Five years on, I have worked out who freedom of speech was...

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

Five years on, I have worked out who freedom of speech was...

JoanOfArc · The Fine Art of Surfacing

Dunno what ur on about Arrgeee ;-S lol has bob's management been offensive to you? what did they say Arrrgee?

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

JoanOfArc wrote:
Dunno what ur on about Arrgeee ;-S lol has bob's management been offensive to you? what did they say Arrrgee?

Oh, a few years ago the tour manager called me a knob/knobhead cos no one liked what I was writing on here about cancelled gigs, the lack of information on the official site and expensive merchandise.

He had a email sent on his behalf to a few of the more promient forum members. Apparently I was sending abusive emails and saying abusive things to Ian and Tina that I deserved to be hung for (Not true - all I ever sent privately were reviews and competition entries, and the first time I ever spoke to Ian was last month at Cadogan Hall) and gossiping and rumour spreading that they were having to constantly deny (well if people are too stupid to realise that's what happens on forums wtf can I do about that?).

Anyway, he was taking the link to the forum off the official site - boo hoo.

Laughably he claimed he had allowed the forum. Well fcuk me, I never heard of him until he turfed up with his message. He couldn't even create an account to send it himself. disbelief

All this more or less coincided with my annual vacation, so I posted "goodbye, I'm off" as a response to one post which was taken as me leaving the forum. Quite a few members had thrown their toys out of the pram around that time and left, so I thought a farewell of my own would be amusing.

Anyway in the fortnight that followed, the Geldof management set up their own forum which had this poster called 'freedom of speech' which some believed was me. The forum was hastilty removed, and in the meantime some forum members took it upon themselves to have a "We love Bob" petition that got about 100 (one hundred) signatories.

Of course, it was all my fault that no one loved Geldof...

The thing is I was in a rural gite in France without any sort of communication; my mobile wouldn't even work which I suppose only goes to show how much of a bogeyman I was. Tabloid stories were apparently of my making (they weren't) and it wouldn't surprise me if I was considered to be the cause of the Milan fiasco.

Still, as usual with matters Geldof, why let the truth get in the way of a good tale? smile

Besides, I should thank them, because it has all worked out for the best. Pretty much all the sad cases who think Geldof is a saint have gone, there are no stupid happy birthday, bob-sex messages, and there are now a few interesting posters, some who actually who want to discuss the Rats. It is actually worthwhile checking this forum out these days. Result!

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Looking back over old posts there seems to have been a lot of really interesting people with opinions about Geldof and the Rats who no longer post, which is unfortunate.

I suppose to post on any band forum you have to be a bit more than a casual fan who bought one or two Rats albums, and sometimes people 'burn out' after a year or two.

ArrGee's forum does have 'indie credentials' , and has lasted six years which speaks for itself.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
ArrGee's forum does have 'indie credentials' , and has lasted six years which speaks for itself.

Not really my forum as such, I just kind of took it over by changing the passwords evileye (a few others do have access to them in case of emergency). The original forum which pre-dates me is still around http://www.voy.com/101985/, and there have been some others that have come and gone.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

We'll call you the technical director then. Glad the 'graphics' or readability of Internet messageboards have improved dramatically as in the old days ie 5 plus years ago following the 'conversation' was a hard task, almost to the extent of putting people off.

I'll stay out of the politics and just keep to the meat of the issues, which is always a good idea.

franna · V Deep

Stop being such a knob. Milan. Was. All. Your. Fault.
: )

franna · V Deep

Crap. Now I'm getting all sentimental about the board as it was back in ... 2002-ish or so. Good times, if barely readable and filled with nutters.

Love to Rita, the Girls from Germany (they know who they are), Simon, and....lots of amusing others whose screennames aren't popping into my aging brain at the moment.

The night I didn't believe Pete was Pete....

Vince stopping by...

And later....the transatlantic phone calls to argue with Ian....

"Saving" the forum....

An interesting ride, all in all.

-- Edited by franna on Wednesday 26th of October 2011 01:06:22 AM

-- Edited by franna on Wednesday 26th of October 2011 01:09:12 AM

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

franna wrote:
Milan. Was. All. Your. Fault.
Now I'm getting all sentimental about the board as it was back in ... 2002-ish or so. Good times, if barely readable and filled with nutters.
It's a fair copThat and all the other cancelled gigs were all down to me.
The good times are now. I enjoy the forum much more these days. Ever since the Rats re-formed, a few good posters have arrived with something interesting to say and it's nice to meet people gigs rather than been Billy Nomates stood on my own.
All the nutters have headed off to facebook/twitter. Well, most of them

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

Does that include me as a nutter? Maybe you shouldn't answer that one

Scottie · Loudmouth

Bloody cheek!!!!!!!! LOL I think I am the only person left on this board who has no interest in the Rats. Maybe I should not be here ??

