‘Moonchild’ – Fields Of The Nephilim (1988)

"Well, they tear you down,

And they’ll bear your shame.

Longevity, hear my pain."

"Why are you rubbing flour in to your coat, Son?"

"You wouldn’t understand, Dad."

Parents, eh?! It’s August Bank Holiday 1988 and time for another Reading Festival. The Nephilim have jumped to third on the bill after releasing the Top 28 chart sensation ‘Moonchild’ – I’ve even heard my milkman whistling it. So in tribute, I’ll be going for the Neph’s look this weekend.

"And what exactly is that?" Well, think Spaghetti Westerns. And those iconic ankle-length, sand-weathered, trail duster coats. That's the look I’ll be recreating. With an old trench coat from the Army Surplus store and a bag of my mum’s Homepride flour in lieu of real desert dust. What could possibly go wrong ?

Let me answer that for you right away. It could rain. And it did rain. Of course it did. It’s a Bank Holiday and the Reading Festival. The twin harbingers of rain. What was I thinking? You can guess what happened next. Instead of looking like a fearless outlaw from the dusty plains of the mythic Wild West, I looked like I’d barely survived a bun fight at the local baker’s.

My Dad wasn’t exactly chuffed about letting soggy, doughy me in his spotless car that night for a lift home. He had that ‘I told you so’ look on his face for the whole journey. Parents, eh?!

Spotify linky:

Fields Of The Nephilim – Moonchild

Ooh, look. You put the back sleeves together and you get this.

Another of the many joys of vinyl. Take that, CDs!

P.S. And, no, I don't hold the copyright on the above image from 'Once Upon A Time In The West'. Will happily remove and apologise if there any objections.

‘Friends Of P’– The Rentals (1996)

“If you’re friends with P,
Well then, you’re friends with me.”

Who doesn’t dream of meeting Mickey Mouse when they’re a child? Oh … that’s quite a lot of you. Well, anyway, it had always been my dream, but I had to wait until I was 25 for it to come true. (No, that’s not too old. Stop shaking your head.)

My Dad and I arrived in Florida to fireworks in the night sky – exactly how everyone should arrive in America. It was my first trip there and everything seemed magical and colourful and big and new. Here I was eating Chinese out of cardboard boxes like I’d seen Cliff Barnes do in all those episodes of ‘Dallas’!

MTV played ‘Ironic’ and ‘Champage Supernova’ over and over and over for those two May weeks. But it was this song by The Rentals that caught my ear. I’d never heard of them (and haven’t heard much of them since). I found the CD in a small record store in Orlando and it became my holiday song. (This is the same day I found my dad sitting in the windows of Hooters claiming he was unaware of the many scantily clad waitresses parading around him.)

And, how exciting was it finally meeting Mickey? Very. (Yes, even more so than my visit to Hooters.) As you can see in the pic below. (Yes, it was perhaps a little too hot to be wearing black every day.) I’ve met him many times since, with friends and family, in California and Paris. He never remembers me. Bit rude. But he still makes me smile every time.

Spotify linky:
The Rentals – Friends Of P.

On this day ... 1994 (aged 23)

Scribblings from my diary …

“Talk to Dad on the phone briefly. He couldn’t recall if I’d had chickenpox or not. The sort of thing only mums know.”

'Sight Of You' - Pale Saints (1989)

“What’s going to happen?
How will I know …
when things are back the way they used to be before?”

“For beds in Reading, the place to be heading is Reading Bedding.” Fact. (Well, according to an advert that used to play continuously on local station Radio 210. I hate that I remember this jingle so well.) For shoes in Reading, I’m not so sure. But that’s where my Dad sent me to get some ‘smart’ shoes (which translated as something without buckles or pointy toes) for my college interview. Instead I came back with this record. My Dad wasn’t too pleased.

He sent me back to Reading the next day and I just bought the first pair I saw. I wore them once. Yet I’ve listened to this record probably every month for 21 years. There’s something in the lolloping bass line and the dejected vocals. Better than any pair of shoes (high praise indeed).

Spotify linky:

Pale Saints – Sight Of You