I have been following the exploits of the relatively unknown trio of Davis Lindley Mullan on YouTube and their charming take on various old and new songs. often broadcast from a cosy garden shed. The clip below somehow reminded me of the last Word podcast and London Mingle.

That got me thinking that Andy Davis would be a suitable candidate for a future Word podcast. Currently back in Stackridge, this former Korgi has also been a touring member of Tears For Fears and Goldfrapp, has performed at Wembley Stadium and played guitar on one track of John Lennon's Imagine LP. In fact an all round good egg.

As reported elsewhere www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/maybe-its-me-i-hope-it#comment-525393 the collective Massive will be holding their breath, crossing their digits and whispering a few prayers for the ordeal young Stimpy will be going through on Friday. He is so important to us they are bringing together the finest tag team of surgeons to restore him to full health. Hope this little tribute lifts your spirit. See you when the laughing gas leaves your system and the drugs kick in. We will raise a glass or three to you at Friday's Mingle. Take care our friend.

Stop press: Old fogey spots new band and does not switch off immediately. Yes I know I'm old enough to be their boring old grandad, sitting fast asleep in an armchair after a large Sunday tea and watching Bullseye on the telly. But. This has to be the best band website I have ever seen. For example, look at the home page. Just leave it there and watch the video. Impressive. Other pages are NSFYVE (not safe for your Victorian employer) and contain the sort of rude words that were censored from the end of the David Letterman clip below but made him chuckle.

http://www.wulyf.org/

WU LYF - Heavy Pop - David Letterman 1-4-12

I've had one of my semi-regular visits to the iTunes Movie Trailers website to catch up on what I'll be watching on Sky Movies this year, long after everyone has raved about them at the cinema. There are a couple that might interest the Massive amongst the many releases.

The Ballad Of Genesis And Lady Jaye. Nothing to do with the Supper's Ready Hitmakers but an intriguing documentary about Genesis P-Orridge. Involves breast implants.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/theballadofgenesisandlady...

The Man On The Train. Stars Donald Sutherland and Larry Mullen Jr. Yes. Him. Acting. Badly.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/themanonthetrain/

The Lorax. More up my street. From the makers of Despicable Me (which is fab). Sounds like the music of The Polyphonic Spree in the trailer and it's very colourful, as most Dr. Seuss animations tend to be these days.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/thelorax/

The Three Stooges. Remade for the modern age of iPhone jokes. My favourite trailer of 2012 so far.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox/thethreestooges/

Tonight 7pm BBC1. Featuring The Word's very own Andrew Collins, answering questions on disaster movies of the 1970s. He'll be sat next to Sandie Shaw too.

I have been passing the time of day with this current series and often wondered why the magazine editor of the year has not been included. Perhaps they could not compile enough questions on the life and times of the Incredible String Band.

It is that time of year when the BBC excels in its roundup of the year as it trips over the finishing line and into the unknown that is 2012. The saddest part for me is looking at those we have lost during the year. There is always someone I had not realised had passed on during the year and then again someone's death that affects me more than I expected. In the beautifully crafted clip below it was Elizabeth Sladen that finally got me.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16299678

Merry Christmas everybody and may your 2012 be a whole lot better than 2011.

Blur- The Wassailing song (Full version)

If the news story is correct, it will happen in 2012.

Buzzcocks are planning some special gigs next year with Howard Devoto singing with them for part of the set. Our hunch is that this means both the ‘Spiral Scratch’ EP and the ‘Times Up’ demos will be getting played.

The plan seems to be that the current line up plays first, then the ‘classic’ line up that played on ‘Love Bites’ and then the gig will end with Howard Devoto coming on for ‘Spiral Scratch’.

There are two shows…

Manchester Apollo on May 25th
Brixton Academy on May 26th

http://louderthanwar.com/featured/buzzcocks-to-play-gigs-with-howard-dev...

on Amazon this week. Some concept smuggled in from the USA where they reduce the prices of certain items throughout the day. Some are very reasonable savings that are snapped up immediately. I just happened to be at my computer with 10 minutes to go before the Pink Floyd Discovery box set was to be reduced from £136.97. At the allotted time it became £70 for all 14 releases.

I stuck it in my basket and had 15 minutes to check out or lose it. Well, it is a bloody bargain, Christmas is coming and all that and they do sell for £120 on Ebay so I treated myself. The limited number they had sold out in a minute. A quick glance over the rest of the day does not show any other music related sales but there is a lovely Sarah Jane Chronicles Complete Fourth Series DVD coming up at 2:30pm if anyone is interested.

