Time, oh give me time

"...I’ve always been positive. I wouldn’t still be here if I wasn’t. I think you’re always who you are, but life distracts you, particularly because of fame – everybody treats you different, therefore you end up with a distorted idea of who you are. Don’t you think that life’s about growing into yourself in a funny kind of way? You’re looking for answers and I think as you get older, you realise there aren’t really answers. You just have to kind of get on with it. Life is kind of like clinging to a rock, isn’t it? We’re all clinging to a rock, and some people have got a better grip than others. Some people look bedraggled, and other people look like Jerry Hall dressed as mermaid on that Roxy Music album cover.”

Oh, lordy! You know you're getting old when...

...you realise that Boy George is 65 years old today!

Time flies...

Culture Club - Time

Hot Since 82 & Jamie Jones feat. Boy George - Body Control

Many happy returns, Boy George (born George Alan O'Dowd, 14th June 1961)

Arise...

l-r: Dame Helen Mirren CH, Cerys Matthews OBE, Dame Julia Donaldson, Anneka Rice MBE

...Sir Kevin Sinfield [rugby league star who fundraised millions for Motor Neurone Disease awareness in honour of his fellow player Rob Burrows who eventually died of the condition], Sir Peter Lord and Sir David Sproxton [founders of Aardman Animations studio, that gave the world Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run], Dame Malorie Blackman [former Children's Laureate] and Dame Julia Donaldson [children's author who created The Gruffalo]. The divine Dame Helen Mirren and photojournalist Sir Don McCullin are made Companions of Honour, of which there are only 65 at any one time.

Among thousands of other names from the worlds of sport, entertainment, fundraising, politics and public service, also honoured are:

• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE): beauty products entrepreneur Charlotte Tilbury;
• Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE): Catatonia singer Cerys Matthews, film director and actor Dexter Fletcher, film score composer Patrick Doyle;
• Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE): broadcaster and TV personality Anneka Rice, DJ Judge Jules, soprano Louise Alder, founder-member of Black Sabbath Tony Iommi, multiple Chelsea Flower Show gold medal-winning garden designer Sarah Eberle, fashion designer of Princess Diana's wedding dress David Emanuel, sport radio presenter Garry Richardson, Emmerdale actress and TV personality Lisa Riley, Judge Dread comic character co-creator John Wagner.

Congratulations, one and all!

HM The King's Birthday Honours 2026

Got me on a passion ride, I'm crazy

Almost there...

As what might well turn out to be a decent warm weekend is looming on the horizon, so we need to get ourselves into the party mood!

How about something completely hilarious, as we venture into the murky world of obscure low-budget 80s Hi-NRG productions, such as this one - from an US "artiste" who was based entirely in Japan (where presumably they didn't mind that she could barely sing and certainly couldn't dance).

Enjoy - and Thank Disco It's Friday!

Cathi Linn - Dancing with the Sunshine

Have a great one, dear reader!

The one with the vagina lasers

Oh, wow..!! Our Glorious Leader Madonna has done it again - after all, why do a three-minute pop video for a single when you can do an entire mini-movie, with clips from several tracks, to tease the arrival of your new album?!

Featuring an all-star cast that includes Sabrina Carpenter, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kate Moss, Gwendoline Christie, Richard E. Grant, Julia Garner, Shygirl, Arca, Odessa A’zion, Archie Madekwe, Debi Mazar, Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon and Chelsea footballers Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro, this trailer for her much anticipated Confessions II is a cinematic work of epic proportions - and I love it!

Madonna - Confessions II - The Film

I can't wait for the album itself to arrive on 3rd July - just in time for Pride in London!

Le Groove

Fashion. Inflatable rooms and furniture?! Human kaleidoscopes?!

Let the wonders commence, and let those marvellous people at Soft Tempo Lounge take us on a trip. And it is a trip...

Soft Tempo Lounge - Le Groove '70

Ah, that's better.

