Namesakes #155: The Hawks

In case you're wondering if this feature is ever at risk of running dry... I currently have a list of Namesakes that will easily take me up to Christmas 2026. This week though, I went right to the bottom of that list and chose a name that's been in draft form since 2023... 

What took me so long?

THE HAWKS #1

We start with an early 50s super-group from New Orleans combining the talents of Allen "Fats" Matthews with The Humming Four (aka the New Orleans Harmonizing Four). 

The Hawks - Good News

THE HAWKS #2

Next, a nice twangy instrumental from Arizona in 1958, featuring Don Cole on lead guitar...

The Hawks - A Little More Wine, My Dear?

THE HAWKS #3

Some fun doo wop from New York in 1959. My money's on this one being George's favourite... but I've been wrong before.

The Hawks - Lupp!

THE HAWKS #4

Billed originally as Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks when they started out in the late 50s, this band had a bit of a revolving door policy when it came to membership.  Originally from Arkansas, Hawkins would find more fame after a move to Canada in the late 50s. 

Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks - Need Your Lovin'

To be continued...

THE HAWKS #5

Eventually, a bunch of Ronnie's backing group (including Rik Danko, Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm) went off on their own as Levon & The Hawks. They were then briefly known as Bob Dylan & The Hawks, before changing their name entirely to... The Band.  

Levon & The Hawks - Honky Tonk

THE HAWKS #6

From Malaysia in 1967, supporting lead singer Bakar Hamid... who looks about 12 on the record sleeve. Policemen are getting younger too.

Bakar Hamid & The Hawks - Di-Kau Tetap Ku Kenang

THE HAWKS #7

Obscure roots reggae track from 1975... although Ernie might tell me otherwise.

The Hawks - Nowhere To Hide

THE HAWKS #8

Iowa band whose name was an acronym of its members' surnames: Hearn, Adams, Wiewel, Kaufman, Steen. Rejected by many record companies in the late 70s for being "too ahead of their time", finally given a contract by CBS in '81, but their biggest reached #63 on the Billboard chart. Can't say this sounds particularly ahead of its time for 1981, but... well, it's all right. It's OK. 

To their credit, these guys were the top result for "Hawks" on discogs.

Hawks - It's All Right, It's OK

THE HAWKS #9

From 1981, some British post-punk Hawks who sound like the band were recording in one room and the singer was down the hall in the loo... or maybe they'd made him go outside to play in the rain?

The Hawks - Don't Want To Play In The Rain

THE HAWKS #10

Stephen Duffy has had a pretty interesting career, walking away from Duran Duran before they shot to fame to enjoy solo success as Stephen Tin Tin Duffy in the mid-80s, then going on to form the excellent Lilac Time. In between all that, he also found time to sing lead vocals for Obviously Five Believers, aka The Subterranean Hawks, aka The Hawks. Here's their sole single from 1980. It's only 4 minutes long, but whoever put the track on youtube just left the tape running...

The Hawks - Words Of Hope 

THE HAWKS #11

I never cease to amazed by how many Oi! bands there are in Japan. These Hawks were going Oi! in the mid 90s.

The Hawks - Runaway

HAWKS #12

Noisy punks from Atlanta, Georgia from a decade+ ago. The lead singer clearly needs to suck on a Fisherman's Friend.

Hawks - Snag

HAWKS #13

It's only 24 hours to Tulsa, where you can find this guy, Cody Carson, and he is... 

Hawks - Infinite

THE HAWKS #14

From Montréal and Québec in 2021, some Hawks who own a lot of records from the 80s...

The Hawks - First Thing (That Comes To Mind)

THE HAWKS #15

And finally, a blast of Petty-esque rock from Kentucky, just a few years ago...

The Hawks - Truth Will Out

Which Hawks catch your eye... and which would you rather take a walk?

Namesakes #79: Duffy

This week on Namesakes, we pay tribute to a legend of the 80s: Patrick Duffy, aka Bobby Ewing from Dallas. Wait, you say, Patrick Duffy's not a singer! And you'd be right...

Mireille Mathieu & Patrick Duffy - Together We`re Strong

Neither did he ever record and release music using just his surname. These guys, on the other hand, all did...

DUFFY #1

First off, we find ourselves in 1970 with Tennessee country singer / Elvis tribute act, Wade Cummins. This was his only release under the name Duffy...

