"I get nervous in the New York City Streets, where my legacy treads" Blog Advent Calendar Day 10 December 10, 2014
Filed under: Christmas,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 1:02 am
Tags: Austria, Blow Your Mind, Canned Heat, Corner Of The Earth, Cosmic Girl, Deeper Underground, Didgeridoo, Don't Give Hate A Chance, Germany, Godzilla, Iroquois, Italy, Jamiroquai, Jason Cheetham, Jason Luis Cheetham, Jay Kay, Jeremy Clarkson, Karen Kay, Little L, Mexico, Netherlands, Nick Van Gelder, Radio, Rolf Harris, Runaway, Simon Cowell, Space Cowboy, Strictly Come Dancing, Stuart Zender, Switzerland, The Naked Chef, The X Factor (UK), Toby Smith, Top Gear, US Dance Chart, Virtual Insanity, Wallis Buchanan, White Knuckle Ride, X Factor
Already we're into double figures in December. How did it get to become December 10th so quickly? Anyway that means that it is now Day ten in my advent calendar blog posts. The theme this year is the ABC of British Bands for those of you who are not regular readers? What's that I hear you say? You're not a regular reader? In that case feel free to sign up and join the millions of others who read this blog everyday! OK so I exaggerated, sign up and join the few hundred that come here everyday. More importantly join the 700+ who actually follow it. December 10th means it's day 10, which in turn means that we have reached the letter 'J'. Who will it be? That's easy, it's Jamiroquai.
The band was formed in 1992. The lead singer and main man of the band is Jason Luis Cheetham, although I'm sure that you know him better as the crazy hat wearing Jay Kay. His mother Karen Kay was a television personality in the UK and a cabaret singer. Jay Kay originally started the band along with Toby Smith, Stuart Zender, Nick Van Gelder and Wallis Buchanan. They played keyboards, bass, drums and didgeridoo respectively. Has there ever been another British band that featured a didgeridoo player? Well let's not count disgraceful kiddie fiddler any longer. The band's name comes from an amalgamation of jam session and the Iroquois tribe of North America.
Some of Jay Kay's hats were made by his mother and emulating her TV career he has also appeared on many TV shows including Top Gear, Strictly Come Dancing, The Naked Chef and the X-Factor. The band had three UK number one albums between 1993 and 2001. Their albums have also hit the top of the charts in Mexico, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and in the US Dance Chart. Their only UK number on single so far has been "Deeper Underground" from 1998. The song appeared on the soundtrack for that years 'Godzilla' film. They have been very popular across Europe and have had number one singles in four other countries in addition to the UK. They also climbed to the top of the US Dance Singles chart an impressive five times between 1994 and 2006.
Now it is time for you to enjoy a selection of classic Jamiroquai cuts. I hope that you enjoy them.
"All the men come in these places and the men are all the same" a.k.a. 9 ladies dancing December 21, 2012
Filed under: News,Trivia — justwilliam1959 @ 12:02 am
Tags: 5000 Volts, Arlene Phillips, Biddu, Buggles, Carl Douglas, Christmas, Cockney Rebel, Dance Little Lady Dance, Dire Straits, Donovan, Geoff Downes, I Love To Love, Jeff Beck, Jim Gilstrap, John Illsley, Kate Bush, Kung Fu Fighting, Linda Lewis, Lord Of The Reedy River, Love Over Gold, Mark Knopfler, Mary Hopkin, Private Dancer, Sat In Your Lap, Steve Harley, Strictly Come Dancing, The Dreaming, Tina Charles, Tina Hoskins, Tina Turner, Trevorn Horn, United States, Yes
Day 9 in my 12 days of Christmas series of posts has arrived and frankly I am running out of room to keep all these diverse and wonderful gifts I keep receiving from my true love. Any suggestions as to what I can do with 9 ladies dancing. OK perhaps you'd better not answer that because undoubtedly most of you will add the word lap somewhere in there won't you? It would seem likely that the interest in ballroom dancing has surged recently, perhaps due to TV shows like Strictly Come Dancing (is that the correct title? Personally I have never watched it). Dance was one of the most popular art forms according to the Arts Council in England and applications for grants for dance projects had increased from 373 to 437 from 2011 to 2012. So today is quite special because you'll get three songs for the price of two. Firstly it's a classic slice of what I would call disco bubble pop. It's Tina Charles with "Dance Little Lady Dance". Tina was born Tina Hoskins in March 1954 and later changed her name to avoid possible confusion with Mary Hopkin. She chose Charles as that was her father's first name. She started out as a session and backing vocalist. She provided backing vocals along with Linda Lewis on the Steve Harley and Cockney rebel classic "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)" a UK number one from 1975. She was also the uncredited vocalist on the 5000 Volts hit "I'm On Fire". This was due to contractual reasons. That song made it to number 4 in the UK and number 1 in Germany and Sweden. It only managed number 26 in the US but it was competing against a version of the same song by Jim Gilstrap. Tina's big break came when she met record producer Biddu who had a massive success with "Kung Fu Fighting" from Carl Douglas in 1974. he produced a few songs for her including the biggest hit of her career, "I Love To Love (But My Baby Loves To Dance)" this was at number one for 3 weeks in the UK in 1976. The song I have chosen for this post was also a UK hit for Tina but only managed a peak of number 6. That song is "Dance Little Lady Dance". A remix of the song was issued in 1987 and made the top 20 in Germany and the Netherlands. her touring band in the mid 70s featured two future members of Buggles and Yes; Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. The second song I have chosen for you today is "Private Dancer" from another Tina, this time Tina Turner. The song was written by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and was originally considered for inclusion on the band's album 'Love Over Gold'. However Knopfler didn't think it was right for a male vocalist. John Illsley from the band featured on Tina Turner's version of the song. Guitar was provided by Jeff Beck and not Mark Knopfler on Turner's version of the song. The song only reached number 26 in the UK but managed a number 7 position in both France and the USA. The choreography for the promotional video for the song was provided by former Strictly Come Dancing judge, Arlene Phillips. As I mentioned earlier, you will get three songs for the price of two today and the third is a special Billy Bonus for Christmas. as I alluded to lap Dancing earlier in this post, which is something I have never experienced (ok so maybe I have just the once……. or maybe twice) I thought I would take the opportunity to add some Kate Bush. No I know she isn't a lap dancer, but I would be very tempted if she was, but she did have a song called "Sat In Your Lap" didn't she. It reached number 11 in the UK in 1981 and was the first single to come from Kate's album 'The Dreaming', albeit some 15 months before the album appeared. The B Side was a cover of Donovan's "Lord Of The Reedy River".