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[johnkiernan35]

oy.  So your calling me an idiot and deaf ?!?! hey.  that's a bit harsh    We all have different opinions.   I'm up against it here.  Sigh.

[Mark]

oy.  So your calling me an idiot and deaf ?!?! hey.  that's a bit harsh    We all have different opinions.   I'm up against it here.  Sigh.

I hope no one is calling you an idiot - that would be silly. You're only deaf to a certain musical degree which appears fairly normal in this country, so don't take it as an insult.

She was repeatedly out of tune for lengthy periods. That is not an opinion, just a factual observation.

It was excruciating hearing her hold a note that was out and not adjust it. It's literally as if she had no idea. I mean, if I sing out of tune, I know about it and try and correct but it's like she was completely oblivious.

[teejay1]

Hi All,

The thing is, I have no problem with the opening and closing ceremonies embracing the modern, that's fine. However, this country has a musical heritage that goes further back than The Beatles, and goes further forward than The Beatles too, and that was completely overlooked in a desperate attempt to look clever and desperately trendy.

As I have said before, I'm a big fan of Sir Cliff Richard, and I know that a lot of his fans are very upset and angry that he played absolutely no part in either ceremony in any sense. The fact is that whatever anyone says to the contrary, Sir Cliff was having hit records for five years before The Beatles, and for well over 40 years after. He had yet another hit album last year. He has had more hits on his own than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined (over 130), and yet, when it came to the biggest thing this country has put on for years on a global stage, he was utterly ignored. At the very least he should have been asked to do something. His career spans 54 years and loads of different types of music. He would have been far more relevant, and more to the point, in tune, than what we got.

Elton John, another act who has had consistent hits for years was overlooked too. Instead, we had Ray Davies, who looked old enough to be Cliff's grandad, The Pet Shop Boys, who last had a hit when I was doing my GCSE's, and that dreadful woman who murdered Abide With Me in the opening
ceremony. I mean, how on earth did she get that gig? Actually, I don't think I want to know.

I watched about twenty minutes of the closing ceremony and then I decided enough was enough. I would have liked to have seen Brian May, but I wasn't going to sit through hours of rubbish to get to him. I mean seriously, The Spice Girls? Give me strength.

To my mind, if we should ever get the Olympics again we should skip the ceremonies and get on with what we are good at, the sport, which is what it is really all about.

[what]

everyone has their own taste. I would put Iron Maiden on the stage, but who cares about my opinion.

[Emma Jean]

I loved the Winston Churchill piece (he's my man) and Imagine by John Lennon. It was the right message at the right time. Muse was electric. It was okay overall. I knew a lot of the songs not to mention, the history and culture of the country, so I could relate to it easily. Brazil, however, will be very different but it’s always so nice to see something different.

[counter_ puncher]

First of all, I would like to say how much I loved these two weeks of Olympic sports. I am going to miss something, especially the enthusiasm around the events coming from the crowd. This was something the athletes repeatedly appreciated, including Andy. They do not often get such an immense support (think of the usual stiff Wimbledon atmo-
sphere). And a lot of these sports are no spectator sports at all. I shared the joy of every British athlete who won a medal as it contributed so much to the positive feelings of a host nation. Btw, the German supporters, journalists and athletes have all admired the volunteers' commitment and  friendliness. Not at all surprising to me, yet many people who do not know Britain well have formed  a completely new image of it.
I have to finish watching the closing ceremony as it continued long after midnight here. Indeed, some performances were a little disappointing, also some outfits.  British music is still so influential and you can name dozens of other musicians worth performing. I don't know if some of them would never play in public any longer (like Kate Bush), had not been asked or simply ignored. Yes, I could have done without One direction, found ES's voice ordinary likewise G. Michael's second song. Would have preferred some more rock music to pop, but the organizers obviously wanted to cover different periods in music, even though not all of them might have had the same  musical substance. Or is this pure nostalgia?
To cut a long story short: these were brilliant Games in a brilliant city with brilliant host. Congrats!

[Emma Jean]

Not sure it was the right message for Olympics to have Churchill whose claim to fame is winning a war.   But agree re Imagine - that was a wonderful moment in what was otherwise largely pedestrian music I thought (though didn't watch it all) though did enjoy the Who at the end.

I didn't mean Winston Churchill one but Imagine by John Lennon. It was the right message at the right time. They didn't even need to continue the show after that. lol

[scotnadian]

John Lennon might have 'loved' the world... just wish he'd loved his first-born more.