2011 IN PICTURES – JANUARY

Welcome to the first in a 12 part (unsurprisingly) series between now and December 22nd, looking back at some of my favourite photos i’ve taken throughout 2011.

A new year, and a new experience for me, as I visited Solitude for the first time, to see Linfield take on Cliftonville on the 22nd.

As per the arrangements, we were dropped off outside the stadium and picked up straight away, so I never really got a chance to experience walking up to the ground and taking it in, like most other grounds.

That said, the away end is a nice wee stand, though not kind for amateur photography.

That said, I did manage to improvise and get some nice shots, nicely assisted by the fog that day.

The following week, I went to a CD launch at the Oh Yeah Centre for a charity album by Duke Special, where he covers the songs of Ruby Murray, where I managed to get some nice shots.

It wasn’t the most active or productive of months, but there will be more and better photos from the rest of the year.

Beer Barons

Cliftonville v Linfield

Linfield v Glenavon

Duke Special

Duke Special Photo Album

CARRICK RANGERS 0-4 LINFIELD 26.11.2011

I’d been looking forward to this game ever since Carrick Rangers got promoted at the end of last season, as i’d never been to Taylor’s Avenue.

And thus, I still haven’t, as Carrick Rangers are now playing this season at Seaview due to work taking place at Taylor’s Avenue.

On the plus side, it was my first visit to the newly redeveloped Seaview, and I like it.

All seater, with the option of standing, it’s the perfect build for a Irish League football.

It’s a common excuse, when people bash Irish League football, the facilities, yet all clubs in the Premiership (and some in the divisions below) are gradually improving their grounds, which is good to see.

And, Linfield fans were able to move to the other stand for the second-half when the team change ends, in order to be behind the goal that Linfield are attacking.

Hopefully, that will remain the case when Linfield face Crusaders in two weeks time.

The only complaint, is that it isn’t as friendly to amateur photograpy as it was.

Managed to get some OK photos. The weather was shit so I didn’t get the benefit of natural daylight to help me.

Enjoy

Photo Album

THE FRIDAY FIVE – 25.11.2011

1. Florence and the Machine – What The Water Gave Me
2. Beyonce – Love On Top
3. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Everybody’s On The Run
4. Ken Dodd – Happiness
5. Caro Emerald – The Other Woman

As last week was Movie Week on X-Factor, I suppose I might as well have a movie chart.

As ever, with X-Factor themes, they appeared to make it up ast hey go along, often having to explain what movie it came from. Surely if it was a well known song, they wouldn’t need to explain it.

The best pisstake was when Marcus Collins sang ‘Higher And Higher’ by Jackie Wilson …….. from Ghostbusters.

The song was used only as a snippet in a scene where they are performing experiments on goo. Hardly the theme tune of the movie.

FIVE MOVIE SONGS

1. Carly Simon – Nobody Does It Better
2. Simple Minds – Don’t You Forget About Me
3. Harald Faltermeyer – Axel F
4. Tom Petty – Walls
5. Joe Esposito – You’re The Best Around

Meanwhile, BBC4 are showing a documentary on Prince on Friday night. And to think, some people are thinking of getting rid of BBC4.

I love the music documentaries that are on BBC4 every week, and the theme nights, and the icing on the cake, the Top Of The Pops repeats from 1976.

In short, BBC4 is bloody wonderful. So here, is a Top Five Prince Songs.

FIVE PRINCE SONGS

1. Prince – Gold
2. Prince – Batdance
3. Prince – Raspberry Beret
4. The Bangles – Manic Monday
5. Prince – 1999

This week saw the 14th anniversary of the death of Michael Hutchence. I’ve left out the majestic ‘Afterglow’, recorded with JD Fortune in 2006, but I suggest you check out that song, to focus on songs with Hutchence

FIVE INXS SONGS

1. Baby Don’t Cry
2. New Sensation
3. Beautiful Girl
4. Mystify
5. Disappear

THE SOUND OF 2011 : 81-100

So, here it is, that time of year when we look back at the year just past.

Every Thursday night between now and December 22nd, i’m going to give you the definitive list of the 100 Best Songs Of 2011. This week is 81-100

Why Thursday I hear you ask? Well, when I blogged on Bebo, Thursaday was the day I posted my Top 5 songs that week, so I might as well keep it going on WordPress, even though I now blog my Top 5 songs of the week on a Friday morning, purely because ‘The Friday Five’ sounds better than ‘The Thursday Five’

For those needing a refresher, the previous winners are

2010 Marina and the Diamonds – Shampain
2009 Little Boots – New In Town
2008 Sons and Daughters – Darling
2007 Feist – 1, 2, 3, 4
2006 Kasabien – Empire

So, who will win in 2011?

