Alyson Mac

The Freewheelin' Alyson Mac

No Blogger Convention would be complete without Alyson Mac. While myself and others idly batted the idea of meeting up back and forth a few years back, it was only when Alyson took hold of it (in true Ents. Officer fashion) that a workable plan emerged and, quite simply, she made it happen. It was Alyson who got boots on the ground. And as a result, I know, all #BC25 delegates are eternally grateful. So without further ado let's have a look under Alyson's hood. Ooh, matron!

* What was the first 45 you bought with your own money? I'm guessing you also hotfooted it straight to the newsagents & bought the issue of Disco 45 songbook magazine with the lyrics in it? 

I can't actually remember as by the time I had enough pocket money to buy my own records that most wonderful of gadgets, the Cassette Recorder, had come about and teens everywhere rejoiced as suddenly we could own the whole Top 20 if we so wished. My first C60 would have contained such gems as The Jean Genie, Crazy Horses and Gudbuy T'Jane.

 * You've made no secret of the fact that much of your obsession with music in the 70s came from Eurovision. For you, what was the Eurovision Song Contest's golden period? 

I feel I should set the record straight. I first fell in love with Eurovision watching Sandi Shaw win with Puppet On A String and always watched it after that with my parents, the years with Cliff, Lulu et al, where we invariably won or came second. Once we started to head through the 70s even I realised it was all a bit naff, and as I had started to have a bit of a social life, I was never in on a Saturday night to watch it. I still kept an eye on who had won - Brotherhood of Man in 1976 and Bucks Fizz in 1981 - but other than that I was a bystander. What changed was that in the early 2000s we started to watch it with our daughter and I relived those years with my own parents. From 2003 onwards we have hosted a little Eurovision party with our good friends and in 2015 went to Vienna to watch the show live with them. What do two couples dress up as at this massive juggernaut of a show - why Bucks Fizz of course! We thought loads of people dressed up, but it turned out they didn't, so we caused quite a stir and one of the best weekends of my life. 

* I suppose this is almost a supplementary question - Bucks Fizz or the Bay City Rollers? 

As I explained above, it's not going to be Bucks Fizz but most definitely The Rollers. They were skinny, pasty and wore terrible outfits, but hey, they were Scottish, sang some great Bill Martin/Phil Coulter pop songs and performed flawlessly in concert. They have kind of been airbrushed out of pop folklore but if you were a 14-year-old girl in 1974, there was a good chance you would have been in love with a Roller. My crush was Les. 

* When I started blogging there seemed to be a lot more women writers. It wasn't as 'blokey' as it is now. How do you see the current blogging landscape? 

Compared to most of the rest of you I started blogging quite late (2016) so there have never been many women bloggers around that do what we do. I was so chuffed to discover C from Sun Dried Sparrows early on, otherwise I might not have been brave enough to join the comments boxes and build up virtual friendships with all you "blokes". There are still plenty of women bloggers around, but they possibly concentrate on different subject matters - or have moved to podcasting! 

* I have it on good authority that you coined the term Yacht Rock. True or false? 

Most definitely FALSE, but I do like it a lot. It took me some time to admit to liking such fodder (the West Coast soft rock of 1975 - 1984 produced by people such as Christopher Cross) but you all know me and my tastes by now so I'm out of the closet. 

* Everyone connected with #BC25 sees you as the woman who gets things done. Are you a natural leader? Were you a prefect at school? (That's not a sleight by the way, some of my best friends were prefects!) 

I was a prefect at school actually but I wouldn't say I was a natural leader. I was usually the assistant to the leader in the workplace, the one who got things done. I would never push myself into the role but if I'm asked to help with organisation I'm right there with my spreadsheet.

* Italian or Chinese? 

Italian. I can't remember the last time I had a Chinese actually. The monosodium glutamate doesn't do well with me. Maybe if we had a good local restaurant it might be different, but we don't.

* Favorite tipple? What do you reach for as the sun passes over the yard arm?

To be honest I don't tend to tipple much at all nowadays and wherever the sun is I would probably plump for a cup of Earl Grey. However, when the occasion arises - as in a Bloggers Summit -  it would either be a long cool lager, a glass of Merlot or a G&T; not too many though - lightweight! Back in the day however... 

