Record Press

Following the sad loss of 1980s Diva, Whitney Houston, earlier in the year, we have now lost five times Grammy Winner, 1970s Disco Diva Donna Summer. Donna Summer’s contribution and central role in the disco scene in the 1970s cannot be underestimated. Her music was radical and dynamic, ahead of it’s time and still fresh and relevant today!!

My introduction to Donna Summer came in late 1975, when her first single “Love to love you Baby” was released in the UK. Over Xmas 1975 it got plenty of airplay, despite it’s raunchy and risque content with simulated orgasmic sounds!! Of course this guaranteed that Donna Summer had an instant Top 5 hit within two or three weeks of the release of the single!! It also formed part of the soundtrack of the brilliant suburban satire “Abigail’s Party”, which graced our TV screens later that year. I along with the rest of the UK population had not heard anything like it, since Serge Gainsboro and Jane Birkin had a No1 with “Je t’aime” in 1969!! However Donna Summer’s real piece de resistance came the following Summer ( no pun intended!! ), after a couple of minor hits, the Barry Manilow penned “Could it be Magic” and “Winter Melody”. Her only UK No1 and the song that guaranteed her posterity, certainly with disco connoisseurs, was released in June 1977. Teaming up with legendary record producer and electronic music pioneer, Giorgio Moroder, they produced the hypnotic “I Feel Love”, which graced the top of the charts for a whole month.

A string of hits continued for the next six years and then sporadically through the rest of the 1980s and 1990s. Donna Summer had great range, great diversity and versatility, but above all a real energy that made her songs synonymous with the disco soundtrack and it’s inimitable culture. Let’s celebrate the life of Donna Summer and her contribution to the disco movement with her Top 10 Best Songs -

Donna Summer’s Top 10 Best Songs

1)  I Feel Love  ( 1977 )

2)  Love to Love You Baby  (1976 )

3)  I Remember Yesterday  ( 1977 )

4)  Deep Down Inside  ( 1977 )

5)  Bad Girls   (1979 )

6) MacArthur  Park   ( 1978 )

7)  Hot Stuff  ( 1979 )

8)  This Time I Know It’s For Real  ( 1989 )

9)  Winter Melody  ( 1977 )

10)  Love’s Unkind  ( 1977 )

Celebrate the music of Donna Summer from the Disco Era in the 1970s and 1980s, by immortalising your favourite songs in your own home or workplace / office. You can order yours, your partner’s, a family member or a friend’s favourite vinyl record or CD; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. You can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… ORDER NOW…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Framed vinyl records with a personalised plaque, make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

At one time there was simply the  hit parade based on sales of vinyl records, collated into a chart by Radio Luxembourg and later Radio 1. Then came the download chart as technology and subsequent buying habits metamorphosised from buying physical vinyl records and CDs to “invisible” digital downloads. Now the latest barometer of the nation’s musical tastes is the Top 100 songs streamed by services such as Spotify and We7 – The Official Streaming Chart will launch next Monday, promoted with the USP of being the first Chart ever to rank audio streams from both advertising funded and subscription services in the UK.

Ed Sheeran so far is the most-streamed artist of 2012, followed by Lana Del Ray in second place and David Guetta in third. Rihanna is the fourth most-streamed artist, with Coldplay in fifth. Surprisingly the “Download Queen”, Adele does not figure in the Top 10. The Official Streaming Chart is compiled with information from services including Spotify, We7, Napster, Deezer, Zune and ChartsNow. It will be published every week in music industry trade publication, Music Week, and online at www.officialcharts.com.

It’s all a far cry from the the Official Single Chart, which will mark its 60th anniversary in November. When I was a lad in the 1970s, the release of the weekly Radio 1 Chart on a Tuesday lunchtime was the highlight of the week. In those days, the vinyl record sales returns from the designated record shops from the previous week, would be processed by phone and hand on a Monday on behalf of Radio 1 by the British Market Research Bureau ( BRMB ). In the 1970s the new chart was unveiled on Radio 1 by Johnnie Walker ( and later Paul Burnett ) on a Tuesday lunchtime at 12-45pm after Newsbeat. It was a big deal in those days and for those that missed it, it was repeated on the Breakfast Show the following morning, when Noel Edmonds ( and later Dave Lee Travis / DLT ) ran down the new Top 30, playing the highest entries and highest climbers and the No1.

