1985: end of school life

Then the ski trip in early 1985 – music I remember: Sharpe and Numan, siouxsie and banshees, dear prudence, queen’s greatest hits - Southern and others in a room playing music. I tried to stay in the girls room but was noticed and had to go. Got on well with a few girls on this trip. But I wasn’t interested or ready for a relationship so I appeared uninterested. One girl called me “cute” on the bus which I pretended to be embarrassed about but wish I hadn’t had to. Another girl who hurt her leg needed someone to walk back with her and she picked me. We chatted a lot. Looking back I can tell she liked me but I was just apathetic. I liked performing in the bar and pretending to be outgoing and not me at all. The sledge incident and my drunkenness. I think the rift between me and Steve Northey, if it hadn’t already been there, was caused, or made worse by this trip. There was a girl after him – but knowing now that he’s gay – I can only imagine how difficult he found that situation.

Drinks after the exams – and live aid. Queen, Bowie, etc.

Summer was busy – I was hanging with cousin Mark and going sailing, with a different Mark. It’s amazing that by the time I’d been at Poly for a few months I was so fat and unfit, with long greasy hair and spots. I was depressed. 

A job in the post office too as a temporary postie.

I wasn't this bad, by the way. But it made us all laugh at the time as I did have Jesus and Mary chain records and was (is) a bit of a lefty.

The very early mornings were a shock. I think I only did 6 weeks but it seems longer. Summer 1985, and I started with a decent amount of money in my pocket, though later it went down. In my opinion the Post Office took the piss. I was based in Oreston area and I was given the longest route they do. I didn't have a uniform just an arm band that slipped down and went over my elbow, stopping me from being able to bend my arm effectively, so I had to keep pulling it up. In the end I just took it off and received complaints immediately. Some ex post office fucker was looking to see I was wearing my arm band everytime I went past their house. I think I ended up just putting it on to go past their house, the whereabouts of which was kindly provided by my supervisor. 

I was slow because I hadn't learned the route and it took me a while. I was also crap at juggling the huge pile of mail while i was trying to deliver accurately and in a timely fashion. I always worked longer hours than I was paid for, even more so in the last fornight because they relegated me to a part timer and my money went down but the route was just the same. So I got paid for the same work. Inevitably I ended up taking post home with me, but then taking it back in the next day, because they didn't give me the time to get the job done. Also mad dogs would try to take my fingers off. then I went home and slept. glad when it was all over. 

The Cult, Simple Minds – the mainstream had left me behind really. I had this Beggars Banquet compilation – Nico, The fall, Bauhaus, etc. The Bauhaus greatest hits.

I had so much baggage I wanted to leave behind by now. Wasn’t getting on with parents. Dad nearly threw me out and one point.

At Polytechnic I quickly became lonely, homesick. I had about two friends to start with. Dave and Jackie. I did find more friends as the term went on. Cos of Dave I found that there was a strong focus on indie music and he would push me to go and see various bands that I’d previously only ever heard on John Peel. I was still, in my heart quite driven to mainstream and classic music. For instance – my big gigs in the first year were Bowie and Sting. But I did see Nico, Wedding Present, Primal Scream, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Fall (twice). That guy called Harvey who we never saw again after the first year. Jackie gave me some Motorhead and Monty Python but she was into heavy metal and Rawwwk so music wise, there was little to no common ground.

I got fat on kebabs and beer in that first term. Girls would laugh at my hair. It was a horrible time.

     

                                      

my room 1985 to 1986

the view

The location of my room meant that I ended up being friendly with my near neighbours - Chris, other Chris, Julian, Mark, Howard and Brian.

I was extremely home-sick in the first term, perhaps for much of the first year. But by xmas I was beginning to find my feet. I put on a lot of weight which didn't help. Felt incredibly self-conscious about it. college wasn't what I thought it would be - a hotbed of radicalism and left field taste in music and the arts. I immediately met up with largely conservative northerners who wanted to be managers, supported Thatcher and loved Iron Maiden or Phil collins. It was worse than what I'd left behind.

At Thames Poly I started out being mostly miserable. I thought everyone there would be cool. How wrong could I be? There were some real reactionary types in the Halls of Residence. After I was moved in by my parents, and sent them on their way (puh-lease!) I tried to meet people, get myself organised etc. The music I played was supposed to impress people with what good taste I have. but my first Sunday night I found it just as difficult to socialise as ever. There was a northern kid who I was on friendly terms throughout the first year just cos we talked to each other first, someone from Northern Ireland who was into Cult/U2/Simple Minds shite. Early on I met Chris Meager. He had such bland taste in everything that we ended falling out. He went out of his way to criticise my music, because he took my viewpoints personally. I was very vocal about what I liked and was very forthright about how crap the mainstream was. I didn’t intend to criticise what Chris liked, I think I assumed that anyone who was at Poly would have better taste.

