Ellie Appleton - Yesterday Once More
COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
"It's Not Unusual" - Tom Jones
(May/June 1965, highest chart pos. #10 Hot 100 & Cash Box,
live perf. on June 28, 1965 TV special Murray The K –
It's What's Happening, Baby)
Kicking off this special sneak preview, a rare clip of Welshman Tom Jones
before he became a superstar and heartthrob to millions of women all over
the world. You saw Tom at the start of summer, 1965, entertaining animals
at the zoo singing his breakthrough international hit "Its Not Unusual" on
the American TV special Murray The K – It's What's Happening, Baby.
Hello, I'm Vanessa Kensington...
a beautiful, determined, intelligent young woman who partners
with British spy Austin Powers in the 1997 comedy film
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
I'm sure you are familiar with Austin as the semi-regular host of the
Valentine's Day dances here at Shady's Place. I've got great news.
Austin and I are reuniting as hosts of our own radio show.
Stay tuned for the debut of The Spy Who Shagged Me featuring the best
of Brit pop, coming soon to S-P-M-M... the station with personality.
I'm
Renee Clemons,
a reporter working at the
San Francisco Globe on
the TV series Gracepoint,
the American remake of
the hit UK drama series
Broadchurch. I'm happy
to report that I will be
joining five other news
gathering women as
anchors of the new
S-P-M-M radio show
The I-Team. The
"I" does not stand
for "investigation."
You see, every song we
play on our show will have
an "I" word in the title.
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
Here's a sample "I" song from
our series, one of the biggest
hits of the 60s, the Four Tops
reaching #1 on the pop and
soul charts with-- "I Can't
Help Myself (Sugar Pie
Honey Bunch)!"
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" - Four Tops
(May/June 1965, highest chart position
#1 Hot 100 & Cash Box & R&B)
I'm WPC Gina Dawson
on the British period police drama TV series WPC 56.
I'm the first WPC (woman police constable) to join the
Midlands Constabulary at Brinford Police Station in 1956.
Soon I'll be joining other
fetching, feisty females as
presenters on a S-P-M-M
radio show that we're going
to call British British Swag,
and I've got a sample, a song
recorded and released 10 years
after I joined the police force.
That's around the time my
job description no longer
included making coffee
for the men. The song
is by The Rolling Stones,
a cut from their 1966
album Aftermath,
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
This is one of their most popular songs from the period, yet it was never
released as a single in English-speaking countries. Here are Mick and
his mates, the kings of British swag, on the UK music TV show
Ready Steady Go! doing-- "Under My Thumb."
"Under My Thumb" - The Rolling Stones
(from Apr. 1966 album Aftermath, perf. on
May 27, 1966, ep. of Ready Steady Go!)
Hi, I'm
Kara Danvers...
a bright, bubbly, somewhat
shy and awkward young woman
working as a personal assistant
and later a reporter on the DC
Comics superhero TV series
Supergirl. Some people say
I look and sound almost
exactly like Supergirl...
that the only difference
between the two of us
are the glasses and
the red and blue
caped costume.
That's crazy talk! Supergirl and I are nothing alike,
so just put that notion out of your mind, mister.
I'm here to play a song sample from
my new radio show Kara Danvers
Supertunes coming soon to SPMM
Supersonic Radio. It's a wonderful
performance by a Nashville-based
band called imy2 which, in modern
code-speak, stands for "I miss you,
too." The group is fronted by blue-
haired beauty Annalise Mahanes,
a singer with the super power of
being able to cover songs from
a variety of genres and make
it seem like they were
written just for her.
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
Here are Annalise and imy2 with a super cover of
Michael Jackson's-- "The Way You Make Me Feel!"
"The Way You Make Me Feel" - Michael Jackson
cover by imy2 (Sept. 2020)
And I'm
Ellie Appleton.
Do I remind you of
Lady Rose Aldridge
on Downton Abbey?
I get that a lot.
You say goodbye
and I say hello
and welcome to my
segment giving you
a sneak peak at my
new radio show
coming soon to
Shady's Place.
