![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/gillan8.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/mcbride2.jpg)
The paperback aviator
A Steve Morse biography is about to be published by Wymer. It is called The Aviator: The Life and Music of Steve Morse and is due out on May 16, 2025.
Steve Morse, guitar virtuoso (and pilot), may have broken out of relative obscurity courtesy of the classic British band Deep Purple, but he never went, so to speak, native. A full-blooded American, he was pancakes and maple syrup, not black pudding and fried egg.
Morse first came to the attention of the music world through his band Dixie Dregs. He possibly entered the consciousness of those based in the UK courtesy of the BBC’s Radio 1 Friday Rock Show that kicked off every week with his Dixie Dregs composition ‘Take It Off The Top’.
The mid-eighties saw Morse driving along arena band Kansas — darlings of US FM radio. By the mid-nineties he was ensconced in Deep Purple, helping re-build their career. His contributions to eight Deep Purple studio albums were immense. After nearly three decades, Morse’s time with the band came to a sad end has he took the difficult decision to care for his ailing wife.
In a career spanning half a century, Steve Morse’s music has touched on European classical traditions, as well as blues, jazz, country and rock ‘n’ roll… genres that are unashamedly American. Consistently voted number one by guitar magazines, Morse is both a musician’s musician as well as a fan’s favourite.
The conductor Paul Mann, who worked extensively with Deep Purple, said of Morse, ‘He was born with that instrument in his hands. I know a lot of classical musicians who envy that kind of relationship with an instrument.’
American virtuoso… and aviator. This is the story of the life and music of Steve Morse.
What: The Aviator: The Life and Music of Steve Morse
Author: Adrian Jarvis
Publisher: Wymer Publishing
Format: paperback, 234 × 156 mm, 208 pages.
ISBN-10: 1915246741
ISBN-13: 978-1915246745
Publication date: May 16, 2025
RRP: £17.99
[Update May 12]: We have received a copy for review and will post it whenever it’s ready. Wymer is offering our readers 10% off the list price when ordering through their website with code MORSE (although Amazon UK discounts even deeper).
Thanks to Tinnitist for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Is there actual input from Steve to this?
May 12th, 2025 at 03:00When I think of Steve Morse, I always think of him as the guy who made sure Purple could continue after RB’s rather dramatic departure. (Yes, I know about JS, but he was merely a very well-playing comma) and SM is the guy who really did a good job!
I never forget his comments regarding RB taking his shoes with him (compared to how difficult it would be to fill RB’s shoes!) he showed to be a very humble and dedicated bloke 😊
In here a lot of you gentlemen have been explaining how SM is handling the guitar, compared to the shoe-napper, and you are right I’m sure, but in my inexperienced ears: he sounded and sounds great 🤩
Also I’m aware of the ongoing discussion: did Purple owe SM to wait for him, while he took care of his wife?
I don’t know!
I know the situation was rrrreally difficult and sensitive, but the rest of the guys in Purple couldn’t wait for long.
Calculated?
Well, walk a mile in a man’s shoes (and you are far away when he discovers you took his shoes 😉 – sorry couldn’t help myself with this Groucho Marx comment 🤭) before you know anything about how it was to handle this delicate situation!
At my home, René is convinced SM couldn’t have helped Purple through the transition, and he really digs SMcB.
Not that SMcB is a better banjo-player than SM, but he adds new dimensions to Purple.
No matter what: I would never have heard about SM, hadn’t he been picked to play with Purple, and I’m surely happy to have heard him.
May 12th, 2025 at 05:23It’s not a classic DP song but it’s great, Ian Anderson and Ritchie will definitely like it
May 12th, 2025 at 05:47Great musician Steve Morse …
I like playing The Aviator with my armonica..😊
May 12th, 2025 at 11:24#2 Nicely put Karin! Here in the Mid West of the U.S., many of us heard about Morse because of his band Dixie Dregs. My late Brother was a BIG fan!! As for his time in Purple, I thought he did a great job replacing Ritchie! Back then, many people said “No Ritchie, no Deep Purple”!! They were wrong!!
May 12th, 2025 at 11:27Now when I think of Steve Morse …
… I think of how Ritchie in a dastardly move not only took his shoes, but also all his stage clothes with him, leaving poor Steve just a cardboard box that read “hand-me-down muscle shirts with prints (Injuns, critters & naïve art)” plus a small note attached to it:
“Here, wear those (all washed), they’ll look great on you!