However he was my first “friend” and through him I met others.

Met bloke called Paul Harvey who if anything was more of a depress-head than me. He was into Factory stuff especially New Order and African guitar stuff. I enjoyed sitting in his room listening to music.

Went to the cellar bar in first week and stood about drinking, unable to talk to anyone. When The Smiths "How Soon Is Now" came on I had to leave – I was so depressed. I felt safe in my room, with music, a small B&W portable tv I had bought for £30 from Dixons. I ate comfort foods and got fat. Pot Noodles, Vesta Curries, cheese, bread and pickle, etc. Nothing particularly healthy. My exercise had stopped.

Chrsi M. introduced me to Chris P, Howard and Paul Simon. Although I felt left out a lot of the time they became the group of people most important to me while at TP. I got invited to the pub on the Friday and everyone from our group got knocked up and invited down.

On that first Friday evening - at one door that was knocked this depressed-looking hippy came to the door with a massive afro hair-style. He said he wanted to stay in and watch the gardening programmes and infuriated everyone. The guy was our age and concerned only with watching shit lifestyle programmes on a Friday night. It's part of what I was trying to escape. He was persuaded and we went out to the DG on Wellington St which became part of our routine in the first year. That was Mark who I ended up sharing a house through the rest of my time at Thames.

The DG used to have very good offers on beer - 50p Guiness or Fosters and once a buy one get one free offer. And it was one of the few pubs in Woolwich where students wouldn't get beaten up or barred. First time in there I stared at these girls sitting near us and looked an idiot but soon learnt to control myself a bit better.

College itself was good. I enjoyed learning. The people on my course did not fire my enthusiasm. There was a girl who seemed quite attractive at the time, and there was always a little band of blokes hovering around her. I considered myself a geek, or untouchable so never tried to talk to her. Not until the end of the year anyway when she turned out to be very approachable and easygoing. I liked her quite a lot. But I talked to Jackie first. Nearly 30 when she started wore mainly very long black skirts or jeans. We became very good friends while at college.

Then I met these two blokes - a trendy, but into alternative stuff type, and his dorky mate who did TA at weekends. We were in same group for practical sessions. When I was really lonely I tried to become closer friends to these two, but never managed to.

Can’t remember how I started talking to Dave and Harvey, but it was probably Dave who talked to me first. And it was almost certainly about music. We shared musical likes, and I was able to bounce my explorations off of him. We ended up with parallel musical tastes. Although even I had slightly mainstream tendencies at times which soon got ironed out of me.

The first term was mainly depression, not fitting in, panicking about the work-load, eating and getting fat. I had a terrible hair style, greased back, long and messy. I’d given up with my hair. Wore pseudo combat jacket and jeans. The pictures I have of me from them show someone who is into left politics, a bit, but not too, overweight, obviously a politacally conscipus student. A cross between Rik and Neil from the Young Ones.

Tried going jogging but ran into people I knew so stopped – didn’t want to be seen.

Tried to get to know this girl who was a massive Morrissey fan [think this was the 2^nd year]– she used to at least talk to me. We did go to gigs together for a bit and slightly hung out together. i went to her room once and saw a bit of Morrissey's shirt she'd been able to grab hold off at a gig. Dave told me later he thought we were going out and he fancied her as well. We weren;t though.

Nipping out for kebabs when meals were unplatable. Occasionally managed to get up for breakfast. Very occasionally. Ended up sitting at table with “the lads”. Invented the art of squeezing the condiment sachets so the contents flew across the table at those sitting opposite. I had one hit the pillar we were next to, and it stayed there till end of term. Someone stuck a bit of paper to it and that stayed there too.

Think I got up for my already paid for breakfasts about twice in the whole year, but boy, did I enjoy breakfast when i was there for it.

drunken phone calls to Plymouth

welsh girl who i met on the way to a gig. – I remember she was struggling with luggage so I offered to help then asked her out after we seemed to be getting on fairly well. I gave her my number but the number was wrong so I had no chance. If we'd had mobiles then it would have been much easier.

 Thames Polytechnic – Politics

Labour Club – reject by local Labour Party

Printers Strike & Wapping – I wore that badge and man who reminded me of Michael Caine at Woolwich College commented on it – why would anyone boycott a good paper like the Times? Hmmmm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/15/newsid_3455000/3455083.stm

I must have been there on Feb 8^th – one week before it went completely nuts.