Working Class Hero

Marianne Faithfull at the height of her powers singing the great John Lennon song Working Class Hero — which she recorded on her 1979 album Broken English.

Imagine

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

JOHN LENNON Imagine

Countdown To Christmas (Nearly There): Fairytales

At this time of year sentimental and schmaltzy and relentlessly jolly pop songs from Christmas Pasts drip-drip into your head, clogging up once more that corner of the brain normally reserved only for TV comedy catchphrases, radio jingles and movie theme tunes. OK, they're fine for a party or for a quick, cathartic weep after one too many glasses of Baileys - but most of the time they leave me as unmoved as a Copenhagen negotiator in front of a melting ice cap.

However here are 2 Christmas songs which, for me, stand head and shoulders above the rest - Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl (let's just pause a while and remember the wonderful Kirsty - who died in December 9 years ago...) and John and Yoko's Happy Christmas (War Is Over). John Lennon, of course, died in December too - but 29 years ago... It doesn't seem possible, does it?

I could have been someone.
Well, so could anyone...
Fairytale Of New York

War is over
If you want it...
Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

Kirsty MacColl. John Lennon. We remember you...

Death By Showbusiness

There are three figures who will stand as defining icons of popular music in the second half of the 20th century: Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Michael Jackson. And just like the deaths of Elvis and Lennon, so Jackson's passing can be seen as a consequence of the extraordinary demands and vicissitudes of fame, particularly the extraordinary fame that Jackson came to — can we really use the word? — enjoy throughout his life.

If Elvis’s death can be seen as the most extreme consequence of excess, and Lennon’s as the most horrific outcome of the malevolent attention of strangers, Jackson’s can surely be attributed to the imperative that was driven into him from childhood — to perform, to dazzle and to pay the bills.

Mick Brown in today's Daily Telegraph