It's my last day of freedom, dear reader - and true to form, I didn't surface till after 1pm. It's blustery as hell out there, so although there have been moments of bright sunshine to enjoy, mostly it's been threatening to piss down, so no pottering in the garden unfortunately.
Instead, let's welcome in some much-needed "Sunday music", shall we, courtesy once more of our "house band" here at Dolores Delargo Towers...
Love it!
Love Postmodern Jukebox!
On a grey, mizzly and wet day - it's another snippets post, dear reader:
They just don't write lyrics like that anymore...
The end of another week is in sight, dear reader. Of course, that means little to me as I am still on leave, with happy memories of Amsterdam still in my head...
However, with another gathering of the clans tonight by way of a send-off to Our Sal [who will be leaving London for her native Newcastle in a couple of weeks, but this is the last opportunity Hils and Crog, and John-John too, will have to say their farewells as they are all on - separate - hols in September] tonight, the weekend does indeed start with a party!
Who better to provide the entertainment than an - ahem - exceptionally talented Dutch girl-group [with a load of help here from Stock Aitken and Waterman]? Grab your best wipe-down shiny leatherette, back-comb your hair until the static could power a small city...
...and Thank Disco the Dolly Dots It's Friday!
Have a great one, dear reader!
You know you're getting older when you discover...
...that the Canadian multi-million-selling, multi-award-winning, Glastonbury "Legend", superstar Shania Twain is 60 years old today!
By way of a tribute, let's remember her two most famous hits, shall we?
Many happy returns, Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain (born 28th August 1965)!
Still coming down to earth from our fab trip to Amsterdam, and today the weather has been "up and down like a whore's drawers" again, so although I managed to do a bit of pottering in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers, it now looks like a real storm is coming in, so that's that.
Time for a little selection of "newer" music that has caught my ear, methinks...
Let's open with something from an old fave group [who have sadly announced that they are calling it quits after 35 years together] - with a rather (ahem) appealing video:
Speaking of "old faves", here's a man who knows what he wants!
Another video that rather caught my eye... [Song's not bad, either.]
Now for something completely different - it's one of our [recently featured] Dutch Patron Saints, with a completely new face!
Another jolly one we "collected" on holiday in Amsterdam - with what else but a video dedicated to pizza(?):
From the ridiculous... to the utterly bonkers! I love this [somewhat reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper, which is no bad thing in my book]:
And, saving the best to last - this!
As ever, let me know your thoughts, dear reader...
[* Niet elke dag is er zonneschijn = "Not every day there is sunshine"; part of the lyrics to "Tutto Bene" above]
We're back...
Baby Steve, Houseboy Alex, Madam Arcati and I had a fantabulosa five-day break in our beloved Amsterdam!
We always enjoy wandering the grachten, exploring the gay watering-holes on offer - including the entertaining The Queen's Head, the [newly-reopened in a new location] eternally jolly Café Montmartre, the generally sleazy Spijker Bar, and the Sunday sing-a-long at the longest-serving gay bar in the world Café 't Mandje...
...as well as non-gay ones such as [our most regular of all, given its location across from our Hotel Anco and the fact it's a perfect people-watching spot by the canal] Trinity Bar, [the former gay bar called De Engel van Amsterdam] Our Corner, another bar with a beautiful canal-side view De Haven van Texel, and the historic bruine kroegen ("brown cafés") Café Pieper, Café Hoppe and Café 't Papeneiland.
Hedonists, us..?
Of course!
We were there [as previously mentioned] a little later than we would normally be for my birthday, of course, for one of the biggest events of the Amsterdam 750 celebrations, Sail Amsterdam - with 10,000 ships and boats from over 20 countries, including some utterly breath-taking tall ships in full sail, it was quite spectacular.
Seamen everywhere!
Speaking of which - we were very pleased to be there for the Crew Parade:
We didn't only drink and people-watch, of course - although that was what we spent the majority of time doing - we did eat, mainly at the Amsterdam institution FEBO [as everyone there does!], we made our usual pilgrimage to the legendary Eetsalon Van Dobben, and we had plenty of other typical Dutch food along the way, including the best Dutch apple pie ever at the aforementioned Café 't Papeneiland. Hardly a vegetable in sight. As always.
It was a wonderful break, indeed.
What did we miss while we were away? Not a lot, to be honest. Gaza, Ukraine, Trump. The usual. Oh, and:
...and we missed the centenary of the simply divine Miss Honor Blackman, as well as the 95th anniversaries of the births of both Princess Margaret and Sean Connery.
But... did I bring anything back for your delectation, dear reader?
Of course:
Is it good to be back?
NO!!!
By the time you see this, dear reader, we will quite possibly have landed in the capital of gaydom, Amsterdam!
There is only one song I need to play, really...
It's a tradition.