(The 'dot dot dot' may, or may not, be code for 'dancing on tables'. I'm saying nothing! - JM)

* Do your close friends know Alyson? Are they aware that you lead a double life?

A lot of my good friends know I have a blog but also know I like to keep it private, open to people in Greenland and Guam, but not to them. Makes it easier to write about the personal stuff you might not normally share widely. I very briefly started off writing using my own name but soon changed it to Alyson. Writing about the "tracks of my years" I do occasionally have to write about ex-boyfriends and the like so wanted to anonymise it all somewhat. 

* I ask everyone this - You've just acquired a time machine. Where and when are you going?  

One of the series I have enjoyed researching and writing most is A Special Place In Time, and the special place I would like to travel back to is Laurel Canyon, California in the late 60s. I could set up home in one of those cute cabins in the hills while watching Jim Morrison, Joni Mitchell, CS&N, Jackson Browne, Cass Elliot and others wander past and hang out in my garden. Heaven. 

* Tell us something about yourself you've never told another living soul. 

Serously? You must know by now John that I tell everyone everything. I'm an open book. 

 ★

Thank you for sharing, Alyson. Looking forward to hooking up in Bristol. 

Alyson's hugely entertaining blog can be found here.

Khayem

Surely that's Kope with a K?

The lineup for #BlogCon25 is shaping up nicely. For our next delegate this will be their first convention: although Khayem has yet to break bread with his fellow bloggers he's been religiously and forensically chronicling indie music and bands of the 80s & 90s (as well as a host of other music related tangents) under the Dubhed masthead since 2020. Despite his slightly sinister profile pic above I've actually found K to be both very approachable and very agreeable (he's got a cat, he must be OK). See what you think...

* What was the first 45 you bought with your own money? And yer first album?

In typically contrary fashion, the first vinyl I bought with my own money was a 33 not 45, the Kings Of The Wild Frontier album by Adam & The Ants, age 10, £3.99 from my local record shop, Sound Seekers. When I bought Prince Charming the following year, my parents banned me from playing the last song because it was called S.E.X. They obviously hadn’t been paying attention to the lyrics of Kings… otherwise that would have been banned too! My first 45 was probably the 12” single of See You by Depeche Mode, on a school geography trip to Cwmbran, circa 1985. We were supposed to stopping people in the streets to complete a questionnaire. I did a bunk and found a record shop instead.

* To what extent were your record buying habits dictating the mixtapes you were compiling so prolifically? 

That’s a good question! I guess it largely came about because at first I tended to buy lots of singles (mostly 12”) and not so many albums, so it was a way of putting together compilations of my favourite songs. I used to do lots of tapes for my friends, as a way of sharing my excitement about new music that I heard. And of course, what better declaration of love as a teen than a mixtape for a girlfriend with an obscure Talk Talk 12” mix? Although I passed my driving test at 17, throughout my teens and twenties, I still used to walk a lot and I always had headphones and a cassette player. I had to listen to music pretty much all of the time, every day. 

*Apropos of that, bad news I'm afraid: I've just read that Keir Starmer is bringing in a retrospective cassette tax on all C90s bought in the 70s, 80s & 90s. Let's not beat about the bush here, this is gonna wipe you out isn't it? 

I might just scrape through, but if it applies to CD-Rs as well, then I’m done for. Damn you, Keir! 

* We all know you as Khayem from the Kotswolds. Have you ever konsidered living in Kumbria, Kambridge or even Kolchester? 

No, but I quite like the idea of Kork! And I did spend a memorable few days with a friend in Kalgoorlie, a mining town in Western Australia, does that count? 

* Family aside (and blogging) what gets you out of bed in the morning? What are you passionate about? 

What gets me out of bed in the morning is the darned family cat, who has a strict regime of harassment and wailing starting at 4.30am, regardless of daylight saving. It sounds glib, but I am passionate about trying to do something every day that is selfless and/or makes a difference to someone. This offsets the majority of the time, when I’m a grumpy, selfish git! 

* Where's your natural habitat - pub/coffee shop/gig?

I feel simultaneously relaxed and painfully awkward in all three. I drive a lot for work and live miles from any decent pubs, so they are a rarity these days. Coffee shops more often, but frequently as an ad-hoc workspace or a rushed stop with Mrs K whilst running around town on chores. So it has to be gigs, as that’s the only time that I’m there doing exactly what I should be doing, that is, relaxing and enjoying myself! 

