The Elvis effect

It's months since I last checked the top 40. It all seems rather meaningless now that it's no longer based on actual record sales. And it doesn't help that it's stuffed full of people I've never heard of. There's no Top of the Pops these days to provide a weekly crutch for people like me to talk knowledgably about the latest hits. I checked the charts today though and was surprised to find no fewer than three Elvis tracks in the top 30: Blue Suede Shoes, My Baby Left Me and Suspicious Minds. There's also an Elvis album at number two in the album charts. It's a tribute to Elvis's longevity, not to mention the quality of the three tracks that have made it into the charts. Unless, he's still around somewhere busily promoting his records in readiness for another comeback!

At the weekend boot sales I bought about 25 LPs for £1 or less each, but only one of them will go into my record collection - a 1980 album by Tyrone Davis called I Just Can't Keep On Going. Among the stuff that I have advertised on eBay are LPs by Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Mountain, Jack Bruce and the Grateful Dead (my username is soulboy1946 if anyone's interested). All of them are too rock orientated for me. The most interesting find was probably an LP called McDonald and Giles, by two former members of King Crimson, which sounded quite pleasant when I gave it a spin. I just hope I can sell them all, because my flat is beginning to get rather full of records that I don't want, as well as a lot that I do.

Yesterday I went with my girlfriend to John and Mary's barbecue in Southend. A very pleasant afternoon with quite a few of the Tales From The Woods crowd there, plus some musicians who looked the part. Congrats to John and Mary on their 40th. That's quite an achievement.