Whilst on the nostalgic pop video tip (see blog entry below), MTV's about to celebrate 25 years with Mike Skinner/The Streets aiming to enter the Guinness Book Of Records with a new 25 minute song & promo to surpass John Landis's EPIC for Michael Jackson, "Thriller".

Mike's song/clip will actually need to be about 40 minutes as Michael Jackson's "Ghosts" was about 38 mins. (!) and Guinness World Records does state that "Ghosts" is the longest pop video/short ever!

Anyway, today (or strictly speaking yesterday), I met up with Simone Angel as she was visiting the UK with hubby Andy & gorgeous kids Lucas & Aidan. Simone wanted to unearth some old MTV Party Zone interview clips for her web site so after some quick digging and dusting off tapes, we headed to 'The Joint' and boy was it a trip spooling thru those betas this afternoon!!!

Despite loads of tapes unfortunately burned/destroyed in an MTV fire several years ago, we stumbled across some absolute killer moments from the Party Zone's video vaults that ran from 1988-2000. Aphex Twin's insanely rare in-depth interview (possibly his only ever TV interview) at Big Love 1996 where he really opens up to Simone, Shaun Ryder pretty sober (possibly a first for him too!), suprised when Simone pulls him up for poisoning pigeons many moons ago (!), Moby in drag, Jacques Lu Cont 8 years prior to working with Madonna, the Prodigy larking around on toy instruments in Camden Market circa 1992.

Look out for these & more on Simone's site, or here and/or YouTube very soon.

One of the maddest clips too was a moment we'd both forgot when we were out in Ibiza 1998 and Justin Monck who was helping out decided to 'indulge' and, to literally heighten his 'buzz', asked Danny the owner of 'Clockwork Orange' club to give him a blast of his Stun Gun!!!!! A crackle and Justin flies across the screen with Danny quipping, "Imagine that on the end of your old bill, oooo-eeee!!!" Running!!!

As we were whizzing thru the tapes, we caught up on chat, mentioned how we both still get loads of e-mails from fans who grew up with the show asking to see the stuff on-line like Mihai Grecu's e-mail today who, "Between being the Prime Minister's Counselor for transport and also working at the Romanian Government restructuring wants to become an MTV Programmer"!!!

After we were done there was a quick flash of feeling like being back at MTV, having to log another big pile of tapes before another imminent edit the next day with another late night looming and junk food beckoning!!! Don't get me wrong I loved churning out the shows, it was just like my re-occurring, "You're back at school" type dreams.

Fortunately, we left and I later popped round to see Tania who used to be an invaluable part of the Party Zone team. I don't think I'd seen her since the photo on the left about 8 years ago with the photo on the right (above) taken today!!!!

After a good old natter we said our goodbyes with Simone reminding me that (a) it's not a good idea to leave a 5 month baby in a push-chair unattended in the corridor of an edit suite to go and chat to some people, like I did today, when her mum (i.e. Simone!) has gone to the toilet. ("You're not ready yet" Simone joked) and (b) to get my ass over to the best adventure holiday, retreat, travel destination in Belize!!

Back from another DJ date in Club Razz amidst Barcelona's beauty and blistering heat.
(Below paper scrap, one of numerous, scribbled frantically by the punters requesting tunes!).

Sunday, several sermons at 'Church' including spontaneous camera phone pics like below with Tony on the left, Sean P + James Bull both to the right.

Lucy's lovely Birthday dinner @ Prince Alfred's, Maida Vale; big up the bangers & mash plus decadent desert sharing of Banoffee Pie, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Brownie Bizness etc. then home to catch up on some bedtime mag reading. As ever, tons of little bits & pieces/articles including another tearing Touré-penned Rolling Stone hip-hop piece on uber-hip-hop producer "Scott Storch". Also relished every inch of the Steve Barron interview in July's "Promo" (industry pop video publication). Barron's like the godfather to Gondry, sheer f*cking pioneering visual genius. Bring on the Steve Barron Director's DVD ASAP!!!!

Steve Barron recently won the oustanding achievement awards at this year's CADS-06-Music Vision Awards and reading the article/interview with the directing don just reinforced my respect for this guy's creativity in a medium that really gets harder to make a mark nowadays with so much more 'media' choice & distraction. When MTV dawned in the early 80s, (UK) TV still only had 3 to 4 channels, no internet, MySpace, i-Pod, ,YouTube, DVD, explosion of video games plus the plethora of the week's new music, film, TV shows, Virals etc. like today. It's so nuts when I dip into say, Time Out or Empire and see the glut of new releases so many which disappear at an alarming rate.

The pop-promo biz was pretty embryonic back in the early 80s, taking far more risk than it tends to now plus, as I mention, it was all so new. Also, because of the abundance of stuff to digest, it's not only hard to remember something that stands out but to actually remember it for a long period of time too. Of course, getting old is one factor in all this but boy, Steve Barron's work stays imprinted on my brain, check these 2 boxes (from "Promo") below that had me drooling, a sort of DVD commentary in print.

......Mr. Please, Please, Please, Funky President, Foreign Minister Of Funk and now an Ambassador of The Princes Trust - some of the re-affirmed accolades quite rightly bestowed upon the truly legendary James Brown at the Berkeley Square Ball late last night by Rod Stewart (equally legendary himself!).

As clock ticked & running order moved closer to my DJ set, I thought of how to follow on from the hardest working man in showbuisness, who looked incredible, exuded more energy than a vial of Viagra and belted out the bangers from a career spanning over 50 years!! How about Coldcut's or Norman Cook's "Payback Mixes"? Or Steinski's tribute to 'The Godfather Of Soul', the classic cut-up, "Lesson 2" - Whatever, it's GOT TO BE FUNKY!!!!!

Review of 'Sing Song' Mix-CD (from Hip-Hop Connection Magazine, August 06):

From the same issue, ('Scuse the pun but) Emery's "On the money" here with succint summise of where ebay's at particularly when it comes to rare rap records. Do get Andrew's essential coffee table book of 'Hip Hop Cover Art' , a steal compared to some of those loony ebay prices!!