Best
Ritchie”.
I can’t prove it, but I have a hunch, the departing banjo player bestowing this gift on Steve was not entirely honest …
The Aviator was a beautiful song though.
https://www.euroga.org/system/1/user_files/files/000/014/187/14187/d1ed39b30/large/IMG_0699.JPG
(Is this picture perhaps photoshopped, Steve wears sleeves? 🧐)
https://www.euroga.org/forums/hangar-talk/6460-interesting-visitor-yesterday-for-some-cirrus-talk
May 12th, 2025 at 11:59Uwe
May 12th, 2025 at 13:13Excellent question …so many of these things are absolute dross with no fact checking.
If Steve has genuinely contributed…I’m buying. If he hasn’t, I’m not !
Well Karin…how do they say: Walk a mile in my shoes ….and you’re bored to death. But spend a minute in my head – that will freak you out!
May 12th, 2025 at 13:33You know, (other) Steve, with sleeves-off-Steve (hereinforth: SOS, for better differentiation) I’m not sure whether there would be much of a difference between an official and an unofficial or the unauthorized and an authorized bio! Those searching for satanic practices, cutting edge sex with minors and/or animals, drug abuse, multiple marriages and adultery, near fatal car and airplane crashes – really all the good parts in a rock’n’roll bio – will likely come off disappointed. But I’m sure you’ll be all the wiser about the string gauges (the ones on guitar …) SOS uses. 😂
Sure I’ll get it – and if it is gushing fan fiction and mythologizing, then that is ok too. SOS deserves to be liked and loved. It’s a bit like John Lennon quipping sardonically to George Harrison regarding his votes in a “favorite Beatle”-contest back in the day: “Those people voting for you as their favorite Beatle only did so because they were worried there might be no one else voting for you!”
https://media.tenor.com/5e8g4ORLaUAAAAAM/oh-really-john-lennon.gif
https://media.tenor.com/cZyuARJfl9kAAAAM/george-harrison.gif
John L, you’ve got to hand it to him, was always empathetic. 😁
Will it mention the band project with Glenn Hughes that was once set up for SOS (no joke), but (like so many of Glenn’s projects) didn’t take off?
PS: I liked George H and his work, very underrated as a tasteful guitarist and great slide player.
May 12th, 2025 at 14:09I think I’m onto something here, Karin would say the plot thickens …
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/92/f1/6b/92f16bba33ac23b6df85c713b0bb13a8.jpg
May 12th, 2025 at 15:07I first heard SM in 1978 when a buddy of mine introduced me to Dixie Dregs’ Freefall. I’ve been “following” him since (until he stopped in DP).
May 12th, 2025 at 17:33I also listened a lot to Kansas then and was amazed when Steve joined them.
When he was asked to join DP (which I have been following since 70’ish), I thought “can he play that kind of music?”, but he could in his own way, and was great.
I’m no fond of his ballads though, I like when it’s more upbeat.
@8
Oh well! 🤣🤣🤣
May 12th, 2025 at 19:16I would not listen to people saying things like that!
@10
Well, in my age nothing that thickens is good news!
(What are you talking about Uwe?!🤔)
May 12th, 2025 at 19:19@5
“Back then, many people said “No Ritchie, no Deep Purple”!! They were wrong!!” – indeed they were not right!
On the other hand, I do get it some at some point, because let’s be honest: RB was magnificent! He was the founder of Purple, he had charisma, he was erratic, or at least his behaviour was, but man he could mesmerise people (me included!) and his guitar-playing was pure poetry!
And who could find a proper replacement?
But put all that aside, and be rational! What would we rather be left with: no Purple at all or Purple with another guitarist!?
I guess the majority of fans wanted Purple, even though there was some changes we needed to get used to!
Personally I’m thrilled they continued with Steve Morse!
I loved his way of playing rock, but I certainly also dig Simon’s way!
