Where are they now? pt1 – Stakka Bo

I decided this morning that I don’t update this site nearly enough with my thoughts about music, in fact, in the last couple of years, i have hardly written about music. Finding some old reviews of mine gave me a push. I shall attempt from now on to write at least twice a week. hopefully more. Even if it is just posting classic videos, or old reviews.

Today, i plan on starting with “Here we go” by Stakka Bo. I was reminded of this the other day because i was searching for some info on the Army Of Lovers. A truly great band, and the precursor to modern “gay pop” such as Alcazar and B.W.O (both of them also being Alexander Bard projects!). Aaanyway, I discovered that La Camilla from AoL used to go out with Stakka Bo. what a fantastic, inbred little pop musical planet we live in!

So I dug out my CD Single of “Here we go” and immedaitely remembered how much I loved it at the time…

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Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can now track down old popstars and see what they are up to. This is part one of a new series of posts stalking popstars of old. (suggestions of future posts are welcome!) – Turns out it was quite easy finding old Stakka, he’s been a busy boy! Turns out I was subliminally aware of his recent work already.

“He has directed music videos for a number of artists including Kylie Minogue‘s “Love at First Sight“, All Saints‘ “Black Coffee“, Madonna‘s “Hung Up” and “Nothing Really Matters“, Robbie Williams‘s “Tripping” and “She’s Madonna“, The Libertines‘ “What Became of the Likely Lads“, Suede‘s “She’s in Fashion“, New Order‘s “Crystal“, Beyoncé Knowles‘ “Me, Myself and I“, The Knife‘s “Pass This On“, Fever Ray‘s “Seven” and Bat for Lashes‘ “Daniel“. In TV, has directed episode 205 from AMC’s “Breaking Bad”"

Not only this, He has teamed up with Jonas Ackerlund to form “R.A.F.”

wow!

So there you have it. from “Here we go” to “Breaking Bad” in one easy blog post!

coming soon – Army Of Lovers, Pop! and Daphne & Celeste.

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Crack Whitney vs. Liberty X

I was just reading about a new whitney houston tune called “for the lovers” and immediately wondered if it was a cover of the Liberty X song. A quick google revealed that In the 4 years since Liberty X released it, the song had changed it’s name to “song 4 lovers” (it wasn’t my mistake, they changed the song name, dammit!)

Anyway, after listening to whitney’s song, i put on the “original” version. even though it isn’t a cover, the Original Liberty X version is infinitely better. what do you think?

Whitney

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vs

Liberty X

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I’m glad this brought back memories of liberty X. they were mostly poor, but had a few truly great songs, this one included

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spotify good friday – criminal worship

I took an old setlist from sundays at stealth and dropped it into http://spotmysongs.com
it managed to convert all but one song! theres a distinct lack of lo-fidelity allstars on spotify :(

original setlist from http://poptunes.org/?p=96 contains boz skaggs, massive attack, girl talk, apollo 400, stakka bo, jurassic 5, gorillaz, primal scream and the similou as well as loads more!

http://open.spotify.com/user/spazhammer/playlist/40LHRyt4DZC5519UKyBQn

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mmmha! now with added spotify goodness

I’ve been playing with http://spotmysongs.com and converted the bulk of the 4th birthday setlist to a spotify playlist. click here to open the playlist and listen to the sort of stuff we play at the rescue rooms

not all the songs are there, and some are different versions of the ones I played, but it’s up, and it is a pretty good taster of the sort of stuff that gets played.

have a listen, and please comment if you listen to it. let us know what you think!

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#bringbackAIRHEAD – SPIKE Peel session tracks

After the demise of the mighty AIRHEAD back in the early 90′s, Michael and Sam (vocals and drums respectively) went off and formed a band called SPIKE. they did a Peel Session in 1994 for the much-missed Johm Peel on radio 1. But it wasnt until a couple of years ago that Marc Riley played three of the four tracks on his BBC 6music show (I was the one who requested them!)

Anyway, here they are in all their glory. all three tracks were recorded directly to PC via a Psion Wavefinder USB DAB receiver. they were originally saved in mp2 format, but i have cut the tracks down to just the intro talk and the songs and converted to mp3.

