Sonatine

People who don't backup their data on their devices despite being told to do so on many occasions. And then they moan when their HDD fails and they've lost everything and expect me to do something about it.

Two TV aerials meet on a rooftop and fall in love. A few weeks later they end up married The reception was excellent

Apps that still insist on using the godawful captcha method of authentication!

I can still recall song lyrics from a majority of rock/metal bands I used to indulge with over 30+ years ago. And yet I can barely remember some of their most recent output over the last 5-10 years, with Rush being one of them. Is that because modern music is more forgettable or is it just my addled brain unwilling to absorb new information?

In no particular order:- Motorhead Iron Maiden Killswitch Engage Sabbath Slipknot Taurus Saxon ** Van Halen (seem to swing between HR and HM) ** Rainbow (ditto) Trivium

Kelly's Heroes A decent war film made in 1970 and starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas and Donald Sutherland. A nice vehicle for Eastwood in his attempt to move away from his trademark cowboy anti-hero and his "Spaghetti" westerns of the 1960s. But in essence he plays a similar character albeit set in world world II France. A film not to be taken too seriously, not least because of Sutherland's hippie character so synonymous for the late 60s/early 70s pop culture that doesn't quite fit within this war film

UFO - Strangers in the Night Without doubt one of the finest live rock albums ever produced despite the post production disagreements between Phil Mogg and Michael Schenker. UFO never quite reached the big time, but I have seen them in concert on at least 3 occasions between 1985 and 2010 and they're always good value. Doctor, Doctor Lights Out Only You Can Rock Me Love to Love And best of all, Rock Bottom with Schenker at the top of his game!

My first CD was Kate Bush and "Hounds of Love" back in 1985 I think it cost somewhere around £14.99 from Virgin Megastore, Birmingham

I love politics and especially political dramas such as The West Wing and political sitcoms such as Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister However, a few months a friend made me aware of another BBC political sitcom/drama called "The Thick of It". There were four series in total, dating between 2005 and 2012. Very much an updated and hard hitting version of "Yes, Minister" with lots of foul language to boot. And yet it has me hooked to the point where I've had many repeat viewings.

Season 2 of the old BBC classic comedy - Fawlty Towers

The Great Escape This used to be a regular Christmas holiday repeat viewing on the BBC during the 70s through to the early 00s. Every time I watch it i keep hoping Steve McQueen will eventually bike over those barbed wire fences!

I recall quite vividly actually buying the t-shirt before buying the album not least because I was impressed by the font! As for the album - well actually it was one of the first CDs I bought back in the 1982/3 rather than opting for the LP. On first playing I was quite shocked at the sudden shift in its musical anthem choosing to move towards more mainstream contemporary sounds that most other bands were experimenting with back in the early 80s. As a consequence I found the album rather find much love for to begin with, along with some soulless digital output from the CD itself. (I still don't rate CDs above LPs when it comes to the audio experience, especially through headphones). But like most things, time is a great healer, and by the end of the 80s I began to warm to Signals (especially "Losing It", "The Weapon" and "Subdivisions"); GuP and PW - all of which placed heavy emphasis on synthesisers & keyboards at the expense of traditional instruments.

Top Five:- Exit Stage Left Signals Moving Pictures GuP AFTK Bottom Five:- Fly by Night Hold your Fire Rush Caress of Steel Counterparts

Losing It - perhaps one of their saddest most poignant of songs

When I was a kid back in the 70s I used to read a comic containing Thor Odinson and War Hammer. Thor was your typical Norse god with blonde hair, blue eyes, rippling muscles and of course his trusty hammer

Lord Foul's Bane. The first book in "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever" trilogy by Stephen Donaldson

Brussel Sprouts - Satan's turds! Hated them with a passion when I was a kid and still dislike them 40 odd years on!

Bailey's Irish Cream or two... or three!

Have just finished a rather nice home-made salt & pepper chicken with basmati rice, curry sauce and a few chips.

Some 40 years ago a day didn't go by without me listening to PW, ESL, MP, Signals, PW, HyF and even the much maligned (by some) GuP. No other band came close, not even Halen, Maiden, The Who or Sabbath at the time. Therefore, up until about the turn of the millennium they were my No 1 band no question. Although having said that their 90s output was a little hit and miss and I never really fell in love with their 00s albums other than perhaps VT. They still rank in my top 5, but only for their 70s and 80s output by and large.

Tough choices primarily because I really haven't listened to MP or PW in quite awhile, unlike ESL which is an album I play at least once or twice a month. Therefore I've had to do a recap and played all three songs just a few minutes ago. I must admit, it was a close call between LSV and Freewill, but went for the former because of the slow build up and intense crescendo capped it for me. That said I might vote for Freewill tomorrow as I also think this is an under-rated but very well timed effort

ESL was my 2nd Rush album purchase back in 83/4 I think. Being a compilation album I was always entertaining trying to identify the albums with the symbolisms on the album cover with the woman from PW being the most prominent/obvious. Playing the album first on my cheapo music centre and then two years later on my far more expensive Marantz hi-fi and Wharfedale speakers and the difference in sound quality was hugely noticeable, especially on TS, CTTH, The Trees and LSV. LSV remains my most repeated song from that album. Always sends a shiver down my spine with the solos.

Probably around 1979/1980 during my time in 6th form and playing darts in the school common room. The common room had an old school record player which we played various albums at low volume. While playing darts someone put on Permanent Waves LP and "Spirit of Radio" I was absolutely taken by the song and Geddy's high-pitched singing. And of course the front cover of the album was "intriguing" also. I asked my friend if I could borrow the album and for the next 2 weeks I played it to death on my music centre until eventually I bought the album, and the rest is history as they say

Ghost Rider - Vapor Trails Its been around 5 years since I last listened to this under-rated song

I will always remember when playing "All the World's a Stage" and where Geddy says "The Professor on the Drum kit" - and for the next couple of minutes I was encapsulated with Neil's craftsmanship within the sealed confines of my headphones some 40 odd years ago. But strangely, and despite of all his truly awesome work over that time, there is one little 3 second extract from one of their relatively minor songs - Available Light - that still sends a thrill down my spine whenever I hear it. And that's Neil at 3m 09 seconds on the remastered version of the song. Nothing fancy at all: in fact incredibly simplistic for him. But it has lingered for me as his signature in almost 30 years! Complex pieces or simple, Neil cared either way!