DUFFY #2

Our next Duffy took to the stage in 1974, inspired by Uriah Heep, Deep Purple and Humble Pie. The London-based band was comprised Stuart Reffold, Barry Coote, Joe Nanson, Patrick Sarjeant and Will Wright... no, none of them were called Duffy, and they were knocking around three years before the Man From Atlantis first set foot in the water, so who knows why they called themselves Duffy?

Their debut album was called Just In Case You're Interested, and it seems nobody was, as they only managed to get it released in Germany, France and Brazil. Soon after they changed their name to Scruffy Duffy, perhaps inspiring the creation of one of Grange Hill's best teachers, Scruffy McDuffy (above) a few years later.

DUFFY #3

Then in 1978, the same year Dallas premiered on TV, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Stephen Duffy formed a little band called Duran Duran. Mr. Duffy soon packed it in as a bad job, so the other two recruited some poser called Simon Le Bon instead... and the rest is history.

But what happened to Duffy? Well, to start with, he added the words "Tin Tin" to his name and scored a couple of fine Top 20 hits in 1985, like this and this. He then formed an excellent band called The Lilac Time (who are still in the go today) and released lots of beautiful music like this. 

None of this would qualify him for entry into today's Namesakes. However, in 1995, he briefly jumped on the Britpop bandwagon with the track below (and a subsequent LP), marketed solely on the basis of his surname...

It wasn't a hit, but I reckon it's better than quite a few Britpop records that were.

DUFFY #4

I know some of you aren't particularly Queen fans, and those of you who are may have stopped loving them in the 80s, but even if you're not a fan of their big 1984 hit I Want To Break Free, you can't tell me that turning it into a 1996 dance record improves it in any way, shape or form. I like to think that if Freddie had still been alive, he wouldn't have allowed this travesty.

Worse still, the Duffy featured here isn't even a Duffy - his real name is Daniel Sous!

DUFFY #5

Finally, the most famous of all the Duffys. Aimée Ann Duffy was born in Gwynedd in 1984. When she was 24, she scored her first (and only) Number One single, which garnered her comparisons to 60s hitmakers like Cilla, Petula and Dusty. She didn't quite enjoy the career longevity of her predecessors... but who does these days?

  

Which is your Duffy... and which one is just Duff?

Celebrity Jukebox #79: Mary Tyler Moore

My knowledge of Mary Tyler Moore is somewhat second-hand as I was just too young to have watched her groundbreaking sitcoms, though I do remember watching spin-offs such as Rhoda and Lou Grant with my mum. Mary's reputation as a feminist icon appears well-deserved though: as one of the most successful female stars in American TV, the joint head of the production company that gave us everything from Newhart to Hill Street Blues, a prominent campaigner for social rights... and the woman who put Dick Van Dyke in his place long before Julie Andrews.... MTM is clearly a legend.

Her jukebox legacy is pretty legendary too, starting with Prince...

Skip the Remy and let me have some Mary Tyler Moore of that new power soul

Comin' from the Midwest passin' every test with a fuzz tone remote control

Prince - Mr. Happy 

Then the artist formerly known as Tin Tin...

Like Mary Tyler-Moore

She stares across the yawning tide

Out of love and terrified

Stephen Duffy - Sunday Supplement

This blog's only claim to fame is that, many years ago, the lead singer of Bowling For Soup once left a comment here. This is BFS's version of the Mary Tyler Moore theme tune... which REM have also played live, but I can't find their version anywhere on the interweb.

Bowling For Soup - The Mary Tyler Moore Theme

Next, we find Ian Hunter hoopling his across the channel...

Well I'm an All American Alien Boy

Look out Mary Tyler Moore

Ian Hunter - All American Alien Boy

The Hold Steady are firm favourites here at Top Ten Towers, and they've got a new album out this week. Here's one from their 2005 classic Separation Sunday...

I was half dead then I got born again

I got lost in all the lights but it was okay in the end

And when we hit the Twin Cities, I didn't know that much about it

I knew Mary Tyler Moore and I knew Profane Existence

The Hold Steady - Stevie Nix

In a similar sonic vein, here's a lost classic from an album I was very much into back in 1999, Ed Hamell's song about a sleazy Private Eye...

