Monday 11 May 2015

Why the Tory victory seems deeply suspicious with 25 recorded cases of electoral fraud

Dear all,

One last word from me on the election and then we'll go back to the music but I had to say something about that election result last week. Even for Conservative supporters the result seemed a little...odd. Everyone was expecting for there to be a minority Government - and I mean everyone: even Cameron himself had admitted as much - as reported here (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11581187/Ed-Miliband-defends-tomb-stone-Labour-pledges.html)  - and wife Samantha had even finished packing, against all protocol, so sure was she that her family was moving house.

Like many other people I was confused as to how so many of the world's leading political experts could be wrong (including US statistician Nate Silver, who got the last US election spot on) time and time again, right up until the exit poll a few hours before the results started coming in. The experts tries to explain it via 'shy tory voters' - but that makes even less sense to me; the few Tory voters I know are anything but shy about it and the evidence was that the election would go quite a different way (after all why would a lib dem voter frustrated at their inability to hold back the tories vote for the Conservative party instead of Labour? It made no sense!) And this wasn't just in one or two constituencies where weird things always happen in politics, but in patterns repeated right across the board - which never happens in politics. I wouldn't say I was at all confident about what kind of a Government we would have on May 8th but I was absolutely confident that it wouldn't be a majority Conservative one - that just ran in the face of everything.

So as the  impossible had to be eliminated I did a little bit of digging to find the improbable. And a bit more digging. And a bit more digging. Because I couldn't believe what I was seeing: unreported by the major press (except in small ways) were at least thirty examples of at the very least suspicious circumstances and at worst a wholesale vandalisation of the electoral process. Now there's always  something funny going on at an election - you get that humans together counting crosses late into the night and under pressure to work fast and there will always be mistakes. But we've been doing this election thing for a centuries now and I can't say I ever remember reading more than two or three unusual things happening at elections: this years there's ten times that! And twenty-five constituencies out of 650 - many of them suspiciously expected to be close before the election - is a high enough percentage to make a difference. Remember too that in this election things were so close in so many seats that a few hundred votes either way had huge ramifications - far more so than in any other election since the 1970s. So I put it to you: Ed Milliband won, David Cameron lost and should be thrown out while an investigation is undergone because we don't have cheaters in power in this country (well, not this soon after election anyway!) The votes have been altered and falsified along the way in a variety of cunning ruses and our electoral system is a shambles. Also, while many are complaining about the amount of people who didn't vote again this year, turnout was roughly 1.5% higher than last time in 2010 - just enough, suspiciously, to make the difference in tightly contested seats. And yes I may be a sore loser, but that's because I don't think I did lose and I hate being lied to. The Conservatives do after all have form with this with their notorious mis-use of statistics during the Coalition (this onbe, on benefits, is my favourite - Tory haters all have their own favourites on crime figures, employment and even flooding: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/may/09/iain-duncan-smith-benefits-cap-statistics) There was no way Cameron could have won that election outright, although there was always the chance of a minority Conservative Government. Instead we demand a new election, a fair one this time, overseen by someone that we trust.

Here is the evidence:

1) First of all the one mentioned more or less during election night: Glasgow East. The police were called in when a voter tried to use their poll-card only to be told that someone had already voted in their place. At the time of writing nobody has found who the real culprit was. While it's possible it was a mistake, who knows how many other names they or a crowd of people voted under?  This scandal might never have been found if the people doing it had picked their 'victims' with care as people unlikely or unable to vote. The losers? Labour The winners? The SNP You can read more here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/general-election-2015-police-investigate-fraudulent-vote-allegations-in-glasgow-10234021.html

2-4) Other, similar cases came to light afterwards and were reported in the Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire and Cumbernauld areas. The losers? Labour The winners? The SNP again Suspiciously the original article I found this in, via newspaper The Daily Record, seems to have been taken down but here's a shorter article from the BBC that's still up: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-scotland-32634888

