You're no tramp but you're no lady

It's bleak out there - dank, wet and windy - but it's not meant to last, the weekend's almost upon us, and it's pay day!

Time, methinks to get this party started - so let's let our hair (or our braids) well and truly down, enjoy a classic choon from this week (gulp!) 47 years ago and...

...Thank Disco It's Friday!

Odyssey - Native New Yorker

Runnin' pretty, New York City girl
Twenty-five, thirty-five
Hello baby, New York City girl

You grew up riding the subways running with people
Up in Harlem, down on Broadway
You're no tramp but you're no lady talkin' that street talk
You're the heart and soul of New York City

And love, love is just a passing word
It's the thought you had in a taxi cab
That got left on the curb
When he dropped you off at East 83rd

Oh oh oh (Oh oh oh)
You're a native New Yorker
You should know the score by now
You're a native New Yorker
New York girl, ooh ooh ooh

Music plays, everyone's dancing closer and closer
Making friends and finding lovers
There you are lost in the shadows searching for someone
To set you free from New York City

And, whoa, where did all those yesterdays go?
When you still believed
Love could really be like a Broadway show
You are the star, win the applause

Oh oh oh (Oh oh oh)
You're a native New Yorker
No one opens the door
For a native New Yorker

(Runnin' pretty, New York City girl)
Ooh ooh ooh
Native, native, native New Yorker

Where did all those yesterdays go?
When you still believed
Love could really be like a Broadway show
You are the star

You're a native New Yorker
You should know the score by now
You're a native New Yorker

Have a good weekend, dear reader!

Ain't nothin' left in this whole world I care about

"All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill at dancing." - Moliere

Woo-hoo! Just one more day of slog to go, and I will be off on annual leave for the next seventeen days (including the Late Summer Bank Holiday)!!

We're off to Sadler's Wells Theatre tonight to see a new production of A Chorus Line, which is very exciting - but meanwhile...

...get your best "Egyptian priest"/blue tinfoil number out of the wardrobe, just like Odyssey - and Thank Disco It's Friday!

Odyssey - Use It Up and Wear It Out

Have a fantabulosa weekend, dear reader!

Hang together

Heavens. The lovely Louise Lopez, one of the two sisters who formed one of my favourite Soul bands of all time, Odyssey, is 82 years old today!

I feel ancient.

Never mind, we can rely on them to provide a bit of class on this depressingly wet and miserable Sunday. Here is one of Odyssey's lesser-known hits - Hang Together:

Odyssey - Hang Together

The world is full
Of hurrying people,
Tryin' to take us somewhere.

The world is full
Of worrying people
Say we ain't got a prayer.

Hold on to me
Don't let me go...
We gotta hang together.

Sublime...

Odyssey on Wikipedia

Twenty-five, thirty-five

At last, we head to the end of what has been quite a hectic week - both work and the culmination of events that concluded LGBT History Month - it's time to let our hair (or our braids) well and truly down!

So let us indulge ourselves in a fittingly funky way, in the company of the lovely Odyssey, and their absolute classic Native New Yorker - Thank Disco It's Friday, indeed!!

Odyssey - Native New Yorker

Runnin' pretty, New York City girl
Twenty-five, thirty-five
Hello baby, New York City girl

You grew up riding the subways running with people
Up in Harlem, down on Broadway
You're no tramp but you're no lady talkin' that street talk
You're the heart and soul of New York City

And love, love is just a passing word
It's the thought you had in a taxi cab
That got left on the curb
When he dropped you off at East 83rd

Oh oh oh (Oh oh oh)
You're a native New Yorker
You should know the score by now
You're a native New Yorker
New York girl, ooh ooh ooh

Music plays, everyone's dancing closer and closer
Making friends and finding lovers
There you are lost in the shadows searching for someone
To set you free from New York City

And, whoa, where did all those yesterdays go?
When you still believed
Love could really be like a Broadway show
You are the star, win the applause

Oh oh oh (Oh oh oh)
You're a native New Yorker
No one opens the door
For a native New Yorker

(Runnin' pretty, New York City girl)
Ooh ooh ooh
Native, native, native New Yorker

Where did all those yesterdays go?
When you still believed
Love could really be like a Broadway show
You are the star

You're a native New Yorker
You should know the score by now
You're a native New Yorker

Odyssey

Ain't nothing left in this whole world I care about

We are off to Belsize Park tonight to see Kit & the Widow, avoiding the footie as we do. Baby Steve and Alex are coming down for shopping tomorrow. All we need is some sunshine! No chance.

Ah well, Thank Disco it's Friday!

Odyssey - Use It Up And Wear It Out