I’m picking up what you’re laying down. I get nowhere near £80,000 a year for doing more than nothing, and I’ve managed to pick up a few demons nonetheless.
Also, wanted to dip a toe back in the thread to recommend the soundtrack of Local Hero to Gerry Rafferty fans who might otherwise be unaware of it (although the excellent Guardian obit linked above mentions it). The only track on the soundtrack that has vocals, The Way It Always Starts, pairs Rafferty with Mark Knopfler. It’s a lovely tune.
Baker Street for me is one of the all time greats, apparently it was written about his London busking days.
Ditto.
I love that song also. I always wanted a man to dedicate it to me, for some reason.
Listening to “Baker Street” as we speak (well…the Foo Fighters cover version, at least) as I slowly get drunk on slightly stale eggnog & brandy.
Also:
Had no idea that was by Rafferty – guess I need a refresher course on 70’s pop music.
Baker Street and Right Down The Line kinda defined the late 1970’s for me as a young pup just catching onto rock music…RIP.
Baker Street is such a well-recorded song for the time. Damn.
I just came in to say that we played a lot of Rafferty this morning at our oldies station (one of three in the group where I’m the news director). As I shared with the morning jock, the words are so meaningful to me that I had them printed on the funeral booklet when my wife died. It really was her, right down the line.
“City to City,” from which it’s taken, is the only album I’ve purchased in all three formats — the original LP. cassette tape, and CD. It now resides on my iTunes as well.
Awww, Darn
Got my first kiss to Baker Street playing in the background…
sigh
Anyone know where I can legally purchase a digital version of Get It Right Next Time? I can’t find it on either iTunes or Amazon.
Fond farwell to a great talent. Even if the only thing he had ever pulled out of his head was Baker Street, that would be enough to grant him popular music immortality. He crafted a song that (pretty much) everyone likes and remembers, and that will always be played and enjoyed.
You could say he finally answered his ‘maker’s tweet’.
I just found out, but I’m not surprised. The man had been in very poor health for a long time. “Baker Street” and “Stuck In the Middle” are two of my all-time favorite songs.