I bet you say that to all the boys

"I've been called over the top. How silly. If you don't go over the top, you can't see what's on the other side."

The maestro Jim Steinman - who, it was announced yesterday, has departed for Fabulon (carrying a smoke machine and and amp cranked up to eleven, no doubt) - was renowned as the purveyor of the most excessive, high-camp rock odysseys this side of Freddie Mercury...

...such as these (for individuals who were not entirely unfamiliar with the concept of campery: Cher, Meatloaf, Bonnie Tyler and Andrew Eldritch)!

Meat Loaf - You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth

[That's Mr Steinman himself, doing the "Wolf with the red roses" schtick]

Meat Loaf vs Cher - Dead Ringer for Love

Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out For a Hero

The Sisters Of Mercy - This Corrosion

Peculiarly restrained for him, he also co-produced the West End show Whistle Down The Wind with Andrew Lloyd-Webber - and this:

Take That - Never Forget

And finally... I don't care how many times I have featured it over the years - this version of Mr Steinman's magnum opus of camp never fails to make me smile!

Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (Literal Video Version)

RIP, James Richard Steinman (1st November 1947 – 19th April 2021)

He's gotta be larger than life

We're off to our friend John-John's today, to finally get to see Avengers:Endgame (apparently just released on streaming services, M'Lud)!

I know it's terribly obvious, but there is really only one thing I can play for the occasion...

Avengers - Bonnie Tyler - Holding out for a Hero

Indeed.

He's gotta be fresh from the fight

Today is the centenary of that most amazingly imaginative graphic artist Jack Kirby, creator of The Fantastic Four, Dr Doom, The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor, Loki, The Uncanny X-Men, Magneto, Iron Man, The Inhumans, Ant-Man and the Wasp, The Avengers, Captain America and the Black Panther, and many many more superheroes of the golden age of Marvel comics [of which I was a huge fan when I was a kid, and, truth be told, still am - although less so the movie versions]...

..it also happens to be the "last knockings" of another Tacky Music Monday [needless to say, on this Bank Holiday, almost entirely spent in the garden from arising this morning(ish), through the beautiful sunshine and sunset, till the cool of the night], and I have just the thing for Mr Kirby's birthday - how about an "oom-pah" band version of Dear Bonnie's most "heroic" masterpiece, for your delectation...?

Matt Mulholland & The Steinbenders - Holding Out For a Hero

Love it!

Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat

I haven't been so excited since OK magazine published those hilarious photos of Liza's ill-fated wedding, or the day I met Fenella Fielding!

Why?

Because none other than the gravel-voiced Gaynor Hopkins from Skewen in Neath - better known to the world as Miss Bonnie Tyler - has been selected to represent the UK in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, that's why!

Just hearing her magnificent 40-fags-a-day vocal chords brings back a whole host of memories, not least the superb world-beating choreographed "Big Dance" at the Pride festival in Trafalgar Square back in 2010...

Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out For a Hero

We wuz there... and we did this!

And here is the lady herself, in the "literal interpretation" video of another of her classic belters, from 30 years ago this week, Total Eclipse of the Heart. This never fails to make me laugh:

Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (Literal Video Version)

We're starting our chant from this moment on: "Bonnie! Bonnie! Bonnie! Oy! Oy! Oy!"

I need a lie down...

Bonnie Tyler official website

We were there!

A thoroughly exhilarating experience (I still have the dance moves embedded in my inner being)...

Pride 2010 Big Dance - Holding Out For A Hero

Holding Out For A Hero?

Speaking of choreography (see my previous blog), here's a taste of one of the things to expect at the Pride gathering in Trafalgar Square.

According to their website: "At Pride London 2010 the whole Main Stage and the crowd in Trafalgar Square will be dancing along to Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero".

"Watch this video to see David Hoyle, porn star Ashley Ryder, GLF's Alan Wakeman, Holestar and many others show you how it's done, get practising and see you for the Big Dance in Trafalgar Square on July 3rd!"

It all kicks off during the 5pm to 7pm slot, apparently...

Pride Big Dance 2010 - Holding Out for a Hero

Pride main stage line-up