Bulls Head Bob Jan 2024. DENNY LAINE RIP. JEFF LYNNE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

 Hello You Lovely People!!

Happy New Year!! 

It's 2024, I'm still alive and if you're reading this you are too! so congratulations to all you west Midlands musicians of the Brumbeat era of the 1960's who were a part of the magic and to those who packed the Dance Halls and created great atmospheres for us to entertain.

DENNY LAINE. RIP.

I have always been a fan of Denny Laine and have written many articles about him as an important influence in the venues of Birmingham.  From the Springfield Ballroom days of the very early 60's with The Diplomats to the fabulous first formation of Moody Blues with his turbo charged vocals belting out the hard Rythm and Blues sound of Brumbeat and being the voice of 'Go Now', full of emotion that went straight to your heart in the opening bars, he was something special.   

After leaving the Moody Blues he wrote and recorded, as the Denny Laine's String Band, the wonderful and biographic 'Say You Dont Mind", that was and still is real class that didn't get the success it deserved until many years after when re recorded by Colin Blunstone.    Paul McCartney remembered him from those early days too when the Moodies were on the same bill as The Beatles and wasted no time in making contact with him when he departed the Beatles to form Wings.

Last year he went out on the road across the USA on an acoustic solo tour performing songs and relating some stories of his journey in the world of music.  The tour finished and he went straight to the Carnegie Hall to perform in a night of the songs of Paul McCartney where he showcased the song he co wrote with McCartney, Mull of Kintire.

It was probably his last gig but what a place to play your last appearance, a very fitting end to an illustrious career in the music biz.   He was the best in Birmingham in those early days and will be sadly missed by this old rocker.  God Bless Denny.

I was away when Denny passed so didnt make any comment in the last blog but I didn't want to miss acknowledging his Brummie beginnings albeit a little late.    Please visit the Pie Stand page at BRUMBEAT www.brumbeat.net to read John Woodhouse's article for a much broader and complete dedication to Denny.

JEFF LYNNE.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I don't often talk about Jeff on the blog because every facet of his life is covered by the ELO network and I'm not really a fan. However, it would be churlish of me not to mention his recent 76th birthday.  Jeff is also a Brumbeat Hero but a little later than Denny Laine, his band The Idle Race were very popular on the circuit of Brummie venues but lacked getting the "big break" to push them into stardom.   His songs with that band were quirky and inventive and I liked them a lot.   His invite to join the twilight days of The Move was just what he needed to lift him into a higher strata where he would blossom and compete with Roy Wood, the two of them collaborated on the music which would give birth to ELO.

There was too much friction however and Roy departed to form WIZZARD leaving Jeff free reign over the ELO name and its direction.  The rest is history and although there were many, many people who featured in that band they were there only to play Jeff's songs and the release of "Out of the Blue" cemented his name as a truly serious songwriter to be reckoned with.    His lush productions gained many admirers most famously with George Harrison who asked him to produce his next album and that inevitably dragged him into The Beatles fold when asked to produce "Free as a Bird" which must have seen him walking around in a daze, head in the clouds.   It must have been a sensational feeling.   

You don't gain anything sitting on yer arse and Jeff got his rewards for a life of hard work and dedication but with some folk getting hurt along the way.  These days he is rightly a world star born from the days of BRUMBEAT.

So, Happy Birthday Jeff, may you have many more.  Happy New Year.

MORE CHRISTMAS BIRTHDAYS

There were some other prominent Brumbeaters birthdays in recent days so Wishing a Happy Birthday to 

JOHN WOODHOUSE Head Honcho at WWW.BRUMBEAT.NET 

BOB STYLER.   30 December.

JOHN FINCHAM.  Born on Christmas Day.  

FINALLY

I am still in recovery mode from the festivities but sincerely wish you all a Properous new year and Hope for some Peace in these troubled times initiated by politically dangerous thugs.   

Bob

Copyright: Bullsheadbob 

Contact: Bobsbullocks@gmail.com