Man On The Moon

Due to the recent sad death of Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong, i though i'd take a little sidetrack with this trawl through my vinyl singles.

This is indeed a 45rpm single release, but it is obviously a little different to "normal" releases. For a start it contains no music whatsoever, just speech.

As you may already have guessed, this single was a souvenir release. Pressed exclusively for the, now extinct, News Of The World newspaper here in the UK.
It came out on the Philips label, with a serial number of '88457 DE' and is from 1969, the year of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

As i have mentioned in a YouTube video that i recorded yesterday, i was 11 years old at the time of the Apollo 11 mission. So, it had a profound effect on me, as indeed did the whole of the NASA space program.
For my personal memories of the Apollo 11 moon landing please watch the aforementioned video.

I suspect that this souvenir single was bought for me by my parents, as i was an avid watcher of all things NASA and Apollo back in 1969.
But, it wasn't just any ordinary single, as you can see from this photo of some of what elsecame with it:

Apart from the actual single itself, which was double sided and played at 45rpm, there were two fold out inserts. You can see the one that includes a photo of the Apollo 11 Saturn 5 rocket launch, above. The other included the front cover shot, the photo of the three Apollo 11 astronauts seen above and also a picture of "Eagle", the Apollo 11 Lunar Module.

Also seen above, is the fold out insert that had the complete transcript of the contents of the single printed onto it. The single was basically edited recordings of the Apollo 11 mission.
It starts with a recording of part of U.S President John F Kennedy's famous speech committing the USA to go to the moon in the 1960's

Other contents include the launch of Apollo 11, the lunar landing and then coverage of that historic first ever moon walk by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. This is done by using the audio commentary from Mission Control at the time and also communication between them and the astronauts themselves. It even includes audio of the phone call made by President Richard Nixon to Armstrong and Aldrin during their moon walk.

As an added bonus, the other side of the fold out inserts includes more information about the mission. Including this diagram of the trajectory of the Apollo 11 space craft, on its way to the moon and back.

I can remember playing this single many, many times and used to be able to recite much of the dialogue included on it. I could still, quite probably, do that now.
Whenever i hear, or see footage of that historic mission i sometimes find myself reciting the dialogue in my head.
Well, it was one of those once in a lifetime experiences wasn't it? One that i'm very pleased to have lived through and also to have watched live, as it actually happened.

I have no idea what, if anything, this single might be worth, especially in the light of Neil Armstrong's death. But, i do know that it is something that i would never want to part with.
It holds far too many treasured memories for me to do that.
It really is a little slice of history, imprinted onto vinyl.

The Day The World Turned Day-Glo by X-Ray Spex

"Some people say little girls should be seen and not heard. But I think, Oh Bondage Up Yours! 1-2-3-4!"

And so starts the first ever single from the punk band X-Ray Spex, "Oh Bondage Up Yours!".
Not a bad opening is it, especially as the final part was virtually screamed down the microphone by the bands singer Poly Styrene.
This is something that had a profound effect back in 1977, as young girls just weren't supposed to act like that. It could be argued that this was the start of what became known as "Girl Power".
Punk Rock opened up doors for many people, especially for women, who were at the forefront of that movement and have not looked back since.

By the time of their 2nd single "The Day The World Turned Dayglo", X-Ray Spex were well established within the UK Punk Rock scene. The single was released in March of 1978 and got to number 23 in the UK charts.
The B Side was a track called "I Am A Poseur", which contained the lyrics, "I am a poseur and i don't care. I like to make people stare". There certainly were a few poseurs around in those days and especially in 1978.

X-Ray Spex were formed after Poly Styrene (Real name Marianne Elliott) saw the Sex Pistols on Hastings Pier on 3rd July 1976, supporting the Welsh rock band Budgie would you believe? A day that just happened to be her 18th birthday. Like many people who saw the Sex Pistols in those early days, it changed her life.
X-Ray Spex quickly established themselves on the London Punk Rock scene, playing at the legendary Roxy club and appearing on the "Live At The Roxy" album released in July 1977.

The main reason that "The Day The World Turned Dayglo" has been included here though, is because of the colour of the actual vinyl itself.

As you can see, it is indeed Dayglo!

In my mind, one of the great things about this period in British music is the revival of the 45rpm single.
Yes, they'd been popular for many years, but the Punk era kick-started a revolution in cover art and coloured vinyl. The whole singles market was revitalised and new, independent record labels started springing up everywhere. Partly because the mainstream labels weren't interested in a lot of the new music being created, a whole new Do It Yourself culture was started.
Singles became collectors items, with limited edition releases containing many shades of coloured vinyl, or special picture sleeves. Apart from the new record labels, new artists and designers were emerging to produce all that new and exciting cover art. Once again, the ripples from that era are still being felt today.
There will be more coloured vinyl, cover art and new record labels featured in future blog posts.

X-Ray Spex only released one album Germ Free Adolescents, which came out in 1978 and the band split up in 1979. They did reform, albeit briefly, several times, most notably in 2008 when they performed a sell out gig at the Roundhouse, in London. But, no new music was ever released.

Poly Styrene settled in my home town of St Leonards On Sea and lived, literally, just around the corner from my house. She, very sadly, died of breast cancer in a local Hospice on 25th April 2011.
I wrote a blog post, "Oh Cancer, Up Yours!" about her death at the time.

I think it can be safely said, that without the emergence of the Punk Rock movement in the mid 1970's, bands such as X-Ray Spex would never have been given the opportunity to record and release their music to a wider record buying public.
And what a lesser place this world would be without that music.

