Fowllyd

I think David Connolly looks the best...

Did you intend both of those negatives? If you did, I reckon you're being a bit harsh on The9!

Prefer the original myself, maybe because I knew it before the Jam recorded their version. But mostly because for me it has a subtlety that the Jam's version lacks.

Great song. Gram did a few good covers, now I think of it...

Those are both great, though I prefer John Cale's version of Hallelujah, particularly from his live CD 'Fragments of a Rainy Season'. Just Cale, accompanying himself on the piano - beautiful. On the subject of John Cale, he did a magnificent version of 'Heartbreak Hotel' on an LP back in the early 70s. A million miles from the original, electric and raucous, laden with chill and menace. Here's a live version: Later on, he pared this down to himself and piano only, making it sound as bleak as a very bleak thing.

I detest Blondie's version of 'The Tide is High'. A rock-steady classic by the Paragons from the early 70s, which Debbie and her chums took and made into an anodyne slice of faux-reggae, a common thing in the early 80s. The worst thing is that so many people assume that Blondie's version is the original. Jimmy Summerville's version of 'Don't Leave Me This Way'. The original (by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes) oozes soul and hurt; Jimmy put a bouncy, up-tempo beat on it and somehow contrived to make it sound like a cheerful little ditty. It's a song about having your heart torn into shreds, for god's sake. On the subject, Simply Red did a horrible cover of anther Harold Melvin song, 'If You Don't Know Me By Now'. As Bexy said above, UB40 have made a career out of crap covers, though in truth I never cared for their earlier, original stuff too much either. Just didn't like Ali Campbell's voice. On the other side of things, I remember hearing Bread's original 'Anything I Own' and thinking how drippy it sounded compared to Ken Boothe's cover, which I'd heard first. Soft Cell's version of 'Tainted Love' is great; can't remember who the original is by, but it's a good song too. Towards the end of his life, Johnny Cash recorded a load of stuff with Rick Rubin, most of it covers. Some, like 'One', are brilliant - and I hate U2 with a passion. Others are awful. So it goes.

He did - it helped take the eye away from the shape of his nose. Also, Frank Worthington always looked like he had three-day stubble - not sure if that counts as a beard though.

Advocaat - makes me shudder. Red Bull - likewise, though even more so. Gin - yes please, especially if it's Bombay Sapphire!

I'm with you on the tomato ketchup - vile stuff. I also hate custard (and therefore trifle), plus pretty much any milk pudding. If we're doing drinks too, then advocaat is awful, and the smell of Red Bull is so nauseating I can't even imagine trying it. Now I think of it, I can't stand kidney, but I love liver - especially pig's liver. Hamster - cook rabbit slowly in a white wine and chicken stock sauce with onions, garlic, mushrooms and marjoram. Finish it off with mustard and double cream. Yum.

Here's the post I responded to: Here's my response: You quote this post and ask: Everyone is entitled to an opinion. If you choose to express that opinion in a public place, such as an internet forum, you have to live with the possibility that others may question it or disagree with it. I did the former on this occasion, as the initial post puzzled me. Here's why, though I've already done this once: We signed Forte in January, so why make suppositions about "if we signed him" when we've already done so? How can he be "rubbish again" exactly? Has he shown himself to be rubbish already in the few minutes he's had on the pitch for us? And how can you say you've never liked a particular player when that player has had so little playing time? Now I have no particular opinion on Forte; he may be brilliant, he may be woeful, he may be anything between those two. I just find it odd that someone can state such strong opinions about him when he's played so little. So I wondered if he'd like to clarify his statement. Is a man not allowed to question another's statement nowadays without being jumped on?

We signed him in January. When you say he'd be rubbish again, when was he rubbish before? Never liked him as a player? He's been with us six months - did you not like him before that, or just since then?

They've done a good job on incorporating the sponsor's logo - far better than having it on a plain background. Looks good to me.

Are there any mortgage advisers on here these days? I could use a little advice on such things...

Let's face it, that programme was pretty feeble. Nothing earth-shattering there, just a few allegations, a few names named and denials from each of them, but nothing more. I can only see one obvious loser in this, and that's Bryan Robson. If he really has been acting as, and paid as, a Manchester United Global Ambassador (loving that title!) he won't be for much longer.

You do realise that Ed Milliband wasn't elected to parliament until 2005 don't you? I agree with you completely on the Iraq war and the then government's actions in prosecuting it, but that's hardly something that can be laid at Ed Milliband's door.

I think most on here would agree that The9's post is entirely reasonable. Perhaps you should compare it to a few of yours, then you might stand a chance of seeing why many don't regard them in anything like the same light.

I'm starting to see why you chose that user name...

What the hell cut of beef did you use - fillet steak? Or Kobe beef perhaps? I can't see how you've managed to spend £20 on what you've listed there. And you may not be fat now, but carry on eating more than a pound of meat at a sitting and see where it gets you.

Whilst I'm normally opposed to capital punishment, I could make an exception in his case. Though a fate in the style of Greek mythology might be more appropriate - exiled to a remote island inhabited only by people who had never heard of him, with no TV, internet or celebrities, digging a deep hole and then filling it in again every day. A Sisyphus for our times...

Er, yes it is and yes he has. Admittedly he'd changed his user name to Mole at that point, but he'd been posting as Stanley on this forum, not a predecessor, for quite some time. He's been banned from this site's predecessors under various user names as well, but that's another story. After Mole's banning, which was a permanent one I believe, he popped back up as Dune. Now, I'm not remotely interested in getting Dune (or anyone else for that matter) banned; if infractions and bans are to be issued it's down to the mods and administrators. And, as it's impossible to take Dune seriously, I can't get worked up about his presence on here. But I can't help thinking of that old saying about sauce, goose and gander...

How's your grasp of irony coming along?

Yeah, I knew when I posted it. I just found it amusing that Hypo was banned, unbanned and then rebanned in such short order.

Oh. He's gone again then.

On the bright side, the forum's holding up pretty well so far.

Well that must have been fun! I'll ask no more. But I'm more than prepared to believe that the whole thing was essentially the invention of Tommac, as you said earlier. Madness, utter madness.