From The North...: Got Dem Old February Blues...

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Got Dem Old February Blues...

Oh, bloody February.

The single most frightful and miserable frigging month of the year.

This blogger hates it. I really mean that.

You think you've got through the worst the winter can throw at you and then February comes along all "hey, don't worry, spring's just around the corner" ... just six more weeks of plunging, ball-freezing temperature and frost and harshness ... unless, like last year, February decides to spread it's influence into the middle of sodding April.

So, anyway, another day, another article completed and another day closer to me going on holiday. Hip-Hurrah!

Keith Telly Topping his very self simply can't tell you how much he is looking forward to getting over to the Gallifrey One convention this year. It may be a sign of getting older, but these winters really are becoming harder and harder for me to handle each year. I used to dismiss the idea of S.A.D ("Seasonally Adjusted Disorder") as a right load of old pretentious twaddle for middle-class people who didn't like hard work. But, the last two or three years, I'm finding myself more and more depressed through the months of November, December, January and, especially, February. Still, you've got to laugh, haven't you?

Current viewing:-

US TV:
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - funny, inventive, beautifully written and acted.
24 - back to its very best; tool-stiffeningly violent.
House - also back to its best after a strangely muted first few episodes. Hugh doing what Huge does best.
Veronica Mars - still clever and just a bit dangerous, although (seemingly) nobody's watching so catch it whilst you can.
Bones - CSI: Lite but with a nicely ironic edge that proves they're not taking it too seriously. And, proof that David Boreanaz can act (albeit, you know, not very well!)
CSI - still reliably, The Daddy.

UK TV:
Top Gear, of course... (Need you even ask!)
Time Team - always fun, informative and sharply funny.
Soul Britannia - astoundingly good first episode.
The Comedy Map Of Britain - didn't quite know what to expect from this but it's turned out to be interesting and enlightening.
Waking The Dead - despite the odd "weird-as-Hell" episode, the best drama on British TV (when Doctor Who or Life On Mars aren't on).
Repeats of Qi on UKTVG2 (because one can never get enough of Stephen Fry).

Current Listening:-
james (must get myself tickets for the reunion tour gig at the Academy in April)
Nick Drake
Love
Mighty, Mighty
Delia Derbyshire
Arab Strap
The Blue Aeroplanes
The Chemical Brothers
Dexy's Midnight Runners

... and lots of other loud abrasive noises on my MP3 player.

In other news... Everybody in this blogger's family seems to have pneumonia at the moment. (Yer actual Keith Telly Topping, his very self, had a cough that can strip paint for nearly two months without it showing signs of going anywhere.)

And The Mighty Boys of British Football beat The Second-City-Scum 3-1 last week. And, lo, it was truly marvellous in my sight.

Yeah, all in all 2007 hasn't had a bad start so far. Watch, something's bound to go wrong now...

Oh, and just to confirm: As readers of Ask Keith Topping will know, this blog is now declared to be, and will remain hereafter and forever more, a Bald Ex-Milkman from Waalsend-Free Zone.

Just say "No" to Sting. You know it makes sense.

Help Make Sting History

And, now for the important stuff.

The January and February editions of The Book Club can both be heard using the BBCs "Listen Again" feature. Simply go to the link below and click what it tells you to. Another page features several of the 2006 editions if you missed any of those:

The books featured in the January show were:-
Richie Unterberger - The Unreleased Beatles (Backbeat Books)
Brian Southall & Rupert Perry - Northern Songs (Omnibus)
Catrine Clay - King, Kaiser, Tsar (John Murray Publishing)
Derek Redmond - A State Of Denmark (Serpent's Tail)
Graham McCann - Spike & Co: Inside The House Of Fun With Milligan, Sykes, Galton & Simpson (Hodder & Stoughton)

Whilst on February's show we had:-
Dylan Younger - Newcastle's Cult Heroes (Know The Score Publishing)
Ged Clarke - Fifty Years Of Hurt (Mainstream)
Tony Visconti - Bowie, Bolan & The Brooklyn Boy (HarperCollins)

Magnus Magnusson - Fakers, Forgers & Phoneys (Mainstream)
Gerard DeGroot - The Dark Side Of The Moon (Jonathan Cape)
Michael Ashcroft - Victoria Cross Heroes (Headline Review)

