Released on 8 October 1989, "Hats" was the second studio album by Scottish band The Blue Nile, the album came after a prolonged delay in which an entire album's worth of work was scrapped, the Blue Nile released Hats to rave reviews. It also became the band's most successful album, reaching number 12 on the UK album charts and spawning three singles: "The Downtown Lights", "Headlights on the Parade", and "Saturday Night".
Having finished promotion work for their debut album A Walk Across the Rooftops, the group's record company Linn Records were keen to have a follow-up record, and in early 1985 sent the band to a house in the golfing resort town of Gullane near the Castlesound Studios where the previous album had been produced. However, sessions for the new record hit problems almost immediately. The band did not yet have enough material to make another album, and with the group forced to share a house and having to spend all their time in close proximity with each other, arguments developed among the homesick band members. Exhausted and stressed, their problems were compounded when Virgin Records, to whom Linn had licensed the Blue Nile's records, began legal proceedings against Linn Records, demanding new material. the band was living away from home, no money, miserable, getting sued. We were absolutely zonked, the record company weren't pleased and everyone around was starting to think, this record is never going to get made. It was exhausting.
After almost three years in the studio which produced virtually nothing, having begun and scrapped several songs, then the Blue Nile had no option but to return home to Glasgow; back in familiar surroundings and freed from time constraints, Buchanan overcame his writer's block, while Robert Bell and Paul Joseph Moore began putting musical ideas down on a portastudio. As a result, when the band was finally able to return to Castlesound in 1988, the ideas for the album were already in place and according to Buchanan, "we knew exactly what we were doing. We actually recorded the rest of Hats super quick honestly, half of Hats was, like, a week.
The album was released in October 1989 simultaneously in both the United Kingdom and the United States: since the Blue Nile was essentially unknown in the US in 1989, the cover artwork for the US release of the album was slightly modified for marketing reasons, with the band's name in larger letters. As a promotional tool, A&M Records—who distributed Hats in North America—took out a full-page advertisement in Billboard magazine offering a free copy of the CD to anyone who called a toll-free number which was provided.
Hats peaked at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. Three singles were released from the album: the first, "The Downtown Lights", was released in September 1989 and peaked at number 67 on the UK Singles Chart, followed by "Headlights on the Parade" in September 1990 which reached number 72, and "Saturday Night" in January 1991, which reached number 50. In the US, Hats peaked at number 108 on the Billboard 200. "The Downtown Lights" reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in early 1990, becoming the group's only single chart entry in that country.
Kicking off with their classic debut single "Pure", this really is a greatest hits compilation worthy of the title from a band who have sold over 8 million albums. Across 19 tracks the compilation features Lightning Seeds favourites including 'The Life of Riley', 'Change', 'Lucky You', 'Sense', 'All I Want', 'Sugar Coated Iceberg', 'You Showed Me', '3 Lions' and more.
Tomorrow's Here Today: 35 Years Of Lightning Seeds Track List:
Johan Neeskens, the iconic Dutch player who scored the first-minute penalty to put the Netherlands ahead in the 1974 World Cup final against West Germany, has died at the age of 73. Neeskens was taken ill while working for the Dutch football association’s World Coaches programme in Algeria.
According to the KNVB said in a statement that he died on October 6th., after medical intervention was unable to save him. A truly magnificent midfielder with Ajax and Barcelona, Neeskens was renowned for his ferocious shooting and equally ferocious tackling, as well as his stamina and versatility. Ajax team-mate Sjaak Swart once said he was "worth two men in midfield".
He moved to Barcelona in 1974 after winning three European Cups with Ajax, shadowing Johan Cruyff and earning himself the nickname Johan Segundo (Johan the second). But he was far from a second fiddle, playing in two World Cup finals for the Netherlands and scoring 17 international goals in 49 appearances.
His penalty in the first minute of the 1974 final in Munich was famously scored before a single German player had touched the ball, but Oranje eventually lost the match 2-1. Neeskens was also in the team that lost the 1978 final 3-1 to another host nation, Argentina. The player spent five years at Barcelona and then followed in Cruyff’s footsteps again, this time to the United States where he spent five seasons with the New York Cosmos. He finished his career in Switzerland, which became his home for the rest of his life.