There was a further rundown of the Top 30 at the start of Top of the Pops on BBC1 on a Thursday evening at 7-30pm. However the chart climax was always at 6pm on a Sunday on Radio 1 and Radio 2, with the Top 20 Chart Rundown. The combined audience was huge for the chart show presented by Tom Browne ( he of the silky, smooth James Mason-esque dulcet tones ), who somehow crammed all twenty songs into an hour. Originally the show ran for three hours as “Solid Gold Sixty” when it was launched in 1972. It later expanded to the Top 40 and a two hour show, under Tom Browne’s successor, Simon Bates who took over the helm in 1978. As a footnote, Tom Browne was not a Disc Jockey at all, but a trained actor. He was selected as presenter of the most listened to programme on Radio 1 in the 1970s, because of his excellent vocal delivery and ability to read a script with total slickness!!

Celebrate the music from the heyday of the vinyl record in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, by immortalising your favourite artists in your own home or workplace / office. You can order yours, your partner’s, a family member or a friend’s favourite vinyl record or CD; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. You can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Framed vinyl records with a personalised plaque, make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

For the generation brought up with TV in the 1980s and 1990s, Cilla Black is best known as the effervescent hostess of “Blind Date” and “Surprise, Surprise”. For those who were around in the 1960s and early 1970s, Cilla Black is synonymous with chart hits and multi million selling records. To this end EMI released a 5 CD and Bonus DVD Box Set,“Completely Cilla; 1963-1973”, on 23rd April ahead of her 50th Anniversary in showbusiness, which takes place next year!!

I fell in love with “all things Liverpool” in 1971, when I began watching the TV sitcom “The Liverbirds”. However it was the “Cilla Black Show” that cemented this passion for Scousers – as an eight year old, I was in love with “Our Cilla”. I thought she was gorgeous with her cheeky impishness!! Cilla Black always opened her TV show with the song “Something Tells Me, Something Is Going To Happen Tonight”, which is a song I still love to this day.

Cilla Black may not have a technically perfect vocal style ( what do you expect with that guttural Scouse accent!! ), but what she lacked in technique, she more than made up for with passion and energy!! She was famously “discovered” by Brian Epstein, when she was a cloakroom attendant at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, but the reality is that the Beatles championed her to their manager!! The rest, as they say is history. Brian Epstein introduced Cilla Black to George Martin who signed her to Parlophone Records and produced her debut single, “Love of the Loved”, written by Lennon and McCartney. The single peaked on the outskirts of the charts at No35.

Cilla Black’s second single, released at the beginning of 1964, was a cover of the Burt Bacharach / Hal David song “Anyone Who Had A Heart”, which had originally been written for Dionne Warwick. The single was a huge No1 in the UK, selling 800,000 copies. Cilla’s second UK No1 quickly followed with “You’re My World”. This early success put Cilla Black into an elite club of British female singers – Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Lulu and Petula Clark, all of whom were regularly seen on UK TV in the 1960s and early 1970s with their own TV Shows. Although not singer-songwriters, these four female artists possessed fantastic vocal ranges and are up there with the very best singers of the second half of the 20th Century.

So to celebrate Cilla Black’s 50th Anniversary in showbusiness, albeit a year prematurely, here is a Top 5 Best Cilla Black Songs –

Top 5 Best Cilla Black Songs

1)  Anyone Who Had A Heart

2)  Something Tells Me

3)  Alfie

4) You’re My World

5)  Conversations

Celebrate Cilla Black’s 50th Anniversary a year early, by immortalising her in your own home or workplace / office, by ordering your favourite vinyl record or CD; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

As we fast approach the London 2012 Olympics, clearly national excitement and fervour is growing. This is understandable as the UK hosting the Olympics is a once in a lifetime event for most of us.

Commemorate London 2012 Olympics with a record – not a world record, because that’s beyond most of us – but a framed vinyl record. MyFirstRecord.co.uk is offering any one of the five songs below in a vinyl record format as a lasting memento and souvenir of London 2012 Olympics –

1)  Spandau Ballet – Gold

2)  Soft Cell – Torch

3) Three Degrees – The Runner

4)  Simon & Garfunkel – The Boxer

5)  Rod Stewart – Sailing

Each one will come with a gold or silver plaque, inscribed “London 2012 Olympics Record Holder……”, personalised with a name of whomever you choose. If there are any other songs / records you would prefer then please feel free to order one of them.

