It is a strange day today. Everything is a bit overshadowed by the death of Jon Lord. It will come as no surprise that this is featured heavily on today's blogs. I would like to thank everyone who contributed, particularly Rick Wakeman, who forgave me for intruding upon his private grief. Goodbye Jon, my life would have turned out completely different if it had not been for you, and that's not hyperbole. I was brought up in Hong Kong in the 1960s, in a world where the swinging sixties hardly intruded, and - for my family at least - the British Empire ethos reigned supreme. Every evening when Children's TV had finished there was a five minute musical interlude, usually featuring classical musicians. One evening it featured a bunch of hairy looking geezers and a song called 'Black Night'. I saw them, was entranced, and thought 'I want a bit of that'. I was eleven, and my life has never been the same since.Well, actually, it is Roy Webber meeting Robert Plant, and it was four years ago so it hardly counts as up-to-the-minute news. But for some reason Google News Alerts flagged it up as a new story (which as there are no words is also an oxymoron). But it is a very good picture (from Bob Harris' website) and deserves to be cross-linked to as I shamelessly promote the Gonzo artist pages for Wally and Jackson Webber.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/wally-meet-led-zeppelin.html
Michael is a busy chap at the moment. The release of his rather smashing new album 'Carnaby Street' has unleashed a torrent of media interest. One of the many things that I admire about him is the way that the different interviews he gives are markedly different. He finds something new and interesting to say to each interviewer, which is a rare and admirable skill.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/30-days-out-interview-michael-des.html
Last night I was busily sitting down doing as little as possible when Corinna called to me from the other room that Jon Lord had died. I immediately went and posted this.. http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/07/jon-lord-1941-2012.html
Martin Stephenson is a very warm and eminently human singer-songwriter. I know that you could rebuff that statement by saying, "of course he's human - we didn't think he was a praying mantis, or a long beaked echidna", but you know what I mean. He is a man of talent and compassion, and he makes friends wherever he plays, as reviews like this one bear testament.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/link-martin-stephenson-darwen-library_17.html
Both Corinna and I tried to write obituaries for Jon Lord last night. He was probably my favourite prog musician, and responsible for a large chunk of the soundtrack to Corinna's and my lives, together and separately. But neither of us could do him justice. So We asked the people most qualified to do so; his fellow musicians; two who knew him and one who was influenced by him.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/jon-lord-1941-2012-rip.html
We have news of an exciting forthcoming release from Gonzo - another volume in the highly acclaimed 'Lost Broadcasts' series. This time the featured artists are 'The Move', one of the great British rock bands of all time. Wayhay!
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/whats-coming-up-from-gonzo.html
And finally, an all-star cast including Rick Wakeman, Marc Almond, and my old boss Steve Harley pay tribute to the late great Marc Bolan in a special event later in the year. That is something well worth looking forward to.
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/rick-wakeman-boy-george-marc-almond.html
And that, my dears, is that. I shall be back tomorrow...
