Don Woods

Prince Andrew has hit the news regarding his connection with Epstein the billionaire who was jailed for under age sex trafficking....and has since allegedly committed suicide...and Andy has been accused of being involved which the Palace has loudly denied....and as you can imagine the press are having a field day... We have been going on for ages about the standard of entertainment on the television....well we were right....recent viewing figures show that almost 50% of the viewing public now stream...preferring Netflix and Amazon to the tripe that is on normal TV....can they not see this....it's a bit like the BBC refusing to play pop music back in the late 50s...so everyone listened to Luxembourg and pirate radio...then they eventually got the message....how do these buffoons get these top jobs.....we don't want to watch soaps...we don't want to watch cookery programmes...we don't want to watch appendix operations in A & E...... There has been a new coin made to commemorate D Day....it is a gold coin with it's edge shaped like the Normandy coast...which is great....but the advert tells us there have only been 4,999 produced....couldn't they manage ONE more?...or did they run out of gold?.... We have recently discussed this new chat show "The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan"....which I hoped would improve on the usual tired formats of the likes of Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross..... The song this week is one I wrote for one of my female session singers....she was a good friend of mine and had a great voice...her name is Sue Young and she did the clubs as a duo with her husband Frank...

The floods in Yorkshire have had a lot of TV coverage...especially the dam in Whaley Bridge which has been damaged with the pressure of water in the Also the terrible mass shootings in the U.S.A. have been featured on the news.....I don't really know what the answer is to this as it is very easy to carry out one of these atrocities if you have that mentality.... There has been an item on the news regarding someone being awarded £10,000 pounds compensation because they were deeply offended by the Queen's picture which was hanging up in Storemont... There was a feature on the radio regarding an electrician who had suffered a number of break ins into his van and had thousands of pounds worth of equipment stolen... I watched a fascinating programme on TV about how the Victorians built Britain....it covered the building of the Manchester Ship Canal which gave Manchester access to the sea for their imports and exports... The song this week is one I wrote for David Alexander which became the title track on the album he made when he married Penny Page....it was played a lot on the radio and was record of the week on Radio City.....the message in the song is the three words "I Love You" says it all....

We now have a new Prime Minister.....Mr.Boris Johnson....so out come the critics and protesters as they now have a target to help display their complete lack of brains and indeed knowledge..... We have had a week of very hot weather.....not as hot as other places in Europe...but this is BRITAIN.....so the bit of sunshine we have been waiting for for months has caused total chaos..... There is a new programme on Channel 4 called The Latish Show With Mo Gilligan who is quite a likeable chap and it's a chat show with a bit of entertainment thrown in... I also watched a travel programme which was very interesting....it featured New York and the public protection group called "The Guardian Angels".....who are volunteer "police" whose purpose is to prevent crime..... And finally we must give a mention to the luxury cruise on The Brittania which ended up in a huge brawl... The song this week is about the magical city of Chester....

Just in case you didn't know...the Yanks landed on the moon 50 years ago and it seems to have received more coverage now than it did back then....personally I can't really see the point in space travel....we need to get things sorted out on this planet before we spend billions to find there's nothing actually out there.....the radio telescope at Jodrell Bank has also been featured on the news which is not far from where I live and I must say it is a very interesting place to visit.....there have been a lot of conspiracy theories about the moon landing and whether it was genuine.....I once visited Tromso in Norway to assist Monty Lister with one of his programmes for Radio Merseyside and met Patrick Moore.....I asked him if the moon landing was genuine and he nearly jumped down my throat shouting "Course it was!! I was there!!"....which was good enough for me.....great bloke by the way. On the same subject I was once on holiday in Florida and a hurricane had just caused serious damage to the south of the state....the TV were asking for donations to help those badly effected.....after a few pints I brought the subject up with a few people around the swimming pool (which wasn't a good idea)....my point being that the public were being asked to donate yet just up the coast was the Kennedy Space Centre which sends billions into space to find nothing...could they not solve the problem down south?.....I nearly caused an international incident...this guy stands up and strolls over like John Wayne and says "We don't see it that way buddy"....despite trying to convince them all I was fighting a losing battle....God Bless America. The BBC are joining up with ITV to provide another channel which ... wait for it...we will have to pay for!!...on top of our TV licence.......it will cost £5.99 a month WHICH IS SIX QUID minus one penny...but it SOUNDS better...and it will feature programmes from the past like Fawlty Towers and Dad's Army etc....you know...programmes we have seen a thousand times.....I'm not quite sure what planet these so called executives are on.....is there ANYONE out there who can supply ENTERTAINMENT?....doesn't look like it does it. On the music scene I was subjected to The Kaiser Chief's latest record whilst driving along in my car....it is called "People know how to love"....a title which is repeated over and over again....this seems to be the norm these days....I find it very irritating....whatever happened to good lyrics??.....ANYONE can write this sort of stuff....get one line and repeat it over and over....it's rubbish.....when you listen to great lyrics by the like of ABBA for example (and they are foreign) it makes you realise what we are missing.these days....then we have the over singing of songs....with vocalists balling and shouting and singing 10 notes when one will do....it obviously fits the bill these days but it aint music........and just a quickie on the Open Golf....it was nice to see Rory McIlroy missing those two foot putts....NOW he knows how I feel every week!!! The song this week is a message to us all....it is called "Exercise" and I wrote it back in the day for the Liverpool Health Authority who were promoting the benefits of exercise at the time....it got a lot of radio coverage and served the purpose....so here it is....get your shorts on and off we go....EXERCISE.

