Charlotte Hall wrote:

It needs to be something quirky and something which would be anathema to "the starmaker machinery behind the popular song". I bought a BMX bandits record once (shhh!) which had a little cartoon strip inside and someone had handwritten in pen on my copy "I love you very very much". I liked the personal element of this. I guess BMX Bandits sold a lot less records than B&S are going to be selling ... maybe it would be wholly impractical!

I've got a Peel Sessions EP or LP by Stereolab, PJ Harvey and The Faith Healers. It has got a hand painted squiggle on it by one of the band members. One day I'm going to take it to an art expert so that they can confirm my suspicion that I've got a Faith Healers' bassist one.

Here are some other ideas.

1. Bring back seventies car stickers! ELO did it, why not B&S? There should be a B&S sticker in the back of every car in the kingdom.

I was frittering away time looking at old copies of "Terrapin" the Syd Barrett Appreciation Society. They discuss the possibilty of merchandise, but decide it's too expensive to mass produce anything. and I quote... "If you are good with a sewing machine (girls) see if you can run up a few cloth patches with "Syd Barrett Appreciation Society" or just "Syd Barrett" would do. Please try. Thanks" What a great idea! If all the girls rustled up a few cloth patches, Jeepster could stick one in every record and then some other girls could sew them on their boyfriends' denim jackets. OK, I accept that this idea could be conceived as a bit old fashioned. Perhaps we should go for iron-on patches instead.

2. Willy Wonka style "Golden CDs", 500 of which (e.g.) have a ticket inside entitling the holder to a trip to, er, the Grosvenor Cafe...

I don't like the Grosvenor. The miserable bastard owner once told me off (very loudly) for eating a Mars Bar at the table, and I wasn't even eating a Mars Bar at the table. Most humiliating. I'm boycotting the bloody Grosvenor.

5. Lifetime membership of Rolf Harris fan club.

It's very expensive! Details at:http://www.enterprise.net/rolfharris/home1.htm If that's wrong, try changing the "1". It might be an "l".

7. That's all.

By the way, one of the blokes from The Incredible String Band has got a new album out called "Dream Journals 1966-76". Robin Williamson. Peter ----------------------------------------------------------------------- . This message was brought to you by the Sinister mailing list. . To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". . For subscribing, unsubscribing and other list information please see . http://www.majordomo.net/sinister . For questions about how the list works mail owner-sinister@majordomo.net -----------------------------------------------------------------------