insideentertainment Inside Time in association with Gema Records

February 2011

Welcome to the Inside Time entertainment supplement, in association with Gema Records, in which we cover a wide variety of musical genres from the chain-gang blues of the 1930s, up to the latest CD releases. Plus we review and compare the latest in football video games. Enjoy! station. Calloway convinced the prison governor to let the group perform for a radio show, and this recording was eventually heard by the legendary Sam Phillips of Sun Records, in Memphis. Sam Phillips has been credited with discovering and recording such musical legends as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis, and knew a hit record when he heard one. Sam arranged for the group to be transported, under heavy armed guard, to the Sun studios at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, where they recorded Bragg’s own composition ‘Just Walkin’ in the Rain’, coupled with a B side called ‘Baby Please’.

Noel Smith Inside Time ‘On July the second 1953… I was serving time for armed robbery At 4 0’clock in the morning I was sleeping in my cell When I heard a whistle blow and I heard somebody yell…

A few weeks later the record was released on the Sun label and sold 50,000 copies. The record became so successful that the group were allowed day passes in order to tour the state of Tennessee, and the state governor, Frank G Clement, loved the group’s music so much that he often invited them to perform at his mansion. But despite the group releasing three more records in 1953, including their own composition ‘A Prisoners Prayer’, and a final disc in 1954, there were no more hits for The Prisonaires.

There’s a riot going on’ ‘Riot in Cell Block Number 9’

The Robins

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risons and music go together like bars and windows – how many times have you watched a film about prison and seen someone in a prison cell playing a blues harmonica in order to portray the loneliness of confinement? It has become almost a clichéd image. The Americans in particular have a long history of prison-based songs and musicians making their way into the ‘hit parade’ and popular culture. A great majority of the recorded folk and blues songs of the early 20th century came out of the prisons, probably because the proponents of the blues, at least, were poor black Southerners for whom crime and imprisonment was just a feature of their lives. The most well known of these recordings came out of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, more commonly known as Parchman Farm. Parchman Farm was the oldest and only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi. Opened in 1901, it held 4,480 inmates, and also housed the state’s death row. Anybody sentenced to death in the state of Mississippi would be held at Parchman Farm. The prison also has three cemeteries. Most of the inmates at Parchman Farm were subject to hard labour, working in cotton fields in 100+ degree heat and on chain gangs, so there were plenty of men who went in but never came out of ‘the Farm’. And out of such strife and hardship came the blues. Folklorists from the American Library of Congress started coming to the Farm in the 1930s to record the music of the prisoners, which included Booker ‘Bukka’ White, a singer/ guitarist of some repute. Bukka eventually wrote a song about the prison called ‘Parchman Farm Blues’. Most of the songs that came out of Parchman Farm were African ‘field hollers’, a call-and-response type work song which later evolved into the blues and then into rhythm & blues in the late 1940s. ‘Call-and-response’ songs involved the main vocal being shouted by the lead singer or work foreman, and the answering verses being sung back at him by the field workers. This created a rhythm by which the work was done. Many early practitioners of R&B, such as Wynonie Harris, Big Joe

Member of The Prisonaires - TIME Magazine

Singing Jailbirds The early prison recordings Turner, and Louis Jordan used ‘call-andresponse’ to good effect on their commercial recordings. Listen to ‘Beware, Brother, Beware’ by Louis Jordan and his Tympani Five, or Big Joe Turner’s ‘Hide and Go Seek’, for typical call-and-response songs. Incidentally, the music of Louis Jordan has been turned into a successful West End musical, named after one of his most popular songs - ‘Five Guys Named Moe’. But it is a little known fact that one of the most successful vocal groups of the early 1950s were all serving prisoners. The Prisonaires had a number 1 hit with ‘Just Walkin’ in the Rain’ in 1953 – later a worldwide million seller for ‘The Prince of Wails’ Johnny Ray (so-called because of the way he would cry on stage whilst

performing sad songs). The Prisonaires were all prisoners serving time in the Tennessee State Penitentiary in Nashville. The group was led by Johnny Bragg, who had been at the prison for 10 years. At the age of 17 he had been convicted of 6 counts of rape. Bragg teamed up with two gospel singers at the prison – Edward Lee Thurman and William Stewart, who were both serving 99 years for murder, and John Edward Drue Jnr, serving 3 years for larceny. The final member of the group was Marcel Sanders, serving 1 to 5 years for involuntary manslaughter. The group were ‘discovered’ by a radio producer called Joe Calloway who was at the prison recording a news broadcast for a local radio

Johnny Bragg’s sentence was commuted in 1959, and he continued to record as a solo artist, mainly R&B and country music for small local labels, until 1969. He died of cancer in 2004. The rest of The Prisonaires never recorded again. William Stewart died of a drug overdose in a Florida motel in 1959. Marcel Sanders died in the late 1960s. Edward Thurman was killed in a car accident in 1973. And John Drue Jnr died of cancer in 1977. In 1976, twelve bootleg singles, recorded in 1953 and never released, by The Prisonaires were widely circulated and much sought after. The Prisonaires 1953 recording of ‘Don’t Say Tomorrow’ (a lively mid-tempo bopper) became a dance-floor favourite in the London rockabilly clubs. It had mouldered in a tin on the shelf of the record company’s archives for 23 years but now it had kids who weren’t even born when it was recorded up and dancing. Suddenly The Prisonaires were big again. The only trouble was that most of them were dead. The Prisonaires had made history and a lot of the popular vocal groups of the late 1950s and early 1960s – such as The Robins, who later had massive commercial success as The Coasters and whose lyrics for ‘Riot in Cell Block Number 9’ head this piece – owe them a debt of thanks. Suggested listening Prison Songs (Historical recordings from Parchman Farm 1947-48) Vol 1 Murderous Home Prison Songs (Historical recordings from Parchman Farm 1947-48) Vol 2 Don’tcha Hear Poor Mother Calling? Just Walkin’ in the Rain – The Prisonaires Deep Harmony: The Sun Blues Archives Vol 3 Rockin’ With The Robins The Robins – Cherry Lips Louis Jordan – 5 Guys Named Moe The Coasters – Greatest Hits

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aving a taste for opera in prison usually means people think you are posh, or a psychopath – like Dr Hannibal Lecter in ‘Silence of the Lambs’, or the ‘Droogs’ in ‘A Clockwork Orange’. And as there aren’t many posh people in our prisons it is usually the latter. But, for those who have yet to experience it, an opera is just like a highbrow musical in a foreign language. Usually opera is bigger on tunes and drama than clever plots; the stories all tend to be about doomed love affairs, unrequited love, and someone dying which leaves someone else heartbroken and with no option but to kill themselves.

Opera

In the 19th century German opera came to the fore, mainly through the efforts of Carl Maria Von Weber and Richard Wagner, and began to compete with the Italians. But the French opera houses refused to stage opera in any other language than their own. They also refused to stage any opera which did not have a ballet section, after the success of Gounod and Offenbach.

Also worth checking – L Elizir d’ Amore.

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Donizetti and Bellini are often linked because of the complexities required by the vocalists of their operas. Norma is set in Roman-occupied Gaul and contains the song ‘Casta Diva’ – not to be confused with the cocktail of the same name, named after the painter. Also worth checking – I Puritan.

