The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Country Music!

My dad died when I was 8 years old (which I appreciate isn't the most cheerful way to start a post). As a result, whilst my mum clearly told me a lot about him, there a number of gaps in my knowledge of the man. And, from a personal perspective given my love for music, probably the most glaring omission, was that I had no idea what kind of music he liked!

Fortunately that question was answered quite by chance when I was chatting to my cousin, Fred, in New Zealand via Skype early last year. Fred lived with my dad for a few years before I was born and he was reminiscing about him when he commented that my dad used to spend many years listening to country music on the radio. I think he was quite taken aback when I fell on the comment like you'd grab a beer during prohibition. I wanted to know which artists, which songs etc etc. As far as Fred could recall we were talking Hank Williams Snr, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell. "I'm pretty sure" he remarked "that when you were little, you would have had a lot of country music playing in the background.

I never knew! I certainly didn't recall country music in the background as a soundtrack as I played endless games with my stuffed toys and Matchbox cars. In fact, I don't recall hearing any music at all in the house, apart from the theme tune to Z Cars. The first record I can remember hearing was "Lily The Pink" by the Scaffold (Not the most auspicious start to a lifelong love of music) at a neighbours party. However, in hindsight, it did make an awful lot of sense. For one thing, I do distinctly recall that my father loved Westerns, particularly the TV programme The Virginian and anything with John Wayne in it. So it seemed a logical extension that he'd like country and western.

Moreover, it also seemed very logical given my own relationship with country and western. Although to be fair, it's been something of an "on, off" relationship. As with most teenagers in the late 70s/early 80s my exposure to country was limited to odd (in both senses of the term) tracks: "Stand by your Man" Tammy Wynette, "Coward of the County" Kenny Rogers, "Blanket on the Ground" Crystal Gayle and the terrifyingly unspeakable "No Charge" by JJ Barrie (easily one of the worst Number 1s ever). Clearly none of these songs were an attractive advert for the wider genre, which from a distance appeared to be populated by Men with BIG HATS, Women with BIG GRINS (and in the case of Dolly Parton, Big something else - I was a teenager after all- but let's not be crude here) singing twee and twangy songs about subjects that meant bugger all to a lad from East Kent: The Bayou (The what?), Riding horses across the wide open plains (If there were any fields round near where I lived some bugger would drop a motorway on em), knocking back whiskey (I was more a cider man in those days) and eating stew n beans off a tin plate (Sod off). Plus the fact remained that country appeared to be essentially a cheese fest, targeted towards "Old People" (A Generic Term used by teenagers in those days to denote anyone over 20)

So safe in my prejudices and preconceptions, I gave the whole thing a wide berth. Until I rocked up at the University of Kent and met a girl called Michelle. Now, it wasn't just Country that was off my radar. Up until that point in my life, my musical taste had been more or less entirely confined to pop and rock music albeit in its myriad forms. In my defence, this was because this was all I had been exposed to both through Radio and TV and the written music media (The various "inkies"). True, there was some coverage of Reggae (Largely Bob Marley and UB40) and Ska (Largely the late 70s ska revival stuff as opposed to the original artists) but of Country, Blues and Folk there was no sign.

Then, from my perspective, in 1986 along came Q Magazine. Now a lot has been written about Q Magazine (along with the other Music monthlies that followed in its wake) down the years and not all of it good: How it (ALLEGEDLY) led to the demise of the weekly Music Press, How in its early years it focused on CD product and therefore (ALLEGEDLY) contributed to the rise of MOR coffee table music, How it focused on established acts and dinosaur acts to the detriment (ALLEGEDLY.....actually no that's one definitely true- STOP putting U2 on the cover for heavens sake!) of new music. However, there is no doubt that as far as I was concerned it was Q that opened my eyes to the fact that the likes of Blues and Folk were not dead genres but were hale and hearty and alive and well in 80s Britain (As much as anything was alive and well in 80s Britain).

However whilst I raided local record emporium for discs by John Lee Hooker, Oysterband and The Men They Couldn't Hang, Country still looked a step too far because the prejudice still gripped like a vice. And this was despite a significant development in the world of country music for the mid 80s saw the advent of "New Country". In summary, this was a group of artists who were looking to strip the cheese away from the music and take country back to its roots and they included Steve Earle, Randy Travis, Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam and Nanci Griffith (And more of Miss Griffith in a moment). However given my atrocious prejudices and my extremely limited exposure to the genre, I assumed that Old Country, New Country, Flush it down the Loo Country and gave it all a miss.

Which brings us on to Michelle. They say that going to University broadens your horizons. Well possibly, although I had already encountered alcohol, dodgy educational establishment food and lack of sleep before I rocked up on Campus. What I was now encountering for the first time though was people with broader musical taste than I. by and I large my schoolday contemporaries shared my adherence to pop (There was one lad who in the same day bought albums by Beethoven and Crass but he was very distinctly a one off!). Michelle, however, was a firm disciple of the ways of country and could not believe that someone such as I who claimed to be a music lover had never heard anything by the likes of Hank Williams.

The berating in this regard was virtually constant to the point where I thought it was worth splashing out a fiver just to shut her up! The question was which record did I choose, which is where Q comes into the tale once again as they had just published a glowing review of the latest Nanci Griffith album, "Little Love Affairs". This is not the place to wax endlessly lyrical about the magnificence of "Little Love Affairs" but suffice it is to say that I was blown away, albeit very gently. From the pastel pink cover, to the many songs about love in its myriad forms, it was unlike anything I had ever bought before. This is a man, remember, who had been bought up on "London Calling", "Setting Sons", "Searching for the Young Soul Rebels", "The Specials". All superb records of course but I had never encountered anything quite as delicate and downright lovely as this.

And in one fell swoop, my misconceptions about country were blown away. I plunged back into Nanci's magnificent back catalogue, went to see her at the Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone (which remains one of the best gigs I have ever seen) and headed off to explore the works of Messrs Yoakam, Earle, Lovett etc. The penny of course had finally dropped that whilst Country music may be American down to its bootstraps and up to to the tip of its Stetson, the themes it addresses are universal, life, travel, love, DRINK, death- you know, the Good Stuff (Well, maybe not the last one but you get my drift). The only downside was that Michelle's nagging had been replaced with a highly irritating smugness but twas a price worth playing.

Country albums then featured heavily in my albums of the year for the next few years and it's influence reached a peak in 1994 when Ms Griffith's "Flyer" album fought a titanic battle with Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Stones in the Road". To this day I can't choose between them, largely because they are SO different. "Flyer" is Nanci's most commercial record by some distance and features collaborations with sundry members of Counting Crows, REM and U2 (Not Lord EGO, thank Goodness). "Stones in the Road" meanwhile is possibly the most emotionally draining and moving record I own. Both are amongst my favorite records ever.

From that point on, though, the influence of country in the Marsh CD racks began to wane. Sadly, in my view, "Flyer" was Nanci's last great record; Conversely Mary Chapin Carpenter has continued to make superb records more or less consistently ever since and is one of my all time favorite artists but has largely moved away from country into broader singer-songwriter territory; Steve Earle headed off into prison and upon his return from chokey never really made a record that engaged me, although Uncut Magazine will have an orgasm at the very mention of his name; Lyle Lovett married Julia Roberts and divorced Mister Tune and so on and so forth.

Meanwhile, from my perspective, the quantity of great new country artists basically dried up, although perversely the quantity didn't. If you are reading in America, I appreciate that this is a controversial statement but I blame Garth Brooks (And if you're reading in the UK, this isn't a typo, I didn't mean Garth Crooks, the gormless TV soccer pundit). As indicated, Country music has always been popular in the USA but in the early 90s, it became a commercial juggernaut and this was spearheaded by G.Brooks esq. His second album "No Fences" sold 17 million copies in the States alone (It, of course, sold 10 copies here in the UK). This was certainly no one off as he was a massive commercial force throughout the 90s, has sold over 190 million records worldwide and is the second most successful US solo artist ever behind E.Presley.

I acknowledge and bow before these staggering statistics but I have never "got" Garth Brooks. To my mind Randy Travis (STOP tittering at the back) did what Garth did much better. It wasn't that his records were bad, they just lacked the rebel spirit of a Yoakam or an Earle, the outsider heart of a Chapin Carpenter or the beauty of a Griffth. Above all, they lacked subtlety and heart. I have no issue with a record being commercial but blandness is something I need to have a word with.
However I might have thought that (and for all I know, you might think that) but 17 million US sales say that there's gold in them there stetsons and in a development that only a cretin would call unsurprising the country music market was flooded out with Brooks soundalikes, Big, Commercial sounding records that bypassed your heart and went straight for the wallet.

Now I have followed the American Music Charts down the years but fully appreciate that many people in the UK do not so the commercial domination of Country Music stateside may have passed many British chappies and chappesses by. However they would get a rude awkening. One day circa 1996 when Britpop still dominated the airwaves here in the UK, I can imagine the wife of one Robert "Mutt" Lange (Producer of such rock opuses as Brian Adams' "Reckless" and Def Leppard's "Hysteria"stuck her head round her hubbie's recording studio door and said "Hey Darlin'! Ya don't fancy producing my next album, do ya?" (Or words to that effect) to which the lad Lange thought "Sounds like a laugh" and so was born Shania Twain's "Come on Over".

If "No Fences" was Huge, "Come on Over" (which it most certainly did to the UK) was the size of Antarctica. It sold 40 million copies worldwide and is the biggest selling country album ever and the biggest studio album by a female artist. These days, many people will openly deride this record but the chances are that they own it. Now, there's a whole blog to be written about why "Come on Over" didn't open the doors for a country music avalanche but the succinct answer is that in many ways it probably wasn't country at all, it was certainly a long way from Johnny and Hank. A new phrase was born, "Country Pop" and lo, just as hordes of Garth soundalikes has come cascading onto the airwaves, so enter stage left onto the American Stage, a veritable wave of country pop.

