Great Uncle Bulgaria

18/6/2023 62 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 53 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising 50 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine 46 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World -3 46 The Rolling Stones — Jumpin’ Jack Flash +4 38 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly -3 19 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love 18 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 16 Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air 07 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 07 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525

17/6//2023 62 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 54 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising 49 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine 48 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 42 The Rolling Stones – Jumpin´ Jack Flash +3 42 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World -6 24 Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air 19 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love 17 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again +1 17 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 14 Tommy Roe – Dizzy 12 Zager & Evans — In The Year 2525

About 15 years after everyone else (and 10 years after the film which I have also hitherto avoided) the prizewinning 'We need to talk about Kevin' by Lionel Shriver. There is little jeopardy in this book. It reveals in the opening pages - if you haven't already read the back cover - that Kevin killed a load of his classmates and we spend the rest of the book getting there. The narrative device used is his mother writing endless, very verbose letters to her former husband. These are extremely tedious, particularly in the first 100 pages before Kevin makes his entrance. For some reason the mother feels the need to go over a lot of events to which her husband was a witness, never failing to use 20 short words when it is possible to use 100 long ones instead. Unfortunately the mother is not sympathetic and her husband is - as far as Kevin is concerned - a wilfully blind doormat. Kevin himself is not at all interesting. He's evil pretty much from birth and this trait just manifests itself in increasingly unlikeable ways as the book progresses. Having nearly given up early on the book, it does at least gather a bit of pace and improve in the second half, but it's still unexciting with no one you can identify with (let alone like). There is no motivation for the mass shooting. It all seems rather pointless really. Perhaps she (yes, Lionel is a woman) should have dug into the motivation behind one of the (many) other contemporaneous US school shootings and written about that rather than making one up herself. SPOILER alert - there is a big reveal in the last chapter, but you will have had to have been either stupid or remarkably unobservant not to have worked it out by then. I won't say what it is just in case one of these two cases applies :-). Given it's 465 pages of fairly small print, not really worth the effort involved.

16/6/2023 62 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 56 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising 53 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine 47 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 41 The Rolling Stones – Jumpin´ Jack Flash +3 40 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World -6 24 Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air 23 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love 21 Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites 17 Tommy Roe – Dizzy 17 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again +1 14 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525 13 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 10 Tommy James & The Shondells – Mony, Mony

McQueen (and Man U) winning charity shield

15/6/2023 62 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 56 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising 48 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine 41 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World -1 38 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 35 Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites -5 34 The Rolling Stones – Jumpin´ Jack Flash +4 30 Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air 23 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love 22 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525 19 Tommy Roe – Dizzy 19 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 18 Tommy James & The Shondells – Mony, Mony 12 Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days 09 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 09 Manfred Mann – Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) 07 The Archies – Sugar, Sugar

60 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 52 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising 44 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World 40 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine 38 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 32 Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites 30 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525 29 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love +1 25 Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air 25 The Rolling Stones – Jumpin´ Jack Flash +1 21 Tommy Roe – Dizzy 19 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 18 Tommy James & The Shondells – Mony, Mony 16 Peter Sarstedt – Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) 15 Manfred Mann – Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) 14 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 14 The Beach Boys – Do It Again -3 12 The Archies – Sugar, Sugar 12 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – The Legend Of Xanadu +1 08 Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days +1 04 Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg – Je T´aime... Moi Non Plus -3 Some of The Titanic's deckchairs duly rearranged...

Dignam was my 3rd sub, Nigel Starmer-Smith instead please

Tom Lehrer

13 June 2023 55 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 48 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising 43 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine 41 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World 35 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 28 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525 28 Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites 25 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love 24 Tommy Roe – Dizzy 23 Thunderclap Newman — Something In The Air 20 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 19 The Beatles & Billy Preston – Get Back 19 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 19 The Beach Boys – Do It Again 18 Tommy James & The Shondells – Mony, Mony 18 The Rolling Stones – Jumpin´ Jack Flash +2 17 The Archies – Sugar, Sugar 17 Manfred Mann – Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) 15 Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg – Je T´aime... Moi Non Plus -6 15 The Move – Blackberry Way 15 Peter Sarstedt – Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) 13 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – The Legend Of Xanadu +2 10 Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days  07 The Equals – Baby Come Back

