Don Woods

The TV Programme "Rock Til We Drop" which features selection of musicians between the ages of 65 to 85 chosen to form a band to perform at the Isle of Wight Festival. Dodgy children's programmes from the past....e.g. Captain Puigwash....how did they get away with it? Cookery programmes.....and the ridiculous "presentation" of food.....and the price of a pint is more than my first weekly pay packet. Price of private dental check ups A recent item on the unbelievable conditions Miners had to work under back in the day...and we go on about slavery. Charles Darwin's birthplace in Shrewsbury....fascinating. Tina Turner concert in 2000....as good as it gets....the best concert I have ever seen...and on the exact opposite of the spectrum...."Please Please Please Let me get what I want" sung by Morrisey. and The Smiths...a perfect example of a decent band who definitely need a replacement singer.

@donwoods and @vincetracy discussed #ShaneWarne #Cricket #JimLaker #Athletics #Education #Sport #Philosophy #Wirral #Wallasey #School #SirRogerBannister #SebastianCoe #Music #Bands #Groups #SpandauBallet #TheFloralPavilion #RalphMcTell #Cornwall

Don joins Vince to discuss the dangerous political scenario #BBC #ITV #television #news #weather #TheChase #TippingPoint #EuropeanSongContest #Antiques #DavidBowie #TheLaughingGnome

Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice filled 20 minutes of the news with their usual scaremongering. Then we have Prince Andrews "settlement" with the girl he has never met....I hope they check whether all those millions go to charity and not into the poor "abused" young lady's purse Then we have Charles whose charity is under investigation regarding "cash for honours".....I can't see the problem if the cash goes to his charity. Tom Daley has run and cycled all over the place "for charity"....what is the point? I remember real storms when we were joined buy the tide at a local gig back in 1980. The Winter Olympics.has not exactly been successful for the U.K. athletes....but it's O.K....it only cost 24 million to get them out there. This week I would like to discuss a song from back in the 50s and why I think it is a classic compared to a lot of the stuff we have had to endure since....the song is "Lipstick on your collar" by Connie Francis....I will explain why this song fills all the boxes of greatness.

Don's favourite record of all time ......I feel there's more to this than meets the eye!

@donwoods and @vincw tracy discussed #boris #cycling #awimming #petrol #bbc #cheekygirls

The record I would like to discuss this week is the Elvis classic...Jailhouse Rock......the record still holds up today.and considering there are only 4 musicians backing Elvis it makes this a masterpiece......the temptation to write this song in a country style must have been hard to resist but whoever came up with the the guitar work and the drum breaks makes this, for me,one of the best rock and roll records ever.and also lyrically brilliant.

On the continuing Djocovic saga....I believe old Novak intends to sue the Australian government.....you couldn't make it up....good luck with that one.......and even worse ..because some people are deeply offended (mainly those under 5 feet) by the sweet we have always known as "Midget Gems" the name has been changed to "small gems" or something....which reminds me of a chip shop in Liverpool when the authorities told them that because their hamburgers didn't contain ham they were mis- described...they were in fact savoury rings.....so the shop put up a huge notice outside saying "our hamburgers are now savoury rings"....that's why we love Liverpool............ I have been going on for weeks about records I can't stand so this week for a change I would like to feature my favourite record of all time....I have loved this song since I was a kid....and despite my rock and roll and jazz roots this song has always remained top of my list....and it is sung in French.....the orchestration and melody make it,for me,a masterpiece......it is the original version of La Mer by Charles Trenet...the fact I don't speak French makes no difference but I know the song is describing the sea......it was recorded in 1946 without all the modern recording facilities which makes it the classic it is.

Here is the Agenda set by Don for this week's chat.... 1.The Tory Party Party.....the witch hunt is on...with the BBC leading from the gutter. 2.The Novac Djocovic Saga 3.Andrew...the artist formerly known as Prince 4.The Chester football ground which is in England AND Wales 5.Celebs who are too "important" to endure being interviewed. 6.The new ferry terminal named after Gerry Marsden 7.Back in the day the BBC refused to play Agadoo by Black Lace as they regarded it as "not credible"....the fact it topped the charts everywhere displays the knowledge of our wonderful Beeb. 7.Worst record ever section.....The Ying Tong Song by The Goons

