Monday 2nd July 2012 Hound Dog

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What a night! It was comprehensive. It was clinical. It was faultless and every man played his part. Spain regained the European Soccer title and deserved their success. We all soaked up the atmosphere at Benidorm Palace….and this morning the news stories are full of the triple championship success of this group of special players.

We had a long drive on Saturday from Biarritz in France down to La Nucia in Spain. The first part of the day was spent at some monolithic Menhirs, Dolmen and Caves near the Spanish -French border at Saint Jean de Luz at a place called Sare. This was really interesting to me as I had spent a lot of time researching these in Cornwall and Brittany in France. The stones at Carnac are another really amazing place but this is the first time I had seen  Dolmen so near a cave system. There were colonies of bats also in these caves and, as you’d expect, they are a protected item. The guide was very good and the staff in the shops were particularly nice and helpful. I also felt the merchandise in the souvenir shop was well above average in both quality and range.

1566 – French astrologer, physician and prophet Nostradamus died. His book of predictions is worth reading

1625 – The Spanish army took Breda, Spain, after nearly a year of siege. I know Breda. She used to work on the till at Tesco New Ferry

1644 – Lord Cromwell crushed the Royalists at the Battle of Marston Moor near York, England. Bully

1747 – Marshall Saxe led the French forces to victory over an Anglo-Dutch force under the Duke of Cumberland at the Battle of Lauffeld.  Bully

1776 – Richard Henry Lee’s resolution that the American colonies “are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States” was adopted by the Continental Congress. OK

1850 – Prussia agreed to pull out of Schlewig and Holstein, Germany. Gud

1850 – B.J. Lane patented the gas mask. very necessary

1858 – Czar Alexander II freed the serfs working on imperial lands. Good

1937 – American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart disappeared in the Central Pacific during an attempt to fly around the world at the equator. She was very brave

1939 – At Mount Rushmore, Theodore Roosevelt’s face was dedicated. OK

1947 – An object crashed near Roswell, NM. The U.S. Army Air Force insisted it was a weather balloon, but eyewitness accounts led to speculation that it might have been an alien spacecraft. I reckon it was ET

1961 – Ernest Hemingway shot himself to death at his home. No comment

1964 – U.S. President Johnson signed the “Civil Rights Act of 1964″ into law. The act made it illegal in the U.S. to discriminate against others because of their race. Good

1976 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty was not inherently cruel or unusual. In extreme cases I can see the justification in this. When someone has been undeniably and unbelievably wicked and evil for example

1976 – North Vietnam and South Vietnam were reunited. Good

1981 – Soyuz T-6 returned to Earth.

1985 – General Motors announced that it was installing electronic road maps as an option in some of its higher-priced cars. I’ll bet we thought it would be just a gimmick

1994 – Colombian soccer player Andres Escobar was shot to death in Medellin. 10 days earlier he had accidentally scored a goal against his own team in World Cup competition.This was terrible and obviously no sportsman deserves such a fate

1995 – “Forbes” magazine reported that Microsoft’s chairman, Bill Gates, was the worth $12.9 billion, making him the world’s richest man. In 1999, he was worth about $77 billion.Personal computers will never catch on……

 

1956, Elvis Presley recorded ‘Hound
Dog’ at RCA Studios, New York. Take 31 being the version they released. This was the first time The Jordanaires worked with Presley.This is surprising as it is an easy 3 chord song

1962, Jimi Hendrix was honourably discharged from the 101st Airborne Paratroopers, after breaking his ankle during  his 26th and final parachute jump. Please note the word honourably
1965, The Beach Boys and Sam the Sham appeared at the Community Concourse, San Diego, California. Woolly Bully-great track

1966, Frank Sinatra went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Strangers In The Night’. The song was taken from the film ‘A Man Could Get Killed’. Also a No.1 in the UK.Only pop song to sing about Scooby Doo

1966, David Bowie and The Lower Third appeared at The Lion Hotel in Warrington, England, (they were paid £30 for the gig). Also appearing was The Powerhouse which featured Eric Clapton Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood and Paul Jones.Great talent

1969, Working at Abbey Road Paul McCartney recorded ‘Her Majesty’. Then Paul, George, and Ringo record 15 takes of ‘Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight’. John Lennon was absent, in hospital in Golspie, Scotland, following a car accident the previous day. I wonder how worried were the band members about John’s accident
1969, Thunderclap Newman started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Pete Townshend produced track ‘Something In The Air.’ Featured on the soundtrack for the movie, ‘The Magic Christian’. The band featured guitarist Jimmy McCulloch who went on to work with Wings.I have a podcast with the man himself

1971, Queen appeared at Surrey College, England. This was the group’s first gig with the line-up of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. Wonderful careers ahead of them

