1980s

Ghost Town

There was nothing terribly exciting on my Release Radar this sweep so for this Track of the Week I've decided to go back in time to visit 1981. The UK was in the grip of a recession as the '70s ended and the '80s rolled in. There were 1.5 million unemployed in the Spring…Read more Ghost Town

Blondon Fair

In the Middle Ages, Edward IV made it compulsory for all yeomen in England to learn archery. An archery butts was set up on the land in front of the Minster Church of St Mary the Virgin. It was used by the adult males of Reading to practice on Sundays. Some of the archers who…Read more Blondon Fair

Days of Pearly Spencer

Sometimes I feel I'm losing the will to live. It's usually when I'm ironing - shirts are so darn fiddly, aren't they? So I do my ironing weekday afternoons between 1 and 4 pm so that I can listen to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on the radio. They play some good music and they…Read more Days of Pearly Spencer

Strange Angels

Crotchety Man has been on holiday - one week in Devon with the missus and a tottery old man I call Dad. The weekly blog for 3rd September was written in advance, the draft was called up on the phone as we sat in the holiday cottage watching the rain stream down the windows and…Read more Strange Angels

Doctor Who

The First Doctor has been characterised as a crotchety old man but he was so much more, displaying childish delight, great charm, enormous warmth and a wonderful sense of mischief during his many adventures through time and space. - A quote from the BBC website It seems my secret identity has been revealed. Yes, Crotchety Man…Read more Doctor Who

Brass In Pocket

There's been a deliberate focus on new songs recently on Crotchety Man so I think it's now time to remember an old favourite. Brass In Pocket was the first big hit for The Pretenders in January 1980. Chrissie Hynde never liked the song but the public loved it and she still plays it when she's touring…Read more Brass In Pocket

Redemption Song

I realised the other day that I have sinned. This blog has no mention of Bob Marley! Fortunately, it's Easter and Jesus died to redeem us of our sins (or so the Christian Church would have us believe). So, by way of penitence, I have chosen Redemption Song as my Track of the Week. Both the…Read more Redemption Song

Sledgehammer

There are at least three well-known songs called Sledgehammer. Top of the Spotify list is one by Fifth Harmony, a five-piece all-female vocal group that came together when the girls entered the X Factor competition individually in 2012. As Fifth Harmony they came third and third is where Crotchety Man places their fairly ordinary pop/dance Sledgehammer. If…Read more Sledgehammer

China In Your Hand

Back in 1987 I was a freelance software developer. In the autumn of that year I was working on a contract at offices some 15 miles from Leicester where I lived then, driving north up the A46 in the mornings. It was an easy journey. The road was fairly straight and not too busy. And it wound…Read more China In Your Hand

Golden Brown

The Stranglers were formed when punk was sweeping away the bland and sickly sweet pop groups of the early seventies. They toured with the American punk band, The Ramones, and regarded themselves as part of the punk scene. But they were never a punk band. Originally called The Guildford Stranglers the band was assembled in 1974 by Jet Black (real…Read more Golden Brown