[Music: Les Masques - Mais un jour...]

---

FOOTNOTE - a word from our sponsor:

A.I. CONTENT vs STL PRESENTATIONS

Dear fans and friends, we have crossed the ‘A.I. Rubicon’… not to be too melodramatic.

The flood of A.I. generated videos, images, and music across YouTube and the Internet is at an unprecedented pace. Driven by algorithms that reward relentless content production these creations increasingly dominate search results, recommendations and playlists. The sheer scale of A.I. ‘retro/lounge’ content is overwhelming the authentic music, art and culture, while stripped of historical context, cultural depth and the human experience that gave it meaning.

We are not condemning those who enjoy A.I. generated content. On the contrary, there is room in the world for many forms of creativity, and the more joy people discover, the better. Yet imitation is not the same as heritage.

As original recordings, films, photographs, and artwork become harder to discover, we risk losing touch with that heritage - the musicians, performers, filmmakers, designers and countless other creative individuals whose talent, vision and dedication shaped the era we cherish.

At Soft Tempo Lounge, we remain committed to celebrating authentic recordings, genuine artistry, and the rich cultural history of the music and visual aesthetics we love. Our little corner remains a place where the REAL THING can still be found... where it remains accessible, appreciated, and connected to its true origins.

Thank you for joining us in keeping that legacy alive!

The Soft Tempo Lounge Team.

What’s schadenfreude?

The Spanish tourist board is encouraging Britons to visit this summer for a good chuckle at all those miserable because they cannot be in Dubai.

As thousands of former influencers and the wealth-adjacent are forced to spend summers in a less glamorous location due to an inconvenient war, ordinary people are invited for a cheap holiday to wallow in someone else’s misery.

Holidaymaker Jordan Gardner said: “You can see them congregating in beachfront cafes, bitching about how low the skyscrapers are or that 30 degrees isn’t hot enough.

“My girlfriend and I settled in next to them, luxuriating in their complaints that you can’t get a decent gold leaf coffee anywhere. It’s so relaxing hearing them fall silent as a Mercedes S-Class goes by, swallowing their bitter regret they’re not in it.”

Susan Traherne, owner of Inspector Morse-themed bar One More Pint said: “We get them in here, moaning none of the hotel pools are infinite, disappointed their cocktails don’t cost three figures.

“We put an influencer on stage to bitch that she couldn’t hire a gold-plated Lamborghini anywhere so how could she make content and it was harming her hustle. The regulars were in stitches. Far better than the Chubby Brown tribute we’d booked.”

Former Dubai resident Nikki Hollis said: “How can it be a holiday without a Prada store? Why has this crowd gathered? What’s schadenfreude? Is it a German watch brand? Are they up for a collab?”

The Daily Mash

Of course.

When a person's personality is personable

Among another oddly-matched list of "names" including Joan Rivers, Bonnie Tyler, Robert Preston, Tim Berners-Lee, Robert Schumann, Mick Hucknall, John Everett Millais, Nancy Sinatra, Tomaso Albinoni, Jerry Stiller, Boz Scaggs, Barbara Bush, James Darren, Colin Baker, Frank Lloyd Wright, Scott Adams, Alexis Smith, Francis Crick and - erm - Kanye West...

...it's Millie Martin's birthday today (and thankfully she's still with us, aged 92). Most famous as the regular singer on That Was The Week That Was in the Swinging 60s, she's had a remarkable career, on telly and on stage - not least as a Sondheimite, nominated for a Tony award for her part in the original cast of Side By Side By Sondheim

And, on this Tacky Music Monday, here she is as part of an estimable ensemble of West End luminaries [in Hey, Mr. Producer!, June 1998], singing one of the great man's funniest "patter songs"...

Ruthie Henshall, Maria Friedman, Lea Salonga and Millicent Martin - You Could Drive a Person Crazy

Love it!

Have a good week, dear reader.