-
Aliens inspired songs?
I was just wondering if either of you (Mona or Lisa or maybe both?) have ever had an interest in anything like UFOs, Aliens or the paranormal aside from your wonderful music and if you get inspired by anything like that in your songs?
I have noticed that Mona is holding a little green ET on top of her guitar in one of your studio session photo’s from a couple years back and of course ‘Starman’ by David Bowie is one of my favourite covers that you perform. I love the fact that you went out into the dark countryside lit up by a wonderful night sky to film that song which was very atmospheric. I’ll let you into a secret, I used to go ‘sky-watching’ on the moors around Lancashire, UK, a few years ago and have seen many strange phenomena in the skies above them! I have been so inspired by these experiences, that I have written books on the subject and that is possibly why I noticed the ET with Mona…..
As you might know, John Lennon was a firm believer in UFOs and claimed to have seen one over New York when he was living there. His song, ‘Nobody Told Me’ also had the line “There’s UFOs over New York, and I ain’t too surprised”. This was inspired by Lennon’s alleged sighting of a UFO in 1974. The liner notes of his album Walls And Bridges carried the announcement: “On the 23rd August 1974 at 9 o’clock I saw a U.F.O. – J.L.”.
It is my firm belief that if UFOs are piloted by other worldly Beings, then they would use music to inspire humans and send messages of peace and universal love. It was no surprise to me that John Lennon had his own sighting as explained and that David Bowie was once, I understand, an investigating member of a UFO group in his teens, so probably inspired that way too! Another was lead singer of The Troggs Reg Presley, who was also said to be inspired by UFOs and ‘aliens’ for some of his songs. After retiring from the music scene, Reg Presley became a UFO investigator and I met him several times. You (Mona & Lisa) covered his ‘Love is all around’ in your 2008 video -a lovely song and one which my wife Helen (on keyboards) and I (on guitar) performed at our own wedding.
It would be brilliant if you could maybe do a cover version of ‘Calling Occupants’ by the Carpenters to keep with this theme, and make a video on the Lancashire Moors sometime in the future after lockdown?
Watch out! ‘There’s UFOs over Liverpool and I’m not too surprised!’ ‘Strange Days Indeed!’…..
-
16 Replies
-
Love this question and topic 🙂
Unfortunately, we haven’t had any personal contact with the 3rd kind but it’s something that has intrigued us since we were young.Throughout years of our early childhood, every night our Dad would tell us a bedtime story, a continuing saga that he made up on the spot, that was all about space travel, aliens and new planets 🙂 So it’s safe to say that outer space has been on our mind for a long time.
The plastic alien from the photo that you mentioned also found its way into a music video if you look closely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3JnZBz0Zro
It’s fascinating that you had such a profound experience in Lancashire that you even wrote books about it!
Gosh, there is so much we don’t know. To us, the idea of humans being the only living entities in this vast universe seems pretty unlikely but who knows if we’ll find out in this lifetime 🙂
-
Thank you so much for your great reply Lisa!
Ever since I first saw you and Mona performing on Youtube, I had a ‘feeling’ that you might have the ‘spooky’ connection…LOL (in that you find this subject fascinating) and that is why I decided to ask you about it.I missed the plastic alien in the ‘Nothing Is In Vain’ video before you mentioned this, but just re-watched it again from your link and yes, it’s there alongside the goldfish, floating through space……
I love that song so much and feel it was very inspired. Great that you have worked on the creativity from those stories that your dad read to you when you were young. I blame my mother (who is now in her 90’s) for my UFO interest (apart from experiences since) -as she used to sit at the window some evenings and look out into the night sky, telling me as a boy that there could be other life forms out there!
When I eventually and hopefully get to meet you both at a gig after these terrible lockdowns, of course I will introduce myself as ‘Spooky Nige’! LOL
Keep up the great work with your videos until then (loved Nowhere Man -brilliant harmonies there!), all keep safe and well, -much love from me and my wife Helen.