He’s 81-100

81. Adele – Set Fire To The Rain
82. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Stranded On The Wrong Beach
83. Two Door Cinema Club – Undercover Martyn
84. Ed Sheeran – Lego House
85. Beady Eye – Four Letter Word
86. Noah and the Whale – Life Is Life
87. Take That – Kidz
88. Yasmin – Finish Line
89. Noah and the Whale – Tonight’s The Kind Of Night
90. Rihanna – We Found Love
91. The Kooks – Is It Me?
92. Nikki Minaj ft Rihanna – Fly
93. Arctic Monkeys – The Hellcat Spangled Shalala
94. Talay Riley – Make You Mine
95. Calvin Harris ft Kelis – Bounce
96. Marina and the Diamonds – Radioactive
97. Rizzle Kicks – Down With The Trumpets
98. White Lies – Better Than Us
99. Hard-Fi – Good For Nothing
100. Nikki Minaj : Supperbass

Sound Of 2010

Sound Of 2009

Sound Of 2008

Sound Of 2007

Sound Of 2006

WEAVERS TO WINNERS

Last Thursday (17th November) saw the unveiling of a mural in Sandy Row commemorating the 125th anniversary of Linfield FC.

The image, located on Blythe Street, depicts the clubs first title winning team in 1891, who, like their 2011 counterparts won the Irish Cup as well, with the text commemorating the milestones of the club’s 125th anniversary and 50th title win, achieved this year.

It’s not the only football mural on Blythe Street, as this image of George Best is at the other end of the street.

There are, of course, other Linfield related murals in Belfast. A full blog of them, written at the start of the 2010-2011 season can be found here

UTV Report

Linfield website

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : 90 MINUTES – 20th AUGUST 1994

This edition of The Magazine Archive focuses on the short lived weekly magazine ’90 Minutes’

Owned by IPC, who own Shoot and World Soccer, it did seem strange that they would add a third publication to their repotoire.

Ryan Giggs adorns the cover with the main feature not of him, but of how winning the double isn’t enough for Manchester United.

The editor’s note comes courtesy of the magazine’s editor Paul Hawksbee, who now presents an afternoon show on Talksport.

The lead story that week was Billy Bonds shock departure as West Ham United manager on the eve of the new season starting.

The topical cartoon in the news section is frankly disturbing.

Aston Villa had just signed John Fashanu, who was combining his football career with presenting Gladiators. In the cartoon, Fashanu is in manager Ron Atkinson’s office, when Atkinson asks him for a favour, which turns out to be Ron Atkinson becoming a Gladiator.

In other news, Nottingham Forest manager Frank Clark has urged star striker Stan Collymore to “Settle down and find the love of a good woman”

I’m not going to make a comment on that.

With or without the love of a good woman, Collymore was Britain’s most expensive footballer 12 months later after a £8.5m transfer to Liverpool.

The much hypes article on Manchester United explains that United’s share price rises when they win and falls when they lose. Hardly earthshattering revelations.

Meanwhile, ’90 Minutes Live’ is an opinion piece where fans are interviewed on an issue outside a ground.

Supporters were interviewed outside Ibrox prior to a pre-season tournament involving Rangers, Sampdoria, Manchester United and Newcastle United about a possible British Super League.

Jamie McDonald, a 15 year old Celtic supporter helpfully informs us “I don’t like English football or English people – or Scottish people”

Match Of The Day, celebrting it’s 30th birthday that week, gets a double page spread in it’s honour looking back at it’s illustrious history.

With the Premier League season about to start, 90 Minutes predicted the league places for the season ahead.

They said Arsenal would be Champions, how wrong they were.

It did turn out to be an eventful season for Arsenal, with Paul Merson revealing drug addiction, George Graham being sacked for taking a bung, and on the pitch, they reached the European Cup Winners Cup final.

Eventual champions Blackburn Rovers were predicted to finish 4th.

Aston Villa were predicted to finish 6th and spent most of the season battling against relegation, while Nottingham Forest were predicted to finish 12th, but ended up 3rd.

They were spot on with the prediction of Ipswich Town to finish 22nd, which they did, including a 9-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

In their foreign round-up, David Ginola featured prominently, unhappy that the PSG board vetoed a move to AC Milan. A year later, he ended up at Newcastle United. Tough break.

