Last night, my band did a gig at The Beehive in Bow. It was a bit of a schlep to get there, to play a venue that holds around sixty people. We wanted to do the gig as we've a few friends in that neck of the woods, who make the effort to come up North to see us, so we thought we'd return the favour. One mate of mine, who I used to work with, only lives around the corner. He turned up and the early start (we were second support and played at 8.30pm) meant we could have a proper chinwag. He is being made redundant and was telling me he is set on retiring, if the finances can be sorted. He is someone who likes to enjoy life. He's going to New York on the Queen Mary to celebrate the end of his career in IT. He goes to gigs all the time and is a big supporter of our band. He was saying the best thing is getting to see the young bands who play with us. Last night, there were three excellent ones. If you like hardcore Rock Metal, there were Silvercain, if Indie Pop is more to your taste, Poppyshow from Exeter were fantastic, Exit were also great, with powerful bluesy riffs. When I was sixteen and started the band in 1979, the idea that I'd still be playing in a band when I was 61, with cool young bands would have seemed bonkers. My Dad was younger than that at the time and he seemed ancient. But here we are.
Things have really changed since then. For my Dad's generation, born in 1917 and involved in WWII, when you turned 20, you were expected to get a job, be sensible and buckle down. When my Dad was 16, in 1933, Rock and Roll music didn't exist. For him, music was mostly something you had a dance to. He never really got my obsession with Rock and Roll. I think he felt I had a mental disorder being so obsessed with it. Dad's idea of entertainment was jokes, glamourous dancing girls, magicians and crooners singing love songs and songs about the old times. His fave singer was Slim Dusty, who was an Aussie who had a hit with Pub with no beer. He simply didn't understand how a band such as the Sex Pistols or the Clash could even be considered music. The one artist to emerge from new wave that he liked was Ian Dury. Much to my disdain, he reckoned Dury was really a music hall entertainer. It took me a long time to realise he was probably right. I couldn't really have a chat with my Dad about music as he simply didn't get my obsession. I assumed that when you 'got old', that was what happened. You became obsessed with things that us youngsters considered hellishly dull. I assumed that the same thing would happen to me.
As my Dad passed away when I was 24 I never had the chance to speak to him as a parent. When we were young and silly, our parents would say grow up. We didn't want to, so it was a poor reprimand. When I had children, I thought that I'd fall into the pattern my Dad did. But I didn't. Whereas he gave up sport when he could no longer play cricket competitively., I played football until I was 60 and my ankle gave up. I'd have played forever and miss it. In some ways, I have morphed into my Dad. I have joined the Mill Hill Services club, started going to church again and we've been on cruises. But I never lost my love of music.
Last night was a joyous night. Our band played eight songs in 30 minutes. One was written in 1979, one was written in 1982 and the rest have been written since covid. What really is great for me is that the songs connect with a young audience as well as with our mates. Ian Dury is a big influence on my music. My Dad got one thing spot on. People who made music like Ian Dury have something for everyone.
Just can't wait for our next gig. That is back on home turf in Barnet, supporting The Silencerz up at the Bull Theatre in Barnet, featuring Lee Thompson of Madness on Sax! It will be a blast. Get your tickets here The Silencerz plus The False Dots at The Bull Theatre event tickets from TicketSource
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