I Ain't Gettin' On No Plane Fool...

Had to take a trip to sunny Bognor Regis today in order to pick up some painting and decorating materials. Of course, I took the opportunity to drop in to the Charity shops along the way and for the first time in a while turned up some decent records. Came home with a couple of carrier bags full that included some staple pieces like Woody Herman's "Light My Fire" album and an original U.S. copy of Arrested Development's classic "People Everyday" 12", but also some pleasant surprises I took punts on. Firstly, a Toyota promo album from 1973 with an amazing cover that includes a nice version of 'Shaft' (I'll post this up on a later date). Also picked up one of those 'Parade Of Pops' Lp's that I'd never come across before which has a cool version of "Be Thankful For What You Got" on it, and a pretty dope Hip Hop 12" by a guy called 'Honestly' from Sweden. This record was still sealed and quite hard to make any accurate judgement upon from the sleeve - could easily have been some crappy dance 12" - but at 50p was worth a shot and definitely paid off. "Better Than Me" is a really nice track, both in it's original and remix form, sounding like any of the various Quannum projects. If you like that sound, go check him out.

But anyway, onto the cream of the crop and most fitting finds for the wonderful world of bizarre - three promotional 45's for BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation). I initially bought these for the packaging - all housed in lovely picture sleeves with equally attractive label artwork - but ended up being blow away by the music as well. The killer of the bunch is gonna remain under wraps for the time being though as it contains an absolutely blinding, hard hitting Funk cut with drums to go. I ain't giving this out to nobody yet! Let me just say, if you see any of these BOAC promo 45's, take a risk on them as you might find the one I'm holding back on - you won't be disappointed if you do.

So, onto the the other two - firstly the "Let's Not Say Sayonara" which was produced for BOAC's Polaroute from London to Osaka via Tokyo. 'Songs of greeting - songs of parting - sung for you by two of Japan's most popular artists. A small momento of BOAC's new Polar Route which we hope will give you pleasure', it states on the back of the sleeve. The artists performing on here are Jun Mayuzumi and Kyu Sakamoto. I googled both names and they were in fact two very popular recording artists during the most part of the 1960s, both releasing a wealth of singles and albums. All four tracks on this E.P. are nice enough if you like that typical '60s Pop sound but I've chosen to upload the harder edged "Somewhere In The Fog" by Jun Mayuzumi. Check it out below - the intro is dope.

The second E.P. - "Islands In The Sun" contains pretty standard Caribbean music but there's something about Papette & The Islanders Steelband's "Ammo Boccaio" that I like. Don't know what it is, but there's something really appealing to me. Maybe it's the vocals or the bouncy rhythm, or maybe both, but anyway, I like what I like, and I like this...

Now, all you diggers out there, get hunting for that mysterious third one I mentioned, and until you find it, just imagine how dope it would have been to travel to New York with BOAC in the early '80s and receive one of these 45's with vintage Bronx block party recordings on them...


Jun Mayuzumi "Somewhere In The Fog" (1968 BOAC promo 45)



Papette & The Islanders Steelband "Ammo Boccaio" (1968 BOAC promo 45)

How you like your women?

Tall? Short? Fat? Thin? Whatever your taste, Amitabh Bachchan knows and loves them all!
I'm guessing this guy was India's answer to Tom Jones. An international heart-throb who toured the world wide Indian community extensively throughout the 70's and 80's, probably selling millions of records along the way. The track you can hear below is from his 1982 double LP - 'Live Tonite', and was recorded on his West Indies leg of the tour. 'Mere Angne Mein', Mr. Bachchan explains, is a song which glorifies the benefits or 'uses' for different types of wives. Various anecdotes are served up over a crazy and some what infectious groove that had me laughing throughout. Audience anticipation builds up through innuendos to, what I'm guessing, is meant to be the climax of the song - the use for a 'short' woman. Amitabh's punchline goes down like a lead balloon and you can almost hear the tumbleweed slowly floating across stage. To me, this makes the record. An hilarious 10 minute slice of comedy, for the most part totally unintentional.

An acquired sense of humour is probably needed to really appreciate this, but if you're on the same wavelength as me, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!


Amitabh Bachchan 'Mere Angne Mein' (1982, Music India Ltd, L.P. track)

Holiday destinations?

From the sounds of this promotional 45 you might wanna consider Salisbury. But...NOT the quaint little Cathedral City in the South of England, oh no. We're talking, Salisbury - Rhodesia! The 'Sunshine City'.
Boasting over 600 clubs, and, almost as many pubs. All in a near perfect climate. A city of trees, flowers, and above all, SUNSHINE! A city where Indian families' women wear Saris that add an extra splash of colour as they mingle with blond Dutchmen, dark haired Italians, Germans, Belgians, Israelis, French, and, MANY South Africans! Wow! What a place! Check out everything else it has to offer, as well as the numerous Hip-Hop loops sprinkled in between the dramatic dialogue. All on this dope little picture sleeve 45. No date listed anywhere, but I'm guessing early 70's.

So...next time you're thinking about booking a holiday, think Salisbury - think Salisbury, RHODESIA!!!


Salisbury Publicity Association 'Salisbury - Sunshine City' (Rhodesian promo 45)