Jolene (Destructo Remix) - Dolly Parton

This might be an act of musical heresy to some but I quite like it and as it's on Dolly's You Tube channel presumably she approved too. There's a bucket load of stories about Parton coming out today, all of them positive, but my favourite is the one about her giving up the chance to become the world's first billionaire by donating so much dosh to worthy causes. Whether it's true or not I have no idea but it's a nice story. And then there's the one about her writing Jolene and I Will Always Love You on the same day...that's not a bad afternoon's work is it eh? RIP Dolly. 

Beautiful Days Festival 2026 - August 21st - 23rd

Our ninth (I think...the cider's made things a trifle cloudy) Beautiful Days and the usual mix of great bands (albeit catering more for the older punter), random chats with strangers, catch ups with old friends and several pork baps. I do love a good pork bap. The bendy lady above is the lead singer of Split Dogs, one of the highlights of the weekend for me along with Super Furry Animals, Madness, The Wonder Stuff, Hannah Moule and Katherine Priddy. There were more clashes this year than in previous ones and the old energy levels are a tad lower in my late 50s than they were when I was a nipper so we missed a number of bands that I really wanted to see but that's the ying and yang of festivals for ya. Beautiful Days remains a joy pretty much from start to finish though and I guarantee it'll sell out months in advance next year as it does every year. Coming back to 'reality' though...ouch. 

PS: As someone who remains stubbornly smartphone free it was lovely to be pretty much out of touch with technology for a few days and great that plenty of stallholders happily took cash rather than looking at you like you've just asked them to swap their merch for a handful of excrement. 

PPS: The loos were great when I used them. TOP TIP: listen out for the sucking van in the morning then pop in as soon as possible after they've been. I appreciate that this doesn't help the ladies put there who can't have a piddle as easily as us chaps but having a piddle doesn't take as long as the other stuff. How the hell did I end up writing so many words about going to the loo? I'll stop now. 

PPPS: Shout out to Stagecoach for a great bus service after last year's fiasco. The driver from St David's at 12midday got everyone to dump all their stuff at the back of the bus thus preventing the front from becoming an obstacle course. He also avoided the queues by using the right lane...unlike the bloke last year who sat in the wrong lane for over two sodding hours.  

Everything's Odd - Misty's Big Adventure

It's been far too long since I last posted a Misty's track so wrap your ears around this mini masterpiece. 21 years since it was recorded and it's more relevant with each passing day. 

Derry RIP

Sad to hear about the passing of EMF's keyboard player Derry Brownson. I think it's fair to say that he had some difficult years but it was great to see him back on stage with the band last November in Bristol and he looked well chuffed to be there. If you've not heard of EMF before they released some cracking tracks back in the early 90s...

Singing In The Shower - Les Rita Mitsouko & Sparks

Happy 81st birthday to Ron Mael, one half of the mighty Sparks, seen here looking as Ron as Ron can be with Les Rita Mitsouko. 

Easy Street - Queens of the Stone Age

The first time I heard this track I had a vague thought that it might be a lost Bowie number, especially after the slightly Frippy guitar bit 3 minutes or so in. But nope, it's Queens of the Stone Age. Genuine contender for one of the tracks of the year... 

Yours 'Til the End - Kim Wilde

Picked up this Kim Wilde album from 2018 last weekend and it's an 80's tastic treat from start to finish. This track's possibly the highlight, with a nod to Duran Duran, Gary Numan and even a little Chic in there. Wilde's vocal's on fine form too, bonkers to think that her first record came out almost half a century ago...