Bach’s Toccata & Fugue

This evening’s final episode of BBC4’s Sacred Music presented by Simon Russell Beale was all about Johann Sebastian Bach and the Lutheran legacy.

It started with his Toccata & Fugue, a wonderful piece of organ music that can be one of the most uplifting things you will ever hear.

I remember many years ago on a study trip to Nuremberg, I made friends with some Germans who were studying at the city’s Konservatorium.

One night, after a few beers, one of the students took us into a local church that he had the keys to, so he could practise the organ.

At well after midnight, we were the only ones in the church and the student treated us to a rendition of Bach’s Toccata.

I’m not a religious person, but it was one of the most spiritually uplifting things I had experienced.

This clip won’t exactly recreate the same feeling, but enjoy it all the same.

Yazoo are back!

I was very happy to hear that top 80s-pop combo Yazoo are reforming. Almost 30 years after Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet first got together, the pair are going to tour the UK in June.

Now, I’m very happy about this, as Upstairs At Eric’s is a cracking album and I thought they wrote some great music.

My one slight irritation is the price of the tickets for the tour.

The pair had immense success after they went their separate ways, Vince with Erasure and Alison as a solo artist, but they’re clearly back to make a quick buck, if you ask me.

Tickets cost £45 each – and that’s before any touts snap them up. Given that Yazoo only produced two albums, it’s a bit much to ask that much, whatever the nostalgia factor.

Anyway, if you need any reminding of how good they were, have a listen to Don’t Go – one of their finest tracks!

I want blood!

Give bloodI gave blood yesterday.

I’m not looking for any applause or anything. Clearly, I do it as an altruistic gesture, but I also know that the red stuff is in short supply.

There are two things that have always baffled me about the process of giving blood:

1) If you tell people who aren’t donors, they always look at you in a ‘You freak’ kind of way, as if it’s the most awful thing anyone could ever do.

2) It takes around 40 minutes to complete a donation, but only 5 minutes (in my case) is the actual process of the collecting the amount they need (much less than a pint, you may be interested to know).

I know they have to go through lots of protocols and safety measures, but I’m amazed that such a simple procedure – sticking a needle in someone’s arm and collecting the blood – can take so long.

Anyway, I feel very virtuous and was told today that I’ve probably saved around 10 people in my life, as a result of giving blood (something to do with ratios of people who receive it in a casualty environment, rather than for cancer or an operation).

If you’ve never done it and have always thought you’ll get around to it, don’t delay. Log onto their website now and book a session!