Author Archives: Paul

I bumped into my old friend Sean Doyle the other day. Always a joy because we have much in common. Similar age, similar backgrounds, similar occupations and similar tastes in music. Except that Sean is a huge Northern Soul fan – well, he’s from Manchester – and I’m not. Northern Soul records were revered simply […]

First broadcast on 19th February 1985. There are many reasons to loathe this programme but, as a famous black actor once explained to me, the worst thing is its inherent racism. He couldn’t bear EastEnders because of its apparent refusal to portray black characters in a bad light. But it was the baddie roles, he […]

It’s half term and London is crawling with children. During school holidays, you expect to see parents with kids around Oxford Street, Covent Garden and the museums in South Kensington. The difference now is there are far more of them in corners of London that were once off-limits. Since London has become such a cleaned-up […]

My friend Brian – whose wife is Swedish – first introduced me to Fat Tuesday, the Swedish equivalent of Shrove Tuesday. Instead of thin, unappealing pancakes our Scandinavian friends prefer big sugar-topped, wickedly creamy cakes known as semlor buns. Perfect for indulging yourself before the forty self-denying days of lent. If the scrumptious display at […]

The Ambassador’s Party, that is, with the death yesterday of Michele Ferrero. His inspired combination of chocolate and hazelnuts led first to Nutella and then to Ferrero Rocher chocolates. But he and his company will always be remembered for The Ambassador’s Party, that famously dreadful and much-lampooned TV commercial. We laughed derisively at it but […]

….would be an unlimited supply of Gillette razors and Kiehl’s shaving cream. Because whenever a man is stranded on a desert island, whether it’s Robinson Crusoe or Tom Hanks in Cast Away, he’s invariably depicted with a big, bushy beard. As long as I had my razors and shaving cream, I’d never feel like a […]

That was the title of the album from which this song was taken. Which makes it – if you ignore the thought of motorbikes haring round a track – perfect for Valentine’s Day. I love this record. Unashamedly schmaltzy and romantic, it’s lifted into a different league by Henry McCulloch’s glorious one-take guitar solo. It […]

A British radio institution for the last sixty years though not one I normally listen to. Tonight however, I’ll make an exception since it’s hosted by and starring my old friend Bobby Davro, performing with the BBC Concert Orchestra. I’ve no wish to sound all “Brucie & Tarby” but Bobby Davro is possibly the greatest […]

The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. It was the result of a merger between two unknown folk bands – The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver. And that’s what amuses me. No one had heard of them anyway. They weren’t like The Supremes & The Temptations or Queen & David Bowie who were globally famous before they joined […]

…is by how many TV impressionists’ subjects you recognise. When I was a child, Who Do You Do? was a hugely popular impressionist sketch show. The likes of Freddie Starr and Janet Brown did impressions of old movie stars like Jimmy Durante and Mae West but I remember having to ask my dad who they […]