........................................................ ‘The Barber of Seville’ (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) by Rossini

A scene from ‘Carmen’ by Bizet

... not just for posh people and psychos By RJS Hattersley - serving prisoner English opera had to wait until the early 20th century for the ‘English Revival’ and the emergence of American composers before English opera found its feet with Benjamin Britten (UK) and George Gershwin (USA). By now musicals were where the money was, and the opera-loving elite were turning to the tuneless, pretentious tosh of Shoenburg and Boulez. The world has now been without a great opera composer for some time, and though a few opera composers emerge now and again, none of them are likely to sell in years to come. For those who may be willing to give opera a try I would recommend the place to start would be with the ten greatest operas ever written. Which are, in no particular order –

........................................................ ‘Carmen’ by Bizet Georges Bizet (1838-1875) showed glimmers of greatness to come in his previous works before he wrote this story of the Spanish femme-fatale, which is by far the most popular opera ever. Full of instantly recognisable tunes from the first note. The opera was a flop when first performed and Bizet died a few months later (aged 36). If you do not like ‘Carmen’ then you will probably never ‘get’ opera. Whereas now Germany and France could compete with Italy, the Italians were still the leaders of the genre. The 19th century saw the baton passed between arguably the three greatest Italian composers – Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901), and Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924).

Donizetti wrote over 70 operas, but only a few remain, the rest having been lost down the years. His operas are notoriously difficult to perform but are the perfect test for singers to demonstrate extraordinary vocal acrobatics.

‘Norma’ by Bellini

Most composers try their hand at writing an opera at some point in their careers. Though some of the greats never bothered, like Bach and Chopin, and others failed dismally with their operas, like Haydn and Schubert. Many composers wrote almost exclusively opera, amongst them Verdi, Puccini and Wagner, and even the masters of all music forms, like Mozart and Tchaikovsky, wrote the occasional opera. Monteverdi’s ‘Orfeo’ (1607) is regarded as the first opera, and the genre has largely been Italian-dominated ever since. Henry Purcell’s ‘Dido & Aeneas’ was the first English opera, written in the 1680s, but Purcell died aged just 36 and English opera died with him, leaving opera a mainly Italian affair. Even Handel, a German, but based in England, wrote his operas in Italian, as did Mozart. The French, ever deluded about the significance of their own language, developed (via an Italian named Jean Baptise Lully) French opera, though it was rarely heard outside of France.

‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ by Donizetti

Also worth checking - The Pearl fishers.

........................................................ ‘The Magic Flute’ (Die Zauberflote) by Mozart Full of Masonic symbolism, the meaning of The

Magic Flute is still debated. One of several great operas by Mozart, it contains the glassshattering ‘Der Holle Rache’ (used in the Haribo sweets ad). This opera is often sarcastically dubbed ‘a panto’ by Mozart’s detractors, it was written in the final year before he died (aged 35).

No one could write an overture like Rossini and his work has appeared everywhere from Tom & Jerry cartoons, and the film ‘A Clockwork Orange’, to, perhaps most famously, the 50s television series ‘The Lone Ranger’. Fortunately his overtures have not completely overshadowed his operas. The Barber of Seville is a baffling but amusing love story where, unusually for opera, no one dies! Also worth checking - The Thieving Magpie, L Italianna in Algeri.

........................................................ ‘Prince Igor’ by Borodin Alexander Borodin was a respected Russian scientist who wrote music as a hobby. He worked on this opera for around 20 years and it was still unfinished upon his death. It is essentially Russian nationalist propaganda, containing the famous ‘Polotsvich Dances’, which was sampled by Warren G in his 1998 top 20 hit ‘Prince Igor’.

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Also worth checking – Don Giovanni; Cosi Fan Tutti; The Marriage of Figaro.

‘Porgy & Bess’ by George Gershwin

‘Madame Butterfly’ by Puccini

Gershwin took a massive risk writing an opera with an all black cast in 1930s America. But it paid off. The opera has many well-known hits, such as ‘Summertime’, ‘It aint Necessarily So’, and ‘I got plenty o’ Nuttin’. It is Gershwin’s only opera, though he wrote plenty of musicals, mixing jazz with classical influences.

........................................................ Puccini is the man who is most famous for writing ‘Nessun Dorma’ (from Turandot) which was taken into the popular music charts by Pavarotti as the theme tune to the BBCs coverage of the 1990 World Cup. Pavarotti’s version reached number 2 in the British pop charts, the highest position ever achieved by an opera song. Puccini wrote several great operas, full of ‘hits’. Set in Japan, Madame Butterfly has all the right ingredients for an opera – love, betrayal, and suicide. Opera rarely has happy endings.

........................................................ ‘The Ring Cycle’ by Wagner

For many, Verdi was the greatest opera composer. Still writing bona fide masterpieces well into his eighties. And La Traviata may well be his greatest. The plot concerns Violetta and Alfredo falling in love and then Violetta dies.

This Wagner is not that X Factor berk, and this opera is for the real connoisseur only. The Ring Cycle, a 15 hour epic, is regarded by some as the greatest artistic achievement ever. Wagner is also the most controversial composer ever – a massive megalomaniac, serial love cheat (which is ironic considering he also wrote ‘Here Comes the Bride’!), and an anti-Semite who wouldn’t think twice about screwing over and bankrupting even his closest friends if it were to advance his career. His association with Nazism will always linger around him (Hitler was a big fan).

Also worth checking – Aida, Nabucco, Rigoletto, Don Carlos, Il Travatore, Simon Boccanegra, Otello, and Falstaff.

Also worth checking - Tristan und Isolde, Lohengrin, Tannehauser, Mastersingers of Nuremburg, and The Flying Dutchman.

Also worth checking - Tosca, La Boheme, Turandot.

........................................................ ‘La Traviata’ by Verdi

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Hip Hop ... the ‘golden age’ Hip hop music has been with us for nearly 40 years now. Today, hip hop outsells every other type of music. Inside Time’s Colin Matthews looks at the golden era where we witnessed the best recordings from the biggest rappers in the genre’s history... The beginning

completely eclipsed by West Coast gangsta rap and the market leader was Death Row Records. But Death Row was about to meet its match from the East Coast in the form of a new label called ‘Bad Boy Entertainment’ and a new rapper from New York. A former drug dealer from Brooklyn ‘Biggie Smalls’ who would almost single-handedly put New York back on the map.

The birthplace of hip hop can be traced to the South Bronx in the 1970s. The South Bronx was a notorious borough of New York City with some of the worst levels of unemployment, dereliction and crime in America. It was here at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue that Hip Hop’s founding father, DJ Kool Herc, built his first sound system in 1971. Herc was one of the first DJs in the Bronx to use two turntables; this meant DJs could seamlessly mix one song into another. Realising that with two turntables and two records with a similar break (the point where the music stops and the percussion carries on) he could switch between the two by just playing the breaks on each song, to create a continuous dance rhythm. He called this the ‘Merry-go-Round’, but soon the instrumental parts on the records became known as the ‘break beat’. As the music grew, a new dance became synonymous with the new sound … break-dancing (meaning you dance on the break).

