As a tribute to Gerry Rafferty who died this week at the age of 63 years old, here is his best known song Baker Street from 1978.
Rafferty had spent a long time battling a drink problem and had been receiving treatment in a Bournemouth hospital, he died peacefully at home however, with his daughter Martha at his bedside on January 4th 2011, from liver failure.
The singer had started his career alongside comedian Billy Connolly in an act known as The Humblebums, he quit in 1970 and two years later formed Stealers Wheel with Joe Egan, producing the classic single Stuck In The Middle With You which would endear the singer to a new generation when it was used in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs soundtrack in 1992.
In 1978 Rafferty released his best known solo album City to City which included the song Baker Street. That track alone would earn the singer a reputed £80,000 per year in royalties, but money was never his motivation.
His subsequent albums while generating some interest, failed to capture the success of City to City and Rafferty is said to have become more and more reclusive.
In July 2005 a host of music stars played a concert as part of a day of action across the world to highlight the problem of global poverty which was promoting the organisation Make Poverty History.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin was quoted as saying: “This is the greatest thing that’s ever been organised probably in the history of the world.”
For many, the highlight of Coldplay’s Live 8 set was when they were joined on stage by Verve lead singer, Richard Ashcroft for a live rendition of ‘Bittersweet Symphony‘.
Here is a just released video of what happened when Tinie Tempah met the street magician Dynamo backstage at his recent gig at the Academy in Manchester.
The video covers a bit of the gig (at 3:35 into the video), but mostly includes some eye popping street magic that has Tinie praising Dynamo as ‘the best magician in the world’. In the video, Dynamo performs tricks like:
-Having Tinie pulling a metal chain through his neck (not for the faint-hearted, that one!) – 1:25
-Making a Panasonic TA1 camera appear inside a beer bottle – 2:10
-Removing Tinie’s sunglasses on his album cover through the CD’s hard plastic – 4:10
Making a comeback with their first full-length release since 2005, Daft Punk are all set to delight fans with the soundtrack to the new Tron: Legacy film, set for release at the end of the year.
Fans of the duo have already been lucky enough to listen to six tracks which have been streamed by a US radio station, and the album will be on its way soon. In fact, the collection of tracks is set to be released around one month before Tron 2arrives on the big screen.
The Tron Legacy movie is the long-awaited sequel to the original Tron title. Having been released in 1982, however, it’s fair to say that the first film may not be well remembered by many Daft Punk followers.
However, the 1982 release received a cult following, and calls for a sequel have been coming from sci-fi enthusiasts for many years. The second instalment picks up the former story as audiences learn that Kevin Flynn has disappeared from the real world. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) goes in search of his father Kevin (Jeff Bridges), who went missing in a digital world of his own making more than 20 years previously. Helped along by female warrior Quorra, played by Olivia Wilde, the pair fight off an army of virtual villains. They are helped along the way by some amazing computer wizardry – and gadgets galore.
Directed in 3D by Joe Kosinski and produced by Steven Lisberger, the director of the 1982 Tron movie, this sequel promises much, and the soundtrack is set to make waves, too.
The electronic duo of Daft Punk, consisting of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, had a number of hits in the 90s and followed those up with two albums released in 2001 and 2005. Since then, they have produced music for video games and have even appeared in one. It isn’t clear if they will be in the Tron Evolution game, which accompanies the Tron 2010 movie, but given their talent for doing the unusual, it might not be beyond the realms of possibility.
Daft Punk even make their own screen appearance in the Disney Tron production as a couple of DJs in The End of Line club, which is hosted by Michael Sheen’s character Castor. It isn’t their first on-screen performance, however; they were shown as animated robots on children’s television back in 2001.
The pair have been careful not to reveal their identities in the past by performing with masks, never appearing in their famous music videos and not giving interviews. However, is this about to change with their appearance in the Disney Tron film?
With Daft Punk famous for their robot masks and their stage shows giving the impression that they are super heroes, the pair are the perfect choice for the new Tron film.
Lady GaGa lived up to her reputation of being outrageous when she turned up on stage to collect her Best Video Award at the MTV VMA Awards ceremony wearing what some described as a ’side of beef’, a costume that had been designed specifically for the night.
Making the award was veteran singer and actress Cher, and not to be outdone my the young pretender, the wily old fox had dusted down an outfit first seen in public over twenty years ago.
Frankly the see through nylon outfit should be consigned to the bin by now with some seductive stockings and lingerie in its place, but Cher does have her own tastes it has to be said.
Cher had joked before giving the award to Lady GaGa for the video Bad Romance, ‘I have shoes older than most of these nominees.’
“Back in the day, I used to get thrown off MTV for wearing things like this that seem so tame now. That’s when Lady Gaga was Baby Gaga. I’m the oldest chick with the biggest hair in the littlest costume,” said Cher forgetting to mention it was probably the oldest costume on display all night.
Reduced to tears and with the award in her hand Lady GaGa told the audience that she had promised herself if she won she would reveal the name of her new album and not to let herself down she did just that and announced it will be called Born This Way.
Cher, who was taking time out from shooting promos for her upcoming film Burlesque. in Las Vegas is also putting the finishing touches to her own album.
