barclaycon

I share your view that Boris is a midly amusing irritation, but he seems to be positioning himself to be the next Prime Minister and I find that prospect a little worrying. He wasn't a particularly good Mayor of London. Not everyone buys into the 'befuddled genius' persona and the bluster and lame humour. He should be judged on his record - and that is not particularly good. His father, former MP Stanley Johnson has created a kind of dynasty. His other son Joe Johnson is in the government and his daughter (Rachel Johnson) is a journalist who regularly appears on TV to promote the Johnson br

Vince Eager. Is that another name dreamed up by Larry Parnes in reaction to his advances ? (e.g. Fury, Wilde, Gentle, Pride)

Disagreeing is OK. I don't think I've ever been accused of being left wing before though.

You've highlighted the poor quality of political reporting DJ. These journos are over-opinionated, biased and don't seem to be very much in touch with the public mood. They are supposed to be giving an 'informed' view, but they try to second-guess voters all the time. Pigeon-holing them, badgering, even castigating people if they don't give a view in line with their own. The suggestion that the Conservatives lost the London mayoral contest because of 'negative campaigning' isn't the case. I live in London and I'm here to tell you that Zac Goldsmith lost because the voters didn't want anot

It is simply the civil service (who lets face it, are the power behind the throne of government) absolving themselves of responsibility for anything and everything. They've created the role of 'police commissioners' so that they can take the flak for badly -funded incompetent police work where only 'major' crime is dealt with and un-important crime (like burglary) isn't. Remember that idiot Sara Thornton - head of the National Police Chiefs' Council, coming on television and telling us that the police may no longer attend burglaries because they had to prioritise (!). Must be nice to be on

Fascinating programme about The Sun on Sunday night BBC4. Just shows how much things have progressed since I was at school. Stuff that can be explained now. Things like Sun Spots, Magnetic storms, Solar Winds. Great programme.

I worked at Morgan Studios from about 1977 to 1981. Named after drummer Barry Morgan, one of the studios directors was organist Jerry Allen who insisted that each studio should have not only a piano, but also a Hammond organ with Leslie. Morgan had 4 studios in Willesden, they also had Morgan Brussels which I had the pleasure of working at for a few weeks in '79.

IBC was another unique place. Not a major studio in terms of size etc. but a very important part of rock history because some incredible stuff was done there. Most of the early Who stuff, The Kinks, Bee Gees, Cream, Deep Purple. It was quite small in terms of recording area, but they could do orchestra's etc because the control room was upstairs. Again, they built their own desks and bits of outboard gear. It was just over the road from the BBC in Portland Place. There used to be a great website devoted to the studio, but it disappeared last year. Some info can be found here: http://ww

Trident was a great place. They built their own desks and as a studio it had a unique sound. Andy Johns died last month I believe. He was often overshadowed by his brother Glyn but he did some great work in his own right. I'm not sure you would have liked Music Land. It was in the basement of a hotel and was started by Giorgio Moroder as his own personal facility. Everyone from Queen, ELO to Led Zeppelin always said how oppressive it was. Which begs the question - why did all these groups go there ? Basically because they got a great sound, and that was largely due to Reinhold Mack.

Yes catfan. I believe that students (particularly overseas ones) are a big earner for Notts. Isn't one part of Trent University nicknamed Chinatown ? I was just thinking that one of the nicest tall buildings in Nottm was Trent Poly (God knows what it's called now!). A beautiful piece of design and stonework. Not the kind of thing that they throwing together these days. Ian. I worked in all those studios you mentioned at some time or other. I never met Keith Harwood, but I really liked some of his work (Achilles Last Stand etc.) The only 2 major studios left in the London area are Abbe

Re #13 Yes, I'm hoping to do the same ! When the opportunity presents itself I will be hightailing it outta here - possibly even to come back to Notts. I only came down here because it was the centre of the music biz. Now it's overly-expensive, polluted, overcrowded and all the music studios have closed down. The only saving grace is that when I leave I will actually be able to make enough money to buy somewhere decent elsewhere. Re #14 If they are pulling down tall buildings in Nottingham then it's something to be celebrated. Though I fear that what they will be replacing them with wil

Here in London they are throwing up huge concrete structures at an alarming rate. I think Boris relaxed the laws so developers could start building these horrible, ugly and (for the most part) un-affordable eyesores. Within a couple of miles of my house there is massive construction work going on. They knocked down Colindale Newspaper Library to replace it with a 'concrete jungle' housing estate. Over Colindale Tube station there is a sea-container mountain (yes, really !). All these 'developments' do nothing to alleviate the housing crisis because they are luxury apartments which will be

Yep. 'Catch Us If You Can' was the film wasn't it ? Ed Stewart used to play Dave Clark Five stuff on Radio London, though 'Red Balloon' would've been on Radio 1 (1968). Wonder what the exact translation of 'Callow La Vita' is ?

In some ways the Dave Clark Five were very under-rated. Not only did they have some great hit records, they also cracked America. In a lot of those BBC 4 documentaries, many artistes cite Dave Clark Five as being a major influence. I bought the re-mastered Greatest Hits a few years back and was suprised at how good they still sounded. They were perhaps over-shadowed by the Beatles in the late 60's - but they did have a much different sound. I think that only Dave Clark and Lenny Davidson are still with us, perhaps they'll be on that programme on Friday.

It's just so sad that such an incredible talent (which he undeniably was !) has died so suddenly. At the moment it's looking like painkillers were the cause of death. He had overdosed on them when his plane had to land suddenly in Illinois last week. Apparently he'd had extensive surgery on his hips in 2010 and had become an habitual taker of Percocet. It's probably the wrong time to be pontificating on the over-prescription and over-use of such drugs, but too many famous people have died in recent times due to painkillers - legally prescribed or not. R.I.P. Prince

An incredible shock. What did he die of ?

A very genuine, sincere man. No one has ever had a bad word against him. Superb songs, great voice. A legend.

Yes, that's a shock ! Only 62. That's no age at all these days. R.I.P. Victoria

No problem Ian. Not argumentative, just a difference of opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree.

Very interesting set of pictures. I saw an old post card of Canning Circus which shows trams climbing up the hill (Derby Road) from town towards the roundabout. Interesting to see the trolley buses going round in a circle there. I know that area quite well. It's certainly dying now - particularly Alfreton Road which just looks in a state of decay.

I think it's unanimous that he was a very strange person. Does anybody know how he actually died ? I believe he'd settled in this country and was living in York.

That's pathetic! Trying to justify cannabis. It's responsible for more crime, psychosis, pressure on the NHS and corruption of young minds than anything else. If it was just a matter of occasional recreational use then it wouldn't be a problem, but it's such an insidious drug that users nearly always make it a lifestyle. Just off the top of my head - recently a kid mowed down a traffic cop in a stolen car. He was as high as a kite and had been smoking dope since he was 6. Yesterday a girl was jailed for stamping on her baby. She and her partner were addicted to cannabis. I've wasted more

I'm afraid I don't share your admiration for the man.

Experian ? Yes, I believe they are one of the major employers in Notts. I'm sure there a lot of people there with degrees in Media Studies, Golf management, Harry Potter or indeed Mickey Mouse. (Let me know if I'm being too flippant)

Whilst we're on the subject of house buying, here in London there has been a massive expansion in building. All along the skyline there are cranes and high-rise concrete structures going up everywhere. Now you may think that this is a good thing since we need a lot more housing BUT, these are not family homes designed for the people that live here. They are luxury flats. Even in the outlying parts of London we're talking about £450,000 each. They will do nothing to address the problem of a lack of affordable housing, because they are for private investors, people abroad and 'city types'. No