Tag Archive: BBC


BACKTRACKING # 31: THE SEX PISTOLS’ ROYAL ANTHEM

Filed under: Music, Politics — 2 Comments
August 7, 2011

Part of an irregular series of bite-sized posts about 7″ singles I own – shameless nostalgia from the days of vinyl. (Search ‘Backtracking’ to collect the set!)

THE SEX PISTOLS – God Save The Queen b/w Did You No Wrong (Virgin Records, 1977)

While Anarchy In The UK may be the defining statement of Brit-Punk, God Save The Queen is the best Punk single ever. I still vividly  recall taking a sharp intake of breath as the needle hit the groove for the first time and the blast of rage-fuelled venom struck home.

Lyrically it is surprisingly sophisticated : “For when there’s no future, how can there be sin. we’re the flowers in the dustbin, we’re the poison in the human machine, we’re the future, your future”

With the iconic cut-up sleeve design by Jamie Reed this both looks and sounds like a statement of intent. The rejection of Royal Family in Jubilee year was symbolic of a trashing of the supposedly sacrosanct institutions that define the nation.

Johnny Rotten’s snarling “We mean it maaaaaaan” was and is also an unambiguous trashing of the Hippy dream – forget love and peace , screw Woodstock – the real New Age begins now. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

BACKTRACKING # 29 : TOM ROBINSON’S GAY ANTHEM

Filed under: Gender, Good causes, Music — Leave a comment
July 26, 2011

Part of an irregular series of bite-sized posts about 7″ singles I own – shameless nostalgia from the days of vinyl. (Search ‘Backtracking’ to collect the set!)

TOM ROBINSON BAND – Rising Free TRB (EMI Records, 1978)

Don't Take No For An Answer /(Sing If You're) Glad To Be Gay /Martin / Right On Sister (Recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall, Sussex University and The Lyceum London).

Barbarella’s Club in Birmingham was packed to see the Tom Robinson Band in 1977 mainly, I think, because he had just appeared on Top of the Tops playing his catchy apolitical hit 2-4-6-8 Motorway.  For that appearance, he looked cute and cheeky – a bit like an overgrown schoolboy : shaggy hair in no particular style, not long, not short; a striped tie loosened as if he’d just arrived late for class. Above all, he looked approachable and not an enemy of the state. This didn’t stop the BBC from banning his next single despite the fact that it contained no offensive language or explicit sexist or racist terminology. Its ‘crime’ was to assert that gay men both existed and were deserving of respect. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , ,
Read More & Comment

RIHANNA – I HIT A BOY AND I LIKED IT

Filed under: Gender, Music — Leave a comment
February 10, 2011

Rihanna's subtle symbolism.

Rihanna‘s  raunchy new single S& M requires a hasty amendment to my post of a few days ago about the Lynn Miles song ‘Love Doesn’t Hurt’.

Miles’ song was indirectly linked the beating Rihanna received at the hands of Chris Brown.  This was unjustifiable violence but it now seems that Rihanna is not averse to the sado-masochistic affliction and receipt of  pain when the transaction is between consenting adults. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

SACHSGATE – QUE?

Filed under: Humour — Leave a comment
November 4, 2008
Georgina Baillie -innocent victim?

The innocent victim

First things first: Russell Brand is a loose cannon and Jonathan Ross is a twat.

These things were known when they were employed by the BBC. They are both rent-a-mouths whose risque and often juvenile humour gave the otherwise ultra-conservative Radio 2 the illusion of being hip and daring. 

The furore over the messages left on Andrew Sachs answering machine broadcast on their show is therefore both entirely predictable and hugely exaggerated. 

The irony is that when the show was first aired there were practically no complaints.  Only when the self appointed arbitrators of taste and decency – the even more ultra-conservative Daily Mail – took them to task did  the shit hit the proverbial.

In other words the controversy is almost entirely manufactured by a tabloid that affects to maintain a squeaky clean moral code while supporting the pornography of rampant capitalism.

At the centre of the story is actor Andrew Sach’s granddaughter Georgina Baille who doesn’t  deny that she slept with Brand (who hasn’t?!).  Ross and Brand joked about the fact that Brand had “fucked her” and used a condom which is hardly exposing intimate bedroom secrets. When I first heard the story I imagined Baille as a prim and innocent women drawn into the public eye by these ‘nasty’ men. 

But let’s be honest – does she really look like a blushing violet?  She is someone who once auditioned as a Page 3 girl for The Sun and is described by the Mail as a “burlesque dancer” who performs in a girl group called the Satanic Sluts. 

As she tells of her ‘shock and outrage’ she is crying all the way to the bank.

Brand and Ross’ show was purile but also typical of the Beeb’s dumbed down standards. The whole thing is a storm in a teacup with the only silver lining being that it might mean we finally see the back of Jonathan Ross.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Comment

Star Bores

Filed under: Television, Theatre — Leave a comment
March 31, 2008
star
Kevin Spacey is to be applauded for condemning the BBC’s dumbing down policy of filling its schedule with cheapskate ‘talent’ shows like Any Dream Will Do and I’d Do Anything. These provide free publicity for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End shows and contribute nothing to Britain’s rich theatrical heritage.
They are just another example of the spectacle of commercialised culture that passes for entertainment in this age.
The starstruck thrill seekers get their few minutes of fame but the Beeb are disingenuous to pretend that they are providing a public service.
Tags: , , , , , ,
Comment