Christmas Eve : Rocking the Smugglers.

Songs played on a really busy Christmas Eve at The Smugglers. I'll put it up here because I know most of you won't remember any of it.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Michael Buble

Winter Weather - Tony Bennet

It's Begininng To Look Like Christmas - Perry Como

Big Love - Pete Heller

You're The One For Me - D Train

All Around The World (Bob Sinclair Remix) - Lionel Richie

Put Em High - Stonebridge

Rise (Eric Kupper Mix) - Samantha James
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life - King Britt
Rapper's Delight (Hip Hop Remix '89) - Sugarhill Gang
Airplanes - B.O.B.
Turn Around (5,4,3,2,1) - Flo Rida
Shake Your Body - The Jacksons
Step Into Christmas - Elton John
You Make My Dreams - Hall & Oates
Easy Lover - Philip Bailey
Mr Brightside - Paul Anka
Haven’T Met You Yet - Michael Buble
Show Me Love -Robin S
Pjanoo Vs Bad Habit - Eric Prydz
All I Do - Cleptomaniacs Ghost Mix) Cleptomaniacs
Prayin' - Plan B
Too Busy (Black Tiger Refix) - Marvin Gaye
What's My Name (Feat. Drake) - Rihanna
Written In The Stars Vs Pass Out Vs Kickstarts(- Tinie Tempah Vs Example
Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea
Listen To Themusic - The Doobie Brothers
Hey, Soul Sister - Train
Little Lion Man - Mumford And Sons
A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealer's Wheel
Black Horse & The Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall
Where Is The Love - Black Eyed Peas
Dance To The Music - Sly & Family Stone
You Can Leave Your Hat On (Dj Fashion & Sandrique Remix) - Joe Cocker
Proud Mary - Tina Turner
I Feel Good - James Brown
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
Celebration - Kool And The Gang
Million Dollar Bill (F Knuckles Mix) - Whitney Houston
All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
Rapture_-_Avicii__Mix_ - Nadia_Ali
Who's That Chick - David Guetta Feat. Rihanna
Black Flashback (Paris FZ & Simo T Bootleg) - Simo T & Paris FZ Vs Calvin Harris
One More Time - Daft Punk
Chime – Orbital
Bitter Sweet Symphony ( snippet) Verve
Tarentella (5am mix ) – Chico Secci
Bromance – (Aviccii Arena Mix) - Tim Berg
Have yourself a Merry Christmas – David McAlmont
Fairytale of New York – Pogues
Dignity – Deacon Blue
That Slade Song - Slade
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) -- The Proclaimers
Hey Jude - The Beatles
Laid - James
The Cave – Mumford & Sons
Sweet Caroline (LIVE) - Neil Diamond
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida And David Guetta
Only Girl (Bombs Away Club Remix) - Rihanna
Kickstarts - Example
Illmerica - Wolfgang Gartner
Satisfaction (Discotech Remix) - The Rolling Stones
Jump - Van Halen *
Its My Life - Bon Jovi *
Ready To Start - Arcade Fire
Live Forever - Oasis *
Many Of Horror - Biffy Clyro
Little Green Bag - George Baker Trio
Paolo's Pencil Full Of Party - Paolo Nutini Vs Lou Bega
Zoot Suit Riot - Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Rockin Around Xmas Tree - Brenda Lee
Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
Mess Around - Ray Charles
Boom Boom Boom - Outhere Brothers
Infinity (Klaas Mix) - Guru Josh Project
Beachball - Nalin & Kane
Baby Love (Halfby More Shambles Remix) - The Supremes
You're My First , My Last , My Everything - Barry White
Fan Dab I Dozi - The Krankies
Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
Valerie - Mark Ronson
Walking On Sunshine - Katrina And The Waves
Footloose - Kenny Loggins
Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid

* Drunken requests.


Back tonight for the wife's 50th Birthday Bash.  x

Back at The Smugglers : Dec 18th

Back at The Smugglers. Nice and warm out of the winter chill. A mixed bag of songs to suit the mixed ages in the bar. William Fitzsimmons cover of Katy Perry's song divided opinion with one person feeling it was just plain wrong. Personally, I feel that it is beyond criminality that Ms Perry is allowed any where near a recording studio but I don't go about telling complete strangers this. Anyway, altering the viewpoint to that of a guy changes the nuance of the song considerably. It stands up fine with a guy's voice. Lucky I didn't follow it up with the same artists cover of Kayne West's 'Heartless'.

Happy sing a long stuff for the last hour as folk drifted off home or off to the club.

Back on Christmas Eve. Traditionally a really busy night with a late licence till 2am. I will start my up to the bells mix today. I already know the tunes I'm gonna use. Just a question of getting the timings and the mix right. 

Looking forward to it.

Tracks from 18th follow :                Smugglers Dec 18th 2010


  Hey, Soul Sister - Train
3 She Moves In Her Own Way - The Kooks
4 Golden Touch - Razorlight
5 Only The Young - Brandon Flowers
6 Seven Nation Army - Ben L'Oncle Soul
7 It's OK - Cee Lo Green
8 Let's Go Round Again - Average White Band
9 Never Give Up On A Good Thing - George Benson
10 Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle And Sebastian
11 Drops Of Jupiter - Train *
12 Hotel California (Latino Summer Mix - ) Nils Vs Eagles
13 Just One Kiss - Basement Jaxx
14 You Make My Dreams - Hall & Oates

15 Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac
16 Dont U Worry Bout Thing - Incognito
18 Got To Get You Into My Life - Earth Wind & Fire
19 Space Cowboy (Morales mix) - Jamiroquai
20 Sensitivity - Shapeshifters

