1981 - 1982

So 1981 started my third year at SHS. This was the year that my O level choices would be decided. I'm guessing our choices were based on the final year exams; so this was the last year I was taking everything. 

I don't remember where all the money came from for the records I bought. There was money at xmas and birthdays, and pocket money, plus I used to get a small amount for doing odd jobs about the house.


One of the first records out - Heaven 17 Penthouse & Pavement.
I didn't buy that. Simon Hoblyn did, so I borrowed his and I taped it. I only finally bought myself a vinyl version in 2000. Shortly before I threw away my record player!

OMD's A&M had come out the back end of 1981 and someone at school (Ratcliff?) had bought it and wanted to dump it. When I bought it off him he said "have you heard it?" he absolutely hated it and didn;t understand why I would like it, seemed reluctant for me to take it on without realising how shite it was; but of course I liked it - the experimental bits were the best bits. It exasperated me how conservative most people were in their music tastes - often feel like I was born 20 years too early, in many ways. Still have this very copy of the record today. I'm guessing this was the period of ABOFs (the band we formed who never played and never wrote a single song). I did artwork, wrote our band manifesto, decided who would play what instrument - me guitar, SN - keyboard, then I can't remember who else we'd roped in.


The Jam's last album was released on the 12th of March.  A big event for us. A bigger event was that Weller announced the break up of the Jam - after one last farewell tour, which ended in December. My personal disapointment was tempered by the appearance of the Style Council.

In 82 my tastes started to go retro - a sign that very little was going on after the burst of creativity after punk, post-punk, new wave etc, things were starting to go flat. "Best of Bowie" (K-Tel Records) set the scene on 8th January - from the Virgin Megastore, lunchtime - the first copy got taken back due to a scratch on Diamond Dogs. the replacement had the same scratch; I gave up trying to get a pristine copy when I heard the track playing over shop tannoy system skip in the same place mine did - it didn't matter as it wasn't long before i owned Diamond Dogs LP in its entirety anyway.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/17/newsid_2519000/2519637.stm

"Bowie's performance as Baal was transmitted on February 2, 1982, and RCA issued the EP to coincide with this. Both the play and EP were well received, with the latter reaching #29 in the UK chart, commendable considering the unconventional tracks. As well as the 7" edition (which came packaged in a double gatefold sleeve containing extensive notes pertaining to the musical content and a short biography of Bertolt Brecht) the EP was released as a 12" which gained it some play in clubs as well as radio airplay."
I watched Baal on my own tv - in my room, I think - and then stuck Peely on who made a sardonic reference to those just tuning in after watching Bowie on BBC2. I felt he was watching me through the speaker.

Bowie as Baal

Also around this time we were having tremendous fruit based conflict in the playground. Two teams formed with no regular membership - I remember Andy Willis being involved. A piece of fruit would be lobbed from one end of the playground to the team at the other end with tremendous force. If the fruit hit you square on it was usually with enough force for little bits of fruit to be forced into the spaces between the threads making up the fabric of your blazer, and it wouldn;t shift until it had dried and could be brushed out. If it hit bare skin it bruised before disintergating, with bits disappearing up noses and down collars.

General Belgrano sinking

War - 2nd April to 14th June - Falklands War
A step up in my politicisation. I realised how unjust this war was and the true political purpose behind this contrived war.

heroic little doggy

It was on my mother's birthday that John Peel played one of the greatest sessions ever. Echo And The Bunnymen: Ho Hands/The Back Of Love (Taken Advantage)/Porcupine (An Equation). I taped this and took it into school the next day to play. Hard to believe I was allowed to do this, but I don't remember any problems, or being told to stop. I remember sports day being brilliant because it was my chance to play music outdoors with a small audience. Surely I was destined to be a DJ one day?  The moment I was standing in the rain and played "Is That Love" under a railway bridge with soon to be dying batteries, waiting for my lift is etched into my memory, and the song remains a favourite today, and with some poigniancy . Eventually "Back of Love" would be a hit albeit with a clinical sounding sudio version which i never really liked as much.

hispanic boy?

sister: nearly grown up now!

Trendy Sumerall - my corduroy wearing geography teacher who liked our music - in particular Ultravox. This was unusual then, but it probably wouldn't be now.


Falklands War ended on 14th June. that summer flavour of the month for me was a double live album by the Rolling Stones, and also, brand new Gary Numan stuff was being released. Music For Chameleons and ..... were released. 


We holidayed in St Ives that summer. It wasn't a happy holiday. Dad went mad one day and lashed out at everyone else, about sitting in and watching t.v. It was the last thing I wanted to do and said so. In the end it became a row between my parents. Not unusual while on holiday. What was unusual was the viciousness of the argument.I genuinely thought we'd all be coming to blows this time. In the old days  me and my sister used to just get up and walk away, but now it wasnt easy, we felt a level of responsibility and duty now. 


I was reading Record Mirror now - or rather I'd bought a couple of copies, had been dabbling with various music papers. I think i was intimidated by the NME right then and found Record Mirror to be more my level. It had lots of charts and that in it too, which the geek in me loved. 

Numan's new offering was a bit more beefy that the previous year's "Dance". The first single from the sessions was called "Music For Chameleons" based on a book, apparently. Released at the end of February  it wasn't a big hit. We Take Mystery (To Bed) was a bit catchier and got onto TOTP while we were on holiday, so I made a big effort to be allowed to watch it. It featured Pino Pallidino on bass - very much the trademark 80s bass sound - fretless and that! You can tell I'm no bass player!