THE WILD SWANS "Bringing Home The Ashes"

THE WILD SWANS were formed back in 1980 but it was only on 1988 that the band released their very fist studio album entitled "BRINGING HOME THE ASHES". Fronted by Legendary Musician PAUL SIMPSON and a recent visitor here in the Philippines. The band had a different line up when they did a concert here in MANILA and CEBU. Definitely one of the most memorable New Wave Concerts I have ever watched the past three decades. Hmmmp? Talking about longevity right? Ha Ha Ha!! By the time "BRINGING HOME THE ASHES" was released by SIRE/REPRISE Records back in 1988, THE WILD SWANS' members were PAUL SIMPSON, JEREMY KELLY (Lotus Eaters), and JOE FEARON. YUP!! That's the trio in the Album Cover. That means that two of the members were able to visit the Philippines already since JEREMY KELLY was in MANILA together with PETER COYLE as "THE LOTUS EATERS" back in 2002. YUP!! They were here in MANILA LIVE IN CONCERT and that was also a great concert which I definitely didn't missed out. The reason why JOE FEARON was included in the line up was that GED QUINN who was also one of THE LOTUS EATERS dropped out few months before the album was completed and released. The making of the album also included session players on both keyboards and drums to add up to the unique sound. "BRINGING HOME THE ASHES" was produced by PAUL HARDIMAN and the album officially yielded two singles namely "YOUNG MANHOOD" and "BIBLE DREAMS". As I've mentioned here in my blog on my "THE WILD SWANS: PLATINUM COLLECTION" Blogpost back in APRIL 5 of this year 2011 only few days before the news of their PHILIPPINE CONCERT was revealed to me. THE WILD SWANS were first introduced here in MANILA by NU 107 back in 1988 with the song "BRINGING HOME THE ASHES". The next MANILA hit was "WHIRLPOOL HEART" which was also introduced by NU 107. Then other songs from the album keep on getting airplay from DZBM POWER 105 and of course NU 107 wherein the two singles "YOUNG MANHOOD" and "BIBLE DREAMS" then became a regular playlist. "BITTERNESS" and "ARCHANGELS" also became MANILA hits when It became part of the playlist of the Two Month College Radio Format of 99.5 RT's "RHYTHM AND ROCK" back in 1989. While "NORTHERN ENGLAND", 'MYTHICAL BEAST", and "THE WORST YEAR OF MY LIFE" became POWER 105 DZBM Hits. The one and only song from the album that really didn't have that necessary radio exposure was "NOW AND FOREVER".


Definitely, PINOY NEW WAVERS should have this album on their music collection. In my case, I bought the "BRINGING HOME THE ASHES" Album both on Vinyl Record and CD formats which is shown on the photo. The album for me is a great buy and I consider all songs as CLASSIC indeed!! The album is very much lighter than the early works of THE WILD SWANS, but the messages of the songs here are very dark and enigmatic in a way. Hmmmp? Talking about RELIGION, WAR, ANGST, and REBELLION gave the whole content of a Protagonist's Life of a Preacher I may say. The Music and Lyrics are cut above the rest with a splendid Melody that perks you up whenever you listen to the whole album.


BRINGING HOME THE ASHES CD (1988)
TRACKLIST:

1. Young Manhood
2. Bible Dreams
3. Bitterness
4. Archangels
5. Northern England
6. Whirlpool Heart
7. Bringing Home The Ashes
8. Mythical Beast
9. Now And Forever
10. The Worst Year Of My Life

I decided not to upload the whole album for download because all the 10 tracks were also included on the "The Wild Swans Platinum Collection" which I have already featured here on my little blog "The Doctor Is In". Btw, THE WILD SWANS performed a record SEVEN SONGS from the album on their MANILA Concert at ONE ESPLANADE last OCTOBER 1, 2011 which I think would establish how good the album is. The songs they played were "Bible Dreams", "Archangel", "Northern England", "Now and Forever", "Whirlpool Heart", "Worst Year of My Life", and of course the album's title track "Bringing Home the Ashes" which was also the song the band sang on their only Philippine T.V. appearance on EAT BULAGA which I've also featured here in my blog recently.

LISTEN TO "WHIRLPOOL HEART" Here:
Btw, this song was included on one of Philippine New Wave Legendary Vinyl Record Series called"THE BEST OF NEW MUSIC" which I already featured here on my blog wayback December 1, 2009 so just check my Labels/Archives.


LISTEN TO "BITTERNESS" Here:



There was a Tribute Party given to the Late RONALD TENGSICO aka. TAZMANIAN DEVIL who was one of the Legendary DJ of POWER 105 DZBM FM back in JULY 3, 2010 which was entitled "BRINGING HOME THE ASHES" and held at NOMIXX BAR and RESTO. TAZ, THE GODFATHER of THE POWER SWITCHERS CLUB as he was called, passed away MAY 24, 2010 then was cremated. Well, as the saying goes "ASHES TO ASHES; DUST TO DUST".


