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Game Designer's Notebook
- the birth of Breaking Away
Keeping It Simple -
advice on games design from James Ernest of Cheapass
Games
GCSE Graphics Course:
Producing A Board Game
Tunnels & Trolls: 1984 interview with the
designer.
Music To My Eras -
musings on musical fashions
Mind Your Language - a rant
about people who mangle the English language
You can e-mail us here
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Music To My
Eras
Track 4: The British Are Coming?
GERRY AND THE
PACEMAKERS
What of the Beatles' British
peers, many of whom also hailed from Liverpool?
I was only about 5 when the Beatles came to prominence so
my memory of their status in the early sixties is a bit
hazy but I suspect their dominance was not as clear cut
at first as we now imagine 30 years later. For instance,
it was Gerry and the Pacemakers who went to number 1 with
each of their first 3 releases, a feat not equalled until
another Liverpool band - Frankie Goes to Hollywood - did it 20 years later.
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Film
of the time shows Gerry and the boys had their share
of screaming fans but what probably limited their appeal
was the fact that it was "Gerry and some faceless
nerks in suits".
There's something about the north-west accent that lends
itself to singing r&b, and Gerry Marsden
had a good set of pipes on him. What he didn't have was a
good haircut. And he was short. And although he wrote the
haunting "Ferry Cross the Mersey" (Difford
& Tilbrook eat your
heart out) his songwriting talent never emerged as a
threat to George Harrison, never mind Lennon and
McCartney. |
THE SEARCHERS
Nice Rickenbackers. Good
choice of material. Shame about Tony Hatch as a producer.
The lead ego left to become a superstar. I can't remember
his name so I guess he failed. The band is still doing
the scampi in a basket circuit, bashing out the Swinging
Blue Jeans' hits, while the SBJs do the Searchers' songs.
Well, it saves you getting tired of the material. next
year they'll swap with the Hollies.
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HERMAN'S HERMITS
See The Monkees. Peter No-one (what a waste of a great punk
name) is as well remembered for appearing in Coronation
Street as he is for singing with this band, at least in
Britain, but in America he and the band were apparently
enormous.
Started as an R&B band and were very frustrated by
the saccharine shite they were expected to record. Peter
Noone had some moderate solo success, whilst the Hermits
changed their name to Toe Fat and became a none too
successful "progressive rock band".
No, I don't know how I remember all this stuff either.
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WORDS
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