It was at this point that I decided to close the door on Country Music once again but this time I felt it was through well informed choice rather than blind prejudice. I had as little time for Ms Twain and her ilk as I did Brooks and the Brookettes. I put my arm around Mary Chapin Carpenter, said "You don't belong with all this razzmatazz, Mary" and headed off.

Over the years, as one should and must, I have cast a weather eye of the Country pastures but found little to grab me. I admired the Dixie Chicks views on George W Bush but found their music of less interest. And on the subject of matters political, Steve Earle had developed into the conscience of a nation, grown an alarming beard but had become an artist far easier to like than admire, Alison Krauss had a lovely voice but I couldn't quite get there even when she dragged that old rock God, Bob Plant, into try and convince me. Finally a young lady called Taylor Swift ran up to me saying "You might like these "Speak Now" and "Red" records" but at best I thought she was Shania's kid sister and at worst I worried that she might be BIEBER's girlfriend and told her to be about it.

I appreciate that at this point, someone may grab me by the elbow, shove their grizzled face into mine and growl "Americana"!" at me through yellowed teeth. Whilst it is undoubtedly true that one of the features of the late 90s and 00s was the rise of Americana (Wilco, Lambchop, Jayhawks etc) and that Americana is no doubt strongly related to Country, in my mind it is still a separate genre (Although there is no doubt that musical pedants can and indeed do argue for hours as to which genre the likes of Lucinda Williams and Roxanne Cash fit into, keeps 'em off the streets)

Anyway, back to the matter in hand. 2013 dawned when suddenly I started tripping over albums which suggested that something good might be growing in the country garden again. First up was "No way there from here" by Laura Cantrell. I'm not sure where I first encountered mention of Ms Cantrell but I was intrigued by the fact that a) She was being likened to Nanci Griffith b) She'd been going for well over 10 years and I had never heard of her and c) John Peel stated that her debut album "Not the tremblin kind" was possibly his favorite album of all time (I never knew that Lord Peel was at all interested in country!). So I hunted down "No way there from here" and was immediately smitten (No 3 in my Top 10 albums of the year). Yes, there were certainly overtones of Nanci but Laura was undoubtedly her own artiste. What sold me was the strength of the songs, they were lovely things, fragile yet feisty, full of regret and hopeless romanticism. Timeless. I immediately purchased the back catalogue (And John, you are spot on- "Not the Tremblin Kind" is a thing of beauty).

This is a live recording of Starry Skies from "No way there from here!"

However, it still seemed like Laura Cantrell was something from of an exception and not really representative of what was going on in country as whole (which seemed to me to be not much). Whilst being born in Nashville, she moved to New York and certainly didn't seem to be part of the Nashville establishment. The same also be true of the next artist I stumbled over and that was Caitlin Rose and the album "The Stand-In" and this was where I encountered a curious phenomenon, the American country artist who appeared to be getting more exposure over here than Stateside. For the British music press (such as it is these days) seemed to have taken her very much to their hearts. To be fair, she was musical catnip to Uncut, who have always not just flown the flag for Americana but made the ruddy flag and the pole as well, and they took her under their wing.  But to my ears, "The Stand In " was not a pure Americana record (And lo and behold, we're back in that "Where does one end and the other start?" argument) even though there was a cover version of a Felice Brothers song thereon along with songwriting credits for Gary Louris, he of Jayhawks fame, it was too bold, too bright (I tend to find some Americana very murky), too feisty. To be fair, it wasn't a pure Country record either as parts of it were very Fleetwood Mac influenced. Again then, it was evidence that something was going on, albeit, once more, away from the mainstream.

This is "Only a Clown", the first single from "The Stand In"

It was then that the mainstream stuck his head above the parapet and said a very vigorous "Hello!" in the form of "Same Trailer, Different Park" (One of the Great Album Titles of recent years) by Kacey Musgraves. Like Caitlin Rose, Kacey came to my attention through widespread coverage in the British Media (What's going on? Don't they have a reality TV show to cover). But unlike Caitlin Rose, "Same Trailer, Different Park" had already done brisk business in the States (Half a million sales, No 2 in the Billboard charts, the debut single "Merry Go Round" sold a million copies) so commercially this was the real deal.

So intrigued I rushed out (well rushed to the computer) and bagged a copy. The first thing that struck me that, unlike "The Stand In", this was a pure country record, largely acoustic. The second thing that struck me was that Kacey was young (Born in 1988). Along with all the other myriad prejudices listed above, I had the idea that country was largely made by "old people" and largely listened to by them too (The writer of this is 50, I rest my case) but here was a young talent coming to the fore. And there was no doubt that Kacey was undoubtedly a talent. She was involved in the writing of all the songs on the album. And they were great songs, the majority of them struck through with a vein of melancholy and regret remarkable for someone in their 20s. The most striking thing though was the lyrics, intelligent, sharp, with great one liners ("Jack and Jill went up the Hill, Jack got hooked on booze and pills"). She reminded me of Aimee Mann, which is high praise indeed.

Here's the first single "Merry Go Round"

What particularly intrigued me was that reading through the articles it appeared that she was not alone. Reference was made to a wave of great female country singer songwriters from Nashville. Brandy Clark (who had helped write 3 songs on the album), Ashley Munroe (who apparently was in a band called the Pistol Annies along with Angaleena Presley and a woman called Miranda Lambert who the article implied everyone had heard of, except I clearly hadn't) and Sunny Sweeney. I vowed to check these people out straight away.

Except I then found myself "in between jobs" and therefore the album checking went on to the backburner. However when I came back "on line" in late summer 2014, one of the first albums I encountered was a country record but a VERY different beast from the ones referred to above. I had asked my good friend Gareth Williams if I had missed much whilst I had been away so to speak and he recommended that I check our Eric Church's album "The Outsiders". He advised that we were in the territory where Outlaw Country met 80s heavy rock. I was frankly unaware that such a territory existed. I was also completely unaware of Eric Church as this was not a name (or an album) that I had encountered in the pages of Q, Mojo or even Uncut. Initially I was somewhat alarmed as I thought that Eric was the country singer who had publicly supported George W Bush's re-election in 2004 and got involved in a public feud of the Dixie Chicks over matters political. However that was Toby Keith (Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks famously wore a T shirt at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2003 with the letter FUTK thereon. She claimed that it stood for Friends United in Truth and Kindness. Virtually everyone else thought it stood for F@@k U Toby Keith!) and not Mr Church.

So I purchased said album! I don't often say this but this is genuinely one of those albums that you need to hear for yourself as I don't think my words can do it justice. Certainly no genre tag can. I have heard it described as Country Rock. However to my mind that label conjures up images of The Eagles, whereby one imagines something mellow and laid back. This record is about as laid back as a kick in the nuts (And more about gonads in a minute). It is certainly a country record, particularly in the slower tracks. Songs like "A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young" and "Dark Side" are the purest of country, particularly in the manner of delivery and lyrical content. But "The Outsiders" is also a Rock record. In fact, the Title Track  and "That's damn Rock N' Roll" are the most straightforward, fist pumping ROCK AND ROLL songs that I've heard for many many years (I can see where the 80s heavy rock references come from). And right from the sleeve (which is GREAT), you can see that Eric sees himself as a Rocker, the leather, the dark Glasses.

But let's move on from waffling about genres (which Eric himself has denounced in any case). This is an extraordinary record. I listen to loads of albums, some good, some an absolute dog's breakfast. One thing, though, that all the great ones have in common is that they grab your attention, some immediately, some take a little longer but in the end they mesmerise and they enthral. And that's what "The Outsiders" does, it part of course it's the quality of the songs (That's a given on a great record) but in particular the thing that strikes me about it is the sheer chutzpah and scale of ambition. The record sounds huge and often treads that fine line between magnificent and waaay over the top (Helloooo "Devil, Devil (Prelude Prince of Darkness)" which is the hitherto unchartered area where country meets Ozzy Osbourne meets Rush) People often describe ambitious artistes as having balls, well the man who made "The Outsiders" has the most enormous pair of Cojounes! Since listening to the record I purchased Eric's previous album "Chief", it's a fine record but "The Outsiders" is a leap into the stratosphere. It's as if Eric has gone "Right, now I'm going to make the album I want to make, all bets are off". This may not sound remarkable until you look at the state of much mainstream music over the last ten years Amy begot Duffy begot Adele begot Emile. All those identikit bedwetting bands from the 00s: Travis/Starsailor/Snow Patrol. The interchangeable Sheeran/Smith/Ezra axis. Monstrously refreshing to see a mainstream artist taking risks. And monstrously refreshing it was a success that paid off commercially with "The Outsiders" ending up as the 10th best selling album of the year in the USA.

Here's my favorite track "Talladega"

At last the penny dropped that if I was going to go hunting for great new albums by great new artists (to me, anyway), and trust me, I always am, then Country was a place worth looking. So, where next? I then resorted to old mate, Allmusic, went on Eric Church's page and looked at the "Artists Similar to" link.

Miranda Lambert!

Her again! It was here, gentle reader, that my brow slightly furrowed as the link showed the cover of Ms Lambert's latest album "Platinum" (See picture above), which showed an undoubtedly attractive blonde lady and brought to my mind the concern that we were either looking at ANOTHER Shania Twain clone or Lee Ann Rimes circa "How Do I Live", neither of which appealed frankly. However Allmusic gave the album 4.5 stars, which was high praise and the review sounded tempting so in for a penny...........

Those of us that plough the furrows of the musical wastelands searching for new treasures dream of what happened to me next, that moment when amongst all the chaff, the droning and those bloody awful troubadours who think they're Bob Dylan circa "Blood on the Tracks", you discover a new Favorite Artist and as an added bonus, your album of the year!! Yes indeed, 20 years on from the titanic MCC/Nanci struggle, Country was back at the top of the Marsh charts!