Towards the end is possibly the worst competition prize ever, as you can Richard Keys Sky Sports jacket, which aaccompanies a piece where the former TV-AM presenter is given a makeover.

If you can remember Sky’s coverage of the early years of the Premier League, it was clear he needed one.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : Q – JANUARY 1990

The first Q of a new decade, looking back at the last decade, as the cover has a montage of 1980s icons Madonna, U2, Bob Geldof, Mark Knopfler, George Michael with the headline “THE 80s : HOW WAS IT FOR YOU?”

For me, not bad. I missed the first three years, but I spent the rest of the decade crapping my nappy then watching Ghostbusters cartoons. Good times.

Gary Glitter is the subject of Q’s “Who the hell does ……..” feature. The answer we now know, is a big fat fuck paedophile.

In news, Terence Trent D’Arby suffered a humiliating episode at the hands of an autograph hunter, who asked him which one of Mili Vanilla he was.

In Adwatch, you could get a free chart album with 50 Budweiser ringpulls or a chart album for £2 with 18.

Considering the charts were dominated by Sonia, Jive Bunny, Jason Donovan and Reynolds Girls, you’d need to drink about 50 tins of Budweiser to want to listen to any of them.

The 1980s gets reviewed with a Q and A with a headline act from each year such as Suggs (1980) Human League (1981) Culture Club (1982) and so forth.

An advert in the magazine promotes that Queen were selling their Budapest concert available on CD Video, an early version of the DVD.

The 50 Best Albums Of 1989 looks back at the best albums of the year, featuring Stone Roses debut album, still lauded by music writers 22 years on.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : WORLD SOCCER – JUNE 1986

World Cup preview edition complete with a free colour picture of the England team. Though not of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The front cover features the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City, the venue of the final, and images of Graeme Souness, Bryan Robson and Sammy McIlroy, who captained Scotland, England and Northern Ireland at the finals.

The editorial focuses on Kenny Dalglish’s regret that he was injured and unable to play in the 1986 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Valery Lobanovsky was dramatically appointed manager of the Soviet Union after the previous manager was sacked after a run of bad results.

Lobanovsky led the Soviets to the Second Round in Mexico, and then to the final of Euro 88.

Having twice won the European Cup Winners Cup with Dynamo Kiev, he led them to the Semi-Finals of the European Cup in 1999, before his death in 2002.

Dynamo Kiev’s stadium has since been renamed in his honour.

Diego Maradona was interviewed and named England as his dream opponents should Argentina reach the final.

They had to make do with a Quarter-Final meeting of course.

The referees get a full page profile. Northern Ireland’s Alan Snoddy lists his fluent languages as English, he worked as a Bank Clerk and that his hobbies included Golf (and dreaming about giving penalties against Linfield and sending Linfield players off)

Due to print deadlines, the squads were announced after the publication date, so they had to guess the squads.

Northern Ireland’s squad includes Martin Caughey of Linfield, which was clearly a typo as the writer seems to have got Mark Caughey and Martin McGaughey mixed up.

George Dunlop, also of Linfield was also listed. He failed to make the final cut. Bizarrely, Bury’s Philip Hughes doesn’t have a date of birth listed.

Jim Platt of Coleraine was also in the Northern Ireland squad

The only other Irish League player at the 1986 World Cup was not in the Northern Ireland squad, but Canada, Terry Moore of Glentoran.

The European Cup final gets a double page spread, which is quite impressive for a 0-0 draw.

To set the scene for English readers, it begins by imagining an unknown Eastern European team has beaten Manchester United in the European Cup final at Wembley, which was strange considering United hadn’t won the league in 19 years at this point.

Brian Glanville’s column is very pessimistic about England, Scotland and Northern Ireland’s World Cup chances claiming that Bobby Robson isn’t the man to lead England, and suggests that if Billy Bingham was England’s manager they would do much better.

Alex Ferguson, despite winning a European trophy with Aberdeen “has done nothing yet at international level to convince me of his qualities” despite the fact he’d only been Scotland manager for less than a year.

Glanville also responds to criticism of the 1986 World Cup being held in Mexico (and maintains that the 1970 tournament shopuldn’t have been held there either) and that the kick-off times had “Been prostituted for television”

Could be an accurate description of English football in 2011.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : Q – DECEMBER 1988

In this edition of The Magazine Archive, we look at Q in December 1988, a world where REM are on the cover, and Freddie Mercury dabbles in the world of opera.

