2017 Comeback Special

[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

The Season of Same-age

The third of October, each time it comes around,

is a memorable day, and the reason is sound.

It's not because it marks the birth of Jimmy Ray

(a momentus event, but let's not let that get in the way)

No, this day of the calendar signifies something...

to be celebrated with balloons, bubbles and bunting.

October the 3rd (to end the suspense) is...

The day that the 'season of same-age' commences.

"The Season of Same-age!?" I hear you exclaim,

what on earth is this thing with such a peculiar name?

Well, it's a phase of the year (to add some clarity)

that brings age uniformity and chronological parity.

You see, Rowie and Jim spend most of the year

(301 days to be precise, to be clear)

Where the fairer of the duo is older and wiser,

and the partner's immaturity never ceases to surprise her.

But for the other 64, heralded in on the 3rd

The age differential is washed away like a turd

and all that is left, is common between them,

because their ages are the same in the same-age season.

It's a bit like Groundhog Day - where everything's repeated,

but in the Season of Same-age, what is different, is deleted.

Some people quail as this season begins

with it dry, chilly air and it's blustery winds

but for me it's the most wonderful part of the year

...at least until December the 5th...

...when disparity re-appears...

For this is the birth date of someone who leads,

not only in years but in words and in deeds,

of someone who's always moving onwards and up,

who never looks back and never gives up.

She's the someone I'll follow through all the days and all the key stages,

regardless of age!

x

[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

Are you Jimmy Ray? And if you are … Why are you? (Part #2)

I had only known CF for a couple of weeks when we began work on 'RUJR?' He had been introduced to me by my A&R guy, Lincoln Elias as 'the perfect guy for you.' The thing that appealed to me most about working with Con was his love of 50's rock'n'roll. He is also a fantastic guitarist, especially in that style. Very early on we visited the Virgin Megastore on London's Oxford Street (where I worked as a kid incidentally) to look out for records that we both liked and from which we could gain inspiration. I think CF spent about £250 on music that day! I can't remember everything we bought although I think Elvis's Sun sessions was in there and a couple of Cruisin' LPs.

So all of a sudden I'm writing my debut album with some guy I hardly know. He's cool ...but he's not me, y'know? “How's he gonna know what I want my album to be like?” I thought. There was a vague understanding that we were co-producing as well as co-writing but we were working in his writing suite using his gear that he was operating (mostly with his back turned to me). This is new. Before then, I had always been in the pilot's seat making my music so let's just say there was a teeny-weeny bit of tension right from the off.

We continued working on the demo of 'RUJR?' CF added some Rockabilly / Reggae picking style guitar arpeggios in the bridges and I think I added some acoustic rhythm guitar. CF suggested we try a Ray Charles style wailed intro: “Weeeee-eee-eeeelll! I gotta a woman!” Ray Charles I am not! so I tried it in a more subtle Gene Vincent style. Quite why I went so very whispery with it I'm not sure but it made the intro quite charismatic so we kept it (had I realized then the difficulties this intro would later present when performing live vocal to the backing track I would never have done it!)

I asked CF where he got the idea for the song. He described how he had been sitting at home watching Midnight Run (Robert De Niro) and in one scene Charles Grodin who plays the mob accountant walks into a bar and, pretending to be a cop demands of the bar tender “Who's in charge here?” to which the tender replies … you guessed it...”Who wants to know?” And that's how songwriters’ minds work. Something inside just told him to combine that tiny snippet of dialogue with his other idea 'Jimmy Ray' and you have the hook. (BTW, listen out for said movie sample on the new album!)

Soon the time came to take the song into the studio to finish it. Again, this practice seems quite outdated by today's standards where you can finish-off most recordings in your writing suite / home studio. That's certainly been my experience with the new stuff at least.

We worked in Bunk, Junk & Genius (BJG) – a really nice, laid-back and cosy studio located in a backstreet off of the North End Road in London's Fulham district. I seem to remember a 24-track desk but I could have underestimated.

We had saxophonist Gary Barnacle in to create those dirty, phat honking sax parts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Barnacle

I remember hearing (or thinking I'd heard) a distant horn riff from within a sample we were using and I asked Gary to recreate it, resulting in the 4-note riff that first drops @2:21.