ORDER YOUR LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS SOUVENIR NOW…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/ ……and click on the Framed Singles Section.

As I watched “BBC Four……Sings Bacharach and David”, I was astonished by the depth of their music, but not their back catalogue of classic songs. That’s because for a number of years I have been in possession of their ” The Look of Love” Greatest Hits CD. However even I needed to be reminded of the complexity and brilliance of their hit records, put into context by regular footage of the studious and perfectionist Burt Bacharach putting a forty piece orchestra through it’s paces. Such is my awe of the genius of Burt Bacharach, I was left contemplating the unthinkable – that Bacharach & David might just eclipse Lennon & McCartney as songwriters!!

In the documentary “BBC Four……Sings Bacharach and David”, Dusty Springfield narrated a comprehensive and fascinating profile of the songwriter who won an Oscar for the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid score, enjoyed stage success with Promises, Promises and whose classic songs continue to influence modern music. The pantheon of the great and good of the music world, ready to pay homage at the Temple of Bacharach, was breathtaking – Dionne Warwick, Noel Gallager, Herb Alpert, Elvis Costello, Cilla Black, Richard Carpenter and Carol Bayer Sager. Their tributes were glowing, but in the end were almost rendered unnecessary as the footage of Burt Bacharach’s classic songs re-inforced to the viewer that we were in the hallowed company of a genius. Genius is an overused word in the media, but not in the case of the understated Mr Bacharach!! His music has already and will continue to stand the test of time and puts him in the same category as Mozart, Handel, Beethoven, Brahms and Liszt. And of course the music maestros, Lennon & McCartney.

However if I were pushed, and had to choose definitively between the music of Bacharach & David or Lennon & McCartney, I would have to deliberate long and hard. Ultimately if I could only take the back catalogue of one of these two great songwriting partnerships to the proverbial desert island, I think I would opt for Bacharach & David, because I find their music truly uplifting!! To help me decide, I compiled these two Top Ten’s of Songs by the songwriting partnerships of Bacharach & David and Lennon & McCartney -

Bacharach & David’s Top Ten Best Songs

1)  Jackie De Shannon – What The World Needs Now is Love

2)  Cilla Black – Anyone Who Had A Heart

3)  Dionne Warwick – Walk On By

4)  Sandie Shaw – Always Something There To Remind Me

5)  Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Prayer

6)  Herb Alpert – This Guy’s In Love With You

7)  Dusty Springfield – I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself

8)  BJ Thomas – Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head

9)  Walker Brothers – Make It Easy On Yourself

10)  Cilla Black – Alfie

Lennon & McCartney’s Top Ten Best Songs

1)  A Day in the Life

2)  Norwegian Wood

3)  Eleanor Rigby

4)  She’s Leaving Home

5)  Help

6)  Yesterday

7)  Hey Jude

8)  Strawberry Fields Forever

9)  Helter Skelter

10)  She Loves You

So which songwriting partnership would you vote the best – Bacharach / David or Lennon / McCartney? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

You can immortalise the songs of Bacharach & David or The Beatles, in your own home or workplace / office, by ordering your favourite vinyl record or CD; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

BBC2 is currently indulging our love of nostalgia with it’s 1970s season, centred around the flagship “The 70s” series and the accompanying aftershow “Sounds of the 70s”. In the space of two days BBC2 focused twice specifically on 1973, although the nostalgia fest “TV 1973 – the Defining Shows” deflected somewhat from the reality of life in that year. Lest we forget, 1973 was a year of abject misery through economic strife experienced globally and nationally here in the UK. But Glam Rock saved the day and the year!!

Over the intervening 40 years, the bad memories of 1973  have faded, glossed over in particular by the colour and flamboyance of the prevalent Glam Rock music, which epitomised fun and frivolity. However this levity in the music scene in 1973 belied great economic suffering as first of all the oil crisis saw fuel prices at the petrol pumps soar, sparking huge food price inflation and the need for petrol coupons; and then the coalminers sensing the Ted Heath Tory Government’s vulnerability, stuck the knife in with an overtime ban in November 1973 which lasted well into the Spring of 1974!! Quickly coal stock piles dimished and the country was cast into literal and metaphorical darkness, as powercuts and a three day working week for industry was introduced in a state of emergency.

