Pet Shop Boys - Live DVD / CD Release

Feb 20, 2010 - Pet Shop Boys Announce Live DVD/CD Release was a top story for this week. Pet Shop Boys return with "Pandemonium", a deluxe DVD/CD set containing their entire live show from London's O2 Arena on December 21, 2009. The film has been made by David Barnard who directed Pet Shop Boys' 'Cubism' DVD of the Fundamental tour. The audio for the DVD was mixed by Dave Woolley. My review will follow shortly.

Toyah

Originally part of the punk / alternative scene along the lines of Siouxsie & the Banshees, before restyling more towards a new wave and main stream. She always wanted to more popular in America, I'd say that's America's loss, not hers. Her music exemplifies the creativity and strive for uniqueness that was to prevalent to the 80's, a far cry from the conveyor belt pop we get from the music industry today. Toyah Wilcox was born in Birmingham England on May 18, 1958 and is recognized as much for her theatrical work as for her contribution to music. During late 1977 she formed her first band consisting of Joel Bogen on guitar, Steve Bray on drums, Pete Bush on keyboards, and Mark Henry on Bass. After signing with Safari Records in 1978 she released her first single "Victims Of The Riddle" and an EP "Sheep Farming In Barnet". In 1980 following her second single,"Bird In Flight" she released her first full album "Blue Meaning" which made the top 40 chart in the UK. After a UK tour mixed with extensive acting engagements Toyah still found the time to release a new single " Brave New World" and a new album "The Changeling" which incidentally was produced by Steve Lillywhite, perhaps my favorite producer of all time...1980 was pretty damn busy. She's continued to perform through the years and to date has released 30 albums.

Brittany Murphy Dead at 32

Brittany Murphy was pronounced dead of an apparent cardiac arrest, after she was found collapsed at her Los Angeles home and rushed to the nearby Cedars-Sinai hospital, where medics attempted to revive her. While details regarding the exact reason why a 32-year-old would suffer a fatal heart attack are still coming in.
....Brittany made a name for herself playing quirky, eccentric roles--from the goofy skater girl in Clueless, to psych-ward patients in Girl, Interrupted and Don't Say A Word, to even the voice of trailer-park airhead Luann Platter in the animated series King Of The Hill. So it made sense that she crossed over to the edgier music scene--not just in 8 Mile, in which she played Eminem's love interest (aka the "Kim Mathers" role), but as a vocalist in her own right. Most recently she was cast in Stallone's new film "The Expendables" due for release next year.

....included two videos the first from an appearance she did on Letterman a while ago.

Blue Peter

....A band started by Chris Wardman and Paul Humphrey they were another Canadian backlash against the corporate controlled airwaves of the 1970's. Blue Peter was from Toronto they formed in 1978 and gained allot of success during the early to mid 80’s. As I’ve mention previously one of the things that characterized the 80’s was a musical upheaval, smaller independent bands began to wage war against the fascist North American record industry which had barred the gates for new talent. Blue Peter was at the forefront of this war, with a completely original sound this new wave band was the very thing that made the alternative scene so interesting and appealing. The brutally restrictive 70’s created the perfect environment or breeding ground for bands such as this who were at the time just trying to get there music heard.

