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Photo by Dan Chapman ©2001
Stanyan Entertainment Group
A Thought for Today
Anything worth wishing for is worth
waiting for.
TO BEGIN WITH
July has been declared National Cell Phone Courtesy Month. I give it
five minutes. Please write and tell me your horror stories at the hands
of cell clods. Rejoinders to these rude offenders will be welcomed too,
not that the guilty parties pay any attention to admonitions.
NOTES FROM ALL OVER
Here’s a roundup of important STUFF you may have missed.
IT’S FUN AT THE Y.M.C.A.
Bellingham, our editor at large found this news story in Britons Daily
Telegraph:
Tom Jones Tape Recorded In Toilet To Be
Auctioned
A rare recording of singer Tom Jones singing in a lavatory is to go
under the hammer at Christie's. The reel-to-reel tape, made two years
before Jones's breakthrough hit It’s Not Unusual is his earliest-known
recording. It has been put up for sale in a rock and pop memorabilia
sale.
The four unreleased tracks were recorded in the lavatories at the YMCA
in Tom's hometown of Pontypridd, South Wales, before he hit the big
time. A spokeswoman for Christie's said: "These recordings have genuine
historical significance as they mark the birth of the Tom Jones
phenomenon." The recordings are from 1962, when he was fronting a rock
and roll band called The Senators and performed under the name Tommy
Scott.
He was approached by two local songwriters who were putting together a
demo of their tracks. They were recorded by a TV soundman on an
eight-track portable studio. The soundman, who wants to remain
anonymous, (closet case or sensitive engineer, you be the judge) is now
selling the tape. The recording is expected to fetch £2,000 - £3,000 in
next week's auction.
Liz Williams, president of the Pontypridd YMCA, added: "Tom began his
singing career here and apparently he often used to sing in the toilets.
When it came to the recording,” Ms Williams continued, “he wanted to use
the toilets because he believed they had the best acoustics in the
building."
The toilets at the YMCA building in Taff Street were demolished in 1997.
Apparently in Great Britain they have no sense of preserving
important national landmarks. The Beverly Hills John where George
Michael was caught (er, vocalizing) is still standing. But, dancers take
note; Idaho Senator Larry Craig’s wide stance stall in another convince
has reportedly been modified to prevent future fancy footwork. No word
yet if Pontypridd plans to change its name to Pottypride in honor of
their famous son.
DOES NO ONE WATCH RERUNS OF HARD COPY?
This one from CNN’s Nancy Grace: A woman who it turns out has buried
four previous husbands, all died under mysterious circumstances, has
been arrested for offering a police informant $500,00 and his pick-up
truck to OFF husband #6.
In these days of 4 bucks plus gas prices it does make sense to get
rid of those fuel guzzlers, so throwing herself on the mercy of the
court she’ll probably get off with community service.
ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS
In his new biography of Doris Day writer David Kaufman reports that
during one of my parties Doris and Warren Beatty exchanged phone numbers
but nothing came of it. Pity. Two really nice people and both deserving
at least one outing in a glass-bottomed boat together even if no pajama
game was in the offing.
BUT WILL THEY WORK WITH YOUR iPOD?
For the man who has everything, or nothing, the current issue of Sound &
Vision magazine recommends a pair of Pass Labs SR1 speakers at 50 Grand.
For those on a tighter budget it draws your attention to the more modest
Martin Logan CLX full-range but apparently not so loud speakers
available for a mere nineteen thousand and change –– and more good news,
“parts of them are made from recyclable material.”
Cigar boxes and wire hangers maybe?
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