How Prime Minister Edward Heath must have wished that a Dr Who storyline “The Green Death” from earlier that year (June 1973 ), which saw giant maggots killing miners in a Welsh pit, was a reality!! The reality of the powercuts for an eleven year old author, was that the initial excitement of candlelit evenings was quickly surpassed by the disappointment of missing favourite TV programmes. I can remember being “Green Death” with envy because a schoolmate’s family had an electricity generator in their cellar and therefore his TV viewing was not impeded in any way!!

However all was not lost as we Brits had access to our battery operated Ferguson and Bush Transistor Radios, so Radio Luxembourg came into it’s own during the era of the 10-30pm powercut curfew, which saw TV broadcasting close down prematurely!! And what a year for music it was – 1973 was the zenith of the Glam Rock movement, with Slade, Sweet, Wizzard, Suzy Quatro and Gary Glitter sharing nine No1′s between them. Meanwhile teenage heart throbs Donny Osmond and David Cassidy chipped in with a No1 each as well. Away from the No1 Elite Club, Glam Rockers David Bowie and Elton John released some highly credible hit songs, which have very much stood the test of time. 1973 may have been a thoroughly miserable year to live in , but as bad as the economic backdrop might have been, it produced some of the greatest hits of all time!! And here to prove it is The Top 20 Best Hit Songs of 1973 -

The Top 20 Best Hit Songs of 1973

1)  Slade – Cum on Feel the Noize

2)  Sweet – Ballroom Blitz

3)  Wings – Live & Let Die

4)  Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

5)  David Bowie – Life on Mars

6)  Jimmy Helms – Gonna Make You an Offer

7)  Rolling Stones – Angie

8)  Carpenters – Yesterday Once More

9)  David Essex – Rock On

10)  Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Xmas Everyday

11)  Billy Paul – Me & Mrs Jones

12)  Tony Christie – Avenues & Alleyways

13)  Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody

14)  Carly Simon – You’re So Vain

15)  Temptations – Papa Was A Rolling Stone

16)  Bobby Goldsboro – Summer the First Time

17)  Drifters – Like Sister & Brother

18)  Wizzard – Angel Fingers

19)  Sweet – Hellraiser

20) 10cc – Rubber Bullets

You can immortalise the songs of your Glam Rock heroes, in your own home or workplace / office, by ordering your favourite vinyl record; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding Song ), an Engagement Party, a House Warming Party, a 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday, a Silver or Ruby Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

Robert Webb’s sarcastic, sniggering, sneering synopsis of 1995 on Channel 5′s “Ten Things I Hate About 1995″ portrayed a tacky, sleaziness that was not altogether truly representative of that year!!

Sure it was the year that gave us Dale Winton’s “Pet’s Win Prizes” and the irritatingly smug Jeremy Beadle in “Beadle’s About”…..and it’s a pity the latter wasn’t on the receiving end of Eric Cantona’s kung fu kick that night at Selhurst Park. And yes, rogue trader Nick Leeson singlehandedly brought down one of Britain’s oldest banks, Barings!! But what Robert Webb skated over was that this year was the zenith of Britpop and I have have some wonderful memories of 1995, all of which are infused with Britpop tunes.

1995 was the year that saw the man of the moment Chris Evans take the helm of the Radio 1 Breakfast Show and champion the music of Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Supergrass etc. It was only a couple of weeks before he joined Radio 1 that I had had a curry with Chris Evans and a few others. This had come about through my association at the time with his then estranged wife, Carol McGiffen ( from Loose Women ) and my defining memory of 1995 was sitting in her garden by Hampstead Heath on a glorious sunny Sunday, listening to the Radio 1 Chart Rundown. The significance of this was the culmination of a week’s hype by the music industry in the so called “Battle of the Bands” to see whether Oasis or Blur would win the race to No1. In the event Blur’s “Country House” pipped Oasis’ “Roll With It” to the post.

