No time for stamp collecting or train spotting, so my interests mainly involve eating, sleeping, walking the dog and separating warring sons. When the bizarre scheduling practices of the RFU allow, I take at least one of my sons to rugby matches - go the Hurricanes. In England I used to go and see Spurs, so I'm specialising in teams which play with flair but never quite lift the cup. Or will they...?
I studied the martial art Shorinji Kempo for four years, getting to 1st kyu, or brown belt, then watching from afar as my training buddies got their black belts shortly after I left England for New Zealand. But there's no Shorinji Kempo in Wellington, so I'm now in sad decline, though I can occasionally be seen doing a lonely kata.
Music:
Favourite bands of the past 35 years, in rough chronological order: Slade, The Who, The Jam, The Stranglers, Ian Dury, Led Zep, Dylan, Velvet Underground (obviously just reached university at this stage), Sex Pistols, Siouxsie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Utah Mudslide Aftermath, Bowie, Clash, Gun Club, Tom Waits, Three Johns, Mekons, Elvis (Costello), Radical Panda, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, Lyle Lovett (bit of a country thing going on there - thanks Mekons), Elvis (Presley)... and loads more, because I'm a bit fickle. And the memory's not great. Too much loud music, I expect. This week the MP3 player seems to get a bit stuck around The Ramones. So take heart, pop kids - just because you're in your 40s doesn't mean you have to act like a grown-up.
First record bought: This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us, by Sparks
First gig: Cliff Richard (I was about three, and I met him afterwards)
First proper gig: Blue Oyster Cult, Southampton Gaumont, 1979
Greatest gigs: The Who, Gaumont, 79/80 - no Moon but they didn't disappoint; Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Gaumont, 1980; Motorhead, Gaumont, 1980 (the bomber, the beast and a flashing Ace of Spades. The works); Dylan, Earls Court, 1980 (some of the audience booed his gospel stuff - no doubt the same tossers who booed the electric stuff a generation before. Or their children); Bowie, NEC, Birmingham, 1982/3; The Cramps, somewhere in London, about 1983; Gun Club, Dingwalls, Camden, about 1983; Siouxsie, somewhere in London, 1984; Three Johns, Fighting Cocks, Birmingham, 1986-ish, and Mean Fiddler, 1987 (see blog); Mekons, Sir George Robey, London, 1986, and Fleece and Firkin, Bristol, 1991; Elvis Costello, Colston Hall, Bristol, 1992-ish; Iggy, Brixton Academy, 1986/7 and Exeter University, 1989; Johnny Cash, St Austell, Cornwall, 1989. I saw the Stranglers loads of times in the 80s too and they were always great, if a bit bad tempered. I didn't mention them before because they took themselves off my MySpace friends list. Ha! I bet they're sorry now. Hugh Cornwell's still on there, though, and he's still great.
That's all a bit English White Boy rock'n'rolly, so add Gregory Isaacs, Hummingbird, Birmingham, 1985/6-ish; Burning Spear, Tower Ballroom, Birmingham, 1983 (we were hassled in the crowd by someone who thought we were, in the words of the great bard Adam Ant, a shade too white); Black Uhuru, supporting the Rolling Stones ('Should have been the other way round' said my friend Russell, and he was right), Wembley, 1982; Toots and the Maytalls, Town and Country Club, Kilburn, about 1987; Aswad (featuring that guy from The Double Deckers - get on board!), Southampton Guildhall, mid 1980s; Lee Perry, on the back of a truck, Notting Hill Carnival, late 1980s; Desmond Dekker, The Hobbit, Southampton, October 1998, a memorable night not only for the late Desmond's fantastic show, but also because I got home to find my oldest son William had developed chickenpox.
I saw Gil Scott-Heron, too, in Sheffield in about 1985. He was very good - but you know what? Every revolution since then HAS been televised.
I should also mention Mary Coughlan, The Gantry, Southampton, mid-1990s - a voice you can sink into and purr. And I'm not sure if it counts as a gig, but Ivor Cutler, also at The Gantry, was great.
Here's my playlist for May, which was New Zealand Music Month. Other Kiwi bands would have figured but did't because their MySpace profiles wouldn't let me add one of their songs. So bad luck you lot, and you know who you are. I didn't quite do a whole month's worth because I got ill towards the end of the month, and my broadband packed up. Throat infection, but I'm better now, thanks for asking. The broadband's still crap, though, so thanks Telecom. If you listened to any of these, I hope you enoyed them. The playlist: Anchor Me (The Mutton Birds); One by One (The Black Seeds); Why Does Love Do This To Me? (The Exponents); Say After Me (Bic Runga); In The Rain (Shapeshifter); I Love My Leather Jacket (The Chills); Fish (Goldenhorse); Couldn't Be Done (Tim Finn); I Will Not Go (Adi Dick); Next Life (The Sick Boys); System Overload (The Datsuns); She Will Have Her Way (Neil Finn); This Room (Fat Freddys Drop); Call Right Up (Katchafire); Home Again (Shihad); Catch the Light (Fly My Pretties); I Will Not Let You Down (Don McGlashan); Stand Up (The Feelers); Going Fishing (The Phoenix Foundation); War Machine (Ritalin); Hitchcock (The Phoenix Foundation again. Yeah, I know. But I was ill, OK?).