There has been a lot of coverage about drunkeness on airlines....especially Ryanair....there are gangs of partygoers getting on the plane and causing all sorts of trouble including throwing up leaving the other passengers somewhat distressed.....they have suggested breathalising passengers before they get on the plane....what a load of nonsense.....it's about MONEY as always as greed triumphs over common sense....we are talking about an airborne vehicle which is dangerous enough without morons putting the staff and other passengers in danger.....simple answer ....ban the sale of alcohol at the airport and on the plane...what's the problem?...oh yes I forgot...profit is far more important. The standard of driving in this country has hit a new low.....the police seem to be losing their grip.....it's time to get some idiots off the road instead of giving the "points" on their licence.......anyone travelling at ridiculous speeds through 30 mph areas should have their licence taken away for at least 5 years and then have to take another test to get it back.....and put more speed cameras up which would certainly increase the funding we are constantly told the police are short of.....and when you join the police you now have a two years probation during which you must study and obtain a degree....or you are out....and to become an inspector you have to have a masters degree....I would have thought we require tough bobbies as opposed to professors?...or is policing now a "science"?....whoever comes up with these brilliant ideas needs to get real. There is a move afoot to teach young kids about LGBT which I find somewhat disturbing....primary school kids do not need to know about sexual preferences....just let them be kids and enjoy their childhood....they will find out soon enough about themselves.....we have recently had the gay pride marches through Liverpool....I'm not quite sure what they are trying to achieve.....different "fluid genders" want to be accepted for what they are.....they ARE accepted by the majority...what is their problem?...I couldn't care whether someone is LGBT or XYZ....if they are a nice person that's it......if you have an unpleasant disagreeable white heterosexual male you can call him anything....but if he's gay or mixed race out come the gay or race cards....then we have a gaggle of women taking on Piers Morgan on morning TV trying to convince the world there is nothing wrong with being obese.....the fact that it could seriously damage your health is totally overlooked except by Piers....go Piers. I watched the tennis from Wimbledon.....the mens final was as good as the game gets and felt sorry for Federer who should have won it....(he said from his armchair).......they played at full tilt for five hours as opposed to the ladies 55 minute final....which makes a joke about "equality"....do the ladies honestly believe they are worth the same money as the men?....I do enjoy the ladies game but there is little comparison to the mens game.....and Lewis Hamilton did the business in his racing car and of course we WON the cricket World Cup....so it was great weekend for sports fans.....I always remember Boris Becker being interviewed after losing a Wimbledon final....the interviewer asked him if he though a miss-hit backhand cost him the game....to which Boris replied "we had been out there for three hours.....you should try it sometime"....'nuff said. The song this week is about a little island off the north western coast of Wirral....it is called Hilbre Island and you can walk out to it at low tide which is a wonderful experience....and there is a seal colony a little further out....from the island you can look out at the coastlines of Wirral and Wales and it doesn't get any better than that....so here it is "My Hilbre Friend"

