Jul 12 - For the Record - Episode 8

I've mentioned this web series before. It's produced by the Cosmic Shambles Network, and presented by Charlotte Ritchie. 

It promises to tell the history of music. Early reviews have been very positive. 

I'm posting links to the episodes here to increase exposure.

Part Eight: Sing to Me 

What makes some music more popular and why do we all have different taste in music? We dig into this via a case study of two pop music juggernauts, The Beatles and Taylor Swift before exploring the behind the scenes process of crafting a memorable song. Finally we take a look at music for children.

Part Eight includes exclusive interviews, rare archive and performances from Paul Kelly, Kelley Jakle. Murray Cook, Sophie Galpin, Jim Bob, Philip Ball, Charlotte Church, Dua Lipa, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, Sonny Tennet, Natalie Haynes, Dean Burnett and more.

This series is an entirely independent production made possible by fan support on Patreon and Substack. 

Episode 8 is here:

 

 Episode 9 - the final episode - is coming up next 

I will post a review of the series when I've had the chance to watch and also add links to the episodes.

Jul 12: World Cup playlists #6: Country Choices E - G

The New York Times released a list of the country choices of music from the World Cup.

Here are a few samples:

Ecuador

Signature song: Quiero Amanecer Sonando (Papa Chango); Yo Naci Aqui (Juan Fernando Velasco)

Warm-up: Vamos Ecuador Siempre Contigo (Jose Victoria); La Tri (Jombriel, Javier Neira & Jotta)

Goal music: Si Se Puede (Damiano); Quiero Amanecer Sonando (Papa Chango)

Post-match: Vuelvo a Nacer en Ecuador (Javier Neira); Nuestro Juramento (Julio Jaramillo)

Egypt

Signature song: Ya Habibty Ya Masr (Shadya)

Warm-up: Ana Ebn Masr (Mahmoud El Esseily, Moustafa Hagag & Medhat Saleh); Shagaa Mn Albak; Ya Habebty Ya Masr (Shadya)

Goal music: Ya Masr Btemlyha Ezay (Bahaa Sultan); Wala W Amalouha El Regala (Hamada Helal)

Post-match: Matkhafoosh Ala Masr (Hussain Al Jassmi); Boshret Kheir (Hussain Al Jassmi)

England

Signature song: Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)

Warm-up: Vindaloo (Fat Les); Angels (Robbie Williams); With a Little Help From My Friends (The Beatles)

Goal music: Chase the Sun (Planet Funk)

Post-match: Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond); Three Lions (Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds)

France

Signature song: Emmenez-moi (Charles Aznavour); Le Chasseur (Michel Delpech)

Warm-up: Pile (Gospel Version) (Mauvais Djo); Melodrama (Jordan Patrol); D.A.N.C.E. (Justice)

Goal music: One More Time (Daft Punk)

Post-match: Freed From Desire (Gala); Magic in the Air (Magic System)

Germany

Signature song: Zeit, Dass Sich Was Dreht ($oho Bani, Herbert Grönemeyer & Ericson)

Warm-up: Kernkraft 400 (Zombie Nation)

Goal music: Major Tom (Peter Schilling)

Post-match: Tage wie diese (Die Toten Hosen); Der Zug hat keine Bremse (Mia Julia, Malle Anja & Lorenz Buffel)

Ghana

Signature song: Kakalika (DopeNation); Ntem Ntem (King Promise)

Warm-up: Ghana Black Stars (2006 World Cup) (Obaayaa Grace Ashly); Gidi Gidi (Fire) (Stonebwoy); STREET CROWN (African Dancehall) (Shatta Wale)

Goal music: Kakalika (DopeNation)

Post-match: Dem Confuse (Shatta Wale); Oofeets (Sarkodie & Prince Bright)

Jul 12: 1984

1984 was an important year for me as I started the final year of my undergraduate studies at Huddersfield Polytechnic. My LP collection was growing too.

In Huddersfield at the time we had the release of a song called 'Relax' which was banned from radio play.

This guaranteed that it went to number 1 of course.

'Welcome to the PleasureDome' was an album by ZTT, who also released the classic 'Propaganda' album which I will be blogging about separately as this was my driving album in the late 1980s. This was by Frankie goes to Hollywood, although much of the music was played by session musicians.

