Entries Tagged as ''

My Father, Alfred William Ruffle, part 5

After my Mother died in 1986, my Pa sold the family home and moved in with a lady friend. I was lucky enough to get a flat close by, so it was easy to keep an eye on him, and we shared a lot of quality time together. I loved my Father dearly, he was my hero and my best friend. [Read more →]

Meditation and Philosophy

Since 2001, with guidance from my dear friend Mr Lovely, I’ve been studying philosophy, and meditating daily. The Mad Princess asked me exactly what I get out of meditation, so I figured it was time to take stock. [Read more →]

Globalisation and New World Order
(or Lady Ga Ga and the downfall of Western civilisation)

What exciting times we live in! Sadly not culturally, because I don’t think music or the arts has been at such a low ebb creatively in living memory, tho’ some will argue different, but please, don’t! I’m talking about what’s happening on the planet, with our political climate shifting daily and our perception of what’s happening getting bigger and bigger, thanks to the Internet. It’s a time of extremes.  [Read more →]

Glam Rock……


When the digital switch over thingy happened recently I decided that would be the end of it for me. Aside from the unashamed tripe dished up daily, the one eyed beasty called television is responsible for more hypnosis and bulls**t than most people realise, and I for one am happy to lay it to rest. Of course the tv licensing people will no doubt brand me a liar, but hey, that’s their problem! [Read more →]

Riot!

This piece was written on Tuesday the 9th of August 2011

Before I begin this piece, I’d just like to say, I abhor violence in anyway, shape or form, and the criminal opportunists and children who rioted in our cities these past few days should feel the full measure of the law.

But I have to laugh when I hear the media call these people criminals, which of course they are, but hey? Isn’t hacking into a murdered person’s phone criminal? [Read more →]

Music festivals……

The Mad Princess and I watched Coldplay at Glastonbury courtesy of the BBC on Saturday night a couple of weeks ago. I can’t say I’m a huge fan, tho’ some of their tracks, “Speed of sound” for one, I certainly like. Their light show projected on the Pyramid,  specifically for the encore, was Psychedelically awesome, but sorry Honey, Chris Martin smells of pretension to me, and I ain’t talking about the latest Kate Moss fragrance. [Read more →]

Powerpop!

I’m listening to Eric Carmen singing ” All by Myself”. Eric is the lead singer in the Raspberries, a band associated with the Powerpop genre. So what exactly is Powerpop? Pete Townsend coined the phrase to explain the Who’s ( and the Small Faces and the Beach Boys ) sound, but I wonder what he really meant? [Read more →]

On being Deaf……

I have nerve deafness. I inherited it from my Father, who inherited it from his Mother, who inherited it from one of her parents. I have Tinnitus in both ears ( a whistling in my right ear, a hissing in the left ), and a type of adult glue ear which necessitates a visit to the ENT department at my local hospital every three months. [Read more →]

The Accidents – Kiss me on the Apocalips! (part 4)

We recorded the album at Stage one studios , in Forest gate, in London. I remember the shop front above the studio had a grand piano sitting in it. The studio was in the basement, and we had to hump our gear down several flights of stairs. [Read more →]

David Bowie – Toy

Sunday the 20th of March was a grand day for Bowie heads across the planet. The unreleased “Toy” album was leaked online. Sure, six of the tracks have been released officially, three as b sides of singles taken from his last album “Heathen”, [Read more →]