And so it is a long weekend, the last long weekend until we hit the Christmas holiday period, so we are going to take it easy this weekend because we will be prepping for the autumn term from next weekend.  With the protection of our immunity being front and central to our health and wellbeing throughout the autumn and winter seasons, we will of course continue reporting on specific health concerns, alongside new product launches, news, updates and podium moments, of which I am certain there will be many.

In the here and now I am not writing about health concerns, but having touched on the subject of support last weekend, a few words here to say that we have an exceptionally tight support group, including Teresa Graham, Sarah Stacey and Jo Fairley, as mentioned in recent newsletters, and there are others, too numerous to mention right now, so I just want to say that we couldn’t do what we do without the professional help, advice and friendship we share between us.

I absolutely know that I couldn’t write these newsletters without that support, so although the words are mine, they are actually a reflection of each of us, allowing a way of being, a collective way of being.  That’s the serious side of me, but an amusing story to share from our early days when I used to write monthly newsletters, extraordinarily long monthly newsletters. I would always send these to Sarah and Jo before publication and Sarah used to send them back with bold red edits throughout, more often than not commenting that I had gone too far, notably on one occasion when I called out a pharmaceutical company for their plagiarism and lies.

That was fun, and I didn’t really care because it was the truth, but at that time we were under the auspices of The Mail on Sunday YOU magazine, as it were, so to a certain extent I had to conform, albeit rather reluctantly.  Sarah and I still talk about the ‘red pen’ days, I think we always will, but there is another story about the monthly newsletters because when I began writing weekly at the time of the pandemic, I declared that I would be writing short, weekly updates and Jo burst out laughing saying that it would be impossible for me to write short, weekly updates and that the weekly bulletins would grow longer and longer, and she was right.

I’m not a journalist and Jo is a journalist of note, as is Sarah, and it is rather obvious that I am far from disciplined on word counts. I write in long-form, not in short-form because why use five words when I can use twenty-five words, as if in conversation.  We are all different and in recent weeks the newsletter has become even longer because I have taken to writing several paragraphs about nostalgia and music, so the Weekend Read is morphing into something completely different again, but then nothing in life is static, neither should it be.

I will be continuing that nostalgic exploration of music in a moment, but before we do that I want to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support and loyalty.  There are moments, several moments, when I have to pinch myself because although our earliest vision was to grow a community of like-minded people, that simple vision has become a deeply committed community with shared purpose and values, and although we always wanted to do things differently, which is also more than obvious, together with Shabir, I remain moved, and humbled, by the depth and intensity of our connection.

It is the depth and intensity of that connection that continues to drive purpose and because sharing defines purpose rather well, we are offering a sitewide discount* of 15% across this long weekend.  As ever, there are exceptions, not that many, but there are two or three brands where we are unable to offer that discount, but these are clearly marked on the product pages.  So, with an invitation to shop the site, the second part of the Weekend Read arrives and before I even start writing, I know it will be longer than this first section, but we’re on a roll, so here we go, music for the long weekend.  Deep breath. 
Shop The Site (offer ends at midnight BST, Monday 25 August)

Going Back

Well, we’ve done it.  We’ve created a new playlist under the heading ‘Going Back’ and although we have left the original playlist in situ, retaining the heading ‘VH Playlist’ at the top of our site, ‘Going Back’ becomes another chapter in our lives, a nostalgic chapter where we explore and share our emotions and memories through the medium of music.  Our brains are wired to remember sounds, and music often acts as a powerful trigger for memories and experiences, but more than that, music also plays a role in shaping cultural and generational identities.

So, a second invitation this weekend as ‘Going Back’ becomes an invitation to explore that cultural identity each and every Saturday morning on the Weekend Read but, before we continue, I promised that I would share all four of the songs chosen by Sue Mautner.  It began with Roy Orbison on the Weekend Read of 9 August, we continued last weekend with The Shirelles and today I am sharing those last two songs as chosen by Sue, albeit that they were not released in the 60s.  Those two songs are ‘All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You’ by Heart, released in 1990, and ‘Sultans Of Swing’ by Dire Straits, released in 1978.
She’s With The Band; All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You by Heart; Sultans Of Swing by Dire Straits

In and of itself, ‘Going Back’ could become a completely separate entity, and perhaps one day it will, because life works in mysterious ways.  So, going forward, and on each and every Saturday morning, we will be sharing a specific sector, or theme, so I am going to begin by talking about The Ed Sullivan Show.  The Ed Sullivan Show was an American television variety show, hosted by entertainment columnist, Ed Sullivan.  The show enjoyed phenomenal popularity in the 50s and 60s, with many notable performances and guests and it is some of those notable performances that we are going to share today.

