Gibbo

As much as I love Van Halen, they're flogging a dead horse now ... DLR is a pale imitation of his former self, and the band are simply chasing the money. Like I said earlier, they should have called it a day after 'Balance' ...

London goes a bit mad the minute the sun comes out ... and the trains stop running properly because of 'the heat' ... *rolls eyes* ..

There are a few bands i like that have maintained their line-ups throughout their careers ... it's another thing to say if they're 'popular', though ... The Smiths and Senseless Things both spring to mind, but they're hardly HH favourites ...

That's true - the same line-up since they first started, 20 years ago ...

As a kind of 'sub-group' of 'twats on mobile phones' ... morons who own an enormous 4x4 ('Chelsea Tractor') and can't drive the bloody thing! I hate to generalise, but most of these people seem to be mothers ferrying their precious children from A to B (about 100yds, usually); they can't park - or seem to think that they can park wherever the hell they like (to save wear and tear on their child's legs), they daren't go through a gap that isn't AT LEAST twice as wide as the vehicle they're driving ... and they're normally on the phone THE WHOLE DAMN TIME! At the other end of the spectrum, bell-end teenagers who drive everywhere at 60mph ...

You think Luton is bad? Try Staines. Or Harlow

When me and the ex-missus G celebrated our 40ths (our birthdays are a day apart), it was down to me to sort out the music ... so, in amongst all the pop shite (and the Bon Jovi songs that everyone knows'), I included: Quireboys: 7 O' Clock Def Leppard: Pour Some Sugar On Me Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama Poison: Talk Dirty To Me David Lee Roth: Just Like Paradise AC/DC: Let There Be Rock The Charlie Daniels Band: The Devil Went Down To Georgia Motley Crue: Wild Side ... there were others, but I can't remember them all

Iron Maiden: The Final Frontier Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Shapes We Fear Are Of Our Own

Shit! How did I miss this?! *goes off to buy tickets*

I'm with you ... my friends are horrified that I haven't gone 'digital', and that I prefer physical CDs to anything else ... I only tend to listen to stuff at home or in the car, and I don't have a PC, so I don't listen to anywhere near as many albums as I used to

It'd be like the car at the end of the Blues Brothers film

There are some shockers on that thanks to the chick theme. Did you hear Steinman will be doing another album with' loaf? I really like a couple of songs on that album (only a couple, mind you) - why Steinman has to keep recycling them on Meat Loaf albums (or, God help us, thanks to Celine Dion) is beyond me ...

As I read this, I thought of John Cleese in 'Monty Python and The Holy Grail': "She turned me into a newt!" *crowd looks confused* "Um ... I got better."

You know she heard you, right?

The problem facing Harnell is that he's - potentially - going to be singing songs that resonate with a LOT of people. You hear 'Youth Gone Wild', '18 And Life' or 'Monkey Business', and you expect to hear Bach's voice (the point Glen was making.) Any band that is so closely associated with one singer is going to struggle if they replace him/her, regardless of how good any subsequent release might be. Maiden and Priest both went back to the singer most people know and love; Van Halen may have had bigger-selling albums with Hagar, but they lost a lot of fans when Roth left; the same with Sabbath (who have now come full-circle back to Ozzy.) Perhaps Bolan, Sabo and co. might be better off going out under a new name? It worked for Thin Lizzy/Black Star Riders?

Koritini: Game Of Fools

My youngest son went to see 'SpongeBob' with his friends - they all agreed it was pretty dire ... I took my girls to see 'Home' on Saturday ... I wasn't expecting too much, but I really enjoyed it (I need a 'Shusher'!)

I'm guessing that absolutely no-one else here will be even REMOTELY interested in this, but me an' the boy JamesEagle will be off to the 2015 Incineration Festival next month: http://incinerationfest.com/ At the moment, we have NO idea which bands will be playing which venues (headliners aside), but - if I can - I'd like to see Alcest, Keep Of Kalessin, Melechesh, Necrophobic, God Seed, Centurian, Verdelet, Jotnarr and Woland ... of course, neither of us wants to see the same bands ... I confidently predict a day of confusion, cider, ringing ears and dodgy kebabs ...

Muse: Absolution Simple Minds: Once Upon A Time Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells Various: 'Top Gun' Soundtrack Five Finger Death Punch: Soundtrack To Your Roadrage - 11 Cuts And A Bunch Of Stitches

Marillion became a completely different band once Fish left ... I'm with Glen on this, 'Vigil ...' is a far better album than 'Seasons ...'. That said, I love 'Holidays In Eden' and 'Brave', and I've seen the Hogarth-fronted band a couple of times ... they're just not 'Marillion' anymore (for me, at least) ... they hardly ever play any of the Fish-era material now, and those are the songs that put the band on the map ... I saw the Hogarth fronted Marillion on the Seasons End tour. He was OK, but as you say it was basically a different band without Fish. I didnt really bother after that. I still rate the band as musicians, but the life and blood of that band was Fish, and of course the amazing lyrics from the early albums. Having said that I only own Vigil from Fish's solo career. The last album was decent and a hark back to the old Marillion sound in places, but it was pretty dark and didnt grab me as I would have liked. He was still superb on his acoustic tour tho - and the gig at Riga was one of the best i've witnessed....from any band/artist. Mesmerising. I love some of Fish's lyrics - songs like 'Slainte Mhath', 'Script ...', pretty much the whole of the second half of 'Misplaced Childhood' ... 'Pilgrim's Address' ... 'Vigil' ... 'The Company' ... I'll stop now 'Raingods With Zippos' and 'Sunsets On Empire' are both cracking albums, and well worth repeated listens. You're right about the Riga gig ... absolutely superb ... let's hope he does another tour like that!

I take it you don't like the Hogarth era of the band, otherwise you wouldn't be saying such nonesense. Along with 'Holidays In Eden', THE best Hogarth era Marillion disc, with classic tracks like 'Easter' 'The Space' 'Hooks In You', 'King Of Sunset Town' and the b'sides of 'The Bell In The Sea' and The Release'. Not nonsense mate. Marillion were never the same after they parted ways with Fish. Lost that magical touch...and yes I far prefer Vigil to Seasons End. I agree that the best 2 songs are Hooks and The Space...both v good tracks. Marillion became a completely different band once Fish left ... I'm with Glen on this, 'Vigil ...' is a far better album than 'Seasons ...'. That said, I love 'Holidays In Eden' and 'Brave', and I've seen the Hogarth-fronted band a couple of times ... they're just not 'Marillion' anymore (for me, at least) ... they hardly ever play any of the Fish-era material now, and those are the songs that put the band on the map ...

Toby Jepson (former Little Angels and Fastway singer) fronted the band after Mark Rankin left ... I think this new one has Dante Gizzi singing (he was originally their bass player) ... I saw them when they were touring 'Swagger', and they were BRILLIANT ...

Stratus: Throwing Shapes

I LOVE Van Halen, but they should have called it a day after 'Balance'. We all know that DLR has always been about the show and his larger-than-life personality, but this IS truly awful. I've got bootlegs that piss all over this ...

I still listen to Status Quo's 'Just Supposin'' (the first album I ever bought on vinyl ... many, many, MANY years ago.) When I was much, much younger I owned a fair number of cassettes, and a couple of albums from back then have made the jump into the digital age - Toyah's 'The Changeling' and the Boomtown Rats' 'A Tonic For The Troops'. Neither are really HH fare, but I still love them both!