New Releases from Song, by Toad Records

Cold Seeds by King Creosote/Meursault/Animal Magic Tricks

Out: Monday 20th September 2010

Cold Seeds don’t actually exist as a band.  This album is actually a one-off collaboration between Kenny Anderson (better known as King Creosote), Neil Pennycook and Pete Harvey from Meursault and Frances Donnelly from Animal Magic Tricks.

It was recorded in our living room (hence the cat making an appearance on the first song) over two weekends back at the end of 2009 and has been out on 12″ vinyl for a little while now.

Neil, Frances and Kenny took turns improvising with each others songs, adding layers of noise, dictaphones, and anything else they could think of, and eventually integrating Pete’s gorgeous cello parts into the songs to create an album with surprising coherence and unity, given its slightly haphazard genesis.

Preview mp3s:
Leave Me to Lie Alone in the Ground
The Perfume of Mexican Birds

Meursault on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/meursaulta701
Animal Magic Tricks on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/animalmagictricks
King Creosote’s offical site: http://www.kingcreosote.com/

Buy here:
12″ vinyl: http://songbytoadrecords.com/meursault/cold-seeds/
CD: http://songbytoadrecords.com/meursault/cold-seeds-2/

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Inspector Tapehead
Duress Code

Out: Monday September 27th 2010

This is Inspector Tapehead’s 2008 debut album, or at least so they told me.  Some two years later it’s finally finished and can at long last see the light of day.

Duress Code is perhaps about as upbeat and jolly an album as we’ve ever released on Song, by Toad Records, but the music is still messy as hell when you actually listen to it, so it may be a little different, but it definitely feels like a coherent part of the label’s catalogue.

In their words: “Older folk and blues melodies, fused with modern party rhythms and mucky synth licks.”

Preview mp3s:
Yarvil
Pherenzik Tear

Video for Pherenzik Tear:
Made by the band, and shot entirely on VHS for some inexplicable reason

Inspector Tapehead on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/inspectortapehead

Buy here:

http://songbytoadrecords.com/inspector-tapehead/duress-code/

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Dan Lyth – Some of My Friends’ Songs

The very wonderful Dan Lyth is furnishing the world with not one, not two but three marvellous covers. And all for FREE. Yes, FREE. And here is the man himself to tell you all about it…

“Hello,

Hope you’re well. In the last few months I have been working on some re-imagined versions of songs that my friends have written. Some Of My Friends’ Songs seemed like an apt title for the project and today sees the release of the first three track EP to be birthed from this idea.

It’s available for free here.

The project started when myself and David Moyes from The Scottish Enlightenment decided it would be a good idea to record a version of a song by our friend Craig Rennie for his thirtieth birthday. Knowing the recording wouldn’t be on a ‘proper’ release was remarkably freeing and created a perfect opportunity to try out ideas that had been bubbling under the surface for a while. Combined with the fact that both the writer of the source material and the collaborator were close friends made the experience very enjoyable and one that I was determined to attempt again.

Two more songs followed, taken from the growing list of eclectic compositions my friends were creating. Pascal, by The Scottish Enlightenment provided the opportunity to use a deck of cards as a rhythm section and see what an analogue synth bass line and an accordion played the wrong way sound like together.

I used the song January Light by Kilmory Day Trip (who I’d met when recording their EP a few months earlier) as another chance to collaborate, on this occasion with longtime friend Alastair MacGregor. Time signature changes, a battered Juno and the sound of suitcases being slammed shut seemed to take the piece suitably off the beaten track.

Accompanying the EP is a beautifully written and hilarious short essay on the pitfalls of attempting ‘cover versions’. Written by Craig Rennie, the man whose thirtieth birthday inspired the project, the essay is included with the download. It can be viewed on its own here.

I see these three songs as the first-fruits of an ongoing project I hope to continue over the following months and years, as and when time and inspiration leads. Presenting these songs as surprise gifts to their respective authors was a great joy. I hope you also enjoy listening.

Dan”

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Where The Action Is: Playlist 29 August 2010

Here we go again. Another picnic hamper filled to the wicker brim with pop, rock and boiled eggs. So feast your eyes and ears and tuck in. As usual Where The Action Is will provide a heady menu of mod, soul, girl groups, Motown and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s. Hmm, tasty!

There will be two games of Connect 3, where you can guess the link between three records, a birthday track for singer Dinah Washington and a Foreign Language track from The Searchers. There’s also the Half-Time Instrumental, the Trojan Mod Reggae track, Two of a Kind from Lulu, as well as Primal Scream in the Under the Influence feature. We’ll also continue our adoration of the wonderful new compilation from Now Sounds, Book A Trip: The Psych Pop Sounds of Capitol Records.

Tony Jackson & the Vibrations – Fortune Teller (Pye 1965)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Timebox – Beggin’ (Decca 1968)
The Staccatos – Whisper Words (Capitol 1967)
The Fleur de Lys – Circles (Immediate 1966)
Jr Walker and the All Stars – Road Runner (Tamla 1966)
Moonpark Intersection – I Think I’ll Just Go and Buy Me a Flower (Capitol 1968)*
The Eyes – I’m Rowed Out (Mercury 1965)
Baby Washington – No Tears (Sue 1962) (Connect 3)
The Poor – How Many Tears (Loma 1966) (Connect 3)
The Blossoms – That’s When The Tears Start (Reprise 1966) (Connect 3)
John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom (Stateside 1963)
Sidewalk Skipper Band – Cynthia at the Garden (Capitol 1968)
Dinah Washington – September in the Rain (Mercury 1961) (Birthday: 29/8/24 Dinah Washington)
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – Show Me The Way (Motown 1967)
The Tuneful Trolley – Written Chapter (Capitol 1969)
The Searchers – Wenn Ich Dich Soh (When You Walk In The Room) (Vogue 1965) (Foreign Language)
The Exception – My Mind Goes Travelling (Capitol 1967)
The Flee-Rekkers – Stage To Cimarron (Piccadilly 1962) (Half-Time Instrumental)
The Impressions – It’s All Right (HMV 1963)
The Four Preps – Hitchhiker (Capitol 1967)
The Heptones – Gun Man Coming To Town (Trojan 1966) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
Yvonne Baker – You Didn’t Say a Word (Parkway 1967)
The Lettermen – Mr Sun (Capitol 1967)
The Showmen – It Will Stand (Minit 1961)
Primal Scream – Gentle Tuesday (Elevation 1987) (Under the Influence)
The Lively Set – Let The Trumpets Sound (Capitol 1966)
Alex Harvey – Agent 00 Soul (Fontana 1965)
The Carnival Connection – Poster Man (Capitol 1968)
Rod Stewart – I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts of Town (Decca 1964) (Connect 3)
Al Stewart – Turn Into Earth (Decca 1966) (Connect 3)
Billy Stewart – I Do Love You (Chess 1965) (Connect 3)
The Phoenix Trolley – When Charlie’s Doin’ His Thing (Capitol 1968)
James Brown – Night Train (King 1962)
Lulu – Rattler (Decca 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Lulu – She Will Break Your Heart (Decca 1965) (Two of a Kind)
Pleasure (featuring Billy Elder) – Don’t Take The Night Away (Tower 1969)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

* This was supposed to be played last week but I played Flying on The Ground by Summer Snow (featuring The Peppermint Trolley Company) in its place in error.

