Monday, January 31, 2011

On her Majesty's secret service

Very sad to learn of the passing of John Barry this morning. Perfect time to play some of his music, and remember the hugely enjoyable evening spent listening to it as part of Jarvis Cocker's Meltdown in 2007.

Here's some of what I wrote then:

Tonight I shall be attending this, and I am very excited indeed. I've been a big fan of John Barry's music since being introduced to Bond films as a kid and my interest has grown from there. Those lucky enough to be in attendance at the first (and likely only) Tombola DJ set will, I'm sure, have fond recollections of hearing the Moonraker theme (end title). Not too sure how much involvement Brer Barry had with the discofying of that version but it's on his Moonraker soundtrack so it's good enough for me. Also on that album is the track, 'Bond Smells A Rat', which is one of the best titles in my collection.

As if I couldn't be excited enough already, the adrenaline levels will only be increased further by the involvement of John Barry Bingo.

***

It was amazing. The only minor downer was that I'd convinced myself that Shirley Bassey would make a special guest appearance to sing Goldfinger and sadly that wasn't to be. That aside, it was class. I thought I might actually explode during the Bond medley at the end.

Here's a very ropey pic of the master getting a standing ovation:


Tombolablog salutes you!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Danger Mouse

I know that times are hard, austerity Britain etc. etc., but B&Q's new pest control range seems a little too basic to me.

Anyone else play 'Splat the rat' at school summer fairs?

Still, I guess it's good for the environment - no poison lying about etc. Looks a bit messy though. Should at least come with a mop. I could have done with one of these in Brixton when I was using discarded masonry to smash in unfortunate rodents. That experience may never leave me :(