This is the the original Suzi Quatro music video to her 1974 release, Devil Gate Drive. I didn't realise Suzi Quatro (born Susan Kay Quatronella, June 3, 1950, Detroit, Michigan) was American-born but apparently she moved to the UK in 1971 after being discovered in Detroit by record producer Mickie Most who was famous for producing many artists such as The Animals, Jeff Beck, Lulu and Donovan. By this time he had started his own label RAK Records, which made stars of many artists including Hot Chocolate and Mud.

Interesting fact number one - she has sold over 45 million records worldwide, and in Australia has surpassrd the sales of the Beatles.

Interesting fact number two - she is most famous in the United States as Leather Tuscadero in the TV show Happy Days and has a number of film credits on her CV.

I always liked the Zombies and I think this was their finest. Peformed on tv in 1965 it's a good song, well performed.

The band was formed in 1961 in St Albans led by Rod Argent on piano and Colin Blunstone on vocals. They scored hits in the mid- and late-1960s with "She's Not There", "Tell Her No", and "Time of the Season". Their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle, comprising twelve songs by the group's principal songwriters, Argent and Chris White, is now considered one of the best of its time and is ranked 80 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

To mark the 40th anniversary of Odessey & Oracle, the four surviving original members of The Zombies participated in a three-night series of concerts at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire Theatre between 7 and 9 March, 2008

One of the stories featured on www.getnoticedonline today (Sept 19) was the theft of a £2,000 mountian bike in Peebles. That bike belonged to 16-year-old Simon Smith from Cleator who had been preparing to take part in a major competition at Innerleithen over one of the fastest but technical courses in Scotland.

Simon had worked week-ends in a restaurant to save enough money to buy the parts for the bike and it was completed earlier this year. He practiced ahead of the championship but when he got up next morning eager for the action - the bike had gone off his dad's car rack.

Pebbles police are appealing for information and there's a widel;y held belief that mountain bikes are being especially tgarget by thieves at the moment.

If you're wondering what Simon was going to tackle take a look at this video and you'll get an idea. Here's hoping the bike turns-up and the Cumbrian teenager can continue his career in the fast-growing sport.

One of the old rockers who was actually in the taxi when Eddie Cochran was killed while touring Britain.

Vincent and His Blue Caps first burst onto the scene in the States with this record and it launched them over there befoire he tried his luck in Europe. It's regarded now as a rock and roll classic.

In 1960, while on tour in the UK, Vincent and songwriter Sharon Sheeley were seriously injured in a high-speed traffic accident in a private hire taxi travelling through Chippenham, Wiltshire on the A4 on the journey to London Airport where they were set to return to the US that night.

The car, a Ford Consul, suffered a blowout causing it to swerve and crash into a lamp post on Rowden Hill. Vincent broke his ribs, collarbone, and further damaged his weakened leg, and Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis. Both Vincent and Sheeley survived, but the accident killed Vincent's tourmate and Sheeley's fiancé, Eddie Cochran.

Vincent subsequently moved to England in 1963. His stage shows became "must see" events that greatly influenced some of the most respected players in the world today.

It was during his early tours of Britain that he adopted the trademark leather outfit, at the suggestion of British rock 'n' roll impressario, Jack Good. British fans held in high regard the band that supported him, Sounds Incorporated - a six-piece outfit which included three saxophones, guitar, bass and drums. They later went on to play with The Beatles at their famed Shea Stadium concert.

He has achieved a genuine legendary status and his work is respected, and often copied, by singers and groups worldwide. His major hit, Be-Bop-A-Lula, is considered one of the great rock 'n' roll records.

On his final tour of the UK, he was backed by The Wild Angels, a British band who had previously worked at the Royal Albert Hall with Bill Haley & His Comets and Duane Eddy. Because of pressure from his ex-wife, the Inland Revenue and promoter Don Arden, Gene had to return rather swiftly to the USA.

His final US recordings were four tracks for Rockin' Ronny Weiser's Rolling Rock label, a few weeks before his death. These tracks were later released on a compilation album of tribute songs, including a version of "Say Mama" by his daughter Melody Jean Vincent (accompanied by Johnny Meeks on guitar). He later recorded five tracks (released years later as "The Final Sessions") in Britain in October 1971.

Gene Vincent died on October 12, 1971 from a ruptured stomach ulcer while visiting his father in California, and is interred in the Eternal Valley Memorial Park, Newhall, California.

He was the first inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame upon its formation in 1997. The following year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Gene Vincent got a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 1749 N. Vine St.) in the Category Music

I think a few groups of the time used to include this in their stage act but this was the one that mattered. Rufus Thomas and this was probably the first time he'd been noticed by the UK record buyers in 1965.

Rufus Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was a rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian from Memphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the 1950s and on Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s.

He was the father of soul singer Carla Thomas and keyboard player Marvell Thomas. A third child, Vaneese, a former French teacher, has a recording studio in upstate New York and sings for television commercials.

Rufus who also got involved in a series of dance records - remember the Funky Chicken - was described as the workd's oldest teenager ona lot of his promo stuff in later years. He was 84 when he died following a heart attack.

But if you mentioned Rufus Thomas to me I would immediately respond with "Walking the dog" - and here it is.

I remember being chuffed to bits when Gene Pitney finally made it big in the British charts with this one because I'd been buying his records for several years. One of the best was called Mecca - but never got a sniff at the charts over here. I'll try and dig that one out for you later.

When we did mock exams for General Studies at Cockeremouth Grammar School I remember doing an essay on the 'world famous sculptor Alan Pitney.'  I can still see the headmaster Stuart Hamer striding into the room, looking all around til he spotted me and then throwing my papers onto his desk and declaring: "I've been through every reference book in the school and still can't find Alan Pitney - can you explain?"

I'm afraid the explanation wasn't very good - I had made him up and it was either going to be Pitney or Dimucci but in the end I thought I might just get away with Pitney!

Actually he had Alan on his birth certificate and although a talented musician I don't think he ever turned his hand to sculpture.

According to Wikipedia Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 -- April 5, 2006) was an accomplished songwriter, guitarist, pianist, drummer, and skilled sound engineer.

In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed considerable success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic. As a performer, he charted 16 Top 40 hit singles in the US, 4 of which reached the top ten.

In the UK, the figures were even more impressive: 22 top 40 hits, and 11 top tens. As a songwriter, he also penned the big early 1960s hits "He's A Rebel" by The Crystals, and "Hello Mary Lou" by Rick Nelson.

Pitney was among a small group of early 1960's American artists and acts such as Roy Orbison, The Beach Boys, The Four Seasons, Jan and Dean, The Drifters and Jay and the Americans that continued to enjoy big radio hits after the British Invasion arrived in the United States in 1964.

We're going back to early 1960 for this outstanding record whichbecame a major hit on both the country and pop music charts. Wikipedia tells us that it also won the Grammy Award for Best Country and Western Recording in 1961, and remains Robbins' best-known song.

It is widely considered a genre classic for its gripping narrative, haunting harmonies by Tompall and the Glaser Brothers and the eloquent Spanish guitar accompaniment by Grady Martin that lends the recording a distinctive Tex-Mex feel.

Born in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona. He was reared in a difficult family situation. His father took odd jobs to support the family of ten children. His father's drinking led to divorce in 1937. Among his warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle, a former Texas Ranger and medicine show performer.

Robbins left the troubled home at the age of seventeen to serve in the United States Navy as an LCT coxswain during World War II. He was stationed in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs, and came to love Hawaiian music.

As his sinbging career developed he was especially known for his kindness toward his many fans.

In addition to his recordings and performances, Robbins was an avid race car driver, competing in NASCAR races, including the 1973 Daytona 500. In 1967, Robbins played himself in the car racing film Hell on Wheels. In 1983, NASCAR honored Robbins by naming the annual race at Nashville the Marty Robbins 420.

In 1948, Robbins married the former Marizona Baldwin (September 11, 1930 - July 10, 2001) to whom he dedicated his song "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife'". They had two children, a son, Ronny (born 1949), and a daughter, Janet, (born 1959). (Janet Robbins would go on to become a singer herself.)

Robbins later portrayed a musician in the 1982 Clint Eastwood film Honkytonk Man. Robbins died a few weeks before the film's release in December 1982 of complications following cardiac surgery.

At the times of their deaths, Marty and Marizona lived in Brentwood in Williamson County, outside Nashville. They are interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville. The city of El Paso, Texas later honored Robbins by naming a park and a recreational center after him.

The Platters were a successful vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition, and the burgeoning new genre.

The act went through many personnel changes, with the most successful incarnation comprising lead tenor Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor.

They had a string of hits in the 50's and early 60's and this is one of their best.

In later years as the group changed personnel so the arguments and law suits started as to who had the right to the name - very muich like the Drifters. Whatever, like the Drifters they produced some brilliant records over the years.

Rather sadly he's probably best remembered for being one of the guys who died on the plane crash with Buddy Holly.

But althouigh he only had a very shgort recording career, Valens produced several good records and this is clearly the one most people remember him for.

Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela; May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.

A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted only eight months. During this time, however, he scored several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which was originally a Mexican folk song that Valens transformed with a rock rhythm and beat that became a hit in 1958, making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement.

On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as The Day the Music Died, Valens was killed in a plane crash in Iowa, a tragedy that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

I was reminded of this superb song and singer by the recent Specsavers ad. I'm due to go for an eye-test on Monday so when this popped up on my dad's tv on Thursday night it was the right sort of nudge to put it up here.

During World War II, she was a frequent performer at German Forces social gatherings in occupied France, and many considered her a traitor; following the war she claimed to have been working for the French resistance.

While there is no evidence of this per se, it does seem to be true that she was instrumental in helping a number of individuals (including at least one Jew) escape Nazi persecution.

Throughout it all, she remained a national and international favorite. Piaf dated a Jewish pianist during this time and co-wrote a subtle protest song with Monnot.[ According to one story, singing for high-ranking Germans at the One Two Two Club earned Piaf the right to pose for photographs with French prisoners of war, to boost their morale. The Frenchmen were supposedly able to cut out their photos and use them as forged passport photos,

The love of Piaf's life, the married boxer Marcel Cerdan, died in a plane crash in October 1949, while flying from Paris to New York City to meet her. Cerdan's Air France flight, flown on a Lockheed Constellation, went down in the Azores, killing everyone on board, including famous violinist Ginette Neveu.

Piaf and Cerdan's affair made international headlines, as Cerdan was the middleweight world champion and a legend in France in his own right.

Piaf married Jacques Pills, a singer, in 1952 (her maid of honour was Marlene Dietrich) and divorced him in 1956. In 1962 she wed Théo Sarapo, a Greek hairdresser-turned-singer and actor who was 20 years younger than she. The couple sang together in some of her last engagements.

In 1951 Piaf was involved in a car crash along with Charles Aznavour, breaking an arm and two ribs, and thereafter had difficulty breaking serious morphine and alcohol addictions. Two more near-fatal car crashes exacerbated the situation. Jacques Pills took her into rehabilitation on three different occasions to no avail.

Piaf died of liver cancer at Plascassier, on the French Riviera, on October 10, 1963, but officially made public on the 11th, the same day that her friend Jean Cocteau died. She slipped in and out of consciousness for the last months of her life. It is said that Sarapo drove her body back to Paris secretly so that fans would think she had died in her hometown. She is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery, in Paris, where her grave is among the most visited.