Next week’s show is a special themed show, with another on 19 September Watch this space for more details.

I’ll be back next week. Don’t forget, if you’re in the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy you can hear Where The Action Is on Channel 3 on your bedside headphones or on 1287AM on the Medium Wave.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, it’s good day and good health.

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Where The Action Is: Playlist 22 August 2010

It’s not very often I miss a show, as I did last week, so it’s great to be back. My meeting last week didn’t go quite according to plan but it was a worthwhile exercise overall. As usual Where The Action Is is a musical sandwich jam-packed with mod, soul, girl groups, Motown and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s. Hmm, tasty!

There will be two games of Connect 3, where you can guess the link between three records, a birthday track for singer/songwriter Ron Dante and a Foreign Language track from Katy David. There’s also the Half-Time Instrumental, the Trojan Mod Reggae track, Two of a Kind from The Searchers, as well as Split Enz in the Under the Influence feature. Over the next two weeks we’ll also be featuring most of the tracks from a great new compilation Book A Trip: The Psych Pop Sounds of Capitol Records, released on Now Sounds, an offshoot of Cherry Red Records.

This Side Up – Book a Trip (Capitol 1968)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Julie Grant – Count On Me (Pye 1963)
The Birds – You Don’t Love Me (Decca 1964)
The Shanes – Chris Craft No 9 (Capitol 1966)
Herman’s Hermits – A Must To Avoid (Columbia 1965)
Kim Weston – Helpless (Motown 1966)
Chris and Craig – I Need You (Capitol 1966)
Betty Johnson – Little White Lies (Bally 1957) (Connect 3)
The Ministry of Sound – White Collar Worker (Decca 1966) (Connect 3)
Terry White & The Terriers – Blackout (Decca 1959) (Connect 3)
Isley Brothers – Twist and Shout (Stateside 1962)
The Act of Creation – Yesterday Noontime (Capitol 1967)
The What Four – I’m Gonna Destroy That Boy (Columbia 1966) (Birthday: 22/8/45 Ron Dante)
Moby Grape – Omaha (Columbia 1967)
Sidewalk Skipper Band – (Would You Believe) It’s Raining Flowers In My House) (Capitol 1968)
Katy David – Plus Tard (Call Me) (Label Unknown 1966) (Foreign Language)
Summer Snow (featuring The Peppermint Trolley Company) – Flying On The Ground (Capitol 1967)
The Cyclones – Bullwhip Rock (Trophy 1958) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Burgundy Street Singers – Pleasure of Her Company (Capitol 1970)
Barrett Strong – Money (That’s What I Want) (London 1960)
The Uniques – A Yuh (aka Hey You) (Trojan 1968) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
Teddy Neeley Five – Autumn Afternoon (Capitol 1966)
Jan and Dean – When I Learn How To Cry (Liberty 1963)
Fargo – Robins Robins (Capitol 1968)
Split Enz – I Got You (Mushroom 1980) (Under the Influence)
Griffin – Yours Till Forever (Capitol 1970)
Billie Davis – Give Me Love (Columbia 1964)
Stained Glass – Lady in Lace (Capitol 1968)
Eddie Holland – Leaving Here (Motown 1964) (Connect 3)
The Beach Boys – Spirit of America (Capitol 1963) (Connect 3)
Emile Ford and the Checkmates – On A Slow Boat to China (Pye 1960) (Connect 3)
Moonpark Section – Yesterday Holds On (Capitol 1968)
John Leyton – Fabulous (HMV 1961)
The Searchers – Too Many Miles (stereo) (Pye 1965) (Two of a Kind)
The Searchers – Love Potion No 9 (stereo) (Pye 1963) (Two of a Kind)
The O’Jays – Lipstick Traces (On a Coffee Cup) (Liberty 1965)
The Love Affair – Hush (CBS 1968)
Scott Walker – The Seventh Seal (Philips 1969)
Dusty Springfield – Little By Little (Philips 1966)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

Coming soon, two special themed shows. Watch this space.

I’ll be back next week. Don’t forget, if you’re in the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy you can hear Where The Action Is on Channel 3 on your bedside headphones or on 1287AM on the Medium Wave.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, it’s good day and good health.

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School’s In

Today was supposed to be a day of industry, a day for getting things done, a day of tick, tick, tick and it certainly started well enough.

I’d taken the day off primarily to receive delivery of part of the Trafford Centre competition prize, courtesy of John Lewis. I’d been taken on a wild telephonic goose chase over the last couple of weeks – usually via their inefficient call centre in Hamilton – and finally they would be here. When it would arrive was another story. The delivery “slot” (makes it sound like a small window) was actually between 0700 and 1400 (a large window) and from experience I knew they would turn up just as I’d had enough and decided to “’pop out’ for five minutes.

The secondary reason for the day off, and a happy coincidence at that, was the return to school of Felicity. She’d had a full and busy summer holiday and couldn’t wait to get back to our chosen seat of learning. I was more than happy to take her there and play the doting parent.

The phone went at 0745. “We’ll be there in half an hour”. Perfect! We were obviously first on the John Lewis delivery list and it meant I didn’t have to rush back after dropping Flick off at school. Phew!

The delivery guys turned up on time and brought in the TV, Blu-Ray player and, unexpectedly, a TV stand. Tick.

We got to school in plenty of time and milled about as the playground began to fill with carefree kids still in holiday mode and anxious on-looking parents, guardians and relatives, who I imagine were mostly there for the new P1s. Flick’s only concern seemed to be where her new class waiting line would be but as the bell went it soon became apparent and before long she was off. Tick.

I walked back to the car with one of her classmate’s parents. She headed off to work and I headed into town to begin my day of leisure. I had time to kill so I settled for my free, within walking distance, parking space. I did a circuit of Dunfermline as the first salon was full, the second one – my usual barber and part of the same chain – was also full and then back to the first one, which had emptied during my 10 minute tour.

