Am Quite Happy With What I've Got

In June 1973, I was playing outside in the street as was the way those days with my neighbours.

There were few cars about, and sitting on the pavement on either side of the road outside your house was an okay thing to do. With no through traffic, we could throw a ball back and forward, play marbles, rollerskate. Once in a while we all had to shuffle to one side of the road or the other, but in the main, the road was ours to play.

It was a Sunday night, and we were listening to the Top 40 Countdown on Radio 1 on a portable radio, and at five to seven, the DJ announced that Suzi Quatro was number one with Can the Can.

Something caught my interest that night, and from that Sunday onwards I fell in love with music, and listening out for new songs and bands. I had incredibly bad taste at 9, and fell for the Bay City Rollers with a massive thud. That ended badly. As did my Roller Trousers.

I remember too, when the new Number one was announced on a Tuesday Lunchtime. It took them til then to count up the sales from the weekend! I still remember the squeals in the common room when it was announced that the Jam had entered the Charts at Number 1, with Going Underground. That was 1980, March. 32 Years ago! How can I remember the smell of that room, the wet musty blazers, the squeals from all the girls and us all bouncing around the small confined space to the crackly radio, like it was yesterday.

When the kids were born we had a tape they loved to listen to in the car, "No 1's of the 80's" Probably a pre-qual to "Now that's What I call Music 476"; their very favourite was Going Underground, and they would squeal it in the back seat, and chant for us to rewind the tape each time it finished. That was played non-stop for about 6 months, and the one day, Si had enough and threw it out the window.

What made me think this? I was driving home tonight with a compilation CD on in the car and right at the very spot he threw it from the car. and I pressed replay just after track 14 finished. ""Soomme People Might Say My LIfe is In A rut".

And tonight is a night for listening to the radio, outisde, while watching the bees collect pollen.