And indeed, this was a COUNTRY record, probably the purest country record referred to here. It was as if it turned up in the room wearing a "Country and Proud (Oh and if you don't like it, you can piss off)" T Shirt. Indeed the first thing that struck me was what a confident record this is. Bearing in mind the amount of information there is about music these days, it is rare to first encounter an artist when they're on their fifth album (which is what "Platinum" is) but then I suppose I had been away from Country for almost 20 years, there was a lot to discover. Anyway I was unaware of Miranda's back catalogue, how she had developed as an artist, how this record compared to her others etc. But even coming at things cold, it sounded like she was in a similar position to Eric in that she was making HER record and damn the consequences. Although the consequences have been very pleasant indeed, 500,000 albums sold, No 1 in the Billboard chart for 4 weeks, featured in numerous critics "Best of 2014" lists (including No 5 in Rolling Stone and a Top 20 placing in Spin Magazine where she rubbed shoulders with arty bobbins like Flying Lotus, FKA Twigs and the inevirtable War on Drugs).

The confidence manifested itself in a number of ways. Firstly it immediately struck you as a big, bold, brassy (Not as in brass section!) record, it jumps out of the speakers and it swings and swaggers, it's an incredibly alive record. Then you notice that although it is clearly a Country record, there is an amazing variety to the tracks, there's honky tonk, there's country swing, there's bluegrass, there's a country style arena song with a chorus the size of a Aerodrome (The Magnificent "Automatic"), there's a distant relation to Queen's "We Will Rock You"("Somethin' Bad) (which makes sense of the fact that she covers ZZ Top's Gimme All Your Lovin' live), there's swaggering rock and roll ("Little Red Wagon"), It's a record that never stays in one place from one track to the next.

The record is also incredibly confident in that it defies all conventional wisdom about how an album should be structured these days. For a start it's an hour long. In them old days, it would have been a Double Album (Oh, the Horror, etc)!! To be fair, conventional wisdom has a point. I tend to find that anything over 40 minutes usually contains filler at best or noodling bollocks at worst. Amazingly, this has neither (although I would be fascinated to hear what the country version of noodling bollocks would sound like, Hank Williams meets the Aphex Twin perhaps?), there is not a duff track here. Secondly, it appears to have been sequenced by a madman! Conventional wisdom dictates that you start with your strongest songs, smuggle anything half-arsed in the middle and then finish on a bang. This starts with probably one of the most conventional songs on the record "Girls". As a song, it's fine and dandy but not a starter, that was surely the title track. And then it finishes with "Another Sunday in the South" which is lovely but not the big finish (which is probably "All That's Left"). But it still works!!

The next thing that strikes me (and this is something I particularly love about this record) especially after having heard all of Miranda's other records is that at this stage of an artists career (particularly in country), there is normally the temptation to do something completely different or write a massive commercial smash, a crossover hit which often means a saccharine ridden ballad. The recent career of Taylor Swift is a classic example of the first situation. Now one should stress that I am sure it was entirely Taylors decision to make "1989", a pure pop record through and through with nary a trace of Nashville, rather than some faceless suits forcing her down that road (Indeed I imagine that said suits went somewhat pale upon hearing the opening strains of "Welcome to New York" which sounded more like OMD circa "Architecture and Morality" than anything that's come out of Nashville in the last 50 years), it's also an excellent record.

Whilst there are slower songs on "Platinum" (The beautifully reflective and wistful "Smokin' and Drinkin'", "Automatic" and the lovely "Holding on to You"), there's nothing here that could be mistaken for Whitney Houston. Moreover, rather than go crossover, it's as if Miranda has decided to dive deeper into Country. In particular there is a stupendous middle section to this album that consists of three songs that could have been written before the advent of Rock and Roll "Old Shit" (which starts with the sound of a needle being put on a record and crackles all the way through), the wonderful Bluegrass of "All that's left" (I defy you not to sing along) and the rollicking honky tonk "Gravity is a Bitch".

The next extraordinary thing about this record is that it is so fully of character and personality. Clearly I have never met Miranda Lambert and only know her through her records but it strikes me that there is a lot of her in these songs. She is from Texas and proud of it, clearly hasn't forgotten her roots, has had her heart broken and got back up again, doesn't suffer fools gladly (especially those of the male persuasion and Lord knows there's enough of them), respects the past and likes a beer (Hooray!). And that's just for starters. "Hard staying sober" is both brutal in its honesty but wonderful in its defiance, when you listen to it, you know many of us have been there! Leading on from that, she is a magnificent lyricist. The title track "Platinum" contains the best line I heard in 2014 "Whatever kill you, only makes you blonder, my heels and my hotels, they just got taller" plus it contains the word "irrefutably" as more songs should, More than any other album I heard in 2014, the album is shot through with a fantastic sense of humour (As a brief aside, why are so many records these days so self important and staggeringly po-faced?). "Priscilla" likens Miranda's lot (Her husband is fellow Country superstar and US The Voice presenter, Blake Shelton) with that of Elvis Presley's Missus whilst the afore-mentioned "Gravity is a Bitch" is a hilarious depiction of the ravages of the ageing process.

And here it is

And for Good Measure, here's "Automatic"

In short, it's the best collection of songs I heard in 2014 and the most entertaining (And despite what PJ Harvey fans would have you believe, "Entertainment" is a"Good Thing" when it comes to a record) album encountered last year. It's wonderful and made me desperate to hear more Miranda. So, as stated I went out and bought the back catalogue which is a thing of joy and beauty forever and lo and behold, a Marsh Favorite Artist was born (And they don't come along very often, let me tell you)

Furthermore, it finally blew the doors right off the barricades (Yes, yes, I know that barricades don't have doors but bear with me here, OK?) of any lingering preconceptions that I had about Current Country Music. If I had been paddling in 2013 and waist deep with Eric, once I had heard Miranda, I wanted to go Skinnydipping in those Country waters, which I acknowledge is an image that no one wants to entertain! All I have really listened to over the last 2 months has been Country and so far I have unearthed the following treats:

"The Big Revival" by Kenny Chesney. Apparently Kenny has been going for years so I've got a bit of catching up to do. This is his 2014 album and it's the musical equivalent of being confronted by a giant cute puppy, It's BIG, it's fun and it really wants to be liked. The ghost of John Cougar Mellencamp circa "American Fool" hangs around and I cannot hear without grinning like a Buffoon.

"Provoked" by Sunny Sweeney. I can't get into "The River and the Thread" by Roseanne Cash (It probably needs more time than I have been able to give) but I can't for the life of me work out why that record has been lauded to the skies whilst (over here in the UK at least), no one outside me, my 5 year old son and the weird bloke from down the road who keeps lurking outside my house and peering through the windows has heard of this wonderful record. A truly gifted songwriter, who deserves wider recognition

"American Middle Class" by Angaleena Presley. This record is the classic slow burner. When I first heard it, my CD players were still swamped by Miranda Lambert. This is a far less immediate record than most of hers so it got overlooked. However it reveals it's charms over time. Again a great songwriter (Country really does have a lot of them at the moment) and this is a fascinating look at life in C21 Middle America.

"From Where We Stand" by Ward Thomas. This record is unique amongst all of the above because this band are from Hampshire (NOT New Hampshire). Yes, it's that rarest of beasts, UK Country and it quite, quite lovely. Wonderful harmonies, some great 70s singer songwriter influences and I can't wait to see them live in a couple of months

And that's just the top of the iceberg. The following are sitting waiting to be listened to "Like a Rose" Ashley Rose, "Painkiller" Little Big Town, "12 Songs" Brandy Clark, Both Pistol Annies records arrived today, 10, 000 Towns- The Eli Young band, "Riser" Dierks Bentley. And who knows what delights remain undiscovered in the country fields or what treats 2015 may bring. Seriously there aren't enough hours in the day!

Which brings us back full circle I guess. Quite my Dad would have made of Eric Church when he cranks it up to 11 (and possibly beyond) on "That's damn Rock and roll" I don't know but I'm sure he would have liked the cut of his jib! Everything else here, I'm sure he would have loved! When I listen to and love all this wonderful music, I can only wonder whether all that country that my Dad had on the background as I was hurtling Matchbox cars down a racetrack is now revealing it's subliminal influence. Who knows but if it is, Cheers Dad. I owe you a beer when I get to Heaven!

London 0 Hull 4- The Housemartins (1986)

I often think that time plays tricks on the memory. Case in point: I was chatting to someone the other day who was at University the same time as me and he said "Everyone I was at University with had a copy of "The Queen is Dead" by The Smiths". And to be fair, this is not the first time that I have heard people implying that the campuses of the United Kingdom in the years 1984 to 1987 were awash with the sounds of Steven Morrissey esq, the guitar god, Johnny Marr and the other two whose names escape me.

The fact is though that whilst indeed one did trip over Smiths acolytes (I remember an encounter with an oddly attractive but frankly over zealous disciple who thrust a vinyl copy of Meat is Murder into my face so vigorously she almost gave me a nosebleed), the music taste of students in those days was far broader than just the afore-mentioned Mancunians. If you take my circle of friends as an example, I think it is fair to describe their taste as broad! Amongst the albums they owned I would include the following:

Songs from the Big Chair- Tears for Fears
Suzanne Vega- Suzanne Vega (Much loved by my many female students and therefore a must purchase by many male students trying to impress said female students)
Brothers in Arms- Dire Straits (There's been a Stalinist revision of history that has tried to make out that no one under the age of 25 brought this but that is a LIE!)
American Fool- John Cougar Mellencamp (And the gentleman in question was not from mid west America either)
Reckoning- REM
Rattlesnakes- Lloyd Cole plus Commotions
Zoolook- Jean Michel Jarre (Computer Scientist student, nuff said)

However if you were to force me to name one album which did remind me of my student years, it would the debut album from another band from the north of England "London 0 Hull 4" by the Housemartins.

