My current predicament got me singing a song

My formative years were the 1980's. Music played a big part in my life at that time. My home town, Liverpool, was a mess. Unemployment crippled the city and Thatcher's Conservative Government took the brunt of the critiscism.

However, out of this blight, art, and especially music, flourished. In times of desperation, art is our saviour and the best art is produced. Liverpool's music scene in the 1980's was buzzing with new music and new bands. You were either in the synthesizer camp with bands like Orchestral Manoueveres in the Dark or the drums and guitar camp with Post Punk bands like Echo and the Bunnymen.

One band that stood out to me as offering something different were The Christians. They were a combination of blues, soul and gospel and with Garry Christian's rich, velvety voice and presence they had the perfect frontman.

I could never work out whether the Christians songs were political or religious. I think they were deliberately ambiguous and left it up to us to work out. Or maybe, like the rest of us, they also had problems differentiating between the two.

Anyway, the lyrics to Born Again can be seen as mixing both politics and religion. My first reaction when I heard this song was that it is about being unemployed, wasting time on the dole and then finding a way out of despair by finding a job and direction in life. But the lyrics could be equally about a person who is without religious direction and finds a way out of despair through God.

Good art can do that; it can be confusing and have multiple meanings. Good art makes the viewer/listener keep guessing and come up with their own interpretation.

My memoirs

I've had a bit of time on my hands lately and so I've been putting it to good use by starting to write my memoirs. It's something I'd like to keep going. It's not self indulgent; it's something I'd like my nephew and niece to read when they are older and maybe their kids.

Anyway, here is an extract:

During an early stage in my life I was going through a difficult time with a girlfriend. We had been going out with each other for several years even though I was a young man at the time. I was in my early 20s. My girlfriend was studying to be a Nurse and I was in full time education learning Engineering.

We were going through a bad time and we decided to have a split. She was happy pursuing her career as a Nurse and I felt like I was going nowhere. I decided I needed to do something with my life and so I decided to apply for the Royal Air Force. When I was a kid, I dreamt of being a Pilot. So, a Pilot I was going to be.

I had to sit an entrance exam to determine the trades that would be open to someone with my aptitude. Depending on my score, I would be offered a choice of jobs or trades.

My test results showed that being a Pilot was clearly way beyond my capability. My answers to two of the questions: "Do you own a driving Licence?" and, "Do you prefer cats or dogs?", were clearly instrumental in the RAF offering me 2 choices: Truck Driver or Dog Handler.

I decided to continue with my studies and get back with Theresa.

Friendly Fires - New favourite band

Laura Marling - Ghosts

Laura Marling has broken onto the music scene this year. Her album, Alas I cannot swim', is an excellent example of the new folk movement that has gripped the UK in 2008. The album is wonderful and was shortlisted for the Mercury Album of the Year competition.

I'm going to see Laura play at the Trinity Centre in Bristol on Friday 7th.

Go break an arm Rory!

Will someone please break Rory Delap's arm! Stoke are a one trick pony and don't deserve their position in the premiership. 8 of their 13 goals in their debut season in the premiership have come from Rory's undeniably incredible throw ins. But that's it. It doesn't ingratiate them to neutral fans who want to see proper football winning games not rugby or quarterback style tactics.

I wish he played for Everton!