Glastonbury has had blanket coverage on television....and for once wellington boots were not required and everyone had a good time once they had recovered from the price of the tickets....Stormzy went down well for some strange reason...apparently the MUSIC festival is now the place to air your political views....this sort of rubbish should be performed in a cellar somewhere and leave the big venues to musicians....but this is only the opinion of a senior citizen who is thankful to have enjoyed decent music over the years....I'm all for music "moving on" but let's keep it real... Still on the music front I know quite a few people who went to the Westlife concert in Liverpool... and quite rightly enjoyed it....HOWEVER if you wanted a T Shirt you would have to fork out 35 quid....then we have the ticket price on top.....you would think the organisers would have a bit more respect for the fans instead of ripping them off....or is that O.K.?....to me "boybands" like Westlife and Boyzone are simply doing what any four lads who can sing can do....they pick good songs and cover them....they are not "bands"......Queen and The Police for example were BANDS....who play and write their own original stuff...that's the difference....but if you can get away with sitting in a row and getting up for the chorus good luck to you. Speaking of rip offs I watched an article on the cost of sending your young pride and joy to the end of term prom....again it's a case of greed capitalising on emotions....like weddings and funerals .....the price of hiring a place to have your wedding reception is ridiculous but sadly people pay it....pure unnecessary greed.....but there was a young lady on who hires out dresses etc at a sensible price for school proms and takes them back next day...and she is doing well....best of luck to her. On the sporting front we have Wimbledon gracing our TV screens.....I always think it's a sign of the passing of mid summer but I give the odd game a watch....and the Yanks are trying to promote baseball in this country with a match between two top teams....can't see it....it's "rounders" as far as I'm concerned and we have to put up with cricket which is bad enough....they keep trying it with American Football which goes nowhere...so best of luck with that one you guys. It was nice to see Paul Gambaccini attempting to change the law on naming people who are suspected of sex offences before they are actually tried....it happened to him in the past and of course Cliff Richard....both of whom were found to be innocent....I applaud him but I think he has a job on with the gutter press in this country..."innocent until found guilty"...don't make me laugh....it's only news if the media can wreck lives.....and they seem to get away with it. The song this week is one I wrote for a DVD I produced of the Tall Ships when they visited Liverpool....they come each year and it is a wonderful spectacle....they dock in Liverpool and Birkenhead before continuing on their round the world adventure....the highlight is the parade of sail as they all sail down The Mersey watched by thousands of onlookers as they go on their way....the song is played as all the different crafts are filmed......so here it is "You Can Leave The Mersey"

The march into the private function by the women envirommentalists has caused a lot of controversy...Philip Hammong was the guest speaker........the press have had a field day condemning the bloke who "grabbed one of the women by the neck and bundled her out".....which begs the question as to what if she had been carrying a gun or was even a suicide bomber....oh no...they were ladies with sashes explaining who they were....obviously they shouldn't have got past the security (if there was any) but the way I saw it on TV the bloke in question (Mark Field) grabbed the back of the woman's neck and bundled her out.....had he grabbed anywhere else they would be screaming sexual abuse.....in the old days I would have agreed that Field was out of line but times have definitely changed....he was not trained and did the right thing....now there are calls for him to be sacked....if they had found a gun in her handbag he would be regarded as a hero..... and the stupid women involved need some serious education.....just my opinion. Also Boris Johnson has hit the headlines after having a row with his girlfriend in her flat......and being recorded by a neighbour.....you couldn't make this up.....the neighbour called the police and played them his recording and it was decided there was nothing to investigate......so the chap took the recording to the papers in the "interest of the public"....I'm sure it was nothing to do with money....not much.....leaving me wondering what this has got to do with politics.....I'm fully expecting the recording to be put to music and end up top of the charts. The fiasco regarding the choice of the next Prime Minister has got me somewhat perplexed.....each day there in one less contestant and on and on it goes each one trying to convince our nation of sheep that they are the one to run the country.....we are now down to two...Boris and Jeremy Hunt...now I may have totally missed the point here.....shouldn't the deputy Prime Minister (whoever that is) automatically take over??.....or have I got it wrong??...and could I care less??.....we will eventually find out who the next P.M. is just in time for them all to break for their Summer holidays....so they can spend their 11% wage rise. I read an article on footballer Ronaldo and was really impressed....we tend to see these blokes as grossly overpaid sportsmen but what we don't see,especially in Ronaldo's case.is the work they do for charity and the amount they put in....he came over as a very kind and caring guy ....perhaps the gutter press should concentrate a bit more on this sort of thing?....also I hate to say it but I have been watching the Women's World Cup and I am quite enjoying it....not totally convinced as yet....but the England game against Cameroon got quite physical and there was quite a bit of skill on display so I might become a fan....early days yet though. Apparently large numbers of pubs are closing down due to lack of customers.....it's an example of not moving with the times I'm afraid.........last week I visited Wetherspoons in Caernarfon as I do each time I visit the area..... I met up with some friends and I got a round in (no comments please)....I ordered a pint of bitter,a large red wine and two glasses of soda water with ice and lemon.....total bill £4.85.....THAT is why the place is always full.......a local pub will charge you over £3 for a pint and well over £4 for a glass of wine...so where are you going to go?.....a pal of mine went to a fancy restaurant in New Brighton and was charged £27 for four drinks....when he had recovered he went over the road to Wetherspoons where the same round cost him £13....similarly shops are closing down on the high street as people are now shopping on line because it's cheaper....I know there are overheads and wages to be paid out but that is THEIR problem to solve.....if you are depending on loyalty from the general public good luck with that one. The song this week is a demo I wrote for Pauline Daniels called "Laughter is Everything to Me" as she was not only a comedienne but very good singer and a good friend back in the day....she was very popular on the clubs so I thought this would suit her.....Pauline also got into acting and appeared in plays in many theatres.....a great girl.

