Now Yearbook 1976

After a gap since November last year we've now moved back again into the nineteen seventies in the Now Yearbook series, a kind of two part (and bonsu sets later) round up of all the hits of that year of two hundred years of the United States, the UK asking the IMF for a massive loan, the heatwave and matching drought and a time when ABBA ruled the roost.

That said due to licensing issues we have no ABBA or David Bowie on here but you've almost certainly got a compilation or two by them to fill the gaps.

The set rounds everything up on four discs with the option of the book with tracknotes and a quiz or a cheapskate piece of cardboard with slots so I opted for the book version.

An overview of artist and songs for each disc on on the reverse while inside fuller details lie within the pages.

Back then of course most of bought hit compilation records but most by original artists sounded thin and were often shorted while the "Top of the Pops" ones, while sounding better had cover versions of hits.

Actually there is a condensed version of this set on triple lp available.

Kicking disc 1 in style we have: A #2 in 1976, Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’, followed by Electric Light Orchestra with ‘Livin’ Thing’, Fleetwood Mac with ‘Say You Love Me’, and 10cc with ‘I’m Mandy Fly Me’. Chicago hit #1 with their all-time classic ballad ‘If You Leave Me Now’, and Bonnie Tyler made her chart debut with ‘Lost In France’, whilst Leo Sayer reached #2 in the UK, and #1 in the US with ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’. 

This is followed by a trio of dance-floor favourites – and all #1s in ’76: Tina Charles with ‘I Love To Love’, The Real Thing with ‘You To Me Are Everything’, and 14 years after making their UK chart debut Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons enjoyed their first chart-topper with ‘December 1963 (Oh What a Night)’. The floor-fillers continue from Candi Staton, Barry White and Melba Moore ahead of a disco-flavoured single from former glam-pop stars, Mud. 

Brilliant and unforgettable pop gems from Smokie, Bryan Ferry, Sailor, and a classy cover of ‘Here Comes The Sun’ from Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel lead into Paul Simon’s ’50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’, and the first disc’s closing tracks – both timeless ballads: Joan Armatrading with ‘Love And Affection’ who I remember seeing "In Concert" on BBC 2, and Diana Ross with ‘Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)’

Disc 2 opens with a stellar run of pure-pop classics. Elton John celebrated his first UK #1 single, in a duet with Kiki Dee on ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’, Cliff Richard  got more earthy with ‘Devil Woman’, and ‘Forever And Ever’ gave Demis Roussos a ’76 chart topper. 

Guys N Dolls had a second Top 5 hit with their cover of ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ – and the UK won at Eurovision, with the winner ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ by Brotherhood Of Man not only hitting the #1 spot but also becoming 1976’s biggest seller. Showaddywaddy celebrated their biggest hit and their first #1 with ‘Under The Moon Of Love’ that was played at school christmas discos, and Slik, featuring a pre-Ultravox Midge Ure reached the top with ‘Forever And Ever’ – a different song, with the same title as the aforementioned Demis Roussos #1 prodused by Bill and Phil who'd produced the Rollers in 1974.

Talking of which Love Me Like I Love You, a nin album single by the Bay City Rollers from April does feature!

1976 produced some classic rock smashes, and included here are singles from Status Quo, ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ from Thin Lizzy, ‘Squeeze Box’ from The Who although some wondered what that was really all about, and the epic ‘Music’ from John Miles. 

More pop nuggets follow from Billy Ocean, Dana, David Dundas and Fox ahead of Disc 2’s comedic closers from the Kursaal Flyers and The Wurzels with the #1 ‘The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)’a reworking of the Melanie hit from 1971.

Disc 3 celebrates ‘76’s dancefloor with a stunning collection of disco that was coming in in '76 and soul gold: First up, Donna Summer with her debut smash ‘Love To Love You Baby’ before ‘More More More’ from Andrea True Connection and a second appearance on this Yearbook from Diana Ross with the genre-defining ‘Love Hangover’. 

‘Turn The Beat Around’ from Vicki Sue Robinson is followed by a trio of bands who all released unforgettable disco singles in ’76: Tavares, The O’Jays and The Miracles minus Smokie Robinson.

 Soulful vocals from The Stylistics, and Lou Rawls lead into timeless tracks from The Isley Brothers with ‘Harvest For The World’, ‘I Want You’ from Marvin Gaye, and the sublime ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ from Gladys Knight & The Pips which is followed by more soul ballads from James & Bobby Purify, The Manhattans and Yvonne Fair, the disc closes with a run of fabulous funk hits from Archie Bell & The Drells, Wild Cherry, James Brown and Lalo Schifrin’s version of the theme from ‘Jaws’.