The album was rereleased in late 2025 with a new mix by Steven Wilson including a Dolby Atmos mix.

The music was arranged by Trevor Horn.

Session musicians including Steve Howe from Yes were included.

This was also the era of the 12" single... and endless variations on the original tracks were created.

The PleasureDome was in Xanadu, visited by Marco Polo. See separate post on Xanadu from Rush.

This is one of the more memorable tracks: 'Two Tribes'.

In the summer, we also had the new Rush album: 'Grace under Pressure'.

This included some stand out tracks. I have previously blogged about this album, which received an over the top deluxe re-release earlier in the year, clocking in at over £250 for the full package. Thankfully, a lot of it was straight onto Spotify.

Here's 'Between the Wheels' - the album's closer....

The other album released this year that is worth a mention is The Blue Nile's 'A Walk across the Rooftops'. The story of this album's released has been told elsewhere on the blog.

It would be 4 years before someone played me this album. It was actually in a bothy on the Isle of Rhum. The log burner was lit and whisky had been taken....

Sparkle in the Rain is my favourite album from Simple Minds, and was also released this year. This is a great album with no filler...

What are your musical memories from 1984?

Jul 12: Sally's 60th

My wife has a significant birthday today. Here are some of her favourite bits of music...

KLF up first... a banger from the 80s....

Pet Shop Boys

Her very favourite musical act. She has seen them numerous times, including at the Royal Opera House and other smaller venues, plus the O2. She's a Pet Shop Girl...

She also likes a spot of Frankie...

Jul 11 - For the Record - Episode 7

 I've mentioned this web series before. It's produced by the Cosmic Shambles Network, and presented by Charlotte Ritchie. 

It promises to tell the history of music. Early reviews have been very positive. 

I'll post links to the episodes here to increase exposure.

Part Seven: Standing on the Outside 

We meet with hip hop pioneers to discuss the origins of the genre and all that it gave rise to, particularly its influence on culture. A wider look is taken at music’s role in politics, social change and comedy as well as the darker side of music and how it has been used by some of history’s worst people. 

Part Seven includes exclusive interviews, rare archive and performances from Riki Lindholme, Grandmaster Caz, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Michelle Brasier, Fiorella Montero-Diaz, Jim Bob, Rajinder Dudrah. Ben West, Stephen Sondheim, Anna Kendrick, Tim Minchin, Weird Al Yankovic and more.

This series is an entirely independent production made possible by fan support on Patreon and Substack. 

Episode 7 is here:

Episode 8 coming up next - it premieres in a few days' time...

I will post a review of the series when I've had the chance to watch and also add links to the episodes.

Jul 11: World Cup playlists #5: Country Choices C - D

 The New York Times released a list of the country choices of music from the World Cup.

Here are a few samples:

Cape (Cabo) Verde

Signature song: NOS ORA DJA TXIGA (Federacao Cabo Verdiana de Futebol)

Goal music: NOS ORA DJA TXIGA (Federacao Cabo Verdiana de Futebol)

Canada

Signature song: A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie v2 (King of My City); Wonderful (Travis Scott)

Warm-up: Born Winner (AP Dhillon); TRYNA WIN (NorthSideBenji, Boi-1da & Canada Soccer)

Goal music: I Dare You (Tasty)

Post-match: Headlines (Drake); Charger (feat. MC YOSHI, Mauvais djo & Kokosvoice) (TRIANGLE DES BERMUDES)

Colombia

Signature song: La Invitacion (Jorge Celedon)

Warm-up: Que Linda E’; Yo Te Aliento (La Barra Incondicional)

Goal music: El Ritmo Que Nos Une (Ryan Castro & SOG); Si, Si, Si (La Fiebre Amarilla)

Post-match: Mi Gente (J Balvin)

Côte d'Ivoire

Signature song: Fimbu (feat. Didi B & Tam Sir); Coup du Marteau (Tam Sir); C’est Dose (Serge Beynaud)

Goal music: Coup du Marteau (Tam Sir)

Post-match: Y’a Dieu Dedans (Paulo Chakal & Didi B)

Croatia

Signature song: Moja Domovina (Hrvatski Band Aid)

Warm-up: Moja Domovina (Hrvatski Band Aid)

Goal music: Svijet Voli Pobjednike (Colonia)