As the co-star of Yesterday...
the 2019 musical rom-com
film that's loaded with great
covers of Beatles songs, my
show on S-P-M-M Retrosonic
Radio will be wall-to-wall
Beatles, including classic
original recordings by the
Liverpudlian mop-tops
themselves, and terrific
Beatles covers by artists
of the past and present.
Quite rightly, my new
program will be called
Yesterday Once More.
To close today's sneak
preview special, I've got
a sensational sample for
you. It is one of the best
covers I've found of a
song written by John
Lennon and recorded
by The Beatles. It was
released as the lead
song on their 1969
album Abbey Road
and as a single that
topped the chart
in the U.S.
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
Here's the Ukranian duo Sershen & Zaritskaya - Sergey on guitar, Daria on vocals -
taking it to the next level with-- "Come Together." Now this is Ellie Appleton.
Thanks for joining us and see you soon on Yesterday Once More!
"Come Together" - The Beatles cover
by Sershen & Zaritskaya (Mar. 2021)
That last one - wow!
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex!
DeleteThanks for being the Early Bird again this week, good buddy!
Yes, those are our Ukrainian friends S & Z, apparently still pinned down by the war with Russia, because they have posted no new videos since the invasion began months ago. The band produced this vid a year before all hell broke loose, a killer cover of The Beatles' biggie "Come Together." I'm glad you liked it.
Enjoy the rest of your week and weekend, good buddy Alex!
Tom Jones looks good as he sings this song in some weird smash up of a zoo but with cows and a lamb. I think I saw 2 go go dancers beside a lioness...crazy!
ReplyDeleteI just can't help myself but I love this theme you will be doing.
Anything Austin is fine by me qith a great tune by the Stones. How is Keith Richard's still Alive? Is he bathing in the blood of virginal maidens? Will he turn into a giant bat like Gary Oldman did in Dracula?
The next song is great because it is not Jackson singing it. I prefer her over Jackson aka Mr. Pedifile.
Oh wow..that last one makes men stop dead I their tracks as they watch Avenger Ellie slide across the floor in her sexy barbed wire suit. Wow!
Hi, Birgit!
DeleteThanks for coming early this time, dear friend. As second place finisher, the silver Shady is all yours! Display it proudly on your mantel!
Yessum, I was very happy to find that upscaled video taken from Murray the K's 1965 teen music summer special. It features my exact clone, Tom Jones, early in his career when he was still a one-hit-wonder, singing "It's Not Unusual" at the zoo whilst feeding the "animals." Yessum, it was shocking to see those go-go dancers jiggling so close to a lion, even though bars separated them from the beast. The cat must have been heavily sedated to put up with all that commotion.
I'm thrilled that you are eager for the launch of Austin & Vanessa's new SPMM radio series The Spy Who Shagged Me. The Stones will typically appear in another UK-based music series at Shady's Place, this one hosted by some of my favorite female characters from British TV cops shows like WPC Gina Dawson. To answer your question - yessum - Keith Richards is indeed bathing in the blood of virginal maidens. I looked it up, and Wiki never lies.
I am very happy to see a favorable reaction from you to blue-haired beauty Annalise Mahanes and her Nashville-based imy2 band. The last time I posted something by her, most readers seemed underwhelmed. I think she's super.
Yessum, in that cover of "Come Together," Daria Z crawls reptilian across the floor, mounts a motorcycle, writhes, contorts and all that good stuff. No wonder she has so many male fans. We need to remember that S & Z are under attack, hunkered down as the war with Russia rages on. I hope they are AOK and can get back into the recording studio soon (if there's anything left of it).
Thanks again for coming early and joining the fun, dear friend BB!
I saw Tom Jones and The Four Tops in Las Vegas many years ago!
ReplyDeleteThat young lady has a great voice, but I'm not sure about that Michael Jackson cover. Just my opinion, but it's hard for anyone to do Michael Jackson justice!
-Kelly and Pat
Hi, Kelly and Pat!
DeleteThanks for reporting in, dear friend! It's very cool that you saw two of the acts featured in today's post, Tom Jones (Shady's lookalike doppelganger brother from another mother) and the Four Tops. Lucky you!