5) The one that's causing all the headlines now - South Thanet. Loathe him or loathe him, Nigel Farage and UKIP were a shoe-in for the seat and even if he'd lost slightly I'd understand it given what the polls were saying; but he didn't, he lost badly to the Conservatives again. Furthermore UKIP won the council seat in South Thanet easily, the one that the Conservatives don't much care about - which is odd. Normally votes for MPs and councils are roughly the same. This can alter when you have a major figure as part of an area whose 'larger than his party' if you will, but in that case the vote actually went against Farage and for his party. Why would people vote in the party and yet not a leader who is, within his own party following, almost universally popular? Farage is actually calling for an official investigation into this one which will be very interesting to hear about, with claims of election boxes left untouched until the last minute of the count (when they weren't done 'properly') and an eight hour delay before counting started which still hasn't been explained (the vote-riggers were running a bit late?) The losers: UKIP The winners: Conservatives. You can read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/05/09/thanet-rigged-south-north-general-election-nigel-farage_n_7248496.html

6) The other one that made the news although everyone seems to have ridiculed it - George Galloway's allegations of a conspiracy against him in Bradford West. Normally I don't believe a word George Galloway says, but his loss of his Respect seat - which had been so secure five years ago and against every opinion poll in the area - was as big a shock as any other on the night. Galloway didn't just lose by one or two votes either but by over 10,000 votes which is a figure that would surely have broken the swingometer had it been used in his constituency. A few hundred voters can change their minds after polling day - but 100,000? Galloway demanded a recount and actually got less votes the second time round, ending up in trouble for breaking parliamentary practice by tweeting the first results before they were officially declared. Perhaps, just perhaps, if Galloway is taken to court the bigger story behind all this might come out too. Losers: Respect Winner: Conservatives http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/10/george-galloway-to-mount-legal-challenge-over-election-defeat

7) Plus potentially the most shocking: a van full of ballot papers which was held up and stolen, affecting two constituencies - Eastbourne and Hastings/Rye - who both had slightly higher than average turn-out (allegedly). Officially the burglars were just making off with an unmarked van and didn't know about the contents - which seems a bit odd truth to be told (this has never happened before either in all our years of elections!)  Some 250,000 ballot papers were stolen - enough to make a sizeable difference in the region (one blog reckons it would be enough to swing 30 different seats). Winners: By far the Conservatives, who gained Eastbourne in a tight contest and just held on to Hastings/Rye in an equally close fight with Labour. http://news.channel4.com/election2015/04/29/update-4354/

8) Now the ones that didn't necessarily make the news but still suggest something fishy going on. First up, a computer glitch that affected Hackney (Diane Abbott's region)  where many residents (perhaps several hundred, directly affecting 30 people who came to cast their vote) were not listed as eligible to vote despite registering in time and being sent their polling cards (Ian Duncan Smith's welfare computer system again?!) Winner: Labour won this one easily, suggesting it may have been a genuine mistake (they do happen - just not in these sorts of numbers!) http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/07/election-glitches-unable-to-vote-hackney-bournemouth

9) The same article adds a paragraph on another case in Bournemouth, specifically Kinson, where a botch-up at the printers meant that the wrong candidates were mentioned on the voting cards. Nine polling stations were affected and the mistake wasn't pointed out until the second voter through the doors queries the mistake. Losers: Labour Winners: Conservative Here's a longer article on the same constituency from their local paper http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/vote2015/12936317.Kinson_voters_told_to_come_back_later_after_polling_stations_sent_wrong_ballot_papers/

10) We're off to Pendle next, virtually the only region in the whole of the North West to fall to the Conservatives. This news story actually dates back to a week before the election when Conservative candidate Sajjad Karim raised the issue of postal voter fraud. Lord Greaves, on Pendle Borough Council backed his colleague up, referring to 'exceptionally high' postal votes in the region which had already been returned - up to ten days before the election. There were claims raised about postal voters being 'pressurised' to make their mind up quickly too as can be read here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-32391737 As for winners and losers - who knows? The conservatives raised the issue, but they won the seat comfortably - and against the pattern of the region

