O to be a 70s rock’n’roller
QUESTION
At The Roundhouse in London on May 31, 1976, on the same bill as Curved Air and Brand X (with Phil Collins on drums), I saw A Band Called O. What became of them? EVOLVing from the Parlour Band in the early Seventies, a melodic rock band from the Channel islands, a Band Called O moved to Leicester, where they developed their progressive rock sound.
they released four albums for CBS: a Band Called O (1974), Oasis (1975), Within Reach (1976) and the Knife (1977).
they had little chart success, but gained a following as a brilliant live band, supporting major acts and headlining at the 1976 Reading Festival.
BBC dJ John Peel was a big fan and the band recorded four Peel Sessions between 1974 and 1977 at the BBC Maida Vale Studios in London. they also appeared on the BBC’s live music show, the Old grey Whistle test.
Henry White, Norwich, Norfolk. a Band Called O decided to call it a day in 1978 after four albums and many UK and European tours.
Mark anders on bass guitar and Craig anders on lead guitar are two of my brothers. Passionate musicians from a young age, they were born in guernsey and brought up in Jersey.
Craig still plays in several bands in London and has had his own architectural business for many years. Mark had a successful career in music publishing and still plays bass guitar in various bands.
Singer and guitarist Pix Pickford moved to Spain, where he plays and sings with a number of bands. Keyboard player Jeff Bannister has also enjoyed a career as a professional musician. drummer derek Ballard moved to Berlin some years ago.
Julie Cook, Scothern, Lincs.
QUESTION
How closely related are sweet potatoes to potatoes? Which is better for us? dESPitE superficial similarities, potatoes and sweet potatoes are only distantly related. they belong to different families, Prog rock: The Parlour Band morphed into A Band Called O in the Seventies yet to the same taxonomic order, the Solanales.
Potatoes ( Solanum tuberosum) belong to the Solanaceae or deadly nightshade family and are closely related to tomatoes, peppers, chilies and aubergines. the leaves and stems are poisonous.
Sweet potatoes ( Ipomoea batatas) belong to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. they are a flowering vine and the sweet potatoes form the underground tuber. the leaves of these plants are edible.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes have nutritional differences. Sweet potatoes are high in fibre and vitamin a in the form of beta- carotene ( hence their orange colour). they are also a good source of vitamins B1, B2 and B3.
Potatoes have higher concentrations of essential minerals, with more potassium than a banana, iron and magnesium. they are also a good source of vitamin B6. Both potatoes and sweet potatoes are good sources of vitamin C.
the key advantage of sweet potatoes is that they are lower on the glycaemic index (gi) than white potatoes.
the gi is the measure of how quickly a carbohydrate food raises blood glucose levels. a gi of 55 or less is considered low, 56 to 69 medium, and 70 and above high.
Carbohydrates with a low gi are more slowly digested, absorbed and metabolised, and cause a lower and slower rise in blood glucose.
the gi value changes based on the cooking method. a baked potato can have a gi of 111, while a boiled white potato is 82. a boiled sweet potato has a low gi value of 46. However, a baked sweet potato has a gi of 84. this is because boiling a sweet potato alters the starch to make it far less bioavailable (the extent to which it can be absorbed and used by the body). Catherine McCulloch, Pangbourne, Berks.
What is the history behind the New York Stock Exchange’s closing bell?
tHE opening and closing bells mark the beginning and end of each trading day. the opening bell is rung at 9.30am, the closing bell at 4pm.
in 1865, the new York Stock Exchange moved to its first dedicated headquarters at 10 and 12 Broad Street.
at that time, the signal for trading to start and end was a gavel, which is still used in conjunction with the closing bell.
in the 1870s, this was complemented with a Chinese gong.
When the stock exchange moved to its present location at 18 Broad Street in 1903, it was decided to mark the start and end of trading with an electric bell.
two were ordered from g. S. Edwards Company, of norwalk, Connecticut. they had to be large enough to resonate throughout the trading floor, so the manufacturer supplied one bell that was 27in in diameter and a second one that was 18in. the large bell was deemed too loud and was removed from service.
a couple of subsidiary bells were added in the Eighties when the stock exchange expanded to four trading floors, and g. S. Edwards Company had to bring two employees out of retirement to make them.
the new York Stock Exchange has trademarked the sound of the 1903 bell and describes its sound as: ‘tuned to the pitch d, but with an overtone of d-sharp, struck nine times at a brisk tempo, with the final tone allowed to ring until the sound decays naturally.
‘the rhythmic pattern is eight 16th notes and a quarter note. the total duration, from the striking of the first tone to the end of the decay on the final one, is just over three seconds.’
Michael Foulds, Farnham, Surrey.