A top notch - and very tricky - edition of Snapshots this weekend. Many thanks to C from Sun Dried Sparrows for her hard work. C, of course, is an artist (as is Ron Wood and today's header image, multi-disciplinary artist Yayoi Kusama). Perhaps that was the best clue to this week's link...
Extra kudos to C for finding a picture of the Ramones where they don't immediately look like the Ramones. From past experience, I know that's a tough one!
12. A rabbit follows an Ant.
Harvey the rabbit (from the film) comes after Ant (McPartlin) who was P J in P J & Duncan / Byker Grove.
This week we have another show that had finished production long before I was born, yet always seemed to be repeated when I was growing up. Robert Vaughan and David McCallum were the actors who brought Bond-esque espionage to 60s TV screens, making an indelible impression on the next generation of songwriters...
To get us in the mood, here's that funky theme tune from Hugo Montenegro...
We start today with a glorious slice of 70's nostalgia from Belfast's Ian Livingstone...
So I set off on a tack Along the rusty railway track Balancing on the steel rails Following the flow of the line On a journey, of an old world Where no trains have passed Since the old days And in this place I can be Tom Sawyer or Steve McQueen Or the Man from U.N.C.L.E. or me I can be Tom Sawyer or Steve McQueen Or The Sundance Kid or even me On the old railway line
Today's best new discovery is The Ragamuffins. They sound like a Scouse Arctic Monkeys and one of their EPs is called The Benefits of A Downhill Paper Round. What more do you want? Blood?
Let's up the ante like the Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Leave a trail of destruction
I can sense your reluctance, 'cos I'm just style over substance
I started feeling like I've lost direction
Could you be my compass?
My needle needs some adjusting, it's just style over substance
Neil Tennant was obviously a fan of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. And before he got a job in the Pet Shop, he used to work for Marvel Comics, which probably explains why Captain Britain also gets name-checked in this tune...
As you no doubt remember, the two main characters in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. were Napoleon Solo (played by Robert Vaughan) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum). And here they are now...
That last one just keeps popping up on this blog, doesn't it?
There are also a number of artists that have stolen the name of Robert Vaughan's character for their own musical identities, like this Danish ska band...
I couldn't find any bands named after Ilya though.
For me, the obvious winner today was probably the most tenuous, though clearly Declan had Napoleon and Ilya in mind when he penned this deep cut from Get Happy!! Need a great pop song but only have 2 minutes to spare? Elvis is your man...
