Dark Days and Missed Opportunities

It’s late autumn 1990 and the world is a funny place. My Dad at this time lived and worked in Brussels, often accompanied for extended periods of time by my Mum, leaving the family home in my hands – rent free! If this seems a bit generous on the part of my parents, it should be said that it was all in a good cause.

I had taken a “sandwich” university placement at the Patterson Institute for Cancer Research (part of the world renowned Christie Hospital) – for effectively no money (just a basic living allowances grant). I was a very idealistic and wanted a) no part in corporate UK b) a boss who would push me, and teach me new things c) to save the world – or at least to cure cancer!

On all three counts this plan worked (even point c – my research played a REALLY TINY part in contributing to the research knowledge which led to the development of the HPV vaccine used by teenage girls to help prevent cervical cancer, quite possibly my most significant career achievement).

But, I was suffering just a little....

Money was more than tight – with no spare time from the long working hours to take a second job, but finances were carefully managed to allow enough for a couple of trips to the pub each week and the odd cheap concert (no more trips to the Manchester Apollo – The International 1& 2 were the best I could manage).

I hated my boss – though I also owe him a huge debt of gratitude for teaching me more than he could have ever realised but I was under relentless pressure at work.

My friends had all either graduated by this point, or were already settled into blossoming careers – I still had a year back at University to look forward to!

And little cheer came from the music world....

The UK charts were dominated by a string of one hit wonders (Partners In Kryme with “Turtle Power” - .....anyone.....anyone.....???), re-releases such as “Unchained Melody” and “The Joker” and some terrible hip-hop / pop crossover stuff (Vanilla Ice – take a bow!!!). So the majority of my music entertainment came from listening to bands or artists I’d followed for a long time.

Three albums, from memory at least, stand out. In keeping with the spirit of this blog – I make no apologies....(I’ll continue to try to explain the eclectic taste as time goes on).

George Michael released Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1. Like many teenage boys, I could not possibly admit to liking Wham (well outside of the company of my closest friends at least!!!) – but in my rather perverse way I started to pay more attention as soon as my friend Daja (at the time the ultimate 80’s teenybopper) decided that she was not sure she liked George or his songs as much. LWPv1 was very much George making a conscious (perhaps even too self conscious) attempt to be considered a serious adult artist and in many ways I think he succeeds. The songs where George is singing about himself are direct, and effective, but the “socially conscious” lyrics are blunt and simplistic. Musically it’s a gem though with styles moving between lounge jazz, soul, and good ol’ acoustic pop and George’s voice continues to effortlessly soar, or be intimate and tender in equal measure. The whole thing is rather spoiled by many songs drowning in giant hall reverb and the ever present “sibilance reverb” where every “S” that ends a word trails into a ringing hiss that rather sounds like a hi-hat! (thanks to my friend Andy for pointing that out years ago, I now can’t listen to George in the same way!!)

Better still was “Jordan the Comeback” by Prefab Sprout (already getting name checked far too often) which has to be their best effort by far. For any of you who have never heard this album, it almost defies description – but having a go I’d suggest it’s somewhere between middle period Beatles and a West End musical! Themes include Paddy McAloon’s obsession with cowboys, mulling over fame and a wonderful undercurrent of religious imagery which I would not claim to understand but adds to the overall feeling of weight and importance. There are Brazilian rhythms, lush romantic orchestrations jangling acoustic guitars – it sounds like a mess when described, but hangs together like a well crafted musical and lyrical story.

This clip not only gives a taste, but also is a nostalgia trip in itself – filmed for late 80’s Saturday morning show on UK TV “Going Live” – with the vision mixer going mad on his Quantel machine!

Also check out the chat afterwards where the rarely interviewed McAloon comes across as a very likeable bloke!

Paddy McAloon interviewed on "Going Live"

Last but not least – and I’m not trying to throw a deliberate curveball here is “Vision Thing” by “Sisters of Mercy”. Often dismissed by fans as something of a “sell out” it’s far less goth rock and far more like a techno / dance / metal hybrid with a bit of pomp thrown in for good measure (courtesy of a couple of Jim Steinman penned tracks). The whole thing was VERY silly and to be honest fitted my mood at that time perfectly. (temp blog edit - the video is currently unavailable while Warner music figure out that steaming revenue from streaming videos is a thing !)

I say last – but perhaps part of the point in my introduction was to lead into A-Ha again (bear with me Morton haters). Their album “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” was released in this period – a fine effort it was too but the album was quickly followed by a tour, taking in the Manchester Apollo – the first time I would be able to see the band live and yet....there was no way that funds would stretch to the ticket prices (not excessive, just beyond my means at that moment in time) – I was gutted, but figured I’d catch them next time around. Little did I know that this would be 15 YEARS later. A-Ha took a break, and just as they started up again, I moved to the USA and missed two European tours!

For 15 years A-Ha were the band I most wanted to see, and this gig was the concert I regretted missing more than any other!

So let’s share some stories...Gigs you missed, gigs that got cancelled, bands you long to see to this day – and while you are at it, do you agree that 1990 was something of a musical black hole?