BULLS HEAD BOB NOV 2016. Bob Dylan, Chuck Berrys New CD. Echolette PA System. Spinal Tap

Did I ever mention to you guys that Steve and Bruce are two of my favourite names?  No? 
Mrs Bob has said that I am a changed man all of a sudden, can't understand why?  
UTV
CHUCK BERRY

Well what a 'to-do', if one of my mates had said to me "Bob guess who's releasing a new album?" I never would have said CHUCK BERRY!!, my goodness me, he's 90 who would have guessed that?  but it's the truth!!  It has been 38 years since his last LP release so a lot of today's youth wont have even heard of him.   It is true to say that without Chuck Berry there would have been no brumbeat sound or merseybeat and we all owe him a great debt of gratitude.

Not only did we all play that Chuck Berry riff, that he allegedly stole from his

pianist Johnny Johnson, but we all copied his intros, outros, the duck walk and for the more energetic of us, the splits.  Brumbeat-wise there is the story of George Harrison being taught the intro to Johnny B Goode by Chuck Botfield of Brums Rockin Berries, it is a great intro indeed, in fact Chuck Berry himself stole the intro from Louis Jordans 1948 track  "Ain't that Just Like a Woman" note for note.  Funny then that such a prolific music thief should have successfully taken the Beatles to court for using the opening line of "You cant Catch Me" for "Come Together".  Chuck won that one!!

Now Chuck is a cantankerous old son of a gun and could well change his mind so, just to help keep his mind open I thought it might be a good idea and a tad "de-riguer", as they say at the Sparkbrook Club for Gifted Swearers, to suggest that he does a Covers album of songs that have been big hits in the past for some huge names and some Brummies too?  This would be perfect for Christmas, us old knackers, stomachs bulging, top button of your trousers opened, slippers on, in front of the fire picking nuts out of your dentures with an old pipe cleaner and your new Chuck Berry CD..."geein it sum" on your Phillips mini stack.   

Here's a few for him to choose from.

STEVE GIBBONS
TULANE

ELO
ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN

ELVIS
MAYBELLINE

ROD STEWART
SWEET LITTLE ROCK N ROLLER

THE ROLLING STONES
PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING FROM THEIR FIRST LP

THE WHOLE WORLD OF POPULAR MUSIC
JOHNNY B GOODE

Chuck has said it will be all new material and definitely be his last CD.  He said it was dedicated to to his wife..... frankly I don't care whats on the recording, or who its for......I'm going to buy it.

BOB DYLAN 

Well that's something ain't it?  Bob Dylan getting a Nobel prize for literature, amazing.  The world held their breath while Bob kept his mouth shut and didn't acknowledge the prize until a couple of days ago.  He said he was shocked and speechless at the news and couldn't think of an appropriate answer but feels highly honoured and plans to go the award ceremony to collect it in person.   He must have been shocked if he was speechless for all that time until the day before yesterday? 

I tried to think about my favourite set of lyrics of his and I ended up arguing with myself and came to no resolve as to which was best because they all have their various merits, he is a special person without doubt.  "Girl from the North Country" certainly is in my top 5 even just for the line "where the air hangs heavy on the borderline" and Positively 4th Street with its bitter and scathing lines is easy to associate with some bad relationships of mine and probably everyone elses too in the past.   "You got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend, when I was down you just stood there grinning".

I couldn't be happier that this has happened to someone so deserving and I'm thoroughly pleased that Bob has accepted it with the correct amount of awe. 

If you have never listened to Bob Dylans radio shows I really recommend that you try and get your hands on them they are a library of fantastic songs that are not common hearing.

SPINAL TAP 

Spinal Tap the "art imitating life" mock rockumentary film that exposed all the actual frailties of being in a band in such a comic but truthful manner has been delighting us musos for years now and various bands claim that some of the stories portrayed in the film relate to them, Black Sabbaths claim about the Stonehenge set being uppermost in my mind.   On top of the huge success of the film there were concerts, record sales and T shirts and things.  It was a big deal and volume controls started to be marked up to "11"

It showed a bands decline from headlining arenas to playing at a children's puppet theatre for a few dollars, it now appears that like all real rock band histories, the actors portraying the band Spinal Tap have only been paid 88 dollars between them for their merchandising royalties and are in the process of trying to claw their money back through the court process.

BRUMMIES
YOU'RE A BUNCH OF 
NON WANKERS!!
As you get a bit older in life you tend to create patterns in your week.  A mate of mine, lets call him Oggie, used to get the bus to Bilston every Wednesday to buy some sausages and, as he said, he "made as day of it" you know, Bus to Bilston , get off bus walk to Butchers...."Hello Oggie, come for your sausages then?" "Yes thanks Eric" buy sausages walk to pub, have a couple of smooth ones while chatting to the locals.  Get the bus back cook and eat sausages while watching Countdown.

I've just read in the local rag that it appears that us Brummies have run out of sufficient quantities of the "white stuff" and the famous Birmingham Sperm Bank is officially closing its doors.  Now that might not really concern many people but I can tell you that like Oggie, my weekly pattern for Tuesday consisted of brisk walk through the park, stop at the bookies to put a tenner on the Villa to win on the Saturday then pop over the road to my regular afternoon wanking session or "donation exercise" as they like to call it.  It was great all the blokes knew each other, they had a great selection of magazines and you got 35 quid a shot!!  

OLD KIT
Now here's something to get you drooling, you lovers of old kit.  During a recent trawl of EBay I came across this Echolette combination amp and echo with some interesting PA speakers.  I'd never seen this before but it looks gorgeous even if only from an aesthetic point of view.   Its currently on sale so hurry if you're interested.

ECHOLETTE PA SYSTEM

OK take care you guys.  I'm off to do the first of the Christmas shopping.

Cheers
Bob

copyright:  Bullsheadbob
Contact:     Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com