Thursday 10th May

Well here it is back around again, another helping of Thursday night karaoke fun at the Birches Head Hotel. All seems to be picking back up again as this week, yet again, we were not the only people in the place, and those who were in seemed to leave entertained! Shaun turned up yet again in one of his T-Shirts (available at a very reasonable price from his blog site). So far his sales are doing very well, even though he is the only person to buy them! At least he is paying himself commission!
It turned out to be a full night of songs again with myself and Shaun getting five songs each in for the first time in weeks. This now brings my total to 55 new songs since we started doing the blog, which to be honest has taken me a bit by surprise. I have, in a way, also been laid down a bit of a challenge to see how long I can keep this run of new tracks up for. So just to let you know Shaun, I've got plenty more left in the tank yet me old mucker! We all seem to be coming up with more new songs every week now, and I know from a bit of pillow talk with the wife (and also her constant screeching in the bath!) that they will have even more new stuff in the near future, that is if they can decide on what to sing and then to actually listen to them! lol!
Anyway onto tonight's list of top tracks. 1. Hush by Deep Purple (SC8724-04) 2. Wild World by Cat Stevens (AH8010-01) 3. Hole Hearted by Extreme (SC8917-3) 4. All Over The World by E.L.O. (ZMP088-11) and finally 5. Nightshift by The Commodores (SC8984-04)

Hush by Deep Purple

What a cracking song to start my night off with. Now I do admit that the original version of the track by Deep Purple is not the version that I came to love this song by, it was a later version of the track by Kula Shaker which is a much more rockier version. It is a pretty straightforward track to sing, even though it is quite fast in parts, although you wouldn't guess that from the sixties version! I have linked both versions for you to listen to anyway so you can decide for yourself. on the night rating 6/10

Wild World by Cat Stevens

Another great song that I appear to of pulled from nowhere but yet again I have a good reason for this track. Now as in the previous song this is no way linked to the original version of the track by Cat Stevens, nor the Maxi Preist version or the much more rock orientated version by eighties rock gods Mr Big. No this was in tribute to the fantastic show shown on E4 earlier this year, Skins. Now I know most of you won't of watched the show as it was on E4 and not on the mainstream C4, but if it does get on to mainstream t.v. I urge you to watch the show as it was great fun and gave a great insite into what its like to be young again. Anyway good news is a second series has been commissioned by E4. Included on the header link is the very strange finale to the show where the whole cast join in a voice over version of the song going about their normal routine's which is worth a look in itself. on the night rating 7/10

Hole Hearted by Extreme

Now this is one of my favourite song's by the band Extreme. It is a typical song by the band with strong acoustic overtones, great harmonies and catchy lyrics. Easy to sing and one where people seem to know the song at least if not the band. My overwhelming image of Extreme will always be tainted by the time I went to see Aerosmith headline the Monsters Of Rock Festival at Castle Donington in 1994. Extreme were the main support act to Aerosmith at the time and were touring with them on the European leg of their world tour. The guys unfortunately had to follow Seputura and Pantera on the main stage, and after their set's the sweaties at the front were less than ready for a 10 minute acoustic version of More Than Words, and went on to throw bottle after bottle of urine onto the stage and over most of the crowd. The band promptly left after about 4 songs and strangely their careers seemed to vanish as well! on the night rating 7/10

All Over The World by E.L.O.

Another great track from one of the seventies best bands. This is from the Xanadu soundtrack which starred Olivia Newton John. It yet again shows how good E.L.O. were in their day. Apart from the fact they were great in the day, E.L.O. can be seen now in a whole new way, with probably the best tribute band I have ever seen, The ELO Experience covering all the band's hits in a massive two hour set which gets the crowds jumping. I went to see them at a local venue the other week, and as you can see they sound just like the original band. If you fancy catching the band yourself, click here to go to the bands website and gig guide. on the night rating 5/10

Nightshift by The Commodores

Well to end with tonight this is probably the last song anyone would expect me to sing. It is a classic song that was a tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson who both died in 1984, the year before the song was released, and was the first song released after Lionel Richie's departure from the band. It is an easy song to sing, as most of these classic soul songs are. Yet again listening to Radio Two at work gives me inspiration into what to sing on a Thursday night. on the night rating 8/10

There we are then, another five songs to add to my growing set list. Now as you will notice I have changed my "do again rating" to an "on the night rating". This is to judge how I feel the song went for me on the night, and as I intend on continuing to do new songs the "do again rating" doesn't seem to be worth putting in! This is in no way intended to be me being big headed about my performance, just how the song felt for me to sing and how I feel it was received on the night, and I'm sure people will comment if they feel I am wrong in my self assessment of a song.
Anyway enough for now on to my Simpson tribute for this week and of course the Homer quote to end with. Until next time me old hearties!



"Okay, be nerds. I'll find some people who will know the meaning of the two words 'par' 'te'."
Homer J Simpson

Thursday 3rd May

Oh Yes Its Ladies Night Oh What A Night!!!!!!!!!

