Posts Tagged ‘northampton’
Disraeli Gears
As I cycled across Leicester today, to attend a weekly meeting of the University of Leicester Chaplaincy, I was thinking about the gears on my mountain bike (21 by the way, but I generally only use the middle 7). The gears, of course, are known as derailleur gears, and that got me thinking about the title of the classic rock album by Cream.
The title of the album was taken from an inside joke. Eric Clapton had been thinking of buying a racing bicycle and was discussing it with Ginger Baker, when a roadie named Mick Turner commented, “it’s got them Disraeli Gears”, meaning to say “derailleur gears,” but instead alluding to 19th Century British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. The band thought this was hilarious, and decided that it should be the title of their next album. Had it not been for Mick’s turn of phrase, the album would simply have been entitled “Cream.” (Wikipedia)
Incidentally, the album contains the track Sunshine of Your Love which is largely responsible my interest in rock music after I heard it covered by a school rock band called “The Dark” in Northampton. With hindsight I should have bought the album they released, because I heard a few years ago it had become a collectable!
