Ben Finlay
@benfinlay74.bsky.social
MA Cultural History, BA (hons) History. Former history and politics lecturer at University of Chichester.
Historian, writer, reader, musician, talker, blues and jazz obsessive.
https://bsky.app/profile/lionunicorn.bsky.social
Historian, writer, reader, musician, talker, blues and jazz obsessive.
https://bsky.app/profile/lionunicorn.bsky.social
"Each day, as you get older, there is a new perspective on life. It's a progression of some sort."
Remembering one of the finest actors, John Hurt, born OTD 1940 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
#filmsky #cinema #television
Remembering one of the finest actors, John Hurt, born OTD 1940 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
#filmsky #cinema #television
January 22, 2026 at 7:03 AM
"Each day, as you get older, there is a new perspective on life. It's a progression of some sort."
Remembering one of the finest actors, John Hurt, born OTD 1940 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
#filmsky #cinema #television
Remembering one of the finest actors, John Hurt, born OTD 1940 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
#filmsky #cinema #television
"Medicine man got heap strong power
You'd know better than to mess with me"
Released OTD in 1968, the psychedelic New Orleans classic 'Gris Gris', the debut album by Dr. John.
#drjohn #blues #musicsky #jazzsky #neworleans
You'd know better than to mess with me"
Released OTD in 1968, the psychedelic New Orleans classic 'Gris Gris', the debut album by Dr. John.
#drjohn #blues #musicsky #jazzsky #neworleans
January 22, 2026 at 6:40 AM
"Medicine man got heap strong power
You'd know better than to mess with me"
Released OTD in 1968, the psychedelic New Orleans classic 'Gris Gris', the debut album by Dr. John.
#drjohn #blues #musicsky #jazzsky #neworleans
You'd know better than to mess with me"
Released OTD in 1968, the psychedelic New Orleans classic 'Gris Gris', the debut album by Dr. John.
#drjohn #blues #musicsky #jazzsky #neworleans
'A Song for Me', the third album by the much underrated Family was released OTD in 1970. It features on my personal top ten prog rock favourite albums here:
#musicsky #prog #topten @lionunicorn.bsky.social
#musicsky #prog #topten @lionunicorn.bsky.social
Top 10: Prog rock
Fancy time-signatures, album-length songs and mystical lyrics – BEN FINLAY takes us through the best of prog rock.
thelionandunicorn.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:04 AM
'A Song for Me', the third album by the much underrated Family was released OTD in 1970. It features on my personal top ten prog rock favourite albums here:
#musicsky #prog #topten @lionunicorn.bsky.social
#musicsky #prog #topten @lionunicorn.bsky.social
Remembering one of New Orleans finest, Snooks Eaglin, born OTD 1937...
#jazzsky #musicsky #neworleans #blues #guitar
#jazzsky #musicsky #neworleans #blues #guitar
January 21, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Remembering one of New Orleans finest, Snooks Eaglin, born OTD 1937...
#jazzsky #musicsky #neworleans #blues #guitar
#jazzsky #musicsky #neworleans #blues #guitar
In my quest to watch all the authored documentaries and other landmark television of the 1970s, this is lined up next. 'Visionary' broadcasting that deserves re-watching and reappraising...details to follow.
January 20, 2026 at 5:14 PM
In my quest to watch all the authored documentaries and other landmark television of the 1970s, this is lined up next. 'Visionary' broadcasting that deserves re-watching and reappraising...details to follow.
*Released #OTD in 1975 -
"I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the axe just fell
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I lucky was to be employed
Working for a while on a fishing boat
Right outside of Delacroix..."
"I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the axe just fell
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I lucky was to be employed
Working for a while on a fishing boat
Right outside of Delacroix..."
January 20, 2026 at 11:46 AM
*Released #OTD in 1975 -
"I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the axe just fell
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I lucky was to be employed
Working for a while on a fishing boat
Right outside of Delacroix..."
"I had a job in the great north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the axe just fell
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I lucky was to be employed
Working for a while on a fishing boat
Right outside of Delacroix..."
"... I wrote the music for dancing and listening. It is true music with much and many of my meanings. It is my living epitaph from birth til the day I first heard of Bird and Diz. Now it is me again..."
Recorded OTD 1963, Mingus's masterpiece, The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady.
#jazzsky #musicsky
Recorded OTD 1963, Mingus's masterpiece, The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady.