Ten more minutes and £3 (plus standard £1 tip) later I was shorn and heading back to the car. During my short stay in the barber’s I’d endured one of the local commercial breakfast shows. Listening to it had raised a knowing but private smile. It wasn’t because it was amusing – it never is – but because I’d just finishing reading Phill Jupitus’ book “Good Morning Nantwich – Adventures in Breakfast Radio” and there’s a great chapter about why local commercial breakfast shows are shite. Just as I was leaving the male presenter was saying how he wanted to go and see Jason Byrne at the Fringe but it was sold out and press pass this and freebie that and oh, fuck off, you should’ve bought your own ticket you…sorry!

I returned to the car with the sound of tick, tick, tick in my head as the first three items on my To Do list headed for the Done Bin. The day was going well. No sooner had I got home than the phone went. It was Scottish Gas and could they arrange an appointment for the service engineer. I couldn’t be bothered with them and told them to call back later. Click.

You’d think the job of connecting a Blu-Ray player to the TV would be easy but it wasn’t. I’m a manual man (oo-er missus) and I read it and began to follow the instructions contained therein. The first thing I did was to pull the TV stand away from the wall only to find a mountain of stoor and a spaghetti junction-like mass of cables. It’s the kind of spot that’s easy to miss during the weekly clean. I resolved to wipe, clean, polish, vacuum and de-clutter the entire area before I went any further. Everything would be unplugged and then re-plugged.

Well it would’ve but I couldn’t found a duster under the kitchen sink, their usual abode. Before I knew it the Blu-Ray installation job was on hold and I was now on hands and knees cleaning out the whole area under the kitchen sink. After decanting four bottles of carpet shampoo into a more reasonable two bottles and binning a number of charity bags, as well as the Breville toastie machine and assorted rubbish, I felt ready to return to job 1.

Again, I would’ve continued but now there was something missing. I checked the box and then the manual only to find (or not find) that there was no HDMI cable included. What! The job was on hold once more as I made my way back to Tesco. (I felt like a proper tradesman. “Ooh, sorry love, I need to get a part. Back in an hour”.) Any thought that buying the cable would be easy enough was soon dismissed. There were about six of them by various companies, including Tesco Value, and they came in a variety of lengths. Eventually, I plumped for one costing the best part of twenty quid. It was blue and had a gimmicky pivot at one end. Cool.

No sooner had I got started again than the phone rang again. I recognised the number as the one I’d palmed off earlier with a “my wife deals with that, call back later” cold shoulder. It was Scottish Gas again – this time a man – asking if, instead of the originally agreed date of 15 September, they could come round NOW to service the boiler. I said she’s not here! (Only joking, dear!) I said, “You’d need to ask her” and put the phone down. No sooner had I called K to confirm she’d agreed a date for them to come round – she hadn’t – than they were back on the phone asking if, after all, the engineer could come round now. Obviously they’d realised I was home alone and thought I was so sad and lonely that I’d like the company of a service engineer. “Fuck off! I’m trying to join a Blu-Ray to a telly during the lunch break of the Test Match”. Bastards.

Eventually I agreed. “As long as he’s gone by 4.30″. “He’ll be there in ten minutes”. Shit, the house was a mess. When you’re having “a bit of a tidy” it tends to get worse before it gets better and the living room was indeed a state. Well, a state by our standards. Thankfully, his ten minutes turned into twenty and I had time to clear the fireplace and hot water boiler areas for him to gain access.

After sitting outside for an age, he came in. No sooner was he in than he started asking who we get our gas and electrical supply from. Here we go. I knew who it was but I feigned ignorance and played the “the-wife-deals-with-that” card. I’m sorry but if I’ve invited a service engineer into my home I expect him to do nothing more than service the parts that our contract says should be serviced. I don’t want him to try the old “our combined gas and electricity is the cheapest” routine especially when he tells you it like it’s a fact. No, you’re wasting your time AND my time – that’s a fact!

Even before he left he called one of the salespeople from the company and handed the phone to me to arrange an appointment to call back. I told her that anything before 8pm was inconvenient as we had to get our daughter to bed. That was true but I also knew full well that they didn’t work after eight (Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website is a very handy source of this type of information). She tried the weekend tact. “Ballet…blah blah…swimming lessons…blah blah…radio show…”

That seemed to get her off my back and the engineer left. Obviously these engineers are now multitasking as sellers too because this never happened previously. Maybe it’s time to change our service company.

By the time the Blu-Ray was in place and had been tested (albeit with a CD as I had no Blu-Rays), the DVDs, Wii games and equipment, V-Tech games and videos had also been tidied and arranged by the Dewey Decimal System. I had tried to get a Blu-Ray Disc on my first visit to Tesco this morning but when I got to that aisle there seemed to be some sort of staff meeting going on right in front of the small Blu-Ray section, headed by a very loud regional manager type who loved the sound of his own voice and repeatedly used Tescospeak to impress the minions. There wasn’t that much of a selection but in my desperation to have something to try out on the new Blu-Ray I’d have bought almost anything. Okay, I’d have drawn the line at anything featuring Jason Statham or Jennifer Aniston. As it was Mr Regional Manager can congratulate himself on losing the store a sale as I couldn’t bear to be around him any longer.

Any hope I had of finishing putting together my next two radio shows and maybe, just maybe, doing some writing went right out the window. I only had an hour before I had to head back out on my taxi run so I had a shower, a quick coffee and counted down the ten minutes before I had to leave to pick up the girls. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

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Saturday to Sunday

The Good Lady Wife had made the not unreasonable decision to spend all day Saturday knitting in Stirling. Who wouldn’t? I don’t know what the opposite of Extreme Sports is, but Stitching and Bitching by genteel ladies armed with nothing but NPLs, some Chiengora and the latest copy of Rowan wouldn’t be far off.

The Flickster and I had to fend for ourselves. I had a To-Do list (as is my wont) and a plan. New school shoes had to be collected – for Flick you understand – but plans to fit in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it haircut beforehand were scuppered by the need for sleep.

Normally I park on the edge of Dunfermline and take a short but bracing walk into town, which is partly for exercise and partly to save a few pennies, albeit a paltry 85p (for up to 2 hours parking). However, with the little one in tow and need for speed, I forked out a pound, yes a WHOLE pound. (We had a lot to do and I didn’t want to waste time walking). I didn’t have the correct change and it seems the ticket machine doesn’t either. Ever.