Also received during November, December and January were the following:-
Billie Piper - Growing Pains: An Autobiography (Hodder & Stoughton)
Robert Anwood - Bears Can't Run Down Hill (Ebury Press)
Mike O'Hare (ed) - Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? (Profile)
Jeff Evans - The Penguin TV Companion (Penguin)
Dave Marsh - Bruce Springsteen On Tour 1968-2006 (Bloomsbury)
John Grisham - The Innocent Man (Century)
Geroge Low (ed) - Commando: True Brit (Carlton Books)
Gideon Haigh - The Book Of Ashes Anecdotes (Mainstream)
J Shaun Lyon - Doctor Who: Second Flight (Telos Publishing)
Gary Russell - Doctor Who: The Inside Story (BBC Books)
Wendy Prahms - Newcastle Ragged & Industrial School (Tempus Books)
The Little Book Of Rude Jokes For Older Girls (Zymurgy)
Ken Hutchinson - Images of England: Wallsend (Tempus Books)
James Owen - A Serpent In Eden (Abacus)
Giles Milton - Edward Trengom's Nose (MacMillan)
Jeremy Simmonds - Number One In Heaven: Heroes Who Died For Rock n Roll (Penguin)
Rob Bailey & Ed Hurst - Rude World: 100 Rudest Place Names In The World (Boxtree)
Johnny Rogan - Lennon: The Albums (Omnibus)
Tess Stimson - The Adultery Club (Pan)
Billy Bragg - The Progressive Patriot (Bantam Press)
Vicki Hendricks - Cruel Poetry (Serpent's Tail)
Guy Adams & Lee Thompson - Life On Mars: The Official Companion (Simon & Shuster)
Jeremy Clarkson - Planet Dagenham (Carlton)
Duff Hart-Davies (ed) - King's Counsellor: Abdication & War - The Diaries Of Sir Alan Lascelles (Wiedenfeld)
Zachary Leader - The Life Of Kingsley Amis (Jonathan Cape)
Ben Lyttleton (ed) - Match Of My Life: European Cup Finals (Know the Score)
Peter Morfoot - Burksey: The Autobiography Of A Football God (Know the Score)
Ruth Graham - The Break Up Bible (Know The Score)
Gillian Orrell - New Boots In New Zealand (Know The Score)
Trevor Dann - Darker That The Deepest Sea: The Search For Nick Drake (Portrait)
Barney Hoskyns - Hotel California (Harper Perennial)
Kate Figes - The Big Fat Bitch Book For Grown-Up Girls (Virago)
Paul Wilson - The Quiet (MacMillan)
Tony Saint - The ASBO Show (Serpent's Tail)
Julia Green - Blue Moon (Puffin Books)
Robert Holden - Success Intelligence (Hodder Mobius)
Charlie Connolly - In Search Of Elvis (LittleBrown)
Gil McNeil - Divas Don't Knit (Bloomsbury)
Ryu Murakami - Piercing (Bloomsbury)
Nancy Mathew & Vivien Smith - Dancing On Mara Dust (Vivien Clear Publishing)
Jean-Patrick Manchette - Three To Kill (Serpent's Tail)
Julia Baird - Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon (Hodder & Stoughton)
Martin Goodman - Rome & Jerusalem: The Clash Of Ancient Civilisations (Penguin - Allen Lane) Ben MacIntyre - Agent Zigzag: The True Wartime Story Of Eddie Chapman (Bloomsbury)
Barry Miles - Pink Floyd: The Early Years (Omnibus Press)
Tony Saint - Blag! (Serpent's Tail)
Marybeth Hamilton - In Search Of The Blues (Jonathan Cape)

... and a quick note for regular listeners of The Julia Hankin Show and my own, very poor, contributions to it. I will be doing the telly previews this coming Thursday (great, I get to rabbit on about Life On Mars for several minutes at the tax-payers expense) but I'll then be missing for the next two shows so you get dear old Phil from the radiotimes instead.

See you all on the other side.

Disclaimer (A Slight Return)

All of the opinions expressed within this most opinionated of blogs - unless specifically indicated otherwise - are Keith Telly Topping's own. They should not, in any way, be thought of as reflecting (either collectively or individually) the views of any of the various media organisations, broadcasters, publishing companies or periodicals for which this blogger has freelanced in the past, or may be employed by in the future. Or, indeed, anyone else other than Keith Telly Topping his very self.