#jazzsky #musicsky
January 20, 2026 at 8:02 AM
Happy birthday to the great Tom Baker who turns 92 years old today.
January 20, 2026 at 7:42 AM
Happy birthday to the great Tom Baker who turns 92 years old today.
Saddened to hear of the passing of the great Ralph Towner. His solo work, and music with the Paul Winter Consort and Oregon was incomparable. Above and beyond.
#ralphtowner #ECM #jazzsky #musicsky
#ralphtowner #ECM #jazzsky #musicsky
January 19, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Saddened to hear of the passing of the great Ralph Towner. His solo work, and music with the Paul Winter Consort and Oregon was incomparable. Above and beyond.
#ralphtowner #ECM #jazzsky #musicsky
#ralphtowner #ECM #jazzsky #musicsky
'Literature was the passport to enter a larger life; that is, the zone of freedom. Literature was freedom. Especially in a time in which the values of reading and inwardness are so strenuously challenged, literature is freedom.'
Remembering Susan Sontag, born on this day in 1933.
Remembering Susan Sontag, born on this day in 1933.
January 16, 2026 at 5:42 AM
'Literature was the passport to enter a larger life; that is, the zone of freedom. Literature was freedom. Especially in a time in which the values of reading and inwardness are so strenuously challenged, literature is freedom.'
Remembering Susan Sontag, born on this day in 1933.
Remembering Susan Sontag, born on this day in 1933.
Picked this up for my birthday on Tuesday. Television documentary of the highest order, from an era rich with many a grand series - Alistair Cooke's America, Civilisation, Connections and others - I'm intending to watch them all with an idea in mind...
January 15, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Picked this up for my birthday on Tuesday. Television documentary of the highest order, from an era rich with many a grand series - Alistair Cooke's America, Civilisation, Connections and others - I'm intending to watch them all with an idea in mind...
Reposted by Ben Finlay
Today we shall be remembering the wonderful Peter Wyngarde, who died 15 January 2018.
Here's the also wonderful @hellothisisivan.bsky.social on one of his most memorable guest appearances.
thelionandunicorn.com/2025/08/20/l...
Here's the also wonderful @hellothisisivan.bsky.social on one of his most memorable guest appearances.
thelionandunicorn.com/2025/08/20/l...
Last night on YouTube: The Baron
IVAN KIRBY delights in the many faces of Peter Wyngarde.
thelionandunicorn.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Today we shall be remembering the wonderful Peter Wyngarde, who died 15 January 2018.
Here's the also wonderful @hellothisisivan.bsky.social on one of his most memorable guest appearances.
thelionandunicorn.com/2025/08/20/l...
Here's the also wonderful @hellothisisivan.bsky.social on one of his most memorable guest appearances.
thelionandunicorn.com/2025/08/20/l...
#OnThisDay 1996: Our Friends in the North began, starring Christopher Eccleston, Daniel Craig, Mark Strong and Gina McKee as four Geordie friends. This superb drama depicted a changing Britain from the 1960s to the 1990s.
#BBC #television
#BBC #television
January 15, 2026 at 3:20 PM
#OnThisDay 1996: Our Friends in the North began, starring Christopher Eccleston, Daniel Craig, Mark Strong and Gina McKee as four Geordie friends. This superb drama depicted a changing Britain from the 1960s to the 1990s.
#BBC #television
#BBC #television
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
Martin Luther King Jr. was born OTD in 1929.
Quote from “The Papers of Martin Luther King Jr”, p.124, 1992
#Martinlutherkingjr #education
Martin Luther King Jr. was born OTD in 1929.
Quote from “The Papers of Martin Luther King Jr”, p.124, 1992
#Martinlutherkingjr #education
January 15, 2026 at 6:13 AM
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
Martin Luther King Jr. was born OTD in 1929.
Quote from “The Papers of Martin Luther King Jr”, p.124, 1992
#Martinlutherkingjr #education
Martin Luther King Jr. was born OTD in 1929.
Quote from “The Papers of Martin Luther King Jr”, p.124, 1992
#Martinlutherkingjr #education
Remembering blues guitar legend Earl Hooker, born OTD 1930 in Quitman County, Mississippi
#musicsky #blues #guitar #mississippi
#musicsky #blues #guitar #mississippi
January 15, 2026 at 5:14 AM
Remembering blues guitar legend Earl Hooker, born OTD 1930 in Quitman County, Mississippi
#musicsky #blues #guitar #mississippi
#musicsky #blues #guitar #mississippi
Reposted by Ben Finlay
In case you missed it, Nuts in May is now on the BBC iPlayer. And @benfinlay74.bsky.social, for one, is happy with that.
thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/10/n...
thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/10/n...
