Gerry Rafferty – No longer on Baker Street

Gerry Rafferty performing in the National Stadium, Dublin 6th September 1980 - Photo: Eddie Mallin

Today (Tuesday 4th January 2011) saw a sad end to Gerry Rafferty's career which began busking on London Underground. The experience inspired his 1978 anthem of urban alienation “Baker Street”. Despite the glamorous image buskers then (60s /70s) often lived a hand to mouth existence living in squats, experimenting with drugs and drinking heavily. He had been reported in 2008 as expelled from the Westbury Hotel in London, disappeared in Italy and having left rehab and then in November last admitted to hospital in Bournemouth with liver disease. Gerry died at the age of 63 peacefully at home, with his daughter Martha at his bedside after suffering a long illness but hopefully he will be remembered as a great songwriter and musician rather than for his life at the end when his demons caught up with him.

His career high came in the 1970s and included the anthemic Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle with You, recorded with his band Stealers Wheel. His Irish-born father was a heavy-drinking miner and lorry driver who died when Gerry was 16. Inspired by his Scottish mother, who had taught him Irish and Scottish folk songs as a boy, and heavily influenced by the music of The Beatles and Bob Dylan, the young Gerry started to write his own material.


City to City

He was born in Paisley, Scotland and began his musical career as a busker on the London Underground. He had recorded and toured with Billy Connolly as part of the Humblebums, before forming Stealers Wheel with his friend Joe Egan in 1972. Stuck in the Middle with You was a hit in the early 70s and also appeared on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's debut film Reservoir Dogs in 1992. Baker Street charted in the UK and US in 1978 after Rafferty began his solo career and still achieves airplay on radio stations around the world. It is understood his funeral will be held in Paisley later this month.

He had a smash hit in 1978 with Baker Street, a world-weary classic based on his experiences busking in the London Underground as a struggling young musician. "It was first released in 1978 on his album "City to City" and has been covered by over 20 artists. The song was named after the famous London Street and Underground station of the same name; this was Rafferty's second solo album. The single reached #3 in the UK and performed even better in the US, where it became a #2 hit, in addition to reaching the top 10 in the Netherlands (#9). It was Rafferty' first release after the legal issues surrounding the formal separation of the band Stealers Wheel in 1975. Rafferty was unable to release any material for three years after the band's break up, while resolving the disputes about the band's remaining contractual recording obligations.


Baker Street

While a memorable line in his best-known song included a promise to “give up the booze and the one-night stands”, Rafferty never conquered his private demons. The haunting Baker Street with its searing saxophone riff and great guitar solo propelled Rafferty into the pantheon of British rock legends. The song has remained a staple of soft-rock and easy-listening stations for more than 30 years — by 2004 it was reckoned to have received four million airplays — and at the time of his death continued to earn Rafferty around £80,000 annually in royalties.

So let’s remember how great Gerry was at his peak. A great song on a great album. He'll be sorely missed.

For more about Baker Street and the London Underground see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html

Baker Street

Windin' your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well another crazy day
You'll drink the night away
And forget about everything
This city desert makes you feel so cold.
It's got so many people but it's got no soul
And it's taking you so long
To find out you were wrong
When you thought it had everything

Gerry Rafferty – No longer on Baker Street

Gerry Rafferty performing in the National Stadium, Dublin 6th September 1980 - Photo: Eddie Mallin

Today (Tuesday 4th January 2011) saw a sad end to Gerry Rafferty's career which began busking on London Underground. The experience inspired his 1978 anthem of urban alienation “Baker Street”. Despite the glamorous image buskers then (60s /70s) often lived a hand to mouth existence living in squats, experimenting with drugs and drinking heavily. He had been reported in 2008 as expelled from the Westbury Hotel in London, disappeared in Italy and having left rehab and then in November last admitted to hospital in Bournemouth with liver disease. Gerry died at the age of 63 peacefully at home, with his daughter Martha at his bedside after suffering a long illness but hopefully he will be remembered as a great songwriter and musician rather than for his life at the end when his demons caught up with him.

His career high came in the 1970s and included the anthemic Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle with You, recorded with his band Stealers Wheel. His Irish-born father was a heavy-drinking miner and lorry driver who died when Gerry was 16. Inspired by his Scottish mother, who had taught him Irish and Scottish folk songs as a boy, and heavily influenced by the music of The Beatles and Bob Dylan, the young Gerry started to write his own material.