So I ditch these guys quick, I take a cab to the address

And the housemaid gives up the photos with very little stress

But as I round the corner something dawns on me

I recognize from these photos, this old actor from TV

And he's having sex with children, now this would close the door

On future shots on Bay Watch and Mary fuckin' Tyler Moore

So I visit this old actor, firmly explain my situation

And he gives me 90 G's to show his appreciation

Hamell On Trial - Choochtown

OK, how about a couple of songs that mention MTM in their title? Starting with a 90s Christian alt-rock band from Texas...

Lloyd - Mary Tyler Moore

Then some 80s Aussie indie from Whangarei...

Able Tasmans - Mary Tyler Moore

And now, from the "Never Heard Of 'Em But Still Not Bad" file, here's a San Francisco band "that plays original indie rock music with hints of progressive"...

I've got a face for radio 

And a voice that's meant only 

To sing drunken karaoke 

Singing ooh-ee-oo 

I look just like Buddy Holly 

And you're Mary Tyler Moore 

Everywhere Now - Sounds

Hey! Wait a second. I recognise that lyric! And that's not the only place I've found it referenced...

Need a tall girl, '70s Jane Fonda

Or Mary Tyler Moore, Iran, no war

I look just like Buddy Holly, no I don't, "Oh, Boy!"

Smörgåsbord - The Damn Loudness 

Yes, I guess the true proof of a legendary hit single comes when other bands start referencing your song in their own tunes. There was only ever going to be one winner today... but the question is, did Mary ever meet Buddy in real life?

And the answer is... no, though she was apparently a fan. MTM began appearing in The Dick Van Dyke Show shortly after Buddy's death in 1961, and when she got her own show, Sonny Curtis from the Crickets was given the job of writing and performing the theme tune we discussed earlier.

So that answers that. The only question remaining... What's with these homies, dissing my girl?

Celebrity Jukebox #55: Julie Christie

Following on from Terence Stamp, it seemed logical to remain in the swinging sixties with his former partner in crime, Julie Christie. The ladies often do better than the gents in this feature, and Julie certainly racks up more mentions than Terry… although they do both feature in one of the best songs of the 60s, which I'd completely forgotten until Rigid Digit reminded me on Monday...

Terry meets Julie
Waterloo Station
Every Friday night
But I am so lazy, don't want to wander
I stay at home at night

After that, anything else will be an anti-climax. Still, there's some great tunes about Julie on her own. So let's crack on with them, shall we?

We begin with a song about Julie’s breakthrough role in Billy Liar, named after that movie’s star…

Yo La Tengo – Tom Courtenay

Julie Christie, the rumour are true
As the pages turn, my eyes are glued
To the movie star and his sordid life
Mr. X and his long-suffering wife

Next, Al Stewart. He's no stranger to this feature…

Al Stewart – Gina In The King’s Road

Now Gina in the King’s Road
In a raincoat shimmering white
Hands thrust in her pockets
Like Julie Christie might

Half-Japanese are an American art-punk band who have been going almost half a century. This was their debut single, released in 1975, in which Julie keeps company with a curious collection of ladies, most notable Yoko Ono, Shelley Duvall and Angela Bowie… it's an absolute racket.

Half Japanese – Calling All Girls

Another US punk band, this time from the 90s, and quite a bit more tuneful...

J Church – Anybody

She talks like Julie Christie
Implied sex and foreign intrigue
It’s the accent that really gets me
She laughs to make me smile

France Gall was the first singer Serge Gainsbourg ever wrote for. Here she takes a swing at the swinging 60s, trying to settle the old argument of which was the swingingest: England or France? (This one wasn't written by Serge. Clearly, he would know the answer.)

France Gall – Made In France

At which point we arrive at the songs named after Julie Christie. Of which, I think I found more titular mentions than for any other Celebrity Jukeboxer so far. We begin with Philadelphia’s Bill Ricchini…

Bill Ricchini – Julie Christie

You look just like Julie Christie
And I feel just like Terry Stamp

I like that one. Would have included it in my Terence Stamp Jukebox on Monday, but I guess I felt Bill was being a bit greedy, trying to feature here twice in one week.

