The KajaFax Polls
As a little Friday change, I thought today we’d go interactive.
I’m always interested in the answer to a few simple questions from any fans of the band and visitors to KajaFax.
If you could spare a few moments to answer the following polls, it would be very interesting to see the results.
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Many thanks for participating in the polls, it is appreciated.
2011 KajaFax
Shorty Awards
The site has a nomination in the 2011 Shorty Awards which is fantastic, this is a Twitter based awards.
As the nomination is in the #fansite category, this is not one of the major official categories so there is actually a chance of doing pretty well if the twitter users amongst you kindly take just a minute to make the vote.
The link to the page is: http://shortyawards.com/category/fansite
Important!
You must enter KajaFax as the name of the twitteruser.
So, your finished line should look something like:
I nominate @KajaFax for a Shorty Award in #fansite because…I love the band
Quick Method!!
You can even just go to twitter and tweet out the short version like this:
#shortyawards @kajafax #fansite (add quick reason here)
This is all great promotion for the band so place your vote if you are a Twitter user, many thanks!
It appears that the voting ends early March so this one is a much snappier event than any other. As I’ve already missed most of January, it would be appreciated if you would vote, to do it as soon as you can please.
Remember, the Shorty Awards are a very prestigious awards and to win even one of these unofficial categories would give great exposure to the band.
2011 KajaFax
BBC Transcription Disc Islands 1984
Recorded from the Islands Hammersmith Odeon show, this concert was broadcast live on Radio 1 in 1984. This very rare item is the BBC album of that show, produced for broadcasting purposes only. The introduction to the concert is read by Radio 1’s Richard Skinner.
This vinyl belongs to ‘Steve AKA theraggedtiger’. He tells me how he actually recorded this show in 1984 and still has the TDK tape, a little more worn than it started! A couple of years ago this item came up for sale from someone in the US and although the price was rather high, Steve just had to have it in his collection.
I’m delighted that he bought it and shared it with KajaFax, it truly is a piece of band history.
The track listing on the album is:
Side 1:
Continuity introduction
Big Apple
Monochromatic
On a Plane
Islands
The Power to Forgive
Too Shy
Side 2:
Lies and Promises
Melting the Ice Away
The Lion’s Mouth
White Feathers
Turn Your Back on Me
Ooh To Be Ah.
Steve has uploaded a video of the Continuity Introduction and Big Apple:
It’s a pleasure to see such a rare item.
2011 KajaFax
Shouldn’t Do That Retrofest 2008 Unseen
Here is a previously unseen video clip of the band at Retrofest 2008 in Scotland performing ‘Shouldn’t Do That’.
It was uploaded to YouTube today by Jez (cheers Jez!!)
2011 KajaFax
Hang on Now French 12″
I particularly like this French release of ‘Hang on Now’ because of the red lower half of the band logo. Not for any special reason, I just like it!
The cover to this one is very different to the UK release.
This item is another one from the collection of ‘Steve AKA theraggedtiger’ many thanks to him for sharing.
Related Posts:
https://kajafax.co.uk/2011/01/07/hang-on-now-japanese-white-label-promo-vinyl/
https://kajafax.co.uk/2010/11/24/kajagoogoo-original-artwork/
2011 KajaFax
Iona
If you’ve never been a fan of Christian Celtic progressive rock music, there is a fair chance that you may never have listened to Iona.
If that is the case, you’d be missing out on fantastic music which for a spell, included the musical talents of Nick Beggs.
Nick first featured on the band’s second album in 1992, entitled ‘The Book of Kells’:
This album was based on the manuscript of the same name:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Kells
One of my favourite tracks on the album is ‘Chi-Rho’:
The running order on the album is:
- Kells Opening Theme
- Revelation
- Mathew-The Man
- Chi-Rho
- Mark-The Lion
- The River Flows
- Luke-The Calf
- Virgin and Child
- Temptation
- The Arrest-Gethsemane
- Trinity-The Godhead
- John-The Eagle
- Kells
- Eternity-No Beginning No End
Another of my favourite tracks on the album is ‘Kells’. Such a powerful track:
In 1993, Nick featured on the album ‘Beyond These Shores’. This album is largely based on the story of St. Brendan’s voyage. More can be read about the story here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Brendan
The moving track, ‘Beyond These Shores’:
The running order on the album is:
- Prayer on the Mountain
- Treasure
- Brendan’s Voyage (Navigato)
- Edge of the World
- Today
- View of the Islands
- Bird of Heaven
- Murlough Bay
- Burning Like Fire
- Adrift
- Beachy Head
- Machrie Moor (Fiona Davidson)
- Healing” (Davidson)
- Brendan’s Return
- Beyond These Shores
See Nick playing Chapman Stick in the video of the fantastic ‘Treasure’:
Aswell as a list of other guest musicians on the album, ‘Beyond These Shores’ featured Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fripp
Nick also worked with the band on the 1999 live album ‘Woven Cord’ which was recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in London to mark the tenth anniversary of the band. Iona joined with the All Souls Orchestra to record this concert.