This blogger's opinions on all manner of subjects, his political and spiritual beliefs, the choice of which TV shows he likes and dislikes, which newspapers and books he chooses to read and, indeed, which football team he used to have the misfortune to follow are his own and expression of them is Keith Telly Topping's right within a free and democratic society. (Which, for all of Britain's faults in other areas in 2024, it just about still is.) If you disagree with any of the opinions expressed here, then please feel free to start your own blog and say whatever is on your mind to your own dear blog fiends. That is, after all, what blogs are for.

This blogger encourages everyone to use those freedoms - which many brave men and women have struggled, suffered and died to attain and then maintain over the years - to express your opinions upon whatever subjects you desire and whenever you see fit in a public forum. Within - of course - the boundaries of The Law as it currently stands.

Please remember there are, sadly, many parts of the world where citizens do not have similar liberties and who would probably love the opportunity to enjoy some of the freedoms that we in the West, all too often it would seem, take for granted.

Copyright - An Important Notice

During 2015, this blog received three separate "take-down" notices from blogger.com regarding individual pages of From The North relating to - alleged - copyright material posted on this blog. All of which were compiled with despite an extremely unhelpful attitude from those making the requests in telling Keith Telly Topping exactly *what* they - or, specifically, a third party - wished him to remove from the page(s) in question. Therefore, please note, From The North is an entirely non-profit making blog compiled by Keith Telly Topping in his spare time. Almost all of the images used on this blog to illustrate a particular story come via Google Images. No attempt is made to infringe on anyone elses copyright - and the same goes to any links provided to You Tube. I am perfectly happy to remove any links or images from any particular page which are copyrighted (within reason, of course), but it would greatly help if I knew which one (or ones) are at issue. If you are a copyright holder and you believe that something has been posted on From The North which shouldn't be here, please contact this blogger directly via email. Keith Telly Topping is a reasonable chap - mostly - and is sure we can work something out to the mutual satisfaction of all concerned.

Who He Is & How He Came To Be

A full-time survivor, dandy highwayman, bon vivant, self-unemployed author, journalist and broadcaster Keith Telly Topping's bibliography includes over forty books on mainly pop culture subjects. He was the co-editor of two editions of The Guinness Book of Classic British TV and has written or co-written factual volumes on television series as diverse as The X-Files, Star Trek, The Avengers, 24, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Charmed, The Sweeney and Stargate SG-1 as well as music, film and literary critique. He authored four Doctor Who novels (including the award-winning The Hollow Men, with Martin Day) and a novella. His work includes two editions of the acclaimed The West Wing programme guide Inside Bartlet’s White House, A Vault Of Horror: A Book Of Eighty Great (and not-so-great) British Horror Movies, Do You Want To Know A Secret?: A Fab Anthology Of Beatles Facts and Doctor Who: The Discontinuity Guide. He was a regular contributor to numerous TV and genre magazines and was a former Contributing Editor to DreamWatch. He is widely considered to be one of Britain's foremost experts on the bewildering complexities of US network television. No, he hasn't the faintest idea why either.

Notoriously suave, articulate and a right wow with the ladies (allegedly), Keith Telly Topping was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne on the very day that his beloved (though even then unsellable) United lost three-two at home to Northampton Town. Things haven't improved much since. He was the presenter of the monthly The Book Club (2006-08) and the daily Keith Telly Topping & His Top TV Tips preview slot on BBC Newcastle (2005-2012). He contributed to the BBC television series I ♥ the 70s, Call The Cops and The Perfect Detective and has also written for Sounds, the Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times Culture Supplement, Radio Times, TV Zone, The Doctor Who Magazine and many other publications and periodicals.

Keith Telly Topping writes, and occasionally performs stand-up, and has written radio comedy, co-wrote the stage musical comedy Monopolise! (performed at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival with Alfie Joey and Mark Deeks) and two TV pilots both of which are, currently, stuck in 'Development Hell.' A failed pop star at the age of fourteen as bass guitarist in (the never-legendary) Slime, Keith Telly Topping lives, works and occasionally sleeps on Tyneside. His interests include foreign travel, listening to bowel-shatteringly loud pop music, socialising with friends, eating in nice Chinese restaurants, watching football and cricket, reading, British horror movies of the 1960s and 70s, military, political and social history and lots of other malarkey and shenanigans too numerous to list.

Keith Telly Topping still dines out on the tale of how he and three friends once - accidentally - stalked George Harrison down pretty much the entire length of Oxford Street. True story.