Lorraine Bowen could well be described as a Billy Bragg protégé – Bill encouraged her to go solo following her time in two 80s bands, See You In Vegas and The Dinner Ladies. This is one of her most-loved tunes…

Lorraine Bowen – Julie Christie

Julie Christie
She makes me go misty
She makes me go “ah!”
Oh what a star

Slightly more erudite, we have the great Stephen Duffy, back in the days when he was still calling himself after a French comic strip character…

Stephen Tin Tin Duffy – Julie Christie

You remind me of
Julie Christie in 'Billy Liar'
You, your milky youth
Wide eyed devotion and pure desire

From a similar era, on Tea Time Records, here's my discovery of the week: The Driscolls…

The Driscolls – Julie Christie

And another couple of lost gems from the 80s that I can find very little info on… don't believe anyone who tells you that you can find out everything you want to know on the interweb.

Oxygen Pete – Julie Christie

Kennedy - Julie Christie

Following the break-up of All About Eve in the early 90s, lead singer Julianne Regan led another band called, less memorably, Mice. She doesn’t sing on track 7 of their debut album though: it’s an instrumental.

Mice – Julie Christie

Another instrumental, though different instruments were used, comes from French composer André Popp’s 1974 album, in which every track was dedicated to a different screen siren.

André Popp – To Julie Christie (The Wonderful World OfJulie)

This next lady got a write-up in No Depression… guaranteed to get Charity Chic to give it a listen at least!

Kristin Mooney – Julie Christie

My choice for today was obvious from the start. It may be from a band you know as well as any of the last few (though god knows I've featured them enough here over the years), but if that's the case, I highly recommend you acquaint yourself with the work of Shirley Lee and Spearmint as soon as possible. Here's one good reason to do so...

She looks like Julie Christie
And she's blotted out my past
She had it all laid out for me
I never stood a chance
We took the essence of Felt and Vic Godard
And we blasted into space
And then we showered down on everyone
The whole soppy human race

Celebrity Jukebox #23: Patrick Duffy

"It was all a dream."

When I'm teaching creative writing to GCSE students, I generally advise against the "It was all a dream" ending. You'd be amazed how many students use it. I generally explain to them that after reading a whole story and investing in the characters, the reader will feel cheated if everything that happened turns out to be nothing more than the product of a bad night's sleep. And if they still insist on using it, I tell them about Bobby Ewing in Dallas.

When I say the name Patrick Duffy, please don't be confused with the singers Patrick Duff or even Stephen Tin Tin Duffy. Although that's not to say Patrick hasn't had his own pop career... of sorts.

I feel I need to apologise to anybody who clicked the play button on that. I'm truly, truly sorry. But it did get to Number 5 in the charts in 1983. (In the Netherlands.)

My first encounter with Patrick Duffy was in 1977 when he and his webbed fingers popped up on my tea time TV screen as the short-lived Man From Atlantis. And look, here's a song about that!

Logan Whitehurst - The Man From Atlantis

And another one that might hit a nerve or two for anyone who misses the 70s...

Patrick Duffy ruled Atlantis, Charlie's girls upheld the law

We all prayed we grow up Farrah, we became Kate Jacksons all

Deirdre Flint - I Miss The 70s

Soon after, the webbed fingers went away, and Duffy turned into Bobby Ewing, nice guy brother to the dastardly J.R. (Larry Hagman...who I'm sure will get his turn on the jukebox one day). Eight nail-biting seasons went by in the blink of an eye, and then Duffy chose to pursue other career opportunities and Bobby was killed off... except when both Duffy's career and the show's rating fell off a cliff as a result, the producers realised they had to bring him back. And the only solution they could come up with was for it to turn out that the whole of the Duffy-less Season 9 was actually Pam's bad dream. Victoria Principal must have eaten a shitload of cheese that night.

Patrick and Bobby both show up in the song Why? by Grits...

Now don't get indignant, catch yourself before you act ignorant

That's a sure sign of dead minds, benign and malignant

From here to Dallas, extended with vocal stewing

My walk never switches from Patrick Duffy to Bobby Ewing

But I have to admit, I'm surprised Bobby's resurrection doesn't get referenced in any song I could find, despite extensive research. It was such a colossal shark jump moment in popular culture, one that's been parodied in everything from The Simpsons and Family Guy to The Big Breakfast... I was disappointed not to find at least one lyrical reference. Quite a few pop songs do mention Dallas though, including The Day Before You Came by Abba (Agnetha was apparently a big fan)...

I'm sure I had my dinner watching something on TV

There's not, I think, a single episode of Dallas that I didn't see

...and The Message by Grandmaster Flash...