11) Another hit for the UKIP party, this time in Darlington, where their local candidate David Hodgson was horrified to find his name was missing from the ballot paper, which couldn't be replaced in time. I don't know about you but I've never ever heard of this happening before - these ballots are checked and re-checked so how did this error get past? Winners - Labour oddly (did the Conservatives overestimate their popularity in the borough?) Losers - UKIP http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/election-2015-name-ukip-candidate-david-hodgson-missing-darlington-ballot-papers-1500184

12) The Wirral, too, went back to becoming a Labour stronghold, but the Conservatives had been adamant that the hated MP for the disabled, Esther McVey, was going to get in again. So much so that the party fought tooth and nail for the position and threw everything they had at the area (despite it being a lost cause - most of the people I know from round there are deeply ashamed at how Ice Queen Esther McVey turned out). Did they decide to accidentally *ahem* lose a whole batch of postal votes in the Wirral just in case? New ballot papers were issued to the Heswell region, apparently, but do we know for certain they reached the voters in time? http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/general-election-2015-investigation-reports-9195178

13) Stoke-On-Trent: This constituency had a major discrepancy between the number of votes counted in before counting and the total once all the votes had been added up. A recount was quickly undergone which then tallied - but was a 'fake' box added into the mix somewhere in the night? As it happens Labour held the region, though only just. http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/General-Election-2015-Missing-votes-blunder/story-26464842-detail/story.html

14) Mendip, a region of Wells, was another constituency where many voters failed to get their postal ballots in time. The council whirred into action and printed up enough replacement ballots for everyone - but didn't have time to post them, instead making them 'available' in their offices at short notice, meaning that several residents might not have known where to get them from. Losers: Labour Winners: Conservatives http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/election/late_re_issue_rush_as_postal_ballot_papers_go_missing_1_4064598

15) The list goes on - Oxford West and Abingdon also had postal voters unhappy at not being sent their polling cards in time. The seat was one of the closest in the whole of the UK and every vote counted - so even though the 150 people affected would not usually have made much of a difference, it might well have done this one time. As with the other cases above, no official explanation was ever given, just an apology. Winners: The Conservatives Losers: Liberal Democrats, just for a change http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-england-32604143

16) Here's an odd one - in Thirsk and Malton, North Yorkshire,  the official polling boxes were found not to have been 'officially sealed' with the electoral ties but a home-made variety, which is another first as far as I know. This means that the boxes that left the polling station could have been tampered with before arriving at the count by someone who knew what they were doing. To quote from the article attached "It is almost as though a systematic plan has been implemented to render the ballot-boxes open to tampering during the period between the closure of the Polling Stations (at 10:00pm) and arrival at the count". This was another tight seat the Conservatives clung on to. Winners: Conservatives Losers: Labour http://nyenquirer.uk/thirsk-malton-ballot-box-infractions/

17) Does Milton Keynes strike you as an eager postal vote borough? Me neither - and yet concerns were raised after a 'deluge' of last minute postal votes almost brought the count to a stand-still. Those present who'd been to lots of these counts knew what to expect: three or four boxes arriving from the post office which had arrived on the last eligible day for counting. Instead 18 boxes were there - an unprecedented number containing nearly 5000 unexpected votes, more than enough to swing another close election. To be fair the postal ballots were scrupulously checked and found to be genuine - but counters under pressure can make mistakes, inside men or women could be found and it may even have been a ruse to distract from other electoral fraud stories - as well as a fourth possibility of a genuine coincidence. Normally I'd think the latter, but the 16 other examples above suggest otherwise... Winners: The Conservatives hold, though not by that much Losers: Labour http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/local/concerns-over-ballot-rigging-after-last-minute-flood-of-postal-votes-1-6730869

18) Another candidate's gone missing from the ballot papers, this time in Hull - seriously this happened twice for the first time ever in the history of UK elections? - and on this occasion with both Labour candidate Karl Turner and Green candidate Sarah Walpole missing from hundreds of postal ballots erroneously sent out to the local borough. Unusually Labour won this one easy, which was itself an odd result not just for the missing ballot papers but because of the size of the win and the fact that two of the four neighbouring boroughs turned Conservative. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32514019

19-20) Alas the link to these two have suspiciously gone down since this afternoon but both South London and Dorset experienced similar glitched to Hackney, with users registered to vote not turning up on the electoral list.

