Wake up. It's 1974. The Hot Rod Gang motorvate along the Felling Bypass, heading for the Locarno Ballroom in Sunderland. Dance hall gig: big sound, polished sprung dancefloor, wide stage, spotlights, swirling mirror ball. Let's go! Because EVERYTHING happens on…
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Aug 27 2016
SHARP SHOES: PRE-GIG, WINTER 1976
SHARP SHOES: PRE-GIG, WINTER 1976
Wake up. It's Saturday. Cold snap. I'm under attack in bed. One deadly assailant is Superman, the other El Zorro. Drawn-out battle. I become Blofeld. "Zo, Meesterr Bornd..." I begin. THUD! A four year-old…
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Aug 11 2016
THE SKIFFLE GROUP, 1957.
THE SKIFFLE GROUP, 1957
Wake up. It's 1957. I'm ten. My pal Robert has a proper guitar, with six strings and 'F' shaped holes for the sound to get out. It belonged to his uncle. My Elvis Presley guitar is…
Aug 9 2016
THE BOWLING ALLEY, 1963.
The Bowling Alley, November 1963
Wake up. My friend Ken arrives. He has a newspaper clipping about a new bowling alley. It's up Westgate Road, past the motorbike shops. I love Westgate Road. A new bowling alley at the top…
Aug 1 2016
SATURDAY MORNINGS, 1961.
Saturday Mornings, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 1961:
Wake up. I'm 15. Leave house in smart clothing. Duck into cellar & change into hidden drainpipe trousers, leopard-skin mohair sweater & hand painted winklepickers. Bus to Marlborough Crescent. Run to Finlay's tobacconists…Read more