Chyna Gordon (Roachford / Eric Clapton) provided some cool sporadic R&B vocals. CF also asked her to re-do the main “Are You...” parts in the chorus which she duly did – expertly. Later on however it was decided that her vocals were simply too good for the track(!) and also that they somehow didn't capture the camp of CF's demo vocal track which remained on the finished version.  

I think the last thing to go on was the 'party' sound loop that runs throughout the entire track. I remember Vaughan Arnell (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaughan_Arnell) Director of the RUJR? Video explaining how the version of the track that he'd been sent didn't feature the party loop at all therefore his treatment for the shoot didn't account for it. Just as well. When I went to America to shoot I didn't have any friends there or with me so throwing a party on set would have been a tad difficult. If I remember rightly the loop was something that CF had created himself previously and used on another record. Yes – that's right... Used. On. Another. Record!!! (production line? Tin of beans anyone?- haha.) So RUJR? has a blood-brother recording out there somewhere with the same party loop on it! Answers on a postcard.

Actually that wasn't the last thing that happened. At the close of session one day CF turned to me and asked “So what to think about the splits for this one then, Jim?” “Oh, er I dunno? What do you think?” “Well what about 75%/25% in my favour and then you take the lion's share of 'I Got Rolled?'” (my song anyway) “Oh, yeah, sure!” thinking and smirking to myself: “You've (CF) f*cked up there, mate!” So that was sorted. When I told my publisher about this he looked like sh*t was about to come out of his mouth. “Don't negotiate any more splits, Jim. Leave that to us.” Lesson learned.

I referred earlier to 'Creative differences' between CF & myself A.K.A. “I f*cking hate you you piece of cr*p. Stop F****ng-up my music!!!” type stuff. In all honestly I loved & admired CF's creativity as far as it went and didn't fully understand the pressures that a producer could be under trying to deliver an album for a major label. Not that I was at all difficult to work with or arrogant or anything. Moi?

Suffice to say the Wolfman Jack idea was jettisoned and not long after that talk began to surface of this track being the debut single. This caused me to re-appraise the recording from a different perspective. My debut single was gonna be a song that wasn't really my idea? Erm, hang on a minute! I'm not really that tough… or mean! And I'm not particularly dangerous either ...really! I only don't smile much because I have a lot of fillings! Wait. Wait a minute! Have you really thought about this?

Too late. Those wise-guys know a hit when they hear one.

THE END

[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

Are you Jimmy Ray? And if you are … Why are you? (Part #1)

John Lennon often downplayed the intellectual significance attached to the Beatles' more provocative and psychedelic works (which according to Lennon, were often undeservedly attributed by fans and far-out followers alike with great universal importance and subtle subliminality) as nothing more than wilful misinterpretation. Encouraged by such flattery, Lennon soon began to play upon the perceived mysteries and legends surrounding the Beatles' more enigmatic lyrics with prankish teases such as 'The Walrus was Paul' and 'I am the Eggman' etc. Personally I think the Beatles were well-versed in the art of legend-making right from the start – it's an art form after all!

I on the other hand have been asked many times about the origins of the song 'Are You Jimmy Ray?' and each time I try to come up with as fulsome an answer as possible. Although I have not yet been accused of sending out backwards-recorded surreptitious messages via the song, I have been asked questions about it that surprised me – surprising considering the music press received the song as nothing more than a bone-headed piece of self-promotion.

For example. One young English student journalist once shouted at me “Is 'Are you Jimmy Ray?' a comment on the prevalence of schizophrenia in modern-day society?” (or words to that effect). He was taking the piss but I would have offered him a considered answer had my road manager not told him to go forth and multiply before I had the chance.

“Good God, I'm a Believer!” You what?

To me, being a believer means believing in magic – not religion. “I want to believe” - as Fox Mulder would say. I BELIEVE that John Lennon is the Eggman even if he doesn't (or isn't? – he isn't!) and I BELIEVE that the fab four are Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band even if they aren't (they are!)

RUJR? Was first played to me by my co-writer/producer at the time, Conall Fitzpatrick (“CF”). He won't mind me saying that he was famous for writing 'Trouble' for 90's pop band and original exponents of girl-power, 'Shampoo.'