Biggie’s meteoritic rise as the saviour of East Coast rap was matched by the rise of an even bigger name on the West Coast ‘Tupac Shakur’. Their stardom on either sides of the country gave rise to a friendship that would ultimately turn sour. After the first day of a court hearing for an accusation of rape, Tupac went to a recording studio in New York with his friend Biggie Smalls. At the door off the studio he was shot 5 times by a gunman, he survived, and the next day he returned to court where he was found guilty of rape and sentenced to four years in prison. With Tupac in prison his latest album entitled ‘Me Against the World’ went straight to the top of the US pop charts making Tupac the first artist ever to have a number one chart album while in prison. Tupac came out of prison after a year and immediately signed for Death Row Records.

In 1975 this way of making music was virtually unknown outside of the Bronx, there was still no such thing as a hip hop record, the breaks were still being cut up by the DJs but now they were being joined by somebody speaking on the microphone, called an MC. The microphone was first used by the DJ to make announcements to the crowd but those announcements quickly turned into rhymes and in the late 1970s they finally gave it a name, ‘Hip Hop’.

While in prison Tupac became convinced that the person responsible for his shooting was his old friend Biggie Smalls. Although Tupac didn’t give any evidence to support his claim he did make a record thad made his feelings perfectly clear ‘Hit Em Up’, which was a tirade of non-stop verbal abuse that targeted not just Biggie, but his wife, his label Bad Boy, Bad Boys owner Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs (now known as P Diddy) and just about anyone that ever recorded with them. With just one song Tupac drew the lines for a feud that would consume the entire rap scene. The situation which begun as a row between two friends had become a war between the East Coast and the West Coast.

As the 1970s drew to a close this new sound was still unrecognised outside of a few boroughs of New York, until a party mix-tape got heard by a small record company and they went in search of DJs and MCs to make a record to replicate the sound. They found an aspiring MC working in a pizza shop called ‘Big Bank Hank’ and along with ‘Wonder Mike’ and ‘Master Gee’ formed a group called ‘The Sugarhill Gang’ and in 1979 released ‘Rappers Delight’ which would become a commercial success. At the same time a new art form, which was to become a big part of hip hop culture, was taking its fresh attitude out of the Boroughs to Down Town New York on the side of trains … ‘graffiti’. As the subculture grew, a graffiti artist called ‘Fab Five Freddy’ who, through his art fame, became a friend of ‘Debbie Harry’ from ‘Blondie’, asked to be named on a record. The result was the Worldwide hit ‘Rapture’ and unwittingly Debbie Harry became the biggest selling rap artist to date and Hip Hop had finally made it to the mainstream.

The ‘golden age’ Hip hop, or ‘Rap’ as it was becoming known, had a small, predominantly black following in New York City, but the music was little known in the rest of America and even in New York it was seen as a fad. But all that was about to change with the arrival of Run DMC on MTV, with their hits ‘King of Rock’ and ‘Walk this Way’ being broadcasted into middle America’s homes. This was followed by a weekly show called ‘Yo MTV Raps’, which ushered in a wave

of hip hop mega stars pushing their style of music and videos to this new and hungry audience. New acts started to emerge, like ‘Public Enemy’, who rapped not about parties and good times but with lyrics about black pride and empowerment. In 1988 ‘It takes a nation of millions to hold us back’ reached the top 30 of the US national album charts. At the same time, in West Coast California, a fledgling hip hop community was struggling to make its mark. The first artist to break through was ‘Ice T’. By rapping about crime and violence on the streets of LA, Ice T created a style much more hard-edged than anything offered from the New York scene. While Ice T was the first to create a distinctive West Coast sound, a bigger impact was made by a group from the district of LA called Compton. They went by the unforgettable name of Niggaz With Attitude (NWA). What NWA rapped about had never been heard on record before, describing ghetto life and gang activity in explicit detail. NWAs’ raw delivery set up a new style of rap

music and their ’Straight outta Compton’ album was hailed as a groundbreaking if somewhat controversial musical landmark.

The East / West feud

On the night of September 7th 1996 Death Rows owner ‘Suge’ Night and the label’s superstar, Tupac, were riding in a car that was sprayed with bullets in a drive-by-shooting. Suge Knight was unhurt but Tupac was hit four times. The biggest selling name in rap had been murdered.

In 1991 NWA shot to the top of the pop charts with an album that bragged about crime and violent death. The album, called ‘Efil4zaggin’ (spell it backwards), set the tone for hip hop’s future - gangsta rap - the celebration of hardcore gang violence as a lifestyle plunged hip hop into a cycle of real life brutality.

In March 1997, Biggie Smalls was in LA, when he stopped at a red traffic light a gunman pulled alongside and shot him six times, he died instantly. The murder of Biggie Smalls coming just six months after Tupac’s death sent shock waves across the industry. No one was ever charged for the murders, and both crimes remain unsolved.

In 1992 NWA split up and their producer turned rapper ‘Dr Dre’ made his first solo album -‘The Chronic’ (LA street slang for cannabis)- and every song on the album had a drug related theme. The album was released on a new LA record label devoted to gangsta rap called ‘Death Row’, and featured a new young rapper called ‘Snoop Doggy Dog’, a convicted crack dealer and member of the notorious ‘Crips’ gang.

Hip hop had to change to survive and it did so by changing to a more commercial formula. Mainstream culture is hip hop culture in America and the World today. While Hip hop has become the dominant force in the music industry, Kool Herc has never left the streets where it all started he never signed a record deal and to this day he makes his living as he always did, DJing at local parties in the South Bronx. But his legacy is global and his music has become the beat of youth culture.

By the mid 1990s East Coast rap had been

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The birth of rock and roll Charles Hanson trawls through the archives to find out where the music started

recorded “Rock Around the Clock”. Although only a minor hit when first released, when used in the opening sequence of the movie Blackboard Jungle, a year later, it really set the rock and roll boom in motion. The song became one of the biggest hits in history, and frenzied teens flocked to see Haley and the Comets perform it, causing riots in some cities. “Rock Around the Clock” was a breakthrough for both the group and for all of rock and roll music. If everything that came before laid the groundwork, “Rock Around the Clock” introduced the music to a global audience.

By Charles Hanson

I

n 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began broadcasting rhythm, blues, and country music for a multi-racial audience. Freed, familiar with the music of earlier decades, used the phrase “rock and roll” to describe the music he aired over a radio station; its use is also credited to Freed’s sponsor, record store owner Leo Mintz, who encouraged Freed to play the music on the radio. Based on his success in Cleveland, Freed was soon hired by New York station WINS; upon arrival in 1954, his show was either simulcast or rebroadcast in more than forty markets. While the phrase “rock and roll” was in use years before, it was Freed who popularized the term with mainstream audiences. Whereas rhythm-and-blues had an almost exclusively African-American audience, rock and roll appealed to a mass audience mainly of young whites. African-American rhythm-andblues performers like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Bo Diddley soon found success with this larger audience. But, the greater popularity was for such white performers as Bill Haley and the Comets, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent and the Everley Brothers, most of whom were from southern country-music backgrounds. Rock and roll quickly gained an international following and in the early 1960s British groups such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Who helped broaden its stylistic boundaries and ushered in rock - a more diverse musical category.