Who was No1 that week is immaterial. What is important is that Oasis and Blur were instrumental in the Britpop movement that injected real dynamism, energy, colour, wit and humour into the music scene. Nobody represents the wit and humour of Britpop better than Jarvis Cocker and Pulp. And that’s why, whatever it’s shortcomings, 1995 will long be remembered for it’s musical legacy. To celebrate this mid decade year, here’s a Top 10 Best Britpop Hits of 1995 -

Top 10 Best Britpop Hits of 1995

1)  Blur – Country House

2)  Oasis – Wonderwall

3)  Pulp – Common People

4)  Blur – The Universal

5)  Oasis – Roll With It

6)  Supergrass – Alright

7)  Pulp – Disco 2000

8)  Oasis – Some Might Say

9)  Suede – New Generation

10)  Supergrass – Lenny

You can immortalise the songs of your favourite Britpop groups, in your own home or workplace / office, by ordering your favourite vinyl record or CD; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding Song ), an Engagement Party, a House Warming Party, a 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday, a Silver Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

Father’s Day is fast approaching on Sunday 17th June, and most dutiful and diligent sons and daughters will be encountering the perennial problem of trying to come up with something original to give Dad this year as a Father’s Day present. Instead of the usual practical, sensible and stereotypical Father’s Day gift, how about giving him something unique and original as the ultimate Father’s Day present?!!

Forget the DIY tools, BBQ set, fluorescent tie or car paraphernalia this year. How about something that begins with a “N”? Get Dad something new, novel and nostalgic!! This year give Dad an original Father’s Day gift……Get your Dad’s favourite song on vinyl record or CD, framed as a picture disc, that he can hang on the living room or in his office as a constant reminder of his youth!!

In the unlikely event that your Dad does not have a favourite or significant song, here is a Top 10 generic “Father” / “Dad” themed songs list, for you to choose from….

Top 10 Generic Father / Dad Themed Songs

1)  Harry Chapin – Cat’s in the Cradle

2)  Cat Stevens – Father & Son

3)  Rolling Stones – Daddy you’re a fool to cry

4)  Temptations – Papa was a rolling stone

5)  Boney M – Daddy Cool

6)  Madonna – Papa don’t preach

7)  Jim Gilstrap – Swing your Daddy

8)  James Brown – Papa’s got a brand new bag

9)  Elvis Presley – Don’t cry Daddy

10)  Cliff Richard – Daddy’s Home

To order your Dad’s favourite vinyl record or CD, framed and mounted, as a Special Father’s Day present, click on…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding Song ), an Engagement Party, a House Warming Party, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

It had to happen…..a musical showcasing some of the Beatles most memorable hits is to be staged in London later this year to mark the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four’s 1962 debut single “Love Me Do”. The author’s flimsy claim to fame is that I entered the world the day before the Beatles released “Love Me Do”on the 5th October 1962 …..and there the comparison starts and abruptly finishes!!

The Beatles musical, entitled “Let It Be” will run at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London from the 14th September 2012 to the 19th January 2013. It only became feasible after full theatrical rights to most of The Beatles’ back catalogue were granted for a West End production for the first time. Other Beatles songs due to feature in the production include “Twist and Shout”, “Yesterday” and “Hey Jude”.

What is truly amazing is that it has taken until now for someone to stage a Beatles musical, especially with the runaway success of the Abba musical “Mamma Mia”. However better late than never. Perhaps we might get to see Led Zeppelin, Elton John or David Bowie’s music transferred to the stage in the not too distant future.

Which artist or group’s songs would you like to see transferred to the stage? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

You can immortalise the songs of your favourite artists, in the theatre of your own home or workplace / office, by ordering your favourite vinyl record or CD; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding Song ), an Engagement Party, a House Warming Party, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

Somebody once said that you can’t keep a good man down, and that certainly seems to be the case with David Bowie and his 1972 alter ego Ziggy Stardust!! They are throwing up plaques, like confetti, in a certain West End street in close proximity to Regent Street in celebration of Ziggy Stardust……But why?

Amongst others, March 2012 has seen The Crown Estate unveil a commemorative plaque to celebrate David Bowie’s iconic creation, Ziggy Stardust, in order to mark the 40th anniversary of the album, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars”. The plaque has been unveiled on Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, London W1, where the iconic photograph on the front cover of the album was taken. Richly deserved as both album content and album cover would figure in most people’s “Top 5 Greatest Albums of the 1970s”.

The Heddon Street of today bears very little resemblance or comparison with the Heddon Street of 1972, when the album cover was photographed. Today Heddon Street makes up one of Regent Street’s main Food Quarters, a pedestrianised, paved area inhabited by al fresco diners with restaurants including Momo, Aubaine, Below Zero, The Ice Bar, Strada, Piccolino’s, Strawberry Moons and The Living Room.

