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This is a newsletter, so let’s start with the big news of the week: The Baby. It’s great of lovely Kate and that nice fella she married to name it after Minneapolis’ little purple funk legend. That’s very modern and rock’n’roll. Also on our rolling 24-hour news feed, Beyoncé got her hair caught in a fan. What was she doing so close to him? Which part of the fan did her hair get stuck in? Does Jay-Zeeeee know about this? We should be told. But no blame is attached to Beyoncé – it’s a fan that’s attached to her. Anyway, disasters like this happen in showbiz. When RC was sponsoring the “That’s never VG-, pal, it’s no more than G+” stage at the Maydup Festival Of Unplayable Music in 2011, the giant inflatable we’d commissioned turned up late, so we had to blow it up right on showtime. Turned out it was a 30ft-high Wild Ride extra-strong prophylactic. Apparently the inflatables company had misunderstood when we said we wanted something to illustrate ringwear. It got quite embarrassing when the Rare Record Price Guide’s Ian Shirley kept shinning up it while singing electropop hits. We couldn’t figure out how he managed it after it had been sprayed with 1,700 litres of Luv U Long Time lubricating jelly; I think he was particularly determined because we told him there was a copy of Chrome’s Box Set at the top. His clothes got quite messed up, but at least he hasn’t had to grease his pushbike since.
Our Pink Floyd-fronted issue is selling well, and nearly 32,000 people have given it the thumbs up on the band’s fine Facebook site. Feedback has been fab so far, and the same applies to The Pretty Things story, in which they challenge the Stones to one last rock’n’roll shootout. I know who my money would be on and it wouldn’t be the stadium-filling megaband. You’ll be able to find out why when you see the Pretties at our psych all-dayer on August 10 at the Borderline. Also in the current RC is a piece about The Doors on TV in the UK in 1968, a review of recent Beatles books, and an obituary of one of the truly great voices of soul music, whose excellent official online tribute can be found here.
It’s been scorching in London and all that heat makes young man’s thoughts turn to lust. Luckily I’m not a young man, so I don’t have to bother about that; I can get on with thinking about records. Bobby Womack and Gabor Szabo’s Breezin’ and Fred Wesley’s Sportin’ Life have both been annoying my neighbours of late; both are ancient, so it’s good to hear something more recent which holds that retro sunny vibe. I’ve mentioned the talented Maddy Carty in the newsletter before; it’s really good to hear her Get It Right on record. It’s out on 7” vinyl in a couple of weeks…
In the meantime we’ve been working on the next issue. Highlights include a brilliant story about Radiohead and an in-depth interview with The Beach Boys, including Brian Wilson. More details closer to the date, but I promise it’s going to be another goodie (bet you were expecting Bill Oddie).
Thank you for reading this – and reading RC. Have a great week,
Best wishes
Ian McCann, Editor Record Collector
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IN THE CURRENT ISSUE |
Nick Mason on Pink Floyd's early demos
Northern soul round-up
Post-grunge rockers Alice In Chains
The Pretty Things talk about the good times
Goth/punk pioneers UK Decay return
Scotland's progsters Clouds
70s Neolithic metal, with Zior
Norman Watt-Roy on Dury service
Plus Beatles books, investigating sound, 80s Indie box set, Chic, John
Denver, Burt Bacharach, Philly Hip-Hop, The Doors on TV...and much more
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