21 Heartbeat (Cutmore Club) - Enrique Iglesias

22 What's My Name (Feat. Drake) - Rihanna
23 Ridin' Solo - Jason Derulo *
24 Tightrope - Janelle Monáe

25 Pack Up - Eliza Doolittle

26 Hey Girl! - Jo Stance
27 Thought It Was You - Sex-O Sonique

28 How Can I Love You More - M People

29 I Kissed A Girl - William Fitzsimmons
30 Walk Out To Winter - Aztec Camera

31 Groovejet - Spiller

32 Million Dollar Bill (F Knuckles Mix) - Whitney Houston

33 Nothing But Love ( Vocal Mix -) Axwell

34 Rapture (Avicii Mix) - _ Nadia_Ali

35 Turn The Music Up - Players Association

36 I Shoulda Loved Ya Narada - Michael Waldron

37 Shine - Take That *

38 DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher

39 Morning After ( Moto Blanco ) - Timbaland *

40 Let The Sunshine (Joey Negro) - Labrinth

41 I Wish - Stevie Wonder

42 Blame It On The Boogie - The Jacksons

43 You Can't Hurry Love (Early Listen Mix - ) The Supremes
44 The Sky's The Limit (Wideboys Remix) - Jason Derulo

45 Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida

46 Tainted Love - Imelda May

47 Heatwave - Martha Reeves

48 The Flood - Take That *

49 Prayin' - Plan B

50 The World Should Revolve Around Me - Little Jackie

51 Skinny Genes - Eliza Doolittle

52 New Shoes - Paolo Nutini

53 Take It Easy - The Eagles

54 Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea

55 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Michael Buble

56 Dancing In The Moonlight Toploader

57 Fireflies - Owl City

58 Forget You - Cee Lo Green

59 Big Love - Pete Heller

60 Why Dont You - Gramophonedzie

61 Mess Around - Ray Charles

62 I Want You Back - Jackson 5

63 Lay All Your Love On Me - Abba
64 Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough - Michael Jackson

65 Rock The Boat - Hues Corp

66 Lovely Day (Phatt Mix) - Bill Withers

67 It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - Andy Williams

* Request .

At the Hub : Take Two

Phone call at 1645 to ask if I'd go down and play some tunes at The Hub that evening.Not wishing to see them stuck I obliged.

Quieter than the opening night and this evening there were still some folk finishing off their meal. So a quiet start. However, once the bar trade picked up and I turned the music up it was obvious that the sound was far from crystal clear. It is hard to hear it from where the dj stands but enough folk mentioned it to know that it wasn't the way it should be. As a result I turned the bass down and the high up as well as toning the output from the mixer down several notches. At best the result was tolerable.

Went down the next day to speak with the sound engineer who installed the system and we worked out that the connector which I plugged into, and which the bar system was already playing through had been switched to a phono input as opposed to the more satisfactory line in. This explains the comment made when I arrived saying that the sound system was muddy and unclear. This explains the too easy distortion.

All fixed now.

Tracks played but barely heard are here :

                The Hub : Downstairs 11th December


1 Smokey Joe's La La   Googie Rene Combo
2 Caramellas - Aeroplane
3 74 - 75 - The Connells
4 Better Together ( Cuba Mix) - Jack Johnson
5 What I'm Looking For - Brendan Benson

6 Flowers In The Window - Travis

7 Early Morning Rain  - Paul Weller

8 Clocks Cuba  -Coldplay

9 Where Is The Love  -Black Eyed Peas

10 Love Like This-  Faith Evans

11 My Lovin' (Radio Edit)- En Vogue

12 Wake Up Everybody- John Legend & The Roots

13 Let's Stay Together- Al Green

14 Blue Skies -Jamiroquai

15 Flawless -The Ones

16 A Higher Place- Peyton

17 Boogie -Brand New Heavies

18 Turn The Music Up -Players Association

19 I Shoulda Loved Ya- Narada Michael Waldron

20 Let The Sunshine (Joey Negro)- Labrynth

21 What's My Name (Feat. Drake) -Rihanna*

22 American Boy -Estelle
23 Got To Get You Into My Life- Earth Wind & Fire
24 Move On Up -Curtis Mayfield
25 Coma Cat- Tensnake

26 The Sky's The Limit (Wideboys Remix Club)- Jason Derulo*

27 Black Flashback -( Simo T vs Calvin Harris
28 Can't Shake This Feeling (Stafford Bros Remix)- Grum
29 Dub My Disco (Vocal Mix) -Hostage
30 We Are Family (Remix) -Sister Sledge
31 Big Love -Pete Heller
32 Why (Hot Toddy Boogiefied Mix) -Joey Negro

33 Beautiful People (C.J.'S Club Mix) -Barbara Tucker

34 Nothing But Love (Extended Vocal Mix)- Axwell
35 You See The Trouble With Me -Barry White
36 Night Fever (Future Funk Squad Remix) -Bee Gees
37 Haven’t Met You Yet -Michael Buble
38 You Can Call Me Al -Paul Simon
39 Walk Of Life -Dire Straits
40 New Shoes -Paolo Nutini
41 Tainted Love- Imelda May
42 Zoot Suit Riot -Cherry Poppin' Daddies
43 Pack Up -Eliza Doolittle
44 Baby Love (Shambles Remix)- The Supremes
45 Ain’t No Love, Ain’t No Use- Sub Sub