This month, the music world is being set alight by a controversial and fiesty peroxide blonde. Not Lady GaGa, but Wendy James of Transvision Vamp, who gets a double page profile.

In news, Pete Waterman goes to war with Radio One at an industry conference by describing the station’s management as “40 year old tossers”

Pete Waterman, remember, was born in 1947.

In the letters section, Terence Trent D’arby writes to complain about a favourable review, that he is not worthy of comparison to Robert Cray.

Meanwhile, Dominic Sturges from Sheffield wrote in to complain that the back cover of the Pet Shop Boys album ‘Introspective’ gives a running time of 50 minutes and 3 seconds, which he says he has counted each song and this is wrong.

Freddie Mercury gets five pages dedicated to his opera collaboration with Monserrat Caballe as they perform a concert to mark the countdown to Barcelona hosting the 1992 Olympics.

Sadly, Mercury didn’t live to see Barcelona to host the games.

Five pages are given to a look at the world of Paparazzi and how it has changed coming to the end of the 1980s.

The article finishes with a breakdown of rankings of celebrities and their photo value by status.

In December 1988, Bros was A-List while Paul McCartney was C-List. Yes, you read that right.

Even more staggering, is that Michael Jackson and U2 were B-List ……. behind Bros.

Roger Moore shares a spot as a D-List celeb alongside Andrew Ridgeley, Simon Le Bon, Johnny Hates Jazz and Ian Botham.

E-Listers in December 1988 included Anita Dobson and Sinitta, now appearing in reality TV.

Sadly, fellow E-Lister Ben Volpliere-Pierrot from Curiousity Killed the Cat is still awaiting for his phonecall to appear on a reality TV show.

MAGAZINE ARCHIVE : WORLD SOCCER – DECEMBER 1986

Welcome to a new series of The Magazine Archive. Apologies that there hasn’t been one for a while.

Got a full set of 1986 editions of World Soccer at a fair in May, but wanted to get some music magazines as I didn’t want it to be all football.

Was in Manchester recently and picked up some old editions of Q, so here we go.

The first one of this new series is the December 1986 edition of World Soccer, looking back at an eventful year of football, which had a World Cup that summer.

The front cover features Diego Maradona being carried aloft while carrying the World Cup trophy, as photographers try to get a picture.

It reminded of a feature in Four Four Two ten years ago title “100 Greatest Football Pictures”, and 6 or 7 of them were of Maradona. As was written in the feature, it appears no dull pictures of Maradona exist.

Page 3 focused on the World Soccer awards with Diego Maradona, unsurprisingly, winning Footballer Of The Year, with Igor Belanov second.

Pat Jennings was 20th, possibly getting sentimental votes as he retired that year, with his final game taking place in the World Cup Finals, against Brazil ……. on his 41st birthday.

Guy Thys won Manager Of The Year award for leading Belgium to the World Cup Semi-Finals, beating competition from Valeri Lobanovsky and Kenny Dalglish.

The previous year’s winner was 15th ……….. Terry Venables.

Argentina narrowly beat European Cup Winners Cup winner Dynamo Kiev to win the Team Of The Year award which was previously held by Everton.

Despite winning a 5th successive Irish League title in 1986, Linfield were disgracefully not in the Top 20.

The magazine features a double page interview with Diego Maradona, who explains that he grew a beard earlier in the year because his sister wondered what he looked like with a beard.

The other World Cup Final in 1986, the club version got a double page spread, with the writers casting Steau Bucharest in the role of underdogs against River Plate, which turned out to be correct.

The main story in English football got a double page spread as Ron Atkinson was sacked as Manchester United and replace by Aberdeen’s Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson was given a contract until 1990 and a brief to win the title, something which United hadn’t done for 19 years, and given their start to the 1986-1987 season, the wait would extend until 21 years at least.

“United aren’t the only victims of this unpredictable season. Below them are three other once famous and mighty clubs – Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United”

Ironic, that those four clubs now sit at the top of English football when Ferguson celebrated his 25th anniversary in charge of United.

Meanwhile, bizarrely, police entered the pitch at Fratton Park to tell off two players for swearing at the ref.

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, an Old Firm derby match “ended in mayhem” as Celtic have seven players booked and Mo Johnston sent-off in a Skol Cup final defeat to Rangers.

Celtic manager Davie Hay was so angry after the game, he suggested that Celtic should apply to join England’s top flight.

Meanwhile, ten games into the 1986-1987 had Glentoran and Larne joint top, with Portadown second bottom.

That month, Portadown appointed Ronnie McFall as manager, and their fortunes went on an upward trajectory.