....Funny enough the first time I saw this band live I was with a crowd that geared more towards the punk scene rather than the new wave scene preferring stuff like the Sex Pistols or the Dead Kennedys over Alphaville or Simple Minds. Blue Peter was less electronic, and a more guitar oriented band so they could be construed as a sort of cross over between the two genre’s somewhere between rock and new wave stylistically. Most importantly though they are responsible for some really great tunes that everyone liked regardless of what genre you’re into. Their shows were characterized by an eclectic mix of new wave and punk fans with a few of the main stream crowd thrown in for good measure, which tends to happens once your videos make it to MTV.
....Blue Peter reached their Zenith in 1983 with the release of their seminal album “Falling” which yielded the massive hit 'Don’t Walk Past’ recorded under the Ready Records label. This solidified the band as a Canadian Indy Powerhouse on the presipus on international success, a band that despite the odds now seemed positioned to take the world by storm. It's hard to forget the cutting edge Film noir video for "Don’t Walk Past" featuring Paul Humphrey’s unorthodox dance as he navigates that smokey hallway one the most innovative videos of that era (link below). It received wide acclaim as well as airplay, it can still be seen on YouTube although it’s desperately in need of some restoration as are many of the videos from this time. Following the success of “Falling” Blue Peter was invited to participate in The Police Picnic in 1983 at CNE Stadium and also opened for Simple Minds during their Canadian Tour in 84. They toured extensively during this time playing sold out venues across the country including the Ontario Place Forum which seated up to 18,000 people. Sadly this is the peak for Blue Peter the possibility of international success would never come to fruition as the band broke apart in 1985. Sighting a grueling touring schedule and a seven year workload that had left the band drain they decided to call it quits, and in doing so added yet another page to the book of bands that failed to achieve there full potential. Many fans myself included were distraught and left wondering how far they could have gone.
,,,,Happily Blue Peter does re-unite from time to time and play a show, much to the thrill of their fans who continue to keep the faith. Their most recent gig was September 2009 at Dundas Square in Toronto (according to their web site). I missed my last the opportunity to see them perform a joint concert with the Spoons at the Pilot Room some time ago ,but hopefully I'll have the chance to see them again in the future.

Blue Peter are…

Paul Humphrey – vocals
Chris Wardman - Guitar/Songwriter
Owen Tennyson - Drums
Jason Sniderman - Keyboards
Rick Joudrey – Bass

Geoff McOuat - Bass (1978-1980)
Mike Bambrick - Drums (1978, 1980-1982)
Ron Tomlinson - Drums (1979)

Blue Peter's Website below...

http://bluepeterband.com/

The Velvet Underground Toronto - Halloween

....Last Saturday we were at The Velvet Underground in Toronto, located on Queen St. it's one of those legendary bars that's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Halloween is always a great night at the Velvet and last weekend was no exception. The place was packed and there was a massive line up outside waiting to get in. We arrived early to avoid the non-sense there's nothing I hate more than standing in a frackin lineup. The thing I like most about the Velvet is that nothing ever seems to change, not the music not the people, and not the atmosphere yet at the same time they seem to years ahead of the mainstream when it comes to just about everything if that makes any sense. One things you'll notice immediate is the diversity in the crowd. The average age of the people that frequent this place is anywhere between 18 to 50 it has always been and always will be Toronto's best night spot, especailly for those that like to be different. Above are some pics I took, it was a pretty wild night and happily all we survived it.

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...to see the pics in full size just click on the images they will enlarge.

Ignatius Jones

....Part of a group that would have driven your parent absolutely nuts. An Australian artist and the frontman for "Jimmy and the Boys" a shock rock group that featured obscene lyrics and imagery among other things. Their act included horror related theatrics, S&M, transvestism, self mutilation, simulated sex, drug abuse and even a mock rape enactment all in an attempt to convey the degeneration of our society. The core of the group form in 1976 and included Ignacius as well as keyboard player Joylene Hairmouth who was a transvestite.

Rock 'N' Roll Might Be Over, Says...U2?

.....I read an article on Yahoo today and that's precisely how it started and I have to be honest it made me laugh. Bono Vox is apparently unhappy with the sales of U2's latest album "No Line On The Horizon" not gonna go into details, suffice to say he's blaming the record industry which is increasingly being geared towards pop music. Don't get me wrong, I like U2 but to blame pop and suggest the lackluster sales are because rock'n'roll is dying would be to suggest that U2 is rock band ...THEY'RE NOT... U2 is in fact a POP band and have been so for at least 20 years. Second to perhaps only Abba they're the most successful pop band in history. Obviously they aren't making the same kinda pop as "Brittney Spears" or the "INSYNC" but they are in fact a Pop group, I hope this doesn't offend anyone not trying to be offensive but I gotta call it the way I see it. The last legitimate rock album U2 put out was "War" and by the time the "Joshua Tree" was released they'd made the full transition into main stream music. In saying that I need to be clear, there is nothing wrong with pop, I like a lot of pop bands, probably more than I should, but for Bono to blame the very thing that is responsible for U2's success, as the instrument of their failure is in my opinion quite ridiculous...