46 Make_The_World_Go_Round (Deep Dish Mix) -Sandy_B

47 Club Can't Handle Me- Flo Rida And David Guetta

48 Only Girl (Funk D Bootleg) -Rihanna

49 Dynamite Bromance (Ipad Club B)- Taio Cruz Ft. Tim Berg
50 Lovely Day (Phatt Mix)- Bill Withers
51 You Make My Dreams- Hall & Oates
52 It's Magic- Pilot
53 Mr Blue Sky- Lily Allen
54 Do Your Thing -Basement Jaxx
55 If You Wanna -M&S
56 The Hustle -Van McCoy
57 Million Dollar Bill (F Knuckles Mix) -Whitney Houston
58 Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough- Michael Jackson
59 Don't Stop Movin' -S Club 7
60 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow- Michael Buble

An ok assortment. This week even more impossible to hear the mixes due to the positioning of the monitorless dj area and the underperforming sound.
First time in about 10 years an owner came up to me and asked me to change the music. This was when I played Dynamite Bromance. It is fairly bouncy and came after the Funk D Mix of Rihanna which is electro house based. The sort of noise that upsets older people. But in context it was a slight divergence from the earlier happy funky stuff and I would have pulled it back straight after it if that had been required. It was also 12:15pm and the space was filled with folk around the 25 year old age mark.
Any way. I was told to go to the naughty step and keep the house music for the club upstairs.

Something to think about though!  Looking back I remember when I started to set up that the bar sound system was playing 'Shang-a-lang'. This should have been as clear a sign as having 'Red Rum' written in dripping blood on the wall that all was not well in this particular state of Denmark. Like I said, something to think about.

Agreed to do next Friday whilst I was down talking with the owner and the sound guy. I'll see how that goes and then take it from there.

More worryingly, I find myself no longer vomitting when I play Jamiroquai. This is not why I fought in the 'Punk Wars'!

Have you seen him?

The Smugglers - December 4th

Back at the revamped and upgraded Smuggs for the first time in three weeks and rather apologetically after my moonlighting at The Hub the previous evening.

Inside it was a nice warm evening with a friendly crowd. It was good to be back behind a dj booth where I could properly hear the music and where I could spread my laptop and mixer out safely.

Musically a bit of a mixed evening as folk came and went. Obviously a lot of folk were still checking out the new venue up the road but there was still a fair few over the door to keep the place busy.

Tracklisting here :

Track List: Smugglers 4th Dec

1 Smokey Joe's La La Googie Rene Combo

2 Caramellas Aeroplane

3 One Step Too Far Radio Edit - Faithless

4 Who Keeps Changing Your Mind ( Rox Dub Mix) - South Street Player

5 Barefoot In The Head - A Man Called Adam

6 Sweet Disposition - Temper Traps

7 Islands (Blue Nile Remix) - The XX

8 Beachball - Nalin & Kane

9 Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend

10 There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths
11 Young Adult Friction - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

12 Time To Pretend - MGMT

13 Dancing In The Moonlight - Toploader
14 Golden Touch - Razorlight

15 God & Satan - Biffy Clyro *

16 Swim Until You Can't See Land -Frightened Rabbit

17 The Cave - Mumford & Sons

18 I Kissed A Girl - William Fitzsimmons

19 Walk Out To Winter -Aztec Camera

20 Tainted Love - Imelda May
21 Proud Mary - Tina Turner*
22 Come And Get It -Eli Paperboy Reed

23 Prayin' -Plan B

24 4th Of July (Fireworks) -Kelis

25 Black Flashback - Simo T & Paris Fz Vs Calvin Harris

26 Friday Night (Dbn Club Remix) - Jeremy Hills
27 Cant Judge A Book By Its Cover - Chocolate Milk
28 The Sky's The Limit (Wideboys Remix Full Club) - Jason Derulo
29 Love The Way You Lie (Part Ii) -Rihanna
30 Yeah 3x - Chris Brown
31 Do Your Thing -Basement Jaxx
32 Got To Get You Into My Life - Earth Wind & Fire
33 Move On Up -Curtis Mayfield
34 Too Busy (Black Tiger Refix) - Marvin Gaye
35 Heartbeat (Cutmore Club -) Enrique Iglesias

36 The Flood -Take That

37 Clocks Cuba - Coldplay

38 Late (Dj Spun Edit) - Paul Simon

39 Hey Hey (Df S Attention Vocal Mix) -Dennis Ferrer *

40 Finally -Kings Of Tomorrow

41 Make World Go Around - Sandy B

42 Bromance ( Avicii's Arena Mix) -Tim Berg

43 Coma Cat (Round Table Knights Remix) - Tensnake

44 Horse With No Name (Leo Zero Rework) -America

45 In The Morning - The Coral

46 Peaceful Easy Feeling - The Eagles

47 Long Time Gone -Dixie Chicks

48 Put Your Hands Up For Detroit - Tim Juke & The Jack Baker Trio

49 Not Fair - Lily Allen

50 Jackson - Johnny Cash

51 Baby Love (Halfby More Shambles Remix) -The Supremes

52 Million Dollar Bill (F Knuckles Mix) - Whitney Houston

53 If You Wanna - M&S

54 The Hustle -Van Mccoy & The Soul City Symphony

55 Night Fever (Future Funk Squad Remix) - Bee Gees

56 Just Can't Get Enough -Depeche Mode

57 Temptation - Heaven 17

58 Happy Birthday - Stevie Wonder

59 Don't Go - Yazoo

60 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Michael Buble

Always a temptation to just play the same stuff as the previous night, especially as Traktor remembers your tracklist for you, but I felt I managed to change it about a bit. You can play spot the similarity, if you wish.