He spent the second part of his career as a coach, working as Guus Hiddink’s assistant in the Dutch team that reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup.Two years later he took charge of NEC Nijmegen, leading them to their first European appearances in 20 years in 2003, but the following year he was sacked for poor results.
Even if you finish second, you can still win over the world with the way you play," he said. "That was our legacy, the fact that people still talk about it today. We should be proud of that."
According to an statement shared by Fritz friends that reads: "This is a very tough announcement to make,", "Frank passed away last night around 7:30.", "Passed away peacefully surrounded by his closest friends.", "He fought a valiant battle the last two years with many ups and downs but ultimately the combination of the severe stroke and his Crohn’s disease was just too much for his body to bear."
His long-time friend and co-star Mike Wolf posted: “I’ve known Frank for more then half my life and what you’ve seen on TV has always been what I have seen, a dreamer who was just as sensitive as he was funny,” Wolfe wrote. “The same off camera as he was on, Frank had a way of reaching the hearts of so many by just being himself.”
The pair were friends before starting American Pickers together. Wolfe shared that they would "take off together to places we never knew existed with no destination in mind and just the shared passion to discover something interesting and historic.", "We’ve been on countless trips and shared so many miles and I feel blessed that I was there by his side when he took one last journey home. I love you buddy and will miss you so much," Wolfe added.
Fritz had largely been out of the public eye after suffering a severe stroke in 2022. A year before that, in 2021, Fritz told he hadn't talked to Wolfe in two years amid a feud between the two. The last time he appeared on a show was in March 2020. When Fritz had his stroke, the pair seemed to put their differences behind them.
Wolfe posted that Fritz was hospitalized following the stroke and he asked fans to keep the co-host in their hearts and thoughts.
The History Channel and American Pickers producer Cineflix Production released a joint statement in the wake of Fritz"s death: "Frank filmed American Pickers for over a decade," the statement reads. “We will always remember ‘the bearded charmer’ and his never-ending search for vintage motorcycles and bikes. Our thoughts are with Frank’s loved ones during this difficult time."
Fritz's manager Bill Stankey told that he was “an exceptional human being.", "He loved life, he cared about people, he always had a kind word to say and he knew more about Americana and antiques than anyone I ever met," Stankey said, adding that Fritz was the anchor of the show.
The statement reads: "It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” the statement read. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved the world over. Many fans consider him their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor."
Born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey in 1939, Amos found his first passion in sports after he fell in love with football and played at Colorado State University. While he graduated with a degree in social work, he scored tryouts with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Denver Broncos and the Canadian Football League’s British Columbia Lions. Amos would later recall that Kansas City Chiefs coach Hank Stram told him while cutting the future actor from his brief time with the team, “You are not a football player, you are a young man who happens to be playing football.”
Following stints as a social worker and copywriter in New York, Amos turned to acting, scoring the role of weatherman Gordon "Gordy" Howard on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," which would begin his ascent in Hollywood. A small parts on other hit 1970s television shows including "Love American Style,", "Sanford and Son" and then "The New Dick Van Dyke Show". But it was his role as James Evan Sr., the stern father on "Good Times," that would make Amos a star. Race was once again at the forefront when Amos portrayed Toby, the adult version of the slave Kunte Kinte in the critically acclaimed 1977 miniseries "Roots," which earned Amos an Emmy nomination.
Amos’s TV career continued steadily throughout the '80s and '90s, during which time he held roles on Hunter, 704 Hauser and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In 1988, he memorably starred in Coming to America as Cleo McDowell, the father of Prince Akeem's (Eddie Murphy) love interest and eventual life, and reprised the part in the 2021 sequel.
Amos had recurring roles on The District, The Andersons, The West Wing and Men in Trees in the 2000s and kept working right up until his death. He made a surprise appearance in the 2019 Live in Front of a Studio Audience special in which stars like Viola Davis and Tiffany Haddish recreated a 1975 of Good Times as Alderman Fred Davis, a man running for local office.
Last year, Amos was embroiled in interpersonal family issues after allegations of elder abuse and speculation he was in ill health were made by family members, The sad news comes nearly one year and four months after Amos entered the hospital due to fluid filling his lower body and causing issues with his heart. At the time, a rep for Amos said the doctors drained all of the fluid and Amos had been on the mend.
