buy now!

Mandeville

yup, another visit to the Olympic Park for some incredible swimming, especially the men's 4 x 100m relay...

and we met Mandeville:

a Paralympic discount

well, we gave away songs during the Olympics, so we're offering a discount during the Paralympics

yes, you heard right... in a combined bid to celebrate the games AND to save you from two weeks of Coldplay YOU can have 30% off the double CD (silver) edition of It's The Taking Part That Counts - A Global POP Sportsday

simply go to the bandcamp link below, and enter the discount code paralympic when you get to the check out, and the 26 exclusive olympic tunes will be YOURS!...

just a week to go til the Paralympics...

i'm revising my sports, and have tickets to the swimming... it's all GO!

a trip to Casa Brazil

and the Rio 2016 logos (they've taken a beating)

Rio 2016 Olympic logo

Rio 2016 Paralympic logo

the taking part BOOKLET!

it's the taking part that counts | Make Your Own Book

and the final Team GB medal of London2012 is a Silver for Samantha Murray

a Bronze for Tom Daley

a Gold for Luke Campbell and Anthony Joshua, and a Silver for Fred Evans

another Gold for Mo!

a Gold for Ed McKeever, and bronze for Liam Heath and Jon Schofield

a taekwondo bronze...

... for Lutalo Muhammad...


and, of course, a special mention to Argentinian GOLD winner Sebastian Eduardo Crismanich

a bronze for Team GB in Women's Hockey

and here we have the Bully from Hannah Peel

men's and women's 470 class...

... silver medals for Saskia Clark & Hannah Mills and  Luke Patience & Stuart Bithell...

(sorry for the delay, internet connection was down yesterday)

and a women's 57kg taekwondo GOLD...

... for Jade Jones, and here we have Hacia dos Veranos' beautiful "the way of the hand and the foot"

a women's flyweight boxing Gold...

... for Nicola Adams, and a new download for YOU today... our old friend Jeff Mellin's HIT ME!

a Bronze for Laura Bechtolsheimer and a Gold for Charlotte Dujardin

HANDBALL!

here's a new video from the mighty SOOL for their summer smash - HANDBALL!

a Bronze for Robbie Grabarz

in the Men's High Jump:

three MORE cycling medals

Gold - Laura Trott, Woman's Omnium
Silver - Victoria Pendleton, Women's Sprint
Gold - Chris Hoy, Men's Keirin

a Gold for Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and Laura Bechtolsheimer

in the Team Dressage:

a Silver for Nick Dempsey

in the Men's Windsurfing

TWO Triathlon Medals

for Jonny and Alistair Brownlee:

Seven Summers by Paul Kelly & Saint Etienne

have you seen this lovely excerpt from Seven Summers - Paul Kelly's follow-up to What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day?... it's about the Olympic site:


and , of course, here is Saint Etienne's Steeplechase - the athletic theme from It's The Taking Part That Counts:

a medal for Nick Skelton, Ben Maher, Scott Brash and Peter Charles

... and it's the the first Team GB showjumping gold since 1952

a Gold for Jason Kenny

there's no stopping us in the cycling, is there?... Yesterday Jason Kenny won the Men's Sprint

a Bronze for Beth Tweddle

on the Women's Uneven Bars

which means today's FREE downloads start with Hawaii Fried Dough's Tumblebee:

three more medal winning athletes

yesterday we had:

Bronze for Max Whitlock - Men's Pommel Horse
Silver for Louis Smith - Men's Pommel Horse
Silver for Christine Ohuruogu - Women's 400 metres

which gives another exciting day for Saint Etienne fans, what with this FREE download:


and the first DVD release of their pre Olympics film, What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?

a Gold for Andy Murray and a Silver for Andy Murray & Laura Robson

Two tennis medals yesterday, so another new FREE download for YOU, this time from the Sunny Street, and Steffi...

a Bronze for Ed Clancy

and a FREE download of Town Bike's Tour De Force for YOU today!

Gold for Ben Ainslie and Silver for Iain Percy & Andrew Simpson

and a FREE download of Morir Ahogada by Linda Guilala for YOU today!

GOLD! GOLD! GOLD!

