Key events
As the sounds of D:Ream drown (!) out the election announcement outside Number 10… another seemingly forgotten musical act are featured in this week’s Spin newsletter by Ben Bloom – United Colours of Sound – anyone?
In one incredibly low-resolution image of the band that exists in the far reaches of the internet there appears to be 10 members; in grainy YouTube footage of them performing England’s official 2003 Rugby World Cup song at Twickenham alongside UB40 there seems to only be five. But none of that quintet is the radio presenter and TV talent show vocal coach Carrie Grant, who was definitely part of the group at some point. Or was she?
The answers to such questions are secondary, really – at least for the purposes of The Spin this week – to the mystery of how, at a London rooftop bar, on 8 May 2003, two of United Colours of Sound’s innumerable members found their hands resting on the unlikely shoulders of John Crawley and Chris Adams, while another wielded a budget bat in front of county cricket royalty. Throw in the addition of laughably bad Elvis Presley and Austin Powers “lookalikes” – a misnomer of epic proportions – and it is an image that failed to stand the test of time five minutes after the photographer first hit the shutter release as much as it does now, 21 years after it was taken to promote the inaugural ECB Twenty20 Cup campaign.”
This is very much the vibe at Headingley:
And this…
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and a soggy welcome to Headingley and the OBO of the first T20I between England and Pakistan. Or not as the case seems to be. Just as I type the officials have seen fit to abandon the match. The puddles on the Yorkshire outfield looking deeper than the ones on Rishi Sunak’s suit shoulders … it’s election on and cricket off. Things can only get wetter.
I’m going to hang around for a bit to see if there’s any flutterings of news out of Headingley, please do drop me a line if you are out there and fancy keeping me company for the next hour or so?
