Amazing Stories #1 Rasputin

Sit back and pin back your ears while I regale you with a story containing an amazing (nay stunning) coincidence.

Grigori Rasputin was a Russian peasant, mystical faith healer and private adviser to the Romanovs.  He played a significant part in the increasing unpopularity of the Tsar and Alexandra Feodorovna, his wife, and the downfall of the Russian Monarchy. He was murdered by persons unknown on the 30th December 1916 in the city of Petrograd.
 
62 years later, Boney M, a German pop group had a number 1 hit record around the world with a song called "Rasputin." The male lead singer, Bobby Farrell even dressed as Rasputin whilst performing the record, and Bobby acted the part of Rasputin, croaking out "Oh those Russians" at the end of the song.

32 years later Bobby Farrell died, at the tender age of 61. He died on 30th December 2010, exactly 94 years to the day after Rasputin died. And where did he die?  Well he died in the ancient Russian city of Saint Petersburg, which, back in 1916 had been known as - yes - you've guessed it Petrograd.   The truth is sometimes stranger than fiction...

Reincarnation

Of course, as we all know, reincarnation is complete and utter rubbish and not based on any peer-produced evidence whatsoever.  However when I read the contents of this website, even I started to question my own disbelief. After all, this website has all the questions on reincarnation answered.  Incredible!
Since this is all on the interweb, it must be true!


If you have a moment, take a read. It is the funniest thing I've read for quite a while!


http://www.afterlife101.com/Chapter5.html#_Toc1998627

Pink Floyd and 1975

 

So, forty years ago this year. 1975.  Prog Rock was almost coming to an end, well kind of. All the big groups had released their "ultimate" albums.  Jethro Tull - Aqualung and Thick as a Brick.  King Crimson and "In The Court of the Crimson King". Yes and "Close to the Edge".   ELP had released "Tarkus".   Hawkwind had given us "In Search of Space".  Genesis had issued "Selling England by the Pound."  Wishbone Ash had released "There's The Rub."  We'd played the beautiful "Dark Side of the Moon" to death and marvelled at Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells". Was there anything left? Could anyone top what we already had?

We could not have guessed at the beautiful, gorgeous monster of an album that was waiting for us just around the corner.  On 12th September 1975, Pink Floyd released "WISH YOU WERE HERE" and suddenly our lives were complete. We could want for nothing more. Surely this was the ultimate prog rock album ever!

From "Shine on you crazy diamond" to, well "Shine on you crazy diamond" everything that a prog rock fan could possibly want was here - here in this monster of an album!

 

 

Halfway through the decade!

 

Wow - 2015!  We are halfway through the decade already.  And still no-one has tackled the big issue, the burning question - what are we going to call the decade?  It doesn't have a name yet and it's halfway through its life!

I was born in the 50s. My favourite music of all time comes from the 70s. My two children were born in the 80s.  I just feel so sorry for young people currently enjoying this decade - they will have no way to refer back to it in decades to come!  Come on everyone - please put your thinking caps on! Let's have a name for this decade!

Commonwealth Games - Why?

Ok, what I don't get is this. The Commonwealth Games start this month in Glasgow. According to Stephen Fry, of the 42 countries that have anti-homosexual laws on their statute books, 21 of them are members of the Commonwealth. We (Britain) are supposed to be opposed to countries that have anti- homosexual laws on their statute books (Uganda and Kenya are examples). Yet we are not boycotting the Commonwealth Games. Why not? We should be! I personally am boycotting the Commonwealth Games and will not be watching any of it on TV. Can others join me in boycotting the Commonwealth Games, to show those countries that are opposed to homosexuality what we think of them?

Scottish Devolution

Scottish independence raises some really practical difficulties.
For example
I listen to Radio 2 a lot, and every hour they give a traffic report. These reports include things like - "The M74 is very busy this morning, due to a crash at junction 2. Drivers should seek an alternative route where possible."
If independence takes place, I don't think Radio 2 will be broadcasting information about Scottish motorways. After all, they don't broadcast problems with Southern Ireland's motorways. Therefore if Scottish folk are listening to Radio 2, they will have to re-tune to another radio station to get traffic reports.
On "Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs" (on at 9am on Sundays, and a regular listen-to in our household) they often play requests from Scottish people, from Scottish towns. Again, I don't think they'll be doing this if Scotland becomes independent. Therefore those Scottish people who listen to this programme (and others like it - let's call them "British" programmes) will no longer be able to get their requests read out.

More importantly, I'm guessing that postage rates to Scotland from England would go up, as Scotland would, in future be classed by the Royal Mail, as "abroad". I sell a lot of stuff on ebay, and have to specify more expensive postage rates for potential buyers living in Southern Ireland. In future, I'll have to do the same for purchasers from Scotland. This affects Scotland much more than it does England, simply because of relative populations. Scottish buyers will be deterred from purchasing things from English sellers, and English people will be deterred from purchasing things from Scottish sellers. A lot of my sales currently go to Scottish buyers. Also, I'm guessing that the cost of phone calls between the two countries would go up.

What will we call the BBC? It stands for British Broadcasting Corporation, but if "Britain" ceases to exist, it may have to find a new name.

Has anyone in Scotland considered these practical difficulties?

Could June 1st 1967 be the most significant date in Rock history?

Why, I hear you ask. 

Well, as I’m sure you all know, “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was released on this date. No surprise there – probably the most significant album release since the long playing record was invented.

But did you also know that “Piper At The Gates of Dawn” by Pink Floyd was released on the same day? Also recorded at the Abbey Road studios, and at the same time as Sgt Pepper was being recorded, it was the first ever real incidence of proper, real progressive rock being issued by a mainstream label (EMI).  Even today, “Piper” with its beautiful Syd Barrett lyrics and inspired introduction to “Interstellar Overdrive” is a beautiful thing to listen to.  Even today, I still hear new things, things that I’d never heard before in the recording (digital rendition of the tracks helps!)

But – on top of all that – and released on the very same day on the Decca label, was David Bowie’s very first LP, entitled simply “David Bowie”.   At first glance this had nothing to do with rock music – Bowie’s first LP was a whimsical piece - Bowie himself sounding something like a cross between Ray Davies and Anthony Newley. The tracks themselves were little nursery rhyme like stories, sung with skill and panache, but containing little of ‘rock’ emphasis that would be evidenced in later albums.  However this first release – and the young Bowie was only 20 years old on the album’s release date – was to be the forerunner of, among other things, “The Man Who Sold The World” released three years later and possibly one of the all-time great prog rock classics.

The incidence of three of the greatest rock icons of all time releasing their albums (two of them being debut albums) makes June 1^st 1967, for me, possibly the most important and influential day in rock history.