GOLD! for Jessica Ennis - Heptathlon
GOLD! for Greg Rutherford - Long Jump
GOLD! for Mo Farah - 10,000 Metres

so today we have a FREE download of Saint Etienne's Steeplechase:

a Gold for Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott

and Town Bike's Tour De Force is still available as a free download for YOU!

lots of rowing medals yesterday

a GOLD for Kat Copeland & Sophie Hosking (women's lightweight double skulls), a GOLD for Alex Gregory, Tom James, Pete Reed & Andy Hodge (men's coxless fours) and a SILVER for Zac Purchase & Mark Hunter... their hard work means YOU can have a free download of Ellis Island Sound's Ergo Squad Box today:

I took part... it COUNTED!

yup, yesterday evening i went to the Olympic Park to see Team GB play Basketball against France...  i won't tell you what happened...

the album visits the stadium

and Becky Adlington won a Bronze in 800m freestyle

which means Parenthesis... 's Synthesized Swimming is today final FREE download...

Cycling Golds for Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas, Steven Burke & Peter Kennaugh and Victoria Pendleton

and Town Bike's Tour De Force is once again a FREE download... it still sounds (and looks) great...

a Bronze for Karina Bryant...

... and a FREE download of Alexander's Festival Hall (feat. Yazuyo Uemura)'s Judo (What We've Been Playing)

a Bronze for George Nash & William Satch, a Gold for Katherine Grainger & Anna Watkins and a Bronze for Alan Campbell

... sorry to group you all together...

and a FREE download of Ellis Island Sound's Ergo Squad Box for YOU today!

a Gold for Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes

and yet another FREE download of Town Bike's Tour De Force for YOU today!

a Silver for Gemma Gibbons

and a FREE download of Judo (What We've Been Playing) By Alexander's Festival Hall (featuring Yazuyo Uemura)

a Gold for Peter Wilson

and a FREE download of One Fathom Down's Exodus for YOU today!

a Gold for Tim Baillie & Etienne Stott and a Silver for David Florence & Richard Hounslow

and a FREE download of Flotation Toy Warning's The Buoys are Back In Town for YOU today!

a Silver for Richard & Peter Chambers, Rob Williams & Chris Bartley

and a FREE download of Ellis Island Sound's Ergo Squad Box for YOU today!

It's The Taking Part That Counts - the Opening Ceremony

as you know, last Saturday (28th July) saw the Global Pop Sportsday live in London's Union Chapel, well, those nice Arctic Circle chaps have a PODCAST which includes live tunes from Pete Astor, Hong Kong In The 60's and the Leaf Library (among others)... why not have a listen?

Arctic Circle's Sports Day Broadcast by Arctic Circle Radio on Mixcloud

a Silver for Michael Jamieson

and a FREE download of Parenthesis...'s Synthesized Swimming for YOU today!

a Gold for Bradley Wiggins, a Bronze for Chris Froome

and a FREE copy of Town Bike's Tour De Force for YOU today!

a Bronze for Phelan Hill, Alex Partridge, James Foad, Tom Ransley, Richard Egington, Mo Sbihi, Matt Langridge, Greg Searle and Constantine Louloudis

and a FREE download of Ellis Island Sound's Ergo Squad Box for YOU today!

a Gold for Heather Stanning and Helen Glover..

and a FREE download of Ellis Island Sound's Ergo Squad Box for YOU today!

a silver for Fox-Pitt, King, Nicola Wilson, Zara Phillips and Tina Cook

and a FREE download of Band A Part's Cascabel for YOU today!

a Bronze for Louis Smith, Max Whitlock, Daniel Purvis, Sam Oldham and Kristian Thomas

and a FREE download of Hawaii Fried Dough's Tumblebee for YOU today!

A Bronze for Rebecca Adlington

and a FREE download of Parenthesis...'s Synthesized Swimming for YOU today!

a Silver for Elizabeth Armitstead

and a FREE copy of Town Bike's Tour De Force for YOU today!

free downloads for WINNERS

quite an opening!


we will be giving away the sporting theme for every medal team GB wins during the games, so if Alison Williamson, Amy Oliver, Naomi Folkard, Larry Godfrey, Simon Terry or Alan Wills win an archery medal, DJ Downfall's Shoot It Shoot It (Hit Me Again) will be a FREE DOWNLOAD until the next medals are won!

and to start things off DARREN HAYMAN's wrestling ROMP! - Bundle! - is ALREADY available as a FREE DOWNLOAD SINGLE 

a review in the TIMES

all the bells

All the Bells at Westminster...