Back in 1972, Heddon Street was the desolate and sleazy backdrop for the classic David Bowie album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars”. The album cover depicts David Bowie “Ziggy Stardust” outside on a cold wet January night with his foot resting on a step outside No23 Heddon Street. The photographer Brian Ward, had rented a space upstairs in the building as a temporary photographic studio. However David Bowie was invited by Brian Ward to step outside into the cold January night onto Heddon Street. Apparently the other band members declined as they thought it too cold. The group aka “The Spiders” were lead guitarist Mick Ronson who sadly died of liver cancer in 1993, Trevor Bolder on bass and Mick Woodmansey on drums.

David Bowie’s “The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” was released on vinyl on the 6th June 1972, and to celebrate the seminal glam rock masterpiece turning 40 somewhat unsurprisingly there will be a Special 40th Anniversary edition. This 40th anniversary reissue will come out on the 5th June courtesy of EMI – the original vinyl album was released on the RCA Record label.

The reissue will be available in two different versions: a standard CD containing the remastered album and a limited-edition vinyl pressing that comes with a bonus DVD. This audio-only DVD contains the original album, plus 5.1 surround sound mixes of all 11 songs. There are also previously unreleased mixes of non-LP cuts “The Superman”, “Velvet Goldmine” and “Sweet Head,” plus an instrumental version of “Moonage Daydream.”

For those Bowie fans who love vinyl, but long ago threw out their vinyl copy of “The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” OR never had a copy in the first place AND are not lucky enough to get hold of the limited-edition vinyl pressing, then MyFirstRecord.co.uk will ride to the rescue…..

You can celebrate the 40th Anniversary and immortalise David Bowie’s “The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” in your own home or workplace / office, by ordering this or any other favourite David Bowie vinyl record; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding Song ), a 30th, 40th, 50th or 60th Birthday, a Silver or Ruby Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

If you are looking for an original personalised gift for a male of any age, then how about a framed vinyl record with a boy’s name in the title? This would be perfect as a christening present or baptism gift. Alternatively if not for a christening, how about a a framed vinyl record with a boy’s name in the title as a special birthday gift ie a 21st, 30th, 40th or 50th Birthday. To personalise the present further, you can add an inscribed plaque. You’ll be surprised how many solo artists and groups have released vinyl records with a boy’s names in the titles of their songs. Check and select from the list below -

Cilla Black – Alfie

Brotherhood of Man – Angelo

Christopher Cross – Arthur’s Theme

Michael Jackson – Ben

Elton John – Daniel

Abba – Fernando

Elton John – Song for Guy

Sham 69 – Hurry Up Harry

Manfred Mann – My Name is Jack

Free -  My Friend Jake

Undertones – Jimmy Jimmy

Jimi Hendrix – Hey Joe

David Bowie – John, I’m only dancing

Hot Chocolate – Brother Louie

Cat Stevens – Matthew & Son

Toni Basil – Mickey

XTC – We’re only making plans for Nigel

Elvis Costello – Oliver’s Army

Jackie Lee – Rupert

Olivia Newton John – Sam

Cockney Rebel – Sebastian

1910 Fruitgum Co – Simon Says

Slade – My Friend Stan

Twinkle – Terry

Don Maclean – Vincent

Smiths – William, it was really nothing

If you can’t find the correct boy’s name on the song list above, here’s a link through to more names….. www.songfacts.com/

ORDER A FRAMED VINYL RECORD WITH A BOY’S NAME IN THE TITLE NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

This would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Christening, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th or 60th Birthday!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

If you are looking for an original personalised present for a female of any age, then how about a framed vinyl record with a girl’s name in the title? This would be perfect as a christening gift or baptism present. Alternatively if not for a christening, how about a a framed vinyl record with a girl’s name in the title as a special birthday gift ie a 21st, 30th, 40th or 50th Birthday. Or simply as the ultimate Valentine’s Day present. To personalise the gift further, you can add an inscribed plaque. You’ll be surprised how many solo artists and groups have paid tribute to girls and  girlfriends by naming them in the titles of their songs. Check and select from the list below -