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

Scottie wrote:
Bloody cheek!!!!!!!! LOL I think I am the only person left on this board who has no interest in the Rats. Maybe I should not be here ??

smile I thought that'd wake you up.

No, of course you are welcome here. This forum is open to all. Even nutters.

BTW neither you nor Jules are considered as nutters.

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

you obviously don't know either us very well ArrGee wink

Yes we've gone into a new era on this board with some genuine Rats fans coming on board. But the core diehard members are still around, Scottie, ArrGee and me and welcome back Fran.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Scottie wrote:
Bloody cheek!!!!!!!! LOL I think I am the only person left on this board who has no interest in the Rats. Maybe I should not be here ??

Without the springboard of the Boomtown Rats Bob's solo albums on their own haven't really generated a big following. If he had been a solo artist, and just released his five albums whatever 'splast' those albums made, would have been even less noticeable. I bought all Geldof's solo albums when they came out, and they remind me of how I felt back in those days.

Surely Scottie you must have heard lots of the Rats and I wonder how you can be such a hugh fan of Bob's solo stuff and 'dismiss' what most regard to be his superior work with the Boomtown Rats? I'm just genuinely curious rather than saying you should like the Rats, as we all have our own 'musical sensibilities' .

As a fan I can trace lots of thematic links from the Rats to his solo work-admittedly the music is largely quite different.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
... you must have heard lots of the Rats and I wonder how you can be such a hugh fan of Bob's solo stuff and 'dismiss' what most regard to be his superior work with the Boomtown Rats?

Six years ago, it was mainly Geldof fans on this forum. There are Geldof fans with no interest in the Rats having only tuned in at Sex Age & Death. And Ian, who was probably as big a fan of the Rats in their day as anyone, has moved on and prefers Geldof solo.

I don't believe Vegetarians of Love created Geldof solo fans, but Sex, Age & Death seems to be a tipping point with Geldof's soul baring resonating with a number of people who would not have been interested in him previously.

I suspect most people don't even know Geldof has any solo material at all. I quite like the Stranglers, but have no knowledge at all of Hugh Cornwall solo. Apparently. he has made over a dozen albums.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Geldof's first solo album sold well due to it being released the year after Live Aid and he had a favourable public profile. His Live Aid work probably meant that those who had forgotten about him as a musican were a bit more forgiving and open to taking a punt on his first album.

VOL sold well mainly because it was critically acclaimed, and had a longer shelf live over the years due to the generally good songs.

I doubt 'most people don't know Geldof has any solo material at all' -it may be true for the ordinary man on the street but I'm thinking more of music fans who generally follow what's going on, and care about music in the wider sense. Whether they actually buy his music is another matter.

I'm a big fan of Echo and the Bunnymen and Ian Mccullough has released some good solo albums, but with so much music around you have to pick and choose.

I'd imagine Hugh Cornwell has retained a lot of the Stranglers fanbase, moreso that Geldof and the Rats.

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

I would guess that the solo only fans came on board because of his campaign work rather than his music. I can't imagine his music alone would gain him a whole host of new fans. People I've spoken to have said 'does he still sing then'.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Jules wrote:
I would guess that the solo only fans came on board because of his campaign work rather than his music. I can't imagine his music alone would gain him a whole host of new fans. People I've spoken to have said 'does he still sing then'.

I think Vegetarians Of Love or Sex Age Death are good 'standalone' albums, by that I mean that if one knew nothing of Bob Geldof or his music, either of these albums might make someone more curious about his music- and certainly consider the two mentioned albums interesting and worthwhile.

I have more mixed views about the rest, but have always remained loyal because for the most part the other albums are decent enough.

Do people expect Bob to have hung up his microphone back in the eighties and retired from making music? Out of contrariness I'd say Geldof will never really retire from the music business.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
I think Vegetarians Of Love or Sex Age Death are good 'standalone' albums, by that I mean that if one knew nothing of Bob Geldof or his music, either of these albums might make someone more curious about his music- and certainly consider the two mentioned albums interesting and worthwhile.
...
Do people expect Bob to have hung up his microphone back in the eighties and retired from making music? Out of contrariness I'd say Geldof will never really retire from the music business.

Sex, Age & Death was critically acclaimed and was far enough removed from the Rats to get new listeners. Not sure it was that many, but definitely a few.

I thought he had retired a couple of times. After Happy Club and after Milan. But he does turn up every ten years or so to cast doubt on that.

Not really sure what is next for Geldof solo. There is a hardcore of devotees but he doesn't appear to be building an audience. And in ten years time, he'll be 70.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

The next president of Ireland Michael D Higgins is seventy and will be taking up office on 11 November so maybe seventy is the new 58 and a half.

