Rankin Roger

I’m very late in posting this but I was just looking at some of my youtube uploads and re-found a video from 2016 of The Beat from the summer of 2016 where the band, fronted by Rankin Roger and his son (in the suit), put on a fantastic show as the support for P.I.L.

I was suprised and saddened in March 2019 to hear that he had passed away having undergone surgery for two brain tumours that January, and was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. His energy, for a guy 3 years older than me (he was 53 when I saw him) was amazing and I enjoyed their support slot more than P.I.L that night. If I had run and jumped about the stage like that I would have needed a month to recover. The post I made back then is here.

This is his Wiki page if you wanted to find out more about him.

And here is a faviourite of mine which could be re-released today as Stand Down Boris:

I said I see no joy
I see only sorry
I see no chance of your bright new tomorrow

So stand down Margaret
Stand down please
Stand down down down down down
Down down down down down

You tell me how can it work
In this all white law
What a short sharp lesson,
What a third world war
I sometimes wonder
If I’ll ever get the chance
Just to sit with my children
In a holiday jam
Our lives seem petty in your cold grey hands
Would you give a second thought
Would you ever give a damn, I doubt it
Stand down Margaret
Awar!
Everybody shout it
Stand down Margaret! Work, white law
Shell shock

Stand down please

1001 Other Albums – 16 – Nina Simone – Little Girl Blue

Little Girl Blue (also known as Jazz As Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club) is the debut album by Nina Simone, released by Bethlehem Records in February 1959. Simone was in her mid-20s and still aspiring to be a classical concert pianist. Unfortunately, she immediately sold the rights for the album to Bethlehem Records for $3,000 (This is the equivalent of around $27,000 today) which would eventually cost her over a million dollars in royalties.

Though Simone would go on to write many great songs, (think of ‘Mississippi Goddam’, ‘To Be Young Gifted And Black’ or ‘Ain’t Got No, I Got Life’.) she didn’t write any that were included on this album, including her biggest hit ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’ which was helped by being included in a 1987 Chanel advertisement.

In my list of Best Albums of 1959 I placed this at number 9 and there will be more from that list appearing in this one, because it was a hell of a year.

Full List