Still in discussion to see if I get any more gigs at The Hub but, if not, I'll be back in The Smugglers on the 18th. 

The Hub - Grand Opening Night.

First dj to play at the new Stewarton night spot, The Hub. First night, so the place was heaving as you'd expect with well wishers and the curious. I went down early to set up as the downstairs soundsystem hadn't been installed in time for a run through. Although a lot of money has been spent on the place with the furnishings and fittings all being of the highest quality, there has not been the same consideration given to the dj and the sound systems. This is never a surprise coz after all it is only some anal retentive churning out one damn song after another but it is always a disappointment. So the dj has to clear away the menus and make a small space at the side of the bar for all his equipment, avoiding the hinged bar top that threatens to fall on to the mixer and placing the laptop under the vodka optic so that any drips threaten to abort the whole shebang.

The house sound system rings the bar and restaurant area but from the djs point of hearing it is far from ideal. You can't hear the music, can't judge the mix and have no idea whether it is too loud or too quiet. I'll need to practice listening to the mix live through the headphones for this venue. Moans over.

The crowd was mixed and less concerned about my tunes than about the wait for the bar. None of this helped by the fire alarm going off and everyone evacuating into the ice and snow. Cause sourced to the new haze machine in the Club upstairs being positioned directly under the fire detector. Not the smartest decision.

The Club opened early and took a lot of the crowd away from the downstairs area which, hopefully, wasn't a reflection on my toons.  It all quietened down for me from about midnight and it was a straight forward run of songs through till my 1am close.

Tracks played here :
Track List: The Hub Opening - Downstairs


1 Smokey Joe's La La  -  Googie Rene Combo
2 Caramellas  - Aeroplane
3 One Step Too Far Radio Edit  - Faithless
4 Always (Ashley Beedle's Mahavishnu Remix)  - Bent
5 Stand Back -  Linus Loves
6 Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) -  Eurythmics
7 Clocks Cuba  - Coldplay
8 Rocket Man (Phunky's Knee Deep Mix) - Elton John
9 Where Is The Love -  Black Eyed Peas

10 Love Like This  - Faith Evans

11 "Love Sex Magic Rise"  - Ciara Ft Justin Timberlake

12 Closer (Freddz Close Up Vocal Mix) - Ne-Yo

13 3 Words - Cheryl Cole

14 Put Em High - Stonebridge
15 You've Got Love (Crazy Penis Mix)-
16 Heartbeat (Cutmore Club)  -Enrique Iglesias
17 Haven't Met You Yet -  Michael Buble
18 Let's Dance - Chris Rea
19 Walk Of Life - Dire Straits
20 Pack Up - Eliza Doolittle
21 Only Girl -  Rihanna *
22 Just The Way You Are  - Bruno Mars*

23 The Flood - Take That

24 Grand Steppin' - Duck Sauce

25 Get Down (Warren Clarke Remix) - Todd Terry

26 Can't Shake This Feeling (Stafford remix)- Grum

27 Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough  -Michael Jackson

28 If I Cant Have You (The Disco Boys Remix) - Bee Gees

29 Million Dollar Bill (F Knuckles Mix)  -Whitney Houston

30 Beautiful Monster - Ne-Yo
31 Club Can't Handle Me  - Flo-Rida
32 Gettin' Over You - David Guetta
33 Hard To Handle  - Otis Redding
34 I've Got A Woman -  Ray Charles
35 A Kind Of Magic (Eddie Valdez Mix) - Queen
36 Heartbeat (Cutmore Club) - Enrique Iglesias
37 Ain't That A Lot Of Love (Phats Disco Mix)  -Simply Red

38 Long Train Runnin' - Doobie Brothers

39 Mr. Brightside  -The Killers  *

40 Last Nite - The Strokes

41 Satisfaction  - Rolling Stones

42 Little Lion Man - Mumford And Sons

43 Stuck In The Middle With You  -Stealer's Wheel

44 Black Horse & The Cherry Tree  -KT Tunstall

45 Not Fair - Lily Allen

46 Jackson  -Johnny Cash & June Carter

47 Paolo's Pencil Full Of Party - Paolo Nutini Vs Lou Bega

48 Sweet Caroline (LIVE) - Neil Diamond *

49 Why Dont You  -  Gramophonedzie

50 Human (Ferry Corsten Club Mix) -The Killers

51 The Sky's The Limit (Wideboys Remix )- Jason Derulo

52 Ain't No Mountain High Enough  -Gaye & Terrell

53 You Can't Hurry Love - Phil Collins

54 A Town Called Malice- The Jam

55 Laid - James

56 Labour Of Love  - Hue And Cry*

57 Walk Out To Winter - Aztec Camera

58 Your Song - Ellie Goulding

59 Ordinary Joe - Terry Callier

60 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Michael Buble

* Request.

Discussed with a punter at the bar whether Ellie Golding's take on Elton John's 'Your Song' was indeed the sonic equivalent of the appearance of the first horse rider of the apocalypse. Clearly the X Factor winner will be the second and you can assume that by next May civilisation as we know will be over.

My faves, the first two tunes and two at the end from Aztec Camera and Terry Callier.

Upstairs, Stuart was playing a different type of music.

The National Concert Setlist at O2 Academy Glasgow, Glasgow on November 26, 2010 | setlist.fm

The National at 02 Academy on Friday, 26th November.

1.Runaway

2.Anyone's Ghost

3.Mistaken For Strangers

4.Bloodbuzz Ohio

5.Brainy
6.Slow Show
7.Squalor Victoria
8.Afraid Of Everyone
9.All The Wine
10.Sorrow
11.Conversation 16
12.Apartment Story
13.Green Gloves
14.England
15.Mr. November
16.Fake Empire
Encore:

17.Wake Up Your Saints
18.Terrible Love
19.About Today
20.Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
 
Came out to the first snow flurries of Winter.  Delightful.

