The Blockheads were a fantastic band and Ian Dury a charismatic front man, together they found some commercial success in the late seventies with Stiff Records, after years playing the London pub circuit and attracting a cult following.
This is one of my favourite Ian Dury tracks, Reasons To Be Cheerful Pt.3, this clip is from a performance in 1979.
Ian Dury & The Blockheads – Reasons To Be Cheerful Pt. 3
This is an excellent clip of Bob Dylan way back in 1965, still fresh faced and singing It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.
Bob Dylan – It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
This performance is taken from Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Live Tour in 1993 and features singer/songwriter Pauline Cole on backing vocals. Sledgehammer was a massive hit for Gabriel in 1986, one of three excellent singles to be taken from the album So.
Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer – Live 1993
John Prine was ‘discovered’ by Kris Kristofferson on the Chicago folk scene and released his first album in 1971. The album called John Prine contained the song Sam Stone, which would become one of Prine’s signature songs.
The song is a painful reference to the phenomenon of morphine addiction among US war veterans as a result of its use to treat injuries in the Vietnam war.
This is John Prine performing Sam Stone in Dublin in 1989.
“There’s a hole in Daddy’s arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothing I suppose,”
John Prine – Sam Stone – Live 1989
The definitive version of the Cat Stevens song First Cut Is The Deepest, in my opinion. PP Arnold performs the song on Beat Club on UK TV in 1967.
There have been many covers of this classic song, many great versions, this is my favourite.
P.P.Arnold – The First Cut Is The Deepest
