Welcome to my blog - Read and enjoy

Thank you for visiting my Scooby1970 blogspot. I update whenever I can and when I have something interesting to share. You will also find published work of mine at Gaming Illustrated. Gaming Illustrated is where most of my work now takes place, but I will transfer some of my more popular articles from there over to this blog, in extended format.


Feel free to email me at:
MGAdams1970@gmail.com
Google+: www.google.co.uk/+MarkAdams1970
Feel free to add me to your PS3: scooby1970
Flikr - My Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/markyboyo/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/scooby1970
Twitter: www.twitter.com/markyboyo

I've just started a new blog for my upcoming book releases: http://mark-adams-writes.blogspot.co.uk/

Also check out my 10 Quick Facts for more sites I run.

Enjoy the blogs, and relive my ups and downs in life, view some interesting reviews and just enjoy the site. If you are interested in learning something about some of my favourite music then click here it's the official Jan & Dean Site that has taken me and my friend from across the sea, June many years to keep updated.

:) Mark

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Playstation Access TV - Review


Access TV is a little gem hidden in the download sections of the Playstation Network. For those who don’t know, every week Sony release a ten-minute TV program called Access TV. Hosted by comedian Lucy Porter, Access TV takes a look at the latest and greatest news from the world of Playstation.

Access TV is free and it’s contents usually include new releases, games available on the store and special features. What really makes the special show is the commentary and the slick presentation. Lucy Porter does a fine job of making you laugh at even the most serious of subjects, always finding innuendos to make you chuckle at.

The show is now past forty episodes, and each show is usually around 500mb in total to download. If you’re a fan of gaming, and great commentaries, then Access TV is the show for you. Why any self respecting Playstation owner who is hooked up to the internet misses out on this fantastic program is beyond me... Or maybe they just don’t know that it is out there.

Visit the Playstation Store now, search for Access TV in the search bar or visit the New Releases section. 

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Top 10 Surf And Hot Rod Vocal Songs


To celebrate over 50,000 views of my top ten surf and hot rod vocals compilation, I have added this blog to let you know why I chose these songs and what makes them so great.

There have been many comments on these songs, and to date 46 likes and 6 dislikes. The one reason for dislikes seems to be because there is no Dick Dale, or to put it more specifically, no Miserlou. That’s because it’s a vocal collection and not an instrumental collection. Also, people mention that there is no Jan & Dean or Beach Boys, yes, that is correct, and that is because I wanted to show something different… If Jan & Dean and The Beach Boys were included, you’d miss out on half of these great songs in this top 10!

So, this is the top ten, and this is why I like them…


10: Bruce & Terry – Custom Machine
Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys and Terry Melcher cover this Beach Boys song and make it something very special, that muggy sound of Bruce & Terry really is haunting and gives the song a really unique feel.

09: Ronny & The Daytona’s – Beach Boy
These guys were landlocked surfers and a lot of their music was drenched in a Country & Western vibe, but Beach Boy is a stunning song with a catchy melody that has summer written all over it.

08: The Rip Chords – Hot Rod USA
Featuring our favourite Bruce Johnston again, and written by none other than Bobby Darin, Hot Rod USA is to cars, what Surfin’ USA was to the Surf. Amazing!

07: The Astronauts – My Little Beach Bunny
Another landlocked American band, The Astronauts recorded some truly inspiring instrumentals. Although Baja was probably their strongest recording, and one of the greatest instrumentals ever, My Little Beach Bunny is fun and far superior to the Gary Usher recording of the same name.

06: The Surfaris – Boss Barracuda
Boss Barracuda by The Surfaris is simply awesome. No other word can describe this song, and Ron Wilson’s vocal along with Gary Ushers production make this song candidate for one of the best car songs ever.

05: The Fantastic Baggys – Surfer’s Rule
Jan & Dean’s one-time backing duo are none other than Phil Sloan and Steve Barri. Surfer’s Rule shows you what a powerful team these two young lads were, and the song belts along at a fantastic pace telling the story of every young American during that era. I wish Surfer’s still ruled.

04: The Super Stocks – Hot Rod High
Gary Ushers gang of deviants take up the next four positions, and for good reason. These records could have been The Beach Boys, or Jan & Dean. These records were raw, full of fun and passion, and Hot Rod High by The Super Stocks rocks!

03: The Devons – Honda Bike
Honda Bike has one of the best melodies ever put to record. The Devons were basically The Super Stocks/The Hondells, but we don’t care, this record is as good as Little Honda, and as much fun.

02: The Hondells – My Buddy Seat
Next to The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean, The Hondells were popular at a certain time and place. They had a US chart hit with a cover of Little Honda, but it is My Buddy Seat that really shines through as one of the greatest hot rod recordings of all time.

01: The Wheel Men – School Is A Gas
We all agree, and I think you’ll see that… school is A/Gas. Gary Usher and gangs finest piece of work is this fantastic short song. It can be found by other artists as School Is A Drag, but this recording has all the right pieces in all the right places. “A/Gas” refers to the type of fuel that hot rod racers preferred, and the “A” to me represents the pinnacle of surf and hot rod music. This song is a sonic journey like you’ve never heard before, it’s mono, it’s raw, it’s rough and its damn right mind-blowing.


There we have it. A review of the top ten surf and hot rod songs of the 1960’s. Once this video reaches 75,000 I will add a top 10 Surf/Hot Rod instrumentals, and once it gets to 100,000 views I will add videos 11-20 for both vocal and instrumental. Until then, keep surfin’.

Gaming Illustrated Reviews 2012


As many of you know, I have started doing freelance work for Gaming Illustrated, a website dedicated to all things gaming on the PC, Console and various tablets. This of course has meant that I have not had chance to update my own blog, so I thought I would bring together a list of all the links to my articles.

In addition to these, there are three more articles pending and ready to go live to the millions of visitors of this exciting new website.

Babel Rising Review (PS3/PSN Move)
A nice little God game you can play with the PS Move from the PSN.

An RTS game that in this edition is quite a joy to play.

One of the best games for the iPad, and a real winner. Awesomeness galore.

Another RTS and another interesting game.

These game really should be on your iPad!

So, please take a look at the reviews and comment on them of you could. If you are an owner of a website who needs a freelance writer, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Enjoy the many thousands of words included in those reviews and call back soon for an update to this blog.

:) Mark