Bad to the Bone

When I mentioned Live Aid in my last post it got me thinking about that day in 1985. I can remember watching hours of different bands on our TV with a fuzzy reception. The one performance that stood out in my mind for years was that of George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Now at that time I’d never heard of these guys. I knew about Queen, David Bowie,  Bob Dylan, Paul Mc Cartney and Neil Young because my dad used to listen to them. But for whatever reason I can vividly remember being  glued to the TV sitting on the floor about 2 foot from the screen watching George running around the stage. I don’t know why, because I hadn’t started playing the guitar yet, but his white Gibson ES135 guitar really caught my attention. So a few years ago George Thorogood was playing a show in Dublin’s Olympia theatre and the The Irish Times were running a competition for free tickets so I entered not expecting anything. A couple of days later a pair of complimentary tickets for the show arrived. Just 21 years after seeing him on Live Aid I got to witness his energetic live show on stage and yes he played ‘bad to the bone’. I don’t know if he was solely responsible for me learning the guitar but he definitely made an impression on my 14 year old mind.

Eat the Rich

Wouldn’t it be amazing if it was possible to make the world a better place through music, possibly not quite  the utopian future envisioned in ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ but maybe in a more real tangible way. Bob Geldof was somewhere on the right track when he launched Live Aid. Music and musicians uniting with their audience to help their fellow human beings who were suffering. (Although if you’re interested in charity I recommend reading ‘Lords of Poverty’ by Graham Hancock, a little bit out of date but sheds some light on the inadequacies of International Aid agencies). While pondering these heavy thoughts for some reason the old Motörhead song ‘Eat the Rich’ came to mind. I decided to re watch the movie of the same name. Now while politics isn’t my remit here, I think most ordinary people will agree that certain wealthy people have a lot to answer for concerning the state of our economy at the moment. Some might go so far as to say it’s criminal what has been allowed to happen and for these crimes to go unpunished (I’m thinking specifically of Ireland here.) With that in mind and if you agree with my assessment take a look at ‘Eat the Rich,’ the movie, it’s available on YouTube. It might not offer a practical solution to our problems but it made me laugh…again. So while Lemmy might not change the world with his songs I’m going to be singing along anyway. ‘C’mon baby, eat the rich.’

The Lamp and the Lullaby

Click here for review of ‘The lamp and the lullaby‘ by Bill Long

The End Of Silence

While living in London circa 1992 I went to see a Henry Rollins spoken word gig at the Astoria. It being such a long time ago some of the details are a bit sketchy, but some things are crystal clear in my mind still. For some reason I’d been separated from my friends and I was standing up on the balcony on my own looking down on the stage. The support act was on reciting poetry when the microphone died. I can’t remember the guys name but he just stood up and continued on belting out his lines at the top of his voice to the auditorium. Total silence descended on the audience, no talking, no coughing , no heckling just absolute respect for this artist who had to deal with a difficult situation. And he dealt with it superbly. During all of this a man stood beside me and said “Sound engineers man! I’m having to sort all this out myself.” I politely nodded my agreement and made some inane comment before I realised it was the tattooed Henry Rollins that was talking to me. I think I then said something to him about the support act’s performance and then he was gone. He did sort out the sound thankfully and went on to do an excellent gig.

The Pleasures of the Damned

Read my review of Charles Bukowski collected poems here

Aunt Julia and The Scriptwriter

read my review of this Mario Vargas Llosa novel here

The Irish Rover

The first time I met Shane MacGowan was in the Falcon in Camden, London. I was friendly with the members of Rollerskate Skinny whom I’d met a few years previous and they  were playing that night in the Camden Falcon..  (I’d worked with the drummer from their first band The Hippyshakes). I was probably feeling a bit homesick so it felt incredible  to be standing drinking in a pub in London with a load of Irish guys I knew from home.  I was propping up the bar, which was jammed, with Steve and/or Ger from the band and was introduced to Shane McGowan’s sister. We were all chatting away when someone burst through the crowd and pushed in beside me at the bar. None other than Mr. MacGowan himself. The barman seemed none to pleased about his appearance at the bar and had to be cajoled into serving him. To say I met Shane MacGowan