onionbagblog

We had a rare Friday Film Night - a double header as well. With the bloody Estuary Wilds rain pissing it down all day and all evening, this was no time to be tripping the light fantastic outdoors.

And so we went in early. Work tools were downed at strictly 5pm, and then the first screening soon followed. A short break for an evening meal, and then the second sitting of Film Night.

Being screened was That’ll be the Day, and then Stardust - the David Essex films from the mid 70’s that document the rise and fall of a rock star.

Sounds familiar? Both films are rock ‘n’ roll cliches; both draw heavily on The Beatles, Bowie and Bolan.

I’ve seen That’ll be the Day before, although I wasn’t overly familiar with all the plot twists and turns. Stardust was new to me.

My interest was prodded through a casual name check of both films in the excellent This is Clobbered podcast - a YT channel that is taking up my time, and my monthly clothes allowance.

The two Marks explained how the first film gets the look and style of early UK rock ‘n’ roll spot on; Stardust meanwhile was referenced as being something much, much darker, and a very different proposition altogether.

They weren’t wrong.

That’ll be the Day is bloody great.

Ringo! Keith Moon! Shagging!

Plus more SHAGGING!

You couldn’t get away with some of the scenes and scripts these days, etc.

It roughly tells the story of working class dreams and failures. BALLS to The Man and the life path you are expected to take. Why not run away and join the fairground instead?

There’s a fantastic soundtrack throughout. You really can’t go wrong with early rock ‘n’ roll.

I’d forgotten that the film has anything but a happy ending. It was a bit of an oh, is that it moment, when the end credits rolled.

Not so.

A brief break for a meal, and then we streamed Stardust.

wtf.

Where to start?

tl’dr with a MAJOR spoiler:

It’s a classic tale of a Rock ‘n’ Roll suicide. But there’s still some unintentional comedy moments to be found.

Both films have roles from actors either on the way up, or on the way down.

Blimey! There’s JR Ewing - or rather Larry Hagman - muscling in on Adam Faith as the business manger for David Essex’s rock star role. And he’s basically playing JR in an English music movie.

The storyline goes BONKERS way too early.

It was however a clever move to trackback with a funeral for a character from the first film. This allows the connection to be made. Without this, That’ll be the Day and Stardust would have little to no narrative between them.

The timeline takes a huge leap. One moment we’re all Buddy Holly in the first film, and then without much cultural explanation or reference, we’re BALLS deep in the world of Bowie and Bolan.

That’ll be the Day is by far the more authentic film; Stardust is more interesting.

Robert Elms had another ACE Cover to Cover on BBC Radio London this morning. Up for consideration was Tainted Love - Gloria Jones Vs, well, you know what.

As ever with Cover to Cover, the original was played first. I always thought the Soft Cell cover was the original until relatively recently.

The Gloria Jones Northern Soul stomp was first released in 1964. The Soft Cell version followed seventeen years later.

It’s not a major lapse of time in the chronology of popular music. But they sound worlds apart. One is huff and puff Northern Soul, the other is the future.

SHOUT OUT to erm, Ed Cobb who originally wrote the song. Plus Glenn Campbell weirdly plays guitar on the Gloria Jones version.

I found the original to be lacking in any hook. That synth double beat riff which defines the Soft Cell version is so underplayed. The song is pretty much over before it’s started.

Soft Cell meanwhile is a youth club classic for me. The highlight of each month for me was dancing away to the 12" at the youth club disco as Tainted Love morphs into Where Did I Love Go?

It’s a killer drop, especially the segue, which still has me dancing more than four decades later.

The reason for Elms selecting Tainted Love was of course the passing of Dave Ball. His production and synth arrangement here is magical. It sounds like seedy Soho of the time.

As soon as the opening seconds of the synth whip kick in, you know you’re there.

No surprises that Soft Cell won.

Holy Quack! Duck Tours Are Returning To London

And if they’re anything like the old yellow duck predecessors, they’re a right pain for any passing cyclists.

We Asked This MP If He Really Wanted to Be in Your Party. Then He Quit

💩 Show

An album that all the nerds at schools use to have wet dreams over. I was too busy with 2Tone and girls. Time to see if the nerds won the long game?

tl;dr nerds never win.

At the end of Oxygène 1 I was ready to bail. Wait. There’s five more servings of this shit sandwich to come?

It sounds more like the annoying soundtrack for an early 80’s video game console. It’s got a crap cover as well.

UP YOURS, nerds.

