Marc Almond...

On Sunday night Darren, Mark, Denz and I went to see the fabulous Marc Almond perform at the Union Chapel.

The man has a back catalogue to die for, can literally call the tunes and can put together a great show. And a great show it was. There were loads of old favourites to revel in. No Soft Cell stuff but the entire Motherfist and Her Five Daughters album end to end. A few nice Lou Reed songs too.

Marc seemed full of energy - some of it nervous energy I'm guessing - as he had a lot of songs to remember. He performed with loads of gusto though and commanded the whole stage. A few anecdotes about David Bowie, Antony Hegarty and Lou Reed and a few comic asides peppered the show.

The only slight downside was perhaps the sound in the venue. The vocals were muffled and overwhelmed by the band. It meant that casual fans who perhaps hadn't heard say Mr Sad or The Hustler before were deprived of the lyrics.

Stand out song for me was In My Room that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

Set list included:-

I Have Lived
Burn Bright
The Dancing Marquis
The Last Tasmanian Tiger
Child Star
I Who Never
Catch A Fallen Star
Storks
Sandboy
The Little White Cloud That Cried
In My Room
Caroline Says
The Bed
Pale Blue Eyes
Mother Fist
There Is a Bed
Saint Judy
The Room Below
Angel in Her Kiss
The Hustler
Melancholy Rose
Mr Sad
The Sea Says
The Champ
Ruby Red
The River

Encore:
Always

Sleaze / Walk on the Wild Side

Claudia Brücken...

Last Saturday night Simon and I went to watch high-class synth Teuton Claudia Brücken perform at The Borderline in London's glitzy West End.

Promoting her recent covers album "The Lost are Found" the ex-Act, ex-Propaganda ice-queen vocalist gave a suitably deadpan, note-perfect performance in wonderfully stark contrast to her dreamy song choices. It was a juxtaposition that really worked.

Julee Cruise's “Mysteries of Love” from the Blue Velvet soundtrack, Stina Nordenstam's “Memories of a Color”, Bowie's 2002 single “Everyone Says Hi”, the Bee Gees' “Whispering Pines” all slipped and slid around us. We found ourselves getting drawn into every song.

There were crowd pleasers too from the luscious "Dr Mabuse" to the sing-a-long "Duel".

The band were great too. And the venue intimate. All in all a great night out.

Pop Quiz - The Questions...

Last night the lovely David, the gorgeous Darren and I relived a few old memories and went down to the Pop Quiz at the Retro Bar in London's glitzy West End. The rules hadn't really changed but the fee had - up from £1 per team to £1 per person. Makes sense really as the bigger teams have more chance.
We got sixteen and a half out of twenty with just a few slip ups including a rather painful answer that we got right - but then changed after a misleading clue from the quiz mistress. The winners got seventeen and a half and won some CDs. As we came second we got to choose a prize too and won three Munny zipper pull. Mine's now on my camera strap.
So here are the questions. Give it a go (without Google!)
Noughties Round
01. Who had a hit with Hey Ya?
02. Who had a hit with a falsetto cover of Comfortably Numb?
03. What was Ms Dynamite's biggest UK hit? (spelling important)
04. Who had a top ten hit with Heartbeats in 2004?
05. Which band covered Grace's Not Over Yet (and added an "It's" in the process)?
Covers Round
06. What Bangles song did the Puppini Sisters cover?
07. David Bowie did a cover of Waiting For The Man. But who performed the original?
08. What Pointer Sisters song did song post-punk band Le Tigre cover?
Neil Diamond Round
09. "Where it began, I can't begin to know when. But then I know it's growing strong." Name the Neil Diamond song?
10. "Far. We've been travelling far. Without a home. But not without a star." Name the Neil Diamond song?
Seventies Round
11. Which punky poet fronted band had a much covered song called Dancing Barefoot? (need the full title of the band)
12. Who's first single was called Mongoloid?
13. Who co-wrote (and recorded) the track Sister Midnight with David Bowie before Bowie then recorded it himself under the title Red Money?
14. Who first recorded Re-make/Re-model?
15. Who recorded the track Needles in the Camel's Eye on their début album in 1974?
Guilty Pleasures Round
16. Who's début single was called Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble using a sample of the theme tune of the 1960s television series I Dream of Jeannie?
17. Who had a song out called Rude Boy earlier in 2010?
18. Which drag persona has had viral hits and is all over Youtube with videos like Shoes, Txt Message Breakup and Let Me Borrow That Top?
19. Who had a big hit with Kiss Me, Honey, Honey, Kiss Me?
20. Who recordred The Man With The Golden Gun?