The Specials - Ghost Town For a three year period in the late 70s and early 80s my parents moved to the Hertfordshire new town of Hatfield. For those of you who haven't been, Hatfield consists of a tudor-era mansion (Hatfield House - the site of Elizabeth I finding out about her succession to the … Continue reading 1981
Category: Projects
Joyce - Aldeia de Ogum The first track from the 1980s, and another introduced to me through a Gilles Peterson compilation - this time around, Blue Brazil, a sampler of Brazilian music from the Blue Note label which became a very treasured album for me in the mid-1990s. The Joyce track has one of my … Continue reading 1980
The Real Thing - Can you feel the force? So the last track from the 1970s, and a slice of massive disco/funk. I seem to remember my dad cajoling me into buying this with my pocket money because of the crazy synth intros and stereo effects in the first few seconds. It then goes from … Continue reading 1979
The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap The first of two examples in this count up where the number one on my birthday is the choice for the year. Rat Trap was bought on seven-inch vinyl as my eighth birthday present for me by my sister. Well, actually I presume one of my parents bought it … Continue reading 1978
Bill Withers - Lovely Day On December 6th, 2008, Enza and I got married. This is the first song we heard as a married couple. It was. It continues to be. Number one on my birthday in 1977:ABBA - Name of the Game Next year is better. Honestly. Click here for the playlist so far.
Joan Armatrading - Love and Affection 1976 had a very hot summer. It was also the year that punk really sprung onto the scene. I, however, was five years old for most of the year, and so found punk an affront to my sensitive young ears. (Funnily enough, when you listen back to it now, … Continue reading 1976
Another trip comes to a close, and it reinforces for me once again the importance of being able to meet, face-to-face, the people that you are working with at least once in a while. Whilst the progression in tools to help us collaborate with others in spite of geographic dislocation has been dramatic in the … Continue reading TravelBlog 2.5 – The Importance of Being There (sometimes)
There are two things that I associate with Detroit - music and motors. The home of Motown Records, the source of house music, and the location for the big three US auto manufacturers - Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. The motor industry has been decimated by the economic turmoil of the past few years. It's … Continue reading TravelBlog 2.4 – Motor City
Actually, it should probably be the SouthWest Airlinesization of short-haul air travel, as they are the people that invented it. After many years of air travel being viewed as something of a luxury or prestige purchase, it seems that most flights under three hours now are a no-frills, budget experience where everything is a charged-for … Continue reading Travelblog 2.3 – The Ryanisation of short-haul travel
The Tribeca district of New York is a relatively low-rise area of the island, and historic. Many of the buildings date back to the 19th Century (which is real history in the USA), and many of the streets are cobbled. This is a major issue if you want to get a new fibre optic connection … Continue reading Travelblog 2.2 – Cobblers
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