I was shocked today

...shocked whilst browsing the excellent Youtube.com site.

I like YouTube, no, I love YouTube, if only for the fact that many people who are seemingly of the same vintage as myself have bothered themselves enough to post lots of lovely videos of the artists that I used to watch way back int he 1960's and 70's, those halcyon days of popular music that are now lost to all but those who have exceptional memories - lost that is but for YouTube.

I'm currently building up a Favourites list on YouTube that will seriously threaten Jimmy Saviles back catalogue of pop pickers recollections, all in aid of my 50th birthday party in a few weeks time which threatens to turn into me and my mates in the kitchen with a computer and an lcd monitor playing the videos of our youth crying tears of nostalgia and mirth whilst the women sit in another room and complain about how none of us like tunes they can dance to.

But anyway, back to the photgraphs above.

I was shocked today.

Shocked by innocuously clicking a video of Harry Nilsson performing his massive worldwide hit song "Without You" live in front of a TV audience (OK he was obviously miming to the recording, but still). I'm assuming that the video was shot towards the end of Harry's career, its a big assumption I know but I'm basing it on the fact that Harry Nilsson's life was one big drinking party and his death in 1994 from a heart attack was not entirely unpredictable, I'm assuming that the party lifestyle took its toll on his weight, which, as can be seen by comparing the two photos above, ballooned to Elvis proportions.

The "thin" photo by the way was snatched from an excellent video of the TV documentary that was made for the album "A little touch of Schmilsson in the night" when the whole of the recording sessions with Gordon Jenkins and his orchestra were taped, its one to look out for on dvd if its ever available.

Am I sounding like a geek yet ?

I loved Harry Nilsson's music, and frankly when I saw the "fat" video I was shocked and sorry that I'd seen it, he looks ill and uncomfortable in the video and its not how I want to remember him.

Mind you, if I looked hard enough I bet I could find two comaprable photos of myself...