TV On The Radio #10: Last Of The Summer Wine

This weekend was the 50th anniversary of Last of the Summer Wine, a sitcom about a bunch of ridiculous Yorkshire pensioners that ran for a total of 31 series before it breathed its last in 2010. I know this because I live in Holmfirth, the village (although it calls itself a town, it's not a town really) in which the show was set, a village which has thrived on LOTSW tourism for half a century. On Saturday, while Sam and I were trying to do our shopping, we had to navigate coach loads of fans (most of them now older than the show's characters) and cosplayers... yes, there were people wandering around dressed as Compo, Foggy, Clegg and Nora Batty. It was, as always, a right pain in the arse.

I watched the show as a kid, because it was just what you did round here. The main appeal was in working out where the location shots were filmed... increasingly, as the years went by, they weren't filmed in Holmfirth at all, but in surrounding villages such as Meltham, Honley, Marsden and Slawit (Slaithwaite) which is where I grew up. The show outlived most of its original cast: Michael Bates, who played Cyril Blamire in the original series, died in 1978. He was replaced by Brian Wilde as Foggy, who stayed with the show, on and off, till the mid-90s. Compo, who gave his name to the local Fish & Chip shop, was the show's main character until actor Bill Owen's death in 1999, after which he was replaced by his son, Tom. Of the originals, only the great Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace & Gromit, outlived the show, though he was reduced to a sit down role by the final series, replaced in the "action" sequences by younger comedy actors such as Russ Abbott and Burt Kwouk. The show became an old folk's home for British thespians, with Brian Murphy, Frank Thornton, Thora Hird and Jean 'Hilda Ogden' Alexander joining the ranks over the years. Though I bailed out in the late 80s, my mum kept watching it, and still enjoys the repeats on UK Gold (or whatever it's called these days). Summer Wine is a time capsule of a certain type of Yorkshire village and its inhabitants... ironically most of the people who live in Holmfirth these days are comers-in. Compo probably wouldn't be able to afford a house round here anymore. (I barely can.)

Although the phrase "Last of the Summer Wine" sounds like it could originate from a Keats poem, it was actually coined by the show's creator, Roy Clarke, as a metaphor for living out the dregs of one's life in fine style. With that in mind, anyone referring to LOTSW in song must be familiar with the show itself, right?

It's just you and Foucault and my bass guitar

And I've seen you walk on water

And you wash your feet with my hair and my tears

I loved you in the runs the last of the summer wine.

Shurk - Foucault (feat. Jolliff)

Your guess is as good as mine.

Where have you been, Sonny Jim?

Where have you been all this time?

Drinking the last of the summer wine

On the run in the sun

High on the rocks

West of the Cox 

EMF - West of the Cox

Well, that's just Unbelievable.

Last of The Summer Wine

First of the Christmas Sherry

I guess it's just

Same poison, different berries

Dr. BigF MC - Black Hasselhoff

The Hoff name-drop got that one in here. 

This, on the other hand, I actually like... and not just because it also mentions Spider-Man...

Enough time has passed now 

We look like the cast of the Last of the Summer Wine

Mainly because I love the rest of the lyric...

'Cause my friend

You are worth the extra petrol

You are worth the extra data

You are worth the lunch I can't afford

Oh dude I'm like this with all my friends but

Can I come over and platonically play with your hair?

Can I come over and platonically play with your hair?

Pickle Darling - 5am

Pickle Darling are from New Zealand. Which means they must watch Last of the Summer Wine there! Bizarre.

Now here's Dennis Waterman. Yes, that one.

You said your last "I love you"

Drank the last of my summer wine

Took your shadows from my wall, babe

Took everything I thought was mine

Dennis Waterman - Nothing At All

As far as I know, Dennis never appeared in LOTSW. But he should have done.

Now, you might be expecting me to close today with this one. (Or you might not. It's hardly a Top 40 smash.)

Palma Violets - Last of the Summer Wine

But no. I'm going to cheat a little. Any excuse to play Nancy and Lee...

Namesakes #36: Space

In the vast infinity of space, there appears to be an endless number of bands who have chosen to call themselves Space. Here is a selection of the ones I could find... before I ran out of space.