* Echo & the Bunnymen or the Teardrop Explodes?

Do you really need to ask?! I love the Bunnymen, but it’s the Teardrop Explodes every single time. (I should've known as soon as I saw K's Swedey McSwedeface - JM)

Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth (live) (1987)

   

 * Indian or Chinese? Beer or Wine?

 Japanese. Whisky. 

* Are we allowed to ask where your blogging moniker comes from? 

I’d love to say that it was inspired by the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, a 19th century translation by Edward Fitzgerald of works by 'the Astronomer-Poet of Persia' dating from the 11th-12th century. But I discovered this some time later. Those who know my secret identity will realise that the real reason is far more mundane! (I'm still none the wiser! - JM)

* A blogging staple - You've just acquired a time machine. Where and when are you going? 

In my personal timeline, possibly back to my 10th birthday in December 1980, with the following words of wisdom: Say “yes” more, what have you got to lose? You think it’s bad that Ronald Reagan is going into the White House? Believe me, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Keep a diary and write something down every day. One day, it will come in handy, I promise you. Outside of that, I’d like to sneak a peek in about 30 years time, to see that Lady K’s okay. And it should be just in time for Matt Johnson to come out of cryogenic suspension to release a new The The album! 

* Tell us something about yourself you've never told another living soul.

I signed up for the recorder class at primary school as I thought I’d get to play around with tapes and sound recording. You can imagine my disappointment when the teacher handed me a stick with some holes in and told me to blow into one end. I didn’t last long in that class.

★

Thank you, K. Really looking forward to meeting you in Bristol.

Charity Chic

CC pictured with Adrianne Lenker 

Our latest #BC25 delegate to submit to having lighted matchsticks stuck under his fingernails is Glaswegian blogger, Charity Chic (again, not his real name: the world of blogging is awash with nom de plumes). CC, as he's known in the trade, spends his days sitting on buses, rifling through the CD racks in charity shops and drinking pints of heavy (of course I may be generalising).

* What was the first record you bought with your own money?

Part of the Union by the Strawbs and Tie a Yellow Ribbon by Dawn - 1973, Selfridges in London on aPrimary 7 school trip.

* CDs in charity shops/blogging about CDs in charity shops - how did it all start? 

Probably due to lack of cash. I was still buying new and 2nd hand from record shops but this was a cheaper alternative. When I decided to join the blogging fraternity it seemed to be something different. Initially the plan was to post exclusively on charity purchases but that changed fairly quickly.

* You're a daily blogger - does writing every day ever become a chore?

Yes - more and more. Sometimes you get a purple patch with plenty of ideas and series on the go - at other times, which is happening more and more, you're frequently  devoid of ideas and it does become a bit of a chore. Usually, however, I enjoy the challenge

* Do you have a favourite charity shop? Give me yer Top 5. 

Not really, tho' I do have a soft spot for BRICC (Ballantrae Rural Initiative Care in the Community) on the west coast. There was a Chest, Heart and Stroke shop in walking distance from my house, but it's long gone now. The Community Shop in Kingussie is pretty good. Oh, and a shoutout to Debra in Shawlands where I got my biggest ever haul; I'm not a fan of ones with snotty staff - Gatehouse of Fleet springs to mind! 

* If I was coming to Glasgow where would I go for a. the best breakfast and b. the best pint? 

It's along time since I've done a breakfast out. The University Cafe in Byres Road was a favourite in my hungover student days. Best pint is Jarl from Loch Fine Brewery in the Laurieston Bar. Great pub - a throwback to the 60s/70s - look it up. (I just have and it looks right up my strasse - JM). 

* Teenage Fanclub or Primal Scream? 

The Fannies all day long, although the Memphis Sessions by Primal Scream is rather good.

* Indian or Chinese? Beer or Wine? 

 Indian and beer - preferably an IPA; although I am partial to a nice Rioja.

* With your access all areas bus pass - where are the outer limits? Do you use it to the max? 

My bus pass covers the whole of Scotland. Broughty Ferry is the furthest I've got to. 

* Nice Swedey McSwedeface btw; who's Adrianne Lenker?

She's the singer with Big Thief. Her song Not from their Two Hands album is pretty special. The SMcSF is her latest solo album Bright Future which is also well worth having.

