Friday 24 October 2014

Lita Ford Rock Musician / Singer


I keep seeing this Lovely Lady on facebook etc , So I think it is about time I wrote about her !


This is to introduce   

                         LITA  FORD



Here is her Biography.....


In 1975, at the age of 16, Ford was recruited by recording impresario Kim Fowley to join the all female rock band he was assembling called The Runaways. The band soon secured a recording contract and released their first album in 1976. The band's"jailbait on the run gimmick garnered significant media attention and The Runaways became a successful recording and touring act during their late 1970s heyday. Fords lead-guitar playing became an integral element of the band's sound until their eventual break-up in April 1979.



In 1977, internal conflicts were
erupting within The Runaways, who had by that time already parted ways with producer Fowley, lead singer Cherie Currie, and bassist Jackie Fox. Vocalist/ guitarist Joan Jett wanted the band to shift to a more Ramones-influenced punk rock sound, while Ford and drummer Sandy West wanted to continue playing the hard rock-oriented songs the band had become known for. With neither faction willing to compromise, the band finally broke up in April 1979.










To LITA FORD, the title of her new solo album Living Like A Runaway has two deep and distinct meanings: The first refers to her first band The Runaways, which she was a member of between 1975 and 1980, achieving her international breakthrough. The second reason is of a much more personal nature: “There have been days in my life when I ran away, when I was unhappy and had to get out of my previous life,” LITA confesses. “It‘s like walking through fire and being able to come through the other side unscathed.” She continues, “I wanted to write an album which gives people courage, inspires them and gives them new power, in other words the power of music. As it has done for me on difficult days, I want this music to help people to get through tough times, while remembering their happy times as well. It’s happened to me plenty of times: fans come up to me and tell me how my songs have helped them in difficult situations, in a way it is almost like a soundtrack to their lives.”

Living Like A Runaway will be released on SPV/Steamhammer June 18th 2012 (USA: June 19th; Germany: June 15th). The album will be available in five different formats: as a limited edition digipak featuring two bonus tracks and a poster, as a gatefold double LP, a jewel case version, an exclusive iTunes version including a bonus track, and for download.

LITA FORD has teamed up with producer Gary Hoey and lyricist Michael Dan Ehmig to work on Living Like a Runaway. Together the team invested a lot of time and effort into this kick ass project: “We worked on the lyrics intensively to really give the songs a lot of meaning and that special emotional depth. I think that these are some of the best lyrics ever, period. FORD is referring to numbers such as ‘Devil In My Head,’ ‘Hate’, and ‘The Asylum’ which see her bare her soul in a way which she has never done before.

In addition to lead vocals, LITA and Hoey have arranged beautiful and melodic guitar harmonies rather than just rattling off a bunch of notes. Also contributing to the album is Nikki Sixx who wrote ́A Song to Slit Your Wrist By` which was taken by LITA and completely transformed into a nasty industrial style track with a real F You! attitude. On the track ́Bad Neighborhood` guitarist Doug Aldrich provided the riff, which LITA says, “is a high energy guitar riff that carries the song.” Elton John also gave his blessing to LITA to do a cover of his classic ́The Bitch is Back`, featuring special guests The Uptown Horns.
Unlike many albums today, Living Like a Runaway is an album that truly must be heard in its entirety from start to finish. “Listeners shouldn’t pick out individual tracks but listen to the full album,” says FORD. “It’s a fascinating musical journey, inspired by Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. I had seen a documentary about Dark Side of the Moon and it really motivated me to focus on Living Like a Runaway as a whole journey rather just an individual song.

A British born rocker who grew up on the streets of L.A., Lita Ford is considered one of the most important female representatives of the rock genre. Being a founding member of the Runaways, one of the first girl groups who unexpectedly broke down barriers in the punk era as well as the male-dominated world of rock music, causing a stir with their six rebellious releases.


Following the demise of the Runaways, LITA FORD concentrated on her own career and now looks back on many memorable hits including: the chart topping duet with Ozzy Osbourne ́Close Your Eyes Forever`, ́What Do You Know About Love`, ́Shot Of Poison`, ́Larger Than Life` and ́Kiss Me Deadly. With the release of Living Like a Runaway, expect many more songs to be added to the list of hits.




