Author Archives: Paul

Same as Prince Charles so he liked to joke that he always got a 21-gun salute on the day. His musical tastes were much as you’d expect – Matt Monro, Jim Reeves (obviously) and anything Irish. But he also had a curious penchant for reggae which, he said, had a “good beat”. This track was […]

…… in a poignant, pared-down arrangement. This is now the standard soundtrack of too many TV commercials. Including the latest John Lewis Christmas ad. And all its predecessors. We’re getting a bit tired of this particular gimmick, aren’t we, though I do quite like this young singer/old song combo. I don’t think it’s been used […]

Not for The Beatles, Jimmy Tarbuck or Stevie Gerrard. And certainly not for Cilla Black. But for being the first city in Britain to abolish its bus lanes. The first city to stand up to the invidious forces of capitalism in this way. They’d had enough. The roads they’d paid for had been sliced in […]

Just before 11.00, shoppers were asked over the Tannoy to observe the two-minute silence. Everyone duly did and it was a very strange sight. People just standing stock-still and silent with their trolleys in the aisles. However, quite a few people arrived during the hiatus. Some were chatting happily in foreign tongues but suddenly stopped, […]

The service is usually on Saturday morning with the big party on Sunday night. I live in North London. Lots of our friends and our kids’ classmates are Jewish so we’ve been to loads. This record has been played at just about every one. Yes, it’s a great track to kick off the dancing but […]

….but gently. Isn’t that a brilliant album title? And it topped the charts in 1968. When talking about the Irish love of Jim Reeves yesterday, how could I forget Ireland’s greatest ever vocal icon? Bono doesn’t even come close. So it was fish on Fridays, mass on Sundays and between the two, Val Doonican on […]

Welcome to the three staples of a London Irish upbringing in the 60s and 70s. It’s impossible to overstate how popular Jim Reeves was among Irish people of my parents’ generation, yet he was neither Irish nor Catholic. He just seemed to embody the warmth and decency the Irish people admired. And the fact that […]

Welcome to the three staples of a London Irish upbringing in the 60s and 70s. It’s impossible to overstate how popular Jim Reeves was among Irish people of my parents’ generation, and yet was neither Irish nor Catholic. He just seemed to embody the warmth and decency the Irish people admired. And the fact that […]

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. Qantas? Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service. Solar? In this context, Sound Of Los Angeles Records. Solar was a disco label who had a string of hits in the early 80s. Their biggest stars were Shalamar and The Whispers, whose original 45s I still have with their distinctive purple labels. […]

A call from Brian Jenkins to say the pickled onions are ready. He peels and pickles them himself at home in Redhill, while watching TV with his family. Their eyes, I imagine, would be streaming so badly, that none of them can actually see the telly but it’s worth it in the end. Lucky recipients […]