SPACE #1

We start with a songwriter called Sterling Storm who began his career as a member of Californian surf rock band Eddie & The Showmen, and who would later go on to join 80s New Wave band The Humans. Here he is in 1968 with his sole release as Space.

SPACE #2

Next - how about a whole album of Latin psychedelic rock from 1970... because I can't find individual tracks? They were from Puerto Rico, where they also went by the name The Living End. It's only 38 minutes, I'm sure you've not got anything better to do with your time.

SPACE #3

In 1975, the Tremeloes, long after Brian Poole had buggered off to pursue a solo career and the hits were but distant memories, released an album with the rather desperate title Don't Let The Music Die. Perhaps to distance themselves from the past, the record was originally credited to Space... although it was reissued later under The Tremeloes name. Here's the sole Space single...

SPACE #4

1977. Disco. French disco. Didier Marouani (aka Ecama) and Roland Romanelli. #2 in the UK charts. And a video that was cutting edge at the time. Daft Punk were clearly taking notes.

SPACE #5

No date on this one, or any information I can find (Ernie might know better), but it's jazzy... and a hell of a lot better than the next offering, which is also jazzy. If you like this, there's one copy going for £240 on discogs.

SPACE #6

Jazz. Hardcore free jazz, that is, from 1984. Roscoe Mitchell, Tom Buckner, Gerald Oshita were Space... and if this is what passes for conversation first thing in their house, I'm glad I skip breakfast.

SPACE #7

If you thought the free jazz was bad, imagine how bad a techno version of Purple Haze would be. This is why 1990 was not a good year for music. The best I can say about it is that the vocalist is called Doreen Waddell. There's not enough Doreens in pop music.

SPACE #8

The Scouse Space, who I saw live a few times during the high times of the 90s, looked like the archetypal Britpop band with their shaggy moptop hairdos that recalled their 60s predecessors far more than those lunkhead brothers from Manchester. Their music veered off on weird tangents though, with echoes of Brel, Gainsborough and other less conventional 60s acts. Lyrically, they were more adventurous than many of their peers too, though this was sometimes hard to swallow for the anthem-craving masses. Two of their biggest hits, The Female Of The Species and the tune below, didn't sound like anything else on the radio... and they were clearly Lloyd Grossman fans. Who lives in a house like this?

   

SPACE #9

And so we reach The Final Frontier! 

Australian singer-songwriter Jason Smith now lives in LA, where he goes under the name Space. Here's a song about Brian losing his last battle...

Which ones would you find Space for in your record collection... and which ones deserve to be shot into space?

Celebrity Jukebox #90: Martin Amis

Back in my 20s, when I had an abundance of free time and the world still made a vague sort of sense, I read (on average) a book a week. As well as the Stephen Kings and Dean Koontzs of my teenage years, I delved further into proper literary fiction, read the weekly book reviews in the paper, and sampled the cream of contemporary novelists. Some struck a particular chord and became longtime favourites - the late Iain Banks was top of that list - while others, like Julian Barnes, produced one or two books I thought were excellent... but others that left me cold. Martin Amis was firmly in the latter camp.

The son of respected satirist, Kingsley Amis, Martin was often described as the enfant terrible of the literary scene in the 80s and 90s. He posed for photos like the one above, clearly trying to cultivate a Bowie-esque mystique, and wrote books that mocked the worst excesses of capitalist society and the common man. There's no denying his talent as a writer, but his books were often a hard read, full of what one critic described as "the new unpleasantness". Only his light-hearted 1973 debut, The Rachel Papers, and Times Arrow, the story of a Nazi doctor told in Benjamin Button-style reverse narrative, stick in my mind as books I'd want to read again... but increasingly these days, I have less time for literary fiction that stretches my brain and just go looking for a good yarn to relax in. What would Martin Amis say to that?

"No one wants to read a difficult literary novel or deal with a prose style which reminds them how thick they are. There's a push towards egalitarianism, making writing more chummy and interactive, instead of a higher voice, and that's what I go to literature for."

I'm rather happy being a thicko, Martin. Here are some songs which mention your name... starting with one that place both you and your dad into a catalogue of literary greats... with a cough and a burp.

The Divine Comedy - The Booklovers

And lying alone, I've read 'Success' by Martin Amis

And 'The Rules of Attraction' by Bret Easton Ellis

It appears my old pal Momus read many of the same books as me in the 90s...