City to City

He was born in Paisley, Scotland and began his musical career as a busker on the London Underground. He had recorded and toured with Billy Connolly as part of the Humblebums, before forming Stealers Wheel with his friend Joe Egan in 1972. Stuck in the Middle with You was a hit in the early 70s and also appeared on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's debut film Reservoir Dogs in 1992. Baker Street charted in the UK and US in 1978 after Rafferty began his solo career and still achieves airplay on radio stations around the world. It is understood his funeral will be held in Paisley later this month.

He had a smash hit in 1978 with Baker Street, a world-weary classic based on his experiences busking in the London Underground as a struggling young musician. "It was first released in 1978 on his album "City to City" and has been covered by over 20 artists. The song was named after the famous London Street and Underground station of the same name; this was Rafferty's second solo album. The single reached #3 in the UK and performed even better in the US, where it became a #2 hit, in addition to reaching the top 10 in the Netherlands (#9). It was Rafferty' first release after the legal issues surrounding the formal separation of the band Stealers Wheel in 1975. Rafferty was unable to release any material for three years after the band's break up, while resolving the disputes about the band's remaining contractual recording obligations.


Baker Street

While a memorable line in his best-known song included a promise to “give up the booze and the one-night stands”, Rafferty never conquered his private demons. The haunting Baker Street with its searing saxophone riff and great guitar solo propelled Rafferty into the pantheon of British rock legends. The song has remained a staple of soft-rock and easy-listening stations for more than 30 years — by 2004 it was reckoned to have received four million airplays — and at the time of his death continued to earn Rafferty around £80,000 annually in royalties.

So let’s remember how great Gerry was at his peak. A great song on a great album. He'll be sorely missed.

For more about Baker Street and the London Underground see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html

Baker Street

Windin' your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well another crazy day
You'll drink the night away
And forget about everything
This city desert makes you feel so cold.
It's got so many people but it's got no soul
And it's taking you so long
To find out you were wrong
When you thought it had everything

Ride on Sarah!

Sarah Siddons

Sarah Siddons (5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was the most famous female actress in Georgian Britain and was the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character: Lady Macbeth, a character she made her own. In private life Siddons enjoyed the friendship and respect of many of the most eminent persons of her time. Horace Walpole at first refused to join the fashionable chorus of her praise, but he was ultimately won over. Samuel Johnson wrote his name on the hem of her garment in the famous picture of the actress as the Tragic Muse by Reynolds (now in the Dulwich Gallery). "I would not lose", he said, "the honour this opportunity afforded to me for my name going down to posterity on the hem of your garment." Siddons died in London on the 8th of June 1831, and was buried in Paddington churchyard. This is now Paddington Green and located on the south side, facing the Marylebone flyover is the statue of Sarah Siddons, by Chevaliand, which was erected in 1897, as she lived in the neighbourhood when Paddington was still rural.


Paddington Green

Her house, where she gave private readings, once stood on what is now the top of Baker Street in London at the side of the Metropolitan Line’s Baker Street Station and was in fact demolished by the railway in 1928 when Baker Street was extended as far as the Outer Circle of Regents Park. The railway must have felt guilty about this act of vandalism because they erected a plaque on the site and named the electric locomotive after her which is today the last operating electric locomotive of this series. ( http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html )

Sarah Siddons, the oldest working main line electric locomotive in Britain will make special trips between Harrow-on-the-Hill, via Rickmansworth to Amersham on Sunday 17 May as part of the Rickmansworth Festival. Engine no. 12, Sarah Siddons, was built in 1922 and is the last operational Metropolitan Railway electric locomotive; the only surviving working engine out of 20 built by Metropolitan Vickers and mostly named after people associated with the area served by the Metropolitan Railway. The engines had a top speed of 65 miles per hour.



Sarah will pull carriages dating back to the 1950s and is making four special trips. Adult tickets cost £20.00 and they're only £3.00 for children. However, the first journey is £25.00 as it travels via Watford and the north curve.

A vintage bus service including the Museum's prototype Routemaster bus RM1 will run from Rickmansworth station to the Rickmansworth Festival site at Batchworth Lock.

You can book tickets on this link;

https://ticket.ltmuseum.co.uk/peo/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=65

or by phone on 020 7565 7298.

Rickmansworth is known as the “Gateway to the Chilterns” and is the lynch pin of “Metroland” – the land developed by the Metropolitan Railway to finance its expansion into Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. One notable claim to fame is its inclusion on the opening page of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Colloquially Rickmansworth is often shortened to "Ricky" as used in the town's annual "Ricky Week" celebrations. The town's canal history (It is on the Grand Union Canal) is remembered every year at the end of Ricky Week with the Rickmansworth Festival.