The National Concert Setlist at O2 Academy Glasgow, Glasgow on November 26, 2010 setlist.fm

Primavera 2010.

Festivals, Schmestivals! My idea to make going to festivals fun again is simple. Have it somewhere where it is unlikely to rain, remove all the tired pop bands that fill up so much of the dead time while you wait for the one headliner you may wish to see, fill the days with a mix of up and coming indie and established acts, keep it away from the T in the Park clientelle. My last thought was to make it cheaper than your average UK festibore.

So imagine my surprise when I noted that some enterprising Catalans had stolen my very idea and organised a festival of modern beat combos (and the Pet Shop Boys). I was even more astounded to discover they had stolen my very idea ten years before my slow brain had thought it up.

Using Wikipedia to arrange a modern festival is probably not recommended and it would be considered a serious impediment if your p.c froze whilst you were looking into booking the afore mentioned hit parade merchants on the page dedicated to artists beginning with a p. How fortunate then for the crafty catalans that this meant we got Pixies, Pavement and Pet Shop Boys booked as headliners. Thus avoiding any repeat of the disasterous Reading Fest of '82 when a dyslexic entrepreneur arranged for Bucks Fixx to follow Free.

Off we went then to Barcelona in May. The festival site is on the edge of the city and there is no campng but a 15 euro taxi trip gets you back into the centre after the bands. The bands hit the stage at around 1800 hours with the headliners on at 0100 and then the party continues until 3am or so.

Bands we went planning to see were Bis, The Fall, , Wilco my heroes who I have never caught before. Pavement, Pixies, The Drums, Yeasayer, Roddy Frame and The XX. Also caught The Charlatans, Health, Shellac, Wild Beasts, Japandroids, Marc Almond, Dum Dum Girls amongst others.

Pixies were on top form and were even better than when we saw them at the SECC the previous year. They played Winterlong which kept me happy.

We had a great time, there was plenty of room, lots of beer, always someone interesting to watch and you could head back to a proper bed after the gig.

The first band names for 2011 have been released as the tickets go on sale. They include Belle and Sebastian, The National, Fleet Foxes, Suicide, and Pulp who I have all seen before as well as Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips, and Ariel Pink Grafitti Thingy.

That's just the start and it is good enough to start looking into flights and saving to but those early bird tickets.

Nice to have someting to look forward to.

No Explanation Needed.

Back at The Smugglers on Saturday to dj for a school reunion. I was tasked with playing a Seventies and Eighties evening. Not my favourite stuff to play, I have to confess. After spending a few nights digging out the old tunes, listening to them with a fake enthusiasm and then consigning most of them to the delete button, my feelings remained a little south of luke warm. But djing is about playing to the crowd and not for yourself. This is a good thing as otherwise it would just be me and the barmaid in the pub but what a soundtrack it would have.

Seventies and Eighties is a euphemism for the most popular tosh that was thrown at the walls of consumerdom in the dark days before choice exploded with the t'internet. This is what is expected. My 70s/80s would journey from Prog Rock, through Punk, Post-Punk into the Manchester sound then some early rave. This is not what is considered to be the essentials for a successful pub nostalgia fest.

Dj Stu likes playing this stuff. I was surprised he wasn't asked to do it. I think, because I am officially very old and remember a time when The Wombles rocked our world, it is assumed that I have some kind of appreciation for this kind of thing. My Dad fought in the Second World War but he never felt like invading France every Summer. Nuking it, perhaps but that's another story.

Anyway, I gave it my best shot and it all turned out ok on the night. This just raises my fears that it will now become a regular function.

Tracklist here.

1 Miss You -  The Rolling Stones

2 Oh La La - Rod Stewart
3 The Whole Of The Moon The Waterboys
4 The Blues Are Still Blue Belle & Sebastian
5 There She Goes The Las
6 She's A Star James
7 Is There Something I Should Know Duran Duran
8 Communication Spandau Ballet
9 The Edge Of Heaven Wham!
10 Sowing The Seeds Of Love Tears For Fears
11 Baker Street Gerry Rafferty
12 Romeo + Juliet Dire Straits
13 Dancing In The Dark Bruce Springsteen
14 Living In America James Brown
15 Let's Go Crazy Prince
16 Too Busy (Black Tiger Refix) Marvin Gaye
17 Never Never Gonna Give You Up (Remix) Barry White
18 Superstition Stevie Wonder
19 Hot Love T Rex
20 Suffragette City Bowie
21 Do The Strand Roxy Music
22 Let's Stay Together Tina Turner
23 How Will I Know Whitney Houston
24 If I Cant Have You (The Disco Boys Remix) Bee Gees
25 Beat It Michael Jackson
26 Theme From S-Express S'express
27 Rhythm Is A Dancer Snap
28 Temptation Heaven 17
29 Don't You Want Me The Human League
30 Blue Monday New Order
31 Stomp The Brothers Johnston
32 Ain't Nobody Rufus
33 Mama Told Me Not To Come Tom Jones
34 It's Magic Pilot
35 Shang-A -Lang Bay City Rollers
36 SOS Abba
37 Living On A Prayer Bon Jovi
38 Why Can't This Be Love Van Halen
39 A Kind Of Magic Queen
40 Just Can't Get Enough Depeche Mode
41 A Town Called Malice The Jam
42 Rock This Town Stray Cats
43 One Step Beyond Madness
44 Too Much Too Young Special Aka
45 Greased Lightnin' John Travolta
46 Proud Mary Tina Turner
47 Nutbush City Limits Ike & Tina Turner
48 Stayin' Alive ( 12" Version) The Bee Gees
49 Boogie Wonderland Ewf
50 Street Life The Crusaders
51 Ain't No Mountain High Enough Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
52 Baby Love (Halfby More Shambles Remix) The Supremes
53 Never Gonna Give You Up Rick Astley
54 Take On Me A-Ha
55 Girls On Film Duran Duran
56 Easy Lover Philip Bailey With Phil Collins
57 You’re The First, The Last, My Everything Barry White
58 Laid James
59 Oh Pretty Woman Roy Orbison
60 Sweet Caroline (Live) Neil Diamond
61 Hi Ho Silver Lining Jeff Beck
62 I Love To Boogie T Rex
63 I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Hot Tracks Mix) Whitney Houston
64 Chain Reaction Diana Ross & The Supremes
65 Walking On Sunshine Katrina And The Waves

