"The rhythm stuck in my head and I said, ‘Guys!’ So then, thematically we said, ‘We’ll let’s use that airport — so much a part of our lives in those days and after — let’s use that as a metaphor in a sense. Again, in a playful way. There was no sense of ‘Okay, this part is this part’ and all that. But there is a sense of bustling and coming and going and the grand emotion of that middle section of what airports can be. In our lives, airports were rich with symbolism. Departures and comings and goings; departures and arrivals. Separations and meetings. That was kind of woven into the song. The exotic nature of travel, too, and Alex’s guitar solo for sure too. He wove in that kind of eastern mode."
This is being shared more widely than it would previously have been using social media.
In the past, a visit in person would have been needed to hear these songs.
Here's an early example that was mentioned in the piece.
A new generation of musicians is wielding unprecedented cultural power, updating traditional patterns and reclaiming a sense of pride in symbolic spaces.
“Music always played a central role in retaining Maasai history,” says Meitamei Ole Dapash, a Maasai leader and activist. “Not only as expression, but as a living archive of identity, memory and social relations. In school, we are taught everything but our own culture. Thanks to the rise of our local artists, we now witness a true cultural renaissance.”
Others set out to convince estranged members of the community of the benefits of semi-nomadic rural life, like Kamurar Maasai in his song Osingolio Loongishu.If we don’t update our roots, our songs will be forgotten and the community will forget about their customsNg’otiek Nelson
“Since I started singing songs on modern beats concerning cows, a lot of Maasai are coming back to their culture. The song compels them to find their way home and get their own cows,” he says.
The spiritual meaning of cattle is rooted in the Maasai origin story, as the animals are said to have arrived on Earth from the heavens alongside the first humans.
This song talks about cows and urging the young generation - the person who takes his time to watch this song - to go and find and find for himself. The song belongs to ilmerishi age set and their chief is ole Naing'isa and another one called ole Leintoi.
And here's a final song mentioned in the piece: Ng'otiek Nelson.
Into the 1980s now and the tone of some music changes. This is my wife's favourite decade. Electronic bands and synthesisers along with punk and dance music started to displace some of the other bands from the charts.
'The Blues Brothers' was released this year.
This is a wonderful film, which features plenty of memorable tunes which are now familiar from stage musicals and repeat viewings. Some fine guest star musicians as well.
The car chase to Chicago is an epic way to end the film with a record breaking number of cars destroyed in the process. Carrie Fisher was excellent in this film too.
Mike Oldfield played Knebworth that year.
Several years later, the film was released. I wanted to see it, and I was interested to see that it was playing at a cinema in Rotherham. It was the part of a double bill... the first film was called "Private Teacher" and was a bit 'risque'... google it... so I had to sit through that although I wanted to see the music not the other things.
I was working on a Saturday at the time for a local greengrocer. This meant driving over to the town of Mexborough in South Yorkshire where he had a market stall. I bought this track as a 7" single one Saturday... I also saw the first posters for the Genesis 'Duke' album in Woolworths the same time.
We had a DJ booth in our sixth-form centre at school in Wickersley Comprehensive - plus a couple of pinball tables and table-tennis tables. It was quite a good facility if you stayed on to do 'A' levels.
I did 4 'A' levels at school, and picked up a 5th one later.
Invisible airwaves Crackle with life Bright antennae bristle With the energy Emotional feedback On a timeless wavelength Bearing a gift beyond price – Almost free…
Led Zeppelin released their last proper studio album: 'In through the Out Door'
Supertramp's 'Breakfast in America' was released, and was in the charts several times that year.
Pink Floyd's'The Wall' was one of the main albums released this year. This included several tracks which are now famous. The first featured some students from a school in London.
The students were from a school in London
They sang
We don't need no education We don't need no thought control No dark sarcasm in the classroom Teacher, leave them kids alone
There's an interesting connection between David Gilmour and my present school: King's Ely. For his most recent album (at the time of posting) he wanted some choristers to add to the 'vibe' of the first track to be released.
He came to the Lady Chapel in Ely Cathedral, where he recorded the choristers singing, and they had to keep this secret for months.
Here's the result...
Here are some colleagues and students along with David Gilmour.
The school's media team shared this update.
Pink Floyd star, David Gilmour, has released 'Luck and Strange', which is his first original album in nine years. The album features eight new tracks, along with a beautiful reworking of The Montgolfier Brothers’ ‘Between Two Points’, and has artwork and photography by the renowned artist, Anton Corbijn.