The only person I will be really sad to be replaced is the current vocalist. In my very humble opinion NO ONE in the world can take over after him…. 😊
May 12th, 2025 at 19:32Karin, Ritchie is still alive, you don’t have to write obituaries just yet! 😂
About Ian Gillan’s nemesis, who rowed him out of the band twice, tsk, tsk, tsk …
May 12th, 2025 at 22:50@14″Karin
“The only person I will be really sad to be replaced is the current vocalist. In my very humble opinion NO ONE in the world can take over after hi…😊”
the same thing for me, in fact I never bought Slaves&Masters
May 13th, 2025 at 05:07😊💜
@ 11- a Kansas follower, nice to see, not too many here if there are any others at all. I suppose it is a Deep Purple site, so I may forgive a few here and there. That 1980’s Kansas, while having some good music, was totally different to their wonderful progressive 70’s music. However as I have said here before, no one escaped the wrath of the commercial AOR 80s’s did they? They are two rather good albums though with Steve Morse. Not as commercial as the previous couple in the very early 80’s, which I have never taken to. Regarding the Dixie Dregs the early 80’s was when I was introduced to them. It also appears there are not many DP aficionados here that were familiar with Mr Morse before the DP situation. I have often wondered what that would be like, would it be different, yes I guess it would and to not know him would possibly enable a less ‘critical’ listening experience, if that is the correct way to look at it. I like Steve’s instrumental softer, quieter music, very colourful and melodic. I listen to that more than his rockier composition these days, especially leaving out the up tempo instrumentals after the SMB early 90’s releases. The Dregs are more interesting being a five piece and the violin and keyboards do fit very well into both The Dregs and the 1970’s Kansas band. Cheers.
May 13th, 2025 at 05:14Quite right Karin
Purple without Gillan (or Glover and Paice) is unthinkable.
May 13th, 2025 at 09:58@15
Ohhh ok Uwe, so when I praise you to friends and family, I actually have to wait until your untimely death 😂😂
It’s not a secret, I have always adored Blackmore and his poetry into the banjo-playing 😃
In my book you don’t have be dead for me to acknowledge and praise you 😄
May 13th, 2025 at 13:04@16
Well me neither AndreA!
But, I have to admit that I have found DC to be an excellent singer!
May 13th, 2025 at 13:07There are some tunes of his I actually have on my playlist!
Today I was mowing the lawn, whilst happily humming and whistling along the tunes of Whitesnake 😃
But Ian will always be my nr 1 vocalist!
NOTHING can change that 😊☺️
@18
Chas, when they stop, I hope Purple stop too.
May 13th, 2025 at 13:10Other musicians and singer are an abomination for me.
(Maybe a bit harsh, but I mean it 😞)
“Today I was mowing the lawn …”
Is that even allowed? Mowing the dune grass? No erosion concerns? 😮
https://strandeins.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/MK_2018-43-_1MK0947.jpg
“Lawns” don’t really exist in Sandmark.
May 13th, 2025 at 14:56‘But, I have to admit that I have found DC to be an excellent singer!
May 14th, 2025 at 00:36There are some tunes of his I actually have on my playlist!
Today I was mowing the lawn, whilst happily humming and whistling along the tunes of Whitesnake.’
Congratulations Uwe, you finally did it, you achieved something us mortals would never ever think imaginable. I tip my hat to you sir. Now if only you could get the ‘Iron Lady’ Karin to lower the bar for other lead vocalists out there, that would really put the icing on the cake. And of course the ultimate ‘Holy Grail’ would be Elvis. Where there is hope there is, well………………..a flicker of light perhaps at the never ending tunnel. Just a little spark often can be enough to ignite the flame. Stay tuned folks for another exciting episode of “spot the vocalist’. Cheers.
@22
🤪 I’m afraid all the time you’ve spent in the courtrooms all over Germany, have clouded your perception of the world in general and Denmark in particular 😄
Ask your darling wife how Denmark really looks like ☺️
May 14th, 2025 at 04:28@23
“Where there is hope there is, well………………..a flicker of light perhaps at the never ending tunnel.”
😆🤣😆
Ohhh, I have to tell you this: in my world the flicker of light usually is a train coming!
– just saying 😄
And then I will say this (listen carefully, I shall say this only once!):
I will never like the butter tenor. PERIOD!
And another small detail:
It wasn’t Uwe who opened my eyes for David C!
I still have issues when I hear his breathing, I mean when it sounds dangerous.
But I can easily hear his lovely voice, with all the emotions he pours into his singing.
