Organizing the Babymetal collection

Well look at this. The first Babymetal (ring) binder is almost full (80+ pages out of 110 or so), but I run out of the material needed to proceed any further today. I have enough stuff to fill two of these up at the moment, even if I save some of the key magazines as they are. Here is a few pictures for inspiration…

On the last shot you can see that the right page is not quite full yet, but it will be. You just need the right cuttings from the right period and then you are ready to go. As I said in an earlier post today, I have been collecting stuff like this in this fashion since the early 1970s. It is very very effective, it is like a never ending book that ends only when you let it.

Good fun.

(My images of said collection)

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Joe Lynn Turner hospitalized in Minsk

Sad to hear that Joe Lynn Turner suffered a heart attack in Belarus last weekend (he has been undergoing treatment at a hospital in Minsk). A European tour that was supposed to start in Sweden on April 25 has been cancelled as Joe needs some time to recover.

Get well soon my friend.

(Seen here is DEEP PURPLE FOREVER # 24, published in January 2000. Cover shot by Michael Johansson – used with permission from photographer both on magazine cover and on this blog)

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Art Bell is gone

The legendary radio host and author Art Bell has passed away. You may remember him from his Coast To Coast days but he was making a bit of a comeback in the last few months. I have listened to many of his shows on YouTube over the years and he was always great. And one step ahead of the competition.

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Babymetal history

Got the “Babymetal World Tour 2014” Limited Edition of the first Babymetal CD on import from Japan yesterday (see April 1 post for details), and it was good fun to watch the bonus DVD. Apart from the early videos (which are good to own), the real prize on this release are the five tracks from one of the Summer Sonic 2013 concerts they did in August that year. Now when I bought this, I was kind of hoping that it would be the Osaka show (the outdoors one), because it is famous for having Lars Ulrich watching them from the wings (which meant that he had to make a bit of an effort to even get there, this being the smallest stage of that day and Metallica performed elsewhere on the site that night). What you actually get on this release though is the Tokyo show, which was an indoors event. Not sure if these songs were all they got to play on that night, but I guess 30 minutes at a big festival is pretty fair for a new outfit. The place is packed though and the girls are super happy at the end when they get to their “We are…” (Su-metal) “…Babymetal!” (Yuimetal and Moametal responding together with the crowd). Very entertaining performance, they were quite professional at this stage even though they were so young. Wowow filmed this gig so I guess it was aired on television in Japan at the time. Not sure if the Osaka gig was filmed but I really hope it was.

Good addition to the ever growing collection.

(Thank you Kalle San for your support)

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40 years ago

It was 40 years ago this month that Roger Glover released his second solo album “Elements”. By 1978 he had been out of Deep Purple for five years and at that time he was most well known for his years with them and having produced records with Nazareth, Judas Priest and David Coverdale. He must have felt that he was out in the wilderness at the time and it was not that long after the release of this album that he was asked to produce the next Rainbow record. Within weeks he was joining the band. “Elements” never had a prayer of hitting Gold, it was too much of a progressive, almost Soundtrack like record. But it is still my favourite in a stack of very eclectic records from this man. Very talented guy.

(Seen here is official shot of Roger Glover and the album cover)

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Lill-Babs is gone

Swedish artist Lill-Babs has passed away. She was a working artist since the late 1950s and had more success at home than most can even dream of. Many are the 45s from the 1960s and 1970s that I recall with joy, not least the “Manolito” single from 1968. I do own a Double CD with a lot of these songs. Lyricist Stikkan Anderson made a fortune working with Lill-Babs and would later invest in ABBA. When that went through the roof in 1974 he was their manager. No Lill-Babs, no ABBA? Maybe. In any case, this is the second Icon that we have lost in Sweden inside of two weeks (see earlier post about Jerry Williams) and that is just sad. A friend of mine, bass player Lars Ericsson worked with her in recent times and he considered her a class act. He would know.

(Pictures seen here are said single and three shots of mine from her Museum in Järvsö from the old archives)

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Welcome to my world

I decided to take a few snapshots on my way to the local store this afternoon, to document the last snow before it has all melted away. I am standing when these shots are taken, no crawling around near the ground for effect or anything like that. Just so that you know.

First sound you hear in the morning in these parts are the brave souls that are up clearing the ways for traffic and pedestrians. Many are the days when you beat it to them, battling your way forward with snow halfway up to your knees.

You can see that the streets are visible now. When I see the asphalt I know Spring is is here.

I am not complaining, just stating the facts. If anything, I love the seasons. This is life.

I love Jämtland (County). I love Sweden.

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40 years ago

The classic “Long Live Rock´n´Roll” album by Rainbow saw release in April 1978, so it has been around for four decades now. At this time, Ritchie Blackmore was at his absolute peak as a guitar player and there are some amazing moments on this record. Flanked by Ronnie James Dio and Cozy Powell, it really was the best there was back in the day at the time. I would say that it is essential listening.

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