The Madchester legend takes a trip down memory lane…
The first record I ever bought
I didn’t actually buy my first record – I stole it! There was a massive supermarket near where we lived which had a record shop in it. You used to go in and sweep whatever you could. I remember getting David Bowie’s Pin Ups and a Rod Stewart record. It must’ve been 1973.
The first gig I ever went to
It would either have been the Ramones at the Free Trade Hall or the Buzzcocks at the King’s Hall in the old Belle Vue fairground. I had probably been to other gigs before, but it was those two that felt important at the time.
One song I wish I wrote
That’s definitely ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ by the Stones. I just think that’s the perfect pop tune – it’s precisely the right length and it just sounds fucking great.
One song I wish was never made
That Bennie Hill track, ‘Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)’. Fucking hell, that song did me nut in.
I first fell in love with music when
Music was always on in the house, so right from the start really. I remember my mum driving me to school and us listening to Tony Blackburn’s breakfast show. What a show to hear as a young kid, getting to hear all that new music coming out in the late-60s.
A song I can’t get out of my head at the minute
I’m listening to loads of instrumentals at the minute. I’m working my way through loads of early Quincy Jones jazz stuff. I love that theme tune he did for Ironside.
A record which reminds me of a specific time and place
Putting on ‘Rocket Man’ by Elton John and messing about with all my cousins in their kitchen. The best memories.
Music allows me to
Trip off and visualise. I still get a such kick out of it.
