To date in my long career as a certified rock-bore...er..critic, I have been known on occasion to buy one or two LP/CDs. In fact, if truth be told, it is probably closer to one or two hundred and not far short of one or two thousand and it would be safe to say that I enjoy listening to the majority of them. Of course, there is a small proportion that represent mistakes that never get played, but as a rule, I have a copy of all my favourite songs. However, it struck me the other day that there are many albums or individual songs that I like immensely but yet I have never owned.
One song that immediately springs to mind is ‘White Wedding’ by peroxide blonde, Billy Idol. I love ‘White Wedding’ but have never owned a copy of it and am at a loss to explain why. It is all the more strange because my first inkling of the late seventies punk invasion was carried my way by Idol’s band, Generation X and their debut single ‘Your Generation’, a rumbustious anthem which renewed my interest in the singles market after years of ‘albums only’ mentality. I actually snuck out and purchased a seven-inch picture sleeved vinyl copy of ‘Your Generation’ and hid it from my earnest music peers which is why I still have it today. I saw Generation X play live twice – once at the cramped, sweaty and now defunct Marquee Club in London – but somehow never got around to buying anything else from the Idol stable, including his subsequent solo releases. Why does this happen?
Could it be that I have the attention span of a goldfish (allegedly)? Well, this is always a possibility, as the late 70s and early 80s was a golden time for me when my LP buying rate went through the roof on the back of my first proper employment and a multitude of great product to choose from. During this heady period of solvency linked to the delights of Punk, New Wave and New Romanticism, I was bit like a child in a sweetshop, scampering backwards and forwards from one counter to the next. Much of the stuff I bought generally didn’t get the attention it deserved and much was ignored altogether especially by 1985 when the feeding frenzy was sated and ‘White Wedding’ appeared.
But the more I think about it, the more there are; ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ is another song that I don’t own and if I thought harder, I’m sure there are others.
Anybody else got any favourite songs that they never bought?
One song that immediately springs to mind is ‘White Wedding’ by peroxide blonde, Billy Idol. I love ‘White Wedding’ but have never owned a copy of it and am at a loss to explain why. It is all the more strange because my first inkling of the late seventies punk invasion was carried my way by Idol’s band, Generation X and their debut single ‘Your Generation’, a rumbustious anthem which renewed my interest in the singles market after years of ‘albums only’ mentality. I actually snuck out and purchased a seven-inch picture sleeved vinyl copy of ‘Your Generation’ and hid it from my earnest music peers which is why I still have it today. I saw Generation X play live twice – once at the cramped, sweaty and now defunct Marquee Club in London – but somehow never got around to buying anything else from the Idol stable, including his subsequent solo releases. Why does this happen?
Could it be that I have the attention span of a goldfish (allegedly)? Well, this is always a possibility, as the late 70s and early 80s was a golden time for me when my LP buying rate went through the roof on the back of my first proper employment and a multitude of great product to choose from. During this heady period of solvency linked to the delights of Punk, New Wave and New Romanticism, I was bit like a child in a sweetshop, scampering backwards and forwards from one counter to the next. Much of the stuff I bought generally didn’t get the attention it deserved and much was ignored altogether especially by 1985 when the feeding frenzy was sated and ‘White Wedding’ appeared.
But the more I think about it, the more there are; ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ is another song that I don’t own and if I thought harder, I’m sure there are others.
Anybody else got any favourite songs that they never bought?