I also included Two VIDEO CLIPS of THE WILD SWANS CONCERT here in MANILA shared by fellow KABAYANS just to spice up this blogpost of mine. Well, since I'm not really into taking Videos that much in Concerts because of my experience of singing along with the songs while watching, then my voice would be much louder. Ha Ha Ha!! YUP!! I was supposed to upload Videos of The Lost 80s, Gene Loves Jezebel Concerts, just to name a few since I was lucky to attend all these NEW WAVE 80s concerts here in MANILA, but that problem couldn't be solved. Ha Ha Ha!! Up until now, I still have goosebumps recalling what transpired on THE WILD SWANS Concert. WOW!! THAT WAS INDEED AN EXCELLENT CONCERT TO BE CHERISHED!! THANKS to all KABAYANS who shared these Manila Concert Video Clips. MABUHAY!!

THE WILD SWANS MANILA CONCERT:


WATCH "THE WORST YEAR OF MY LIFE" Here:



WATCH "ARCHANGELS" Here:



Of course, here's The Two Music Videos of
THE WILD SWANS' official singles of the album:




WATCH the Music Video of "YOUNG MANHOOD" Here:




WATCH the Music Video of "BIBLE DREAMS" Here:



Btw, if you haven't read my "THE WILD SWANS: PLATINUM COLLECTION" Blogpost just click THE WILD SWANS Photo to ENTER it:



Well, I hope you guys ENJOYED another trip down memory lane here on "The Doctor Is In" by this blogpost special on THE WILD SWANS album "BRINGING HOME THE ASHES". I'll leave you with the Title Track of the album and do join me in singing it. THANKS for dropping by!!

LISTEN and SING ALONG to "BRINGING HOME THE ASHES" Here:


BRINGING HOME THE ASHES
Lyrics

Goodbye...
To out of England
The pain never fades away after all these times

Word war...
And revolutions
The hat and the heart of England never dies

Bringing home the ashes
It's more than I can bear

Goodbye...
Chained of sorrow
The curse of a thousand year beneath the gloves
Warm down and hardly breathing
The hat and the heart of England never dies

Bringing home the ashes
It's more than I can bear

When winter lightning flashes
You'll find me all way there

Bringing home the ashes
It's more than I can bear

When winter lightning flashes
You'll find me all way there

Word war...
And revolutions
The hat and the heart of England never dies

Bringing home the ashes
It's more than I can bear

Goodbye...
Chained of sorrow
The curse of a thousand year beneath the gloves
Warm down and hardly breathing
The hat and the heart of England never dies

Bringing home the ashes
It's more than I can bear

When winter lightning flashes
You'll find me all way there



Let's BRING HOME THE ASHES!!
-DR. STIRRING RHOD

GO WEST LIVE in MANILA!!

GO WEST Live In MANILA!! YUP!! You got it right guys!! Another of our 80s Heroes are coming over to MANILA this NOVEMBER 11 & 12, 2011. So KABAYANS, I guess 2011 just turned out to be a year of NEW WAVE 80s CONCERTS. GO WEST will perform LIVE at EASTWOOD MALL OPEN PARK on NOVEMBER 11 at 7pm and at VENICE PLAZA FORT BONIFACIO on NOVEMBER 12. Hmmmp? Familiar Concert Venues Concepts? Well, that's the same venues that CHINA CRISIS Return MANILA Concert back in JANUARY of this year 2011. So get ready for another trip down memory lane.

