I love it when the comments at the end of an MFW piece veer off-piste.
Okay, I may nip up a little when it heads off in a political direction (especially if it edges to the right), but when Martin (it’s usually Martin) takes us down a musical route it’s often a pleasant departure from City-related angst – and there’s been no shortage. It also affords me an excuse to link to a piece of music – always a happy diversion.
So, when Stewart and Martin suggested some void days of the close season be filled with the MFW team’s musical likes and dislikes, how could I refuse! What it will do however is create more disagreement than anything Daniel Farke, Delia and Stuart Webber can muster.
For footie, we have a common golden thread – a love of Norwich City FC – but to head off into the vastness of music guarantees debate and conflict. So…
***
As a baby of the 60s, I should have been a teenager of the punk era. Except I wasn’t. Well, I was but not during the punk era. A common theme throughout my fifty-something years has been an innate ability to arrive late. Ask my dad.
Whether it’s to pick him up to head off to Carrow Road, or to be at an important meeting or to tune into the musical genre of the day, I always get there… eventually. And so, while others spent the late-70s and early-80s pogo-ing to the Pistols, The Buzzcocks and The Clash, I was only then tapping into the Mod revival triggered by the release of Quadrophenia.
Timing is everything and mine is generally 5hit but the rise of The Jam as the 70s straddled the 80s led me to purchase my first album, which I’m quite proud to confess was All Mod Cons (albeit it typical fashion I didn’t buy it until it was a couple of years old). For the record, my first single, which I’m also quietly proud of, was the still wonderful Oliver’s Army by the other Elvis.
But it was Paul Weller’s gritty take on late-night violence in 1970s London in Down in the Tube Station at Midnight rather than Costello’s reflection on the British occupation of Northern Ireland that really resonated. To this very day, the sound of Bruce Foxton’s unmistakable bass gets the pulse racing.
Around that time, I also got waylaid by ska and while my early teen years in The Saints were far removed Terry Hall’s grim depiction of inner-city rebellion and decay, Gangsters and Ghost Town were bloody good tunes. I wasn’t particularly angry at the time, but Terry (and Weller) made me want to be.
But it was the post-punk era was when it all really kicked in for me, and my first ever proper pay packet (fruit picking didn’t count) was used to purchase tickets to see Echo & the Bunnymen in a small Suffolk town that desperately wants to be a city.
By the mid-80s, I was spending a fair bit of time in Lowestoft and so it was via Belle Coaches that we travelled to Ipswich Gaumont (as it was then) to see McCulloch and his boys. And it was electrifying. October 1, 1984. My first ever gig.
Said lead singer is a moody bugger and makes known his feelings on the audience and his surroundings, and it still irks to this day that he “loved” it in Ipswich but “hated it” on my two subsequent trips to see them at the UEA. No taste some people.
But his haunting vocals have never left me, and to this day they remain my ‘go to’ band.
Oddly, another of my most memorable gigs also occurred at Ipswich Gaumont. Me and a pal from work – Waveney District Council’s finance department was home for us then – were persuaded by a devotee of The Damned to join him to sample the delights of Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies et al. None of us were ‘goths’ – we were local government officers for God’s sake (we did dispense with the ties though) – and so in a crowd attuned to the darker side of the moon we stood out like the proverbial.
But it was bloody brilliant, and I’ve never forgotten the atmospheric, spine-tingling and deafening organ intro of Sanctum Sanctorum as we sucked up some Damned for the first time.
It was around this time, triggered by Mr Vanian and co, I re-visited the punk era and began to finally appreciate what was right in front of my eyes in the late 70s. Luckily, some were still doing the rounds, albeit some with unoriginal line-ups, and I was able to catch up with, amongst others, The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks in the intimate confines of the UEA.
But it wasn’t just punk bands who lured me to the campus. Other memorable gigs to have been witnessed through the haze of tobacco and other types of smoke were (deep breath)… The Mission (twice – the first complete with bomb scare), Big Country, Stiff Little Fingers, China Crisis, The Alarm, Squeeze, The Icicle Works, Julian Cope, Big Audio Dynamite, The Pogues, The Waterboys, James, Space, The Divine Comedy, Babybird, Del Amitri, the Manics, Mike Flowers Pops (yes really), Reef, Carter USM plus others I can’t recall right now (some because they were cr@p, others because I’m getting old).
For good measure, there were also a few good ones at the Waterfront… Crowded House and My Life Story among them, and I also did the big stadium thing – U2, Simple Minds, REM, INXS and the Rolling Stones (had to be done, if only to make me feel youthful) all being witnessed from afar with imperfect acoustics.