-
Oops, posted on wrong thread.
-
Nigel, Lisa, if you ever get a chance watch one of Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Youtube videos on the universe. He is an astrophysicist and planetary scientist and his many programs about the universe are awesome. He wrote a book a couple of years ago called “Astro Physics for People in a Hurry”.
I think I saw a UFO once on a walk not too far from where I live in broad daylight, something fairly massive and round over the trees quickly disappeared, but no photos. Tried for days to explain to myself what it could have been, but nothing I can think of. Moved too fast for a plane or big drone.
Calling Occupants was a cool song I thought when I first heard it. It was probably the only Carpenters song that was on the radio newly released as a hit that I was old enough to remember in the mid 70s. All their other songs were before my time.
Wow, after watching Nothing Is In Vain video so many times, I never noticed that alien appearance until now! LOL. You gotta look closely.
-
Jung, there have been quite a few cases of people seeing UFOs in daylight that are massive, so your not on your own there. My son once saw one that seemed to fill up half the sky, was a typical saucer like shape, but transparent in places. It moved twice towards the Moon and back to where he was watching it. Someone else with him at the time, watched it too. But, here’s the odd thing -they thought that hundreds of people must have seen it as it was so massive! But, nobody came forwards in the local press to say they had.
Yes, Calling Occupants /Carpenters was great for its time with effects on the video version that seem a bit naff now….. but the song and Karen Carpenter’s vocals/ harmonies (as in most of their songs) was nearly on par with Mona & Lisa’s. Karen, like Mona could also play the drums too.
-
-
Phil Collins’ ” illegal Alien” song popped into my head… and another Canadian band from the 80s , Plantinum Blonde” had either an album titled or both Album and song titled ” Alien Shores”… David Bowie’s ” Major Tom”
-
Me at either 13 or 14th Birthday, I got this ET as a gift from a friend at my Bday Party at home
The 80s were my Teen Years…lol
-
Hi jacki,
Great photo of you with the ET. My wife still has a similar one from when she was young too. And those two aliens from Sesame street…yes great memories. There were so many ‘alien’ inspired songs and TV series back then. Remember Mork and Mindy?I think ‘Illegal Alien’ by Phil Collins was about the human kinds rather than ETs though…..LOL
-
-
The 2 Alien puppets from Sesame Street…YupppppppppYuppppppp….lol
-
Hi Nigel, yes, you’re correct about Phil Collins song reference but it had the word ” Alien” in it…lol… as for Mork & Mindy, I loved that show and did you know Mork character was actually introduced on a Happy Days epusode or two before it got it’s own spinoff.
-
Speaking of alien inspiration and TV shows, don’t forget The Greatest American Hero. I loved the premise: a UFO briefly appears and gives a guy a superhero suit and orders him to be a superhero, but he loses the instruction manual and has to figure everything out by trial and error.
Not only did that show introduce my generation to songs such as Eve of Destruction and Rocket Man, but it had one of the catchiest theme songs of all time, which was released as a single and actually reached number 2 on the Billboard charts:
-
Yes ALF was great. I used to watch it with my little girl back then, now 30 yrs old!!
Another one about an alien in the UK was ‘My Hero’ starring Ardal O’Hanlon (of Father Ted fame).
-
-
OMG, how I love that tv theme song, enjoyed the show …we’re all along the same mindsets here, …lol… then there was ALF, Outta This World, and there was a tv show from 50s/60s about an alien family…. can’t think of it’s title at the moment, I did see reruns of it though
-
Think we are all a bit spaced out here Jacki, as you say….LOL…..
I’m also a big Moody Blues /Justin Hayward fan and useless fact of the day, the group members used to go onto the moors around Lancaster looking for UFOs, which inspired many of their songs.
-
-
Jacki, are you maybe thinking of My Favorite Martian?
-
Yes, David, I believe that is the show title ????
The forum ‘MLT-FAQs’ is closed to new discussions and replies.
