My Name is Stephen aka Steve, I was born on August 9th 1960 in Coventry. I have 2 sisters both younger than myself. Have been married since 1986 to Serena and have a son called Thomas. After I finished school I had no option but to sign on as the job situation in the city at the time was crap. I was then on one of the first YOPS courses set up that later transformed into the YTS. It was through this I got a job as a trainee carpenter. I then moved around the factory training in various sections ending up in the wood mill working with a good bunch of blokes, but did manage to end up slicing the end off one of my little fingers and the tip of another using an factory wood plane and ended up in casualty!!
After this I joined the RAF when I was 20, as an Aerospace Systems Operator (the leaflets sold it well), otherwise known as a SCOPIE and signed on to complete 6 years, 22 years later I left!!!!! Mainly due to lack of promotion options in my trade and more to the fact that I wouldn't arse lick to get promoted by doing things I didn't believe in and also you needed someone to die before you could take another move up the ladder.
After I left the Air Force I just chilled for a couple of months, then got a job with Transport for London working with the congestion charge I'll say no more about that apart from I had more sick days related to that job than in 22 years (that inclueded 2 Falklands tours)with the RAF which included a really bad car crash (my thanks to Dave Hutch for that cheers!). After that job I worked for a security firm contracted to a certain mobile phone company whose security section stabbed me in the back after I helped them through a hard time with manning problems (the bastards), mind you I did hear that when they moved 1 of the 2 people that did this back stabbing job was disestablished (hahahahahaha, bitch) and another person was appointed as the security advisor (laugh again hahahaha, lanky twat). I now work for that little known company where every little helps, and the crew I work with are a good bunch!!
Ok so The Jam were the later part of my teenage years. The time when music took a kick up the arse (boy did it need it!) The Sex Pistols, The Clash etc and The Jam. And like many others it was the Jam that caught my attention, not the political messages, but the energy of the music. Not till later did I take notice of what Weller was trying to say.
Anyway I've seen The Jam Twice and both times have been memorable, mainly for the journeys home.
The Bingley Hall Birmingham Saturday March 20th, train from Coventry to Brum then taxi to the hall. This was part of the Trans Global Unity Express tour, a fantastic night was had. So the journey home, taxi back to the station and on to the train and 20 mins later back in Cov, NOOOOO!, the train broke at the NEC and had to wait for an hour before a bus arrived to take us back.
The other time I saw them was at the Wembley Arena on Friday 3rd Dec 1982 special guests Big Country!!!! As usual nobody was bothered about the warm up act you just wanted to see The Jam.
This time the journey was from Norwich to Wembley and again by train then tube. I went with 2 of my mates all of us in the RAF at the time (Colin and Terry). Again a great night and a great view (even if it was a side view). I think it was about 3/4 of the way into the set when Weller went Pete Townsend and smashed a Rickenbacker into the stage and said "How about that then", how i wanted a bit of that Rickenbacker. Took a number of photos of the gig, however Truprint "LOST" my film which pissed me off a lot, twats.
So by the end of the evening the show was running late, which ment when we got out we wrere getting a later tube, however so did about 5,000 other people leaving. We all just had to get on the tube to catch our train. By the time we got to Liverpool Street station (i think), and ran onto the platform we just managed to catch the red light of the rear of the train leaving the end of the platform (bugger!). We ended up spending time drinking luke warm tea and freezing waiting for the milk train that was due to leave at 4 in the morning. The T-shirts that we had bought were put to good use trying to keep us warm. But it was a fantastic night and i don't think i would have changed it, apart from my photos going missing.