Still he is no Ian Gillan, and haven’t I ever heard Ian sing, I would maybe prefer DC over anybody else. But I have heard and love Ian’s voice, so that train (oh another train! ) has passed 😄
May 14th, 2025 at 06:22@15
Blackmore being like this, ohh not many can match this!
https://youtu.be/WZupw1nllFs?si=6DIMbo3jR_IuBse
He is in his own world.
May 14th, 2025 at 06:33Completely devoted to the guitar.
Doesn’t seem to think he has to prove anything!
He just add poetry to the music and voila: magic 😍
@ 24
I’m planning a little 3 or 4 day trip with friends in Denmark for the end of September or beginning of October 🍺 🤣👍
May 14th, 2025 at 06:38@23
Forgot completely MacGregor, but this guy:
https://youtu.be/iQ0uTZQ1ySE?si=BFhUsYh6n92xr3UI
In my head he has a lot in common with DC!
May 14th, 2025 at 06:49Please take a moment to listen thoroughly, he has the same emotions and the same – arrrhhhh what’s it called in English! Pronunciation maybe?
Well, in my head Jim Kerr sounds pretty much alike DC, but without the throat-bronchitis-lung troubles.
@23: Easy for me, Herr MacGregor, wimmin are putty in my hands. Been there, done that.
☝️😂
Karin, don’t feel bad, I actually prefer dune grass to boring, poorly weather-resistant lawns!
May 14th, 2025 at 07:38@27
AndreA! What a great idea 😊
Then you can explain the unbearable Uwe how beautiful our countey really is!
And if you and your friends are visiting Jutland, I can REALLY recommend a lovely restaurant in Aarhus, the name is Latin and it’s placed in Klostergade in the midst of Aarhus.
And to calm Nick and Svante down: I’m pretty sure they play selected tunes of Purple during the night 😉☺️
May 14th, 2025 at 08:49@29
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
“wimmin are putty in my hands“
Well that’s easy for you to say that when you have talked us into an early state of euthanasia 😄😄
Sorry Uwe, you’re a nice bloke, but now and then you need to be put in your right place! (And I really need to have a chat with Edith! She is neglecting your upbringing a great deal 😄)
“Karin, don’t feel bad, I actually prefer dune grass to boring, poorly weather-resistant lawns!”
Well well well, you haven’t seen my lawns! They are well-kept, green pastures and with only very little dandelions in them!
And no moles in them either, thanks to a nifty advice an old lady once gave me!
It might have something to do with a glass bottle, a little bit of water and some patience 😊
And beautiful green grass is heaven to step on with my bare feet!
Whereas dune is awful and painful and not nice at all!
And I have experienced when I listen to this:
https://youtu.be/u1kZ9zYr7kk?si=TWH8oRGiZgu1jwed
…it seems like my garden is even more beautiful
May 14th, 2025 at 09:09(Are we ok Nick and Svante ☺️😉😄)
Hi Karin
Amen to that. No Gillan, no Purple!
May 14th, 2025 at 10:54@ 25 – A nice pointer to the French resistance leader Michelle at René’s Cafe in Nouvion. However Karin, there is another repeated phrase we often hear at times, ‘never say NEVER’, he he he. The old butter tenor is ever present and always lurking waiting for his chance. I didn’t necessarily think that Uwe got you into David Coverdale, but he did keep chipping away like a good lawyer should. The only trouble is, now I have to work out a way to pay him for all his dutiful work. A touch of irony for ole Cov’s these days though and quite poignant too, a couple of lines in the song Soldier of Fortune from 1974. “But I feel I’m growing older, and the songs that I have sung, echo in the distance”. Half a century later and time as we know waits for no one. Regarding Ritchie and yes that version of Anya at the Stuttgart concert is rather special. He is in my top five list of all time favourite rock music guitarists for good reason. Regarding Simple Minds, yes a clearer powerful voice there in Jim Kerr, a fine vocalist as was Midge Ure and Bono too, all from that 80’s era. As Uwe has often said regarding Coverdale, if he didn’t get into the ‘hard rock and metal’ genre, he most probably would still be singing today. However his health issues may have still been an issue, who can tell. Straining his vocals like he did was so unnatural for him. Heavy distorted guitars etc at unbelievable volume levels has ruined many a singers voice over time. Those singers I mentioned along with Jim Kerr didn’t have to do that falsetto metal thing and they all probably still sound good today. Thanks for the links. Cheers.