Big Thief - Not (2019)

 

* You've just acquired a time machine. Where and when are you going?

The American South in the late 40s/early 50s to catch a Hank Williams Concert or a visit to the Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals in the mid 60s. 

* Tell us something about yourself you've never told another living soul.

No secrets! I'm an open book.

★

Thank you, CC; that wasn't too painful, was it? CC's blog Charity Chic Music is but a mouse click away.

Ernie Goggins

Ernesto - drumming up some magic*

Our next #BlogCon25 interviewee is, it could be argued, the very glue that binds the blogging fraternity together and thus preventing it from shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. An International Man of Mystery who perpetually hides in plain sight, he's an enigma wrapped up in a mystery. We all know him but nobody can tell you what he looks like. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ernie Goggins a.k.a. Ernesto (real name available only to #BlogCon25 Patreon members).

* What was the first record you bought with your own money?

I think it was '50 Ways To Leave Your Lover' by Paul Simon but it might have been 'This Will Be' by Natalie Cole. They were definitely the first two. 

* What got you into blogging? 

I had been thinking about it for a while but the specific prompt was discovering Tsonga Disco on one of my regular trips to South Africa to see family. Tsonga Disco is the pop music of the Tsonga or Shangaan people of north-east South Africa and southern Mozambique. I got a bit obsessed with it and decided the world needed to know about it. I always had other music from the start but there were at least weekly doses of Tsonga Disco for the first few years. It petered out as my supplies dwindled and my interests moved on but it still pops up occasionally. For a brief period in the early/mid 2010s I found myself accidentally surfing the zeitgeist - the blog got mentioned in 'The Wire' and on National Public Radio in the US and there were a couple of DJs who sampled some of the stuff I featured etc - but those heady days are long gone. 

* Prior to #BC24 had you met any other bloggers in real life?

None of the #BC24 Massive but I did meet the man behind the Awesome Tapes From Africa blog (and now media empire) back in my Tsonga Disco days. 

* Do you have a favourite record store and or bookshop?

A lot of my favourite record shops are no longer with us like Daddy Cool in Soho (reggae) and The African Music Store in Cape Town (self-explanatory). There is one in Athens that I am not sure of the name of as the sign is only in Greek, I think it might be Basement Records. It was still going as of this time last year and I always build time into my work schedule to pop in when in Athens. As well as a huge number of local and international second-hand albums and CDs it has several racks dedicated to psych and freakbeat from around the world where I have found many gems over the years. No specific favourite bookshop but if you are ever near Hammersmith the Amnesty International second-hand bookshop is always worth a visit. That's where I found the book in the photo. 

* Are you musical?

No, but like some of your other readers I am from an era when enthusiasm was considered more important than ability. So I was in a couple of bands in my youth and once appeared live at the Cambridge Folk Festival. 

* Indian or Chinese?

Let's say Indian because I am currently applying for an Indian visa and would not want to say anything that might create problems. 

* Beer or wine?

Beer, or if Rol is reading this Martini shaken not stirred (I need to keep up the image).  

* Beatles or the Stones? 

Van Morrison.

* You're a well travelled man - Planes, Trains or Automobiles?

Trains or buses. I don't particularly enjoy plane travel but sometimes it is the only way to get to where I want to go, and I can't drive so automobiles rarely feature unless someone else is behind the wheel. 

* You've just taken delivery of a time machine. Where and when are you going to? 

 I would like to do a road trip if that is permitted. In this order: Austerlitz in 1805, New Mexico in 1879, Athens in 410 BC, 15th century England, the year 2688, Vienna in 1901, Kessel (Germany) in 1810, Orleans in 1429, Outer Mongolia in 1269, The White House in 1863 and finally San Dimas, California in 1988. (I detect a thread running thru this timeline which may or may not hoover up Abraham Lincoln, a couple of skirmishes, Oktoberfest and, not least, Bill & Ted along the way - JM.) 

The most excellent Abe Lincoln

* Are either of these two statements true?

- You once drove the fastest milk cart in the West?

As we've already established I can't drive so definitely not me. Also, physically I am more of a Two Ton Ted from Teddington. 

 - Your football career was tragically cut short when Ron 'Chopper' Harris scythed you down in a League Cup 3rd. round replay? 

That was my late uncle after whom I was named, and it was Micky Droy not Chopper Harris. He was taken from us in 1997 after a tragic accident with a snowplough (Uncle Ernie not Micky) but I still think of him every day. 