I'm pleased that you give Annalise Mahanes credit for having a great voice. I totally agree. Where we differ is on her performance of this Michael Jackson cover. I don't think I've seen many females attempting to cover The King of Pop. In my humble opinion, Annalise nails Michael's "The Way You Make Me Feel."
Thanks again for coming right over on day one to take the bronze. Please give my buddy Pat a big slab of tenderloin (from Shady) and enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend Kelly!
Shady!
ReplyDeleteThree of my favourite songs! Tom Jones, The Four Tops, and Rolling Stones. This playlist made me happy and I'm going to listen to this blog on my way to Atlantic City this weekend.
imy2 and Sershen & Zaritskaya did great covers. I'm amazed and I will add them to the favourites list too. Can't wait to see more of Austin and crew!
Have a wonderful Thankful Thursday, dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteHappy Thankful Thursday, dear friend! I appreciate you popping in on day one to meet and greet another batch of Shady's Place personalities who will soon be hosting their own radio shows on SPMM... the station that rocks!
Yessum, here you have a playlist to keep you and Tommy singing along while you travel to Atlantic City for your birthday weekend getaway. Nashville band imy2 and Ukraine's S & Z are tops in my book, and I'm glad you enjoyed their more than capable covers.
Austin Powers & Vanessa Kensington will soon launch their new series The Spy Who Shagged Me. It's going to be a hoot.
Thanks again for dropping in and have a safe and happy trip to A.C., dear friend JM! (I need to break away now, Mrs. Shady's orders, but I'll be over to see you at your HBP site later tonight!)
Hey there friend, Shady. I remembered to come and look for a new post from you! Tom Jones may have been a heartthrob to a lot of women but I wasn't one of them. I can't get over how young the Stones look, AND that they are still going! They are one group that I have never seen live and I probably won't as their ticket prices are out of this world.
ReplyDeleteAnnalise and imy2 did a great job with that Michael Jackson song, one of my favorites. Looking forward to more from this bunch of DJs. Amazed at the amount of work you put into each of these posts! A little something for everyone's taste. Have a wonderful weekend my friend!
Hi, Janet!
DeleteThanks for finding my new post on your own and coming right over, dear friend! I'm happy to see you here as I introduce more new members of the Shady Bunch DJ team with sneak previews of their SPMM shows and plugs for their respective TV series and films, all of which I have seen and recommend.
I am surprised to learn that you didn't think Welsh singing stallion Tom Jones was all that. I suspect that you are one of the few women who are immune to his charm. Yessum, Mick and his mates look young in that great clip, and you can see the effect they had on the teenagers in the audience. They knew that The Stones were the real deal and destined for a long and successful career.
Yay! I'll take all the upvotes for Annalise that I can get, because I think she and her imy2 band are vastly underrated. She has a velvet voice, charisma out the kazoo and is also a talented songwriter.
Thank you for the compliment on the amount of work that I put into posts like this one. A better word would be the amount of "play" I put into them., because it is fun and satisfying to see them come together. The characters I choose to become presenters on SPMM radio shows come to life and are like members of the family.
Yessum, Austin & Vanessa will bring you Brit pop - artists like The Bee Gees, Herman's Hermits, Pet Clark, Searchers and Gerry & The Pacemakers. Gina Dawson and her cop colleagues, the hostesses of British British Swag, will present harder rocking UK bands like The Stones, Cream, Yardbirds, Animals, etc. Renee and her I-Team friends will play groovy "I-Tunes" - songs with titles that begin with the letter "I," Kara Danvers will cut through the heart of the 60s with songs by the Mamas & Papas, Gary Lewis And The Playboys and similar pop and sunshine pop nuggets. Ellie Appleton will present the best of The Beatles and Beatles cover artists, past and present. - "a little something for everyone's taste," as you put it.
Thanks again for dropping in, dear friend Janet. I wish you and my buddy Benny a safe and happy weekend!
I knew all these songs. The covers aren't bad either.
ReplyDeleteI was sad when Supergirl was cancelled. That was a good show. Seems like a lot of good shows have been cancelled recently.
Hi, Mary!
