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J
immy Wiggins is on a sabbatical with his pet monkey Moz, so Lord Beestonia decides to show why all musical paths lead to Beeston.
Music owes Beeston a great debt. It’s a little known fact that every major band, genre or event somehow leads back to Beeston. “What?” you scoff. “This is sheer guff you talk! Bring Wiggins back off his sabbatical immediately!” Calm yourself, dear reader. I’ll prove it with a top ten of Beeston music. Cue the chart rundown music, play the flashy graphics, here it is.
10. Swing Out Sister:
Perhaps the most eighties band ever, with their smooth sophisti-pop jazz lighting up the charts in that odd decade. The lead singer Corinne Drewery grew up around here, and their first hit single, 1987’s Breakout, was actually a prescient ode to Chilwell Road reopening (source: The Guinness Book of Hit Singles, 1985-1988 / bloke down the pub).
09. The Stone Roses:
The simian Mancunian jingle-janglers are still the object of adoration for many men of a certain age, who remember those halcyon days when the eighties slipped into the nineties and sticking a dance beat over a Byrds B-side sounded revolutionary. Their return to music a few years back (which was so huge and looked forward to that that other middle-aged hairy bloke put his own resurrection back a few years so not to clash) was chronicled by Beeston film auteur Shane Meadows. But that’s not all…
08. More Stone Roses, and Primal Scream:
did a bit of a dancing in the video for the song ‘Waltz Away Dreaming’. Yeah, you remember it. It eclipsed everything around it, and Robbie Williams soon slinked off in disgrace with George Michael going on to greater accolade and fame; with him presently on a world tour nearly crashing into high-street camera film processing shops.
05. Michael Caine:
Caine loves Beeston. It’s a little known fact (that I have just made up) that Zulu was actually filmed on the Ryland’s weir field. When reprising his role as Alfred the Butler in the Batman movies, he did so on the proviso they filmed at Wollaton Hall, so he could nip down the Hop Pole after a day’s shooting. His music tastes are also firmly Beeston based too: when he appeared on Desert Island Discs a few years ago, he picked the track Swollen by Beeston band Bent as his castaway disc. Not only that: in 2007, after being encouraged by his pal Elton John, Caine released a compilation album of his favourite chill-out music title Cained which is actually rather good, and featured Bent as one of the tracks. No, really. Google it, then apologise for ever doubting me.
04. Philip George:
Let’s get right to the modern day and talk about someone who is troubling the charts right now: Chilwell’s DJ Hero Philip George. He’s spent – at the time of writing – a staggering thirteen weeks on the chart, going gold in the process. It’s also a cracking tune too, and he is seemingly a lovely lad with it. The track did get to Number 2, only held off by some blatant Michael Jackson rip-off by Bruno Mars.
So, there is another link too. Mani, the bassist out of the Stone Roses is also a member of Scots rockers Primal Scream. The wannabe north of the border Rolling Stones recruited to their band a certain Mr Barry Cadogan, a Beeston guitarist who has played with Edwyn Collins, Morrissey and many more. He also has his own band, Little Barrie, which have contributed music to…
03. Joe Cocker:
07. Better Call Saul:
Devonshire Avenue saw the Stones party until the early hours back in March 1964, after they crashed a post-gig house party. While there, drummer Charlie Watts took a call informing the band that they had cracked America with their first Number One single. They later went on to be the most successful live band in the world. Which is, obviously, all down to Beeston.
This excellent telly series, picking up the backstory of the eponymous lawyer from Breaking Bad, had the choice of the world’s millions of musicians to play the soundtrack. But lo, they came straight to Beeston, after reading about how dripping with talent we were, and signed up Little Barrie to do the honours. And of course he did. And the fact that Barrie actually relocated to London a few years ago will be studiously ignored in this article. PND Advert 1/8 page_Layout 1 02/12/2014 16:05 Page 1
06. George Michael:
“Ah,” said the Snappy-Snaps failed ram-raider and stubbly purveyor of soulless soul. “Where > Creative Design can I find a star for my next video? It’s 1997, my solo>career is on the wane, Robbie Williams has taken my crown as the Corporate Branding UK’s master of housewife pop, and I must get it back.” So his advisor > Copywriting & Editing told him, “Perhaps look to Beeston, George. I hear it is the burning heart Print &cool.” On-line of all> things A little digging led to them pulling in Kate Beckinsale > Brochures (daughter of that much loved late Beestonian Richard Beckinsale) who > Newsletters > Marketing Materials > Conference Branding
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He may have passed away last year, but he recorded the Auf Wiedersehen, Pet theme tune. When the show’s second series was filmed round here, his bellowed theme tune was one of the highlights…oh, hold on. That was Joe Fagin. Oops. We’ll move on. Nothing to see here…
02. The Rolling Stones:
01. Edwin Starr:
The Man. Born in Nashville, died in Beeston. Starr’s life was bookended by two of the most soulful places on the planet. 45 years ago his mighty tonsils roared out the classic Motown hit War. Rather disappointingly PNDover Advert 1/8 page_Layout 1 02/12/2014 Page 1 clots the world have yet to listen to it and 16:05 say “By Jove, he’s right!” before laying down their weapons. He spent the last half of his life in Beeston (well, Chilwell) before his death in 2003. Why? A few years back > Creative I rang his former managerDesign to find out. “Well, he looked at Wollaton, but > Corporate Branding just preferred Beeston.” Yeah, take that NG8. > Copywriting & Editing LB > Print & On-line > Brochures > Newsletters Marketing>Materials Marketing Materials Newsletters > Conference Branding
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