The Replacements started their career as a punk rock band but had gradually grown beyond the straightforward hardcore of initial albums. Their vocalist Paul Westerberg recalls that "playing that kind of noisy, fake hardcore rock was getting us nowhere, and it wasn't a lot of fun. This was the first time I had songs that we arranged, rather than just banging out riffs and giving them titles.
By 1983, the band would sometimes perform a set of cover songs intended to antagonize whoever was in the audience. Westerberg explained that the punks who made up their audience "thought that's what they were supposed to be standing for, like anybody does what they want and There are no rules. But there were rules and you couldn't do that, and you had to be fast, and you had to wear black, and you couldn't wear a plaid shirt with flares.
According to certain rumors, Peter Buck of R.E.M. was originally intended to produce the album. Buck later confirmed that the band did consider him as a possible producer, but when they met Buck in Athens, Georgia, the band did not have enough material. Buck did manage to contribute to the album in a limited capacity; he said, "I was kind of there for pre-production stuff, did one solo, gave 'em some ideas that seemed to work for the band.
Westerberg's lyrics feature themes of self-consciousness and rejection as felt by awkward youths, and deal with topics such as generational discontent on "Unsatisfied", uncontrollable arousal on "Gary's Got a Boner", and amateurish sexuality on "Sixteen Blue". The album's theme is aligned between adolescence and adulthood, and unlike many other adolescent-themed post-punk records, Let It Be remains less on the subject of angst and incorporates humor and more varied music.
The cover of Let It Be is a photograph of the band sitting on the roof of Bob and Tommy Stinson's mother's house taken by Daniel Corrigan. Michael Azerrad stated that the cover was a "great little piece of mythmaking," showcasing each band member's personality via how they appear in the photograph.
Recording began in May 1984 at Slane Castle, where the band lived, wrote, and recorded to find new inspiration. The album was completed in August 1984 at Windmill Lane Studios. It features atmospheric sounds and lyrics that lead vocalist Bono describes as "sketches" and other as lyrical tributes. Despite Eno was hesitant to work with a rock band and when contacted by U2, he told them he was considering retiring from music production to become a video artist. Reluctantly, Eno agreed to meet with the band in Dublin and brought along his engineer Daniel Lanois with the intention of recommending he work with them instead, Lanois had his own ambitions of producing a rock band. At the end, Eno was impressed by how they spoke, which was not in terms of music or playing, but in terms of their contributions to the identity of the band as a whole, also the band's discussion about pursuing different recording techniques and capturing the ambience of a recording space also piqued his interest.
You can noticed that effects in the opening track, "A Sort of Homecoming", immediately shows the change in U2's sound. Like much of the album, the hard-hitting martial drum sound of War was replaced with a subtler polyrhythmic shuffle, and the guitar was no longer as prominent in the mix, "The Unforgettable Fire", with a string arrangement by Noel Kelehan, has a rich, symphonic sound built from ambient guitar and driving rhythm, along with a lyrical "sketch" that is an "emotional travelogue" with a "heartfelt sense of yearning".
The album's lyrics are open to many interpretations, which alongside its atmospheric sounds, provides what the band often called a very visual feel. Bono had recently been immersing himself in fiction, philosophy and poetry, and came to realise that his song writing mission
The melody and the chords to "Pride (In the Name of Love)" originally came out of a 1983 War Tour sound check in Hawaii. The song was originally intended to be about Ronald Reagan's pride in America's military power, but Bono was influenced by Stephen B. Oates's book about Martin Luther King Jr. titled Let The Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. "Pride" is the most conventional song on the album—Tony Fletcher of Jamming! magazine said at the time it was the most commercial song U2 had written—and it was chosen as the album's first single.
On "Wire" Bono tried to convey his ambivalence to drugs. It is a fast-paced song built on a light funk drum groove.The ambient instrumental "4th of July" came about almost entirely through a moment of inspiration from Eno. At the end of a studio session. Bono tried to describe the rush and then come down of heroin use in the song "Bad".The sparse, dreamlike "MLK" was written as an elegy to King.