MORE?...

well... i had to really!

he runs along RAILWAY TRACKS!... he passes MARKET STALLS!... he hurdles PARK BENCHES!...

ROCKY! ROCKY! ROCKY!

Gonna Fly Now

yup, not the Olympics, but it's ROCKY!...

he punches MEAT!... he outruns a SHIP!... he climbs STEPS!... EVERYONE CHEERS!

hope you enjoy the games...

a message from Boris - the Everyman Olympian

... yup... he's completing a challenge based on EVERY Olympic sport... magnificent work Boris!

" I'm sure athletes and average joes alike with enjoy the tunes!

 

Boris, The Everyman Olympian"

How Does It Feel's gig of the week

HDIF's Gig Of The Week Sat July 28 - Pete Astor + Leaf Library + Hong Kong In The 60s at Union Chapel A special daytime show in the bar at the Union Chapel to celebrate the release of "It's The Taking Part That Counts", an olympics themed compilation album released by the estimable Where It's At Is Where You Are records (the folks that released the Bruce Springsteen tribute album that inadvertently led to the formation of Allo Darlin' as a band). Headliner Pete Astor once led The Loft and The Weather Prophets, of course, while both The Leaf Library and Hong Kong In The 60s have played HDIF Presents before - all are highly recommended. It's free admission and runs from midday to 2pm, and doesn't feature any announcements by Boris Johnson!

Epcot in Orlando

John Soares went to Epcot in Orlando and look this- thanks John

it's the taking part that counts launch party

yup, just 10 days to go now until the opening ceremony, so seems a good time to mention our own opening ceremony, and seven reasons it will be BETTER

1. the wiaiwya global pop sportsday is FREE!
2. it takes place in the Union Chapel - the best live venue in London!
3. it's on a Saturday 28th July!
4. it's presented by those nice people at Arctic Circle!
5. it starts at Midday, and goes on til two, leaving the alfernoon to hang out with CHUMS!
6. it features Pete Astor!, Hong Kong in the 60s! and the Leaf Library!
7. you can get your copy of the album there, so you don't have to listen to Muse constantly throughout August!

review on Sounds XP

Town Bike’s ‘Tour De Force’ hurtles faster than Mark Cavendish on slick cobblestones, mixing Ramones with the Shop Assistants to make sweet punk-pop, while the glitschy electronic pop of The Leaf Library’s ‘Badminton’ also stands out. But medals go to The Vatican Cellars’ ‘A Palpable Hit’ (bronze), for writing graceful chamberpop specifically about fencing; One Fathom Down’s ‘Exodus’ (silver), a twangy Link Wray instrumental, which covers a 1960 film theme; and the High Barnets’ ‘Danny’s Got a Good Shot’ (gold), which represents the Butterflies of Love back to their pristine prime.

review on Neon Filler

and it's a 9/10... marvellous:

"As a compilation this ticks all the right boxes, offering something new with 26 exclusive tracks, and introducing us to some exciting new artists, such as the dirty rock and roll of One Fathom Down and fine songwriting of Jeff Mellin, who features here with one of the album’s stand out tracks Hit Me!"

Town Bike - Tour De Force (cycling) VIDEO

 

a month to go...

yup, just a month til the games begin so now's the ideal time to get IT'S THE TAKING PART THAT COUNTS - A GLOBAL POP SPORTSDAY... prepare yourself with Darren Hayman, Saint Etienne, White Town, the Butterflies Of Love and many many more... oh yes...

White Town - Theme For Olympic Weightlifting

oh, yes... chart topper and all round good egg Jyoti Mishra has the honour of being the last track from It's The Taking Part That Counts to be previewed on the blog...

a Metro review for It's The Taking Part That Counts

we have a review in the Metro:

There will doubtless be other musical tributes to the Olympics, be they blandly triumphalist orchestral anthems or bombastic power ballads, but none will be as charming as this two-CD collection, in which each of the 26 sports at the London Games are represented by a single track.

The Sunny Street - Steffi (Tennis)

the Sunny Street love Steffi Graf, and their Tennis song sits perfectly between house music and indiepop... it's all Fred Perrys, summers, lawns, strawberries, and very short shorts...

next week: White Town

Hannah Peel - The Bully (Hockey)

Hannah Peel has been extremely busy of late, what with her Hockey track for "it's the taking part that counts" and the Magnetic North album, both of which are, of course, UNMISSABLE:

Hannah Peel on the sport of Hockey:

"I had a bully for a teacher. 