Although Rolling Stone magazine argued in 2004 that “That’s All Right (Mama)” (1954), Elvis Presley’s first single for Sun Records in Memphis, was the first rock and roll record, at the same time, Big Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle & Roll”, later covered by Haley, was already at the top of the Billboard R&B charts. Another recording with a strong claim to the title of the first rock and roll record is ‘Rocket 88’. This was recorded by Ike Turner and His Rhythm Kings in Sam Phillips’ studio in Memphis. Jackie Brenston was the singer and saxophonist on

Whilst Bill Hayley was instrumental in launching what became known as rock and roll, it was from a little-known group called The Treniers, who were a family of performers, that Hayley first got his inspiration. At first, their music was blues and humorous ballads but they jumped on the “rock” bandwagon of the late 40s.

Hits, but the chubby, balding, country singer didn’t fit the image of a teen idol. That role, of course was to be filled by Elvis Presley. The influence of gospel, R&B and country music on Elvis are well known but the particular influence of Johnny Burnette, who later sang ‘You’re 16’ and ‘Dreaming’, is often less mentioned. Johnny and Elvis both went to school in Memphis. Although they attended another school Johnny and his brother Dorsey who were older than Elvis would gather with a group of young musicians including Scotty Moore. Elvis occasionally joined in, When Elvis left school he became a truck driver, whilst Johnny Burnette formed a trio which Elvis wanted to join but was turned down before going on to form his own trio, including Scotty Moore who went on to become one of Elvis’s guitarists.

In 1950, The Treniers were playing in Wildwood, New Jersey, when across the road a country music band, Bill Haley and the Saddlemen, were playing. Bill Haley came in to watch The Treniers, and asked what their style of music was called. The result was Bill Haley’s cover versions of Jimmy Preston’s ‘Rock the Joint’ and Jackie Brenston’s ‘Rocket 88’. The records sold well enough to convince Haley to change his musical direction and rename his band The Comets. Whatever its artistic merits or claims to originality, Haley’s combination of R&B and country music was neither R&B nor country but undoubtedly rock and roll. Bill Haley’s next record was ‘Crazy, Man, Crazy’ and became the first rock and roll record to reach the Top 40.

Also formative in the sound of rock and roll were Little Richard and Chuck Berry. From the early 1950s, Little Richard combined gospel with New Orleans R&B, a heavy backbeat, pounding piano and wailing vocals. His music, exemplified by songs such as “Tutti Frutti” (1955), “Long Tall Sally” (1956) and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” (1958), influenced generations of rhythm and blues, rock and soul music artists. Chuck Berry, with “Maybellene” (1955), “Roll over Beethoven” (1956), “Rock and Roll Music” (1957) and “Johnny B. Goode” (1958), refined and developed the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, focusing on teen life and introducing guitar intros and lead breaks that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music.

One of the R&B artistes whose songs Bill Hayley covered was ‘Big’ Joe Turner. Turner started as a singing barman in 1929. With his famous, long time accompanist boogie-woogie pianist Peter Johnson, his music inspired many of the pioneers of rock. ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’, like several other ‘Big’ Joe Turner songs, was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, whose contribution to rock and roll, included ‘Hound Dog’, ‘Love Potion Number 9’, ‘Kansas City’, ‘Ruby Baby’, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Chapel of Love’ and many of Elvis Presley’s early hits including ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘You’re so Square’ and ‘Treat Me Nice’, and almost all the songs recorded by the Drifters

“Rockabilly” usually (but not exclusively) refers to the type of rock and roll music which was played and recorded in the mid 1950s by white singers such as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, who drew mainly on the country roots of the music. Many other popular rock and roll singers of the time, such as Fats Domino and Little Richard, came out of the black rhythm and blues tradition, making the music attractive to white audiences, and are not usually classed as “rockabilly”.

the record and Phillips gave him both the performing and song writing credit on the record label. However Ike Turner (who was later to marry and form a rock duet with Tina), claimed that it was he who wrote the song. Whoever should get the credit, Sam Phillips (a very credible authority since he “discovered” Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison) nominates this as the first rock and roll record.

In 1955 and 1956 Bill Hayley had 12 Top Ten

In July 1954, Elvis Presley recorded the regional hit “That’s All Right (Mama)” at Sam Phillips’ Sun Studio in Memphis. Three months earlier, on April 12, 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets

In 1956 the arrival of rockabilly was underlined by the success of songs like “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash, “Blue Suede Shoes” by Perkins and “Heartbreak Hotel” by Presley. For a few years it became the most commercially successful form of rock and roll. Later rockabilly acts, particularly performing songwriters like Buddy Holly, would be a major influence on British Invasion acts and particularly on the song writing of The Beatles. And, through them, on the nature of later rock music. Other early successful rock n roll artistes who would, at times, be described as ‘rockabilly’, were Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochrane, Conway Twitty and Roy Orbison. From the very early years there also developed the teen Rock n Roll idol artistes such as the Everley Brothers and Ricky Nelson (who both came from musical families), Bobby Vee, Fabian, Johnny Tillotson, Frankie Avalon, Pat Boone, Tommy Roe, Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka and Del Shannon all who at various times between 1957 and 1963 had chart topping hits. In Britain, we had our own stable of early rock n rollers who, at first, tended to cover many of the American recordings. For example, Tommy Steele, who in 1958 charted with ‘Come on Let’s Go’. The song was also recorded by the American Ritchie Valens, who was later to die in the 1959 plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. However, it was Cliff Richard with his own hit ‘Move It’, which also charted in 1958, which firmly established that we could develop our own style of rock n roll although never as significantly as Elvis Presley. Another British rock n roller who had limited success was Marty Wilde who also charted with ‘Endless Sleep’ in 1958. In 1959, Billy Fury, who had many chart hits but never a number one or indeed a number two, came to be regarded as our answer to Elvis. With his raunchy, sexual and provocative style Fury was the only British rock n roller of that period who was ever to meet Elvis. It was after a very short period (1955-1962) that rock n roll started to take a different direction when the Beatles and later the Rolling Stones exploded onto the scene. From the very outset both bands would claim that their main influences had been the unique style of Buddy Holly, the first rock n roller to have developed the line up of guitarists and a drummer. The rest is history.

Charles Hanson - formerly resident at HMP Blantyre House

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Strange days indeed …

National Prison Radio A look at how HMYOI Feltham forged a path through the airwaves that led to National Prison Radio Prisoners’ Families and Friends Service, and the help offered by SSAFA for ex-service personnel in prison, whilst the new regular health programme Your Life recently launched with tips on how to protect against winter flu, bringing experts in to the studio to answer questions sent in by prisoners from across the estate.

Jonathan King remembers the stars and music of the 1960s think of this?” A subtle difference but a strong one. And times have changed in so many ways. I fear our generation is partly responsible for the sad decline in today’s music scene. Not those making the music but those profiting by it. Because executives swiftly realised that hit singles, whilst making loads of money, were not nearly as profitable as artistes and to have artistes you needed – ALBUMS. I hate albums. I always have done. 99% of them are bad collections of weak, second rate music linked to one or two great tracks.

