1. Blossoms – Your Girlfriend
2. Liam Gallagher – The River
3. Sam Fender – Hypersonic Missiles
4. Kaiser Chiefs – People Know How To Love One Another
5. Of Monsters And Men – Alligator
Liam Gallagher’s tour in November doesn’t include Belfast. I really hope it’s not because he’s being lined up for Belsonic 2020. Flip sake.
1. Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott – Here I Go Again
2. Starsailor – All This Life
3. Chainsmokers – Young
4. Paul Weller – Woo Se Mama
5. The Cribs- Rainbow Ridge
This Tuesday, is International Yorkshire Day. So, to celebreate, here’s a chart of songs by Yorkshire acts. Ay up.
FIVE SONGS BY YORKSHIRE ACTS
1. Embrace – You’re Not Alone
2. Pulp – A Little Soul
3. Heaven 17 – Temptation
4. Shed Seven – Disco Down
5. Kaiser Chiefs – Modern Way
PS : Still looking for a Standing ticket for Ryan Adams at Ulster Hall in September. Face Value only. Do get in touch.
1. John Hassell and the April Rainers – Intercity 125
2. Pale Waves – There’s A Honey
3. Ryan Adams – Streets Of Philidelphia
4. Blossoms – In Da Club/Carelss Whisper
5. Ray Davies – Rock N Roll Cowboys
In gig news this week, it’s all about people not coming to Belfast. The Kooks are already on a Greatest Hits tour which bypasses Belfast, but now they’ve announced a European tour with Blossoms as support. It would be brilliant if that line-up came to Belfast. That said, i’m going to see Blossoms on Wednesday night as a headliner, having already seen them support Paul Weller. Regular readers will know I think Blossoms are brilliant.
Erasure have announced a new album and tour for May which has no Belfast gig. I’m staring expectantly towards the organisers of Belfast Pride. Outdoor show, Custom House Square. You know it makes sense. Go on go on go on go on. That’s just me hoping and wishing rather than any inside info by the way.
Shed Seven are back with their first album since 2001 and are touring in December. It gets better, they have Cast as support. Guess what? No Belfast gig. Seeing as Cast have been to Belfast the last two years, i’m hoping John Power has a word in Rick Witter’s ear and rectifies this.
Ryan Adams is coming to Belfast in September. Unfortunately, it had sold out by the lunchtime of the day it went on sale. So, if you know anybody selling a spare standing ticket, get in touch.
On Monday lunchtime, I chanced my arm by going to the Venue Box Office during my final ten minutes of lunch. I was third in line, and manage to spend all ten minutes queuing. The person at the front couldn’t make their mind about about what seats they wanted for whatever show they were booking for, then proceeded to pay with a credit card that wouldn’t work.
The next person had a complaint about tickets they had recently purchased and were referred to Ticketmaster but then proceeded to argue that the problem had to be dealt with by the Venue Box Office Staff.
Seriously, how the fuck do people get out of the house and be so fucking stupid?
Also announced in the past week was the line-up for Party At The Palace in August at Linlithgow Palace. If you’re wondering where that is, it’s near Edinburgh.
Regular readers will know I go to Edinburgh every August. Very tempted to make this the weekend I head over.
FIVE SONGS BY ACTS APPEARING AT PARTY AT THE PALACE
1. Lightning Seeds – All I Want
2. Razorlight – America
3. Ash – Oh Yeah
4. Amy MacDonald – This Is The Life
5. Kaiser Chiefs – Oh My God
Finally, I spotted an article wondering whatever happened to the mythical and mystical place in music history called 3 Alveston Place. 90s kids will know what i’m talking about. You can read the article here.
This Wednesday, is International Richard Herring Being A Sneering Dick On Twitter Day. Or, if you prefer, International Women’s Day.
If it’s just another day to you, or if you’re doing something to commemorate it, enjoy yourself. Except if you’re planning on sitting in front of the computer screaming “IT’S NOVEMBER 19TH!!!!” all day. You’re a bit of a weirdo and you need help.