Momus - Lifestyles of the Rick & Famous

Next up, a satirical take on Mr. Amis from Glaswegian art rockers (they're a band, not a person) called...

Natalie Pryce - Martin Amis

The Spanish Amanda were a North London indie band who came together in the late 90s, and produced some fine records like this future Celeb Jukebox entry...

The Spanish Amanda - Justine Frischman

Their back catalogue is available as "Name Your Price" downloads in bandcamp, should you be interested. But what's this got to do with Martin Amis, you ask? Well, The Spanish Armada now go under the name The Chickpea Darlings, and here they are with a song about the year I turned 16... except, they claim, "It's not really about 1988. It's about now."

Another Martin Amis moment

An itch that someone’s got to scratch

Pouring petrol on your neighbours

Praying someone’s got a match

Sometimes it taps you on shoulder

Sometimes smacks you in the face

Feel its hot breath on your neck

It’s nineteen eighty-eight

The Chickpea Darlings - 1988

From London to Chicago, and another band that's been in the go since the 90s, led by one Graham Smith... with today's most obvious rhymes.

Now I may not be as famous as Martin Amis

But if the shit is good, then who gives a fuck what my name is?

Kleenex Girl Wonder - The Pathetic Fallacy

We end with the title track of an album that was heavily influenced by Martin Amis, particularly his 1989 novel London Fields. If you've never read one of his books, this song tells you everything you need to know... whether you like it or not.

 

Snapshots #294: A Top Ten Songs You'd Find In A Toolbox

Whose image could be more appropriate for a Top Ten songs about Tools than the voice of Buzz Lightyear, American comic Tim Allen? Not because he's a colossal tool... because he was the star of "hilarious" 90s sitcom Home Improvements. Of course...

 

10. What you'd call three J-Los.

A trinity of Lopez...

Trini Lopez - If I Had A Hammer

9. Alecia Moore Angry!

Alecia Moore is P!nk. These guys look pretty cross.

Pink Kross - Hacksaw

8. I'm Ezra Kelt, very confused.

"I'm Ezra Kelt" is an anagram for...

Mark Eitzel - Fresh Screwdriver

7. Sounds like a subtle, non-aggressive advertising campaign.

They're using the soft sell technique.

Soft Cell - Torch

Look, you may not have a torch in your toolbox, but all the online guides recommend one. A lot of research goes into this feature, you know!

6. A Blur of Fruit Pastilles.

Fruit Pastilles are made by Rowntrees. Dave is from Blur, but was also a Labour councillor from 2017 - 2021, hence the tie.

Dave Rowntree - Tape Measure

5. Distant relatives of Phil, Joan and Lewis?

Phil Collins, Joan Collins and Lewis Collins might be distantly related to Ansell Collins... but not to Dave, whose surname is Barker.

Dave & Ansell Collins - Monkey Spanner

4. Might be hard men when they grow up...

...but they were just Soft Boys.

The Soft Boys - Do The Chisel

3. What the monks drink when there's a storm outside their house... and they're Making Plans for Ellie.

When there's a gale outside the abbey, the monks drink mead. We're making plans for Nigel and Ellie Goulding.

Abigail Mead & Nigel Goulding - Full Metal Jacket (I Wanna Be Your Drill Instructor)

2. Two men, a drum machine and (occasionally) a trumpet.

Ian and Will were the main Bunnymen, with their drum machine was called Echo... or was it? There's definitely a trumpet on this track though...

Echo & The Bunnymen - The Cutter

1. UFOs.

"An unidentified flying object, originally one of a kind reported by US pilots during the Second World War, usually described as a bright light or ball of fire" was known as a Foo Fighter.

Get tooled up for more Snapshots next Saturday...

Saturday Snapshots #294

Welcome to a Room with a View of ten pop celebrities. Identify them all and work out what connects their songs. None of them have anything to do with Helena Bonham Carter, but here she is holding a camera anyway...

10. What you'd call three J-Los.

9. Alecia Moore Angry!

8. I'm Ezra Kelt, very confused.

7. Sounds like a subtle, non-aggressive advertising campaign.

6. A Blur of Fruit Pastilles.

5. Distant relatives of Phil, Joan and Lewis?

4. Might be hard men when they grow up.

3. What the monks drink when there's a storm outside their house... and they're Making Plans for Ellie.

2. Two men, a drum machine and (occasionally) a trumpet.

1. UFOs.

View the answers tomorrow morning...

