Head Space Daily Words...

The EU referendum is huge. General elections come and go, governments rise and fall but tomorrow is beyond mere politics, it is about defining our culture and who we are. The culture I believe in is of diversity, not turning your back on your neighbours. It is of openness, not isolation. I believe in hope, not fear and in playing a part, not becoming a narrow minded little island. The xenophobia of the Leave campaign has been sickening, at times veering towards racism. We are better than that. Aren’t we? Why put our jobs, workers rights, the economy and the NHS at risk? If we vote leave, it will be like going down with the titanic, singing Land of Hope and Glory, waving those little plastic union flags as we disappear out of sight. I have neither the intelligence nor the knowledge to understand the intricacies and subtleties of the EU but please don’t vote to cut us off. Don’t detach us from the world. If we vote out, there will be no turning back. In my view, we have to vote Remain.

Head Space Daily Words...

The sun makes all the difference. As I wrote these words, the sky was blue. Airplanes left their trails. The birds sang. People chattered. Time was drifting more slowly. Life felt less of a struggle.

Generally, I wear my shoes until they begin to fall apart. A new pair of Summer and Winter shoes every couple of years. Last Wednesday, I was off to the Vans shop on Carnaby Street. Tube to Green Park, then left out of the station, on to Piccadilly, opposite the Ritz. Second left onto Dover Street, past the Mayfair galleries, the doorman in top hat outside the Arts Club and a right on to Stafford Street. The Duke Of Albemarle pub stands immediately on the left. Turn another left out of Stafford Street, head over Albemarle Street, past a Paul Smith shop, through the Royal Arcade and out on to Old Bond Street. At Tiffany & Co walk over the zebra crossing and head down Burlington Gardens, passing round the back of the Royal Academy, before the road twists past Savile Row and narrows into Vigo Street, which opens out to meet Regent Street, just above the glorious bend leading down to Piccadilly Circus. Over Regent Street, along Glasshouse Street and into Brewer Street, a walk up Lower John Street, a cut through Golden Square, then Upper James Street meets Beak Street, a final left and you are at Carnaby Street.

This is a well-worn path for me, leading to companies relating to my work, record shops, clothes shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants. Interesting things that make the world go round. I have never once turned right on coming out of Green Park station, let alone gone into Green Park itself. On this particular Wednesday, the sun was shining and I had a little time on my hands. It was the perfect opportunity to sit on the grass, eat my lunch and watch the world go by.

I took my place in the middle of a Green Park lawn, a path on either side of me, a construction worker dozing in the sun, lying in front of me, (see HSD Image) and in the distance, at the bottom of the park I could see an extremely familiar golden statue. ‘I know that statue,’ I thought to myself, before realising it is the statue located in the middle of the roundabout at the bottom of The Mall, in front of Buckingham Palace.

Apparently, it is known as the Victoria Memorial, designed by Sir Thomas Brock and was unveiled in 1911. Seeing that statue was like a final geographical jigsaw piece falling into place. To have lived in London for 22 years and to have not known that Buckingham Palace is a five minute walk from Green Park station is a touch ridiculous but in my defence, Buckingham Palace is not on my list of places to visit and it has never clicked. If Sister Ray Records, Sounds of The Universe, or the Vans shop were situated at Buck House, I would be there. In fact, I can’t remember having ever purposefully gone to Buckingham Palace, so perhaps my lack of geographical insight is not so far fetched after all.

Whenever I have ventured on to The Mall, it has always been coming from Charing Cross Station or walking through Covent Garden, via Trafalgar Square. It just goes to show that you can live in London for a long time and you never stop discovering – even if it is the geographical situation of one of the most famous and well known landmarks in the entire world. One day, I may take the tourist trek from Green Park Station to Westminster, via Green Park, The Mall, Horse Guards Parade and Downing Street. One thing I shall not be doing again is buying a coffee from the St.James’s Park kiosk – it tastes like piss...

Head Space Daily Image...

A construction worker dozes in the Green Park sunshine, with the Victoria Memorial statue visible in the distance...

The fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square makes an anti-capitalist statement, featuring a dinosaur skeleton with a with a bow attached to its legs, displaying share prices at the London stock exchange...

Head Space Daily Tune...

Shaun Escoffery - Days Like This 

Top sun tune from Shaun Escoffery, DJ Spinna on the remix, with a deep soulful house vibe.

Kool & The Gang - Summer Madness

You definitely need heat, shade and a nice cool drink for this one.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - From The Sun 

And now for a lovely antidote to the sun from Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Head Space Daily Words...

Charles Bradley is one of life’s survivors and a musical character, with a backstory of endlessly overcoming whatever obstacles have been put in his way. This makes him an irrepressible soul artist. To say Mr.Bradley is an emotional soul is an understatement of huge proportion. The man appears to be permanently on the verge of tears, his face a well of emotion, expressing an overflow of heartbreak and pain, love and respect. A truly authentic soul artist must have undergone a degree of suffering, as well as experiencing the highs that come on the other side. When you look into Charles’s face, you can’t help but be drawn in.