You'll know all the songs so you will easily see how it all fits together.
 
Oh Belle and Sebastian was to keep Andy happy before the evening disintegrated in front of his empty Jack Daniels glass.
Only one I wouldn't play again was Van Halen, surprisingly, as it sounded more dirgey than I remembered.

Shang-a-Lang was a request obviously. 

Do you think that in 2047 djs will be cueing up Take That songs for the masses?

Been a Long Time

The Dog Days of February drag on. I've not been up to much so you'd expect there to be plenty of time for postings. Apparently not.
Dank and Dark most of the time with the return of the snow and gusts of Siberian wind has meant staying indoors and making the most of the telly. Good news being that Lost and 24 are back whilst I am still  in the first honeymoon flush of romance with Glee.
A trip to the pictures to catch 'An Education', which was excellent and perhaps a night in the pub has been the extent of the socialising.
I was back behind the wheels of steel on the 20th as planned and then picked up an extra night when Dj Stu took the 27th off to play at a 70s + 80s night.

Tracklist for the 20th below.

Always There - Incognito

Mama Used To Say - Jupiter

Walking On A Dream (Treasure Fingers Remix) - Empire Of The Sun

Music Talking (Joey Negro Remix) - The Montanas & Dj R Clark

Sensitivity - Shapeshifters

Long Train Running - The Doobie Brothers
Reelin In The Years - Steely Dan
Accidentally In Love - Counting Crows
French Navy - Camera Obscura
Roy Walker - Belle & Sebastian
Somewhere In My Heart - Aztec Camera
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper*
A Little Respect - Erasure *
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
Flashback - Calvin Harris
Messages - O. M.D
Situation [Original 12"Kevorkian Dub Mix] - Yazoo
King Of My Castle (Fasano Remix) - Wamdue Project
Fight For This Love (Cahill Club Mix) - Cheryl Cole
Bad Boys - Alexandra Burke
Rehab - Amy Winehouse
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye
Get Ready - Ella Fitzgerald
Morning After ( Moto Blanco Mix - Timbaland
Million Dollar Bill (F Knuckles Mix) - Whitney Houston

Empire State Of Mind (Part II) - Alicia Keys

Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders

Mr Blue Sky - Lily Allen

I Love To Boogie - T Rex

Holiday - Vampire Weekend
Romeo - Basement Jaxx
Move Your Feet (Dj Nejtrino mix) - Junior Senior
Dance Dreams - Lady Gaga Vs Eurythmics
Black & Gold - Sam Sparrow*

Broken Heels - Alexandra Burke

Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) - Beyonce

That's The Joint - The Black Eyed Peas

Greatest Dancer (Dirty Freek Remix) - Disco Boots
Let's Boogie - Boris Werner
Why Dont You (Original Mix) - Gramophonedzie
Jack Is Back - Dave Floyd vs Ray Charles

Been A Long Time To Get Those Air Miles - Christian Smith, Reset Robot,

Riverside - Sidney Samson
Fireflies - Owl City
Weather With You - Crowded House
In The Morning - The Coral
Cracklin' Rosie - Neil Diamond

Parklife - Blur

A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles
Paolo's Pencil Full Of Party - Paolo Nutini Vs Lou Bega
Little Lion Man - Mumford And Sons

Happy Birthday - Stevie Wonder

Come Fly With Me - Sinatra

Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darin*

The Boy Does Nothing - Alesha Dixon

Most Precious Love 45 - Blaze

Show Me Love - Robin S
Billie Jean (Biancale Remix) - Michael Jackson
I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Hot T Mix) - Whitney Houston
A Kind Of Magic (Eddie Valdez Mix) - Queen
One More Time - Daft Punk
Gimmie A Man After Midnight - Abba
Mr Brightside( Le Cont Mix) - The Killers


This was a girl's night. A couple of the younger groups were out celebrating birthdays, my daughter included, and a slightly older crew out to hear some songs they know and have a bit of a dance. As every dj knows, if you keep the women happy the battle is won.  So an uptempo selection that had toes tapping, some shuffling on the pub floor and most folk with happy smiles. Job Done.
 
 
Now the 27th was totally different. All guys. Really all guys. Whether the girls were off with Dj Stu shimmying to Abba and Boney M, I know not. They certainly weren't in my bar though.
So rock like stuff for the tesesterone boys and the older viagra guys .
It meant the first hour was loud and full on which made the evening feel a bit longer than usual. Later on a bit of a divergence into some funk and some Rn B, a couple of pop tunes and then some more guitars before the sing-a-long last half hour.
 
