Sunday, January 02, 2022

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 18 - Zoolook (Jean-Michel Jarre)

Another blast from the past.  I've been a big fan of Jean Michel Jarre since watching his massive "Rendez-vous Houston" concert in April, 1986.  

This song is one of my favourites, from the album "Zoolook" from 1984.  Strangely, it conjures up many memories of watching demos on the Commodore 64 and Amiga, with sampled Jarre songs mixed with fancy graphics and spinning vector polygons!


Saturday, January 01, 2022

Game Covers - Mini Golf (Commodore 64)

Watch your ball roll, bounce, and spin across a perilous course filled with obstructions and hazards including sandhills and metal borders.  As in real life, you must play from one hole to the next using skill and dexterity to pot those balls.  You determine the direction and strength of your stroke - you have the chance to improve your game with every shot.

Mini Golf from Magic Bytes gives you the opportunity to play this well-known and much-loved sport in the home for the first time!

-  Courses for beginners and experts.
-  Birds and profile view of the courses.
-  2, 3 or 4 player-options




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Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 17 - Do You Want To Be A Hero (Jon Anderson)

I don't care what anyone says...   I was probably one of the very few people who thoroughly enjoyed the 1986 movie  "Biggles - Adventures in Time", and this was the main theme tune from it.  I remember it being one of the very first films which I watched on a cable channel called "Premiere" probably around 1987/88...  This was back in the day when most households only had 4 channels to choose from.  We were fortunate enough to have Sky quite early on, and Premiere was the only movie channel on offer before Sky did their own.

I watched this movie over and over again.  Not sure why though as when I look back at it, the film isn't particularly special.  It's just a fun ol' time travelling romp - I mean, where else can you see a modern Metropoliton Police Helicoptor fight in World War 1?   I believe it was also Peter Cushing's last acting role before sadly passing away a few years later.

Anyway, the song is sung by Jon Anderson (the lead vocalist from Yes).  Enjoy,  and try and watch the film if you've never seen it before.  It's not THAT bad.

Friday, December 31, 2021

Game Covers - Buggy Boy (Commodore 64)

Use the joystick to select a course and press fire.  The race begins.  Drive your race-tuned Baja Bug along the race track, passing through gates and collecting flags for points.  Time gates give you an additional two seconds on the next leg so drive through them if you can.  Collecting the flags in the specified order gives you extra points.  Avoid hitting the fences, walls, trees etc. as they flip your buggy over and slow you down.  You are competing against the clock so don't waste time, push the pedal flat to the floor.  Try jumping obstacles by hitting the logs that lie across the track,  Show off your driving skills by running over molehills and tree stumps, tipping your car onto two wheels - see how long you can keep your buggy in this trick position.  Fasten your seat belt for the ride of your life.




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Game Covers - Flintstones (Commodore 64)

BOWL OR BUST!

Fred and Barney want to go bowling but Wilma has other ideas and guess who's left holding the baby?

Join the Flintstones in this officially licensed arcade adventure based on the famous Hanna Barbera cartoon characters.






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Thursday, December 30, 2021

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 16 - Taurus II (Mike Oldfield)

The album "Five Miles Out" introduced me to the music of Mike Oldfield long before I first listened to his famous Tubular Bells for the first time, and the one track which stands out for me is the very first one from the album, "Taurus II".  As with most of Mike's earlier work (Tubular Bells, Incantations, Ommadawn etc.), this track is one long, continuous track (24 minutes) made up of several different melodies and styles.

I remember my sister copying it onto an old C90 for me in the mid 1980's...  I still have the tape!  (Shhh.... although I've bought several CD releases since, so that kind of makes up for having a naughty copy when I was a child!)

If you've never heard it before, give it a go...  Modern chart musicians can only dream of producing music of this quality.  As a big fan of Mike Oldfield, I still find this one of his best albums ever.


The copy my sister dd for me in the 80s.  Shhhh, don't tell anyone!