Music, The Punctuation of our Past

Music Was My First Love

Music (John Miles, 1976)

What is the first song that you remember hearing? Well, I was born in Scotland in 1962 and one of the first songs I have a memory of is Cliff Richard, The Young Ones. Cliff was hailed as Britain’s Elvis (though there could never be an equal to The King), Another song I have memories of at that time is Telstar by The Tornadoes.  

My mother always had a radio on at home tuned to BBC Radio One so music always filled the house and the latest chart sounds wove their way around every day. As I became more cognizant of the world around me I knew what time it was by which DJ was spinning tracks on the radio. I learned the lyrics pretty easily and would treat my father’s aviary full of birds to regular concerts. I would also provide unsolicited entertainment to bus passengers by bursting into song as my mother and I traveled to the city for shopping trips. 

One of these trips is firmly etched in my mind... 

We were in my mother’s home town of Edinburgh for our regular summer holiday stay. While on the bus to the city center, I decided to treat everyone on board to my rendition of You Were On My Mind by Crispian St Peters. Now bear in mind the chorus to this song goes, “Oh I got troubles, whoa, whoa, I got worries whoa, whoa, I got wounds to bind” I was four years old at the time!

One of my fellow passengers turned to me and said, “Haven’t we all dear, haven’t we all” 

You don’t forget things like that. That is the power of music. On any given day you can hear a song that takes you right back to a time and a place in your life. It may be happy, it may be sad, but it is an untouchable stored memory. Music is the thread that forms the tapestry of our lives and it weaves patterns that will never be forgotten. 

I can remember the very first single I ever bought. My mother took me to the local record store and said I could choose one. A vast array of 7’ singles met my eyes, each in a slot for its position on the UK singles chart. I was stunned by the huge choice in front of me but selected Don McLean’s, American Pie  

I also remember getting my very own record player for Christmas in 1973. I was eleven years old it came with the debut album by David Essex, Rock On.  

I loved that record player and began slowly collecting albums and singles to play. I also borrowed a lot from my mother. One of her albums I really loved was a greatest hits album by The Shadows. Incidentally they were the band that had backed Cliff Richard before he went out on his own. 

Of course as anyone who reads this page knows, music became my full time job by the time I left school. Having started by writing a regular music column (which became a page) for a local newspaper, I moved on to contribute to most of the major music papers and magazines throughout the later 70s and 80s.  

Even when I took a break from the music industry to make a very unlikely detour into the bodybuilding journalism world, music was still a very important part of my life. I may have lost touch with the charts – I have to admit even now I am totally unfamiliar with them – but I would still hear songs whether it was in the gym or on television and they weaved their way into my life. In particular, my introduction to Lady Gaga came via the soundtrack in the gym. Tracks like Poker Face and Bad Romance remind me of what was going on in my life at that time. 

One facet of my later years in bodybuilding I enjoyed was mixing tracks for people to use in their evening posing routines. Especially if I could have input when it came to the music. Of course not all of it was enjoyable and I had to edit my fair share of monotonous thundering music or heavy metal. This was typical fodder for guys who seemed to think that they were statuesque gods on stage. However, it was always fun when I got music I could actually relate to and I felt like a record producer nestled behind the mixing desk. 

Music captured my heart in its grasp again about two years ago when I started attending concerts more frequently. Last year I made my low key return to the industry by producing my own podcasts featuring new artists. This is still a work in progress. My focus these days is bringing attention to artists that are not in the mainstream media. I am not arrogant enough to think I can simply jump back into the big pond. I really have no desire to though. I have been there and done that. There are so many musicians who do not get any coverage that need to be brought to the attention of the public. Not only musicians though, poets, photographers, artists...all talented people I want to give exposure to. 

However, it is a case of starting over at an older (wiser) age and I do not yet have the audiences that can really make a difference. However, I will take heart from my TikTok experience where my beginning was dismal but went up to almost 90 000 views on just one reel. Patience and consistency is key. I love music, it gave me my life and it continues to inspire me every day.  

So what is your story with music? What tracks bring back treasured memories? If you could choose three songs that evoke a host of personal memories what would they be? I say three as I know I find it impossible to pull one out of the mists of time and let it stand alone. 

At the end of the day music has power, music is vital and music is the soundtrack for every generation that has come before us and every generation that will follow us. 

In closing, my top three are Everlasting Love, Downtown and River Deep Mountain High....oh but you can also add anything Motown, a host of Glam Rock tracks...see what I mean, it’s impossible, which is yet another song.

Till next time, enjoy the musical moments here:)