The biggest seller in ’76 in the US opens the final disc: ‘Silly Love Songs’ gave Wings a UK #2 and comes ahead of another peerless single from Elton John with ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’. Dr. Hook had a huge hit with ‘A Little Bit More’, and Dolly Parton made her UK singles chart debut with ‘Jolene’ three years after it was a hit in the US. 

Country music was also represented by Billie Jo Spears who had her biggest hit with ‘What I’ve Got In Mind’ – but it was a Dutch band, Pussycat, who hit the top with their country-pop track ‘Mississippi’. C.W. McCall capitalised on the craze for CB radio with ‘Convoy’, which leads to hits from Neil Diamond, Randy Edelman, Sutherland Brothers & Quiver and Liverpool Express. The Stafford, England group, the Climax Blues Band scored a Top 10 hit in the UK and a US Top 3 with ‘Couldn’t Get It Right’ and features alongside more great vocalists including Linda Ronstadt and Yvonne Elliman. 

Soul-influenced pop from R&J Stone and the re-released ‘She’s Gone’ from Daryl Hall & John Oates lead to a closing run of stunning balladssuch as The Walker Brothers who returned to the Top 10 in 1976 with their excellent cover of ‘No Regrets’, ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ from Gallagher And Lyle, Eric Carmen a former Raspberries member  hit big with ‘All By Myself’ and Cliff Richard makes a second appearance on this collection with one of his defining ballads ‘Miss You Nights’ and concluded by the year’s Christmas #1 from Johnny Mathis with his seasonal favourite ‘When A Child Is Born’ which I might add I loved back then.

This set gives a great flavour of what twelve year old me heard and generally loved as much as the Rollers were my #1 obession.

The great legs debate

 

Well it has been a hot Bank Holiday here so we're reducing the layers and taking in cool drinks while sorting through a few old things as we start the process of leaving Summer and heading in Autumn with all that brings.

Socks can be contentious with one group of boy arguing over wither or not they "should" wear white socks which in as far school uniform goes was yes a minority thing for boys in school but did happen for things like Maypole dancing and some Scout groups had white socks and garters.

With us it's really around type of sock, ankle, mid calf or just over the knee, patterned or plain and then if we have straight elastic tops, lacy tops and bows.

Then there's the white tights thing which we see more of in upper juniors and senior school plus with more formal occasions with skirts and dresses.

You don't have to go all frilly, all of the time as a sissy gurl, we're just all gurl all of the time so we can mix and match looks to suit what we're doing and the kind of image we are portraying.

The rights of the child sissy, transexual and fem boys

Sometimes we can be a little superficial, even "fun" in a way here but in the at times tortured history of this blog there have been more serious topic and moments.

Few things concern me more than the situation a good number of children who don't fit the current girl/boy, masculine and feminine roles and modes most of their peers do fighting pressures from other children, parents and "the powers that be" whole draw up rules and socially acceptable codes of behaviour and dress.

Labels and associated images do concern both parents and "the powers that be" then and in discussing this those who say "but you cannot label a child "that".

Well a child may be exhibiting any number of traits from wanting or even playing by themselves more as the opposite sex or dressing more in the manner of the opposite sex and yes we all go under the Transgender catch all umbrella as after all at that age especially we're exploring who we are.

It may be in time you realize you're a transexual, you may be a "femboy" but before I was in double digits growing up I knew I was something else - a Sissy - and saying that is for some shocking but let's remember as a child you'd not be thinking, hey even  knowing of the adult sexual side of that.

Plus in any event some sissies are either mainly or even not sexually minded whatever you might see on social media and the adult services might suggest.

You didn't think you were a girl but you sure as heck wanted to dress the  same, play the same games as them rather than feeling you had to be something that felt you were play acting rather badly.

Thus I called myself a young child a "Sissy" I'm happy to be that same person today and let's get this straight nobody wishes to project sexuality on to that child even if as they get older they may like any teenager discover more of their own sexuality and that (it shouldn't need to be said) it's wrong for *any* adult to be thinking around never mind having a sexual relationship with a child regardless of gender and sex.

I did dress in a more girl like fashion whenever I had the opportunity, "borrowing" things, both outer wear and underwear whenever I could I would play more girlish games - playing torturing the enemy with the boys wasn't someting I really enjoyed at all.

I preferred hopscotch, role playing situations like school or shop and jump rope to any of that macho stuff.

Thus to me I feel any child should be able to explore and be themselves at home, from from being humiliated, emotionally abused or even being grounded for being a sissy.

The second area is even if you've been lucky to had attended a fairly liberal nursury or play ground that did let you were dresses nearly all school presume it is boys/girls, feminine or masculine dress and games and you may not fit that.