..I cowered and shivered in my gym skirt and t-shirt at the corner of the pitch. 

With the wind and snow on my back and bare legs, she laughed at my agony"

Credits:

Written by Hannah Peel

Performed by Hannah Peel (piano / vocals / percussion / samples) and Simon Tong (Guitars / Bass / Drums)

Additional text: 'Know the Game, Women's Hockey' 3rd Edition 1954

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hannah-Peel/142563139124021

https://twitter.com/#!/hanpeel

https://www.myspace.com/hanpeel

Darren Hayman - BUNDLE! (Wrestling)

for the weekend, why not treat yourself to a FREE download of Darren Hayman's Wrestling HIT! -
BUNDLE!

the booklet...

oh, yes... the GOLD (deluxe) version of the album comes with a fully illustrated booklet, which is also available on its own, both digitally and physically... have a flick through and let me know what you think...

it's the taking part that counts | Make Your Own Book

Saint Etienne - Steeplechase (Athletics)

my word, you have no idea how thrilled i was when Bob Stanley handed over a CD of a new, exclusive Saint Etienne track one Sunday at the Hangover Lounge... so here you go, this week's track from the It's The Taking Part That Counts album is Steeplechase by Saint Etienne... why not get yourself a copy in either bronze (download), silver (double CD), or gold (deluxe booklet with double CD) edition...

oh, and yes, the sleeve is a Saint Etienne board game...

Hong Kong In the 60s - Let's Play Table Tennis (Table Tennis)

this week we have the very lovely Hong Kong In The 60s bleeping, wooshing and chanting... if you don't already have a copy of their debut album, My Fantoms you shouldn't wait another minute...

next week: Saint Etienne

Linda Guilala - Morir Ahogada (Sailing)

the 20th track comes from Spanish indiepop darlings Linda Guilala, fans of fuzz, zombies, creation records in the 80's and, erm, sailing:

"La primera vez que recuerdo que España ganara una medalla de oro fue en los Juegos Olimpicos de Barcelona ´92 con Luis Doreste. Nosotros vivimos en Vigo, una ciudad costera, y la vela es tambien un deporte importante en nuestro pais. En varias ocasiones el equipo español ha sido numero uno en el ranking de la Federacion Internacional de Vela (ISAF). Por eso hemos disfrutado escribiendo y grabando esta cancion"

"The first time I remember that Spain won a gold medal was in the olimpic games of Barcelona ´92 with Luis Doreste. We are living in Vigo, a coastal city and sailing is also an important sport in our country. On several occasions the spanish team has been world number one on the ranking of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). That´s why we enjoy writing and recording this song." (Ivan Juniper)

Linda Guilala on Bandcamp

next week - Hong Kong In The 60's

Ellis Island Sound: Ergo Squad Box

you know i've been listening to Pete Astor's records for about three quarters of my life... here's a new one, thrilled to bits of course, it's magnificent...

Ellis Island Sound - Ergo Squad Box

Ellis Island Sound is the duo of Pete Astor and David Sheppard; they celebrate their fifteenth birthday this year, having made instrumental records together, at a gentlemanly pace, since 1997. They have recorded albums and EPs for Heavenly, Peacefrog, Static Caravan and Thrill Jockey and in 2008 they took a fifteen-piece, kraut-folk incarnation of EiS around the UK festival circuit, memorably gracing the main stages at Green Man and the Big Chill.

Not entirely strangers to matters sporting, EiS once provided the background music for Channel 4's horse-racing coverage (fact!) and an early single was titled 'Olympic 2020' - a retro-futurist punt at the theme to a distant event. But the call came early and EiS have now provided Wiaiwya with an Olympic rowing theme.

'Ergo Squad Box' celebrates one of the few Olympic sports you can do sitting down.

Parenthesis...: Synthesized Swimming (Aquatic)

for the first track in May we have Parenthesis... - euphoric synthpop, like an infinite line of statuesque russian swimmers waiting to dive into an infinitely long pool, a little bit Busby Berkeley, a little bit Soviet propaganda poster, in a POP way:

The idea behind the track "Synthesized Swimming" came from a time when it became necessary, for some reason or other,  for me to simulate the sound of cola bubbles on a synthesizer, with St Etienne's button savvy producer Ian Catt. I was foolishly sceptical about our chances, but the stately synth betrayed it's formal exterior and complied with a perfect cool analogue fizz. It was from these irresistible synth bubbles that I started to dream of recreating the sounds of a swimming pool, one that was so realistic that I'd have to keep adjusting the oscillators and envelopes to keep myself afloat. This track takes the whole idea up to an Olympic size, then throws in all the aquatic sports, a ripple of Telstar, and a splash of J-pop. Is this how it feels when you swim?

