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[Blog] Really Great Britain

Thu, August 02, 2012

This week's blog takes a look at some gold medal British music.

In case you’ve been living under a very, very large rock for the last week or so, the Olympics are here, for everyone else, it’s all going pretty good so far isn’t it? But once the games are over, the athletes have gone home and this country resembles a country and not a huge leisure centre again there’s one thing that people are going to be talking about, and it’s not who won the gold in the women’s weightlifting.

Of course it’s not, it’s the opening ceremony which people will be remembering for years and years to come. Rio in 2016 will be terrified of following Danny Boyle’s epic construction and they very much should be. No one can deny that it was an awe inspiring visual feast for the eyes but the thing that grabbed me most was the music. Great Britain have always led the world in the world of music and this show proved it. No other country in the world can pull out a Beatle to lend a hand and that says a lot, but it wasn’t the only thing we’ve got over the rest. The music direction was handled by Underworld famous for their electronic music and they assembled quite an impressive soundtrack which went straight to the top of th iTunes chart.

Paul McCartney stole the show, it’s hard not to when you used to be in The Beatles, but it wasn’t just the oldies that shone. The Arctic Monkeys were there, as was Emili Sande and Dizzee Rascal for the youngsters, while The Who showed the world we’ve been winning this talent race for a good few generations and if there were medals for writing hits, even China wouldn’t be able to compete!

So with no further ado, Let’s take a look at some of the treats that Danny Boyle and Underworld put together with quite the stroke of genius that got the whole world to stand still, look in our direction and say “wow, they aren’t just about 1 Direction are they.” And for that Danny &Co, we salute you.

1. Frank Turner might never have thought he would ever get to perform on a stage that was a fake hill built on a running track inside a stadium, but he thought wrong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XzvenMI2S8

2. It’s not a pop song, but William Blake was the original British lyrical genius, it was lovely to include him alongside Dizzee Rascal. If he only knew...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0alFETdhbc

3. The Arctic Monkeys sing The Beatles while a Beatle watches and the world watches it all. Bizarre.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxl7siALLQU

4. Is there any tune more quintessentially British than what kicks in at 4:45? I think not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW5abat5NEU

5. He might play it at every show he does but why is that? Because it’s perfect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSbJ6nlr4WM