Simon Rushworth
Self Made Man has just checked in with his weekly blog and in the week when rushonrock has pushed the boundaries with pop rock, electro pop and more our resident blogger picks reveals his own diverse taste.
To discover just which band has got the North East’s voice of classic rock talking this week read on…
It’s a day that never in my wildest dreams did I think would ever happen.
Next week, I’m going to a rock concert with my mate John. Another good pal Paul’s going too but that’s hardly earth-shattering news since we’ve been going to gigs together since our teens.
But John! Let’s put it this way. Imagine George Osborne receiving a standing ovation from the TUC, Patrice Evra being applauded off the pitch at Anfield or funnyman Alan Carr being commissioned for a shoot by Esquire magazine.
Some things were never meant to be and John going to the same concert as Paul and I was one of them.
The three of us were sitting in the pub once day when Paul mentioned that his twin brother Mike, who lives in Dubai, had heard in advance that Snow Patrol were about to announce a UK tour.
Paul and I both said we’d be interested in going when a voice suddenly chipped in: “I like Snow Patrol.”
Now let me explain a thing or two about John’s musical tastes.
Back in our youth, when most of my mates were into AC/DC, John loved rock n’roll.
That’s not of the rock n’roll train variety but 50s r n’ r. Fats Domino, Eddie Cochrane, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Especially Jerry Lee Lewis. In fact, he once loved JLL so much, he twisted his knee dancing to Great Balls of Fire at a disco when trying (and failing comprehensively) to impress a girl.
John’s musical tastes have evolved though roughly at the pace of a geriatric tortoise. A few months ago, he announced he was starting to get into Led Zeppelin.
“I’m up to 1972 in my musical journey,” he proclaimed.
Well, there’s suddenly been a great leap forward because the last time I was in his car, he was listening to Lily Allen and now Snow Patrol.
It’s not as if he wasn’t exposed to rock music in his younger days. His kid brother was obsessed with Lynryrd Skynyrd and Rush while mates like me also tried to educate him.
But no, John stayed faithful to teddy boy rock though his loyalties were tested one fateful night when his father discovered he had a ticket to see Jerry Lee Lewis at the now-defunct Mayfair and he wasn’t allowed to go because he was under 18. (I still get angry when I recall that venue’s ridiculous admissions policy).
But rock n’ roll still flowed through his veins and despite his oh-so-slow musical evolution, it remains John’s first love.
So why Snow Patrol? “Good tunes,” he says. And that will do for me and Paul too.
To be honest, the gig will be something of a departure for us too since the vast majority of gigs we attend belong to the classic rock genre.
The audience will be younger, the music more modern and the volume probably less raucous than we’re used to.
And if the entertainment on offer is half as good as the company I’ll be keeping, then I’ll be in music heaven!
Ian Murtgah