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BBC Four Friday night - "Rock Island Line - The Song That Made Britain Rock". It's a repeat of course, but Billy Bragg tells us "how one song kickstarted the skiffle craze and gave birth to the great British bands of the 60s".

Later there's "Rock 'n' Roll Britannia" covering the pre-Beatles era, and an Arena episode with "a thoughtful and intimate portrait" of Chrissie Hynde.

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I think BBC Four is the best channel we have. And on Friday nights it's mostly about music and most of it very interesting! I'm a little younger than you so the skiffle craze was just a little out of my field of view, I remember hearing the Beatles the first time and everything after that was fabulous.

Thanks for the heads up. I might record those although I do have a copy of rock 'n' roll Britannia, all three (?) episodes already. If you want to catch it or record it, RRB 1 is on again in the wee hours of Sat 22nd on BBC 4.

People moan about repeats. Yes of course there are repeats, but repeats of often very good programs, I didn't watch it necessarily the first time round, but if I did, I'd forgotten it so what's the bother? I think repeating quality programs is a good thing to do. People have some funny attitudes to TV I think these days.

I'm not one of the Netflix generation. I don't tune into a channel and expect it to entertain me, and I'm not fond of a lot of the fictional stuff that occurs these days. Hours and hours of it - just to fill all the programming space that must be filled by all the channels that vie with each other for advertising time and the vast quantities of stuff from America is often contrived, but of course there is good and there is bad. I just can't watch more than about a couple of hours of TV a day, I want to be doing something else! Maybe listen to music. I'm no longer surprised when I interview people who have the TV on all the time and often don't bother to turn the noise down even when trying to have a conversation, and the ads now are atrocious. Really bad these days.

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I do watch some of the BBC4 music programmes but some are a bit pants. The old TOTP, while great when I was a kid, show how the producers made the most of what they had, but the miming? Obvious and poor. Back then it was the only practical way to see these bands. There are some similar old Beeb music efforts on Yesterday, too. Juke Box Jury - meh.

I think I saw that Lonnie Donegan one last year and I certainly saw Chrissie when it was on three years ago. Worth watching if you like her music.

I don't know the ages of people in here* but when I was young, music was Listen With Mother and Pick of the Pops. until I discovered Radio Luxembourg on my crystal set. WW2 surplus headphones on, I could listen to it fade in and out without my parents hearing. Hooray for Radio London et al.

Elvis on 78... rambling.



* 1952 vintage, to put me in context. Slightly younger than Ms Hynde.

A bit off topic, but I’ve cycled the Rock Island Line, well part of it. Staying with a family in Illinois, late 80’s, had a family day out, the line having been converted to a cycle path. Dead straight and dead level.

BBC 4, oh yes. Anyone see Stewart Copeland’s Adventure in Music - still on iPlayer - examining the reasons why only music can inspire so many different emotions?

Can remember Skiffle, 65 Special and the height of cool being Cyril Stapleton and the BBC Light Orchestra. Saw them at the Albert Hall. Also saw Louis Armstrong at Earls Court - still remember him singing, mic switched off, why did they make me black and blue? Also, playing the trumpet dangling on a piece of string and not using his hands.

The warm up act was a one legged tap dancer, bizarre ..

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More nostalgia. We used to go and watch groups with current hits in a local church hall in the late 60s. 2/- (10p to the kids) to get in. I can't remember them all but Love Affair (Everlasting Love) and Tomorrow (My White Bicycle) come to mind. The latter became famous after their split (Keith West and Steve Howe were members). I also saw an unknown 12-bar group but they were 2/6d shock horror - Status Quo.

Then bands started charging real money and that was the end of that circuit.

TV - I forgot "Oil give it foive".

First Rock & Roll I ever heard was on this...

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Hey loughor! I didn't realise you were as old as that! 1952 vintage! That's me too. I was born in May - how about you? When I visited you a couple of years ago I got the impression you were definitely younger than me but maybe you're just very suave and handsome!

Watch with Mother, yes, and Picture Book, and of course Rag, Tag and Bobtail plus the Flowerpot Men.

Later on Sooty and Sweep, Eamonn Andrews and Crackerjack! Plus Skiffle (short lived), Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Elvis and all that.

Ah! Those were the days. The 1950s, but it was a bit grey really, looking back, although I think we had some good times. Perhaps the grey memory is because all the video from that time is black and white! But the music was rather old-fashioned (How much is that doggy in the window?) and not particularly inspiring until it was all turned on its head by the coming of the aforementioned musicians and the 60s. Great days.

Saw Duke Ellington band with my dad once in the 60s. Visited Quaintways a few times - a music venue in Chester, saw Chicken Shack but didn't rate them and various others when I lived near there.

Later I went to University in Liverpool, 70 to 73 postgrad to 74 - saw some good music there. I saw Genesis just after they released their album Foxtrot then Led Zeppelin around 1972 maybe, Little Feat played a fantastic gig at the Empire. And at the students union I saw The Who (fabulous, very impressed by them), Baba O'Riley - started with a reel to reel tape recorder playing the long organ intro, and when Keith Moon came in he had put water on his drums so when he hit them it went into the air - bash!! - then Eric Clapton, in the age of “Clapton is God”. He was zonked out and stared over the crowd into the distance I thought he was rather aloof but he played very well, I think he was probably wiped out on heroin at the time - and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (was not particularly impressed). I met Frank Zappa in the interval, he was walking towards me and asked me where the toilets were! I thought that was very appropriate since he was known for his toilet humour.

When I first saw King Crimson they really knocked me out. I didn't know anything about them but I was walking downtown Liverpool past the Empire Theatre and saw King Crimson advertised in 1972/3, I thought that was interesting name so I bought a ticket in the circle. When I arrived in the circle it was near the back unfortunately, so I sat down and waited. There were a lot of empty seats, especially right at the front, so as the lights went down I stood up and walked straight down to sit next to Pete Sinfield who was there with his mixing desk and light show controls. I had a first class seat then leaning over the balcony right at the front in the middle next to Pete Sinfield and watched the whole show and it was a complete revelation. Became a lifelong fan. I know it's not everybody's taste but I think they're great. Each song is unique. With several band changes, each musician is so accomplished and they work together so well. In the Court of the Crimson King!!

from 1984
Play fullscreen and loud!

Later (2003)
...........☟

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Well, Wooden tops, yes, Andy Pandy, yes - all the rest of that is way after my own youth. I didn't watch that stuff! I must've been a teenager then or doing something else

Muffin The Mule.

Not a euphemism.

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