"Normal" service will be resumed next Tuesday.
The inclusion of ‘skibidi’ and ‘tradwife’ in the Cambridge Dictionary means it has been forced to remove ‘self-respect’ from its pages.
Having once again sullied the hallowed pages of its dictionary by including vapid slang popularised by social media cretins, Cambridge University Press has omitted definitions of honour and dignity from its latest edition.
Lexicographer Julian Cook said: “We had room. We could easily have squeezed ‘self-respect’ in on page 948. But sadly, the word has lost all meaning to us.
“We studied its definition for hours but we couldn’t make sense of it. Apparently it’s all about having an internal sense of worth that isn’t dependent on external validation. That won’t trend on TikTok, fam!
“Instead we’ve crammed in words like ‘delulu’ and ‘broligarchy’ that have at least another three months of common usage. If that comes at the cost of this so-called intrinsic value, it’s a price worth paying.
“Language is constantly evolving and it’s our job to reflect that. I can already see us cutting words like ‘reliable’, ‘learning’ and ‘resource’ from next year’s dictionary.”
17-year-old James Bates said: “Nothing kills off slang quicker than academic endorsement. We’re going to have to make up new bollocks now.”
Of course.
And, so, the countdown to our trip to Amsterdam starts in earnest - only two days to go, and we'll be off!
No such countdown would be complete, of course, without an appearance by that triumph of art over nature Gerard Joling, stalwart of the most Dutch of "cultural instititions" De Toppers - and here, on this Tacky Music Monday, is a classic sing-along [well, it is if you speak Dutch] number that we've always loved. We've spent much time in Dutch bars that are just like this...
Oh, I can't wait!
After a stressful last week at work, and the glittering spectacle of the Cartier exhibition at the V&A - read my post about that over at Dolores Delargo Towers Museum of Camp - followed by a fab evening at our fave Wetherspoons the Penderel's Oak yesterday, it has (understandably) been a bit of a lazy day today, despite the lovely sunshine.
However, I have stumbled across a bit of a treat that I needed to share, dear reader!
Our beloved and much-missed Victoria Wood was renowned for her "observational" style of comedy. Her sketches and characters were often based upon, or inspired by, real-life people, conversations, and scenarios she had experienced - and this unintentionally hilarious video clip is a perfect example of something that deeply influenced her.
She loved it so much, she apparently used to watch it every Xmas!
I utterly adore it, too!
A smattering of our little gang (Me, Madam Arcati, Hils and Our Sal) entered the hallowed halls of the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) this afternoon, for a magnificent wallow in the glittering world of Cartier - and we emerged with diamond sparkles in our eyes! [more on that later, inevitably]...
...and we know a song about that, don't we, dear reader?
Diamonds are forever
Sparkling 'round my little finger
Unlike men, the diamonds linger
Men are mere mortals who
Are not worth going to your grave for!
Amen.
...because at 4pm today, I will officially be on holiday - and won't be returning to the benighted office until September. Yay!
A bit late this year for our annual pilgrimage to our beloved Amsterdam (my birthday having passed last weekend, when we are usually there) - but there's a very good reason.
We fly out next Wednesday, for several event-filled days of fun and merriment as the 'Dam celebrates its 750th birthday - with the Grachtenfestival, the Tall Ships, a viewing platform on the roof of the Nieuwe Kerk, food festivals and much more besides!
To kick off the party mood, how about one of the cheesiest of cheesy Dutch Eurodance acts? As Mr DeVice commented last time I posted this, "Where on earth was that video shot - outside Fawlty Towers??"
Thank Disco Eurodance It's Friday!
Have a great weeekend, folks!
It's another snippets post, dear reader:
And the weather? A lovely summer's day - a bit of a relief after the latest "mini-heatwave".