The superb track ‘Woven Cord’ live:
The running order of the album is:
- Overture
- Bi-Se I Mo Shuil Pt. 1
- Matthew – The Man
- White Sands
- Murlough Bay
- Dancing On The Wall
- Encircling
- Lindisfarne
- Revelation
- Woven Cord
- Beyond These Shores
Nick Beggs is a diverse musician and this shows in his work with Iona. I was first directed to Iona because of Nick having been involved but once you spend a little bit of time listening to the band, you can really get lost in the music and just sit back to enjoy it.
Nick himself says on his own website, these three records are probably the best he has ever worked on and it’s understandable why he’d say that. They’re masterpieces.
I’m sure anyone who listens to Iona could not fail to be moved by the astounding singing talents of Joanne Hogg.
All of the above albums are available from the band’s official website:
http://www.drshosting.co.uk/iona/ukstore.htm
More work from Nick appears on ‘The River Flows Anthology 1’ which is a four CD box set released in 2002, featuring the above three albums and also a disc of new and previously unreleased material. This disc also features the soundtrack to the BBC ‘The Natural World’ wildlife programme ‘Snowdonia Realm of the Ravens’. This programme was broadcast on 8th March 1994.
As ever, support the artists wherever you can.
I shall leave this Iona piece with one final video. This is the track ‘Chi-Rho’ which we’ve heard from the album ‘The Book of Kells’ played live at Holland in 1996. It does feature Nick on stick and is just too good to leave out:
The music is naturally very different to that of KajaGooGoo, I do hope you’ve enjoyed the music of Iona.
2011 KajaFax
Happy Birthday Jez Strode
A huge KajaFax Happy Birthday goes out to Jez Strode, hope he has a fantastic day today.
Jez with his Roland TD20 kit:
And the fantastic Too Shy video with Jez playing his awesome Simmons kit:
Jez if you see this post, I’d love to see you play Too Shy at a gig on a Simmons!
Hear from Jez at the KajaFax interview:
https://kajafax.co.uk/2010/11/18/jez-strode-interview/
2011 KajaFax
Crazy People’s Right to Speak Japanese LP
Another superb item from Japan now, I really love this one! This is the Japanese release of ‘Crazy People’s Right to Speak’ from Kaja.
I love the references to Kaja 3 on this piece, very cool piece.
If you look closely at the bottom left of this shot, you can see reference to the original KajaFax club:
Many thanks to ‘Steve AKA the raggedtiger’ for sharing another part of his fantastic collection.
2011 KajaFax
KajaGooGoo Live in Tokyo 1984 CD-R
Back in 1984, Kajagoogoo played a series of live dates as a part of the Islands world tour. One of the Tokyo shows was recorded for broadcast on Japanese radio.
The performance, recorded on 13th July 1984, later become a live album called ‘Live in Tokyo 1984’.
The album was not released as an actual packaged album, it was sold as a CD-R some years ago via the original Nick Beggs website.
The CD-R arrived signed by Nick Beggs.
This particular CD-R belongs to Dave Kilburn. Many thanks to Dave for sharing this one with us, it’s a fantastic item and the album itself is brilliant. Dave can be found on Twitter @MrKilburn and on Facebook.
The album was also around as a bootleg known as ‘Thanks Japan’.
For any fans that have not heard this material, I would strongly urge you to download this one as it is no longer available on CD-R. It is therefore an easy job to download it and make your own CD-R using the downloaded files.
Luckily and conveniently, it is available from the Official KajaShop:
Related Posts
https://kajafax.co.uk/2011/01/14/islands-tour-footage/
2011 KajaFax
Santa Claus The Movie Kaja Japanese 7″
Sometimes you can find appearances from the band at unlikely places and this Japanese single is a fantastic example of how collectors will know where everything is and how to find it!
The band as ‘Kaja’ had their song ‘Shouldn’t Do That’ included on the soundtrack of the 1985 movie, ‘Santa Claus: The Movie’.
It was also included as the B side of the Sheena Easton festive song ‘It’s Christmas All Over the World’.
So, here is a scarcely seen item, the japanese 7″ with Kaja:
Many thanks to ‘Steven AKA Denny’ for sharing this one with us.
2011 KajaFax
kajafax.co.uk 