CF & I had already knocked out a couple of ideas when he played me the beginnings of the song on a cassette tape. I immediately thought it was interesting and unusual but had some doubts about the synthetic bassline sound on the recording. I knew it could be changed so we began working on the track together. Con already had the chorus 'Are You Jimmy Ray?' plus the 'Who wants to know' response. Pretty clever.

Around that period, sometime in 1996, there was a very large graffitti plastered across the asphalt at the centre of Hammersmith roundabout in West London which imposed: “Who is Christian Goldman?” Nobody seemed to know. I sometimes wonder if Con wasn't subconsciously influenced by this when he thought up RUJR?

https://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/remember-the-who-is-christian-goldman-griffiti-what-was-that-about.179949/

Within CF's writing suite inside Eden Studios in Chiswick, W.London we hammered-out the rest of the song. This included me contributing most of the lyrics for the verses. 'Shaking it down by the wall' was a crude reference to teenage snogging by a particular wall in Walthamstow, E.London where I grew-up.  I was particularly smug & proud of the double-entendreness of the 'I gotta let it out it's something in my genes' line and justifiably so - Mark Owen from Take That stole it introducing another band on Top of the Pops the week I debuted on it. I have always listened to Gene Vincent and CF was a massive fan so it wasn't a big leap to put in the “Everybody jump back” section after Gene's 'Jump Back, Honey, Jump Back.'

The name-check list: Fay Wray, Johnnie Ray, Stingray, Link Wray etc was all CF's work and the names speak for themselves. Retro heroes and heroines who symbolized my own cultural interests from music, film, and …motoring haha! I couldn't even drive a car at this time.

We were recording the demo as we wrote the lyrics so it all came together before too long.

I think this period (maybe a few years before) saw the dawn of the era of recording where demos transmogrified into finished recordings. Prior to this a band would usually 4-track a song and then begin again from scratch for the master version. CF & I had discussed using samples quite prominently throughout the album we had just embarked on writing and an early example of this was the shaker loop ('bo loop') on the track that we unofficially 'borrowed' from a very famous R&R singer/guitarist from the 50's era whom we both loved.

We replaced the synth bass with a different more realistic synth bass. haha.

Another idea we had – and this is why I like to compare my own recording career to that of the Beatles experimental period – ha – was to make the whole album sound like a radio broadcast out of a 1950's U.S. disc-jockey radio station – in the style of Wolman Jack and the like. This was not a particularly new idea - the 'Cruisin'' series of albums from the 1970's for example did something similar albeit with a compilation of original recordings – but it would have sounded pretty cool. Don't ask me why this idea fell through. I know – but don't ask me. More on this later.

ARTIST / PRODUCER CREATIVE DIFFERENCES ALERT #1 At this time I had no idea that this track would later become the first single.

To be continued...

[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

Interview with Jimmy

August 2016 - Jimmy was messaging with Bibi Lynch - journalist, columnist, writer and broadcaster. She’s written for the Guardian, GQ, Grazia… and others not starting with the letter G. A regular voice on radio (BBC Radio London, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4); an irregular face (!) on TV (from sofa-moments on 'This Morning' and 'BBC Breakfast', to hosting Living’s 'Bachelor of the Year' and 'What Men Want' series.) Bibi also created Living’s hit show 'Dead Famous.' Bibi is currently presenting 'Bibi Does Soho' on Soho Radio in London.

====================================

BL: Hi, Jimmy. Good to type. Let's paint a picture. Where are you right now? What can you see?

JR: I can see your purdy face on my computer screen! Beyond that I'm surrounded by my music gear in my writing suite. Familiar surroundings!

BL: So you're working on the album now? Any final touches?

JR:  Yep! Been doing the album since last September. Lots of tweaks. Problem with my final touches is they are never final. That's what happens when you are producing and mixing your own stuff. Keep going back, and back, and back!

BL: But that's how you get what you want, mister. Good to be precise… Let's go back… You set the record for ‘highest Hot 100 debut for a new UK act’ with Are You Jimmy Ray?. It entered at #26 in 1998. Even One Direction couldn’t beat you. Good to beat those boys?

