25th May 2016 / 1 Comment
Disc and Music Echo /
23 November 1968
Here’s the iconic, if nowadays somewhat forgotten, Penny Valentine, who was probably the first woman to write about pop music with the same passion as the teenagers consuming it in the 1960s. She joined Disc in 1964, and created enough of a following to appear on Juke Box Jury whilst still reviewing singles for the magazine. I’m not going to replicate the work of her obituary writers, but it’s clear that she deserves a place in the collective memory, and that this seems to have been denied her, sadly.
Tags: pop, social history
20th May 2016 / 1 Comment
Disc and Music Echo /
23 November 1968
Groovy, baby. Emperor Rosko, of course, was one of the big names from the days of off-shore pirate radio in the UK, and joined Radio 1 on its launch in 1967. I think it’s fair to say that he was an influence on the Austin Powers character, judging from this interview. He’s also continued to work both in Europe and America, and has a website which suggests that his free spirit hasn’t diminished!
There’s also a short piece about Aphrodite’s Child, who, although short-lived, went on to be regarded as a cult psychedelic and progressive rock band.
Tags: prog, psychedelia, radio, rosko, social history
13th May 2016 / No Comments Yet
Disc and Music Echo /
23 November 1968
This is something of a curio for ’60s music nerds, I should think. The brothers are notable for the quite sublime hit ‘Eloise‘, sung by Barry and written by Paul, but I had no idea that their mother was famous. This short item is fascinating, as Marion Ryan mentions that she was working for much of the boys’ childhoods, which would have been unusual for a female singer of that era. Marion Ryan was a fine, if unremarkable, singer, and her sons were the same when they were singing together, if this clip, featuring a young Tarby, is anything to go by.
Tags: pop, social history
22nd April 2016 / No Comments Yet
Disc and Music Echo /
23 November 1968
Well, I may have been away for a while, but never say that I can’t come back with a bang. This music gossip magazine is a real find, combining as it does proper music reporting and elements of gossip and teen mag writing. I don’t recall anything quite like it in my youth; Smash Hits was excellent, but there’s no way they would have covered the ‘British Blues Boom’ as this issue does. It’s delightful to see Kenny Everett as the cover star and that his then new Radio 1 Saturday show for 1969 was big news. Having been a Kenny fan for years, it brings it home to me that so much of his career has been presented to me second-hand, and it’s fascinating to see a contemporary reaction. It’s also great for those interested in how Radio 1 established itself as a station for younger people (or, as they have it, the ‘in-crowd’), as it appears 1969 was a significant shift away from ex-Light Programme shows like Saturday Club.
Tags: everett, radio, social history, teenagers