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Life Sounds Better To Music July 2021

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Life Sounds Better To Music, July 2021 is the latest in a series that’s been running for quite a while now. I still hear people who say new music is rubbish. The truth is, they just aren’t hearing the right new music. So each month I post a few tracks that have pinged up on my radar. CLICK HERE for last month’s post.

Here’s a few from July 2021.

David Guetta Mista Jam & John Newman ~ If You Really Love Me

David Guetta, Mista Jam, & John Newman team up together for ‘If You Really Love Me’ – a song that follows on where a classic left off. If I say “How will I know” … can you work out how ‘If You Really Love Me’ fits?

D’jear featuring Heidi Burson ~ Show Me

UK DJ/producer D’jear and US singer/songwriter Heidi Burson team up for this lush modern dance track. Actually ‘Show Me’ is way more than a dance track – it’s a proper song and a great groove.

Cornell C.C. Carter ~ Not Possible

Cornell C.C. Carter ~ ‘Not Possible’, made it number one on the UK Soul Chart earlier this month.

KSI ~ Holiday

New music from former Professional Boxer, YouTuber, Influencer, and now hit recording artist KSI. This one has gone Top Ten in the UK and it looks like we’ll be hearing a lot more from KSI.

Tygressa Jones ~ Just A Minute

I actually thought that July might be a tough month for new releases – I was so wrong! Truth be told I could add another 3 or 4 tracks but I’ll make this the last one.

Tygressa Jones – I can’t tell you much about her – she’s from Maryland and is also known as “Tygressa sings Natalie” for a Natalie Cole tribute show she does. ‘A Minute With You’ is so classy, it reached number one on the UK Soul Chart – give it a listen!

There you go, another month of great new music – because Life Sounds Better To Music in July 2021. See you next month for the next installment.

Life Sounds Better To Music in February 2021

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Life Sounds Better To Music in February 2021 – once again, another testing month for everyone everywhere I’d imagine. Thank goodness for music – new and old. This month a couple of old ones got stuck in my head, both of them because they feature in TV adverts. There have also been more than a few new ones. So let’s get started …

Ace ~ “How Long”

An old song that features in an Amazon Prime advert and brings back lots of memories. Back to 1975 and Ace were booked to play at my school/college but canceled so they could play on Top Of The Pops. The singer and co-writer of the song is Paul Carrack. The song went on to reach number 20 over, and did even better in the States where it made number 3 on the Hot 100. It still sounds great almost 50 years later!

The Zombies ~ “This Will Be Our Year”

If you think “How Long” is an oldie, wait until you get your head around “This Will Be Our Year” which came out in 1968!! In fairness, it wasn’t really on my radar back then but it’s a song I’ve come to love this Century. It comes from the Zombies “Odessey & Oracle” album. An album which is championed by all kinds of people as being a huge influence on them. This includes Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters fame – they even covered it CLICK HERE.

I could go on about The Zombies, Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone etc, etc, for hours. Suffice it to say I’ve seen them several times in recent years and they are always brilliant – I actually have tickets to see them again if the booking ever happens.

“This Will Be Our Year” is being used in the adverts for the National Census which takes place on 21st March this year.

Will Downing ~ “Stand Up”

You may remember the name Will Downing from his 1988 version of John Coltraneā€™s ā€œA Love Supremeā€. Thirty-three years later he’s back with ā€œStand Upā€, a really strong single with a great message. Iā€™ve seen this described as ā€œa strong note of encouragement for a lot of folks who are living in a yearlong personal funk, reminding us of our value and our ability to shineā€. Iā€™ll drink to that.

Crowded House ~ “To The Island”

I’m a huge Crowded House fan. They are another band I have tickets to see – again the concert needs to be rescheduled from last year. Anyway, they have new music ready now and here’s their latest release. At first I was cautious but by the end of my first listen I was ready to hear it again. It’s taken from their forthcoming album “Dreamers Are Waiting”. Crowded House are now original founding members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom, and Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy Finn.

You’l find plenty of posts about Neil Finn, Crowded House in my blog going back over the years. CLICK HERE for one I did in my “8 Days of 80’s series in 2016.