I

’ve been lucky enough to have had a life that started with me writing and singing a hit when I was a teenager. Released in 1965, Everyone’s Gone To The Moon went into the Top Five all over the world and sold over 4.5 million vinyl singles in a few months. I was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge University and I stayed there, eventually earning a Master of Arts degree in English Literature, but I spent much of the term times and all of the holidays in another educational establishment entirely – the music industry. My fellow students there in the clubs and TV studios were people like John Lennon and Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger and Sandie Shaw and many of them became friends. It was glorious fun; Britain ruled the world, thanks to the Beatles but also James Bond and Carnaby Street and other influences meant London was the place to be if you were in your teens or twenties. Recently I revealed on my website that it was my playing Jimi Hendrix a record called Hey Joe by a group named The Leaves that inspired him to cover the song and get his first hit. I still have his handwritten “thank you” letter. I’d heard it on a visit to California (where my disc was No1) – it wasn’t a big hit elsewhere in the States but in Los Angeles it was massive. He adored it; we played it about 20 times nonstop (he was staying with me at the time; he spent most of his first few months in London staying with friends – usually attractive young females). I told him he should record it. He begged for my cherished single (I refused to give it to him but made him a cassette tape copy). This story provoked great controversy on the board with many saying his manager (and a good mate of mine – Animals member Chas Chandler) was historically credited as making him cover it. Sadly, as both Jimi and Chas are dead, neither can confirm my account and I can’t find his letter; one day I’ll dig it out and scan it online; but that’s not the point. The point I’m trying to make is that, in those days, all we lived for was to turn friends onto great music. I remember George Harrison coming back from America once with a record for me – the first version of It’s In His Kiss; a superb song and though he claimed he only bought it for me because of the artiste’s name – Ramona King – I knew it was the track he loved.“You must hear this – you’ll love it” has been replaced these days by “What do you

Even the huge groups and stars of the 60s and 70s tended to have half a dozen great hits at most. Look at the books of statistics – The Who, Kinks, Searchers, Animals – all made wonderful hits but not more than a few, and then they faded away. I reckon even The Rolling Stones made their best music in the 60s with a few decent 70s sounds but nothing much since. I was lucky in that I survived for quite a time – Una Paloma Blanca was Top Five for me in 1975 – ten years after my first hit – and it won the Record of the Year Award that year. My main trick was getting hits under other names. I remember during my time in prison several fellow inmates were astounded to discover that I was Nemo (Latin for Nobody) who recorded The Sun Has Got His Hat On. These days when Internet Downloads account for most sales, people make very little from single tracks so all the record label effort goes into trying to find artistes and albums. But one off, individual hits are the things that attract most people and get true mass appeal. Several of my more recent campaigns like I Get Knocked Down But I Get Up Again and Who Let The Dogs Out are by artistes who sank without trace after those smashes, yet they sold millions of singles. The first thing I discovered on release from prison in 2005 was No Tomorrow by Orson – a wonderful smash that went to No1 after I brought attention to it (it had been around un-noticed for 8 years) but made no money for the label who spent all the profits trying to turn the act into a real “band” who sold “albums”. Sure – there were some concept albums by bands like Pink Floyd which deserve to be presented as one, just like the classical concertos of the past used to be. I started that in the 60s with a band I discovered and named Genesis. The concept album was called From Genesis To Revelation. How pretentious can you get? The aforementioned Who made a splendid concept album – Tommy. But such projects are few and far between. Most are simply inferior to singles. So these days you won’t hear many tunes that make you gasp “You must listen to this – you’ll love it”. And I have to tell you – whilst I was delighted that Jimi’s career was launched by Hey Joe, and he sold millions of albums for the corporations – I still prefer The Leaves version – and whoever else has heard of them today? Oh for the days of One Hit Wonders! We need more of them.

Radio made by prisoners, for prisoners

P

rison radio in the UK started in the early 1990s when two people living close to Feltham YOI came up with the idea of a radio station for the prison – something that would offer comfort to the lads when they were at their most vulnerable; at night, in a dark cell, behind a locked door. So in 1994, the UK’s first prison radio station, Radio Feltham, hit the airwaves. Seventeen years on, and the idea has really caught on, with around 30 prisons now running their own radio projects. However, there is exciting news for those not served by their own local radio project – the development of a single radio station that aims to broadcast to every prison cell in England and Wales. In 2006 a new independent charity, the Prison Radio Association was set up to offer support and advice to the growing numbers of prisons interested in prison radio, and launched its own radio project at Brixton a year later. Then, in 2009 the Prison Radio Association was given the go-ahead to work in partnership with the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) on a much more ambitious project - National Prison Radio. National Prison Radio is the world’s first national radio service for prisoners. It is run on a day-to-day basis by the Prison Radio Association and has full NOMS backing. The service broadcasts via in-cell television and currently reaches around forty-five prisons (if the service has reached your prison you will find a copy of the National Prison Radio schedule inserted into your copy of Inside Time). The National Offender Management Service is in the process of rolling out the service across England and Wales. But, when most prisoners are able to watch and listen to normal terrestrial TV and radio stations, what does National Prison Radio have to offer? First and foremost National Prison Radio offers its listeners a voice. It is a by prisoner, for prisoner service. Whilst working hand-in-hand with a team of professional radio producers, all programmes are inspired, developed, produced and presented by prisoners. They talk about things of interest to their fellow inmates and give a platform to prisoners’ perspectives. National Prison Radio is a valuable source of information which can help prisoners make the most of their time inside. The National Prison Radio team understands how difficult it can be to get hold of information in prison, and therefore work very closely with a range of government and voluntary organisations to promote and support the services and opportunities available to prisoners. Recent programmes have highlighted the

Women Inside is National Prison Radio’s weekly show addressing the unique issues faced by women in prison, as well as bringing a female take on the varied concerns of the general prison population. The programme is produced and presented by women in HMP Styal and has covered a range of subjects, such as pregnancy in prison and accessing employment and accommodation upon release. National Prison Radio’s flagship show is Porridge, the world’s first national breakfast show made by and for prisoners. Fronted by an energetic group of presenters, it’s an uplifting and positive programme, with lively topical discussions, important news and information that supports prisoners through their day and indeed their sentence. The programme includes regular interviews and features such as the TV Guide and the Information Station, a daily summary of news from the world of prison and criminal justice. The daily Request Show has an extremely loyal following, and offers prisoners a great platform from which to feedback their thoughts to the National Prison Radio team. It’s encouraging that regular listeners send letters suggesting they find inspiration in the programmes: “I listen to you every day after work, you’re REAL and you do REAL talk, no FAKENESS ... It’s nice to have a radio station that’s just for us...” Chloe, HMP Styal “Thanks to all at National Prison Radio, the only thing that keeps me sane in this concrete world. Keep up the phenomenal work you are doing.” Sean, HMYOI Lancaster Farms A number of high profile guests have visited the National Prison Radio studios, including the Reggae Reggae Sauce entrepreneur, Levi Roots; the singer songwriter, Billy Bragg; Mick Jones from The Clash; former England footballer Dion Dublin; Kiss 100 presenters Rickie and Melvin; and Vincent Nichols, head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales – all bringing exclusive interviews to the prison population. The service also has the support of a range of figures from across the criminal justice sector, including Paul McDowell, former prison governor and current Chief Executive of the crime reduction charity NACRO. A long-time supporter of prison radio, McDowell has emphasised the educational and rehabilitative effects of prison radio, stating that the prisoners involved in making the content, “...produce programmes that are interesting and educational and get information to their peer group about all the different resettlement programmes in prison. It leads individuals to think about changing their lives, and in the end that helps reduce crime.” If you would like to contact the National Prison Radio team – they would be delighted to hear from you. You can write to them at the following address: National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London, SW2 5XF.

