Rich

Oh yes, a trolley. I use it for everything, have done for years and am now on my 4th. 20ish years ago when I turned up at my first rehearsal with my current band, oh how they laughed at my trolley... Now, all the gear-luggers have got one...

I did my back in 30+ years ago playing 5-a-side... I stretched a leg for a pass I was never going to reach and *PING* something went (don't ask me for a physiological explanation, 'went' is the best I can do) at the base of my back and left me next to immobile for 3 days. It's been a point of weakness ever since, and every so often it will ping again just to remind me. Last time I pinged it by putting on a sock. Combine this with the process of getting old, and lightweight gear has become what I believe they call a 'no-brainer'. My entire current rig weighs about half of what one of my two old 4x10s from many years ago did. My practice/rehearsal amp is a Behringer 60w 1x12 combo and it is by some margin my single heaviest piece of musical equipment.

No, No, No - Dawn Penn

Hands Off... She's Mine - The Beat

Dust Bowler Dance - Mumford and Sons

coffee->screen

"...has a total of 20 frets on its pine fretboard" PINE?? Really? There are multiple red flags fluttering in the breeze right now.

Crash - The Primitives

Having read through these, I've realised just how easy-going I am. My only real dislikes are a} thick clubby necks (because I have small hands and find them uncomfortable), b} pointy headstocks and c} buckeye burl. That's pretty much it.

Cooler than the coolest thing ever. 😎

The First Cut Is the Deepest - Cat Stevens / P. P. Arnold

Slooper Duper Love - Joss Stone

Armourgeddon It - Def Leps

I might have to tap you for that list too .. I'm trying to get more gigs over this way for the ska band.

Warm Wet Circles - Marillion

Mask, goggles, gloves... why is it that so many of these materials are just desperate to kill us?

Option 1 is definitely a good idea. The Harley Barley basses are excellent (albeit on the heavy side) and would be a great way of finding out if fivers are for you, for a piddly little cash outlay. In fact, you could do options 1 and 3...

We recorded a whole load of songs in one day, the idea was to capture our live feel as much as possible. A couple of solos were re-done afterwards but by and large it was all first/second/third takes. Mixing and tweaking took a while, perhaps understandably. We recorded in the teeth of a huge storm, and at one point all the power went off... when it became apparent that it was staying off, we got a big generator from a mate of a mate and in true Apollo 13 style only switched on the stuff we really needed, and carried on regardless. The hum of the generator is very faintly audible on one of the vocal tracks, but we kept it in as a memento of the day.

Circle in the Sand - Belinda Carlisle

Well who was it then, and why on earth did he need all the room above the drum kit? Was it a Morrissey tribute, and he needed the space clear for swinging the gladioli around?

A couple of wonderful songs from Fish. This lovely piece from his first solo album, with an orchestral arrangement so beautiful it brings a tear to my eye: And then there's this, later piece. Deals with the gradual loss of a loved one to dementia. Mascara warning:

The first time I really noticed the bass was at a concert at the Albert Hall when I was 7 or 8 or so. I distinctly remember pointing at the bassist and telling my mum that I could feel what 'that man with the guitar' was playing, making my tummy flutter. If memory serves correctly, it was a sunburst Fender of some sort. From that moment on, my ears instantly homed in on the bass whenever I listened to music. When ska hit in 1979, I wanted to be Horace Panter -- he was the Specials for me. And when a bunch of us in the 6th form decided to form a band, there was only really one choice for me. First influences were Horace, Dave Steele of The Beat, then Tony Butler of Big Country. And then one night, I saw Mark King on the telly and he quite literally changed my life.

Typical... So often the way, nobody's interested until you finally say "ah sod ya then", and it's only when you're walking away that they bother asking for your input. If I had a tenner etc.

Not for me, it's not. ANDAAAAAAYEEEEAAAA WILLALLWAAYS LUVYOOOOOO, oh spare me please. The way the acrobatic OOOOOOs drift in and out of tune is like fingernails down a blackboard. Give me Dolly's original any day.