Keen to have Cathedral acoustics on the album, David recorded four of the songs at Ely Cathedral.
Thanks to our Director of Music, Mr Neil Porter-Thaw's contacts, King's students, Ivana Peat, Kit Attwater, Olivia Williams, Isobel Holland, Elizabeth Raynes, Alastair Wright, Freddie Wright, and Teacher of Music, Mrs Kirsty Wright, were invited to record with David. Old Elean and former Cathedral Chorister, William Gardner, did the choral arrangements.
Speaking about the once-in-a-lifetime experience, Mrs Wright said: "Our evening of recording with David was an amazing experience. Some of the younger singers had never been part of a recording session that required the use of individual headsets, so we immediately felt like rock stars! They meant that we could hear David and the team singing and playing in one ear all of the time, and we sang "with" him, which was such a thrill! As with all recording sessions, there were a lot of takes, and every so often David would give us the thumbs up or ask for a specific note or lyric to be highlighted, and when he did the next take it was always a really good one! Polly Samson, David's wife, was there taking photos and videos, which can already be seen in the music video for 'A Piper's Call'. We sang in both the Lady Chapel and under the Octagon. Even though it was a lot of concentrating and a late night, it was a musical experience that we will never forget, and I know that we are all very grateful to Mr P-T for organising and conducting us, to Will Gardner for his fabulous choral arrangements, and particularly to David for trusting us with his very precious songs."
The classic track from the album is of course 'Comfortably Numb' - a point towards which all Pink Floyd / David Gilmour concerts build....
A film of 'The Wall' was made by Alan Parker. I went to see it at the cinema in Huddersfield when it was released with Bob Geldof playing a lead role. I saw a lot of films around that time and had a Halliwell's guide where I highlighted all the films I saw.
When I was a student at the Polytechnic I was a member of the film club. I remember the first time I saw Carrie at one of their events: a great film which produced a great response in those watching.
As a post script, this version of 'Another Brick in the Wall' was something I used in my teaching for a while...
By Eric Prydz.
What other key albums were released in 1979 which deserve a mention here? Let me know...
The songs are not random. Hundreds — more than 750, in fact, according to soccer governing body FIFA — are chosen in advance. FIFA has a "Stadium Entertainment Team" that works with the participating national associations to create playlists that mix stadium classics with country-specific favourites.
Each team has a "signature" song played when the line-up is announced, a warm-up song, and a track that is played if they score a goal. And one set of fans after each game gets to sing along to the post-match winning-team tune.
The playlists give an interesting cultural snapshot of the World Cup, in which 48 teams participated for the first time in 2026.
Some tracks — such as The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" and, yes, 1990s Eurodance hit "Freed from Desire" by Gala, which has been doing the rounds of sports stadiums for at least a decade — have global reach, appearing on more than one list.
The England fans have also adopted this song, which ends up being sung at the end of matches between the team and the fans...
I'll return to this theme in some later blog posts as we head for the Final, where I explore some of the choices of particular countries and go into more detail on the cultural significance of their choices....
It was created by the Beatles' producer Sir George Martin.
From the AIR studios website:
In 1977 George Martin fell in love with the island and decided to build the ultimate, get-away-from-it-all recording studio. Opened in 1979, AIR Studios Montserrat offered all of the technical facilities of its London counterpart, but with the advantages of an exotic location.
For more than a decade, AIR Montserrat played host to recording sessions by a who’s who of rock and pop. More than 70 albums were recorded there in ten years, including Hot Hot Hot by Arrow, Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms, Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity by The Police, Elton John’s Too Low for Zero and Steel Wheels by the Rolling Stones. Duran Duran, Ultravox, Lou Reed, Black Sabbath and Eric Clapton all passed through the idyllic Montserrat studio.
Then, in 1989, disaster struck when Hurricane Hugo hit the island, destroying 90% of its structures.
The building and its equipment were irreparably damaged, and, perhaps aware that record labels wanted their stars closer to home, George Martin called it a day.
His love for Montserrat never faded and in the wake of a later devastating volcanic eruption his fundraising efforts went a long way towards putting the island back on its feet.
Hurricane Hugo (1989) caused major damage to the studios, which now lie derelict.
I've mentioned this web series before. It's produced by the Cosmic Shambles Network, and presented by Charlotte Ritchie.
It promises to tell the history of music. Early reviews have been very positive.
I'll post links to the episodes here to increase exposure.