A Mod's Odyssey

Keith Telly Topping is a fifty nine year old geezer. He has survived pop, power-pop, glam-rock, prog-rock, Krautrock, punk, post-punk, mod, ska, synth-pop, indie-pop, indie-rock, post-indie, neo-indie, goth, post-goth, shoegazing, soul, funk, blues, rhythm & blues, jazz-funk, jazz-fusion, house, acid-house, acid-jazz, reggae, rap, hip-hop, trip-hop, trance, Madchester, grunge, post-grunge, Britpop, dadrock, techno, hardcore, urban, jungle, drum n' bass, handbag, garage, contemporary UK R&B, glam-metal, thrash-metal, death-metal, black-metal, nu-metal, ragga, bhangra, two-step tanga and the English folk revival-revival. And then, sometime around 2007, he thought ... 'Nah, sorry, that's me done. Can I have some milky cocoa, a pair of slippers and a copy of Mojo now please?'

Yer Keith Telly Topping's Favourite TV Shows Include

In no particular order other than those that occur to me ...

Doctor Who, The West Wing, Qi, Life On Mars, Sherlock, Top Gear, Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Borgen, Lost, Our Friends In The North, The Sweeney, True Detective, Star Trek, The Avengers, The Simpsons, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Planets, Time Team, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Angel, The Prisoner, State of Play, Porridge, The X Files, Rutland Weekend Television, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Coast, Being Human, House Of Cards, Bones, The Black Adder, The Shield, Millennium (season 2 only), In The Red, 24, Ashes To Ashes, House, Monkey, The Wire, UFO, Mock The Week, [spooks], Waking The Dead, Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons, Drop The Dead Donkey, Ideal, The Rockford Files, Top Of The Pops, Rising Damp, The Blacklist, MasterChef, Department S, Luther, Grandstand, A Man Called Ironside, Lie To Me, Ripping Yarns, Jonathan Creek, Not The Nine O'Clock News, Stargate SG-1, A Bit of Fry & Laurie, I, Claudius, Columbo, The Brothers, Dad's Army, Match Of The Day, Is It Bill Bailey?, The South Bank Show, Inspector Morse, Broadchurch, The Goodies, The Invaders, Coronation Street (up to some point in the mid-80s), The Champions, Foyle's War, The Culture Show, Callan, Soccer AM, Torchwood, When The Boat Comes In, Pushing Daisies, The Morecambe & Wise Show, Sharpe, Touching Evil, Have I Got News For You?, Man In A Suitcase, Arena, Twin Peaks, Secret Army, Hawaii Five-0, Spiral, Between The Lines, Shoot, Harry Hill's TV Burp, Cosmos, The Young Ones, Washes Whiter, Danger UXB, World In Action, The Fall, The Sky At Night, The Shadow Line, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Duchess Of Duke Street, Z Cars, Pandora's Box, Wire In The Blood, Omnibus, The Omega Factor, NCIS, Absolutely, This Week, Adam Adamant Lives!, The Tube, Ace Of Wands, Kojak, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Civilisation, The Ascent Of Man, The World At War, Dave Allen At Large.

... and so on for another fourteen pages.

Comments

Depressing to report the From The North Comments Section which this blogger reopened due to popular(ish) demand has been closed again. This is because of a further - entirely unwanted - deluge of correspondence to this blog from an extremely tiresome online stalker whose behaviour caused its closure in the first place. A rather dispiriting example of the Twenty First Century at its most crummy.

This blog operates a zero tolerance policy towards rude arseholes, racists, homophobes, transphobes, bigots and crass overgrown school bullies. If you want to indulge in any of those sort of things then you can go somewhere else and do it (though it'd be preferable for everyone if you didn't). Be advised, however, that you are not any getting space on my blog to spread your repulsive views.

appreciate what you've got while you've got it

The BBC is, of course, a British institution and national treasure that we should all be proud of. It is also - much more importantly - a World Class broadcaster with a global reputation for journalistic honesty, integrity, balance, innovation, creativity and quality. Ironically, the only places in the world where it *isn't* highly regarded are in knobcheese fascist dictatorships like Iran and China and in its own backyard where shit-scum politicians and pond-lice newspapers with a, sick, agenda use it as their own personal punch-bag. This is WRONG. This blog supports the BBC and believes that it is high time the people of this country - to whom, after all, the BBC *belongs* - stand up for themselves and remind such crass, ignorant bullies that the BBC is BETTER than all of them put together. Even if its Director General is a wretched spineless coward who, seemingly, believes that "impartiality" is letting Tories goosestep all over you and everyone who works for you.