The Fickleness of Fame
and a 'C69' final warning
Back again!
Quick bit of ‘Challenge 69’ final countdown first:
‘Track 8’ (Part One) will be hitting your inboxes, as scheduled, at 9am tomorrow,
Part Two will follow, as usual, exactly twenty-four hours later, and
The latest chapter’s soundtrack will then be released sometime on Monday. This one includes Stuart’s ‘top five pop songs’!
For those who like to take up the ‘challenge’, this one is definitely much harder, but if you can just suss out what it is you need to do then I think it’s solvable, let’s see who can prove me right?
Before I go though, couldn’t resist sharing a post about a great, but sparsely attended, gig we went to last night in Nottingham.
In Support: Ian Prowse (previously of Pele and Amsterdam), a great singer/songwriter, specialising in songs with a ‘socially conscious’ bite (think Liverpudlian Billy Bragg):
Both of Ian’s bands received huge critical acclaim for their studio albums, but in truth neither converted this into any real commercial success,
Amsterdam’s closest brush with fame was probably supporting Elvis Costello several times, even appearing as his backing band (on the Jonathan Ross show),
BUT, for me their real ‘claim to fame’ will always be a certain John Peel regularly touting their marvelous ‘Does This Train Stop on Merseyside’ single as his second favourite song ever (with no shame in finishing runner up to ‘Teenage Kicks’!)
Headlining: Babybird, with three original band members but, as ever, the group are really just a support vehicle for the immense but contrarian talent of Stephen Jones:
Now Babybird really did experience genuine fame, with two albums (including one gold disc) and seven singles all hitting the UK charts between 1996 & 1999,
You’ll probably best know them for ‘You’re Gorgeous’, which (despite Stephen’s hatred of its ‘one hit’ reputation legacy) is a great pop song that hides some delightfully vicious lyrics, ahead of their time in exposing manipulative misogyny,
But, as this short playlist shows*, ‘YG’ fits into a much wider repertoire of great songs. Personally, I love Stephen as a brilliant lyricist, great singer, and quite possibly the most compellingly grumpy front man I’ve ever seen live. (*If you’ve only got time to listen to one, I’d recommend the stunning ‘Back Together’.)
Babybird’s biggest ‘claim to fame’ though may well be their super fan Johnny Depp, who has played guitar with them, and once both funded and directed this £1m budget video. (With an appearance, I’ve just realised, from Stephen Graham)
So, back to Nottingham!
Last night this array of talent performed to a Rescue Rooms audience of just a hundred strong; which unavoidably left me with a few observations;
Fame (like fortune) is truly a fickle and transitory thing and, when you’ve experienced it, must be hugely frustrating to see ebb away again,
But (with a few odd exceptions like The Stones) there has to be a certain inevitability that the audience you attracted in your twenties/thirties will have died away (literally in some instances!) by the time you reach your fifties/sixties, yet,
The drive to perform never seems to diminish, and despite what must have been a disappointing turnout both acts carried on regardless and put on a great show.
We became increasingly fearful as Ian Prowse’s set was drawing towards a close; the crowd was still visibly small and therefore noticeably ancient (one attendee had even brought his walking stick).
Having, in the past, seen the notoriously curmudgeonly Mr. Jones railing (for little apparent reason) at far larger/sold out audiences, this ‘smattering of seniors’ scenario had blood bath written all over it.
For whatever reason though (presumably some form of ‘f*** it’ resignation), Stephen seemed instead to relish the occasion, giving a blistering (for once good-humoured) performance, with his voice as strong as ever and the set peppered with his usual caustic, irreverent, and witty inter-song chat.
We, along with the ninety-eight other aging punters, had a great time before we all headed off early for some cocoa and biscuits before bedtime.
Rock ‘n’ Roll eh!! (Well, it is nearly 70 now!)