As that young sissy I wanted to wear a skirt or a school dress, may be a traditional pinafore dress in school with the matching socks and maybe a ribbon in my hair rather than being called horrible names by male teachers or finding when you complained about being excluded from playing with girls or playing games where you would rather join in a netball class than football or cricket you were told to shut up and stop whinging.

You should of been free to have your own friends determined by what you had in common rather than your biological sex.

That's something that is slowly starting to change a set back or two excepted.

Another area is children's organizations which we'd all admit need to be concerned with the wider topic of child protection even potentially from other children and while we'd accept they are entitled to have mainly girl or boy focuses.

Scouting in the U.K. is co-ed which ought to be fine for a child who sees themselves as being transexual, a fem boy, or like I did a sissy but the uniforms don't have skirt or dress options looking more like we've been let into boy scouts.

It shouldn't be about gatecrashing the world most children and parents are at one with but about toleration, adjustment where necessary and mutual respect are at the core of it so all children are able to be who they truly are no matter where they are.

No we don't expect flimsy party wear to be worn at a cubs session or especially on outdoor activities but where is there a skirted option?

The Girl Guides is straight forward - it is expressly for girls although those living like girls whatever the label may join - but that in the environment we live in where school may not be accommodating, sports may not accept any deviation from traditional sex based roles the bar may be too high to meet with evidence.

Perhaps an agreement about how you present, you name, your uniform option to provide continuity for the girls that do cos we must respect how they feel as much being about our own kind and an understanding we need to accept we are in girl space and let them run it mainly for them as much as they may be prepared to be kind and tolerant to us would be a way forward.

The New-Old Classical vinyl

While there is a good number of entries around classical music on vinyl that go back several years across the posts on this blog they are around those bought a fair bit in the past but in looking at the collection, not least finding some missing discs there's been some gap filling and replacements.

Take this Vaughan Williams set that has great accounts of The Lark, Fantasia on Greensleeves and his Sixth Symphony which was originally issued around 1991on cd for Teldec but only came out on record as classical lps just were not made new after about 1990 in 2022.

It's a similar story here where my original Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 was a Russian recording by the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra on classics for pleasure but I did by on cd the Piano Concerto No.2 which came out in 1994 when you could go whistle for a new recording on vinyl.

Strangely enough that recording of the First made in 1991 was never issued at the time - perhaps DG held it back as they a high profile recording session lined up for another soloist they wished to promote instead.

This pairing only came out on vinyl in late 2021.

Then sometimes you get a recording old enough that might of bought back in the day but recently remixed and re-issued sounding much freshier and firmer sounding such as Gulda's recording of Mozart's Piano Concertos 25 and 27 for the first time ever direct from the original master tapes.

Re-released in 2016, their recording which was part of the Mozart series they covered of the Piano Concertos 20 and 21 was one I original had on chrome cassette as a DG Galleria issue from 1986 but recorded in 1975.

The re-release uses the original artwork.

Anne-Sophie Mutter's début recording of Mozart's Violin Concertos 3 and 5 always was a favourite of mine but this record re-issued in 2016 sounds so much fuller than the original from back in 1978

This stunning account of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique by the Boston Sympony Orchestra conducted by Osawa from 1973 sounds amazing cut and remixed from the original four track master tape.

Same orchestra this time conducted by Czech born Kubelik perform here arguably the best ever account of Smetana's Ma valst, his massive homage to his native Slovenia with great passion.

This was one I had on tape for a period but this record simply is amazing sounding for a recording made in 1973.

Similar story with this 2017 issue of Schubert's Trout Quintet to go with my original copy of the 9th "Great" Symphony in a much loved performance by Amadeus Quartet conducted by Zepperitz with Giles playing the piano.

This is a classic account from 1970 of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto, a kind of replacement for the recording I had in my teens,

This little sub series of posts really looks at classical music on record that either didn't get an original vinyl release or where it has been reissued on vinyl often with new mastering.

Much of the action when it comes to classical record releases today is centred around recordings from the 1960's to 1970's recorded on analogue tape with just a handful of new digitally recorded titles.

This bias towards older analogue era performances isn't just a preference to particular recordings but the idea only tape should be cut to vinyl, a viewpoint having grown up in and bought new digitally recorded records between the late 1970's and mid 80's I cannot agree with having loved those I did get.

Thus last year that most English of classical labels Hyperion decided to start a limited vinyl reissue series of its much loved mainly digitally recorded titles starting with a batch of five and this March they issued a further five.

Debussy for me was music I loved as young child and Stephen Osbourne's modern (2016) recording of the original piano versions of Images and especially Children's Corner is very much me so I was glad to add this to the collection.