Much has been written about the state of  music during the mid 80s. There is a lazy history that says that initially you saw the domination of bands that had started out in the late 70s, Madness, The Jam, Specials, The Police, Adam and the Ants- all great. Then you saw the Synth domination and New Pop (Human League, Soft Cell, ABC, Haircut 100, Duran Duran, Culture Club). Then came the years 1984 to 1988 which were dominated by swathes of dross:
Middle of the Road "Coffee Table" acts- Sir Philip of Collins, Level 42, the afore-mentioned Dire Straits, Sade, Paul Young (Unspeakable), Tina Turner, Bryan Adams and so on and so forth.
Hair Metal: Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Poison
Dinosaurs that seemed to have risen from a primeval swamp: Genesis (It's bloody Phil Collins again), Queen, Marillion, ZZ Top, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac
Music that appeared to be written by five year olds for five year olds: Five Star, Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, Bros, Wet Wet Wet (Rarely has a band been so aptly named), anything produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman, all those bloody awful medley records (Enter stage left Jive Bunny with his Mastermixers in tow)
Makers of POWER BALLADS: (which is where some of the worst singles of the period and indeed of all time come into view) W.Houston esq, Chris De Burgh, Phyllis Nelson, Jennifer Rush, Berlin, Peter Cetera, Robin Beck, bloody T'Pau and so on forever

According to this history, the only thing that saved music in this dark, dark period and British music in particular, was the previously referred to Mancunian giants, the Smiths. Hence of course why you have people saying that all students of the period were walking around clasping "The Queen is Dead" to their collective bosoms (This statement in itself implies that students were magnificent arbiters of good taste, which I suggest is at best questionable- I refer you back to the previous reference to Zoolook).

Now this is not the place to discuss the merits or otherwise of the Smiths but it is definitely the place to say that this is a gross over simplification. For a start of course music is a matter of taste and for many people out there, the days that drove down the M3 in a battered 2CV listening to Level 42, the furry dice swinging from the dashboard were amongst the best of their lives. For another I know of an awful lot of people who would rather french kiss a skunk than spend any quality time listening to a Smiths record.

Furthermore, if you did want to move away from all the dinosaurs, plastic pop and tooth rotting LURVE songs in those years, there was an awful lot more going on than just the outpourings of a man with gladioli sticking out of his bum. In the mainstream you had acts such as Madonna, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Prince and Bruce Springsteen producing critically acclaimed work that had huge commercial success. You had the flowering of the New Country movement with Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett, which some would argue paved the way for Americana. In the pop arena, you had fine work from A-ha, Erasure and, of course, the Pet Shop Boys. It wasn't my bag but in the rap arena, you had groundbreaking albums from Beastie Boys (The scamps), Run DMC and Public Enemy. And of course, as always, if you looked off the beaten track there were always great records to be found. Some of my favorite records of mine came from these years including  "Boat to Bolivia" Martin Stephenson and the Daintees, "Walk on the Rooftops" Blue Nile, "Calenture" Triffids, "Welcome Home" Til Tuesday etc.

However even in the mainstream itself, the Smiths weren't the only so called alternative act having a measure of success. Whilst Echo and The Bunnymen's "Ocean Rain" may not be the greatest album ever made (as the lead singer Ian "Mac" McCulloch in a typical act of immodesty claimed) the Bunnymen were a commercially strong alternative presence in those years as were the Cure, New Order and Depeche Mode (who mutated from a tinkly plonk synth combo to leather wearing gloom merchants). The albums "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash" and "If I should fall from Grace with God" by the Pogues revealed Shane Macgowan to be one of the decade's finest songwriters. Meanwhile China Crisis, Prefab Sprout and Scritti Politti continued to fly the flag for the New Pop.

Outselling all of these, though, was the self proclaimed fourth best band in Hull, the Housemartins, with their debut album "London 0 Hull 4". For those of us of a particular musical (and indeed political) disposition, the Housemartins were an absolute godsend. As readers of previous blogs will know, one of the formative bands of my youth were Madness. Apart from the fantastic records and superb videos, both wonderfully entertaining and full of character, I loved the fact that they were successful. This probably makes me the antithesis of an indie kid who as soon as "their" band becomes successful immediately deserts them. Me, as a teenager, I wanted people to like my bands. It validated my taste (These days I don't give a toss if people like what I like or not!) and also if they were successful it was less likely that they would split up. However, as time went on, Madness' records became more introverted and less successful (whether the two were interlinked is a matter of debate). When Uncle Sam became the first Madness record to fail to reach the Top 20, the writing was on the wall. We therefore needed a replacement and we needed one fast.

In addition, these were the middle years of Thatcher's reign of horror. Again this is not the place for an analysis of the politics of Britain in the 80s but my phraseology at the start of this paragraph should hopefully have given you a slight glimpse of my views of the insane old harpy. Suffice it is to say that events such as the Riots of 1981, mass unemployment, The Falklands War and the Miners Strike had politicised and divided Britain in a way not seen since. Included very firmly in the anti Thatcher camp was the music community. Whilst many acts were making shedloads of cash, it was a foolhardy soul who came out and proclaimed that they thought Maggie was Top of the Pops. The only two acts that leap to mind are Gary Numan, whose career went down the dumper shortly after, and Sir Philip of Collins, whose career was strangely bullet proof at this time.

However overly political acts who were also successful were few and far between at the start of 1986. There was the Style Council but to be honest Paul Weller had such a swathe of acolytes that he could pronounce that he has become a Buddhist and thought Nancy Reagan was sexy and people would still have bought his records. Most political acts at that time were struggling to make a breakthrough, The Redskins, The Faith Brothers and the Men They Couldn't Hang were making fine records and even getting the odd radio play but that was about it. Otherwise the most successful political act was this big nosed bloke from Barking. Armed initially only with an electric guitar, an amp and some John Peel exposure, Billy Bragg was, let's be honest, one of the most unlikely success stories of the mid 80s. His appearance on Top of the Tops with Between the Wars, coming as it did immediately after "Pie Jesu" by Sarah Brightman  and Paul Miles Kingston was one of the most memorable of the decade. The fact was though that at the start of 1986, Bragg's fame was in excess of his commercial achievements. He stood out from the crowd because with his guitar and an amplifier and (ahem) rudimentary singing style, he was the very antithesis of the well (over) produced CD friendly fare and stadium swallowing acts that were dominating the market. A lot of people knew of Billy Bragg but only a small proportion of them had actually brought his records.

It was therefore down to the Housemartins to take political pop into the charts and to capture the hearts of all those Madness fans who had jumped ship when Madness released the self fulfilling prophesy "Yesterdays Men". They formed in 1983 as a busking duo consisting of Paul (who insisted throughout the life of the Housemartins as referring to himself as "P.d") Heaton and Stan Cullimore. After a few line up changes, they then added Norman Cook and Hugh Whittaker. As with many alternative bands of the time, their first steps on the ladder of success came via a session on the John Peel show. This in turn brought them to the attention of the afore-mentioned Sir Billiam Bragg and the Housemartins were duly signed to Go Discs, Billy's own label. Their first single "Flag Day" was released in November 1985 and reached a less than spectacular 124 in the charts. However given the fact that the subject matter was the futility of charitable endeavours to change a system that was permanently weighted in favour of the rich, it clearly wasn't radio friendly fare (Peel, ever the exception, not withstanding), particularly as 1985 was the year of Live Aid and charitable endeavours were very much the order of the day.

The Housemartins then embarked on their first national tour. It is one of my lasting regrets that I never saw the Housemartins live as apparently they were superb. The end of the act used to involve dismantling the drum kit and playing the separate parts as percussion instruments. These were the days when bands usually had to tour their backsides off around the toilet venues of the UK before coming to prominence and that was certainly the case here. The tour went down a treat and the next single "Sheep" reached the dizzy of number 54. It was at this time that the Housemartins developed a lovely (and at the time almost unique) line in self depreciating publicity with T Shirts and badges such as "The Housemartins are quite good" and "If liking them is wrong, I don't want to be right" as well as the previously mentioned "The 4th best band in Hull". Self depreciating it might be but it made them stand out from the masses. If you couldn't imagine Dire Straits, Genesis and U2 publishing such merchandise, then you couldn't see The Smiths or The Cure doing it either. You could have imagined Madness doing it though!

If their profile was rising, the question just remained, did they have the material in the armoury to break through into that Top 40? The answer was a massive, resounding "Oh Yes Indeed!" "Happy Hour" was released in June and, aided and abetted by one of the finest videos of the 80s (and, yes, there was a clear Madness influence) reached No 3, kept only from the Top Spot by the mighty forces of Wham and Madonna.

The album "London 0 Hull 4 followed rapidly after and again reached Number 3 in the charts (This time kept from the top by Madonna (Encore une fois) and the unavoidable Sir Phillip and Genesis) and it sold over 500,000 copies which was impressive.

Even more impressive was that London 0 Hull 4 was a superb album, full of character and great songs. I bought it the first day that it was released and played it to death over the summer. The first thing that struck me was The Housemartins brought into play a number of influences that an English Pop Band hadn't used for some time. Just as Madness (Them again) had utilised Music Hall influences, The Housemartins drew on Soul, Gospel and early Rock and Roll and in places Skiffle. Whilst no one would mistake them for the Temptations or the Beach Boys, a lot of their singing was very harmonious and drawn to the fore by a very clear and basic (in the best sense of the term ) production by John Williams (NOT he of Star Wars fame). Indeed in many of their concerts and on their B sides, The Housemartins sang Acapella. This was virtually unique amongst British bands and would yield their biggest hit (Not on the album) at the end of 1986, a cover version of the Isley Brothers "Caravan of Love".