Through this section, we are staying in the 60s, and I think a really good place to start is with Chubby Checker’s ‘ The Twist and Let’s Twist Again’, which he performed on The Ed Sullivan Show on 22 October 1961 and I’ll follow through with ‘Twist And Shout’ by The Beatles, performed on 23 February 1964.  So, having set the scene, and starting in 1963, two performances from each year, it could have been five or six, but I’m trying hard not to get carried away, except that’s a rather pointless statement, because I’ve already written four paragraphs, with another seven to come.
The Twist and Let’s Twist Again by Chubby Checker; Twist And Shout by The Beatles

So, 1963 and staying in date order, Cliff Richard performed ‘Bachelor Boy’ on 7 July 1963, after spending three weeks at Number One in the UK Singles Chart in January 1963.  Later that year, on 13 October, Lesley Gore performed her first hit single on The Ed Sullivan Show, It’s My Party, which she recorded when she was sixteen.  The song was produced by Quincy Jones, it became a US Number One and it was from her debut album ‘I’ll Cry If I Want To’.
Bachelor Boy by Cliff Richard; It’s My Party by Lesley Gore

It’s 1964 and on 5 April, The Searchers appeared singing ‘Needles And Pins’, which was written by Jack Nitsche (who went on to work with the Rolling Stones and Neil Young) together with Sonny Bono, who formed a singing duo (Sonny & Cher) with his second wife, Cher.  One month later, on 3 May, Gerry & The Pacemakers performed ‘Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying’, co-authored by Gerry Marsden and his brother Freddie Marsden, together with other members of the group.
Needles And Pins by The Searchers; Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying by Gerry & The Pacemakers

Halfway through the decade, it’s 1965, the month is April and Freddie & The Dreamers performed ‘I’m Telling You Now’, written by Freddie Garrity and Mitch Murray.  The song was actually released in the UK in August 1963 and went to Number Two in the UK Singles Chart, reaching Number One on the American Billboard Hot 100 in 1965.  Later that year, The Byrds appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show with ‘Mr Tambourine Man’, a song written by Bob Dylan.  Dylan never appeared on the show, walking off the set in 1963 after network censors rejected the song he planned on performing due to its controversial content.
I’m Telling You Now by Freddie & The Dreamers; Mr Tambourine Man by The Byrds

Into 1966 and The Animals appeared with ‘We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place’ on 6 February, a song inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2011.  Later that year, on 11 December, The Mamas & The Papas performed ‘Monday, Monday’ and with a touch of paragraph saving here, we arrive in May 1967 with The Seekers and their song ‘Georgy Girl, co-authored by Tom Springfield, who had also written ‘’I’ll Never Find Another You’ for The Seekers.  On 19 November of 1967, The Temptations and Diana Ross & The Supremes performed together for the first time on television with a medley of each other’s hit songs.
We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place by The Animals; Monday, Monday by The Mamas & The Papas; Georgy Girl by The Seekers; Hits Medley by The Temptations and Diana Ross & The Supremes

Nearly there, 1968 and I suppose I really had to choose this song.  ‘Words’ was performed by The Bee Gees on 17 March 1968, written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb and we’ll follow through to 27 October when Mary Hopkin covered  ‘Those Were The Days’ her debut single, which was produced by Paul McCartney.  And so, 1969, actually March 1969, and on 9 March Creedence Clearwater Revival performed ‘Proud Mary’, and following through on 16 March, Janis Joplin sang ‘Maybe’ on The Ed Sullivan Show, first recorded by The Chantels in 1957.
Words by The Bee Gees; Those Were The Days by Mary Hopkin; Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival; Maybe by Janis Joplin

I really should leave it there, but there is just one more thing, on 9 February 1964, The Beatles made their US debut on The Ed Sullivan Show with ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, and on the same show, the cast of Oliver & Davy Jones performed ‘I’d Do Anything’ from the stage show Oliver.  With the music and lyrics composed by Lionel Bart, the role of the Artful Dodger was played by Davy Jones in the original London and Broadway productions of Oliver, who went on to become part of the made-for-TV foursome, The Monkees.   The Monkees didn’t perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, but ‘Daydream Believer’ was released in 1967, so I’ve linked that too, and that is that.
I’d Do Anything by The Cast Of Oliver & Davy Jones; Daydream Believer by The Monkees

As I leave you enjoy to the long weekend, we celebrate together once again with an opportunity to explore the cutting-edge and pioneering products which really do make a difference and with a few more words about the music, let me just say that perhaps I should have created another new heading, The Weekend Concert, I was tempted.  The days of sharing just one song at the end of each Weekend Read are over, I will probably share three or four songs each weekend because that feels right, and on occasions we might do a deeper exploration, as we have done today, because I honestly believe we were born with music in our souls.  Touching souls.
The VH Playlist

With love

Gill x