May 14th, 2025 at 12:35@33
“yes a clearer powerful voice there in Jim Kerr”
Exactly!
This one:
https://youtu.be/rddDM-Pm3dQ?si=eHb2eEB4ipkQC0wv
He is an older gentleman here, sorry don’t know his age, but his voice is still powerful and clear!
And please look extra at the cute drummer! She is amazing 😊
May 14th, 2025 at 14:15Tell everyone: Cruella de Karin harasses sight-impaired protected species!
https://youtu.be/cgbHZyXSs_A
It is beyond me how environmental agencies in the Kingdom of Denmark can let this happen, isn’t there a whistleblower hotline where one might call them?
May 14th, 2025 at 17:09“I will never like the butter tenor. PERIOD!“
That fully explains it. I think it’s a biological mood thing, Herr McGregor, men always fail to fully comprehend.
https://youtu.be/NcwwLylzxYw
May 14th, 2025 at 18:08@31 …Made my day….
May 14th, 2025 at 20:02@ 34- a cute drummer???????????? I have yet to notice one, oh sorry Karin I was thinking about all the male drummers. Yes there are a few good ladies who can play percussion rather well, as that one in the video does. Sheila E also springs to mind when thinking of very good female drummers. Viewing the recent Primus drum auditions posted online and they had chosen 10 drummers for the countdown to the final chosen new drummer. There was a female drummer in amongst all the other male drummers. A very funky and powerful drummer she was too. Good to see women out there getting into all those different rhythms. Cheers.
May 14th, 2025 at 22:49Karin, I don’t know if you have ever read this conversation between God and St Francis. It is a good one, all about humans and their obsession with lawns. The Suburbanites and yes, I am one too in regards to having to mow our ‘lawns’ occasionally and rake up excessive leaves etc. I don’t pay anyone to deal with it all as I do that myself, mulching the gardens and also creating compost. This is a a hilarious take on it all and very true in many aspects. Enjoy all you gardeners (or dung gatherers) and also all the Suburbanites out there. Cheers.
https://prairiewoods.org/lawns/
May 15th, 2025 at 00:15@35
😂😆🤣
The ONLY cruelty towards animals that takes place in my home, is if any of the innocent animals by chance listen when I read out loud from your posts Uwe 😃
@36
I don’t know how to respond to this !
But I will ask you to listen to Dan Baird:
https://youtu.be/5-UbAgaExbY?si=6_iyC2r52ymT5JRk
Here Dan hopefully will teach you a lesson regarding the uses of grammatical signs.
May 15th, 2025 at 04:41@37
Always happy to please 😊
May 15th, 2025 at 05:46Ok! Regarding the mole-situation: I never hurt anyone, neither humans nor animals!
And here is what I do:
I take a glassbottle, has to be glass!
I pour a little water in it, dig a hole in the ground, or better, place it in a molehill, and just let around 5 cm of the top of the bottle be above ground.
Then I make myself a lovely cup of coffee, and wait!
When the wind starts to blow a bit, it makes such an awful sound in the hall-ways of the moles, that they move away from my garden.
No one is hurt! Everyone is still alive, and the best part: should the neighbour be irritating, he can now attack the problem 😃
Ain’t that a nifty advice ☺️
May 15th, 2025 at 07:51@33
Oh MacGregor, you’re completely right regarding Bono!
I have this favourite song of U2:
https://youtu.be/ftjEcrrf7r0?si=m9w2efKLYR_2b1wB
(They also made it with Mary J Blige, but with this tune, I really love Bono’s voice alone.)
Whenever I hear this, my heart is moved so much.
His voice is so tender, so vulnerable that I almost can’t bear it 🥺
I’m not that familiar with Midge Ure, I know of him of course, but have never dwelled into his singing.
May 15th, 2025 at 10:01@39
“Karin, I don’t know if you have ever read this conversation between God and St Francis.”
May 15th, 2025 at 10:22Thank you Macgregor!
No I’ve never heard of this before, thanks for the link!
It’s a cute story 😃
Dan Baird has a song called “I love your period”?! Well, let it flow then, I’m all in on natural approaches, full stop.