This blog will be commemorating it in the only way it knows, by having a series of charts of songs by and about women
FIVE SONGS BY WOMEN
1. Rose Elinor Dougall – Stellular
2. Kylie Minogue – I Believe In You
3. Madonna – Rain
4. Taylor Swift – Ours
5. Laura Branigan – Self Control
FIVE SONGS BY GIRL GROUPS
1. Girls Aloud – Biology
2. Eternal – I Wanna Be The Only One
3. Bananarama – Cruel Summer
4. The Saturdays – Up
5. All Saints – Pure Shores
FIVE SONGS BY BANDS WITH FEMALE SINGERS
1. Chvrches – Lies
2. Paramore – That’s What You Get
3. Blondie – Heart Of Glass
4. Echosmith – Cool Kids
5. The Pretenders – I’ll Stand By You
FIVE SONGS WITH FEMALE NAMES IN THE TITLE
1. The Beatles – Dear Prudence
2. Bastille – Laura Palmer
3. Cosmic Rough Riders – Melanie
4. Glasvegas – Geraldine
5. Britney Spears – If You Seek Amy
FIVE SONGS WITH FEMALE PRONOUNS IN THE TITLE
1. Oasis – She Is Love
2. James – She’s A Star
3. U2 – Hallelujah Here She Comes
4. The Kooks – She Moves In Her Own Way
5. Shed Seven – She Left Me On Friday
FIVE SONGS WITH GIRL/WOMAN IN THE TITLE
1. Tori Amos – Cornflake Girl
2. Kate Bush – Rubberband Girl
3. Ash – Girl From Mars
4. Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire
5. Simple Minds – Chelsea Girl
1. Robert Goulet – Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
2. The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping
3. Greg Lake – I Believe In Father Christmas
4. Fountains of Wayne – Alien For Christmas
5. John Lennon – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
You didn’t think I wouldn’t have any Christmas songs this week? I’m not that much of a Scrooge.
Somebody started a rumour that i’ve cleared my diary to watch Christmas With Daniel O’Donnell on RTE 1 at 9.30pm tomorrow. It might be true, or it might not be true.
This week, saw the first headliners for Belsonic 2017 announced, a lot earlier than usual (recent years have been announced between February and April)
Just the two announced, and they were, well, underwhelming.
If you don’t know, it’s Jess Glynne and Axwell Ingrosso (who sounds like a Swiss footballer)
I know i’m guilty of complaining about bands I don’t like/have never heard of being on the bill when Belsonic headliners are announced, because I should know by now that not every Belsonic concert will appeal to me due to the line-up being so vast and varied.
These concerts will be at Ormeau Park, the third venue in the last three years. It’s slightly concerning that it’s starting to have a nomadic existence like what Tennent’s Vital used to have.
I thought Titanic worked as a venue in my own observations. Spatious, easy to get to and out of. I didn’t experience any real problems, even though Ormeau Park will be very convenient for me.
I really hope they don’t go down the Tennent’s Vital route of having pits. I find the idea that someone could just turn up ten minutes before showtime and get a better view than me, simply because they’re mates of a mate of a mate of a mate of someone who works for a sponsor.
I love Belsonic because it’s not Tennent’s Vital. I really hope it doesn’t go down a road of trying to be Tennent’s Vital.
I would imagine there will be more concerts announced in the new year.
One of the fun things I like to do when announcements are announced is to try and predict who will be performing.
As you can see from the link, my predictions were well off.
Belsonic isn’t the only festival in Belfast/Greater Belfast. There’s also Catherdal Quarter Arts Festival, Feile and Open House Festival (Bangor) which will be staging concerts.
So, i’m going to post my musical hopes for people coming to Belfast. The only 2017 concert I have in my diary is Blossoms. They’re brilliant. You may remember them winning The Sound Of 2015 on this blog. If you want to see how good they are, they’ll be on Top Of The Pops on New Year’s Eve.
You may remember me getting excited about Simple Minds coming to Waterfront Hall in June next year. Well, it’s an all seated gig and I can’t be arsed with that.
So, i’m going to post my hopes for those who I would love to come to Belfast in 2017.
Cast and Embrace will have albums out in 2017, so hopefully they’ll fit in a Belfast gig.
Kaiser Chiefs, Paul Weller, The Kooks, Amy MacDonald, KT Tunstall and Two Door Cinema Club all have 2017 tours announced but no Belfast gig. Hopefully some of them well be adding Belfast to their schedule.