JR:  I beat them in a single chart number, they beat me in hair length in centimetres, digits of supermodels' phone numbers and ...well let's not mention the bank balance! The chart record is a nice thing to have. Would love to beat my own record, like Usain!

BL: Heh. But are they happy…? (They're happy.) Amazing record to have. Shows how huge that time was for you. Totally broke the States. People talk about 'breaking the States'. But what was it like? (I'm having a HobNob as you type.)

JR:  It was an unexpected shock. I honestly had no plans or ambition to go to America as stateside success just wasn't happening for UK acts at the time. The Spice girls changed all that and I think I rode their wave a bit... having the same manager in Simon Fuller (nibbles Jaffa cake.) I think my genuine love of American retro music made it a bit easier for me out there. I felt like an honorary 'Septic'. Honestly, they were great – the'mericans!

BL: Who was your least favourite Spice Girl?

JR:  least fave spice girl was Deidre Spice. She didn't make it through the final audition. Fave was Vicky (until she didn't record the duet I wrote for her & me.) Then it was cuddly spice (Emma.)

JR:  I mean bunny spice, or whatever.

BL: Hahaha. Oh, Vicky… I got in. Old Spice. Rude gits.

JR:  They did call me 'Spice boy' in the press one or twice (just once actually.)

BL: Oh I bet. Naughty lazy journos. Ha! God, I bet you loved it in the U.S.… What was that time like? Amazing? Insane?

JR:  My very first visit to the states was LA to shoot the video for Are You Jimmy Ray?. When you consider I was escorted to the shoot location in a limousine with two motorcycle cop outriders and then later that day used as target practice by a 'not-too-friendly'-lookin' fellow with an imaginary sniper rifle in the Latin quarter of downtown LA. you could say that was pretty insane start to my time in the U.S.!!!!!!

BL: You were on every top TV show out there. Including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno… What was he like?

JR:  Leno was actually really friendly and cuddly too (not in that way.) He showed me his vintage car in the studio lot & then introduced me to John Travolta before he cut me loose me in front of his millions of viewers - Like I said - very friendly!

BL: Travolta?! Too much. How did you psych your head for that? Millions of viewers AND Danny Zuko!

JR:  Well this is the thing. Trav was a far better rocker than I was, so it was pretty intimidating - plus my hit song wasn't as good as anything on the Grease soundtrack so I felt like a bit of a shmuck in front of him. But he was great. I drew attention to the fact that my hairstyle at the time was a poor imitation of Danny's and he got it. He was too cool. The show itself went pretty well, everything on US TV is totally live, no backing tracks like in the UK so we got to land a pretty good punch on that show.

BL: Wish I'd been there! Got chills just hearing about it. Amazing… And did Cybill Shepherd steal your shoes on a show? (Or have I made that up…?)

JR:  Almost! Cybill Shepherd stole my HEART when I met her at a gig I played in London as a teenager, Jamie Lee Curtis kidnapped my suede creepers backstage at Leno (or was it Rosie?) She was an absolute dream. So down-to-earth and approachable for someone so FAMOUS. Ooooh! We all fell in love that day!

BL: Ha! Those flirts!

JR: BTW I'll tell you who didn't flirt with me... Cyndi Lauper and Gloria Estefan when I barged in-between them to have our photo taken at some awards thing. I asked Cyndi "Are you having fun?" She didn't seem to be… not after she met me at least.

BL: Hahahaha. Hope the injunction's lifted now, though. What’s your strongest ‘I’m a boy from Walthamstow! HOW is this happening to me?!’ memory of that time? The maddest thing that happened?

JR:  The most bonkers thing that happened beyond question was being asked for my autograph on a vist to GRACELAND! I'm a humongous EP fan and that moment just about topped everything. I really thought “hang on - what's going here then?”

BL:  And now the Comeback… Am hoping against hope you’re going to wear a black leather jumpsuit…

JR:  Yes. I have black leather... vintage 1998. Tried on the pants the other day. Thought they fitted fine. Went out in them. couple of hours later "pop" and continued on like that throughout the evening.

BL: Haha! Top of the Pops!

BL:  There’s an Elvis cover on your new album Live to Fight Another Day… How did you choose (You’re the) Devil in Disguise?

