Toast

Wonderfully atmospheric song, I still love it. It always takes me back to a smoky upstairs bar in Oxford that had a really cool jukebox. It was a long time before I stopped thinking "Wow, this guy sounds so much like Rod Stewart". Yes, seems Rod was only called in as a session vocalist since the band didn't have anyone who could sing well enough. He was famously paid with a new set of car mats. Of course we only learned this years later.

Yes. Donny was a major teen idol, or I should say tween idol.

Tue 14 May 64 Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris — We Found Love 63 Lady Gaga & Beyoncé — Telephone 60 Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg — California Gurls 51 Adele — Someone Like You 39 Cee Lo Green — Forget You 36 Yolanda Be Cool Vs D Cup — We No Speak Americano +4 35 Tinie Tempah — Pass Out 35 Tinie Tempah — Written In The Stars -3 32 Rihanna — Only Girl (In The World) 32 Owl City — Fireflies 32 Jessie J ft. B.O.B — Price Tag 28 Professor Green ft. Emeli Sande — Read All About It 28 Iyaz — Replay 28 Scouting For Girls — This Ain't A Love Song 28 B.O.B ft. Hayley Williams — Airplanes 27 Olly Murs — Dance With Me Tonight 26 B.O.B ft. Bruno Mars — Nothin' On You 26 Taio Cruz — Dynamite 25 DJ Fresh ft. Sian Evans — Louder 25 Bruno Mars — Grenade 24 Example — Changed The Way You Kiss Me 24 Flo Rida ft. David Guetta — Club Can't Handle Me 23 Olly Murs ft. Rizzle Kicks — Heart Skips A Beat 23 Bruno Mars — Just The Way You Are 22 Roll Deep — Green Light 21 Nero — Promises 20 Roll Deep — Good Times 20 Alexandra Burke ft. Laza Morgan — Start Without You 20 Example — Stay Awake 19 David Guetta ft. Chris Willis — Gettin' Over You 15 Kesha — We R Who We R 13 Little Mix — Cannonball 12 Pixie Lott — All About Tonight 11 The Wanted — Glad You Came 11 Usher ft. Will.I.Am — OMG 00 Jason Derulo — Don't Wanna Go Home (Tough Shit, You've Got To) -3

Tue 14 May 24 Python Lee Jackson- In a Broken Dream +4 24 The Shangri-Las- Leader of the Pack 22 America- A Horse With No Name 22 Hawkwind- Silver Machine 22 Mott the Hoople- All The Young Dudes 22 David Bowie- Life on Mars? 22 T. Rex- 20th Century Boy 21 David Bowie- Drive-In Saturday 20 The Chi-Lites- Have You Seen Her 20 The Drifters- At The Club/Saturday Night at The Movies 20 Lindisfarne- Lady Eleanor 20 Faron Young- It’s Four in the Morning 20 Peter Skellern- You’re a Lady 20 David Cassidy- I Am a Clown/Some Kind of a Summer 20 Perry Como- And I Love You So 20 Medicine Head- One and One is One 20 Mungo Jerry- Alright, Alright, Alright 20 Suzi Quatro- 48 Crash 20 Limmie and the Family Cookin’- You Can Do Magic 20 David Bowie- Sorrow 20 Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers- Monster Mash 17 Gilbert O’Sullivan- Alone Again (Naturally) -6 14 Michael Jackson- Rockin’ Robin 14 David Essex- Rock On 14 The Partridge Family- Breaking Up Is Hard To Do 14 Carly Simon- You’re So Vain 14 Donny Osmond- Why

It's Oliver Cromwell's dismissal of Parliament, so I left it largely unedited. I just changed Ye to You, and made it first person plural instead of singular. Plus ça change ...