Part Six - Way Down
The massive global impact of African rhythms is the focus of this episode and how the barbarism of slavery, and the resilience of enslaved people, gave rise to genres such as blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and more. The episode also includes a dive into the rich musical history and tradition of a modern day musical Babylon, New Orleans. Interviewees include: Donald Harrison Jr, The Hot 8 Brass Band and Givonna Joseph
This series is an entirely independent production made possible by fan support on Patreon and Substack.
Episode 6 is here:
Episode 7 coming up next
I will post a review of the series when I've had the chance to watch and also add links to the episodes.
1978 saw more albums which have stood the test of time.
Kate Bush 'Lionheart'
Peter Gabriel's 'Scratch' album was his 2nd album and showed a progression from his first. This was when I became aware of his work, and also that of Genesis - as I have blogged about previously.
Rush 'Hemispheres' was a strong contender too. I remember going to a party in Huddersfield in the early 1980s and this came on. It was a bold choice...
Blondie's 3rd album, 'Parallel Lines' featured a series of top-ten hits. These were definitely in the charts when I was at school and leading up to my 'O' level exams.
Heart of Glass, Sunday Girl and 'Picture This' - my favourite of those... I had them as 7" singles.
The album I probably played the most this year though was the first album by Genesis as a trio after the departure of Steve Hackett. I spun this vinyl so often and even now the opening of certain songs sends me back.... the single was my introduction to the band - "Follow you follow me".
February saw the release of Jethro Tull's 'Songs from the Wood' - perhaps their most complete album and which had the connections back to the land...
This is one of the albums I used to get out of the library in Rotherham and take home in large cardboard carriers on the bus before playing on my parents' Dynatron music centre before I got my own separates sound system from Richer Sounds.
Doing a bit of research I found it was the Dynatron "Norfolk" (MC1010CR) music centre with Garrard 35-SB turntable, manufactured in Cambridge, England.
Pink Floyd's 'Animals' was also released in this year. This was one of their more memorable albums.
Peter Gabriel 1: Car - a classic cover from Hipgnosis as well.
Talking Heads 77 - I was fortunate to see David Byrne earlier this year, and it was a superb theatrical performance.
I've mentioned this web series before. It's produced by the Cosmic Shambles Network, and presented by Charlotte Ritchie.
It promises to tell the history of music. Early reviews have been very positive.
I'll post links to the episodes here to increase exposure.
Part Five: Yesterdays We examine the role of religion in music and the rise of two of the major influences of western music, opera and classical music. We look at how classical music differs from region to region, from Europe to China to Africa and how it’s changed over time. We explore how deaf people enjoy music and it’s influence on film music and Bugs Bunny is also up for discussion… Interviewees include: Shirley J Thompson, Jess Hitchcock and Neil Brand
This series is an entirely independent production made possible by fan support on Patreon and Substack.
Episode 5 is here:
Episode 6 coming up next
I will post a review of the series when I've had the chance to watch and also add links to the episodes.
It's now forty years since A-Ha released the single Take on Me, with its innovative video...
In 2022 the band A-Ha released their album 'True North'. The band is Norwegian, but the cover looked more like Iceland to me - the Reynisfjara area, but it didn't look quite right.
Wikipedia says that the album artwork actually shows an image from a legendary remote surfing bay in Lofoten, an island group close to and accessed by ferry from Bodø, where the album was recorded. The location of the bay is called Unstad.
Here's the video for the song.
Back in the 90s, the 12" version of their single 'Manhattan Skyline' was regularly played by me too.
I've mentioned this web series before. It's produced by the Cosmic Shambles Network, and presented by Charlotte Ritchie.
It promises to tell the history of music. Early reviews have been very positive.
I'll post links to the episodes here to increase exposure.
Part Four: Build This Love
Using pianos and guitars as a case study we explore the evolution of musical instruments from ancient times to modern electronic devices. We then start to explore how we send music out in the world via the invention of sheet music and eventually recording and distribution systems like records and radios. Finally we make our own gramophone with a pin and a cone.
Part Four includes exclusive interviews, rare archive and performances from Ian Rankin, Mark Miodownik, Sophie Galpin, Robin Ince, Jon Batiste, Steve Pretty, Marina Frolova-Walker, Gabriele Rossi Rognoni, Richard Walley, Beaty Rubens and more.
This series is an entirely independent production made possible by fan support on Patreon and Substack.
