Never really bothered much with tour t-shirts over the years and hundreds of concerts as they always seemed to be extravagantly priced however in moments of weakness or short lived periods of monetary flushness and prosperity I confess to the following bought at the gig itself:

1. First time - Black Sabbath 1981 Stafford Bingley Hall.
Black T-Shirt with red circle and red devil dominating the front. Can't recall anything else but wore it out. Ended up as one of me mom's dusters I think.

2. Rolling Stones Tour '82. Ashton Gate, Bristol.
Black with large lips insignia dominating the front. Seem to remember "Rolling Stones" in chunky capitals on the back coloured in by flags? Anyway must have worn that t-shirt solid for several years and girlfriends before it wore out. Wished I'd have kept it.

3. Status Quo XX from Birmingham NEC 1982 (20th Anniversary tour). Blue with Quo XX on top corner and triangle with band faces dominating front. Nowt on back.

4. Hothouse Flowers, Wolvo Civic circa 1991.
White - Huge sea colour letters totally engrossing the front: "FEEL FREE". No one ever did - boom boom. I am afraid to say that it is still in the cupboard somewhere.

5. Grant Lee Buffalo - First one bought from outside after the show by the Manc blokes who shout "5 pound yer t-shirt, 2 pound yer poster" as nauseum.
When I was younger they always said never buy them as the picture comes off after one wash but this white effort with the cover of "Fuzzy" on the front lasted me a few years before it started shrinking in the wardrobe.
Venue: Digbeth Hall Birmingham about 1993.

Contd if you are still awake.....

Forgive me Father.

I was playing "Fire and Water" by Free on vinyl (hang on I haven't finished yet).........

I pressed 45rpm instead of 33.3rpm on the turntable (still haven't finished)

"All Right Now" was the track.

My young kids came running in. "Yay, "Alvin and the Chipmunks" was the cry.

"Yes children. 'Tis true. They are nothing but sped up records."

"Stupid Dad, It's Aivin and The Chipmunks"

"OK" I replied.

I then reflected.......

1. If you take the vocal silliness out of the equation the 45rpm tempo actually sounded contemporary to me.
When in comparison the 33.3rpm sounded slow.
I then deducted (rightly or wrongly but it's my view) that this reflects how the pace of life in Western Culture has accelerated beyond recognition and most of us who haven't already given up are struggling to keep the pace.

2. A lot of Entertainment served up is rehashed, mass marketed nonsense - but we already know that.

3. It also happened 40 years ago but was called "Pinky and Perky" then. So really it's nothing new.

Oh and by the way, records still jump.

So what has got you up on the dancefloor at the British Legions, village halls and stately homes over the years?

Weddings ? I love 'em.

Uncle Alf in his brown suit, wraparound hairdo and pint of mild stares intently and motionless apart from his tapping foot.

Little David and his mates slide on their knees across the polished floor.

You're sitting half baked,shouting across the table above the noise, looking at people and wondering who they are as the disco lights change them from red to yellow to orange. Your Aunty Nellie keeps asking if you are going to dance and you consistently reply "no way" and then suddenly these tunes come on:

Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones (I am Mick Jagger at that wedding - yeah.)

Lovin' Is Really My Game - Brainstorm (Fast Feet, seventies Oxford Bags and Solatio shoes - that could be a separate thread in itself - anyone still got any ? Metal taps on the heels ? Pictures please - fabulous)

Out On The Floor - Dobie Gray (The best)

Going Underground - The Jam (Working class mod mode)

Theme From Joe 90 - Barry Gray Orchestra (Childhood regression)

Que Sera Mi Vida - Gibson Brothers (Beacon Radio 303 moment)

Give It Up - KC And The Sunshine Band (Eighties hedonism)

Ride On Time - Black Box (Bobby Brown's Nightclub, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2JP 1992 moment)

Sorry, I've gone on a bit..............

I've been thinking.

Either directly or once removed how far back can we reach to real exposure to the stars or icons of yesteryear.

Are there any bloggers who are old enough to have seen a famed performer in their later years when the bloggers themselves were quite young eg Did anyone see, say, Charlie Chaplin in real life or anyone who was born in the 1800s ?

Then once removed, so a secondary connection. Eg You are now middle aged but as a child you remember talking to your elderly grandad who when he was a child saw someone like Lillie Langtry or Queen Victoria.

Would love to hear of any stories relating to this kind of thing. ie Real first or second hand experience.

Anybody seen him live ?

Seem to remember a gig being announced some 10-15 years ago for the Symphony Hall in Birmingham which I was up for and it got cancelled and that was that...........

They seem to have gone out of fashion.

I'd love to have a pint with you on Mitchell Street. Only thongs, short and T-Shirt required.

Look forward to flight details. Will pick you up from the airport.

Peace and Love,

Marsonator

Probably his second most famous legacy.

Just finished watching "Witchfinder General."

The DVD has a mini documentary about this director who died at the very young age of 25.

I will try and get hold of "The Sorcerers" next - anybody seen it ?

Ringo or Freddie ?

Do they know each other ?

...........this one aired here in Australia during the last Ashes series. Thought it was worth sharing as I'm not sure if many in the UK have seen it. One of my favourites to rival John Smiths and Carlsberg.

I was just wondering who people's favorite Billy Bremner is.

Personally I prefer the musical one and songs such as Girl's Talk although I do appreciate that the footballer captained his club and country and won many medals.

Rather sexy lady back in the day.

Apparently she passed away on Thursday.

http://youtu.be/2NAUu_bU-o4

OK. I've made this one up myself by surfing on Wikipedia and think I know the correct answer but here goes:

The European Trophies - European Cup, Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Cup including all of their slightly different names eg Champions League, Fairs Cup etc.

Out of all the teams that have won one of these trophies and are still going/functioning which one is currently playing at the lowest level in their country ? (ie lowest compared to all of the other winners)

.......at the end of a meeting my boss said to me

"It's not enough to do a good job, you need to be seen to do a good job".

It happened rather quickly so it's only over the last few hours I reflected on this statement.

Can anyone help me interpret it ?

ps results are excellent in the job and I'm a regular bloke.