 
Best bits for me : enjoyed Dizzee's one followed by the Specials, Ol' Dirty Bastard had me chuckling, it is such an infectious tune and had half the pub waving their hands in the old skool way, don't often get the chance to play the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and likewise 'Mardy Bum'. I felt 'Stomp and the funk of Archie Drell sounded powerful with the bass turned up.
 
A word on remixes. Tiesto has done himself proud with his mix of 'Papillon' as well as his take on Goldfrapp's 'Rocket'. And Mr Knuckles has done a great job on Whitney's 'Million Dollar Bill' turning it into a disco beast. All good.
 
Tracks played are here...
1. Movin' On Up - Primal Scream

2. Laid - James
3. Holiday - Green Day
4. Respectable - The Rolling Stones

5. The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy

6. Its My Life - Bon Jovi

7. Learn To Fly - Foo Fighters

8. Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand

9. Rebellion (Lies) - The Arcade Fire

10. Mardy Bum - Arctic Monkeys

11. All Day And All Of The Night - Kinks
12. Red Morn Light - Kings Of Leon
13. Lsf - Kasabian
14. Romeo & Juliet - The Killers
15. Little Lion Man - Mumford And Sons
16. Here Comes My Baby - Yo La Tengo
17. Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealer's Wheel
18. Fireflies - Owl City
19. How To Save A Life - The Fray

20. Viva La Vida - Coldplay

21. Just Say Yes (Thin White Duke Remix) - Snow Patrol
22. Papillon (Tiesto Remix) - Editors
23. Empire State Of Mind (Part II) - Alicia Keys
24. Good Morning - Kanye West
25. Morning After ( Moto Blanco Mix - Timbaland
26. You Used To Hold Me - Calvin Harris
27. Million Dollar Bill (F Knuckles Mix) - Whitney Houston *
28. Stomp - Johnston Brothers
29. Strategy - Archie Bell

30. Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield

31. Rock The Casbah (Rhythm Scholar Remix) - The Clash

32. Keep On Running - Spencer Davies Group

33. Jack Is Back - Pookie Vs Ray Charles

34. Why Dont You (Original Mix) - Gramophonedzie

35. Haven’t Met You Yet - Michael Buble

36. Tuxedo Junction - Jools Holland

37. Get Down Tonight (Soulmakers Remix) - Supafly Inc

38. Where Love Lies (Knucles & Morales Mix) - Alison Limerick

39. Hey Hey (Robaco Bossá Refix) - Dennis Ferrer

40. Enjoy Music (Riva Star Mix) - Reboot

41. Broken Heels - Alexandra Burke

42. Beyonce The Hotstepper - Beyonce Vs Ini Kamoze

43. Starstrukk ( - 3OH!3

44. Can't Tek No More - Dizee Rascal

45. Too Much Too Young - Special AKA

46. One Step Beyond - Madness

47. Last Nite - The Strokes

48. Dakota - Stereophonics *

49. Fell In Love With a Girl - White Stripes

50. Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

51. Dirty - C Aguilera *

52. Bad Boys - Alexandra Burke *

53. My Lovin' - En Vogue

54. Got Your Money - Ol Dirty Bastard

55. Gettin' Over - David Guetta

56. A Long Time To Get Those Air Miles - Christian Smith, Reset Robot,

57. Riverside - Sidney Samson

58. A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles

59. She's Electric - Oasis

60. Parklife - Blur

61. Telegram Sam - T Rex

62. Standing On My Own Again - Graham Coxon

63. Are U Gonna Be My Girl - Jet

64. A Town Called Malice - The Jam

65. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Willie Nelson Norah Jones

* Request.

3 weeks off now - not back until 20th March.

Next Saturday, myself and my youngest are off to the Emirates to see Arsenal take on Burnley.Last time I was there was back in the mid 80s when Anne and I squeezed ourselves into the North Bank at Highbury to watch Charlie Nicholas put the ball in Man Utd's net to record a 1-0 win.  Back in the Day, eh!

Also can't let the occasion pass of mentioning the fact that Dundee United have hoisted themselves to the heady heights of third in the Scottish League. Back where we belong, well two spaces below but it'll do for now.

 

Tracklisting from Sat 6th

Tunes from last night.

Place was quite busy. A slightly older crowd, hence the two comments suggesting I place some decent stuff.
A bit more indie/rock than usual to suit, some off, the crowd. Last hour was good. Liked blasting out Mumford and Sons and good to see so many folk singing along to it. White Stripes went down well as did Blur. Request for Abba with fifteen minutes to go but, for once, I couldn't say no, how could I ?.

