Desert Island Discs. 2.

Day 2 of my Desert Island Disc challenge.

I wanted a song that summed up my teenage years. While sitting on the desert island I will be reminded of the discos, the gigs, the dances and the parties. I'll recall my girlfriends, the boys I fancied and my first boyfriends.

At secondary school, I never really felt I fitted in, a country bumpkin amongst the trendy townies. Just like this lovely cocker spaniel, I met today, I was always swimming against the flow, rather than going with it.

I scraped into grammar school by the skin of my teeth, so from being a clever fish in a little primary school pond, I became a dull fish in a large pond. A late developer in every sense of the word, at fifteen I was skinny, flat chested, spotty with lank, greasy hair and totally in awe of all the girls with curves who were doing the things that girls with curves do.

The music of the late 1960's and 1970's was exciting, I could have chosen any one of the Beatles or Rolling Stones tracks, The Animals, Procol Harum, Led Zeplin, and Cream were amongst my favourites, along with the Beach Boys and the Motown sound from across the pond.

I have chosen Roberta Flack singing Killing Me Softly because it kind of sums me up at that time.

I had been given a record token for my birthday, my mum and dad had just bought a stereo record player with speakers to replace their old Dansette. I walked into the record shop in the high street for the first time ever, and this was playing, I loved it but was too shy to ask the young lad serving what it was. Instead I browsed the racks of LPs until I saw something I recognised - Creams Greatest Hits, as I recall.

My Day 1 of Desert Island Discs, started yesterday.