Celebrity Jukebox #89: Tina Turner

I don't want to live in a world without Tina Turner.

I realise that's a sweeping statement, especially considering I've only mentioned her name 18 times since this blog began, which is nothing compared to many of the artists who pop up here. But when I think about the legends we've lost in this blog's lifetime - Bowie and Prince being the biggest, but then we get onto Aretha, Tom Petty, Chuck Berry, Meat Loaf, Glen Campbell, George Michael... all the rest... well, Tina's up there with the best of them. She is a legend, and growing up in the 80s, she was always there, with her huge hair, her enormous smile, her high-kicking, sassy-strutting legs, the lips that could give Jagger a run for his money, the sheer charisma and star quality that transcended the music and made her seem untouchable, immortal.

And then there's the music. So many great songs, or (particularly in the latter part of her career) songs that would have been average if given to any other performer, but Tina made them live. Of course, average is not the word for the song below, recorded when she was just 27 in 1966, but still one of the greatest performances ever committed to vinyl.

Ike had nothing to do with that one. He just did a deal with Spector to take his usual cut of the money. The record itself was considered a flop at the time. We all know the stories. They're part of the legend. And legends shouldn't ever die. They should stay alive forever.

Tina Turner's name gets dropped in hundreds of pop songs. The majority of them are rap records which occasionally make reference to her turbulent private life, but more often channel her as a metaphor for strength, resilience and power. Here's one that doesn't quite do all that, but I dug it anyway...

Vintage Culture, Bhaskar & Meca - Tina 

Beyond rap, here are a few tunes that will help maintain her legacy, starting with a typically self-effacing (!) tribute from Little Richard himself...

Ike and Tina Turner got an earthquake sound

But I'm the man from Macon and I'm gonna put 'em down!

Little Richard - The King of Rock and Roll

Next up, the great Betty Davis, who places Tina in fine company...

Stevie Wonder

Tina Turner

Al Green, y'all

Ann Peebles

They were born with it

And they're gonna, aah, they're gonna leave here

With it because it's in their blood

Betty Davis - F.U.N.K.

An now here's Elton!

Walk a mile in my tennis shoes

Tina Turner gave me the highway blues

But I don't love nobody but you, honey

Elton John - Midnight Creeper

Speaking of Elton, here's one of his favourite bands of the 21st Century...

I'm a modern dude

I eat all that modern food

But when it comes to bump-n-grind

I'm Tina Turner, '69

Low Cut Connie - Shake It, Little Tina

Kimya Dawson certainly sees Tina as a lady who could survive anything...

He came home on acid I was holding his shotgun

I was dressed like Tina Turner in Beyond Thunderdome

He said, 'don't shoot', I said, 'I won't, I love you, you're my friend'

I handed him my wig and shot myself in the head

Then I stuffed a box of tissues in the hole in my skull

I got in my Mazda and I drove to the mall

Kimya Dawson - The Beer

Meanwhile, Lion Babe just wants to be Tina...

Lion Babe - Tina Turner

And here's someone else who stole a few pages from the Tina Turner playbook...

Come and get, get, get, it baby

For me and the whiskey’s gone

You ain’t no Tina Turner, get your Nutbush City on

Steven Tyler - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly & Me

Which is as good an excuse as any to play the second greatest Tina Turner tune...

Ike & Tina Turner - Nutbush City Limits

Next, here's Rod, doing his jazz man thing...

I've been consulted by Hilary C

And Tina Turner had me to tea

But now I'm broken hearted

Cause I can't get started with you

Rod Stewart - I Can't Get Started

Rod and Tina probably did have tea together after recording the tune below... which isn't as good as the original (because nothing could be), but it's better than you remember...

Rod Stewart & Tina Turner - It Takes Two

Speaking of duets, there's a strong argument for this being Bryan Adams's finest moment outside the Summer of '69...

Bryan Adams & Tina Turner - It's Only Love

Even punk rockers love Tina. Here's your evidence, from old school New York punks, the unfortunately monickered Queers.

Well, I saved up from mowing all those lawns

To buy Tina Turner records that she wants

Wouldn't it be neat

Wouldn't it be sweet

If she was serving me beer all day long?

The Queers - Boobarella

From punk to reggae, they all loved Tina...

Crazy - Tina Turner

Sweeping up now, but I did like this one...

David Dondero - The Real Tina Turner

While this jury's still out on this...

The Business - Tina Turner

Today's final song, I had in mind from the start. It's the best track from my 17th favourite record of last year, and it seems the most appropriate to play on the day we mourn another lost legend...

When my mother was 19

She'd dance to Tina

Tina Turner

And the hallway bеcome a catwalk

And she'd go to the show

No, thеy just don't

Make 'em like that no more

Mid-Life Crisis Songs #93: Older Than Inspector Morse

As mentioned previously, I’ve been rewatching old episodes of Inspector Morse lately. John Thaw is still excellent, and I’ve discovered a fresh appreciation of Kevin Whately. It’s strange watching TV from the 80s though – the cameras are all fixed and rarely move, not even to pan across a room. The shots are long and slow and don’t cut between multiple angles in a scene. It’s made me realise just how fast-moving the direction is on modern TV and film, probably something to do with our rapidly-decreasing attention spans. That said, there’s something quite relaxing about the wonderfully languid pace of Morse, it’s perfect pre-bed TV, even if the exposition feels a little clunky in places due to the nature of Colin Dexter’s crossword-puzzle plotting. Those lengthy explanations work better in novels than they do on TV.

A horrific realisation smacked me in the face during the latest episode though. I’m midway through Series 2 at the moment, which I originally watched with my parents in 1988 when I was 16. Back then, Inspector Morse seemed a very (grumpy) old man to me… but actually, John Thaw was but a strip of a lad in the grand scheme of things. He was 46. Which means that I am currently five years older than Inspector Morse. This is more than my head can cope with.

Even harder to process is the death of Andy Rourke, aged just 59. I’ve no time for any obituaries that use Rourke’s death as a further excuse to cancel Morrissey; we should be able to respect the glory of The Smiths and all they meant to us without getting dragged into another debate on the latter day crimes of the lead singer. The thing about The Smiths is, they were far more than the sum of their parts. A chemical reaction occurred when Morrissey, Marr, Rourke and Joyce were together, elevating each band member far beyond their individual talents, creating true alchemy. Let's celebrate Rourke's life by remembering the good times... 

TV On The Radio #9: A Question of Sport

It seems bizarre now, how much we all sat around the TV of an evening when I was growing up, watching whatever was on, even if the show in question held no interest for me. Case in point: A Question of Sport, hosted by human Spitting Image puppet David Coleman, with team captains "cheeky" footballer Emlyn Hughes and the world's least charismatic rugby player, Bill Beaumont. Why did I watch it week after week when I had no interest in sport, couldn't answer any of the questions, and had no idea who any of the contestants were, unless it was Steve Davis or Ian Botham?  

It seems even more bizarre that A Question of Sport is still going. I understand there was a bit of a scandal recently when the BBC sacked longtime presenter Sue Barker for being too old. To add insult to injury, they replaced her with 3D-printed "funny man" facsimile Paddy McGuinnes, a quizmaster who makes David Coleman look like Magnus Magnusson. You can probably guess I don't still watch it, 40 years later.

I was sure Depeche Mode must have done a song named after A Question Of Sport. After all, they did give us...

Depeche Mode - A Question Of Time

...and...

Depeche Mode - A Question Of Lust

...but clearly Martin Gore (who wrote both) isn't a sports fan. 

When this next one cropped up on my lyric search, I thought it was a song called Courting by the London "indietronica" band Grand National. (I wish I'd made that genre up as a joke.) But no, it's a song called Grand National by Liverpudlian post-punk band Courting...

It's just a question of sport, we’re all just setting the course
We're all just cracking the whip with some incredible force

Courting - Grand National

The late great Cathal Coughlan, formerly of Microdisney and The Fatima Mansions, appears to be someone else who forced himself to watch A Question of Sport...

I learned to tell jokes, 
answer Questions Of Sport, 
I would run for charity. 

Cathal Coughlan & The Grand Necropolitan Quartet - Best Say We're Not Serious

Here are three songs named after the world's dullest quiz programme (some of you may care to disagree, alternate views are permitted), each of them guaranteed to be more thrilling than half an hour guessing What Happened Next?

Whirling Pig Dervish - A Question Of Sport 

Bureaucrats - A Question Of Sport

Citizen Cain - Question Of Sport

Today's top tune comes from the world of folk though... a little bit of (historical) political commentary from Eliza's dad...

Now the first that I met when I came into land
Was the Grantham grocer's daughter
She cried aloud, "How sorry I am
There wasn't anybody here for to caught you"
She crooned in my ear like I knew she could
Her Cabinet briefing on the misunderstood
Bathed my wounds in my very own blood
Calling on the world press to support her

Namesakes #35: The Flies / Flys

I blame The Beatles. But then, I blame The Beatles for lots of things. It might be more proper to blame The Crickets, but I won't have a word said against Buddy Holly. Whoever is responsible for starting the craze of naming bands after insects (even mis-spelled insects) has a lot to answer for. I mean, flies? Who the hell likes flies? It's no wonder none of these guys ever made the big time. Still, as you'll no doubt be aware, there are a lot of flies out there. Here's a swarm for you to choose from...

THE FLIES #1

First maggots to hatch, an Aussie band from the 60s led by Ronnie Burns. Didn't last very long, though they were hailed "the first long-haired band" in Australia. Bloody hippies. Clearly destined to be Flies-by-night.

THE FLYS #2

Flying in from West Virginia in 1966, these Fly Guys cut two singles of bluesy garage rock and then buzzed off, although some members did evolve into The Third Row. 

THE FLIES #3

London psychedelic band from the mid-60s who achieved moderate success with a cover of (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stones (Number 11 on the Wonderful Radio London Fab 40 charts... ah, the 60s). Also known as No Flies On Us, they released a couple more singles, including this one from 1968. Imagine a late 60s psychedelic pop song called The Magic Train. You don't even need to press play: it sounds exactly the way it does in your head.

THE FLIES #4

Larry Norman (and why not?) is considered one of the pioneers of Christian Rock, but let's not hold that against him. His music has been cited as an influence on everyone from The Pixies to Guns n Roses to That Irish Band (let's not hold that against him either). For a short time in the late 60s, he also fronted a band called The Flies, releasing a single called Blow In My Ear (And I'll Follow You Anywhere). Sadly, that particular fly has yet to be caught in the interweb, but I did find this...

The Flies - Stink

THE FLYS #5

Pupating from Coventry in 1976, these punky power-pop Flys were signed to EMI and looked on the verge of a big break-through for the next few years... but never quite took off. 

THE FLIES #6

Instrumental Flies from either 1972 or 1979, depending on which source you believe. No idea where they came from or why they couldn't afford a singer.

 

THE FLIES #7

Early 80s post-punk from Boston, Massachusetts. It's nearly 40 years since this was recorded. How time flies.

THE FLYS #8

1985, Santa Cruz, California. These guys were originally known as The Medflys, but did release one single as The Flys... on Buzz Records, naturally. Can't find the A side anywhere, but the B-side leans heavily into ska.

THE FLYS #9

On Mean Midget Records - you wouldn't get away with that today - American punks The Flys released one album in 1986 before their career ambitions were swatted.

THE FLIES #10

Flying in the face of fashion - obscure Italian Garage Punk/Psych band from 1990.

THE FLYS #11

Grungey 90s alt-rockers from Hollywood, two sons of "The First Family of Surfing" (their dad was Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, a physician who quit medicine to found his own surfing school) achieved moderate success in the US, particularly when their tunes were fly-papered into movie soundtracks. 

THE FLIES #12

Bristolian Flies, formed in 2003, but still trying to get in your window 11 years later when they released the tune below. Their lead singer clearly wants to be Ian McCulloch.

THE FLIES #13

Contemporary teenage rock band from Roscommon, Ireland. So young they're still riding their bikes in the video. Still, it's good to see the young uns still making tunes like this...

Which flies would you welcome into your home... and which ones call for the fly spray?

Celebrity Jukebox #88: April Stevens

I'm guessing Caroline Vincinette LoTempio changed her name to April Stevens because she was born in the fourth month of the year. Sadly she passed away April just gone, aged 93. With her brother Nino Tempo, she had a big hit in 1963 with a song that would later name a famous rock band...

Nino Tempo & April Stevens - Deep Purple

A few years earlier, she'd caused quite a scandal with this raunchy solo hit...

April Stevens - Teach Me Tiger

The Celebrity Jukebox remembers April through two fine tunes, both referencing her tiger cub days, firstly from another of our Canadian pals...

You be April Stevens, I'll be April Wine
You be Israel, I will be Palestine
Come on "Teach Me, Tiger", come on and show me tricks
Let me take my time and take a couple lazy licks

And secondly from our old pals Tullycraft...

From a mic stand on a milk crate
To a rhinestone Butterfield 8
Audition tapes play on
The house band plays behind her
A pinned-down "Teach Me Tiger"
The stage lights flicker on

The barkeep whispers treason
And lights a flame for April Stevens
And the Nino Tempo fanbase
As he defends and counts the reasons
The pavement shows on her skin
Like the distant sounds of Berlin
He's convinced to death that she’ll fail
Still she paints her toenails red for him

Snapshots #293: A Top Ten Boyband Songs (sort of)

This I Promise You: I'll Never Stop Snapshots as long as you keep playing along. And if you're struggling for the answers, It's Gonna Be Me who reveals them, along with the Music Of My Heart.

Yeah, I had to look up the song titles of good old Justin Trousersnake's band too... I guess I'm just not NSYNC with a lot of these boy bands...

10. He Felt different in new material...

That's Lawrence. He was in Felt. Then he changed to...

Denim - The Osmonds

And if you're going to get picky and tell me that Marie wasn't a boy, well, I did my research, and Marie wasn't really in The Osmonds. She had a solo career and duetted with Donny, but "the group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds)." 

The Osmonds - Crazy Horses

To be fair, it feels like cheating, including Crazy Horses.  

9. A Stewart is a Scott.

Patrick Stewart + F. Scott Fitzgerald gives us...

Patrik Fitzgerald - The Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys - Everybody (Backstreet's Back)

8. The People's Fiend.

Public Enemy - 911 Is A Joke

911 - Bodyshakin' 

Obviously Chuck and Flavor were not fans.

7. Crowd of kilts.

This was a band put together by Nick Lowe and Rat Scabies as a way of helping Nick get out of his record contract. 

The Tartan Horde - Bay City Rollers, We Love You

Bay City Rollers - Bye Bye Baby

6. This sounds like Rachel's.

Rachel's sounds like Ray Charles, to these aging ears...

Ray Charles - Busted

Busted - Year 3000

My favourite of the boy bands featured today.

5. Living next door to a howler.

Living Next Door To Alice, who's a real Wolf...

Wolf Alice - Bros

Bros - When Will I Be Famous?

4. How you might greet Bruce, John and Jeff.

Hey, Waynes!

The Haywains - New Kids On The Block

New Kids On The Block - You Got It (The Right Stuff)

3. Enoch, Jill, Tim: Amalgamated.

Amalgamate the letters from Enoch, Jill, Tim and you can spell out...

Joni Mitchell - Blue

Blue - If You Come Back

2. Mind them.

Mind the gap!

The Gap Band - Big Fun

Big Fun - Blame It On The Boogie

1. In demand. Sort of.

One anagram of demand is... Damned!

The Damned - Take That

Take That - Shine

Bye Bye Bye... till next Saturday.

Saturday Snapshots #293

Swear It Again: If I Let You Go, will you be Flying Without Wings in a World Of Our Own or will you be a Fool Again?

Yeah, I had to look up those song titles. Ronan Keating seems like a pleasant enough chap, but I can't pretend to be familiar with his hits. Hopefully you'll be more familiar with solving the clues below to reveal ten artists with songs connected by a particular theme...

...although I'm warning you now, it's a tricky one this week.

10. He Felt different in new material...

9. A Stewart is a Scott.

8. The People's Fiend.

7. Crowd of kilts.

6. This sounds like Rachel's.

5. Living next door to a howler.

4. How you might greet Bruce, John and Jeff.

3. Enoch, Jill, Tim: Amalgamated.

2. Mind them.

1. In demand. Sort of.

If any of these prove Unbreakable, the answers will become Obvious tomorrow morning...