They Always Spoke Spanish To Me

I recently acquired a double CD compilation of Spanish language rock and pop called "Llena Tu Cabeza De Rock... En Español" ("Fill Your Head With Rock... In Spanish"). While I would not call it a must have by any means, there is enough good stuff on there to justify the 50p I paid for it.

The compilation came out in 2001 but most of the tracks are from the 1980s and early 1990s. There is one tune from 1972 that rather sticks out, and that is the one we start with - so say hello to Sui Generis from Argentina. That is followed by some groovy sounds from 1980s Spain and Chile respectively. 

We round things off in the video with the mighty Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and one of their four hits that feature on the album. I hope you enjoy it more than the stuffed shirts in the audience did. 

"Cancion Para Mi Muerte" - Sui Generis

"Ni Tu Ni Nadie" - Alaska y Dinarama

"Sexo" - Los Prisioneros

Messrs Blue

Since yesterday I have had Bobby Vee's "Mr Blue" stuck in my head and it shows no sign of making any plans to leave. So I thought I should provide it with an outlet. This is it.

Joining The Bobster are Tom Paxton and Laura Nyro and their songs of the same name. They are both pretty good, but Bobby's is best.

All together now: "I'm Mister Blue, when you say you love me..."

"Mr Blue" - Bobby Vee

"Mr Blue" - Tom Paxton

"Mr Blue" - Laura Nyro

What's bluer than Mr Blue? I think you have already guessed the answer to that.

Poetry Corner

A bit of culture for you today folks, courtesy of South African poet and performer Mzwakhe Mbuli.

Mr Mbuli is definitely a member of the firebrand wing of the poetry party. Under the apartheid regime his records were often banned and he himself frequently detained. He also spent three years in prison at the turn of the century for armed robbery, although he and his supporters claim this was a trumped up charge and that he was being punished for speaking up against corruption. 

How unlike the home life of our own Pam Ayres.

"Triple B" - Mzwakhe Mbuli

"Kwazulu Natal" - Mzwakhe Mbuli

All Summer Gone

Today is officially the last day of Summer here in the UK. Let's say goodbye with a wistful sigh, and maybe even a plaintive cry.

"Summer Wages" - Bobby Bare

"Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer" - Stevie Wonder

"Summer Wind" - Frank Sinatra

Music By The Mugful

Ladies and Gentlemen - especially the ladies if Mr Tea is to be believed - please give a warm welcome to Cocoa Tea (the great reggae singer not some ghastly hot drink hybrid).

"Israel's King" - Cocoa Tea

"Ladies Ball" - Cocoa Tea

Seaside Shuffle

I'm off for a long weekend later this morning. Most of it will be spent visiting pals in Southport but I'm making a little detour to take in the delights of Blackpool.

I originally set out to feature musicians from Southport in this post but with one exception, which we'll come to, it was slim pickings. You can't really lead off a post with 4/5ths of Gomez, can you? So I decided to make it about Blackpool instead, where there is no shortage of local talent.

We have a couple of bands that kicked off their careers there, Jethro Tull and The Nolans - inexplicably the two have never teamed up. There are a bunch of performers who were all born there but moved away at a young age - Graham Nash, Maddy Prior and Robert Smith. 

And then there is Dave Ball, who went off to Leeds Poly where he met a lad from - you guessed it - Southport and formed a band that did quite well. One day I'll tell you the story of how a near encounter with that son of Southport led to me appearing on Russian television. But for now you will have to make do with a video.

"Military Madness" - Graham Nash

"Lovely On The Water" - Steeleye Span

"Up The 'Pool" - Jethro Tull

HK TOTP

I've recently acquired assorted Hong Kong pop tunes from the 1970s and 1980s - its a long, uninteresting story. Here is but a small selection from the mid 1970s.

Paula Tsui took the understandable commercial decision to capitalise on the popularity of kung fu at the time. You could not really call it gritty and earthy but it makes poor Ervinna sound very dated by comparison, even for 1974. Cheng Kam Cheong, meanwhile, was very much creating a scene of his own.

"Gong Fu Wu" - Paula Tsui

"Huan Le Ge Xing Chu Chu Wen" - Ervinna

"Sheng Huo De Xuan Luu" -  Cheng Kam Cheong

Ervinna is an Indonesian singer who was a big star across Asia in the 1970s, mainly through performing covers of Western pop hits of the time. And non hits too. "Huan Le Ge Xing Chu Chu Wen" is a Cantonese version of "Shiddle De Dee", which Clint Holmes took all the way to No. 106 in the Billboard charts in 1973. 

Clint is best known for "Playground In My Mind". I couldn't find a clip of that so I looked for Roberto Blanco's German version instead. I couldn't find that either but there were plenty of other clips of Roberto, who may perhaps be considered the German Ervinna. Here's one of them.