Duran Duran

....Few bands during the 80's polarized music fans quite as much as these guys, most people had an opinion either ya loved them or you hated them. Were they legitimate New Romantic pioneers or sugar coated garbage? I'm still trying to decide. I talked to many who feel Duran Duran were all style a no substance, while others feel they were one of the most important groups to emerge in the 80's. Considering they've been around for close to thirty years and still making albums perhaps it's time  to cut them a little slack.
.....Duran Duran is a New Romantic band from Birmingham, England. They were one of the most successful groups of the 1980's spearheading what many at the time called the second British Invasion. There original line up consisted of Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Stephen (Tin Tin) Duffy, and later Roger Taylor, after numerous personnel changes, Andy Taylor, and Simon Le Bon were also added while Tin Tin departed. band's first album, Duran Duran, was released on the EMI label in 1981 it yielded three singles "Planet Earth", "Careless Memories" and of course "Girls On Film" the video to which created so much of controversy was banned by the BBC and heavily edited for MTV. The second album Rio released in 1982 was the one that broke Duran Duran world wide, yielding no less than 5 singles they charted across the planet and they became for a time the biggest band in the world.  A world tour followed, in support of the album and MTV seemed to play their videos 24/7 their images were splashed across every magazine on the planet as the mania spread. When I look back on it now in my mind it seems like it went on forever, but in reality the bulk of their success was achieved over a relatively short period of time between 82 and 85, by the time their fourth album "Notorious" was release in 86 much of the hype had subsided and their popularity wained. Still can't take away from what they did, for a short time during the 80's Duran Duran were being compared to the Beetles a band above all others, an astounding feet to say the least.

....Duran Duran is now in their 28 year and have released a total of 13 albums, the line up has changed over time as members come and go. They still tour pretty regularly to the thrill of their fans, in fact just this summer they were in Toronto to play a sold out Air Canada Center. They still look and sound great after almost 30 years. The Wedding Album released in 1993 is absolutely ingenious and perhaps their best work. 

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Duran Duran's line up during their period of Global domination 81-85 is as follows..

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Simon Le Bon

Nick Rhodes

John Taylor

Roger Taylor

Andy Taylor

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Other past and present members are as follows...

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Dominic Brown

Sterling Campbell

Warren Cuccurullo

Stephen Duffy

Andy Wickett

Simon Colley

Alan Curtis

Jeff Thomas

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I've Included below the video "Save A Prayer" released in August 1982 perhaps a bit sappy but still my favorite song by the band...
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Charlitans UK Cancel North American Tour.

The Charlatans were to play the Mod Club in Toronto tonight but unfortunatly the show has been cancelled along with the London show, this is from their web site...The Charlatans are sorry to announce the cancellation of their forthcoming North American tour. This is due to drummer Jon Brookes' longstanding shoulder complaint. He has been strongly advised by doctors against undertaking 23 concerts in 28 days as this could cause severe damage to ligaments in the affected area. He will start a course of treatment starting in September and in the coming months to rectify the condition.

Elemental - Tears For Fears

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...I was never so sure in my life that I was gonna hate an album, after all Curt Smith was gone leaving only Roland Orzabal how could it possibly work. As far as I was concerned Tears for Fears was done, I thought it best they just fade quietly into the night. I didn't actually pick this album up till years later, and the only reason I picked it up at all is because it was on sale. Even after I bought it, it just kinda sat on my shelf collecting dust for a year. It was release in 1993 and I didn't get round to listening to it until around 98, happily I finally did and to my pleasant surprise I was completely and totally wrong. This isn't just a good album it's a bloody great album. It's now loaded on my iPod were it receives regular play, and I mean the entire album not just select songs.

...The big single of the album was "Break It Down Again", which charted well in Europe as well as North America, "Cold", "Elemental" and "Goodnight Song" which are equally impressive were also released as singles, not sure why they didn't chart better in North America, I guess I'll attribute it to our bad taste, or perhaps our sudden 90's fascination in boy bands and grunge music. "Power" my personal favorite should have been released as a single also, come to think of it there isn't a week track on the entire disk. With Smith's departure Orzalbal co wrote this album with Alan Griffith, they'd worked together many time in the past and the end result in an almost perfect album. I know I've said this before and I'm gonna keep on saying it every time I feel an album's gone un-appreciated. Buy this Album!!... you will not be disappointed.