The effect of AI on jobs is expected to be bad. But having said that, there are some professions we’d be happy to see gone forever. Such as these…Management consultants
You’ve got admire the sheer brass neck of 22-year-old Anthropology graduates telling 50-somethings how they should be running businesses older than they are. But firms are already laying off consultants, probably because AI can tell you to sell more and cut costs. It’s well within AI’s abilities to handle strategy memos and financial analyses, and any client would rather deal with dull ChatGPT text than the smug face of a recent Oxbridge grad called Xander.Radio DJs
A computer can surely generate inane anecdotes between songs and a less annoying voice than most DJs. Only an overtly evil AI like Skynet or the Allied Mastercomputer in I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream would come up with something as nefarious as Chris Evans or Chris Moyles. So that’s DJs out of a job. Never mind, they can be repurposed as cannon fodder for the army. TV presenters will be allowed to remain, though, as some of them have tits and that cheers everyone up when there’s bad news.Linguists
Revenge for being humiliated in year 9 German or French, plain and simple. Translators, interpreters and language tutors are some of the most at-risk jobs, with all of us now able to speak any language at the touch of a button. Not to mention the universal language of mockery as we laugh at those who were silly enough to master the past indicative. Okay, there’ll be no human filter if the AI is malfunctioning and you’re saying things like ‘Testicle sandwich bath yum yum koala’ but it’s the future and the tech bros are never wrong.Poets
Many people hate poets, with all their emotions and dandelions and shit, and the tedium of doing the girly romantic ones at school. Even worse are people who think writing down their inane thoughts with no rhymes or structure is brilliant ‘free verse’. AI is going to have no problem replicating most of this stuff. If anything it’ll be a boom time for poetry. Poetry lovers – both of them – can probably get ChatGPT to knock up a million poems in the next five seconds.Restaurant hosts
No longer will checking into a fancy restaurant involve being looked up and down by a 23-year-old in size 6 jeans who’s clearly never eaten any of the food being served in her pricey establishment. AI can let you check yourself into the restaurant, tell you what table to go to in advance and probably choose your meal for you. Although AI has no idea what food is and glitches badly sometimes, so you may find yourself asking if the chef can prepare a sheet of A4 paper on a bed of moss.
Of course.
Lordy. The creepiest man in pop, Ron Mael of Sparks is 80 years old today!
A band that was always miles ahead of the rest (with the exception of Bowie or Roxy Music) in innovation - even way back in 1974, the Mael brothers' music was already beginning to sound like some of the stuff we came to love in the post-Punk era, as in these two classics...
...and in 1979 their collaboration with the maestro Giorgio Moroder produced another two massive hits [in the UK anyhow - they never had major success in their native USA] that carried all the synthesised "hooks" and effects that more than matched the likes of Depeche Mode, Soft Cell and OMD in the inspirational synth-pop era to come in the early 80s...
Ron Mael's lyrics for the latter seem particularly pithy on today of all days:
This is the number one song in heaven
Why are you hearing it now, you ask?
Maybe you're closer to here than you imagine
Maybe you're closer to here than you care to be
It's number one, all over heaven
It's number one, all over heaven
It's number one, all over heaven
The number one song all over heaven
All hail.
Not one, but two more significant bits of my childhood are gone...
The estimable Biddy Baxter - the "Miranda Priestly" of BBC children's telly, by all accounts - who was the genius behind the longest-running children's TV show in the world, Blue Peter has departed, Hamble, Humpty, Jemima, Little Ted and Big Ted in tow, for Fabulon. Miss Baxter took over the ailing show way back in 1965 and revived its fortunes by introducing such cultural icons as the Blue Peter Badge and the Xmas charity collection (of things that kids could easily source, such as foil milk-bottle-tops, postage stamps, scrap metal/cans and so on), men as well as women doing cookery demonstrations, "how to make" crafts, gifts and toys (inevitably using the famous "sticky-backed plastic") and, famously, the show's pets.
Most of the presenters were allegedly terrified of her, and one of the most beloved of them John Noakes publicly stated that he couldn't stand her. Auntie Beeb, in her wisdom, "let her go" after twenty-three years at the helm - but her legacy lives on, as the show is still running today... [Read my post on the show's 60th anniversary.]
And, on the weekend, we lost the charming character actor Ray Brooks who, out of his long and impressive career that spanned from the gritty and shocking TV drama Cathy Come Home, through bit-parts in just about every serial on our screens in the 60s and 70s (The Avengers, Randall & Hopkirk Deceased, Z-Cars, Coronation Street and so on), a starring role in the comedy-drama Big Deal in the 80s and a late-career part in Eastenders, is most famous for one iconic role...
...he was the voice of beloved children's TV icon Mr Benn!
RIP, both. And my childhood.
Meanwhile...
...here's a little something for this Tacky Music Monday from a man who (thankfully) is very much still with us - and celebrates his 75th birthday tomorrow - Mr August Darnell, the genius behind Machine, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and this lot:
Oh, I love that song!
Have a good week, dear reader.
Born on this day (among many others): Henri Nestlé [who marketed the world's first milk chocolate], composer Alexander Glazunov, Miss Norma Shearer [“What do you expect? She sleeps with the boss.” - Joan Crawford], the "Queen of Technicolor" Rhonda Fleming, soul diva Patti Austin, [the former Mr Debbie Reynolds then Mr Elizabeth Taylor] Eddie Fisher, first female Lord Justice of Appeal [and auntie of Nigel Havers] Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, the "Tin Man" in The Wizard of Oz Jack Haley, the fantabulosa and much-missed Miss Kate O'Mara, the equally fab Miss Ronnie Spector, TV garden makeover queen Charlie Dimmock, sex god Antonio Banderas...
...and ME!!