Give me the intimacy of the UEA any day.
Glastonbury always eluded me, but I’ve done the Chelmsford V-Festival and Reading – both of which struck me as ordeals interspersed with occasional bouts of quality music.
Back in the real world, the golden thread that has run through my musical journey has been jangling guitars and a thumping bass line, and while my musical world didn’t end in the 90s, it was what happened between 1978 and 2000 that defined the music I still listen to today.
The Stone Roses of the early 90s and Oasis and Ocean Colour Scene of the mid-late 90s were all seminal in their own way, with the Manics and Stereophonics both helping me through the era when youthfulness gave way to middle age. And latterly, The Killers and Noel’s High-Flying Birds have kept me sane as my children have tried (and failed) to educate me in the ways of Kiss (the radio station, not the band), grime, hip-hop and even R&B.
Man, that makes me feel old.
To bring it back to football for a second, there are of course a few tunes that, as soon as you hear them, transport you back to Carrow Road – most notably Daydream Believer (“Cheer up George Burley…”), Just Can’t Get Enough and, of course, Give It Up – but (and you’re going to think I’m even weirder now) there’s one piece above all others that takes me back to a City-related moment in time
The day was Saturday May 2, 1981, and must have been around 4:55pm. City had just lost 3-2 at home to Leicester in the final game of the season; one they needed to win to give themselves a chance of staying up. Instead, a little Scottish bloke by the name of Jim Melrose decided to score a hat-trick against us.
As it transpired, a Sunderland win at Liverpool would have sent us down anyway, but I prefer to blame Melrose and, anyway, it was whoever was on the Carrow Road ‘decks’ that day that made it so memorable. Upon the final whistle, and as that numb feeling that accompanies relegation started to gnaw, the ground was filled with the sound of this – a more beautiful, poignant and melancholy piece of music you’ll never be likely to hear. To this very day, it brings a tear to the eye.
But hey, in the tradition started by Martin I’ll leave you with my top five albums and singles…
Albums:
- All Mod Cons – The Jam
- Out of Time – REM
- Definitely Maybe – Oasis
- Rum, Sodomy and the Lash – The Pogues
- Ocean Rain – Echo & the Bunnymen
Singles:
- Local Boy in The Photograph – Stereophonics
- Supersonic – Oasis
- The Cutter – Echo & the Bunnymen
- Eton Rifles – The Jam
- Tower of Strength – The Mission
Phew! Some article.
My favourite Jam album is actually Setting Sons and I’d rate That’s Entertainment fractionally higher than Eton Rifles, even though it was only a B-side. There were so many greats but I’d have to pick Going Underground as my favourite. Weller for poet laureate.
Ghost Town and Oliver’s Army really resonate with me too. I’d put them alongside Madam Medusa and One In Ten from UB40s first album, Signing Off,
I’m so lucky number one son likes roughly the same as me as we often exchange stuff, while daughter is happy with whatever’s on the radio. As they both left home yonks ago it’s hardly an over-riding concern.
Beyond The Cutter I am Bunnymen ignorant. I’ll check some stuff out when I get a chance.
Try this Martin… classic Bunnymen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9OEdlU0eqo
I had a spare hour so checked the link out plus also a lengthy live clip from YouTube.
Very much of their era but one thing I will say is that the guitarist is utterly brilliant. Reminds me a bit of Johnny Marr but more expansive. At some points he sounds like an orchestra! I had no idea they were that good tbh.
Enjoyed it very much.
Gary,
The mention of the Carrow Road ‘decks’ reminded me of another relegation season from the top division a few years earlier in 1974. The record played, Terry Jacks’ “Seasons in the Sun” summed up the occasion perfectly!
The Mission are still going, I went and saw Carter USM when they reformed (in fact I saw them 3 times because of reforming!).
With your musical tastes you should try Feeder and Frank Turner.
Frank is amazing live and even in my 50s I still ensure I am in the mosh pit!!
As a coincidence, All Mod Cons was my 1St album too. The Jam will always be one of my top 5 groups!
Some top memories there Gary!
Not least Echo and the Bunnymen.
Saw them myself at St Austell in 1984 One of the the few gigs I saw whilst in the Navy.
Mr MCullock seemed to like the South West if I remember rightly!?
My favourite songs of theirs has to be Never stop and the killing moon. (Definitely give them a listen Martin Penney)
Another gem you mentioned and I’d all but forgotten about are My Life Story.
What a live band they are! I was at the mentioned waterfront gig.
Their one and only (minor) hit
12 Reasons Why (I love her) is an under appreciated classic.
I’ll add another few favourite waterfront gigs if I may, Alabama 3, Dogs, (give them a listen Mr Penney)
And a bit left field but Goldie Looking Chain!
