It's been such a long time...

As the song by Boston went. Well, there's been holidays and gigs and pubs and gigs and beer. Anyway, what prompted me back was that my mate is off to York for the meeting on Friday, so I thought I'd give him some rockin' tips! All of my choices are in the 3.40 - don't know if they'll all run though.
First up is Bungle in the Jungle, a great song by the wonderfully eccentric Jethro Tull, led by possibly the only flute-playing salmon farm-owning bearded scotsman in the world, Ian Anderson.
Next is Slade Power. If you've never heard a Slade song, then you're either deaf, or you have never been in the UK during Xmas for the last 40 years.
Finally, we have Spirit Quartz, which evokes memories of two bands from the 70s - Spirit, and, er, Quartz. Spirit were American and boasted the wonderfully named guitarist Randy California. Brummies Quartz used to be called Bandy Legs, but sensibly changed their name. My mate saw them once, and went into the record shop the next day and asked the women behind the counter 'Have you got Bandy Legs?'. Didn't go down well. Quartz released a great version of Mountain's Nantucket Sleighride, and their first album was produced by Mr Heavy Metal himself, Tony Iommi.
Best of luck!

Crikey! I only picked the National winner

Auroras Encore won the Grand National at 66/1... and I tipped it!!! You could say that my rock & metal method of tipping now works - or you could say it was pure luck. I know which one I think!
OK, now to this week. My selections all run at Kempton Park on Saturday.
First up is in the 2.05, Alice's Dancer. This is in tribute to the wonderful Alice Cooper. You may not know (or believe) that Mr. Cooper has been happily married for over 30 years, and that his wife was originally one of his dancers. Nowadays, his dancer is his daughter! Keep it in the family.
Next is I'm So Glad, running in the 3.15. This is the title of a song by Cream, a superb band from the 60s comprising Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. A true supergroup.
Finally, in the 3.50, is Nazreef, a favourite of this blog, as it combines two fantastic groups spanning many years - Nazareth from the 70s, and Reef from the 90s.
Good luck to everyone!!

1 - 2 - 3 - 4

No, I'm not counting in a song, but pointing the way to this year's Grand National, where an each way finish in the top four could see the winnings come rolling in (some hope!). Here are my selections...
The Rainbow Hunter, simply because of the magestic band Rainbow, and the Free song "The Hunter".
Auroras Encore, because all good bands should come back for an encore!
Mr Moonshine, because it sounds a bit like the Supertramp song "Sister Moonshine".
And finally, Join Together, a song by The Who.
Best of luck to everyone.

Easy peasy

Sometimes I have to think about the connections between horses and rock music. This week, it's a no-brainer.
Kempton Park. 2.15. Saturday. Uriah Heep.
Uriah Heep are a band that I've followed since the mid 70s. Wonderful band. I went to see them a couple of weeks ago, and they were fantastic.
Nuff said.

This is what we want...

When I started this blog, I emphasised the tenuous nature of the way I chose my tips. This week is no exception. My tip runs in Saturday's 3.15 at Newbury, and is called Knight in Purple. One of my favourite bands of all time is Deep Purple, and their biggest hit, and still a great live staple, is Black Night. So Knight in Purple works brilliantly, even though it's Knight, not Night. Can you see what I've done there?
As always, best of luck!

Rock and Real Ale

One of my other passions, apart from rock music, is real ale. So it's nice to report that a couple of races at today's Chepstow meeting are sponsored by Bath Ales, brewers of superb beers.
My tip runs in one of these, the 2.45. Presence Felt reminds me of one of Led Zeppelin's albums, Presence. Released in 1976, it is a tremendous album, with the cover causing a lot of speculation, as it featured images of everyday life, but in each photo was a "presence" - a black, obelisk shape, that no one knew what it was (apart from the designers, Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis, presumably... or maybe not)..
Not the best album cover in the world, but a bloody good album.

Trying to beat those winter blues...

Well, you never know - one day, one of my tips will come good.
My choice this week runs in tomorrow's meeting at Ascot, in the 2.40. The Rainbow Hunter has a dual connection with two, now defunct, bands. Rainbow were a superb band, existing between 1975 and the mid 1980s. Formed by former Deep Purple maestro Ritchie Blackmore, they went from bombastic hard rock to commercial success, all the time underpinned by Blackmore's wonderful guitar playing.
The Hunter was a song performed by Free, a fantastic short-lived band. The singer, Paul Rodgers, along with drummer Simon Kirke, went on to form Bad Company. Sadly, their troubled guitarist, Paul Kossoff, died in 1976.