Mendelssohn always held a fascination and there are few records of his music in the collection (and a great many on cd the Mendelssohn in Birmingham series on Chandos for instance) so a series of recordings by Felix AND Fanny's String Quartets held an interest having the cd versions by the Takacs Quartet from 2021.

They were birthday presents on pre-order from Presto

This was one from the first bunch I bought with excellent performances of the Violin Concertos in a  2016 recording.

Steven Hough's 2011 set of the complete Chopin Waltzes was something else!

Back to the other sort of reissue, remixed direct from the 8 track analogue tape, this account by the Berlin Philharmonic musically was always a firm favourite of Dvorak's Ninth but suffered in it's recording and is certainly an improvement on the 1974 original having grown up literally on that.

Pollini was a genius of the Piano and this set of Chopin's 24 Preludes is essential.

There have been many great accounts of Le Sacre de Printemps but the London Symphony Orchestra account from the mid 1970's conducted by the great Cludio Abbado is a firm favourite and was my first on compact disc.

The freshly mastered from the original multitrack tapes directly version here sounds really amazing and the cover art was exceptional which is always better on a bigger canvas.

The violin is an instrument I really do like and this late 2024 reissue from the 1985 previously Emi Angel  digital recording of Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole one of the finest by the German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is superb.

The rear cover apart from notes shows the original album cover.

In with the new was this May 2025 recording of Shostakovitch's two Cello Concertos performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra with the celebrated Yo-Yo Ma on cello conducted by Andris Nelsons, part of a new series of recordings by DG by that composer and amazingly being issued on vinyl too as it's are for new recordings to come out on vinyl.

Talking of that series Yuja Wangs playing on this recording of the Piano Concertos was much liked by the at times snooty anti digital vinyl The Tracking Angle magazine and technically superb.

This is a rarity for other reasons, it is an old school box set with the records in inner sleeves in the box with a booklet rather than in a jacket (or individual jackets), the way we bought them in vinyls heyday.

This is a set of all Brahms's symphonys recorded live in 2008 and issued on compact disc in 2009 during Sir Simon Rattle's tenure as principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra gaining awards but was not issued on vinyl until late 2022.

It was recorded and issued by Emi Classics but following the demise of Emi as a separate concern in 2013, Emi Classics was absorbed into Warner Classics who produced this box set.

A much talked about pianist is Yuja Wang, a Chinese-American performer and in 2023 she recorded all four of Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos for D.G. with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and this was issued as three lps in a gatefold sleeve where it can live next to a classic vintage record of the Third.

In June this classic 1976 account by Maurizo Pollini was reissued and remastered from the original four track tapes in the DG The Original Source series as a double 45 rpm set gaining as the original was just over an hour on a single discs that compromised the sound.

As ever I'll add to it over time.

Tammy gurls new socks

 Sometimes on this blog I do look at the more younger side of me when it comes into the things I do and this week it's really more about the looks of a young Tammy, who knew she wasn't a boy (yuk!) and still feels that young most times.

You could say that's how I really saw me but it feels like ages since I last made a post a bit like this, shifting interests, other things intruding a bit more than is necessarily good for me, some issues elsewhere around things and the odd hole emerging.

Way back around 2009/10 I liked going to BHS in the City Centre because they stocked a good selection of things like cute knickers and socks that easily matched everything else I wore however broad that might be compared to so folks tastes.

Things like cute animals such panda's, pretty hearts and stars tended to feature or just more pale pastel designs but they've been gone for ages.

So Neko fan me chose cats that happened to be stocked by Accessorise In Style (their spelling NEVER mine!) on Ebay in a super soft finish in this ankle length design which is ideal for the summer months when you need something between shoes or trainers and your lower paws.

And they're just fine.

Summer away together

Today I thought I'd  like to take look back to when I was I was away with friends and I saw this group of trees.

 It just appealed to me greatly so grabbed my camera  and took this picture in the early morning of it while other folks were doing other things like getting up.
Nature has always held a fascination for me, not least in my childhood being surrounded by countryside.

 

It isn't just flowers that interest me, even leaf structures do too.

It also was a time when I played on a tricycle presenting as very much my sissy gurl self in hur gingham dress and pretty bows letting that little side out.

Working on things

It's a cooler and wet week this week than a fortnight ago but that warm period coincided with a good deal more dressy presentation but that often brings other things to the fore like just how gurlish are you and maybe I do need to work on some aspect although my walking isn't good for disability related reasons.

Often we do wish for  a sister to really work with us on various things so it does become more second nature.

A room like this is what a Little Gurl Tammy really needs free of anything ikky male that become an oasis of gurlhood.

Is that too much to ask for?