July 27th:
Dear all, well the Olympics will soon be upon us again. A chance to see people running rings around the audience, wrestling people to the ground and thumping them and throwing missiles at a specific target. But what will happen in the events themselves once the heavyhanded UK security have done their work? Even with Paul McCartney confirmed as the closing act, things aren’t looking good – laughable in fact, what with the weapons parked on people’s roofs in the London area, the public transport systems that people are only thinking about now two weeks before the big event and the buffoons in Government claiming all the credit for themselves (they deserve something, but it isn’t a medal). Also, I don’t know what’s worse – seeing genuine sporting events sponsored by the likes of McDonalds, Walkers and Kelloggs or seeing the Paralympics sponsored by ATOS, the Government lap dogs who don’t seem to believe anyone has ever been disabled in the history of time.
Meantime, here’s our latest piece of insanity in the middle of this vacuum of darkness, wrapped around a review of the first record of Neil Young’s ‘doom’ trilogy re-assessed (shame no one else seems to own a copy given that it’s been officially out of print for 40 years!) What’s that? We haven’t discussed our website stats yet you say? You read my mind! Our ‘moonfruit’ original site now stands at 20,300 hits and our blogspot second site at 800! Why that’s almost as many people as applied for the beach volleyball this year!
♫ Beach Boys News: Of all the news stories we’ve had in these newsletters, this must be one of the weirdest: The Beach Boys’ family and offspring have formed their own band named ‘California Saga’. The band includes music veterans Carnie and Wendy (Brian’s daughters and once two-thirds of Wilson Phillips), Justyn Wilson (Carl’s son), Christian and Ambha Love (Mike’s son and daughter), Carl Wilson (Dennis’ son named for his brother) and Matt and Adam Jardine (Al’s two sons). Billy Hinsche – brother of Carl’s wife and extra Beach Boy guitarist for many years – is also involved.
♫ Beatles News: Paul McCartney has just announced he’s teamed up with Bungie, the game developers who are most famous for the computer game ‘Halo’. Alas that won’t be what Macca’s working on - which is a shame given that his music would have fitted a new franchise pretty well – and the pair have been quite on what exactly Paul will be working on. If it seems like an odd project then, well, yes it is, but Macca has been saying for a while in interviews now that games are selling better than CDs (the success of the Beatles Rock Band game won’t have passed him by either).So what could the new project be? An aeroplane simulator named ‘Wings’ perhaps?! More news if and when...
In other news, Macca was prevented from finishing his set list at a concert in Hyde Park this week when Bruce Springsteen’s set over-ran. In fact The Boss was up on stage for a storming live version of ‘Twist and Shout’ when the London Council decided that the show had already gone 10 minutes over its allotted time and pulled the plug mid-song. The audience and Bruce were understandably livid: ‘I’ve been trying to arrange this for 30 years’ he’s meant to have said. Apparently last year saw a rise in the number of local complaints. Next up on Sunday night was Paul Simon, who thankfully escaped the wrath of the council.
♫ CSN News: Sad news, I’m afraid: according to Stephen Stills in an interview for ‘Uncut’ magazine there will never be another new CSN album (despite some solo and archive releases in the works and a new joint live DVD out). The band were hit badly when Rick Rubin effectively cancelled their planned album of ‘covers’ a few years ago and the band have been without a long-term recording contract since releasing ‘Looking Forward’ with Neil Young in 1999. He said: ‘There’s a DVd set that’s finished, it’s ready to go. But an album? We won’t make another one, we won’t finish one’. Sniff!
♫ Monkees News: Mike Nesmith is returning to the UK for his first series of solo concerts in about 30 years and his first performances at all since the Monkees reunions of 1997. Dates haven’t been finalised yet but it’s worth keeping an eye on and it seems likely that Nesmith will be playing acoustically without a band. More news if and when!
♫ The Who News: Honestly, one minute we’re reporting The Who have a tour lined up, then that they’ve split, then that they’ll never work together again – and now that they’re back together again, for now. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will be hitting the road in Europe and America later this year touring with ‘Quadrophenia’, presumably the same show they had on their 1996 tour, because in Pete’s words ‘we want to do it before we get too old!’ This completely contradicts the comments made in Quadrophenia doc ‘Can You See The Real Me?’ broadcast on BBC4 less than a month ago, but never mind! Sweetly, the band will be returning to Cincinatti for the first time since 11 fans died in a stampede there in 1979 (the venue was working on a ‘priority seating’ premise and record numbers of fans turned up early to get the good seats, overwhelming staff) and have promised to honour anyone who still has a ticket from their no-show there 33 years ago! More news if and when (they’ll probably break up again somewhere around the final gig!)
ANNIVERSARIES: It’s a busy week this week, with birthday greetings in order for the following AAA members born between July 18th and 24th: Clarence White (guitarist with The Byrds 1968-72) who would have been 68 on July 19th and Keith Godchaux (keyboardist with The Grateful Dead 1973-79) who would have been 64 on the same day; also John Lodge (bassist with The Moody Blues 1967-present) who turns 69 on July 20th and Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam who turns 65 on July 21st. Anniversaries of events include: CSN release their prestigious and much loved eponymous debut album (July 18th 1969); One of Otis Reddings’ last projects, with Carla Thomas, ‘Tramp’ reaches the charts (July 19th 1967); Simon and Garfunkel begin their first reunion tour, which will break down in recriminations a few months later (July 19th 1983); Jane Asher shocks the music press by announcing her six-month long engagement to Paul McCartney is off, after the couple have spent nearly five years together (July 20th 1968); 4000 fans unable to get tickets to a Beatles show in Blackpool rush the arena and the Beatles have to get flown in by helicopter (July 21st 1963); The Beatles’ first American album ‘Introducing...’ is released on the small label Vee Jay Records. It becomes the only Beatles LP ever to miss the charts in America! (July 22nd 1963); The Dire Straits’ first eponymously titled record hits the LP charts (July 22nd 1978); Four days after his 31st birthday Grateful Dead keyboardist dies in a car crash (July 23rd 1979) and finally, Jefferson Airplane receive their only gold disc for ridiculously high sales of their second album ‘Surrealistic Pillow’ (July 24th 1967).
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