.The BBC have a programme called "Newswatch" where they read out comments from the public (mostly adverse).....I had to laugh last week when there were several Emails regarding the scrapping of free TV licences for the over 75s....the Emails were rightly harsh and asked why so much money was spent on sending reporters abroad for things that could be done in the studio...and why they pay such ridiculous salaries to their executives....and that was that....no explanation....they simply went on to the next subject with some representative of the BBC coming on and basically seeing no wrong in anything they do.....so WHY BOTHER WITH THE PROGRAMME? Jo Brand has been severely criticised for a joke she made about Nigel Farage after some idiot threw milkshake at him.....she quipped that battery acid would have been better......I am fan of Jo Brand but I thought this comment was well out of order....especially in the present climate where it is very easy to put ideas into the heads of the neanderthals wandering around.....it was on a BBC recorded programme so apparently it could have been edited out....but the wonderful BBC decided to leave it in.....may as well incite a bit of violence when you get the chance.....the media have a lot to answer for in my opinion....... There's one thing which really brasses me off ...it's so called celebs who put their name to an album of their favourite records....the latest is The Trevor Nelson Collection...with a picture of HIM on the album sleeve....he's not ON any of the tracks it's just a "collection" of his favourite songs.......all he does is PLAY them....what a load of tripe.....Michael Parkinson was another with HIS "collection" of famous swing records...talk about cashing in on someone else's talent. Another waste of space is the film "critic" or the music "critic"....anyone can watch a film or listen to a record and make personal comments....unless you can act or play an instrument get lost....there are too many overpaid hangers-on in the entertainment business.....and too many know nothing "judges" on talent shows. The original contract between The Beatles and Brian Epstein is up for auction and is expected to fetch 300 grand....which says it all....it's a piece of paper...what are you going to do with it?....it's not as if it's George's guitar which at least you can play....or have I got it wrong....on the subject of Eppy....a pal of mine who plays bass with me at our weekly fundraising jam sessions has a connection with Mr.Epstein....he once worked in N.E.M.S. (which was Epstein's music store) and after two weeks Mr.Epstein actually spoke to him.....he said "We won't be needing you anymore".....that's his claim to fame......he should have got Espy to put it in writing....could have made a fortune. The song this week is one I wrote for a local young lady called Penny Page who was a ventriloquist....whose act included a very popular Scouse duck called Googi....my band and her were on the same bill back in the day and I thought a song for her duck would enhance her act so I came up with "Googi The Liverpool Duck"....which she included in her act.....I had completely forgotten about this when 4 years later she rang me and told me she had made a record of it.....next thing it was record of the week on Radio City....she performed it on TV including The Palladium ....it eventually ended up in a film called "Priest".......which all goes to prove there is no time limit on material.....just get it out there......so I give you my local classic "Googi The Liverpool Duck"

.There as been blanket coverage of the D-Day landings on the news....it certainly puts a lot of things into perspective and is hard to believe for those of a certain age........it's hard to take in what these soldiers went through and when you see the loss of lives on both sides it seems such a terrible waste.....and how sad it is that some of the younger generation don't appreciate the sacrifices made. And we mustn't forget Mr.Bean impersonator Michael Gove who has admitted taking cocaine in the past....this is the geek who announced there is no place in schools for teachers who have taken drugs....and this is the fool who wants to be prime minister....he has obviously admitted this to avoid someone who knows him going to the papers....it would be funny if it wan't so tragic. What puzzles me is the way football is taken so seriously.....if you look on Facebook for example there are arguments which get personal and nasty about certain games....e.g. the European Cup or the Premiership title........there are other things in life...and I often wonder how many of these bar room "experts" have actually played the game.....also another annoying thing about Facebook is people who put pictures on with no explanation which makes them meaningless....and I couldn't really care less what someone had for lunch on their holidays.... I watched The Voice Kids on ITV hoping that we would see pure entertainment without the sob stories....wrong again....some of the background stories of the young contestants were very sad indeed and I felt very sorry for them but being left totally depressed is not my idea entertainment.........and this is modern entertainment. What is it with beards?....seems like everyone has to have one....it reminds me of the seventies when the fashion was to have long hair and a droopy moustache if you played in a rock band.....thus they all looked exactly the same......we would get criticised by our parents when we were young but we never went to the extremes they go to these days.....very strange. The song this week was the follow up to my How To Say Llanfairpwll...etc which I wrote and produced for Paul Damian and has gone viral on YouTube.......it is called "The Magic of Wales" and extolls the virtues of this wonderful country........they are now on my album "Portrait of Wales"....so here it is my tribute to the land of song....The Magic of Wales