The shoe shop was busy. A shop specialising in children’s shoes will always be busy but in the week before the return to school even more so. The shop, Clever Clogs, has a well-deserved reputation for excellent customer service and takes the time, as long as necessary, to ensure the customers (parents and kids alike) are happy with the product. They also have a good system of one staff member dealing with appointments and one or two for casual walk-in customers, which works well. This kind of reputation inevitably brings more customers and the shop was very busy but everyone, adults and children alike, was patient and we were in and out with the minimum of fuss, albeit with a 15 minute wait. We left happy although not before Felicity whispered to me that the two ladies behind the counter looked the same. I hadn’t noticed but boy were they the spit of each other. It was like Balamory’s Miss Hoolie and her doppelgänger. One was 10 minutes older than the other as the more mature one was quick to inform us.

Before we headed back to the car we took a wander around the monthly farmers’ market. We purchased some Puddledub sausages and bacon, Anster mild cheese (this was our favourite of the two we tried) and Flick’s usual Gingerbread family.

Next stop, the capital. With it being the weekend and Edinburgh entertaining the Fringe, the International Festival, shoppers and the start of the football season, it would be mobbed. Thankfully we were heading to two different out-of-town shopping centres so we skirted, rather appropriately, round the fringes.

Flick and I chatted and joked as we crossed the “Bumpy Bridge”, her name for the Forth Bridge on account of the regular bumps caused by the joins, or whatever the technical name is for them. We listened to the latest instalment of her “rolling” CD; the latest additions being Ellie Goulding’s hyped debut “Starry Eyes” and Jason Derulo’s “Ridin’ Solo”. The radio station of choice of both her childminder and the Kids Club bus driver – Galaxy FM – has a lot to answer for and has obviously brainwashed Flick. I had downloaded the “Ridin’ Solo” track for her only to find the version I got was the uncensored version. Eventually I found the “Radio Edit”, which had clumsily omitted the “shit” from it. Well, not all the shit because it still sounded crap, although I must confess it worms its way into your brain and has you singing along.

On the way to Ocean Terminal, based in Leith, the conversation briefly got a little bit serious when she said that she’d been a little bit sad because she only had one granddad. I had to explain that my dad’s heart had stopped working but she shouldn’t be sad because she’d never met him and besides he wouldn’t want her to be sad. To be honest, I wouldn’t know what he would’ve wanted because it’d been over 30 years since I’d seen him. My parents had divorced and he left the family home and I decided that he’d made his decision and I no longer wanted to know him. She seemed reassured and I quickly changed the subject to Build-A-Bears.

Flick had received a voucher for the Build-A-Bear shop and we were heading to the outskirts of the capital to spend it and then do likewise with her birthday money at Toys R Us. Slightly confused by some of the worn road markings I was nearly taken out by a Lothian Buses vehicle, which had quite rightly peeped me loudly, as I approached Ocean Terminal.

Flick seemed overwhelmed by the choice on offer in the shop. She had two bears at home that she doted on, Fraser and Lucy, and we eventually plumped for matching outfits (with tartan trim) and a camouflage camping tent for them. Sure it was over budget but spending time with Flick had loosened my usual restraint.

The woman behind the till loosened it even further by asking me if I wanted shoes for each outfit! I hadn’t thought of that. I looked down at Flick, she looked up at me and I melted further. Ker-ching! A £25 overspend resulted but she was happy and I was happy that she was happy. I must say that I’m not one of those parents who gives in to their child’s every demands just for an easy life but now and again I’ll let her think she’s talked me round. It’s all part of the psychology.

Next stop was Kinnaird Park. Her grandparents, on my wife’s side, had got her a Playmobil Circus (the one I built last week in 45 minutes) and we were looking for some of the other accessories, like lions, trailers, acrobats and, somewhat hopefully, a bearded lady. I had checked the Toys R Us website and wasn’t hopeful of their being any in-store when we got there. We went anyway because I do love it, especially the board games section, which is in alphabetical order for easy searching. My fears were well founded. Flick’s heart sank.

Of course, being surrounded by a vast warehouse worth of toys and games, she didn’t want to leave empty-handed and I empathized. I felt her pain. We moved along to the Lego section and perused the selection on offer. We eventually settled on a couple of the medium-sized boxes (okay I “guided” her in that direction) that would allow for some leftover money. We threw in a pack of The Simpsons’ Top Trumps (Volume 3)  – a family treat – and again I left the store several pounds lighter. Sadly it was more monetary than body weight.

After the inevitable McDonalds – it really does make for interesting people watching and David Attenborough would’ve had a field day – we headed off to the grandparents to ostensibly break up the journey but also for a chat, a cuppa and, while we waited for them to get home, an ice cream. I had my usual rum and raisin and Flick plucked for fudge. Flick wasn’t happy with her selection and she was right to be concerned. It certainly didn’t taste very fudge-like; in fact it didn’t taste of anything. We swapped, although she rain out of steam with my bigger portion and I finished it off. It was the least I could do.

Regular readers will know I’m a ‘comper’, someone who does competitions and prize draws and has been fairly successful. While listening to Kingdom FM recently – for research not pleasure, I assure you – I had a look at their website and spotted a competition to win some unspecified “summer goodies” for the Baxters shop in Kelty.

Anyway, I (we) won. A quick chat with the manager of the shop had informed me that the prize was £50 worth of “goodies”. On Sunday, not unnaturally, I collected the girls from church (I’m a practising atheist) and headed up the M90 to the next junction.

Flick, not surprisingly, wanted to fill the basket with sweets but we kept her to a couple of things. While the prize didn’t match the likes of The Gadget Show (have you seen their comp on Five on Monday night?), it was still a decent haul. Three carrier bags filled with soups and cider, chorizo, oatcakes, sweets, lemon curd, preserves and much, much more. We were concerned we were holding up the queue but as we had had to wait for a couple spending £530 in front of us we stood firm. As the assistant put our stuff through the till I said if it was under the £50 we would get some of the cheese. It came to £50.34. “Don’t bother with the cheese”.

We could’ve just taken our bootie and headed off like comping mercenaries but we stopped for lunch before heading home.

Normally I’d be preparing for my radio show and leaving for Kirkcaldy mid-afternoon but I’d been invited to a presenters’ meeting at Leith FM. I’ve been looking to move my show to a larger audience, any audience, and I was joining the station. I hadn’t got a slot for my show but was keen to meet some of the other presenters. I went along with John Murray, who is on the board, and Ally Gourlay who presents the excellent Art School Dancing on a Monday night.

I won’t go into the details of the meeting but it contained the usual themes of radio station meetings: lack of communication, gripes about subscriptions, dodgy equipment and funding issues.