Post-match: Hrvatska Zastava (Ivan Mandic); Nije U Soldima Sve (Mladen Grdovic & Bepo Matesic)

Curacao

Signature song: Mama Wa (Jeon); Bon Tardi (Kiev & Qshans)

Warm-up: Mama Wa (Jeon); Si Senor (Raey); Chekeleke (Raey & Issairo); Caribe (Kilate Tesla, Ir Sais & Jeon)

Goal music: BlueWave (Jeon)

Czech Republic

Signature song: Thunderstruck (AC/DC)

Goal music: Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)
DR Congo

Signature song: Leopards Fimbu Na Fimbu (Instrumental)

Goal music: GIMS Chante Pour Léopard de la RDC

Post-match: Mbrouss (Jossart Nyoka Longo & Zaïko Langa Langa)

Jul 11: 1983

1983 saw the release of some favourite albums of mine.

I was in the first year of my degree at Huddersfield Polytechnic.

Eddie Jobson released 'The Green Album'.

He never got round to releasing his pink album which was teased in the lyrics.

I wrote to him back in 1983 and he sent back a newsletter and a signed letter which I have put somewhere safe... so safe I can't currently find it.

Here's Turn it Over....

And 'Who my friends'... the synthesiser sounds on this album are epic.

1983 also saw the release of REM's first studio album 'Murmur'.

Marillion released 'Script for a Jester's Tear'. There was quite a lot of buzz around this album. Their name was very prog, and I saw them live on their first tours to promote this and successive albums. It was very prog with its arrangements, dense lyrics, time signature changes, face-painted lead singer et al. And in 1983 I was very much up for that sort of thing...

Mike Oldfield released 'Crises', which featured the Fairlight synthesiser heavily... plus Simon Phillips' distinctive drum sound. The album's cover art was by Terry Ilott and was originally created as an illustration for an edition of J. G. Ballard's The Drowned World.

I was living in a very cheap house in Huddersfield for this first year. It cost me £9 a week including bills. I shared a room, and in the middle was my music centre and a selection of my LPs. I remember buying this and playing it for the first time there, having walked back up the hill to Newsome: at the top of a great big hill. It was released on the 27th of May, so it was still term time. Towards the end of the year, someone moved out and I moved into a room at the back of the house by myself. Similar room rate. Immersion heater turned on for a bath. Freezing cold bathroom in winter... A jungle unusable back garden. Good times...

Dio's 'Holy Diver' was also released that year. This has some great tracks on it.

Here's an album chart from August of that year.

Which of these did you have on your playlist back then?

Jul 11: Bonnie Tyler - RIP

News came out a few days ago of the sad passing of Bonnie Tyler. The track that many people remember her for is Total Eclipse of the Heart - created by Jim Steinman, whose dramatic style led to the creation of Meat Loaf's 'Bat out of Hell' (a favourite on the jukebox at the Student Union as you got more minutes for your money than if you chose 'Teenage Kicks').

For me though it's this track. I remember buying Mike Oldfield's 'Islands' album and hearing this for the first time: a period when he was bringing in various guest vocalists for his shorter non-instrumental tracks.

The album was recorded in France, and featured Simon Phillips on drums, but also some Pierre Moerlen. The long first side called 'The Wind Chimes' was also the title of a VHS Video I had a copy of, with some very 1980s graphics....

Here's the title track....

Jul 10: World Cup playlists #4 - Country choices - A - B

The New York Times released a list of the country choices of music from the World Cup.

Here are a few samples:

Algeria

Signature song: Disco Maghreb (DJ Snake)

Warm-up: Summer Rai Mix (Trabic Music); Chey Kbir Ya Omri (Bilal Milano)

Goal music: Viva L’algerie (Mahfoud & Sonia)

Post-match: Viva L’algerie (Mahfoud & Sonia); El Baloun Ydour-ElKhadraoui Sofican (DJAM); Khalik Liya Ya Bladi (Cheb Mohamed Lamine)

Argentina

Signature song: La Cumbia de los trapos (Yerba Brava); Pa’ la Selección (LA T Y LA M)

Warm-up: El Matador (Los Fabulosos Cadillacs); Hablando de la libertad (La Renga); Marado (Los Piojos)

Goal music: El Matador (Los Fabulosos Cadillacs); La Danza De Los Mirlos (Los Mirlos)