Football has been on the agenda this week with the European cup which Liverpool won and as expected there has been a lot of celebrating here.......and I salute the lad who bought a car for 40 quid and drove there with his mates and saved a fortune....and talking of fortunes we go on about the players outrageous wages but what seems to be overlooked is the 40% which goes to the taxman......no-one seems to ask what happens to that?....I have no problem with the money they receive because it doesn't come out of MY pocket so good luck to them....unlike my licence fee for the BBC!!...to watch the news first thing in the morning is so depressing and negative....so to get away from Brexit you switch to ITV to find Piers Morgan arguing with two women feminists moaning about the lack of equality etc etc...all prattling on at once...and is of NO interest to 99.9% of the viewers....not a good way to start your day.....even the weather forecast is a joke....considering the technology at their disposal they couldn't forecast nightfall......and it is going steadily worse day by day.......and I had to laugh at Donald Trump calling the mayor of London a stone cold loser....Sadiq Khan is the fool who sanctioned those stupid childish balloons which looked like Trump so I couldn't agree more....London can have him.....rock on Donald!!!! There was a recent near tragedy on a beach in the west country....it involved a couple of 5 year olds being swept out to sea on a strong gust of wind on an inflatable swan....apparently they were in shallow water with their father pulling them around by a piece of rope which he accidentally dropped and was unable to stop the inflatable from being blown off shore....thankfully the kids were rescued by the RNLI....when will people realise that the sea has no respect for anyone.....I have done a lot of sailing and am very aware of the dangers...yet we still see kids in dinghies and lilos without boyancy aids.....it should be made law to wear a lifejacket in coastal waters similar to crash has on motor bikes and seatbelts in cars....... it's no different.....you can drown in 3 feet of water....and in tidal waters things can change very quickly when the tide turns....and you have to know that.....kids inflatables should be restricted to swimming pools. The Spice Girls reunion tour has received mixed reviews....the sound was heavily criticised and the girls were allegedly miming in parts....now there's a surprise.....at the end of the day their fan base is mainly female (girl power and all that stuff) who enjoy the visual side of their act which is fair enough but miming is getting money under false pretences....I suppose it could have been worse - Posh might have turned up.....plus the fact it was bucketing down in the open air stadium in Manchester didn'tt help.....BUT at least they put on a show.....I am a fan of The Eagles and have seen them twice live....however there is no entertainment value they just sit there and play so you might as well get the video and watch in comfort.(and for a lot cheaper).....as for the Spice Girls I salute anyone who can make money in showbiz....but there not for me. I watched "Bohemian Rhapsody" ...the film about Freddie Mercury and Queen.....it was very good especially the likenesses of the band members...Rami Malek who played Freddie was brilliant.....the only problem,if you can call it that,is the film finishes with their appearance on Live Aid and you can't get the songs out of you head....it shows what a wonderful band they were and I enjoyed the bit where some music boffin turned down Bohemian Rhapsody because "it will go nowhere"......I also had another session of Mamma Mia one and two.....I never tire of watching these films....they display the wonderful songwriting talents of Benny and Bjorn....fabulous melodies nd great lyrics which tell a story.....their music is timeless. The song this week is a track off my album "Stars Over 45" which features some of our great film stars (some come off better than others)....this one came about from some adverse publicity regarding Burt Lancaster.....with a suggestion that he was....how should I put it....not as macho as he was made out to be............well I'm having none of it!!....he was my hero from when I was a kid so this song is my answer......so to set the record straight here is The Ballad of Burt Lancaster

