Always loved this. They made it their own.

I did like this cover of the Buzzcocks’ song

Is this a cover? Or did Costello just write it for Wyatt? My memory is bit hazy. 

Either way its hauntingly beautiful for an anti-war song.

Last one

Cheers for posting.

I became familiar with this clip last year through the magic, or sorcery, of YouTube algorithms.

It's well-executed. An enjoyable listen and watch.

The man who put together the video, Laurence Mason, provided details of the background and how it was done in his YouTube description:

A little tribute to Dave Greenfield (keyboardist with The Stranglers who died with Covid-19 last week) and Paul Desmond (saxophonist with the Dave Brubeck quartet - the anniversary of his death is at the end of this month). Also because I've been enjoying editing videos and recording stuff over the last couple of months.

A couple of people have asked how I made this video so here we go -
I took a clip from a 1964 live version of Take Five (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT9Eh8wNMkw) and made the drum loop by chopping up the intro and turning it from 5/4 into the 3/4 - 4/4 groove that Golden Brown has. The upright bass sound is sequenced from Logic, and the piano part was played in using one of the piano sounds from a Nord Electro 5D. Then I played the sax part over the top (I play a King Zephyr alto and for this I used a hard rubber Yanigasawa mouthpiece rather than my usual bright Guardala).
The video was then edited using the clip I'd taken the drum loop from.



[Regarding the technical explanation in the second paragraph, I remember going over it at least twice. Only later did I realise that, each time while reading, I would unconsciously (i.e. unthinkingly) nod my head — as if to say, "Mm-hmm, yes, of course."

But if someone had then asked me to explain in different words what I just read, or challenge me on any aspect of the information I was (at least implicitly) agreeing with, my mind would have gone blank. A vacuous expression is all I'd have been left with.


I suspect this kind of phenomenon is not uncommon. It may include scenarios where individuals, almost instinctively and often with little hesitation, embrace positions on complex socio-political issues on the basis of single-sided, superficial, emotive and/or flawed arguments. One can reasonably assume the risk is greater for those who find themselves in echo chambers or filter bubbles.]

At first Robert Wyatt wasn't involved. The original plan was to release four different versions of the song, which was then called 'Ten to Nine', as an EP with four different guest vocalists. There were going to be versions of the song by Elvis, Clive and Steve Allen (Langer's former bandmate in the 1970s group Deaf School) but once Elvis had done some more work on the lyrics and changed the song to 'Shipbuilding', they decided to approach Robert Wyatt and his version was so special that it came out as a straight single.

Wyatt himself recalled, "Geoff (Travis, head of Rough Trade Records) sent me a cassette saying this is a pretty good song, you ought to sing it. So I tried it out and it sounded good. The musical setting was nothing to do with me. Elvis had already recorded a vocal for it – very good vocal – and it was going to come out in the same form with him singing on it. I went in and did a vocal in a couple of hours with Mr. Costello producing, and that was it.

An excuse to post the excellent Volkswagen Polo Confidence advertisement** from 2008, along with the soulful vocals of Steve Winwood from the original song in 1967.



Charlie Winston - I'm A Man (2008)
- uploaded by marksautovideos



Spencer Davis Group - I'm A Man (1967)
- uploaded by Peter Checksfield

This is rather special

Yes, that is a little cringeworthy. The only thing I can say is that set against all the good she has done, and created, she remains hugely in moral credit, in my eyes.