Loco

It went down to 4C last night, and it is noticeably darker when the alarm goes off. Oh, yuk. Back to work.

Never mind, eh? Let's dream of sunnier climes - and enormous shoulder pads! And gay boys waving fans....

To cheer us up a little on this Tacky Music Monday, laydeez'n'gentlemen - Loco Mia!

Loco Mia - Loco Mia

Ah, that's better.

Have a good week, darlings.

If you give it a chance, it can make you dance

The fuchsias, dahlia, ipomoea and salvias are in their element in autumn, despite the weather.

It's been a bit of a bleak and stormy weekend here at Dolores Delargo Towers, and the sun has only just peeped out under the gloom (in time to set again)...

To top it all, today is the Autumnal Equinox, and the balance between day and night tips over from here on in. Darkness is looming.

Regardless, ever the forward-planning gardener, I've been busy ripping out tattered and distinctly "spent" annuals from their pots and potting-up violas and bulbs for Spring in their place.

And, to add to the uplifting mood... some new videos by treasured artists.

First up, the Grattan catalogue-inspired vid for Cher's almighty Abba tribute:

Cher – SOS

The ever-wonderful Miss Murphy gets down and dirty at the discotheque:

Róisín Murphy – Plaything

And finally, the lovely Rick's latest is a regular fixture on the playlist at Radio 2. And also, in my head...

Rick Astley – Beautiful Life

Enjoy!

I got my beer in the sideboard here

Could there ever have been a more quintessentially London band than Chas'n'Dave?

With the sad news today that Chas Hodges, the piano-playing half of the eternally-loved "Cockney" duo [they were both actually North Londoners, born and bred not far from Dolores Delargo Towers; in Edmonton and Enfield respectively], has died, it's the end of an era for good old-fashioned sing-a-long songs, methinks.

By way of a tribute, here's a double-bill of their fabled "knees-up" numbers...

Chas and Dave – Sideboard Song

Chas and Dave – Gertcha

RIP, Chas [Charles Nicholas Hodges (28th December 1943 – 22nd September 2018)], me old mucker!

Fly me to the moon

Celebrations are underway for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, or "Festival of the Moon" this weekend (it falls on Monday this year); a time when lanterns are paraded, quantities of cassia wine are drunk, and many mooncakes are consumed.

I don't have a lantern nor a dragon close to hand, but as it is a weekend in sight [and it is still the Year of the Bitch], we're in a party mood regardless. Here's an appropriately-themed and boppy number to mark the occasion - and Thank Disco the Moon It's Friday!

Savage Garden - To The Moon And Back (Remix 2017)

Yuàn míng yuè cháng yǔ nǐ xiāng bàn zhào liàng nǐ dě jiàn kāng xìng fú hē fān róng zhī lù! [愿 明 月 常 与 你 相 伴， 照 亮 你 的 健 康、 幸 福 和 繁 荣 之 路], dear reader - which translates as "May the glow of the moon surround you and light your way to health, happiness and prosperity!"

Have a good one, whatever...

Fashion icon of the day

"The mood for the next edition: Sex, bitch, aristo, sex, punk, whore, bitch, prossie, lessie, punk, tart, slut. Oh but Alex… with lovely shoes." - Patsy Stone

London Fashion Week might officially be over, but, never fear! The shopping continues...

Mass-debating

Making an unbelievably stupid statement just to be annoying is ‘starting a much-needed debate’, idiots have asserted.

People claiming anything from ‘feminism is cancer’ to ‘hot dogs are a sandwich’ have described the resulting, inevitable argument as an important discussion that it was necessary to have.

Twat Nathan Muir said: “I think women should not be allowed to drive large cars because of their weak arms and small eyes which give them a limited field of vision. Also, why not bring back child chimney sweeps?

“The storm of hatred following these remarks proves that as a society we badly needed to have these debates and I’m a thought leader for beginning it.”

Helen Archer agreed: “Should we make all laws ‘opt-in’? According to thousands of people on my Twitter feed no, but those voices wouldn’t have been heard if I hadn’t set the ball rolling.

“I wonder what we should debate next. I have lots of shit-thick ideas.”

The Daily Mash

Of course.

Here's an appropriate number:

Talk Talk – Talk Talk (Top of the Pops, 1982)

All you wanna do is talk, talk.

Indeed.

The magic of the Moog

I've been listening to writer and broadcaster Andrew Collins' rather faboo four-part series on electronic music The Great Bleep Forward on BBC Radio 6 Music.

It's a fab retrospective of a genre of music I particularly love - and features everything from the Teleharmonium to Wendy/Walter Carlos to Tangerine Dream to Robert Moog to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to Brian Eno to Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, the Human League, OMD, Depeche Mode, Trevor Horn, House music and beyond.

And, just because... Here's a mix of oddities I have chosen, for your delectation, from that great "bleeping" world of artificial soundscapes:

Gary Numan - Complex

Gary Clail - Human Nature

John Foxx - Underpass

Mixhell & Joe Goddard feat. Mutado Pintado - Strong & Wrong

Glam with Pete Burns - Sex Drive (Parralox Bootleg Remix)

Simple Minds - I Travel

Visage/Hurts/Space/Pet Shop Boys - Fade To Love (Robin Skouteris Mix)

Bleep!