To purchase tickets for The Boys gig in London on 17 October 2008 telephone 08700 600 100 or click on the poster:
I left school when I was 18 and became a trainee accountant for about five minutes... It didn't take me long to realise that wasn't the life for me, and I have been a firefighter ever since... (one day I might grow up and get a proper job...!?)
I was married - then I wasn't - but now I am again... I have two sons, one is now a grown man, and the other is just 5 years old (pacing yourself - that's the trick!)...
I'd like to think I enjoy life.. I liked school, I love my job, I like being married (I even 'liked' being divorced) and I love my kids.... but lately I'm beginning to embrace the notion that being a miserable old sod is much more fun... You young 'uns don't know what you're missing (see what I mean!?)...
..... This first video I made myself - with a bit of help from me old mate Francis Ford (just don't tell him will ya?) - it's the band I used to be in! The song is called "Apocalypse Now" (natch)...
Musically, what floats my boat would be best described as "NOSTALGIA FOR AN AGE YET TO COME..?"....... All my mates seemed to live for music, and we both wanted to be in a band (very funny H). Here's a potted history of why the '70s was such a great time to be growing up... because it WAS the golden age of Rock 'n Roll. Of course, not everyone would agree - this is one tough audience.....As a kid I loved all things glitter and glam (round up the usual suspects) - T REX, MOTT THE HOOPLE, SWEET, ALICE COOPER BAND, MICK RONSON (and that other fella who got all the credit) and THE RUBETTES... viddee this horror show, my brothers:-.. .. ..... Everything was fun in the '70s (for kids anyway). Even shit was good, and Great Uncle Bulgaria and his furry minstrel nephews kept things in order (don't sneer punk fans... Wellington Womble was actually CHRIS SPEDDING, who was responsible for the SEX PISTOLS 'sound' several years later):-.......... Nobody's ever called me the antichrist (not to my face anyway) but I missed my confirmation (church thing) to go and see KISS when I was 14 (so "there is a place in hell for me and my friends" Mr MORRISSEY) but, for a short time, the fun went out of music... NEW YORK DOLLS and THE RUNAWAYS lit the glam gloom until I "sold my soul for punk" -
Hang on... fast forward three decades - Thunders, Nolan and Kane are all dead, but what's left of The Dolls have just released an album of new songs. Now normally, as a rule, I don't approve of reliving past glories BUT I'm gonna make an exception here. These 'old men' still piss all over most of today's young pretenders - Rock On "Tommy"..... .. ..... OK where were we? Back to '1976 England' - PUNK was just a 'look' to anyone outside of London in 1976... that 'sound' belonged to vinyl from across the pond. The few British bands that were around were yet to sign a record deal. US bands had the toons and the 'tood, but those yanks didn't know (handsome) dick about 'being' punk........ The Great British Invasion/Mistake didn't come until early '77 when punk bands from the provinces put out records on their own DIY independent labels, and we Northern folk finally got to hear what the fuss was all about... it divided a nation and affected all of us in some way!.. ..Manchester became the adopted capital of Punk Britain, and The Electric Circus was the local mecca - (the Anarchy tour played one of its few gigs there, and it was the first place I saw the RAMONES) - it's long gone now 'cos it was a shit-hole, but they were exciting times my friend...!.. .. ....... Aaaah nostalgia - takes me back. 1977 - we formed a band (everyone formed bands) - We didn't mind the bollocks! - and we became, for a short time, 'VAS DEFERENS AND THE FALLOPIAN TUBES' (we thought it was funny) - "No Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones"..... .. ............ I played drums (and WE nicked everybody else's songs). If you were around at the time you'll remember just how many great 45s were being released every single week, including this jolly old knees-up (a B-side if you please) from these lovable old scamps..... .. ....... Most punk bands only put out a couple of great singles at best, and aside from the obvious culprits (those who managed to get signed to major labels and became household names) it would be impossible to list favourite punk bands without sounding, pardon the pun, CRASS............. It was THE time of my life - I sold all my old records and bought nothing but 'punk' for those 3 years...
Sadly, very few punk bands got as far as recording a whole album... but these guys did - and they REALLY upset a LOT of people in the process:-.. .. ..Punk came and went, but it will always be my greatest love because it made me the man I am today ;-D but my all-time favourite LP remains Elton John's "CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY" from 1975 simply because as soon as I hear those opening chords I have to listen to the whole album. Perfection - although Bruce Dickinson (yes... THE Bruce Dickinson) might argue that it needs More Cowbell..... .. ......... My pop-vocal (non) sensibilities extend to anything by MATT MONRO (the finest male voice this island has ever produced), CAT STEVENS, SCOTT WALKER, NANCY SINATRA, FRANCOISE HARDY and LULU (the finest female voice this island has ever produced) - Maurice Gibb agreed to do an old Bee Gees' song with Lulu for TV, despite an acrimonious divorce some 30 years earlier. He died before the show was aired. If this doesn't choke you, I will, 'cos you have no soul..... .. ......... It's good to love the '70s, cos the last two decades of the 20th Century were (to be fair) hit-and-miss at best, which might explain my re-acquainted fondness for '50s and '60s music. The new millenium brought some crap to the table... but SUZI's back (to the drive) so all's well with the world? Hmmm. Clap your hands, stamp your feet........ There's always the genius of Morricone for those quieter moments, but has there ever been anything to equal the Ramones' 1-2-3-4 frontal assault when ya just wanna 'pick up that ukelele and play'?..OK, rant over... this one song tells you all you need to know about rock music in the last 30 years. Everybody owes these guys. When the needle hit the first track on their first album, way back in the summer of '76, it changed EVERYTHING!! Rest in peace Brudders... Job done!!.. .. .......... So there you go - a couple of minutes of your life wasted learning that basically I just like what (and who) I like...
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