Post-match: Cumbia sobre el mar (Flowering Inferno & Quantic); La Cumbia de los trapos (Yerba Brava)

Australia

Signature song: Down Under (Men at Work)

Warm-up: Tieduprightnow (Parcels); Joker & The Thief (Wolfmother); Highway to Hell (AC/DC); Don’t Change (INXS)

Goal music: Thunderstruck (AC/DC); On My Mind (Powderfinger)

Post-match: Untouched (The Veronicas)

Austria

Signature song: I am from Austria (Rainhard Fendrich)

Warm-up: Rock Me Amadeus (Falco); Sweet Caroline (DJ Otzi); Baby (Justin Bieber)

Goal music: Maria (I Like It Loud) (Scooter)

Post-match: Freed from Desire (Gala); I am from Austria (Rainhard Fendrich)

Belgium

Signature song: Ta fete (Stromae); Warrior (Oscar and the Wolf)

Warm-up: Pump Up The Jam (Technotronic); Kiss The Grass (Sylvie Kreusch & Romeo Elvis); Makina Time (Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Marlon Hoffstadt & DJ Konik)

Goal music: We are Belgium (24AM); Allez Allez (GOOOAAAAL)

Post-match: Alors On Danse (Stromae); We are Belgium (24AM); On Met La Patate (Omdat Het Kan & Average Rob)

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Signature song: Bosnom behar probeharao (Dino Merlin); Ljiljani (Halid Beslic)

Warm-up: Bosanac (Enes Begovic); Jel Sarajevo gdje je nekad bilo (Dino Merlin); Necu necu dijamante (Halid Beslic)

Goal music: Take Me To America (Salvatore Ganacci)

Post-match: Ljiljani (Halid Beslic); U.S.A. (Dubioza Kolektiv)

Brazil

Signature song: Bate no Peito (Papatinho)

Warm-up: Deixa a Vida Me Levar (Zeca Pagodinho); Dengo (João Gomes); E uma Partida de Futebol (Skank); Hoje (LUDMILLA); Passe a Respeitar (feat. DJ Chernobyl) (Papatinho, Naldo Benny, Fernanda Abreu & BK)

Goal music: Bate no Peito (Papatinho)

Post-match: Festa (Ivete Sangalo); P do Pecado (Ao Vivo) (Grupo Menos E Mais & Simone Mendes)

Jul 10: 1982

1982 saw some other classic albums.

Rush 'Signals' was a real highlight and has been described before.

This was the summer that I got my 'A' level results, and got a place at Huddersfield Polytechnic to do a geography degree. We had a summer holiday in Cornwall with friends. It was a time when I knew my next few years were sorted and I could relax a little.

Simple Minds 'New Gold Dream' was a classic of this year too.

Pat Metheny Group's 'Offramp' had some excellent tracks, including 'James'. This was the time when the guitar synthesiser which he still uses to superb effect was being introduced to his albums.

Jethro Tull released 'The Broadsword and the Beast'.

This was accompanied by a tour with a very theatrical staging, like a ship, and costumes and other elements. I saw this tour and had the t-shirt which I wore quite a lot over the years.

Peter John Vettese was on keyboards, which started his involvement with Ian Anderson on his solo album 'Walk into Light' which came out the following year.

Here's a live recording from Freiburg... now there's a city worth visiting...

What are your favourite albums and memories from 1982?

Jul 9: World Cup Playlists #3 - Country choices

This Reuters article explained the background to the musical choices we are hearing from each venue and host city.

It explains that each team chooses a tune for when their line-ups are announced, and when they score a goal.

Argentina, for instance, have chosen Los Fabulosos Cadillacs' "El Matador" (literally, "the ​killer") as their warm-up and goal song. This relates to dictatorships in the 1970s.

The track, with its chorus of "Matador! Matador!" may sound like it's celebrating the deadly goal skills of Lionel Messi.

The Ghanaian duo DopeNation's irresistible 2025 dance track "Kakalika" is both the signature and goal tune for Ghana. This is intended to embrace diversity and encourage listeners to enjoy themselves.

Daft Punk's "One ​More Time" plays when Kylian Mbappé scores...

Australia go back to the 80s for their tune...

Mexico went for Mariachi bands. South Korea had an easy job with K-Pop tunes from BTS and Blackpink (as described by Carl Lee in a guest post).