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Gema Records

Battle of the Footballing Giants on the PS2

Andrew Cousins highlights the history of Gema Records over the past 35 years!

G

ema Records was established in March 1975 by the previous owners Peter and Katherine Craigdaille. At the time, there were a handful of mail order companies supplying music and Gema’s first catalogues were typed and printed on a ‘Banda Machine’ For those of a certain ‘vintage’, the mention of these machines still evoke memories of school handouts and the smell of spirit!! From those humble days, Gema grew as the market for recorded music on Vinyl and cassettes increased and with the introduction of CD’s in 1982, the marketplace for singles and albums exploded. Many customers were and still are passionate music collectors who seek out every version of their favourite artist’s albums. With the advent of online shopping and increased competition from supermarkets, Peter and Katherine felt that due to their lack of knowledge and interest in technology, they had taken the business as far as they could and decided to sell the business. I have always had a real passion for music being, in my opinion, lucky enough to have grown up during the ‘Hippy’ days of the mid to late 60’s. Listening to music has always been an important pastime for me and over the years I have built up a large collection of both CD and Vinyl albums covering a diverse range of musical genres. The opportunity to combine this passion with owning and running a business was too good to pass up and in 2004, I took over the reins at Gema Records. By this time, the business had substantially declined as it had not kept pace with changes in the music scene and customers had been lost due to limitations in the choice of music available. I decided to invest in greater use of technology and this extra resource has allowed us to concentrate on giving our customers the best choice of music both current and back catalogue available. This has always been at the heart of our philosophy. Two of Gema’s customers at this time were HMP Birmingham and HMP Blundeston. It was obvious that HMP’s were an area that would be suitable for our mail order service and through a number of telephone calls and visits the number of HMP establishments that used our service gradually increased. From then until the present day our catalogue has developed beyond recognition. A vital ingredient in this has been feedback and suggestions from prisoners and other customers. I have attended a number of ‘Wing Rep’ meetings and have always come away with a number of ideas of additional products to include. Through this feedback, we have expanded from a 60 page ‘music based catalogue’ to the present one which has sections on Music, Games, Films, Accessories and T Shirts. We, therefore, positively welcome new ideas as it is our continual aim to offer the greatest choice of products to our customers. Running alongside this, we have maintained and added to our customer base of music collectors many of whom have been with Gema

for over 20 years. We have a network of suppliers across the globe and through this can often source titles that are unavailable in the UK.

PES 2011

FIFA 11

Our team of dedicated staff have a real passion for our industry with their own expert knowledge of different genres of music and games. This enables us collectively to ensure that we continue to compile as comprehensive a catalogue as possible and deal with the many queries we receive each week on new titles.

Total Freedom: Passing is fully 360, with manual power and direction control, so it’s possible to misplace passes - more so with weaker players. Conversely, you can spray 60-yard diagonal balls into space. Defending is now a three-stage system. Hold q for standard pressure. Pull away from the ball to jockey the attacker, or push forwards to step in aggressively.

Personality Plus: Players are more distinct, with nine unique body types and 57 traits monitored by 1700 scouts. Players such as Iniesta will take subtle extra touches to retain control in tight spots, Kaka-like playmakers will pass with crisper precision and keepers will make wilder saves. You’ll need to play to your players’ strengths - Pro Passing will punish sloppy exchanges.

All New Presentation: Konami boast 1000 new animations, most notably for tricks and jostling, plus a new broadcast-style camera angle. Player likenesses are impressive, as ever, while Jim Beglin (ITV Champions League) replaces Mark Lawrenson on commentary duties. Champions League and Europa League licences are joined by the Copa Libertadores and UEFA Super Cup, potentially with more to follow. No Premier League, mind.

Creation Centre: Make players and teams from scratch, controlling appearance, club crest, formation and tactics.

We now supply over 85 prisons. This has given us the opportunity to understand the specific needs of prisoners and, as a result, we are implementing new ideas to improve our service. For example, we are now acknowledging the receipt of orders and the despatch of orders to prisoners through using ‘emailaprisoner.com’ We are acutely aware of the frustration of prisoners not knowing whether their order has been received, processed etc. We are often asked about our pricing policy. Before each new version of a catalogue is produced, we review the prices of all items to reflect any reductions that we have received from our suppliers. This is particularly true on Games and DVD’s where older titles are available at a lower price. The current catalogue, Winter 2010, has many thousands of price reductions from the previous catalogue and, additionally, we have taken the decision to absorb the additional increase in VAT until the next catalogue is produced. The same catalogue and, hence, prices are used by all of our customers, irrespective of their situation. It is essential, therefore, that we remain competitive in the overall retail marketplace for entertainment products. We are aware that, despite the fact that we send out thousands of catalogues each time a new version is printed, we still receive requests every week from prisoners asking for a copy as there isn’t a current catalogue on their wing. We would love to find a way where we can more easily get catalogues through directly to prisoners and keep everybody aware of new releases that occur between catalogues. If you can offer any ideas, please write into me. Our next catalogue is due out in April and we are considering introducing a ‘Poster section’ but would also welcome ideas and suggestions on this and on any other items that would be of interest. As for the future, we want to further develop our relationship with our customers and explore ways where we can improve what we do. Also, when opportunities arise to support relevant innovations in the Prison Service, we will seriously consider them. As an example, we are one of the sponsors of the Prison Radio Guide that is being distributed across the Estate as we see this as an exciting development in making entertainment more accessible. With the demise of retail entertainment stores on the High Street (540 stores have closed in the last 4 years), we would also like to be one of the Last Stores Standing offering customers a personal service where human contact is still possible!!

Key plus: “I’m angry that the Japanese development team won’t just swallow their pride and steal what’s good in FIFA, such as the L1 run prompts or right stick first touches. After all, FIFA borrowed from them when PES was way out in front. But, as you say, it feels more like a game, and when it’s good, the responses are great. Dribbling can be less of a mystery than it is in FIFA.” Verdict: Good news - this is the most evolved, next-gen PES since the series’ PS2 heyday. Initially, the steep relearning curve proves both refreshing and dispiriting - harder, perhaps, for experts who can’t rely on old tricks. Visually, it’s a major leap, and we love the new camera angle, though animation isn’t quite as fluid as it is in FIFA. We’re torn between the sporadic flashes of genius and frustrations old and new. Dribbling is often precise and powerful but, on occasion, you’ll get locked into realitybending side-steps or have to hover over the ball as though your AI’s fighting against itself. The patchy licensing is the same as ever. However, that’s no excuse for the quasireality of the Master League, in which transfer fees disobey real-life sums and odd internal logic prevails. Our big gripe is that the CPU AI is, currently, very timid - adept at blunting your play but with no show of ambition. Harsh? Maybe. But you expect better of those you love, as you do in life, and PES 2011 is agonisingly close to nailing its old magic. If the review code irons out the AI and physics niggles, the game could be the real deal and provide joy for lapsed PES players the world over. Either way, it demands a fresh look.