Here is the Agenda set by Don for this week's chat.... 1.The Tory Party Party.....the witch hunt is on...with the BBC leading from the gutter. 2.The Novac Djocovic Saga 3.Andrew...the artist formerly known as Prince 4.The Chester football ground which is in England AND Wales 5.Celebs who are too "important" to endure being interviewed. 6.The new ferry terminal named after Gerry Marsden 7.Back in the day the BBC refused to play Agadoo by Black Lace as they regarded it as "not credible"....the fact it topped the charts everywhere displays the knowledge of our wonderful Beeb. 7.Worst record ever section.....The Ying Tong Song by The Goons

The recent news headlines feature Novak Djokovic ... will he or wont he be allowed to defend his title in the Australian open?....the coverage includes his fans protesting in the streets as to the announcement by the authorities that he has not complied with the covid regulations.....and this is HEADLINE news....I am a tennis fan and an admirer of Novak's talent but IT'S A GAME OF TENNIS....that's all....it belongs in the sport section at the end of the news....not in the headlines....there's far more important stuff going on in the world. Then we are told that energy prices are going to increase by 50% and this will seriously affect the lower paid....with scaremongering headlines like "Heating or Eating?"...which really helps the situation....what we don't seem to have been told is WHY....or have I missed something.....it's a good job you can't buy boxes of energy from Tescos otherwise you would see our nation of sheep with their supermarket trollies piled high with these boxes of energy.....I don't suppose it's anything to do with money?...not much. Another piece of "news" was regarding the gay Irish bloke who wanted a wedding cake made for him and his future "husband"...he wanted a cake with the two of them set in the icing on the top.....the cake shop refused to make it because of their religious beliefs....so the Irish guy considered he was being discriminated against.....it gets better....he took the cake shop to court and lost the case ....so he took it to a tribunal and lost the case again....he is considering taking it to the human rights lot and hopefully he will lose that case......you couldn't make this up....where the shop went wrong was mentioning "religious beliefs" they should have just refused to do it full stop....what people don't understand is a sale is a contract where there has to be an offer and an acceptance......the offer is made by the buyer not the seller.....if the latter refuses, which he is entitled to do, there is no contract......putting items on display is not an offer it is known as an "invitation to treat" which invites the buyer to make an offer which the seller can either accept or refuse....case closed. On the entertainment front I decided to watch the new series of The Apprentice with Lord Sugar making his many over the top entrances into the boardroom to a shower of young hopefuls ... each one convinced they are the ones to make a fortune.....I must admit it is quite entertaining....and it's always good to see some over confident whiz kid get shot down in flames.......his Lordship sets them some nasty tasks and must be laughing his socks off when he watches it back.....nice to find something that is worth watching on the television. I was listening to the radio in my car and a song came on by Leona Lewis....what a fantastic voice...for me she is the most under rated singer around....she is up there with the best....which brings me to the other end of the scale............. This weeks "one of the worst records ever made " spot features, once again,Yoko Ono......it is called War Zone.....there's not a lot you can say about it really.....it is beyond me.....maybe it's me....maybe it's a masterpiece?.....maybe not.

The recent news headlines feature Novak Djokovic ... will he or wont he be allowed to defend his title in the Australian open?....the coverage includes his fans protesting in the streets as to the announcement by the authorities that he has not complied with the covid regulations.....and this is HEADLINE news....I am a tennis fan and an admirer of Novak's talent but IT'S A GAME OF TENNIS....that's all....it belongs in the sport section at the end of the news....not in the headlines....there's far more important stuff going on in the world. Then we are told that energy prices are going to increase by 50% and this will seriously affect the lower paid....with scaremongering headlines like "Heating or Eating?"...which really helps the situation....what we don't seem to have been told is WHY....or have I missed something.....it's a good job you can't buy boxes of energy from Tescos otherwise you would see our nation of sheep with their supermarket trollies piled high with these boxes of energy.....I don't suppose it's anything to do with money?...not much. Another piece of "news" was regarding the gay Irish bloke who wanted a wedding cake made for him and his future "husband"...he wanted a cake with the two of them set in the icing on the top.....the cake shop refused to make it because of their religious beliefs....so the Irish guy considered he was being discriminated against.....it gets better....he took the cake shop to court and lost the case ....so he took it to a tribunal and lost the case again....he is considering taking it to the human rights lot and hopefully he will lose that case......you couldn't make this up....where the shop went wrong was mentioning "religious beliefs" they should have just refused to do it full stop....what people don't understand is a sale is a contract where there has to be an offer and an acceptance......the offer is made by the buyer not the seller.....if the latter refuses, which he is entitled to do, there is no contract......putting items on display is not an offer it is known as an "invitation to treat" which invites the buyer to make an offer which the seller can either accept or refuse....case closed. On the entertainment front I decided to watch the new series of The Apprentice with Lord Sugar making his many over the top entrances into the boardroom to a shower of young hopefuls ... each one convinced they are the ones to make a fortune.....I must admit it is quite entertaining....and it's always good to see some over confident whiz kid get shot down in flames.......his Lordship sets them some nasty tasks and must be laughing his socks off when he watches it back.....nice to find something that is worth watching on the television. I was listening to the radio in my car and a song came on by Leona Lewis....what a fantastic voice...for me she is the most under rated singer around....she is up there with the best....which brings me to the other end of the scale............. This weeks "one of the worst records ever made " spot features, once again,Yoko Ono......it is called War Zone.....there's not a lot you can say about it really.....it is beyond me.....maybe it's me....maybe it's a masterpiece?.....maybe not.