Elvis Costello – Alison

Rolling Stones – Angie

Helen Reddy – Angie Baby

Four Tops – Bernadette

Beach Boys – Barbara Ann

Ray Stevens – Bridget the Midget

Cliff Richard – Carrie

Hollies – Carrie Ann

Neil Diamond – Sweet Caroline

Neil Sedaka – Oh Carol

Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia

Gilbert O’Sullivan – Clair

B52s – Planet Claire

Tom Jones – Delilah

10CC – Donna

Turtles – Elenore

Lindisfarne – Lady Eleanor

Paul & Barry Ryan – Eloise

Hot Chocolate – Emma

Pink Floyd – See Emily Play

Clifford T Ward – Gaye

Scott Walker – Jackie

Jefferson Starship – Jane

Rod Stewart – Baby Jane

Casuals – Jesamine

Scott Walker – Joanna

Kool & The Gang – Joanna

Kenny – Julie Ann

Marillion – Kayleigh

Ricky Vallance – Tell Laura I love her

Scaffold – Lily The Pink

Beach Boys – Lady Linda

Kinks – Lola

Human League – Louise

Kenny Rogers – Lucille

Mud – L-L-Lucy

Elton John – Lucy in the sky with diamonds

Rod Stewart – Maggie May

Honeybus – I won’t let Maggie go

Barry Manilow – Mandy

Overlanders – Michelle

Siouxsie & Banshees – Dear Prudence

Neil Diamond – Cracklin’ Rosie

Rolling Stones – Ruby Tuesday

John Travolta – Sandy

Fleetwood Mac – Sara

Thin Lizzy – Sarah

The Knack – My Sharona

Cuff Links – Tracy

Steve Windwood – Valerie

Elvis Costello – Veronica

If you can’t find the correct girl’s name on the song list above, here’s a link through to more names….. www.songfacts.com/

ORDER A FRAMED VINYL RECORD WITH A GIRL’S NAME IN THE TITLE NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

This would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Christening, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th or 60th Birthday or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

BBC4′s evening celebrating disco, with “The Joy of Disco”, “Disco at the BBC” and “Queens of Disco” was a magical, kaleidoscopic glitterball of colour and sound!! It was three hours of sublime pleasure……

New York ( in particular Studio 54 ) epitomised the Disco movement and trend at it’s height circa 1977 and 1978, but it was the cities of Miami and Philadelphia that drove the Disco culture originally. Miami gave the world Jayboy Records spearheaded by KC & the Sunshine Band, coupled with George McCrae, for whom KC songwrote, which allowed Disco to break into the mainstream in 1974 with chart success across the US and Europe. First came George McCrae with his global No1 “Rock Your Baby” and within weeks KC & the Sunshine Band had their debut hit with “Queen of Clubs”.

Meanwhile at precisely the same time in 1974 the “Philly Sound” of Gamble and Huff at Philadelphia International Records was establishing artists like the Three Degrees, Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, Archie Bell & The Drells, O’Jays and The Intruders into the mainstream with significant chart success. Like George McCrae at Jayboy Records, the Three Degrees also had a No1 in 1974 for Philadelphia International Records – “When Will I See You Again?”

So the curtain was raised for the  Golden Era of Disco, which lasted a brief six years from 1974 – 1979. Disco was simply a celebration of music, movement and dance!! It filled you with a “joie de vivre”…………..So let’s pay tribute to this wonderful genre………..

The Top 25 Best Disco Hits of the 1970s

1)  Chic – Good Times ( 1979 )

2)  Sister Sledge – Lost in Music ( 1979 )

3)  KC & Sunshine Band – Queen of Clubs (1974)

4)  Hues Corporation – Rock The Boat ( 1974 )

5)  Sugar Hill Gang – Rapper’s Delight ( 1979 )

6)  Candi Staton – Young Hearts Run Free (1976)

7)  Bee Gees – Stayin Alive ( 1978 )

8 ) Donna Summer – I Feel Love ( 1977 )

9)  Eruption – One Way Ticket ( 1979 )

10)  Chic – Everybody Dance ( 1978 )

11 )  Gloria Gaynor – Never Can Say Goodbye (1974)

12 )  George McCrae – It’s Been So Long ( 1975 )

13 ) Village People – In the Navy ( 1979 )

14)  Billy Ocean – Love Really Hurts ( 1976 )

15 )  George McCrae – Rock Your Baby ( 1974 )

16)  Sylvester – You Make Me Feel Mighty Real (1978)

17)  Sister Sledge – He’s The Greatest Dancer ( 1979 )

18 ) Boney M – Rasputin ( 1978 )

19)  Earth Wind & Fire – Fantasy ( 1978 )

20)  Village People – YMCA ( 1978 )