Just checked Mick Jagger is 68 and seems to be still moving about. Despite being older possibly Jagger can move about on stage a lot better than Bob- Jagger being a bit of a keep fit fanatic. The old adage 'use it or loose it' comes to mind. Wish Geldof moved about a bit more on stage and had a keep fit/aerobics regime, rather than just shuffling about. A few runs a week wouldn't do him any harm either.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
Wish Geldof moved about a bit more on stage and had a keep fit/aerobics regime, rather than just shuffling about.

I wouldn't mind him being still if he actually looked at the audience and engaged a bit more. He is a bit of a shoegazer on stage.

franna · V Deep

I became a fan with Happy Club, then discovered VOL and SAD. The rest, including the BTR, didn't resonate much with me. But I'm weird.

(For example, I think Sting's best day was when he left The Police and started doing solo stuff.)

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

franna wrote:
I think Sting's best day was when he left The Police and started doing solo stuff.

I don't think he matched Ghost in the Machine nor Synchronicity solo, but Blue Turtles and Nothing Like The Sun were pretty good. Better than any Geldof solo record.

But his best moment solo was his first. Spread a Little Happiness from Brimstone & Treacle. Almost as good as Bowie's Baal's Hymn as a cover from the 1920s.

Lisa · Mondo Bongo

ArrGee wrote:
franna wrote:
I think Sting's best day was when he left The Police and started doing solo stuff.
I don't think he matched Ghost in the Machine nor Synchronicity solo, but Blue Turtles and Nothing Like The Sun were pretty good. Better than any Geldof solo record.
But his best moment solo was his first. Spread a Little Happiness from Brimstone & Treacle. Almost as good as Bowie's Baal's Hymn as a cover from the 1920s.

Had forgotten about Spread a Little Happiness - yes loved that at the time! Also enjoyed (on a similar theme) Happy Talk by Captain Sensible!!

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Sting and Bob actually collaborated on a single called Crazy in 1992 or thereabouts. Unfortunately it was one of Geldof's worst songs ever- totally insipid and boring.

Not sure if he was singing about Sting when he croons 'Baby, you drive me crazy' as the song is so awful musically I can never play it through.Totally misguided in my opinion- the equivalent of Scott Walker's lost years when he put out total junk to satisfy some MOR appetites on his tv series.

I've included the link in case anyone has not heard the song but it should carry a government health warning!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEvGt2FHe3M

Laibach · Someone's Looking At You

I loved Stings 2009 Christmas album If On A Winters Night, Soul Cake and Christmas At Sea are superb songs.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

I was never a big fan of Sting always finding his voice a bit shrill and weak.

I do however love the single Sincronicity 11. Sting did rip off a song from the Wickerman movie soundtrack for his song Fields of Gold, one of the most blatent rip off's to my ear in musical history!

The song was called Corn Rigs and was released in 1973 by a band called Magnet. Is this Fields of Gold or what?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkRiKeg7TPg

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
Sting and Bob actually collaborated on a single called Crazy in 1992 or thereabouts. Unfortunately it was one of Geldof's worst songs ever- totally insipid and boring.

It is possibly the worst. Considering I don't rate Geldof's solo material that much it is a contender for the worst song ever. Bland beyond belief.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

Lisa wrote:
Also enjoyed (on a similar theme) Happy Talk by Captain Sensible!!

Now you're talking!

The Damned never really got much credit. I read recently that they and the Rats were considered somewhat cartoonish. Imagine if they had Fingers in his pyjamas...

Machine Gun Etiquette is a superb LP. And with Phantasmagoria and
Anything they re-invented their sound.

Funnily enough they have reformed and are touring. No Rat Scabies, but Dave & The Captain are there.

The Damned 35th Anniversary Tour

Nov

9th - Bristol, Academy
10th - Birmingham, Academy
11th - Cambridge, Corn Exchange
12th - London, Roundhouse
13th - Brighton, East Wing
14th - Norwich, UEA
16th - Nottingham, Rock City
17th - Newcastle, Academy
18th - Leeds, Academy
19th - Manchester, Academy
20th - Edinburgh, Picture House

Derek The Dane · In the Long Grass

Sorry but I quite like Crazy(its from 1994 and was used to promot Loudmouth),would have fitted well on Sex,Age and Death.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Derek The Dane wrote:
Sorry but I quite like Crazy(its from 1994 and was used to promot Loudmouth),would have fitted well on Sex,Age and Death.

No need to apologise Derek, as we all have our own opinions about Bob's music. One persons opinion is as good as another's.

I've bought all his solo albums , singles and anthology over the years and naturally there will be some tracks I just do not like. In the main he has always fascinated me as a singer and I don't begrudge paying for one of his albums every few years (or should that be every decade?)

Had the tune of Love Or Something Else in my head a few days ago. That's a really good song , with great lyrics