Purple Rain

We went to see Prince on Friday at the 20,000 capacity o2 arena, which is bigger than most places we go to concerts at by about 19,750 people. A strange show with bits of brilliance rather marred by a lack of momentum and lacklustre ending. Good dancers though.

People We Love #1

Went to see Howe Gelb again last night. We love Howe, the man is just a genius. I like this video because last night he was saying how he never gets the chance to write songs anymore because he is in a generational sandwich with his children and his parents living with him, so his time between interruptions has gone down from 12 minutes to 9 minutes. Judging from this video, 9 minutes is a bit optimistic....

Coincidence?

Is it just a coincidence that England start playing much better as soon as Frank Lampard doesn't play?

Bobby Byrd RIP

Sad news that Bobby Byrd has died. Known mainly for his work with James Brown, but also this great record. He was also the man that did most of the vocals on Sex Machine. Some legacy.

Lynda LaPlante

I can't say I was ever a huge Lynda LaPlante fan, but after listening to the overtly racist, offensive trash that was coming out of her mouth on the radio today, I'll make sure I give anything else she is connected with a wide berth. You can listen to a quite extraordinary piece of radio by clicking here and listening to Robert Elms' Monday show.

Middle of the road

It's a Swissgrace

That the Swiss ruling party is using this poster for campaigning is a disgrace. The fact that the Swiss people let them get away with it and the fact they have even increased their lead in the polls since it has come out is even more of a disgrace. The Indy had an article on its front page yesterday asking if Switzerland is now the heart Europe's heart of darkness. On CNN they interviewed a young black guy in Geneva and he said it came as no surprise that they were using blatantly racist campaigning, but he was surprised by how blatant they were about it.

In my last job I worked with a lot of Swiss people and found the vast majority of them very materialistic, arrogant, racist and not very happy. What a horrible country.