Goalkeeper Control: You’ll be able to manually control the keeper, enabling full 11 vs 11 online matches. Player jostling - dubbed 360 Fight For Possession - adds physical realism, there are revamped custom celebrations with team interactions and there’s a save-to-hard drive feature for goals, plus a new highlights-replay mode. As ever, there are 30 licensed leagues, including the Premiership. Career Mode: The maligned Manager Mode has been replaced by Career Mode, in which you can be a manager, a player or both (it replaces FIFA 10’s Be A Pro mode). Also, there are more authentic transfers and fees. There is a two-tier system: you agree a price for a player before setting wages. It’s even possible to be gazumped by a rival club after a fee’s been agreed, just as it is in real life. Key Plus: “Are players more individual? Yes, more than ever. There’s even a category dedicated to Iniesta-like ‘touch’ players. Playing with Berbatov, running side-by-side with a midfielder as he tried to put a toe in. Berba kept shifting the ball to his instep very subtly (and automatically) to retain possession, whereas other players would eave the ball open. They’re also great point and-pivot players for the midfield - just hitting them with rapid one-touch passes speeds up play.” Verdict: FIFA 10 or FIFA World Cup fans, 11 is as comfortable and rejuvenating as a wellworn, clean coat. All the niggles have been ironed out, resulting in a slower, more combative game with enhanced player individuality. Use of tricky dribblers is key, but most impressive is how the game differentiates and elevates technique players such as Iniesta, who rely on control more than power or pace. The CPU AI is refreshingly aggressive with players like Tevez using canny skills to wrong-foot you. If you love FIFA, you’ll love this, though some are less taken with the slower, more physical pace. However, if you never got on with FIFA and were forced to defect by PES’ decline, you’ve got a tough choice ahead of you.

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Album Reviews Reviews by Andrew Cousins, Managing Director of Gema Records that the gargantuan dubstep track Saxon wasn’t a fluke. The final track, one of which most fans will be familiar with, End Credits (Ft. Plan B) is a brilliantly constructed movement from soulful, acoustic track to a beat-laden pop scorcher. The same goes for Let You Go (Ft. Mali) which sounds ready-made for the dancefloor with a great mix of pop and dubstep bassline rhythms. The vocals add that clubfriendly element and with an infectious chorus it seems the duo have already covered their bases in terms of mass pop appeal.

Chase & Status No More Idols

The Chase and Status faithful need not panic that the pair have “sold out” though as two of the album’s singles follow in quick succession proving they still have a knack for huge dubstep production. Blind Faith (Ft. Liam Bailey) eases you in whilst Hypest Hype (Ft. Tempa T) pounds the message home. Aggressive, in-your-face and unrelenting, Hypest Hype is as much a crowd-pleaser as it is a statement

Pink Friday is very nearly fantastic, the frustrating sound of an artist who can’t work out whether she should go her own way or try and fit in with the crowd, even when the right answer is staring her in the face n

Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Nicki Minaj Pink Friday Nicki Minaj paints the town pink with her longawaited debut Pink Friday, in stores now. A lot of the tracks on the album are autobiographical and speak of her struggles to succeed, her desire to uplift her family as well as the venom she’s faced from others in the industry. Moment 4 Life is very inspirational and meaningful. She explains how she came from nothing to something but is still the same Nicki and refuses to change for anyone. Save Me is very beautiful and well written. I love her singing voice. Drake and she are the only two rappers who can actually sing and rap. Blazing and Here I Am have those classic, heavy, bass hip-hop beats and contribute to the “hardcore” hip-hop side of the album. Following Nicki’s features on some of the

violin, electric guitar, keyboard or any other instrument he may come across. Finally, Kanye is not going to take a break anytime soon. He along with Jay-Z plan to release Watch The Throne hopefully in early 2011. After hearing Jay on “Monster” and “So Appalled”, I expect their collaboration LP to be epic n

Rihanna Loud Rihanna has headed back to the mainstream after the diverse Rated R. The Barbadian pop star’s fifth album is boasted as her rebirth, showcasing her vocal and lyrical range as a versatile artist. It carries more than just clubready cuts and includes collaborations with Nicki Minaj and Eminem.

No More Idols is a landmark chapter in the Chase and Status story bringing together the best of British whilst delivering the tried and tested talent of the duo themselves. With variety and consistency in abundance there’s little doubt this album is going to define the genres of dubstep, drum ‘n’ bass and R’n’B in 2011 n

It’s hard to ignore the colossal impact the d’n’b/dubstep duo Chase and Status have had on music, both in Britain and on a global scale, in the past 18 months. From producing smash hit heavyweights like Rihanna and Snoop Dogg, with Drake and Jay-Z in the pipeline, Saul Milton and Will Kennard return with a sophomore album of such depth and variety that the claim they will be at the heart of dubstep’s expansion into America is no exaggeration. No More Idols is symbolic of the pair’s foothold in the global music scene and stands to represent the who’s who in contemporary British R’n’B, dance and pop whilst it’s at it. No less than 13 of the 15 tracks feature an established or blossoming artist. From Plan B and Dizzee Rascal to Cee Lo Green and Tinie Tempah, No More Idols is a title indicative of Chase and Status’ widespread popularity with fans and famous faces alike. The album opener No Problem is an intriguing way to kick off a piece of work that ventures into the depths of grime, dubstep, drum ‘n’ bass and pop. Hints of Prodigy-inspired experimentalism shine through and otherwise lively, tried and tested bed of drum ‘n’ bass sounds. One might be fooled into thinking Chase and Status have yet to fully embrace their ability to work in a bucket-load of genres although, by the end, this is most certainly not the case.

biggest tracks of the year for artists such as Kanye West, Mariah Carey & Usher, fellow A-listers Eminem, Drake, and Rihanna bring their A game to the album, making the record a crucial cross-section of hip-hop’s new decade. Of course, as hip-hop fans of a certain age would be quick to point out, the “Dungeons & Dragons” line from Roman’s Revenge (feat. Eminem) is borrowed from Busta Rhymes’ guest verse on A Tribe Called Quest’s 1991 track Scenario. Even so, it seems to serve notice that Nicki is attempting to break rank with other rappers in 2010 by deliberately alluding to a less homogeneous era of hip-hop. Nicki is the 2nd Hip Hop artist to be on the front cover of a UK national newspaper within a week. It’s a big look for Hip Hop, and a very big look for Nicki Minaj, her invasion of the UK has been relentless. Currently in London to promote her debut album, Minaj stepped off the plane to face a mob of paparazzi and loyal UK Barbies (Nicki’s diehard fans) – who have also proceeded to camp outside the 26-year-old’s hotel.