That epistle against lawns is sooooo true, Herr MacGregor! 😂
Our suburban garden is about one third lawn (likely less), one third free-for-all meadow/Wiese that can grow as it wants and one third shrubs and old tress (we had to chop down two 60+ years beech trees more recently, it broke our heart, but they were fungus infected endangering their stability and the road traffic by our house, climate change is affecting the once ubiquitous and hardy beech trees in Germany badly – we’ve replaced them with maples and a weeping willow – it’s roots find ground water anywhere – which handle heat and dry spells much better). Add to that the pond with all the surrounding reed and other pond plants. If it was down to me, the lawn part would be even less, but you know, my wife is German, and Ordnung muss sein. Edith‘s definition of anything that grows quickly and by itself in our garden —> Unkraut/weeds, while I am the botanical anarchist in the family. I fight tooth and nail for every weed.
And when we antagonized/drove off the moles at Edith‘s behest (who are not plant eaters and just leave mounds of fertile soil), nature‘s punishment was swift: We had a population explosion of voles (which eat plant roots and do great damage) because a main diet of moles as carnivores is vole babies in their mice nests. You live and learn.
And, ever the loving husband, I tend to gently remind my wife that she was the one who wanted a house close to the forest boundary and can now hardly complain that woodland wild life is refusing to see our garden as off-limits! Wimmin are highly appreciative of having their past mis-decisions pointed out to them. It helps them develop and improve. 😂
May 15th, 2025 at 13:42Midge Ure is a national treasure, Karin, here is a short selection of his contributions to British music through the decades:
https://youtu.be/TtrVvO40SDg
(sins of our youth …)
https://youtu.be/np-JEyLmiV4
https://youtu.be/xJeWySiuq1I
https://youtu.be/RH-xd5bPKTA
https://youtu.be/PSQWUZ8a2Ho
https://youtu.be/x1JrRwKeAP4
https://youtu.be/USFr5VeLQ2o
Lest we forget, he could rock out too, versatile just ain’t the word:
https://youtu.be/PIfFUDt4Grw
https://youtu.be/RH-xd5bPKTA
May 15th, 2025 at 14:11@45
“they were fungus infected”
Aww Uwe, I could have helped with that!
Homeopathy helps all living organisms 😊
“Wimmin are highly appreciative of having their past mis-decisions pointed out to them. It helps them develop and improve. 😂”
May 15th, 2025 at 15:17You’re highly provocative right now…… but I choose the path filled with peace and understanding, as I always do when I have to deal with the stronger sex!
See! I live and learn too 😅😅
@46
Thank you Uwe!
I had completely erased Ultravox from my mind.
But both Vienna and Dancing with tears in my eyes, awww they are really beautiful!
You call ‘rich kids’ rock? Well ok then 😄
And the last link Uwe is not rock! It’s a repetition from above in your list.
But thanks, it was joyful to realisten to my long forgotten youth 😊
May 15th, 2025 at 15:26Last link was wrong, I meant Midge’s tenure with Thin Lizzy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcjphq4U3jc
Met with derision at the time from some “real rockers”, that period is by now being re-appreciated by Lizzy fans. Midge Ure was no Gary Moore of course, but he was actually supportive to the band though he joked “I was the worst guitarist in Thin Lizzy ever!” and – unlike tantrum-throwing Gary Moore – reliable. He had an offer to stay with them and refused it with the words: “I’m not really right for you. You need some kid who has spent his teenage years playing eight hours a day – with a Les Paul in a case underneath his bed. He is somewhere waiting for you to call him.” Prophetic words as John Sykes would eventually fit that bill perfectly.
May 15th, 2025 at 15:48@ 42 – thanks for the update on your ingenious method of deterring those moles in your lawn Karin. It sounds a lot better than what I feared for those poor little things. I was wondering if you had setup a little music playing device and it was set to a 24/7 unending playing of Ian Gillan related music. That most probably could have been the reason all your blackbirds initially disappeared as the ones have here recently. For the first time in eight years living at this property and at the same time THS were posting all those Gillan clips that I was inadvertently playing. Hmmmmmmm, maybe it is time for a new decent singer for all the little creatures to enjoy. Disturbing the Priest? More like disturbing the wildlife of our neighbourhood. @ 45 – watch out for that weeping willow Uwe. They absolutely crave a constant water source and that pond of yours may be its target. Good luck and whose idea was it to plant that, Edith’s perhaps. At least if it was you could blame her for the mistake. Or was it your idea? Cheers.
