Like a Virgin

[TAE]

Yeah I feel like a virgin being faced with the revelation that I was TOTALLY unaware of the connection of Richard Branson who I've thought for a long time was a pretty bad ass businessman....and the fact that A. Virgin airlines was something that evolved from Virgin records...and that B. he played a huge part in the making of Mike Oldfields tubular bells

Came upon the documentary below and came to find out all kinds of cool stuff..Like Mike Oldfield was roomies with Kevin Ayers...who most of my American musician friends have no idea of who he is...but a damn clever genius of a musician and songwriter he was.

So Richard Branson is a real fricking Rock Star...damn! What a crazy life....

 

[TalismanRich]

I never heard the Branson/Oldfield connection, but then at the time, Virgin was virtually unknown in the US. It was just a UK record store.

As for Kevin Ayers, I can't say that I remember his name ever showing up as a major force on anything that I listened to. In the late 60s, early 70s, it was hard to keep track of who had left what band to start or join another one, much less who was a roomie with somebody. It was probably a lot different in the UK vs the US. It would be a much tighter knit community.

All I remember is that Tubular Bells was a pretty cool album to play, especially on the college radio station after about 11:00, and that the music could creep out a lot of people who only knew it from the Exorcist.

 

[TAE]

I can't remember which concert it was at the Santa Monica Civic but I met this really cute chick who was taking pictures...Eve Hunter...She lived in Marina Del Ray and her Daddy owned a Yacth rental company "Occasional Yacth's" ...Got her number and we became friends. She turned me onto Kevin and the album below.....no one in my rock circle had a clue who he was but everyone that went cruising in my van got a listen and everybody dug the album ..

Two of my favorites are Didn't feel lonely till I thought of you and It begins with a blessing / once I awakened...damn fine stuff ...some quirky stuff on it but a bitchin album overall...

 

[TAE]

I never heard the Branson/Oldfield connection...

As for Kevin Ayers, I can't say that I remember his name ever showing up as a major force on anything that I listened to.

So ya see you have just been mentally deflowered Like a virgin touched for the very first time.

So this thread was not to introduce Kevin Ayers but more to touch on the fact I had not a clue how cool Richard Branson was from a musicians view...I just admired him from my white collared conservative walking down the street pointing my plastic finger perspective as a pretty outside the box entrepreneur. NOW I really admire his silly ass....

BUT on Kevin Ayers...this dude is a hidden gem ..like so many that the masses never gets to see or experience...so what the hell here's some more on Kevin

We've all heard of Soft Machine but Kevin not so much...Here he is with SM and Hendrix...shit!

 

[grimtraveller]

Kevin Ayers...who most of my American musician friends have no idea of who he is...but a damn clever genius of a musician and songwriter he was.

Funnily enough, though he's not in it, a really good book about unknown rock guys is

.
Ayers should be in it !

I never heard the Branson/Oldfield connection, but then at the time, Virgin was virtually unknown in the US. It was just a UK record store.

Virgin also ran a train line. They were pretty reasonably priced.
Back in '79, at that point where I was starting to read books that gave me a better grounding on popular music, many of the artists, managers, movers and shakers from the 50s to then, I remember reading Tony Palmer's "All you need is love"

and it featured an interesting section on Mike Oldfield and how he came to do "Tubular Bells" and spoke of Virgin Records and Richard Branson. I think that's where I first heard of Branson actually. I'd heard of Oldfield in '76.
When I got back to England in '81, one of the first places I headed to was the Virgin record store {I went to HMV first though}. Between then and 2005 I spent a significant chunk of my life in there ~ and also loads of money on records and books. Then in 2004 when I discovered virtual instruments, I also discovered that in the basement was this fantastic digital recording equipment store called Sound Control. I bought a Roland electric drumkit from there and the Garritan personal orchestra ~ my first virtual set. I used to spend ages in there with sore neck, listening to the various samples that were around.

 

[Orson]

So Richard Branson is a real fricking Rock Star...damn! What a crazy life....

Mmmmmm You should look deeper. For over 10 years now he has been putting people up in space........ in just a few weeks time...... again.

Tubular bells. Well if you werent into Glam Rock or other similar junk and not in Gary's gang But preferred something different, back in the early 70's you had of course heard of Tubular Bells and Mike Oldfield. The were a few others around who were similar, but he was the best of them at that time. Trouble is it just became a little boring and music moved on but he didnt and it all faded away around 1976.

Branson when involved in music had an eye/ear for change and got in at the right time. This he did with others who could still sell like the Sex Pistols. He got their second album which was a sure winner after all their initial publicity. He had a flair for picking winners back then.

Today he lives on an island thousands of miles away from his birth but thinks he knows better than the people who still live there.