Raquel Rodriguez ~ “Undone”

OMG! And then there was THIS!!!
I’ve recently discovered the UK Soul chart and have been listening to find tracks for the radio show I do with Gary on Real FM. Raquel Rodriguez released a three-track package this month and every song is brilliant. AND she’s been brilliant for quite some time, so there’s more to discover in her back catalogue. She also does an occasional on-line thing called “Sweet Side Show”. Episode 29 was this week (please note there is a fair amount of “language” – NSFW) CLICK HERE.

I can confirm Life Sounds Better To Music in February 2021. There is plenty of great music out there – old and new. I’m so excited about getting into March and finding more new stuff. If you want to tell me about new stuff please get in touch.

PLEASE remember I do a weekly show on Real FM with Gary which you can find out about on Fuerte Fine Guys FaceBook page. PLEASE CLICK HERE for links and stuff.
AND every week I repost the Gold Shows that Steve and I did ten years ago. PLEASE CLICK HERE to go to that page.
… please, share, tell people – it would be much appreciated.

Stay safe, take care and count your blessings x


Life Sounds Better To Music ~ July 2020

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ July 2020

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Life Sounds Better To Music ~ July 2020

The month started with a very strange revelation… I really like the new Lady Gaga album!

Lady Gaga ~ Chromatica (the album!)

Chromatica was released at the end of May and, to be honest, I really didn’t know anything about it. However, at the beginning of July I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts “Switched On Pop”, and WOW! CLICK HERE to go this fantastic podcast about this surprisingly good album.

I’m no Lady Gaga fan. I quite liked her first hit, Just Dance, but that was 12 years ago. So, without the podcast it’s unlikely I’d have bothered to listen to this, her sixth studio album. A guy called BloodPop (who has worked on loads of big stuff shares the writing and production credits. There are guest vocals on “Shine From Above’ from Elton John, and Ariana Grande on “Rain On Me”.

The album is a good listen and I had it on repeat for a few days. Having listened to the podcast it all makes sense – give it a try. Here’s the Ariana track

EDIT – then later in the month, along came this excellent remix by the fabulous Purple Disco Machine!

Johnny Hates Jazz ~ Spirit Of Love

I have a FaceBook friend called Scott in America, who I met through my time with Steve as internet radio DJ’s (on Morpher /JFSR / New York) , who posted this one. As he pointed out – “The lyrics are so good and fitting for right now” .

Johnny Hates Jazz are probably best known for their 1987 hit “Shattered Dreams” which reached number 5. They are still around / back and this is their new single. It reminds me a lot of “Harvest For The World”.

Deadmau5 & The Neptunes ~ Pomegranate

I’m a longtime fan of Joel aka Deadmau5, I’ve even been to see him live. The 2008 album “Random Album Title”, which includes “Brazil”, “Faxing Berlin” and “I Remember”, is one of my favourites.

The Neptunes are Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo… that’s right – THE Pharrell Williams, so quite a pedigree!

I’ll be totally honest, at first listen I was a little disappointed with Pomegranate, but it’s a grower.

Disclosure ~ Expressing What Matters

Those clever Lawrence brothers are back with a very clever reworking of Bozz Scaggs classic 70’s track “Lowdown”. I absolutely love it but, having said that, I’d love to hear a mix that used even more of Lowdown.

Expressing What Matters is on Disclosure’s new album “Energy” which is due at the end of August.

Joel Corry x MNEK ~ Head & Heart

Finally, I was looking for a video to use in the observation round of the quiz one week and I came across this one. Because I watched the video several times this catchy pop tune “ear-wormed” it’s way into my brain.

Joel Corry, for anyone who doesn’t know, originally came into the public eye on Geordie Shore – not that I have ever watched the show. Wikipedia describes him as a DJ, producer and fitness trainer. After 12 singles that didn’t chart between 2015 and 2018, this is his third and biggest tune to date.

That’s Life Sounds Better To Music ~ July 2020. As the month came to an end Taylor Swift released a new album – another one that really surprised me. We’ll see if I decide to include it next month.

