What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. – Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900
Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance. – Oprah Winfrey, 1954-present
As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. – Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519
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I was listening to a news bulletin on English Radio in Spain yesterday. The news item went as follows….Wayne Rooney will be wearing wellington boots tomorrow as he and his wife visit Glastonbury. News item. Who on earth is deciding this is newsworthy? It is of little or no interest to anyone in the world. I doubt if even his parents, family or friends would have found this interesting.
Later in the evening I watched U2 playing in the rain at Glastonbury. I think I would have enjoyed being there notwithstanding the mud and the rain. Watching how much people were enjoying the music surely the headline should have referred to the fact that U2 would be playing as they have been scheduled to be there for the past few years and different things have stopped them appearing? It would be brilliant playing your guitar that loud and having people enjoy you doing it. Howeveer, at Glastonbury tonight there was a demonstration against U2 against clever arrangement of their tax affairs. The band are reported as being collectively worth 700 million pounds. Not bad work if you can get it.
I’m not an economist but surely the European Community cannot just take all and sundry into the unit without putting in stringent rules for their members.? The Governor of the Bank of England has called Greece a mess and it needs putting into an economic isolation unit. It would appear that the people of Greece don’t want any more austerity measures but if the union is to bail out Greece then its people need to take their share of the responsibility.
Andy Murray had to work hard to defeat his Croatian opponent Lubicic at Wimbledon but he is getting really good at returning serve and he is through where Rafa Nadal has to wait for the weather to improve. Laura Robson also gave the 2004 Champion Sharapova a great game and a bit of a scare.
Arrangements for the sale of tickets for the Olympic Games seems to have been a mess for the Government’s website.
The weather in Spain is hotting up and a roasting Summer is in prospect. Apparently, the first wave of heat could hit us this weekend at around 40 degrees.
Today’s podcast is a memory of a live show from OCI on 25th June 2008
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Events
0841 – Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeated Lothar at Fontenay. Were bald men as attractive to the ladies of the court?
1080 – At Brixen, a council of bishops declared Pope Gregory to be deposed and Archbishop Guibert as antipope Clement III. How daft does this sound? It was like children falling out.
1580 – The Book of Concord was first published. The book is a collection of doctrinal standards of the Lutheran Church. Another organisation….
1658 – Aurangzeb proclaimed himself emperor of the Moghuls in India. He was the only one who could pronounce his name
1767 – Mexican Indians rioted as Jesuit priests were ordered home.Strange but true
1864 – Union troops surrounding Petersburg, VA, began building a mine tunnel underneath the Confederate lines. Cunning swines
1867 – Lucien B. Smith patented the first barbed wire. I used to rip my trousers on this stuff
1868 – The U.S. Congress enacted legislation granting an eight-hour day to workers employed by the Federal government. Fair enough
1870 – In Spain, Queen Isabella abdicated in favor of Alfonso XII. Muy bien
1876 – Lt. Col. Custer and the 210 men of U.S. 7th Cavalry were killed by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at Little Big Horn in Montana. The event is known as “Custer’s Last Stand.” The legend lives on
1877 – In Philadelphia, PA, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone for Sir William Thomson (Baron Kelvin) and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil at the Centennial Exhibition. Great idea
1917 – The first American fighting troops landed in France. Thank goodness
1920 – The Greeks took 8,000 Turkish prisoners in Smyrna. That’s a lot of prisoners
1938 – Gaelic scholar Douglas Hyde was inaugurated as the first president of the Irish Republic. Begorra
1941 – Finland declared war on the Soviet Union. That’s like a mouse declaring war on a tomcat
1946 – Ho Chi Minh traveled to France for talks on Vietnamese independence. Good
1948 – The Soviet Union tightened its blockade of Berlin by intercepting river barges heading for the city. Bullies
1950 – North Korea invaded South Korea initiating the Korean War. Still festering
1951 – In New York, the first regular commercial color TV transmissions were presented on CBS using the FCC-approved CBS Color System. The public did not own color TV’s at the time. Oh really?
1959 – Eamon De Valera became president of Ireland at the age of 76. Good age wasn’t he?