DeleteI'm very happy to see you, dear friend. Thanks for coming! Sure enough, I found your comment in my SPAM folder. I thought we had that problem solved by now, but I guess not. Sorry for the delay in getting your message published.
I'm excited that you know all of the songs and enjoyed the originals and the covers in this sneak preview. I am also pleased that you watched Supergirl and were disappointed when it was canceled, as were Mrs. Shady and I. You can watch Katie McGrath (Lena Luthor) as the season 1 star of Slasher, a horror anthology series that I also highly recommend.
Thanks again for taking a look and a listen, dear friend Mary. Please give my buddy Falcor a treat and I'll see you tomorrow at your place. Have a great weekend!
You say one of these new series is going to be called The Spy Who Shagged Me--the second film in the Austin Powers series--but that was Heather Graham, not Elizabeth Hurley, unless you're just talking about the first few minutes when we learn Hurley's character is a fembot.
ReplyDeleteEver see Mars Attacks? There's a very funny scene where Tom Jones, playing himself, is doing his act in a Las Vegas showroom when the aliens burst in and start zapping everybody. Fortunately, Jones lives to sing "It's Not Unusual" another day. As for the video, you mentioned in a response to Birget that you were shocked that the go-go dancers were so close to the lion, with only the cage, and wild cat's leash, in between. While it would have been unwise to do it any other way, minus the safeguards, the lion probably would have gone after the other zoo animals before it went after the humans. The reason being is that after tens of thousands of years of being hunted, lions have a certain inborn reluctance to take on humans, though they WILL attack if they feel they have no other choice, but then so will a domesticated dog.
I like The Four Tops song, but can't think of anything to say about it other than...I like the song.
Surprised to learn "Under My Thumb" was never released as a single. I wonder if the title was a bit too provocative for radio play.
As for the two cover songs, I have to say I prefer the Michael Jackson remake to the Beatles. That's not to say I disliked the Ukranian version, only that after the original and Aerosmith's version, there was really no place for the song to go, other than just making it more metallic.
That's all I got.
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for coming to this sneak preview platter party, good buddy!
You have a super power, Kirk - the uncanny ability to find what you perceive to be mistakes or flaws in my presentations. :) As I think I have reminded you before, Shady's is not the place to come if you are expecting serious, factual reporting 100% of the time. If that is what you are looking for, I recommend Fox News. :) On my very first post as a blogger published in the summer of 2008, I stated the following: "Admission is free, but visitors are asked to bring along three things: a youthful spirit, a respectful attitude and a sense of humor." I would add to that list a vivid imagination. While I do try to get all the facts straight about important matters like the history of the Shady Dell and the recordings I post, when it comes to the personalities who introduce the songs, keep in mind that they are merely based on favorite characters from movies and TV series. I write entirely new scripts for them and modify their personalities and behaviors when necessary to make them fit the themes of their respective SPMM radio shows. I happen to think The Spy Who Shagged Me is a funny title, and that's why I chose it as the title of a SPMM series based on the successful Mike Myers movies. There is no need to read anything more into it. It's entertainment. It's fun. Relax and try to enjoy yourself.
On several occasions, I started to watch the star-studded farce When Mars Attacks. Each time, I bailed out on the film within a couple of minutes. Maybe I'll try again now that I know about that Tom Jones scene. Thanks for explaining that the lion at the zoo probably would not have attacked those go-go dancers. I'm not much of a gambler, and therefore would take a hard pass on those seemingly favorable odds.
If you listen to or read the lyrics of "Under My Thumb," they are, in my opinion, rather sexist and misogynistic:
Under my thumb
A squirmin' dog who's just had her day
The way she does just what she's told
Under my thumb
Is a Siamese cat of a girl
Under my thumb
She's the sweetest, hm, pet in the world
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Here are a few quotes by critics courtesy of Wiki: << An article in the Courier-Journal in 1971 considered the song among the "worst picture[s] of women...where sexual exploitation reaches unique heights." >> << staff writer Terry Orme wrote for the Salt Lake Tribune that the song reflected the Stones "at their offensive best", stating that the Stones had made important commentary "on the mentality of a culture" >> << Writing for the Lincoln Gazette in 1972, musician Dave Downing noted the concerns raised but considered stereotyping and oversimplification to be "very difficult to avoid" in rock music, calling "Under My Thumb" a "piece of art, not a political doctrine". >>
That last quote brings us full circle to what I am asking my friends to do when they visit Shady's Place. Try to view it as a piece of art. Art is not precise and "correct." It is not rocket science. It is not brilliant reportage. All I am trying to do here is to entertain a few friends like you, to show you a good time, make you smile for a few minutes and forget your troubles, distract you from the crucial issues facing our country and the world. So, please feel free to use your imagination and meet me at my model of the universe where anything goes. Thanks, good buddy!