Rickmansworth also has a famous frost hollow caused by the Metropolitan Railway. This is caused by the local geography, notably the railway embankment which prevents the natural drainage of cold air from a specific part of the valley. Rickmansworth recorded the largest daily temperature range in England when, on 29th August 1936, the temperature climbed from 1.1°C at dawn to 24.9°C within 9 hours due to this unique geographic feature.

The Rickmansworth Festival takes place on the third weekend of May every year and celebrates canals, the community and the environment. Now going for over fifteen years, it is the highlight of the town’s annual calendar and finale of Rickmansworth Week.



The top attraction for many is the wonderful array of canal boats from across the country - a unique spectacle moored along the towpath up to four deep. The Rickmansworth Festival started as purely a canal based festival in 1993, initially as part of the British Waterways "Canals 200" celebration that year. The first event used Rickmansworth Aquadrome as the main location for land activities, although in following years a much smaller festival centred upon Batchworth Lock.

An Environment Fair organised by Three Rivers District Council, held separately in the Aquadrome, was incorporated about six years ago. The festival then outgrew Batchworth Lock, once again moving into the Aquadrome to provide extra space and a wider community focus. Entertainment also increased to offer three live music stages at the Aquadrome, Batchworth Lock and in the on-site beer tent (acoustic only), which are dedicated particularly to allowing young musicians to perform.



There will be a flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire on the Saturday afternoon, weather permitting. There will also be a Metropolitan Line Heritage Train running between Harrow, Rickmansworth and Amersham on Sunday with vintage bus service from Rickmansworth station to Batchworth lock.

http://www.rwt.org.uk/festival.html

One of the permanent exhibits on the canal is Roger who was once a working narrow boat on the Grand Union Canal between London and the Midlands, delivering mainly coal to factories along the route. The eventual demise of commercial trade led to Roger unloved and in poor repair. Liable to sink at any moment, he was rescued and lovingly restored to his former glory by the Rickmansworth Waterways Trust. Now Roger is back and part of activities to educate a new generation in canal history.


Batchworth Lock

Roger had a long and varied career as a working boat on the Grand Union Canal since Bushell Brothers of Tring built him in 1936. He took his cargo whenever it was needed – mainly coal – to many a factory along the route between London and the Midlands.

One of Roger’s jobs was to deliver coal from Coventry to John Dickinson’s paper mill next to the Grand Union at Croxley – at the time the largest in Europe. This work came under the stewardship of canal commerce stalwarts Arthur Bray, his wife Rose and her son Ernie Kendal. Roger carried 20 tons of coal for the 86 hour round trip, his "buddy" (butty) boat Raymond taking a further 30 tons. On arrival at the mill, the Brays unloaded their cargo from both boats hand by hand and earned at most £16 for their efforts.

Both boats later carried coal from Coventry to a jam making factory in Southall, a 240 mile round trip with more than 200 locks to pass through! Loading, travel and unloading took a full seven days. The competition on this trip was fierce and only one boat could load or unload at any one time. So it was important to arrive first and avoid hanging around – because crews were paid only for the tons of coal they were able to deliver.


Roger - First on right

Work gradually declined throughout the 1960's as ownership of Roger changed. He ended his working life when, worn out, he was replaced on the "Jam ‘Ole" run in 1968 by the Nutfield. The factory itself struggled and soon disappeared leading to the eventual demise in 1970 of the company Blue Line that now operated the boats. By the early 1990s, Roger found himself unloved and in poor repair in a pit beside the canal at Maple Cross. Liable to sink at any moment, Rickmansworth Waterways Trust stepped in to save the day.


Sarah Siddons Cab

For the serious anoraks amongst my Blogistas here are the names of the Metropolitan Electric Locomotives of which Sarah is the last working survivor;

No 1 John Lyon - Named after the Founder of Harrow School

No 2 Oliver Cromwell - Original name for No 2 - Lord Protector and Father of today's Parliamentary system

No 2 Thomas Lord - the only Met Loco to be renamed - Founder of Lords Cricket Ground.

No 3 Sir Ralph Verney - Involved in Railways being built and Verney Junction is named after him;

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/03/claydon-house-buckinghamshire.html

No 4 Lord Byron - Poet was sent to Harrow School

No 5 John Hampden - M.P... for Wendover

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/wendover-buckinghamshire.html

No 6 William Penn - Lived near Amersham imprisoned for his Quaker beliefs.

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/06/poems-on-underground.html

No 7 Edmund Burke - M.P. For Wendover.

No 8 Sherlock Holmes - Fictional Detective based at Baker Street near the Mets HQ

No 9 John Milton - Poet lived Chalfont St Giles.