⭐

The Inside Story of How the Green Party Turned Red

A return to The Trail for the firs time in a fortnight. The leaves have dropped, the ferry has been put away to bed for another season. We’re on the cusp of the end of autumn, approaching stupidly early Christmas planning.

I had chores and admin that I really should have been seeing to indoors. But the forecast for the bloody Estuary Wilds for tomorrow is a shocker. You need to get out, whilst you can.

Further down the Trail and the cormorant was sitting proud on top of his pole vantage point, drying his wings out. We watched the latest shitty Jurassic Park film last night. He wouldn’t have looked out of place in that.

Make the most of these Golden Days, Mr Cormorant. You appreciate the sun all the more when it’s pissing it down 24/7 outside. Good luck with the wing drying thing in the morning.

Here’s some geezer music for you: I bring you Good Health Good Wealth.

This time next year we will be millionaires, etc.

Which also happens to be the title of their debut album, out on Friday.

I first caught the duo on BBC Introducing for London. It’s a cheeky chappy mix of Streets style stories, with some tight beats brought up to date.

They look the bollocks as well.

Some of the tracks get a little dark. GWGH are not afraid to explore their own feelings, all behind the uplifting beats.

They’re also giving Sleaford fucking Mods a run for their money in the profanity stakes.

Well this is a wonderful oddity from Little Stevie - a double CD as well, something that I’m always in favour of.

Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants is WAY OUT of the usual Stevie narrative around this time. Released in 1979, it’s the polar opposite of that glorious run of five albums, starting with Music of My Mind in 1972, and closing with Songs in the Key of Life four years later.

That’s not to say that Plants is crap. It’s just different. VERY different.

I had no understanding or even knowledge of this album until recently. Apologies, Stevie obsessives.

It got name checked by Gawd knows who in a podcast I heard, or an interview I read. I get through so much online content these days that I can’t keep track of where all the heads up come from.

But something must have pricked my interest to add it to the ebay Watch List.

Daily CD’s were served up - £10 to £15. Which sounds about right for a double album release.

And then last week this copy landed at £4.

Blimey. BUY NOW etc.

ChatGPT tells me:

“Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants was an experimental, mostly instrumental album intended to accompany the visuals of a nature documentary exploring the idea that plants are sentient and can respond to human emotion.”

Which is all very King Charles.

First play, first impressions: it’s a soulful companion piece for Brian Eno releases around this time. It’s still Stevie, with the harmonica dropping across different tracks.

I still love the idea of taking a punt on the unknown. Sure, I could have streamed this. But for a £4 gamble, I’ve now got a new double album that keeps me going for the next month or so.

We need more environmental music btw. What’s Going On, World Party’s Goodbye Jumbo, and now Journey Through the Life of Plants.

I hope over time, Stevie gets the same high esteem from me as the other two albums on this list.

An interesting album, but hardly a classic. It does what you would expect from Fatboy - it builds, it bleeps, it bounces. But it’s very much a fast food instant hit. I didn’t find myself humming any of the lops later in the day. My main interest was in trying to spot the samples.

⭐ ⭐

Another day, another KLF podcast.

Eternal, etc.

And so here we have Miranda Sawyer with an hour of KLF conversation as part of her Talk 90’s To Me series.

Miranda is great with her understanding of promotion of all things 90’s. She was there and pretty much lived the dream.

Her constant laughter on the KLF pod is a little grating - a minor irritant. I think it’s the subject matter of what is quite a dark story that doesn’t lend itself to the bubbly narration.

Joining Miranda on the pod is Joe Muggs, here to plug his latest cover feature on the KLF for Disco Pogo magazine. He knows his Transcentral backstory.

It remains a magical tale, and one that I’ve not quite exhausted. But there is a sense of allowing the well to run dry with these art terrorist anecdotes.

The KLF squeezed so much into a relatively short period. The stories are getting repeated across various pods, with a different type of truth emerging at the other end each time.

Which is VERY Discordian in outlook.

It’s similar to all the Clough stories over the years. I can now no longer listen to the endless podcasts and YT clips with stories from the Great Man. I’ve heard them all before.

I’m not even going to touch the latest Sex Pistols podcast on BBC Sounds. How many times can you tell the story of overflowing bins in Leicester Square and Bill Grundy?

The 90’s pod though is definitely worth a listen. The section on burning the million quid gets quite deep and shines a new light on the whole spectacle.

I did like the quote that the KLF “aren’t the Pet Shop Boys.”

There’s also some well researched segments that bring the story up to date. The KLF may be dead, but the story isn’t.

MuMumification day is coming up on Merseyside on the 23rd, natch.

They’re still BONKERS, they’re still kicking against the pricks.