How the Beatles invented pop video and acts we love who always sound the same
Nutritious items on the rock and roll tasting menu this week include …
… the curious life of Tom Verlaine, his grocery cart and his 50,000 books.
… was March 9 1984 the worst week ever for the British album charts?
… what all great records have in common.
… Yesterday’s news today! ‘Soundies’ at the cinema and the Scopitone colour video jukebox.
… why A Hard Day’s Night was the greatest advert for the magical qualities of the Beatles and the scene that was the blueprint for the pop promotional clip.
… comforting acts with a narrow range – JJ Cale, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, U2 (“like getting into your parents’ car after a school trip”). And what made JJ Cale’s recordings so mesmerising.
… did Johnny Marr ever play a guitar solo?
… “I work in advertising but tell my mother I play piano in a brothel”.
… the link between JJ Cale’s Call Me The Breeze and Family Affair by Sly & the Family Stone.
Mentioned in despatches … Cab Calloway and the Hondells, The Hoodoo Gurus, the Style Council, Jimmy Reed and the Inkspots.
Tom Verlaine’s 50,000 books …
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