Episode 4 is here:
Episode 5 coming up next
I will post a review of the series when I've had the chance to watch and also add links to the episodes.
1976 saw the arrival of another few classic albums. Blondie was in the charts a lot at the time - I was in Secondary school by now... and a half century has passed since...
Genesis released 'A Trick of the Tail', another album since Peter Gabriel's departure.
Perhaps the best album released this year is now a classic, but I didn't encounter it for another 20 years at least....
2026 is the 50th anniversary of its release.
Bright Size Life is the name of the album: a trio recording, and the debut for Pat Metheny - at the age of just 21.
The album features Pat Metheny of course, plus Jaco Pastorius on bass and Bob Moses on drums. It was released by ECM Records.Details are here.
Here's the title track:
Meanwhile, there was another album which kick started a long career. This time in electronic music.
Jean Michel Jarre released 'Oxygene': a classic.
Rush released 2112, which really sent their career into overdrive too... I remember listening to this album when still at school, so that must have been a few years after it was released....
The summer of 1976 saw the heatwave which is still referred to to this day.
I remember it well.
I am currently reading this book, which is a social and cultural history of the months from May to July of 1976.
One of the sections is about music.
I was also pleased to see that when I opened the book, a Spotify playlist had been created for it.
What are your favourite albums from 1976 with its long hot summer?
Jul 4: Aimee Mann
"So that's today's memory lane With all the pathos and pain Another chapter in a book where the chapters are endless And they're always the same A verse, and a verse, and refrain..."
This is a track from Aimee's first solo album from back in 1995, and the song that introduced me to her music as I mentioned earlier in the year.
It's also a song with a date as a title.
Several more of these feature in my Everyday Geographies playlist.
In November 1975, Mike Oldfield's third (and best) album was released: Ommadawn.
Here's a short documentary on the making of the album, which featured a much larger group of musicians than for his first two albums. They included Pierre Moerlen, who he would work with quite a lot in years to come.
The cover image was shot by David Bailey and there were some additional images of Mike in the same session which are great shots of him at that time.
And here's a performance from Knebworth Festival, with the band I saw in 1980 when I saw Mike play, in the same t-shirt... some improvisational differences, but I still remember it very well....
Mike Oldfield’s appearance at Knebworth on June 21st 1980 marked a significant moment in his career, representing one of his rare large-scale live performances during this period. The concert was part of a major outdoor festival that also featured other notable acts of the era, including the Beach Boys and Santana. For Oldfield, who was known for being somewhat reclusive and uncomfortable with live performances, taking the stage at such a massive venue was particularly noteworthy. The event drew tens of thousands of fans to the historic Hertfordshire estate, which had become one of Britain’s premier outdoor concert venues during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The performance showcased material from Oldfield’s extensive catalogue, with particular emphasis on his ground-breaking multi-instrumental compositions. His stage setup required substantial technical coordination, as Oldfield was known for playing numerous instruments himself during live shows, seamlessly transitioning between guitars, keyboards, and other instruments. The live interpretation of his work demanded both musical virtuosity and careful orchestration, as many of his studio recordings featured extensive overdubbing and layered instrumentation that had to be recreated in a live setting.
The Knebworth concert came during an interesting phase of Oldfield’s career, following the enormous success of Tubular Bells and subsequent albums like Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, and Incantations. By 1980, he had established himself as a pioneering figure in progressive rock and instrumental music, though he remained an enigmatic presence who gave relatively few interviews and live performances compared to his contemporaries. The scale of Knebworth represented both an opportunity and a challenge for an artist who preferred the controlled environment of the studio.
The event itself has become part of Knebworth’s storied history as a concert venue, joining the ranks of memorable performances by major rock acts of the period. For fans of Oldfield’s work, the concert represented a rare opportunity to witness his complex compositions performed live with full production values. While Oldfield would continue to perform sporadically throughout his career, his Knebworth appearance remains a notable milestone in demonstrating his willingness to share his innovative musical vision with large audiences despite his well-documented discomfort with the spotlight.
The string arrangements were by David Bedford, who also worked with Mike Oldfield.
For Dylan Jones, this was one of the most important years for music. I've been reading his book on 1975, and there are mentions for various other key albums from this year too, including Keith Jarrett's Köln Concert.
What were your favourite albums which were released in 1975?
Any music that is added to this blog is also added to a special Spotify playlist.
As we pass the half way point of the year, that playlist has now passed 48 hours in length - two full days of excellent music that has been showcased on the blog.