JR:  Love Elvis. I was going through a bit of a darkish period / mood and was writing a lot of stuff with punky, angry guitar riffs. I found a riff that worked on 'Devil' changed some of the chords to minors and then tried to deliver the vocal In a style I thought Morrissey might do it in. It actually worked (I think?) Very different to EP's version. Thanks Mozza! Love to hear an album of EP covers by Mozza!

BL: Mozza does EP? Stop it now, Jimmy Ray. (Version is great. A really unusual understated 'bouncing' quality to vocal. Me like v much.)

BL: The other cover on the album (apart from reworking of you-know-what) is a song from your uncle Johnnie…

JR:  Yep Uncle Johnnie Ray. Lovely fellow, loaned me his hearing aid don't you know! (Or was that Mozza too?) Johnnie was the last of the great teenage crooners back in the 50s. Very powerful & emotional vocal deliveries - in a way I could never match so again, I've twisted it to fit my own psyche. Plus Soliloquy of a Fool is just such a great title - proppa use of the english language - know wot I mean Bibi!

BL: Only too well, JR. Only too well…

BL: The rest of the album is originals and a reboot/re-imagining of Are You Jimmy Ray? called Who Wants to Know?. Why go back?

JR:  BTW, It's great being able to interview with 3 or 4 Jaffa cakes in one's mouth!

BL: Based my entire career on that gift.

JR:  Yep, I think I've written 11 originals for the album. That's about 1 a month! slightly quicker than my typing. When we first recorded RUJR? as is often the case, I felt we could have gone further with the 50s Kitsch, so that's what I've done here. It has a fuller sound with strings and horn section and a plethora of 50' guitar styles. I have a pair of shoes made out of plethora. This version is closer to the vision. 
BL: Heh. Twat. (I say that with love.)

JR: I love you too, stupid!

BL: Ha! Who Wants to Know? is also a clever riposte. Now and then. It's great.

JR:  I still get it you know "Are you Jimmy Ray?" Or "didn't you USED to be Jimmy Ray?"

BL: Do you? It's your 'Rickaaaaaaaaaay!' What do you say? Who wants to know? Actually say it?

JR:  If I DON'T say WWTK? then I'm not doing my bit for the war effort.

BL: Don't tell 'em, Pike!

JR:  I say it whilst choking ...as if on a Jaffa cake.

BL: As your biography says, the album has a real retro rock ‘n’ roll flavour… But that is a big old umbrella… From ‘Wall of Sound’ to ‘1960s’ surf’ to ‘Americana’…

JR:  Yeah, retro. It just feels natural that way. When I pick up a guitar it starts to twang or 12-bar. I feel comfortable writing with humour (more common in the 50's than now)...less so direct from the heart. I could never do a raw heartfelt Johnny Cash album although I do do ('doo-doo' lol!) an acoustic thing at the end which is pretty honest. I'm too emotionally repressed to do that all the time. Most of the meanings in my songs are buried or disguised. I probably shouldn't mention murderer, MURDERER! Phil Spector but his thing was definitely an influence. The sound – wall of. Does that make me EVIL?

BL: Yes.

JR:  Oh dear. OK well Devil in Disguise is probably the right cover then!

BL: This lyric made me laugh out loud… ‘I love you in the back - so meet me round the back - I love you in the back of my mind…’

JR:  Yeah, that lyric makes me giggle too, especially as just as the 'meet me round the back' line drops and very protrusive string run reaches it's crescendo - ouch!

BL: Ouch indeed. Always loved your retro - written retro - but how has your style progressed and developed over the years?  Do you think writing and producing other artists has developed you further?

JR:  Yeah. I have written with other folk over the years - Jo Callis form Human League being the real highlight. I love retro but also love techno / synth stuff - since hearing the League - so my production techniques can go right across that spectrum. When I say the new album is retro, it doesn't mean there aren't contemporary sounds and ideas on there as well.