21) This one's one of my favourites: in Norwich North a fire alarm went off and everyone had to be evacuated. The fault was explained away to the press as both a 'faulty tea urn' and 'a faulty fire alarm box' which seems odd - it could plausibly have been because of both, but why such different stories? And why tonight of all nights? (the tea urn in the picture doesn't look new or particularly old and run down!) In the confusion could something have happened? Norwich was won by the Conservatives by the way! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000863

22) I'd never heard of a fire evacuation during a count before - and then I read about another one, this time in Dundee! This time the winners were the SNP but the losers, as ever , were Labour http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/S14000015

23) Alas, this example features a labour candidate, thus ruining my theory, but we leave it here just to show that electoral fraud does go on: Quesir Mahmood, a candidate for Blakburn borough council, was arrested 'on suspicion of electoral fraud and integrity issues'  in late April and has not been sent up for sentencing as yet. See it does happen sometimes - so why not en masse everywhere else too?! http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/election-candidate-arrested-postal-vote-5602527
24) Saving the best till near-last, Eastwood Hilltop polling station 'accidentally' misplaced two boxes of votes after the count was officially declared. The boxes contained some 500 votes each - crucial in such a closely fought constituency - and the declaration had to be pulled and a re-count made. Would you believe it? The Conservatives held on in a ithgtly contested seat! 
 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/embarrassing-scenes-bungling-council-bosses-5665689

25) And finally, a general point: many many votes come in from ex-patriot Britons living overseas who still want a say in their old constituencies. Usually the votes are taken in early, having longer to travel, but this year things seemed a bit left to the last minute and over 100,000 people may have been affected living in countries such as Australia, America, France, Singapore and Brazil - easily enough to swing a rigged election, especially if only a few 'choice' votes go 'missing'. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/11584068/Expats-in-uproar-over-missing-ballot-papers.html.


And that's all I've found but who knows? That could just be the tip of the iceberg - keep your eyes peeled in your local paper for more underhand dodgy dealings and potential fraud! So, a case of massive electoral fraud? I fear so. Some, perhaps even a few of these cases could be innocent mistakes, made  by human error and not quite all of them affect the labour candidates in a bad way. But all 25? Has there ever been an election so hindered by incompetence? And even if this is all just a coincidence, shouldn't somebody from the national media have picked up the story by now - not just the 'pockets' of trouble like Glasgow East and South Thanet but the whole bigger picture? Because the bigger picture is that The Conservatives need to 'finish off' their policies, to rid the country of the NHS and the Welfare State and to be in power before the next election so they can right the results even more their way and make it harder for anyone else to get in (how is that fair?! See here - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11593496/New-Commons-boundaries-top-Conservative-government-agenda.html ) This is a battle and one it looks like we've lost, but there's no way I'm going to sit back and let them think they won. More people voted for other parties - all of whom argued against the cuts - than voted for the Tories. The demonstrations in London prove how desperate and isolated the two-thirds of the country that didn't vote Tory are (maybe more if the above is true?) And I won't take it lying down: while I accept that labour would have had as many difficulties winning outright as the Conservatives were unlikely to have had, there is no way that many people voted Tory after what they've done the past five years, no way that the opinion polls were that far out and no way that either party could ever have won a majority after one of the biggest down-the-middle division in British political history. 

