunes which included a John Lennon original and cover songs loved by Moon. Moon received a $200,000 non-refundable advance for the album. Moon stated at the time of the release of the solo album, "I didn't know I was capable of some of the vocals that I had done . . . My commitment to the album is total, I wouldn't bother with it otherwise. I think it's commercial and will sell." In 1997 the solo album was re-issued with eight additional tracks.

 

 

 

 

Fall 1975, The Who released The Who By Numbers. Moon's excellent drumming can be heard on "Dreaming From the Waist," "Success Story" and "In Hand or Face."

In 1976, Moon sang "When I'm Sixty Four" for the soundtrack record to the movie All This and World War II.

In 1977, Moon appeared in the movie Sextette. Moon also appeared in concert on stage with Led Zeppelin.

Summer 1978, The Who released the album Who Are You with Moon singing a bit on "Guitar and Pen." During one of the recording sessions when Moon was struggling, Keith declared, "I am the best Keith Moon style drummer . . ." Moon's drumming drives the title track. Chillingly, the album cover has Keith Moon sitting on a chair that states, "Not to be Taken Away."

Posthumously in 1979, The Who released the feature films, Quadrophenia with Keith Moon as Executive Producer and The Kids Are Alright, with Keith Moon as a featured performer. In Kids, Moon, in response to the director asking for the truth, states tellingly, "No, I mean, the truth as you want to hear it. I can't do that. You couldn't afford me."

Keith Moon is rock and roll's greatest drummer. Moon's fills, rolls, patterns and toms' work pushed rock drumming beyond the limits of the then rock drummer. From his punk playing on "My Generation" to his playing to the synthesizer tracks like "Baba O'Riley," "Won't Get Fooled Again" and the Quadrophenia album, Keith Moon expanded the range and vocabulary of the rock drummer. Moon's style ranged from big band, surf, rock and proto-punk. On Moon's drum style, John Entwistle stated, "[Moon] didn't play from left to right or right to left, he'd play forward. When you see him playing mad breaks, he's not going around the kit, his arms are moving forward from the snare to the toms. I've never seen anyone play like that before or since."

 

 

On advice Moon would give to people taking up the drums, Keith is attributed with saying, "Learn guitar." If one listens to Moon's playing (or sees video of The Who live), Keith is playing off of Who guitarist, Pete Townshend more than Moon is keeping time by playing off of Who bassist John Entwistle.

Moon's greatness behind the drumkit is often overshadowed by his public image as "Moon the Loon." Keith Moon is known more for dressing up like Adolf Hitler (in places such as Steve McQueen's Malibu house), striping naked in airports and on television shows, destroying hotel rooms, swinging from chandeliers, throwing televisions out of hotel windows, putting cherry bombs in toilets, leaving a hovercraft on train tracks disrupting train schedules, being quick with word play, puns and the funny joke, passing out at concerts and consuming super human amounts of alcohol and pharmaceuticals. This public image of Keith Moon was so pronounced that the Muppet character, Animal, whose credo is "Drums. Women. Food." was inspired by Moon.

Keith Moon's commitment to The Who and his love of all things Who made Moon The Who's biggest fan. Moon stated time and again that there was nothing more important to him than The Who.

On September 7, 1978, Keith Moon died in his sleep due to an overdose of the prescription drug, Heminevrin.

Keith Moon was survived by his ex-wife Kim, a daughter, Amanda, a loyal girlfriend Annette and countless Who fans.

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Kim went on to marry Ian McLagen from the Small Faces and they both lived in the US until Kim's unfortunate recent death in a car crash.

 

Moon lives on he remains a key influence on many drummers and even towards the end when he was out of shape he always argued that he was still "the best Keith Moon type drummer in the world"

Roger Daltrey continues to attempt to put a Moon biography film together but despite the like of Mile Myers pleding support as the lead role a suitable script which gives due credence to the real Moon and not the "Loon"

 

 

 

As we know following the death of John Entwistle there are now only the two remaining and this is a fair summary of where they are.

 

Keith Moon 23rd August 1946 - 7th September 1978

 

 

 

The Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend have signed a parka from Lambretta's Who Collection, and it will be auctioned to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust next Monday (September 8).

The one-off signed piece of clothing is an authentic replica of the parka worn on the cover of the Mods most famous album Quadrophenia and will be sold via auction on trading site eBay.

Daltrey is patron of the TCT and continually raises money to fund eight specialist cancer units nationwide, with the aim to build fourteen more.

 

 

Watch out for a tribute post marking the 30th anniversary of the death of Keith Moon this Sunday.

 

Vespa Logo

Mod fury as European Union axes Vespa scooter

Aug 26 2008 By Kevin O'Sullivan

THE Vespa scooter beloved of 1960s Mods has come to the end of the road after EU chiefs said it was not green enough.

