Rick Parfitt has played his last riff.

[Les]

Yet another great rock 'n roller has died this year. Status Quo will never be the same again.

At least we still have this to remember him by - take your pick:-

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=status+quo

[CT_Shooter]

Les, Rick Parfitt and Status Quo never made it into my musical world before your post today, but I see that they've had a huge audience so I'm intrigued by why I never heard of them before. I find it so interesting that musical influences both ways across the Atlantic have had such varying degrees of impact.

I recently watched a fictional movie about top forty musical radio in Britain called "Pirate Radio". While it was not factual, I suspect it had some foundation in truth. It amazed me. It suggested that while America was listening to homegrown Rock and Roll and imports like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and a dozen or more other British Rock and Roll bands and solo artists, the very same music was apparently being suppressed by the established media outlets and relegated to outlaw radio stations broadcast from off-shore, floating transmitters. Was that really the case? What are your memories of popular music in the sixties?

[Les]

Yes, it was definitely the case. The best known of the 'pirate radio' stations was Radio Caroline, broadcast from a boat that was moored in various places off the coast. There is a good description of it's operation in the 'Caroline's History' section.

http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/#home.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Caroline

The BBC controlled all the licensing of UK radio transmissions at the time, and they seemed to take a very dim view of "modern" music for some reason, so we had to resort to any means we could find to enjoy our music. They eventually changed their mind when they realized that the 'pirate' radio stations had a lot more listeners than their own channels, but it took them a long time to develop any sort of popular formula.

Another radio station we listened to was Radio Luxembourg, which was broadcast from continental Europe.

http://radiosoundsfamiliar.com/radio-luxembourg.php

Happy days, and I just wish I could remember more details.

[CT_Shooter]

Yes, it was definitely the case.

I'm so glad you're part of this forum experience, Les. I'm about to become 66 years old; regardless, I still have so much more to learn about firearms, shooting, reloading, and--- well, so very much more. Thanks.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

Sorry to hear.

Loved Pictures of Matchstick Men.

One of my favorite songs back then.

[Les]

Not half as glad as I am. I am the one who should be saying thanks. It is great to see and read about all the various firearms that you have over there. We have quite a lot to choose from, but it's probably less than 10% of what you have available.

It's also good to learn about how you do things. It is a real pleasure to be able to log on to this Forum every day and 'talk' to you all. Every day is, indeed, a school day!