After a couple of hours and a couple of pints, we headed back home. We switched the radio on to VRN 1287AM and lo and behold my dulcet tones emanated from the radio. The sound was patchy but it was me all right. I can’t get the station at home so can’t tune in to my own show, on the rare occasion I’m not there, or my fellow presenters. Rather ironically the closer we got to Fife the worse the reception was and we turned it off as we approached the “Bumpy Bridge”.

It was nice being home a lot earlier than normal on a Sunday and having a tea that doesn’t require microwaved and spending time with Flick before she goes to bed. After I leave for VRN the girls usually watch a film and today it was Monsters vs Aliens, which I enjoyed.

A very productive weekend, my favourite kind, but it was back to work for a break.

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Where The Action Is – Playlist 15 August 2010

It’s not often I miss a show but something has come up today that was too important to miss. However, I did have the foresight to record a fresh standby show for your aural pleasure.  It’ll include all the usual ingredients with some mod, soul, girl groups, Motown and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s on Where The Action Is.

There will be two games of Connect 3, where you can guess the link between three records, a generic birthday track for everyone and a Foreign Language track from Sandie Shaw. There’s also the Half-Time Instrumental, the Trojan Mod Reggae track, Two of a Kind from the Mamas and the Papas, as well as The Magic Numbers in the Under the Influence feature.

Beach Boys – Don’t Worry Baby (Capitol 1964)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
Dobie Gray – Out on the Floor (Charger 1966)
The Action – Baby You’ve Got It (Parlophone 1966)
Peter’s Faces – (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet (Piccadilly 1964)
Jackie DeShannon – Don’t Turn Your Back On Me (Liberty 1964)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – Tears of a Clown (Tamla 1970)
Dodie Stevens – Pink Shoe Laces (Crystalette 1959)
Alma Cogan – Just Couldn’t Resist Her With Her Pocket Transistor (HMV 1960) (Connect 3)
Twinkle – Radio Station Lady (Unreleased 1974) (Connect 3)
Ways and Means – Make The Radio a Little Louder (Pye 1967) (Connect 3)
Ella Washington – He Called Me Baby (Sound Stage 7 1968)
The Carnaby – Jump and Dance (Piccadilly 1965)
The Beatles – Birthday (Apple 1968) (Birthday)
Mike Stevens and the Shevelles – The Go Go Train (Pye 1967)
Wayne Gibson – Under My Thumb (Columbia 1966)
Sandie Shaw – Mais Tu L’Aimes (Girl Don’t Come) (Pye 1965) (Foreign Language)
Donnie Elbert – A Little Piece of Leather (Sue 1965)
The Tornados – Flycatcher (Decca 1963) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Lucas & The Mike Cotton Sound – Step Out of Line (Pye 1967)
Barry McGuire – This Precious Time (Dunhill 1965)
The Ethiopians – Train To Skaville (Rio 1967) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
Petula Clark – Sign of the Times (Pye 1966)
The Who – Substitute (Reaction 1966)
Chris Farlowe – Looking For You (Immediate 1966)
The Magic Numbers – Love Me like You (Heavenly 2005) (Under the Influence)
The Four Tops – You Keep Me Running Away (Motown 1967)
Gemini – Sunshine River (Clarion 1969)
Mally Page – Life and Soul of the Party (Pye 1966)
Jackie Lee – The Town I Live In (Columbia 1966) (Connect 3)
The Tokens – He’s In Town (BT Puppy 1964) (Connect 3)
The Marvelettes – The Other Side of Town (Unreleased 1999) (Connect 3)
The Supremes – Love Child (Motown 1968)
Val McKenna – I Can’t Believe What You Say (Piccadilly 1965)
Mamas and the Papas – I Saw Her Again Last Night (Dunhill 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Mamas and the Papas – 1230 (Young Girls Are Coming To the Canyon) (Dunhill 1967) (Two of a Kind)
Jimmy Radcliffe – Long After Tonight Is All Over (Stateside 1965)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

I’ll be back next week. Don’t forget, if you’re in the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy you can hear Where The Action Is on Channel 3 on your bedside headphones or on 1287AM on the Medium Wave.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, it’s good day and good health.

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Holiday Tales – Home and Away

A week or so ago I began my holiday blog but had to stop when the second part, a trip to York, intervened. Here, briefly, are the edited highlights:

Wednesday 28 July

Flick and I went to see Toy Story 3, talking advantage of the Orange Wednesdays promotion to save some money. Cinema tickets are so expensive and throw in the food (best way to eat it) and it’s not a cheap day out by any means. I had to hand over an arm, a leg and both ears. (Heaven knows how much it costs in that there London). Now cinema chains can use the excuse of a film being in 3D to add on extra charges, like £1.75 just because it’s 3D and £1 each for a pair of plastic 3D glasses, although you can keep them. And don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the film, but the much hyped stories of grown men coming out of it crying make me mad. Dry your eyes guys.

Part of the afternoon was spent being very patient as I tried unsuccessfully to teach Flick how to ride her bike without stabilizers. Back to the drawing board.

Thursday 29 July

Another away day and another cheap one thanks to membership of the Sport and Recreation club.This time it was the Almond Valley Heritage Centre, which isn’t as olde worlde as it might sound. Sure there are parts dedicated to its former life as a mill but there is much for adults and children to do.

We arrived just before opening so we could take advantage of the quiet to see as much as we could before it got busy. It was a good job too because by lunchtime it was heaving. And this is when the problems started.

There’s an area with five sunken trampolines, which was overrun with kids and watching adults. While most kids were happy bouncing about, two boys, between 6 and 8, were wrestling over them and generally being little shits. This I could bear but not what happened next. While they were rolling about they stopped and one of them gobbed on the trampoline. Then his mate joined in. Since when has this kind of behaviour become acceptable? It was too shocked to say anything.

I was so disgusted that I fetched Felicity and we left. On the way out I spied a woman allowing one of her charges to pee behind a bush; a bush that was no more than ten yards from a toilet. I can understand parents, stranded nowhere near facilities, assisting their precious little angels to do the business at a roadside but when there are toilets close by there really is no excuse.

Just before the spitting incident I had the misfortune to be sharing a bench with two, shall we say, chavvy women. Their conversations made interesting listening.

Chav 1, discussing baby names: “I was thinking maybe Maddie, you know, Madison, for a girl”
Chav 2: “My pal suggested Summer but I thought that was too chavvy”

Chav 1: “I see Susan cut her hair short… for cancer (charity)”
Chav 2: “Aye but she’s a lesbian. She can get away with it”

An enjoyable day of seeing a cow being milked and lunching alfresco and riding baby tractors had been somewhat marred. I’ll stick to East Links in future, even if I have to pay.