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, is one of the most successful single releases in UK chart history and from one the UK's most successful bands too.
It has been number 1 twice and has sold very nearly 6 million copies overall. On both occasions it was number 1 at Christmas time. A feat that nobody else has managed.

"Bohemian Rhapsody", written by Freddie Mercury, was first released on 31st October 1975 and was number 1 for nine weeks. This is the version you see in the photo above.
It also featured on Queen's 4th studio album "A Night At The Opera", also released in 1975, just after "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The album "A Night At The Opera" was number in the UK for 4 weeks.

The B Side of "Bohemian Rhapsody" has also become well known in its own right. Written and sung by drummer Roger Taylor, "I'm In Love With My Car" was also a track from the "A Night At The Opera" album and has become a bit of a favourite amongst dedicated Queen fans.
Don't forget that the B Side of a single received the same amount of royalties as the A Side, so Roger Taylor has done well out of the sales of this original version.

The re-release of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 1991, to commemorate the death of Freddie Mercury, had the track "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" coupled with it to make a double A sided single.
"These Are The Days Of Our Life" was credited to Queen, thereby sharing the royalties this time around.

Apparently, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was very nearly not released as a single at all back in 1975. Running at nearly 6 minutes, it was considered by EMI label executives to be too long for radio play and consequently was unlikely to be a hit. But, radio DJ Kenny Everett got hold of a copy and started playing it, getting a huge reaction from listeners. After that, it was only a matter of time before an official release happened.

The famous video of "Bohemian Rhapsody" was, i'm sure, a big factor in the success of the song. A pretty revolutionary idea at the time and one that is thought to have help kick start the whole video promo idea. It certainly had an effect on me and many other people at the time, as we'd not seen anything like it before.
Apparently the video was only made because the band realised that they wouldn't be able to appear on the tv show Top Of The Pops. They also weren't happy with having to mime such a complicated song either.
Give me that video over a band miming in a tv studio anyday.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was not the first Queen single that i bought. I already had and still have, previous singles "Now I'm Here" and "Killer Queen". I remember hearing Queen's very first single "Keep Yourself Alive" on the radio back in 1973 and had followed their progress since then. Both via the radio and the weekly music press. For me, that was easily their best period, but i know that many might disagree with that?
I did buy several of their future singles releases, but not their albums. I don't think i've ever owned an album by Queen, i'm not sure why?
I think it may be due to the fact that Queen have never been a favourite band of mine. I have friends who rave about them, but they just never had the same effect on me. Don't get me wrong, they've released some great music, especially in those earlier days. But, for me, Queen have never quite touched the parts that other bands have managed to reach.

Although, on this occasion, i don't actually remember buying "Bohemian Rhapsody", i did get to see Queen live at a free concert in Hyde Park in the September of 1976. Only 9 months after it was number 1 in the charts.
I remember "Bohemian Rhapsody" being played at that gig, but seem to recall Queen playing it in parts throughout the show, rather than as a complete song. One thing i do remember though is Brian May's guitar playing on "Brighton Rock".
It was the only time i ever saw Queen live.
Amazingly enough, i have just come across video footage of that entire 1976 gig! The wonders of the Internet eh? The quality isn't very good, but what do you expect?

As for other personal memories of the band Queen?
Well, for those of us who were lucky enough to see it, who can forget their appearance at Live Aid in July 1985? As i've said elsewhere, i wasn't a huge fan of the band, but what an epic performance that was. It still looks good today and could serve as a lesson in crowd control and participation to any aspiring frontman, or woman out there today.

Then, of course, there's that scene in the movie Wayne's World, which i'm sure brought "Bohemian Rhapsody" to the attention of a whole new group of potential fans.

There aren't that many songs that have managed to span the decades and have the same effect as "Bohemian Rhapsody, has. Like so many of those songs from the 1970's, it still sounds great today.

Not bad for a song that was thought to be too long to be a single, or a hit.
What do "the suits" know eh?

Why Vinyl Junkie?

Why indeed.
Well, this is an idea i've been meaning to get around to doing something about for some time now.

I've had a love of music for as long as i can remember and "back in the day" i used to spend a lot of my money on buying vinyl records. Both albums and singles. Didn't we all?
That, of course, has since turned into buying CD's and mp3's. But, as many of us now realise, there is something about vinyl that just can't be replicated by a CD, mp3, cassette, or even an 8 track cartridge. Remember them?

Back in 2009 i made a series of 8 videos (since extended to 9) on YouTube called Vinyl Junkie
In those videos i went through a big box of 45rpm vinyl singles that i still have. During those videos i told stories based around some of the 45's, or about the memories that a particular single brought back to me.
Since then i've been meaning to do something similar, but taking it a single at a time.

Now is that time and this is the result.

So, what do i intend to be doing on this blog?
Well, as mentioned the idea is to take a vinyl 45 single, show a photo, or two of the single and talk a little bit about it. That might be a personal memory, or maybe something about the record label, or band concerned.
I shan't be writing about every single 45 in that box, but just about the more interesting ones. That interest might be regarding the cover art, the colour of the vinyl itself, or the actual purchase of the single.

It will almost be like taking a musical journey back in time. Both for me and maybe for you as well?

One of the great ironies of this journey though, is that i no longer have anything to play all of these wonderful vinyl 45s on. Like many people nowadays, i don't have a turntable.
Maybe this journey will inspire me to change that?

So, where to begin?
At the beginning of course.