1 Angel Eyes (Re-Edit) - Roxy Music

2 Street Life (Soul Delicious Mix) - BOP
3 Thinking Of You (Joey Negro Remix) - Sister Sledge
4 Love Train (1972) - The O'Jays
5 Another Saturday Night - Sam Cooke
6 Come On - Rolling Stones
7 I Fought The Law - Bobby Fuller Four
8 Kids Are Alright - The Who
9 Bad Weather - The Supremes
10 Josephine (Groove Armada Edit) - Chris Rea
11 Mama Used To Say - Jupiter
12 Let's Boogie - Boris Werner
13 Million Dollar Bill (F Knuckles Mix) -- Whitney Houston
14 Broken Heels - Alexandra Burke
15 Beyonce The Hotstepper - Beyonce Vs Ini Kamoze
16 Starchild - Jamiroquai
17 Morning After ( Moto Blanco Mix) - Timbaland
18 Replay (Remix) - Iyaz
19 Empire State Of Mind (Part II) - Alicia Keys
20 Ain't Nobody - Paris Strong
21 One Love - Bob Marley & The Wailers
22 Are U Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
23 Molly's Chambers - Kings Of Leon
24 Lust For Life - Iggy Pop
25 Its My Life - Bon Jovi *
26 Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
27 You Used To Hold Me - Calvin Harris
28 Just Say Yes ( White Duke Remix) - Snow Patrol
29 Fireflies - Owl City
30 Somewhere In My Heart - Aztec Camera *
31 Walking On A Dream (Treasure Remix) - Empire Of The Sun
32 Enjoy Music (Riva Star Mix) - Reboot
33 Why Dont You (Original Mix) - Gramophonedzie
34 Taint What You Do -- Swing Republic
35 Riverside - Sidney Samson
36 Papillon (Tiesto Remix) - Editors
37 Air Miles - Christian Smith
38 Sweet Disposition (Alan Wilkis Remix) - The Temper Trap
39 Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
40 King Of My Castle (Fasano Remix) - Wamdue Project
41 Starstrukk (Feat. Katy Perry) - 3OH!3 *
42 Could This Be Real - Sub Focus
43 Pon De Replay - Rihanna *
44 Superstition - Stevie Wonder
45 Living In America - James Brown
46 Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
47 Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
48 Song 2 - Blur
49 Hotel Yorba - White Stripes
50 Little Lion Man - Mumford And Sons
51 On My Way To Heaven - Waterboys
52 Dolls (Sweet Rock And Roll) - Primal Scream
53 Viva La Vida -- Coldplay
54 Listen To Themusic - The Doobie Brothers *
55 Bad Moon Rising - C C R
56 Subterranean Homesick Blues - Dylan
57 Twisting The Night Away - Sam Cooke
58 Mess Around - Ray Charles
59 Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
60 I Saw Her Standing There - Beatles
61 Waterloo - Abba *
62 (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear - Elvis Vs Spankox
63 Ain't Got No Home - Clarence "Frogman" Henry
64 Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darin *
65 Goodnite Sweetheart, Goodnite - The Spaniels

On the Book Shelf

February Dates : 6th and 20th.

Track List for Saturday, 23rd

An ok evening.

Had some trouble with the amp cutting out and killing the sound. I think it may have just been up too high from the previous evening of under-14 techno tunes. You know the sort that bangs out of beat up Corsas , driven by baseball hatted young males filled with a combination of testesterone and the musical appreciation of a whelk. So I ditched the pub's sound system and just played it all through my speakers.

A nice bit of a disco feel from Mantronix through to Earth Wind and Fire followed by some old skool from Angie Stone and one of my favs from way back in the day, when, my children, R&B was called two step or garage,'It's a London thing. ' More mature techno from Wippenberg and Funkagenda, then some pop sing-a-long till the pub closed. All in all not a bit mixture to hear in a fairly busy pub during a cold January.

1  Why Dont You - Gramophonedzie
2  3  Words (Angello Remix) - Cheryl Cole

3  Million Dollar Bill (Vin Sol Dub Love Edit) - Whitney Houston

4  For Your Love ( Nassau Re-Loved Mix ) - Stevie Wonder     

5  Josephine (G Armada Edit) - Chris Rea
6  Get On The Floor - M. Jackson
7  Street Life (Soul Delicious Mix) - BOP
8  Hard To Handle - Otis Redding
9  Satisfaction - Aretha Franklin
10  Twistin' The Night Away - Sam Cooke
11 You Can't Do That - The Supremes
12 French Navy - Camera Obscura
13 Asleep On A Sunbeam - Belle & Sebastian
14 Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap
15 Celebration - Madonna

16 Starstrukk (Feat. Katy Perry) - 3OH!3

17 Hard (Jump Smokers Remix) - Rihanna

18 Everybody In Love ( Cahilll Club) - JLS

19 Break My Heart (Casette Club Mix) - Taio Cruz

20 If We Ever Meet Again (Digital Club0 - Timbaland

21 Replay - I.Y.A.Z.

22 Hotel Room Service - Pitbull

23 Got To Have Your Love - Mantronix

24 I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Mix) - Chic

25 Let's Boogie - Boris Werner

26 Enjoy Music (Riva Star Mix) - Reboot

27 Who's The Man - High Maintenance

28 Paolo's Pencil Full Of Party - Paolo Nutini

29 Move Your Feet Junior Senior

30 I Like It (Riva Starr Mix) - Malente

31 Let's Get It On ( Alavi Phunky Remix) - Sharam Jey

32 Boogie Wonderland - Earth Wind And Fire

33 Life Story( Booker T Mix) - Angie Stone

34 A London Thing - Scott Garcia

35 Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

36 Revolver - Madonna Vs Guetta

37 Riverside - Sidney Samson

38 Pong ( DBN Mix) - Wippenberg -

39 Nobody Listens To Techno Funkagenda

40 You Used To Hold Me - Calvin Harris

41 Fireflies (Jason Nevins Mixshow Edit) - Owl City

42 Be Bop Baby - Westlife *

43 Rio Duran Duran

44 Dont Stop Believing - Journey

45 Listen To the Music The Doobie Brothers *

46 A-Punk - Vampire Weekend

47 You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon

48 Teardrops - Diamond Cut

49 Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap *

50 Mysterious Times '08 (Club Mix) - Sash *

51 Poker Face - Lady Gaga *

52 Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye

53 I Want You Back - Jackson 5

54 Big Love - Pete Heller

55 One More Time - Daft Punk 

56 Human (Ferry Corsten Club Mix) - The Killers

57 Children Robert Miles

*Request!

Back on 6th February.