1964 – U.S. President Lyndon Johnson ordered 200 naval personnel to Mississippi to assist in finding three missing civil rights workers. Good
1970 – The U.S. Federal Communications Commission handed down a ruling (35 FR 7732), making it illegal for radio stations to put telephone calls on the air without the permission of the person being called. That should still be in force
1987 – Austrian President Kurt Waldheim visited Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. The meeting was controversial due to allegations that Waldheim had hidden his Nazi past. Things like this needed discussing
1991 – The last Soviet troops left Czechoslovakia 23 years after the Warsaw Pact invasion. Good
1993 – Kim Campbell took office as Canada’s first woman prime minister. She assumed power upon the resignation of Brian Mulroney. Canada just seems to go quietly about its work
1996 – Outside the Khobar Towers near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia a truck bomb exploded. The bomb killed 19 Americans and injured over 500 Saudis and Americans. Who on earth can feel good about such carnage?
1997 – The Russian space station Mir was hit by an unmanned cargo vessel. Much of the power supply was knocked out and the station’s Spektr module was severely damaged. Were any Mirkats injured
1998 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those infected with HIV are protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act. No Comment
1998 – Microsoft’s “Windows 98″ was released to the public. It seems years ago
1999 – Germany’s parliament approved a national Holocaust memorial to be built in Berlin. Good
2000 – U.S. and British researchers announced that they had completed a rough draft of a map of the genetic makeup of human beings. The project was 10 years old at the time of the announcement. Very interesting
2000 – A Florida judge approved a class-action lawsuit to be filed against American Online (AOL) on behalf of hourly subscribers who were forced to view “pop-up” advertisements. Very interesting
Between the months of January and May, more than 19 million foreign tourists visited Spain, representing a 7.3% increase on the same period last year, according to figures published by the Spanish Inbound Tourism Survey (Spanish acronym FRONTUR), prepared by the Tourism Studies Institute of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade.
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1964, Roy Orbison was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘It’s Over’, his second UK No.1. Orbison was the first American artist to score a UK No.1 in the past 47 weeks. I absolutely love this song
1964, The Beatles played the second of two nights at Auckland Town Hall, New Zealand. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah?
1966, The Beatles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Paperback Writer’, the group’s 12th US No.1. The track is marked by the boosted bass guitar sound throughout, partly in response to John Lennon demanding to know why the bass on a certain Wilson Pickett record far exceeded the bass on any Beatles records. It was also cut louder than any other Beatles record, due to a new piece of equipment used in the mastering process.I thought it was deliberate feedback!
1966, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Love, Captain Beefheart, The Lovin Spoonful and Percy Sledge all appeared at The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California. Great show
1966, Jackie Wilson was arrested for inciting a riot and refusing to obey a police order at a nightclub in Port Arthur, Texas. Wilson had a crowd of 400 whipped into a frenzy and refused to stop singing when requested to do so by police. He was later convicted of drunkenness and fined $30. He had the sweetest feeling!
1967, During a north American tour The Jimi Hendrix Experience gave a free afternoon concert in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. They then played another two shows that evening at the Fillmore West. Stone free
1967, 200 million people saw The Beatles perform ‘All You Need Is Love’, live via satellite as part of the TV global link- up, ‘Our World’, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Keith Moon and Gary Leeds provided backing vocals. Brilliant. I saw it
1969, The Hollies recorded ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’. Elton John played piano on the session.I hadn’t known that
1977, Marvin Gaye went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Got To Give It Up’, his third US No.1.Great artiste
1977, ‘The Muppet Show’ album by The Muppets went to No.1 on the UK album chart. Sorry but not good music
1983, The film soundtrack to ‘Flashdance’ started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart. Great memories of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John
1983, The Police scored their fourth UK No.1 album with ‘Synchronicity’, also No.1 in the US and featuring the singles ‘Every Breath You Take’ and ‘Wrapped Around Your Finger’. I liked both these songs
1987, Songwriter Boudleaux Bryant died. Wrote with his wife Felice, The Everly Brothers hits, ‘Bye Bye Love’, ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream’, ‘Wake Up Little Susie’ and ‘Raining In My Heart’ a hit for Buddy Holly. Other acts to record their song include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Tony Bennett, Simon and Garfunkel, Sarah Vaughan, the Grateful Dead, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Elvis Costello, Count Basie, Dean Martin, Ruth Brown, Cher, R.E.M. and Ray Charles. What a big influence on pop music
1988, Hillel Slovak original guitarist and founding member of The Red Hot Chili Peppers died from a heroin overdose shortly after the band returned from a European tour. I hadn’t been a fan at this time
1988, Debbie Gibson went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Foolish Beat’, making Debbie (aged 17), the youngest female to write, produce and record a US No.1 single. A No.9 hit in the UK.Well done young Debbie——————-
1993, The first of the three day Glastonbury Festival in England featured Suede, Belly, Lemonheads, The Orb, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Crowes, Lenny Kravitz, Verve, Porno For Pyros and Teenage Fan Club. Tickets cost £58 for the three days. Great music
1994, Five people attending this years UK Glastonbury Festival were shot and injured when a lone madman pulled a gun and started shooting into the crowd.I don’t remember this
1995, Pink Floyd were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Pulse’ the bands fifth US No.1.Great band..
