Alfred Lord Tennyson, who died 133 years ago today, didn’t live long enough to hear any of his poems turned to music. But the longest-serving British poet laureate inspired a number of singers, some of whom just put his words to song. We heard 10 related, or semi-related songs in this regard on the first Capital Radio of the month.
The deaths of Chris Dreja of the Yardbirds and wildman drummer Viv Prince of the Pretty Things helped show how deep the English rock bench was in the 1960s.
We celebrated the 61st birthday of Matthew Sweet, the 71st for David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, the 65th for Skids lead singer Richard Hobson and 43rd of Will Butler of Arcade Fire and 76th for: Commodores guitarist Thomas McClary. But also: Millie Small and Boney M non-singer Bobby Farrell.
Ended with a dozen songs about the new month, October, and one for the Supremes, on the 60th anniversary of the release of “I Hear a Symphony.”
Here’s a link to the whole show; the setlist follows:
Capital Radio October 6, 2025. 1 – 4:35 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
- “Over Under Sideways Down,” Yardbirds
- “Jeff’s Boogie,” Yardbirds
- “For Your Love,” Yardbirds
- “Shapes of Things,” Yardbirds
- “Don’t Bring Me Down,” Pretty Things
- “Road Runner,” Pretty Things
- “Rosalyn,” Pretty Things
- “Floating,’“ VAMP
- “Vivian Price,” Pretty Things
- “I’ve Been Waiting,” Matthew Sweet
- “Sick of Myself,” Matthew Sweet
- “Cinnamon Girl,” Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
- “My Boy Lollipop,” Millie Small
- “(I Don’t Wanna Love You) But You Got Me Anyway,” Sutherland Brothers & Quiver
- ”The Suburbs,” Arcade Fire
- “No Cars Go,” Arcade Fire
- “This Must Be the Place [live],” Arcade Fire
- “Into the Valley,” Skids
- “Will the Wolf Survive?” Los Lobos
- “Kiko and the Lavender Moon,” Los Lobos
- “Let’s Say Goodnight [live],” Los Lobos
- “What’s Going On [live],” Los Lobos
- “If I Die Young,” The Band Perry
- “Charge of the Light Brigade,” Jason Crest
- “Ring Out Wild Bells,” The Sundowners
- “Crossing the Bar,” Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem
- “Sir Galahad,” The Elites
- “Sweet Sir Galahad [live],” Joan Baez
- “Lady Godiva,” Peter & Gordon
- “Godiva Girl,” Todd Rundgren & The Roots
- “Lady Godiva’s Operation,” Velvet Underground
- “Better to Have Lost in Love (Then Never to Have Loved at All),” Eurythmics
- “Better to Have Loved and Lost,” Honey Cone
- “Easy [portion],” Commodores
- “Brick House,” Commodores
- “Daddy Cool,” Boney M
- “My October Symphony,” Pet Shop Boys
- “We Fell in Love in October,” Girl in Red
- “October,” The Hill Country Devil
- “October Song,” Amy Winehouse
- “October Country,” October Country
- “October,” Broken Bells
- “Waiting for October,” Polaris
- “Cold October,” Escondido
- “October Rain,” The Cinnamon Ship
- “October,” Winterpills
- “October,” Tunng
- “October Fires,” Wolf People
- “I Hear a Symphony,” The Supremes
Capital Radio returns Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. EDT on www.cygnusradio.com, where this and other recent shows are posted. The show can also be heard via the cygnusradio.com app, available free at iTunes or GooglePlay. Older shows are available at Substack.com/@rogercatlin.