My brother's doin' bad, stole my mother's TV

Says she watches too much, it's just not healthy

All My Children in the daytime, Dallas at night

Can't even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight

...however, I like to believe the one that gets closest to commenting on Bobby's comeback, and how Dallas was never the same again, is this one from Pulp. Any excuse to play it again...

It's like a later "Tom & Jerry"

When the two of them could talk

Like the Stones since the Eighties

Like the last days of Southfork

(That's the album version. But if you've not seen the video, which doesn't actually feature Jarvis singing at all, but a lot of bad cover versions, you should watch it too. I never get tired of it.)

Hot 100 #17

I have to admit that when Jim in Dubai suggested a band called Seventeen to illustrate this week's edition of the Hot 100, I did wonder if he meant the Indonesian boy band.

Fortunately, he has a much better memory than me for bands long lost in the search engines of google...

Seventeen - Bank Holiday Weekend

Seventeen would, it turns out, grow up to become a little more famous as The Alarm.

Jim also suggested two other 17 bands, the first being an actual boy band... who were "alright" as boy bands go... although they did wear some ridiculous outfits.

East 17 - It's Alright

There was, however, only one band in the running this week...

Heaven 17 - Temptation

But what about 17 songs? Over to The Swede to start us off this week...

The Sex Pistols - Seventeen

I don't know if I should say this in a public forum frequented occasionally by those of the muso persuasion, but while I always appreciated the Sex Pistols for their comedy value... less so for their musical contributions, I'm afraid.

The Swede's next suggestion will definitely throw you down a hole in google if you start trying to find out more about them as I just did...

The Beattles-Ettes - Only Seventeen

...but it's worth saying that this link also caused me to temporarily break the Lime Green Rule for one of my favourite songs from this bunch...

The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There

The Swede also offered...

Four Tet - Two Thousand & Seventeen

Heron Oblivion - Seventeen Landscapes

That latter one is pretty atmospheric, thanks, Swede.

The Swede was also the first to suggest a couple of serious contenders this week, which I'll save for later. But here's something he didn't suggest...

Winger - Seventeen

...can't understand why.

Martin turned up next with "a right old mixed bag this week"...

The Regents - 7-Teen

That one would have fallen outside my search criteria, so thank you.

Stephen Duffy - 17

That one hadn't. Great song.

Tracey Ullman - You Broke My Heart In 17 Places

That one deserves respect, for being a Kirsty MacColl composition. And also because it was next to this on youtube.

And then came Brian with the first of two suggestions... the other one is saved till later...

Stray Cats - (She's) Sexy + 17

Brian wins prizes for the video. They wouldn't allow that these days. Although, to be honest, the woman in the video looks (thankfully) much older than 17, as most "teen" movie stars of the 80s actually were. Michael J. Fox was 24 in Back To The Future.

C seconded a couple of earlier suggestions, then offered up two fine ones of her own...

Ladytron - Seventeen

Saint Etienne - When I Was Seventeen

When I was seventeen

My heart and head was full of brilliant dreams

Assembled in the light of the day

That seems so far away, away

Space and light and dreams

That's all people need and a place to sleep

The music and the songs that you play

Sound so far away, away

Jim in Dubai returned then with some more excellent offerings...

Momus - A Complete History of Sexual Jealousy (Parts 17-24) 

(Already used 7 weeks ago I believe.)

Absolutely.

My Life Story - 17 Reason Why I Love You 

(Extended version of 12 Reasons.....)

...come back in five weeks time!

Bis - Seventeen Hours

Rigid Digit was next to arrive, complaining that "Most of mine have gone again (my first vote is for Sex Pistols - Seventeen. The Regents in second place.)

So what have I got left on me list?"

The Eurythmics - 17 Again

Jet - 17

The Crystals - What A Nice Way To Turn 17 

Top marks for that last one, though I really had you down for seconding The Swede's (non-)suggestion of...

Winger - Seventeen

...just saying.

All of which leaves us with a Top Three Suggestions for this week, which we'll come back to after this message from my hard-drive...

Jim Bob - Seventeen

Superman Revenge Squad - Been A Private Detective For Seventeen Months

Prince - 17 Days

The Supremes - He's Seventeen

Black Box Recorder - Seventeen & Deadly

The Cure - Seventeen Seconds

(Surprised nobody suggested that.)