Hi Chris
THE best thing I ever saw in Norwich was the Manics on their 1992 Generation Terrorists tour at the UEA LCR. They blew the place away. After they had closed with You Love Us I had more bruises than Sam Sexton after a fight,
Equally one night we walked along Gentlemans Walk and there was this throwback band called Derriere from Brighton. They played swing with a guitarist who thought he was Hendrix. Excellent in its way.
I’ve plenty of time for under-rated/under exposed bands – I used to be in one myself.
I was at that Manics gig as well Martin! I also saw them there in 96 on the Everything must go tour.
One memory I have is I was queuing at the bar and a girl stood next to me struck up a conversation as you do and proceeded to show me a tattoo on one of her breasts of Richie’s signature which he’d signed at a gig before he disappeared.
Mrs Anderson was with me and wasn’t amused! Happy halcyon days!
By the way as Gary started it with Bunnymen vids this is the band Dogs I was going on about….
https://youtu.be/8VX_ex_rdCE
Yeah I was there in 96 as well – also saw them in Chester, Cardiff, Southend.
A band which has never let me down and I have everything they have ever officially released – plus a little bit more.
Your Richie story is great – the only one of them I ever met was Nicky, and ironically we only spoke about football!
A very nice (and very tall) fella,
Some excellent live bands.
UEA was a great place for gigs (is it still?). I saw loads of bands there; first one was The Damned (supported by Slaughter and the Dogs) in 1977 when I was 13-what were my parents thinking of! Rat Scabies set his drum kit on fire which got some roadies running around.
After seeing the Pogues there (mid 80s?) I somehow ended up at the post gig party-Shane McGowan invited the whole audience but not many believed him. Suffice to say, Shane McGowan’s stage persona isn’t an act!
Good idea to do something on music on a football website (Nick Hornby is someone who has done well writing about both subjects).
The nostalgia kicked in whilst I was reading and I remembered seeing Stiff Little Fingers and Toyah Wilcox at West Runton Pavilion in 1980. In fact I think quite a lot of bands played there around that time. I suppose if you couldn’t make it back to Norwich you could have sneaked into one of the many caravans nearby.
As someone a little younger, a ’76er, my musical interests were very much shapped early on by my old rockin roller father. He still plays now in his 70’s! So I was brought up on: The band, Creedance, Stones, Beatles, Steve Miller, Chuck Berry and many more. my first album I still like although I don’t give it too much airtime these days, Meatloaf hits out of hell. I then followed that down a generally rock and metal path. Getting into, Black sabbath, Ozzy as a solo artist, Motorhead, Metallica, Aerosmith, cough Bon Jovi, and others many of whom I was introduced to on Krushers Kosmos on what I thought was a great show, Noisy Mothers. During highschool I added Guns n roses, Nirvana, Chilli peppers and Queen amoungst others to my play list. I also went to my two favourite gigs, the then Monsters of rock at Donnington. To this day, Metallica are still the best band I have seen live, Aerosmith were fantastic too, not only for the hits that most will know but some of the more bluesy stuff from early on. Add in several other great performances from bands I til then hadden’t known and my colection swelled with: Therapy, the wildhearts, skin and more. At Uni, I never quite got caught up with the Britpop hype, though much like a lot of 80’s stuff, what was pasing me by then I now rather like as something of a soundtrack to my distant youth.
I think the fact Liam in particular but the Oasis bunch in general seemed like complete and utter contemptable twats kept me away. But they didn’t half do some classics, even if it took me a number of years to realsie so in retrospect. My fav would be the Masterplan.
These days, I’ll listen to anything with a guitar in it and occasionally without.
But the Spanish Inquisition could learn a thing or two about torture by playing: Radio one, cold play or virtually all Hip hop and R&B at people on continuous loop!
Top fives are tough for me and often mood dependant. I’ll have a think.
Metallica Metallica (No.5) is simply the best
Bah!
Forgot to say the Big Four are an important part of my backstory.
Metallica’s Black album (James Hetfield, wow!) and Slayer’s Seasons in the Abyss are beyond comparison.
Top fives are impossible – as soon as you release one you realise you’ve lied to yourself. So today’s is (albums only):
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn – Pink Floyd.
A Tab in the Ocean – Nektar.
The Holy Bible – Manic Street Preachers
Live at Leeds – The Who
Montrose – Montrose
If anyone can find a harder rocking album than Montrose, please Lemmy know.
Big thumbs-up to OCS. Still touring every year and putting out albums (most of which are good).