happy birthday

HAPPY 70 To THE CLASH Bass Hero PAUL SIMONON

Posted on by JL

15 December 2025


The iconic photo taken by Pennie Smith in New York, 1979

Paul Gustave Simonon was born on 15 December 1955.

Happy 70 to the cool-as-hell bass casanova of the last
band in town, The Clash.

To celebrate, here’s the first song Simonon, who grew
up in Brixton, wrote for the band. His pumping reggae
bass money-maker Guns Of Brixton, from the classic
double LP ‘London Calling‘.

When they kick at your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun

When the law break in
How you gonna go?
Shot down on the pavement
Or waiting on death row

You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you’ll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton

On top: the iconic photo taken by Pennie Smith in New York, 1979.

Happy 60 To BJÖRK

Posted on by JL

21 November 2025


Front cover debut album

BJÖRK was born named Björk Guðmundsdóttir
in Reykjavík, Iceland on 21 November 1965.

Happy 60 to a unique artist who started her career with
alt pop-rock band The Sugarcubes (1986-1992 / 3 albums).

In 1993 her first solo LP Debut came out. So far she made/released
10 longlayers with Fossora from 2022 as her most recent one.

She has sold more than 40 million albums. Over the years, she focused on connecting
her music with remarkable visual performances on stage and for her records’ artwork.
She also played in a couple of movies.

THE SUGARCUBES

SOLO

Instagram – Linktree – Bio – All Albums

Happy 75 To GRAHAM PARKER – One Of The Greatest Rock & Soul Voices Ever

Posted on by JL

18 November 2025

British prolific songsmith and terrific voice
GRAHAM PARKER was born in Hackney,
London on 18 November 1970.

Happy 75 to one of the greatest rock
and soul voices ever (to my ears).

He played in a couple of pub bands before forming his group
The Rumour with whom he recorded/released 6 albums with their
5-star masterpiece Squeezing Out Sparks that came out in 1978.

Later on Parker played solo, released records with different
backing bands and reunited the Rumour from 1992 to 1995.
His most recent longplayer is Last Chance To Do The Twist,
released in 2023.

Let’s do his 1977 classic
THE NEW YORK SHUFFLE
to start the birthday party.

And do the New York shuffle, baby New York scuffle,
Going to stay awake all night
Do the New York shuffle, baby New York scuffle,
Get yourself uptight, get uptight

Biography – Discography – Facebook

HAPPY 80 To NEIL YOUNG, The Rock Icon Who Keeps On Rockin’ In The Free World

Posted on by JL

12 November 2025

Living rock legend NEIL YOUNG was born on 12 November 1945 in Toronto, Canada.

Happy 80 to the imperishable, iconic singer-songwriter. He has released about
a thousand albums since 1963. He worked solo, regularly recorded with his pals
Crazy Horse, and played with three other memorable voices: Crosby, Stills, & Nash and Buffalo Springfield, a long time ago.

On his newest album, Talkin’ To The Trees, released last
June, he’s assisted by his new band The Chrome Hearts


.
In between, he keeps on coming up with old stuff from his
inexhaustible Archives, which seem to be inexhaustible.
And he still performs live.

Keep on rockin’ in the free world, Neil.

Bio – Discography – Instagram

Happy 55 To THE DIVINE COMEDY’s Mastermind NEIL HANNON

Posted on by JL

7 November 2025


Photograph by Kevin Westenberg

Much lauded Irish songsmith NEIL HANNON, mastermind of THE DIVINE COMEDY
for 36 years now was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 7 November 1970.

Happy 55 to a bona fide singer-songwriter.

Last September TDC launched their 13th LP,
titled RAINY SUNDAY AFTERNOON

TUTV said: “Once a dreamy crooner, always a dreamy crooner.
Hannon designs smooth musings for years now and still is very
good at it.”


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Instagram – Linktree

Child In Time IAN GILLAN Celebrates His 80th Birthday Today

Posted on by JL

19 August 2025


Gillan, 2nd from the right

Singer IAN GILLAN was born in Chiswick, Middlesex, England
on 19 August 1945. Happy 80 to one of the greatest voices
ever in rock history.

He joined hard rock titans DEEP PURPLE in 1969 (they were named Episode Six
at that point) after being in several local bands. He left the band already in 1973,
after 5 LPs, to go solo with his own band and he also was the singer for Black Sabbath
for one year in 1983.

Gillan returned to the group in 1993, and has remained its lead singer ever since.

Many rock fans, certainly the fanatic ones, will remember him always for his jaw-dropping vocal tour de force on their 10-minute classic Child In Time from their notorious 1970 LP ‘Deep Purple In Rock‘. Watch/hear a spectacular live version above.

That classic – reworked instrumentally – is now part of the soundtrack for the fifth
season of American sf-horror series Stranger Things, which starts streaming on Netflix from November 26 onward. Listen to the new version below.


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Happy 80 To Weird Sparks Brother RON MAEL

Posted on by JL

12 August 2025

The brothers Ron and Russell Mael known to the world as SPARKS
are around since 1966. Yes, that’s 59 years and no sign of retirement.
Music is the dominant element in their DNA. They can’t stop.

They released their 28th (!) album, entitled MAD! last May.


1971

Today RON, the oldest, the weird one, celebrates his 80th birthday.
He was born on 12 August 1945 in Culver City, California. Congratulations.

THEN

NOW

Instagram – All Albums