In Case You're All Falling Asleep . . .

[Buenchico]

. . . here's a little something to wake you up ;-)

[nailit]

//If nothing else, Nailit, it proves that Abba aren't the only good Swedish band//
Theres a good Swedish band??

Well theres Aha I suppose but arnt they Noregian?

Swedish? Let me think...

[Buenchico]

I'm still having to catch up with that era, Nailit.

Although I was born in 1953, and so around for the rock 'n' roll era, I was brought up in a home where such music was frowned upon. I was only allowed to listed to Children's Favourites on the Light Programme on Saturday mornings on the STRICTEST of understandings that I turned the radio off IMMEDIATELY after the end of it. If I forgot, and Brian Matthew's voice (at the start of Saturday Club) reached my mother's ears, she'd come flying into the room in a massive rage, shouting "How many times have I told you? We don't have THAT sort of so-called music in THIS house!" and I'd then be in disgrace for the whole of the next week.

It was strictly 'classical music only' in our house, with the nearest thing to 'popular music' being Gilbert & Sullivan's operettas. However during the school holidays I did sometimes catch my mother listening to Housewive's Choice, so I got a bit of Perry Como, et al, occasionally too.

I was probably about 8 when we went to stay with my aunt and her family. There were lots of pictures of a man I'd never seen before pinned to her kitchen wall. When I asked who he was, my cousins were amazed that I didn't know. "Surely you've heard of Elvis Presley?" they asked. My honest answer was "No".

[nailit]

LOL Chris. I was born in 1966, so even later than you. However I was a teenager in the early 80's when then was something in a resurgence in R&R and rockabilly and that sort of stuff (remember Shakin' Stevins and The Stray Cats, lol). Even b4 then tho I was an Elvis fan and general 50's music fan.

[Buenchico]

>>> There's a good Swedish band??

Well, apart from The Refreshments, there's First Aid Kit. Some of Ace of Base's stuff wasn't too bad either.

A-ha are indeed Norwegian (with some good tracks to their name, such as 'Take On Me' and 'The Sun Always Shines on TV') but my current Norwegian favourites are Marcus and Martinus. Yes, it's little more than 'bubble gum pop' but I can't stop playing this in my car. It's perfect music for driving ;-)

[nailit]

Funny tho, my tastes now lean towards metal and punk.
Mid life crisis and all that I supose, but I embrace it ;-)

[jordyboy14]

You must listen to Johnny Mathis the 12th of never

[nailit]

Jordy, I once worked with someone who had some kind of charity 'dinner' with Johhny Matthis.
Reckoned he was a right arrogant git with a huge 'don't you know who I am' attitude.

[ladybirder]

Chris do you not listen to opera at all now then?
My love of it started because I heard it at home. Also loved to listen to my father playing Chopin Nocturnes on our piano. Mind you when my friend and I discovered Radio Caroline that was it.
Thank you captain, very thoughtful of you LOL. Yours was better Chris.

[Buenchico]

>>> However I was a teenager in the early 80's

I spent much of the 1980s trying (without a great deal of success) to make sense of the music that the teenagers I was teaching were into, and wondering if I was already so old that I'd never understand 'young people's music' again ;-)

I can remember writing on a girl's report "If she could only spend a small fraction of the time that she currently spends thinking about New Kids On The Block to mathematics instead there might be some small chance of progress. Otherwise there will be none".

;-)

[nailit]

Just a little bit of triv (not that anyone is remotely interested...I wouldn't be)
But when Adam Faith was found dying in Stoke, it was my second cousin...who was a paramedic...who was called out to him at his hotel.

[Buenchico]

JB14:
Your musical tastes seem to be STUCK in the 50s.

There's nothing wrong with 50s music, of course. (I've got albums by Bing Crosby, Perry Como and many others). But there is some good stuff from more recent years too, you know!

Ladybirder:
I listen to several hours of Classic FM's output on most days, so I still enjoy classical music. However I've never been a great fan of opera, per se. (i.e. I can enjoy individual arias, or other excerpts, but I'm not really interested in listening to an entire opera). I tend to prefer operetta, such as Offenbach's La Vie Parisienne.

[Buenchico]

Having visited Stoke, Nailit, I think that dying might be the best thing to do there ;-)

[ladybirder]

Glad you still enjoy it Chris. Variety is the spice of life, or something like that:-)

[nailit]

//Having visited Stoke, Nailit, I think that dying might be the best thing to do there ;-)//
Haha, ur not to far off the mark there Chris, why do you think my heads often buried up me 'aris
Once remember James Whale remarking on the radio that if England had an a's hole then Stoke was it.
The best thing that ever came out of Stoke was the M6

[Buenchico]

I agree, Ladybirder, although trying to persuade some ABers to try something 'out of their comfort zone' can be hard work at times.

At least I managed to get you to listen to one of my favourite German singers tonight ;-)

This is even more beautiful though ;-)

[Buenchico]

It's interesting, Nailit, that your local rag can only promote the area by starting out with the negative images and trying (somewhat weakly, in my opinion) to improve on them:
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/16-reasons-not-visit-stoke-396100

I reckon that they're a bit cheeky though by promoting the city for its (alleged) proximity to the Peak District. If I was hoping to see what the Peak District had to offer I might base my travels in Sheffield (where you can be inside both the city boundary and the Peak District National Park at the same time) or possibly in Manchester but I don't really associate Stoke with the Peak District!

[nailit]

What can I say Chris?
Everyone who lives here says exactly the same thing. The recent city of culture bid was a joke in anyones eyes. The place is a tip. The peak district is awesome, but Stoke? Youre having a bubble bath!

Anyway, I was going to say ur Reinhard Mey vid reminded very much of...


My Dads favourite song.

[gness]

Oooo....so glad you said that about Mathis, Nailit.......I really disliked him but MrG loved his music....and we bickered about it.....

Before he died he arranged with a friend that Twelfth of Never was to be played at his funeral to "annoy" me....nicely with tongue in cheek.....so I had Until the Twelfth of Never inscribed on his headstone......after giving him a telling off.....
Will tell him what you've said on my next visit..... ;-)

[Buenchico]

During my college days I was very much the 'out of step' nerd, Nailit. While other students wore jeans and sweatshirts, I always wore a sports jacket, a collar and tie and slacks. While they went to pop/rock concerts, I went to listen to the Hallé Orchestra, the Vienna Boys Choir or the Spinners (the English folk band, not the US group). So, just like my childhood, my 'musical education' was very limited. However I did go to see one artist who was popular in those days, largely through his success with one particular song (which I loved). It was to hear Ralph McTell singing 'Streets of London', among other songs, at Sheffield City Hall

I later used that same song as the theme for several school assemblies about loneliness, so I definitely know it well!

Reinhard Mey is what the Germans call a 'Liedermacher' (literally 'songmaker', which roughly translates as 'singer-songwriter'). He's incredibly popular across much of Europe but his work is little known in the UK. That's probably not surprising because he only performs in German and French but there's still a lot of merit in his work for those who don't speak those languages. As you say, there are clear similarities between his songs and those of Ralph McTell.

[nailit]

lol, gness.
The person that I worked with had some kind of charity event/dinner with him. Said that she had never known such a self centred, obnoxious oaf as him. His musical talents might have been one thing but his personality quiet another.