Update: there's now 67 cases of electoral fraud being investigated and a petition for you to sign to get a proper investigation into whether the election was rigged: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/a-rigged-general-election

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67) Songs To Tweet To
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/news-views-and-music-issue-74-top-five.html

68) Greatest Ever AAA Solos
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/news-views-and-music-issue-75-top-ten.html

69) John Lennon Musical Tributes
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/news-views-and-music-issue-77-top-five.html

70) Songs For Halloween
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/news-views-and-music-issue-78-top-five.html

71) Earliest Examples Of Psychedelia
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/news-views-and-music-issue-79-top-five.html

72) Purely Instrumental Albums
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/news-views-and-music-issue-81-top-five.html

73) AAA Utopias

74) AAA Imaginary Bands
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/news-views-and-music-issue-82-top-five.html

75) Unexpected AAA Cover Versions
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/news-views-and-music-issue-83-top-five.html

76) Top Releases of 2010
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/news-views-and-music-issue-84-top-five.html

77) Songs About Snow
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/news-views-and-music-issue-85-top-five.html

78) Predictions For 2011
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011_01_02_archive.html

79) AAA Fugitives

80) AAA Home Towns
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/news-views-and-music-issue-88-home.html

81) The Biggest Non-Musical Influences On The 1960s
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/news-views-and-music-issue-89-top-five.html

82) AAA Groups Covering Other AAA Groups
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/news-views-and-music-issue-90-top.html

83) Strange Censorship Decisions
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/news-views-and-music-issue-91-top-ten.html

84) AAA Albums Still Unreleased on CD
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/news-views-and-music-issue-92-top-five.html

85) Random Recent Purchases (#2)
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/news-views-and-music-issue-93-top-ten.html

86) Top AAA Music Videos
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/news-views-and-music-issue-94-top-ten.html

87) 30 Day Facebook Music Challenge
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/news-views-and-music-issue-95-top.html

88) AAA Documentaries
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/news-views-and-music-top-five-aaa.html

89) Unfinished and 'Lost' AAA Albums
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/news-views-and-music-issue-97-top-ten.html

90) Strangest AAA Album Covers
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/newsa-views-and-music-issue-98-top-ten.html

91) AAA Performers Live From Mars (!)
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/news-views-and-music-issue-99-top-ten.html

92) Songs Including The Number '100' for our 100th Issue
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/news-views-and-music-issue-100-top-five.html

93) Most Songs Recorded In A Single Day
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/news-views-and-music-issue-101-top-five.html

94) Most Revealing AAA Interviews
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/news-views-and-music-issue-102-top-five.html

95) Top 10 Pre-Fame Recordings
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/news-views-and-music-issue-103-top-ten.html

96) The Shortest And Longest AAA Albums
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/news-views-and-music-issue-104-top-ten.html


97) The AAA Allstars Ultimate Band Line-Up
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/news-views-and-music-issue-105-top.html

98) Top Songs About Sports
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/news-views-and-music-issue-106-top-ten.html

99) AAA Conversations With God
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/news-views-and-music-issue-107-top-ten.html

100) AAA Managers: The Good, The Bad and the Financially Ugly
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/news-views-and-music-issue-108-top-ten.html

101) Unexpected AAA Cameos
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/news-views-and-music-issue-109-top-ten.html

102) AAA Words You can Type Into A Caluclator
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/news-views-and-music-issue-110-top-five.html

103) AAA Court Cases
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/news-views-and-music-issue-111-top-five.html

104) Postmodern Songs About Songwriting
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/news-views-and-music-issue-112-top-five.html

105) Biggest Stylistic Leaps Between Albums
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/news-views-and-music-issue-113-top-ten.html

106) 20 Reasons Why Cameron Should Go!
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/news-views-and-music-issue-114-top.html

107) The AAA Pun-Filled Cookbook
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/news-views-and-music-issue-115-top-five.html

108) Classic Debut Releases
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/news-views-and-music-issue-116-top-five.html

109) Five Uses Of Bird Sound Effects
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/news-views-and-music-issue-118-top-five.html

110) AAA Classic Youtube Clips Part #1
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/news-views-and-music-issue-119-top.html

