Jul 2: 1974 & Hergest Ridge

Hergest Ridge is a hill in Herefordshire on the Welsh border near the town of Kingston. Overlooking the landscape is a house called 'The Beacon'.

It's also the name of Mike Oldfield's second album.

Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone featured it. There was a vinyl shortage in mid 1970s, so the original release had a poor sound quality. A 50th anniversary 2025 stereo-mix by Mike himself was released back then.

Hergest Ridge composed at leisure.

The town was where Oldfield retreated to, after finding the success and attention of Tubular Bells too much to bear.

He flew model planes (he would later get his own pilot's license) and played for beer in Penrhos Court (which sadly was closed recently - it would have been nice to revisit again and sit by the fire as Mike did).

Also released in the same year - a busy year for music.

Jun 17: A song you'd sing a duet with someone at karaoke

I'm thinking of when I have previously sung at karaoke... and that's mostly Finnish songs on a ferry which was sailing through the Baltic between Helsinki and Stockholm. I'd had some shots of liquorice vodka before I started and was singing with a fellow geographer called Jukka. 

I suppose I could choose a duet song that I know all the words to...

But here's one that most people will not have heard of instead. I'd do the male part and someone would have to sing the female part. Preferably somebody Welsh...

The track is called 'You + Me' and is taken from Public Service Broadcasting's 'Every Valley' album...

It's the first track that features vocals from J Willgoose Esq.

He is joined by Lisa Jên Brown from the Welsh group 9Bach.

Listen to it here:

Here's Lisa on the power of stories.

Apr 25: Important recording locations #1: Rockfield Studios

Rockfield Studios in Wales began its commercial recording life in 1961 and in 1965 was acknowledged to be the first residential recording studio in the world.

This post mentions some of the famous ones.

Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was partially recorded at The Quadrangle. The list of acts who recorded at Rockfield is long and includes Coldplay, The Manic Street Preachers, Oasis, Sepultura, Simple Minds, Opeth, Black Sabbath, Joan Armatrading and Judas Priest. Mike Oldfield, The Cult, Robert Plant, Iggy Pop, Annie Lennox, Julian Lennon and George Michael, also recorded at Rockfield.

The now famous studios have played host to many of the world’s biggest artists – Rush, Oasis, Iggy Pop, Nigel Kennedy, Simple Minds, Coldplay, Black Sabbath, Robert Plant and in 1975 was the primary studios used by Queen for the recording of the greatest pop record of all time ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

A few bands who have recorded there mentioned on the video below including Clannad's 'Sirius' album which featured Bruce Hornsby on several tracks.

Rush are amongst the bands mentioned, and they recorded their 'Farewell to Kings' album at Rockfield where they got some special sounds of birdsong at the start of Xanadu.

I've also heard a story about the Peter Gabriel recordings there as well.

As it says at the start of the post, this is perhaps the most famous song that was recorded there:

The Studios is still in operation.

Mar 17: Every Valley - Public Service Broadcasting

Every Valley is an album by Public Service Broadcasting who I have mentioned elsewhere on the blog. I shall also return to this at a later date.

It tells the story of the growth and decline of the coal mining industry (in South Wales in particular) and is an excellent piece of work.

Like all their music it blends electronic music and some cracking guitar work and drumming with electronics.

It was recorded in Wales and the band actually moved into a village hall in Wales and built a recording studio.

Here's a making of documentary which shows some of the ways that the sense of place of the village where they were based influenced the work.

And a track by track...

This way of working is something that Public Service Broadcasting have done for some albums. For their Berlin album, J Willgoose moved to Berlin.

This connection with place is one of the reasons I like the band so much.

This review discusses the album and its creation.

During this expedition through its massive archives, Public Service Broadcasting delved into material outlining the acme and descent of coal mining in the Welsh countryside but J. Willgoose Esq. didn’t stop there. Noting the extensive list of informative records and expert individuals tapped for research insight (The National Coal Board films at The BFI, independent documentary, “The Welsh Miner,” and audio tape from the South Wales Miners’ Library at Swansea University) and even interviews fostered by J. Willgoose Esq. himself and recorded on the album (as is the case for the secretary and caretaker of the local branch of the National Union of Mineworkers), the labour intense footwork required for the conceptual foundation of Every Valley makes the record feel more like a doctorate research paper that happens to have original music behind it, than vice versa.