12/6 51 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 44 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising 42 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World 38 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine 30 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra — The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 26 Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air 25 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love 25 Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites 25 Manfred Mann – Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) 24 Tommy Roe – Dizzy 24 The Rolling Stones – Jumpin´ Jack Flash +1 22 Peter Sarstedt – Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) 21 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again +1 21 Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg – Je T´aime... Moi Non Plus -6 20 The Beach Boys – Do It Again 20 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 20 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525 19 The Archies – Sugar, Sugar 18 Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days 18 The Move – Blackberry Way 18 Tommy James & The Shondells – Mony, Mony 17 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – The Legend Of Xanadu 17 The Beatles & Billy Preston – Get Back 15 The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women +2 14 The Equals – Baby Come Back 10 Fleetwood Mac – Albatross Surprised the Stones are doing so badly in this round after running away with the last one. Je t'aime is iconic in its way. Is it any good? It's Ok, but in this company...

11/6 47 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 39 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising 38 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World 35 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine +1 28 Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg – Je T´aime... Moi Non Plus 26 Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air 25 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love +1 25 The Beatles & Billy Preston – Get Back 24 Manfred Mann – Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) 24 Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites 24 Tommy James & The Shondells – Mony, Mony 22 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 21 Peter Sarstedt – Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) 21 Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days +1 21 The Rolling Stones – Jumpin´ Jack Flash +1 20 The Beach Boys – Do It Again 20 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 20 Tommy Roe – Dizzy 20 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 20 The Archies – Sugar, Sugar 18 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525 18 Gary Pucket & The Union Gap – Young Girl 18 The Move – Blackberry Way 17 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – The Legend Of Xanadu 17 The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women 16 Fleetwood Mac – Albatross 14 The Equals – Baby Come Back 07 Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends -3 07 The Marmalade – Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da -3 07 The Scaffold – Lily The Pink 07 Georgie Fame – The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde

39 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 34 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising 34 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World 34 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine 26 Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg – Je T´aime... Moi Non Plus 24 Manfred Mann – Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) 24 The Beatles & Billy Preston – Get Back 24 The Archies – Sugar, Sugar 22 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love 22 Tommy James & The Shondells – Mony, Mony 21 Peter Sarstedt – Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) 21 The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women 21 Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air +1 20 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – The Legend Of Xanadu 20 The Equals – Baby Come Back 20 The Beach Boys – Do It Again 20 Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days 20 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 20 The Move – Blackberry Way 20 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 20 Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites 20 Tommy Roe – Dizzy 20 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 19 Georgie Fame – The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde 18 The Rolling Stones – Jumpin´ Jack Flash +3 18 Gary Pucket & The Union Gap — Young Girl 16 The Scaffold – Lily The Pink 16 The Marmalade – Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 16 Fleetwood Mac – Albatross 15 The Beatles – Lady Madonna 15 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525 14 Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends -4 12 The Bee Gees – I´ve Gotta Get A Message To You -2 05 The Beatles — The Ballad of John & Yoko

9/6 26 Creedence Clearwater Revival — Bad Moon Rising +1 26 Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World 25 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire 24 Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine 24 Beatles & Billy Preston – Get Back 22 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich – The Legend Of Xanadu +1 22 Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg – Je T´aime... Moi Non Plus 21 The Beatles – Lady Madonna 21 Peter Sarstedt – Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) 20 Georgie Fame – The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde 20 The Love Affair – Everlasting Love 20 Manfred Mann – Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) 20 Cliff Richard – Congratulations 20 Gary Puckett & The Union Gap – Young Girl 20 The Equals – Baby Come Back 20 Tommy James & The Shondells – Mony, Mony 20 The Beach Boys – Do It Again 20 The Bee Gees – I´ve Gotta Get A Message To You 20 Mary Hopkin – Those Were The Days 20 Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends 20 Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 20 The Scaffold – Lily The Pink 20 The Marmalade – Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 20 Fleetwood Mac – Albatross 20 The Move – Blackberry Way 20 Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice 20 Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites 20 Tommy Roe – Dizzy 20 The Beatles – The Ballad Of John & Yoko 20 Thunderclap Newman – Something In The Air 20 Bobbie Gentry – I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 20 The Archies – Sugar, Sugar 19 The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Woman +1 15 Des O´Connor – I Pretend -3 15 The Rolling Stones – Jumpin´ Jack Flash +1 15 Zager & Evans – In The Year 2525 14 Esther & Abi Ofarim – Cinderella Rockefella 08 The Beatles – Hey Jude 05 Rolf Harris — Two Little Boys -3 Once the obvious 4 or 5 have gone going to get difficult to find stuff to downvote quite quickly, most of this stuff is pretty good

8/6/2023 62 The Rolling Stones – Paint It, Black 36 The Four Tops – Reach Out I´ll Be There 29 The Monkees – I´m A Believer 27 Procol Harum – A Whiter Shade Of Pale 27 Dusty Springfield – You Don´t Have To Say You Love Me 16 The Kinks – Sunny Afternoon +4 04 The Spencer Davis Group — Keep On Running -3 04 Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) -3

Given the size of her current majority, very probably.