111) Part #2
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/news-views-and-music-issue-120-top.html

112) Part #3
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/news-views-and-music-issue-121-top.html

113) AAA Facts You Might Not Know
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/news-views-and-music-issue-122-top-ten.html

114) The 20 Rarest AAA Records
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/news-views-and-music-issue-123-top.html

115) AAA Instrumental Songs
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011_12_04_archive.html

116) Musical Tarot
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/news-views-and-music-issue-125-top-23-i.html

117) Christmas Carols
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011_12_18_archive.html

118) Top AAA Releases Of 2011
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011_12_25_archive.html

119) AAA Bands In The Beano/The Dandy
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/news-views-and-music-issue-128-top-five.html

120) Top 20 Guitarists #1
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/news-views-and-music-issue-129-top-ten.html

121) #2
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_15_archive.html

122) 'Shorty' Nomination Award Questionairre
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_22_archive.html

123) Top Best-Selling AAA Albums
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_29_archive.html

124) AAA Songs Featuring Bagpipes

125) A (Hopefully) Complete List Of AAA Musicians On Twitter
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_02_19_archive.html

126) Beatles Albums That Might Have Been 1970-74 and 1980
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_02_26_archive.html

127) DVD/Computer Games We've Just Invented
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_03_11_archive.html

128) The AAA Albums With The Most Weeks At #1 in the UK
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_03_18_archive.html

129) The AAA Singles With The Most Weeks At #1 in the UK
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_03_25_archive.html

130) Lyric Competition (Questions)
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_04_15_archive.html

131) Top Crooning Classics
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_04_22_archive.html

132) Funeral Songs
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/news-views-and-music-issue-142-top-five.html

133) AAA Songs For When Your Phone Is On Hold
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/news-views-and-music-issue-143-top-five.html

134) Random Recent Purchases (#3)
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/news-views-and-music-issue-144-top-five.html

135) Lyric Competition (Answers)
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/news-views-and-music-issue-146-top.html
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/news-views-and-music-issue-145-top-five.html

136) Bee Gees Songs/AAA Goes Disco!
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/news-views-and-music-issue-147-top-five.html

137) The Best AAA Sleevenotes (And Worst)
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/news-views-and-music-issue-148-top-ten.html

138) A Short Precise Of The Years 1962-70
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/news-views-and-music-149-top-eight.html

139) More Wacky AAA-Related Films And Their Soundtracks
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/top-five-for-news-views-and-music-150.html

140) AAA Appearances On Desert Island Discs
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/top-eight-aaa-desert-island-discs.html

141) Songs Exclusive To Live Albums
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/news-views-and-music-issue-153-top-10.html

142) More AAA Songs About Armageddon
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/aaa-armageddon-songsalbums-top-5-for.html

What difference does a name make? Arguably not much if you’re already a collector of a certain group, for whom the names on the album sleeves just...

This week’s top ten honours the humble motor car. The death trap on wheels, the metaphor for freedom, the put-down of capitalism, a source of...

This week we’re going to have a look at the 10 AAA singles that spent the most weeks at number on the American chart ‘Billboard’ – and it makes for...

Following on from last issue’s study of the American Billboard charts, here’s a look at which AAA albums spent the most weeks on the chart. The...

There are many dying arts in our modern world: incorruptible politicians, faith that things are going to get better and the ability to make decent...

This week we’ve decided to dedicate our top ten to those unsung heroes of music, the session musicians, whose playing often brings AAA artists (and...

Naturally we hold our AAA bands in high esteem in these articles: after all, without their good taste, intelligence and humanity we’d have nothing to...

What do you do when you’ve left a multi-million selling band and yet you still feel the pull of the road and the tours and the playing to audiences...

‘The ATOS Song’ (You’re Not Fit To Live)’ (Mini-Review) Dear readers, we don’t often feature reviews of singles over albums or musicians who aren’t...

In honour of this week’s review of an album released to cash in on a movie soundtrack (only one of these songs actually appears in ‘Easy Rider’...and...