Nuts in May at 50
Fifty years on and Mike Leigh’s play still resonates, says BEN FINLAY.
thelionandunicorn.com
January 11, 2026 at 1:26 PM
In case you missed it, Nuts in May is now on the BBC iPlayer. And @benfinlay74.bsky.social, for one, is happy with that.
thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/10/n...
thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/10/n...
My new article celebrating the fifty year anniversary of the first broadcast of Nuts in May. There’s another chance to see the play on BBC Four this evening, together with associated programmes, after which it will be available in high definition on the BBC iPlayer.
"These days he might be diagnosed with a mental health issue, but back in 1976 he appears just to be a mighty pain in the arse."
@benfinlay74.bsky.social celebrates Mike Leigh's Nuts in May fifty years on from its first broadcast.
thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/10/n...
@benfinlay74.bsky.social celebrates Mike Leigh's Nuts in May fifty years on from its first broadcast.
thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/10/n...
Nuts in May at 50
Fifty years on and Mike Leigh’s play still resonates, says BEN FINLAY.
thelionandunicorn.com
January 10, 2026 at 9:07 AM
My new article celebrating the fifty year anniversary of the first broadcast of Nuts in May. There’s another chance to see the play on BBC Four this evening, together with associated programmes, after which it will be available in high definition on the BBC iPlayer.
"I think that the rhythm sections, drummers in particular, are the unsuing heroes of the music. It's the rhythm section that has changed the styles from one period to the other."
Remembering Max Roach, one of the greatest drummers ever, born OTD 1924 in Pasquotank County, North Carolina
#jazzsky
Remembering Max Roach, one of the greatest drummers ever, born OTD 1924 in Pasquotank County, North Carolina
#jazzsky
January 10, 2026 at 6:46 AM
"I think that the rhythm sections, drummers in particular, are the unsuing heroes of the music. It's the rhythm section that has changed the styles from one period to the other."
Remembering Max Roach, one of the greatest drummers ever, born OTD 1924 in Pasquotank County, North Carolina
#jazzsky
Remembering Max Roach, one of the greatest drummers ever, born OTD 1924 in Pasquotank County, North Carolina
#jazzsky
Happy 82nd birthday to Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. Zep's third album is featured in my top ten British albums made in rural bliss. Read about it here👎
#musicsky @lionunicorn.bsky.social
#musicsky @lionunicorn.bsky.social
Top 10: Getting it together in the country
Fleetwood Mac, Gong, Paul Weller… they’re all in BEN FINLAY’s guide to getting it together in the country.
thelionandunicorn.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Happy 82nd birthday to Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. Zep's third album is featured in my top ten British albums made in rural bliss. Read about it here👎
#musicsky @lionunicorn.bsky.social
#musicsky @lionunicorn.bsky.social
Coming tomorrow on @lionunicorn.bsky.social...
January 9, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Coming tomorrow on @lionunicorn.bsky.social...
"I did believe I was on the right track; that what I was doing was right. If nobody else liked it, the hell with them. I’d just keep playing like that anyway."
Remembering bebop drumming innovator Kenny Clarke, born OTD 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His influence is inestimable.
#jazzsky #drums
Remembering bebop drumming innovator Kenny Clarke, born OTD 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His influence is inestimable.
#jazzsky #drums
January 9, 2026 at 6:57 AM
Remembering influential slide guitar innovator Tampa Red, born OTD 1903 in Smithville, Georgia..
#musicsky #blues #slideguitar
#musicsky #blues #slideguitar
January 8, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Remembering influential slide guitar innovator Tampa Red, born OTD 1903 in Smithville, Georgia..
#musicsky #blues #slideguitar
#musicsky #blues #slideguitar
Great charity shop bargain haul this morning - and the best £4.50 I've spent in a long time..
#jazzsky #filmsky #BBC #charityshop #bargains
#jazzsky #filmsky #BBC #charityshop #bargains
January 8, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Great charity shop bargain haul this morning - and the best £4.50 I've spent in a long time..
#jazzsky #filmsky #BBC #charityshop #bargains
#jazzsky #filmsky #BBC #charityshop #bargains