. . . now I used to enjoy Blodwyn Pig and saw them a few times live back in the day but lost my passion for them and Jethro Tull too! Somehow . . . . . I think I first found them on another compilation album like Rock Machine called as I recall Gutbucket .(1969) . . but I enjoyed revisiting this one . . . no not Gutbucket but the followup to You Can All Join In from Island records called All you can eat*
A blunt Yorkshireman with the voice of an American soul singer, Joe became one of the most unlikely success stories of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
He was born in the midst of World War II in the steel city of Sheffield, where his father served as an aircraftman in the Royal Air Force. His mother was a housewife. At birth, he was given the name John, but it would be under a nickname that he would later become a voice still heard on radios today.
His only real ambition was to escape his hometown. He left school at 16, his headmaster’s parting words a blunt, “Hard luck.” From there, he became an apprentice gas fitter while simultaneously pursuing a career in music. The young boy spent his days working and his nights chasing something bigger in smoke-filled bars.
“His voice had hardly broken and there was no way you could recognize his talent but his enthusiasm was undeniable and he had that desire to perform which was there throughout his career,” his brother told The Star.
”I thought he was going to take up gas fitting as a career. I even got him a lot of books on the subject, and he was interested in gas for a time, but there was always the music. He told me he didn’t want a job where he worked for years and years and then got presented with a gold watch at the end,” his mother once shared.
Joe Cocker pictured with his mum in 1973 | Sheffield Newspapers
Wow! Another lost LP that sat unreleased until recently. The always interesting bandcampsnoop posted a song from this album, leading me to check it out on bandcamp. The Fix (definitely not the Fixx) were a British mod power pop group from Oxfordshire with a strong Jam influence. Great songwriting, vocals and guitar.
They’re local! So this one goes out to the Diamond Dave! He’s local TOO!
I really like it when these musicians and popular media figures film work they do with schools and this may raise your spirits like it did mine!
OBVS I have no idea who this is but heck its FUN! (look I am a seventy odd year old grumpy grandad and well known curmudgeon what do you expect for nuffin!?)
Earlier this week I visited the @pikeschoolarts and we played music and spent some life affirming time together. Here’s a video of us playing Big Money
#05
Cuss Cuss - Lloyd Robinson
1968
