Snapshots #431: Songs About The Person In Charge

Here’s the man in charge… erm…

The man with the answers… erm…

Still, preferable to his inevitable replacement. Is that really the best we can say about him?

Here are some songs about the person at the top…

15. Born in 1986?

UB40 - King

14. Don’t worry, they’re harmanless.

Dave Harman, aka Dave Dee, had left at this point.

Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch – Mr. President

13. Princess Grace only wants to help you… NOT ME!

Princess Grace Kelly only wants to help you, Roland.

Kelly Rowland - Commander

12. See you, Underground Lou.

See you, Jimmy… and Lou Reed.

Jimmy Reed - Big Boss Man

11. The Ashes.

After The Fire - Der Kommissar

10. Her omelettes are really well scrambled.

“Her omelettes” was an anagram.

The Tremeloes - (Call Me) Number One

9. A pretty regular bunch.

Regular as clockwork.

The Clockworks - Can I Speak To A Manager?

8. Billion year old carbon.

“We are stardust…”

Joni Mitchell – Edith & The Kingpin

7. Scholarly hippy.

Professor Longhair - Big Chief

6. X2.

Double - The Captain Of Her Heart

5. Torturous firework.

Catherine Wheel - Here Comes the Fat Controller

4. 3.14, at the beginning of the afternoon.

3.14, as any Maths teacher will tell you, is π represented as three digits. The beginning of the afternoon is af. So Pi+af=

Edith Piaf - Milord

3. Older now, and with fewer brothers in rhythm. 

There’s only two of them left to pass the dutchie these days…

Musical Youth - Generals

2. Good for halting rashes, if properly blended.

“Halting rashes” was an anagram of…

The Shangri-Las - Leader Of The Pack

I love that video. The Leader of the Pack looks like a middle-aged bus-driver.

1. What Not To Wear.

Depeche Mode, as I’m sure you all know, means Fashion News or Fashion Despatch. Hence…

Depeche Mode – Master & Servant

I’ll be back in charge of this twaddle next Saturday morning.

Saturday Snapshots #74 - The Answers

Well, did you Get Lucky with yesterday's clues? Of course you did. And if you didn't, no need stare at the Blurred Lines on the photos below anymore... because her come this week's answers.

Very busy morning yesterday and my head is too full of man-flu to work out the winner, but I suspect Alyson may have nabbed it.


10. Sean Connery's famous last words to the whole school.

Sean Connery said he'd never make another Bond film, then he made one called Never Say Never Again.

If you're speaking to the whole school, you may be in an assembly.

The Assembly - Never Never

9. Indisputably, you're dating a mutant.

No Doubt - Ex-Girlfriend

I should possibly steer clear of comic-related clues... or at least steer clear of expecting you all to have a detailed knowledge of Gwen Stefani hits.

8. Put your arms out to create a great barrier.

Great Barrier Reef, obviously.

Reef - Place Your Hands

Still sounds great.

7. Euphemistic vicar betrayal is illegal.

"Judas Priest!" is a euphemism for "Jesus Christ!"

Jesus was betrayed by Judas.

A priest is like a vicar.

Breaking the law is illegal.

Judas Priest - Breaking The Law

Video of the week!

(Charity Chic identified them despite claiming to have none in his collection. And yet I could have sworn I saw him coming out of the RSPCA shop in Arbroath with a copy of British Steel stuffed in a brown paper bag.)

6. Paid thief, less repentant than Frank.

Paid thief is an anagram.

Frank sang, "Regrets - I've had a few..." but this lady has none.

Edith Piaf - Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien

5. Henpecked deity with custard.

Godley & Creme would be under the thumb if they were henpecked.

Godley & Creme - Under Your Thumb

4. Clyde was an orangutan, not...

This is Clyde...

He's an orangutan, not a gorilla.

Who's that with him?

The Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood

3. Equitable harbour: that's just the way things are done when you're getting together with Cliff.

An equitable harbour would be a fair port.

The way things are done is a convention.

If you were getting together with cliff, you might meet on the ledge.

Fairport Convention - Meet On The Ledge

Playing a festival near George this summer, co-headlining with Judas Priest.

2. A skinny thousand for the mad monk.

Oh, those Russians!

Boney M - Rasputin

1. I'll take mine padded... although the sheets may be dirty.

A padded cell with be a soft one.

Yes, the sheets may be dirty in a bed-sitter... but dirty sheets are often tainted by love. (Sorry.)




Guess what... Saturday Snapshots will be back next week for our 75th anniversary edition! Happy now?

October #2 - The Browns

2. The Browns - The Three Bells

If I were to get to the end of 2016 and not mention this song, I'd be doing my listening habits a grave misjustice. Frankly, I've been rather obsessed with it over the last 6 months or so... which is rather odd considering that it was recorded in 1959 (well, this version, at least: the original French song, recorded by Edith Piaf, is older still). Although I may have encountered it prior to this year, my love affair began when John Grant opened his first 6Music show with it earlier this year. To be honest, much as I love John Grant's own music, our tastes are quite different: much of the rest of his show was made up of 80s electronica (he has a particular soft spot for Vangelis), which only floats my boat in small doses. The Three Bells was unlike anything else he played, although I do seem to remember he said it was the first pop song that had stuck in his head as a child.

I love everything about this song, from the conceit (a life told in three verses, symbolised by church bells proclaiming Jimmy Brown's birth, marriage and death) to the blissful harmonies of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie. I have sung along to it in the car more than any other song I've listened to this year: it's even been a hit with the rest of the family. I can't promise you'll enjoy it as much as I do, but to paraphrase Mark Radcliffe (and probably a bunch of other people): if you don't appreciate this even the slightest little bit, you don't like music.