Until next time my mug of tea is raised to you and yours ~ cheers!

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ July 2020

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ June 2020

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Life Sounds Better To Music in June 2020 – Oh my days! Six months of 2020 down and even more of my bookings have been postponed to 2021. Thank goodness for music!

In case you haven’t seen the previous posts, I’ve been trying to share some of the music that’s been on my radar each month. If you type “Life Sounds better to music” in the search box it should bring up the others – like this one CLICK HERE for the May entry.

Here’s my selections for this month because Life Sounds Better To Music ~ June 2020

Lennon Stella Feat. Charlie Puth ~ Summer Feelings

A very pleasant summer track to kick things off (even though I can currently hear the rain on my conservatory roof). Lennon Stella is a Canadian singer and actress, she played Maddie Conrad in Nashville – I’ve never watched it, six series and loads of episodes … maybe I’ll dive in if we go back into lockdown. Charlie Puth… well if you haven’t heard of Carlie Puth where have you been for the last five years! It’s just a pleasant “now” sounding track from the soundtrack (see what I did there) of the new Scooby-Doo film Scoob! To see the film trailer click here.

Jacob Collier ~ All I Need (with Mahalia & Ty Dolla $ign)

Creating music in lockdown… I have a weekly catch up with some DJ mates, and we were talking about new music. Some suggested that there wouldn’t be any great new music until next year because the Music Industry is locked down – wrong!

If you have read my blog for a while, you will know I’m a Jacob Collier fan. He continues to create, record and release music all the time and lockdown has actually made him even more creative. If you want to find out more, check out this episode of the excellent “Switched on Pop” podcast CLICK HERE, or just watch this video.

The Shapeshifters Ft Billy Porter ~ Finally Ready! 

Finally ready on 26th June (you see what I did there) was this fabulous single from the Shapeshifters featuring the multi-award winning Billy Porter. American Broadway theatre performer, singer and actor Billy Porter also co-wrote the track with Shapeshifters which they describe as “a declaration of Pride, of breaking free from past traumas to take a chance on love.”

The lift for the chorus is immense!

This is another great Shapeshifters track for 2020 and beyond.

Jubƫl ~ Dancing In The Moonlight (Feat Neimy)

A cool new version of a track that has become a real anthem in recent times. Originally a hit for Toploader in 2009, this is a remix of JubĆ«l’s 2018 cover of the song.

If I was in Fuerteventura at the moment this would certainly be on my playlist for a sunset bar set.

Gold ~ Rewound ~ with Stevie Q & Paul Leighton

Finally this month, I’ve been listening to Radio shows I made with my great mate Steve ten years ago. Yep, Paul Leighton is me in case you hadn’t heard – it was my “stage name” when I was a club DJ back in the day. These shows are made up of great music we wanted to play. We spent hours preparing and recording these shows so it’s nice to revisit them ten years on. Here’s one, there are loads more on my page and I’ll add more in future weeks.

And that’s Life Sounds Better To Music ~ June 2020. Another testing month eased by the joy of music. See you soon.

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ July 2020

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ May 2020

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Life Sounds Better To Music ~ May 2020. We come to the end of another month in the year that promised so much … then took a major detour. Life has started to return to the new normal (whatever that’s going to be) and, as always, I’ve got a lot to be thankful for. New music seems to be slowing down, which I guess is inevitable under the circumstances. Here are some new and old things that have been in my ears during May.

Badly Drawn Boy ~ I’ll Do My Best

Damon Michael Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, is an act that I came to late. I’ve never been fortunate enough to see him play live. He’s someone I turn to when I need a musical hug. My friend Chris Haslam has been sharing his playlist over the recent months and he’s responsible for me finding this and the Baxter Dury below. Thanks Chris.

I’ll Do My Best is from the first Badly Drawn Boy album in eight years. As well as this track from the album, you can also see a fascinating short video called ‘Supersize Your Soul: The Story of Banana Skin Shoes’ if you CLICK HERE

Nathan Dawe ~ Flowers (featuring Jaykae)

A not-so-new new release, apparently from the end of last year – but new to me. Actually I think this isn’t the mix I heard but it’s the nearest I can find.