Hic! Everyone raise a glass to the rock stars of the past and to this week’s feature...songs about alcolholic beverages! Yes that’s right, everything...

154) The human singing voice carries with it a vast array of emotions, thoughts that cannot be expressed in any other way except opening the lungs and...

Everyone has a spiritual home, even if they don’t actually live there. Mine is in a windy, rainy city where the weather is always awful but the...

Having a family does funny things to some musicians, as we’ve already seen in this week’s review (surely the only AAA album actually written around...

Some artists just have no idea what their best work really is. One thing that amazes me as a collector is how consistently excellent many of the...

159) A (Not That) Short Guide To The 15 Best Non-AAA Bands http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/a-not-that-short-guide-to-15-of-best.html%20%0d160


160) The Greatest AAA Drum Solos (Or Near Solos!) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-greatest-aaa-drum-solos-or-near.html%20%0d161


161) AAA Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame Acceptance Speeches http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/aaa-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame.html%20%0d162


162) AAA Re-Recordings Of Past Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/aaa-re-recordings-of-past-songs-news.html%20%0d163


163) A Coalition Christmas (A Fairy Tale) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/a-coalition-christmas-news-views-and.html%20%0d164


164) AAA Songs About Islands http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/aaa-songs-about-islands-news-views-and.html%20%0d165


165) The AAA Review Of The Year 2012 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-aaa-review-of-year-2012-news-views.html



166) The Best AAA Concerts I Attended
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-best-aaa-concerts-i-attended-news.html


167) Tributes To The 10 AAA Stars Who Died The Youngest http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/tributes-to-10-aaa-stars-who-died.html



168) The First 10 AAA Songs Listed Alphabetically
http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-first-10-aaa-songs-if-listed.html


171) The 10 Best Songs From The Psychedelia Box-Sets ‘Nuggets’ and ‘Nuggets Two’ http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-best-of-two-nuggets-psychedelia.html%20%0d172

172) The 20 Most Common Girl’s Names In AAA Song Titles (With Definitions) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/girls-names-in-aaa-song-titles-from.html 








180) First Recordings By Future AAA Stars http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/first-





185) A Tribute To Storm Thorgerson Via The Five AAA Bands He Worked With http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/a-tribute-to-hipgnosis-via-five-aaa.html



188) Surprise! Celebrating 300 Album Reviews With The Biggest 'Surprises' Of The Past Five Years Of Alan's Album Archives! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/celebrating-300-album-reviews-10.html


190) Comparatively Obscure First Compositions By AAA Stars http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/comparatively-obscure-debut.html



193) Evolution Of A Band: Comparing First Lyric With Last Lyric: http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/evolution-of-band-comparing-1st-lyric.html







200) The Monkees In Relation To Postmodernism (University Dissertation) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/university-dissertation-monkees-in.html


202) Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain': Was It About One Of The AAA Crew? http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/carly-simons-youre-so-vain-was-it-about.html















217) AAA 'Christmas Presents' we'd most like to have next year http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/aaa-christmas-presents-wed-most-like-to.html




221) Dr Who and the AAA (Five Musical Links) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/01/dr-who-and-five-musical-links-to-alans.html

222) Five Random Recent Purchases http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/01/five-random-recent-purchases-news-views.html

223) AAA Grammy Nominees http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/02/aaa-grammy-nominees-top-twelve-news.html

224) Ten AAA songs that are better heard unedited and in full http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/02/ten-aaa-songs-that-are-better-unedited.html

225) The shortest gaps between AAA albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-shortest-gaps-between-aaa-albums.html

226) The longest gaps between AAA albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-longest-gaps-between-aaa-albums.html

227) Top ten AAA drummers http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-ten-aaa-drummers-news-views-and.html

228) Top Ten AAA Singles (In Terms of 'A' and 'B' Sides) http://www.alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/top-ten-aaa-singles-and-b-sides-news.html

