ALUN WOODWARD....A MAN OF IMPECCABLE TASTE

Regular readers will know that I've previously said a lot of very nice things about Lord Cut Glass - the current stage and recording name for Alun Woodward, who first came to prominence as the guitarist and singer in The Delgados.

It turns out he is a man of impeccable taste in as much as he has little love for a song that I loath.  I only discovered this in reading the sleeve notes that accompany the 2xCD - The Delgados : The Complete BBC Peel Sessions.

The notes are wonderfully written by Stewart Henderson, the bassist in the band and now one of the leading players in the Scottish music scene thanks to his stewardship of Chemikal Underground records.  The notes act as a mini-biography of The Delgados, with tales of seven sessions between May 1995 and September 2004 (although the first session wasn't for the John Peel Show but instead a local programme on BBC Scotland).

This is what Stewart says about the session recorded on 15 September 2002 and broadcast on 16 October 2002:-

"Scheduled to coincide with the release of the LP Hate, this was was going to be a departure from previous sessions as we had decided to do four cover versions - we would choose three and John would be allowed to pick the fourth. John's choice was Last Rose of Summer by a Jamaican vocal group called The Symbols (also known as The Masters). This was a really enjoyable session to do although we all had individual problems with the songs that were chosen - Alun hated Mr Blue Sky from the beginning and it took us forever to work out the outro. Paul had a nightmare doing the drums on California Uber Alles and Matthew & Son was a pain in the arse for me to play but overall the versions came out really well (for Alun's sins we ended all our Hate shows with Mr Blue Sky)"

Now there's not many things that drive me nuts at John Hunt's club nights - but he does have a terrible habit of giving the ELO song the occasional airing - and without fail I will have a drunken rant at him in a playful way.  I really really detest the song.....and I'm not fond of anything the band does.  I gave them a try back in the teenage years when loads of other classmates raved about how amazing the music sounded....it just got on my tits.  So to read that Alun Woodward also hates the song made me smile.

Here's the four songs from the session:-

mp3 : The Delgados - Mr Blue Sky
mp3 : The Delgados - California Uber Alles
mp3 : The Delgados - Matthew & Son
mp3 : The Delgados - Last Rose of Summer

Oh and I should mention that at least one close and dear friend shocked me one night by dancing to Mr Blue Sky at one of John's club nights.......fess up man before I out you!!