Originally a hit for Sweet Female Attitude in 2000. Apparently the song uses the same chord sequence as Erik Satie’s well know classical piece Gymnopedie 3.

If you know a softer/Glitterbox/Tropical House style mix of this UK Garage classic, PLEASE let me know.

Baxter Dury ~ I’m Not Your Dog

New to me, Baxter is the son of Ian Dury. He actually appears on the cover of his dad’s iconic ‘New Boot and Panties’ album. ‘The Night Chancers’ by Baxter Dury is the other recommendation, from my friend Chris Haslam. Another that made a big impact on my May playlist. His vocal style is so much like his Dad’s, ‘I’m Not Your Dog’ is a great example of this.

Neil Finn featuring Stevie Nicks & Christine McVie ~ Find Your Way Back Home

One of my all-time heroes released a new track at the end of the month. Mr Finn of Crowded House fame, and more recently a member of Fleetwood Mac, wrote the song for the homeless of population of Auckland in New Zealand and the Auckland City Mission which works to support them. 

The song features Stevie Nicks sharing the lead vocals and Christine McVie on backing vocals.

It’s beautiful.

Prince ~ I Wanna Be Your Lover ~ Dimitri From Paris Remix

OMG! This remix is from way back, but I hadn’t heard it until it featured on a recent Glitterbox Radio podcasts. One of my favourite Prince tracks remixed by one of my favourite remixers – Dimitri From Paris. Ignore the Dimitri from Stoke tag on the video – that’s probably to reduce the possibility of it getting taken down). THIS is absolutely my favourite find of the month.

And that, dear listener, is Life Sounds Better To Music ~ May 2020. I must confess it was hard to find four tracks this month. Maybe it’s the lack of new releases or maybe it’s just me. If you have some stand out new music on your playlist, or have any thoughts about these, please get in touch – paul@thepartydj.co.uk.

You can my posts for January, February, March and April by clicking on the month – highlighted in blue. Or try typing Life Sounds Better To Music in the search window.

I wish you peace, love and music in June as I raise my mug of tea to you ~ cheers! x

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ July 2020

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ March 2020

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Life Sounds Better To Music ~ March 2020 … Well, what a month that was! I guess in years to come we’ll all have our stories to tell of the time when the Earth really got sick, but let’s leave that for another day. Thank goodness we have music!

Musically, it’s been another interesting month, it would be very easy for me to post a dozen tracks.

First let’s start with another one of those tracks that’s not new but came across my radar and turned into a real “earworm”.

Kings Of Tomorrow featuring April ~ Fall For You

One of the highlights of this strange month for me was the 12 hour live stream Defected Virtual Festival (CLICK HERE). This track came on in the final hour when Angel sang a couple of songs. “Fall For You” was originaly released in April 2013, I just think it’s gorgeous.

Kings Of Tomorrow is New York born, house music DJ, and record producer Sandy Rivera. The featured singer April is April Morgan who met Sandy Rivera when she was out riding her bike singing!

The Killers ~ Caution

I guess most wedding DJ’s get to play Mr Brightside on a fairly regular basis and this isn’t going to replace it, but it’s pretty good. Caution is the first single from The Killers new album “Imploding The Mirage” which comes out on May 29th ahead of their sold out visit to the St Mary’s Stadium Southampton on 3rd June. Obviously the tour may well be postponed but hopefully the whole tour will get rescheduled.

Fatboy Slim & Eats Everything ~ All The Ladies

Finally, an interesting video that came out in the middle of the month from Norman Cook and Daniel Pearce a.k.a. Fatboy Slim and Eats Everything. Basically theu have a new track called “All The Ladies” so they went out in the car with a Pioneer controller and a speaker and jammed the track with various samples and other tracks.