Production has halted on the PX model after European laws ruled the two-stroke engine did not meet rules on emissions.

Andy Gillard, editor of Scootering magazine, said: "It's a shame really because it's the end of a long line of motor scooters.

"The Vespa PX is a design classic. My generation has grown up with it. You could say it was the VW Beetle of the two-wheeled world."

PX models soared in popularity after film Quadrophenia hit cinema screens in 1979 and sparked a Mod revival.

Made by Italian company Piaggio, the trendy Vespa - Italian for wasp - began life in a tiny factory in Pontendera in 1946.

More than 15,000 of the classic machines are sold every year and a million have been sold around the world.

But now tough new laws means only versions featuring a fully automatic gearbox will be allowed.

Vespa UK general manager Tony Campbell said: "In an effort to clean up emissions of all motorised vehicles, the EU government has set a number of standards to be met within certain deadlines.

"The new emission regulations make the production of a two-stroke engine larger than 50cc not economically feasible.

"The Vespa PX will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the best."

Source www.dailyrecord.co.uk

 

 

 

Check out  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespa for a fullish history of the Vespa

 

Watch out for my forcoming series on mod culture through the ages, in the meantime this is a good excuse for a track from my all time favourite album.

 

You were under the impression
That when you were walking forward
You'd end up further onward
But things ain't quite that simple.

You got altered information
You were told to not take chances
You missed out on new dances
Now you're losing all your dimples.

My jacket's gonna be cut and slim and checked,
Maybe a touch of seersucker, with an open neck.
I ride a G.S. scooter with my hair cut neat,
I wear my wartime coat in the wind and sleet.

Love Reign O'er Me.
Love Reign O'er Me.
Love.

I've had enough of living
I've had enough of dying
I've had enough of smiling
I've had enough of crying
I've taken all the high roads
I've squandered and I've saved
I've had enough of childhood
I've had enough of grades...

Get a job and fight to keep it,
Strike out to reach a mountain.
Be so nice on the outside
But inside keep ambition

Don't cry because you hunt them
Hurt them first they'll love you
There's a millionaire above you
And you're under his suspicion.

My jacket's gonna be cut and slim and checked,
Maybe a touch of seersucker, with an open neck.
I ride a G.S. scooter with my hair cut neat,
I wear my wartime coat in the wind and sleet.

Love Reign O'er Me.
Love Reign O'er Me.
Love.

I've had enough of dancehalls
I've had enough of pills
I've had enough of streetfights
I've seen my share of kills
I'm finished with the fashions
And acting like I'm tough
I'm bored with pain and passion
I've had enough of crimes and love.

 

Back with a vengeance after a period of work commitments stalled postings, I am particularly pleased to return with a posting about the Sons of the Rock.......no not in this case Dumbarton FC but "The Haze"

Emerging from the depths of Dumbarton, The Haze put the ‘rawk’ back into rock. Produced by Chris ‘Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy’ Tsangarides, this electrifying quintet (singer James Cairns, guitarists John Paul Hunter and Mark Miller, bassist Ross Duffy and drummer Robert Mitchell) draw a line through 60s/70s/80s legends such as The Doors, Steppenwolf and recent touring chums The Cult.

The Haze live out all your ‘eavy rock’n’roll dreams – regardless of you date of birth – through power-tripping tracks such as ‘Ghostdancer’, ‘Save Our Souls’, ‘Guns and Bullets’, ‘Kingdom Blues’ and a boisterous rendition of The Who’s ‘Seeker’.

Source www.thelist.co.uk

Their debut album "Spirits Are Rising" is out now, downloadable via iTunes, and here is their version of The Who's "The Seeker"

 

 

The Who arrive via Blu-Ray HD DVD in November 2008.

 

 

The Who: Kilburn 1977

Experience one of the biggest names in rock like you've never seen or heard them before in this treasure trove of unreleased landmark performances!

 

 

Richie Havens was the opening act at Woodstock and has a new album out now called "Nobody Left To Crown" a mixture or originals and covers including this from another of Woodstock's major acts.

LIMITED PERIOD MP3 DOWNLOAD   Richie Havens - Won't Get Fooled Again

 

Thanks to the modern technology of USB 3G internet access I can still post whilst travelling on the 5:15 Virgin Trains London to Glasgow service, so here are The Who from the fan club only live compilation "View From A Backstage Pass"

 

 

When I started this Blog I didn't realise how compulsive even addictive it would become, guilt crept in when a day went by without posting and suddenly it appeared to become an obligation rather than a pleasure.

Like most people sometimes you need a change and pressures of work and life now really mean that I can no longer due justice to my blogging.

It is therefore with a mixture of regret and relef that I make this final posting, thanks to all who joined me along the way and especially to all those who take time out to comment, I hope everyone who visited the site left enlightened or informed in some way and perhaps found new music that they would otherwise have missed out on.

 

Rock On!

