Just seen on Justin Unabombers instagram. What a voice.
My favourite singer, not much love for him on here though lol
Have to say, saw him at Hammersmith Apollo about 15?!? years ago and he was rubbish.
The rev Green’s bio makes for pretty grim reading Al Green - Wikipedia
Wasn’t aware of any of that, vile stuff, won’t be able to listen to his music in quite the same way now.
The contrast between his life & his music is quite something
Been doing a deep dive on the enigma that is the artist Laurice. Most will skip past this post, but there’s one or two of you on here who will appreciate it. The song is incredible btw.
“Similar to Nikola Tesla, Leif Erikson and Kalashnikov – trail-blazers who received either nothing or ridicule for the pioneering efforts – Welsh musician/producer Laurice went unnoticed and was forced to watch from the terraces as an entire genre’s worth of musicians made millions passing through the hole he opened in the border fence separating tuff psychedelia and camp glam rock. Known to collectors for a handful of some of the most aberrantly catchy yet lyrically un-commercial 45s of all-time (sample titles: ‘Flying Saucers Have Landed,’ ‘I’m Gonna Smash Your Face In’, Laurice’s signature style and approach anticipated both punk thrash and post-punk disco trash. And, unlike Bowie and Bolan, Laurice wasn’t just pouting and putting on make-up for the camera.”
“A one-man history of pop from the early ‘70s onward, and your latest rave if your bag happens to include LA proto-glam freak-babies Zolar X or the Judy Garland-meets-Ziggy Stardust soap opera known as Jobriath. Ditto for anyone with a taste for openly gay prime-era disco. Or Sade-shaped smooth jazz. Or—you name it. At 72, the ridiculously eclectic Laurice is still at work, currently putting the finishing touches on a collection of ballads and planning a rock album, among other things.”
In 1973 I was working as a talent scout and as a writer with Pye Records in London. I often paid for private session so that I could perform my own songs aimed at various artists in England and the USA.
The Dark Side Of Your Face came about when I was fortunate enough to record three songs one evening at EMI studios in London. I had been recording all evening with a band, and The Dark Side Of Your Face was the last song I had to perform. This was all my own material. I actually recorded that high pitched voice you hear in the background on the recording. Yes, it was all me !
By the time I was ready to record the main vocal, not surprisingly my voice was cracked and tired. However, it appeared to suit the song so I just went with it. Up to that point I had never recorded anything quite like that before, so it was a very different sound for me. And I did a lot of recording in those days, as I was also a session singer at many of the main studios, including Abbey Road, where I often recorded, in Studios 1, 2 and 3.
The EMI studio I recorded The Dark Side Of Your Face at was a very large studio. So it was perfect for capturing the bleak, desolate and lonely ambience of this song, and I am very proud that I recorded it that day. I brought an acetate of it to North America when I emigrated from Britain. I never did release the song. In those days it wasn’t easy to just launch a recording like it is today. There was no Internet or computer home recording studios and you had to have money to even record anything then.
Laurice
Ethiopiques – Revolt of the Soul tells the story of the French music journalist Francis Falceto, who masterminded the famous series.
Apple’s new ad for its iPad has sparked just about the worst backlash I’ve ever seen among the ad community
Thanks for sharing, hadn’t seen it - what’s the backlash related to?
Seems very Apple. Not bold enough?
Crushing vibrant colourful creativity and humanity into bland monochrome tech conformity. Dystopian, and tone deaf to all artists and creators getting rinsed (crushed) by Apple Music, App store fees, etc.
Ah, well, when you put it that way…
They really did walk into that one, yeesh!
Multi-platinum selling songwriter Crispin Hunt called the act of destroying musical instruments evocative of burning books
A little too far perhaps.