Please don’t directly link to the mp3 files, link to this post instead. That way, if they end up moving somewhere, the links will be up to date. Also, it will help other people find the songs when searching google for them if places link back to here. If you are a member of the band, or own the copyright to these long lost songs, and you dont want them up here (or want credit/etc), please get in touch via the comments section

Spike (ex. AIRHEAD) – Peel Session

Track 1 – Obsession
Track 3 – Play Away
Track 4 – Like You Do


http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/1990s/1994/Oct03spike/

03/10/1994Spike

  • TX – 05/11/1994
  • Producer – Mike Robinson
  • Engineer – Lisa Softley
  • Studio – Maida Vale 4
  • Obsession
  • Love & War
  • Play Away
  • Like You Do
  • Michael Wallis (Lead vocals, Guitar)
  • Doug Hollands (Lead guitar)
  • Jason Hobart (Bass)
  • Sam Kesteven (Drums)

make sure you check AIRHEAD ONLINE for more info on the band, and the campaign to get them to re-release BOING!
There is also a twitter campaign to get the band to reform for a gig or two. Iain Lee is behind us, let’s see if we get anywhere. the hashtag you want to be looking for is #bringbackairhead

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Love shack – friday 19th february 2010

Love shack – rock city basement
friday 19th february 2010

james brown – get up
booker t and the mgs – green onions
the shadows – apache
george baker selection – little green bag
amen corner – bend me, shape me
rolling stones – paint it black
the beatles – magical mystery tour
desmond dekker – israelites
jimmy cliff – the harder they come
bob marley – buffalo soldier
otis redding – respect
stevie wonder – superstition
the meters – chicken strut
isaac hayes – theme from shaft
lulu – shout
chubby checker – lets twist again
the surfaris – wipeout
the beach boys – surfin usa
wynder k frog – green door
booker t and the mgs – soul limbo
jackie wilson – your love keeps liftin me higher and higher
the jackson 5 – ABC
dolly parton – 9 to 5
joan jett – i love rock n roll
j geils band – centerfold
dexys midnight runners – come on eileen
diana ross – aint no mountain high enough
elvis presley – suspicious minds
iggy pop – lust for life
queen – dont stop me now
ELO – mr blue sky
journey – dont stop believin
kenny loggins – footloose
europe – the final countdown
jefferson starship – we built this city
van halen – jump
kiss – crazy crazy nights
mud – tiger feet
ramones – blitzkrieg bop
the clash – bank robber
the buggles – video killed the radio star
the proclaimers – 500 miles
michael jackson – wanna be startin something
the four seasons – oh what a night
the foundations – build me up buttercup
herb alpert and tijuana brass  spanish flea
ac dc – back in black
tiffany – i think were alone now
rocky horror picture show – time warp
stevi wonder – higher ground
blondie – atomic
al wilson – the snake
chuck berry – johnny b goode
carl douglas – kung foo fighting
the jackson – can u feel it
jefferson airplane – somebody to love
johnny cash – ring of fire
bob seger – old time rock and roll
the doors – light my fire
manfred mann – doo wah diddy
chuck berry – johnny b goode
small faces – tin soldiers
the kinks – dedicated follower of fashion
the five stairsteps – ooo oooh child
the clash – white man in hammersmith palais
wilson picket – mustang sally
alan hawkshaw – grange hill theme
william shatner – if i had a hammer

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4th birthday special setlist

wow, that was a corking night! absolutely rammed from around 11:30pm till near closing. it just goes to show that even in January, people will still come and dance if what you play is good :)

see you in february? (I shall be doing the second half of the night, as i’m off to birmingham to see KELLY CLARKSON early in the evening!)

mmmha! sat 9th january 2010

10:00pm
dizzee rascal – dirtee cash
lethal bizzle – police on my back
lady sovereign – hoodie (basement jaxx mix)
wiley and chew fu – take that
3oh!3 ft katy perry – starstrukk
chipmunk – chip diddy chip
jay-z – empire state of mind
roll deep – the avenue
adam f and horx ft redman – shut the lights off
mark b and blade – ya dont see the signs
example – watch the sun come up example – watch the sun come up
flo rida ft nelly furtado – jump (designer drugs remix)
dan the automator ft chali 2na – rappers delight (evian mix)
lady sovereign – so human
n-dubz – strong again
bomfunk MCs – freestyler
pixies – where is my mind (bassnectar remix)
rage against the machine – killing in the name (sebastiAn late night laptop edit)
arctic monkeys – sun goes does (fakeid mix)
blackalicious – alphabet aerobics (cut chemist mix)
dilated peoples – turn it up (ft kanye west)
jurassic 5 – get it together
wu tang clan – gravel pit
jay-z – izzo (h.o.v.a)
naughty by nature – OPP
del tha funkee homosapien – mistdobalina
ODB – shimmy shimmy ysa
NAS – hip hop is dead (ft will i.am)
beastie boys – so whatchya want
la luniz – i got 5 on it
mobb deep shook ones II
krs one – sound of da police
destinys child – ch check on it
kelis ft andre 3000 – millionaire
amerie – 1 thing
flo rida – jump
rihannna – SOS
sean paul – like glue
wyclef jean – perfect gentleman
jazzy jeff and the fresh prince – boom! shake the room
coldcut ft roots manuva – true skool
dizzee rascal – fix up look sharp
wiley ft daniel merriweather – cash in my pocket
lethal bizzle – police on my back
tinchy stryder ft dappy – number one
the jackson 5 – ABC
stevie wonder – superstition
frankie valli and the 4 seasons – beggin
jurassic 5 – concrete schoolyard
justice vs simian – we are your friends
chad jackson – hear the drummer get wicked
the shamen – ebeneezer goode
skee lo – i wish
dolly parton – 9 to 5
spice girls – stop
rhymefest ft ODB – build me up
sugababes – push the button
beyonce – single ladies
outkast – hey ya
backstreet boys – everybody
grandmaster flash – apache
adam f ft redman – smash sumthin (ft redman)
MOP – ante up
house of pain – jump around
pj and duncan – lets get ready to rhumble
5ive – keep on movin
ELO – mr blue sky
andrew wk – party hard
kelly clarkson – since u been gone
destinys child – survivor
SL2 – on a ragga tip
kriss kross – jump
bomfunk mcs – freestyler
daphne and celeste – ooh stick you!
girls aloud – sound of the underground
s club 7 – bring it all back
happy mondays – kinky afro
kelly clarkson – my life would suck without you
kanye west – jesus walks
polyphonic spree – lithium
glee cast – dont stop believin