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/surly-republican.html

No 10 William Ewart Gladstone - Prime Minister; Took part in the first trip of the Metropolitan railway on the 24th May 1862

No 11 George Romney - Artist specialising in portrait painting.

No 12 Sarah Siddons - Actress sometimes gave private readings at Baker Street



No13 Dick Whittington - Lord Mayor of London

No 14 Benjamin Disraeli - Tory M.P.

No 15 Wembley - Named after the British Empire Exhibition 1924

No 16 Oliver Goldsmith - Well known Novelist

No 17 Florence Nightingale - Nurse during Crimean War whose sister married Lord Verney.

No 18 Michael Faraday - Involved in research that helped develop the electric railway as we know today

No 19 John Wycliffe - A Religious Reformer no link to London or the Met

No 20 Sir Christopher Wren - Involved with the rebuilding of the city of London

Ride on Sarah!

Sarah Siddons

Sarah Siddons (5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was the most famous female actress in Georgian Britain and was the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character: Lady Macbeth, a character she made her own. In private life Siddons enjoyed the friendship and respect of many of the most eminent persons of her time. Horace Walpole at first refused to join the fashionable chorus of her praise, but he was ultimately won over. Samuel Johnson wrote his name on the hem of her garment in the famous picture of the actress as the Tragic Muse by Reynolds (now in the Dulwich Gallery). "I would not lose", he said, "the honour this opportunity afforded to me for my name going down to posterity on the hem of your garment." Siddons died in London on the 8th of June 1831, and was buried in Paddington churchyard. This is now Paddington Green and located on the south side, facing the Marylebone flyover is the statue of Sarah Siddons, by Chevaliand, which was erected in 1897, as she lived in the neighbourhood when Paddington was still rural.


Paddington Green

Her house, where she gave private readings, once stood on what is now the top of Baker Street in London at the side of the Metropolitan Line’s Baker Street Station and was in fact demolished by the railway in 1928 when Baker Street was extended as far as the Outer Circle of Regents Park. The railway must have felt guilty about this act of vandalism because they erected a plaque on the site and named the electric locomotive after her which is today the last operating electric locomotive of this series. ( http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html )

Sarah Siddons, the oldest working main line electric locomotive in Britain will make special trips between Harrow-on-the-Hill, via Rickmansworth to Amersham on Sunday 17 May as part of the Rickmansworth Festival. Engine no. 12, Sarah Siddons, was built in 1922 and is the last operational Metropolitan Railway electric locomotive; the only surviving working engine out of 20 built by Metropolitan Vickers and mostly named after people associated with the area served by the Metropolitan Railway. The engines had a top speed of 65 miles per hour.



Sarah will pull carriages dating back to the 1950s and is making four special trips. Adult tickets cost £20.00 and they're only £3.00 for children. However, the first journey is £25.00 as it travels via Watford and the north curve.

A vintage bus service including the Museum's prototype Routemaster bus RM1 will run from Rickmansworth station to the Rickmansworth Festival site at Batchworth Lock.

You can book tickets on this link;

https://ticket.ltmuseum.co.uk/peo/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=65

or by phone on 020 7565 7298.

Rickmansworth is known as the “Gateway to the Chilterns” and is the lynch pin of “Metroland” – the land developed by the Metropolitan Railway to finance its expansion into Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. One notable claim to fame is its inclusion on the opening page of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Colloquially Rickmansworth is often shortened to "Ricky" as used in the town's annual "Ricky Week" celebrations. The town's canal history (It is on the Grand Union Canal) is remembered every year at the end of Ricky Week with the Rickmansworth Festival.

Rickmansworth also has a famous frost hollow caused by the Metropolitan Railway. This is caused by the local geography, notably the railway embankment which prevents the natural drainage of cold air from a specific part of the valley. Rickmansworth recorded the largest daily temperature range in England when, on 29th August 1936, the temperature climbed from 1.1°C at dawn to 24.9°C within 9 hours due to this unique geographic feature.

The Rickmansworth Festival takes place on the third weekend of May every year and celebrates canals, the community and the environment. Now going for over fifteen years, it is the highlight of the town’s annual calendar and finale of Rickmansworth Week.



The top attraction for many is the wonderful array of canal boats from across the country - a unique spectacle moored along the towpath up to four deep. The Rickmansworth Festival started as purely a canal based festival in 1993, initially as part of the British Waterways "Canals 200" celebration that year. The first event used Rickmansworth Aquadrome as the main location for land activities, although in following years a much smaller festival centred upon Batchworth Lock.