What is it with modern films?....they must save a fortune on electricity because they are all made in the dark.....what we are subjected to is actors who mumble so you can't understand what they are on about coupled with dark sets both inside and outside...SWITCH THE LIGHTS ON!!....you turn the sound up so you can hear them whispering then back down again as the music and gunfire blasts out....of course this is if you can find a film worth watching on TV....a very difficult task these days....if it wasn't for the police searching for murderers there would be no stories at all.....like the music and entertainment industry its all gone down the drain. 2.There has been a lot of publicity regarding scams and people losing all their savings etc.....it's easy to say they should know better but there should be a lot more education from the media especially for the old and vulnerable.....these scammers are professionals and know how to con people big time....it's even done on a legal basis with loan companies and banks....they are NOT your friends...the car dealer for example is a great bloke until you decide you don't want the car...the time share touts...they are all out there trying to separate you from your money....there are very few genuine BARGAINS in the world.....we are a nation of moaners and complainers.....what is needed is action.....if restaurants are overpriced I don't go there....if the drinks are expensive I don't drink there.....and if I can get an item cheaper on Amazon that's where I go....if everyone did this then perhaps the greedy big boys would get the message and bring their prices down....sitting around and moaning won't solve anything. 3.Just in case you didn't know....our Theresa May is resigning....and there she was announcing it outside number 10 to the pack of wolves waiting to rip her apart....and the media showing the same bit where she nearly broke down crying....so now her loyal staff have removed their knives from her back and put themselves up for the job....so we might get Boris Johnson at the helm or...God forbid...Michael.Gove....mind you if HE gets the job comedy will make a welcome return....the comics will have a field day.....I often wonder if Mickey Gove actually knows what's going on....if you were to write a play about the last three years of government in this country no-one would believe it....it's like a hotch potch of headless chickens frantically seeking publicity to enhance their careers reported on by a media consisting of school fifth formers.....come back Guy Fawkes all is forgiven. 4.I listened to your interview with the late great Les Reed which I enjoyed...what a great guy and what a massive talent....he was one of the last great songwriters....a breed that has sadly vanished.....he gave us wonderful hits by the likes of Englebert and Tom Jones and many more plus he was a brilliant musician.....I have always been a big fan of his work and many years ago I heard him interviewed on the radio and he introduced an instrumental by the John Barry 7 which I THOUGHT he said he composed and it was the melody of Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Any More"....which was credited to Paul Anka....this bothered me for years asI am not a fan of Mr.Anka so I wrote to Les Reed and put this to him....he replied with a lovely letter explaining that he was referring to a different song and was sorry to say that it was Paul Anka's....and went on to wish me good luck with my songwriting....that's what makes a quality bloke. 5.The song this week is one I found in my drawer from back in the day......it was a song I wrote about Chester Zoo and which I pitched to the Zoo and they ordered a stack off me (that's the way to do it).....it is sung by a lovely young lady called Julie Bright who did the clubs and was one of my female session singers....and as she was from Chester she got quite a bit on mileage from the song

I watched The Eurovision Song Contest which was hard going......and as usual we were bottom of the pile.....what I can't understand is why don't we realise that NOVELTY is what is required....Bucks Fizz with the skirts pulled off....Brotherhood of Man with their silly dance....the bearded "lady" etc.....much as I like the lad who represened us we missed the best song in the run up....it was called "Freaks" and would have done well....but our public unfortunately thought otherwise....the music business is,and always has been,full of egotists who would have difficulty playing a tambourine yet think they know more than real musicians.....and when we come last every year we blame "politics".....which has nothing to do with it....professional songwriters and someone who actually knows about presentation is required then perhaps we would have something we can offer......or perhaps just call it a day? 2.There is a strange addiction with modern day road users....they simply HAVE to overtake....no matter what speed you are doing they MUST get past....you could be doing 150 m.p.h. and they would still HAVE to get past........I live in a cul de sac and have to turn into it from the main road...sometimes I have to wait for oncoming traffic to clear and I can guarantee some idiot will struggle to squeeze past on the inside....WHY??....they will save themselves about 10 seconds...everyone is in such a hurry and every day we have huge tailbacks on motorways because of brainless idiots.....anyone who thinks they are Lewis Hamilton and isn't should get a life ban which would make the roads a lot safer. 3.The Jeremy Kyle Show has been axed by ITV because one of the contestants has committed suicide....this is a terrible situation which has sadly been waiting to happen.....I think all shows like this should be scrapped....it is not entertainment and wouldn't be missed by anyone with half a brain....the small percentage of sad fools who watch this garbage shouldn't be given any consideration...and as for Mr.Kyle I don't know how he got where he is (or was).....he MUST have been smacked around in school....he MUST have been....he is such a prat........and Martin Clunes has been removed from his programme on animals because he climbed up on an elephant using its ears...which hasn't gone down too well with elephant lovers.....and as he is a white heterosexual Anglo Saxon male he has no argument as he can't use the racist card or the sexist card or the discrimination card....so that's that. 4.There was a very interesting programme on BBC4 called "the people's history of pop" which looked back to the beginnings of skiffle and rock and roll....it was presented by Twiggy....it included people who were there at the time (including our mate Roger Baskeyfield)....it was a great programme but unless you were there it is hard to comprehend the impact it created....I was 11 when I walked into a local cinema with a mate and saw Rock Around The Clock......I walked out of the cinema a different lad....learnt to play guitar (which my dad made me from a kit) formed a skiffle group and off we went.....the programme illustrated this so well as it progresed through the beginning of Merseybeat etc.....and the strange thing is it didn't seem that long ago.....are we really that old? 5.Which brings me to this weeks song.....during those very early years I saw one of our local top skiffle groups called "The Atlantics" which was the first time I heard an electric guitar played live....the leader of the group was John Lomax who went on to make award winning films (he was featured in the Donald Campbell drama called Days that Changed The World).....forty years later we met and became great friends and put a skiffle group together and topped the bill at a skiffle convention in Finland....John was a great guy who I thought the world of....sadly he is no longer with us....but I wrote this song for the convention and got him in the studio.....so here it is my tribute to my mate "The Story of Skiffle" by John Lomax