Happy Sunday Shady! Ok, you can tell me the truth here...just between me and you...are you secretly employed by TV and movie sites to advertise the shows along with all the wonderful songs posted each time? I feel so bad because many of the shows are ones I've never seen but thankfully all the songs here today are familiar! Holy cow, Tom Jones is sporting either a bad hair cut, mullet, or a "before it's time" man bun! The dancers were sporting the dance of my youth...the jerk and the pony. It was just a little early for the mini skirt I guess because the go-go boots were short while the skirts were longish! You know I check these things out! But you have to love his voice and the song! The last Beatle cover was very smashing. Yes, I think the fab 4 would love it and John Lennon would probably be smiling on heaven watching her! I just got home from Chicago a few hours ago so I had to stop by and visit and say Happy July 4th...a day early...and I hope you and Mrs. Shady have a wonderful holiday! Take care Shady! P.S...I always wonder why a pair of glasses on a super hero makes them totally unrecognizable yet when I don't have glasses on everyone still knows it's me? Oh, I guess that proves I'm no super hero! Ha!
ReplyDeleteHi, Yaya!
DeleteI'm excited to see you, dear friend! Thanks for coming to the Yesterday Once More preview party!
Yessum, the cat's (rat's) out of the bag. My blog is actually a long series of sponsored posts. I am secretly employed by TV and movie sites and paid a handsome sum to promote their content. :) But seriously, what you can ascertain from features like this one is that Mrs. Shady and I watch a lot of television and a good number of movies, usually on the small screen. While there seem to be fewer scripted series produced in recent years, given the increasing popularity of reality shows and amateur singing and dancing competitions, there are some excellent scripted shows being produced and likable, memorable characters in them. Like your blog, mine is a diary of sorts, a record of the type of music I liked during a given period of my life and which shows and films I was watching. When a series like Ozark, or a movie like Yesterday makes a huge impression on me, I am compelled to borrow a favorite character or two and have them host a Shady's Place radio show. I want to take this opportunity to say that the British TV series Broadchurch and its U.S. counterpart Gracepoint, represented here by Renee Clemons, are just two of the fine UK-originated series that Mrs. S and I have watched in recent years, most of them mysteries and cop/detective dramas like WPC 56 - another very enjoyable BBC series. There are dozens of others.
I'm thrilled that you know every song in this set. I was elated to find that pristine video showing young Tom Jones before he was a superstar, singing at the zoo on It's What's Happening Baby, a music special for teenagers that was broadcast as summer break was getting underway in 1965 and hosted by DJ legend Murray the K. Tom is actually singing live-to-tape/film, not lip syncing, and that's pretty rare. Thanks for doing a Joan Rivers-style critique of Tom's hair and the go-go outfits worn by the dancers, and for letting us know that they were doing the pony and the jerk.
I'm delighted that you singled out Ukrainian rock queen Daria Zaritskaya's incendiary cover of the Beatles' biggie "Come Together." Let us remember that Daria and her guitarist Sergey are, at last report, still under attack by the Russians. Please join me in sending prayers for their safety and their eventual return to the recording studio to produce more sensational covers for the world to enjoy.
I'm happy to know you made it home safely from Midge & Hope's house in Chicago. I hope everything is still AOK with your sister. Glasses or no glasses, I recognize you as a super hero as well as a great friend. Thank you again for thinking of me, for making time to stop in after your long, exhausting drive home, and for your wonderful comment. I wish you and your family a safe and peaceful 4th, dear friend YaYa!