The USA had the good taste to adopt some John Denver...

More to come....

Jul 9: 1981

1981 was the year when 'Moving Pictures' was released. 

It's been mentioned previously on the blog, so I won't go too much more into it.

Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays released 'As falls Wichita, so falls Wichita Falls' - a classic album.

Two Sheffield bands were also active this year.

• Heaven 17 'Penthouse and Pavement'
• Human League's 'Dare'

Phil Collins 'Face Value' included one of the more famous drum breaks, with it's classic 80s' 'gated' sound on 'In the Air Tonight'...

This set off a decade and more when he was everywhere, and latterly he recognised that perhaps he did too much during this period.

What other 1981 albums are your particular favourites?

Jul 8: World Cup Playlists #2 - World Cup cities

Investigating Spotify, you will be able to find the playlists for all the host cities.

You can listen to the host city themes on this playlist. These are all "variations on a theme..." and not memorable...

As well as the theme, the playlists feature songs which are played in each of the stadia...

I love that the Toronto playlist has this track from Rush.

YYZ is the airport code for Toronto airport.

The rhythm is based on Morse Code.

Neil Peart remembers..

"The rhythm stuck in my head and I said, ‘Guys!’ So then, thematically we said, ‘We’ll let’s use that airport — so much a part of our lives in those days and after — let’s use that as a metaphor in a sense. Again, in a playful way. There was no sense of ‘Okay, this part is this part’ and all that. But there is a sense of bustling and coming and going and the grand emotion of that middle section of what airports can be. In our lives, airports were rich with symbolism. Departures and comings and goings; departures and arrivals. Separations and meetings. That was kind of woven into the song. The exotic nature of travel, too, and Alex’s guitar solo for sure too. He wove in that kind of eastern mode."

Source; Wikipedia

More posts to come...

Jul 8: Seen and herd

That was the punny title of an article in The Guardian at the weekend.

It described the music of the Maasai and Samburu.

This is being shared more widely than it would previously have been using social media.

In the past, a visit in person would have been needed to hear these songs.

Here's an early example that was mentioned in the piece.

A new generation of musicians is wielding unprecedented cultural power, updating traditional patterns and reclaiming a sense of pride in symbolic spaces.

The piece mentions the use of the AI, to protect Maasai lands. This is called Maasai Skywatch.

“Music always played a central role in retaining Maasai history,” says Meitamei Ole Dapash, a Maasai leader and activist. “Not only as expression, but as a living archive of identity, memory and social relations. In school, we are taught everything but our own culture. Thanks to the rise of our local artists, we now witness a true cultural renaissance.”

Others set out to convince estranged members of the community of the benefits of semi-nomadic rural life, like Kamurar Maasai in his song Osingolio Loongishu.If we don’t update our roots, our songs will be forgotten and the community will forget about their customsNg’otiek Nelson

“Since I started singing songs on modern beats concerning cows, a lot of Maasai are coming back to their culture. The song compels them to find their way home and get their own cows,” he says.

The spiritual meaning of cattle is rooted in the Maasai origin story, as the animals are said to have arrived on Earth from the heavens alongside the first humans.

This song talks about cows and urging the young generation - the person who takes his time to watch this song - to go and find and find for himself. The song belongs to ilmerishi age set and their chief is ole Naing'isa and another one called ole Leintoi.

And here's a final song mentioned in the piece: Ng'otiek Nelson.

In the Maasai land, where savannas roam.

Warriors rise with the sun's warm tone 

Adorned in red, they dance with pride  

Their culture beats, like the wildebeest stride.

With songs of old, they tell their tale 

Cattle wealth, and the land they hail ️

Jumping high, in a warrior's leap  

Their spirit lives, in every step 

Long live Kakangu

Jul 8: 1980

Into the 1980s now and the tone of some music changes. This is my wife's favourite decade. Electronic bands and synthesisers along with punk and dance music started to displace some of the other bands from the charts.

'The Blues Brothers' was released this year.

This is a wonderful film, which features plenty of memorable tunes which are now familiar from stage musicals and repeat viewings. Some fine guest star musicians as well.

The car chase to Chicago is an epic way to end the film with a record breaking number of cars destroyed in the process. Carrie Fisher was excellent in this film too.