Foreigner - Seventeen

Courteeners - The 17th

Marina & The Diamonds - Seventeen

Banarama - Seventeen

Kaiser Chiefs - Seventeen Cups

Jens Lekman - Postcard #17

Paul Revere & The Raiders - Just Seventeen

Avi Buffalo - She Is Seventeen

Lady Antebellum - Damn You, Seventeen

Henry Lee Summer - Still Bein' Seventeen

(Yes, it's him again.)

Silver Sun - 17 Times

The Decemberists - 12/17/12

Gil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson - 17th Street

Rick James - 17

David Bowie - 1917

Thomas Dolby - 17 Hills

Strangelove - Extract From A Journal: Nov 17th 1997

Will Hoge - 17

Clint Boon - 17 & Over

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Opus 17

(Somebody really ought to have remembered that one!)

And finally, before we get onto the heavyweights, a special mention for this old favourite...

Billy Joel - Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)

OK, then, the Top Three... with additional commentary from you guys...

3. Sharon Van Etten - Seventeen

Swiss Adam says...

Seventeen has a proper emotional heft, capable of giving you a bit of bump and stopping you in your tracks (you meaning me I guess), there's something about the rising chords and Sharon's voice that goes hits the bullseye. The 80s production is what must have sounded familiar to me. I never thought that a song that seems to reference mid- 80s Springsteen would appeal to me so much. In the song Sharon addresses her seventeen year old self and her freedom/ naivety, wanting to warn her about what lies ahead and the poor decisions she'll make but still knowing that she has to go through it all. She also gets pissed off with her younger self who she thinks wouldn't fully like her as she is now, would think she's lost it or sold out or something similar. One of the lines goes 'I used to be free/ I used to be seventeen' and judging by the comments on Youtube it seems that the line and the sentiment affects those much older than that and those around that age equally. I'm eleven years older than Sharon, turn fifty in a few months, and this song definitely nails a feeling, a sense of the loss of youth and the pain of looking back. That's the literal definition of nostalgia isn't it? Nostalgia usually evokes a sentimental looking back, feelings of wistfulness, the rosy glow of the past. But it's literal translation involves looking back with feelings of sadness, of something lost and gone. I don't want to be a person who's nostalgic for being seventeen- there are other 'better' ages to be nostalgic about, it's an age where you're still not fully sure of yourself in a lot of ways, I certainly wasn't, and an age where you know so little despite being so sure you know so much- but this song really does push all those buttons.

2. Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen

Brian suggested this one, and for a while now I thought it would be my front-runner... but only because my memory is shot and I'd neglected to consider this week's winner. That said, I do think this is Ms. Nicks' finest moment... and not just as a solo artist.

1.  Janis Ian - At Seventeen

But yes, this had to be number one. As suggested by The Swede, Lynchie (who encouraged us to check out Tina Fey's karaoke cover of the song in an episode of "30 Rock"), and Alyson, who gave us chapter and verse...

The song was a big hit for Janis in the US in 1975, and although it never appeared in the UK charts, it soon became a staple of the airwaves. The song is about a girl who is somewhat of a social outcast in high school, and so it became a kind of anthem. She was inspired to write the single after reading a newspaper article about a young woman who believed her life would improve after a debutante ball, and her subsequent disappointment when it did not.

All these years later nothing has changed, and with social media to muddy the waters, if anything, things have got worse. I remember the year my daughter and her friends turned 17 and were experiencing the kind of anxieties as recounted in the song. I got them to listen to this song, as I think it summed up how they were feeling. Many nights were spent bemoaning the fact they were not one of The Populars, that group of girls with “clear skinned smiles” who always seem to get the boy.

Not much I can add to that, except... this is a heartbreaker.


Sweet little sixteen next week... I shudder at the prospect.

Hot 100 #23

Some German rap today for you, courtesy of... erm... German rappers 23 (aka Bushido and Sido). Don't say I don't treat you.

23 - Mit 'Nem Lächeln

Following last week's unexpected (except by me) victory for Half Man Half Biscuit, The Swede played it safe this week...

So could it be two weeks running for HMHB? 

Half Man Half Biscuit - Tending The Wrong Grave For 23 Years

Charity Chic will not be happy with the first word in your sentence there, Swede.

