It may only have been a short week, but it has been a complete pain in the arse! I have been counting down the hours for it to end...
Now we are almost here. Our "gang" is gathering after work to go (again in my case) to the V&A's magnificently camp DIVA exhibition before it closes next week, so there is cause for celebration already!
Speaking of Divas - here's one who is (obviously) featured in the exhibition:
Thank Disco Divas It's Friday!
Have a great weekend, dear reader!
Today is the feast day of Diwali - the Hindu "Festival of Light". True to form, we here at Dolores Delargo Towers are regularly "entertained" at this time of year by explosive fireworks night after night (some of which might be to do with this celebration, some might be early revelry to mark Bonfire Night this Friday; or indeed they might be for other many-and-varied celebrations in our multicultural neighbourhood from now until well into the New Year).
Regardless, raise a glass of Sharbat cocktail to those (often surprising) artists of Indian origin who have contributed to the world of popular music - including these...
...and then there's this [which was sampled in one of our favourite mashups ever]!
Diwali ki Shubhkamnayei!
[* "Mundian To Bach Ke" = "Beware of the Boys" in Hindi]
P.S.
Scarily, it is the sixtieth birthday today of Ralph Macchio, aka The Karate Kid!
click to embiggen
Gawd! I had such a crush on him in the 1980s - and it is somewhat surprising to discover that he is in fact two years older than me...
On this date 45 years ago, one of the most influential rock music singles of all time first hit the #1 slot in our charts (where it would stay for nine whole weeks; and returned again to the top after Freddie's death in '91 for a further five weeks). We all know it practically off by heart - so get yer operatic tonsils ready!
From The Official Charts Company's website:
60 years ago this month saw the birth of the Official Albums Chart – the UK’s official weekly snapshot of popularity dedicated to one of the most influential art forms of our time.And here, in celebration of that 60-year milestone, are the 60 best-selling albums of all time in the UK:
The first ever chart, which was published in Record Mirror on 22 July 1956, saw Frank Sinatra’s Songs For Swingin’ Lovers landing in the coveted Number 1 slot. Now, over half a century of vinyl, cassette, CD and download-purchasing later, nearly 1,100 albums have hit the top spot in the UK.
| TITLE | ARTIST | YEAR | HIGH POSN | |
| 1 | GREATEST HITS | QUEEN | 1981 | 1 |
| 2 | GOLD - GREATEST HITS | ABBA | 1992 | 1 |
| 3 | SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND | BEATLES | 1967 | 1 |
| 4 | 21 | ADELE | 2011 | 1 |
| 5 | WHAT'S THE STORY MORNING GLORY | OASIS | 1995 | 1 |
| 6 | THRILLER | MICHAEL JACKSON | 1982 | 1 |
| 7 | THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON | PINK FLOYD | 1973 | 2 |
| 8 | BROTHERS IN ARMS | DIRE STRAITS | 1985 | 1 |
| 9 | BAD | MICHAEL JACKSON | 1987 | 1 |
| 10 | GREATEST HITS II | QUEEN | 1991 | 1 |
| 11 | RUMOURS | FLEETWOOD MAC | 1977 | 1 |
| 12 | THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION | MADONNA | 1990 | 1 |
| 13 | BACK TO BLACK | AMY WINEHOUSE | 2006 | 1 |
| 14 | STARS | SIMPLY RED | 1991 | 1 |
| 15 | COME ON OVER | SHANIA TWAIN | 1997 | 1 |
| 16 | LEGEND | BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS | 1984 | 1 |
| 17 | BACK TO BEDLAM | JAMES BLUNT | 2004 | 1 |
| 18 | URBAN HYMNS | VERVE | 1997 | 1 |
| 19 | BAT OUT OF HELL | MEAT LOAF | 1977 | 9 |
| 20 | 1 | BEATLES | 2000 | 1 |
| 21 | BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER | SIMON & GARFUNKEL | 1970 | 1 |
| 22 | DIRTY DANCING | ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK | 1987 | 4 |
| 23 | SPIRIT | LEONA LEWIS | 2007 | 1 |
| 24 | CRAZY LOVE | MICHAEL BUBLE | 2009 | 1 |
| 25 | NO ANGEL | DIDO | 2000 | 1 |
| 26 | WHITE LADDER | DAVID GRAY | 1998 | 1 |
| 27 | 25 | ADELE | 2015 | 1 |
| 28 | TALK ON CORNERS | CORRS | 1997 | 1 |
| 29 | SPICE | SPICE GIRLS | 1996 | 1 |
| 30 | THE FAME | LADY GAGA | 2008 | 1 |
| 31 | A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD | COLDPLAY | 2002 | 1 |
| 32 | LIFE FOR RENT | DIDO | 2003 | 1 |
| 33 | ONLY BY THE NIGHT | KINGS OF LEON | 2008 | 1 |
| 34 | BEAUTIFUL WORLD | TAKE THAT | 2006 | 1 |
| 35 | HOPES AND FEARS | KEANE | 2004 | 1 |
| 36 | THE JOSHUA TREE | U2 | 1987 | 1 |
| 37 | THE WAR OF THE WORLDS | JEFF WAYNE | 1978 | 5 |
| 38 | SCISSOR SISTERS | SCISSOR SISTERS | 2004 | 1 |
| 39 | BUT SERIOUSLY | PHIL COLLINS | 1989 | 1 |
| 40 | X&Y | COLDPLAY | 2005 | 1 |
| 41 | JAGGED LITTLE PILL | ALANIS MORISSETTE | 1995 | 1 |
| 42 | TUBULAR BELLS | MIKE OLDFIELD | 1973 | 1 |
| 43 | THE MAN WHO | TRAVIS | 1999 | 1 |
| 44 | TRACY CHAPMAN | TRACY CHAPMAN | 1988 | 1 |
| 45 | PARACHUTES | COLDPLAY | 2000 | 1 |
| 46 | GREATEST HITS | ABBA | 1975 | 1 |
| 47 | GREASE | ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK | 1977 | 1 |
| 48 | I'VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU | ROBBIE WILLIAMS | 1998 | 1 |
| 49 | X | ED SHEERAN | 2014 | 1 |
| 50 | COME AWAY WITH ME | NORAH JONES | 2002 | 1 |
| 51 | GRACELAND | PAUL SIMON | 1986 | 1 |
| 52 | THE SOUND OF MUSIC | ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING | 1965 | 1 |
| 53 | LADIES & GENTLEMEN - THE BEST OF | GEORGE MICHAEL | 1998 | 1 |
| 54 | TANGO IN THE NIGHT | FLEETWOOD MAC | 1987 | 1 |
| 55 | THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP | EMINEM | 2000 | 1 |
| 56 | SWING WHEN YOU'RE WINNING | ROBBIE WILLIAMS | 2001 | 1 |
| 57 | PROGRESS | TAKE THAT | 2010 | 1 |
| 58 | EYES OPEN | SNOW PATROL | 2006 | 1 |
| 59 | NEVER FORGET - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION | TAKE THAT | 2005 | 2 |
| 60 | AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE | REM | 1992 | 1 |
"The most popular album? Well, I always thought the band showed promise, but this is beyond our boyhood dreams! Thanks folks!" - Brian May
To celebrate this momentous achievement, here is Brian (and Freddie and Roger and John)'s band Queen, and their most momentous achievement [quite possibly one of the most momentous achievements in popular music ever] - Bohemian Rhapsody...