229) The Stories Behind Six AAA Logos http://www.alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-stories-behind-six-aaa-logos.html

230) AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! The Best Ten AAA Screams http://www.alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-best-aaa-screams-top-ten-news-views.html

231) An AAA Pack Of Horses http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/aaa-songs-about-horses-top-ten-news.html

232) AAA Granamas - Sorry, Anagrams! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/aaa-anagrams-news-views-and-music-issue.html

233) AAA Surnames and Their Meanings http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/aaa-surnames-and-their-meanings-news.html

234) 20 Erroneous AAA Album Titles http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/twenty-erroneous-aaa-album-titles-news.html

235) The Best AAA Orchestral Arrangements http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/fifteen-great-aaa-string-parts-news.html

236) Top 30 Hilariously Misheard Album Titles/Lyrics http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/top-thirty-hilariously-misheard-aaa.html

237) Ten controversial AAA sackings - and whether they were right http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/ten-controversial-aaa-sackings-news.html

238) A Critique On Critiquing - In Response To Brian Wilson http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/a-critique-on-critiquing-in-response-to.html

239) The Ten MusicianS Who've Played On The Most AAA Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-ten-musicians-whove-played-on-most.html

240) Thoughts on #CameronMustGo http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/thoughts-on-cameronmustgo.html

241) Random Recent Purchases (Kinks/Grateful Dead/Nils Lofgren/Rolling Stones/Hollies) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/six-random-recent-purchases-kinksg.html 

242) AAA Christmas Number Ones http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/aaa-christmas-number-ones.html 

243) AAA Review Of The Year 2014 (Top Releases/Re-issues/Documentaries/DVDs/Books/Songs/ Articles  plus worst releases of the year) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/aaa-review-of-year-2014.html

244) Me/CFS Awareness Week 2015 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/mecfs-awareness-week-at-alans-album.html

245) Why The Tory 2015 Victory Seems A Little...Suspicious http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/why-tory-victory-seems-deeply.html

246) A Plea For Peace and Tolerance After The Attacks on Paris - and Syria http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/a-plea-for-peace-and-toleration.html

247) AAA Review Of The Year 2015 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-aaa-review-of-year-2015.html

248) The Fifty Most Read AAA Articles (as of December 31st 2015) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/the-fifty-most-read-aaa-posts-2008-2015.html

249) The Revised AAA Crossword! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2016_07_10_archive.html


251) Half-A-Dozen Berries Plus One (An AAA Tribute To Chuck Berry) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/an-aaa-covers-tribute-to-chuck-berry.html

252) Guest Post: ‘The Skids – Joy’ (1981) by Kenny Brown  https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/guest-post-skids-joy-1981.html


254) Guest Post: ‘Supertramp – Some Things Never Change’ by Kenny Brown https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2018/06/guest-review-supertramp-some-things.html

255) AAA Review Of The Year 2018 https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-aaa-review-of-year-2018.html

256) AAA Review Of The Year 2019 plus Review Of The Decade 2010-2019 https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-alans-album-archives-review-of-year.html


257) Tiermaker https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2019/06/alans-album-archives-on-tiermaker.html

258) #Coronastock https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2020/04/coronastock.html

259) #Coronadocstock https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2020/05/coronadocstock.html

5 comments:

  1. A little something extra in the news today for everyone to think about - proof that people have been collecting data on how we voted and phone numbers is discovered by accident! http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/voter-left-shocked-after-data-9228465#rlabs=2

    ReplyDelete
  2. And example number 26 this time from Kent - how many more are there going to be?! http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/i-know-voted-me-angry-5703584

    ReplyDelete
  3. fyi and an explanation of how/why http://aanirfan.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/uk-general-election-results.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. And another article with 50 cases listed: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/23/police-open-inquiries-allegations-electoral-fraud-uk

    ReplyDelete
  5. And yet more, this time from Hull...http://www.onenewspage.co.uk/n/UK/754uwbgc1/More-than-10-000-voters-disappear-in-Hull.htm

    ReplyDelete