Is it down to the Lake I fear

It troubled me not that when I saw Greg Lake perform recently at my local Arts Centre he was joined neither by Keith Emerson or Carl Palmer. However, what did set my teeth on edge was when, instead of playing an acoustic set, he saw fit to perform a karaoke night with backing tapes. I've still not forgiven him.

And, anyway, it's been a long while since he's been able to sing half as well as this little combo.

Mr. Soul

Sam Cooke, along with Charlie Rich, Solomon Burke and Nick Lowe, has a voice so rich, so layered, he could charm the birds out of any old tree he fancied.

And on 11 December 1964 that's precisely what he was doing; with disastrous consequences. Cooke, a born philanderer, couldn't keep it in his trousers. And that night he paid the ultimate price. But less than a year before, aged just 32, he had recorded and released, probably, the finest soul album of all time - Night Beat. Here's a cut from it.

Sam Cooke - Lost and Lookin' (1963)

What it means to be English

Arthur English, stalwart of seventies telly, is probably best remembered as maintenance man and union representative Mr. Harman in Are You Being Served and everything from Follyfoot to In Sickness and in Health, via cameos in shows like  The Sweeney. But it's as a standup comic in the post war years that he gained his comedy chops. In 1949 he was resident comedian at the Windmill Theatre in London's West End. His wartime spiv persona surely the inspiration for Fast Show music hall comedian Arthur 'Where's me washboard' Atkinson.

Every picture tells a story

In 1977, after beating the Auld Enemy at Wembley, the rampaging Scots (The Daily Mail's words, not mine) decided to invade the pitch. Nothing unusual in the seventies, but this was the pitch invasion to end all pitch invasions: they dug the turf up, smashed both crossbars and then took woodwork and sods back with them over the border. And the hapless Police just looked on. I remember John Motson being incensed; he wasn't the only one.

It's nearly forty years later and, after tomorrow's referendum result, we may once again feel slightly different about our tartan neighbours. It looks like they're all set to start dismantling something (we thought was) far more sturdy than a couple of sets of goalposts. For what it's worth honorary Scot, Rod Stewart, who found himself on the pitch that day has pitched his wagon to the Better Together campaign. As long as he doesn't make a song and dance about it.

Brumbeat

Roy Wood and that bloke out of Chas & Dave

Jeff Lynne's about to call his old mate Roy Wood, long distance, from his luxury home high up in the Hollywood Hills. Lynne, never one to bear a grudge, fancies getting The Move back together. Their last single, California Man, released in 1972 was the springboard to what would very soon become the Electric Light Orchestra's trademark sound. But Roy Wood jumped ship while land was still in sight and became everyone's favourite Wizzard. Lynne, meanwhile, morphed into a hybrid of George Martin and Paul McCartney and took ELO global. But that was then and this is now. If only Jeff can get Woody on side then maybe Birmingham's finest can have a second bite at the cherry. And, who knows, they might even crack America this time around. Time to make that phone call.

 

What did you do today?

So far, so Saturday: got up around seven, put the kettle on and made a brew. Checked my email, read a couple of chapters of my book and then took a cup of tea to the lady of the house. Had a quick shower and dressed before going down the town to fetch the paper. Came back, fed the cat, did a couple of crossword clues and then decided to bake some bread.

Oh, then I nipped down to the crossroads and sold my soul to the devil.

With thanks to Phil Friend, one of the best photographers in the business

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle

The Mark 3 lineup of Deep Purple may not have been the most commercially successful of their reincarnations, but it was certainly their funkiest - by a country mile. Mid-seventies albums like Burn, Stormbringer and Come Taste the Band saw the group drop their extended guitar solos and take a more introspective look at themselves. In fact it was why Ritchie Blackmore (surely one of the most miserable guitar players ever to have picked up the instrument) left the band. 'I don't play shoeshine music' he told Sounds back in 1974.

How apposite then that this cheeky little mash up finds the Purps sharing a bed with Daft Punk, the behelmeted French funky house duo. I'm guessing vocalist David Coverdale thinks it's a hoot; Blackmore on the other hand probably tried to slap an injunction on it. And, anyway, I think you'll find he nicked the riff for Burn from George Gershwin's Fascinating Rhythm.