Rockaoke Heads To Winchester!

OK, two more dates and our merry musical meandering with the fine Rockaoke gang will be coming to an end. Next up is O'Neill's, Winchester on Thursday 29th...don't miss it (As you can see, you can even do it with a limb in a sling...!)

DJs and playlists from Bestival

Ben asked us over on Facebook who the DJs were at Bestival that played at the end of every night and what they were playing. Well, being the super-helpful people that we are, here's a reminder of some of the songs you lot were dancing to as you enjoyed your Gaymers. And as for the top ten most requested songs in Vinyl Corner? We think some of you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Anyway, enjoy remembering those good times at Bestival, now that Summer seems so far away . .

Friday - Played by Nadia Robertson & Natalie Murray

Last Rhythm Remix Featuring Silvie Carter

She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult

Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

Saturday - Played by Jen Kamolwan & Nadia Robertson

My Life - Talk Talk

All Night Long - Lionel Richie

Sunday - Played by Jen Kamolwan & Natalie Murray

'Ain't no Mountain High Enough' by Inner Life

Shoot That Poison Arrow - ABC

I Want Your Love - Chic

Fifth of Beethoven - Walter Murphy, Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Inner Life

Everybody All Over The World - FPI Project

Love & Pride - King

Temptation - Heaven 17

Steph Burton-Wilson played the 10 – 12 slots and her playlist included:

Blue Monday - New Order

Mr Blue Sky - E.L.O

Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi

Gonna Make you Sweat - C&C Music Factory

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Gonna Dance with somebody - Whitney Houston

Love & Pride – King

Most requested songs according to Steph:

Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi (about 100 times at Bestival!)

Sweet child o mine - Guns n Roses (a close second at about 50 times)

Outer Space - Prodigy

Song 2 - Blur

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Most requested songs in the cider garden, according to Nat:

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

Grace Jones - Slave to The Rhythm

Michael Jackson - Rock With You

David Bowie - Let's Dance

The Doors - LA Woman

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

The Rolling Stones - Miss You

The Kooks - Ooh La

Johnny Cash - Personal Jesus

Cream - Sunshine of Your Love

Aberdeen - Are You Ready to Rockaoke?

Watch out Aberdeen, the full Gaymers "Let's Rockaoke" experience hits O'Neill's this Thursday! It's already rocked 19 other O'Neill's up and down the UK and was a major draw in our Cider Garden in the festival-summer, so don't miss it. As Chris Moyles so succinctly said: "It's such a good idea! Get a band - and then you do Karaoke". See you there...

Say hello to Fiona and Rhodri at Gaymers

After spending the summer running around the country making sure that Gaymers' sponsorship of the festival season went super-smoothly, Gaymers Music HQ managed to corner Rhodri and Fiona and ask them a question or two about what they do at Gaymers and the music they love.

In the future Rhodri and Fiona are both going to get involved in a bit of blogging action over here. For now though, here's what they told us . . .

Fiona Lovatt

Job title at Gaymers: Marketing Controller

So what do you actually do at Gaymers?: Look after marketing on all our brands with special focus on Gaymers, basically trying to let more people know about Gyamers and encourage them to give it a try

First single/album bought: Single - 'Half Way Down The Stairs' by Kermit the Frog & the Muppets, Album - Boney M, 'Nightflight to Venus'

Last single/album bought: Single - downloaded 'Maybe I'm Amazed' by Paul McCartney, Album - Temper Trap, 'Conditions'

Secret (and maybe guilty) music pleasure: Crowded House & Dolly Parton

Favourite bands: Rolling Stones, Ray Lamontagne

First gig: Aha at the Blackpool Opera House 1987

Best gig ever (non-festival): Rolling stones at the O2 September 2007

Best festival experience: Verve on the Sunday night at Glastonbury 2008, Guy Garvey talking about our Gaymers inflatable apple at Bestival 2009

Best lyric ever: Rolling Stones, 'Shine A Light' - "May the good lord shine a light on you, make every song your favourite tune"

Favourite gig venue: Brixton Academy

Top tip for surviving a year's worth of gigs/festivals: baby wipes and Primark pumps

What three websites could you not live without?: BBC News, Ticketmaster and TheTrainline.com

Rhodri Williams

Job title at Gaymers: Brand Manager

So what do you actually do at Gaymers?: I look after our festival involvement, the Gaymers Cider Garden and Gaymers Grassroots Gigs campaign

First single/album bought: Single - No idea, must have been awful! Album - Michael Jackson's 'Bad'

Last single/album bought: Single - 'Daniel' by Bat for Lashes, Album - 'The First Days of Spring' by Noah and the Whale

Secret (and maybe guilty) music pleasure: Early 90's 'Madchester' bands & Jamiroquai

Favourite bands: The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Stereophonics, Foo Fighters

First gig: The Stereophonics, Cardiff CIA

Best gig ever (non-festival): The Rolling Stones, Millennium Stadium

Best festival experience: The end of night snow storm in the dance tent, Glastonbury

Best lyric ever: 'I still miss you baby...but my aim's getting better'

Favourite gig venue: The Forum (you can get Gaymers draught in the Bull & Gate next door!)