I also spotted a celebrity. Well, I say “celebrity”, it was an ex-Rangers player with his over-tanned “glamorous” wife.

Friday 30 July

After an exhausting four days Flick and I plumped for a lazy day at home – it was my idea but she went along with it. We played games (board, card and Wii) and we got all the toy instruments out and had a good old noisy jam. I also introduced Felicity to her first foreign language movie, Belleville Rendezvous. It’s a bit dark to begin with but she stuck with it and she enjoyed it so much she was still talking about it a week later.

Saturday 31 July

Can’t remember!

Sunday 1 August

Everything was packed for our holiday and I did my weekly radio show, Where The Action Is.

Monday 2 August

Today was a day of transport. The local D7 bus to Inverkeithing train station, the train to York, a Sightseeing bus round York and then a boat trip on the River Ouse.

We had reserved seats and got into them with the minimum of fuss. Unlike some people. What is it about trains that attracts people I affectionately call “dithering fuckwits”? They spend the first 10-15 minutes of the journey working our where they think their seat is, which coach they’re in and what day it is. (On a previous train journey one couple berated two people for being in their seats only to find out they’d got on the train a day early! I kid you not.)

The journey south (cue for a boy band song?) was relatively uneventful although K and I smiled at each other every time the train had let more fuckwits on. We whiled away the time with, amongst other things, Top Trumps Toy Story edition, which we’d bought especially.

We got to York too early to check in so we had lunch in a York train station waiting room. A five-minute walk and the quickest of check ins and we were in our family room.

The 55 minute bus tour took us round York and thanks to our guide Sharon gave us a brief insight in what could visit later and fuller at our own leisure. We liked Sharon because she was straight out of a Victoria Wood sketch, probably played by Susie Blake. At one point she said, “Ee, we’re a right funny lot!” She really did.

The tickets were £10 for adults but you could use them for 24 hours, hopping on and off at will. Preferably when the bus is at a standstill. The bus tour offered half price tickets for the boat tour so we bought a couple up before we got off. He asked how old Flick was and we said “Five”. To which he replied insistently, “No, she’s four!” Who said the people of Yorkshire were tight.

The boat trip was only £3.50 each (except Flick!) and we enjoyed the luxury of a refreshing pint of lager (nearly as expensive as the ticket) as we cruised and waved at everyone on the shore as we bobbed up and down the Ouse.

We settled for tea at Pizza Express and marvelled at how we’d fitted in so much in the short space of time we’d been there.

Tuesday 3 August

It was all about the National Railway Museum today. Now it’s free to get in but knowing what was inside from previous visits we happily stumped up £6 for a guide-book. We didn’t have to but the Museum is worth £6 of anyone’s money.

Our first stop was an area where you could dress up in 1930s clothes and everyone was walking past it but Flick fancied it and we soon joined her. We looked like something off an episode of Poirot. Check me out giving it the Philip Marlowe look!

Tonight’s tea was in the Slug and Lettuce but it was rather a let down after the reliability of Pizza Express. The food was just okay but the service was slow. The people looking after our table weren’t very attentive – it wasn’t as if it was busy – and we decided against dessert or more drinks and left. I made negative comments about the service in their little comments card but I kept it so I could send it directly to head office. They’re still looking for their tip now.

In the evening I finished reading Richard Herring’s “How Not To Grow Up”, which I had thoroughly enjoyed. I’m so glad he seems to have settled down with a nice girl.

Wednesday 4 August

A one hour train journey, via Leeds, brought to us Eureka, the National Children’s Museum in Halifax. We got there before it opened because their website had warned that it got busy. It seemed quiet enough when we entered but an hour later it was swarming with rugrats of all shapes and sizes.

I was impressed with Eureka and there was plenty of things for the kids to pull, push, poke and ping. There are pretend businesses like a bank, garage and post office. We all joined in for the Circus Skills workshop led by two of the guys from Circus Sensible. So much so that Kirsty bought a Diablo from the shop on the way out.

My advice to any Scots planning to visit is to do so at the start of the Scottish school holidays.  There direct trains to and from York and we managed to get one of those home.

Today we had our dinner at Ask, a restaurant K and I had visited pre-Flick. As you can see from the picture on their website this particular branch of Ask is stunning and a joy to eat in. They even have two of the musketeers guiding tour parties in and out. The food is great too. Highly recommended.

Thursday 5 August

There was so much we would’ve done in York but time was against us. We only had three full days and we decided on a lazy shopping day. So the York Maze, Castle museum, Jorvik Centre and Steam Rally would have to wait for another year.

The Outlet Shopping Mall is a short bus trip south of town. I was particularly interested in the Ben Sherman and Fred Perry shops – it’s a mod thing – and while I left with a jacket from the former (obviously I paid for it first) I was a bit depressed at the lack of bigger sizes in the latter.

The Ben Sherman sizes are Soho (Slim Fit), Mod (Regular) and Union (Easy Fit). Although Regular must refer to regular Biafran because Union’s “Easy” fit is anything but. It’s akin to wearing cling film. If they had stuff in my odd size I could spend a fortune. Your loss Benny boy.

Returned to town and searched for a local record shop recommended by ex-colleague and would-be Italian Joe, a native of York. I found it all right but it was up two flights of narrow stairs and the size of a BMW’s glove compartment. It was also all vinyl and while I hankered after a Caravelles album I didn’t want to risk it on the train with all our luggage.

Joe also recommended Cafe Concerto, which is across from the Minister, which is HUGE! The food was good but they mucked up some of the order. Wouldn’t stop me going again though. I think we were just exhausted by the time we ordered our scran.

Friday 6 August

From the feeds on Twitter it seemed that all the comedians were on the East Coast line at the same time, albeit on different trains. We spotted Andrew Collins, who was on my radio show last year, on the train in front of ours as he pulled into York.

There were thankfully no hassles getting our reserved seats and we settled in for our return journey to Scotland. It’s great to go away but it’s great to come home.

I retained my crowns in Top Trumps High School Musical 3 and Toy Story but attempts to unify the belts with a win with the Top Gear Cool Cars pack were scuppered by a very sleepy little girl. I swear she was putting it on.

And that, as they say, is that. Roll on October. And Christmas.

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Oh What a Circus!

At the end of two weeks of holidaying – one with my daughter and one with the whole family – I had one day to myself. One whole day to do whatever I wanted. Freedom, here I come.

My To-Do List included my one and only visit to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Since moving to the Kingdom my trips to the culture circus that is the Fringe have been few and far between and this year was no different. A lack of annual leave, coupled with budgetary constraints meant that Monday 9 August would be my only diarised date for the Fringe in Scotland’s capital. The lucky recipient would be Andrew Collins and his show Secret Dancing and Other Urban Survival Techniques at Bannerman’s. It was also just within my budget. It was free.