Jacob Collier (featuring Kimbra & Tank and The Bangas) ~ In My Bones

I’ve beena huge Jacob Collier fan for a few years now and was lucky to see him live, back in 2017, in Brighton. He’s a fantastic talent and has been championed by many including legends like Quincy Jones. He releases new material on a fairly regular basis and this came out towards the end of the month. If you’ve never heard of Jacob Collier there is plenty to explore on YouTube. I actually posted about him in my Christmas message of 2017 CLICK HERE.

That’s Life Sounds Better To Music ~ March 2020. Don’t forget to check out January and February, and keep an eye out for April – you could even subscribe!

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ July 2020

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ February 2020.

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Yes, it’s back, the series I started last month (please click here). So what’s made it into Life Sounds Better To Music ~ February 2020? Well three of these are kind of “oldies but newies” (at least to me) and ones by my friend Manuel. I’ve been fortunate to spend the whole of February in Fuerteventura, so if this month all sounds a bit summery I can only apologise … actually, Im not sorry at all šŸ˜‰

William DeVaughn ~ “Be Thankful For What You Got” (FKJ Remix)

I’m always on the look out for cool remixes of my favourite tracks from “back in the day” and I was so glad to find this one. Recorded in 1972 and originally released in 1974, this is William DeVaughn’s “Be Thankful For What You Got” (FKJ Remix). Apparently this version dates back to 2013, FKJ is French Kiwi Juice who is frenchman Vincent Fenton. For me this version keeps all the class of the original and brings it firmly into this Century.

Purple Disco Machine ~ “In My Arms”

Purple Disco Machine is German born DJ, producer and top remixer Tino Piontek. The new single “In My Arms” features a sample from Al Stewart’s classic 1976 track “Year Of The Cat”. I recon this one is going to be HUGE!

And for those of you who don’t remember “Year Of The Cat”, here’s a clip of the original from “The Old Grey Whistle Test (ask your dad).

MATTN vs. Stavros Martina and Kevin D ~ “Girlz Wanna Have Fun”

Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Want To Have Fun” was first a hit in 1983. Another version “Hey Now (Girls Just Want To Have Fun)” was a hit 11 years later in 1994. It’s one of those records that I wouldn’t usually play now unless it was requested. Until now.

This new version, “Girlz Wanna Have Fun” is by Belgian DJ MATTN with Stavros Martina and Kevin D gives it a whole new lease of life.

ManuFree ~ “In My Way”

Last, but certainly not least, this month is “In My Way” by Fuerteventura’s very own ManuFree. As well as being the smiling guy on the decks at the cool places on the island, ManuFree also makes his own music. This latest track has been doing very well in the Beatport charts.

You can see ManuFree at Galera Beach most afternoons and Azzurro on Saturday evenings – message me for details.

That’s Life Sounds Better To Music ~ February 2020. More “Life Sounds Better To Music” next month.

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ July 2020

Life Sounds Better To Music ~ January 2020

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Life Sounds Better To Music ~ January 2020 … I haven’t done this for ages but I’m a music lover as well as a DJ so posting a few tunes that have crossed my radar each month seems like a good idea.

Back in 2017 I did a series of daily posts as part of the 7 Day Challenge (click here) but I really must talk about music more.

So, the plan is to post three or four tracks every month that I’ve loved. They aren’t necessarily songs I’d play while I’m DJ’ing but they are songs I’d like to share with you.

I spent most of January 2020 in Fuerteventura – it’s a tough job but someone has to do it šŸ˜‰ I’ve been busy with my friends Gail and Gary setting up Fuerte Fine Weddings (Click Here). If you are interested in getting married in the sun or renewing your vows please get in touch.

Anyway, here are this months songs I’d like to share (and it’s a four track month) …

Black Eyed Peas, J Balvin ~ RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)

This has been all over my radio station of choice over here (Los 40). In fact, it’s on such heavy rotation I don’t seem to be able to drive anywhere without hearing it!

The first thing that hits you is the sample of Rhythm Of The Night (the 1993 hit for Corona) then you get the Columbian singer J Balvin (who was featured in the Super Bowl Half Time show with Shakira and J-Lo) … then you find out it’s The Black Eyed Peas first single for ages! It’s taken from the soundtrack of the new Bad Boys movie.

