5517

In May 1979 I was an ELO fan. Most of my (male) friends were, and these were the days before Two Tone, Mod and all that got between friends.

MOre of that another time, perhaps.

ELO had just released a new LP, Discovery, the follow up to Out of the Blue, and let's be honest here, wasn't very good.

The bond that held me and my friends together, ELO, was losing its hold over us, and some began to listen to other bands and even different styles of music.

Owen got into The Beatles, Jane had the coolest parents who took her to see Led Zeppelin at Knebworth, Simon got into Pink Floyd and carried a copy of Dark Side of the Moon around and we laughed. He later got into the Cockney Rejects, so he wasn't always right(!)

A friend outside our band of friends liked different music altogether. Mark liked loud guitar music, that sounded like noise to me, but I liked Mark and wanted to like something he liked, though it wouldn't be Hawkwind or whatever it was he was banging his head to.

As it turned out, my friends or most of my friends and I would soon be listenig to the same stuff. Pretty much.

In that May, we had gone to Norwich with our exchange partners from Germany, and several of my friends had gone record buying, and all had a copy of the latest UK Subs single. On coloured vinyl! The picture sleeve was a fiver stuffed down a lady's bra. I have looked, and its not by the UK Subs, there's a mystery then. Anyway, was released in the summer of 1979. I was shocked, that they would buy this, and I don't think any of them had heard the song, just bought it!

I hadn't bought a record, except Take a Chance on Me by Abba the previous Christmas with a record token.

I knew nothing about hard rock, heavy metal and the new fangled NWOBHM (tm) had yet to be coined, probably in the pages of Sounds by Malcolm Dome. I also knew even less about the figures in rock, and who was in, or had ben, in which or what bands and how some folks were difficult to work with.

And then there's Ritchie Blackmore.

Mr Blackmore, ahem, had previously worked with Hienz, Joe Meek, Screaming Lord Sutch before joining a band called Roundabout who quickly changed their name to Deep Purple.

Deep Purple got through a lot of different members. And made many great records, it says here, before deciding to make a solo record in 1975, but instead formed a new ban, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. Dio left in 1978 due to "creative differences" and was replaced by Graham Bonnet.

Bonnet had a strong voice, but their first record, the one which I am writing about and was my entry into the rock genre was Since You've Been Gone.

And, in truth, is was a good way in as the record was as commercial as it is possible rock to get, and was even a hit record.

For me, though, it was the temptation to enter the world of denim, leather, denim and leather and double denim. Next would be Iron Maiden, Saxon, Samson, Rush, but even I baulked at Def Leopard....

THere would be Friday Rock Shows, TV on the radio and the Radio Caroline Rock Show.

Until there was Tainted Love, New Life and Lawnchairs.

Lawnchairs are everywhere.

In my mind.

I get the same old dreams same time everynight
Fall to the ground and I wake up
So I get out of bed, put on my shoes and in my head
Thoughts fly back to the breakup

These four wall are closing in
Look at the fix you put me in

Since you been gone
Since you been gone
I'm out of my head can't take it
Could I be wrong
But since you been gone
You cast your spell so break it
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Since you been gone