1973, Roxy Music’s synthesiser player Brian Eno quit after personality clashes with the bands singer Bryan Ferry.To many Roxy Music  was Bryan Ferry
1980, Sheena Easton was featured in the BBC-TV series ‘Big Time’, recording her first single and undergoing the marketing process as a new artist.She lit up our tv screens

1982, Nicky Headon of The Clash was remanded on bail, charged with stealing a bus stop worth £30 from London’s Fulham Road.Sounds worse than what it was

1983, Rod Stewart started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Baby Jane’, his sixth UK…and a great disco track
No.1. 1988, Michael Jackson became the first artist to have five number one singles from one album when ‘Dirty Diana’ went to the top of the US charts. The other four chart-toppers from the LP ‘Bad’ were the title track, ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’, ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ and ‘Man in the Mirror’. The man was a genius and his albums were great value for money

1988, Tracy Chapman started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with her self-titled debut LP.  Helped by her performance at the ‘Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute Concert’ at Wembley Stadium, also No.1 in the US. She played the right gig

1992, Mick Jagger became a grandfather when his daughter Jade gave birth.He is  still a very fit man. His dad was a PE teacher

1999, R.E.M. Skunk Anansie, Barenaked Ladies, Blur, Blondie, Built To Spill, The Chemical Brothers, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Placebo, Suede and Wilco all appeared at this years Oskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark. Not much there for me
2001, Liverpool Airport at Speke was
renamed John Lennon Airport. Yoko Ono was present to unveil a new logo that
included the late Beatle’s famous self- portrait and the words, ‘Above Us Only
Sky’ taken from his ‘Imagine’ album.A fabulous tribute that not only looks good but it is in the right place and expresses the right sentiments

2005, The world’s biggest music stars united in concerts around the world to put pressure on political leaders ahead of the G8 summit to tackle poverty in Africa. Concerts in 10 cities, including London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg, Rome and Moscow played to hundreds of thousands of people. A TV audience of several hundred million
watched the gigs. In London Pink Floyd, The Who, Madonna, U2, Coldplay, Sting,
The Scissor Sisters, Keane, and Paul McCartney performed. Philadelphia saw,
Destiny’s Child, Jay-Z and Bon Jovi, Canada, Bryan Adams and Neil Young
headlined, Bjork headlined in Tokyo and Green Day played in Berlin.Music is a great medium to get messages across and these are wonderful events. If the musicians want to give a responsible message they must also act responsibly in other areas of their life

2007, Lyricist Hy Zaret, who wrote the words for the song Unchained Melody died at his home in Westport, Connecticut, aged 99. The song (which does not feature the word “unchained”), has been recorded over 300 times. Zaret co-wrote the song with film composer Alex North for the 1955 prison film Unchained. The Righteous Brothers’ 1965
version was produced by Phil Spector.This is is one of pop’s classics

2008, The gravestone of former Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was stolen. Cheshire Police said his memorial stone was taken from where he is buried in Macclesfield Cemetery.

Marvin Rainwater, singer, 1957 US No.18 single ‘Gonna Find Me A Bluebird’, 1958 UK No.1 single ‘Whole Lotta Woman.’

1926,  Lee Allen, saxophonist, worked with Fats Domino, Little Richard, Shirley & Lee.

1936,  Tom Springfield, The Springfields, (1963 UK No.5 single ‘Island Of
Dreams’).

1940,  Paul Williams, vocals, The Temptations, (1971 US No.1 & UK No.8 single ‘Just My Imagination’ and re- issued ‘My Girl’ UK No.2 in 1992). Died on 17th August
after shooting himself.

1942, Leapy Lee, UK singer, (Lee Graham), 1968 UK No.2 single ‘Little Arrows’.Regularguest on my radio show

1949, Roy Bittan, “The Professor”, piano, organ, accordion and synthesizers with Bruce Springsteen E Street Band, (1984 US No.2 & 1985 UK No.4 single ‘Dancing In The Dark’).
Also worked with David Bowie, Jackson Browne, Dire Straits, Peter Gabriel, Meat
Loaf, Stevie Nicks, Bob Seger.

1950,  Duncan Mackay, keyboards, Cockney Rebel, (1975 UK No.1 single ‘Make Me Smile, Come Up And See Me’).

1952,Johnny Colla, guitar, sax, Huey Lewis and the News, (1985 US No.1 & UK No.11 single ‘The Power Of Love’).

1954,  Pete Briquette, bass, vocals, The Boomtown Rats, (1979 UK No.1 single ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’, plus 10 other UK Top 40 singles).
1955,  Jerry Hall, US model, actress. Married Rolling Stone Mick Jagger in 1990

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