I was sad to hear of the loss of my dear friend Monty Lister who was a presenter on Radio Merseyside for many decades...I worked with him on his popular Sunday morning show "Tune Tonic" for 5 years....but knew him for many years before that...he interviewed many top entertainers from Bing Crosby to The Beatles (being the first to interview them)...he also produced many travelogues for his programme...for a lot of which I took care of the sound....we made trips all over Europe on one day excursions which has left me with many memories and anecdotes.....Monty was a gentleman and a good mate....and a broadcasting legend who I will never forget. We also lost another great character this week....Freddie Starr....Freddie was unpredictable and was difficult to control which sadly was his downfall but to me he was a comedy genius.....I remember seeing him many times with his band in the early sixties and it his massive talent was obvious then.....he was brilliant and a sad loss...they don't make 'em like him any more. 2.Still on the showbiz front Danny Baker has been on the news after his brainless tweet which was claimed was aimed at the royal birth....which he denies....the BBC have sacked him.....I always found Danny Baker to be a loudmouth who thought he was bigger than he was.....and this stupidity has put him in his place...a very silly man........and on the silly man front David Beckham has lost his driving licence for 6 months after being caught using his mobile phone whilst driving....nice to know he never got away with this one on a technicality....it isn't difficult complying with the law....it's there for the safety of others....when you choose to ignore the law you know exactly what you are doing....unless you are an idiot........maybe Dave will now realise he is the same as the rest of us. 3.I watched the BAFTAS as there was NOTHING worth watching on TV as usual....as I don't watch soaps I didn't have a clue who most of them were.....and I see Ant and Dec were up there for their contribution to Britain's Got Talent....I am at a total loss as to what they do on this show....giggling at the side of the stage must obviously deserve an award............and I went up to The Lakes for a couple of days and decided to spend a morning in Morecambe on the way....it has a delightful waterfront which has been recently renovated....what I had overlooked was it was 20 degrees so out come the trendy pensioners in their droves with their shaved heads...baseball caps...ill fitting huge shorts and flip flops and faded tattoos.....and not a chance of them moving to one side as you pass them....because they are just as tough as they used to be 50 years ago....or think they are.......I often wonder what these aliens see when they look in the mirror......in future I will be saving Morecambe for a dull windy day when they have all gone back to bed....and these are the one's who VOTE. 4.I have a good friend who is an Indian doctor....he is a brilliant surgeon....yet after he had been in the country for 10 years he was required to take an exam to achieve British citizenship......which was an hour long...he finished it in 5 minutes but had to stay for the hour......this chap SAVES LIVES with his special talents.....this country should be grateful for the likes of him and his compatriots...and should welcome them with open arms.....perhaps we should make burglars and muggers take exams and kick them out if they fail...that would make more sense...I know which one of the two I would rather be looking up at from the operating table. 5.I was at school when rock and roll broke out...and like many others learnt to play the guitar and formed a skiffle group....one of the lads came in one day and told me of a new record by Ricky Nelson called "Poor Little Fool" and wrote out the chords....all four of them....which gave us a step up from the three skiffle chords....I became a big fan of Ricky and enjoyed all his records especially the guitar solos which were played by a chap called James Burton....who went on to back all the greats like Sinatra and Elvis....so in 2008 I was asked if I would like to sing Ricky Nelson songs with James in a concert organised by a mate of mine called Doug Darroch.....needless to say I was well up for it.....the concert took place in a theatre in Birkenhead and I did an hour of Ricky's hits with the man I had admired for 40 years......everyone should have their moment...this was mine....I eventually did 8 concerts with James....thank you Dougy........the song this week is a live performance with James....the one which started it all for me all those years ago...Poor Little Fool.