On March 30^th, I saw him perform at The Forum in Kentish Town with his Extraordinaires - the tightest funk band imaginable - straight out of the Daptone Records stable and on stage The Screaming Eagle of Soul is released. Performing seems to almost be an outer body experience for him and he knows how to work the crowd. From the first moment, dressed in a white suit with blue trim, he connects with his audience and the love pours forth, in both directions. After hitting the ground running, he leaves the stage after three songs, leaving his band to indulge in an instrumental funk frenzy, before re-emerging in a full costume change, bare chested beneath a brown waist coat, to reconnect with the audience and let the love pour forth once again.

To the unordained, this may sound slightly cheesy but for those of us who support Charles and love his music, we know that none of this is a put on. This is genuine and coming from the heart. He may be a touch eccentric but aren’t we all? After the life Charles Bradley has led, he has learnt to express himself in the most positive way he knows how. His journey has followed the path of hard times and suffering before reaching the destination of soul survival and musical redemption in his later years. The documentary Charles Bradley: Soul Of America which I saw on BBC 4 a few years ago, portrays his journey from the projects of New York, to homelessness, a deviation to Caliornia, a return to the projects and the unfortunate shooting of his brother. He has always used his voice to survive, scratching together a living by impersonating James Brown at functions and clubs but he never gave up on his dream of making it on his own terms.

When he was handed the opportunity to record by the people at Daptone Records, several singles followed from 2002 and his first album No Time For Dreaming was released in 2011 at the age of 62. His current album Changes came out on April 1st 2016, the day after The Forum gig, (see today's HSD Tune.) All the hardship and tough times could have made Charles a bitter man but quite the opposite has occurred. Whatever life threw at him, the more determined he was to succeed and the more open he became. 

During his final encore, he walked on with a bunch of thornless red roses and began throwing them into the audience. Again, this sounds highly cheesy but it is Charles Bradley. It is fine. He can do whatever comes out of his emotional soul. Naturally one of the roses flew straight over the heads of the three girls standing in front of me and landed straight in my hands. Of course, I handed the flower to one of the girls, who seemed delighted to have received a rose from the Screaming Eagle, even if it was via a third party. His message is simply love, peace and togetherness and he lets his voice and the music do the talking. How amazing, after striving to succeed, to be on stage at a major London venue, embarking on a UK and European tour. I picked up a copy of Changes before I left (see HSD image) and as I walked out into the fresh night air, a guy, with a group of mates, was proudly clutching one of the thornless red roses. Charles you are an inspiration to us all and a lesson in never giving up. A true story of soul survival...

Head Space Daily Image...

Here is an image I took of Charles Bradley in full flow at The Forum gig on March 30th...

And a copy of his album taken on the train home...

Head Space Daily Tune...

Charles Bradley - Ain't It A Sin


This is a cracking tune from Charles Bradley's fantastic new album Changes...

Head Space Daily Words...

When I wrote these words I was sitting on the P4 bus, on my way to see the movie High Rise at the Ritzy cinema in Brixton. Gilles Peterson’s show from the previous Saturday was in my ears, dedicated to Prince, following his recent passing. 2016 is already denoted by high profile celebrity deaths. Musically speaking, it doesn’t get much bigger than Bowie and Prince – imagine if they had worked together. Purple space funk form Mars!! Applying this unfortunate phenomena to our own lives, it makes you realise that you have to live for the now, because there may not be a later. We also have to appreciate, remember and immerse ourselves in these artists’ music, which we may have taken for granted, as it is often embedded in our collective psyches, rather than gracing our record collections. Posthumous purchasing aplenty shall be taking place.

The Stevie Wonder concert that I have a ticket for at Hyde Park in July takes on a deeper significance for me. Like Prince, Stevie is a life defining, global superstar and one of my idols. I own more Stevie Wonder records on album and 7” than any other artist. His voice, his music, his positivity, his aura and his vision, transcend everyday existence. Time though, does not stand still and Stevie is getting older. Who knows how many more opportunities there will be to see him play live and the way this year is panning out...lets not go there!!

I have been fortunate enough to see both Stevie and Prince perform in very different circumstances. In 2006 I saw Prince play at the Brits. As we know, the Brits is a plastic, corporate jolly up of an event, which must be packaged for TV. Prince played for just over ten minutes – a medley of tracks, given the time limit – but for that brief moment, the plastic was transcended by silk and I knew that I was in the presence of greatness. I could not believe his guitar playing, the falsetto voice from another planet and after a rendition of Purple Rain, followed by Lets Go Crazy, he was gone, like a tornado of taste. There is a link below to his Brits performance.

My Stevie moment came when I was working at ITV and I sneaked onto the gantry of the main studio with a colleague to see him rehearsing for an appearance on the Parkinson chat show. He played Superstition twice and no one knew we were there. We slipped back out into the corridor and went for lunch. It had been our own private performance.

The next time I see Stevie, I will be sharing the experience with 65,000 other people. I have never been to a music event with such a massive audience and I’m not sure what to expect. Will I be able to see anything? What will the sound be like? Can you have a great atmosphere with such a vast crowd? I am hoping it will be a fantastic event and as Stevie is playing the entire Songs In The Key of Life album, musically you cannot go wrong. I guess I’ve just got to give myself to it and let the music lead me. After all, there won’t be many chances left to see one of our remaining musical geniuses.

Prince Live at The Brits, 2006 

Head Space Daily Image...

The sun shines on Regent Street...

Soho Dry Cleaners looks respelendent from the window of Duck & Rice on Berwick Street...