Leading on from this, it struck me and still does, that these were simple and straightforward songs (And that's intended as compliment) in sharp contrast to a lot of the records doing the rounds then which were complex  ( e.g. "Hounds of Love", Peter Gabriel's "So") or glossily produced (Too many to mention). In the best possible sense of the word "London 0 Hull 4" sounded innocent and sweet and reminded me from that perspective of the Undertones debut album. Both records are extremely easy to love (as opposed to admire, which is much easier to achieve).

The album kicks off with "Happy Hour". One pub debate amongst sad music fans like me is where on the album you put the Big Single. Some say you never start with it as then it's all downhill from there. Others say, kick off with it as you've then grabbed everyone's attention. In my mind, that argument depends on whether the Big Single is the Best Thing On The Album (Because you should definitely NEVER start with the Best Thing On The Album because then it really is downhill from there). As it happens here, as fine a single as "Happy Hour" is, it isn't in my view the best track. What it is though is a fine example of what was to become Paul (or pd) Heaton's trademark, a barbed lyric wrapped up in  a sprightly tune. In fact I wonder how many people who have bopped along to "Happy Hour" at an 80s themed disco (Lord Help Us All) realise that it's actually an attack on the hypocrisy and sexism of young upwardly mobile business types (The mid 80s being the heyday of the Yuppie).

The lyrics become even more barbed on the next track, "Get Up Off Our Knees" which is where the politics really kick in. However before I go any further when I say "politics" the songs are not awash with anti Thatcher sloganeering (Although be in no doubt that the "Thatch" would have been in for a good kicking had she turned up chez Housemartins) but be in no doubt that this is a Socialist album (Note: For anyone aged under 25 who is confused by what the hell the S word means, google it or stick "Tony Benn" into a search engine). The following is from the original sleeve notes:

"A Christmas Message from the Housemartins: "For too long the ruling class have enjoyed an extended New Years Eve Party, whilst we can only watch, faces pressed up against the glass". The Housemartins say: "Don't try gate crashing a party full of bankers. Burn the house down"

Subtle it wasn't! Passionate and outspoken it certainly was! And as stated in 1986 The Housemartins were almost unique in taking blatant socialism into the charts. Of course one could debate until the cows came home how many of the 500,000 people who bought the album actually listened or understood the lyrics or indeed how many people were converted to the socialist cause because of it. But that's a debate for another day.

Coming back to "Get Up Off Our Knees", this is the Housemartins coming out fighting and demanding that people stop fulminating against the injustices perpetrated by the ruling class and do something about it, in the most direct manner imaginable "Don't shoot someone tomorrow that you can shoot today". Again it is wrapped up in a great tune, driven by a great piano (played by Pete Wingfield, producer of "Searching for the young soul rebels" by Dexys). It's my favourite track on the album and given it's strength one wonders why it wasn't a single..............until you realise that it was highly unlikely that Gary Davies (plus his Bit in the Middle) or any of the other buffoons at daytime Radio 1 were unlikely to A list a record advocating shooting the rich!!

Almost all the other songs are similarly politically driven: Anxious speaks of the ambivalence of the rich and the powerful to the plight of the poor ("And they're raising all their eyebrows to the raising of the pound whilst they raze another city to the ground"), "Sitting on the Fence" hits out at wooly liberals who won't get actively uninvolved in political issues, "Sheep" unsurprisingly is about how easily people are led ("They've never questioned anything, they've never disagreed", "Over There" is about the life the rich live which is unobtainable to the vast majority without their resources", "We're not deep" is about how people look down on the unemployed (Unemployment at the time was over 3 million) and "Freedom" was a vigorous attack on the Right Wing press ("From the Front Page to the Interviews, it's sink the Reds and Lift the Blues. They pretend it's differing points of view but it's only different shades of Blue").

Of course, to those who have not heard the album, this may all sound like been preached at for 40 minutes. However for one thing, the lyrics are political but they're also well written, they're partisan but also thought provoking. Moreover, they are accompanied by fine and robust tunes so you're being entertained whilst being told something.

Of course it should be said that it is not a perfect album. "Sitting on a Fence" sounds tired and slightly laboured musically whilst the instrumental "Reverends Revenge" is unnecessary and if they were going to include an instrumental, they should have opted for "The Mighty Ship" which was a B side and included on the CD as a bonus track.

Whilst most of the album is fast paced, there are three slowed down songs. I would call "Flag Day" a ballad but the word "Ballad" tends to be synonymous in most people's minds with love songs, which "Flag Day" undoubtedly isn't. Almost thirty years after it was written, it still strikes me as an extraordinarily brave (and indeed controversial) song. Having been involved in many a charitable endeavour over the years, I'm still not entirely sure I agree with it but I can see his argument. Again looking back it's amazing that the Housemartins didn't get in considerable hot water with the Press (apart from a short kicking from the Sun for dissing the Queen (God Bless Ya Ma'am) in an interview). However at the time they were seen as cheeky chappies as opposed to revolutionaries. Mr Heaton would only become a far more controversial figure during the career of The Beautiful South (especially when he dared attack such venerable institutions as Page 3).

"Think for a Minute" was released as a single in a stripped down (and more effective) format but is still a solid song, calling on people to stop and realise how society has changed and not for the better. The last of the slower songs is, to my mind, the most remarkable song on the album "Lean on Me". Not the Bill Withers song, but for years I thought it was a cover version! However it was written by Heaton and Wingfield. It's a beautiful Gospel style song driven by a great piano and featuring a terrific vocal from Heaton. Of course in these days it is almost de rigeur for pop and rock bands to be influenced by a cornucopia of musical styles. Back in the mid 80s influences away from older pop and rock tended to be restricted to soul and reggae. The idea of a group of white lads singing a song influenced by Gospel was almost unheard of!

Listening to the album again now, it still strikes me as remarkable that it was as successful as it was, Not because it wasn't a great record because it was but because both musically and lyrically it was out of kilter with what else was popular at the time. Of course what happened next is well documented. The Housemartins made a follow up album "The People who grinned themselves to death" which although it had some good songs on, sounded tired overall. They then went their separate ways. Paul Heaton (no longer pd) went on to become one of the most successful songwriters of the 90s with The Beautiful South (and as at the time of writing his latest album, which sees him reunited with ex Beautiful South chanteuse, Jacqueline Abbott, is poised to go Top 5), Norman Cook became Dance behemoth Fatboy Slim, Stan Cullimore became a successful children's author and Hugh Whittaker went to prison for six years in the 90s for assaulting a business partner with an axe (According to Wikipedia, he's now in a band called "Pocketful o'nowt!).

One final sobering thought on the album. I still play it a lot. partly because it reminds me of my University years, which were good times. Partly because, conversely, it still sounds great today. Musically it hasn't aged, largely I think because it's influences (Soul, skiffle, Gospel, early rock and roll, acapella)  were not from the 80s but an earlier time and have acted as a preservative!. What is scary though is, given the fact that it's lyrics addressed contemporary concerns (The impact of Thatcherism on society and so forth), it is marked that many of the songs (addressing subjects such as bankers greed, inequality between rich and poor, injustice, apathy) sound like they could have been written anytime since 2008. It's a just a shame that we don't have bands these days in the charts articulating such concerns like the Housemartins did.

The Last Mad Surge of Youth- Henry Priestman (2014)

In previous blog posts I have alluded to the fact that popular music is no longer the sole purview of the young man/woman. When I was watching Top of the Pops as a teenager, most of the artistes weren't a great deal older than myself and those that were tended to be refugees from the sixties (Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, ruddy Cliff Richard etc). Furthermore, there was an assumption that the majority of pop careers would be relatively short. You would either have your fifteen minutes of fame, the public would grow tired of you and you would seek an alternative career in A&R or something similarly riveting  or alternatively you would split up at the height of your fame citing musical differences but in reality it was because you suddenly realised you hated each others guts and the lead singer wanted to pursue a lucrative solo career whilst the drummer wanted to release ambient jazz records!

It was generally accepted, therefore, that pop was a young persons game. In any case these were the days of the fabled generation gap where youths would be upstairs in the bedrooms with their windows open terrorising the neighbourhood with "Never Mind the Bollocks" or "London Calling" or "No Sleep Til Hammersmith" whilst Mum and Dad would be downstairs listening to the gentle strains of Mantovani and James Last. The whole concept then of popular music being made and indeed to by people over the age of 40 was frankly ludicrous!

Oh how time has proved us wrong.

These days popular music is a pan-generational (Big phrase of the day award) business. I was at a Franz Ferdinand gig recently and the age of the audience ranged from 17 to 70.  Pop music is being produced by toddlers such as Justin Bieber and Lorde AND seemingly eternal old timers such as Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones. It seems that the only thing that can terminate a music career is a jail sentence or death......and actually I am not so sure about the latter as Whitney Houston's Greatest Hits has just gone back into the super soaraway Top 20 Album chart and apparently Michael Jackson has a new album out next month!!

Hardly anyone stays split up or retired any more. The vast majority of bands that called it a day in the 80s and 90s have reformed (in one form or another) and have trod the boards or released new material (to varying degrees of success). The list of bands that could reform (i.e all the members are still in the land of the living) but haven't are few and far between (The Smiths, the Jam with Weller, The Teardrop Explodes, The KLF) and is seemingly reducing by the month. There are ominous rumblings of an Abba reunion (Loved Abba but leave it be, please) and Kate Bush shocked everyone by announcing her first live concerts since 1978!

