5. Her father found a Newlove... but carried on with the old one too.
Kirsty MacColl's mum was Jean Newlove. Her father, Ewan MacColl "was also in a relationship with folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Peggy Seeger (a relationship that would continue until his death in 1989), and already had a son with Seeger."
You may argue that I’m stretching the definition of “celebrity” today. Still, if you’re famous enough to have a song written about you, you’re a celebrity in my book. You might not be invited on Celebrity Big Brother or Celebrity Wife-Swap or Celebrity Dung Inspectors… whatever’s the latest big celebrity thing to clog up the TV schedules like a rancid fatberg in the sewerage tunnels... but then I've rarely heard of any of the "celebrities" they drag out for these shows anyway... and the ones I have heard of, I generally find objectionable.
Better yet, today's "celebrity" hasn’t had a song written about him by any old Tom, Dick or Harry Styles. He had a song written about him by arguably the greatest songwriter in the history of truly great songwriters. But we’ll get to that…
Phil “Flip” Sloan was born in New York in 1945. When he was 13, his family moved to Hollywood and his dad bought him a guitar. Legend has it that he met Elvis in the music shop, and wangled his first ever guitar lesson from the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
A year later, he wrote and released his first single…
Sloan soon got a job writing songs for Screen Gems, one of many record companies in the 60s employing teenagers to write songs for their own age group. That's where he met a soon-to-be frequent collaborator, Steve Barri, and together they penned their first minor hit...
This led to further success, writing hits for The Turtles, The Searchers and Herman’s Hermits, although Sloan's most known for a tune that became a big Vietnam protest anthem…
PF Sloan also wrote the theme tune to the US version of the Patrick McGoohan show, Danger Man, retitled Secret Agent on American TV. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers, many years later that song cropped up on the first LP I ever bought...
Sloan also joined The Wrecking Crew as a session guitarist. While playing with that legendary ensemble, he came up with a particularly fine opening hook…
Regardless of his success as a songwriter and musician, what Phil Sloan really wanted was to be a star in his own right. But that was not to be, and in the early 70s he abandoned the music industry altogether and spent many years as a recluse, fighting depression and mental illness. Although he enjoyed a brief comeback in the 21st Century, he sadly died of cancer in 2015.
Now rewind… to the mid-60s, and a lazy day when Sloan agreed to meet a budding junior songwriter and offer him some words of encouragement. When Sloan heard the songs that young man had to play, they brought him to tears. He thought every one of them could be a major hit...
Jimmy Webb never forgot the support he'd received from PF Sloan early in his career. A few years later, he wrote a timeless tribute to his lost hero that goes something like this...
Bruce Springsteen's manager, Jon Landau, called PF Sloan "a masterpiece [that] could not be improved upon". Even Billy Bragg has something to say about it. The song was also recorded by The Association, Unicorn and Jennifer Warnes, among others, but the definitive version wouldn’t arrive for another 40 years.
Ben sends a picture of the top of his Christmas tree.
Rol: Does he cast his own purple glow or have you created that?
Ben: Did it by making sure the blue lights on the tree hit red tinsel.
Fire hazard.
Tinsel and Christmas tree lights? LEDs a fire hazard?
If tinsel gets hot, it'll go up like a supernova.
It won't by these lights.
I was amused tonight by the computer in Louise's brain hitting a glitch. She's had me spend most of my weekend putting up Christmas lights outside the house. Tonight she realised that when the curtains are closed she can't see them. So she's wasting electricity, which she hates. But... pretty Christmas lights.
Wasting electricity... pretty lights...
Wasting... pretty...
It was like "open the bomb bay doors, Hal"...
I'm supposed to put Christ lights outside this coming weekend. I don't see the point. I like inside decorations. Not outside.
I don't see the point in any of it.
You could get transparent curtains.
Or blinds.
But then the clowns would be able to look in.
They haven't been a thing in a few years.
They'll always be a thing in Louise's head.
You should hire a clown to stand out in your garden.
She hates me enough already
Sounds healthy.
Ben sends a photo of a large bump on his head.
Ben: Running is dangerous.
Rol: Head injury. A&E now.