Still, this'll cheer him up. Here comes George...

The Butthole Surfers - 22 going on 23

That's a rather disturbing song for you. 

Bet that won't stop you suggesting it again next week, George.

And Dwight Yoakam - Readin', Writing, Route 23

That's more like it.

Hang on, The Swede's back...

Prince Far I - Psalm 23

I was expecting that after last week.

Soothsayers - Crying on 23rd

New to me.

Underworld - Twenty Three Blue

Japanese bonus track. No stone unturned!

The Lightmen - Luke 23:32-49

I'm not quite sure how I missed my two previous opportunities to suggest that one. Better late than never.

You know it's rare when it's only on youtube once. All done, Swede?

Delayed inspiration...

John Cooper Clarke - 23rd

That was one from my list.

Quick reminder of the Lime Green Rule, for anyone who's not been paying attention...

Unless they're amazing suggestions, I'm going to stop allowing lyrical 24s (and so on) as we get nearer number one. Let's face it, there are way too many. So you'll have to be really persuasive if you want to sell me on a lyrical reference from now on. Sorry.

Because, look, here's George again.

Damn that lime green rule. It means whip Crack Away by Doris Day is excluded.

Exceptions can be made in exceptional circumstances, George.

Twenty-three miles we've covered today

Doris Day - The Deadwood Stage

Although, to be fair, you could have had that four weeks ago, before the Lime Green Rule was instituted.

Here's a man the sheriff watches

On his gun there's more than twenty-seven notches

Time for C, who's found another suggestion from my shortlist...

Blonde Redhead - 23

Any band with Japanese art students sounds good to me (but whatever happened to them, are they still going?)

Apparently so, unless their website's lying.

Here comes somebody else wanting to flout the Lime Green Rule. It's Lynchie...

Before the lime green restrictions, I'd have said Jesus, the Missing Years by John Prine was a serious contender.

John Prine is always a contender in this house, Lynchie.

Charley bought some popcorn, Billy bought a car

Someone almost bought the farm but they didn't go that far

Things shut down at midnight, at least 'round here they do

Cause we all reside down the block inside 23 Skidoo

I really must enforce that rule more stringently. What else do you have for me?

Patti Scialfa - 23rd Street Lullaby

Martin was late to the party this week...

FurryBootsCityBoy beat me to Patti Scialfa...

You snooze, you lose.

I'm going for a punctuation cheat:

The Wedding Present - 2,3, Go!

Well, it's always nice to see my students using commas.

Over to Jim in Dubai who was hoping not to give me any nightmares like he did last week...

My offerings this week.

Stephen Duffy - Twenty Three

That was on my list.

Hippo - Twenty Three

The internet tells me you're making that one up, Jim.

Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Twenty Three Hour Toothache

Not that one though. But no nightmares this week, so thank you.

Finally this week, it's Rigid Digit...

Shakira - 23

It's in the collection - no idea how it got there, but it aint bad ... I'm off to listen to some more. Never knowingly heard it.

Welcome to 50% of my record collection, RD. One of the reasons I do this blog is so I actually get to listen to some of the tracks I've never heard before.

OK, before we get to this week's debate, what else did my hard drive spew up?

Luna - 23 Minutes In Brussels

Redbone - 23rd And Mad

Republic of Loose - 23 Things I Don't Like 

Rufus Wainwright, Helena Bonham Carter, Martha Wainwright & Fiora Cutler - Unperfect Actor (Sonnet 23)

Teleman - 23 Floors Up

The Divine Comedy - 23rd of December

Carter USM - 23:59 End of the World

Death In Vegas - 23 Lies

Paul Westerberg - 23 Years Ago

Ryan Adams - Sweet Little Girl (23rd & 1st)

Which brings us to the debate. The Swede was the first to raise the issue...

Seriously though, is anything going to top 'Strawberry Letter 23' by Shuggie Otis this week?

Charity Chic seconded that... but then, Lynchie threw in the alternative.

I prefer The Brothers Johnson version of "Strawberry Letter 23" to Shuggie Otis, so there!

I must admit, I'm really kind of torn. I know Shuggie wrote it, and the original takes some beating... but I really am rather fond of the Brothers Johnson version myself, especially as it's the version I heard first. Have we to call it a tie?

(I know: chicken!)





Next week is Catch 22. We may never escape...