Alicia Keys. I tweeted last night that five years ago Alicia Keys at Vector Arena rocketed into my all-time top 10 concerts and that there was no pressure on Alicia as a result. When she was nearly 30 minutes late taking the stage, rumours* started circulating that due to my tweet she was feeling overwhelmed…
Tag: Music
Commodores Bassist Ronald LaPread’s Powerful Tribute To Nelson Mandela – 1 Of The Commodores Most Inspiring Songs
Nelson Mandela. Last night on The Two on Newstalk ZB we paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, taking calls from listeners for the entire three hours about what the great man meant to them. One of the callers was none other than former Commodores bassist Ronald LaPread. Having grown up in Alabama during the Civil Rights…
Bee Gees Cracking Jokes & Singing Silent Night On Cilla Black’s 1983 Christmas Special
From a nonexistent Bee Gees LP, photo circa 1973. Less than two weeks out from Christmas, it’s time for a good Christmas-y post, so here are two clips, one from the Bee Gees and the other from Sheryl Crow. The Bee Gees clip is both charming and unique. Appearing on Cilla Black’s TV show in…
Nelson Mandela Dies – U2 Pays Tribute With ‘Ordinary Love’
Nelson Mandela. “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.” I thought of this Nelson Mandela quote a couple of days ago when New Zealand politician John Banks was once again trying to tell all who’d listen that anyone who knows him knows he’s an…
30 Years Since Beach Boy Dennis Wilson’s Death – The Stunning Surf Gospel Of ‘River Song’
Dennis Wilson. Yesterday would’ve been the 69th birthday of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson so I played a bit of his spectacular solo work River Song on the radio in his honour. After playing the clip it occurred to me it must be close to 30 years since his death (through drowning) and a quick Google…
20 Years Since The Bee Gees ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ – Their Finest Post-Fever Song?
Maurice, Barry and Robin Gibb – 1993. This November marked 20 years since the Bee Gees released one of the strongest ballads of their career with a song that – had it not been for the likes of Mr Blobby – may’ve even been a UK Christmas #1. As it turned out, the brothers had…
So What If We’re Controlling All The Oil? Prince, Sheryl Crow & The Debate Over Deep-Sea Oil Drilling
Sheryl Crow. In New Zealand right now there is a huge amount of talk about the rights and wrongs of deep-sea oil-drilling, so I thought it only appropriate to find a way to link this topic to a couple of songs. Like a lot of debates, I’ve been frustrated at peoples’ desire to make this…
The Commodores 1975 Instrumental Named After An Island In The Philippines
For the people of the Philippines reeling from the devastation of typhoon Haiyan (2000 estimated dead, 600,000 homeless, two million in desperate need of clean water), here is the Commodores song named after the Philippine island (and city) Cebu. In the mid-70s the Commodores fame spread far from their Alabama homeland and made them superstars…
Lulu Turns 65 – A Motown-Sounding Bee Gees Song From 1993
Lulu with then husband Maurice Gibb circa 1970. Lulu turned 65 this week so here’s a song of hers’ which should’ve been a smash hit during her early 90s comeback, but somehow missed. Written by the Bee Gees (including ex-husband Maurice Gibb), Let Me Wake Up In Your Arms was one of several Motown-styled songs…
The Best Fleetwood Mac Song You’ve Never Heard
John McVie. Doubly sad music news this long weekend, first with word that the “Mac” in Fleetwood Mac – bassist John McVie – will be undergoing treatment for cancer in December, meaning that the 14 date tour of Australia and New Zealand is cancelled. Being that Fleetwood Mac are still touring right now (with ex-wife…
When Alicia Keys Turned Vector Arena Into The Apollo Theatre
Alicia Keys. Alicia Keys is returning to New Zealand for the first time in five years and I would still rate that December 2008 concert as one of the top 10 I’ve been to. Auckland’s Vector Arena felt like the Apollo Theatre that night as Keys delivered a show looser, rowdier and more gospel sounding…
Katy Perry Responds To PETA Criticism – A Homage To Hall & Oates?
Katy Perry from the Roar video. On my Facebook page the other day I posted the following message about how PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are diluting the validity of many of their battles by so often picking the wrong fights. According to PETA, the video for Katy Perry’s Roar (her eighth US…