Nah. I'm all good.
I put some frozen peas on it and had some Ibuprofen.
And I can't tell if you're joking.
I work in a hospital now.
Still can't tell if you're joking, but I just rang 111.
They don't sound super concerned. So I've got a call back from a clinician.
Not sure whether you're just trying to spook me or not.
Not intentionally. Louise always gets super worried about head injuries though. Better to be safe...
Tell me you ran into a lamppost.
Yeah. Kids were on the path so I ran on the grass to get around them and hit my head on a sign hanging off a lamppost.
Did anyone film it on their phone?
Nah. The kids were too busy riding microscooters. Apparently they're a thing again?
Spoken with my GP now too. Don't feel they need to see me. Just keep an eye.
You can thank me later for saving you from permanent brain damage.
I reckon I can afford to lose a few braincells.
Rol replies...
Are you?
Rol replies...
Maybe I do have concussion. That made me audibly chuckle.
Still not saying LOL, so you appear safe from brain damage.
Isn't it exclusively people over 40 who use that term now?
And Facey B huns?
I don't even want to know what they are.
Those women who spend all day on FB and end every post with "thx Hun XX".
Presumably sending lots of messages to Attila and his people.
Haha. That was well funni. Thx hunni xx.
Had my booster yesterday and feel like crap today. Currently waiting to see Father Christmas in the drizzle at the Kirklees Light Railway Santa Express.
Bragging much?
I had to book months ago. Sam and Louise are at home.
So you've got your anorak on and your trainspotting guide?
I can get my booster from Monday.
Working out whether to try and see if I can do a walk in or wait for my appointment.
There were loads of walk ins when I went for mine. Might be less capacity where you are thouh8=%#@!
Yeah, think I might just go tomorrow on lunch.
There's a walk in close by.
While writing that last message I walked into a low fence post, fell over and landed on another post and seriously hurt my leg.
Oh shit.
You all good?
Two massive bruises. One on my shin, one on my thigh. Hurt pride from the stupidity of walking and texting, which I never do.
Oh man, that sucks. Well, you're working in a hospital now. Get someone to check you over tomorrow.
Up there with your recent lamppost encounter.
I'd say yours is worse.
Walking upstairs really hurts now!
I think a positive thing is to realise that the injury hasn't made you wonder if you'd be able to call in sick tomorrow. Still enjoying the new job?
Yeah. Very much.
The first Christmas not there is an eye opener to how overly stressful that place is compared to other work places.
How's the shin and thigh today?
Still hurts but not as bad as yesterday. Can at least walk up and down stairs now, if rather slowly.
At your age, I'm unsure whether that's to do with the injury or not.
Also, are you now at the age where we say you "had a fall" rather than "fell over"?
Yes. I had a fall. That has already been made quite clear to me.
Haha! If a few people are saying it, then it must be true.
Louise was not very sympathetic, considering I did it while walking and texting you.
I'll return the present I bought you and get you a handrail for the bathtub for Christmas.
Can I have one of those winches that lower you into the bath?
Might just be easier to get a walk in bath.
But then the water will go everywhere.
They have these things where you walk in, the door seals and you sit on a chair and it fills up around you. Did you not watch daytime TV and ads when you were a student?
When I was a student, I was also working a full time job in the evenings so I didn't have much time to lounge around on my arse.
Maybe if you'd not overworked yourself to please business owners instead of taking care of yourself, you wouldn't be "having a fall" at your age.
Hey There! What Kind of Fool Am I? I almost forgot to post this week's Saturday Snapshots answers. To be fair, it has been a very stressful week. Ofsted never actually stepped into my classroom, but the constant anticipation of them doing so nearly killed me. That was Too Close For Comfort. Still, it's over now.
I think Chris deserves the crown this week for solving the ones nobody else could. Alyson was the Early Bird; it was good to have Lynchie back, CC & C were beaten to the punch.
Time to play The Candyman again and hand out these sweet goodies...
10. Bambi's mum has a special milkman. Spice approaching!
Ernie was the fastest milkman in the West.
Special K.
A female deer is a doe.
Lynchie claimed he only knew one Ernie K. Doe song. Surely you know this one too?