Rose Elinor Dougall is a singer I absolutely adore, a former member of The Pipettes (Remember them? They were brilliant too) who is releasing her first album in six years, so i’m hoping she stops off in Belfast.
This week, Red Hot Chili Peppers were supposed to be doing two concerts in Dublin, but due to Anthony Kiedis being unwell, they have been postponed until September 2017.
Wouldn’t it be great if they snuck in a couple of Odyssey gigs around that.
If you were to sum up 2017 in four words, it would be ………… LIAM. GALLAGHER. SOLO. ALBUM. Which i’m hoping is as entertaining as his Twitter.
It may be brilliant, it may be bad, it won’t be boring. Cannot wait for it. Potato.
Meanwhile, the race for Christmas Number 1 (Usually dominated by X-Factor in the same way Celtic have dominated the SPL over the last few years) is between Rangers and Little Mix, which gives me an excuse to post my favourite Youtube videos, from the time Celtic and Rangers players formed a band with a man in a tiger costume to record a charity single to promote Glasgow as a tourist destination.
Think of it as my seasonal gift to you.
Merry Christmas.
1. Empire of the Sun – High and Low
2. Feeder – Eskimo
3. Grouplove – Traumatized
4. Kaiser Chiefs – Hole In My Soul
5. Jake Bugg – Bitter Salt
1. Biffy Clyro – Howl
2. Tegan and Sara – Faint Of Heart
3. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Come With Us
4. Two Door Cinema Club – Bad Decisions
5. ABC – The Flames Of Desire
Last Monday, was International Yorkshire Day. I went to Yorkshire once, it were alright.
FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM YORKSHIRE
1. Pulp – A Little Soul
2. Embrace – You’re Not Alone
3. Shed Seven – She Left Me On Friday
4. Kiki Dee – Star
5. Kaiser Chiefs – Modern Way
This Wednesday, is Duran Duran Appreciation Day. In other words, it’s just another day for me. I’d appreciate them a lot more if they’d come and do a gig in Belfast.
Here’s a Duran Duran Top five. It wasn’t easy trying to pick five. In fact, it was about as easy as a nuclear war.
FIVE SONGS BY DURAN DURAN
1. Wildboys
2. Hungry Like The Wolf
3. Ordinary World
4. Serious
5. Save A Prayer
1. Oasis – D’You Know What I Mean? (NG’s 2016 Rethink)
2. Blink 182 – Bored To Death
3. Bastille – Good Grief
4. Chvrches ft Hayley Williams – Bury It
5. Kaiser Chiefs – Parachute
1. Chvrches ft Hayley Williams – Bury It
2. Bastille – Good Grief
3. Feeder – Universe Of Life
4. Kaiser Chiefs – Parachute
5. Hozier – Better Love
First of all, apologies for no Friday Five last week. A combination of laziness and social life meant I didn’t get a chance.
Advance warning, might not be one next week. The plan is for the Chart Of The Year So Far. (Important word, the plan is)
1. Brijs – Thunder
2. Kylie Minogue – This Wheels On Fire
3. Hozier – Better Love
4. KT Tunstall – Evil Eye
5. Kaiser Chiefs – Parachute
The Top Of The Pops repeats on BBC Four have now reached 1982. At the current rate of repeats, it will probably be 2001 by November.
So, any excuse, here’s a 1982 chart for you
FIVE SONGS FROM 1982
1. Duran Duran – Hungry Like The Wolf
2. Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger
3. Madness – Our House
4. The Stranglers – Golden Brown
5. Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen
1. Chemical Brothers – Go
2. Sunset Sons – She Wants
3. Hidden Cities ft Tim Halperin – Hungry Like The Wolf
4. New Order – Restless
5. Andreya Trian – Gold
Tomorrow, is International Yorkshire Day. So, to celebrate, here’s a musical chart from Yorkshire’s musical output.
FIVE SONGS BY ACTS FROM YORKSHIRE
1. Pulp – A Little Soul
2. Kaiser Chiefs – Oh My God
3. Kiki Dee – Star
4. Def Leppard – When Love And Hate Collide
5. Human League – Tell Me When
Analogue Boy In A Digital World 