Top tip for surviving a year's worth of gigs/festivals: Don't mix your drinks

What three websites could you not live without?: BBC Sport, AA Routefinder, Google images (for presentations!)

So there you go. We all know a little bit more about Rhodri and Fiona. Watch out for more from them soon on the blog. We're off to listen to Kermit the Frog right this second.

Bestival - Everything's Going Swimmingly

Oh boy, are you ready for that long swim to the IoW for Bestival? Yes? No? Whatever the case, remember to raise a glass of Somerset's finest apple or pear cider to those brave enough to undertake that charity swim. Make sure you come and see us in our Cider Garden...also home to this summer's festival favourite, Rockaoke...currently still on tour in O'Neill's round the UK (next one is Leicester on the 16th). We're can't quite believe the festival 'season' is nearly over and are getting quite sentimental...especially about good ol' Glasto; what a year for the big one, eh? We're still positively brimming with Glasto and cider-related trivia - did you know that we press enough apples a year to give everyone at the festival 600 each of that lovely fruit? Or that when the first Glasto started in 1970, we'd been making cider for exactly 200 years (and Hendrix had been dead for just a day) which is pretty darn impressive (we think)! Anyway, here's a few links for fun and to get you well and truly in suitable Swansong mode; the first is for Bestival's new and ever-so-cool iPhone App; the second is for a lovely Spotify playlist courtesy of GeoffB, via shareyplaylist.com. Nice...

Bestival's Calling and DJ Derek Is Waiting...

We're in a suitably 'spectacular' mood in advance of this year's Bestival. There can't be many small islands around the world that have such an impressive rock 'n' roll heritage (that includes you, Australia) - the roll call of quality musicians who've landed on its shores beggars belief. The IoW started hosting festivals in '68 and three glorious years saw the likes of Marc Bolan, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison and Jim Morrison all welcomed. Strangely, after such auspicious beginnings, the festivals fizzled out and it wouldn't be for another 32 years until the stars descended again. In the meantime, the island had to make do with a few years of musical glory in the form of one of its ex-milkman Mark King and his band, Level 42. Anyway, '02 welcomed back rock royalty in the form of er...Hundred Reasons and The Coral. Hmm, well Robert Plant was there and Ash put on a great show, at least! Anyway, the following years saw the star factor rise and Neil Young, Mick Jagger, Iggy, Lou Reed, etc. all made appearances. Bestival itself has been a part of the island's musical life since '04 - and bands seem to love coming back; Hot Chip, for instance, have made no less than 4 appearances. This year's line-up is a cracker - from the chilly Teutonic tunes of Kraftwerk, the electro-beats of MGMT to era-defining tunes from classy Bristolians Massive Attack, the big acts are really out in force. Further down the enormous line-up, there's masses to choose from - BUT...our hot tip has got to be DJ Derek. Who? Well, this bespectacled, 67 year old ex-accountant who MCs in Jamaican patois (despite never having visited the island) has been a much-loved and credible part of the Bristolian music scene for years. If he's good enough for a Massive Attack after-show party, he's definitely worth a listen; don't miss him.

Ready to "Rumble"? (you'll see why below...)

OK, with our last festival (that'd be Bestival) nearly upon us, we thought it'd be fun to have a look at the story behind some of the names of bands we've been enjoying this summer. The official title of such musical (or non-musical for that matter) mulling is 'etymology'. There, now you know. Anyway, here's a few near-legendary stories behind the names: 'Faith No More' (named after a horse they saw on a betting form); 'Duran Duran' (from the villain in the cult Sci-fi film, Barbarella, Dr. Durand-Durand); 'ZZ Top' (a combination of wanting to sound like their hero, BB King...and borrowing the 'ZZ' from another Texan Bluesman, ZZ Hill); 'Radiohead' (after what they called the 'least annoying' song on Talking Heads' album, True Stories!); and, finally, what must be our favourite of the summer...'The Rumblestrips' ("one of a series of rough or slightly raised strips of pavement on a highway, intended to slow down the speed of vehicles, as before a toll booth" - ahem! and thank-you, Leicestershire County Council for that eloquent description). Aside from these, the No. 1 etymology-ism (is that a word?) in our book is that of the classic and often wayward US rock band, The Replacements. According to musical legend, the nascent group were given a gig after one band failed to show; when asked who they were, they said...you guessed it..."We're the Replacements"...ah, pure class!