The fact of the matter, though, is that bands are reforming and artists are prolonging their careers because there is a clear market for it (Although whether there is a demand for a Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers reunion is another issue entirely). Back in the 70s and 80s our parents told us in no uncertain terms that we would grow out of this pop music malarkey and gravitate to a nice bit of Bach. But they were wrong, rather than pack up our pop music along with the Action man figures and Matchbox cars, we took it with us into "adulthood". Now we're often parents and, Lord help is, grandparents ourselves and still listening to the damn stuff. And whilst many of us do like to keep up to date with new artistes, we still like what we liked when we were youths. So if they get back together to put out new stuff or tread the boards again, we're there!

In addition there's also the fact that a more mature audience quite appreciates more mature artists as they will or should write songs appropriate for an older audience. Now lyrics in pop music are a funny beast. I don't necessarily think that a singer has to sing lyrics that are appropriate to my situation rather I expect them to come from his/her heart and be appropriate to their situation. So Alex Turner is a 28 year old single man, there is nothing wrong with him making an album in AM that comprises largely of songs about a frankly horny chap looking for some slap and tickle. However as acts get older, we expect the subject matter of their songs to be appropriate to their growing older and that's good for us as chances are those songs will speak to us in our lives too. There is something vaguely unsettling about a 71 year old Mick Jagger telling us he can't get no satisfaction but we respond to acts like Elbow, on their album "The Take off and Landing of Everything" and Manic Street Preachers on "Rewind the Film" as these are albums full of songs clearly written by people approaching middle age

Which brings us (eventually) to Henry Priestman!

Now many of you may say "Who? Never heard of him!" and actually you'd be wrong. Mr Priestman has been around since the late 70s. Firstly he was in a well regarded (which I admit can be a euphemism for "Loved by critics, ignored by public") Liverpool band, the Yachts. He then formed It's Immaterial, who are best known for the Top 20 hit "Driving Away from Home (Jim's tune)" (On which Henry played as a session musician as he had left the band by this point.). Henry then found fame as keyboardist, vocalist and songwriter for the Christians

At which point you, my loyal readers, exclaim "Oh I've heard of them!" And indeed you have! In 1987/88 The Christians were one of Britains biggest bands and their debut album sold over a million copies and was noted for the wonderful singing of the Christian brothers and Henry's fine songwriting (I still rate "Ideal World" as one of the best songs of the latter part of the 80s). Whilst the follow up album, "Colour" debuted at Number 1, it sold a fraction of its predecessor and as Madchester and Grunge dominated the musical landscape (along with Simply Red, but one prefers to forget that), the Christians faded from public view.

I still retained a considerable fondness for their debut album and therefore was intrigued (as well as surprised as it had been over 15 years since I'd last heard anything from the man) when I read in Uncut in October 2008 that Henry Priestman had released his debut solo album "The Chronicles of Modern Life". I seem to recall that I had just discovered Youtube (Back in the day) so I checked out the lead off track (I don't think you could call it a single) "Don't you love me no more?" which was about a man who had just been made redundant. 2008 saw the start of the credit crunch which then obviously became the recession so the song was certainly pertinent and, more to the point, almost uniquely pertinent as no one else was addressing this subject matter. As for the music, well, perhaps to be expected it sounded nothing like the Christians, there were no sweet harmony vocals or smooth 80s production. But it was a fine song, with a great lyric, strong tune and a rousing chorus.

So I went and brought the album and was absolutely blown away. First and foremost, returning to my theme, here was an album that spoke to me. Here was a man of a similar age to me writing about subjects that I was experiencing too. Songs about realising that you are the same age as your dad was when you thought he was old ("Old" oddly enough), of looking back at the punk years and wondering whether it was still worth it ("Did I fight in the Punk Wars for this?") and still being passionately in love even after all these years ("Grey's the new blonde"). I consider myself to have a wide musical pallet but I was struggling to think when I had heard an album that was so relevant to me. Of course I have to add that the tunes were fantastic too. In all honesty, it is hard to categorise the record. I would say acoustic but there's some Billy Bragg-esque electric guitar on "Punk Wars". I would say "Folk" but lazy minds conjure up images of  untimely death, fey youths, English gardens and hey nonny nonny and none of these are featured here. Let's just say that these are magnificent songs, great melodies, loads of robust choruses and not a duff track in sight.

It was by some distance my favorite album of 2008 and was one of my top three albums of the decade (alongside "Truth, Soul and Rock and Roll" by the Elms and "Streets of New York" by Willie Nile). The question was, could he follow it up? The answer was "Not straight away, mate!" "The Chronicles of Modern Life" was originally released on Stiff records and was, I believe, more successful than anticipated and was, therefore, promptly picked up by Island Records and re released. Henry appeared on salubrious places such as BBC Breakfast and the next album, provisionally entitled "Hunting and Gathering ain't what it used to be" was due for release in early 2010.

And then nothing! It then emerged that sadly both Henry's mum and his mother in law had passed away and Henry understandably decided that this would change the type of album that he wanted to release. Time passed. The days of myspace gave way to Twitter and Facebook and details of Henry's activity and his forthcoming album began to appear. Brilliantly he was doing several house gigs and running music workshops in schools.

The album, now entitled "The Last Mad Surge of Youth" was released on 17th February but through the wonders of the internet, I received it two days early and, when it landed "plop" through the letter box, I foresook my ironing duties and rushed upstairs to give the album the attention it deserved.

The first thing that struck me was that, whilst Henry Priestman has a very distinctive sound and style, this was clearly a different record to the first one because of the circumstances that shaped it and this is apparent from the opening track "At the End of the Day". This is a beautiful tribute to his mum. Almost hymnal in tone, with some lovely muted brass and moving lyrics ("Who will fix my broken heart? Who will dry these lonely tears, be the one that's here to stay and bring peace at the end of the day"), it is a stunning start to the album. Speaking as someone whose mum has died, the songs clarity and emotional honesty really resonated with me. As a lyricist Henry has a tremendous ability to put emotions and issues over clearly but without being sentimental or trite.

It's also in many ways a brave start to the album. Unless you are intending to write a very downbeat record or are an awkward cuss, it is traditional to start with a vigorous. catchy, attention seeking number. However given what Henry had been through and the fact that it had impacted on the type of album he was making, it was undoubtedly the right way to start proceedings.

Next up comes a track that to my mind sums up what Henry is about perfectly "True Believer". I have had the great fortune of seeing Henry Priestman live at the Green Note in Camden. I'm sure most people have images of pop stars, particularly those from the 80s as either having enormous egos or barking mad or lifestyles so far removed from normal people that they may as well be from an alien race or all three. Henry, however is nothing like that at all. He comes across as, well, an ordinary bloke and a good guy with concerns and feelings similar to the rest of us. He's also someone, who like the rest of us, has had their fair share of knocks but still retains a strong sense of optimism, of love for life and that good times are just around the corner. The chorus goes "I believe that life goes on, what doesn't kill you make you strong, somewhere deep inside you're gonna find peace of mind and blue skies. I'm a true believer". In less skilled and honest hands, lyrics like this could come across as potentially trite but because you know that Henry has lived life and you know that he means them, the words have real impact.

And talking of living life...One thing that Henry is superb and almost unique at is writing songs about normal day to day to experiences. On the Chronicles of Modern Life, you had "He ain't good enough for you" about a dad's view of his daughter's boyfriend. Here we have "We used to be you" regarding parents talking about their teenager heading off to University. If there's another song about empty nest syndrome in modern pop, I haven't heard it. It's certainly not a song that you can imagine Thom Yorke or George Michael writing.

Then we have a taste of politics. Right back in the days of the Christians, Henry's writing has always been informed by the political ("Ideal World", "Hooverville" "Forgotten Town") and that's still very much the case in his solo work. On his first album you have "Don't you love me no more", "It's called a heart" and "The idiot" whilst here we have "Goodbye common sense" "Hunting and gathering ain't what it used to be" and "Same circus, different clowns". Just to clarify when I say political songs, I'm not necessarily saying that we are looking at a "Vote Labour" chant here. Henry writes songs about everyday life and therefore by definition you can't help by being political. Henry is a man who is championing the values of human decency, of honesty, of defending equality and justice of speaking out against greed, against callous large corporations and governments who only look after their cronies. "Goodbye Common Sense" in particular strikes me as a clever track. Right wing commentators such as the ever ghastly Richard Littlejohn always try to hijack "Common Sense" as a right wing concept. Here though Henry flips it on its head and points out that actually caring for the poor and showing love and compassion is, frankly common sense "Farewell equality and sharing the common good, send your scant regards to the unwashed and misunderstood. Hello you power hungry men of eminence, goodbye common sense"

From politics then to love. There is no doubt that Mr Priestman is an old romantic, "Grey is the New Blonde" - a song for his wife of many years- was one of the stand outs of the first album. On this album there is "Valentine's Day". Whilst I cannot deny being an old romantic myself, I've always regarded the love song with a degree of caution because this is a genre whose entrance doors have a sign thereon stating "Danger! Here be dragons!" and said dragons are called "Sentimentality" "Schmaltz" and "Tooth Rotting Old Dreck". I could write an entire blog about the Love Song in Pop Music but suffice to say that it is a very hard thing to get right. "Valentine's day" gets it right. As with all of Henry's best songs, it's simple and you just know it comes from real life experience and the heart. The opening line "You light up the room and you don't even know" is superb. The lyrics are reinforced by a simple, straightforward musical accompaniment. No mass orchestrations or choral bombardments here, thank you very much. Just a beautiful tune, well played, with some lovely backing vocals by Lotte Mullan.

The second half of the record (or second side, as we old farts would call them back in the days of vinyl) is quite heavily taken up with songs about where Henry is in his life right now. I fully appreciate that at this point you may be heading for the sign marked "Exit" as it conjures images up of either Van Morrison in the 90s (For those of you unfamiliar with Van the Man, his output during that decade seemed to consist entirely of songs about...er...Van the Man and how hard done by he was. They are all unbelievably tiresome!) or, more bizarrely, Lady Gaga! Please rest assured that the record does not delve into either "Poor me" territory or surreal self referencing. Coming back to my original theme, this is a man in his fifties (although he doesn't look it obviously!) talking about his own life experiences and they will strike a chord in many people of a similar age.