BL: Yeah, more sensibility and feel… I think the album is so great. And I have a favourite track… Is that allowed? #SophiesChoice

JR:  Is it the closing seconds of the LAST track? Lol

BL: Hahaha. I refer you to previous 'Twat'… No it's not. (Love acoustic Sex for Beginners, though…) No, it’s Back to the Country. I think your best song yet. I’m getting some Roddy Frame there…

JR: Aaah, thanks for mentioning Mr Frame. He's probably my biggest UK influence. Amazing guitarist, lyricist and melodian (is that a word?) I love the mysteriousness of the man too. I've been a fan for years but know virtually nothing about him as a person. I love that. 'Back to the Country' is my crack at Americana. I'm a sentimental chap at heart (I cried watching the Elephant Man yesterday - AGAIN!) and although I know shit about 'the country' (apart from it has a lot of shit in it) I wanted to and think I achieved some of that 'longing for a simpler way of life' thing in that track. Probably the best guitar solo I ever landed too! Thanks!

BL: Pleasure. A real 'complete' feel to the song and vocals. Think it's fantastic.

JR: Thanks!

BL:  Why the comeback…? In your biography you say you want to ‘finish the job’… Did your career feel incomplete then?

JR: I was always driven by my creative side since being a little kid. It just reared-up in me again last September and It was like 'Ok. Let's do it.' Had I been in Lidl with a trolley-full of groceries at the checkout at the time it was like "right just leave the trolley there ...I'm off to the studio." I'm glad it's taken me less than a year to do it too. Sounds like a long time but after 18 years it's not.


BL: Has the process been different? From then (1997) to now (whatever year we're in)?

JR:  We're in 1957

BL: *flux capacitor face*

JR:  Process is different because I've done everything - written, recorded, played, produced, arranged, engineered, mixed, cleaned the bog, took the dog for a walk. I'm also using my own home studio so it's free this time. 'Cross collateralization' my arse! (look it up musical younglings)

BL: Ah… yes… That's a whole different interview…

BL: YOU HAVE NO DOG!

JR:  it's one of those invisible Japanese ones where you just take the leash for a walk.

BL: The emperor's new dog…

BL: The Comeback: exciting or terrifying?

JR:  The terror makes it exciting! I just hope someone notices!

BL: Terror is good. And it's not just the Catholic in me saying that.

BL: What do you hope will happen?

JR:  I'm actually just glad to have completed the songs. I'll release the thing and if anyone digs it then that's a bonus. I would love to be able to perform the album with a band as I did in the states all those years ago. I'm still in touch with the guys I worked with back then and to reunite for a TV show or a gig would be the ultimate.

BL: Oh, boy. That would be incredible… And there's a certain freckly writer who'd happily do those backing vocals…

BL: Live to Fight Another Day, Jimmy Ray! #preach

JR:  Thanks Bibi Lynch! I'll see you on stage OR just "meet me 'round the back" wink! wink! Love ya!

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[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

I named my facebook page ‘Official fan page.’ Since starting it up I have had the pleasure of making new acquaintances the world over - in every continent. I have had invitations to weddings and to play gigs in back yards. I’ve had original artworks and comic strips featuring Jimmy Ray sent to me. I’ve been invited to share intimate details of peoples personal lives and had inquiries about my own personal life which I have attempted to be as open as possible about in response. I’ve been offered help in many ways:- artwork and design for my album, suggestions about song titles and cover versions and other offers of support. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing original music created by people I have come to know through the page and have been privileged to be able to share my own music with many people I’ve never met in person. I’ve been sent a recording of a concert from my heyday that I never believed I would hear again.

Through reading the occasional posts of these various acquaintances I’ve come to know about their lives, moods, interests, careers, and loved-ones. On top of all of this I have felt great warmth and support from a group of people most of whom are unknown to each other, which I never before knew existed. The support has been sincere, kindhearted, encouraging and appreciated beyond anything I can put into words. in one case I even got to meet in person a really great guy we all know as Zac Sandler. Zac is a musician and after sharing some ideas on my cover of ‘Devil in Disguise’ with him over the internet I have managed to salvage the recording after having previously given-up on it for various reasons surrounding the rhythm of the track. Without Zac’s input and encouragement the venture would have been lost but is now back in the running for inclusion on the album. Thanks Zac!

All of the above are the actions of friends, not ‘fans’ and that is how I feel about each and everyone who has taken the time to follow the progress of my belated return to music.

I can’t wait to get to know you all better as ‘things start moving’!!!

...and like Puzo’s Godfather, you never known when I may call for that favour!