The latest rip off is you will be getting charged when you draw your OWN money out of cash machines....those in control have come up with several reasons why they have to do this....the reason they seemed to have missed out is the correct one...which is the fact that they are a greedy grabbing bunch of selfish pigs who have no consideration for their fellow human beings....plus petrol is also going up for some unknown reason....the petrol companies must need a few more mansions.....it's very strange how the filling stations react instantly to price rises and relatively slowly when the price comes down....it's legal burglary. Speaking of burglars there was extensive news coverage of the 79 year old man who stabbed and killed a burglar who was threatening him in his home....the courts decreed it was lawful killing as he was acting in self defence....there has been a lot of support for this decision....it's a very interesting situation...quite rightly the general opinion is that the burglar shouldn't have been there and it was his choice which is right but what seems to be overlooked in these situations is the repercussions for the old guy....your life would change....they should start by issuing realistic sentences to those who burgle....there is far more to the situation than stealing items...it's easy to say what you would do if it happened to you but the reality is a different story.....a burglar has a choice....unfortunately in this case the burglar made the wrong one. Once again the neanderthals are out on the streets.....one of the competitors in the London Marathon was an elderly lady who was running for her charity and eventually finished some way behind the others....nothing wrong with that you might think....oh no....she has to take abuse from spectators and even organisers of the event shouting out that if she ate less she would be able to run faster and other moronic insults.....which proves that some of our wonderful population have yet to evolve.....if you are a total waste of space there is no need to show it with comments like this.......the upshot of it all was the lady needed to raise £1500 for her charity and she actually raised 10 grand....and if that isn't a huge two fingers to her critics I don't know what is......what it needs is to employ Mike Tyson to jog along behind the rest and see how brave these loud mouth bullies are then....I'd pay good money to watch that. .And still on the sporting front I watched about 10 minutes of the ladies cup final to try and see the point....sadly I didn't....the problem I have is the difference between this and the men's game....the two skills are light years apart....similarly with ladies rugby.....with the likes of tennis and athletics and even golf etc the difference isn't obvious.....which brings me to the lady athlete who has too much testosterone.....and has to bring it down if she wishes to compete against other women....which makes a bit of a mockery of sport.....the answer would be to have multi gender sport (when some have decided what gender they want to be) which would never happen because the ladies would disappear overnight....I don't think they would be shouting for equality then?.....or have I got it completely wrong....just an opinion.....I sometimes feel I must apologise for being a white anglo saxon straight male. The song this week is one which created our first meeting.....you were working on Radio Merseyside and I sent you this which resulted in us marching on the German Embassy....because they criticised Liverpool....how dare they!!.....this will bring back a few memories mate......here it is....the ultimate tribute to the big city...."Merseyside"

The BBC news at the moment has been depressing us all in its usual fashion....with the constant coverage of the terrible bombings in Sri Lanka....the tragic loss of lives must be so unbearable for those involved which is not helped by the BBC filming close-ups of those grieving..... Whereas I appreciate when we get a bit of sunshine in this country people want to get out and enjoy it...what has always puzzled me is why do they ALL do it at the same time?.....I went out to Wales over Easter as the forecast promised us plenty of sunshine....the Friday was Bank holiday so I went late Thursday....and had a clear run to Anglesey.... 3.On the entertainment front we are subjected once again to "Britain's Got Talent" which is as bad as it gets....if Britain has talent why don't they put it on this dreadful show instead of letting a bunch of no-hopers make fools of themselves in front of a panel of know-nothing judges with Simon Cowell deciding whether HE thinks they should get the holy thumbs up......and what purpose Ant and Dec serve is beyond me..... 4.When I started my record company in 1980 I decided to create a demo service to pay for the gear...the idea was for people who were not necessarily musicians to send me their ideas of songs and I would record them and put them together in a presentable state for them to send out to publishers etc... My song How To Say Llanfair P.G. has reached 2 million hits on YouTube.....the idea came to me back in the 80s over a cup of coffee at my mates house...Paul Damian...I wrote several songs for him to use in his cabaret act and he wanted a novelty song....