#MindTheBand: “Discovering The Classics” – Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.

The VitalsRelease date: 5 January 1973UK chart peak: #41 (1985)Running time: 37:08Singles: Blinded by the Light, Spirit in the Night Though Bruce Springsteen’s debut album received pretty positive reviews, that didn’t translate into immediate chart success – Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. peaked at #60 in the USA, #71 in Australia, and #35 in Sweden. It made […]

#MindTheBand: “I Can Hear Music” – Innuendo

Hot Stats Release date: 4 February 1991 UK chart peak: #1 Running time: 53:48 Singles: Innuendo (#1), I’m Going Slightly Mad (#22), Headlong (#14), These Are The Days Of Our Lives (#1), The Show Must Go On (#16) Queen’s first output of the 90s garnered a lot of top tens: #6 in Australia & New […]

#MindTheBand: “I Can Hear Music” – A Kind Of Magic

Hot Stats Release date: 2 June 1986 UK chart peak: #1 Running time: 40:42 Singles: One Vision (#7), A Kind of Magic (#3), Friends Will Be Friends (#14), Who Wants To Live Forever (#24) After their triumphant set at Live Aid in 1985, their 1986 return provided the band with many top tens across the […]

#MindTheBand: “I Can Hear Music” – A Day At The Races

Hot Stats Release date: 10 December 1976 UK chart peak: #1 Running time: 44:24 Singles: Somebody to Love (#2), Tie Your Mother Down (#31), Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (#17) Following on from smash hit A Night At The Opera, Queen’s 1976 album hit the top ten in most countries: #8 in Australia, Austria & Sweden, […]

#MindTheBand: “Discovering The Classics” – Exodus

The VitalsRelease date: 3 June 1977UK chart peak: #8Running time: 37:24Singles: 1977 – Exodus (#14), Waiting in Vain (#27), Jamming/Punky Reggae Party (#9); 1980 – Three Little Birds (#17); 1984 – One Love/People Get Ready (#5) Originally released on Island Records, Exodus is considered both a critical and commercial success, receiving gold certifications in the […]

Challenge Week 2021: Mind The Band (Extended Play)

Better late than never: a sneak attack challenge week! I’ve had the kernel of an idea for this week for a little while, but it’s been difficult to firm a few things up – whether it was getting a show ticket confirmed, making the final decision to book a gig ticket, or just have time […]

Out of 2020 – Into 2021

I’ve ummed and ahhed over doing this sort of post, but (now the end of January is in sight) I’ve finally decided that I might as well follow up my ‘favourite things‘ post with a bit of a round-up – and some kind of look forward. One thing that I did manage was to get […]

#MindTheBand 2020: round-up

Thanks mostly to the phenomenon that is #TimsTwitterListeningParty, 2020 has definitely transitioned from being my year of gigs to a year of albums – and this recent challenge week definitely helped me to up my game again. Not only were two of my most anticipated albums (Queen + Adam Lambert and The Jaded Hearts Club) […]

#MindTheBand 2020: Day-by-Day

As I’m back working from home I thought there wasn’t a lot of point in doing a diary (unless something massive comes up I’m unlikely to be going out this week), so instead I’m putting together some daily lists of favourites and linking to whatever posts I manage to publish. Potentially less rambling than normal, […]

#MindTheBand: Memorable gigs through time

As this week has ended up focusing mostly around albums (understandably, given the situation in which we find ourselves), I thought today was an opportune day to mix things up a bit. It’s #ThrowbackThursday – or #TBT – so what better moment to think back over my live gig experiences? Much of this dates […]