-DR. STIRRING RHOD

THE GELBOYS

THE GELBOYS were a Five Piece PINOY 80s Rock and Roll Band formed back in late 1985 composed of RANDY STEPHEN CONCEPCION on Vocals and Lead guitar, JOEY BAXTER CONCEPCION on Bass, ROBIN JAMES CONCEPCION on Drums, PAUL RODERICK SANTIAGO on Rhythm Guitar, and MICHAEL CONCEPCION on Keyboards all hailing from MARYKNOLL COLLEGE. YUP!! You got it right!! The College that was dominated by Females. Btw, Maryknoll is now called Miriam College. I haven't seen or read any in-depth article yet about the band on the Web and so I decided to personally pay tribute to this great PINOY Band who also made a mark back in the 80s. YUP!! THE GELBOYS exclusively here on "The Doctor Is In". I remember seeing them twice played LIVE on two of their campus tours back in 1986. They played good vibes music with a blend of 60's beat and 80's attitude melody. The band's influences were Chuck Berry, Stray Cats, John Travolta, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Frank Sinatra. No doubt you could all hear the styles of these artists on all their songs. THE GELBOYS were really big back in those days especially for the so-called "Kolehiyalas" (College Ladies) since they project good looks accompanied with good grooming if you talk about hair style and their outfits. Btw, they also have a Catchy Band name that everyone cannot forget. Hmmmp? Clean-cut look and of course they use GEL. That's why they're called THE GELBOYS right? I don't know if anyone of you reading this blogpost never used GEL as your Hair Medium before. Wheeew!! I guess especially the males, we really had our time using GEL back on those days. MEMORIES INDEED!! THE GELBOYS made two hit singles namely "MONDAY" and "EVERY TIME YOU SMILE AT ME". I also remember that there was a T.V. Special about the band and their story back in 1986. I just can't recall the title of the show and the corresponding Channel it was shown, but definitely I remember watching it and that was around 8pm-9pm. I wonder if anyone has a Video copy of it. That would be interesting don't you think? THE GELBOYS had their time indeed since they also had T.V appearances on Legendary Philippine Television shows such as "Oh No Its Johnny", "Penthouse Live", "GMA Supershow", "Eat Bulaga", "Student Canteen", and "That's Entertainment". After being THE GELBOYS for two successful years, they changed their name into "THE STINGRAY" and then to "1-800 BOYSVILLE", but during these times the band already loss their magic thus fading away in the Philippine Music Scene.



THE GELBOYS released their one and only album entitled "EVERY TIME YOU SMILE " back in 1986 under OCTO ARTS INTERNATIONAL which was produced by BOB GUZMAN of "THE BOYFRIENDS". I uploaded their two hit singles "MONDAY" and "EVERY TIME YOU SMILE AT ME" for you to listen and reminisce. The beat and melody of "MONDAY" is just as energetic as any energy drink. Well, in "EVERYTIME YOU SMILE AT ME", they sounded like the New Wave band "JIMMY JIMMY" who also made an impact here in the Philippines. I just love these two songs!!



LISTEN TO "MONDAY" by THE GELBOYS Here:
MONDAY - The Gelboys DSR by DrStirringRhod


LISTEN TO "EVERY TIME YOU SMILE AT ME"
by THE GELBOYS Here:
Everytime You Smile At Me - The Gelboys by DrStirringRhod


I uploaded Three Video Clips of THE GELBOYS here in my Blog which were all shared by RANDY CONCEPCION.

Video Clip #1:
THE GELBOYS on "THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT" together with Bing Loyzaga, Ronnel Victor, The Vicor Dancer, and the Late Great FRANCIS M. performing "MONDAY" which was an original song composed by Randy Concepcion.



Video Clip #2
THE GELBOYS performing "EVERY TIME YOU SMILE AT ME"




Video Clip#3
THE GELBOYS performing Chuck Berry's rockabilly song "Johnny B. Goode". On the Video Clip were T.V. Hosts Aga Muhlach, Gigi Posadas, Cristina Gonzales and Jograd Dela Torre.





THE GELBOYS Lead Vocalist RANDY CONCEPCION who is a composer, a musical arranger, and seasoned guitar player is right now active as a Solo Artist. Btw, he was also a member of "The Cantana Band" back in the 90s. His music career, which is his real passion, was put on hold when his busy schedule as former president of a Amelco Desiccants Inc., became demanding. But now that his brother is managing the company, Randy is back in show business for good.

Well, I hope you ENJOYED another trip down memory lane "The Dr. Stirring Rhod Way" again giving tribute to this great PINOY 80s Rock And Roll Band "THE GELBOYS". THANKS for dropping by!!


There goes
.......THE GELBOYS!!
-DR. STIRRING RHOD

DRAGON

DRAGON is a Popular Progressive New Zealand – Australian rock band that was formed in Auckland, New Zealand back in January 1972 and relocated to Sydney, Australia in May 1975. The band was lead by the Hunter Brothers namely Todd and Marc. Like any other bands, they have also gone through a lot of members revamp. Other known members were Ray Goodwin (Guitarist), Neil Reynolds (Drummer), and Paul Hewson (Keyboardist). The band's name "DRAGON" came from a consultation of I Ching cards by early band vocalist Graeme Collins. Their first major gig was an appearance at The Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival in early January 1973. DRAGON was introduced here in MANILA by WXB 102 back in 1986 with the song entitled "RAIN". It was also a massive hit on DZBM POWER 105 and it became a global hit too by reaching # 2 in the music charts. "RAIN" would be the one and only MANILA hit for this band. YUP!! That's the only song from the band that PINOY NEW WAVERS/PUNKS will be familiar with. The Hunter brothers with Todd's partner, Johanna Pigott, wrote the song "Rain". It's been raining here in MANILA for so long and It's not only rain, It's TYPHOONS!! This reminded me of the song "RAIN" and It's lyrics. Wheeew!! Even though "RAIN" was the only hit here in MANILA, DRAGON had massive success in other parts of the globe such as songs like "April Sun in Cuba" which peaked at #2 on the 1977 Australian singles chart; "Are You Old Enough?" reached #1 in 1978; and "Still in Love with You"reached #15 also in 1978.



