Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 69 - Mike Oldfield - The Bell

Nobody writes feel-good music as well as Mike Oldfield.  Today's song is taken from Tubular Bells II, the sequel to his groundbreaking Tubular Bells album released 19 years earlier.

Keeping with the same style as the Finale of Tubular Bells, The Bell replaces Vivian Stanshall with legendary actor Alan Rickman as the master of ceremonies and is a goose-bump-filled seven minutes of pure ecstasy-inducing musical bliss, culminating in the spectacular catharsis sounds of the tubular bells!

The song was released as a single in April 1993 albeit with a slightly shorter runtime and although the single only reached a rather poor number 50 in the UK charts, the album did much better, reaching number one on the UK album charts. 

I guess poor Mike just couldn't convince the younguns of the day to try something different instead of the usual tripe that was beginning to pollute the charts around the early to mid 1990s.

If you've never heard it before, take a listen.  Crank the volume up and blast those bells so that your neighbours start banging on your wall.  It'll be worth it.

And when you're done with that, listen to it from his live concert on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle.  

Game Covers - Race/Spin-Out/Cryptogram (Philips G7000)

Race

A race against time - travel as far as you can before the two minutes are up.  The game calls for a fast reaction-time and precise handling of the joystick control.  There is a time-penalty for crashing.  The game is over when time left = 00:00

Spin-out

Key 2 selects 3-lap racetrack, key 3 selects 15-lap racetrack.  Race your opponent round the corners and barriers of the Spin0out circuit.  There is a time penalty for crashing or spinning the car.  You have a choice of slow or fast speeds, and basic or complex racetracks.

Cryptogram

A game of knowledge and deduction.  Type a word or phrase onto TV screen (don't let your opponent see it).  The letters of the phrase are then jumbled up, and your opponent must unscramble them (each correct letter remains on screen).  The screen shows the number of mistakes made.  The player who makes least mistakes wins.

3D View (hold and move to rotate) New Tab (Full Screen)

Game Covers - Terrahawks (Philips G7000)

Emergency Message

Alien forces from Alpha Centauri have invaded and captured Mars - STOP

Leader is android "Zelda" - STOP

Enemy plans to invade Earth - STOP

Primary objective to destroy Terrahawk organisation - STOP

3D View (hold and move to rotate) New Tab (Full Screen)

We'll tear your soul apart, apparently.

So some weird vagrant sort of chap came up to me today and asked "What's my pleasure" before handing me this box.  I think it's some kind of puzzle box.  What could possibly happen?  

The funny thing is, I couldn't open it (really, I couldn't), but Sophie managed to do it just fine!  We've now got chains hanging from the ceiling, a doorway to a labyrinth has opened in our living room, and some dude with pins in his head has said he has such sights to show me.  I guess I go with him?  If I'm not at work tomorrow, you know why.

Weird!

 

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 68 - Electric Light Orchestra - Calling America

Here's a cracker from 1986 that I had nearly completely forgotten about, but last night I decided to stick on some Electric Light Orchestra, and in between classics like 'Mr Blue Sky' and 'Sweet Talking Woman' this beauty came on, and the memories hit me.

I loved this song when it came out.  Released in the UK as a single from their album 'Balance of Power' on 21st February 1986, it only managed to peak at number 28.

It's a really upbeat, happy and bright song that really lifts your mood (well, it did mine).  Enjoy!

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 67 - Erasure - Fingers and Thumbs (Cold Summer's Day)

It's been a month since I last posted my previous favourite tune, so I've decided to go back to one of my all-time favourite bands.  Today's track is Erasure's Fingers and Thumbs (Cold Summer's Day), an absolute corker from their 1995 self-titled album "Erasure".

It only peaked at number 20 in the UK charts in December 1995 which is dreadful considering the amount of tat that was filling the charts at that time (yes, I'm talking about you Oasis, Boyzone and, East 17), but considering the band were not considered 'mainstream' at the time, it was still a respectable position.  Remember, this was before the internet and online streaming was a thing.

This is the single version, but the one featured on the album was a 6-minute and 44-second masterpiece, featuring an extended instrumental section between the second and third choruses.

An absolute classic of track.