Yes here we are again on what proved to be one of the most entertaining and embarrassing nights of the year so far. In our drunken stupor of a week ago we had decided to pull out a theme night for the bank holiday weekend, and unfortunately it turned out that the girls remembered, and therefore we had to brace ourselves for the onslaught of comments. I can safely say that I had done no rehearsal for any of the songs I eventually sang, and I know I always wish to sing more than the three on the night, but to be fair I don't think I would of handled more than three.
Shaun, of course ever the professional, had mentioned to his work colleagues of the for mentioned ladies night and of course they all turned up to give us their support! Of course this means that when they get up to sing Shaun zaps them with his magic camera and amazingly within days they appear on You Tube as internet stars! At least Captain Jacks on screen antics have been kept to a minimum so far, but I'm sure he will make sure that that changes soon.
All in all the night went really well, and the songs all seemed to go down a treat, although from the songs we picked for ourselves I do think they are better being left to the girls. We managed to get through them without any real mishaps, even Andy joined in with the spirit of it all and sang a couple of crackers (including a duet with myself)
The blog is a little late this week as with it being Bank Holiday weekend I have had an extremely busy schedule. On Saturday it was our annual works bash to Uttoxeter Races and for once I had a very profitable day! But of course the free booze took its toll so all of Saturday night and most of Sunday was a blur! Saturday also saw the end of the season for one of the football teams I support Port Vale who beat Bournemouth 2-1. This has been the first time for a long time I have missed the last game of the season, but this season has been very disappointing after a promising start and petered out into a pretty dismal year. Highlight of the season were of course the cup trip to Spurs when we gave the Premiership team a run for their money, eventually losing 3-1 in extra time. Low point of the season was of course our dismal F.A. Cup performance at Hereford losing 4-0 to a bunch of cattle proders!
Of course there was another major bonus this weekend. My other team Manchester United, regaining the Premiership title from Chelsea after the 1-0 win at Man City and Chelsea only drawing 1-1 at Arsenal. Of course they would probably of won the title this year anyway as they have been the best team by a country mile this year, and apart from the disappointing result in Milan on Wednesday, this season has been one of many positives. The highlight of the season had to be the 7-1 thumping of Roma in the Champions League and the low point was the defeat to Milan, not so much of the result, but the fact that playing Liverpool in the final would of been a spectacular night for English football. Still the F.A. Cup final verses Chelsea does promise to be one of the best finals in recent history with two teams at the top of their game playing for the famous old trophy at the new Wembley.
Sunday night was also a bit of an event. The wife was very excited at the prospect of going to see Journey South of X-Factor fame at our local Chicago Rock Cafe. Now joking aside the boys are quite a good band, although quite why they drop to this level I'm not sure as they are much better than having to do this. They performed six tracks very well on the night, and proved they can sing live and harmonise very well still together. They do have a second album out in the summer and I wish the boys all they best as they are rockers at heart so they are ok in my book.
On then, too tonight's tracks. They were as follows 1.Catch You by Sophie Ellis Bextor (SF252-06) 2. Come As You Are by Beverley Knight (SFMW877-10) and finally No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) by Barbera Striesand & Donna Summer (DK2007)

Catch You by Sophie Ellis Bextor

Now don't get me wrong this is a great track. The girls have had a go at this one a few times it the last few weeks, and I thought it would suit a male vocal, but it is a very hard song to sing, but I had a go and gave it my best shot. It was a bit nervy to say the least but it went quite well up to the bridge towards the end where it goes off on one. Note to self listen to the song before you sing it! do again rating 0/10

Come As You Are by Beverley Knight

Now again this is a great track but another that is definitely best left to the girls. It didn't help either with the fact I didn't know the version that Andy had on Karaoke so I got completely lost halfway through it but again gave it my best shot and I do think it didn't sound that bad. Much prefer the original though. do again rating 0/10

No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) by Barbera Streisand & Donna Summer

Now as duets go this was probably not mine and Andy's finest hour, but I have heard Andy sing it before albeit with a lady! So no worries at all about singing a song I had no idea about how it went. Well disco was never my strongpoint anyway so singing a disco classic was always going to be a tough call! Now I'm not sure if I ended up as Summer or Streisand but I never realised they came from Bolton, as singing this one a la Pater Kay was a much easier attempt when you had no idea how it went. And to think I wanted to do Sister's Are Doing It For Themselves!
do again rating a resounding 0/10

Well there it is another night of treats for the people who made it out this Bank Holiday weekend. I'm sure that next week we will all be back to normal as I know both myself and Shaun are itching at singing some new stuff and I have a special treat for everyone coming up but it's top secret hush hush at the moment! All will be revealed soon. See you all soon and until next time I leave you all with your Homer fix.







Mr Burns : We don't have to be adversaries Homer, we both want a fair union contract ...
Homer's Brain : Why is Mr.Burns being so nice to me?
Mr Burns : and if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours ...
Homer's Brain : Wait a minute, is he coming onto me?
Mr Burns : I mean, if I should slip something into your pocket, what's the harm?
Homer's Brain : Oh my God! He IS coming onto me!
Mr Burns : After all, negotiations make strange bed-fellows.
Homer's Brain : (Screams)
Homer : Sorry Mr. Burns, but I don't go in for these backdoor shenanigans . Sure I'm flattered, maybe even a little curious, but the answer is no!