The late
great Lou Reed made a special series of shows for BBC 6Music in 2012, in which he
boldly stated:
“Music changes your
life; it changes everything.”
There
are some people who cannot relate to this; most of these people I couldn’t care less about. Music does
change your life, and there is no doubt in my mind that it has continually
changed, shaped and defined mine.
Back
when I was a young boy, when I had to stand on the back of the sofa to reach my
parents’ strategically-placed (away from small sticky fingers) record player, I
fell in love with pop music. Over the
years, just as being in love with a person, there have been many highs and
lows. Periods of excitement,
fascination, elation and joy often ran alongside phases of disappointment,
frustration, despair and sorrow. But I
do believe that if any relationship can provide such profound feelings of
pleasure and pain, it really has to be worth taking the knocks in order to
enjoy the utter delight that ultimately results.
Thus
when Abba broke up in 1983, while at the time it was hard to take, Frankie Goes To Hollywood were just months away from stealing my affections. And
though R.E.M. split in 2011, their best years were undoubtedly behind them, and
if it hadn’t been for them my wife and I might never have got together in the
first place.
Anyone
who has truly loved music will share similar stories. It really doesn’t matter what your preferred
genre is either. A music fan – a proper music fan – will appreciate music in all
its guises, even if he/she doesn’t particularly like some of it that much. It means something to someone.
I could
talk about music for hours. Days, weeks,
months even. If anyone cares to listen
or take part, so much the better. I
often considered writing some kind of ‘music memoir’. Then I thought ‘who the hell is interested in
my self-indulgent gibberish? Get a grip,
man!’ When I read Giles Smith’s
wonderful ‘Lost In Music’, I realised
it had already been done in a far more eloquent and amusing manner than I could
ever hope to produce.
I
finally concluded that I should do it anyway, if only for myself. I’m glad I did. It has allowed me to reflect on a number of
key moments in my life, some very influential people I’ve had the pleasure of
knowing, some wonderful – occasionally hilarious – experiences and one or two
not-so-pleasant times which have been quite difficult, though ultimately rather
therapeutic, to write about. The common
link in all these things is music. It
has kept me going through all the good times, the bad times and the truly awful
times. It still does.
If
you’re reading this and you’re not me, then I’ve decided to go public with the
results. What you see before you is my
life in words and music, in numerous periodical installments. It’s not meant to flow in any particular
order or anything (though it is largely chronological); it’s mainly a series of
short essays, reviews and similar articles.
Neither is it an autobiography, though I’m aware it reveals more about
me than I might otherwise be willing to divulge. I’m sure I’ve forgotten quite a lot of stuff,
and some of what I’ve recalled may not be entirely accurate thanks to the
passing of time.
Music changed (and continues to change) my life, just as it changed Lou's. Here's my story. Whatever
you make of it, thank you for bothering, I hope you enjoy it.
Soundtrack:
