mostly david ephgrave

Whenever I put together a show, the music I choose to use - both in and around it - has always been very important to me. The songs I settle on are never there by accident, as they’re an essential way of contributing to the feel of the show as a whole. Admittedly, I’ll often go for something by The Beatles or Paul McCartney as their music is something I’m very passionate about, but invariably I’ll pick something obscure I suspect the wider public won’t be aware of, but I think they'll like. 'Hey Bulldog' is a perfect case in point. The song was only cut by The Beatles as something to do while shooting a video for the single ‘Lady Madonna’ in the studio, and was if anything a bit of a toss-off, but despite this it has long been a personal favourite; consequently, it’s been the play-out at every single Mostly Comedy that’s ever been. It doesn’t matter how many times I hear the song in that context, it still has the same impact. I love the...

Sorting my 2015/16 receipts today to the tune of the Paul & Linda McCartney album Ram made it a far more enjoyable experience. One thing I don’t do much of at the moment, as I’m not doing any muso work, is to have a really good sing. I tend to listen to music when I get ready in the morning, and will often join in with it a little (much to the consternation of my neighbours or anyone walking past my bathroom window), but outside of the occasional bit of bath-based Karaoke, I’m not keeping my voice in shape. I did give it a stretch today however, whilst knee-deep in bank statements and receipts, and if you going to do this, an album like Ram is a good one to work out to. The vocal parts are liter ally all over the shop , which is meant as a compliment. It was McCartney’s second post-Beatles album, which was slated at the time - largely fed by him supposedly being the root of the Beatles' breakup - but has been critically re-evaluated over the intervening years. It’...