First up there is the magnificent and magnificently self depreciating "In My Head" in which Henry compares how he likes to picture himself in his head and the reality "Cos I'm cool and I'm fit, kinda witty, oh so quick. Despite advancing years it has been said that I'm a catch and I'll go far. I'm the latest superstar but then real life kicks in and instead it's all in my head". It's a wonderful song that never fails to bring a smile to my face and probably my favorite on the album. It will have you nodding along in recognition.

Then comes "The Last Mad Surge of Youth". I'm 49 and my wife says that this is my song!! Well if it is, it's a bloody good one. Effectively it's saying that we may have lived many years but there's still (hopefully) many more years still to be lived so let's make the most of them: "The ambitions of those early years are no longer in my sights. Ah but there's still so much that I've got to do and so much that I want to say and the source of my enlightenment though she's gone still guides my way". The tune meanwhile is beautiful, reflective and waltz like.

Then there are two what I can best describe as "Railing against the dying of the light" (With apologies to Dylan Thomas) songs, "Rant and Rave" and "A Pint of Bitter and Twisted Please" (and if you don't think that's a brilliant song title what's the matter with you?). Both dovetail into the political songs (particularly "Rant and Rave"). This is Mr Priestman saying that there may be miles on the clock but there are still rights to be wronged, injustices to be put right and things to be said and sung and that's what he's going to do. This certainly strikes a chord with me. When my mum was 70 and I was 26 I remember her saying to me that in her head she was still 28. At the time I thought that was bobbins but she was spot on. As far as my mind is concerned I'm in my twenties and I'm still as pissed off at injustice, bigotry, prejudice and greed as I was then and there are things that need to be done. From these songs I believe that Henry feels the same!

I appreciate that in this review I have concentrated more on the subject matter and lyrics of the songs than the music. To sum things up musically I would firstly use a word that is often misunderstood when talking about music, these are simple songs. Not simple as in rudimentary but they are straightforward. The arrangements are clear and not over complicated. It's probably more of an acoustic record than "Chronicles" but with some lovely touches particularly brass. The melodies are strong as are the tunes. Indeed many of these songs will get stuck in your head very quickly. The production is clear and the singing is excellent and suits the songs very well.

In summary, this is an excellent record. Full of wonderful songs that have tremendous character and that have I think a unique voice in terms of the issues they cover and the way those subjects are addressed. It's wonderfully tuneful, beautifully played and sung really well.  Hopefully, life permitting, the next Henry Priestman album will be on its way to us soon because I sense there are plenty more great songs from where these came from. Henry recently said that he was in a conversation with someone in the music business and they said that from a business perspective he was ready to move to the next level. To which he felt that he was quite happy with the level he was at!! He'd been to the next level back in the 80s. These days he's quite content doing school workshops, house gigs, small scale gigs and making wonderful records such as this. Quite right sir, this level suits you. Under the mainstream radar (whatever that is) he may be but Henry Priestman is still one of the finest songwriters that this country has to offer!

Armed Forces- Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1979)

I appreciate that this is a monstrous cliche but I really do remember the moment as if it were yesterday. There I was at our church Harvest Supper. In front of me was a singularly unattractive repast, a ham salad which consisted of lettuce that could best charitably be described as limp, an unripe tomato, WAY too much cucumber (Someone had clearly over ordered) and a minute piece of oddly colored ham (HELLO Botulism). Repelled by what I was expected to eat, I looked up and I beheld.............HER! Yes that HER! The first love of my life. I had actually known her since I was eight but she was a girl and I wasn't interested in girls. I was interested in Burnley and books and growing vegetables (I had an "interesting childhood"). But now I was almost 13 and life was a very different ballgame. It was as if I was seeing her for the first time.

Pause for everyone to be violently unwell.

Now you may think that I leapt to my feet, overturned the trestle tables at which we were seating, sending the flaccid salads flying and dashed to her side to declare my undying love and to ask her out. I did no such thing. For one thing I had two formidable matriarchs sitting either side of me and they would have frowned at such nonsense. For another, I actually I wasn't quite sure what I was feeling, I just knew I couldn't stop staring at her.

That probably sounds like a reasonable excuse for doing bugger all (except for staring and possibly some minor drooling). What certainly sounds less reasonable is that I then spent the next 18 months doing bugger all as well. They say that one of the benefits of getting older is that you can make sense of your past. I'm not so sure. In 1985 I bought Sting's first solo album, "The Dream of the Blue Turtles", which is pretentious, jazz influenced noodling and in "Russians" features one of the worst lyrics of all time ("The Russians love their children too"). Even now,  I can't explain why in the name of decency I did that and I certainly can't explain why I spent 18 months in a lovestruck state without asking this girl out. Oh I spoke to her and she spoke back amazingly. She smiled at me and I gave the sort of look back which would have won many a seaside gurning competition. But did I do the deed? Did I take the plunge? No I bloody didn't.

Thinking back it it could well have been that none of my (ahem) contemporaries were taking the plunge either. Loads of people say that kids matured later in those days. Arse knows if that's true. I know for certain that I didn't have any of my mates giving me GBH of the earhole about "going for it" because "she's bound to say yes" (And if she doesn't you'll look a right tit and we'll have a laugh). That would (painfully) come later.

At this point in my life, I was quite happy to sit/stand/crouch and look at her and think happy thoughts. Then in late 1978 (round about the time that "Summer Nights" and "Rasputin" were locked in a tumultuous battle at the top of the charts) I met a lad who we will call "Christian" (largely because that was his name!). We became friends and he started going along to the same youth group, the self same group that the afore mentioned young lady attended (And if you think I'm naming her, you're Dagenham East- several stops past Barking). For some reason that even 35 years later I cannot fathom, I decided to tell him that I fancied HER (Yes, I know, what a knob!).  Christian mentioned that he thought she was "a bit of alright" (Actually I can't remember his exact words, I hope he didn't say that as he wasn't a cockney!!). Now, if I'd have half a braincell, I would have heard ALARM BELLS ringing at this juncture. Sadly though, when it came to matters of the heart I was naive (or, if you are being less charitable, as thick as a whale omelette) and, like the millions who bought "Be Here Now" by Oasis, thinking "I liked the last one, this'll be a bit of a treat", I was in for a very nasty shock.

One sunny Friday evening in March the lad Christian told me that he wouldn't be ambling down to Youth Group with me because he was bringing his new GIRLFRIEND (Hark, let us strain our ears, are those ALARM BELLS that we can hear? No, still nothing!). So I amble down solo and chat with the swathe of Folkestone youths that had gathered at All Souths Church Hall when I hear someone say HER name. I spun round like I was Dead or Alive and received, on a plate, served with relish, the previously mentioned Very Nasty Shock because (and please don't anybody tell me that this is a surprise or you're more stupid than I was) Christian's Girlfriend was none other than HER.

Earlier in the week, I had been playing my football for my Class Second 11 (I was clearly in good form because our class had 30 pupils, enough for 2 teams, the reminder went into the "Spares" which tended to be my natural home). I was in defence which meant I was usually busy as our Class second 11 was, frankly, shite. The opposing team was awarded a free kick, taken by their star striker, Andy Allon. Allon boasted a fearsome free kick and the entire wall dived out of the way as soon as he unleashed his shot. The exception, unfortunately was, yours truly because I played without my glasses. Ostensibly this was for safety reasons as I didn't want them getting broken. Sadly I was as blind as a bat and therefore did not see the Allon Thunderbolt until it crashed into the Marsh Wedding tackle.

The sensation as Ball met Meat and Two Veg was very similar to the feeling I felt as I saw Christian with HER, although fortunately in this instance I didn't crumple to the floor going "ARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!" I stumbled through the rest of the evening feeling and probably looking like an extra from Shaun and the Dead. Having then had to walk up Cheriton High Street with Love's Young Dream, I then collapsed into bed and shouted "WHY?" at the ceiling (My mother thought I had sat on the cat)!

Now, at this point, you are perfectly entitled to say "Hang on a Minute! This is a Music Blog. What in the name of Johnny Borrell's ill fated solo career has Tales of Torrid Teenage Romance (or lack thereof) got to do with Music?". Well, bear with me and all will be revealed. But first a slight digression. I first got into Music at the age of 13, more a less exactly at the same time, in fact, that I had fallen for HER. I leave it to the amateur psychologists to debate whether the awakening of my passion for popular music and my passion for HER were linked.

Anyway, I had obviously been aware of pop music before but I first really fell in love with it (and, in all honesty, there is no better way of describing what happened than that ) when I was laid up in bed with flu and, as a present, my Auntie Helen gave me a radio. I was as sick as a dog and so just lay there as a cornucopia of sounds caressed my ears. It was a true "Road to Damascus" moment. The scales had fallen from my eyes, I was a member of the church of pop music. From that point on I couldn't get enough of the stuff!! The radio was on all the time as I desperately hunted for new songs to fall in love with.

Looking back, the interesting thing was that it was songs I fell for rather than artists. If I liked a song I didn't go tearing off to buy the album. This was probably down to the fact that I was 13 and had bugger all money and wasn't going to invest in an album on the strength of one song. Also in those pre internet days, one was reliant on the radio so if you liked say "Denis" by Blondie and you wanted to hear more from them before deciding if they were a band for you. Initially this would only happen if a) the radio played an oldie by Blondie or b) you just had to wait til the next release rolled out. In the case of the former if your bag was mid 70s AOR rock, you were in luck, by the time I was 14 I had heard the entire Wings and Eagles back catalogues courtesy of Tony Blackburn, DLT and the lads at the poptastic radio 1. Otherwise, forget it. I didn't hear "White Riot" until 4 years after it came out when some enterprising wag managed to get it played in School Assembly!