Micky Droy (not Chopper Harris)

★

*Ernesto tells me that the main takeway from Mickey Hart's book (pictured above) is that drums work better if you hit them rather than trying to blow into them. Thank you, Ernie!

If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in today's Q&A, panic thee not. Ernie himself has the antidote over at 27 Leggies his incredible (and incredibly unique) blog.

Cee

Revisiting Department C S 

Cee/C (full name withheld - available on request) is a very talented illustrator and blogs under the moniker Sun Dried Sparrows. She was was born in the 60s and grew up in the 70s; that's pretty much all you need to know. That and the fact that she's my go to person when it comes to crinkle crinkle walls. C has attended all three previous BlogCons and I'm really looking forward to seeing her again in Bristol. Ahead of BC she's also agreed to a spot of mild interrogation.

* What was the first record you bought with your own money? 

My first single was Abba's 'Dancing Queen' in the long hot Summer of blue eyeshadow and double denim. But everything had changed by the time I was ready for the thrill of proper, grown-up record ownership some months later and my first album purchase was the Clash debut . I'll never forget my excitement at hearing 'Janie Jones' through the headphones in the record shop just before I handed over my long-saved pocket money. It's retained a special place in my heart ever since. 

* What got you into blogging? 

I was feeling a bit isolated freelancing from home, and also working in children's books it felt like a large portion of my life revolved around cute and gentle fluffiness. Too much. I needed an outlet which was more adult! I wanted to talk about sweaty gigs, first kisses, art school characters, life and death, weird people on trains and spiders, alongside more niche tastes in music, art, etc... so I thought, why not start a blog and see what happens? I could never have anticipated that it would connect me to such warm and interesting people.  

* Do you find writing cathartic? As cathartic as painting? 

Oh this is hard as; until quite recently, I absolutely adored writing and yes, it was cathartic, but I'm finding it really difficult to do at the moment. Painting therefore wins right now, and I'm sorry to have been such a crap blogger of late. Maybe that will change.

* Do you have a favourite record store and or bookshop?

 No - but I have worked in both.  

* Do you sing in the shower? 

I don't, but I often write blog posts in my head there. And then promptly lose the thoughts by the time I'm out. 

* Indian or Chinese? 

Indian. 

* You're known over at Sun Dried Sparrows as being something of an expert walking guide. Do countryside rambles 'do it for you' more than navigating urban landscapes or can you find equal pleasure in both? 

Well thank you. I'm a country girl really; aged 12/13 my friends and I used to go on long walks along bridleways, across fields and through woodland, for hours. We mapped everything out mentally: turn left at this tree, turn right at that gate, etc. I still have frequent dreams where I'm finding my way through rural landscapes with those kind of landmarks, it's embedded. The last time I navigated a completely new urban landscape was during a solo trip to Bristol ten years ago, and I got lost! 

* Pistols or the Clash? 

 The Clash. See Q1. 

* Travelling on buses - top deck or bottom?

Definitely top deck, front. The things you get to see - a rusty old coach in someone's back garden, a pair of shoes stranded on a rooftop, the intimate details of a gargoyle's nostrils. 

* You've just taken delivery of a time machine. Where and when are you going to?

London, 1967, to hang out at the UFO Club and attend the 14 Hour Technicolour Dream event at Alexandra Palace. I'd also like to pop into the early 1920s on the way and have a coffee at La Rotonde in Paris. 

* There's a Triumph Herald blocking access to your house. It's a rather tasty specimen but it's blocking the access all the same. Do you, a: harrumph and go marching over to it and leave a strongly worded note under the windscreen wipers. Or, b: - photograph it, paint it and write a blog about it?

Definitely b. And I'd wait around to meet the owner to enthuse about turning circles and wooden dashboards.

  ★

Thank you, C. Splendid answers! C tells me she's currently getting her kicks via Department S reruns on Rewind TV (a brilliant SMcSF above). And when I told her the esteemed company she was now in, having filed a JM Q&A (previous subjects have included The Swede, David Hepworth, Alan Hudson, Helen Zaltzmann, Mark Ellen and Phil Wilding, to mention but a few), she responded: "An incredible honour, thank you! This is the most I've written in six months, C. x" See you in Bristol, C!