Mike Oldfield played Knebworth that year.

Several years later, the film was released. I wanted to see it, and I was interested to see that it was playing at a cinema in Rotherham. It was the part of a double bill... the first film was called "Private Teacher" and was a bit 'risque'... google it... so I had to sit through that although I wanted to see the music not the other things.

Rush released 'Permanent Waves' in 1980.

I was working on a Saturday at the time for a local greengrocer. This meant driving over to the town of Mexborough in South Yorkshire where he had a market stall. I bought this track as a 7" single one Saturday... I also saw the first posters for the Genesis 'Duke' album in Woolworths the same time.

We had a DJ booth in our sixth-form centre at school in Wickersley Comprehensive - plus a couple of pinball tables and table-tennis tables. It was quite a good facility if you stayed on to do 'A' levels.

I did 4 'A' levels at school, and picked up a 5th one later.

Invisible airwaves
Crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle
With the energy
Emotional feedback
On a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price –
Almost free…

Jethro Tull released 'A' which was originally meant to be a solo album by Ian Anderson, after the Tull line up changed considerably including Eddie Jobson on keyboards and violin.

The track 'Crossfire' referenced the Iranian Embassy siege. I remember this event which happened in April of 1980. Live television coverage of the 1980 final between Alex Higgins and Cliff Thorburn was famously interrupted by the footage of the raid. I had been watching the match and we decided to get our cues and get the bus down to Rotherham (the fare was 2p at the time) and play snooker at the Central Snooker Club at the bottom of the High Street - which is still there. That was one of several we used to play at at the time - smoky and dark but when the lights came on you were focussed on the game.

I had a quarter sized table at home and we used to play a lot when I was in the Sixth form (when I had a free period...) - it didn't help my 'A' level studies.

When I go to the RGS, I often walk past the Embassy and tomorrow night I am due to stay in Prince's Gate, just behind the row of Embassy buildings facing Hyde Park.

Lyrics:

Spring lights in a hazy May
And a man with a gun at the door
Someone's crawling on the roof above
All the media here for the show

I've been waiting for our friends to come
Like spiders down ropes to free-fall
A thirty round clip for a visiting cards
Admit one to the embassy ball

Caught in the crossfire on Princes Gate Avenue
In go the windows, out go the lights
So call me a doctor, fetch me a policeman
I'm down on the floor in one hell of a fight

What are your 1980 memories?

Jul 7: 1979

1979 saw some excellent albums released.

Led Zeppelin released their last proper studio album: 'In through the Out Door'

Supertramp's 'Breakfast in America' was released, and was in the charts several times that year.

Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' was one of the main albums released this year. This included several tracks which are now famous. The first featured some students from a school in London.

The students were from a school in London

They sang 

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher, leave them kids alone

Here's the story of the song and the Islington Green School students who sang on it.

There's an interesting connection between David Gilmour and my present school: King's Ely. For his most recent album (at the time of posting) he wanted some choristers to add to the 'vibe' of the first track to be released.

He came to the Lady Chapel in Ely Cathedral, where he recorded the choristers singing, and they had to keep this secret for months.

Here's the result...

Here are some colleagues and students along with David Gilmour.

The school's media team shared this update.

Pink Floyd star, David Gilmour, has released 'Luck and Strange', which is his first original album in nine years. The album features eight new tracks, along with a beautiful reworking of The Montgolfier Brothers’ ‘Between Two Points’, and has artwork and photography by the renowned artist, Anton Corbijn.

Keen to have Cathedral acoustics on the album, David recorded four of the songs at Ely Cathedral.

Thanks to our Director of Music, Mr Neil Porter-Thaw's contacts, King's students, Ivana Peat, Kit Attwater, Olivia Williams, Isobel Holland, Elizabeth Raynes, Alastair Wright, Freddie Wright, and Teacher of Music, Mrs Kirsty Wright, were invited to record with David. Old Elean and former Cathedral Chorister, William Gardner, did the choral arrangements.