By way of a celebration, here's something from one of my birthday compatriots:
As for getting older, I'm with Sophia:
Scenes from our Grand Annual Picnic in Regent's Park today...
...well... almost...
I'm back, from outta space... [Well, Portsmouth, actually - on "family duties" with Mother.]
With my birthday looming this Sunday (and it was my sister's last weekend), tomorrow is a "gathering of the clans" in Regent's Park - for the Grand Annual Picnic! And for once, the weather looks utterly perfect.
With all that in mind - despite my weary bones after the past couple of days and all that travel - it's time to party!
Can it really be thirty years this month since this absolute classic choon was firing up our dancefloors? How time flies. Thank Disco Ibiza House It's Friday!
I smell dry ice...
Have a good weekend, dear reader!
Heavens... Although it is always poignant to discover that yet another glittering chanteuse has shimmied off to Fabulon, we should pay due homage to the fact she outlived just about every one of her contemporaries - RIP Jane Morgan, aged 101!
Facts:
Without further ado, let's feature some of the lady's finest moments, starting with this one - where she takes histrionics to a higher level in a marvellous "whore medley":
And coincidentally, after having made a big thing about the wonderful world of Scopitones in my Tacky Music Monday post yesterday - it was, inevitably, a world to which Jane was strangely drawn...
Our loss, Fabulon's gain...
Monday again. Dammit!
Never mind, eh? Here's something/someone to take our minds off it...
Described as "the first of the blue-eyed soul singers", today would have been the 85th birthday of one Timi Yuro, the vocal belter who had a string of hits Stateside before (like so many others) her star began to wane in the wake of the Beatles invasion.
With a series of overwrought hits with over-emotional titles such as Hurt!, Permanently Lonely, What's a Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You) and The Love of a Boy, Miss Yuro was (understandably) given an obituary on her premature death in 2004 by none other than that other "blue-eyed soul" aficionado of angst Morrissey - who described her as his favourite singer!
On this Tacky Music Monday, however, I have found a rather camp interpretation of one of her tearful numbers for your delectation...
Gawd, I adore Scopitones!
Have a good week, dear reader.
Today's been a grey, mizzly, humid one - but because it's warm, the pots in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers still needed watering, so I whopped me hose out...
Meanwhile, how about a little "musical interlude" to enhance the mood this Sunday, courtesy of the geniuses at Soft Tempo Lounge? That'll do nicely:
Yeah, baby! Yeah!
[Music: Ramon Bouchè - Jet Generation. Original film: Orgasmo (1969)]
PS:
Birthday celebrants today include Terry Wogan, Sir Joseph Paxton, Dolores del Río, Jean Hagen, Rupert Brooke, Sir Stanley Baldwin, Tony Bennett, Steven Berkoff, Tasmin Archer, P. D. James, Martin Sheen, Jack Straw, Ossie Ardiles, Martha Stewart, Skin from Skunk Anansie and [the aforementioned] Gina G...
...and my dear sister - happy birthday, Hils!!
After the excitement and spectacle of seeing Fantastic Four: First Steps in Leicester Square last night - an utterly brilliant movie, I cannot recommend it enough! - today's been a little more down-to-earth. The weather was warm, and the rain held off, so I took the opportunity to tackle a job that was well overdue [flowering finished back in June!] - cutting-back and training our splendid Rosa Veilchenblau (a rambler, albeit a usually well-behaved one, it was making "a bit of a break for it" with branches heading into next door's garden), and doing a bit of dead-heading and general tidying-up of other plants that have gone over.
Time, methinks, for another little selection of some of the "newer" choons that have caught my ear of late...
As is my wont, of course, first up is a song that isn't new at all - but since I heard it for the first time on the radio a few weeks ago, became a bit of an earworm:
Not one, but two legends on one record? Yes, please!
Filmed on the viewing platform on the 87th floor of London's massive Shard tower, here's a contender for "dance choon of the summer":
Speaking of "anthemic", this is a fantabulosa slice of tongue-in-cheek brilliance - I love it!
Here's an "independent girl" after our own heart - she knows how to keep her "safety gays" in order!
I always love something a bit retro-sounding:
Changing the mood ever so slightly - here's an utterly irresistible number:
And, saving the best for last - the 'Babes!
As ever, dear reader, let me know your thoughts...
Oh, blessed relief - the weekend's almost in sight. Thank fuck for that! I've had quite enough of this week. However, John-John and I are off to see the much-anticipated Fantastic Four: First Steps at the cinema in Leicester Square this evening, so there's something rather exciting to look forward to!
Meanwhile - you know you're getting older when...
...you discover that none other than our beloved Gina G celebrates her 55th birthday this weekend! Gulp.
I need no excuse to play this old fave yet again - and Thank Disco Gina It's Friday!
You cannot help but smile whenever you hear that one - have a fab weekend, dear reader!