May 15th, 2025 at 22:32I still have trouble believing that Midge Ure was in Thin Lizzy, but it is true. It did happen folks, believe it or not. If anyone had mentioned that to me before a year or two ago I would have simply dissed it as a load of bollocks and presumed it was a joke. It isn’t that I disrespect him as a guitarist, it is his how I knew of him with Ultravox first and foremost, before I heard of this TL scenario and that places that into a rather bizarre reality of sorts. A mighty fine singer and a good songwriter is Mr Midge (as Rik Mayall called him in that crazy comedy scene). Regarding Phil Lynott and I keep forgetting about him when thinking or talking about rockers who have left us far too early. Such a shame indeed. Filthy smack again, as is often the case. If it isn’t alcohol related.
May 16th, 2025 at 04:27@50
“I was wondering if you had setup a little music playing device and it was set to a 24/7 unending playing of Ian Gillan related music. That most probably could have been the reason all your blackbirds initially disappeared as the ones have here recently. “
Well MacGregor, I do play, and happily, Ian and Purple all day long (and mixed now with DC’s ‘Midnight Blue’, ‘Yours for the asking’, ‘Summer Rain’ and note please – they are beautiful lovesongs!) and I have to say that I guess that’s why all the birds always are gathering around our house! They wanna learn how singing is really done 😍
When, and if, I ever hear the blackbirds chirping their edition of SOTW, I will make sure to record it and make a link in here 😃
Have a lovely day and weekend everyone 👋🏼
May 16th, 2025 at 07:17🎼 ”Do we mind disturbing the mole? 🎶 Not at all, not at all, not in his hole!”🎵
No wonder Black Sabbath were initially called Earth.
How ruthless Karin can be for just a bit of lawn that was never meant to grow up there in the first place. 🫤
That is a very good point, Herr MacGregor, the pond as a watering hole attracts all kinds of animal life: birds, (harmless) snakes, amphibians, rodents, raccoons, martens/weasels, insects, other invertebrates. More so since we have more and more extended dry spells in Germany due to climate change.
And it was actually Edith’s idea. She seduced me with: “You might like a pond …” The manipulative powers of wimmin … 😂
Midge’s post-Slik career is mainly trauma-induced. He hated to be identified with a hit factory band not really in control of its destiny and derided by the critics (and with the advent of Punk in 1976 strangely out-of-sync with the times), so he did everything – and I mean everything – to escape: Neo-Punk with The Rich Kids, New Romantic with Visage, Electronica Pop with Ultravox, Hard Rock with Thin Lizzy, charity work with Band Aid until finally settling for his singer-songwriter career. Of course, his undeniable gift for versatility opened him that path.
May 16th, 2025 at 13:19@ 53 – Black Sabbath or Earth at that time were sort of hippies back then. Iommi linking with Tull suited him, in that sense even though Anderson was a tad dismissive towards the peace and free love vibe in that sense. Glenn Cornick their bass guitarist looked the part though. Mother Earth indeed and your property sounds like a good one Uwe, well done reducing the lawn area and planting it out with trees and shrubs etc. Willow trees are a pest out here in Oz, they have destroyed many waterways with their ability to take over and reproduce at will. I can understand people liking the weeping willow for its look as it does have a certain charm to it. But like many trees they need water in any form. Drains, pipes, dams, ponds etc and we don’t see them growing anywhere where it is dry. They are always growing along creeks, dams, streams and rivers and in lower valley areas where there is extra moisture during the summer time. Regarding you buying a property next to a forest, is there an old castle not far from there, he he he. And if there is we know what comes with castles, they all had an underground tunnel leading away for various reasons and surely that doesn’t lead to your property. Ritchie would be proud of you and also Ronnie, bless him. Below is Midge Ure and his cover of Tull’s ‘Living in the Past’ song. It wasn’t until I heard this that I warmed to some of the 80’s artists a little more, me thinking ‘you know, these modern day trendy 80’s music artists are not too bad all things considered’. I was ruthless back in the day, a lot more forgiving these days, sort of. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViNJiWZDDmw&t=1s
Uwe’s castle song
“It’s only been an hour
May 16th, 2025 at 23:16Since he locked her in the tower
The time has come
He must be undone by the morning
@53
“How ruthless Karin can be for just a bit of lawn that was never meant to grow up there in the first place. 🫤”
I do believe that approximately 70% of the earth is covered with grass, so I can’t see it’s unthinkable that I have a couple of lawns here with beautiful grass, where earthworms, ants, spiders, bench biters and other good insects can thrive and live their lives happily and in content with Anton and all the birds there also live here ☺️
May 17th, 2025 at 06:40Karin, I am wondering what a ‘bench biter’ is? As you have already mentioned spiders and ants I am starting to wonder what it is. Perhaps it is a huge hideous beast the hides under the bench and launches itself at unsuspecting humans. This bench biter query reminds me of Billy Connolly’s take on Australian wildlife many years ago. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTEkFRtA6OQ&t=21s
May 17th, 2025 at 10:41@56
“Perhaps it is a huge hideous beast the hides under the bench and launches itself at unsuspecting humans.”
