Scratched out and scratchy, seven inch singles

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Here’s a mix called “Have you seen me record middle?” that was inspired by a Facebook post the other day about the M Robinson “Follow you” single that had a lack of information on the label.

It led us to have a butchers through our 7″ singles yesterday and on this mix have included some (mainly Jamaican) singles with scratched-out artist/tune names and hand written tune details. Here’s the tracks:

Ewan & Jerry With The Carib Beats – Get on the right track (00.04)
Stranger & Patsy with Baba Brooks Band – Yeah yeah baby (03.23)
The Heptones – A change is gonna come (06.23)
Hugh Roy/Tommy McCook & The Supersonics – Mabrouk (09.07)
Bells Group – Kingston 13 (11.37)
Earl Curry – One Whole Year Baby (14.08)

If you love a scratched out label and lack of information on records, this one is for you!

Signing off on Boxing Day with a great tune

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An excellent cumbia-inspired track from Seattle-based Terror/Cactus titled Descalzo. We originally picked this up on the Names You Can Trust Bandcamp (here) earlier this year and recently rediscovered while putting together an upcoming shortwave mix. Ace stuff! Over and out for Boxing Day.

A view from Perth, yesterday

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It’s a mildish 6°C on Boxing Day in London today, but thanks to our Downbeat on Shortwave collaborator Jesse Yuen, here’s some pictures of summer in Australia at the moment.

These photos of his parents’ garden in Perth are full of some great plants and landscaping ideas and we’re particularly loving that shaded retreat in the bottom picture. Their garden is looking great Jesse and thanks for the update!

Crying on boxing day

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Heard on the radio this morning, one we didn’t know about by The Heptones with a tune called Crying Over You, production services by one Lee Perry at The Black Ark studios. Wonderful stuff!

And here’s a version with Jah Lion on the microphone.

And no, we’re not watching Dad’s Army tonight

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And here’s another Christmas themed number, on the B side of M(artell) Robinson‘s “Follow you”, a version of Jingle Bells. It’s on a Port-of-Jam white label and it may be the sound of Rico Rodriguez. Whoever it is, it’s a whopper of a tune!

And we heard this on the radio today. We didn’t even know that this tune existed in reggae!

Coming through a chimney’s a whole lot of stupidness

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A big season’s/holiday greetings to all our gardening, radio and musical mates from everywhere around the world. A big thanks to everyone for supporting the blog and whatever you celebrate at this time of year, make sure you have a great one!

And for this time of year, here’s a wonderful tune from Lord Nelson (from Trinidad & Tobago we reckon) called A party for Santa Claus. It’s a brilliant 7″ on Camille Records with some very funny lyrics and a great tune too.

“Christmas is here and we’re all having fun
Santa brought presents for everyone
But he had to squeeze through a chimney Poor Nicholas
What a horrible place to pass

Why not open your window
Or your front door
So Santa could bring his gifts?
I find that climbing on a rooftop and coming through a chimney’s
a whole lot of stupidness.”

More geranium business

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We heard from our friend in north London, Debby H who sent us an email and photograph prompted by our last post about Adrienne’s pink geranium.

Debby wrote: “Our geranium is really a house plant, but it survives outside all year in a pot tucked in a crevice by our front door, to protect it from the worst of the elements. When the weather temperature falls to 1 degree or lower, we cover it with a garden fleece bag. In doing this we are as careful as possible, but we accidentally knocked off its only flower. This was sad, but we have brought it indoors to bring us some Christmas cheer”.

And it looks great Debby! I wonder if the stalk may grow roots and could be plonked into some potting compost and then there’s another geranium to add to the collection.

Cheers for that Debby and have a great Xmas and new year!

A fiver goes a long long way!

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Many thanks to our friend Adrienne for sharing this photo of her geranium (or is it a pelargonium?) still flowering outdoors in December. It’s a wonderful splash of colour for this time of year and we can’t believe that it’ll be the winter solstice in a few days time as well.

If you remember, last year we were at a summer fete and purchased a pink geranium (above) in a church sale in Hither Green for a fiver and it was well worth the money. We loved the plant so much and wanted other people to enjoy it as well so we took a few cuttings and gave them away. As the old gardening saying goes “Pass them on!” Cheers again Adrienne and ta for letting us know how the plant is doing.

Christmas ain’t that far away

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The festive season ain’t that far away and thanks to searching for a Christmas shortwave mix we found the above the other night. It’s a tune from 1983 by Michael Powell called Christmas Time and has a nice subtle dub.

Today we were at a school’s Christmas fair in Blackheath and witnessed a very young DJ on the wheels of steel. He was playing the obligatory “All I want for xmas is you” etc and inbetween was putting in a few rewinds, taking out the vocal and adding Shaka type syndrum FX. At one point he went into a reggae selection including a tune off the Jacob Miller & Inner Circle Natty Christmas LP. Wow, it’s been a while since we’ve heard that one out, if ever. How the world turns so quickly.

And here’s Basement 5‘s excellent Last White Christmas single but played much slower, recorded for a John Peel session. Dennis Morris, now there’s a forward thinking bloke (anyone remember his other band, Urban Shakedown?)

And this one we heard on pirate radio a good few years ago from Carlene Davis. Yes Christmas is coming…

A life on the ocean (air)wave(s) two

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Cheers to Spike from Morschen43 for sending us the video for his single MV Ross Revenge For Ever! which we featured in the last post.

Here’s more on the great boat from the great offshoreradiomuseum here.