During her solo career, Ford endorsed musical instrument manufacturer B.C. Rich and exclusively used several of the brand's guitars, most notably the Warlock.
Ford had a small role in the 1992 horror/comedy film Highway to Hell playing a character called "The Hitchhiker". Ford was also asked by VH-1 to join the cast of the seventh season of the reality television program The Surreal Life in 2007. She declined.
Ford contributed her likeness and voice to the Xbox 360PlayStation 3 and PC video game Brütal Legend. She appears as the character Rima, alongside Jack BlackTim Curry, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford, and Lemmy Kilmister. Her song "Betrayal" is also one of the 100+ songs that appear in the game.
In 2010, a major Hollywood motion picture chronicling the career of Ford's first band, The Runaways, was produced. Ford was portrayed by actress Scout Taylor-Compton in the movie, entitled The Runaways.
Ford is featured extensively in the 2005 documentary film Edgeplay: A film about The Runaways, in which she spoke candidly about her time in the all-girl band. Among other things, she alludes to verbal and sexual abuse endured by the band members at the hands of their management, specifically Kim Fowley.
In 2013, Ford re-united with former Runaways band mate Cherie Currie to record a Christmas single. The single ties into work Currie and Ford are both doing on behalf of Toys For Tots, a charity run by the U.S. Marine Corps, which gives holiday toys to poor children.
Lita appeared on the May/June 2013 cover of Making Music Magazine to discuss her life and career.

Lita Ford is not only a great musician and singer, But she looks super sexy too, You could say that she has the whole package as an artist go's .





You can read about more great Singers / Bands / Musicians / Music and much more on this blog
or Go to The Rockhouse Music Project page on facebook ( please like the page )
Thanks fpr your support and for reading this blog.








          pbpaulburns2@gmail.com




Thursday 23 October 2014

Alvin Stardust died at the age of 70

I am sad to tell you that Alvin Stardust has passed away at the age of 70 after an illness ( cancer ) , He started out in the 1960s as Shane Fenton with his band The Fentons, His Song Cindy's Birthday was a big hit , Then he became Alvin Stardust as a big comeback with tunes like  My Coocachoo etc, He will be sadly missed



Please read about him bellow .....





ALVIN STARDUST
1942 - 2014
We are very sad to announce that Alvin Stardust, has passed away aged 72.
He died at his home on the morning of Thursday 23 October.  His wife, Julie Paton, and his family were with him.
Alvin was only recently diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, knowing this he continued to perform up until the very last week of his life. 
Last month he completed his first studio album for thirty years, entitled 'Alvin' it is scheduled for release on 3rd of November.  Alvin was incredibly proud of this album saying rather propehtically that he would die happy having made the album, as it was his best piece of work.
Manager Andy Davies said, "Alvin and I had only started working together over the last couple of years because he and I believed that musically he still had a great deal to give and explore and so we recorded an album that is a testament to an artist who gave his career to music. I may not have known him long but even in that short time he proved to be one of the most genuine and likeable men I've ever met; his passing is a huge and sad loss".

We would like to thank everyone who has sent messages saying how much Alvin meant to them.  He was every inch the musical gent and he will be sorely missed.  Details of his funeral are yet to be released.
Andy and Abigail.

*************************************************************************


RIP Alvin.




You can read about more great Singers / Musicians / Music and much more on this blog
or go to The Rockhouse Music Project Page on facebook ( please like the page )
Also our Band page called Simply Retro can be followed on facebook (please like our page)
or go to Simply Retro @retro_simply  on twitter.
Thanks for your support and for reading this blog .








       pbpaulburns2@gmail.com








Sunday 5 October 2014

Burns Marquee guitar ( Great sound)

Hi, You know , I recently bought a Burns Marquee Guitar, Wow, What an an instrument,
It is a beautiful thing with Pinky Orange Body with white finger plates and Gold coloured fittings, I cant believe that it sounds better than my Stratocaster and I never thought I would say that !  It has very fast action and is a pleasure to play, It was originally designed for Hank Marvin, And Best of all it is English Hand crafted in London !  Say no more !




Simply Retro
Classic cover Band 60s & 70s
Rock & Pop ....


                                                                     Follow us on Twitter  Simply Retro@retro_simply or Please like our page on facebook Thank you










You can read about Bands / Singers / Songwriters / Music etc on this blog 
or go to the Rockhouse Music Project page on facebook.
Thanks for your support and for reading this blog .






              pbpaulburns2@gmail.com
              Simply Retro @retro_simply