Wed 7 Jun 62 The Rolling Stones – Paint It, Black 33 The Four Tops – Reach Out I´ll Be There 29 The Monkees — I’m A Believer 27 Dusty Springfield – You Don´t Have To Say You Love Me 27 The Spencer Davis Group – Keep On Running 18 The Kinks — Sunny Afternoon +4 17 Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) 16 Procol Harum – A Whiter Shade Of Pale 14 Nancy Sinatra — These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ -3 12 The Walker Brothers – The Sun Ain´t Gonna Shine Anymore -3

Just brought up my Twuntdom-qualifying post on the KoS thread. Accolades, floral tributes etc happily received. Like several others around these parts, all I've done for the last 200 or so is play KoS tbh.

I've never heard of this song nor Black Legend. Seems to be a fairly strong tendency for the more successful versions to be exponentially worse in terms of quality. Do you think they are basically able to unjustifiably leverage the legacy of their superior no.2 predecessors? No, I don't think there's any crossover/leftover positive feelings at all. It will have done it all on its own. As someone who bought a Barry White single in the 70s (not this one admittedly) I'd long since given up buying singles (and largely listening to current chart music) by 2000 and have no recollection of this cover at all.

6/6/2023 64 The Rolling Stones – Paint It, Black 35 The Spencer Davis Group – Keep On Running 32 The Monkees — I’m A Believer 29 Dusty Springfield – You Don´t Have To Say You Love Me 29 The Four Tops – Reach Out I´ll Be There 28 The Walker Brothers – The Sun Ain´t Gonna Shine Anymore -3 24 The Kinks – Sunny Afternoon +4 21 Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made For Walkin' -3 21 Procol Harum — A Whiter Shade Of Pale 18 Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)

5/6 64 The Rolling Stones – Paint It, Black 37 The Monkees — I’m A Believer 36 The Spencer Davis Group – Keep On Running 36 Dusty Springfield – You Don´t Have To Say You Love Me 32 The Kinks – Sunny Afternoon +4 27 The Walker Brothers – The Sun Ain´t Gonna Shine Anymore -6 27 Procol Harum — A Whiter Shade Of Pale 26 Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) 26 The Four Tops – Reach Out I´ll Be There 23 Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made For Walkin' 07 The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations

4/6/2023 58 The Rolling Stones – Paint It, Black 35 Procol Harum — A Whiter Shade Of Pale 34 The Walker Brothers – The Sun Ain´t Gonna Shine Anymore -2 34 The Monkees — I’m A Believer 33 The Four Tops – Reach Out I´ll Be There 30 The Kinks – Sunny Afternoon +4 27 Dusty Springfield – You Don´t Have To Say You Love Me 26 The Spencer Davis Group – Keep On Running 25 Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made For Walkin' 25 Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) 21 The Beatles – Hello, Goodbye -2 15 The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations 11 The Bee Gees – Massachusetts -2 11 The Foundations – Baby, Now That I´ve Found You

Congratulations AFB

3/6/2023 58 The Rolling Stones – Paint It, Black 39 The Walker Brothers – The Sun Ain´t Gonna Shine Anymore 38 The Monkees – I´m A Believer 37 Dusty Springfield – You Don´t Have To Say You Love Me 34 Procol Harum – A Whiter Shade Of Pale 33 Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made For Walkin' 32 The Beatles – Hello, Goodbye -4 29 The Kinks – Sunny Afternoon +4 27 Scott McKenzie – San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) 26 The Spencer Davis Group – Keep On Running 25 The Four Tops – Reach Out I´ll Be There 21 The Bee Gees – Massachusetts 12 The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations 10 The Foundations – Baby, Now That I´ve Found You 10 The Small Faces – All Or Nothing -2

Ok now, sorry about that.