About Me
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My childhood was stripey flannel homemade bikins, bell-bottoms and Biba satin dresses mixed with the Rolling Stones, Bowie, Beatles, Bob Marley, Frank Zappa ... My first album I can remember buying was the Jackson 5's Greatest Hits. Then there was backcombed hair, hairspray and lots of eyeliner (with the odd old-man's coat and granny cardy and pointy shoes) and X-ray Spex, Blondie, the Jam, the Au Pairs, Slits, Psychedelic Furs, Bauhaus etc before launching into my all black phase (around 14ish) when my sister first took me to see Wasted Youth. In those days I wore only black, and this was before the term 'goth' was invented, but in a way it was more rock 'n' roll than white face make-up - so there was a difference. Then my sister's boyfriend, Martin, took us to the Pipeline, a club in Gossips W1, ran by Pedro and Eddie on a Tuesday night where they played Hanoi Rocks, Iggy, New York Dolls, Lords of the New Church and Velvet Underground. There was chiffon scarves and drape coats and antique silver belts - still lots of backcombing - very Dollsy -and tight black trousers - not forgetting my leather jacket that had belonged to John Lennon, which I painted pink. This was overlapped by an even sleazier club, Mystery City (on a Thursday night) which was downstairs at the Clarendon, where you got rained on from above in the ladies toilets and bands like the Dogs, the Genocides, Gunslingers, Queer Boys and Hearts Agas played. There was also the Ad Lib in Kensington that hosted nights with Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers and I only wish I could remember who else. No wonder I ended up bunking off from school so much. We - my sister, Peach, Tyla and me - ended up running a club called The Gutter at Gossips - the wine there tasted like meths and we used to be far too drunk when it came to sorting out the takings, but we always managed to have a good dance. I eventually went to live in Venice Beach, California, for a stint. Clubs there included English Acid (where I pinched Iggy's bum - just because it was right near my face (I was sitting down), the Probe, Cathouse and so many more, all a bit of a blur now (as they often were the morning after). There were Guns 'n' Roses, Aerosmith, FAG, Black Cherry, Jane's Addiction, Chili Peppers, Couch Sluts, Fuzztones, Jetboy, Motorcycle Boy, Robert Stoddard, Electric Angels - an endless list of music to see live on a nightly basis. Riding on the back of a motorbike (pre compulsory wearing of helmets was brought in)wind blowing through your hair descending the Hollywood Hills was gorgeous. When I came back to London I helped run another club, Alcatraz - where Rook DJed, reviving 70s classics before they were considered cool again. In recent years some of my favourite gigs have been the New York Dolls at the Royal Festival Hall, Iggy Pop at the Apollo, Wolfmother at the Astoria, Julian Cope at the Riverside (he still wears bumflaps),a secret Foo-Fighters gig at Dingwalls and Rook and Timo Kaltio.