21)  O’Jays – I Love Music ( 1976 )

22 )  KC & The Sunshine Band – That’s The Way ( I Like It )  ( 1975 )

23 )  Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive ( 1979 )

24 )  Trammps – Disco Inferno ( 1978 )

25 )  Labelle – Lady Marmalade ( 1975 )

Which are your favourite Disco anthems and songs? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

You can immortalise the “ritzy glitzy” Disco Era in your own home or workplace / office, by buying a gaudy glitterball and ordering your favourite Disco vinyl record or CD; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding Song ), a 30th, 40th, 50th or 60th Birthday, a Silver or Ruby Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

Whitney Houston has died tragically in Los Angeles at the age of 48, in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she had been staying as a guest. Whitney Houston was one of the most popular female singers of all time, at her zenith in the 1980s and 1990s with hits including “I Will Always Love You” and “Saving All My Love For You”. Sadly with echoes of Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston’s later career was defined, not by her power ballad music, but by drug abuse and her turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown.

Ironically Whitney Houston died on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles – an Awards Ceremony that she dominated for many years with six Grammy wins. She had been due to attend a pre-awards party in the Beverly Hilton Hotel organised by her long-time mentor and record industry executive Clive Davis on Saturday evening.  Clive Davis proceeded with the party, holding a minute’s silence as a personal tribute, saying he was “personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years”.

Whitney Houston’s total record sales exceeded 170million – melodramatic songs with a recurring theme revolving around triumphing over the odds, something that ironically and tragically she was not able to do in her personal life when it came to her cocaine addiction!!

However Whitney Houston’s legacy will be that of driving the “pop diva” culture that has inspired singers to the present day, like Beyonce, Rihanna and Mariah Carey. She was also the first black woman to break through the colour barrier of MTV, which prior to Whitney Houston’s videos had played white artists almost exclusively. MTV made her a household name in the USA and an international star throughout the rest of the world.

Whitney Houston’s songs were not incredibly sophisticated technically, but she had a great voice which she maximised on and sang with great passion, producing some fantastic anthems that will be her enduring legacy…………Here’s a Top 5 Best Whitney Houston Songs -

Top 5 Best Whitney Houston Songs

1)  I Will Always Love you

2)  Greatest Love Of All

3)  I Wanna Dance with Somebody

4)  Saving All My Love For You

5)  One Moment In Time

Which are your favourite Whitney Houston songs, singles or album tracks? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

You can immortalise Whitney Houston in your own home, by ordering your favourite vinyl record or CD; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding ( Wedding Song ), a 30th, 40th, 50th or 60th Birthday, a Silver Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

For further tributes, click on these Whitney Houston websites…… remembering.whitneyhouston.com/

whitney-houston.com/

It has been confirmed that Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Tom Jones, Sir Cliff Richard, Madness, Annie Lennox, JLS, Jesse J and Ed Sheeran will play at The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert in June.

It has been announced that The Diamond Jubilee Concert, which is a collaboration between the BBC and Gary Barlow, will be staged near The Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.  A national ballot, which can be applied for online, will distribute free tickets to 10,000 people.

It is safe to assume that Shirley Bassey singing “Diamonds are Forever” will be the centrepiece of the Diamond Jubilee Concert, unless Elton John re-works one of his more recent hits, so it becomes “Lion Queen”!! Meanwhile I assume it will be ok for Madness to sing “The Prince” should they so choose!! As for Paul McCartney……..just turning up will be sufficient as he is pure “Rock Royalty”.

It should be quite an occasion befitting a Queen and the second longest reign in British history!! Let’s just hope John Lydon and the surviving Sex Pistols do not turn up and crash the Diamond Jubilee Party with a rendition of “God Save The Queen”………God the Queen’s Silver Jubilee only seems like yesterday!!

How did you celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee back in June 1977? Were you at one of those thousands of street parties? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

If you know a couple  celebrating their Diamond Wedding Anniversary in 2012, buy their favourite vinyl record or CD, framed and mounted, as a Special Diamond Anniversary present, by clicking on…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

If they don’t happen to have a favourite song, you could always buy them the definitive Diamond Anniversary song – a vinyl copy of Shirley Bassey’s “Diamonds Are Forever”!!

A framed vinyl record or CD would also make a unique present or original gift for other special celebrations  ie a Wedding ( Wedding Song ), a 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Mother’s or Father’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!