DRAGON have endured tragedy and notoriety in their musical career with members dying from illnesses and drug/heroin overdoses. Of course, this would include the on and off reincarnation of the band that spanned almost four decades. Well, they released a lot of singles and albums in that period which proved the lasting sound of the band. No need to enumerate all of their releases because that would be too many to count if you get my drift. DRAGON even performed three songs namely "Speak No Evil", "Rain" and "Are You Old Enough?" for the Oz for Africa concert back in JULY 13, 1985 which was part of the Global LIVE AID Program which was broadcast in Australia on both Seven Network and Nine Network and of course MTV in the US.


My "DRAGON" Materials:
1) "BODY AND THE BEAT"(1984) Vinyl Record
2) The Very Best Of "DRAGON" (2010) CD

Definitely these two Music Materials are a must-have for PINOY NEW WAVERS. YUP!! Fellow KABAYANS would be satisfied already to have the "BODY AND THE BEAT" Vinyl Record since It includes the MANILA Hit "RAIN" and with a lot of releases that the band have in their discography I personally wouldn't buy any other record from them. Why? Because the "The Very BEST Of DRAGON" CD is indeed already a treat for music lovers who would just love to listen to their other songs. I made my CD available for download just in case you are interested to have a copy and this is FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY okay so I still encourage you guys to get the original materials.


THE VERY BEST OF "DRAGON":

1. April Sun In Cuba
2. Are You Old Enough
3. Still In Love With You
4. Rain
5. Celebration
6. Get That Jive
7. This Time
8. Konkaroo
9. Island Nights
10. Love's Not Enough
11. Magic
12. Young Years
13. Speak No Evil
14. Dreams of Ordinary Men
15. Western Girls
16. River
17. Summer

DOWNLOAD MY CD HERE:


PASSWORD: http://docmuzic.blogspot.com/

I uploaded three Music Videos of the band just to spice up this special blogpost of mine about a fire breathing band called "DRAGON". He He He!! Hmmmp? I just remembered this "DRAGON Katol" Commercial back in the 80s here in MANILA. Ha Ha Ha!!


WATCH the MUSIC VIDEO of
"APRIL SUN IN CUBA":




WATCH the MUSIC VIDEO of
"ARE YOU OLD ENOUGH?":



For the finale here's the
MUSIC VIDEO of "RAIN" ,
so do sing a long with me!!


Lyrics | Dragon lyrics - Rain lyrics

Well, I hope you ENJOYED another trip down memory lane here in my little blog "The Doctor Is In". This is not about DRAGON BALL Z...It's just about "DRAGON"..the band!! THANKS for dropping by!!


Enter the
.......DRAGON!!
-DR. STIRRING RHOD

THE WILD SWANS on Eat Bulaga!!

Well, can't get enough of that Nostalgic Concert by THE WILD SWANS here in Philippines? Definitely, It was one of the most memorable New Wave Concert I ever watched here in MANILA!! I have already watched a couple of these New Wave 80s concerts here in MANILA before and THE WILD SWANS Concert will be marked as One of the BEST or if not, It's THE VERY BEST indeed!! Even though there was a typhoon, their concert really made a blast like a typhoon too so THANK YOU to those people who brought them here in the Philippines where the term NEW WAVE Genre is very unique and different in terms of definition comparing from other countries around the globe. I'm featuring right now here in my little blog "The Doctor Is In", the Legendary band's performance on the Philippine Legendary Noon Time Show "EAT BULAGA" last SEPTEMBER 28, 2011. What's very interesting here was EAT BULAGA Host Julia Clarete's comments on the band and on Echo And The Bunnymen. Wheeew!! Nice One Miss Julia!! Rock On Girl!! PAUL SIMPSON also introduced his Band Line up which for me is as Legendary as this Liverpool band. Btw, EAT BULAGA just recently launched their COFFEE TABLE BOOK which featured the Three Decades of the Show. The Mastermind of this extraordinary book is Joey De Leon. THANK YOU THE WILD SWANS for a GREAT PERFORMANCE!!


Here's the VIDEO CLIP of THE WILD SWANS
on EAT BULAGA singing "BRINGING HOME THE ASHES":



EAT BULAGA!!!!!
....THE WILD SWANS!!!!
-DR. STIRRING RHOD

"The Human League,Howard Jones and Belinda Carlisle" LIVE in Manila!!

Ovation Productions proudly presents “Human League, Howard Jones and Belinda Carlisle Live in Manila!” Concert on October 10, 2011 at the newly named Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Well, three Legendary 80s Artists in one concert that PINOY NEW WAVERS shouldn't miss.

-DR. STIRRING RHOD