Oh, if you spend more than £10 this week you also get a free £2 MP3 voucher. I do not work for Amazon.

The heading of this posting was used on a letter that appeared in this month's issue. Page 112 to be precise. It is the first letter you come to and concerns the relative value of vinyl LPs. Written by a man with a strange name. Elessar Merlyn Tetramariner. No, he did not have hippie parents with a taste for the exotic, he chose it himself.

Elessar has been a frequent correspondent in The Word and a member of this blog for 3 years and 42 weeks. He was my friend for at least 14 years from a time when the internet was still a young and exciting place to explore and we both shared an interest in Stackridge. When they reformed to play some gigs he was straight on a plane from America to see them in some tiny venue in the south-west. I could not get down for the gigs but was able to attend a band rehearsal and met him for the first time. Not long after he moved to England permanently and remained an enthusiastic supporter of Stackridge and all forms of rock music.

One of his projects was to produced CDs of lost Stackridge recordings gathered from other fans and to sell these privately, ensuring that the band members received monies due. In later years he gathered together likeminded individuals around the world to be part of his CD Swapathons, sharing in his love for all forms of music. I was to be the guide on his first outing to Liverpool and, when posing for a photograph outside The Cavern, fate would draw our attention to the brick engraved with the name STACKRIDGE, the group that brought us together in the first place.

Once met, never forgotten, Elessar was a character, a stout vegetarian and lover of volcanic chilli sauces that he carried about with him at all times. I would be proud to call him my friend but I had not seen him since he came back to Liverpool last year on a short visit. I was invited to his house warming party in August but could not go. I wish I had now.

I received an email from Mike Tobin, Stackridge's manager, at the weekend to say that ET had died. The circumstances are unknown and the lady he mentions in his Word letter, and the reason for moving to England, is dealing with personal matters. I was gutted when I read the news, as are many of his friends around the world. It would only be right for me to play some music he would appreciate.

Stackridge -Teatime

Hayden Panettiere was upstaged at last night's MTV awards show in Belfast by a streaker. Luckily he had removed his harmonica. You think it was part of the show? Of course it was. A true streaker would have been grabbed by, er, security and flung out before you could say Patrick Kielty.

N.S.F.W.

From today, Matthew Boulton and James Watt have joined the range of people from the past whose portraits are found on British currency. Following a long process of selection, design and manufacture, the new £50 banknote is in circulation, with the industrialist and engineer as the first dual portrait produced on a Bank of England note. (What's a £50 note? - Ed.)

The Bank of England publishes a list of the names of people who the public deem to be suitable for appearing on banknotes. Some of those who have been nominated, but have yet to make the grade, are The Beatles, Sir Jimmy Savile, Mick Jagger, John Cleese, Robbie Williams and Sir Terry Wogan. Historical nominations include Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde and Admiral Lord Nelson.

Commemorative banknotes have appeared in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Three times Open Golf Championship winner Jack Nicklaus made it onto a £5 note. George Best also appeared on a £5 note and it proved so popular that the limited edition of one million sold out in 10 days.

NAMES SUGGESTED BY THE PUBLIC FOR USE ON BANK OF ENGLAND BANKNOTES:-
www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/banknote_names.pdf

1. Gerry Anderson
2. Ian Anderson
3. Pamela Anderson

If you think you know the answer to this stunningly difficult question go to the website www.progrocks.co.uk where you can win a Fender guitar signed by Steve Hackett (Genesis), Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Ray Shulman (Gentle Giant), Mark Kelly (Marillion) and Roine Stolt (Flower Kings). All courtesy of EMI's promotion of their Prog Rocks compilation CD.

You have until 30 November to come up with the answer. I'm sure someone in The Massive knows the answer. Darned if I know but I do have my eye on a Charisma Label Mad Hatter t-shirt.

Well almost. They are a real hoot though. At least there is no sign of Peter Kay in these...

Doctor Who - "The Ballad of Russell and Julie" Wrap Party Special

Doctor Who - Cast & Crew Special

This message from Live Nation just bounced into my inbox.

The gargantuan Kasabian take their even bigger Velociraptor! album on the road this winter for a ten-date tour, flexing their muscles in some of the country's best arenas.

Since releasing their first album in 2004, the Leicestershire-based four-piece can lay claim to being bona fide rock legends, with three albums (two of them UK number ones) and a host of awards under their belt.

Gargantuan rock legends. Surely worthy of a Word cover methinks. Where does one start to appreciate their 3-album, 7-year stratospheric career to date?