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mmmha! 4th birthday – sat 9th jan 2009

wow, i can’t believe we’ve been running for 4 years already!? it’s been a great run so far, with loads of people dancing and having a good time, and my own DJ career reaching new heights (including supporting Rihanna at nottingham arena in front of 10000 people!).

this saturday will be a special featuring some of the biggest tracks of the last decade, as well as all the usual classics. expect a great night…

Nottingham Rescue Rooms – Red Room. 10pm-3am. Free entry before 10:15pm, £6/7 afterwards.

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New dj rig :)

Macbook pro+numark omni=win!

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mmmha! – sat 11th july 2009 (the life of brianaun meet)

mmmha! – sat 11th july 2009 (the life of brianaun meet)

a – starbucks
wheatus – leroy
blink 182 – whats my age again
pixies – where is my mind
whale – hobo humpin slobo babe
senser – switch
shaggy – mr boombastic
primal scream – rocks
blind melon – no rain
eels – mr e’s beautiful blues
wildhearts – welcome to shitsville
fun lovin criminals – scooby snacks

11pm
third eye blind – semi charmed kind of life
dreadzone – little britain
T.A.T.U – all the things she said
basement jaxx – raindrops
black eyed peas – i gotta feeling
jamie t – sticks n stones
la roux – bulletproof
pixie lott – mama do
peaches – talk to me
yeah yeah yeahs – zero
santogold – say aha
chipmunk- chip diddy chip
wiley – wearing my rolex
n-dubz – number 1

12am
bodyrox – yeah yeah
dizzee rascal – bonkers
bashy – who want to be a millionaire
chipmunk – diamond rings
rihanna – SOS
gnarls barkley – smiley faces
gorillaz – feel good inc
girls aloud – sound of the underground
sugababes – push the button
black eyed peas – pump it
beyonce – single ladies
britney spears – womanizer
pink – so what
justin timberlake – rock your body
kelly clarkson – my life would suck without you
destinys child – survivor
xtina – fighter
dizzee rascal – fix up look sharp
pussycat dolls – jai ho!
the jackson 5 – ABC
jay-z – 99 problems

1am
kanye west – gold digger
dan the automator ft chali 2na – rappers delight (evian mix)
notorious BIG ft lil kim and puff daddy – notorious
NERD – lapdance
eminem – just lose it
wu tang clan – gravel pit
jurassic 5 – concrete schoolyard
dilated peoples – worst comes to worst
blackstreet – no diggity
M.O.P – ante up
adam f ft redman – smash sumthin
beastie boys – you gotta fight for your right )to party)
house of pain – jump around
busta rhymes – woo haa!!
krs one – sound of da police
rhymesfest ft ODB – build me up
NWA – express yourself (remix)
jurassic 5 – get it together
the pharcyde – drop
2pac ft dr dre – california love album version)
dizzee rascal – bonkers
roots manuva – witness the fitness
lethal bizzle – police on my back
arctic mokeys – sun goes down (fakeid mix)
prodigy – voodoo people (pendulum mix)
rage against the machine – killing in the name
andrew wk – party hard
mj hibbett – boom! shake the room
william shatner – common people

3am
richard x ft jarvis cocker and hope sandoval – into u

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