What connects Cornershop, Oasis, Pulp & Black Grape?

Watching the BBC programme on women with troublesome big breasts and serious issues about health and self-esteem; and then I remembered the line from the Cornershop track ‘Brim Full of Asha (mp3)’: “Everybody Needs A Bosom For A Pillow” not least ’cause back in 1993 I’d booked them to appear at some very very small event at Manchester Town Hall and a really nice lady had gobe out to buy them pizza as payment but was mugged for the pizza!

Which in turn leads me to recall another Manchester lad, Shaun Ryder, and in Feb 1996 on the night of the Canary Wharf IRA bomb going up to him at the Black Grape backstage party and for a dare telling him he had a big nose and he smelt. I managed to get into the after-concert party after some guy said his girlfriend was backstage so I talked out way in by saying I knew ‘Chris’. I later had a nice chat with his manager, and a great out-of-it one with the taxi driver speeding back to north London after the bombing, that was some night. (And even bumping ex-Beauchamp ladies, including Carole Orbell, at the concert which was well not expected.)

And a few months later even walking past Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker on Liverpool Road and pulling a face ’cause I wasn’t happy to see a celeb; and later outside Victoria Station walking past Noel Gallagher; so hey maybe I bring some musical luck to these guys, who knows?

James Brown now dead

OK, so I just found out James Brown died on Xmas day. Day-way to go James. Not surprisingly this news did not make it to the Black Forest where I was staying. New’s today is that there moving his body to a final resting place. Apparently he recently appeared in London at the BBC Electric Proms at the newly opened Roundhouse venue, which I walked past on Sunday. Sorry I didn’t chance to see him perform.