Kanye West returns with his fifth release in nearly seven years. The name was changed from Good Ass Job to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I’m not sure if this had something to do with Roc-A-Fella records or if Kanye just felt it was time to finally let go of the school series. No matter what the album was going to be called, it has been the most hyped record for the last couples of months. Kanye starts the album with a small skit that sounds like it came from a different century. The music comes thirty seconds in with a Mike Oldfield sample of “In High Places”. The chorus has a real choir-like tone and it sounds as if it’s going to be an interlude, but (I’d imagine) RZA drops a heavy beat with drums and keys that are reminiscent of the early Wu days. RZA was one of Kayne’s inspirations and this beat definitely shows it. This is a perfect way to start the album. The album’s features are incredible including the likes of, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Charlie Wilson, Elly Jackson, Elton John, Fergie, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Ryan Leslie, The Dream, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Swizz Beatz & Chris Rock on the track Blame Game. I wasn’t expecting My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to be this good, right now Kanye is at the top of his production game. He has the ability to create so many different sounds whether he’s using a drum machine, piano,

Loud positively oozes the ultimately unexplainable magnetism of Rihanna as a top level pop star even as she moves from one unconnected song to another. Technically speaking, there is nothing stunning about her voice, but it is arresting and unique in pop history. No one would mistake any of these recordings for anyone else. One key to her success is that you would not mistake these new songs for any of her earlier hits either. Rihanna continues to take us in slightly new directions from the past, and that is what keeps her on top. On “Complicated,” Tricky Stewart uses trendy electronic pillows of sound to back up Rihanna’s emotional outbursts about a difficult relationship. It is clearly Rihanna, but she is pulled in a new, fruitful sonic direction. She visits the land of Nicki Minaj on “Raining Men” but never gets buried in the new territory n

The Gema Records Catalogue For your own personal copy, please send a cheque or PO (payable to Gema Records) for £2 to Gema Records, PO Box 54, Reading RG1 3SD and we will immediately despatch a copy to you along with a £2 voucher to use against your first order.

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The top 10 best prison-related songs in popular music Imprisonment and its effect on the human condition has been studied for many years, but never more closely than by songwriters of popular music. Noel Smith selects his top ten best records ever made about prison or prisoners

Noel Smith Inside Time

prisoners music. Rotting on Remand deserves a showing in any prison related top 10.

the top security St Catherine’s prison, and also the national football stadium. ‘Prison Oval Rock’ was released in 1982, and Barrington Levy became a major dancehall star.

‘I stood before the judge that day as he refused me bail And I knew that I would spend my time awaiting trial in jail I said ‘There is no justice’ as they led me out of the door And the Judge said, “This isn’t a court of justice, son, this is a court of law’

‘Some call it Spanish Town, but ah’ Prison Oval Rock Some call it Spanish Town, but ah’ Prison Oval Rock The prisoners are skanking The wardens are watching some try to escape when they hear the music playing’

6. Jailbreak - AC/DC This song, originally released in 1976, chronicles the sentencing, jailing and subsequent escape of a murderer. It’s complete with the adept guitar work of Angus Young and a worthy backbeat courtesy of ever-revolving members of the band’s powerful rhythm section.

1. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley Coming from the 1957 film of the same name and written by pre Lennon/McCartney dream writing team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Lieber and Stoller wrote Jailhouse Rock – plus 4 other songs, including ‘I Want To Be Free’ (also featured in the film) – after being locked in a hotel room for 5 hours by their music publisher in order to meet a deadline. Possibly the best known prison-related song in the history of popular music.

4. Holloway Jail - The Kinks

‘The warden threw a party at the county jail… The prison band was there and they began to wail The band was jumping and the joint began to swing You shoulda heard those knocked out jailbirds sing…

An unusual prison song, given that it is written from the point of view of a man whose girlfriend is in Holloway jail. Originally released in 1971 on the Kinks’ album Muswell Hillbillies. “They took my baby, down Holloway jail, they took my baby to Holloway jail There ain’t no pity, there ain’t no bail, and she assures me that it’s living hell She was young and ever so pretty, now she looks so old and pale, She never sees the day, she wastes her life away, sitting in that prison cell.”

2. San Quentin - Johnny Cash

‘There was a friend of mine on murder, and the judge’s gavel fell Jury found him guilty, gave him sixteen years in hell He said I ain’t spending my life here, I ain’t living alone, ain’t breaking no rocks on the chain gang, I’m breakin’ out and headin’ home, Gonna make a jailbreak’

9. Green Green Grass of Home - Tom Jones A number 1 hit for Jones ‘The Voice’ over Christmas 1966, The Green Green Grass of Home is the quintessential prison song. It recounts a dream had by a prisoner on the night before his execution. ‘Then I wake, and look around me At the four grey walls that surround me And I realise I was only dreaming’

7. Borstal Breakout - Sham 69 Sham 69 were a punk band formed in 1976, but later found a home in the skinhead/Oi! Movement. Some people say their name was an anagram of Skin-Heads At Margate 1969, but they were actually named after their local football team – Walton & Hersham FC, who won the Athenian League title in 1969. Borstal Breakout was a minor hit in 1978.

Written by Johnny Cash himself for the live, and televised, concert he performed at San Quentin prison in 1969. When performed live for the first time this song went down very well with the audience, who were mainly convicted prisoners serving their time at the prison. The live album of this concert went to number 1 on the US Billboard charts in both the country and pop charts. ‘San Quentin, you’ve been livin’ hell to me you’ve hosted me since nineteen sixty three I’ve seen ‘em come and go and I’ve seen them die And long ago I stopped askin’ why’

5. 54-46 (That’s My Number)” - Toots and the Maytals

3. Rotting on Remand - Billy Bragg

One of the first ska songs to gain any kind of popularity outside of Jamaica. Fred “Toots” Hibbert wrote this song following his release from prison for marijuana possession. 54-46 refers to his prisoner identification number while incarcerated, and the song is dually a lamentation on his arrest and subsequent prison stay, but it’s also a statement on the revolving door of the system when Hibbert sings “54-46 was my number/ Right now, someone else has that number.”

Billy Bragg has been around for many years, coming out of the ‘New Wave’ movement that ran parallel with punk rock in the 1970s. A political songwriter, he was recently involved in a scheme to bring guitars into prison and teach

‘Stick em up Mister Hear what I say, sir, yeah Get your hands in the air, sir And you will get no hurt, Mister, no, no, no’

‘I’m sitting in this cell for something I didn’t do And all I can think of is baby I think of you Don’t worry baby coming back for you There’s gonna be a borstal breakout There’s gonna be a borstal breakout There’s gonna be a borstal breakout!’

10. Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree Tony Orlando and Dawn This song is about a prisoner who is being released and wants to know if his girl still loves him. A worldwide hit in 1973, reaching number 1 in both the US and UK charts. It has been ranked as Billboard’s 37th best selling single of all time. It has also been voted number 78 in the 100 Worst Ever Songs list.

8. Prison Oval Rock - Barrington Levy

Jamaica’s ‘Prison Oval’ is the site that contains

‘I’m coming home I’ve done my time And I have to know what is and isn’t mine If you received my letter telling you I’d soon be free Then you know just what to do, if you still want me Oh tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree…’