Jimmy x

[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

3-year extended guarantee

Lyrics for a song that I never wrote about shopping for technology in the 1980′s. Most of it was lifted directly from a Dixons (UK electronics store) catalogue.

3-year extended guarantee

Our products are checked, checked again, then re-checked to maintain our reputation for absolute excellence!

Hi, I want the unbeatable offer please. I want a same day installation and instant credit with no deposit down. I'm asking you for details (and expert advice) because I want to own my own today (you make buying easy)

Don't forget the free wine and dine set because i'm looking for a complete package. I have up to £1,250 to spend now but it must be 'first for features'. I want performance I can trust at a price I can afford.

I need a machine with an auto-sensor and ultra-compact design. It must be the latest model and no, I don't mind the small extra payment because I want to upgrade to the latest technology.

Can you give me a free demonstration? Why should I wait when it could be mine today?

A four pack or a ten pack? What's the difference in price? I don't want to go on paying forever, and what is the battery life in years?

All these superb deals are now available in 30 stores nationwide!

Actually, I don't want to shop at Dixons, I want to deal with Rumbelows instead.

[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

(Jimmy Ray)

[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

When I was a kid I could sit for hours with a guitar and struggle to come up with anything resembling a decent ‘song’. Today, amidst the hustle and bustle of Xmas, while I was pottering around in the kitchen looking for something else to stuff down my fat, undeserving face, with music far from my mind, I suddenly thought …“song!” …grabbed the six string, went to my bedroom and put down an idea (on my little Aiwa cassette recorder) called 'Back to the Country’ which (you might never have guessed) has a strong country feel to it - something that I was desperate to get on the new album. You can never be sure but it feels like a good'n! 

Anyone who remembers a track called 'Sex for Beginners’ on my first album may or may not have noticed that it contains mixed metaphors relating to sex & food. Well the origins of my new country song will in my mind at least, always cause me to remember the mixed metaphors contained in Little Richard’s earliest version of ‘Tutti Frutti’ (Italian: “all the fruits”) …

“Tutti Frutti, good booty If it don’t fit, don’t force it You can grease it, make it easy”

I guess what I’m trying to say is - for me at least - sex & food can both be great inspirations for a good song idea but whatever you do …don’t force it!

I’ll sneekypeek this one ASAP.

[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, thy leaves are shed-ding profusely.

[jimmyrayofficial-blog]

A special, solo acoustic Christmas show of hits from Roddy's back catalogue combined with songs from his acclaimed solo albums.

Off to see the main man RODDY FRAME at Cadogan Hall tonight wiv me mate Stuart Shipton. See you there?

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Elvis & Me

In 1968, when Elvis Presley was confronted with the fact that his credibility (if not his popularity) was on the wain following a string of unspectacular movies in the mid to late sixties, he was persuaded by Director Steve Binder to make his comeback via a show which reminded viewers of the Presley that had exploded into public view back in ‘56 - focusing down on the raw power and talent of the artist. Elvis’s manager Col Parker’s preference was for a stodgy Christmas comeback featuring nothing but festive hymns and carols. Binder & Elvis’s decision was vindicated and the ‘68 Comeback Special has since assumed legendary status (partially down to Elvis’s gargantuan rendition of ‘If I can dream’) alongside other Presley performances before and after. The success of the show however was not guaranteed beforehand and one can only imagine the trepidation Elvis (who knew as well as anyone that longevity in showbiz is not an entitlement) must have felt as he prepared himself for the challenge.

Turning to my own miniature comeback of 2016. I will be bringing to a close a coma-like sabbatical which cannot be counted in years on the fingers of two hands …and a foot. Like Elvis, I inevitably feel some trepidation as (like a man who has just climbed inside a barrel at the top of Niagara Falls) I willingly launch myself into the unknown, knowing that it is probably a bad idea. The music business has changed beyond recognition since our first doomed flirtation (I actually submitted demos of “Are you Jimmy Ray?”to my record company on cassette tapes) and I will soon find out if our relationship will always remain like Longfellow’s ‘ships that passed in the night’ or whether it will develop into a full-blown, life-long love affair played-out in the wide open like the grotesque public french kissing of two unbearably self-important sex maniacs.

Euurgh!

Thanks for listening.

Jimmy Ray 15/12/2015

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