OK, so basically I went through my iTunes library and hunted out any tracks that I would have been listening to when I was still at school. I was surprised by how much stuff I listened to then that I simply don’t own any more. Not many of them have stood the test of time. So no Gene Loves Jezebel, Bolshoi or The Mission from my not-actually-a-goth-but-like-some-of-the-music phase. No Corey Hart, Huey Lewis or Rick Springfield from my American pop/rock period. No Love & Rockets, must have seen them a dozen times.
Nope, all we have is a small selection of bands and songs that actually represent a reasonable cross section of my early teenage album collection.
Charles Bukowski – Introduction. He was one of the first writers that I discovered for myself, rather than reading from the school library or being given for birthdays or Christmas. I read his poetry and fiction and couldn’t get enough of it. This is just the opening couple of minutes from a CD I have of a reading he gave. Seemed like a good way to start.
Ferris Bueller – Roll Call. When I was 15 I saved up enough money to spend my summer holiday in Canada. It was Expo 86 and I had been invited over by a bunch of Canadian girls I had met on a school trip the year before. I stayed with four families across the six weeks. I had a splendid time. I saw this film while I was out there. Three times.
The Cure – In Between Days. Probably the only band from my not-really-a-Goth phase that were worth sticking with into adult life. Pretty much every album they released up to and including Disintegration has a couple of proper classics on it.
Billy Bragg – Greetings to the New Brunette. This was the first song where I really ‘got’ Bragg. I first heard it being played on the radio on the school coach one morning.
The Wedding Present – Kennedy. Thursday night was Indie Night at the Pink Toothbrush in Rayleigh. A mass of sweaty bodies and girls in DM boots. Many a splendid evening was spent there. This was a floor filler every time. Fast forward over 20 years and I am having tea with David Gedge in Brighton talking about a book project. My teenage self would never have believed it.
Echo and the Bunnymen – Thorn of Crowns. I went to junior school with Jason Morgan. His nan lived next door to the school and would sometimes give us orange squash and biscuits on the way home. He did me a mixtape when we were teenagers and it had this song on it. It is properly mental and my favourite thing they’ve done.
The Jesus & Mary Chain – April Skies. A Top 10 hit, I believe, and I seem to recall buying this on 12″ single from Woolworths in Canvey Island.
Kate Bush – Hounds of Love. Another Woolworths purchase. They had a record counter there. The same woman worked on it every day. New albums and singles came out on Thursdays back then and I would come in each week to see what they had in, a pretty good selection as I recall. She’d know the sort of things I’d be after and make sure to point me in their direction. Looking back now she could only have been in her early or mid 20s but seemed much older to me. I knew nothing about Kate Bush when Hounds of Love came out. It was her first album in some time and I had been too young for her previous stuff to have meant anything to me. There was a huge fuss about this at the time and I think I waited till 3 or 4 singles had come out before buying it. Not a typical purchase for me as a 14yo boy.
Lone Justice – Shelter. I think I first heard Lone Justice on Entertainment USA (Jonathan King might have fiddled with boys but he did a hell of a lot to bring new music to the UK) and kinda fell in love with Maria McKee. Still am, a little bit.
The Pursuit of Happiness – She’s So Young. Odd Canadian band that almost became a big MTV success but never quite made it. Their Love Junk album is still a great listen.
Cocteau Twins – Lorelei. Once a month I would go into Woolworths and buy something I had never heard before, a complete gamble. This album was one such purchase. I had heard about the band, knew the critics loved them, but had no idea what they sounded like. It was a complete punt. I had no idea what to expect but I certainly didn’t expect this. Did the same thing with 10,000 Maniacs and Edie Brickell. Pretty good strike rate.
REM – King of Birds. Document was the first REM album I bought. I was 14 (that must have been the year I really started to discover music) and they were a couple of albums away from conquering the world.
Shawn Colvin – Steady On. Colvin worked with Suzanne Vega, who I loved and sings backing vocals on this song. Production on this album is a bit too slick but there are some great songs on here, this is one.
Hall & Oates – Dance on Your Knees. Hall & Oates were the band that introduced me to the idea of a back catalogue. Up till then I just bought new albums and singles. That Woolworths I’ve told you about didn’t have space for anything other than new stuff really, I had to go to Southend for anything more. I had a cassette of their greatest hits, Rock n Soul: Part 1, and that prompted me to check out their earlier stuff which is very different to the pop songs I had heard so far. I rarely listen to them now but I still have a soft spot for them. This was a weird intro track from their Big Bam Boom album.
Talking Heads – And She Was. I saw Stop Making Sense on the telly. It didn’t quite change everything, but it changed a lot for me.
The The – Infected. Matt Johnson did a video for every track on this album. Channel 4 showed them as a mini-movie type thing. Loved it. One of my first jobs after leaving school was in a video editing company and his girlfriend worked there, she had designed their logo. He’d call for her sometimes. I was suitably impressed.
Suzanne Vega – Small Blue Thing. And here is the aforementioned NY songstress. This is the first album I remember actively seeking out on release day. Bought it from Parrot Records in Southend.
They Might Be Giants – She’s An Angel. My kids love this lot now. That makes me very happy.
Throwing Muses – Not Too Soon. My teenage self would also never have believed that I would one day publish a book by Kristin Hersh and have her house-sit for me when I went on holiday. My adult self can’t quite believe it either.
Ferris Bueller -Isms. My kids love this movie now. That also make me very happy.
Dream Academy – Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want. You’ve seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, I presume? This plays during the art gallery scene. There was never a soundtrack released and this was my most sought after song for years. Finally managed to download it illegally last year. I will happily pay the band some money for it.
So there you go, a number of blasts from the past. Hope you enjoy some of them.
