We opened the show last night with the song that’s been chosen to lead off Liverpool 8 - Liverpool as European City of Culture 2008. On paper the song doesn’t look promising. The artist is the one and only Ringo Starr and despite past achievements he’s hardly been someone synonymous with creativity over the last few weeks. However it is a wholly appropriate choice given the great honesty and heart warming nostalgia within the song. The song is a brief synopsis of Ringo’s travels and ends with the axiomatic chorus, “Liverpool I love you..” I think Liverpool still loves Ringo.

There is something about the Beatles which gets into the soul of any sixties child. Most of the time we have a detached over view of modern music. Apart from the early days of rock n roll we have watched every new phase come and go. In my case this has generally brought immense pleasure. Joy to see new things coming and relief to see something else coming in from the left to sweep it away. Now there’s a contented happiness that the best of all new things are remembered and every night this week we celebrate all of that. However this distanced overview is put aside when the subject of The Beatles comes along. Suddenly the world-weary cynic becomes a bright-eyed cub scout willing to follow any daft old trail through the forest. I’m like that. Ringo only needs to sing the lines “John, Paul, Me and my friend John” and I’m back in the attic staring at my big sister’s posters from the Jackie. They didn’t have surnames then and they don’t need them now. I always like to think the Beatles were a cut above every other band but I can’t honestly tell you if it’s true or not because I’m far too biased to ever make a reasonable assessment. They, in their turn, have been too big a presence in my life to ever fade into some kind of perspective.

After we played the Ringo song last night I found myself announcing Ringo’s gig in Liverpool on January 12th and saying I’d like to be there…….me, the man who wouldn’t cross the park to see David Bowie if Hell’s Kitchen was on the telly……go to Liverpool to see a gig…by a drummer? You see it’s that old perspective thing. It’s the Beatles and I have none.

Share This

I’m back in the BBC tonight to sit in for Iain Anderson for a week. I’m very much looking forward to it though I’m always aware that sitting in for someone means the audience at home will be impatient to hear the main man as soon as possible. I should think so too. Iain is a great communicator and the success of his show is down to his ability to make you feel as if he’s only talking to you. Looking forward too to spending sometime on board the Hesperus (is that how they spell it?) with Much Ado and The Professor.

I’m just back from the Deacon Blue tour which wound up on Sunday at Hammersmith Apollo in London. It was, as always, an exhausting but increasingly exhilarating few weeks. Thank you for coming if you came. If you didn’t - fear not there’s going to be a film of the show, and if you can’t wait for that you can find out via our website how to buy official bootlegs of four of the gigs.

Interesting too to read people’s comments. Often the atmosphere is much debated. I find this interesting as we often don’t pick up the nuances of particular venues or groups of people. What I would say is this: I love shows where people are wanting to be part of the show, but I love it as much when audiences listen to what you have to play. There’s no sight worse for me than looking out into a theatre to see people’s tails as they head for the bar knowing you’re about to do a song they don’t know. Personally, I love going to shows where I hear things I don’t know or know less well - it makes me go home and love them again or discover them for myself. So to play in Manchester - in a great rock n roll venue - but also to people who love to listen is a joy. Having a ‘mad’ audience in front of you can be a mixed blessing, and exciting though it is, it isn’t always what I’d prefer.

Whichever audience you were please believe me when I tell you you were always great. Whatever night you came I honestly know we gave you the best we had to give on the night. Each show was very special and I can’t really pick out one
more than any other - though we all felt Dublin was a real high as it reminded us of the old days at The Barrowlands. It’s a long time since we’ve played properly there - last year was a botched job as the venue had moved - so to go and give it our best shot was a real pleasure.

So tonight I’ll be back to playing songs and talking with songwriters about songwriting. What could be better than that? If you’re in your car or near a computer or a radio between 10.30 and 12.30 tonight (St Andrews Day/30th November) join me. I’d love to hear from you if you want to mail, text or blog!

Share This

This is my last week on the Late Lounge. Have I enjoyed it? Yes, hugely.

Here’s the funny thing: The thing I’ve enjoyed most is the feeling that gathered round the glowing valves of any given evening is a community of people listening into the Late Lounge. Hearing your stories and some of you brilliant jokes (albeit sometimes unbroadcastable!) has made it very worthwhile. Knowing that people like hearing things they haven’t heard in a while or are enjoying new things is always very satisfying.

So thank you to you folk for making the show an interactive delight…for me if not for the listeners! There have been some great people who helped me through. Honourable mentions to Shona, Muslim, Anne, Mark and Richard. Big thanks to Tony Currie for his late night bonhomie and a huge thank you to Barbara Wallace and Sushil Dade for all their producing skills. I do want to give a particular mention to the woman who really created the Live Lounge. Roslyn McCuish I salute you, my dear. Go off and have yourself a lovely holiday.

After I return from my holiday I am going to enjoy getting my late evenings back. The one great thing you can say about the Scottish summer is that it may not be the warmest but the evenings do go on a little longer. When/if the weather does turn a little warmer we will celebrate it by hanging around in our garden or someone else’s until nearly midnight when the sky will sometimes still look like it has some light left in it. Wonderful. On these nights I’ll set off round the park and give my dog the late night walk she has been denied for these six weeks. I’ll do some reading which has also disappeared from my day and I’ll switch on the digital radio I got for my Christmas and listen to some great singer songwriters on Iain Anderson. You never know, I met get to hear some of my favourite records and some that I’ve long forgotten.

I know one or two of you have asked if I’d carry on blogging when the Late Lounge ends. I’m afraid I won’t. I’m off on holiday for one thing and for another I have completely run out of things to blog about! However I’ll do a deal: if I ever lounge around at BBC Scotland again I’ll open up the blog and we can all do it again. I have so many things to complete before I get away on my holidays that this is my last entry. I hope you have a great summer. I’ll be doing a weekly show called Ricky’s American Tunes in the early autumn and be back on the road in November. I hope I can meet some of you then. Thanks for taking part. All the very best

Ricky x

Share This