Heavens! Sharing the occasion (as he does) with an assortment of "notables" including David Essex, Martin Gore of Depeche Mode, Gloria DeHaven, Daniel Radcliffe, Jo Brand, Raymond Chandler, Woody Harrelson, Michael Wilding, Haile Selassie, Madeline Bell, Michael Foot, architect Richard Rogers, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Slash of Guns'n'Roses, Graham Gooch, Fran Healy of Travis and - erm - Monica Lewinsky...
[and, speaking of sax] ...it's the 80th birthday today of Mr Andy McKay, the saxophonist and oboist whose sublime talents - and natty dressing - contributed to the huge success of "the coolest band on the planet" Roxy Music.
By way of a little tribute - and also just because... Here is the classic song that he co-wrote for the group [surprisingly, it was going to be an instrumental "filler" track until Mr Ferry wrote the words for it] - in my opinion one of the most magnificent choons in their incredible repertoire:
T'ain't no big thing
To wait for the bell to ring
T'ain't no big thing
The toll of the bell
Aggravated, spare for days
I troll downtown the red light place
Jump up bubble up, what's in store?
Love is the drug and I need to score
Showing out, showing out, hit and run
Boy meets girl where the beat goes on
Stitched up tight, can't shake free
Love is the drug, got a hook on me
Oh oh catch that buzz
Love is the drug I'm thinking of
Oh oh can't you see
Love is the drug for me
Late that night I park my car
Stake my place in the singles bar
Face to face, toe to toe
Heart to heart as we hit the floor
Lumber up, limbo down
The locked embrace, the stumble round
I say go, she say yes
Dim the lights, you can guess the rest
Oh oh catch that buzz
Love is the drug I'm thinking of
Oh oh can't you see
Love is the drug, got a hook in me
Oh oh catch that buzz
Love is the drug I'm thinking of
Oh oh can't you see
Love is the drug for me
Utterly brilliant.
Many happy returns, Mr Andrew "Andy" Mackay (born 23rd July 1946)
