Ignacia Fernandez wins Miss World Chile with a death metal vocal performance: Probably not the first image that people would associate with "death metal singer": please log in to view this image
It seems only a couple of weeks ago that The Damned announced the only chance to see a live performance of the forthcoming covers album...in Manchester... Today, they have announced that there are to be two more 'only chances to see'...in Paris...and Cologne, of all ****ing places...and they aren’t even warm up for the UK gig. The UK gig serves as warm up for them... I will write a strongly worded letter to The Flashman Society and demand that someone receives a damned good thrashing. This wouldn't have happened on Joe De Lorenzo's watch.
The gig's on a Thursday...in Manchester...in January... ...where next? Antartica? It's not Manchester's fault that I know it too well. Mrs B and daughter no.1 both spent 3 years at Uni there. I'd rather go somewhere I rarely go/have never been (not Liverpool!). We're going up by train, staying in a Premier Inn right near the train station and heading back early the next day. There's no sights to see or things to do that we haven't already done... Now Paris and Cologne...we've been to before, but on an inter-rail budget, so a little boat trip down the rivers and some cathedral viewing will be very nice. Yes, we're going...and if they play Japan again, we're going there, too. **** it!! Life's too short.
..and good on 'yer - I agree life is way too short! So after a long period of nothing I enter the 3 gigs in a week period swiftly followed by two in early December. Funnelling my "inner Manc" this week started with a banger of a gig last night by The Chameleons at the Rescue Rooms and then we have Inspiral Carpets on Friday at Rock City before moving onto Saturday night with a bit of Howard Jones at De Montfort hall. May need a nice quiet day on Sunday, nothing happening then is it...?
Howard Jones without Nick Beggs will be strange... Unless he is joining the HJ tour late after returning from the Steven Wilson trip to India and Australia.
He only announced a tour recently and I was thinking of going, I only saw the Roses once and Ian Brown's vocals were woeful , the highlight was Mani on Bass A brilliant bass player who did not get the respect he deserved RIP Mani
Inspiral Carpets last night. Good gig, but not as tight as the Chameleons on Monday. Only found out later it was the 2nd one of the tour and it showed a bit! "Two Worlds Collide" was excellent though, one of my faves. Anyway Howard Jones tonight.
Howard never disappoints, very good even without Nick in the band. All the hits and he sure knows how to work an audience. As it's a Sunday then, nothing really happening today to ruin the mood I take it.... ?
Well that is a good 6+ hours of radio programming sorted for me next sunday. An interesting career, in that he was a minor part in the Ska pantheon, as were the likes of kids like Delroy Wilson and Slim Smith. Whereas they would rise to Rocksteady greatness, Cliff went silent. Yet when reggae came, he would be the one to rise to become its first superstar.
4th one in a week for me (much to the wife's disgust - spending too much money!) Gary Numan back at Rock City for the 45th anniversary tour of Telekon. Powerful performance as usual from him, and especially after the sad news of his brother passing at the recent Leeds gig. He got quite emotional at one point and was unusually chatty with the crowd tonight. Good gig. Got a rest now till Friday week and The Undertones. Looking forward to that as I have not seem them in years.
Far from the greatest of his LPs. And of course the supreme irony of playing "Remind me to smile" (we can forgive him that - nobody can be so prescient on their future) .