This meant that by March 1979 I still hadn't formed any real attachment to a band/artist. I knew I liked Disco (and still do, what's your problem?) and suspected that ELO were a band to follow (That would be confirmed with the release of "Discovery") but other than that I was still drifting from record to record (The latest things to tickle my ears being "Pop Musik" by M  and "Cool for Cats" by Squeeze.

And then I discovered "Armed Forces" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

And this is where a third way of finding more music by a particular artist came into play. A number of my contemporaries had more money than me (especially those from the salubrious West End of Folkestone, appreciating that this is Folkestone we are talking about here so salubrious is probably a relative term) and they, therefore, had starting buying ALBUMS as opposed to singles. The great thing with this was that frequently said well off contemporaries were keen to spread the news of how great their latest purchase was by lending it out. In the case of the lad who was absolutely insistent that I borrow "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp- thanks but NO thanks- this was a pain in the arse because at one point he was pursuing me across the school playground with the bloody thing.! In the case of my mate Steve, though, who wondered up to me a few days after my heartbreak at the hands of Christian and Her (You see we got back to all that eventually) and thrust a picture of  large elephants in front of me (The cover of "Armed Forces" in case you thought we had taken a trip into the world of David Attenborough), I shall be forever grateful as it introduced to a man who helped me recover from my emotional turmoil!

Now E.Costello had been knocking about the pop charts for a couple of years but I have to say I don't remember encountering him until I indulged in my Thursday night Top of the Pops ritual and saw him there with his Attractions, playing "Oliver's Army". For those of us of a certain age and a certain musical disposition, "Oliver's Army" is one of THOSE records i.e. a stone cold Classic Pop Track and people who don't agree are regarded as HIGHLY DUBIOUS. The thing that struck me when I first saw EC on TOTP was his appearance. When I was at Primary School, pop music was largely regarded as territory occupied by girls and girls liked pop music because they fancied the boys that made it. This was, after all, the heyday of the teenie bopper , when swathes of teenage girls poured onto the streets to SCREAM at the likes of David Cassidy, Donny Osmond, Marc Bolan and the Bay City Rollers (Lord help us all).

It was widely considered, therefore, that the prerequisite of the popstar was that they had to be attractive. Yet here in 1979, flying high at Number 2 in the Hit Parade, was the man Costello, who not even his mother would deem attractive. To be blunt with his skinny physique and big plastic glasses he looked like a nerd. Or to be more precise, he looked like me! I was immediately disposed to liking him. So when Steve handed the album over and said "You're going to like this, Marsh (All boys Grammar Schools, everyone calls each other by their surnames....or worse)" I suspected that he could be correct in this regard.

Ah lo! He was indeed!I have mentioned in previous blogposts that, in my opinion, when Costello signed to Warners in 1988 he grew a beard and lost the plot completely. However, that need not concern us here. From 1976 through to 1983, Costello produced a series of albums that formed a critical part of my teenage years : This Years Model, Get Happy, Imperial Bedroom and Punch The Clock. Superb records all. It is probably fair to say that I don't think Armed Forces is Costello's best album (That's Get Happy) but if someone came to me and asked for an introduction to the man, I would hand them a copy of Armed Forces as, whilst I am loathed to use the word "representative" to describe the work of a man who has covered many many genres, it is certainly his most accessible album as well as being the most commercially successful.

I was, of course, yet to be introduced to all those fine records. Looking back, it is fascinating that I approached "Armed Forces" knowing hardly anything about Costello (apart from the fact that he looked like me and had produced one of the best songs I heard in my, admittedly limited, exposure to music. Two other points should be taken into consideration here. Firstly. as implied earlier, my musical education had started in earnest in 1977. The Eagles and their Radio 1 played brethren apart, I wasn't overly familiar with Singer/songwriters of the past (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen etc) and how Costello and his music compared to what went before. Secondly, at this stage I didn't read the Music Press (such as it was) and therefore I had no idea how it had been received critically.

In other words, when the needle hit the stylus of Side 1 (Oh the nostalgia of it all) and "Accidents will Happen" came on (I was going to say "Blared out of the speakers" but I had a very small, battery powered, mono record player!!), I was approaching the album completely cold. I had no idea whether "they" thought it was any good or how it compared both to Costello's past work or other singer-songwriters. All I know is that it sounded superb and, more importantly, IT SPOKE TO ME!!

Which brings us back full circle to my Torrid Tales of Teenage Romance! As I listened to the album I was a man (Well OK 14 year old boy) who had his heart, if not broken, certainly kicked about a bit. The girl I fancied me had DESERTED me (OK she didn't know I fancied her but that's not the point!) for another man (Well, boy) who in turn had been my friend, who knew how I felt about her and yet still stole her from under my nose- the bastard etc. Furthermore I had had one of my central beliefs about life shattered. Somehow I had managed to pick up this ridiculous idea (Arse knows where I had got it from) that you saw this girl, fancied her, asked her out and she said yes (And the birdies sang and the lambs frolicked in the field). No one had told me that it was waaaaay more complicated than that. Indeed as soon as you fancied someone, the chances are you were in for a whole shedload of trouble!

As soon as Costello sang "I just don't know where to begin" I knew he understood, he understood that if Love didn't stink (That was the J Geils Band) it was certainly something something that smelt dubious. It was something to approach with caution and with a massive helping of cynicism (A word we will return to in a moment). Now I would stress that "Armed Forces" does not contain a song about a youth who fancies this girl, does bugger all about and then gets her nicked by his mate- the bastard etc (That would have been amusing, although more likely to come from the pen of Joe Jackson- see later). In fact the record hardly refers to the lot of teenagers at all. Well to clarify I think it doesn't. Costello was lauded throughout the late 70s and 80s as one of England's finest lyricists. Er possibly. There is no doubt that many of his songs do contain some fantastically clever word play ("Man out of time" off Imperial Bedroom is lyrically sensational) but I have to confess (and this may say more about me than Costello) that half of the time I am not entirely sure what he's on about. Oliver's Army leaps to mind at this point.

If I didn't know what he was saying, how the hell did it speak to me? First and foremost it was his voice. I had never heard a singing voice like it. He seemed to sneer his way through the whole album. The words oozed out of the little plastic record player laden with bile, anger, sarcasm and (it's that word again) cynicism. This may seem an odd thing to say but it was the way that he sang the songs that spoke to me just as much as the lyrics. I believe that "Goon Squad" is about the army but the way that he spits out the words "Mother, father, I'm doing so well, I'm making such progress now that you can hardly tell" gives it a far more general interpretation. The lyrics imply that there is something inherently rotten with not just England's institutions but the way that "respectable people" live their lives. It's the sneer in the voice though that makes the message clear.

In summary, from where I was standing, here was a man who seemed to be standing looking at life and everything "normal people" took for granted and gaze on it with disdain and cynicism. And to me, it was as if the penny had dropped. Now I'm not going to say that I became a wizened cynic overnight but suddenly I had something in the armoury. Life was not all wine and roses. It was something to be inherently suspicious of. I knew this because Costello said so. It was the first time that an artist had spoken to me like this, where their music had connected with me on an emotional level. My graduation into a cynical teenager had begun, particularly where matters of love and romance were concerned. Whenever a couple got together in my youth group I was the first person to suggest that it wouldn't last (I was an absolute charmer, wasn't I?). Indeed Christian  and HER's relationship lasted all of a month. I proclaimed to anyone who wanted to hear (i.e. no one) that I could see THAT coming and then cleared off home to play" Armed Forces" and feel very smug.

And did I zoom in and ask HER out? Of course I did BUGGER ALL but I could reassure myself that there was no point because it wouldn't last because that's what Elvis would do (That's actually bollocks of course because for a man who was no oil painting Costello had an excellent record with the ladies)

Two interesting codas to all this. Costello's commercial success with Armed Forces seemed to inspire a number of other artistes who could be best described as cynical gits. Firstly there was XTC. Although Andy Partridge would prove himself a far more complex songwriter than just a cynic, "Respectable Street" off "Black Sea" is one of the finest examples of the cynical songwriter at work. Then there was Clive Gregson of the under rated Any Trouble (And their first two albums "Where are all the Nice Girls?" and "Wheels in Motion" are worth a place in your CD collection). Above all, there was Joe Jackson. I know that he says that he intended the song as a joke but when I was 14 and I looked out at the number of goons going out with attractive girls, nothing summed up my disdain for such a state of affairs as "Is She really going out with him?" and the opening line thereof "Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street" is frankly a work of genius. As with Costello, all three artists' work meant a lot to me in my teenage years.

The second coda is that you will be glad (because no one likes to think that there is a mentalist roaming the streets) that I did eventually leave my cynicism behind (well......more or less) and become a more rounded individual. It will come as no surprise that this happened when I started going out with my first proper girlfriend (Altogether now..............aaaaaaaaaaaaah!). Oddly though there are two ironic things about this. Firstly that happened after Costello released what I regard as his last great album "Punch the Clock". From that point on, I fell out of love with Costello. Maybe now that I had found true love (Altogether now.....aaaaaaah!) and realised that life sometimes didn't just kick you in the shins, I didn't need him any longer or maybe he just lost the muse. I suspect a bit of both. Many people say that the 1986 albums "King of America" and "Blood and Chocolate" are strong records and I am sure that they are, they just didn't appeal like the earlier ones had. But then came Warner Bros and the Beard and the rest, sadly, was history (and shite).

The second ironic thing about this situation was that my first proper girlfriend was none other than HER! You see in the end I did get off my backside and do something about it. Just took me 6 years. I could tell you the story of how it eventually happened but "Don't start me talking I could talk all night". And if you don't get that reference, bugger off and listen to "Armed Forces".