An Environment Fair organised by Three Rivers District Council, held separately in the Aquadrome, was incorporated about six years ago. The festival then outgrew Batchworth Lock, once again moving into the Aquadrome to provide extra space and a wider community focus. Entertainment also increased to offer three live music stages at the Aquadrome, Batchworth Lock and in the on-site beer tent (acoustic only), which are dedicated particularly to allowing young musicians to perform.



There will be a flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire on the Saturday afternoon, weather permitting. There will also be a Metropolitan Line Heritage Train running between Harrow, Rickmansworth and Amersham on Sunday with vintage bus service from Rickmansworth station to Batchworth lock.

http://www.rwt.org.uk/festival.html

One of the permanent exhibits on the canal is Roger who was once a working narrow boat on the Grand Union Canal between London and the Midlands, delivering mainly coal to factories along the route. The eventual demise of commercial trade led to Roger unloved and in poor repair. Liable to sink at any moment, he was rescued and lovingly restored to his former glory by the Rickmansworth Waterways Trust. Now Roger is back and part of activities to educate a new generation in canal history.


Batchworth Lock

Roger had a long and varied career as a working boat on the Grand Union Canal since Bushell Brothers of Tring built him in 1936. He took his cargo whenever it was needed – mainly coal – to many a factory along the route between London and the Midlands.

One of Roger’s jobs was to deliver coal from Coventry to John Dickinson’s paper mill next to the Grand Union at Croxley – at the time the largest in Europe. This work came under the stewardship of canal commerce stalwarts Arthur Bray, his wife Rose and her son Ernie Kendal. Roger carried 20 tons of coal for the 86 hour round trip, his "buddy" (butty) boat Raymond taking a further 30 tons. On arrival at the mill, the Brays unloaded their cargo from both boats hand by hand and earned at most £16 for their efforts.

Both boats later carried coal from Coventry to a jam making factory in Southall, a 240 mile round trip with more than 200 locks to pass through! Loading, travel and unloading took a full seven days. The competition on this trip was fierce and only one boat could load or unload at any one time. So it was important to arrive first and avoid hanging around – because crews were paid only for the tons of coal they were able to deliver.


Roger - First on right

Work gradually declined throughout the 1960's as ownership of Roger changed. He ended his working life when, worn out, he was replaced on the "Jam ‘Ole" run in 1968 by the Nutfield. The factory itself struggled and soon disappeared leading to the eventual demise in 1970 of the company Blue Line that now operated the boats. By the early 1990s, Roger found himself unloved and in poor repair in a pit beside the canal at Maple Cross. Liable to sink at any moment, Rickmansworth Waterways Trust stepped in to save the day.


Sarah Siddons Cab

For the serious anoraks amongst my Blogistas here are the names of the Metropolitan Electric Locomotives of which Sarah is the last working survivor;

No 1 John Lyon - Named after the Founder of Harrow School

No 2 Oliver Cromwell - Original name for No 2 - Lord Protector and Father of today's Parliamentary system

No 2 Thomas Lord - the only Met Loco to be renamed - Founder of Lords Cricket Ground.

No 3 Sir Ralph Verney - Involved in Railways being built and Verney Junction is named after him;

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/03/claydon-house-buckinghamshire.html

No 4 Lord Byron - Poet was sent to Harrow School

No 5 John Hampden - M.P... for Wendover

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/wendover-buckinghamshire.html

No 6 William Penn - Lived near Amersham imprisoned for his Quaker beliefs.

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/06/poems-on-underground.html

No 7 Edmund Burke - M.P. For Wendover.

No 8 Sherlock Holmes - Fictional Detective based at Baker Street near the Mets HQ

No 9 John Milton - Poet lived Chalfont St Giles.

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/surly-republican.html

No 10 William Ewart Gladstone - Prime Minister; Took part in the first trip of the Metropolitan railway on the 24th May 1862

No 11 George Romney - Artist specialising in portrait painting.

No 12 Sarah Siddons - Actress sometimes gave private readings at Baker Street



No13 Dick Whittington - Lord Mayor of London

No 14 Benjamin Disraeli - Tory M.P.

No 15 Wembley - Named after the British Empire Exhibition 1924

No 16 Oliver Goldsmith - Well known Novelist

No 17 Florence Nightingale - Nurse during Crimean War whose sister married Lord Verney.

No 18 Michael Faraday - Involved in research that helped develop the electric railway as we know today

No 19 John Wycliffe - A Religious Reformer no link to London or the Met

No 20 Sir Christopher Wren - Involved with the rebuilding of the city of London