I dropped off my daughter at Kids Club and then it was ‘me’ time. Job one was to contact John Lewis in Edinburgh with a view to arranging delivery of a competition prize I’d recently won. We enjoy entering competitions and prize draws as a family and were lucky enough to win a £2500 Spring Home Makeover. Thankfully it didn’t involve Nick Knowles trawling through our house. We’d won £500 worth of products from each of five shops. Rather inconveniently the prizes related to a competition on the Trafford Centre website. That’s right, in Manchester.

We tried to work out if we could use the prizes without actually going to Manchester, which somewhat defeated the point of the competition, certainly from the view of the Trafford Centre, but we’d have no choice. One of the shops, Dwell, specialising in home furnishings, has a branch in Glasgow so we could use the vouchers there but the Selfridges prize related to a particular brand of bed linen that had to be picked up in Manchester. Home Sense is the sister store to TK Maxx but doesn’t have any branches in Scotland. The nearest branch is the Newcastle branch, which doesn’t open until September. Natuzzi does have a store in Glasgow too but that part of the prize relates to a specific type of table and we have to choose which one in person. The John Lewis part of the package is a 26” TV and a Blu-Ray player. The TV is smaller than the one we have but we don’t have a Blu-Ray player. As it can play DVDs as well as Blu-Ray, we’ll replace the DVD player we already have, which had also been a competition prize. We would have to take a trip down South, probably accompanied by some large empty suitcases with which to fill with booty.

Originally I had contacted John Lewis in Manchester and they were happy for the TV and Blu-Ray player to be collected from or delivered by the Edinburgh branch. Result. Unfortunately, in the two weeks I’d been on holiday – home and down south – nothing had arrived. The morning phone calls to both the Edinburgh (via a call centre in Hamilton, which explained all the Lanarkshire accents I encountered!) and Manchester branches had sent me on a wild goose chase and I gave up. I knew if I were going to Edinburgh I would have to leave plenty of time to find a parking space so I headed off sharp-ish.

There’s an area very close to where I work which has a large number of free parking spaces – very much a rarity in and around Edinburgh – but, as you can imagine, these fill up rather quickly with local residents and commuting workers, including me. When I’m at work I’m parked by 6.30 am. By 7.30 you’ll be very lucky to get a space. It was either park here or pay upwards of £7 in the centre for a couple of hours. I resolved that if I got a free spot I would put £5 into the bucket of the performer I was going to see. If I had to fork out for parking, he would lose out. A harsh reality.

After a brief visit to the local Waitrose to get some cash for the inevitable parking costs. I vowed to make one more circuit before heading uptown. Bingo! Result! Ker-ching! A space! Woo-hoo. Any anxieties immediately drained from me. I’d have a 35-minute walk uptown (and uphill) but I didn’t care. I reassured myself that it was good exercise.

As I walked through Stockbridge I spotted a vagrant looking through a bag of shoes. Without looking up from his hopeful rummaging he held up a black shoe in my direction and enquired if I had another one like this. I didn’t check my pockets because I was pretty sure I didn’t have one in that size and colour. “Sorry pal”.

I hadn’t wasted that much time finding a parking spot so I had some time to kill and, almost inevitably, I ended up in FOPP. Now I could’ve spent a small fortune of CDs I thought I “needed” but sensibly I left empty-handed.

When I left Edinburgh six years ago I had fallen out of love with the place. A lot of anti-social behaviour and the area we lived in had turned into Little Beirut. We loved our flat but the area was hell and only exasperated my depression and we left for Fife. But wandering through the city I recalled why I originally loved the place. I was soaking up the atmosphere of the festival and even the unsightly Tramworks couldn’t take away from the splendour and history of my surroundings. Hopefully it would soon be restored to its former glory although it’ll be a close run thing as to whether the long-running Tramworks will be completed before Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia.

I hurried past the kilted piper on Waverley Bridge, surrounded by tourists wanting photos taken with the man in plaid strangling a cat, heading towards Cockburn Street. I popped into Avalanche for old time’s sake – I was carrying one of their record bags after all – but couldn’t find anything I wanted so headed to The Baked Potato Shop for lunch. It had been a regular Saturday lunchtime haunt once upon a time and I wondered if it had changed. It had. It was still the size of a BMW glove compartment but the very limited seating had been removed and replaced with an unsightly pile of flattened boxes and rubbish. Shame. Never mind a couple of their vegetarian sausage rolls would be just the job.

“Sorry, the guy who does them is off today”. What? While I was impressed that this seemed to indicate they were actually homemade and not a processed product I was not happy. (And if they’re not handmade and out of a packet, can no-one else operate the microwave?) How can they let Sausage Roll Man have a day off during the Fringe? It’s commercial suicide. I left disappointed.

I had to settle for second best and while avoiding leafletters and crowds on the Royal Mile I headed for Greggs. I would rather have given my money to the more independent retailer but I was left with no choice. As it turned out I did enjoy the sausage rolls and they served their purpose but it just wasn’t the same. Edinburgh, you’ve changed.

After brushing aside another vagrant who wanted £1 – uptown prices – I headed down to Bannerman’s. My regular of choice back in the day was The Green Tree, which sat along the Cowgate from Bannerman’s. I preferred “The Tree” but Bannerman’s made do when necessary.

I was the first person there. I’d heard (from Andrew) that the first few shows had been very busy – they’d turned some people away – so I made sure I wouldn’t miss out. I took some snapshots of the pub and the advertised attractions (you can see one above and both on Andrew Collins’ blog) and engaged in some serious people watching, while breathing in the sounds and smells of the Fringe. A group of girls asked me for directions to Chambers Street and I pointed them in the direction of a Close that only a ‘local’ would know, one which would lead them quickly to their destination. It was my good deed for the day.

The doors to the pub opened briefly as a cleaner hoovered up. I asked him where the queue should start – I worry about this sort of thing – but it became apparent that he didn’t speak English. Just as I spotted Robin Ince hotfooting it to The Pleasance (I presume) a girl who I recognised turned up to help me form the queue. I’d seen Tamsyn’s picture on Andrew’s blog. She’d help put on one of Andrew’s warm-up shows in their hometown of Northampton. Bedecked in a beret and stripy jumper (from Asda’s new Richard Herring range?) she chatted with me amiably about all manners of things Collins, Fringe and Edinburgh.

The queue quickly formed round the corner – we’d started a trend. It was going to be another sell-out (as much a free show can be a sell-out) and I was glad of my military-enforced punctuality. Indeed Andrew commented on it as he arrived.