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Arrrhhh man I got caugt!
I didn’t know the English word, so I invented one!
After checking my very good Danish-English dictionary , they are apparently also called woodlouse, doodlebug and slater 😃
I wonder if they are all over the world, I guess they are 😊
https://youtu.be/Wzf6U_-YhKg?si=q__3_OTGLEwd4f9K
May 17th, 2025 at 15:20Lawns are species-poor mono-cultures, Karin, susceptible to heat burning and droughts. Not to mention the constant battle against them mossing up (even though that is a perfectly natural process) because of the moisture they constantly need. About as “natural” as potted plants in your living room. Get a meadow!
https://www.bund.net/fileadmin/user_upload_bund/bilder/umweltgifte/wiese-pestizide.jpg
And mole hills won’t bother you anymore either, inter alia they loosen and aerate the ground.
https://www.rosybee.com/blog/2021/9/in-praise-of-mole-hills
May 17th, 2025 at 17:43@58
Uwe……
Watch this:
https://youtu.be/sas7RQ6_Aac?si=6PnO4Rz___q1P9Z9
No need to thank me, I’m here to help 😄
May 17th, 2025 at 21:38@ 57 – So they are a hideous beasts Karin, just a little smaller in variety and more discreet. They can be good for breaking down vegetation, as in composting etc. However some of them can do damage to certain plants and possibly wood in buildings. We do have some of them out here too. Sorry about the language in Billy Connolly’s stand up routine. You know what he is like, hyper and he gets carried away. A few eff words here and there. That is why the ‘adult’ rating is obviously on that link. Although when I searched and found it there was no compulsory prompting to have to log in to view it. Maybe because I am Australian and we are used to that sort of language out here, he he he. Cheers.
May 17th, 2025 at 22:25Karin, apologies, but that vid about unintelligence was too complex for me, I didn’t understand it. Is that good or bad? 😂
May 18th, 2025 at 00:27@60
“However some of them can do damage to certain plants”
Ok, I may be wrong but aren’t they supposed to live their lives in dead material? 😊
“Maybe because I am Australian and we are used to that sort of language out here, he he he.”
May 18th, 2025 at 02:11😄😄 being Danish I can tell you our language has quite colourful expressions, however these days most words are borrowed from the English language 😃
@61
🤣😂🤣
Well Uwe, I guess that’s what to be expected!
May 18th, 2025 at 10:16@ 62 – Slaters chomping off new small veggie plantings Karin, I have noticed that at times, the same as a friend who has a large permaculture property did too. Established small trees and shrubs wilting in spring time, not from lack of water. Lifting up the heavy old mulch around the roots exposed hundreds of slaters, happily munching away on the small surface feeder roots of the plants. Attached is a National Geographic ‘doodle bug’ video, only about 3 minutes in length and be careful of the mating session with a male and female. A spoiler alert for some. Doodle bug, what a name that is. Still not as an effective name as ‘bench biter’ though. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMQNp3d5XPY&t=181s
May 19th, 2025 at 01:09@64
Thanks for the educating video!
But what a sad ending: he got eaten 😱
I’m thoroughly happy you appreciate the made-up name 😂😂
May 19th, 2025 at 08:51In Denmark each Christmas a show is aired, 24 episodes, called ‘the Julekalender’, where English is mistreated in the most horrendous way, but still very very funny!
Danish words are mixed with English words so you wouldn’t believe it!
Enjoy:
https://youtu.be/Sz7G50Lj20Q?si=iJOr9EJv_bzP7Ksc