Hawaii Fried Dough - Tumblebee (Gymnastics)

coming on like Oliver Postgate writing for the Children's Television Workshop we have Hawaii Fried Dough, photographer, film maker and band leader John Soares musical side project... yes, that's J Mascis... and Tony Bennett... and Henry Rollins... and MISS MARY!...

Once upon a time in 3870 there was a boy named Jim Nastics. He was a young boy and like most young boys he was interested in EVERYTHING. He pushed all of his nanny bots buttons, he liked to climb on top of their apartment and jump off to where the sheets were hanging out to dry. He would bounce off of them and jump back into the air, somersaulting and twisting. Mama Nastics figured it out before the robot nanny did for she was a little slow because she was only a NaNnY-RoBoT 4S and was totally last year. Little Jim kept getting in all sorts of trouble, swinging through the branches of the trees in the nearby forest, balancing on the fallen logs and jumping around the zero gravity park. His mother became increasingly annoyed for she thought he was going to hurt himself, so she sent him off to live with his grandparents. The older and wiser Nastics trusted little Jim and let him practice and develop his techniques. One day years later Jim, now in his late teens was inside for a break when he saw a dusty old hourglass on the mantle that he had never noticed before. He picked it up and was examining it when there was a rush of wind and a flash of lightning and JIm was swept off his feet and hurtled into Romania, 1968 where he met a little girl in a leotard returning from her modern dance class. Her name was Nadia Comaneci and he introduced her to the exercises he had been practicing. She was amazed and after a little practice went on to the 1976 Summer Olympics and performed the sport she named gymnastics after Jim,the spelling's different, she's Romanian. Jim was unexpectedly swept back to his time and was unable to see her perform. The new sport was a huge hit and people around the globe loved it. Now in 2012 it is Hawaii Fried Dough’s hope that this song be used in a gymnastics routine in the memory of Jim Nastics, who won’t actually be born for another 1768 years. The End


hawaii fried dough featuring the saint camillus children's choir.

100 days to go

yup, just 100 days to the opening ceremony... the perfect time to get your copy of it's the taking part that counts...

the High Barnets (feat. The Butterflies Of Love) - Danny's Got A Good Shot (Basketball)

the BUTTERFLIES OF LOVE are BACK, and the world is unquestionably a better place for it... who knows how long it'll last so make the most of it, and enjoy every second of Danny's Got A Good Shot - solid pop gold from opening strum to "game over... victory"...

the badges have arrived!

it's the taking part that counts badges

Monster Bobby (feat Archbishop Desmond Tutu) - Stanley Could Turn On A Tiki (Football)

yup... it's REALLY him... the man that wrote the Pipettes best tunes has teamed up with the Archbishop, and that laugh is INCREDIBLE... keep an eye on what Bobby's up to with his Little Orchestra here...

"I was always the worst football player in my school. And I mean that quite literally. When I was in year 11, there was still no-one in year 7 who was worse than me at football. When it came to picking teams, not only was I last to be picked, but the team then forced to pick me by dint of there being no-one else to pick, generally argued vociferously that they would rather be a man down than suffer such a handicap of having me on their team. 

One day, however, our PE teacher devised a variant on the normal rules of football intended to develop tackling skills, wherein one could score points not only for getting the ball in the back of the net, but also for successfully completed tackles. I realised quite quickly that the easiest way to win this game would be to score one goal as early as possible and then avoid the ball like the plague for the rest of the game: play very defensively and as soon as the ball comes near you, just get rid of it --fast! I tried to impart this wisdom to my team mates but unfortunately nobody on my team would listen to me as they knew only too well that I was the worst football player in the whole school. 

We lost that game. But our PE teacher did admit afterwards that I was right and that, had my team listened to my advice, we would indeed have won easily. Back then, being right was a lot more important than actually winning the game."

websites, etc. : monsterbobby.tumblr.com // littleother.blogspot.com // twitter.com/monsterbobby

email: littleother@gmail.com

written and recorded by monster bobby, at home