The Gonzo Daily: Monday
In early 1976 I became friends with a schoolboy a year or so younger. His name was Martin “Dickie” Dowding, he was a fine guitarist even aged fifteen or whatever he was then, and was happy to become embroiled in various projects of mine over the next few years. He would always tell an embarrassing story about me and events that I caused of which I have no memory whatsoever.
Apparently, he was aged about 17, which would’ve made me pushing 20. He was queued up outside the old Stella Maris convent in Bideford, which for many years was a girl’s school, and he was hoping to gain entry to a dance there. The problem was that his ticket was forged, and he didn’t want to attract any attention from the fierce looking nuns on the gate. Along comes me, slightly wasted, and shouts from the other side of the road: “Dowding you old M*********** how the ***ing *** are you?” Whereupon the fiercest of the two nuns reached over and silently tore up his ticket.
So we went down the pub instead.
Seven or eight years ago his wife Sara died of cancer, and so, when Corinna died, I knew somebody who had been through the same thing before I had. Martin was heartbroken, and never really recovered. Yesterday he died of COVID-19 and 45 years of my life went with him.
He used to come out and have dinner with me and Corinna and Mother and we always enjoyed his visits. I don’t know if I ever told him that I loved him, but I always did. He was a quiet, gentle, unassuming man and the world is a considerably shittier place without him.
Love and Peace
From me and Lilith Tinkerbell the cat
And the new OTT is out:
ALL TODAY'S GONZO NEWS WOT'S FIT TO SQUINT
David Essex - March 1980
Zappa Predicts 2020
All Things Must Pass WAS NOT REJECTED by the BEATL...
GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Arthur Brown's Kingdom Com...
THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem
AND OTHER STUFF FEATURING VARIOUS GONZO CONTRIBUTORS:
Our webTV show:
And if you fancy supporting it on Patreon:
And by the way chaps and chappesses, a trip to the Jon Downes megastore may seem to be in order:
Meanwhile I continue to pretend that I am a popstar, because now I have sold eleven whole copies of my new album Coldharbour. If I continue at this rate I will get a silver disc sometime at the beginning of the next millenium. Coldharbour, by the way, can be found here: https://jondownes1.bandcamp.com/releases
I think it is really rather good, but then again I would say that wouldn't I?
AND THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE GONZO MAGAZINE:
This magazine continues to go off on strange tangents that I never expect, but I am very happy to see it do so. What is in this week? Ooooh lots of things. Such as Rick Wakeman, lotsa Covidstuff, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Jon's 2020 Top Ten, The Crown, and oodles more...
And there are radio shows from Mack Maloney and Friday Night Progressive, AND Merrell Fankhauser, and the Real Music Club, AND Strange Fruit, and Mr Biffo, there is a column from Kev Rowland, and C.J Stone, but Mr Biffo, Tony Klinger and Neil Nixon, are on hiatus. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and dibblers who have got the blues (OK, nothing to do with tiny marsupials who are listening to the new Bob Dylan album, but I got carried away with things that rhymed with OOOOS) than you can shake a stick at. And the best part is IT's ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
..And the last few issues are:
Issue 419-20 (John Lennon)
Issue 417-8 (gIG)
Issue 415-16 (Phideaux)
Issue 413-14 (Rick Wakeman)
Issue 411-12 (Extinction Rebellion)
Issue 409-10 (Covid)
All issues from #70 can be downloaded at www.gonzoweekly.com if you prefer. If you have problems downloading, just email me and I will add you to the Gonzo Weekly dropbox. The first 69 issues are archived there as well. Information is power chaps, we have to share it!
You can download the magazine in pdf form HERE:
SPECIAL NOTICE: If you, too, want to unleash the power of your inner rock journalist, and want to join a rapidly growing band of likewise minded weirdos please email me at jon@eclipse.co.uk The more the merrier really.
* The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...
* The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: www.gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.co.uk
* We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!
* Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is a recently widowed old hippy of 61 who - together with a Jack Russell called Archie, an infantile orange cat named after a song by Frank Zappa, three other cats, one totally coincidentally named after one of the Manson Family, purely because she squeaks, puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish. He is ably assisted by a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention Archie and the Cats?
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