2004, Wilco, Nelly Furtado, Elbow, Groove Armada, PJ Harvey, Kings of Leon, Oasis, Scissor Sisters, Starsailor, Black Eyed Peas, Paul McCartney, Joss Stone, Morrissey and Muse all appeared at this years UK Glastonbury Festival. Always a music treat. 2006, Television producer and journalist Elkan Allan died aged 83. Allan produced the ground-breaking British pop show Ready Steady Go! during the 60′s.He was one of pop’s unsung heroes
2006, Turkish-American music producer and arranger Arif Mardin died aged 74 from pancreatic cancer. He worked at Atlantic Records for over 30 years, before moving to EMI. The winner of 11 Grammy Awards, he worked with Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Roberta Flack, Wilson Pickett, Average White Band, The Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand and Norah Jones.Another wonderful unsung hero
2006, Nicole Kidman married her singer boyfriend Keith Urban at ceremony in Sydney, Australia. X-Men actor Hugh Jackman, media magnate Rupert Murdoch and King Kong actress Naomi Watts were among the guests at the service.Highish Society
2009, Michael Jackson died at the age of 50, after suffering heart failure at his home in Beverly Hills. Jackson is credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool, four of his solo albums are among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995), while his 1982 Thriller is the world’s best-selling record of all time with sales of over 50 million. Guinness World Records list’s him as one of the “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time”, with 13 Grammy Awards and 13 number one singles. Prior to his death, Jackson had been scheduled to perform 50 sold-out concerts to over one million people, at London’s O2 arena, from July 13, 2009 to March 6, 2010. Without a doubt the world lost a genius
2009, A Sgt Pepper souvenir poster bearing the signatures of all four Beatles sold for $52,500 (£31,720) at a pop memorabilia auction in New York City. Other musical items that went under the hammer were a set of Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics, which made $25,000 (£15,090) and a bass guitar owned by Kurt Cobain sold for $43,750 (£26,415).I couldn’t imagine anyone apart from a collector or museum doing this
Born on this day
1935, Eddie Floyd, US soul singer, (1966 US No.28 & 1967 UK No.19 single ‘Knock On Wood’). Wrote ’634-5789 a 1966 hit for Wilson Pickett.
1939, Harold Melvin, US soul singer and pianist. (1972 US No.3 & 1974 UK No.9 single ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Know’). He died on March 24th 1997.
1940, Clint Warwick, bass, The Moody Blues, (1965 UK No.1 & US No.10 single ‘Go Now’, left in 1966). Died from liver disease on May 18th 2004.
1945, Carly Simon, US singer, songwriter, (1973 UK No.3 and US No.1 single ‘Your So Vain’, 1974 US No.5 single with James Taylor ‘Mockingbird’).
1954, David Paich, vocals, keyboards, Toto, (1983 US No.1 & UK No.3 single ‘Africa’). 1963, Georgios Panayiotou (George Michael), UK singer, songwriter, Wham! (1984 UK & US No.1 single ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’, 1st solo No.1 single 1984 UK & US ‘Careless Whisper’, plus 7 other UK & US No.1 singles and over 10 other UK Top 40 hits’).
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