First off...happy new year....I thought I might have to call you "Sir" Vince but I noticed you never made the Queen's honours list.....so you can't join Knights of the Realm like Sir Cliff...Sir Ringo...Sir Van Morrison....or Sir Tony Blair and even more hard to believe Sir Ashley Banjo ....maybe next year....I would suggest you latch on to an act which will definitely end up being knighted.....Ant,Dec and Vince? ....For the "one of the worst records ever made" spot this week I have nominated the destruction of the song "My Way" by The Sex Pistols......it is over 4 minutes long so I suggest fading it out after one minute if you can stand it for that song.

I enjoyed the link you sent me with the Jet Harris interview.....I didn't know he was the first to use a Fender electric bass guitar....good stuff...I met Jet when I was working on Radio Merseyside....and we had a few pints in the local ....before he went tee total....and chatted about his adventures with The Shadows and I got some interesting inside info... he really was a nice fella and like most of those who have been there he was very humble.....a sad loss. I watched a programme on ABBA....it's hard to believe how good they were....I can't remember them making a bad record....and they made most of them in several languages....and I also watched the 2017 E.L.O. concert in Wembley arena.....mind blowing.....I know you are a big Beatles fan mate....you can have 'em......no comparison......and needless to say we have none stop Christmas records on various channels on the telly....I can't REALLY complain because back in the day I wrote a Christmas musical for Radio City which contained six Christmas songs....I wrote the script and all the songs and it was broadcast on Christmas Day.......the two members of the station involved changed the names of the two main characters which they felt gave them the right to regard themselves as the writers.....but that's another story....the play was nominated for a Sony Award and was performed by several local schools....I also wrote another two Xmas musicals which again several local schools performed......so all in all I have written 18 Christmas songs....plus a few others....so I had better not criticise those we hear every year. Still on the music scene Channel 5 have a weekly look at the best selling records of the 70s....this week was 1979....it is a fascinating programme which counts down the 30 best sellers and gives the background to the songs with the likes of Brian Ferry,Queen and Michael Jackson who was really good looking back then before he altered his face....not sure why......I've watched the whole series and must applaud Channel 5 for a great programme...and surprisingly enough Bradley Walsh wasn't on it. I recently came across a magazine article about my chance meeting with wrestler Adrian Street which led to me writing and producing two albums of wrestling songs for him.....which involved me going to The States and appearing on TV with him....we became great friends and are still in touch.....the albums have recently been re-released by an American company and can be downloaded from the internet....the songs keep coming back to haunt me...with titles like "Violence is Golden"..."Merchant of Menace" and "I'm In Love With Me"...it is hardly surprising.....I could write a book on my adventures we had in Florida but no-one would believe it. So this week I would like to feature a song which I was told by a major label that the world would never be ready for....they were NOT impressed......it was one I composed for Adrian Street which he used to enter the ring to.....it ended up in a movie called "Grunt-The Wrestling Movie" and also on MTV in the States.....so the song which the world would never be ready for paid off my mortgage......it is entitled "Imagine What I Could Do To You"

Back in the day we were subjected to a weird character called Tiny Tim....who with his squeaky voice actually made many appearances on TV....how- I don't know....he was TERRIBLE!!!....so this week's "one of the worst records ever made" spot features his minor hit "Tip Toe Through the Tulips".....BUT this isn't the worst record he ever made....oh no....the worst record he ever made...or ANYONE ever made was entitled "Santa Clause has got the AIDS this year"......and is so bad and in such bad taste that it doesn't deserve any airplay whatsoever.....needless to say Tiny Tim's career eventually ground to a halt thank goodness....so here he is singing the load of garbage entitled Tip Toe Through The Tulips.