Speaking about the once-in-a-lifetime experience, Mrs Wright said: "Our evening of recording with David was an amazing experience. Some of the younger singers had never been part of a recording session that required the use of individual headsets, so we immediately felt like rock stars! They meant that we could hear David and the team singing and playing in one ear all of the time, and we sang "with" him, which was such a thrill! As with all recording sessions, there were a lot of takes, and every so often David would give us the thumbs up or ask for a specific note or lyric to be highlighted, and when he did the next take it was always a really good one! Polly Samson, David's wife, was there taking photos and videos, which can already be seen in the music video for 'A Piper's Call'. We sang in both the Lady Chapel and under the Octagon. Even though it was a lot of concentrating and a late night, it was a musical experience that we will never forget, and I know that we are all very grateful to Mr P-T for organising and conducting us, to Will Gardner for his fabulous choral arrangements, and particularly to David for trusting us with his very precious songs."

The classic track from the album is of course 'Comfortably Numb' - a point towards which all Pink Floyd / David Gilmour concerts build....

A film of 'The Wall' was made by Alan Parker. I went to see it at the cinema in Huddersfield when it was released with Bob Geldof playing a lead role. I saw a lot of films around that time and had a Halliwell's guide where I highlighted all the films I saw. 

When I was a student at the Polytechnic I was a member of the film club. I remember the first time I saw Carrie at one of their events: a great film which produced a great response in those watching.

As a post script, this version of 'Another Brick in the Wall' was something I used in my teaching for a while...

By Eric Prydz.

What other key albums were released in 1979 which deserve a mention here? Let me know...

This made an impact at the time...

This was a tour I really wished I'd seen....

Jul 7: World Cup Playlists #1

A cross posting from my Cultural Geography and LivingGeography blogs.

A few World Cup playlists on Spotify.

There is an official World Cup album here.

If you've been watching the coverage (or been in the stadiums in person), you will have heard some familiar songs played at most matches.

These are often from the official FIFA playlist.

This article explains the background to perhaps why certain songs like 'Freed from Desire' and 'Livin' on a Prayer' can often be heard.

The songs are not random. Hundreds — more than 750, in fact, according ​to soccer governing body FIFA — are chosen in advance. FIFA has a "Stadium Entertainment Team" that works with the participating national associations to create playlists ‌that mix stadium classics with country-specific favourites.

Each team has a "signature" song played when the line-up is announced, a warm-up song, and a track that is played if they score a goal. And one set of fans after each game gets to sing along to the post-match winning-team tune.

The playlists give an interesting cultural snapshot of the World Cup, in which 48 teams participated for the first time in ​2026.

Some tracks — such as The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" and, yes, 1990s Eurodance hit "Freed from Desire" by Gala, which has been doing the rounds of ​sports stadiums for at least a decade — have global reach, appearing on more than one list.

Cities also have themes. Here's Mexico City's...

This one collects World Cup songs 2010-2026.

Here's the official World Cup Theme... bland...

The England fans have also adopted this song, which ends up being sung at the end of matches between the team and the fans... 

I'll return to this theme in some later blog posts as we head for the Final, where I explore some of the choices of particular countries and go into more detail on the cultural significance of their choices....

Jul 6: Recording Studios: AIR on Montserrat

Another post in a series of posts on recording studios which have a bit of 'history' to them as well as being geographically interesting.

AIR studios - which still exists at its London venue.

AIR stands for Associated Independent Recording.

It was created by the Beatles' producer Sir George Martin.

From the AIR studios website:

In 1977 George Martin fell in love with the island and decided to build the ultimate, get-away-from-it-all recording studio. Opened in 1979, AIR Studios Montserrat offered all of the technical facilities of its London counterpart, but with the advantages of an exotic location.

For more than a decade, AIR Montserrat played host to recording sessions by a who’s who of rock and pop. More than 70 albums were recorded there in ten years, including Hot Hot Hot by Arrow, Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms, Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity by The Police, Elton John’s Too Low for Zero and Steel Wheels by the Rolling Stones. Duran Duran, Ultravox, Lou Reed, Black Sabbath and Eric Clapton all passed through the idyllic Montserrat studio.

Then, in 1989, disaster struck when Hurricane Hugo hit the island, destroying 90% of its structures. 

The building and its equipment were irreparably damaged, and, perhaps aware that record labels wanted their stars closer to home, George Martin called it a day. 

His love for Montserrat never faded and in the wake of a later devastating volcanic eruption his fundraising efforts went a long way towards putting the island back on its feet.

Hurricane Hugo (1989) caused major damage to the studios, which now lie derelict.