Normally at gigs I’m wary of my height and try to sit to the side so as to limit the view I block. Today I didn’t care and we sat in the front row.

After some old school dance tunes the show started. Almost immediately Andrew was off stage with the microphone and planting it in my direction. Who was I, where was I from and, more importantly, where I was going? So began our journey from A to B.

I won’t the spoil the show but it’s a very enjoyable one with tales of why he should never have moved to Reigate, how to walk with pigeons, three things he wants to do with birds before he dies and a demonstration in the art of secret dancing, which also involves some audience participation. And, of course, much, much more. Indeed, I grabbed my bag (an important prop) and hopped on stage. I tried to resist but I knew I would succumb. The lure of the bright lights and a packed house was too much. Also, no one else was moving. As soon I went up a couple joined me.

Afterwards we shared a Magners (other ciders are available but not nearly as fashionable or tasty) and chatted with Tamsyn, Jim Bob from Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (yes, that Jim Bob) and a girl whose name I didn’t catch. Andrew even suggested that the subject of the book I’m struggling to write would make a good one-man show! It was him who planted the seed about writing the book in the first place. It’s all his fault!

I envy Andrew Collins and his lifestyle and the freedoms that brings. But he’s talented and works hard and deserves all his successes. He also gives a lot back to the kids and for that alone you should support him and his wonderful show.

We said our farewells and headed off into an almost imminent downpour. Sod the walking I’m getting the bus back to the car. I hopped on a 37 (more local knowledge) and pondered on what Andrew had suggested as sodden passengers came and went. It preyed on my mind all the way home.

My To Do list had included phoning and arranging collection of yet another competition prize  – you’ve got to be in it to win it – but I’d been too busy schmoozing so mentally moved it to the To Do Tomorrow/Pending tray. Instead I concentrated my efforts on a more immediate project.

By the time I got home I had just 45 minutes to build a Playmobil Circus before I had to collect the girls. I had promised it would be ready by the time my daughter got home and ready it was. But only just.

She loved it so much that she played with it from the moment she got home. Indeed we had to cajole her to open her remaining birthday presents first before she continued with “playing at circuses”. When she opened the parcel revealing a Playmobil Ambulance, she excitedly suggested that one of the acrobats could have an accident! The next step was to collect all the people from all her other Playmobil sets and seat them around the Big Top, although she wasn’t happy that the show wasn’t a sell-out. Bless.

By the time the birthday girl retired for the night, she was exhausted. So was I. It’d been a long fortnight off and as much as I enjoyed the time off I was glad to be getting back to enforced normality of a daily routine, albeit one I’d rather not have to go through. Who would? The Monday to Friday 7 to 3 is killing me although in the current climate it’s one I might not have much longer but that’s another story.

I have learned one thing today and it’s a very valuable lesson. Secret Dancing in a Vauxhall Astra on the M90 isn’t a good idea. Take my word for it.

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Where The Action Is: Playlist 8 August 2010

After an enjoyable week off in Yorkshire, including the National Railway Museum and the National Children’s Museum, it’s back to business and some choo-choo-choons.  As usual I’ll be plying you with the usual mixture of mod, soul, girl groups, Motown and alternative pop from the late 50s through to the early 70s on Where The Action Is.

We’ll be playing two games of Connect 3, where you can guess the link between three records, a birthday track for actress/singer Connie Stevens and a Foreign Language track from Conny Froboess. There’s also the Half-Time Instrumental, the Trojan Mod Reggae track, Two of a Kind from Goldie (with and without her Gingerbreads), as well as The Lemonheads in this week’s Under the Influence feature.

The Ikettes - Fine Fine Fine (Modern 1965)

Eileen Reid and the Cadets – Baby Roo (Pye 1965)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)
The Shirelles – Foolish Little Girl (Scepter 1963)
Two of Each – Trinity Street (Pye 1969)
Tamiko – Rhapsody (Atco 1964)
Episode Six – Time and Motion Man (Unreleased 1966)
The Three Pennies – Why Am I So Shy? (BT Puppy 1964)
Bella and Me – Whatever Happened To The Seven Day Week? (Columbia 1967)
The Kinsmen – Glasshouse Green Splinter Red (Decca 1968) (Connect 3)
Rupert and the Red Devils – It’s For You (Unreleased 1962) (Connect 3)
Otis Redding – Mr Pitiful (Volt/Atco 1965) (Connect 3)
The Misunderstood – Never Had A Girl Like You Before (Fontana 1969)
Gloria Jones – Finders Keepers (Uptown 1966)
Connie Stevens – They’re Jealous of Me (Warner Bros) (Birthday: 8/8/38 Connie Stevens)
The Tremeloes – Gentlemen of Pleasure (CBS 1967)
Spyder Turner – I Can’t Make It Anymore (MGM 1967)
Conny Froboess – Georgy Girl (Polydor 1967) (Foreign Language)
Darlene Paul – (All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings (Atlantic 1962)
Roland Janes – Guitarville (Judd 1959) (Half-Time Instrumental)
Christine Holmes – Here Comes My Baby (Unreleased 1964)
The Walker Brothers – After The Lights Go Out (Philips 1965)
Lynn Tait and The Boys – Storm Warning (Trojan 1965) (Trojan Mod Reggae)
The Ikettes – (He’s Gonna Be) Fine Fine Fine (Modern 1965)
Billie Davis – That Boy John (Columbia 1964)
Strawberry Jam – This Is To A Girl (Pye 1969)
The Lemonheads – Into Your Arms (Atlantic 1993) (Under the Influence)
Barry St. John – Come Away Melinda (Columbia 1965)
The Tymes – What Would I Do? (MGM 1966)
Goodnight Kisses – If He Kissed Me (Atco 1965)
Scott Walker – It’s Raining Today (Philips 1969) (Connect 3)
The Supremes – Forever Came Today (Motown 1968) (Connect 3)
The Living Daylights – Let’s Live for Today (Philips 1967) (Connect 3)
Barbara McNair – Lone Lonely Town (Unreleased/Motown 1966)
The Action – Come On, Come With Me (Unreleased 66/67)
Goldie – Headlines (Immediate 1966) (Two of a Kind)
Goldie and the Gingerbreads – Walking in Different Circles (Atco 1967) (Two of a Kind)
David Bowie – I’m Not Losing Sleep (Pye 1966)
Floyd Cramer – On The Rebound (RCA 1961) (show theme)

If you’re in the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy you can hear Where The Action Is on Channel 3 on your bedside headphones or on 1287AM on the Medium Wave.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, it’s good day and good health.

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