Message for Sunak and the rest of the Tory Party. It is high time that we put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice. You are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government. You are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money. Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? You have no more religion than a horse; gold is your God; which of you have not bartered your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth? You sordid prostitutes, have you not defiled this sacred place, and turned the Lord’s temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? You are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redressed, and are yourselves become the greatest grievance. Your country therefore calls upon us to cleanse this Augean stable, by putting a final period to your iniquitous proceedings in this House; and which by God's help, and the strength he has given us, we are now come to do. We command you therefore, upon the peril of your lives, to depart immediately out of this place. Go, get you out! Make haste! You venal slaves be gone! In the name of God, go!

What a nice letter.

One Friday night I was waiting to go on the overnight ferry to France. They used to have entertainment on that sailing, usually a tribute band or something of that ilk. I asked who was on that night. "Edwin Starr" came the reply. Edwin fucking Starr !!!! He was great.

That means all of my remaining picks will complete a line if they expire. btw I'm a she/her.

Mon 13 May 49 Edwin Starr — War 29 Lynn Anderson - Rose Garden 29 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Up Around The Bend 28 The Four Tops - A Simple Game 16 Andy Williams — Can’t Help Falling In Love 10 Bobby Bloom - Montego Bay  +4 09 Ashton, Gardner and Dyke - Resurrection Shuffle -6

Mon 13 May 62 Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris — We Found Love 55 Lady Gaga & Beyoncé — Telephone 52 Adele - Someone Like You 50 Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg — California Gurls 35 Cee Lo Green — Forget You 33 Owl City — Fireflies 33 Yolanda Be Cool Vs D Cup — We No Speak Americano +4 33 Professor Green ft. Emeli Sande — Read All About It 32 Tinie Tempah — Pass Out -4 30 Tinie Tempah — Written In The Stars 30 Jessie J ft. B.O.B — Price Tag 29 Rihanna — Only Girl (In The World) 28 Iyaz — Replay 28 Scouting For Girls — This Ain't A Love Song 27 B.O.B ft. Hayley Williams — Airplanes 25 Olly Murs — Dance With Me Tonight 25 B.O.B ft. Bruno Mars — Nothin' On You 25 Little Mix — Cannonball 24 Bruno Mars — Grenade 24 Example — Changed The Way You Kiss Me 24 Taio Cruz — Dynamite 23 The Wanted — Glad You Came 23 Olly Murs ft. Rizzle Kicks — Heart Skips A Beat 23 DJ Fresh ft. Sian Evans — Louder 23 Flo Rida ft. David Guetta — Club Can't Handle Me 22 Roll Deep — Green Light 22 Bruno Mars — Just The Way You Are 21 Nero — Promises 21 Nicole Scherzinger — Don't Hold Your Breath 20 Roll Deep — Good Times 20 Alexandra Burke ft. Laza Morgan — Start Without You 20 Example — Stay Awake 19 Pixie Lott — All About Tonight 19 David Guetta ft. Chris Willis — Gettin' Over You 17 Jason Derulo — Don't Wanna Go Home 16 Usher ft. Will.I.Am — OMG  15 Kesha — We R Who We R 14 Wretch 32 ft. Josh Kumra — Don't Go 00 Jason Derulo — In My Head -2

I cheered. Now that I've seen the whole thing, I'm not surprised. The staging was dirty and sordid, and verging on the pornographic. The song was decent, but he sang it poorly. His voice was weak and out of tune. He thinks he's so sexy He's so preoccupied with showing off and being edgy that there's little effort put into the actual performance of the song. There's some hilarious comments on this youtube video of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0_FdJqyQW0 Even gay men are saying they didn't like it.

Roger Corman is a hit for me.

Sun 12 May 52 Edwin Starr — War 30 Bobby Bloom - Montego Bay +4 29 The Four Tops - A Simple Game 26 Lynn Anderson - Rose Garden -2 23 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Up Around The Bend 21 Andy Williams — Can’t Help Falling In Love 21 Ashton, Gardner and Dyke - Resurrection Shuffle 00 Three Dog Night - Mama Told Me (Not To Come) -4