26 February 2025
Many of us like music of one sort or another. Some of you have played classical style music. There are many other types which we may or may not enjoy, from jingles, ballads, anthems, headbanging to rap and beyond. Miss Betty Rayment soon rightly assessed that I lacked sufficient interest, patience and talent to learn to play proper music (she did not include boys playing guitars such as JG).
Not having a musical background, I made little progress with the subject at school in Ashford, beyond seeing graffiti in the book on lives of famous old composers - Purcell washes whiter, Bch woof woof, Handel with care, Haydn seek, Mofart, Roll over Beethoven, Schubert lemon, Chopin wood and so on. But we listened to other music of various kinds, some popular in the old days such as Elvis Presley or the Beatles, some quite specialist. We had little trans which managed to pick up Radio Luxembourg or pirates. Young staff at Caldecott might have good records to play, even the real nutters.
Preferred reading at school was Record Mirror, later Melody Maker. After school we sometimes hitchhiked to Canterbury where a pub had live jazz. My pals and I sometime went to concerts for instance by Fats Domino (warm ups by Gerry and the Pacemakers and young Bee Gees). Student life later gave much wider opportunities. Too many to recall - many rock bands, also folkies such as Ralph McTell, bluesmen like Howlin' Wolf.
We sometimes helped chums that played in groups and came along to gigs as temporary roadies. Some concerts were free such as Hyde Park on 5 July 1969 featuring the Rolling Stones (warm ups were Third Ear Band, King Crimson, Screw, Alexis Korner's New Church, Family, Roy Harper, Battered Ornaments).
Looking at my 1972 diary, I see that after a spell in Kent, I came back on the boys coach. On 5 August JM and I went to old Wembley Stadium for a long concert, mostly longstanding US artistes - Bill Haley and the Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley - plus various others such as Electric Light Orchestra.
On 20 August DM, MA, CR and I saw David Bowie and Roxy Music at the Rainbow. Then on 2 September I went to see Yes and Genesis (then with Peter Gabriel) at Crystal Palace. On 30 September DC, DS and I went to the Oval to see Emerson Lake and Palmer (again) plus other groups such as Wishbone Ash.
Working life did not prevent visits to pubs to see live bands. For example, on 7 February 1977 Simon Rodway, MP, Tony Inwood and I went to the Nashville to see the Jam (including Paul Weller) before they put out their first record in May.
We are obviously older now and anyway there are so many music festivals etc on TV. Naturally our music collections go far wider than the persons that we have personally seen perform. I would be interested to hear what music acts some of you like and if you went to see some perform.