Top Of The Box » Alternative

Bird On A Wire – Leonard Cohen film trailer

John Williams — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:25:16 +0000

This sensational film shot by Tony Palmer in 1972 appeared to be lost when Leonard Cohen’s manager Marty Machat died, but 38 years later the film has been retrieved and painstakingly put back together by Marty’s son Steven Machat.

The film was shot over 20 concerts on Cohen’s 1972 European tour and represent a near mythical piece of music history featuring one of musics genuine geniuses.

The film will be premiered in the UK at the sold out Green Man Festival in Wales, where a 2,000 capacity cinema will be converted from the Far Out Tent.

Leonard Cohen – Bird On A Wire film trailer;

Sparks – This Town Ain’t Big Enough

John Williams — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:33:04 +0000

Brothers Ron and Russell Mael formed Sparks in Los Angeles way back in 1970 and enjoyed underground success with their electronic experimentation in the UK.

The band’s cult status in the UK earned them a residency at the legendary Marquee Club during a time when the Rolling Stones, Faces and The Who were regular performers.

The band Queen were support act for Sparks at one Marquee appearance and the cult following that Sparks garnered during 1973 led them to appear on BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test, during which Bob Harris referred to the band as a cross between Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and the Monkees!

Signed to Island Records in 1974, Sparks breakthrough album Kimono My House spawned the single This Town Ain’t Big Enough, which reached number two in the UK singles charts.

In a period that is often written off musically, the pre-punk seventies was a hot bed of alternative music where anything went and despite the odd sight and sound of Sparks they were quickly accepted as ‘normal’ by music fans.

Sparks – This Town Ain’t Big Enough

Depeche Mode Live

Terry Lane — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:57:34 +0000

Depeche Mode was formed in Basildon Essex in 1980 by Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher and Vince Clarke. Vince Clarke left the band after the release of their 1981 debut album and enjoyed further UK success with electronic pop ensembles Yazoo, the Assembly & then Erasure.
A good career move then, you might think. Apart from the fact that by the end of the 1980’s Depeche Mode had cracked America (as well as the rest of the world) and were playing sold out concerts in places such as Shea Stadium. No one could have predicted that level of success when Depeche Mode first appeared on Top Of The Pops miming to their debut single, New Life in 1981.

Alan Wilder replaced Vince Clarke in 1981 and eventually left the band in 1995, leaving Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher to continue working together as a trio.

Their success has continued non-stop over the past three decades with forty-seven singles in the UK Charts. They have also achieved number one albums in UK, US and throughout Europe, selling over 75 million albums worldwide in the process.
Such success might be comparable to was replaced by Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums, production) with Gore taking over song writing. Wilder left the band in 1995 and since then Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher have continued as a trio.

According to Q Magazine, “[Depeche Mode are t]he most popular electronic band the world has ever known”.

To be honest I felt their early material was pretty weak and thin. Throw away synth pop in a time where New Romantic image allowed boys and girls to indulge in a post-punk glam rock nonsense. But with each album Depeche Mode moved away from their synth pop roots and began making deeper, darker music; and listening to their albums over the years, it’s easy to see how they managed to keep their original fan base where other bands from that era became stagnant and dissolved.

It was with Black Celebration, their fifth album, released in 1986 that I really started to take notice of how much their sound had changed. And by the time they released their ninth album and my favourite, Ultra, in 1997 the band and its members has quite literally been to hell and back.

Vocalist Dave Gahan had struggled with heroin addiction in the 1990’s which resulted with him literally losing his life before being brought back to life. I believe the drugs and other excesses that surround Depeche Mode around this time influenced their music. Classic tracks like Useless, It’s No Good and the awesome Barrel Of A Gun reflect this period of the band’s history, as much as their personal lives.

Depeche Mode have continued to play to huge sold out audiences and return to London next month to play two concerts at The Royal Albert Hall on 17th February and the London O2 Arena on 20th February. And one thing is for sure Depeche Mode concert tickets will be difficult to comeby.

No doubt they will be playing a selection of their most popular songs and giving a great live performance to a sold out audience. Here is a performance of It’s No Good & Barrel Of A Gun live on French TV from 1997.

Depeche Mode Concert Tickets

At viagogo, every Depeche Mode transaction is 100% guaranteed to be safe and secure. As well as making it easy and simple to buy Depeche Mode tickets or sell Depeche Mode tickets, we ensure their safe and prompt delivery with online tracking.

Curved Air – Back Street Luv – 1971

John Williams — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:15:58 +0000

This was a genuine prog rock hit in 1971, Curved Air performing the classic track Back Street Luv, with the wonderful Sonja Kristina on vocals, who was famously married to Stewart Copeland of Police and Curved Air fame (1974/76). The couple married in 1982 and divorced in 1991.

Curved Air – Back Street Luv -1971

The Doors – Light My Fire

John Williams — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:49:43 +0000

The Doors were founded by Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison in Los Angeles in 1965. Light My Fire appeared on their eponymous album released in 1967.

Both controversial and influential during the late sixties, the death of singer Jim Morrison in Paris in 1971 only served to fuel the legend of the band.

This video showcases the experimental nature of The Doors music.

The Doors – Light My Fire

David Bowie – Let’s Spend the Night Together

John Williams — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:09:10 +0000

This is one of the best covers from David Bowie recorded here from Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars Motion picture in 1973. An excellent piano led version appears on the album Aladdin Sane, also released in 1973.

David Bowie – Let’s Spend The Night Together

Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon – Live 1983

John Williams — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:58:18 +0000

Echo & The Bunnymen performing the beautiful single The Killing Moon at the Royal Albert Hall in 1983. This version was performed before the recording of the single and therefore there are some variations from the final lyrics of the song

Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon – Live 1983

Muse – Knights of Cydonia – Live 2006

John Williams — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:00:23 +0000

This is Muse with Knights of Cydonia from the excellent Black Holes and Revelations album from 2006 a breath taking live performance on Later with Jools Holland.

They really do make such a lot of really great noise, be sure to turn it up loud!

Muse – Knights of Cydonia – Live 2006

Radiohead – There There – Live 2003

John Williams — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:38:17 +0000

This is a top performance from Radiohead in 2003 on Later with Jools Holland. Radiohead perform There There from the album Hail to the Thief, their number one album at the time.

Radiohead – There There – Live 2003

Super Furry Animals – (Drawing) Rings Around The World – Live 2001

John Williams — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:04:41 +0000

Here is a clip from Later with Jools Holland in 2001, the excellent Super Furry Animals perform (Drawing) Rings Around The World taken from the top album of the same name.

Super Furry Animals – (Drawing) Rings Around The World – Live 2001