RITMO is Spanish for Rhythm.

Gregory Porter ~ Revival

Released ahead of his new album “All Rise” which is due on 17th April, “Revival” is magnificent.

We were very lucky to see Gregory Porter on his last UK tour and he was just as brilliant as we’d expected. I can’t wait to hear any remixes, the track seems perfect for some reinterpretations.

Shapeshifters Ft Kimberly Davis ~ Second Chance

CHOOOOOOON!

You may remember The Shapeshifters for their 2004 classic Lola’s Theme. That record means a lot to me. It’s a long story but it’s part of the reason I’m still DJ’ing. The Shapeshifters is Simon Marlin and this is their new release on Defected Records. The vocalist is Kimberly Davis who may well be the same Kimberly Davis who sang with Chic … but I’m not sure (yet).

A Girl Called Eddy ~ Been Around

I have to thank my friend Rory in San Francisco for putting this on my radar. He had previously mentioned her debut album from 2004, which I enjoyed (particularly “Little Bid”) and now she finally has a new album “Been Around”. I had a fabulous day listening to this on repeat at the end of the month.

A Girl Called Eddy is singer-songwriter Erin Moran.

So that’s Life Sounds Better To Music ~ January 2020, I wonder what February holds šŸ™‚

One more …

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One more post from your favourite, award winning, Hampshire wedding dj on holiday in Fuerteventura. Life sounds better to music and taking a break has given me plenty of time to listen to plenty of favourites and discover new ones.

One more

I really loved Rae Morris’ 2015 debut album ‘Ungarded’ and I’m looking forward to her second album ‘Someone Out There’ which is due out early next year. Here’s one of the tracks she’s released already … ‘Do It’. CLICK HERE for her official site.

There are plenty of bars playing great chill-out here so it was no surprise to hear JosĆ© Padilla’s “Adios Ayer” in the air as we enjoyed a cafĆ© con leche. JosĆ© Padilla is a Spanish DJ and music producer who has been resident DJ at CafĆ© del Mar.

Can’t tell you much about this one – oh how I love Shazam šŸ˜‰
La Isla & Sylvia – Siento (Mahjong Extended Mix)

One of the radio shows I always listen to (usually on the iPlayer) is Trevor Nelson’s Saturday evening “Rhythm Nation” (CLICK HERE). It’s always worth listening right to the end, you never know what you might miss if you don’t! This was the last track on his 25th November show ~ Daniel Caesar’s “We Find Love” taken from his debut album “Freudian”.

Not long left here now so this may be the last of these posts … but then again we’re heading out to one of our favourite bars again today so you never know there may be one more šŸ˜‰

Coming up next week a special Christmas songs post with no Michael BublƩ, Pogues or Mariah!

Day 3 #7DayMusicChallenge ~ George Benson ~ Love Ballad

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George Benson ~ Love Ballad

As with all the artists Iā€™ve picked for the 7DayMusicChallenge, I could have picked numerous tracks from their catalogue.Ā  Today Iā€™ve chosen George Benson who Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™ve seen three times and Iā€™ve gone with Love Ballad because it makes me think of my DJ buddy Merv dancing at Martines in Eastleigh on a Dynamic Duo Thursday! Ā (He’s todays nomination)

Love Ballad is a Skip Scarborough song and was first recorded by LTD (Love Togetherness and Devotion) in 1976 and I remember buying the 7″ the A&M.

The George Benson version was included on his 1979 double album ā€œLivinā€™ Inside Your Loveā€ and the single reached 29 on the UK Top 40. Ā It’s one of the 12″ tracks that really remind me of my time DJ’ing at Martines, New York New York and The Venue.

I havenā€™t managed to find all the dates for the George Benson concerts Iā€™ve seen.Ā  Iā€™m pretty sure I saw him play ā€œin the roundā€ at the old Wembley Arena with Merv somewhen in the mid-eighties, then again at Bournemouth a few years later and most recently we saw him on 26th June 2014.Ā  Heā€™s 72 now and still putting on a great show!