 

When a man is running from his boss
Who hold a gun that fires "cost"
And people die from being cold
Or left alone because they're old

And bombs are dropped on fighting cats
And children's dreams are run with rats
If you complain you disappear
Just like the lesbians and queers

No one can love without the grace
Of some unseen and distant face
And you get beaten up by blacks
Who though they worked still got the sack

And when your soul tells you to hide
Your very right to die denied
And in the battle on the streets
You fight computers and receipts

And when a man is trying to change
But only causes further pain
You realize that all along
Something in us going wrong...

You stop dancing.

 

"Last week's biggest-ever New Musical Express awards show at London's O2 Arena should have been a triumph for Britain's longest-serving rock weekly. It was, says the Editor, Conor McNicholas, “one of the greatest nights on my life” watching Klaxons, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs and Manic Street Preachers play to 15,000 indie/rock fans.

But there were glum faces and dark mutterings among the assembled media insiders. One key reason for this gloom was the magazine's circulation figures for the second half of 2007. Averaging around 64,000 per issue, they are the lowest ever, and a steep decline on previous years.

Given NME's growing profile online, on TV, at festivals and branded tours, these figures seem a strange and bitter pill. Some industry commentators are even speculating that the print version could close within months. “Who reads the NME then?” Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs singer asked pointedly."

The above quotation is from www.timesonline.co.uk and it would appear that the NME as a paper medium may shortly expire.

The music weekly papers were a major source of knowledge for me through the 70's and 80's and as they generally lost out to the new age of glossy monthly magazines it was the NME that held firm though it also, whilst remaining weekly, adopted a magazine format.

Wednesdays used to be special when you picked up your weekly fix of music news and reviews in a traditional broadsheet format, hands would be covered in ink and pictures and articles would be cut out for the wall or a scrap book.

I remain a fond reader of the new range of Music Magazines, many of which feature in this blog (Q Mojo Uncut), which are bright and colourfull and full of good well written articles but as usual nostagia can get the better of you and the fondness remains for the old newspaper format.

Below is a trawl through my memory lane via the front pages of the papers of the past which featured my all time favourite band The Who.

 

 

This is now somewhat of an iconic edition as this front page has been reproduced as a limited edition signed poster print run and 980/1000 hangs on my office wall.

 

Sounds was actually the first music paper I bought, this edition lives forever in my memory as it came out during the build up to my first Who concert at Celtic Park on June 5th 1976. The stadium tour, the first of ot it's kind also played at Charlton and Swansea football stadiums under the banner of "Who Put The Boot In"

 

 

This edition of the New Musical Express carried the reviews of the concert and was cut up and sellotaped to my wall for many a year.

 

Following the explosion of punk The Who like many of the big bands of the time were accused of being "boring old farts" here Townshend got his own back, after punk lost it's street credibility it was not surprising to read how The Who were a major inspiration to many of the bands.

By August 1978 production was beginning on the film "Quadrophenia" and the New Musical Express ran a competition to win the chance to be an extra in the film.

A month later and The Who needed a new drummer following the death of Keith Moon resulting from an accidental over dose of prescription drugs.

 

Melody Maker followed Townshend on the set of "Quodrophenia" as he struggled to come to terms with Monn's death and any future for The Who.

 

The year 1979 would see the release of two films "The Kids Are Alright" and "Quadrophenia" and would see the decision to carry on with The Who with Kenney Jones as Moon's replacement.

 

Record Mirror was never a regular purchase for me, as a paper it was popular in the 60's reflecting the chart scene, the early 70's was a bit of a bleak patch for it as it never really grasped the concept of non-chart rock and it wasn't until punk and new wave stormed the charts that it had any real following again.

 

This is another iconic image for me as it records my second Who concert, the summer of '79 saw the premier of "The Kids Are Alright" at the Cannes Film Festival, whilst in France The Who played their first gig without Moon as reviewed in the above edition.

A week later the film was premieried in Glasgow and to tie in a low key concert was arranged at the Apollo, tickets were put on sale at 9am on the Saturday morning for the concert the following Friday, an overnight sleep on Renfield Street secured the necessary tickets for what was an emotional night for all.

Daltrey's hair cut was as a result of his filming of "McVicar".

 

Meet the new boss the same as the old boss.

 

NME is born, I liked the New Musical Express better myself.

 

!981 saw The Who release their first post Moon album "Face Dances" and whilst it produce a hit single and TOTP appearance for "You Better You Bet" it and it's successor "It's Hard" found it difficult to match up to past achievements.

After tours to support both albums The Who went on a long sabbatical by the time they re-emerged the world of music journalism had progressed to the magazine medium where they continue to appear on a regular basis with many other artists of their generation saisfying the nostagia market for us 40+ folk with more money than sense. 

The images used and many more can be found at White Fangs brilliant Who Site www.thewho.info an essential visit for even the most casual of Who fan.